The Adventures of Alice in 221b Baker Street
“You can’t stay with the - with Sherlock, sweetie,” Donovan said gently. The girl - Alice - pouted.
“Why not?” Alice turned her dark eyes to Sherlock. “I’ll be quiet. I won’t make a mess. Just feed me, I’ll be fine.” Sherlock rolled his eyes and began to turn away.
“You just can’t, sweetie,” Donovan said. “He’s no good with people, let alone little girls, and it would break all kinds of rules.” Donovan spoke in the slow, almost musical tone that adults often used with small children. “It’ll never happen.”
The Adventures of Alice in 221B Baker Street
Chapter 1: Going Home
“Sherlock, please tell me you aren’t doing this just to spite Sally.”
Sherlock stares out the window as he dutifully says “I’m not doing this just to spite Sally.” Alice thinks they may have forgotten that she is in the cab with them, but she doesn’t mind. It’s interesting to watch them. Sherlock is texting and John is staring at him.
“Do you actually mean it, or are you just saying so?” John demands. Sherlock doesn’t answer and John rubs at his forehead before smiling at Alice. It’s a strained, nervous smile.
John, who is apparently a doctor for real and not pretend like Daddy’s friends, is going to do a check up on her when they get to someplace called “Bart’s”. Alice doesn’t know if that’s a hospital, a friend’s house, or another glorified cage, but she thinks she can trust these men. They’re nothing like the other ones.
John doesn’t use the sweet-honey tone like Sally or Miss Molly or any of the other adults they come across. He tells her what tests he has to do, how he is going to do them, and why. At first, she thinks he is treating her like a little girl and tells him so. He doesn’t laugh at her or get angry or even point out that she is a little girl, at least compared to him. Instead, he explains mildly that when he was younger, he always wanted to know what the doctor was doing and why, because he found it interesting. That, and it helped him be less scared when he was at the doctor’s office. He looks away as he says it (liars look you in the eyes) and colors a bit, like he’s embarrassed. So Alice nods and listens to his clinical descriptions as he swabs the places where they hurt her, as he draws blood for his tests, as he looks at the bad places. He doesn’t make it sweet (because it isn’t) but he doesn’t make it hurt. He talks to her like she’s an adult, like an equal, even though she doesn’t understand everything he says, and that’s fine.
The nurse leaves with the samples and John tells Alice that she is very brave. She looks at his face and knows that he means it.
On to Chapter 2!
“Why not?” Alice turned her dark eyes to Sherlock. “I’ll be quiet. I won’t make a mess. Just feed me, I’ll be fine.” Sherlock rolled his eyes and began to turn away.
“You just can’t, sweetie,” Donovan said. “He’s no good with people, let alone little girls, and it would break all kinds of rules.” Donovan spoke in the slow, almost musical tone that adults often used with small children. “It’ll never happen.”
The Adventures of Alice in 221B Baker Street
Chapter 1: Going Home
“Sherlock, please tell me you aren’t doing this just to spite Sally.”
Sherlock stares out the window as he dutifully says “I’m not doing this just to spite Sally.” Alice thinks they may have forgotten that she is in the cab with them, but she doesn’t mind. It’s interesting to watch them. Sherlock is texting and John is staring at him.
“Do you actually mean it, or are you just saying so?” John demands. Sherlock doesn’t answer and John rubs at his forehead before smiling at Alice. It’s a strained, nervous smile.
John, who is apparently a doctor for real and not pretend like Daddy’s friends, is going to do a check up on her when they get to someplace called “Bart’s”. Alice doesn’t know if that’s a hospital, a friend’s house, or another glorified cage, but she thinks she can trust these men. They’re nothing like the other ones.
John doesn’t use the sweet-honey tone like Sally or Miss Molly or any of the other adults they come across. He tells her what tests he has to do, how he is going to do them, and why. At first, she thinks he is treating her like a little girl and tells him so. He doesn’t laugh at her or get angry or even point out that she is a little girl, at least compared to him. Instead, he explains mildly that when he was younger, he always wanted to know what the doctor was doing and why, because he found it interesting. That, and it helped him be less scared when he was at the doctor’s office. He looks away as he says it (liars look you in the eyes) and colors a bit, like he’s embarrassed. So Alice nods and listens to his clinical descriptions as he swabs the places where they hurt her, as he draws blood for his tests, as he looks at the bad places. He doesn’t make it sweet (because it isn’t) but he doesn’t make it hurt. He talks to her like she’s an adult, like an equal, even though she doesn’t understand everything he says, and that’s fine.
The nurse leaves with the samples and John tells Alice that she is very brave. She looks at his face and knows that he means it.
On to Chapter 2!