Hello everyone! Long time no see.

Okay, first, I have to admit that I got a bit on side tracks with this chapter here. But… I promise this new character in this chapter will be really important for the later chapters. And the second thing I promise is, that there is going to happen more between Joan and Sherlock in the next chapter. But now I found this "leaving Joan out from this chapter" -thing be useful so everyone could relate that Joan wasn't figuratively in Sherlock's life for almost seven months. Does this make any sense to you? I hope it does because here it is… Enjoy…

"Sir, you have to go and wait outside, please", the doctor said and looked gently at Sherlock who was holding tightly Joan's hand in a tight grip in his hands. "Sir, did you hear me… sir?"

Sherlock looked at the doctor who was staring at him a bit more nervously. Then he looked back at Joan's face which was pale like a sheet and dripping with sweat.

"I can't leave her. I promised", Sherlock said silently and tightened his grip of Joan's hand. Fear, worry and sadness reflected in his eyes, and the doctor could tell it. A small tear was forming to the corner of his eye. He didn't want to leave her. He had promised to take care of her.

"Sir, we need space. You can't be here", the nurse said from the other side of the room holding gently but confidently a small syringe.

"But, she..." Sherlock mumbled and stroked gently a strand of hair from Joan's face. "You need to heal her, doctor. She has experienced so much hardship in recent times."

"Sir, I assure you, we'll do everything to help her if you just excuse yourself from this room", the doctor said and smiled faintly. "Okay?"

Sherlock stared at her for a moment.

"Okay", he whispered and slowly let go of his grip from Joan's hand. That moment was... Well, something that Sherlock couldn't ever describe. He took a step slowly backwards and turned around. He looked at Joan all the way to the open door. It felt horrible to leave her. Really horrible.

When Sherlock was finally outside of the room, the nurse came to close the door.

"Thank you, sir. There is a chair around the corner if you want to sit down and wait", she said and smiled before she quickly shut the door.

The bang from the closing door echoed in the empty corridor. Sherlock looked at the closed door in front of him. He stood there for a moment, thinking. There wasn't any thoughts in his mind really. At least that's what it felt like. The only thing, after a moment, he could think about was Joan and her face when he was carrying her at the parking lot. The expression on her face had been indescribable. So strong but so weak at the same time. Sherlock sighed and breathed deeply.

"I should have brought her here earlier", he thought and turned around to search for a chair to sit on. He walked along the empty hallway hands in his pockets. Every limb he moved felt numb.

The clock above his head cracked loudly. He raised his gaze up to the clock on the wall. It said 01.11 p.m. Sherlock sighed and turned to the left from the corner. Then he found a chair. Actually, he was almost stumbling on it although it was just there where the nurse had said it would be. Sherlock grabbed the chair in his hand a bit agitated and dragged it just next to the door. After sitting on the chair and sighing loudly, he grabbed his phone from his pocket and began reading his unread emails.

Sherlock was sitting alone in the corridor. There weren't people in the hallway in this wing of the hospital. There were small sounds coming from the room where Joan was but Sherlock couldn't pinpoint what there was happening, and that fact was making him even more agitated.

The air in the hallway was slightly damp and dry. A really familiar and strong sent of disinfectant and not so strong scents of rubber and floor soap with citrus filled Sherlock's nostrils. Ceiling lights were slightly dim.

"I'm sure it has something to do with the thunderstorm", Sherlock deduced and continued reading an old case file which Gregson had sent to him early in the morning by email. Just in case Sherlock would become bored. Of course, focusing on it was quite a different matter. It was impossible. Every thought he tried to produce turned straight towards Watson.

After a few minutes of unproductive work with the case file Sherlock heard the door opening next to him. He got up quickly from the chair boggling the nurse.

"Oh, sir... You scared me", she said catching her breath.

"How is she?" Sherlock asked and stepped slightly towards her.

"I'm sorry but I... I can't tell yet. This far is looking rather good. But I'm heading to get another nurse to help", the nurse said and pointed the hallway with her finger.

"Okay, but please, don't tell anyone about this", Sherlock pleaded and stepped in front of her. "And when I get to see her?"

"Well, I'll... see what I can do. The doctor will come to speak with you when we're ready. Then you should ask about your friend's condition", the nurse said and began walking quickly along the hallway like she would be scared of him.

Actually, Sherlock wasn't looking really charming at the moment. His eyes were red and puffy and there were black circles under his eyes from staying up all night long and keeping an eye on Watson. His blazer and trousers were straight from the laundry basket. Only his black shirt was clean. It had been pleated in his closet over nine months. Actually, Joan had washed it. In the morning Sherlock had picked the shirt from his closet to look somewhat typical man in her eyes, but that had gone, once again, on sidetracks.

"Like everything else", he thought and sighed loudly.

Looking at the nurse walking behind a corner, Watson and her old job came to Sherlock's mind. If the accident, when Joan lost her patient, would never have happened, she could be in the nurse's place and the woman in the hospital room with high fever would be a prostitute or someone else. Joan would carry her posture straight and she would be proud. She would be happy to help and get to know normal and living people.

