Believe in Me || Sherlock

Believe in Me- Chapter 27: You Have Purpose

The inside of the flat was warm and the smell of coffee filled the air. Sherlock, John and Flora made their way upstairs and into the living room of 221B, where they found Ames Hudson polishing the mirror.
"Oh my," she stopped working and came over to them. "Where the hell did you go? You didn't even leave a note to say you were going."
"I'm sorry, Mrs Hudson," John apologised. "We had to go to China and sort something out."
"What could possibly need sorting out that far away?" The landlady turned to face Flora and a look of horror appeared on her face. "Oh my dear, what happened to you?"
"I got shot," Flora replied leaning her crutch and herself against the wall so she could take Sherlock's coat off. She handed it to the detective and he hung it on the back of the living room door, along with his scarf.
"That awful!" Mrs Hudson exclaimed. "Come and sit down." She guided Flora to John's chair and she sat down with a sigh.
"Thank you," she muttered.
"Would you like anything?" Asked Mrs Hudson.
"No," Flora shook her head. "I'm fine..."
"Would you like tea then?"
"Tea would be great, thanks."
Mrs Hudson turned to Sherlock and John. "What about you boys?"
"Yes please," John replied eagerly.
"Sherlock?"
"No," he said simply and sat in his own chair, opposite Flora. Mrs Hudson went downstairs to make the tea and John took his place on the sofa, picking up what looked liked the latest newspaper.
"So what about that morphine you promised me?" Flora asked.
"Mrs Hudson doesn't have any kind of drugs," Sherlock responded. "But she has herbal soothers for her hip. That's the closest you'll get, I'm afraid."
"I suppose I'll just have to live."
"Yes."
"I'm surprised Irene wasn't waiting for us on the front door step," said Flora trying to change the subject.
"She was obviously occupied with something else, but she had something to do with the person who shot you."
"How do you know that?"
"Once you were unconscious, Irene came over and she didn't look in the slightest bit shocked. That suggests she knew who it was and why they did it."
"Oh," Flora trailed off. Her skin was usually pale and her eyes were heavy and were a sign that she was tired, but Sherlock saw hidden pain in her dull, hazel gaze. Mrs Hudson came in carrying a tray of biscuits along with the two mugs of tea. She placed the tray down on the coffee table next to John, handed him one mug and brought the other one over to Flora.
"Thank you," she said then took a sip of warm tea. "Was the shooter aiming at you or me?"
"You know that," Sherlock gave a half-smile.
"Maybe I do. I told you that you weren't going to die. I said someone else and that was me."
"It was very courageous of you," Sherlock muttered.
"Thank you. Better me than you."
"What makes you say that?"
Flora shrugged. "You have a purpose in life. A job. I don't."
"Everybody has a purpose," Sherlock assured.
"Maybe not some people..."
Sherlock stared at her with utter confusion. Why would she say such a thing? Sherlock believed she had purpose, but he wasn't a hundred percent sure what it was. Yet.
"What's the date today, John?" Flora asked unexpectedly.
"Sorry?" He gazed up from his newspaper with a puzzled look.
"What the date?" Flora repeated. "We've been away a while, I've lost track of time."
John closed the paper to find the date on the front cover. "The 28th."
"Nearly the New Year," she closed her eyes and sighed with a sad expression.
Sherlock looked at her curiously. "Is there something special about that date?" He asked.
"Yeah," Flora replied. "But it's something I'd rather not talk about."
"Family issues?"
"I said I don't want to talk about it," there was frustration in her voice.
"So it is?"
"Sherlock, it's none of your business."
Sherlock raised an eyebrow and Flora shot him a glare.
"Please don't go there," she said. "I'm not in the mood." Flora slowly got up and made her way over to the door, her mug still in her hand. "I'm going to bed," she announced. "Don't think about asking anymore questions." She looked to Sherlock before leaving up the stairs.
"What's wrong with her?" Asked John.
"No idea," Sherlock said. In fact, he did. Something had happened one New Year, something bad. Definitely family related as Flora wanted to change the subject straight away. Sherlock was very intrugued to find out...

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Sorry for the short chapter... I've decided I'm going to do a New Year thing and then move onto Reichenbach.
Family related things, eh? You lot have to wait until a bit further into the future for that...