#love you Captain Gregson

[screamlet]

fic: blow up that chopper epilogue (118 daily drabble)

pairing: bucktommy rating: mature word count: 1.8k epilogue (3.4k total); status: complete tags: breakup/makeup; fix-it fic; buck pov; future fic; near death experience; helicopter crash! notes: you can read all the drabbles and epilogue at the ao3 link, and in their original post-by-post form in the #blow up that chopper (118dailydrabble) tag.

Series Summary:

Buck reads to himself: If my grief is violent enough, perhaps he will come back to life again. It sits uncomfortably on his tongue until the sirens blare. They jump into action, but Buck freezes at the bottom of the stairs. "Mayday, mayday, mayday, companies respond to an explosion at Harbor Station."

---

1 YEAR LATER (DECEMBER 2025)

It's only been a month, so Buck's going to forgive himself for still feeling giddy about this: kissing Tommy in the parking lot of their favorite breakfast place before heading home together (to their house) after a shift.

"Love you, I'll see you at home," Tommy says, just before he kisses Buck.

Buck smiles into it, every time. "Where else would I be?"

Tommy still doesn't have a standard quip in response, so he kisses Buck again. He's smiling, too, and smiles brighter as Buck whispers I love you into their kiss.

---

All things considered, Tommy had survived the accident at Harbor by moments. There wasn't much to uncover about what happened: there was a call for a medevac and one of the other A-shift pilots, Gregson, took it. Almost two thousand feet in the air, he had a fatal heart attack and the helicopter crashed on the station. Seven people died, including Gregson, Captain Norton, and their probie Serrano, who was a month away from finishing their probationary year.

The explosion had thrown Tommy free and clear of the worst of it. He could have died immediately, like Gregson and others in the station, but the way he landed had broken his arm and shoulder, cracked his ribs, and ruptured his spleen. If Buck and Chimney hadn't immediately spotted him on the ground in their line of vision, he would have died on the ground (instead of only three or four times in the ambulance).

("That's two," Chimney had said when Tommy woke up in the hospital. "You're just messing with me at this point.")

While Harbor was out of commission, the remaining crew had been split up across the city. Once Tommy had recovered, he was assigned to another Air Ops station to manage and train newer pilots. At his friend Sal's urging, he completed the training and testing so that Harbor Station would reopen with Interim Captain Kinard at the helm.

Some but not all of the original Harbor crew wanted to come back. It was a relief to Tommy (and Buck, too), that Lucy was one of them—she had been on the most fortuitously scheduled vacation to Italy anyone had ever taken, and came back to the literal ruins of her professional life. She promised to keep Interim Captain Kinard in line, and knock around anyone who doubted him (though Buck couldn't imagine who would).

And Buck stayed. He stayed and he fought for Tommy, and with Tommy, because meeting Robert Kinard had taught him one important thing: Tommy was stubborn and myopic and trapped in his own head, and Buck had to stop holding back if they wanted to stay together.

After they had broken up, Buck knew that he had rushed ahead too quickly. He thought that if they ever got back together, he would have to slow down and handle Tommy with kid gloves, incredibly gentle. That wasn't going to work, not when Buck had seen the heavy hand that had molded Tommy more than either of them wanted to admit.

Tommy had spent his entire adult life struggling against the man Robert wanted him to be, and Buck would have to drag him out of Robert's shadow by fucking force. Sometimes that meant telling Tommy he was wrong, just plain wrong.

It meant that both of them had to trust they were in this together: Tommy wasn't leading Buck into a life he didn't understand, and Buck wasn't trapping Tommy in a relationship that Tommy didn't want. It meant that sometimes Tommy had to walk away from a fight, go on a walk or a drive, and they both trusted that he would come back. What they had was worth fighting for, and neither of them would give into the fear of leaving and being left behind.

All things considered, almost dying made Tommy want to actually live, and ask for things, and make space for the things he wanted: I want to train pilots. I want to rebuild Harbor so our friends who are gone don't think we abandoned them. I want to become a firehouse captain. I want to stay on the ground and rebuild a station, and let others take to the sky and find themselves, like I did.

I want to be with you, Evan, even though sometimes I look at you and don't know how you got into my life and why you'd want to stay. I want you to stay at my house more often, as much as you think I want and then as much as you actually want. I want you to stop being afraid to leave things here. I want you to move in with me. I want us to trust that this isn't too much for us. I want us to make our future. I want it now.

So Buck stayed and made it theirs.

---

Tommy beats him home, but not by much. This might be one of Buck's favorite secret Tommy rituals, the ones that Buck didn't see until he moved in.

Every time Tommy gets home from a shift, he's going to stand at the mailbox and flip through every single piece of mail, sigh loudly, then head inside. Buck grabs his bag and heads over so he can hook his chin over Tommy's shoulder and participate, too.

"I'm dreading the day all the junk mailers discover you've moved," Tommy murmurs. "Never thought I'd need a bigger mailbox."

"Homeowner worries," Buck adds seriously, then grins when Tommy makes a face at him. "Anything good?"

Tommy hands over the three Christmas cards he's found so far: one of Tommy's friends from the Army, the Wilsons (and they are always The Wilsons on their envelopes), and the whole Ramirez family (one of Tommy's friends from Harbor).

"It's been long enough that I even miss his snoring." Tommy sighs. "May 2026, the return of Harbor Station." He pauses, but doesn't try to turn and look at Buck. "I keep thinking about how weird it'll feel. I'll be happy to be back because I love that place. That's my firehouse, my station, but."

"Yeah," Buck says. "Yeah, I get it."

"It'll never be the same." Tommy pauses, then says, "They're doing a private dedication in April. I put it on the calendar."

"I saw." Buck gently kisses the side of his neck. "I'll be there. And you'll be there, Captain Kinard."

"Interim captain," Tommy corrects.

"Interim with high probability of being made permanent after six months," Buck corrects further. "Because you're the best and no one loves that place like you do. And hey, what about my snoring? I thought I was special."

That finally gets Tommy to turn and kiss Buck, right at the corner of his mouth. "Dork. Brat. Whatever you're playing at today."

"Brat, definitely," Buck says as he bites at his lower lip. "Come on, there's still more mail."

"There's still more mail, god forbid it ever stops. Huh."

There's a red envelope, so it must be another Christmas card. The handwriting is very careful and old-fashioned, tight lines and loops at the very center of the envelope. It's the kind of precision and attention to the most minute details that he sees every day, but now it's postmarked from Ventura, CA.

Mr. Thomas Kinard Mr. Evan Buckley

"Now how in the hell did he get my address? And how did he track you here?" Tommy asks. Buck finally notices the R. Kinard in the top left corner. No return address, just the city, state, and zip code.

"Internet, probably," Buck says. "And my Instagram isn't private. I didn't post your face but I did post, you know, moving boxes and stuff. I'm sorry if that was too much."

"Nothing to apologize for," Tommy replies. "And I doubt my father uses Instagram. Some nosy cousin must have snitched."

He props his chin on Tommy's shoulder again. He doesn't want Tommy to see his face, as curious as he is to see Tommy's. There's a lump in his throat that Robert Kinard doesn't deserve, but Buck still feels something. There's no bridge to build here, but there's this crumb: I see you.

And maybe on some level it terrifies Tommy to be seen, but... maybe it doesn't.

It's one good thing. One good thing. One good thing this man can do.

Buck steps back and takes the rest of the mail as Tommy holds the envelope and considers it. He finally opens it and, to Buck's surprise, laughs.

"Didn't expect this sappy shit from him," Tommy says as he shows Buck the card. It's pretty typical drug store Christmas fare with a big white dove holding a ribbon, some silver glitter, red accents, and in huge cursive script the words: Peace, Love, and Joy to Your Family.

Buck wonders if he's imagining the way time stretches out as he and Tommy look at the card.

To Your Family

It's one good thing.

Buck coughs and asks, "Anything inside? Like a message, not—"

"He owes me a lot more than a $5 bill in a gas station Christmas card if he wants to make up with me." Inside the card it says: Merry Christmas. -Robert

"He didn't sign it Dad?" Buck asks.