Sherlock sat back down to think.

The clock cracked again. It said 01.17p.m. Sherlock sighed and closed his eyes burying his face in his hands.

"How lucky I really am", he thought and buried his hands in his pockets. "When I got out from Hemdale I got a sober companion. I didn't like her at first… I really didn't… How stupid I was." Sherlock took a piece of paper from his pocket. There was an address in it. 'Crescent street, Astoria' written in Joan's handwriting. Sherlock hummed slightly and examined the paper more closely. The paper was slightly yellow and folded in half. It was worn and quite old. It was ripped from some larger paper. The address was written with dark blue shade ballpoint pencil. He had no idea why she would have written the note and given it to him. There hadn't been any reason for it. Gregson had called him and told the address. They had got quickly to a taxi and drove straight to the address to hunt down the 'Balloon man'. Sherlock tucked the paper back to his pocket.

"I really envied her patience. He got use to me and stayed", he thought. "I got a friend. A friend to trust to, speak to and work with. I got a beautiful friend from inside and out… Even her handwriting can tell it." Sherlock took the paper back in his hand and looked at the handwriting more closely. It was like art. Beautiful circles, curves and lines.

"This is so unfair that this kind of things happens to her kind of person", he thought and sighed.

"You're blaming yourself again, Sherlock", he heard Joan's voice in his head.

"Well, yeah... if you really remembered, you would know that", he thought.

"If I remembered our relationship, I would definitely want you to develop it further. And, please put your self-pity aside", the voice said.

"I'm not really sure about that", Sherlock whispered and heard loud sounds coming from the other side of the corridor. He opened his eyes and straightened his position on the chair. The nurse was walking along the hallway straight towards the door with other two nurses on her heels.

"Sir, are you alright?" the nurse asked before entering to the room. "You look a little pale."

"Yes, I'm... I'm fine", Sherlock mumbled and nodded.

"Okay… but if you need medicine, there is the hospital's own pharmacy just along the hall and then left", the nurse said merrily entering to the room with others.

Sherlock mumbled quick thanks and got up from the chair.

That one hour and those 42 minutes which Sherlock had to wait in the hall were once again Sherlock's longest minutes in his life and full of confused thoughts and memories. He couldn't think anything else but Joan and the last five days' events. He paced around the hallway and hummed quietly a violin concerto of some sort. Sherlock came to a conclusion that everything what had happened was misunderstandings and confusion. He couldn't stay put anymore.

"Every time we had started even a small conversation it had gone on side tracks", he thought and sat on the floor leaning to the wall.

The way which Joan had looked at him at the first time when she had woken up was still haunting him. It was still making him shiver. It had been so different. It had brought back memories from the first days with his sober companion. And the surprise when he found her on his doorsteps behind his door, although he had thought that he would never see her again. The yesterday night when Joan almost kissed him. Kissed him for goodness sake. Being so closed to her had felt really great but the situation wasn't real. The sight of Joan's beautiful body covered only white lace bra and panties had made him feel affection, sadness and many other things. And that had made him feel, again, confused. And the last thing was in the morning when Joan was clearly running away like she had been ashamed of something. These and many other things during these past five days confused him. He hadn't been in this kind of situation before. Only a few people have been actually.

"What should I do?" he thought.

He grabbed his phone from his pocket and continued reading the case file. 'A new homicide case sent from Captain Gregson' he read. Maybe he should call to him. Just give him some new information about Watson. Yes, that's what he would do. Actually, Gregson was the only person who Sherlock could really talk to right now.

"Hi Holmes, how are you?" Gregson answered moments later when Sherlock had pushed the call button.

"I... I don't know actually. Do you have time to talk?" Sherlock asked silently.

"Sure, I mean... We're in the middle of a case here but I can hear from your voice that something is really bothering you", Gregson said and scoffed. "Go on."

"It's Watson. She is... in hospital again", Sherlock said and sighed.

"What? What happened?" Gregson asked immediately. "Should I send an officer to check on her?"

"No, I... I'm already here", Sherlock said.

After a brief and quick account of events from yesterday to the present, leaving the little details from last night untold, Sherlock was holding back tears.

Gregson was speechless.

"I... I... I'm so sorry", he mumbled.

"I don't know what to do anymore. And that is interfering enormously. Do you understand what I'm saying? I don't have moments like these. I know all the time what I'm doing or what I will do", Sherlock explained and swallowed hard.

"Sherlock I... I know this is hard but... you need to listen and understand what I'm saying to you next", Gregson said and inhaled deeply. "If... I mean when Joan is alright again she will be really confused. This whole thing is really hard for her now. If I were you, I would consider thinking and talking about your future with her, rationally. And think the best way to continue your lives. Joan deserves appreciation, understanding and someone to trust to. She needs someone who she knows by heart. She also needs safety and that is something she won't have if she continues working with you... with us, at the precinct. This is really hard for you and you need to think yourself too. Sometimes the best decision is letting go, sometimes it isn't... But first, you need to think present, not the events a year or eight months ago. You had a partner and a partnership with Joan... Now, you have a woman who has known you for five days. And I'm sure you won't have the relationship you had ever again if she doesn't regain her memories. Think Sherlock... that is what you do best. Find the pros and cons from different possible solutions and pick one."

