As Deep As Oceans Go - Sherlock x OC

A Study in Scarlett (1)

Lillian

There was something about the bitter London cold that Lillian Stewarts always loved. She had traveled to quite a few landmarks across the globe, but none other had ever drawn her back the way London did.

As she stepped out of the airport, the brisk breeze hit her warm cheeks in a frenzy that brought a large smile to her face. She took in a deep breath before hailing for a cab to take her home. As one came to a stop in front of her, the cabbie popped out of his seat and handled her bags with a kind smile.

"How are we today, Ma'am?" he asked her. "First time in London?"

"Coming back home, actually," she corrected him, stepping in the backseat of the cab as he carefully dropped her bags in the trunk. "It's nice to be back home." She heard the cabbie laugh.

"I'd imagine, must've been a long trip with bags the size of those." The cabbie got back into his seat in the front once the trunk was secured then twisted his body around to face Lillian. "Where we headed off to now, Miss?"

"2-2-1-B Baker Street."

The ride after that was silent between Lillian and her driver, apart from the nearly noiseless tellie attached to the back of her driver's head rest. The buildings outside of her window passed like that of hills on a country drive, and the faces of people outside blurred altogether.

Lillian loved the bustling of the city, tourists and residents alike. Eventually, her daydream of a ride ride came to an end and the cab stopped outside of her flat.

"I'll help you with your bags, Miss," the diver quickly said before jumping out of his seat. Her bags were out and on the pavement before Lillian had both feet out of the car.

"How kind of you," she thanked, fishing her wallet out of her coat pocket. Lillian rounded up on her payment and gave the money to her cabbie – a generous tip to brighten his day. "A thanks for such a warm welcome back." The man wasted no time to thank her again, before getting in his car again and driving off.

With a sigh, Lillian dragged her luggage to the door of her flat and used her key to open it before hauling her bags through. After shutting the cold out behind her, Lillian left her bags where they were and began to climb up the steps to her residence, pulling off her gloves that prevented her fingers from getting cold. It was a thin staircase that went up through each resident floor, hers being at the very top.

"Mrs. Hudson!" She called out. "I'm back!" Lillian noticed the faint sunlight at the top coming from one of the unoccupied flats.

"Oh, she's finally back," Lillian heard the elderly voice of Mrs. Hudson chirp. Taking two steps at a time, she quickly made it to the landing and poked her head through the open door of the residence. Her eyes landed on a tall man with unruly black hair and pale skin. His grey eyes looked back at hers with a quaint intensity.

"Holmes!" With a smile on her face, Lillian bounded forward and threw her arms around the man's neck. After a brief moment, she felt his hands faintly against her back as he hesitantly hugged her in return.

Sherlock Holmes was an extremely intelligent man that Lillian had met when they were both in grade school – a group of kids had been picking on him for being different and Lillian cut in and put a stop to it. Since then, she remained very close to him, despite his early lack of interest in her company.

"I've missed you so. It's about time you're moving into this place." Pulling away, she was able to get a good look at his face. It hadn't changed much.

"You've been out of the country," he responded bluntly, which Lillian paid no mind to and kept the smile on her face. She spread her arms out and turned a complete circle to show herself off.