"Yeah," Tommy says slowly. "Yeah, that's weird, but he's never sent me a Christmas card before so he's probably never had to think about it." Tommy looks at it for a beat, then closes it. "I don't hate it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Tommy sounds a little surprised by himself. "I don't want it with the others open on the mantle, but maybe like… still in the envelope, off to the side. Just so it's there." There's a beat before Tommy says, "I just like seeing our names like this."

Buck smiles to himself. "Me too."

Tommy catches his eye and laughs as he tucks the card back into the envelope. "Alright, let's get inside. I need a nap and then we've got our Howie and Maddie double date tonight: dinner and vintage Christmas hijinks. Christmas in Connecticut, baby. Deeply underappreciated classic. I think you're gonna love it."

"If you love it, I love it."

"And it's under two hours."

"I love it," Buck laughs. "Love it more than anything."

They only make it a few steps to the front door before Tommy pulls Buck into his arms, hands on his waist and movie-star-dreamy eyes fixed on Buck's. "More than me?"

Buck pretends to think about it. "If it's under 90 minutes before the credits."

Tommy doesn't even bother rolling his eyes. He kisses Buck and deepens the kiss when Buck wraps his arms around his neck. There's no forgetting where they are as they kiss: in front of their home, on their street, in their neighborhood, right out in the open for anyone and everyone to see. There's nowhere they'd rather be.

[shouts-into-the-void]

I'm rewatching Elementary (the other British Sherlock Holmes series lol) and I really think more people need to talk about this series.

Some of the many great things about it:

Watson is an Chinese-American woman and former surgeon turned sober companion

Demystifies Sherlock's deductions and takes great care to show that he and his friends/associates are equals, something that Sherlock himself points out frequently

Doesn't play Sherlock's drug addiction for laughs, and instead uses it to showcase how much work goes into getting and staying sober and the way it effects your entire life

You know how everyone always says they want a show where queer characters just exist without it being their entire personality or driving the narrative? This is that show

Ms. Hudson is a trans woman whom multiple cis men are stated to be madly in love with

One of the cases involves 2 different polyamorous couples, and Watson is directly stated to be unhappy in traditional, monogamous relationships

Watson also adopts and becomes a single mother, something that is shown to be strictly positive

Several characters have disabilities and chronic illnesses, including Gregson's 2nd wife Paige, who has MS and one of Sherlock's love interests Fiona, who is autistic

There is an episode titled "A Giant Gun Full of Drugs"

One of the later main characters takes very violent revenge on the man who kidnapped and raped her, and when she comes back after evading capture the police captain is literally like "Long time no see, lol, what attempted murder"

There is never any romantic tension between Watson and Sherlock just because Guy+Girl+Close Relationship must equal romance, and even when it's joked about it's usually to point out how ridiculous the idea would be. I personally interpret their relationship as queerplatonic as Watson moves an entire continent so they can stay together when Sherlock has to leave the country, and Sherlock is instantly ready to change his life around, make the house safe for kids, and co-raise her son when Watson expresses the desire to adopt. Also he names a species of bee after her.

That's not even all of it, but those are my favorites lol

[writergeekrhw]

I love Elementary as a Holmes adaptation, but I have to ask about the copaganda. Not so much the overall presence/depiction of the NYPD as the generally benevolent venue for Joan and Sherlock to solve crime, but rather the occasional ep that veered off into wtf-level acts of police mouthpiecing: for example, the ep where Joan and Marcus flip the eff out after discovering that Marcus' girlfriend works in Internal Affairs. I'm curious whether stuff like that came directly out of perspectives native to the writers' room, or if it was more dictated from external sources as a cost-of-doing-business requirement. Similar to, "Microsoft will give your production money AS LONG AS you show your characters using Microsoft products to positive ends", was there a "you can depict the NYPD and call it by name AS LONG AS you include such-and-such lines of dialogue/story about how Police Are Great And Admirable And Beyond Reproach"?

(I get that you may not be able to or want to answer this question, but I caught the ep with Marcus' girlfriend yesterday and it's just so...vehement, in some really fucked up ways. I can't not ask, even if you don't answer. Thank you for keeping your askbox open!)

ON COPAGANDA

Great questions without an easy answer. Personally, I'm usually very cautious about outright copaganda, though I have a very close friend who joined the CHP and rose pretty high in the ranks, and I respect the hell out of him and what he did. That said, I think police are people and run the gamut from great to awful, like anyone. Worth noting, my buddy comes from a cop family, his older brother is a cop, and I know someone from a citizen group who basically said his brother was NOT a good cop at all. The opposite.

I've mostly had pretty good experiences with police, but when I was young, I was pulled over for driving while poor. I had a weapon in the car (a wooden club). Things got very tense. And I'm pretty sure that if I weren't so damn pale, that night might have gone way worse.

My friends who don't share my skin tone have, generally speaking, a much worse time with the police. I once gave a friend of mine shit for keeping his dealer tags on his car long past when he got his plates. His response: "It's another way to prove I own this car without having to reach into my glove compartment." My response: "Oh. Sorry. I'm an idiot."

So if you want to see what I think of the police... well, I wrote Bell and Gregson as good cops. I also wrote "End of Watch" and created Gina Cortes. I think, on the balance, ELEMENTARY showed good cops and bad, including shitheals like Captain Dwyer and outright villains like Frank DaSilva.

As for Shauna, in my opinion, Bell reflects the rank-and-file dislike for IA, and the fact that he blows up their relationship over it is supposed to be a huge mistake. Shauna is ultimately a good person, and Bell's prejudice costs him what could've been a wonderful relationship.

And yet... Gregson and Bell are heroes. Pretty much straight up. Sherlock and Joan work for the police, more often than not. And this is portrayed as a good thing. We had NYPD consultants on the show, and though they were mostly very helpful with making the cop stuff realistic, and I liked them a lot, they weren't super thrilled when we did stories about bad cops. I can't ever remember steering away from those stories because of their feedback, but... yeah.

On the balance, I'd say while ELEMENTARY did have our share of copaganda, we did try to create a more nuanced portrayal of police that most network procedurals.

I totally get it if you think differently.

And thanks for watching!

[voidsteffy]

I love the Sherlock from Elementary. He has all the eccentricity of the Book Holmes, and is SO human. Yeah he's weird but he's also a gentleman.

Things I love about Elementary:

1. Sherlock is humanised but his eccentricities remain intact. He is a neuro-atypical and he doesn't seek to fit in. He loses sense of manners sometimes but whenever he's in control of himself you can never catch him being impolite to others.

2. Sherlock values the contribution made in his life by Kitty, Captain Gregson and even Bell. He can't outright say it everyday but you can see him being a protective cat jist hissing at anyone who decides to trouble them.

3. He values Joan's credibility and gives her the rash push into directions he knows she will exceed in. Joan has been more or less sheltered her entire life with friends who just sigh at her choices rather than take active decisions for her and be the bad cop. But Sherlock is just what Joan needs, much like how Joan is exactly who Sherlock needs

4. His and Kitty's relationship is so well developed. Sherlock just out here drinking respect women juice. Except he's not because he always sees them as people and he always respects people for their trials and tribulations

5. Sherlock. Styles. Joan.

6. If Sherlock throws a hissy fit, Joan is absolutely there to show him immediately that he's not a baby to throw a temper tantrum (ep 1 is that u haha)

7. Sherlock's relationships, his reactions, his methodology, his need to be understood pulled back by his inability to be at everyone else's pace... It's all so well balanced

8. Sherlock. Never. Sleeps. With. Joan. This is important because there come a lot of people on one's life that give help more than they take and tether us to humanity but we don't sleep with all of them. I'm glad that they saw the potential of a greater bond beyond sexual relation and acknowledged that Joan Watson is Sherlock's soulmate in a way he never knew he needed. No lust. Just love.

9. Also, Joan Watson is a potential aro queen

[rey-jake-therapist]

Elementary fandom vs other fandoms

A while ago I posted about Elementary after I watched a couple of episodes to say I didn't like it. I was just fresh out of watching the four seasons of the BBC Sherlock and it just didn't feel right, I didn't like it at all.

