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swissmargTitle: Cracks in the In-Between Places
Author:
swissmarg
Beta readers:
ruth0007, billiethepoet
Rating: PG-13
Relationship: John/Sherlock
Word count: ca. 93,500 when complete, this chapter 5,212 words
Summary: AU set in the universe ofnox_candida's Getting Better. John and Sherlock work together to flush out Mary's killers, and Tristram has to come to terms with what his father's new friend means for him. No series 3 spoilers (or series 1 or 2, for that matter).
See chapter one for the complete header with warnings, acknowledgments, disclaimers, and notes.
Chapter Three on AO3
Chapter Three
On Tuesday morning, Tristram's father informs him he'll be going to the Watsons' after school that afternoon. Tristram is so surprised he drops the butter knife. When was this arranged?
"Does Emily's father know?"
Tristram's father frowns in irritation. "Yes, of course he knows. Do you think I'd just send you to someone's house without discussing it with them beforehand?"
Tristram wisely doesn't answer that. Instead, he asks, "Is that what you were talking about with him after school yesterday?"
"No. He called me last night."
Tristram mulls this over as he retrieves the knife from the floor. Emily must have pestered her father to call. It makes him feel good to know that their friendship means so much to her. That's he's important. When he sits back up, he notices that his father has a light smile playing on his lips as he drinks his tea and looks at his newspaper.
"When are they coming to dinner?"
The smile disappears and his father rattles the newspaper impatiently. "By the end of the week, if all goes well."
When they arrive at school, Tristram's father waits until Emily and her father come.
"Tris, you're coming to my house after school!" Emily cries out as soon as she's within shouting distance.
"I know," he says with a big grin.
"I should be there to pick him up by eight," Tristram's father tells Doctor Watson. Tristram feels like his face is going to split from smiling so hard. That's almost five whole hours! The possibilities are endless.
"Should we save you some dinner?" Doctor Watson asks. He seems hopeful.
"No," Tristram's father answers with a glare. "I don't think I could stand to sit through Harry and Clara's inanities."
Doctor Watson grins. "I'll see what I can do."
Tristram's father looks suspicious, but turns to Tristram for a perfunctory good-bye. Doctor Watson hugs Emily and kisses her on the cheek.
"You two wait right here for me after school, all right?" he admonishes them. He says it kindly, but Tristram's stomach twists at the memory of what happened the last time. There is no way he would go with anyone else this time, not even Mrs Hudson. He nods solemnly.
Tristram's father nods too and says, "Until later, John," as he turns to leave, his phone already out and preparing to send a text.
Doctor Watson lays a hand on his arm. "Watch yourself," he says in a low voice.
Tristram's father frowns. "I always do. I'm not the one who-"
"Yes, all right," Doctor Watson says quickly and takes his hand away, glancing at the children. "Keep in touch at least."
His father nods again then walks away, his coat billowing out behind him.
&&&&&&
At lunch, Emily tells him she had fun with the lady yesterday.
"She had all sorts of games and toys. Board games and Legos and dolls and even ping-pong. She let me choose, so I picked the Geomag. I built a pretty good flux capacitor."
"That's all you did? Just build stuff?" Tristram doesn't really see how that's supposed to make Emily forget about what happened, unless the idea is to keep her busy doing other things so she doesn't have to think about it.
"Well, we talked too. She was pretty nice. I wasn't there very long."
"Did it help? Do you still ... remember?"
Emily shrugs. "I'm going to see her again next week."
"My dad says I can go, too," Tristram says shyly.
Emily brightens up. "Really? Together with me?"
"I don't know. Maybe." He had the impression that he'd be going on his own, like Emily did yesterday, but maybe he misunderstood.
"If you do, maybe we can play ping-pong!"
Tristram isn't enthusiastic about doing anything that requires physical coordination, but if Emily wants to, he's willing to give it a try. "Okay," he agrees, mustering a smile for her.
&&&&&&
It seems like afternoon classes drag on forever until the bell rings at three-fifteen, dismissing them for the day. Tristram stuffs everything he needs for his homework into his school bag and runs outside, his heavy bag thumping against his leg.
"Tris!" Emily waves at him frantically, jumping up and down so she can see him over the heads of the other children pouring out of the school gate.
"Are you ready?" she asks when he reaches her.
"Your dad isn't even here yet," he says, breathless from running, as he looks around. All he can see is blue uniforms as the other children stream past them.
"I know, let's go out to the kerb. Then we can see him coming." She starts to walk away from the gate.
Tristram hangs back. "He said to wait for him right here." Maybe she forgot.
Emily rolls her eyes, but comes back. "I'm not leaving. I just want to see if he's coming yet."
Tristram stands firm. He doesn't want to contradict her, but it's more important to do what Doctor Watson said. "I'm waiting here." He really hopes that Emily stays, too.
Emily sighs and says, "Fine." Tristram is glad. He wouldn't have known what to do if she'd walked away. They talk about what they want to do when they get to her house, and before they know it, Doctor Watson is there.
"Emily! How was school?" He pulls his daughter into a one-armed hug and kisses the top of her head. Tristram thinks he should be used to how much the Watsons hug and kiss each other by now, but it still makes him feel awkward and slightly embarrassed, and he doesn't know where to look.
"Fine," she answers. "We got our maths tests back. I got an eighty-five."
"Hey, that's great," Doctor Watson says happily. Tristram is surprised, because if he got an eighty-five on a maths test, his father would want to know why. But then Emily is a year ahead of him, so maybe the tests are much harder.
"How about you, Tris?" Doctor Watson asks him.
"It was fine," he answers politely.
Doctor Watson waits a moment to see if Tristram has anything to add, but he doesn't, so he nods and smiles at him. "That's good. Those boys not giving you any more trouble?"
Tristram shakes his head. After Doctor Watson gave Sebastian and his friends a talking-to, they never bothered him and Emily directly any more, although they still whispered and snickered about them from across the school yard or the lunch room. But since Friday Afternoon, even that has stopped.
"Good," Doctor Watson says, satisfied. "Let's go then. I have something for both of you, but I want to wait until we're home so I can explain it to you."
Tristram is burning with curiosity. Things that need explanations are usually interesting. He doesn't think it would be polite to question Doctor Watson any further, but Emily has no such compunctions and pesters and whinges at her father all the way to the Tube station.
