My fic: Sherlock Holmes (ACD): Gen
Dec. 25th, 2025 04:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stonepicnicking_okapi
Title: Between the Snowflakes
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: Gen
Length: 400
Characters: Holmes & Watson, OC
Summary: Holmes has a young client on Boxing Day.
The last thing I expected to find on Boxing Day was Holmes entertaining a young lady of no more than eleven years of age.
“This is not my brother, Miss Lucy. This is Doctor Watson. My brother will be around shortly. Doctor Watson, Miss Lucy Smith.”
“Good morning, my dear. Holmes, ought we to have…?”
My words were forestalled by a gesture from Holmes which led to the dawning that an ample tea had been provided.
“Miss Lucy has been the recipient of a Christmas card bestowed upon her by a young man who lives nearby and who has expressed his appreciation for Miss Lucy on more than one occasion.”
The child’s expression told me this appreciation was not returned.
“Miss Lucy noticed something rather singular about the card. Being a devoted if stealth consumer of your tales, she decided, quite rightly, to consult me on the matter.”
I expressed my sincere gratitude at so young and astute an admirer, but the child was alone. Where was her mother or father?
Holmes, naturally, read my mind.
“Before you say anything, Watson, I have sent a telegram to the child’s mother alerting her to Lucy’s whereabouts and wellbeing. Now, look, Watson. This is interesting. It’s obvious this card had been repurposed, but if you look among the snowflakes, you can discern, as Miss Lucy did, a neat little code, which, based on a preliminary analysis of the writing and ink and paper leads me to believe was added to the printed card.”
“By Jove!” I exclaimed when the symbols were pointed out to me. “You are a clever lass!” I cried, and the young lady smiled.
“So the boy appropriated a card sent to his family for his own purposes. Very well. But the story because much more interesting when we discover that the boy who gave her the card is the youngest son of Sir Percy Fledgling.”
My eyebrows rose. “In the Ministry of Defense?”
“Precisely. That is why I have called Mycroft and that is why I have given Mrs. Hudson funds to make certain we have enough comestibles to compensate my brother for deviating from his routine.”
My day of unusual sights was not over because before long I bore witness to Mycroft Holmes huffing a puffing with a tiny kitten under his arm.
“For you, my dear,” he said.
“So much better than a card!” cried Lucy.
no subject
Date: 2025-12-25 10:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-12-26 02:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-12-25 11:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-12-26 02:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-12-26 12:17 am (UTC)I guess it coming from Mycroft will help.
Clever and fun ficlet.