Finally, because I was too lazy to look for another show to watch, I kept watching and now, I'm at season 7 😅 Did my mind fundamentally change? Honestly, no. BBC Sherlock will always be superior to me, I don't care it's trendy to hate it now. I do like Elementary now, though. Sherlock and Joan (well especially Joan) have grown on me. I still think Elementary lacks originality, I find the structure of the episodes too rigid, there are way too many episodes, things in the global story I really don't like. The copaganda for example, urgh... There's a lot of screen time dedicated to the cops and how good and honest and united they are. There are some bad apples but we're really supposed to believe that they're *rare*.... And I love Marcus Bell and Captain Gregson but they're so smart you even wonder why they need Sherlock in the first place 😂 But there are things I really love too: Joan being more than a sidekick to Sherlock is one of them. She has agency, he trains her, respects her.... I must say, it's pleasant to see. Also I love seeing Sherlock being a mentor. That's what he should be, really...

Another thing this show did for me was to convince me to read the ACD canon books. I read a couple of them when I was a teen but I was more a Hector Poirot girlie - EDIT: damn autocorrect! his name's Hercule of course). I know for a fact that Elementary Sherlock is closer to the book that BBC Sherlock, and the show makes multiple references to the ACD canon but I'm unable to identify most of them, which probably influences my reaction to the show. I need to read the books and watch the show again :)

So, it's a fine detective show, a feel good show as well because the morals is always good, characters given a second chance when they mess up, bad guys punished as they should.... Johnny Lee Miller does a fine job at showing the character's complex personality, and his partnership with Lucy Liu is flawless :) They're just adorable together. They totally remind me of Mulder and Scully, but without the unbearable sexual tension, which is why I spent 6 seasons 1/2 being fine with the fact that they wouldn't end up together as a couple.

I wish I had known the fandom when the show was broadcasting, because I haven't heard of any fit of rage when Joan and Sherlock didn't become canon?? And yet lmao, at least 70% of their interactions is romance-coded. Like, if JohnLock shippers think they were baited, Sherlock and Joan shippers were baited much, much more. Seriously, there's even a declaration of LOVE. When Sherlock has to run away to London, Joan follows him there!! They're completely co-dependant, all their attempt to have romantic relationships with other people fail... At some point Joan needs to go her own way and Sherlock respect that.

They take care of each other, all the time. If one is in danger, the other becomes feral. Sherlock especially would do everything to protect Joan from getting harm, and surely so would she. There are so many moments that could be confused with jealousy/possessiveness, so many sweet speeches that probably made the shippers think, "no way this is platonic!" .

Not me, though, because I believe in platonic love, always did, and that's what Sherlock's story was always about: a strong, unbreakable bond between two people who love each other but don't need to have sex to feel or express it. I say they remind me of Mulder and Scully because in both cases, it didn't have to become a romance. I shipped Mulder and Scully, yes, but for years I was quite certain that they woud never become romantic and I was fine with that. What they had was already beautiful.

And frankly, Joan and Sherlock's friendship higlights everything that's wrong with Sherlock and John's in the BBC show. It's a balanced relationship! they didn't have to become a romance because they're a perfect friendship, but if they did it would be ok, because it would not be toxic. Joan never beat Sherlock up, for a start. She never slaps him, they never insult each other. Sherlock is sometimes a prick to her but he always comes around because he respects her a lot. There's nothing in their interactions that makes me think, "wow, if they were a couple that would be so fucked up!", while, sorry but I had this thought about John and Sherlock a dozen of times, especially during season 4 but even before that.

So if I'm not wrong and shippers were cool with the ending, well... kudos guys.

@tickldpnk8

[happygirl2oo2]

Elementary Parallels

Gregson about Sherlock kidnapping and planning to intentionally kill the active serial murderer that killed someone he loved (which he didn't end up fully going through with, only beating him up for a bit in a way that would hurt but do no real harm before intentionally taking M to the police himself), s1ep13:

Watson: "Sherlock feels terribly about what happened. He'd tell you himself but you know how he is. What would it take for him to come back? Is it a matter of sitting it out or do you want a formal apology?" Gregson: "You sound like he took my favorite shirt without asking. Holmes planned to torture and murder somebody." Watson: "Sherlock thought that Moran murdered the woman he loved." Gregson: "Which makes it natural to think about paying him back. An employee of this department does not act on those impulses. Do you wanna know what Sherlock can do? Nothing. And if I had to bet, I'd say he's not even sorry. Now, I understand, you're worried about your client, you think that he needs this job to stay sober. I understand that. But he's broken, and he's broken in a way that has nothing to do with whether or not he's getting high."

Gregson about Kitty kidnapping and planning to intentionally kill the active serial rapist and murderer that terribly abused her 5 years ago (which she didn't end up fully going through with, ended up pouring strong acid on his face instead before intentionally revealing Gruner's location to the police), s3ep12 and s5ep15:

Sherlock, answering his phone: "Captain." Gregson: "We got him. Gruner. We've been trying to ping his cell phone for hours, but suddenly it came back on. We found him in a warehouse on Staten Island tied to a chair. At first, we thought someone had lit his head on fire, but the doctor said it was some kind of corrosive. Preliminary lab work says he is Jesse Laird's biological father, and Joan found a book stashed at his place. There are pictures in there that he's not gonna be able to explain. He's gonna wake up after a few hours, and right after I tell him he's under arrest, I'm gonna ask him who did this to him. Maybe it's a name I know. Maybe it isn't. Either way, I'm gonna have to go after them." Sherlock: "Understood." [cut to Sherlock and Kitty talking on the phone] Kitty: "There's some things I need to wrap up with the captain. I wanted you to know that this is the last time I'll be using this phone. Thought you'd want to verify that I really have gone to the airport this time."

Watson: "You want me and Kitty to talk to the captain?" Sherlock: "Is that a problem?" Kitty: "Yeah, Watson. Problem?" Watson: "You didn't just leave New York two years ago, you fled. You dunked some guy's head in a vat of acid." Kitty: "Del Gruner wasn't a "guy," he was a monster. All things considered, I'd say he got off easy. Watson: "All I'm saying is the captain knew it was you." Sherlock: "He suspected. Gruner never said a word about who marked him. Obviously, he didn't want to reveal his true connection to Kitty." Watson: "You really think that's gonna matter to the captain?" Kitty: "I wrote him a letter. The captain, after I got back. I didn't confess to anything… I knew that would put him in a spot… I just… apologized if I disappointed him. We're square." Sherlock: You heard her. They're square." [cut to Watson and Kitty in the police station] Watson: "You're sure about this?" Kitty: "Pretty sure." Watson: "What do you mean, you're pretty sure?" Kitty: "I mean, I'm reasonably certain he won't try to charge me with a two-year-old crime. 60/40. Ish." *Gregson spots Kitty, and immediately his face changes into looking pissed. She waves awkwardly and he begins walking toward her with what seems to be an angry face* Gregson: "Are you kidding me?" *stops in front of Kitty, then immediately his face changes into a happy and smiling one* "How come no one told me you were coming?" *proceeds to hug Kitty* Kitty, relieved: "It's sort of a long story, actually." Gregson: "Oh, yeah?" Kitty: "I could use your help." Gregson: "Okay, come on. We'll talk in my office." Watson: "Must've been one hell of a letter." Kitty: "Yep." *after explaining the case* Gregson: "I'll make some calls. You'll have all the help you need from the police in Jersey. But first, I'm gonna go find Marcus. I know he's gonna want to say hi to you."

Gregson about Hannah intentionally locating and killing the active serial murderer that killed someone she loved (which she fully went through with, before then intentionally disposing of Michael's dead body by putting it in the garbage with the help of a willing accomplice and only confessing to the crime to her cop father while being drunk), s6ep21:

Gregson: "How much do you know?" Sherlock: "Almost all of it. Michael was killed by a woman at the home of a man named Denny Mulgrew. An accomplice helped her dispose of the body: a man named Curtis Jenkins, father of Graham. I confess I don't know at what point you were drawn into the plot, but once you were, you realized that the killer could be undone by security footage recorded outside Mr. Jenkins' workplace, so you went there and you destroyed it. I spent the better part of today thinking that Michael's killer was Special Agent Mallick. But no. It's Hannah. Your daughter." Gregson: "Maddie wasn't just Hannah's roommate. She was her best friend. After Maddie's murder, Hannah took some time off. She was supposed to be getting her head together. Instead, she started looking into Rowan on her own. She dug in. She got to know all the people in his life. Including Denny Mulgrew. After she heard about what happened at your place, she got to thinking. He's not going to a hospital. He'd go to a guy like Mulgrew. So she played a hunch. She went to his place and staked it out. The next morning, after Mulgrew left, she found a way inside. She had her gun with her. But she thought that was too good for him, so she used her baton instead. Him calling Joan's name-- she never heard that. And she sure as hell didn't know the whole thing was being recorded." Sherlock: "So, when did she make you an accessory?" Gregson: "Couple hours later, I got a call from a friend of mine who owns a bar. He said Hannah was there and that she was in bad shape. So I went there, got her into my car. And that's when she told me everything." Sherlock: "You have to tell the FBI." Gregson: "I can't. No. Hannah's a cop. She can't go to prison."

