Let The Shadows Win

People Poised To Strike

Rosie didn't come down for dinner, and so when John was properly dressed and fed he decided that it would be wise to go up and at least take her a cookie or something to cheer her up. Undoubtedly the child could not realize that the love between John and Sherlock was powerful, and she could not understand why it seemed to surpass all logic. She hated Sherlock enough to see his mistakes as condemning, as if with one little mishap he was going to be kicked out of the house for good. Obviously Rosie was jealous of the attention John gave Sherlock, and angry at the way they both disregarded her mother. Yet could she not see that Sherlock and John had been meant to be together, they were created as soulmates, they were created to be together for eternity! And eternity still had some road bumps along the way, it was just their job now to recover quickly and keep on going. Yet Rosie did not yet understand love and the power it had with which to allow people to forgive. And that would be something she learned with time, and with maturity. Yet that was a long way away, for she was too young yet to start kindergarten, and still she had the temper of John as a teenager! When John approached Rosie's room the door was shut and locked, yet thankfully John had anticipated this when they were moving in, and had placed the spare key on the doorframe above. He knocked gently, first, so as to announce his presence, yet Rosie made no indication that he was there.
"Rosie honey, it's Daddy. Do you want to open the door?" John asked quietly. There was some scuffling behind the door, as if she had approached it quickly, yet still the knob did not turn.
"You're not with him, are you?" Rosie wondered fearfully, her voice muffled through the door yet the fear still very obvious. She was legitimately afraid of Sherlock, and now John had to admit she had a good reason to be.
"No, Sherlock's downstairs." John assured quietly. He really hated how the two of them could not interact, yet he knew that with time would come mending. John wished that he might have a proper family, in which everyone loved each other, yet he knew that with Rosie's trouble and with Sherlock's instability, well it could very well be a while. Finally there was a click, and after a moment's hesitation the door knob turned just enough so as to signal that it was open. After that John heard scampering feet, as if Rosie was running back to her bed because she was too scared to greet John at the door. John pushed it open softly, walking inside to find Rosie now sitting on her bed, curled up in one of Mary's old bathrobes and looking quite comfortable yet quite afraid. To ease her mind, John closed the door behind him, and with the promise that they would not be interrupted Rosie seemed to settle in a little bit better to whatever conversation might follow.
"Hi Rosie." John muttered almost shamefully, for he knew that Rosie had witnessed his kissing Sherlock when he had promised to yell at him. Well of course he had yelled, it just didn't last long of course.
"Hi Daddy." Rosie managed. John sighed heavily, sitting on the edge of Rosie's bed while the girl crawled up to him, wrapping her little arms around his neck and frowning in the way that made it seem like she wanted something, almost like a pouting dog. "Daddy are you going to leave him?"
"No, no Rosie of course I'm not! You need to get it out of your head that Mr. Sherlock is leaving, because I love him, and I will never stop loving him." John growled, suddenly becoming angry with his daughter's presumptuous questions.
"You said that about Mommy." Rosie reminded him, to which John shook his head.
"I never did." He said flatly, to which he was positive. John knew that all the while he was dating and marrying Mary, he never once had it in his mind that she was his soulmate. Maybe when he was younger and when he had a massive and embarrassing crush on her did he think that she was the one perfect for him, yet with age and experience came the realization that it really was Sherlock all along. And when he married Mary, he still had thoughts and longings for Sherlock tucked away in his head and his heart, merely because he thought they were void from that point forward. He thought that Sherlock had been taken from him, and he told himself that it would simply be best to move on.
"He scared me today." Rosie said obviously.
"Well I heard you were giving him a rough time too! What's this about you pushing him down the stairs?" John asked sternly. Rosie slunk back in shame, shrugging her shoulders as if she really didn't have a valid reason for such actions.
"I thought that maybe if he couldn't walk he couldn't chase us when we left. I thought that you would leave with me and he wouldn't be able to follow." Rosie admitted finally.
"You could've hurt him very badly, Rosie. You're lucky he walked out alive!" John exclaimed.
"No I'm not! I wanted him to die, Daddy! That way you couldn't bring him back here!" Rosie insisted, crossing her arms across her chest and scowling. A flash of shock went down John's spine, for never would he have assumed his daughter capable of intentional murder. Well yes, that sort of attitude almost made her worthy of some time locked in the freezer.
"That's a terrible thing to say. You're being very selfish." John snapped.
"You're being selfish; you're keeping him around here when I hate him!" Rosie exclaimed.
"But you won't give him a try; you've kept your mind shut! Can't you see that he's a good man?" John insisted, trying to get his daughter to be reasonable yet knowing all the while that it really was a lost cause.
"He's not a good man! He's mean, and he's crazy." Rosie debated. John sighed heavily, understanding finally that he was wasted with mature talks. Rosie would never understand the sanctity of their relationship, and never would she understand the driving force that love provided. No, instead she would be as stubborn and unreasonable as ever.
"I already talked to Mr. Sherlock, and he promised me that he'll never put you in the freezer again. But I want you to promise me that you won't hurt him, or take advantage of his hurt leg in any way. It's not nice to make fun of someone's disability." John pointed out. Rosie sighed heavily; not looking convinced that this was a fair deal to make. It was obvious that she's spent all this time up in her room plotting another attempt on Sherlock's life. It was almost ironic, John had just been considering who might be the next murder mystery of their town...how odd would it be if that murderer was Rosie?
"Fine! I won't hurt him...so long as he doesn't hurt me." Rosie promised finally. John nodded, feeling as though that was a fair deal. He trusted Sherlock's word, yet at the moment he wasn't entirely sure what part of Sherlock he was conversing with. He certainly was different tonight, and whether that be because of sleep deprivation or something more serious, well John might never know.
"That's alright, Rosie. That's fair enough." John agreed finally. He knew that all other attempts at conversation might be wasted, and John of course knew enough not to try to imprint some more helpful, loving messages in Rosie's head. He knew that he could only beg her to appreciate Sherlock for so long, it was ultimately her decision whether to love him or not. Yet John wished they would at least try to cooperate, for at this point it seemed as though even Sherlock was being irrationally immature and close minded! It was almost as if he shared the same attitude as Rosie, living in a sense that the two of them could never coexist together, and that whatever wounds they create would never heal. And just as with Rosie, John almost knew that it was a lost cause with Sherlock. The two were very different in body, yet in soul they were virtually the same. They craved everlasting and unyielding affection, they wanted to be the one and only thing in John's life, and most importantly they stood with their stubborn heads high, as if they both believed that they were entitled to the whole of John's heart. It would be very complicated to bring the two together, yet it would have to be done if John ever had hopes of beginning a proper family in this house.