[COMPLETE] ??? ???? ?? ??? ??????「Sherlock」

005; Dinner With A Sociopath

I don't spend much time around her flat - S.H

Dinner? I'm ordering out. - S.H

Julia smiled softly to herself, reading his messages, feeling her face grow warm as he suggested that she come join him for a meal. Perhaps it had been rude to leave him at his flat and not return after changing. After all, he wanted her around for the case, did he not? Oh, this was foolish! The man had just dragged her down to a bloody morgue to examine the bodies of three dead children and she still felt compelled to assist him with this little riddle of a case. Maybe she was just as insane as Mr. Holmes was.

Is John still out?

Won't be back until later on
tomorrow, most likely. - S.H

That was right! John had been with Sarah all day. She wondered if he were going to be spending the night with her. This was a big step in their relationship, now wasn't it? She was proud of the older gentleman. Julia continued to chew upon her bottom lip until she had made a decision. It couldn't hurt to go visit the poor man. After all, he had nobody to really talk to this evening and his brain was practically screaming with ideas every time he merely looked at his wall full of pictures. Oh, but what if he tore into her for nearly being ill earlier? She ran her fingers over the glowing keypad. Taking a deep breath, she finally made the decision to accept his invitation. Julia could handle herself just fine, and if things got out of hand, she could always just go down to Speedy's or stroll around downtown for a while.

I'll be right down. Don't wait up for me,
I have to call Aunt Martha.

Grabbing her aunt's keys, she quickly unpinned her hair and gave it a quick primp before running her fingers down her skirt in an attempt to straighten herself out. Tonight couldn't go as badly as it had earlier that afternoon, right? Switching to the dial pad, Julia typed in the number to the hospital and his the receive button. The phone rang a few times before a nasally woman answered on the other end. "Yes, hello. I wish to be put through to room three-twelve, please," she requested as she traveled to the spare bedroom. She kept her voice low, as if Sherlock could hear her.

The line clicked. "Hello?" Martha Hudson's voice broke the silence.

"Auntie! How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm doing wonderfully, dove. Much better since I've last seen you," her aunt replied, her voice sounding as full and sweet as ever. Julia couldn't fight the huge smile that laced her lips. "Oh, Jewels, dear. You sound excited! What are you up to?"

"Oh," she began. What was she doing? What would she say if she told her the truth? "Just visiting with a friend... we're going to have dinner. He actually just asked me, that's why I'm calling--"

"Dinner? Ooh, I sure hope he's a handsome fellow."

Her face heated up, turning a shade of pink. She let out a laugh, trying to brush off what she had said as a joke. She couldn't possibly expect her to find a man that would be even remotely interested in her. Not when she had only been in London for a couple of weeks. "No, no, it's not like that auntie. A-Actually, it's just going to be me and Sherlock. John is out visiting with Sarah and he's alone. We're actually working on a case tonight."

Mrs. Martha Hudson audibly gasped on the other end, similarly to how a school girl would when just fed a line of juicy gossip. "A case? But you can hardly stand the sight of blood, dearie!"

"Well, Sherlock understands that now, I'm sure," she explained softly, nervously tucking some hair behind her ear. She felt her phone go off against her audit, the sound of her notification tone blaring momentarily within her brain. "We actually went down to Bartholomew's, and—"