[aplateoflasagna]

Kitty's back and Captain Gregson hugged her!! 😭 Kitty you are so loved

[biboocat]

Having already loved Cranford (see previous post), I purchased this book to read two novellas: Mr. Harrison’s Confessions and My Lady Ludlow. The former is about an eligible bachelor doctor who arrives in town to start his professional life and the disturbance this creates among the marriageable women. There are a few serious incidents among the townspeople who require Mr. Harrison’s medical care, but his personal story is laugh out loud comical. Elizabeth Gaskell deftly transitions between funny and sad, hopeful and heartbreaking. I highly recommend it!

A memorable passage: “Miss Bullock and I, meanwhile, became rather friendly. We found out that we mutually disliked each other; and were contented with the discovery. If people are worth anything, this sort of non-liking is a very good beginning of friendship.“

My Lady Ludlow is about a redoubtable woman of noble birth from the perspective of one of her wards, Miss Dawson. Lady Ludlow’s conservative views resist progress, such as the education of the lower classes and equality, and at first this is off putting to the reader. But we soon learn that she embodies the honor, duty, and tradition of her noble heritage which she extends to those in her sphere through acts of charity and good governance. Her story of the reign of terror following the overthrow of the French monarchy is gripping and illustrates her family’s allegiance to fallen French nobility. Her difference of opinion with the Mr. Gray, the new clergyman, regarding the welfare of his young parishioners creates an amusing confrontation but one that is resolved graciously by Lady Ludlow in his favor. There is the story of young Harry Gregson and how Lady Ludlow takes his welfare in hand after his mentor, Mr. Horner, unexpectedly dies. Lady Ludlow finds Mr. Horner’s replacement in Captain James, a naval veteran who had been wounded in action, someone who had been kind to her deceased son, Urian. There is the interesting tale of Miss Galindo, yet another person in need who is taken by Lady Ludlow. We even seen Lady Ludlow come to terms with a Baptist baker/farmer from Birmingham and his daughter. We see multiple instances of Lady Ludlow’s kindness towards those in need and their reciprocal loyalty and service towards her. She lives by lofty, inflexible standards of behavior, but she is able to discreetly relax her class prejudices in order to help those in need. She does all this despite the enormous pain of great personal losses, the pain she never shares. I found this to be a charming and heartwarming portrait of Lady Ludlow, the last of her line.

Condensed remarks for My Lady Ludlow: Cranford and Mr. Harrison’s Confessions are largely comical masterpieces. My Lady Ludlow on the other hand is a charming and heartwarming portrait of an imposing aristocratic woman who presides alone at Hanbury Court and the adjoining lands. Despite her strict class views and great personal losses, she finds ways to discreetly relax her class prejudices in order to help those in need. I will let you discover the wonderful web of stories within the story. Lady Ludlow is an unforgettable character. Elizabeth Gaskell has a marvelous way of opening your heart.❤️

A memorable passage between Miss Golinda (who starts the conversation) and Miss Dawson:

“And his daughter wrote a book, and they said she was but a very young lady, and nothing but a music master’s daughter; so why should not I try?”

“Well?”

“Well! I got paper and half a hundred good pens, and a bottle of ink, already –“

“And then –“

“O, it ended in my having nothing to say, when I sat down to write. But sometimes, when I get hold of a book, I wonder why I let such a poor reason stop me. It does not others.”

[pendragon-writes]

Cold Truths

Chapter 4

Chapter 6

The two men walked with Captain Gregson as he explained the situation. As they stepped further into the house they spotted the small pool of blood and the body of Peter Saldua being rolled out in a body bag. "Watch the blood splatter." The Captain said as he pointed to the blood. He guided them further into the house, pointing towards the ring box. "We found the ring box from Amy Dampier's home, right here." (Y/n) walked a bit closer to inspect it, before the detective from yesterday spoke to him. "Turns out Mantlo and his wife used the florist Saldua worked for." (Y/n) looked at the photos of Amy that were hanging on the wall as he continued to listen to the detective. "They order fresh flowers to the house once a week. Saldia was the guy who delivered them." "Explains why she would have let him in the other night."

"What happened over there?" (Y/n) asked, gesturing with his head towards the fallen washing machine. "Mixed his colors with his whites?" Detective Javier Abreu said. "Who knows, guy was a nut bar." (Y/n) changed his interest to evidence number 3, which was just a phone charger with no phone. "Did you already take his phone?" He asked, turning to the Captain. "It hasn't turned up yet, but it will," Gregson explained, leaving the kitchen to look at other things and perhaps talk to the other detectives, allowing (Y/n) the space he needed to investigate.

The consultant looked at the pantry with slight confusion before turning to the sink and grabbing the pill bottle that rested next to the other medication. The bottle read 'Xanax', with it being 1 mg. Whilst (Y/n) was doing that Steven walked over to the photos of Amy, slightly creeped out at the thought that the poor woman was being stalked. "You wanted to be the one who found him, didn't you?" Steven asked. (Y/n) put the pill bottle back before responding. "I don't do what I do for the credit."

"Then why do you do it?" He asked, turning to look at him as (Y/n) leaned against the sink. (Y/n) didn't respond as he adverted all eye contact and left the kitchen. Steven sighed to himself as he looked at the photos, wondering if he went too far.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

"I would like to thank the police, again, for finding the man who killed my wife," Harrow said into a microphone, (Y/n) and Steven were now back at the house as (Y/n) watched the interview, sitting on the floor cushion with his arms resting on his knees. Steven walked in holding a laptop as he went to the table covered in files and papers. "She had her mole removed when she changed her look." (Y/n) said, still looking at the walls of photos, most of which being of Amy. Steven glanced at the photos before turning to the man. "It doesn't make any sense. She loved that mole." Steven sat at the other table as he also looked at the photos. "Before her surgery, she turned her head to feature it, whenever her picture was taken."

"Where'd you get those photographs?" Steven asked, opening up his laptop. "I reached out to Amy's friends via her Facebook page." Steven was about to say something but decided not to. "Harrison Polk was right. She was as beautiful before her surgery as she was after, so… why bother. What was the point?" He said, as he stood up, walking towards Steven, who was currently reading through something. "Another thing. Saldua's phone records indicated he used his call phone constantly." He said, placing the papers with the information next to Steven's laptop.

"And yet, three days ago, he just stopped. Didn't make a single call. Didn't send a single text. Why?" He then showcased another paper. "His bank statements meanwhile, there's several checks made out to Dr. Ronald Jessup, Psychologist. He seems worth talking to, no? No?" He asked, his voice slightly faster than before, leaving the question rhetorical as he immediately answered. "No, 'cause he dropped dead of a coronary, in 2010." Steven stood up from his chair to look at the consultant.

"The Amy Dampier case is over. You helped solve it." He said, trying to calm the man. "No." "Something's off. I can feel it." He argued softly, looking at the photos. The noises of the printer caused him to look away. "What's that?" He asked, looking at Steven. "I got us tickets to the opera tonight," Steven responded with a grin. "Celebrate." (Y/n) just looked at him in confusion, slightly biting his lower lip. "When your father hired me, he mentioned something about you liking it, so I thought-"

(Y/n) scoffed in amusement at that, dropping his hands down, and walking past him. "I went to Le Grande Macabre once when I was nine, now I'm a buff." (Y/n) said loudly, walking into the small kitchen, and looking through the pantry for a snack. Steven sighed at this and began to talk. "I'm worried about you." "I think you're making things more complicated than they really are." (Y/n) didn't respond as he grabbed what he was looking for and walked past him again. "and it tells me that you're really struggling."

