Back To The Start (Sherlock fanfiction #Wattys2016)

Chapter Ten: Abigail Meets Molly

It had been weeks since their first case. In total, they had three cases since. Each case was solved within the first two days. Most other cases, Sherlock had told Abigail, weren't worth his time.

Now, Abigail and Sherlock sat across from one another. Abigail sat Indian style on the floor while Sherlock was hunched over on the couch. Abigail examined the cards in her hands before looking up to meet Sherlock's eyes. He was staring at her. Studying her.

"Will you stop deducing me?" she asked. "It's cheating."

"No it's not," Sherlock retorted.

"Yes it is." Abigail pulled a 2 of diamonds from her last two cards and placed on the pile. She giggled as Sherlock groaned and took two cards from the stack. "Last card."

Sherlock had five cards left. Abigail looked from the pile to Sherlock. She decided to put her developing deducing skills to work.

-worried
-knows he's going to lose
-however, has an eight

Abigail raised her eyebrow at the last one before looking down at her last card. Also an eight.

Knowing Sherlock, she thought, he'll put down the eight and try to fool my game up. Huh, and he calls himself a genius.

"Who's deducing who now?" Sherlock said, not looking up from his cards.

"I wasn't deducing," Abigail lied. "I was waiting for you to lay your card. It's your turn."

"I deduce that you're lying."

"And I deduce that you're annoying. Now lay."

Sherlock smiled. Abigail had managed to come out of her shell in the past few weeks. She was starting to deduce more. Starting to become more like Sherlock, Donavan had pointed out.

"Oh, how good for you then," Abigail had said to her in a sarcastic way. She had then added, "God knows you need all the help you can get around here."

Her sarcasm was what made Sherlock smile. If someone annoyed her, she wouldn't hesitate to say something back. She was usually her most sarcastic towards Donovan. To Abigail, Donovan was like the Anderson to her Sherlock.

Finally, Sherlock pulled an 8 from his cards and laid it. Abigail smirked and laid hers before he could say anything else.

"I win," she said with a smile. Sherlock stared at the pile of cards.

"I don't wanna play this anymore," he said and sat back with his arms crossed, like an infant who was told they couldn't have candy before supper. Abigail laughed and collected the cards.

"Sore loser," she said.

"Am not," Sherlock said before lying back on the couch, his back to Abigail. She rolled her eyes and got up to put the cards away.

Abigail knew Sherlock's flat like the back of her hand and vise versa with Sherlock and her flat. They spent so much time at one place or the other when they were working on those cases. Those three cases they had in the last few weeks.

As Abigail went to the kitchen to grab herself a drink, she heard a phone go off. Acting on impulse, she pulled hers out of her pocket only to realize it was Sherlock's. Without hesitation, she grabbed his phone and checked the message.

'Got what you need. Come down when ready -Molly'

"Molly?" Abigail questioned. Sherlock never mentioned a Molly before.

"What was that?" Sherlock called.

"Um, you've just gotten a text from a Molly. She says she has what you need and to come down when you're ready," Abigail explained.