Tristram didn't realise that Emily came to school by Tube, but now that he thinks about it, it makes sense. Since she and her father always arrive on foot, he knows they don't come by car. She lives twenty minutes away from his house by taxi, and it's a twenty-minute walk from Tristram's house to the school (only five minutes by car, as he knows from those rare occasions when Uncle Mycroft's assistant has picked him up and dropped him at home), so even though their school is between their houses, she'd have to walk - he quickly does the sum - she'd have to walk for over an hour to get to the school from her house. That seems excessive to do twice every day, especially as Doctor Watson needed a cane to get around until Friday Afternoon. (Tristram hasn't thought about it much, but now he wonders how exactly his leg got fixed. He has the impression that his father had something to do with it.)
Tristram doesn't often travel by Tube; when he goes out with Mrs Hudson, they usually walk or take the bus, since most of the shops she frequents are local. And his father almost always travels by cab, at least when Tristram's with him. So the Underground, in its novelty, is exciting.
The automatic turnstiles scare him a little; he's afraid he'll get caught. But it's a thrilling kind of scared. He knows nothing bad will really happen. The wind that blows out of the tunnel just before the train comes is exciting too, like a harbinger of adventure. He knows what harbinger means, of course, because it's his middle name.
It's only three stops and then they pop out topside, a short distance away from Emily's aunts' house. This is the first time he's been here in the daytime, and also the first time he's walked through the neighbourhood, rather than just going up the walk from the cab to the house. There are fewer shops than where he lives, and there more single houses, like the one where Emily lives, as opposed to blocks of flats. Other than that, though, the buildings and cars look pretty much the same.
Emily's aunts aren't home when they get there. Emily tells him they're at work and don't usually get home until shortly before dinner. It's strange to be there without his father. But he feels safe, and after they wash their hands, Doctor Watson gives them fruit and crackers and milk in the kitchen.
Emily begs him to show them the surprise, so he tells them to finish up their snack while he goes to get it. Tristram takes one more cracker, then rinses it down with the last of his milk and puts his dishes in the sink.
When Doctor Watson comes back, his hands are empty, but he has a playful grin on his face.
"Now we're going to play a guessing game," he says. "I'll give you three clues, and whoever guesses what the surprise is can have it first. But don't worry," he adds. "You're both getting exactly the same thing."
"Is it candy?" Emily asks.
Doctor Watson laughs. "No, it isn't candy, and it isn't anything to eat."
"Is it a magician's kit?" she asks.
"No, now let me give you the clues or we'll be all afternoon while you go through your entire Christmas wish list. Right. First clue: I have both of your surprises in my pockets."
"Candy!" Emily exclaims.
Doctor Watson laughs. "I already told you it's not candy."
Tristram doesn't say anything. Whatever it is must be relatively small - and something that Doctor Watson thinks they will like - but that still leaves countless possibilities. He's learned from his father not to jump to conclusions. He looks at Doctor Watson. He's wearing a jumper, so Tristram can't see if his shirt has any pockets. He doesn't think Doctor Watson would have put anything in there, underneath his jumper, anyway. And he said their surprises were in his pockets, plural, so probably his trouser pockets. The question is, front or back? He's wearing dark blue jeans with a loose fit, so it's hard to tell if there's anything in the front pockets. He could probably see the outline of something in the back pockets, unless it's paper, but he doesn't know if it's against the rules to ask Doctor Watson to turn around. Just then, he catches Doctor Watson's fingers twitch once where they are hanging at his sides, just grazing the outside of the front pockets of his trousers. Tristram smiles to himself. Probably not paper, then, because it would get crumpled in the front pockets.
"Tickets to the circus?" Emily guesses. Tristram is impressed; it looks like she was thinking along the same lines as him, but didn't take quite enough time to reason things out as far as he did.
"Good guess, but no," her father answers. "Tris, do you want to take a guess?"
Tristram shakes his head. There are still too many possibilities.
"You don't need to worry about being wrong," Doctor Watson assures him. "It's just a game. Anything?"
Tristram can see that Doctor Watson is a bit disappointed because it seems like he's not playing along. He is – in fact, he's quite keen on this game – but Doctor Watson said there would be three clues, and it would be premature to make a guess now.
"I need more data," he tells Doctor Watson. He's quite serious, but Doctor Watson laughs.
"Of course you do. Second clue then: it's something for you to use in an emergency."
That narrows it down somewhat. Of course, 'emergency' is rather broad. It could be a twenty-pound note to get a cab home in case they get lost, or a Swiss army knife, which could be useful in any number of situations, or even some of those charcoal pills to take in case of poisoning.
"A whistle?" Emily ventures.
"That's a very good guess," Doctor Watson says. "But still not right. Tris?"
Tristram shakes his head again. The spectrum is still too broad.
Doctor Watson gives Tristram a knowing smile. "All right, I know, more data. Third clue: Sherlock and I can also use it to know where you are."
Emily screws up her face and looks at Tristram. "Huh?" Then she brightens again and holds up a finger. "Oh! Is it like Tris's uncle can watch him through the cameras on the street?"
"Not exactly," Doctor Watson says.
Tristram thinks hard. His first idea is a tracking device, but the second clue said that he and Emily could also use whatever it is, and there's not really any way for the person carrying the tracking device to 'use' it. You just let it sit in your pocket, or shoe, or wherever. What is something that he could use in an emergency (for the sake of argument, any emergency, not just poisoning or getting lost) and that would let his father know where he was? His thoughts veer back to Friday Afternoon. He tries to push the images away, but one scene dangles itself in front of him, demanding his attention: in the car, Emily nicked her aunt's phone for him to text his father and tell him where they were going. Yes. He gets a tingly feeling, like something in his brain has slotted into place. He wonders if this is how his father feels when he solves something.
"Tris?" Doctor Watson prompts. "It doesn't matter if you're wrong. Just guess any old thing."
"A mobile phone with a GPS tracker in it," he blurts out.
Doctor Watson's face freezes for a moment, and Tristram is afraid he's said something unforgivably stupid. But then it breaks into just about the broadest grin Tristram's ever seen, and he laughs almost as hard as he did when he told the story about the artillery shell to Tristram's father. Tristram smiles now, too, because he knows he's right.
"Christ, should have known," Doctor Watson says when he's able to speak again. "Tris, that was amazing."
Tristram feels a burst of pride, because that's one of the things Doctor Watson said to his father when he was telling them about some of the cases he'd solved. Only he'd said it softer, and it sounded like it meant more than just the words. Now, he says it in a jolly way, and it means exactly that: Tristram has done something amazing. Tristram can't stop grinning. He can't wait until his father comes so he can tell him.
"Yes, that's exactly what it is," Doctor Watson says. "Here." He reaches into one of his pockets and holds out a blue phone to Tristram.
