The Science Of Second Chances//Book Two

Chapter 22~ Prove Me Wrong

Third Person P.O.V

The sound of a violin being played drifted downstairs where Teddy was curled up on the sofa, a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. She was clean, no longer covered in blood, wearing a dark red jumper and boxers with her damp hair settled around her shoulders. Her head had a decent bump the size of an egg that throbbed every once and awhile and her tongue was slightly swollen but other then that she was completely fine and unhurt. The loud tolling of Big Ben in the distance signaled the end of a year and the beginning of a new one.

Here's hoping it won't be as dramatic as the one just gone, Teddy thought with a small smile, sipping her drink. She highly doubted it though.

A pair of arms wrapped around her neck from behind the sofa. Teddy giggled, tilting her head back to find John looking down at her.

"Happy New Year," he said, kissing her forehead before walking around to sit on the sofa beside her. Teddy sat up waiting for John to get comfortable before she leaned backwards, molding herself against his body and letting her head rest on his shoulder. His arms linked themselves around her stomach and he kissed her neck softly.

"How's your head?" John asked.

"Better now. You know, it's not as bad as you think. It was the blood that made it look bad," she replied.

"Well, let's try not to let something like that happen again, yeah?" John said. Teddy nodded with a smile.

"Okay," she murmured. John nuzzled her neck for a minute, Teddy's hair tickling his nose and cheek. When he breathed in deeply he could smell soap and cinnamon and chocolate. He sighed.

"Sherlock told me that you know about Irene," he said softly. He could feel Teddy stiffen slightly in his arms. She let out a shaky laugh before sipping her hot chocolate.

"It was a surprise that I did not expect," she murmured after a minute of silence. John nodded.

"Of course you weren't expecting it, Teddy. That's understandable."

Teddy swallowed, setting her hot chocolate down on the coffee table beside the sofa. She curled up against John, her fingers playing with the sleeves of his jumper. She traced each thread with a finger, the wool soft against her skin. She yawned, feeling tired from today's events but unable to sleep. Not yet anyway.

"You know, John, I was so, so happy when I got that text." She paused, closing her eyes with a deep sigh. "Then I was so, so angry. Why didn't she tell me, John? Did she not trust me? I could have helped her!"

John nodded. He knew that Teddy must be feeling frustrated and betrayed. Her best friend had been dead for a week, and should've stayed dead, but it turns out that she never was. He didn't know how Teddy felt because he had never been in her shoes. He had never had a friend die and then suddenly turn up again a week later. 

"It's all right, Teddy," he soothed, holding her hands gently and holding her tighter to his body. "It's all right."

"Do you think it's punishment?" she asked him. "Do you think she's punishing me for leaving her all those years ago?"

"What?" John exclaimed. "No, no, of course not. Teddy-"

"I mean, yeah she said that I was forgiven but she could've been lying."

"No, Teddy. No," John said sternly. "We're not going down this road again, alright? It wasn't your fault and I doubt that Irene is- was- punishing you for what happened."

"How do you know?" Teddy mumbled into John's arm.

"Because I saw her today."

Teddy sat up, pulling away from John and turning to look at him. Her Grey-blue eyes looked silver in the dim light emitting from the fire that was currently lighting up the room. 

"Was she all right? What did she say?" Teddy asked, looking at John hopefully.

"She wanted my help. I told her to let you and Sherlock know that she was alive. I think she wants the phone back."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah," John said. "She said that she didn't mean to hurt you. She said it was the only way she could throw those people off her trail. That was why she forgave you, because she knew that what she was about to do would be ten times as worse as what you had done. She loves you, Teddy. And.... and that was why she told you to take a leap of faith into a relationship. Our relationship. It was so you wouldn't feel alone."

Teddy blinked, looking away from John and at the fire. Her eyebrows drew together in thought while her teeth nibbled at her bottom lip. She ran a hand through her hair, nodding slightly.

"Of course," she muttered. "No, she wasn't punishing me. She was preparing me. She knew I'd be upset so she told me to go for it. She wanted me to have someone there for me while she was gone. And she couldn't get me to help because of Mycroft and Sherlock and- and she didn't..."

"She didn't want you to get hurt," John finished, swallowing slightly. He had just had a sudden realization that made his stomach clench and his hands shake. 

Teddy noticed this too even though her attention was averted. She looked back at him, noticing the frown on his face and the look of sadness in his usually happy eyes.

"John?" she said, stilling his shaking hands by holding them in her own.

"Irene's alive now," he said softly. "She expected me to look after you while you were grieving her apparent death. Now that she's alive you're not grieving anymore. You don't need.... you don't have to..."

"To what, John?" Teddy said, a flash of hurt in her eyes when she realized what John was talking about. "Oh, John. You think that now Irene's alive I won't want to be with you anymore."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement that John knew was true. That was what he had been thinking. Why would Teddy want him now? She didn't need someone to hold her in the night while she cried over her best friend. Anyway, why continue the relationship when she didn't even believe in love? Why would she stay? He should've known better. They shouldn't have gotten together so soon after the 'death' of Irene. It was the grief speaking for Teddy, not her heart.

"I can see what you're thinking through you're eyes, John," Teddy said. "And you're wrong."

Teddy shuffled forward, staring into John's eyes with such force and intensity that he couldn't look away even if he tried.

"I know that I'm not the best when it comes to relationships," Teddy said slowly. "Hell, I haven't been in one for nearly a decade. And I know that I say that love doesn't exist. That it's all smoke and mirrors. Just another obstacle life chucks at us. But John, when I made that decision to be with you that night know that it was my choice. It wasn't grief. It was all me. Irene's advice was just the final push I needed to fall into your arms."

Teddy's eyes were bright now, burning blue flames. Her hands flew up to gently hold John's face, moving closer to him. Her voice was soft, a whisper that he could only just hear. A whisper like snow falling on the ground.

"I'm willing to try, John. Prove me wrong. Teach me how to love again. Show me that it's not make-believe. Please, John. I want to be proved wrong. I want you."

John's hands slid out of Teddy's. His fingers danced up her arms, trailing across the wool of her jumper. One hand brushed against her soft neck to tangle itself in her long brown hair while the other rested at the small of her back, pulling her in close. He breathed in deeply, his nose brushing Teddy's.

Oh, God, John thought. I was so wrong. She's amazing. And she wants me! She wants to try.

"It exists, Teddy," John murmured. "I'll prove you wrong."

"Good," she breathed, tilting her head to the side and kissing John's lips delicately.

Outside, the snow covered the ground and the New Year truly began.

Author note: Huh, I got this up faster then what I thought. Short chapter, a bit fluffy, but I was in that kind of mood, you know. If I don't get another chapter up this week then I want to say Merry Christmas to you all. I hope you guys have a great one and spend it with friends and family. Keep safe, guys <3

Comment and fave if you like this story! Thanks!

XOXO ~ DM