A/N- Wow... I love how I start with a great idea and then I lose it halfway through a chapter XD anyway enjoy...
Not edited yet...
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Darcy's POV
Warm and cosy. I hadn't ever really felt warm and cosy since I'd started sleeping on the sofa at 221B. I hadn't ever really slept soundly since Sherlock found it enjoyable to shoot the walls at god knows what time.
I snuggled into my pillow as I roused from my deep sleep and tried to stretch out but couldn't, something was stopping me. Reluctantly I opened my eyes to see what it was to find an arm wrapped tightly around my waist.
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
I tried to wriggle free but it was no good. Scott then itched closer to me and breathed heavily on the back of my head, that was the last straw and I just forced my way out of his grip. Not caring one bit if he woke up.
With my hands on my hips I stood over him and raised my eyebrows as Scott woke with a grumble. "What-What time is it?" Was all he asked.
"Really?" I spoke sarcastically and crossed my arms.
Scott rubbed his eyes and sat up a little. "What? What happened?"
"Like you don't know." I said sternly and he looked back at me with a blank expression. I huffed and rolled my eyes. "Get out. I've got stuff to do today."
Scott didn't get up just rolled onto his back and put his hands behind his head. "How about we do something today? Me and you? We could go for a walk, hang out, have dinner-"
"Thanks but no thanks. I actually have a case to solve." I cut him off and pulled the quilt off him. "Now shift, I need to go eat."
Scott just managed to grab onto the last corner of the quilt. "Have breakfast with me." I tried to pull the quilt out of his hands firmly. "Come on, I hate being alone... I've barely had anyone to talk to."
I gave the quilt a sharp tug and Scott was dragged to my side of the bed, he almost fell off but instead hung over the side of the edge. "Get off my sheet!" I exclaimed and pulled at the quilt.
Scott slumped his head down in defeat and let go. "Fine." He spoke and the bed muffled his voice, with a huff he got up off the bed and I threw the quilt in a heap where he was previously laid.
"I still think I could offer some insight into this case." He argued as he stood at the foot of the bed with his hands on his hips and he looked utterly ridiculous in his striped pyjamas. "You know, tag along? I could probably pick up a whole lot more intel, more minds to process it all-"
I cut him off by picking up a pillow and hitting him with it harshly. "Out, go on. Get out."
Scott jumped toward the door as I continued to hit him on the arm with my pillow. "Seriously-! I could help! Ah! Alright, alright, I'm going!" He shouted and opened the door, taking a step outside. "Breakfast?" He asked again and I rolled my eyes before slamming the door in his face.
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed before heading over to my open suitcase on the floor, I hadn't bothered to properly unpack since we weren't going to be here long. Sifting through the limited amount of clothes I had time to pack and found my comfortable clothes, black jeans and a dark purple top.
Once changed, I checked out my door and found the corridor empty. I sighed in relief and made my way downstairs for breakfast, other guests were seated at tables and I spotted John sat at a table on his own. "Hello, John, sleep well?" I asked as I sat opposite him in the empty chair.
John merely glanced up from the newspaper he had next to his plate, then went back to reading and eating. "Charming." I stated and leant my elbows on the table in front of me.
"Morning, what can I get for you?" Gary came over and asked me, he had a note pad in his hand and I craned my neck to see Billy working away in the kitchen. It was then that I remembered this was a vegetarian restaurant and that John was reluctantly eating the vegetarian fry up on his plate.
I grimaced but then hid it and smiled at Gary. "Just some granola, then toast. Thanks, Gary." He quirked a smile and jotted down my order.
"Any tea?" He added as an after thought.
"Of course, thank you." I answered still smiling at him as he wrote it down and left. I immediately turned to John. "How's the Vegie breakfast?"
John glowered up at me and dropped his fork, it clattered to the plate and he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Not great but I put that down to not being vegetarian."
"Fair enough." I shrugged and sat back as Gary put a teapot and cup in front of me. Moments later he brought over a bowl on top of a plate with a bag of granola inside and toast in a toast rack. "Thanks." I raised my eyebrows at John. "I played it safe."
He glared at me again and folded up his newspaper then put it back down harshly on the table. "I need some air." With that he left the inn and me, I just sat sulking on my own as I poured my tea.
"Fancy sharing?" Scott asked and I jumped, almost spilling hot tea on my hand, he smirked as he sat in the now empty seat opposite me.