"Let me see!" Emily leaps forward. "I get one too, you said."
"This one's for Tristram, he guessed right."
Tristram reaches out and takes the phone. It's smaller and rounder than the flat, sleek black and silver phones that adults have. The case is a burnished metallic blue, and the display is larger than the keypad. In fact, there are only four keys arranged around a cross-shaped directional pad. The keys are numbered 1, 2, and 3, and the fourth key has a telephone receiver symbol on it, probably for starting and ending calls. Tristram wonders how he's supposed to dial with only three numbers. But still. A phone! He bets not even Sebastian has his own phone.
"Cool," Emily says from where she's hanging over his shoulder.
"Come on, let's sit down and I'll show you how it works." Doctor Watson goes to the kitchen table and takes an identical phone out of his other pocket. "This one's yours, Ems, but I'm going to use it to show both of you how to use them. You can have it in a minute," he says in response to her pout.
It turns out the three numbered keys are quick-call buttons for three phone numbers. Tristram's phone has his father's, Uncle Mycroft's, and Doctor Watson's numbers programmed in. Emily's has her father's and those of her two aunts.
"Can I change the third one?" Emily asks. "I don't need both Aunt Clara and Aunt Harry."
"This isn't for chatting with your friends," her father reminds her. "It's to reach a trusted adult in an emergency."
"I thought..." She looks at Tristram hesitantly. "Could I have Tris's dad in there? It's only fair, if he's got you." She seems to be asking Tristram's permission, so Tristram shrugs and nods. It doesn't matter to him one way or the other. In fact, he's pretty happy to hear that she trusts and likes his father so much. He'd worried earlier that she would find him odd or off-putting, the way so many people seem to – and especially as Father and Doctor Watson got off to such a rocky start - but she's been nothing but enthusiastic and interested in him from the start.
Doctor Watson looks at Emily with a weird kind of half smile on his face. "I'll have to make sure that's all right with Sherlock," he says finally, "but I think that's probably a good idea. Who do you want to leave in then, Harry or Clara?"
"Aunt Clara," Emily says decisively. "She doesn't get all silly like Aunt Harry, you know-" She rolls her eyes around and lets her tongue loll out of her mouth and rocks back and forth on her chair.
Tristram giggles because Emily does look very silly. He can't imagine her Aunt Harry acting like that, but then he's only seen her twice.
Doctor Watson doesn't seem to think it's funny, though. He frowns and fiddles with the controls on the phone and says, "That's not nice, Emily."
Emily stops, but giggles back at Tristram.
Doctor Watson hands Emily her phone. "All right, you can have it now. I've taken Harry out, but left the third number blank. We can fill it in when Sherlock comes tonight, if he says it's okay."
"Can I try to call you now?" Emily asks eagerly.
"Sure," her father says, getting out his own phone. "That's a good idea, let's make sure you know how to use it."
Emily goes through the steps he showed her, then holds the phone to her ear. "It's ringing, why isn't your-" she says, but just then, Doctor Watson's phone buzzes.
"Hello?" he answers, as if he didn't have any idea who was calling.
"Daddy, can you hear me? It's Emily," she says gleefully.
"Yep, I can hear you fine. Can you hear me?"
"Yes, it works!"
"Is anything wrong?" he asks.
"No, it's great! We're sitting in the kitchen trying out our new phones."
"Okay, then you shouldn't be calling me, right?" He winks to let her know he's not really scolding her. Because of course he told her to call him. "Only call me if something's wrong."
"Okay," she says, grumbling a bit. "Bye, Dad!"
"Bye, Ems." He turns to Tristram. "Okay, your turn."
"Should I call my father?" Tristram's excited to try, because his father really is somewhere else and it would be an actual phone call, not just pretend.
But Doctor Watson says, "Better not. He's working on something pretty important and we don't really need to call him. But you've got me in there under number three. Go ahead and try me."
Tristram tries not to be disappointed, because of course Doctor Watson's right. Real emergencies only. He pushes number three, and Doctor Watson answers. They just make sure that they can hear each other fine, and then hang up.
After that, Doctor Watson explains about the GPS tracker, which will send a signal as long as the phone is turned on. He also goes through some scenarios with them of when it would be appropriate to use the phone: if the adult who's supposed to pick them up from school doesn't show up, if they get hurt while they're home alone - only something big, not just like a stubbed toe - and of course if someone they don't know tries to make them go with them. In that case, Doctor Watson says it's probably best if they don't even take the phone out of their pocket, but just push the call button and any one of the numbers. When their trusted adult answers and doesn't hear Tristram or Emily speak, they'll know something is very wrong and go to the internet site where they can track the phone.
So of course it's very important that they keep the phone on them at all times, not in their school bag or jacket, because if there were a fire alarm or something, it would get left behind. They are not to show their phones to anyone or take them out and play with them. All in all, the whole thing is scarier and less fun than it seemed at first. Because if Doctor Watson and his father are giving them these phones (and Tristram is certain this is something that his father knows all about already), then they must think there is a good chance that something like Friday Afternoon will happen again.
But if it's going to happen, Tristram is glad he's better prepared now. He knows not to go blindly with anyone, even if he knows them, unless his father has specifically told him beforehand that it's all right. And he knows how to call for help with the press of a single button. He fingers his phone in his pocket, memorising the position of each button, so he's sure to press the right ones without looking when the time comes.
Doctor Watson makes them fetch their school bags next and do their homework there at the kitchen table, while he tidies up from their snack and starts getting things ready for dinner. Tristram's done with his homework before Emily is, so he reads ahead in his science textbook, because it has some interesting things about photosynthesis later on.
Finally, finally, after Doctor Watson has checked both of their homework and Emily's redone her spelling, he says they can go play. Tristram wants to play Snap, but Emily wants to play 'Emergency'. Tristram agrees to play Emergency first, because he really does like the feel of his phone in his hand.
First, Tristram pretends he falls and twists his ankle on the way to school and has to call his father, played by Emily. He doesn't really push the buttons on his phone, of course, but he already knows by feel which ones to use. Emily comes and picks him up and drags him to 'school', which they get into a bit of an argument over, because if he were really hurt, his father would either take him home or to the doctor, not school.
Then he pretends he's Doctor Watson, and Emily pretends someone's trying to drag her into a car. She screams really loud, and Tristram actually gets scared because she sounds just like she did in the warehouse when he was tied up and she was trying to get to him.
