Oh Brother.

John leaned back in his first class train seat, this was a luxury he could hardly ever enjoy and the surprise of being in first class had been perfectly placed to make John forgive Sherlock; who was in a particularly agitated mood and had not stopped insulting people since they had stepped out of 221B. Sherlock had, however, fallen immediately asleep as soon as they sat down on the train.

First it was the taxi driver, whom Sherlock claimed had ‘such a retarded memory of London, it’s surprising he hasn’t driven into the Thames.’ Then it was the mother struggling with a pram on the steps whom Sherlock had nearly knocked over, all the while claiming she was ‘hardly a blip’ on his radar. Then he told the train conductor he was the ‘worst train conductor this side of Nebraska.’ As far as John was aware, Sherlock had never been to Nebraska.

Sherlock sniffed in his sleep. Then opened his eyes abruptly. He looked at John, then around their section of the train. Then ripped open the curtain blocking him and John off from the rest of the carriage. Charlotte was stood there, smiling faintly.

“Hello boys. Nice trip?” She said, her voice thick with amusement. John wondered faintly how long she had been stood there.

“You smell like ice cream.” Sherlock said, Charlotte raised her eyebrows.

“And?”

“Lestrade had ice cream on his collar this morning.” Charlotte smirked. “He said his kids threw it at him.”

“They did. Have you met them? They are sweet.”

“You aren’t sleeping with him again.”

“No. Just being a plot point.” Sherlock frowned. “Making his wife see what she’s missing.” He raised an eyebrow, she waved him off. “I know, not wise. It won’t work anyway. She’ll just get angry at him for introducing his totty to the kids. I did say.”

“Totty?” John said, amusement filtering through his voice. Charlotte grinned.

“Yeah. That’s what she calls me.” She slipped past Sherlock and sat in his seat. “Ooh, brilliant. Chicken and sweetcorn. Can I?” John nodded as she gestured to his yet uneaten dinner. Sherlock grimaced and closed the curtains, sitting down next to John. They watched her eat in silence for a few minutes. She looked starving. Literally. Professionally, John thought she looked unnaturally thin. Similar to Sherlock in bone structure he noticed; though her cheekbones were a similar height, they were much softer. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Sherlock watching him. John cleared his throat and looked away.

“So, Charlotte. What are you doing here? You were supposed to leave before us.” Sherlock said, while still watching John. He squirmed under Sherlock’s stare.
Charlotte looked up, noticing immediately John’s discomfort, frowning faintly.

“I never said that. You inferred it. Wrongly.” Sherlock leant back in his chair. Moving his stare to Charlotte.

“Incorrect data lead to incorrect deductions.” Charlotte smiled as Sherlock spoke.

“Yes. And that’s the flaw in your whole system.” She said, obviously restraining herself from finishing off John’s dinner. He told her she could finish it, she needed it more than he did. Charlotte was clearly hungry. She thanked him and finished it quickly. She sighed, leaning back in the chair.

“What have you been doing on the train for 3 hours?”

“Nothing you need to worry yourself about, dear brother.” She replied, closing her eyes. Placing her head on the seat.

“Really? Sleeping now?” Sherlock said, John looked at him, he looked annoyed. Rich of him, considering he was asleep not ten minutes ago.

“Yup. If the conductor comes, tell him my name is Penny. That Harry said it was fine.” She mumbled, Sherlock rolled his eyes.

“Lying again?” She smiled, obviously knowing the next statement would appease Sherlock slightly.

“No. Just hiding in plain sight.”