I slammed the teapot down on the table and glared at him as he grabbed a slice of toast from the rack. "I hate you." I stated and poured some milk in my tea, then on my granola that I'd emptied into the bowl.
"No you don't." He argued lightly as he picked up a knife and buttered his toast. "So, how much longer is this case gonna take, 'cause- I mean I like Devon but it's no London, right?"
I shrugged with a mouthful of granola. "I don't know, at the minute we have very little."
Scott nodded as he took a bit of toast. "How's Mr Holmes?"
"Haven't seen him." I answered before taking another spoonful of cereal. Mr Holmes. It almost made me laugh at how formal it sounded, if anything that was what everyone called Mycroft. Sherlock hated it.
Scott had already finished his first slice of toast and had grabbed another. "And Dr Watson, is it? How's he?"
"Same as always." I replied nonchalantly and finished up my granola. "Speaking of I should find him and catch up on the case." Scott went to stand as I did. "Please don't follow me."
He raised his hands in surrender and sat back down. "Fine. Have it your way. Don't come crying to me when you lot need help."
I rolled my eyes and grabbed my coat, then left him sat there as I tried my best to find John. But instead of stumbling across John I walked down a small road and bumped into Sherlock. "Oh, thank god, where have you been?" I asked him quite frantically as he carried on walking away from me.
"Okay, Darcy I'll just ignore you and wander off, shall I? Yeah, I think I will." I commented in a mocking tone and followed after him, walking past a cemetery. Sat on some steps was John, straight backed and looking in a notebook.
Sherlock diverted and walked straight towards the cemetery. "Oh, right, so we are going to see John, okay." I said and held open the gate to follow after Sherlock.
I watched as they looked awkwardly between one another as we approached John and stood in front of him. John put his notebook away and I frowned at why they were acting so weird.
"Have you two fallen out or something?" I asked with a frown on my face as I tried to figure them out. They both gave me a glare and I shrugged innocently. "Just asking."
Sherlock turned back to John. "Did you, er, get anywhere with that Morse code?"
"Oh, yeah." I said cheerily as I remembered.
John stepped down from the step he was sat on. "No." He answered firmly and started to walk away.
"U, M, Q, R, A, wasn't it?" Sherlock asked as John kept walking away quickly and we followed after him. "UMQRA." Sherlock said the letters all as one word.
I held back a laugh and put my hands in my coat pockets. John turned and glowered at me. "Nothing." He tried to assure us.
"It might be an acronym?" I suggested and tried to come up with what it might stand for. "U.M.Q-"
"Look." John stated angrily. "Forget it, you two. It's... I thought I was on to something. I wasn't." He was still walking away from us and it was that that confirmed they had argued about something.
Sherlock glanced back at me and I shrugged, "You sure, John?" I asked him.
"Yeah." John answered with a sense of finality.
"How about Louise Mortimer?" Sherlock then asked him and it was my turn to look confused. "Did you get anywhere with her?"
John shook his head, still faced away from us, and sighed, "No."
"Too bad." Sherlock stated and I frowned between them. "Did you get any information?"
I spluttered a laugh as John glanced over his shoulder at us. "You being funny now?" He asked with a slight harsh tone.
"Thought it might break the ice a bit." Sherlock answered and it was slightly out of character for him. It didn't break the ice, his little joke just made the atmosphere all the more awkward.
The fact that none of us had actually made it out of the cemetery yet despite John walking away from us for so long and us following was a mystery. "Funny doesn't suit you. I'd stick to ice." John quipped back harshly.
I sucked in a breath and took a step ahead of Sherlock. "John..." I tried to get him to stop and listen.
"It's fine." John assured us.
But Sherlock wasn't taking that for an answer. "No, wait. What happened last night..." My eyes widened and I looked up at him, what had happened? "... Something happened to me; something I've not really experienced before..."
"Yes, you said: fear. Sherlock Holmes got scared. You said." John retorted.
Oh, so that's what happened and not... well, something else. I was left behind thought as Sherlock marched up to John and turned him round to face us both.
"No-no-no, it was more than that, John." Sherlock explained. "It was doubt. Darcy and I felt doubt." He glanced down at me with a raised eyebrow and I nodded enthusiastically. "We've always been able to trust our senses, the evidence of our own eyes, until last night."
John frowned between us. "You two can't actually believe that you saw some kind of monster."
"No, we can't believe that." I told him firmly and took a breath. "But we did see it, so I suppose the question is: how?" I looked desperately at John for his answer.