"Okay, I pushed the button for my father," she tells him in her normal voice, with her hand in her pocket, because of course she's not supposed to take her phone out. Tristram's hands are shaking and he can't remember what he's supposed to do if he can't talk to her.
"Go get on the computer and track me," she tells him impatiently, then resumes resisting her imaginary kidnapper.
Tristram looks around for something to use as a computer, but before he can move, Doctor Watson appears at the door. His eyes are wide and he looks like knives and danger. Tristram freezes. He doesn't ever want that look directed at him.
"What's going on?" he asks.
"We're just playing," Emily says, but she sounds uncertain.
Doctor Watson relaxes a bit. "I heard you screaming bloody murder."
"We were playing Emergency."
"Well don't," he says in clipped tones. "I told you those phones were not for games. If you can't leave them be, then I'll collect them for now."
"We weren't actually using them, we were just pretending," Emily insists. Tristram runs his fingers over the phone in his pocket. Upper left for Father, upper right for Uncle Mycroft, lower left for Doctor Watson, lower right to complete the call.
"Pretend a little less realistically," he says, looking like his normal, calm self again.
"Okay," Emily says, and Tristram nods.
After he leaves, they get out a pack of cards and play Snap until their hands sting and they're laughing so much they make more mistakes than matches. They agree to call it a draw, and go rummage in the recycling bin for parts for their time machine.
They have frozen pizzas for dinner. Emily's aunts are quieter than the last two times Tristram saw them. He supposes they're tired from working all day, or maybe they don't have anyone to giggle about without Tristram's father there. All of the adults drink wine with their dinner, and when the bottle's empty, Aunt Harry gets up to fetch some more. Doctor Watson and Aunt Clara give each other a look and Doctor Watson presses his lips together, but all he says is that Emily and Tristram should finish up and take their dishes to the kitchen.
They do, but before they go back into the dining room, Emily stops at the door and indicates that Tristram should be quiet. She wants to hear what the adults are saying. Tristram shakes his head. He doesn't want to get in trouble, especially not with Doctor Watson, but she stomps her foot, glares at him, puts her finger to her lips and cracks the door open.
"This is going too far, John," Emily's Aunt Clara is saying in a low, serious voice.
"You're the ones who encouraged me to get involved," Doctor Watson hisses.
"To get a leg over, not to play Black Ops," Aunt Harry snipes.
"Look, we're already involved, whether we like it or not. Claire made sure of that."
"And we can get out again. Break it off. No man's worth your family's life."
"You're out of line, Harry," Doctor Watson says, and a shiver runs down Tristram's spine at the threat in his voice. "We're not even-"
"Are you actually doing the washing up in there?" Aunt Clara's voice sings out, loudly.
The other adults fall silent. Emily rolls her eyes and Tristram tenses up; now they're going to be caught. Father's told him time and again not to eavesdrop. It's not any better that Emily was the one who suggested it.
The door opens and Doctor Watson looks down at them, then sighs and rubs his hand down his face. "Go up to your room and ... find something to do until Sherlock comes," he says tiredly. When he takes his hand away, there are lines all over his face, but he's smiling, even if it's a small smile."Can you do that? And no playing Emergency either. I don't think your aunts could handle it right now." Tristram didn't expect that to be Doctor Watson's reaction. He hasn't even said anything about them listening in when they shouldn't have. Maybe he doesn't know they heard anything.
"Sure, Dad," Emily says. She ducks under his arm to go back into the dining room, but he scoops her up and cradles her, as if she were a baby, even though her legs hang down way past his arms. Tristram expects her to squirm and try to get away because she's too big for that, but instead she kind of melts down against him and puts her arms around his neck. He leans in to nuzzle her face. "I love you, Ems," he says quietly.
She mumbles something back, probably that she loves him too.
Tristram has a knot in his stomach. He clenches his hands at his sides. He wants to run his fingers over the buttons of his phone, but he's afraid Emily's father will think he's playing with it. Doctor Watson looks over Emily's head at Tristram. Tristram drops his eyes to the floor.
"Jesus," Doctor Watson whispers. Then he says, steadily, "Tris, come here."
He kneels down, still holding Emily. She twists around to see. Tristram hesitates, but shuffles forward until he's standing right next to the two of them. Doctor Watson's eyes are sad, but he's smiling. He puts one hand on Tristram's arm and squeezes it gently.
"You know you're a good kid, right, Tris? A great kid. The best."
Tristram doesn't know what that's supposed to mean. He tries to be good, and he thinks he mostly succeeds. It's not like he does mean things to other kids. He's good at some things, like keeping his room and his desk tidy and remembering to brush his teeth, and he's probably the best in his class at reading, but he's not great at sports or group work or making his father laugh - not like Doctor Watson is. But he doesn't think Doctor Watson really wants an answer. He's trying to tell Tristram something, not get answers out of him.
"Your dad loves you. More than anything," Doctor Watson says. His eyes are so blue and earnest that Tristram believes him for a second. He knows his father cares about what happens to him, and he's probably the most important person in his father's life. But secretly, he knows that his father loves his work better. He loves solving mysteries and being smarter than the police and teasing meaning out of tobacco ash and flakes of nail polish. He knows he can't say that, though, because that's the kind of thing that people other than him and his father and Uncle Mycroft don't understand.
Doctor Watson squeezes his arm again, his hand warm and solid through Tristram's shirt.
"Like you love me," Emily says happily and smiles at her father.
"Like I love you," Doctor Watson says. He gives her one last snuggle that turns into a tickle, and then she rolls out of his arms and squirms around on the floor, squealing with delight while his fingers chase her.
No, Tristram thinks, watching them. Not like that.
&&&&&&
Go to chapter four
Author:
Beta readers:
ruth0007, billiethepoetRating: PG-13
Relationship: John/Sherlock
Word count: ca. 93,500 when complete, this chapter 5,212 words
Summary: AU set in the universe of
nox_candida's Getting Better. John and Sherlock work together to flush out Mary's killers, and Tristram has to come to terms with what his father's new friend means for him. No series 3 spoilers (or series 1 or 2, for that matter).See chapter one for the complete header with warnings, acknowledgments, disclaimers, and notes.
Chapter Three on AO3
Chapter Three
On Tuesday morning, Tristram's father informs him he'll be going to the Watsons' after school that afternoon. Tristram is so surprised he drops the butter knife. When was this arranged?
"Does Emily's father know?"
Tristram's father frowns in irritation. "Yes, of course he knows. Do you think I'd just send you to someone's house without discussing it with them beforehand?"
Tristram wisely doesn't answer that. Instead, he asks, "Is that what you were talking about with him after school yesterday?"