"Okay", Sherlock mumbled and sighed. "Thanks."

"I wish this helped even a little bit… But now, I have to go, I'm afraid. Bell got a call and it looks like we have a crime scene to investigate. Oh, have you looked that case file I sent you, by the way?"

"No… I haven't. I'm sorry", Sherlock said silently.

"That's alright. I'll come to see you guys later. Bye", Gregson said and hung up.

Sherlock stared at the wall in front of him. He tucked his phone back to his pocket repeating Gregson's words in his mind.

After five minutes the doctor came to the hallway.

Sherlock jumped straight away on his feet and glanced at the clock on the wall. It said 02.59p.m. Then he looked at the doctor straight to her eyes.

"She is fine. We managed to subside the fever. She's sleeping now", the doctor said and smiled.

Sherlock sighed loudly and leaned to the wall.

"Oh God, thank you", he mumbled and dried his almost invisible tears away.

"It's alright now", the doctor said.

"When I can go to see her?" Sherlock asked after he had inhaled deeply a couple of times.

"I think... when she wakes up. It's a privacy thing. You are her friend after all..."

"What's going on?!" Dr. Floyd yelled from the other side of hallway. She was running quickly towards Sherlock.

"There is a patient with high fever ma'am but..." the doctor said but Aviva cut her off.

"Yes, I heard. Sherlock, are you alright?" Dr. Floyd asked when she had stopped in front of him.

"Yes, I... I think I am. I'm just worried about Watson", Sherlock said and smiled faintly.

"Oh, well, let's go to see her then", Aviva said. "Can I get the report?" Dr. Floyd tried to grab the stack of paper from the doctor's hand but she prevented it.

"Dr. Floyd, the patient is sleeping and only family members are allowed to..."

"Oh, don't worry dear Marie. Sherlock is my friend. And the patient, Joan Watson, is my friend too. Would you hand over the report, please?" she asked.

"Okay", Marie said and walked quickly away. She was definitely in the lower position in the hospital than Dr. Floyd, Sherlock deduced.

"It's nice to see you again, Sherlock", Aviva said and smiled widely after Marie had gone away. "Not in these circumstances, of course, but... well..."

"Yes, it's nice to see you too, doctor", Sherlock said and smiled too.

"Oh, you can just call me Aviva. We have known each other at least... six and a half months after all. We don't have to be so formal", Aviva said and smiled a bit flirtatiously.

"Oh, yes, of course, Aviva", Sherlock said and smiled faintly.

"Shall we go inside or..." Dr. Floyd suggested and pointed the door.

"Yes, yes of course."

Sherlock and Aviva stepped quietly into the room where Joan was sleeping peacefully. It was really cool in the room. The curtains had been pulled down and the nurses had dimmed the lights.

"Is she alright?" Sherlock asked silently when he had seen Joan's sleeping figure.

"In the report is said that it was quite hard to get her fever down. And when I'm looking these readings of her heartbeat, blood pressure, fever, etc. I would say that, if you had brought her here minutes later, it would have been too late. You saved her life Sherlock. You are like a hero", Aviva said and quickly read through the report.

Sherlock didn't say anything. He just stared blankly at Watson. Once again... déjà vu. He had seen this picture many times before. He had seen it every day, when he had come to the hospital to see his so fragile but so strong partner laying on a bed, in a coma.

After a few moments Aviva lifted her gaze from the report to Sherlock.

"Sherlock, are you alright?" she asked and poked him on the shoulder.

"Yes, I'm... I'm fine. Just a bit confused, that's all", Sherlock said and looked at the floor. "Being once again here... in hospital. Looking at her sleeping figure again. It just... I don't know. It's like déjà vu."

"Hey, we should go somewhere to talk. Maybe to grab some coffee. I have a short break now", Aviva said and looked at her wrist watch.

"I... I don't know really. I... I think it would be better if I stayed here", Sherlock said and stroked Joan's soft hand. "In a case that Watson wakes up..."

"Oh, don't worry. Joan isn't going anywhere. The doctor, Marie, gave her a shot which prevents Joan waking up before the fever has subsided. She will sleep at least a couple more hours or so", Aviva said and laid the report on the bedside table.

"I don't..." Sherlock mumbled.

"Oh, Sherlock... Come on. Just a few minutes", Aviva said looking at him pleadingly and stroking his hand slightly.

"Well... Okay, I might have a couple of minutes free time", Sherlock said after a few seconds. He laid Joan's hand back on the bed and then rushed to open the door for Dr. Floyd.

"Do you wanna go for coffee or something?" Aviva asked after a few moments walking along the hallway. "I mean... There is a coffee shop just around the corner. Coffee here in a hospital is quite... bad if I may say."

