Trust in Sherlock: Book 2

Chapter 8-Sherlock POV

I stared at my phone, waiting for a call. I had contacted a few trusted members from my homeless network about Maggie's disappearance.

It's been five minutes and I've had no contact.

John was sitting across from me. We had found a small restaurant after John had complained about being hungry, not having eaten since yesterday. I had settled for a coffee.

I looked up at him. He was watching me curiously.

"Alright, you've been looking at me like that for two minutes. What is it?" I asked, glancing out the window while placing my phone on the table in front of me.

John shrugged. "You have no idea where they could be." He stated rather than questioned.

I didn't respond and looked at him again. He had his fork settled on his plate, his full attention on me.

"If I had an idea on where she could be, I would be there. Wouldn't you agree?" I waited for his response.

He slowly nodded his head. "You said 'she'." He said.

I tilted my head. "Sorry?" I asked, not sure if I heard him correctly.

"I said 'they' you said 'she'." John said, pointing his fork at me.

"So?" I raised an eyebrow.

"So, you care about her." John said.

"Just by me saying 'she' you think you've deduced that I care about Maggie."

"Yep."

I sighed. "Well of course I care for her. Don't you?"

"Of course. But...you care for her." John repeated, exaggerating 'care'.

"Yes, I heard you the first time, John. Can't I be concerned for someone other than you for once?"

John nearly choked on his food. "Wait...you think I'm jealous?" He cleared his throat, looking at me with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

"Well, you show the signs. I thought it was quite obvious." I said with a small shrug. I picked up my cup of coffee and took a few sips.

John chuckled. "I'm not jealous." He said with a shake of his head.

"Oh don't be embarrassed. It's...fine." I said with a small smile.

John looked at me with a slightly bewildered look on his face. "I'm not jealous, Sherlock."

"Whatever you wish to believe, John. It doesn't bother me. I thought we went through this before." I said, leaning back in my chair with a grin on my face.

"I'm not gay." John urged in a whisper, completely forgetting his food and leaning forward.

"I never implied that you were gay, John. Just that you were jealous of me being concerned for another human being." I said.

John looked around at the other people that we had caught the attention of. He was suddenly very uneasy.

He cleared his throat. "Sherlock." He began in a whisper.

"Yes, Jealous John?" I teased with a small laugh.

John looked down at the table. "Moriarty's here." He whispered.

I frowned, any sign of a grin gone. I glanced to my right where the rest of the room was full of other people. My left being occupied by a large window.

I spotted Moriarty nearly hidden behind a waitress. He was watching us with a casual expression on his face. Once he saw that I had seen him, he grinned and turned back to look at the waitress that had approached his table.