"No. He called me last night."
Tristram mulls this over as he retrieves the knife from the floor. Emily must have pestered her father to call. It makes him feel good to know that their friendship means so much to her. That's he's important. When he sits back up, he notices that his father has a light smile playing on his lips as he drinks his tea and looks at his newspaper.
"When are they coming to dinner?"
The smile disappears and his father rattles the newspaper impatiently. "By the end of the week, if all goes well."
When they arrive at school, Tristram's father waits until Emily and her father come.
"Tris, you're coming to my house after school!" Emily cries out as soon as she's within shouting distance.
"I know," he says with a big grin.
"I should be there to pick him up by eight," Tristram's father tells Doctor Watson. Tristram feels like his face is going to split from smiling so hard. That's almost five whole hours! The possibilities are endless.
"Should we save you some dinner?" Doctor Watson asks. He seems hopeful.
"No," Tristram's father answers with a glare. "I don't think I could stand to sit through Harry and Clara's inanities."
Doctor Watson grins. "I'll see what I can do."
Tristram's father looks suspicious, but turns to Tristram for a perfunctory good-bye. Doctor Watson hugs Emily and kisses her on the cheek.
"You two wait right here for me after school, all right?" he admonishes them. He says it kindly, but Tristram's stomach twists at the memory of what happened the last time. There is no way he would go with anyone else this time, not even Mrs Hudson. He nods solemnly.
Tristram's father nods too and says, "Until later, John," as he turns to leave, his phone already out and preparing to send a text.
Doctor Watson lays a hand on his arm. "Watch yourself," he says in a low voice.
Tristram's father frowns. "I always do. I'm not the one who-"
"Yes, all right," Doctor Watson says quickly and takes his hand away, glancing at the children. "Keep in touch at least."
His father nods again then walks away, his coat billowing out behind him.
&&&&&&
At lunch, Emily tells him she had fun with the lady yesterday.
"She had all sorts of games and toys. Board games and Legos and dolls and even ping-pong. She let me choose, so I picked the Geomag. I built a pretty good flux capacitor."
"That's all you did? Just build stuff?" Tristram doesn't really see how that's supposed to make Emily forget about what happened, unless the idea is to keep her busy doing other things so she doesn't have to think about it.
"Well, we talked too. She was pretty nice. I wasn't there very long."
"Did it help? Do you still ... remember?"
Emily shrugs. "I'm going to see her again next week."
"My dad says I can go, too," Tristram says shyly.
Emily brightens up. "Really? Together with me?"
"I don't know. Maybe." He had the impression that he'd be going on his own, like Emily did yesterday, but maybe he misunderstood.
"If you do, maybe we can play ping-pong!"
Tristram isn't enthusiastic about doing anything that requires physical coordination, but if Emily wants to, he's willing to give it a try. "Okay," he agrees, mustering a smile for her.
&&&&&&
It seems like afternoon classes drag on forever until the bell rings at three-fifteen, dismissing them for the day. Tristram stuffs everything he needs for his homework into his school bag and runs outside, his heavy bag thumping against his leg.
"Tris!" Emily waves at him frantically, jumping up and down so she can see him over the heads of the other children pouring out of the school gate.
"Are you ready?" she asks when he reaches her.
"Your dad isn't even here yet," he says, breathless from running, as he looks around. All he can see is blue uniforms as the other children stream past them.
"I know, let's go out to the kerb. Then we can see him coming." She starts to walk away from the gate.
Tristram hangs back. "He said to wait for him right here." Maybe she forgot.
Emily rolls her eyes, but comes back. "I'm not leaving. I just want to see if he's coming yet."
Tristram stands firm. He doesn't want to contradict her, but it's more important to do what Doctor Watson said. "I'm waiting here." He really hopes that Emily stays, too.
Emily sighs and says, "Fine." Tristram is glad. He wouldn't have known what to do if she'd walked away. They talk about what they want to do when they get to her house, and before they know it, Doctor Watson is there.
"Emily! How was school?" He pulls his daughter into a one-armed hug and kisses the top of her head. Tristram thinks he should be used to how much the Watsons hug and kiss each other by now, but it still makes him feel awkward and slightly embarrassed, and he doesn't know where to look.
"Fine," she answers. "We got our maths tests back. I got an eighty-five."
"Hey, that's great," Doctor Watson says happily. Tristram is surprised, because if he got an eighty-five on a maths test, his father would want to know why. But then Emily is a year ahead of him, so maybe the tests are much harder.
"How about you, Tris?" Doctor Watson asks him.
"It was fine," he answers politely.
Doctor Watson waits a moment to see if Tristram has anything to add, but he doesn't, so he nods and smiles at him. "That's good. Those boys not giving you any more trouble?"
Tristram shakes his head. After Doctor Watson gave Sebastian and his friends a talking-to, they never bothered him and Emily directly any more, although they still whispered and snickered about them from across the school yard or the lunch room. But since Friday Afternoon, even that has stopped.
"Good," Doctor Watson says, satisfied. "Let's go then. I have something for both of you, but I want to wait until we're home so I can explain it to you."
Tristram is burning with curiosity. Things that need explanations are usually interesting. He doesn't think it would be polite to question Doctor Watson any further, but Emily has no such compunctions and pesters and whinges at her father all the way to the Tube station.
Tristram didn't realise that Emily came to school by Tube, but now that he thinks about it, it makes sense. Since she and her father always arrive on foot, he knows they don't come by car. She lives twenty minutes away from his house by taxi, and it's a twenty-minute walk from Tristram's house to the school (only five minutes by car, as he knows from those rare occasions when Uncle Mycroft's assistant has picked him up and dropped him at home), so even though their school is between their houses, she'd have to walk - he quickly does the sum - she'd have to walk for over an hour to get to the school from her house. That seems excessive to do twice every day, especially as Doctor Watson needed a cane to get around until Friday Afternoon. (Tristram hasn't thought about it much, but now he wonders how exactly his leg got fixed. He has the impression that his father had something to do with it.)
Tristram doesn't often travel by Tube; when he goes out with Mrs Hudson, they usually walk or take the bus, since most of the shops she frequents are local. And his father almost always travels by cab, at least when Tristram's with him. So the Underground, in its novelty, is exciting.
The automatic turnstiles scare him a little; he's afraid he'll get caught. But it's a thrilling kind of scared. He knows nothing bad will really happen. The wind that blows out of the tunnel just before the train comes is exciting too, like a harbinger of adventure. He knows what harbinger means, of course, because it's his middle name.