John only nodded. "Yes. Yeah, right, good. So you've got something to go on, then? Good luck with that." He turned and started to walk away.
I widened my eyes at Sherlock who turned and called after John, "Listen, what I said before, John. I meant it."
There was a hint of emotion behind his words and it honestly surprised me, even though I knew it was faked a little bit. Just a little bit.
John stopped walking though and turned back around. I smiled up at Sherlock and then over at John. "I don't have friends." Sherlock bit his lip and I knew this was him being honest. "I've just got one."
As John seemed to take in Sherlock's words and nodded briefly. I frowned up at Sherlock and crossed my arms. "And what am I? Chopped liver?!" I exclaimed and Sherlock just gave me a pointed look. "What?" I shrugged and he shook his head.
"Right." John stated and started to walk away again.
I shared a look with Sherlock who immediately took off after John. Both of us started calling after him, "John? John!"
"You are amazing! You are fantastic!" Sherlock added in an enthusiastic shout.
I quirked an eyebrow up at Sherlock as we continued to follow after John. "Okay, that's taking it a bit far." I said lowly so John couldn't hear me.
"Yes, all right! You don't have to overdo it." John shouted over his shoulder as he didn't stop walking.
I raised my eyebrows at Sherlock. "Told you." He simply shook his head and ran, overtaking John and walking backwards in front of him. I rolled my eyes and caught up to walk at John's side.
"You've never been the most luminous of people, but as a conductor of light you are unbeatable." Sherlock attempted to compliment John further.
John just sighed, "Cheers..." But then he realised that what Sherlock was actually saying, "...what?"
I sniggered a laugh and smirked at John as Sherlock turned back around to walk in between us. I tried to look at his hands as he took out his notebook and started to write in it. "Some people who aren't geniuses-" He glanced down at me, "-and also some who are- have an amazing ability to stimulate it in others."
John gave him a disgusted look. "Hang on- you were saying sorry a minute ago. Don't spoil it. Go on: what have I-"
"We." I interrupted him smugly.
He glared at me as best he could. "-We done that's so bloody stimulating?"
Sherlock stopped walking as we reached the pub door, John and I stood opposite him as he showed us what he had written in his notebook. Just one word, one very familiar word.
HOUND
John frowned at me and then Sherlock. "Yeah, so?"
I had to admit I was a little stumped, I crossed my arms as I thought about the word and why it was so significant to why Sherlock took the case. That was the reason. It has to have been.
"Thanks to mainly Darcy, with assistance from you John, I realised what if it's not a word?" Sherlock mused and wrote again in his notebook. "What if it's individual letters?"
My eyes widened in realisation as Sherlock stopped writing and turned his notebook back around to show his amendments.
H.O.U.N.D.
"You think that it's an acronym? Just because John saw some letters that meant nothing?" I asked and thought it over. "It makes sense but it's a bit of a loose strand don't you think?"
Sherlock just put his notebook away and shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea if it's an acronym or not but..." He trailed off as he looked at the open door of the pub and must have spotted something inside.
"What?" I queered and followed where he was looking to see a familiar face stood at the bar.
Grey Hair. Grey Shirt and Trousers- Bad Combo. Heavily Suntanned. Sunglasses. Just Come Back From Abroad? Trying To Blend In Inconspicuously- Failing.
Sherlock immediately stormed into the pub and over to the bar. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Well, it's nice to see you too." Detective Inspector Lestrade greeted sarcastically. I put my hands in my pockets and raised my eyebrows at him. "I'm on holiday, would you believe?"
I glared up at him. "No, we wouldn't."
Lestrade took his glasses off as John approached the bar. "Hullo, John." He greeted and I rolled my eyes.
"Greg!" John said cheerily as he passed by us.
Lestrade looked between us all and explained, "I heard you lot were in the area. What are you up to? You after this Hound of Hell like on the telly?"
"What's it to you?" I asked suspiciously.
"I'm waiting for an explanation, Inspector. Why are you here?" Sherlock insisted sternly.
I crossed my arms and waited for his more truthful answer. "I told you: I'm on holiday." Lestrade said again pathetically.
"You've clearly just got back from your holidays." I argued and Lestrade raised an eyebrow. "Your suntan gave that away straight away." I explained harshly.
Lestrade just tried to look unperturbed. "Yeah, well I fancied another one."
"Oh, this is Mycroft, isn't it?" Sherlock got to the bottom of why Lestrade was more then likely here. He definitely wasn't on holiday as he kept insisting.
