Brotherly Love

Confirmations and Sentiment

The days went by and it had been a little over a week, since John and Sherlock went to Ireland. I hadn't heard from either of them and I was starting to get a bit worried. Surely it couldn't be that hard to find out, what they wanted to know?

Mycroft hadn't come to visit again and neither had Molly, so I was spending most of my time with Regina. Unfortunately she wouldn't give me any information about Sherlock, even if I knew, that he was calling her everyday to check up on my progress. Every time I asked, she would just smile at me and change the subject. It was driving me mad, but I couldn't really fault her. Her loyalties clearly lay with Sherlock and not me and I had to begrudgingly accept, that she wasn't going to tell me anything. I briefly considered taking her phone and calling Sherlock myself, but I quickly dismissed that thought. Even if I succeeded, I didn't want to get on Regina's bad side. I had really come to like her over the last days and going behind her back like that, just didn't sit right with me. So I decided to play the waiting game, even if with every passing day the knot in my stomach got bigger and bigger.

Today Dr. Phillips was supposed to visit and take a look at my injuries. It had been almost a month since my.... Moriarty had tried to kill me and I was healing up nicely. The pain from my gunshot wound had lessened considerably and I my lungs were functioning a lot better too. I was able to walk for more than ten minutes at a time, before I had to take a break. All in all, I felt great. Or as great as the circumstances allowed.

So when I heard footsteps in the hallway, I expected Dr. Phillips to appear at the door, but to my surprise it was John.

"You're back!"

I shot out of my seat by the window and almost tackled him to the ground as I barreled into him and enveloped him in a tight hug. I heard the air rush out of his lung and then he chuckled, his arms coming around my smaller frame to pat me on the back.

"I missed you too, Alice."

A bit embarrassed over my reaction, I let go of him and smiled brightly.

"Sorry about that. I'm just glad you're back! It was a bit boring without you and Sherlock. By the way, where is our favourite detective?" I peeked over his shoulder into the hallway, but no one was there.

"Sherlock didn't come with me. We came back today and he wanted to talk to Mycroft first." The disappointment had to be evident on my face, because John shot me a knowing wink, making me blush.

"Don't worry, he will be here. And before you ask, I'm not allowed to tell you anything until he gets here, so you just have to wait." I groaned in annoyance, eliciting another chuckle from John.

"I have done nothing but wait, since you two left!" I realized that I was pouting like a moody three year old and grimaced. Shooting an apologetic smile at John, I walked over to the window and offered him the other chair to sit and talk, while we waited for Sherlock to arrive.

He asked me about my recovery and told me, that I looked a lot better than the last time he saw me.

"Thanks John, you know what a girl wants to hear." I replied in mock indignation. He got all flustered and tried to back-paddle, until he noticed me grinning at him.

"You're worse than Sherlock sometime, you know that?" He gave me a playful shove and I snorted.

"Somehow I don't believe that."

"Speaking of Sherlock, I have to ask you something." His tone was serious and I immediately sobered up, waiting for him to continue. He looked uncomfortable and wouldn't meet my eyes.

"So, I know it's not any of my business, but..." He trailed off, still not meeting my gaze and I grew impatient. My anger issues hadn't abated and my words sounded harsher than I meant them to.