It's only three stops and then they pop out topside, a short distance away from Emily's aunts' house. This is the first time he's been here in the daytime, and also the first time he's walked through the neighbourhood, rather than just going up the walk from the cab to the house. There are fewer shops than where he lives, and there more single houses, like the one where Emily lives, as opposed to blocks of flats. Other than that, though, the buildings and cars look pretty much the same.
Emily's aunts aren't home when they get there. Emily tells him they're at work and don't usually get home until shortly before dinner. It's strange to be there without his father. But he feels safe, and after they wash their hands, Doctor Watson gives them fruit and crackers and milk in the kitchen.
Emily begs him to show them the surprise, so he tells them to finish up their snack while he goes to get it. Tristram takes one more cracker, then rinses it down with the last of his milk and puts his dishes in the sink.
When Doctor Watson comes back, his hands are empty, but he has a playful grin on his face.
"Now we're going to play a guessing game," he says. "I'll give you three clues, and whoever guesses what the surprise is can have it first. But don't worry," he adds. "You're both getting exactly the same thing."
"Is it candy?" Emily asks.
Doctor Watson laughs. "No, it isn't candy, and it isn't anything to eat."
"Is it a magician's kit?" she asks.
"No, now let me give you the clues or we'll be all afternoon while you go through your entire Christmas wish list. Right. First clue: I have both of your surprises in my pockets."
"Candy!" Emily exclaims.
Doctor Watson laughs. "I already told you it's not candy."
Tristram doesn't say anything. Whatever it is must be relatively small - and something that Doctor Watson thinks they will like - but that still leaves countless possibilities. He's learned from his father not to jump to conclusions. He looks at Doctor Watson. He's wearing a jumper, so Tristram can't see if his shirt has any pockets. He doesn't think Doctor Watson would have put anything in there, underneath his jumper, anyway. And he said their surprises were in his pockets, plural, so probably his trouser pockets. The question is, front or back? He's wearing dark blue jeans with a loose fit, so it's hard to tell if there's anything in the front pockets. He could probably see the outline of something in the back pockets, unless it's paper, but he doesn't know if it's against the rules to ask Doctor Watson to turn around. Just then, he catches Doctor Watson's fingers twitch once where they are hanging at his sides, just grazing the outside of the front pockets of his trousers. Tristram smiles to himself. Probably not paper, then, because it would get crumpled in the front pockets.
"Tickets to the circus?" Emily guesses. Tristram is impressed; it looks like she was thinking along the same lines as him, but didn't take quite enough time to reason things out as far as he did.
"Good guess, but no," her father answers. "Tris, do you want to take a guess?"
Tristram shakes his head. There are still too many possibilities.
"You don't need to worry about being wrong," Doctor Watson assures him. "It's just a game. Anything?"
Tristram can see that Doctor Watson is a bit disappointed because it seems like he's not playing along. He is – in fact, he's quite keen on this game – but Doctor Watson said there would be three clues, and it would be premature to make a guess now.
"I need more data," he tells Doctor Watson. He's quite serious, but Doctor Watson laughs.
"Of course you do. Second clue then: it's something for you to use in an emergency."
That narrows it down somewhat. Of course, 'emergency' is rather broad. It could be a twenty-pound note to get a cab home in case they get lost, or a Swiss army knife, which could be useful in any number of situations, or even some of those charcoal pills to take in case of poisoning.
"A whistle?" Emily ventures.
"That's a very good guess," Doctor Watson says. "But still not right. Tris?"
Tristram shakes his head again. The spectrum is still too broad.
Doctor Watson gives Tristram a knowing smile. "All right, I know, more data. Third clue: Sherlock and I can also use it to know where you are."
Emily screws up her face and looks at Tristram. "Huh?" Then she brightens again and holds up a finger. "Oh! Is it like Tris's uncle can watch him through the cameras on the street?"
"Not exactly," Doctor Watson says.
Tristram thinks hard. His first idea is a tracking device, but the second clue said that he and Emily could also use whatever it is, and there's not really any way for the person carrying the tracking device to 'use' it. You just let it sit in your pocket, or shoe, or wherever. What is something that he could use in an emergency (for the sake of argument, any emergency, not just poisoning or getting lost) and that would let his father know where he was? His thoughts veer back to Friday Afternoon. He tries to push the images away, but one scene dangles itself in front of him, demanding his attention: in the car, Emily nicked her aunt's phone for him to text his father and tell him where they were going. Yes. He gets a tingly feeling, like something in his brain has slotted into place. He wonders if this is how his father feels when he solves something.
"Tris?" Doctor Watson prompts. "It doesn't matter if you're wrong. Just guess any old thing."
"A mobile phone with a GPS tracker in it," he blurts out.
Doctor Watson's face freezes for a moment, and Tristram is afraid he's said something unforgivably stupid. But then it breaks into just about the broadest grin Tristram's ever seen, and he laughs almost as hard as he did when he told the story about the artillery shell to Tristram's father. Tristram smiles now, too, because he knows he's right.
"Christ, should have known," Doctor Watson says when he's able to speak again. "Tris, that was amazing."
Tristram feels a burst of pride, because that's one of the things Doctor Watson said to his father when he was telling them about some of the cases he'd solved. Only he'd said it softer, and it sounded like it meant more than just the words. Now, he says it in a jolly way, and it means exactly that: Tristram has done something amazing. Tristram can't stop grinning. He can't wait until his father comes so he can tell him.
"Yes, that's exactly what it is," Doctor Watson says. "Here." He reaches into one of his pockets and holds out a blue phone to Tristram.
"Let me see!" Emily leaps forward. "I get one too, you said."
"This one's for Tristram, he guessed right."
Tristram reaches out and takes the phone. It's smaller and rounder than the flat, sleek black and silver phones that adults have. The case is a burnished metallic blue, and the display is larger than the keypad. In fact, there are only four keys arranged around a cross-shaped directional pad. The keys are numbered 1, 2, and 3, and the fourth key has a telephone receiver symbol on it, probably for starting and ending calls. Tristram wonders how he's supposed to dial with only three numbers. But still. A phone! He bets not even Sebastian has his own phone.
"Cool," Emily says from where she's hanging over his shoulder.
"Come on, let's sit down and I'll show you how it works." Doctor Watson goes to the kitchen table and takes an identical phone out of his other pocket. "This one's yours, Ems, but I'm going to use it to show both of you how to use them. You can have it in a minute," he says in response to her pout.
