"Mary?"
At the sound of her name being called, Mary Watson spun on her heel, eyes frantic and out of breath she jogged over to Evelyn. "Where's Sherlock?"
Eve frowned. "I don't know, I've not seen him in a while, I thought–"
"You need to look on the system for me, now. He's here. I've been trying to get the room number from John but he keeps forgetting to reply." Mary was practically dragging Eve by her scrubs to the reception desk. "Sherlock Holmes. What room?"
The receptionist looked confused. "Are you a relative–"
"It's fine," Eve said quickly. "She's with me. I need to know what room."
"I thought you'd finished for the night–"
"For gods sake, Jamie!" Evelyn wasn't sure why she suddenly felt this rush of panic and could hear her heart pounding in her ears, but all she knew was she needed the damn room number. "Please."
Jamie immediately started clacking the keys on the computer. "Intensive care, ward four, room sixty two."
She was gone, running to the escalator ahead of them.
Eve turned to Mary as she followed behind her. "What happened?"
"He was shot."
For some reason Evelyn halted, struggling to catch her breath. She felt as if the wind had been knocked from her. When Mary noticed, she twisted to observe her friend, stopping a few paces ahead. Eve was struggling to make eye contact with Mary at all.
"Are you..."
"I'm fine. It's– It's fine," Eve shook her head. "Just a shock. I think."
Mary narrowed her eyes. "Sure. Just a shock," she stepped closer, touching her friend's arm. "He's alive, you know?"
"Yeah, of course. Don't know why I'm..."
"Worried? Scared?" Evelyn looked like a deer in headlights. "Come on. It'll help to see him breathing."
Once they reached Sherlock's room and greeted John, he had opened the door while continuing to explain what had got them into this situation. "No idea what happened after that, Magnussen was questioned but Sherlock hasn't woken up yet so can't get anything from him."
Evelyn felt herself freeze in the doorway. He looked awful, wires surrounding his body, monitor beeping continuously next to the bed. She watched his chest rising and falling, counting the breaths as she did. "I'll– I'll leave you with John now, Mary."
Mary frowned. "You could stay a bit–"
"I should go, my shift finished half an hour ago and– and I've seen Sherlock is still breathing so..." She trailed off, Mary watching her carefully.
"Evie..." Mary stopped herself saying anything more when Eve's eyes were begging for it to be left alone. "I'll keep you updated on how he is."
"Yeah, please, just... uhm–" she shook her head. "Thanks."
As the door wheezed shut behind her, trying to force the tears back, she could hear John mumbling to Mary. "Is she alright?"
———
"Oh. It's you."
"Hi. Can I come in–"
"Yeah. Yes." Sherlock began to fidget, trying to sit himself more upright, but the strain on his face gave away how much he's still suffering.
Evelyn walked over to the chair beside Sherlock's bed, hesitantly sitting down. She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, pressing her lips together momentarily. "You're an idiot." She wasn't sure why it was the first thing that came out of her mouth, but she'd said it now.
Sherlock narrowed his eyes. "Have you been talking to John?"
She shook her head. "I actually came to that conclusion on my own."
He sighed. "Well, you're probably right."
She felt her eyes stinging and it infuriated her. "I know we're not close–"
"I wouldn't say that–"
"But I like to think we're friends now," she took in a deep breath. "You scared me."
"You're angry with me." It was a statement, not a question.
Eve glanced up at the ceiling, lacing and unlacing the fingers in her lap. "I have no right–"
Sherlock shrugged. "I didn't plan on getting shot–"
"That's not why I'm angry."
He frowned. "Then why?"
"Because you thought it would be a good idea to sneak out of here, rip your stitches, cause internal bleeding, and send yourself into yet another cardiac arrest." Sherlock was staring at her. She stared right back. "I'm angry because you nearly died twice within a week, and the second time was your fault. I've been worried sick."
Still, Sherlock didn't say a word, but he did look surprisingly guilty.
"You're my friend. I care about what happens to you. So yes... I'm angry. Because you scared the shit out of me."
