HOLD ME

CHAPTER 2

The following morning Joan woke up slowly to the sun rays on her eyes. She moaned and changed position, wanting to catch a bit more sleep, when she noticed she was alone in her bed.

All of a sudden, everything came down to her, and her eyes opened wide, confused. Sherlock was nowhere to be seen, the spot he had occupied during the night was empty and cold, he'd been up for quite some time. Over the night she had woken up a few more times, each time she felt Sherlock pressing his body against her, like he didn't want any part of him apart from her. She sighed and debated what to do.

On the one hand, she wanted to grab her laptop and search on the internet about regression and adult babies, wanting to soak up all the information she could get her hands on to try and understand what had happened to Sherlock and how to best help him. On the other hand, she wanted to see where Sherlock was and make sure he was doing alright.

She decided the latter was the best course of action. She was still worried about him, and the fact that he hadn't woken her up with breakfast and clothes as he regularly did could mean anything.

She got out of bed and strode to the bathroom to clean herself a bit and brush her hair before she went downstairs for breakfast. When she got in the kitchen Sherlock was already there. She stood near the door, observing him, he was baking. That was never a good sign, Sherlock making Yorkshire puddings always meant he was bothered by something.

"Are you going to stand there all morning or are you actually going to come in?" Sherlock said without even turning around. His voice sounded a bit aggravated.

"Good morning to you too" Joan said when Sherlock had caught her, and she walked towards the coffee maker. She had noticed Sherlock didn't seem to be in the mood, but she pretended she didn't anyway "did you sleep well?"

"I did, thanks" he answered curtly.

Sherlock was avoiding her eyes, his stance was tense and he whisked the eggs with a bit more force than necessary.

"Sherlock, you're baking, what are you – "

"The Captain hasn't said anything" he said anxiously, interrupting her "I've tried calling but he hasn't been answering me, and neither has Marcus" his voice sounded annoyed now and there was a tone of anger there.

"Huh yeah, I told them not to call you" Joan said hesitantly.

Sherlock suddenly stilled, his whole body tense. He let the whisk fall inside the bowl, splashing eggs all over his apron and the sleeves of his shirt, but he didn't seem to care.

"You... did what?" he asked with a voice terribly low and a bit threatening.

"Yeah I told them not to call you. Sherlock, I..."

"And why would you do that? We had a case, a very important case, and you're telling me that –"

"Yes, I am!" Joan exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips and turning her body around so she was standing in front of him. He was taller, even more so now that she was only wearing her slippers, but she didn't cower before his icy stare "I felt it was the right thing to do considering how you were last night!"

"How I... how dare you use this against me? Did you have fun seeing me in that state? You did, didn't you?!" he yelled.

"What?" Joan bit back "you think I did this out of spite?"

"Well why wouldn't you let me consult on a case that – "

"Because it obviously affected you and can't deal with it right now!" Joan roared, and Sherlock was stunned.