"For a coffee?" Sherlock asked and looked around. "Okay."

"Yeah", Aviva said and smiled brightly.

After walking a few meters away from the hospital and ordering couple cups of coffee Dr. Floyd and Sherlock were sitting at the small table in the corner of the coffee shop sipping their coffees.

"You really shouldn't pay my coffee Sherlock", Aviva said and smiled.

"Oh, it's alright. I just thought I would owe you something. You have taken so good care of Watson."

Aviva smiled and blushed a little.

"What kind of a doctor Watson was?" Sherlock asked suddenly.

Aviva looked at him for a brief moment before answering.

"She... she was the best. Everyone liked her. Everyone was her friend. When she decided to do something, she did it. She was modest, kind and understanding. That's what I remember", Aviva said and took a sip from her coffee. "She was a really good surgeon. Everyone trusted her. Even children. Many of us doctors said that she would be a wonderful mother. She was so good with kids... So good with everyone actually. She wasn't my closest friend but I knew many things about her. Everyone talked about her. She was so popular that you could find some articles about her from medical magazines... We heard rumors that she had kept the articles from the magazines, but when she had lost her patient… she had furiously ripped them and burned them. The accident was on everyone's lips for many months... years if I may say. She never came back to the doctors break room after the accident. One cleaning lady still claims that she would have seen Joan there after an accident. She claims that Joan was standing in front of her locker crying pale like a sheet. She had opened her locker, took out a small book and slammed the door shut."

"Why you don't believe the cleaning lady?" Sherlock asked.

"Well, Joan left a Prada bag in her locker. Why would she ever take a small book with her instead of taking an expensive bag which had cost hundreds of dollars with her", Aviva said and took another sip from her coffee. "That cleaning lady only wanted attention."

"You said a small book?" Sherlock asked like verifying what she had heard.

"Yes, a book."

"Do you remember what kind of book?" Sherlock asked curiously.

"Why do you want to know that?" Aviva asked confused. "It was a figment of her imagination, anyway."

Sherlock looked at his coffee cup for a moment. Thinking.

"How's Joan doing with her amnesia? I mean does she remember anything?" Aviva asked suddenly.

"She... doesn't remember anything. But, um... she got to know about the accident when she lost her patient. She was quite devastated. And I think she still is", Sherlock explained and Aviva nodded sympathetically. "She... she went to a bar and that's why she was staying at my house. Then, when she became ill, I brought her here. But I think you knew that bar thing already."

"Yes, there was still some alcohol in her blood. I didn't say anything about it but you're now speaking about it so… it read in the report", Aviva said.

"I... I knew it would be dangerous to drink. And, I tried to stop her but..." Sherlock said and looked at the tray.

"Hey... I'm sure you did everything you could", Aviva said and reached out for his hand. "I believe you did everything to help Joan."

Sherlock looked a bit confused at her hand on his own for a while and scoffed.

"Do you think so?" he asked.

"Well, I think we both know how stubborn Joan can be sometimes", Aviva said and laughed faintly.

"Yeah…" Sherlock said took the last sip of his coffee.

After Sherlock and Aviva had drunk their coffees and the empty cups were lying on the table, Aviva started smiling brightly.

"This was really nice, you know", she said and got up from the chair.

"Yes... this was", Sherlock said and opened the door for her.

"Thank you, you're such a gentleman... And sweet", Aviva said and smiled. "Oh, look. The sun is shining."

"By the way, have you noticed that we always meet in some unhappy circumstances?" Aviva pointed out when they were heading on the street.

"Yes, I have noticed", Sherlock said and sighed. "That's unfortunate."

"It is. I mean... I was thinking that we would meet some day... in more appropriate circumstances. Maybe in a bar or somewhere", Aviva suggested.

"Well, I... I'm not really a man who goes into bars", Sherlock mumbled and tucked his hands to his pockets.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't remember that sober thing and... I'm so sorry", Aviva said and blushed.

"You don't have to be sorry. It's just... I don't drink alcohol. And bars make me memorizing the old days when I was still walking along the wrong path", Sherlock said and sighed.

"How do you feel about it? How can you live with this?" Aviva asked suddenly.

"Do you mean my sobriety or something else?"

"I mean the fact that your friend is in a coma for six and a half months. Then you find out that she doesn't remember who you are. And next you are bringing her here... back to the hospital", Aviva explained.

"It's hard... of course. I don't know. It's so complicated that it's really hard to summarize in a couple on sentences."

Aviva and Sherlock walked a few moments in a silence until they were back at the hospital's lobby.

"If... if you wanted to talk about the things which are making your life complicated, maybe we would talk about it then", Aviva suggested and smiled. "We could meet somewhere."

Sherlock stared at the doctor for a moment before answering.

"Well, I... I don't think that is a good idea. I mean, I really appreciate your offer but I... I'm not really good at things like talking. I prefer to retain my worries and troubles and solve them by myself. I don't really share anything", Sherlock said and sighed. "And, I'm so sorry that I have been whining to you about my problems like a little child."