"In that case, I think you have every right, Evelyn," Sherlock finally looked away, casting his eyes down, unable to look at the upset on her face any longer. "I apologise."
"I forgive you."
His head flew up, scowling, confused. "Just like that?"
"Just like that," she confirmed. "You've turned your morphine tap down."
Sherlock was caught off guard by that statement, not sure if anyone had filled Evelyn in on all the gory details of his actions recently.
"I know about the drugs."
That answered that question.
"Drugs are terrible for working."
Evelyn frowned, tilting her head. "Also terrible in general."
"I'm trying to wean myself off," Sherlock said simply. "It's been made clear to me that the people in my life don't like me very much when I take them. By the way you've been looking between me and the IV, you're included in that statement."
She raised her eyebrows. "You've been desperate to deduce someone, haven't you?"
Sherlock drops his head back and rolls his eyes. "The nurses are boring and keep telling me off," he glanced over her swiftly. "I'm bored stiff."
"Go on then. Read me."
"This feels like a trap."
She laughed, and Sherlock instinctively smiled back. It was the first time she hadn't looked sad since she walked into the room. "No trap, just trying to reduce the torment on our poor NHS staff."
"Okay, well..." he cleared his throat. "You came straight to see me from a shift ending, I can smell the extreme use of sanitiser from here. It was a long night shift, you're exhausted, your shoulders are tense and there's bags forming under your eyes. You're wearing your glasses rather than contacts because your eyes are sore," he pointed at her shirt. "Fresh coffee stain, you've been chugging back caffeine like water for the last twelve hours, probably makes no difference but you do it anyway. You had a cigarette before coming up, I'm assuming you're stressed not inebriated," he smiled as if she should be proud he remembered her saying that. "The smell is still lingering despite the gum you'd been chewing. I'm jealous, I'd kill for a cigarette. You've been–"
He froze, eyes softening.
"You've been crying."
Evelyn bit into her bottom lip, worrying at it for a moment. "Told you. Been worried. Hoped the evidence would have been gone by now."
"Don't waste your tears on me, Evelyn."
"They're not wasted."
Sherlock was looking at her like she was mad. "We've already established I got high, used another of Mary's friends to get into an office, got shot, escaped the hospital and nearly died again. I wouldn't call me the most deserving of people."
Her jaw clenched. "Let's not even discuss Janine."
"Why? Just another bad thing I've done you want to ignore?"
Evelyn glared at him harshly. "I'm not stupid. I know you've done some shitty things recently, but that doesn't mean I can just turn off how I feel. I care for you, I want to see you healthy," she took a breath. "Yes, you're an idiot, you can be selfish and will always do what you deem necessary for a case, but I still want to see you alive at the end of it."
Sherlock blinked a few times, swallowed heavily, and then gave a firm nod. "Right. Thank you?"
"You don't need to thank me for caring."
"I think I do."
Eve sighed. "I don't really like Janine anyway."
They locked eyes for a moment. Then immediately started laughing.
———
Sherlock was finally out of the hospital. Under strict instructions to take no active cases and rest. In other words, he was bored out of his mind, and this led him to turning up on the Watson's doorstep. He'd been desperate to escape the same walls of his flat and decided to take a walk, but when he'd realised he was subconsciously heading in the direction of Evelyn's flat, he panicked. He immediately changed direction towards his current location, hoping to be distracted by Mary's endless baby babble. So when he knocked on the door and Evelyn Wilson was the person to greet him, his brain stuttered.
"Oh! Hey! What are you doing here?"
Sherlock knew he looked incredibly confused, he couldn't school his features in time now matter how hard he tried. "Bored. Wanted to check on Mary..."
"Yeah, sure, come in. We're just making tea. Want one?" She walked down the corridor, leaving it his responsibility to close the front door. "Think I can sneak you some biscuits from their secret tin."
The door closed with a soft thud and Mary's head appeared from the other side of the wall. "You bloody well won't."
Evelyn pouted. "He's poorly."
"Don't care if he's the queen, he's not having those. I'm pregnant, I'm putting my foot down."
"Ah well, I tried." Eve pulled a third mug out the cupboard. "How you feeling today, Sherlock?"
