The Anonymous | S.H. • O.C.

- 6 -

"Helena Chasity."

That name came out quietly from John's lips.

The only other sound in the room with him is the beeping from a monitor for heart-rate.

"What's that?" An unsteady groan came from a familiar voice.

Sherlock, now awake, asks from his hospital bed he's laid in.

"You sleep well?" John asks, putting down the papers in his hands to the chair next to him.

The chairs weren't comfortable at all; hard plastic with cold metal legs. They were not made for a nice luxurious stay, but thankfully the room is only for a temporary one until Sherlock is moved to a better room.

Ignoring John's question, Sherlock cuts to the important parts.

"I assume I'm in a hospital from the familiar sanitary smell; possibly ICU. Did I overdose?" He furrows his eyebrows.

"Correct. And final deduction for you- ICU is for people that could have..." He waits for Sherlock to finish raising his bed and fill in the blank.

"Died. I know."

"You've been in this place before, but not this bad, so why haven't you stopped and gotten help?"

"They help me think."

"No; they help you die faster. You need to get clean because if you have one more liver failure, you might as well have no liver at all."

"I'll try to."

"No, there's no 'trying'; you will."

Silence finally occurs between the two; something that rarely ever happens. This is ended when another question comes to Sherlock's mind.

"What was that name you said right when I woke up?"

John picks up the papers he had previously set down next to him.

On the papers was the entire script of the interrogation with Ann, addressed by her real name of Helena Chasity.

John hands the papers to him, pulling a chair to his bedside, as well.

"Helena. Interesting. I figured that Ann was an alias, but this is-" he searches for a word to describe the unknown feeling he has encountered. "-different."

"What do you mean? Has she actually stumped the one and only Sherlock Holmes?"

Sherlock doesn't respond.

"So, she has. You've met your match, haven't you? Her and Irene. Moriarty is another story."

Once again, Sherlock doesn't respond. Instead, he lays the bed back down.

"I won't pester you too much; you should be relaxing right now." He sets the papers from Sherlock's lap onto the table next to him, incase he would like to read them later.

"By the way, I called her. She's coming at five."

Sherlock suddenly jolts up and his heart monitor speeds.

"You what?"

-

Soft knocking is heard on the hospital room's door. In comes Ann with a hand-sized black box.

Whispering quietly, since Sherlock is currently asleep and snoring lightly, Ann explains that she "tried to bring flowers, but the workers at the front wouldn't let me."

She continues with, "-I brought a gift, though."

"What is it?" Sherlock returns to his awakened state, staying laid down and eyes cracked open ever so slightly.