It turns out the three numbered keys are quick-call buttons for three phone numbers. Tristram's phone has his father's, Uncle Mycroft's, and Doctor Watson's numbers programmed in. Emily's has her father's and those of her two aunts.
"Can I change the third one?" Emily asks. "I don't need both Aunt Clara and Aunt Harry."
"This isn't for chatting with your friends," her father reminds her. "It's to reach a trusted adult in an emergency."
"I thought..." She looks at Tristram hesitantly. "Could I have Tris's dad in there? It's only fair, if he's got you." She seems to be asking Tristram's permission, so Tristram shrugs and nods. It doesn't matter to him one way or the other. In fact, he's pretty happy to hear that she trusts and likes his father so much. He'd worried earlier that she would find him odd or off-putting, the way so many people seem to – and especially as Father and Doctor Watson got off to such a rocky start - but she's been nothing but enthusiastic and interested in him from the start.
Doctor Watson looks at Emily with a weird kind of half smile on his face. "I'll have to make sure that's all right with Sherlock," he says finally, "but I think that's probably a good idea. Who do you want to leave in then, Harry or Clara?"
"Aunt Clara," Emily says decisively. "She doesn't get all silly like Aunt Harry, you know-" She rolls her eyes around and lets her tongue loll out of her mouth and rocks back and forth on her chair.
Tristram giggles because Emily does look very silly. He can't imagine her Aunt Harry acting like that, but then he's only seen her twice.
Doctor Watson doesn't seem to think it's funny, though. He frowns and fiddles with the controls on the phone and says, "That's not nice, Emily."
Emily stops, but giggles back at Tristram.
Doctor Watson hands Emily her phone. "All right, you can have it now. I've taken Harry out, but left the third number blank. We can fill it in when Sherlock comes tonight, if he says it's okay."
"Can I try to call you now?" Emily asks eagerly.
"Sure," her father says, getting out his own phone. "That's a good idea, let's make sure you know how to use it."
Emily goes through the steps he showed her, then holds the phone to her ear. "It's ringing, why isn't your-" she says, but just then, Doctor Watson's phone buzzes.
"Hello?" he answers, as if he didn't have any idea who was calling.
"Daddy, can you hear me? It's Emily," she says gleefully.
"Yep, I can hear you fine. Can you hear me?"
"Yes, it works!"
"Is anything wrong?" he asks.
"No, it's great! We're sitting in the kitchen trying out our new phones."
"Okay, then you shouldn't be calling me, right?" He winks to let her know he's not really scolding her. Because of course he told her to call him. "Only call me if something's wrong."
"Okay," she says, grumbling a bit. "Bye, Dad!"
"Bye, Ems." He turns to Tristram. "Okay, your turn."
"Should I call my father?" Tristram's excited to try, because his father really is somewhere else and it would be an actual phone call, not just pretend.
But Doctor Watson says, "Better not. He's working on something pretty important and we don't really need to call him. But you've got me in there under number three. Go ahead and try me."
Tristram tries not to be disappointed, because of course Doctor Watson's right. Real emergencies only. He pushes number three, and Doctor Watson answers. They just make sure that they can hear each other fine, and then hang up.
After that, Doctor Watson explains about the GPS tracker, which will send a signal as long as the phone is turned on. He also goes through some scenarios with them of when it would be appropriate to use the phone: if the adult who's supposed to pick them up from school doesn't show up, if they get hurt while they're home alone - only something big, not just like a stubbed toe - and of course if someone they don't know tries to make them go with them. In that case, Doctor Watson says it's probably best if they don't even take the phone out of their pocket, but just push the call button and any one of the numbers. When their trusted adult answers and doesn't hear Tristram or Emily speak, they'll know something is very wrong and go to the internet site where they can track the phone.
So of course it's very important that they keep the phone on them at all times, not in their school bag or jacket, because if there were a fire alarm or something, it would get left behind. They are not to show their phones to anyone or take them out and play with them. All in all, the whole thing is scarier and less fun than it seemed at first. Because if Doctor Watson and his father are giving them these phones (and Tristram is certain this is something that his father knows all about already), then they must think there is a good chance that something like Friday Afternoon will happen again.
But if it's going to happen, Tristram is glad he's better prepared now. He knows not to go blindly with anyone, even if he knows them, unless his father has specifically told him beforehand that it's all right. And he knows how to call for help with the press of a single button. He fingers his phone in his pocket, memorising the position of each button, so he's sure to press the right ones without looking when the time comes.
Doctor Watson makes them fetch their school bags next and do their homework there at the kitchen table, while he tidies up from their snack and starts getting things ready for dinner. Tristram's done with his homework before Emily is, so he reads ahead in his science textbook, because it has some interesting things about photosynthesis later on.
Finally, finally, after Doctor Watson has checked both of their homework and Emily's redone her spelling, he says they can go play. Tristram wants to play Snap, but Emily wants to play 'Emergency'. Tristram agrees to play Emergency first, because he really does like the feel of his phone in his hand.
First, Tristram pretends he falls and twists his ankle on the way to school and has to call his father, played by Emily. He doesn't really push the buttons on his phone, of course, but he already knows by feel which ones to use. Emily comes and picks him up and drags him to 'school', which they get into a bit of an argument over, because if he were really hurt, his father would either take him home or to the doctor, not school.
Then he pretends he's Doctor Watson, and Emily pretends someone's trying to drag her into a car. She screams really loud, and Tristram actually gets scared because she sounds just like she did in the warehouse when he was tied up and she was trying to get to him.
"Okay, I pushed the button for my father," she tells him in her normal voice, with her hand in her pocket, because of course she's not supposed to take her phone out. Tristram's hands are shaking and he can't remember what he's supposed to do if he can't talk to her.
"Go get on the computer and track me," she tells him impatiently, then resumes resisting her imaginary kidnapper.
Tristram looks around for something to use as a computer, but before he can move, Doctor Watson appears at the door. His eyes are wide and he looks like knives and danger. Tristram freezes. He doesn't ever want that look directed at him.
"What's going on?" he asks.
"We're just playing," Emily says, but she sounds uncertain.
Doctor Watson relaxes a bit. "I heard you screaming bloody murder."
"We were playing Emergency."
"Well don't," he says in clipped tones. "I told you those phones were not for games. If you can't leave them be, then I'll collect them for now."
"We weren't actually using them, we were just pretending," Emily insists. Tristram runs his fingers over the phone in his pocket. Upper left for Father, upper right for Uncle Mycroft, lower left for Doctor Watson, lower right to complete the call.
"Pretend a little less realistically," he says, looking like his normal, calm self again.