"No struggle with anything." (Y/n) grumbled out. "Or haven't you been paying attention for the last few days?" "I've been right about everything." "Actually you haven't," Steven said. "The day we met you deduced that I gave up being a surgeon to become a companion because I had lost someone close to me." "The truth is…" (Y/n) interrupted Steven before he could finish, sitting on his chair at the table.

"The truth is that you made a mistake during a surgery that cost a patient his life." He said, turning his head to look up at him. Steven looked away from him as a result. "It takes years of study to become a surgeon, not to mention tremendous ego." He explained, slightly talking with his hands. "Surgeons don't just leave to become addict-sitters. They're forced out. And they're only forced out if they commit the sin of malpractice." Steven looked at him with an unreadable expression as he continued to listen to him. "I knew it would be a sore subject so I made up the bit about your friend to spare your feelings." "That was very big of you," Steven said. "How do you know the patient died?" He asked.

"How do you know I didn't just leave him paralyzed or in a coma?" (Y/n) squeezed his fists on the table slightly, before slamming the table and standing up. "The parking ticket! The one you had in your bag." He walked past him as he said this stopping for a moment and sighing, turning around to face him. "You incurred it two weeks ago near the corner of 86th and Third." "The only thing there is Carver Cemetery. Obviously, you were visiting a grave." "Not a parent's grave, of course. Google indicates that they're both alive and well." "Siblings? No. Carver is a pauper's field. The picture that you keep on your phone of Mum and Dad says that they're well-to-do. No siblings of yours would be interred in a place like that." "The place doesn't even have a proper parking area, hence the ticket. So…" Steven turned to look at him, (Y/n) still continued to talk.

"A surgeon who's no longer a surgeon, a parking violation incurred outside a poor man's cemetery, and two parents who are as moneyed as they are alive. You add it all up. What does it say?" he asked rhetorically. "You were visiting the grave of the man that you let die on your operating table." He finished softly. Steven looked at him, his lips pursed. "It's so incredible, the way that you can… solve people just by looking at them."

"I noticed you don't have any mirrors around here." (Y/n) blinked at this before responding. "And what's that supposed to mean?" "It means you know a lost cause when you see one." He said before walking past him, leaving (Y/n) to his thoughts. "Tomorrow I'll arrange for a new companion, but tonight I got plans." He said, grabbing his laptop and leaving. (Y/n) glanced at him before looking at the wall, swallowing a lump in his throat.

Taglist: @god-complex-12

[redrobin-detective]

Elementary season 3 feels:

It's been a while since I was busy with moving, I wasn't able to hit the gym as much, but finally It Is Done.

The pure whiplash the first ep was insane. I'm just reeling trying to figure out the course of events. I am drinking up the Joan has her own successful consulting business and also a cute boyfriend. Good For Her.

Wasn't sure what to make of Kitty at first. Kinda on Detective Bell's wavelength, like "who is this sassy lost child." She exudes major Sherlock-Brooding-Angst Vibes. And then Sherlock approaches Joan like desperately "Help, I accidentally adopted a child and she needs a mother. Please platonically be a parent with me." And then the first half of the season went splendidly from there. I love Kitty. Her angst. Her loud music. Her Growth(TM). She deserves the world.

So the mid-season finale really paid off. She should get to melt her rapist's face off. Good for her. And Sherlock's support no matter her decision (because he should, he doesn't have any ground to stand on). Just Masterful Characterization. Gosh, I love how this show cares about their characters and keeping track of their histories and how it impacts future choices. Half the time, the mysteries are just secondary to how much the characters Shine. I love it.

Then we have Joan's mini-arc. Another satisfying "hey, sometimes characters backslide and that's okay." Sherlock is forced to be The Sensible One and he hates it but he does a bang-up job. It was also nice to see the members of the 11th play their parts in supporting Joan and showing how much they love her as well. The little aside where Gregson trusts her to investigate his replacement is cute and I'm glad that the captain stays (even if the hints were ominous).

And then the remainder of the season was Such A Ride. Fuck Oscar. Seriously Screw Him. I don't know what else to say. He was absolutely horrible. Just toxic. HOW DARE YOU HURT PRECIOUS ALFREDO!!!! I fucking cried when Joan finally found him. Alfredo looked terrible and did not deserve that. And I Don't Like the implications at the end of the finale. Joan, please help our boy Sherlock, he's fucking drowning in guild. *brb, crying my eyes out right now*

All around 10/10. The Vibes were definitely a change from the comfort of the previous two seasons, but man there were some Rancid bad guys.

My favorite show ever

[parkerbombshell]

Rules Free Radio Apr 2

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[sweettoothedtrickster13]

A Second Look Chapter 6

Fandom: Elementary

Tags: Female Sherlock Holmes, Soulmate Identifying Marks, S1 Ep 13 (The Red Team)

Summary: Gregson is forced to let Sherlock on a case.

Notes: So I may or may not be procrastinating on a few (yes, a few) projects. But I had this written already and decided to put it here and hope that it helps me not procrastinate. Enjoy!

AO3 Portal

Bell walks into Gregson's office, and the man looks up from paperwork. "What's up, Bell," he asks, seeing his detective's nervous face as he closes the door. He starts to think of what Bell could possibly want to tell him. But there's been nothing in his professional life he needs to talk about. He worries slightly if it's personal- he's always encouraged his people to come to him if they need support, but he's been distracted lately.

"You know how we got a call from a neighbor, said they hadn't seen Pontecorvo in a while, asked for a welfare check?"

"Yeah? He's dead?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, good thing they called." That can't be what's making Bell so nervous. "Murdered?"

"Not sure." Ok, that's weird. "But that's not really why I came in here. No neighbor called." Gregson frowns, confused.

"Then who," he starts, then scowls. "Holmes?"

Bell nods.

"I suspended her. She shouldn't be anywhere near any crime scene. Let me guess," he says as he leans back, paperwork ignored. "She 'let herself in.'" Meaning she picked the lock. He hates when she does that, makes it a little hard to explain. But she normally got results, so he looked the other way.

"I'm assuming."

Gregson drops his pen and rubs his eyes. He has a headache starting. "Anything interesting," he asks reluctantly after he drops his hand.

"Guy was a conspiracy nut," Bell shrugs. "That was the only interesting thing about him."

"Alright," Gregson nods. "Work the case. And keep Holmes away," he orders.

"You got it, Cap." Bell leaves his office and Gregson fumes.

A few hours later, Gregson gets up to get more coffee. As he's doing it, Joan shows up.

"Captain," the woman says.

"If you're here on Holmes' behalf, I don't want to hear it," Gregson says as he pours himself a cup and doesn't look at her.

"Sherlock feels terribly about what happened!" Gregson picks up his mug and starts to walk back to his office. If they're going to have this conversation, they need privacy. "She'd tell you herself, but you know how she is," Joan continues as she closes the door behind her. Gregson sits behind his desk.

Gregson laughs dryly. "That's right, Joan; I do know how she is." He looks at her. "And I bet she doesn't feel bad at all."

"What would it take for her to come back," Joan asks. "Is it a matter of waiting it out or do you want a formal apology?"

Gregson stares at her for a second, incredulous. "You make it seem like she borrowed my car without asking," he says, really starting to get pissed. Joan doesn't deserve his anger, he knows rationally. But she's in front of him and pleading Holmes' case, so she gets the brunt. "Holmes planned to torture and murder someone on my watch."

"Sherlock thought that Moran murdered the woman she loved," Joan says quietly.

"Joan, look. If she had come to me, said what happened, and gave me the picture, I would have gone and slapped cuffs on him myself." And he would have- Holmes didn't deserve that pain. But she can't come back. "But she didn't. She kept evidence to herself. Evidence we wouldn't have even known about if you hadn't found it," he points out.

"Captain-"

"I get that she lost someone she loved, I do. But that doesn't make what she did ok. Trust me, Joan, this is for her own good."

"Her own good, or yours," Joan snaps.

"Don't pull that with me," he scoffs. "I'm pissed at her, yeah. But now that I know what she's capable of, I can't ever really trust her again." It breaks his heart to say that about his soulmate, but it's true. "You have to see it from my side, Joan."

"I'm seeing it from hers. She needs this job."

"I know it's your job to make sure she doesn't use," he says. "But it's my job to keep my people in line, and to protect this city. I can't do that if I have a loose cannon running around."

"She's not a loose cannon," Joan exclaims.