Lestrade then shook his head and turned to the bar, to get his pint, "No look-"
"Of course it is!" Sherlock argued loudly. "One mention of Baskerville and he sends my handler down to...to spy on me incognito. Is that why you're calling yourself Greg?"
I nodded pointedly at Lestrade who took a sip of his beer. John frowned at pointed at the Detective Inspector. "That's his name." He told us.
"Is it?" Sherlock and I both asked at the same time. I may have know Lestrade's first name, Greg, at some point but I probably deleted it. Irrelevant information.
Lestrade looked angrily at us. "Yes- if you'd ever bothered to find out. Look, I'm not your handler, either of you..." He turned to pick up his pint of beer again, "...and I don't just do what your Brother tells me, Sherlock."
"Really? Don't you? Huh, it's just that's all you really seem to do." I spoke condescendingly and smirked up at him.
Lestrade lowered his pint and pointed a finger at me. "You're on thin ice, Darcy. Thin ice, you hear?" He told me sternly.
"Why? What'd I do now?" I whined and threw my arms up in the air a little.
"Conversing with a known felon." He answered simply and my eyes widened as Sherlock and John glanced over at me.
I composed myself and pointed a finger at him instead. "Technically it's his father that's the known felon, so there."
"You think?" Lestrade said with raised eyebrows and took a sip of his beer smugly. I frowned at him and blinked rapidly, then decided to just shut up. At this point I knew that anything else I said would just deepen the hole I had already dug for myself.
I crossed my arms and pouted a little as nobody else said a word on the matter. John was the one to break the silence as he narrowed his eyes at Lestrade. "Actually, you could be just the man we want."
"Why?" Sherlock asked in disgust and I bit my lip angrily at John's suggestion.
John raised his eyebrows at us and started to rummage in his trouser pocket. "Well, I haven't been idle. I think I might have found something."
I frowned as he showed Sherlock what looked like a receipt of some kind and I leant closer to get a better look. "Here. Didn't know if it was relevant; starting to look like it might be." I tuned out whatever else John said and focused on the paper he was showing us.
Receipt- Sales Invoice John Took From the Spike on the Bar. Undershaw Meat Supplies. Lots of Meat Bought. Vegetarian Restaurant? Who or What is the Meat For? Perhaps a Dog They're Trying To Pass Off As THE Hound.
"Oh..." I nodded slowly as I realised what John was getting at.
"Nice scary inspector from Scotland Yard who can put in a few calls might come in very handy." He raised his eyebrows and turned to the bar, hitting a bell that was on top of it. "Shop!" He called to get their attention and I smiled as I knew this could be the end of the case if John was right.
Soon enough, after Lestrade had done his police business and ordered both Gary and Billy to stop working to answer some questions, we had sat them down at a table in a little nook somewhere in the inn. Lestrade was sat opposite them looking through some paperwork he materialised from somewhere.
Both Gary and Billy looked nervous as Sherlock, John and I stood behind Lestrade just watching. I frowned as Sherlock filled a cup with coffee and then I saw him put something in it then stir it before tapping the spoon on the rim of the cup in a somewhat flamboyant way.
Sherlock then walked over and offered the cup to John. "What's this?" He asked and looked down at the cup with a confused expression.
"Coffee. I made coffee." Sherlock stated as if it were obvious.
I gave him a pointed look. "You didn't make me coffee." Sherlock glared at me so I added, "You never make coffee."
"I just did." Sherlock shrugged and then turned back to John. "Don't you want it?"
John looked at Sherlock intensely. "You don't have to keep apologising." Sherlock looked away and at me with what first appeared as a hurt expression. John seemed to relent and take the cup and saucer. "Thanks."
Sherlock then smiled happily and I rolled my eyes. "Still doesn't get me coffee though, does it?" I spoke under my breath.
John took a sip of his coffee while I glowered at him out of jealousy. He grimaced and put the cup back on its saucer. "I don't take sugar..."
"I don't mind." I said and put my hand out for the cup but John just took a longer drink from his coffee as Sherlock's face contorted into one of hurt once again.
"These records go back nearly two months." Lestrade stated as he flicked through his paperwork.
John grimaced again from the taste of the coffee and put the cup down. "That's nice. That's good." He tried to convince us yet turned around and put the drink down on a table so he didn't have to drink it anymore.
