Sherlock Imagines and Preferences 2

Our Little Girl

''It's no problem. Do you need me for anything else?'' 

You shook your head. ''No, you've done more than enough! Thank you, Rose.'' 

She nodded and grabbed her coat from the rack, putting it on. ''I'll see you tomorrow, Sarah. We'll practice the alphabet again.'' She gave your daughter a quick hug before grabbing the envelope with money you left each time she came. ''Bye, guys.''

As soon as she left, you turned back to your daughter. ''Alright, Hon. It's time for bed.'' 

''But I want to draw!'' She protested. 

''Tomorrow is another day, Sarah. You can draw again at school or after, but now, it's time for bed.'' You picked her up and carried her to her room. After some arguing, you managed to get her dressed and tucked in. ''Sweet dreams, little one,'' you whispered, kissing her forehead and stroking her head. 

''I'm not little anymore, mummy.'' 

You chuckled. ''Of course, you're not. How silly of me! I'll get it right next time, promise.'' 

She smiled sleepily at you and muttered an 'it's okay' before falling asleep. You smiled at her peaceful figure before turning off the lights and shutting the door silently. Almost instantly, you collapsed in your own bed, eyes glued together. Maybe tonight you could finally get some proper sleep.

<>

Sirens wailed around you as you rubbed your head and tried to block the invasive light and noise out. You were exhausted and so was Sarah. You held her tightly as you stood outside and answered questions, delivering your statement. 

''Could you repeat what happened, miss?'' The grey-haired officer asked. 

You sighed. ''Around one o'clock, I heard screams coming from the neighbour's house. It woke my daughter up and scared her, so I decided to take a look. I was about to knock when I heard gunshots and ran back to my house to call the police.'' 

The officer nodded, writing it down on his notepad. ''Thank you again, miss. And apologies for keeping you up this late at night.'' 

''It's alright,'' you mumbled, smiling slightly. 

''If you don't mind, there is one more officer here to question you. After that, you're free to go back to bed. If we have furthermore questions, you'll receive a call.'' 

You sighed. ''Can I at least put my daughter to bed? She needs to sleep.''

The officer thought about and eventually nodded. ''Yes, alright.''

Over the next few days, you received the occasional phone call from the officer who you now knew to be DI Greg Lestrade. From what he had explained to you, they were having trouble finding the one behind the crime. 

Your neighbour's brother had been shot and put in the hospital. Fortunately, in their rush, the shooter had quickly fired the bullet and ran to evade the police. The shot hadn't been fatal and the victim would be totally fine, but that didn't mean the criminal could get away with it. 

Attempted murder could still get him behind bars for a long time and to prevent this from happening again, it was crucial. But the shooter hadn't left a trace and being in shock at the time, your neighbour and her brother didn't remember any vital information. 

You were now a key witness in an investigation and call after call was made, asking more questions. You were getting sick of it and so was your boss. Risking losing your job, you told DI Lestrade over your last phone call that he could come to your flat after work one last time for questioning and that after that, you wished to be left alone. He had agreed, so that night, the doorbell rang.