Sherlock fic - Puppets

[dimity_blue]

Title: Puppets
Author: Arnie
Genre: gen, missing scene
Word count: 793 words
Disclaimer: Not mine
Summary: Greg Lestrade dealing with his team after the end of the ep.

Massive spoilers for Reichenbach Fall (series 2, ep 3)



Puppets
By Arnie

"Donovan, Anderson, my office now." Greg didn't even look back to see if they were following him. Their working relationship had been strained, to say the least, since Anderson's "Make that thirty or forty!" snide comment in the Chief Superintendent's office. Sherlock's death hadn't changed that. Death... Make that suicide.

Greg swallowed down his fury again. He didn't - couldn't - blame Sherlock, but, by God, he wanted to. What the hell had he been thinking to hurl himself off...

He stopped that train of thought, grabbing at the edge of his office door to steady himself. Why he was getting vertigo was beyond him; it wasn't like he was falling.

"Sir?"

Greg ignored Donovan's concerned voice. If only she'd been as concerned for Sherlock. Okay, he knew, really, that she'd been right to voice her suspicions. And it had been suspicious that little girl had reacted so violently to Sherlock's presence, but Donovan and Anderson could have handled it better. Christ, so could he. In the end, Sherlock had been betrayed - most of his sort-of-colleagues in the force turning on him like hyenas, all too ready to believe that he'd kidnapped and attempted to kill two little children. No doubt, no innocent until proven guilty, but an attitude of "it was only a matter of time". What kind of due process and professional detachment was that?

So Sherlock had been left with no one except John to fight in his corner. Maybe he'd figured it was better to go, end it, before John doubted him too. Though, if Sherlock had been half as clever as he'd thought he was, he'd have known that John could never doubt him. Even now, after that ridiculous phone 'confession' of his, John was still loudly proclaiming Sherlock's genius to all and sundry. And it looked like he'd been right.

God help them all.

Greg grabbed the file from his desk and turned, not bothering to invite either Donovan or Anderson to take a seat, not bothering to sit down himself. This wouldn't take long. Not long to knock down that well-built tower of suspicion that had sprung up in Moriarty's wake. All it took was removing one chunk of the foundation.

"The kids have talked," Greg said. He waited for the snide comments to start again.

Anderson smirked. "Surprised?"

Greg stared at Donovan.

Her gaze fell to the file, or maybe she was just avoiding his - at this point, Greg didn't care. "And they said...?"

"Sherlock was innocent." He ignored the look of shock on Anderson's face, focusing on Donovan's. She was his second in command on the team - the one he'd relied on to have his back. He knew she'd been right to have suspicions - maybe Greg himself was the one who'd been too blinkered - but she and Anderson had wanted to believe the worst, and Greg found that hard to forgive. And they'd been wrong. "The kidnapper wore a mask and a wig to look like Sherlock - that's why the girl screamed."

Donovan's eyes met his, that fighting spirit he'd so admired still evident. "Sir, with all due respect -"

"Oh, don't worry, Donovan; I didn't question the kids myself - no leading of the witnesses. The psychiatrists their parents hired worked together with the child protection team to find out what happened. The boy stated specifically that it was a mask."

"It could still have been Holmes," Anderson put in. "Maybe he -"

"Shut it!" Greg put the folder down and leaned on his desk, glaring at them. "The kids described the kidnapper. He was short and bulky. So unless you're going to claim John Watson put on a Sherlock mask, wig and padding in a bizarre attempt to implicate his own flatmate, I don't want to hear another word." He took a breath. "Now get out of my office."

Anderson turned and left, but Donovan stayed. "Sir." She stayed silent until Greg raised his eyes and stared at her, then continued, "I still think I was right to be suspicious, but I handled it...badly. I'm sorry."

"We all handled it badly, Donovan." And Sherlock had paid the price. "Get out. Please. I've got work to do."

"Sir."

As the door closed behind her, Greg sank down into his chair. Moriarty had pulled their strings and they'd all danced. At least the bastard was dead. Supposed to be dead, Greg reminded himself. He wouldn't put it past him to resurrect himself from the grave somehow.

Greg inhaled, the intake of air sounding shakily in the room. Maybe, somehow, Sherlock could pull off a miracle and be the one to return from the grave. Maybe. Greg closed the folder and dropped it into his out-tray. And maybe pigs would fly.

End
17th January 2012.