"No, no you haven't, Sherlock. I have known you for almost seven months and you are... Well, you have talked very little about your worries. You should hear some of my patients' husbands. They don't leave me alone with their questions about their wives even for a minute", Aviva said and smiled. "And about that not really good at sharing thing... I'm sure it's the best way for you if you think so. But um... there are web sites in the internet where you can anonymously talk or ask questions about amnesia."

"Thank you", Sherlock said and tucked his hands once again in his pockets.

"So, well..." Aviva said and stared at his eyes. "Are you staying around or...?"

"Yes, I... I think I'm the only one available to be with Watson right now so... yes, I'm staying", Sherlock said and smiled faintly.

"Okay, my... shift is going to start in a few minutes. Thanks for the coffee and… see you around then", Aviva said and smiled before she began to walk along the hallway.

"Yes, see you", Sherlock mumbled and smiled. He looked at her until she was out of his sight.

Sherlock was standing in the hallway and rewinding their last discussion in his mind. He had learned something new about Watson. And there was a question he wanted to get an answer. A puzzle to be solved.

"Hey, sir, would you get out of the way?" a doctor asked bringing Sherlock back from his thoughts.

"Oh, yes, of course. Sorry..." he mumbled stepping aside so the doctor with an empty wheelchair could get past.

After a moment Sherlock quickly ran after her.

"Hey, miss, excuse me", he said and stepped in front of her.

The doctor stopped and looked at him questioningly.

"I'm sorry to interrupt..."

"How can I help you?" she asked cutting Sherlock off.

"I... I would like to know where are the cleaning ladies of this hospital", Sherlock said." I'm searching the one who saw Joan Watson in the break room for the last time."

The doctor began to laugh out loud.

"You must be kidding, sir..." She said and continued laughing.

Sherlock look at her a serious look on his face.

"You're not kidding", the doctor said after she had seen the expression on Sherlock's face. "You are quite serious, aren't you?"

"Yes, really serious", Sherlock said and nodded.

"She is... in the basement, I think. In the cleaners' locker room. But you will need a code to access there. Who are you exactly?" the doctor asked and put her hands akimbo.

"I'm... Joan Watson's best friend", Sherlock said.

"Yeah, I was too. Prove it to me", she demanded and stepped one step closer to him.

"Oh, come on", Sherlock said and glance at the doctor in disbelief. But she glanced back at him with a look that was very familiar to him. He had seen that 'do you think I'm not serious' look many times on Joan's face.

"What is wrong with you hospital people?" Sherlock mumbled and sighed.

"We learn our manners from the best", she said and kept staring at him.

"Fine", Sherlock sighed finally rolling his eyes. "Watson graduated as a valedictorian of her class in medical school. She has a brother named Oren and her mother's name is Mary. Watson finished practicing medicine in 2011. She loves tea, reading, jogging and... she watches usually baseball. She is New York Mets fan. Is that enough?"

"The code is 2667. And the cleaner lady is called Maria Moreno", the doctor said. "I just don't know why you are so interested about this. But Joan was a great friend and even a greater doctor." After that statement the doctor continued walking along the hallway.

Sherlock looked at the doctor and smiled widely. Then he started walking towards the spot where he had seen stairs leading to the basement. When Sherlock had found the door he read the text in a paper which had been hastily taped to the glass of the door.

"Stuff only", Sherlock read quietly out loud and shrugged. He quickly looked around him and checked that no-one saw him entering to the stairwell. The lights were really dim in there and dustiness made Sherlock sneeze.

After about forty stairs later Sherlock had descended on a landing. There were three doors, one on each side of the room area. First one in his left was a storage of some sort judging by a padlock hanging on the door. The next one in front of him was definitely leading to a parking hall. Maybe for the cars of the stuff he deduced. And the third one on her right side was definitely the door to the cleaning ladies' locker room. He looked at the door and noticed a code keypad on the other side of the door. Sherlock stepped closer to it and tapped the numbers which the doctor had said to him to use. The door cracked and opened.

Sherlock stepped just a bit larger room than the area he had just stood at. The smell of coffee and cigarette smoke filled the air and a bright ceiling light were illuminating a round table in the middle of the room and three cleaning ladies in similar light blue uniforms around the table. They had been playing card and drunk coffee but now they were staring Sherlock with confused gazes.

"Who are you?" One of the cleaning ladies asked and put a cigarette butt on an ashtray. Then she got up. "You don't look like an inspector."

"No, no, I'm not an inspector. I'm Sherlock... Sherlock Holmes", he introduced himself and tried to smile politely.

"What ya doin' here then?" the other one asked while the first one sat back down.

"I'm looking for Maria", Sherlock said.

"Which one?" The third one asked bluntly chewing bubble gum at the same time.

"I'm looking for Miss Moreno", Sherlock said and scoffed.

"She is just leaving. I think she can get some time for you", the first cleaning lady said. "Hey, Mo! You got a visitor. I think you're getting fired!"

