The Baker's Detective

| The Book and the Act |

Lily was having a slow morning, watching TV on the couch, when Sherlock knocked on her door. At first, she thought he was going to ask her to watch Rosie again, but she saw that Rosie wasn't with him — and neither was John. She remembered his injury just before Sherlock asked her to go to a crime scene with him.

She knew she would get sick and upset seeing a dead body — anybody would, really, except someone who was used to it. Even then, they might just have learned to hold the reactions at bay. But Lily had not; the only dead bodies she'd seen were at the few funerals she'd been to in her life, and it was entirely different from a murder victim. The mortician had done their job, there was no mess, no awful smell. It was still sad, but the sting of tragedy had been filed down as far as it could be.

It was not so with poor William Kirwan.

Sherlock needed her help, though, and she didn't want to tell him no. She had nothing to do that day anyway, so she decided to do what she could, thought maybe it'd be alright. It wasn't, but that Vick's vapor rub the officer had lent her had helped with the smell. The horror never really left unless she was distracted.

The officer with the vapor rub — his name was August — talked to her while Lily waited for Sherlock, and it helped her to calm down a bit. He asked about her name, where she from, stuff to distract her. He was called in the house, though, and Lily was left watching Sherlock and Lestrade standing over the body. The thought of it made her heart ache, made her wonder who he was leaving behind. She thought about how scared he must've been in his last moments, even before she'd heard Henry Cunningham's story.

But Sherlock was reassuring, and he was kind, and talking and joking with him a little really put it from her mind for a few moments. That was the best part of the day, really. And she felt like she'd helped a little bit, despite never saying a word while Sherlock was looking at the corpse.

In the week that follows, Lily doesn't do much but tend the garden, try to work on her new book, and make lemon bars towards the end of the week when Mrs. Hudson returns. She takes them to her, and Sherlock, John, and Rosie.

John's ankle is starting to get better, and he's up and moving around on his own. He can't run very well yet, but he thinks he might be able to join Sherlock in going back to the crime scene. Lily is in a state of hoping he does — since that would mean he'd be better and getting back to work — and hoping he doesn't — because, despite the blemish on her last excursion with Sherlock, she actually wants to go with him again. As long as there's no body, of course.

She probably won't, though, and she does her best to let go of that tiny disappointment and focus on other matters.

She's been talking with Liam often — at least twice a week so far, not including random texts — and he's brought the bakery up a couple times. Lily hasn't looked for a place for it yet, though, as her fund hasn't been fully replenished. The news of a new book in the works has got Liam off her back about it, and the addition of her story of the crime scene definitely takes his mind off it. He was a little concerned at first, but Lily told him enough about Sherlock that he isn't anymore. His fascination with forensics and true crime definitely helped her out on that one.

Her parents have called, too, trying to make plans to come up and see her new apartment. They're planning on staying in a hotel so they can traverse the city a bit by themselves, like a little holiday, and also because Lily doesn't have a spare room. Liam wants to come up with them, which has thrown a wrench in the scheduling due to his work. Uriah, Raven, and Elliot and Gabby all likewise want to see it at some point, though probably not all at the same time. Lily is certainly ready to welcome visitors, considering her clear schedule.

The one day she's planned to go out and do some shopping, though, there's a knock at the door.

Sherlock stands on the other side with a small smile. "Hello. Fancy another trip to Wintermere?"