Prompting Part XXIV
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IMPORTANT! Spoilers for aired episodes are now being allowed on this area of the meme, without warning. If you do not want to encounter spoilers, please prompt at our Spoiler-Free Prompt Post.
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Prompts from this post can be filled on the Overflow Post
IMPORTANT! Spoilers for aired episodes are now being allowed on this area of the meme, without warning. If you do not want to encounter spoilers, please prompt at our Spoiler-Free Prompt Post.
( Read more... )
“His name is Rory. He’s a bullmastiff and he’s real big and strong.” Moira’s voice glowed with pride. “He likes me best. He sleeps in my room.”
“You must miss him,” John murmured, and she nodded.
“He’s just a baby. He’s not even two. Dierdre’s too little to walk him and Kieran lets him pull on lead. I should be home to look after him.”
“Hopefully you can go home in a few days.” It was clear that the girl was feeling more at ease in his presence, but he didn’t feel the time was right to bring up the issue of why she was in the hospital. “Is Rory named after Amy’s husband on Doctor Who?”
This time when she grinned it stayed on her face. “Yeah. It’s my favorite show. Kieran and Dad like it too but Dierdre doesn’t like it. I think she’s too little for it.”
“How old is your sister?”
“Six. Kieran’s nine like me. We’re twins. I’m the oldest.”By this point Moira looked more like an average child than a victim of a crime. Perhaps it was still too early to ask the big questions, but John was aware his time was limited. Her guard was clearly down.
“Do you know why you’re in hospital, Moira?” John tried to sound nonchalant, like he was only asking about the weather.
The smile melted off her face. “I got cut. Needed stitches.” She clutched the bear closer to her chest.
“Yes, I know you did. But how did you get cut?” He suspected at this point he wasn’t going to get any further than anyone else did.
“I dunno. Just happened. Don’t remember.” Moira broke eye contact and turned to stare at the floor.
“Did anyone cut you?” he persisted.
“No,” she responded in a whisper. “No one did anything. Nothing happened.”
While he thought it was certainly possible that she’d blocked out the whole experience and really had no idea who her abuser was, John thought it was more likely she knew exactly who it was and simply didn’t want to tell. He tried to imagine, without success, the sort of threat hanging over her head that made telling someone such an impossible task. Then he remembered that none of the victims had talked, and that was enough to turn his stomach to ice again. “All right. I just wanted to ask,” he gently said and left the room.
Waiting outside of the room were Mr. Aherne, his other two children, Lestrade, and Donovan. Both of the Yarders looked at him hopefully and their faces fell identically when he just shook his head. Mr. Aherne appeared to not have noticed this exchange and asked him anxiously: “Is my Moira all right? Did she tell you anything?”
“No,” John responded. “I talked to her a bit about other things but when I got around to asking she said no one hurt her. From the look on her face it was fairly apparent that she knew perfectly well who it was, and wasn’t going to say anything.”
He sighed. “Thank you anyway for trying, Dr. Watson. I’ll go in to see her now; it’s almost supper and I want us to eat together.” Mr. Aherne stepped into the room, the other two children following him, and the Yarders headed for the exit.
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“That’s unlikely. He told the doctor in the ED that as soon as he saw bloody underwear in the hamper he packed all three kids into a cab and headed for the hospital. If he was the perpetrator it’d be a bit odd if he drew attention to what was going on so publically,” Donovan said. “She’s from the same area as all the other victims, and they’ve only lived there a year. Moved from County Donegal. No family members to rule out; Mrs. Aherne died a few years ago and as he said they have no living relatives.”
“It’s been considered, John, and while it hasn’t been ruled out since there’s no one who she says has done it, but it’s not the working theory.” Lestrade seemed a bit choked up, and John remembered he had small children of his own. “Whoever did it, he’s clever.”
“If you’re all so stuck why don’t you just -“ The sentence was halfway out of John’s mouth before he even realized he was saying it.
“John, we all know Sherlock is very good at solving crimes, but he’s… harsh, you know that. I don’t think it would be best to have him confront a suffering child.” Lestrade gave him a sympathetic look. “You know that as well as anyone. If we wind up with some description, a name, anything that he could work with without talking to children, that would be different.”
John knew he was right, but he also had a nagging feeling that if there really was a dangerous predator on the loose with at least thirty victims NSY needed all the help they could get, Sherlock included. He’d never even seen Sherlock question a child before, so there was no past experience to rely on.
After that, an uncomfortable silence fell between the three of them, and they did not talk as they took the lift down to the ground floor and headed towards the exit. Donovan did tell him “Thank you anyway, John,” before they separated, and John was left only with his thoughts as he hailed a cab and headed home. It seemed like a very long ride.
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I hope to have more later today.
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If it's a long fic/fill that would be absolutely awesome!!!
thanks again :D can't wait to read more!!
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Hope to see more soon. :)
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