Welcome to Baker Street

103. It takes two to tango

Sherlock and Giulia walk to the edge of the raised platform, then he instructs, "John, as soon as this repetition ends, and the blinking lights turn off, you'll prepare yourself for the new sequence. When the lights begin to flash again, you will start translating the Morse code into letters, writing it all down and dictating everything out loud as you go. Remember that you must always tell us four letters at a time: the first one for my left foot, the second for my right one, and two more for Giulia's feet. It is imperative that we step on the right tiles at the same time to keep the balance on the pressure table. I'm not too eager to find out what happens if our movements aren't perfectly coordinated. Is that clear?"

Giulia and John nod simultaneously. The doctor spreads out a music staff in front of him and mutters under his breath but still perfectly audible, "If anything happens to Mrs Hudson, I'll kill you both."

Giulia narrows her eyes at him. "No pressure at all. Right, John?"

She turns to Sherlock and quickly studies his impenetrable expression. "How can you be so calm and detached?"

"I thought you could see right through me; I am not. I'm scared to death. Mrs Hudson is like family," he stops and frowns. "Actually no. Unlike my actual family, I do like her and enjoy her company."

Giulia rolls up her eyes. His utter disrespect for his relatives is counterbalanced only by his genuine affection for the poor landlady that is currently fighting for her life.

"I'd do anything to save her." His voice cracks at the end, and he glances away.

She lowers her eyes to her feet and murmurs half-serious, "Including swaying a clumsy woman across a mortal pressure table? I still can't dance, and you know it."

He shakes his head at her concerns. "Don't think of it as a dance but as a sequence to reproduce scrupulously on the floor. Just focus on touching the right tiles, and you'll be fine."

"What if I stumble and fall?" Her eyes dart feverishly in all directions as panic takes over. Her mind imagines the worst scenarios, spinning out of control as she hyperventilates at the prospect of making a wrong move and putting everyone in danger.

Sherlock gently places his right index under her chin and guides her head up, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"I'll be there to catch you," he says, not a single note of hesitation in his words. His voice drops an octave when he adds, "I'm here for you. Despite what you may think of me, despite what I think of myself, in the end, I'm always here for you."

She takes a deep breath, holding his gaze. He is not lying. He is being completely, disarmingly honest.

John clears his throat, wrenching their attention off that exchange of glances.

"Alright, folks, brace yourselves. The first light has just gone off, and the rest will follow shortly. After a ten-second pause, they'll resume the sequence from the beginning. Best of luck," he mumbles, struggling to even raise his gaze on them. He isn't ready to say goodbye to either of them or Mrs Hudson. This deadly dance would better work.

Sherlock turns toward Giulia, delicately places his left hand on her hip, and interlocks the fingers of his right hand in hers; his cheeks redden at their touch.

"Is there anything you want to say before we risk pretty much everyone's life right now?" he asks in a low voice as the last blinking light switches off.

She purses her lips in a grimace. "I must say, this is the weirdest date I've ever been to."

He cocks a brow at her attempt at lessening the tension and corrects her, "It's not a date. It's an abduction."