C A L M

Thin White Lies

Since that night, things had been going well for those living in 221b. Sherlock and John had just finished solving another mystery, and (Y/N) had been working on preparing for the new school year in the next few weeks.

Above all, Sherlock and (Y/N) had been enjoying time to themselves on walks and dates every spare second they had.

Tonight was no different. Sherlock had made reservations for a restaurant nearby for dinner. Elliot was already with John, so that left (Y/N) some free time to get ready for the night. She had already touched up her makeup and was now about to get dressed. Heading into her closet she scanned her options, settling on a dress she hadn't worn in a couple of years.

It still fit, luckily. She studied herself in the mirror. It was weird to be wearing it again, especially now that her partner was gone. Her hand smoothed down the fabric. When she looked back up into the mirror, her heart stopped. There they were.

"You look beautiful." (Y/N) had heard it plain as day as she whipped around and didn't see anyone there. Their image had been so clear in the mirror.

"It's fine, (Y/N)," she spoke and took a deep breath. "You're just imagining things."

"Are you?" their voice spoke. "You haven't worn that dress for anyone else but me, and now you're going to show off for someone else?"

Her eyes shut tightly. The voice was right as she went back into her closet for something else. Dress pants and a nice shirt with some heels. Much better, and not to mention much more comfortable.

"Happy?" she spoke as she stood in front of the mirror, but the voices were gone.

Taking one more deep breath, she left to meet Sherlock out in the hallway. He was startled by her sudden appearance.

"Ready to go?" he asked, and she nodded quickly.

"Let's go."

The walk to the restaurant was quiet, but Sherlock couldn't help complimenting her on how she looked. (Y/N) only gave him tight nods in reply before focusing on the ground ahead of her. Something was wrong, Sherlock knew it.

***

Once they had been seated and had ordered, (Y/N) finally loosened up. The two laughed and chatted about the things going on in their lives, and that's when Sherlock finally decided to ask about what had been bugging her earlier.

"I noticed your behavior had been different than usual," he explained and watched as she bit her lip.

"I saw them in the mirror earlier," she spoke.

"Who?"

"My partner." (Y/N) looked up at him, trying not to cry. "I heard them too, Sherlock. Please don't think I'm crazy."

He shook his head. "You're not crazy, (Y/N). There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. We'll figure it out."

She nodded, comforted by the thought that she didn't have to go through this alone. They returned to normal conversation afterward, Sherlock being able to get her laughing again. He didn't like seeing her so distraught and sad, so for now he'd take her mind off it.

When dinner was done, he paid and offered her his arm as they walked through the streets of London.

"Have any new exciting cases yet?" (Y/N) asked him.

Sherlock thought for a moment. "Well, there was this woman that came in yesterday about her sister's mysterious death. It's got me confused; the details don't add up."

"Maybe I could take a look and help you?"

"If you'd like to."

It sounded like fun. Perhaps she could add some insight into the case with her point of view. Soon they were climbing the stairs to 221b, and Sherlock unlocked the door and led her inside.

The case file was sprawled out across the coffee table. (Y/N) leaned over it, looking through the evidence as Sherlock explained what they had figured out and what was still confusing them. Gently, she picked up a photo of the gardener and held it out to him. "Have you questioned the gardener?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "Yes, she's been questioned. Why?"

"In this picture, it looks like she's got some sort of odd stain on her garden gloves. Doesn't look like dirt; too red."

Sherlock took the photo and smiled, bringing in (Y/N) for a kiss. "You're absolutely brilliant!" he said before phoning Lestrade.

However, (Y/N) was standing there as the voices whispered to her again. When Sherlock returned, seeing her still state, he called her name. She looked up at him, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I heard the voices again." was all she said.

The detective crossed over to her and brought her into a hug. "Stay here tonight."

Eagerly, she agreed. She always felt safe in his arms.

The heart you broke, the heart you broke, yeah

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A.N: We're getting closer to the end of this story, and I can't wait for you all to read it! Unfortunately, the closing chapters aren't as long as I'd like them to be, but I'm happy with what I've written. It concludes the story nicely.

If you've enjoyed this story, check out my other Sherlock stories: 'Youngblood' and 'Keys and Strings'. 

Thank you all for reading CALM so far!

Until next time,

~Em