Note: I put that it was the Superintendent who ordered Lestrade to arrest Sherlock. If the guy's title wasn't Superintendent, can someone let me know so I can fix it? Thanks.

Hope you enjoyed it.

ETA: Thanks to capt_facepalm who pointed out it was the Chief Superintendent. Fixed!

Comments

[nerthus.livejournal.com]

Ooh, my blood still boils thinking about Donovan and Anderson, but especially Donovan; I need these fics that help me emotionally vent my frustration and rage against her and Anderson!

[debris_k.livejournal.com]

What you said. *nodnod*

[lastwordy-mcgee.livejournal.com]

Third third third

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

I agree Donovan and Anderson really came off badly in the ep.

Thanks for reading!

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

It really got me that she stayed in 221b to rub it into John's face that she was supposedly right. That absolutely infuriated me. Yep, it was suspicious that the girl reacted so badly to seeing Sherlock, but Donovan and Anderson were pretty much gloating over it.

[debris_k.livejournal.com]

Excellent fic, I missed exactly this from the show. Kudos!

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Debris. I was hopping mad over Donovan's scene with John. His best friend's just been arrested and she's all "I told you so!" Gah!

[snailbones.livejournal.com]

That makes me feel better, thank you!

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. It made me feel better too. ::hugs::

[leesa_perrie]

Love the way you clear Sherlock. And Lestrade's anger at Donovan and Anderson - and Sherlock - is spot on too.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm thinking if John doesn't kill Sherlock when he turns up, Lestrade might.

Thanks, Leesa. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[2ndskin.livejournal.com]

Nice alternative to Lestrade losing his job--which is what I've been assuming. Thanks for writing it!

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

That hadn't even occurred to me! I suspect there'll be checks to make sure all the evidence used in the cases was solid, but since no one would have been convicted just on Sherlock's word (the police had to show evidence for the court case and Sherlock just pointed where to find it), I'm hoping that means Lestrade etc won't be in trouble...officially, anyway.

I got that distracted with Lestrade (easily done, I'm sure...) that I forgot to say thanks for reading and commenting. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[obsessionality.livejournal.com]

This totally helps. God. I think we're going to need more fics like this to get over that. *cracks knuckles*

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Hee! I keep on having to bookmark all the stories popping up as I don't have time to read them all when I see them.

Thanks for commenting! I'm glad it helped.

[lifefiction.livejournal.com]

I love this, great job! I'm so mad at Donovan and Anderson and so worried for Lestrade's future, this was exactly what I needed!

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

I know it's only right that they'd be suspicious, but Donovan staying behind to tell John how right she was...that really got to me. Grr!

Thanks for reading. I'm so glad it worked so well for you.

And let's hope Lestrade doesn't get in trouble - he needs to be at the Yard for when Sherlock gets back.

[rampaging-panda.livejournal.com]

In the episode, I don't mind that Sally questioned Sherlock. I don't even mind that she went over her DI's head. (Okay, a little.) But when she started sniping at John after Sherlock was arrested, that was wrong. So I definitely agree that she handled it badly.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

That bit absolutely drove me mad! I was also annoyed that she went over Lestrade's head (even more annoyed at Anderson for putting the boot in when Lestrade was in his boss's office), but that bit with John was just so uncalled for and it showed her in a really, really bad light.

I'm glad the story worked for you though. Thanks for reading!

[fisher-queen.livejournal.com]

Very nice! I've been so MAD at Donovan and Anderson. I see why they thought what they did, really, but the way they handled it...Yeah...Not the best at all. I can't get over wanting to hit them. A lot.

Lestrade dealing with this and letting them know, along with the self recrimination and the way he handles them is lovely. Poor man.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Not the best at all. I can't get over wanting to hit them. A lot.

And I won't stand in your way. :oD

Thanks for reading and commenting. I really am glad you enjoyed the story so much. I do feel so sorry for Lestrade because I suspect he's got to be blaming himself so much.

[mariole.livejournal.com]

Good scene. I'm sure as they go through the files, they'll find plenty of evidence to prove Sherlock was genuine. There are too many times Sherlock ran off his mouth with a totally random passer-by for all of it to be researched as a "magic trick" in advance.

> God help them all.

Ooh, chills. Nice recall of Lestrade's great line.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, it'd be impossible for Sherlock to have faked it all. Absolutely impossible.

Ooh, chills. Nice recall of Lestrade's great line.

