Chapter 11: If You Could Keep Voices Like Flowers

Object #1 - Day 2 - Bunch of Tulips

It appears on her bed, a bunch of purple tulips carefully held together by a single white ribbon. The ribbon is wrapped into a neat bow, the stems of the flowers contrasting in deep green against the dull cream colour of their duvet.

Their duvet, because the flat was roomy, but boasted a single bedroom, a spacious suite, with an enormous bathroom with a lovely bathtub and a pair of porcelain sinks. The flat is gorgeous but really, truly, she would've liked her own bedroom.

She sighs happily and picks up the flowers, heeding the handwritten note with the word '' ".

Object #2 - Day 5 - Picture

It's sitting on the nightstand on her side of the bed when she arrives home from an autopsy. Sherlock's away wrapping up another case, and the flat feels still and cold. Her heels click heavily against the floor before she drops to the bed and spots the picture.

The backdrop is in black-and-white but the subject itself does not lack colour, bright stripes of yellow adorning the small body of a bee - one Euglassia Watsonia, she's well aware. The picture isn't dated but she knows the bee is indeed Finlay, the first ever bee of that species, named by her godson.

This time, the note reads: ' '.

Object #3 - Day 12 - Tahitian Pearls

She wakes up groggy on a friday morning with a piercing headache and absolutely no will to get up, but crime waits for no woman and Sherlock comes barging in with a tall glass of orange juice and a bagel and she appreciates not only the effort, but also the cream cheese.

"Up you get, Watson." he says "Murder not too far from here. You should be back home in no time, if we play our cards right."

She murmurs a faint 'okay' and sets off to find acceptable clothing, hurrying out of the room before she can spot the bracelet.

It's still there when she gets back, hanging loosely over a table lamp in the living room, the third note attached to it by yellow string.

It reads ' '.

She makes a mental note to ask him about the notes and gifts.

Mental notes are rubbish.

Object #4 - Day 13 - Quilt

It's a really, really nice quilt.

A deep red colour, crimson, and the softest thing she's ever touched in her entire life.

She asks him about it, in passing, over supper, but he just shrugs as if to dismiss her and she lets it slide.

She's learned not to push him.

The note attached to the quilt reads ' '

She keeps the notes inside her underwear drawer and doesn't give them a second look.

He'll tell her what they mean, in due time.

Object #5 - Day 21 - Milk Chocolate HobNobs

She finds her favourite tea biscuits sitting on the kitchen sink. They've been hard to find in the area, and she missed them.

The familiar orange wrapping leaves her with a warm sense of happiness, further enhanced by the melting of the chocolate in her mouth.

He hasn't gotten home yet - he's at a meeting - and this time, she leaves him a note of her own, with the words "grateful. you.", replacing the one that reads ' '.

Object #6 - Day 32 - Ruined Sweater

The little old lady at the cleaner's had apologised so profusely it was quite impossible to be mad at her. It had gathered lots of lint and lost most of its colour, aside from losing a bit of its original size. She took it back home anyways, a tad disappointed but not altogether upset, relegating it to the very back of the closet. It didn't trouble her terribly, it was just a sweater, but she knew she'd miss the comfort of the tiny memories it held.

Waking up to Sherlock and wrapping herself cosy with it, protecting both her pride and her body.

Knowing of the Euglassia Watsonia bee for the first time.

Its coverage of the the bulging baby bump that never really bulged.

It smelled like New York and happier days.

He brought it all back, because of course he would.

She finds it folded on the coffee table, with the 6th note over it.

' '

Object #7 - Day 35 - Flashdrive

It's plugged in her laptop when she wakes up one morning. A blue and silver stick, "8GB" printed on its side. She finds the shortcut named "OPEN NOW" and double-clicks it, revealing a set of pictures. They're the basically the same picture, seventeen times over, but there are subtle changes in their expressions and positions. Last christmas, she thinks, on the 25th. On the first few pictures, she has reindeer antlers on and a wide grin, and Sherlock spots a shy smile and 'thumbs up'. Over the course of pictures seven, eight and nine, she moves to remove the antlers from her head and move towards him. Picture number ten shows his face of surprise. Pictures eleven and twelve illustrate the placing of reindeer antlers on a head belonging to one Sherlock Holmes. Thirteen looks like a still from "The Office", the two of them staring still at the camera, emotionless. Photos fourteen to seventeen are the loveliest of the bunch.

She sits there, doubled over with laughter, Sherlock watching her with the daftest of smiles plastered on his face.

Note number seven can be found taped on the fridge.

It reads ' to'

Object #8 - Day 41 - Wind and Window Flower

The painting is hanged beside his framed print of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", in the study.

It's an excerpt from "Wind and Window Flower", also a Robert Frost poem.

He's always been her favourite.

"Lovers, forget your love,

And list to the love of these,

She a window flower,

And he a winter breeze."

The note carefully balanced against the frame and print reads ' '

Object #9 - Day 50 - Clyde

There's no particular gift or trinket that time, just a yellow post-it taped to Clyde's shell.

'Put the notes together in order', it read.

And so she did. It was a wee poem, probably written by Sherlock himself.

Fly

Never

Alone

Freedom

Here

We stay

Strength

Not to

Fade

But the poem itself was not important, no. What was in fact important was what was written on the back of the notes, tiny words written down in cursive with neat calligraphy.

"Watson, would you like to marry me?" they formed.

And crickey, did the world feel short on oxygen once they did.