Epilouge~

Mrs. Hudson came tip toeing up the stairs, a brilliant smile spread across her face. It was peacefully quiet upstairs. Her boys were home, she wondered if they might be asleep?

They were rarely ever home anymore. But after they had been gone in New York for a few days, Mycroft had commanded them not to go anywhere or to do anything for at least 1 solid week. Sherlock had been fitted with an ankle bracelet, and was literally on house arrest (although John insisted it was more or less protective custody/ R and R, Mrs. Hudson was still convinced Sherlock had probably gotten himself in trouble again).

He and John hadn't left the flat in a week. A solid week. And to Mrs. Hudson's extreme surprise, Sherlock hadn't been driving them crazy,and hadn't actually needed the bracelet after all. Had actually been sleeping quite a bit, and sitting at the fire-place a lot , either playing his violin, or looking at his chemistry kit, and sometimes late in the evening, being sociable, and to her greatest surprise and delight, sitting and chatting for long hours with her and John. This week had been like a holiday even,having them both home, both alive and mostly unhurt (except John had poked a rather nasty hole in his hand, that he had to medicate regularly to avoid its being infected)

Tonight she found them both sitting on the settee, sharing one of her knitted blankets, watching telly, and eating Chinese take-out they'd had delivered to the doorstep.

John jabbed his chopsticks at the screen. " He can't do that! Bloody coward! "

"Please...he owns the shop. And he didn't technically DO anything...it's just a man playing a part..rather badly." Sherlock groaned, shaking his head, and taking a tremendous bite of an egg roll.

"What are you boys watching?" Mrs Hudson asked, coming to hover over the tv set, folding her hands.

"Rubbish." Sherlock said, or rather sort of groaned.

"The Paradise , Mrs. Hudson. It's a new period drama on the BBC." John answered, patiently.

"The shop owner is being unreasonable. And the acting is rather bad. And there's too much drama over picking boyfriends and girlfriends. I mean, please, the show revolves around a dress shop. It's not a life and death sort of thing; why is everyone so high-strung? Also, the old man bookkeeper will end up committing murder. I see all the signs..."

"Oh ,Sherlock. I have missed your telly critiquing. Ooh, but it's the Paradise! I love this show; may I sit?"

"Of course!" John cried, and Sherlock turned away from the screen, brows curled in an expression that could be captioned, "Really? You honestly have to ask; this is also your flat?"

Mrs. Hudson smiled, having missed him so terribly. This week was the first opportunity since his resurrection for her and John to really process having him back, living with them again. Just living again. Sitting on the settee, rolling his eyes at the tv set, making observations that gave the whole episode away ...again.

As the credits began to roll, and a show announcer said something about next episode, Mrs. Hudson breathed a contented sigh and said,

"We're just SO very happy that you're back, Sherlock..."

John looked up, eyes gone moist by that comment, and nodded, a deliriously fond smile on his face. Sherlock paused, a chopstick full of noodles almost in his mouth.

"So...So am I." he said, smiling back.

Mrs. Hudson laughed, feeling a change in the him. Things were going to better now. Going to be different. She just knew.

Sherlock grabbed the remote control. "Alright, that was boring. Let's find something less boring to watch." he said, flipping the channels, accidentally landing on CNN.

"Oh, isn't that the Empire State Building in New York? Wonder what's going on there, looks like it was a mess, if you ask me...Bloody Americans-it was probably over money, you know they are rather fixated with money and what not..."

Sherlock and John exchanged a look, that silently debated whether they should tell the old woman or not. They decided against it.

"Oh, it was nothing Mrs. Hudson. A thief broke in, they'll forget about it in a matter of days! Ah, here's something interesting, " Ancient Egypt: Methods of Embalming"...

"Not the show for me!"Mrs. Hudson cried.

"You know, why don't we watch a DVD ?" John gasped, getting up to put one in.

"Silence of the Lambs?" Sherlock offered.

"Uh,,...nooooo..."

"It was thought provoking!"

" Mrs. Hudson needs her beauty sleep ,Sherlock! No, not Silence of the Lambs..."

John opened their DVD case ,and all said DVDs went spilling in the floor.

"Oh, alright. I already know what happens anyway. Just pick one that's not extremely boring..."Sherlock muttered, yawning.

Mrs. Hudson laughed. She looked forward to adventures ahead. But tonight, she was just going to enjoy sitting around the telly, and being boring with her boys. All was well at last, and she could draw a deep, laughing breath, sit back, and enjoy the show...