You know, until you said that, it didn't occur to me that I had almost quoted Lestrade! It just sounded like such a him thing to say...now I know why!

Thanks for reading. I'm glad the story worked for you.

[talimenios79.livejournal.com]

I loved this.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[stargatesg1971.livejournal.com]

Nice projection of restrained anger, I'm still pissed with them myself.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Beth! I was hopping mad at what happened (especially Sally staying behind to point out to John how right she was - NOT!), so that probably came across in the story.

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[capt-facepalm.livejournal.com]

This is a very nice vignette!

Although I was disappointed in Donovan in TRF, she has stayed consistent with her character as written by GatMoff. Perhaps too many sympathetic fanfics in the interim have changed the way we saw (or wanted to see) Lestrade's colleagues.

And Sherlock was right. Once doubt has been planted, it cannot be un-thought. Lestrade, although not wanting to doubt, will have to fight to overcome it. Of course, John never doubts, and that leaves him in a very exclusive club with Mrs Hudson (and Molly, who can never reveal Sherlock's secret.)

Oh, and Lestrade's boss is an un-named Chief Superintendent. Good luck with the rhinoplasty, jerk!

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Gah! I fixed Unravelling once I found out it was the Chief Superintendent and totally forgot to fix this one too! Thanks for pointing it out - it's sorted now. And yeah, I love the bit where John punches him in the nose! \o/

I agree with you that Donovan hasn't changed. She's always been hostile towards Sherlock. Someone else pointed out that she came off as unprofessional from the first ep (calling Sherlock 'Freak' all the time), so that hasn't changed at all.

I think Lestrade knew the girl's reaction cast suspicion on Sherlock without actually believing for an instant Sherlock had anything to do with it. He phoned Sherlock (I think it was Sherlock he rang) to let him know he was going to be arrested. If he'd thought Sherlock was involved, he wouldn't have done that. I can't wait to see how the loose ends are tied up in the next series! It's not even been a month and I want to start poking the internet for an announcement that filming is starting. :o\

Thanks for reading and commenting! I'm really glad you enjoyed it. &hearts

[capt-facepalm.livejournal.com]

(I think Lestrade rang John. Sherlock would have ignored the call. Stupid Sherlock.)
:D

Re: Puppets

[disassembly_rsn]

Well done. It makes perfect sense that once someone was able to question both kids properly - once the girl had calmed down, the boy had recovered enough to be interviewed, and someone was careful not to lead or trigger the witnesses - that the 'Sherlock did it' theory would start to unravel, given that he didn't do it.

since Anderson's "Make that thirty or forty!" snide comment in the Chief Superintendent's office
Yep. However Anderson may have meant that in the heat of the moment, that would definitely poison his working relationship with Lestrade.

Why he was getting vertigo was beyond him; it wasn't like he was falling.
Nice touch, that.

What kind of due process and professional detachment was that?
That whole paragraph is dead on for how I think Lestrade should handle this as a character. He's a career cop, for goodness' sake - he could understand Donovan's suspicions from a professional point of view, but the *way* all that was handled was distressingly unprofessional. (Perfectly believable, though, given human nature.)

He ignored the look of shock on Anderson's face, focusing on Donovan's. She was his second in command on the team - the one he'd relied on to have his back.
Well said - there's a world of difference between the forensics expert who is part of the scene of the crime team, and your second in command. Of course he'd take Sally's reaction the most seriously of the two.

Very well done, this piece.

Re: Puppets

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm really glad you enjoyed the story that much. I was absolutely steaming over how Donovon and Anderson acted, and I can't imagine that Lestrade would feel any better over it.

Yep. However Anderson may have meant that in the heat of the moment, that would definitely poison his working relationship with Lestrade.

I shouldn't think any supervisor worth his/her salt would put up with that kind of attitude once the dust had settled. Anderson really shot himself in the foot there.

It makes perfect sense that once someone was able to question both kids properly - once the girl had calmed down, the boy had recovered enough to be interviewed, and someone was careful not to lead or trigger the witnesses - that the 'Sherlock did it' theory would start to unravel, given that he didn't do it.

And since there's a glimpse of the real kidnapper in that flashback, we know for sure he was wider than Sherlock at the very least, which is why I went with the kidnapper wearing a mask and being shorter and bulkier. Though he might actually have been taller than Sherlock for all I know!

Thanks for the great feedback. I really am glad the story worked so well for you.