Sherlock stared at the women confused. "No wonder why no-one believes these women's stories", Sherlock thought and sighed. "If this Maria is anything like these women, I'm sure I won't get my answers."

After a moment a small woman, approximately in her mid-twenties and the same height as a Joan, stepped quickly to the room from another. She was wearing black ballerinas, skin-colored tights, grey bell-shaped skirt where the hem was just about under her knees, a white t-shirt and a light pink cardigan. Her dark brown bag was hanging on her right shoulder. She has brown short hair and very dark brown eyes.

"I... I'm so sorry I was chancing my clothes and..." she mumbled. She was speaking fluent English. Almost fluent... Only Sherlock and Henry Higgins would have heard the small nuances which indicated that she had Spanish as her mother tongue.

"It's alright, my name is Sherlock Holmes and I'm not here to take your job away. I just wanted to talk about something with you", Sherlock said and smiled widely. "If you have time, of course."

"Yes, I... I think I have time", she said quietly. She was nothing like the women around the table. She was shy and gentle, sounded polite and she had much better manners. "Please, follow me." Maria walked pass Sherlock, opened the door and stepped to the stairwell, Sherlock on her heels.

"What is the matter you want to talk about?" Maria asked after the door behind them had closed.

"It's about Joan Watson", Sherlock said and noticed an immediate reflection of discomfort on Maria's face. "And the book you saw."

"I don't know what you're talking about", she said, looked at the floor and crossed her arms.

"I'm not here to laugh at you", Sherlock said. "I just want to hear the story because... I'm Watson's friend. And she is in trouble."

Maria lifted her gaze immediately from the floor and looked at Sherlock straight to the eye.

"I think she needs your help", Sherlock said and inhaled deeply.

Maria looked around for a moment and scoffed.

"I can't believe this. She leaves everything behind her and now, after any years, she sends someone to ask for my help", said and sighed.

That's when Sherlock understood the matter. Maria and Joan had been something more than co-workers. They had been friends. And really good ones. And now Maria was obviously holding back tears.

"I... I'm sorry, Miss Moreno, but... she can't come here. She might not even remember you because... she has amnesia."

"What? What happened?" Maria asked worried.

"It's... a long story and I think you would like to hear it", Sherlock said and pointed to the stairs.

"Okay", she said quietly and started ascending the stairs.

Sherlock and Maria walked through the lobby and all the way outside to the nearest bench in total silence.

"Miss Moreno, I..."

"It's Maria. Please, call me Maria", she said and sat carefully on the bench.

"Maria..." Sherlock said and sat on the bench beside her. "Look, I... I really need to know something about the book you saw in Joan's hand when she was in the locker room for the last time."

Maria looked at him straight to the eye and nodded slightly.

"You were... friends... you and Watson, am I right?" Sherlock asked and sat on the bench beside her.

"Yes", Maria said and looked at her hands. "We were... really good ones actually."

"Yes, we were too", Sherlock said.

"Were?" Maria asked and lifted her gaze from her hands.

"Yes, we... met after she finished practicing medicine and she is living the year... 2009", he said and sighed.

"Oh, my..." Maria said and put her hand on her mouth. "What month, if I may ask?"

"May."

"Oh, no... Then she... doesn't remember me. I moved to her next door with my dad on November in 2009", she said and sighed. "I'm sorry I was so rude earlier..."

"No, no, it's alright. You don't have to apologize", Sherlock said and smiled. "So you... you said you were neighbours."

"Yes, yes we were", Maria said and sighed. "Maybe I should... tell something about myself first."

Maria scoffed and Sherlock leaned back to get a more comfortable position.

"When I was a child..." Maria started. "I was really kind, sweet and I loved pink. My parents and I lived in a big detached house in Queens. My room was really beautiful. It was so pink that my dreams were also really often pink. I really loved that room... Anyway, as you can already imagine, we had money. We were rich. My life was like a dream. I was sixteen when my parents divorced. That was the beginning of my life's downhill. Oh, I don't even know why I'm telling this..."

Maria buried her face in her hands and sighed loudly.

Sherlock looked at her and then his hands. He was quiet for a moment before he spoke.

"You know, sometimes when you have had rough times, speaking can be something you really don't want to do... I know that from experience. But speaking helps. It can elucidate. I'm certainly not the person to talk about sharing things", Sherlock said and blushed a little bit. "The thing is... I don't share. And it's a fault. And I understand it now too. But I just want to say that Watson... she is my first priority and I just want to help her. And I promise, I won't tell your story to anyone..."

"I know..." Maria said and smiled. "I know. I don't know why, but I... feel like I could trust you. There is something in you. About how you speak or something you do. Something familiar. Something Joanish."

"Joanish?" Sherlock asked and looked at her questioningly.

"Yes, there're some little things you do exactly like her."

There came a matter which Sherlock or no-one else had thought about. Everyone had always said how Sherlock had changed Joan. How she had change because being with him. Good or bad, always the effects were caused by Sherlock. No thoughts had shed towards Joan changing him. She indeed had changed Sherlock in many ways.

