Sherlock: Lover Mine [Book II]

Poison Ivy and Fire Ants

"Sherlock, wait!!"

"He's going to get away, Susanna! Come on!"

Susanna sighed as she watched Sherlock twitch and shift uncomfortably while the Police detained the serial killer and took their statements. They'd apprehended the man after five days, one of Sherlock's longer cases. He was doing an excellent job at disguising the rashes and his rapidly spreading, fire-hot itch. However, Susanna had trouble not massaging her temples.

He had taken to chasing the suspect through the heavy undergrowth in a dense patch of lakeside forest, on hilly terrain. Sherlock, being his genius self, had disregarded Susanna's warnings and all but barraged through the trees and shrubs in his quest. He'd managed to upsot several fire ant mounds and then tackled the fleeting serial killer, wrestling him in a patch of poison ivy until he could restrain the man with cuffs.

To say the least, Susanna was not pleased, let alone impressed, by her lover's reckless behavior.

She sat in the corvette and waited for him to finish with the police. She texted John to tell him and received a sympathetic response.

Good luck. He's downright insufferable when he's injured or ill. -JW

You're just glad that I'm the one taking care of him this time. -SM

I reckon you'll have an easier time with him. You're his lover. -JW

You're lucky I'm not in 221B right now. -SM

Hey, if he gets too much to handle, I'll call him and straighten him out. -JW

Alright. -SM

Sherlock opened the door and fell into the passenger seat with a pained huff, "I can't believe it took me five days to solve this case."

"Mmm." Susanna grunted, backing out of their parking spot and turning out of the lot and onto the main road. Sherlock pursed his lips.

"What, Love?"

"I told you to wait."

"I'm fine." He denied.

"No, you're not. When we get back you'll have to take a shower so that you can get as much of the Urushiol off of you. I'll have to make the remedy paste-"

"I'll be fine."

"Sherlock." Susanna said firmly. Sherlock frowned and leaned back, crossing his arms.

"You're mad at me."

"Slightly."

"Why? I just caught a serial killer-"

"You didn't listen to me, Sherlock. It might not have been poison ivy or fire ants. It could have been, oh, I don't know, a rattlesnake or heaven forbid a water moccasin- cause those attack without provocation," She scolded, "You don't know the area like I do. If this had been in London and you had told me to wait before going after a target, do you think I would have still gone after them?"

"You went after Forge on the Leonidas-"

"I was working within my expertise and experience on the Leonidas. Sherlock, if you had told me to wait before pursuing a suspect in London, I would have listened. No questions asked and no hesitation. Because you know London better than I do. And because I trust you."

Sherlock felt more than a little guilty, seeing how upset he'd made Susanna. They both remained silent until they got back to her family's house, "I'll just go ahead and get that shower then." He said as they got out of the corvette.

"I'll mix up the remedy for you to apply once you're done. I'll leave it in the bedroom."

"Thank you, Love." He wanted to give her a kiss but she stayed pointedly out of reach. The brunette sighed and retreated to clean up, barely managing to keep himself from scratching his legs, hands, wrists and neck. These bloody fire ant stings are the worst.

He scrubbed throughly to wash off as much of the poison ivy oil as possible and alleviate the pain of the stings. For many reasons he was glad that Neil had treated his family, the twins, and Susanna's parents to a movie. He could soothe his beloved partner without an audience.

As promised, Susanna left a small resealable container of whitish paste on the bed for him with simple instructions written on a note.

Apply liberally to each rash and sting/bite mark.

Sherlock did as told and was relieved when the paste instantly numbed and cooled the blotchy red marks he'd recently incurred. When he emerged from the room, covered from the neck down in splotches of white, he opted to seek out Susanna. The detective found her in the rec room messing with the foosball table.

"Susanna."

"What?" She asked a little harshly, not bothering to look up at him. He approached her slowly.

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me for ignoring your warnings and not trusting your judgement," He said softly, "You were right. I might have encountered a more painful venom or poison than the ivy and ants."

"Or fatal, Sherlock."

"Yes, or that." He pressed his lips together.

Susanna exhaled a long breath, "I was trying to warn you because I Love You, Sherlock. I don't want to see you get hurt if I can help it." Sherlock frowned and stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm sorry for not heeding you, Susanna." She turned around to face him and placed her hands on his chest.

"I forgive you, Sherlock."

He simpered and pressed his lips against her forehead, "I Love You, Susanna."

"I know."

Thank you for reading! Shout outs to VelvetVanity, JustaSyd and summer710 !