The Baker's Detective

| The Store and the Cake |

"I'm bored," he says, the moment he sees Lily's face. It's been four days since his last case, and even trying to figure out where Robert went after he stole the coronet or even what happened to Susan Cushing's ex-boyfriend (Ray? Ray.) wasn't enough. For once, he was no closer than the police. Lestrade even called to let him know the results of Michael's psych evaluation and that he pled guilty and went to a mental institution despite having no history of hallucinations or delusions. It was a break due to the stress and depression his divorce caused, they determined. What was Sherlock supposed to do with that? That wasn't his profession.

John had taken Rosie to the park and out for ice cream, and she had dragged him into her games and stories, which helped — but only slightly. The girl was creative, but her stories never made sense; he couldn't deduce anything about what would happen and what he was supposed to do because he wasn't sure she even knew when she started the story.

John didn't dare give Sherlock another pointless conundrum because Sherlock threatened him if he did. For nearly three whole days they never saw Lily, either. The brownies were gone, and there were two cookies left that Sherlock was going to eat if Rosie and John didn't hurry up and eat them first (despite the number of cookies he'd already had). Her dish she brought the brownies up on was in the sink, and this morning, when Sherlock finally got out of bed instead of dying of boredom in there, he found it and the cookie dish clean and drying on the drying rack. It was lunch time, and John and Rosie were eating. Sherlock had some of what John had made and then turned back to those dishes.

"I'm taking these downstairs," he said.

"That bored?" John asked.

"Yes."

He walked downstairs, wondering what in the world Lily was going to do to cure his boredom, because nothing will short of a murder. He'll give her the dishes, and hopefully she'll say she'll make more baked goods, and then he'll go back to being bored again. What was he going to say? Could he ask her to do something? — like go out and look for a body themselves, since Lestrade clearly wasn't.

But she just opened the door before he could think, like she knew he was there, and he says it. "I'm bored."

She laughs. "Me, too. I'm going to the grocery."

He thinks a moment, then sighs. Anything would be better than sitting in 221B, waiting for a case. "Can I go?"

"Sure." She smiles, then sees the dishes in his hands. "I'll just set these downstairs and then we can go."

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They get a taxi to the grocery, and it's a short ride. On the way, Sherlock laments his boredom, the lack of clues about Robert, and his boredom once again.

"It's been four days," Lily says, though she herself has been getting bored.

"I know," Sherlock agrees. "Far too long to go without a case. And the last one didn't end in a satisfying conclusion."

"How often do they?"

"I mean that John and I weren't even there for the confession. We never talked to Michael — we didn't need to."

"I see."

He sighs loudly as the taxi stops. Lily pays, then they get out, heading into the grocery store. Lily grabs a trolley and starts heading down aisles.