"Yes, I... I really had learned some things like compassion or kindness", Sherlock said and smiled.

A few moments passed until Maria continued her story.

"After the divorce my parents sold our house. Both of them wanted me to live with him or her and I had to make a decision. It wasn't easy one", Maria said and sighed. "I... I choose mum. My dad got angry at me and said that he would never want to see me again. Of course, I knew he didn't mean it. He loved me after all."

"So you started living with your mum then?" Sherlock asked.

"Yes, I did. I was living with my mum and we were happy... for a moment. Almost three months precisely. Actually, I thought that mum was happy too but... then... she got sick. Mentally. She got depressed about the divorce and started to act schizophrenically. Everything happened so quickly. First I had had a lovely weekend at home with my mother, and the second she is packing her things and moving in to a facility of some sort and I'm moving in to my dad's place", Maria said and sighed. "I... I remember the first time I was in that building... I had a couple of cardboard boxes with me and I was stepping to our floor from the elevator. That was the first time I saw Joan."

Maria took a deep breath and smiled.

"She was standing in the front of her door and struggling with opening the door. Her hair was tied in a bun and she was wearing a beautiful beige wool mantle coat, tight black jeans and black high heels", Maria said in total awe. "When I was at the dinner table the first thing I asked from my dad in ages was about our neighbor. Dad said the woman's name was Joan Watson, she was a doctor and she had just moved to the next door."

Maria allowed a few seconds to pass, so Sherlock could have time to process all the information.

Meanwhile Sherlock had observed Maria and her body language all the time of her story and Sherlock could say that she really envied or still envies Watson.

Then Maria continued her story.

"I didn't get along with my dad at first but... we understood that we couldn't fight if we were supposed to live under the same roof. We became a father and a daughter again. My mum's condition was getting better and better all the time and I got some real friends again. Life smiled for many months until one cold November night I got a call from hospital..."

"Your mother..."

"Yes... She had died to a heart attack", Maria whispered and tried to dry her now flowing tears.

Sherlock tucked his hand quickly to his trouser pocket and pulled out a white, clean handkerchief.

"Here", he said and handed Maria the tissue.

"Oh... thanks", she said and tried her tears to it. "I... I'm sorry I..."

"No, no, it's... alright. Crying is totally understandable if someone close to you is in trouble or passed away", Sherlock said and soothed her shoulder. He wasn't indeed really good at these consolation speeches or methods. A moment or two passed until Maria was capable of continue.

"The... the matter why my mum had died so young was that she... um... had got heart failure for her whole life and no-one knew about it except herself", she said and scoffed slightly. "There was a letter in her will. It said that she knew about everything and wanted that I would live happily and not worry about her before she... died... I got money from that will. But I was still under-age so I couldn't use the quite big amount of money. I missed her so much and that crushed me. I was seventeen and so bitter about mum's death that I stopped going to school and I started hanging with weird people. I started smoking. I diverged from my dad once again. I dyed my hair black and cut it short. I started to wear black. My dad was really disappointed in me and we fought a lot. After one big fight I rushed from our apartment. I was so furious that I almost knocked Joan down. She was just going past our door. I didn't say anything and just rushed away. I didn't even dare to look at her. That night I drank myself drunk for the first time... After that I often came home really drunk and I was a chain smoker back then. I was in trouble. I stole money from my dad's accounts and then one night I... made a big mistake..."

"You tried out drugs..." Sherlock said.

"Yes, I did. My boyfriend worked as a delivery man and he had found a quite big package of heroin. We used it for several days and I... got addicted. A month or two passed and then I... was arrested. Police department had been following my boyfriend who had stolen drugs for us. I didn't know it but I should have. He was so predictable. I was with him when they busted in his small apartment. My dad... he was furious. He had watched my bad behavior for almost a year. We made a deal. If he helped me out of jail and cleaned up my criminal record, I would be out from his life in two months. He managed to do that and my job was to find a new apartment, a job and get rid of my addiction. It was easier said than done. I was a mess. A month went by and I didn't get anything done. It was a Thursday night. It was over eleven o'clock and I was sitting in a bench which was between my dad's apartment door and Joan's door. I was crying and my black makeup was totally messed up my face. I had used heroin a month and two weeks ago then, but I have smoked weed and used some other drugs like amfetamin. I was suffering very little withdrawal symptoms at the moment actually. Anyway, I was sitting on a bench and I heard a bling from the direction of the elevator. I didn't lift my gaze up until I heard the clatter of high heels stopping in front of me. It was Joan. Oh, how pretty she was... Curled hair and perfect makeup, a beautiful black and tight cocktail dress and black high stiletto heels. She was like an Asian princess. She saw me crying and sat beside me. I was confused. I had seen her many times before but I had never looked at her in the eye. Never spoken to her. "What's the matter, Maria?" she asked. That was the first time I looked at her eyes. They were just like I had imagined them. And drawn them too."

"Drawn?" Sherlock asked.

