A Case of Identity

The advantage of working for Mycroft Holmes is that he often gets offered hospitality by his contacts, and when he doesn't want the latest treat, he passes it on to Anthea. And two free tickets to the opera means she can take Ella out somewhere; they've had to cut back recently, with their current financial situation.

The disadvantage is there's normally a reason why Mycroft doesn't want his gifts and Anthea's now realising what it is. ENO is less stuffy than Covent Garden and she'd thought Ella would enjoy Die Fledermaus. But she should have known that ENO and Strauss is a conceptual disaster waiting to happen.

Anthea's spotted Mycroft's pet policeman in the audience, so the director might yet get arrested for crimes against taste. And though she's cringing at every new revelation, Ella is surprisingly unruffled as she consults her programme at the interval.

"I see someone still loves Freud," Ella announces. "He's misunderstood him completely, of course, but that's probably the point."

"It is?"

"It's the director's vision that matters, everyone else just exists to serve his genius. A common pattern."

"We don't have to stay," Anthea says hastily, because she can sense where this is going.

"It's OK," Ella says more cheerfully, "but next time perhaps we should pick something ourselves, not just accept your boss's bribes."

BBC Sherlock

Rating 12 (slash)



As Ella asked John another question about his dreams that he really didn't want to answer he heard the door behind him open. And then a familiar voice announced: "No time for this. I need you right now, John."

"Sherlock, I'm busy!"

"You're interrupting my therapy, Mr Holmes," Ella protested.

"Am I? I thought I was simplifying it," Sherlock said, grinning wickedly. "You were discussing me, of course – hence not only annoyance, but actual alarm when I appeared. And from the blush spreading on John's face, you'd just asked him a particularly sensitive question. So rather than you ineffectively attempting to establish what his feelings about me are, let me simply demonstrate."

He swung round to John, who opened his mouth to protest, and then found it mysteriously wrapped round Sherlock's tongue as they kissed. And why had his body not previously noticed how much it longed to curl into Sherlock's grasp?

"John," Sherlock breathed, "John...John! Are you listening to what I'm saying? Have you fallen asleep over there?"

"What?" John demanded, trying and failing to stand up from a chair that had abruptly relocated itself back to 221B.

"You were thrashing about just now. Were you having a nightmare?" Sherlock's gaze - calm, impersonal  - travelled over John.

"No," John replied with resignation. "Not a nightmare. Just...very bizarre."

All I Do is Dream of You

Sherlock BBC

Rating: PG (femslash, pre-slash)

Spoilers: none


Psychologists cottoned on that the best way of dealing with trauma was talking with your mates long after old-fashioned cops like Sally. About when the Met, at the trailing edge of thought, introduced mandatory debriefing with a therapist after 'extreme incidents'.

After the first time, Sally retaliated in the only effective way: with a complaint about 'gender and cultural insensitivity'. But following this last case, she had received another appointment, with someone called Ella Thompson. Why was that name familiar? Not one of the Met's normal bunch of head-shrinkers, but supposedly 'experienced in dealing with the uniformed services'. Then something clicked.

***

"Weren't you John Watson's therapist?" Sally asked, as she sat down.

"I can't discuss other patients," Ella replied blandly, "And how did you know, anyhow?"

"You left messages on his blog. So did I. Do you remember our discussion about men and map-reading?"

Ella went very quiet.

"If I don't tell anyone," Sally said, "can we not talk about the Gresham case?"

"We have ninety minutes, we have to fill it somehow."

"We could talk about ourselves."

***

"Can't work late," Sally told Lestrade a few months afterwards, "going to a gig with Ella."

"Your therapist?"

"Ex-therapist."

"Wouldn't have thought you'd have much in common. Well, except John did say-"

"Yes, perhaps it is because we is both black."