The Consulting Detective's Apprentice (Sherlock x Reader)

Sherlock's P.O.V.

It had been two months, 5 days and four hours since Sherlock had unwrapped the paper around the portrait. Not that he was counting or anything.

A lot had changed in that time, yet nothing at all.

It was empty in Bakerstreet, quiet, you could say. Sherlock didn't have anyone to scream to, and he had become so focussed on the cases that he mostly kept to himself. Ms Hudson didn't come up to bother him anymore, she was trying to protest against her leaving by not talking to him again, but he didn't care.

He barely cared about anything, really, except for the cases. The cases had become his life again, but now worse then ever. It was like John had never come around, and like she had never taught him anything about people. He just wanted to solve cases, catch the murderers as quick as possible to go to the next one. Now he focussed even more on the cases because he knew what he was missing out on, the games you used to play and the talks you had weren't there to fill his periods of boredom.

John was around sometimes, but he was mad at Sherlock. He had declined to become his assistant again because he thought that it was ridiculous that Sherlock had send her away. Sherlock hadn't really told him what he had said to her, he was a bit ashamed of it.

He wasn't the only one who was unhappy with the way things turned out, Lestrade was also pretty pissed. He had asked Sherlock what had happened but he wouldn't answer, then Greg had asked her the same question, and the only thing she had said was 'It just didn't work out' with a sad smile.

He hadn't really been struggling, honestly, he had stopped it before he became co-dependent on someone. At least, that what he told himself. He did solve cases, he ate between them and slept too, but he didn't really talk to people anymore. He just lived, survived and went on, trying not to think too much about what he could be doing...

Today, he was excited. Lestrade had just phoned him that they needed him to be a main character in the next case, and he was just pumped. He had thrown on one of his suits and was rummaging through a pile of stuff to find his scarf. When he found it he held it in the air triumphantly, but as he looked at it he focussed on the painting that was standing in the corner of the room, it's front turned towards the wall so he didn't have to look at it.

He hadn't had the heart to throw it away, but he didn't want to stare at it either, so now it was just laying there. And it reminded him of her every time he looked at it. He didn't show it, or acknowledge it, but he missed her, he missed her a lot. But it was too late now.

Sherlock got to the police station and entered the conference room where everything about the case would be told. The room was filled with the regular group: some officers, the whole forensics team and the detectives. That meant She was there too, but it was okay, she always remained professional at work.

'Ah, let's get to it then, good morning everyone, we've got a new problem. There might be a chance, a big chance, that the Italian art collector Giovanni Imponente has stolen some of louvres biggest works.' Lestrade started off.

Louvre? Sounds French, don't know what it is. What kind of works has he stolen? Statues, paintings...? I could ask (Y/N).

He turned his head to the right to ask her, but she wasn't standing next to him anymore. Now she was sitting in the front row of the room next to Dave from forensics, Sherlock disliked Dave a lot. Just because.

'He's hosting a big event, and it will be our chance to investigate what's in his home, but we'll have to go undercover.' Lestrade went on, and some whispers rose up in the room.

'One of them has already been established by me, I want Sherlock on the team. He will be able to identify whether people are lying and what they are hiding on the spot. Okay?' He asked and Sherlock nodded curtly, wondering who his partner would be.