Gregson just looks at her, unamused. How stupid does she think he is? "She breaks into homes. She calls in anonymous tips when she doesn't have evidence but wants us to look at someone." Joan looks sheepish. "Like I said, Joan. I do know her." He opens a file. "You can let yourself out."

Joan sighs but goes, closing the door as she does.

Pontecorvo's murderer turns himself in, and Gregson thinks they should all be that easy.

"Captain," a uni says, poking his head into his office.

"Yeah," Gregson asks, looking up.

"Holmes is in Interrogation."

"You're fucking with me."

The uni shakes his head. Gregson scowls and gets up. The officer wisely gets out of his way. He opens Interrogation One and Holmes is standing inside, talking with Sullivan. He gestures for her to come to him, and she does. She steps out with him, shutting the door behind her.

"Well, it's obvious that that man is not the mastermind of anything," Holmes remarks, looking over her shoulder to the closed door. She's acting like they're still working together. It's infuriating.

"What are you doing here," Gregson asks, keeping his voice level instead of yelling at her.

"I'm trying to figure out what happened," she says, flippant, as she meets his eyes. "Now, Pontecorvo's murder may have been happenstance, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong about the Red Team." The what?  "If Carlo Anillo was poisoned," she continues.

"I mean why are you in this building when you're suspended," he cuts her off instead of asking her what the fuck she's talking about. Who the fuck is Carlo Anillo?

"Captain, lives may be at stake," Holmes says, meeting his eyes. "We need to find the members of the Red Team and warn them."

"The department appreciates your tip in leading to the arrest of Gary Sullivan," he starts in an intentionally flat voice, and Holmes looks flabbergasted. "Concerned citizens such as yourself-"

"Why are you talking like that-"

"-play an important role in keeping this city safe."

"Are you listening to me," Holmes demands, like she has any right.

"Lives are at stake, every day, Holmes," Gregson says, just barely managing to not yell at her where everyone can hear him. "And yet," he says, calming himself down. "We had a department and a city before you got here." He glares. "You talk your way into that interrogation room again, and I will have you arrested for trespassing." He walks away before Holmes responds.

Bell walks into his office a few hours later. "Don't tell me Holmes is here again," Gregson says. He would have to carry out his threat, and he really doesn't want to.

"No. But you'll want to hear this." Gregson listens. "Now she asked me to run a tox screen on some guy named Carlo Anillo." Gregson sighs as he recognizes the name from Holmes' speech outside Interrogation One when he caught her.

"Marcus," he starts.

"I know, I know," Bell nods. "I figured if it was nothing, she'd give up. Turns out, it wasn't nothing."

"Excuse me," Gregson asks, slowly straightening.

"Anillo was poisoned with domoic acid."

Gregson furrows his eyebrows. "The crap you get from bad sushi," he asks, confused. That can kill someone?

"Yeah. It causes memory loss. She thinks Anillo was on the Red Team."

"Call her in. I want to hear everything."

Holmes walks into his office with Joan, a visitor's pass clipped to both their coats. Gregson looks at Sherlock's, unamused. "You did say I wasn't allowed," Holmes says. "I figured I would make it a bit more formal."

"Talk," he says, folding his arms from his place in front of his desk, and Bell closes the door.

"I believe that Carlo Anillo was a member of the 2009 Red Team, along with a counterinsurgency expert named Martin Nagowski, who was murdered during a mugging."

"What the fuck is the Red Team?"

"Every year, the Army War College stages a series of war games. Players consist of military personnel, as well as civilian experts. Those representing the United States and its allies comprise the Blue Team. Ergo the Red Team," she says.

"Are our enemies. Got it."

"The players change every year, as do the scenarios being tested. But every year, the results are published in trade journals." Gregson is really starting to hate Holmes' long-windedness right now. What does this have to do with a poisoning and murder? "Except for 2009. Those were immediately classified."

"What was so special about that year," Gregson asks.

"No one knows. That year's game was designed to test the military's response to the activation of a sleeper cell in New York City. The Red Team's goal was to cause maximum destruction and chaos with minimum resources."

"So you think these Red Team guys thought up something so bad they didn't want it to get out."

"Precisely, Captain."

"You don't happen to know the rest of this Red Team, do you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Of course you do, Gregson internally gripes.

"Care to share with the class?"

“Veena Mehta, professor of anthropology, expert in Middle Eastern cultures. Harold Dresden, mathematician. Sheldon Frost, cartographer. And finally, Walter McClanahan, systems analyst and Lieutenant Colonel, retired.”

"Go round them up," Gregson directs Marcus. He goes to Holmes, taking her visitor badge off. "For this case only," he says firmly.

"Of course, Captain," Holmes says casually.

They get them all in the conference room. Holmes walks the last one, McClenahan, in herself.

"Who are these people," McClenahan asks in a rough and pissed-off voice. But Gregson's been a cop for a long time- he's scared.

Holmes introduces them. "But I suspect you already knew that. Gentlemen. Ms. Mehta. I know that I'm addressing the members of the 2009 Red Team." They stiffen.

"I'm a free citizen of the United States and I'd like to leave now," McClenahan announces.

"Shorn sheep look like uncooked chicken," Gregson greets.

"I'm a free citizen of the United States and I'd like to leave now," he repeats.

"Nobody's holding you here, Mr. McClenahan," Gregson tells him.

"Walt," Dresden says before McClenahan leaves. Dresden comes close and touches his arm. "These people aren't with the Army. Let's just calm down." He gently tugs his elbow and McClenahan lets himself be pulled to the table. The standoffish man sits and Dresden retakes his seat. "Let's just hear what they want."

"I believe that you're all in danger," Holmes says. "Some of you may know that Martin Nagowski is dead. I believe his murder was planned." The Red Team members look at each other, shocked and scared. "I know for a fact that Carlo Anillo was poisoned. You lot are here because the four of you are the remaining ones brilliant enough to develop a plan that paralyzed the Army with fear. I'm hoping that one or more of you might be able to provide some insight as to who's trying to harm you."

There's silence. Then Frost pipes up. "We should talk, but I'm not going first." Gregson is relieved.

"We took an oath, Sheldon," Dresden says, annoyed.

"If we all talk, no one can report anyone else," Mehta says.

"Saying a single word to these people is treason." Holy shit. What the fuck did they think up?

Silence reigns for a few moments. Then once again, Frost breaks it. "I'm not comfortable with this." He stands and heads for the door near Gregson, the opposite direction from Holmes.

"This is not something you can run away from," Holmes says.

"I'm very sorry," Mehta says, and follows Frost. The others leave without a word.

"We warned them at least," Gregson says, disappointed. There's nothing more they can do. Not without the Red Team's help. "Maybe one of them will change their mind, tell us something later."

"I think maybe one of them just did," Holmes says. She straightens from her position half sitting on the desk the phone rests on. She crosses the room and takes something from the trash. Gregson reads over her shoulder.

'Army intel Captain. Codename Yossarian. Find him.' Thank God for Sherlock Holmes, Gregson thinks. He gets angry at himself. Stop that.

Gregson stays late at the office, working with Marcus to see if they can find anyone who would want to hurt the members of the Red Team. It's hard when everything's classified- Gregson had a few detectives who are former military pull strings, but nothing turned up. The files weren't even sent, let alone redacted. Marcus' phone rings. "It's Holmes," he says.

"My office," Gregson says, and they go there.

Bell answers, putting it on speakerphone. "Holmes, you got me and the Captain."

"Well, as it turns out Yossarian is Todd Clark. I met the man earlier today when I tracked a bug put in Pontecorvo's home. He introduced himself as Bill."

"Great. How'd you find out his real name," Marcus asks.

"Two people came to my door tonight. They didn't greet or introduce themselves, but suspected that I was the one who shot and killed him at seven this evening. I was not." Gregson is shocked.

"So we're no closer to finding the murderer than we were before," Marcus asks.

"Not quite," Holmes says. "We now have another murder on our hands. That might loosen the Red Team's tongues."

"I'll gather them up, put them in protective custody in the morning," Gregson says. "For now, I'll just post unis in and outside their homes."

"A fine idea, Captain. I'll see you both tomorrow." She hangs up before Gregson can refuse her.

"Go home, Cap, I'll take a look at what we have," Marcus says.