"Okay," Emily says, and Tristram nods.
After he leaves, they get out a pack of cards and play Snap until their hands sting and they're laughing so much they make more mistakes than matches. They agree to call it a draw, and go rummage in the recycling bin for parts for their time machine.
They have frozen pizzas for dinner. Emily's aunts are quieter than the last two times Tristram saw them. He supposes they're tired from working all day, or maybe they don't have anyone to giggle about without Tristram's father there. All of the adults drink wine with their dinner, and when the bottle's empty, Aunt Harry gets up to fetch some more. Doctor Watson and Aunt Clara give each other a look and Doctor Watson presses his lips together, but all he says is that Emily and Tristram should finish up and take their dishes to the kitchen.
They do, but before they go back into the dining room, Emily stops at the door and indicates that Tristram should be quiet. She wants to hear what the adults are saying. Tristram shakes his head. He doesn't want to get in trouble, especially not with Doctor Watson, but she stomps her foot, glares at him, puts her finger to her lips and cracks the door open.
"This is going too far, John," Emily's Aunt Clara is saying in a low, serious voice.
"You're the ones who encouraged me to get involved," Doctor Watson hisses.
"To get a leg over, not to play Black Ops," Aunt Harry snipes.
"Look, we're already involved, whether we like it or not. Claire made sure of that."
"And we can get out again. Break it off. No man's worth your family's life."
"You're out of line, Harry," Doctor Watson says, and a shiver runs down Tristram's spine at the threat in his voice. "We're not even-"
"Are you actually doing the washing up in there?" Aunt Clara's voice sings out, loudly.
The other adults fall silent. Emily rolls her eyes and Tristram tenses up; now they're going to be caught. Father's told him time and again not to eavesdrop. It's not any better that Emily was the one who suggested it.
The door opens and Doctor Watson looks down at them, then sighs and rubs his hand down his face. "Go up to your room and ... find something to do until Sherlock comes," he says tiredly. When he takes his hand away, there are lines all over his face, but he's smiling, even if it's a small smile."Can you do that? And no playing Emergency either. I don't think your aunts could handle it right now." Tristram didn't expect that to be Doctor Watson's reaction. He hasn't even said anything about them listening in when they shouldn't have. Maybe he doesn't know they heard anything.
"Sure, Dad," Emily says. She ducks under his arm to go back into the dining room, but he scoops her up and cradles her, as if she were a baby, even though her legs hang down way past his arms. Tristram expects her to squirm and try to get away because she's too big for that, but instead she kind of melts down against him and puts her arms around his neck. He leans in to nuzzle her face. "I love you, Ems," he says quietly.
She mumbles something back, probably that she loves him too.
Tristram has a knot in his stomach. He clenches his hands at his sides. He wants to run his fingers over the buttons of his phone, but he's afraid Emily's father will think he's playing with it. Doctor Watson looks over Emily's head at Tristram. Tristram drops his eyes to the floor.
"Jesus," Doctor Watson whispers. Then he says, steadily, "Tris, come here."
He kneels down, still holding Emily. She twists around to see. Tristram hesitates, but shuffles forward until he's standing right next to the two of them. Doctor Watson's eyes are sad, but he's smiling. He puts one hand on Tristram's arm and squeezes it gently.
"You know you're a good kid, right, Tris? A great kid. The best."
Tristram doesn't know what that's supposed to mean. He tries to be good, and he thinks he mostly succeeds. It's not like he does mean things to other kids. He's good at some things, like keeping his room and his desk tidy and remembering to brush his teeth, and he's probably the best in his class at reading, but he's not great at sports or group work or making his father laugh - not like Doctor Watson is. But he doesn't think Doctor Watson really wants an answer. He's trying to tell Tristram something, not get answers out of him.
"Your dad loves you. More than anything," Doctor Watson says. His eyes are so blue and earnest that Tristram believes him for a second. He knows his father cares about what happens to him, and he's probably the most important person in his father's life. But secretly, he knows that his father loves his work better. He loves solving mysteries and being smarter than the police and teasing meaning out of tobacco ash and flakes of nail polish. He knows he can't say that, though, because that's the kind of thing that people other than him and his father and Uncle Mycroft don't understand.
Doctor Watson squeezes his arm again, his hand warm and solid through Tristram's shirt.
"Like you love me," Emily says happily and smiles at her father.
"Like I love you," Doctor Watson says. He gives her one last snuggle that turns into a tickle, and then she rolls out of his arms and squirms around on the floor, squealing with delight while his fingers chase her.
No, Tristram thinks, watching them. Not like that.
Go to chapter four
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no subject
Date: 2014-01-31 12:03 pm (UTC)Other than that, this was great! I totally loved Tristram's deduction about the mobile phones with the GPS tracker. :DDD And John's alarm when they were playing Emergency - even if I was a bit saddened by how John's reactions are always different from what Tristram expects. Sherlock has a lot to learn!! But I was very glad that John defended Sherlock against the aunts. :)
Thank you!!! Really enjoyed this (except for the heart-breaking!).
btw, how do you imagine Tristram and Emily to look like? Do you have young actors in mind for them or do you just follow Nox Candida's descriptions?
no subject
Date: 2014-01-31 02:23 pm (UTC)I don't have actors in mind for Tristram and Emily. I imagine Tristram as a rather slender boy with big eyes, pale skin, and a solemn face and unruly dark curly hair. Emily is a bit stouter - not overweight, just solid - with a healthy glowing complexion, an easy smile that can quickly turn to an intense scowl should she be provoked, and shoulder-length dark blonde hair. In my mind's eye anyway. I don't think I ever really describe them anywhere. Is that how they are described in nox_candida's story? I hope so!
no subject
Date: 2014-01-31 03:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-31 06:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-02-05 02:16 pm (UTC)Oh dear! But I think that really reinforces the difference in their upbringing. However, I think Tristram is so used to his father and his ways that he really doesn’t take any of this too much to heart (at least I hope not).
The phones are a brilliant idea; and Tris is so serious about learning all the positions of the buttons; he’s definitely been affected in some way by the ‘kidnapping’, but as always remains very sensible.
”But secretly, he knows that his father loves his work better. He loves solving mysteries and being smarter than the police and teasing meaning out of tobacco ash and flakes of nail polish. He knows he can't say that, though, because that's the kind of thing that people other than him and his father and Uncle Mycroft don't understand.”
He’s so worldly-wise for one so young . . . but it’s a lovely, lovely trait!
no subject
Date: 2014-02-05 03:02 pm (UTC)