Against the Odds

Chapter 5: Bomb

She walked into 221C, dumping her things in her room. She was tired now, after her work and Mycroft Holmes, but brightened considerably when she thought about a nice cup of hot tea. She'd made it back in time for John to have just gotten back, and it had become a regular business for her to join them for tea when she didn't have a night shift and when the boys weren't out on a case.

She could hear the men talking as she wandered back out and up the stairs. She heard John say: "...pink lady, pink case, pink phone – there was a lot of pink." Oh, he must be talking about his blog, Rose realized and then she grinned. She could imagine Sherlock's reaction. John asked "Did you like it?"

Sherlock replied flippantly: "Erm, no." John asked as Rose walked in: "Why not? I thought you'd be flattered." She grinned and walked into the kitchen to make tea, ignoring the mess of chemicals and equipment Sherlock had left on the dining room table.

Sherlock meanwhile had snapped: "Flattered?" He quoted: "'Sherlock sees through everything and everyone in seconds. What's incredible, though, is how spectacularly ignorant he is about some things'." And there it was.

John protested: "Now hang on a minute. I didn't mean that in a ... " Sherlock interrupted mockingly: "Oh, you meant 'spectacularly ignorant' in a nice way." Rose sighed and then winced as she opened the fridge to see a severed head inside.

She tinkered about to make tea without food, then, as Sherlock continued: "Look, it doesn't matter to me who's Prime Minister ... " John said quietly: "No, no..." But Sherlock continued over him: "... or who's sleeping with who ..." John muttered: "Whether the Earth goes round the Sun."

Sherlock groaned: "Not that again. It's not important!" Rose sighed as she heated the water. This was going to change into an argument, she could feel it. "Not impor..." John gaped in disbelief before saying to Sherlock: "It's primary school stuff. How can you not know that?"

Sherlock groaned: "Well, if I ever did, I've deleted it." Rose sighed again as John repeated incredulously: "'Deleted it'?" Rose heard Sherlock shift from where he'd been lying on the sofa, most likely sitting up to face John as he snapped: "Listen. This is my hard drive, and it only makes sense to put things in there that are useful. Really useful. "

He said with disgust: "Ordinary people fill their heads with all kinds of rubbish, and that makes it hard to get at the stuff that matters. Do you see?" There was a silence before John blurted out: "But it's the solar system! Rose, tell him!"

Rose just shook her head, refusing to become a part of the argument as Sherlock groaned and cried: "Oh, hell! What does that matter?!" He snapped mockingly: "So we go round the Sun! If we went round the Moon, or round and round the garden like a teddy bear, it wouldn't make any difference."

He added as he ran his hands furiously through his hair in frustration: "All that matters to me is the work. Without that, my brain rots." He paused before he finished coldly: "Put that in your blog. Or better still, stop inflicting your opinions on the world."

Rose winced. She heard Sherlock fling something aside and shift on the sofa again- most likely sulking. She looked out the kitchen door to see John looking slightly hurt for a minute while there was a clatter downstairs as the front door opened- most likely Mrs. Hudson returning home.

Rose watched as John got up to leave again, giving him a sympathetic glance while Sherlock called: "Where are you going?" John snapped: "Out. I need some air." Rose nodded at him as he left and he just grimaced at her. She walked out of the kitchen as Mrs. Hudson came in after bumping into John on the staircase.

Mrs. Hudson knocked lightly on the open door, hooting: "Ooh-ooh!" She smiled and said: "Hello, Rose dear." "Hi Mrs. Hudson." The blonde smiled at the older woman and the older woman turned to Sherlock as she asked: "Have you two had a little domestic?"

She then walked into the kitchen to put down some groceries she'd picked up for the boys while Rose moved further into the sitting room, noting Sherlock sulking on the sofa, still in his pajamas and his dressing gown. She raised a brow silently as she saw the wall behind Sherlock. She grinned- she couldn't wait for Mrs. Hudson's reaction when she saw it.

Sherlock flailed upright, starting a little to see Rose now sitting in his chair as she watched him with amusement. He just nodded at her as he stepped over the coffee table on his way over to the windows to watch after John as said man left.

Mrs. Hudson murmured as they heard the front door shut: "Ooh, it's a bit nippy out there. He should have wrapped himself up a bit more." Sherlock sulked as he watched the street: "Look at that, Mrs Hudson. Quiet, calm, peaceful." Rose watched in amusement as he grimaced. "Isn't it hateful?" He complained.

"Or pleasant." Rose teased and he glanced at her while Mrs. Hudson said: "Oh, I'm sure something'll turn up, Sherlock. A nice murder – that'll cheer you up." She said as she walked out into the sitting room and towards the door to the flat. Rose smiled- only Mrs. Hudson could call a murder 'nice'.

Sherlock murmured sadly: "Can't come too soon." Mrs. Hudson however paused and Rose grinned as the older woman stared at the wall Rose had noticed earlier. The landlady demanded: "Hey. What've you done to my bloody wall?!" Sherlock smirked and turned back to look at the wall, admiring his work. He was quite proud of the smiley face he'd spray-painted and then fired several shots into in his boredom.

Mrs. Hudson clearly didn't appreciate it as she said angrily: "I'm putting this on your rent, young man!" She stormed off down the stairs as Rose stood up. Sherlock was grinning at the wall as Rose told him: "You shouldn't aggravate them like that."

He rolled his eyes at her but she just smiled up at him from where her head just touched level with his nose, using her puppy-eyes. His eyes narrowed at her but he was interrupted by a massive explosion from across the street.

He and Rose were flung to the side in the blast, both landing on the floor as the windows shattered. Both groaned, Rose in particular as Sherlock had landed partially on top of her. His shoulder had whacked the side of her head while his arm had landed right across the top her shoulders, whacking her neck. The double impact caused her to wheeze and blur her vision as her head also ached from where it had hit the floor as well.

Sherlock groaned as his arm hurt from where it had hit the woman's shoulders and from the impact of falling face-first onto the floor. He was also uncomfortably aware that part of his side had landed on top of the blonde girl, including his right leg over her right, causing a rather private part to have been hit by her hipbone. He groaned again as he rolled off her while she moaned in pain, and they both lay there in the debris with their heads reeling.