HOLD ME

CHAPTER 3

 "Good mooooorning, Watson" came a sing-song voice from the door.

Joan opened one of her eyes, moaning at being woken up from such a restful sleep and putting an arm over her eyes to protect them from the sunlight that was coming from the window. She looked at the door, where the voice had come from, and saw Sherlock's face peeping through.

"Good morning. You woke up happy today" she remarked with a sleepy smile, then she yawned.

Sherlock nodded repeatedly, a thankful smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. Then, he energetically opened the door and waltzed into his bedroom with a tray of food. As it was customary for him, he'd brought her breakfast: toast with butter, a few pieces of cut fruit and two steaming mugs of coffee. He set the tray on the nightstand and gestured to Joan, picking up his mug and sitting down on the chair next to the bed. He was in a good mood, she could tell, and full of energy like an overexcited child. Now that she'd seen how Sherlock behaved when being little, she could also see small quirks that slipped through his adult self; and the way he could barely contain his excitement and eagerness was one of them. She hid her smile with a yawn.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked while she sat down, resting her back on the bedpost, and put the tray on her lap. He was already dressed in his usual, formal attire of trousers, shirt and blazer, and he was obviously not in little space now. However, Joan could already see the benefits in him: he had less pronounced bags under his eyes, they looked clearer and less troubled, and even his skin seemed to glow. Amazing what a couple of well-rested nights can do.

"I did, thank you. Best sleep I've had in... months probably. And you?" he asked, very politely.

"Mmmm like a baby" she teased, and she chuckled when Sherlock had the deference of blushing slightly "I'm glad to see this really has helped. You've slept an entire night without waking up and you look much better"

"It has helped. You were right, as you most often are, that this would have its benefits" Sherlock agreed and sipped his coffee, ruminating "maybe after breakfast we can tackle the case again? Together?"

Joan fell silent for a second, her smile faltering: she had been hoping he wouldn't push the issue for a few more days. But it seemed that there was no luck, there never was when Sherlock was concerned. His life was his work, he was eager to simply leap into the void, confident in his abilities to come out safe and sound of any given situation, but it didn't always work.

"Are you sure, Sherlock?" she said, munching on a piece of toast with butter and looking at him through worried eyes "this was a lot for you and I don't want to put you in a difficult position. Are you sure you don't prefer to sit this one out?"

He shook his head, and by the pent-up energy she could feel coming off in waves, he was, in fact, eager to get into action.

"I know that what happened was... hard. And I still carry the after-effects" he accepted "but I also believe that my regression can help us reach a breakthrough. I haven't been able to deal with this for years and it's a burden I don't want anymore"

"You shouldn't have that burden in the first place" Joan answered, agreeing at least with that "but are you sure you're ready to look at this again? Last night you were in control of when and where you regressed, and you knew it was only you and me. But not the first time it happened..."

"The first time it took me by surprise. Now, I see things from a different angle. Besides" he added, looking at Joan with a soft smile and a warm tone in his voice "you are the best caregiver I could have, Joan. I'm... not sure how often I will have to be little, or if I'll be an agreeable child or a naughty, spoilt one. I can't really tell. But I'm confident that with you by my side in those moments when I feel lonely and all I want to do is to be held, we can use the moments I'm not regressed to work on the case. Together we can close this and finish this gang, Watson. Forever."