Sparkling Diamonds

Eliza had leant me some of her pyjamas for the night as I wasn't really expecting to spend the night away from my husband. In doing this, staying with Eliza with the night, I would only expect something harsher than I would have expected during the time that he spent at home.

My mind was racing with the thoughts of what he could have done to me tonight, what bruises would intensify and what pain he would have caused me. The flashing spots from when he had thrown me into the bedside table came to my mind. I shook my head, trying to rid the thoughts as I settled onto the couch of Eliza's lounge room.

Eliza was in the kitchen making a simple dinner -- Miso Soup, i think it was. The smell of the soup wafted through the apartment and helped calm the visions that I was having of my husband viciously attacking me.

"Did you want to put on the TV, Di?" Eliza asked as she began to plate up the soup.

I didn't respond to her, only staring straight ahead. My eyes fuzzed over and went out of focus -- looking but not really seeing. I heard Eliza sigh as she set the top on the pot of soup, picked the bowls and handed me one when she reached the couch.

"Here you go," she commented as she went to scrounge around the very Japanese style home.

She eventually found it as I sat in my distant state, hardly moving since she had given me the bowl of soup. Eliza switched on the television and the first channel that came up was the BBC. She made a noise and was about to change it when we both realised what show it was -- Sherlock.

I snapped back into attention as Eliza lowered herself onto the couch beside me as we watched Benedict Cumberbatch interact with Andrew Scott, who played Jim Moriaty in the show. In the space of the next ten or so minutes, Jim had killed himself and Ben was talking to Martin's character over the phone.

A few moments later, Ben threw his arms out like a bird and fell from the building. The next few seconds were painful as I watched Benedict dropped from the building and be killed on the sidewalk. Pedestrians screamed as Benedict crashed to the ground.

Martin could be seen pushing amongst them, shouting that he was a doctor. He managed to push through the pedestrians to Benedict and fell to his knees. Benedict was dead as I forced myself to look away from the television screen.

"Change the channel," I told Eliza.

It took her a few moments to realise what I had said and flicked it over to something a little more light hearted. It didn't really register what the film was as I focused on drinking my soup and clearing the memory of Benedict dying in my mind.

"I can't believe we're working on that show," Eliza commented. "Bit emotional, don't you think?"

"Bit more then I'd like to handle," I said softly, more to myself then Eliza.

From my pocket, my phone began to ring. I set down my soup on the ground and pulled out my phone. I saw my husband's name ringing on the screen and threw it on the couch beside me. In now way was I going to be picking up any calls from him tonight -- a night free from him physically was a night free of him verbally.

"What time do we have to be in tomorrow?" I asked Eliza as I picked up my soup and drained the rest of it.

"Not early, I hope," she replied. "Need my beauty sleep for tomorrow night and I think you will too."

I smiled to myself as she turned off the television and we headed off to bed. I woke up the next day a little more tired than I would have liked but I couldn't complain. A night without my husband was better than a night with one.

I made myself a herbal tea due to my dislike for caffeine altogether and waited for Eliza to wake up. It was a long time before she did so…close to midday. In that time, I decided to draw up some sketches of what Benedict could wear for one of the episodes of the show.

I ended up drawing a picture of him from the episode the night before from the pencils and paper I had picked up from around Eliza's apartment. It was detailed and showed each feature, bump, and colour of Benedict as he stretched himself out like an eagle on top of the building.

I had never really attempted something like this before, only drawing what I had to for costumes. I set down the work in front of me on the bench as I started drawing the point of view of Martin down on the street watching Benedict at the top of the building.

I lined his face more than I would have liked but I drew what I thought was an accurate representation of Martin in the scene from the previous night. I pulled the picture that I had drawn of Benedict and set it beside the one I had just drawn of Martin.

"What are you doing in production design?" I heard Eliza say from her bedroom door. She motioned the drawings that I had just completed. "They're really good. You should show them to Ben and Martin when they come past the office today."

"How do you know they're coming past?" I said, brows furrowing.

"Costume fittings but I am assuming we will be using much of the stuff that was used last season," Eliza asked. "Besides, I was hoping to see Martin again."

"How did I know that you were going to say that?" I laughed as we had breakfast.

We headed back over our new office not long after, setting ourselves into our seats. Bianca got in not long after us and eyed us off as she sat in her seat next to mine.

"How did lunch go yesterday? I heard it was…eventful," Bianca said with a raised eyebrow.

"Hoping to see them again," Eliza said.

"How did I know that you were going to say that?" Bianca said, turning on her computer.

"Exactly what I said," I commented with a laugh spreading in between the three of us.

I pulled out all the drawings that I had drawn while I was at Eliza's and began to work on another, determined to draw costumes instead of the portraits I had drawn of the two leads. When I had completed the fourth or fifth drawing, I set my pencil down and sighed.

I relaxed back in my seat but almost jumped out of it when I felt an alien hand upon my back. I jumped out of my seat and turned around to find Benedict standing behind me. I gave him an annoyed look, cocking my head to the side as I glared at him.

"You know, I'm beginning to hate the fact that you just keep on turning up in random places without me realising," I said, hoisting myself upon onto my desk beside my drawings.

"People say that a lot," he replied. "It's getting annoying."

"We'll, maybe you should think about stop doing what you're doing," I said as I watched him take the seat I originally sat in.

"No, it takes the fun out of things," he said, crossing one leg over the other and bouncing up and down on the chair. I looked around the room to find that Bianca and Eliza had left. I looked back to Benedict, ready to ask where my friends had disappeared to, when he answered for me. "Left for the day. Except for that Eliza girl. She's off on a date with Martin. It's not even dark yet. Day date…kind of weak if you ask me. Otherwise, you've been in here for a while."

I looked down at the drawings that I had completed. When I looked at it, I drew Benedict's eyes to it also and he became intrigued. He leaned forward in his seat and drew out the two pictures that I had drawn of him and Martin.

His long fingers brushed over the drawing, in pencil, that I had done. He looked like he was overcome with emotion before suddenly snapping back into the chair and looking at the drawing from afar.

"Why are you in production design?" he said, eyes finally looking up to me. "How did you get her dint he first place?"

I pursed my lips, taking a moment to think of what I would say in response. Finally, I said, "I came to the BBC a long time ago by accident. I didn't intend to be here…talking to someone like you. I always liked to draw. I wanted to study fine arts but it never really happened. I made friends here and just kind of…stayed."

"If you had the chance, would you still study it?" he questioned me. "Would you leave the life that you had here for a life in painting?"

"I'm not sure my husband would approve," I said, giving a weak laugh. "Me being a production designer is weak as it is."

"Would anything gain his approval?" he said as I shook my head, looking down at my feet.

"I'm nothing to him and I don't think I ever will be," I said as I felt myself beginning to shake as the memories flooded back to me. "I am nothing but someone he thought he could contain and bring me pain whenever he see's fit."

Benedict pulled himself up to me, holding me around the legs as he tried to catch my eye. When he did, I couldn't hold them for long. Their kindness was everything my husband was before our marriage. His long fingers had the touch when my husband and I had first made love.

"Don't touch me," I said softly. "You're reminding me of him…in the early years."

"But you deserve it," he said to me.

He reached up to me, finally catching my eye and holding my face in place so that we stared straight at each other. We held each other's eye for such a long time that with the length that we did…I thought there might have been a kiss at the end of it but I respected Ben for the decision he made in this situation.

He wrapped his arms around me, giving me the softest hug that I knew would remember until the die. You know how you remember those special moments in your life? Like your first kiss, when you get married…all that kind of stuff. Well, this was one of those moments as strange as it might seem.