He was still somewhat bewildered at how his plan had been so expertly fumbled by coincidence. What do we say about coincidences? "Fine. Twinges every now and then, that's all."
"Do you want me to look at it?"
"No. No, it's alright." He removed his coat, setting it on the back of a dining chair. "Why are you here?"
"Off for the weekend. Went with Mary for a scan," she walked over to him, pressed the warm cup into his hand. "Not sure what John's playing at but he needs to get his head screwed on."
Sherlock and Mary shared a worried glance. Eve noticed.
Eventually when all cups of tea were made they settled in the living room, Evelyn curled up on the sofa with Mary while Sherlock sat in the arm chair off to the side.
Sherlock was unable to tear his eyes away from her hands as she spoke. Evelyn was a fidgeter and her hands or fingers were always moving, especially when she was deep in conversation. This time, rather than being distracted by her movements, he was focused on one thing in particular. "You're still wearing it."
The two women stopped talking, turning to look at him, and Sherlock suddenly realised he said that out loud.
Evelyn looked confused for a moment, but followed his line of sight and glanced down at the plastic ring on her finger. "Oh yeah," she chuckled sheepishly. "It's cute."
Mary looked between them. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh. Sherlock won a ring out one those grab machines and let me have it." She flashed her hand in Mary's direction.
Mary smirked. "You won Evie an arcade ring? That's so sweet!"
"Well, no, it was all he got–"
"It wasn't exactly my–"
Sherlock and Eve locked eyes. They both knew Mary wouldn't let this go.
"It was sweet," Evelyn said softly. "I wear it all the time."
Sherlock felt his cheeks warm up and cleared his throat, shifting in his seat.
Mary grinned. "If John was here–" She stopped then,
frowning.
Sherlock gave her a look of sympathy.
Eve narrowed her eyes. "Right. What is going on? I thought you knew me better than to think I wouldn't notice the awkwardness and odd glances, it's driving me crazy that you all seem to think I can't handle what you're hiding," she sat forward, pointing at Sherlock. "You left the hospital while on deaths door to chase after something to do with this apparent case you have going on, after that John wouldn't come to visit at the hospital and he moved into his sisters. He's obviously pissed about something, and he's pissed at you, because if him and Mary just had a spat he'd no doubt move back into Baker Street... You know, don't you?" Eve glared at the pair in front of her. "You know who shot you? You were shot here," she pressed her fingers into the space just right of her sternum. "That means you saw the person but... I've been trying to put it together, you're obviously protecting them but I– I can't imagine..."
Sherlock watches Evelyn's eyebrows knit together as she hesitantly switches her scrutiny to Mary. He actually felt extremely proud, and wasn't the slightest bit embarrassed about the small smile on his face that expressed that. "Penny dropped."
"No way." She gasped.
Mary's face had dropped, immediately terrified. "I didn't know how to tell you–"
Evelyn jumped up, shaking her head. Sherlock rose with her, his arm stretched out as if she might run and he'd need to calm her down. "Evelyn, listen–"
"What the hell is going on?"
"I'll explain!" Mary squeaked. "Please give me the chance to explain, I can't lose someone else, please Evie, please."
Eve looked at Sherlock, eyes scanning over him. "You're not angry."
He shook his head.
"Why?"
"She saved my life."
In any other situation they might have laughed at the face she pulled. "She shot you."
"She phoned the ambulance. Without her doing that I'd be dead."
"Yeah, from her bullet."
Sherlock sighed heavily. "If you sit down, we'll tell you everything," he gave Mary a pointed look. "Everything. Isn't that right, Mary?"
Mary nod her head vigorously. "Everything, I swear."
With a lot of hesitation Eve did eventually sit down again, but was visibly uncomfortable. "Okay. I'm listening."
So, they told her everything. About Mary's past, about Magnussen, about the night Sherlock broke into his office, about getting shot... Everything up to this point.
Evelyn had plenty of questions.
"That was a lot," she said, sighing heavily and rubbing at her temple, she knew a migraine was coming after all of this. "I've known you for years. Why did you feel like you couldn't be honest with me about some of this? Do you not trust me?"
