Deducing Tragedy Part One: See No Evil

Sherlock stood on the back porch two days later. The sun was rising, warming the cool morning air. He stared out at the lake which held the properties to restore Hanna’s sight. He didn’t know if it was a blessing or curse to be honest. Five years of believing she would never see again only to find out the cure is the poison itself. He couldn’t imagine the burden that would be. He wanted to help, to ease her way somehow but he didn’t know how. What could he offer her?

The boy, Ben, came out to stand on the porch. His hands in the pockets of the black jeans he wore as he looked out across the lake. If Sherlock was being completely honest, the boy was better for Hanna. He was closer to her age, less self-centered, and training to be a Doctor. He was better for her, but that didn’t mean he deserved her.

“She’s awake,” he said not looking at Sherlock.

“I heard her get out of bed,” Sherlock rolled his eyes. “There’s not much you can’t hear in this house; thin walls.”

“Hanna-“

“What about her?”

The boy frowned, “she’s tough, but not as tough as she thinks. Sometimes she needs someone to insist on helping her.”

“Why are you telling me this,” Sherlock asked in annoyance. “What could possibly be you’re motivation.”

“What you said the other day,” the Boy smirked. “I may not understand it but Hanna did. And it meant the world to her. I’ve only ever seen a declaration of love like that once before-“

“Who said anything about love?” Sherlock demanded turning away from him, back towards the lake.

The boy raised a knowing eyebrow, “come now Sherlock, you’re not still in denial are you?”

“I'm not denying anything,” Sherlock brush off the comment with a wave of his hand.

Ben chuckled, “so far in denial that you can’t see the light. Oh Sherlock, you are a blast to observe. If only Brad was here, he’d enjoy have you as a subject-“

“Brad?”

“Hm?” Ben paused looking back at him. “Oh, Brad’s my Boyfriend. He’s a graduate student studying psychology.”

“Oh- so you’re…” Sherlock trailed off, suddenly uncomfortable.

“I'm bisexual,” Ben smirked, seeing Sherlock’s sudden shift away from him. “Don’t worry Sherlock, you’re not my type and besides I love Brad. That declaration of love I was telling you about? It was Brad’s declaration to me. It’s how I know you love Hanna, even if you don’t see it yourself.”

~

Sherlock found her in the kitchen. She was sitting on the floor, her back against the cupboard under the sink. She stared blankly ahead and only moved when the floor groaned under his feet. "I take it the darkness has returned" he said leaning against the door frame.

"I must retrain myself to be blind," she whispered her gaze dropping down to her hands in her lap. "I seem to have forgotten."

He crossed the kitchen then and sat cross-legged on the floor across from her, "What can I do?"

She laughed but it wasn't real, it was hard and sad and not a laugh he ever wanted to hear from her again. "Nothing, its nothing. I'll be fine on my own"

Sherlock would have none of this. "Hanna, two days ago we stood on the beach of a lake. You had just gotten your site back for the first time in five years and I told you something...do you remember?"

The corner of her mouth twitched, "you said... that I was your incomplete lullaby."

"What do you think that means to me?"

She paused a moment, her eyes sliding, unseeing over his face. "That I am the mystery you've yet to solve-"

"It’s more than that," he said slowly reaching forward to run his long slender fingers over the top of her hand. "Hanna... to me the incomplete lullaby is a treasure a... feeling I was almost left without; that I couldn't be without. I-I trust you Hanna, and I’ve only ever trusted a few select people; before a few years ago I trusted no one, only what my eyes could tell me. You've shown me that eyes are useless when the mind is blind.

"When I first met you," his hand moved and cupped hers. "All I saw was the little blind girl, now I understand that you see more as a blind woman than I ever could. And that -my dearest girl- is why you are the greatest puzzle I will ever face and the one I will never solve."

She smiled, her fingers running across the palms of his hands. "Sherlock-"

"And that means you will never face something alone," he continued, cutting her off. "I will always be here whether you need me or not, so tell me how I can help"

She closed her unseeing eyes and rested her head in the crook of his neck, "when I was little we visited a cabin like this one. When I sat here I could see into every room in the house, could you... maybe describe it to me?"

He leaned back to look at her face, "Describe it to you?"

She blushed slightly, "um- yeah. Please." He didn’t say anything but moved to pick her up and maneuver her into his lap; taking her spot under the sink. He understood as he felt her warm body fold into his as he embraced her. He knew what he could do for her and he promised himself, she would never be without him again.

"The floors are hard wood, something like oak but I suspect that is not the only wood used…”