"Yes, I was quite good at drawing. At least, I think I was. I tried to draw one day and the teacher at my old school said that I should buy paper and a pencil and began drawing. When I... I was still in school I calmed myself down by drawing something. When we moved to the apartment with my dad I still drew. When I saw Joan for the first time I thought that she was really pretty. I draw a sketch from her but I never got a good look on her eyes. I never dare to look at them... I never knew Joan knew my name. She started talking to me. First I just listen. She told about that she had been on a date. And it hadn't gone like she had planned. I don't remember the name of the date but it was something which started with L."

"Liam..."

"Yes, that was his name. Joan said that Liam had been really odd. She started to speak about his drug using. She noticed immediately my changed behavior and understood the matter. We started to talk and finally we had sat there for almost three hours. She was the first person I told about my drug addiction. When I told her everything she just nodded and smiled. She didn't judge or tell me how stupid I was like everyone else did. Joan took me to live with her a week later. Still I had my problems. I got into a car crash about two weeks later. I had been drinking and I was really drunk then. I was in hospital for a week. Joan wasn't mad. She didn't understand it, but... she wasn't angry. She got me into a rehab center. I got clean. It wasn't easy and it took time, but I managed. Joan and I became really good friends. Joan got me a job as a cleaner in hospital. I changed everything in my life. I don't smoke, use alcohol or anything anymore. I don't drive even a car anymore. I got my own place but still we had the same place of work. We wanted our friendship to remain as a secret. Joan cared for me when anyone else didn't. She always cared. She was like a fairy godmother. She was like a mother to me..." Aviva said and smiled. "When she... lost her patient she changed in a blink of an eye. She didn't talk anyone or laugh or... She did almost everything in a way she hadn't done before. It was two days after an accident and no-one had seen Joan. I was cleaning a hall when I heard banging from the doctor's locker room. It was well over midnight and shifts had changed over and hour ago so… I thought that the locker room would be empty. I crept to the door and peeked inside. There weren't lights on but I recognized my best friend's figure everywhere. She didn't see me. Her locker was open and she was standing still in front of it. She was crying loudly for a minute or two. Then she took a book from the locker and banged the door closed for the last time. She walked towards me the book in her hands. I hid behind the door. I saw her walking towards the back door and... That was the last time I saw her. I thought she would contact me but no... I tried to call her but she had changed her number. When I found her new number, she didn't answer it. I even text her and tried to contact her through the e-mail and Facebook but nothing. I was angry at first but… I understand her in some kind of way."

"Do you have any idea what the book was?" Sherlock asked.

"Of course, it was her diary. She had just begun writing it", Maria told. "She had told me about it five days earlier."

"Do you know where she could have hidden the book?" Sherlock asked.

"No, I... I don't have any clue", Maria said and shook her head. "It's possible she stashed it somewhere or she threw it away."

"I just wondered why she left her Prada bag to the locker..." Sherlock said and sighed.

"I thought that a lot too a I came to a conclusion that she wanted that everyone would think she hadn't been in the hospital after the accident. And it really worked. No-one believes me. And by the way the bag wasn't a Prada. It was a Gucci", Maria said and smiled.

After a moment of silence Maria scoffed.

"You know... when I told you about my drug addiction I saw something in your eyes. Something that Joan saw in mine. You are a drug addict. Am I right? "

After Maria's question, it was Sherlock turn to tell his story and how he had met Watson. After Sherlock had told about her being his sober companion and then a working partner, he told about Joan's accident. Maria was shocked but listened still carefully.

"I... I have to say that I saw you many times in the hospital. After a month I started to think who was the woman you came to look at every day", Maria said and smiled.

"A woman?" Sherlock asked.

"A bunch of roses every Tuesday morning", Maria said and laughed slightly.

"Oh right, the roses... I didn't think of that", Sherlock said and laughed too.

"Well, what you're up to do next... I mean... What are your next intentions to help Joan?"

"I don't know... I guess I just need to find the diary so she can read it and then remember", Sherlock said and smiled faintly.

"Well, it was... nice to speak with you and well, somehow liberating to talk about my... history", Maria said and got up from the bench. "There are just a couple of people I have told about my life. It was nice to meet you, Sherlock. To get to know you", she said and stretched her arm for a shake.

Sherlock took it and smiled widely.

"Yes, it was", he said and smiled.

"So... Bye, then", Maria said and started walked towards the street.

"Miss Moreno?" Sherlock said and sighed.

"Yes?" she asked and turned around.

"I'm just curious… how can I know which job she liked better?" Sherlock said.

"What do you mean?" Maria said and looked at him questioningly.

"I mean... I know she loved working as a surgeon but how I can know if she liked working as a consulting detective more?"

"Well, think that she has two options, whether she gets to sleep or working and she chooses working. That's what she did when she was still a surgeon. It was most important thing in her whole life", Maria said, turned around and walked away.

Thank you so much for all the 59 followers, 21 favorites and you who have been reviewing this story. I really appreciate you all. Once again... Please leave a review! :)