Oddly, it was Sherlock that replied without any hesitation.
"Of course I do. Implicitly."
Evelyn raised an eyebrow. Mary smirked, very obviously amused. Sherlock was visibly stunned by his own words.
"I was asking Mary, but it's nice to know you feel that way."
Sherlock cleared his throat. "No, of course you were." He nod awkwardly.
Mary looked back to Eve, a sad smile now in place. "I do trust you, but I wanted a fresh start, I didn't want to dwell on what kind of world I was in before. I wanted a normal life," she touched Eve's hand and breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't pull away. "I wanted friends, a family, a home."
"You have that, I promise." Evelyn smiled back at her best friend. "John will come around."
A tear slipped down Mary's face but she quickly wiped it away. "We'll see."
"Give it some time," Sherlock crossed his legs. "He'd be a fool to let this ruin what he's got."
Evelyn turns her head at him. "You proposed to Janine just to break into an office. You're on thin ice as well, buddy."
Mary laughed. "You don't even like Janine."
"That's not the point, it's not very nice to string someone along for your own gain. Dick move."
Sherlock shot his hands up. "Yes, I keep being told, I'm a bad man. It was convenient at the time but I'm starting to feel like it wasn't worth it. Anyway," he huffed. "She's out there spreading misinformation about me, I'm now going to be known as 'shag-a-lot-Holmes' for the foreseeable future. I didn't even touch her."
Evelyn flushed. "You didn't sleep with her?"
Sherlock frowned, offended. "I may be an arse but I wouldn't have intercourse with someone for a case! I'm not that low of a human."
"Oh."
Sherlock was looking at Eve strangely. "Does it make you feel better that I didn't have sex with her?"
She blinked. "Uh..."
Mary jumped in suddenly. "Sherlock, could you stick the kettle on again please? After all this talking I need another cuppa." He narrowed his eyes on her but she gazed back steadily, innocent as pie. "I'm five months pregnant. Please?"
With a roll of his eyes he walked out towards the kitchen.
Eve suddenly felt like she could breathe again. "Thanks." She mumbled to Mary.
"You're welcome, he'll probably drop it now." Mary rubbed Eve's shoulder comfortingly. "You okay?"
She looked frustrated with herself, releasing a breath that felt like she'd been holding it for months. "I think I have a bit of a crush on him."
Mary grinned. "I knew it!"
"Shhh!" Evelyn flailed her hands. "He's only in there."
"He's probably got his phone out while the kettle boils. He won't hear us. I knew there was something going on with you both–"
"No! No, there's nothing going on! I just... fancy him a bit," she thought for a moment. "It might just be because I'm certain if I surprised him I could physically overpower him, then he could outwit me immediately after. Power play or something?" Evelyn grimaced. "That was more than I meant to say."
Mary's face was a picture of concerned confusion. "Okay...?"
"Don't judge me."
"Trying not to."
"Nothing will come of it."
"Right, sure... sorry, I'm still processing how you think you could overpower him? Like, knock him to the ground?"
"Probably. If I surprised him."
"This is something you've thought about?" Evelyn was visibly uneasy for a moment, as if trying to come up with a good excuse, then Mary's face slowly became a delighted grin. "Ohhh! You've been thinking about sex!"
"Shut up."
"That's why you looked jealous when Janine was mentioned." Mary looked thoughtful for a moment. "I mean, that night in the pub at the end of last year, the way he flew out of his seat to defend you.. then insisting on walking you out, if it was any other bloke I'd have thought he was trying to come home with you, but it was Sherlock–"
"Exactly. He was just being nice."
Mary's eyes narrowed. "Sherlock doesn't do nice. I don't think he knew what he was doing, but the look on his face certainly didn't scream platonic."
"We're friends, the crush will pass. It's just attraction."
"Is it though? Just attraction? You like him, Evie, properly. You enjoy being around him, there's not many people that feel that way," Mary scoffed. "Even John can't stand him half the time."
"The crush will pass." Evelyn said firmly, making it clear this conversation was over.
Mary was sceptical, but shrugged. "If you say so."