Gregson nods and goes home.

When he gets the call the next morning that two of his unis were pumped full of rock salt at McClenehan's home, he goes there himself to meet Marcus. He ducks under the wire that was hooked up to the shotgun, examining the damned contraption.

"How're Polk and Mahone," Marcus asks.

"Lucky that the shells were packed with rock salt," Gregson replies. "They're not happy, but they'll live. They and the super will be laid up for a while, but then they'll be fine."

"That thing's not the only weapon we found in the place," Marcus says. "Assault rifles, knives, and a 9 mil."

"Todd Clarke was killed with a 9, wasn't he," Gregson asks.

Marcus nods. His phone chimes, and he reaches for it as he talks. "We'll run a ballistics test to confirm, but I'd say we found a promising suspect." He checks his phone and sighs.

"What," Gregson asks.

"Holmes," he says, showing him his screen. On it is a picture of the contraption Gregson's standing next to, along with a simple message. 'omw.' "I didn't call her," he says.

"Who the fuck is sending her pictures of crime scenes," he asks, glaring around. No one looks his way.

"Probably called in a favor from CSU. I'll figure it out," Marcus promises. His phone chimes again, but he doesn't reply. "We put a BOLO out on McClenehan. Hopefully-" another chime, and Marcus glances at his phone. "Hopefully he hasn't left town yet, but-" another chime. "I'm sorry," Marcus says. Gregson leans over to read the latest text Holmes sent. 'Found McClenehan!'

"What," Gregson demands.

Marcus' phone rings in his hand, and he puts it on speaker. "How'd you find him so fast," Marcus asks.

"I didn't, I just needed you to pick up the phone," Holmes says. Gregson scowls. "Are the others safe?"

"Yeah," Marcus replies. "Mehta and Frost are at the hotel already. I guess Dresden is taking a while to pack but he's got our people with him."

"I'm not coming any longer. Don't wait for me."

"We weren't," Marcus starts, but Holmes hangs up. "Probably would be easier to fire her if we ever actually paid her," he remarks, pocketing his phone. Gregson sighs.

They keep investigating, and a uni finds McClenehan- dead in an alley three blocks away.

"Call Holmes," Gregson instructs Marcus. He leaves before she gets there- he needs to do some paperwork at the station.

Just before he gets there, he gets a call over the radio. Dresden tried to kill Mehta. "What made the uni think to watch out," he asks dispatch.

"Holmes called in the warning."

"On my way."

He curses and praises Holmes in turn until he gets to the hotel. When he does, he finds out his officers already evacuated Mehta and Frost. But he learns something gut-clenching. Harris is in there with Dresden.

"Is everyone alright," Holmes asks, getting out of Joan's car and walking to him.

"Yeah. We evacuated the rest of the Red Team, but he's got one of my detectives hostage in there." Gregson watches the SWAT team approach the door.

"If Dresden intended to sell the Red Team's plan, his motive would be money. but if that were the case, he wouldn't have tried to assassinate the others in a hotel he knew was being controlled by the police. I think I know what his game is."

"What is it?"

"He doesn't want the secret to get out, he thinks it's too dangerous. It's practically a suicide mission."

"You may be right," Gregson admits, hating that she is. "Our negotiator called the room phone. Dresden gave us his demands. Normally a guy wants a helicopter or bus. All he wants is the remaining Red Team members delivered to him, then he'll let Harris out."

"I need to speak to him."

"That guy has one of my detectives," Gregson snaps. "This requires finesse. I'm not putting this in the hands of a suspended consultant."

"And I can often be uncareful, I know. But I know why Dresden is doing this, and I know what to say to make him stop."

Gregson weighs the options. On one hand, Holmes is suspended. But he knows she's good- if she says she can do it, she'll do it. On the other hand, he doesn't want to send his soulmate into danger.

"Captain," Holmes says, touching the crook of his elbow. He looks at her. "I'll get your man out," she promises. Gregson nods. Holmes drops her hand and Gregson walks to the negotiator.

"Give Holmes the number."

Gregson calls the SWAT team off and Sherlock goes to the door. She's let in. Gregson's heart pounds in his throat. Joan touches his arm, and he looks at her. "I'm nervous, too," she admits. "But I trust her." She smiles softly. "And I know you do, too." He does.

Gregson sends the SWAT team back up, ready to get his soulmate, his detective, and Dresden out. The door opens, and he tenses. Sherlock comes out first, and he breathes a sigh of relief. Then Dresden, his hands up and empty. The SWAT team takes him into custody and two lead him down while the others clear the room. "Clear," Gregson hears from upstairs. "We got Harris! He's not hurt!" But God help him, he doesn't care about that. He goes to Sherlock when she comes down the stairs and touches her elbow, feeling her alive under his fingers. Joan joins him.

"Are you ok," he demands.

"Yeah," she nods.

"How'd you get Dresden to come out?"

"Well, I knew the Red Team's plan and I told him that." Sherlock starts bouncing on her feet, nervous.

"How'd you know the plan?"

"Well, I thought very quickly and very carefully."

"YOU GUESSED?!"

"Yes." Sherlock breathes out while he has a minor panic attack. "Gun to one's head is a rather powerful stimulus."

"Sit down," he says, pulling her to his car. She opens the back door and sits. He nudges her over enough that he can sit, too. Joan goes in the other side and lays her head on Sherlock's shoulder.

"I'm glad you're ok," Joan says quietly.

"As am I, Watson. As am I." She pauses. "Captain. I think you and I owe each other a conversation." Gregson looks at her.

"I gotta deal with this first. There's a place called McNabb's at 43rd and 12th." It's a bar he goes to sometimes, but not his usual cop bar. "Meet me there in an hour." He gets up and walks away.

He's done sooner than he'd hoped and is two drinks in when Sherlock walks in. "I'm not really supposed to be spending much time in bars," she remarks as she approaches him.

"Tonight is not about you," Gregson snaps. Sherlock nods, accepting his anger. "If I'm gonna have this conversation, I'm gonna have a drink to go with it," he tilts his whiskey. "Talk."

"I regret that circumstances caused me to endanger our relationship," Sherlock says. "It was a price I was willing to pay for revenge, as was the likelihood of going to prison. But it was what I had to do."

"No. You didn't have to. You wanted to," he corrects, turning on the chair to face her. "God knows I've wanted to take justice into my own hands after I lost friends on the job, but I didn't. Because I'm a cop."

"I'm not."

"When you work with me, you work under the ideals of the New York City Police Department," he says firmly.

"And usually I do. Just outside the bureaucratic nonsense." Gregson rubs his face with one hand. "Captain, there is no logical reason to keep me from my work." Gregson slowly drops his hand and looks at her.

"I saw you work in London. You were good. And you're good here. God knows you're special. But fuck you for knowing it, too." Sherlock waits- she knows there's more. "I want an apology and an explanation."

"What," she demands.

"You heard me."

"Oh, bloody Hell. Can't you just punch me and get it over with," she asks, exasperated. He stills and looks into her eyes.

"Punch you?"

"Yes, I know you want to," she rolls her eyes.

"I'm not gonna hit you. You thought I was gonna?" He's slightly hurt.

"If I were a man, you would have."

"You're also my soulmate. I'm not gonna hit my soulmate." Sherlock looks shocked. "So. Apology," he says, putting up a finger. "Explanation." He holds up another.

Sherlock grits her teeth and seems to search for words. Gregson knows this is hard for her, so he's willing to wait. "I...am not a warm person," she starts. "I never have been. Human connection always eluded me. Until Irene." She sighs the name. "With her, I could see why someone would get married." Gregson can't hide his shock, but thankfully Sherlock seems to be...somewhere else. "People always talk about finding 'the one' when they meet their soulmate. I always thought that was a load of rubbish. But when I met her," she trails off. She shakes her head. "I understood. She might not have been my soulmate, but she was the one." She pauses. "And then Moran killed her. Or...I thought he was the one who killed her. For one year and six months, I thought that. And I plotted my revenge. One year and six months." She sighs. "And when I finally had him, when I said that name to his face, he said he didn't kill her. That he'd been in prison. And when I confirmed it," she shakes her head. "I still had all the anger, with a new but mysterious target. But I had my old one, a real one, right there. Tell me, Tommy," she says, and Gregson stills at hearing her use his first name. She never has before. "If you weren't a policeman, and you had the people who killed your friends in front of you with numerous weapons at your disposal, what would you have done?"

