Perseverance (4/7)

[marysutherland]

BBC Sherlock

Rating 15 (swearing, implicit slash)

Summary: Greg has Mycroft's number, but what will it take to make him phone it?

This was inspired by Second Skin's Persuasion, and started off as a prequel and remix of that. It has ended up much, much longer...

Note: The chronology of Series 2 is notoriously dodgy. This fic assumes that Scandal takes

Comments

[maggie_conagher]

This half life Greg is living is so sad. He could be happy with Mycroft. Still, this marriage is so detailed and well written that it makes for compelling reading. I don't know if I've ever seen Greg's failed marriage so fully drawn.

It's interesting to see familiar cases from Greg's POV and to have an inside track on what Sherlock might be thinking or hiding.

I still really love this story.

[marysutherland]

I've had a lot of discussion with 2nd Skin over Greg's failing marriage, which has influenced several fics each of us has written or are writing (see e.g. her Bridge). I think it's quite hard to admit both that a marriage is over and that your own decisions may have played some part in it failing.

It's very interesting to realise how strange the events at the swimming pool look to an outsider; it's a case that abruptly disappears off Sherlock's radar, and several of my fics have explored outsiders' often inaccurate views of what might have caused that. There's more Greg POV of cases coming up in the rest of the sections.

[kalypso_v]

I like the evidence of Lestrade's canny handling of Sherlock in "Sometimes if you made enough stupid statements, Sherlock was prepared to tell you something, just to contradict you."

Not to mention Sally's logical and emotional analysis of Angie's movements, which highlight her strengths as a professional and a useful friend.

[marysutherland]

The extra twist is that Greg's using Sherlock's own technique of making statements that people want to contradict (as referred to in The Great Game). As will be demonstrated again later in the story, Greg is able to learn from Sherlock's methods. He can just never do it quickly and reliably enough to keep up with him.

As for Sally, I imagine her as someone who has sensible advice to give on anyone's relationships (except of course, her own).

[shadowturquoise]

I just found this story and read all 4 chapters in one go. I love how you have rounded out the characters and look forward to seeing where you go from here.

[marysutherland]

Glad you're enjoying the fic - I'll try and put the next chapter up tomorrow, but there are still a lot of complications to come.