"Is that when you had the idea, after the TV show went out?" Lestrade asked Billy and Gary as he properly started to interrogate them.
Billy stared across at Lestrade and stated, "It's me. It was me." He then turned to Gary. "I'm sorry, Gary- I couldn't help it." I rolled my eyes as he continued to make stuff up. "I had a bacon sandwich at Cal's wedding and one thing just led to another..."
Sherlock grinned widely and Lestrade looked away in disbelief. "Nice try." He commented and I held back a chuckle.
"Look, we were just trying to give things a bit of a boost, you know?" Gary explained finally, not that I approved. "A great big dog run wild up on the moor- it was heaven-sent. It was like us having out own Loch Ness Monster."
I shook my head at their utter stupidity and turned away to see Scott sat in the red armchair in the other side of the pub, a cup of coffee or tea in hand as he read a newspaper. I smirked as his hand lulled to one side as he intently read an article and he spilled some hot liquid in his lap.
Then I remembered what Lestrade had said about him being a 'known felon' and turned back to the interrogation. "Where do you keep it?" Lestrade asked them, speaking about the dog.
"There's an old mineshaft. It's not too far. It was alright there." Gary answered.
Sherlock frowned. "Was?"
Gary sighed and shook his head. "We couldn't control the bloody thing. It was vicious." I crossed my arms as he sighed again. "And then, a month ago, Billy took him to the vet and, er... you know."
"You mean, it's dead?" I stepped forward and asked harshly.
Gary jumped a little at my appearance and nodded. "Put down."
"Yeah. No choice. So it's over." Billy confirmed a little too confidently for my liking.
Gary looked straight at Lestrade, almost pleadingly. "It was just a joke, you know?"
"Yeah, hilarious." Lestrade commented sarcastically and stood up, looking angry. "You've nearly driven a man out of his mind." He then walked out of the room and the pub.
John was quick to follow him but I stayed behind as did Sherlock because he looked in John's coffee cup. "What have you done?" I asked suspiciously.
"I'll tell you later." He answered vaguely and made his way out the pub. I glanced back at Scott and shook my head, I'd deal with him at some point but not now.
As we left Lestrade and John were having a conversation outside the door. "...Asperger's?" Was the last word we caught of whatever John was saying.
Sherlock glowered at him and I did the same. Lestrade immediately changed the subject, "So, you believe him about having the dog destroyed?" He asked.
"No reason not to." Sherlock said and I nodded in agreement.
"Well, hopefully there's no harm done." Lestrade continued. "Not quite sure what I'd charge them with anyway. I'll have a word with the local Force." He nodded at us all. "Right, that's that, then. Catch you later. I'm enjoying this! It's nice to get London out of your lungs!"
I looked on as Lestrade walked away with a huge smile on his face and then both John and myself turned to Sherlock. "So that was their dog people saw out on the moor?" John asked him.
"Looks like it." Sherlock answered simply.
John looked between Sherlock and myself uneasily. "But that wasn't what you saw. That wasn't just an ordinary dog."
"No. It was awful." I said distantly. "It had these burning red eyes, it was glowing, John. It's whole body... glowing." I shuddered at the memory of what I had seen but then followed after Sherlock as he headed for the car park again.
"I've got a theory but I need to get back into Baskerville to test it." He told us as we wandered after him.
John frowned at me and I shrugged. "How? You can't pull off the ID trick again." John pointed out.
"Might not have to." Sherlock retorted as he took his phone out and hit one button.
I knew immediately who he was calling. "Do you seriously think Mycroft is just going to give you full access to Baskerville? Just like that?"
"That's the plan." Sherlock commented moving the phone away from his ear a little before speaking in fake tone of happiness, "Hello, brother dear. How are you?"
There was no way this was going to work and even if it did Major Barrymore wouldn't like it. What troubled me more was that Sherlock hadn't told either John or myself the plan and the was never good.
Never.
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Thoughts? So... Hounds of Baskerville is all I'm gonna say, so many parts that are good and some that are a bit meh so I try XD
I've been constantly thinking up ways to incorporate this into Series 4... I'm nowhere near it yet but it's such a good series I can't help it. >-<
Pleeeaaasssee vote and comment if you like this guys, I've been getting loads of votes through for the first instalment of this book series and it makes me so happy to get them through, honestly. Thanks so much ;)
-HBH xxxx
Disclaimer- I don't own any of the characters, except Darcy and Scott, or any lines from the show. Those rights belong to the BBC and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.