"I don't know," he admits. "But I can't think about that. Because I am a cop. And so are you." He holds up a hand to stop her protests before they start. "Yeah, you may not carry a badge, but you are a part of our precinct." He drops his hand. "Sherlock, come on. You hid that picture from me. You didn't tell me about Irene, let alone that she was murdered."

"Talking about her is painful," Sherlock admits, looking at her shoes. "Watson barely knows about it. It was my fault she'd been killed. Entirely my fault."

Gregson puts his hand on her shoulder. She doesn't move. "It wasn't. It was that guy, Moriarty's fault. He did it."

"But he did it because of me."

Gregson nudges her chin up until she looks at him. Her eyes are filled with tears but they don't fall. "It's not your fault," Gregson says quietly. "And I'll say that. Every day. Until you believe me."

"I won't ever believe that."

Gregson cups her cheek. She leans into it. "And you're wrong, you know. You can make connections, I've seen it. With me. With Joan. With Marcus. And you still have one soulmate left to meet, right?"

"Tommy, that isn't the same," she protests.

"Isn't it? A connection is a connection, Sherlock."

"Watson's leaving soon. You and Bell are coworkers."

"Joan and I are also your soulmates," he reminds her. "Talk to us. Please." Sherlock sighs.

"I'll try," she nods.

"Good." Gregson lets his hand drop, puts money on the bar and reaches for his coat. Sherlock picks it up and holds it open for him. "Thanks," he says, letting her help him into it. He turns to face her. "Welcome back."

[inktober-of-a-fan-girl]

Day 14: Tom Waits/Nick Cave/Matt Mahaffey/Ian McShane

This series is well known. The two movies that are more important to this is Shrek 2 (2004) & 3 (2007).

More notes/images in Keep Reading.

Shrek 2 with Far Far Away Idol (featuring Simon Cowell)

In this one, there is Captain Hook in the Poison Apple singing "Little Drop of Poison" by Tom Waits.

And later this song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song "People Ain't No Good" is slightly censored, removing the "shit" from the lyric "bullshit" so that it would be appropriate for inclusion on the soundtrack.

And an add-on called Far Far Away Idol.

Far Far Away Idol is a special feature on the DVD and VHS release based on American Idol and guest starring Simon Cowell. Taking place right after Shrek 2 ends, the short features characters from Shrek competing in a sing-off while being judged by Shrek, Fiona, and Cowell. After the performances, on the DVD release, the viewer gets to pick the winner. If any character besides Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, or Puss is selected, an alternate ending plays where Cowell would refuse to accept the winner and proclaim himself the victor, leaping onto the judging table and performing his "own" rendition of "My Way". At the end of the VHS release, it gives a link to a website where the viewer can vote for their favourite to determine the ultimate winner. DreamWorks Animation announced on November 8, 2004, three days after the DVD and VHS release, that with 750,000 votes cast, the "winner" of the competition was Doris.

I constantly voted for Captain Hook…even though he can't sing.

"Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede; is sung by Captain Hook.

This is done by Matt Mahffey.

For Shrek 3…

He becomes a major villain, helping Prince Charming...or giving him a headache.

This will come later in the Inktober.

I mean you could just look at this bio on this wiki page…

Captain Hook (voiced by Ian McShane in the third film) appears in Shrek 2 in the bar of the Poison Apple, where he plays the piano and sings "Little Drop of Poison" (his singing voice during that song was provided by Tom Waits) and "People Just Ain't No Good" (his singing voice during that song was provided by Nick Cave) in the other. Captain Hook also appears as a contestant in the Far Far Away Idol feature on the Shrek 2 DVD with his singing voice provided by Matt Mahaffey. He begins to sing "Hooked On A Feeling" until Tinkerbell (whom Hook poisons in the classic Peter Pan story) prompts Simon Cowell to remove him from the stage.

He appears in Shrek the Third, working for Prince Charming. When Artie convinces the villains to give up evil, Hook states that he grows daffodils and they are beautiful. Captain Hook is the first who throws his weapon down and becomes good.

Captain Hook does not appear in Shrek Forever After directly, but his voice is heard in the soundtrack, and he makes a cameo in the book opening of the film holding some daffodils.

Man, he loves daffodils…

Or his Shrek wiki...

I mean he's a bit of hairstyle and a mustache but his eyes are the wrong color. At least he is a right-handed hook.

And this….

…just for laughs.

[galaxythreads]

and and and! elementary Sherlock actively tries to be better. He's rude, yeah, but he also learns when to dial it down. If you look at how he shares feedback between s1 and s6 with Marcus, he's much more gentle. He recognizes that Marcus DOES contribute to the investigations and he doesn't automatically dismiss theories from Marcus, Joan, and the Captain simply because they Aren't Him in later seasons. (Even in season 1, he was willing to listen to Joan and actually took her thoughts into consideration)

Marcus, Joan, and Gregson are also not willing to take crap from Sherlock, when he's being too much of an asshole, they poke him until he stops. One of my favorite things is when Sherlock will say the most bonkers egotistical thing and then Marcus will, metaphorically, look into the camera before giving the driest comment in the world that reminds Sherlock he's not the center of the universe. Because he's not. In Elementary, Sherlock is a character that exists in the world and the show happens to be about him. But the characters around him have lives.

BBC Sherlock...doesn't have that. Sherlock doesn't have people that call him out on his behavior, he never makes an effort to be better or more gentle. He never learns from his actions, because everyone constantly caters to him. BBC Sherlock IS the center of the cast's universe and they all KNOW that. The police are useless. Watson is useless. EVERYONE is useless except for Sherlock. No one has a life that impacts their choices unless it has to do with Sherlock. Even the Mary-mess was BECAUSE of sherlock.

Elementary Sherlock is trying and he cares so so so so so much about everyone, but he's so so bad at showing the people he loves that he loves them. He sees people as PEOPLE. He even says/implies (s1?) that one of the hardest parts about cases is that he's always been extremely emphatic which helps him put himself into the minds of victims and criminals, but that's also what makes it hard.

BBC Sherlock sees people as things. It's just...not the same.

i remember when elementary first came out and bbc sherlock fans were saying elementary's sherlock was OOC becuz he wasn't an asshole just becuz he was compassionate to victims and people suffering hard circumstances

putting the claims of OOC-ness aside, but it's clear they actually didn't watch or didn't pay attention becuz elementary's sherlock is absolutely an asshole. he is arrogant and entitled and rude and aggressive to people who impede his investigations even if they are also victims and hostile to his brother for no discernible reason

the difference from bbc's sherlock is that elementary's sherlock actually has consequences for this behavior. it strains his relationships, it gets him fired from his job, it gets him into legal trouble, it hinders his investigations, it gets his friend shot

we're used to modern adaptions of sherlock prancing around being callous and inconsiderate to everyone around him and ppl grudgingly putting up with it becuz, well, he's a eccentric genius what can you do

elementary's sherlock is compassionate to people who've suffered becuz he knows what it's like to suffer, but he's also an unmitigated asshole, he just doesn't get a free pass on it

[writergeekrhw]

Hi! I'm currently rewatching Elementary and I came across your account on here which was great! I do have a question for you that has bugged my best friend and I for a while now. In the episode with Charles Milverton, Sherlock mentions Captain Gregson has daughters. In Season 2, Mrs Gregson seems to be leaving a message to someone (we've assumed not Hannah) and mentions wanting a call back before the end of the semester.

I'm curious, is there a particular reason we never got the meet the other daughter/daughters? Was the idea scrapped? Did she ever have a name? I would absolutely love to know if she did. My best friend and I absolutely despise Hannah (great writing on that end) so we've officially dubbed the unmentioned sister 'the superior sister' lol. Anyway, thank you! I really love your work.

Unfortunately, we just never came up with a good story for the other daughter(s). ELEMENTARY was definitely an A-story heavy show, so we only had time for one B-story an episode and most of those focused on Sherlock or Joan.

[galaxythreads]

alright, apologies this really has nothing to do with your fic itself but-- i just love every time you add in a cameo. i'm just over here like ' :0!! CAPTAIN GREGSON?!? :DDDD'

it makes me very happy XD

*maniacal giggling*