A/N: Hi everyone. I'm back... :) You all still here...?

Darkness.

It is easier to play that way, with all other stimulus shut out. No movement, no observations of the commonplace distracting him from what truly matters in these moments when time almost stops and nothing exists except him and the music.

Of course his darkness is sometimes interrupted by other sounds, but friend Watson's gift of silence aids him now as he requires utter solitude. Just he and his violin—its strains the outpouring of his confusion, frustration and weariness when the case is enigmatic to the point of true challenge.

Watson always makes certain there are no interruptions as his fingers weave the case through his mind like a needle and thread, tightening at points of clarity and loosening when there are many possible paths to take.

In the darkness behind his closed eyes it is the case only he sees, mapped out plainly upon the fingerboard. Sometimes he plays for minutes and sometimes for hours, his mind and violin the lone occupants in the timeless black.

And oh!

The jubilation, the liberation when the solution is finally before him! All tension breaks and the threads come together seamlessly as blinding, fierce light grows out of the darkness.

The music ends and his eyes open.

He drops suddenly into reality, time resuming in harmony with his heart's heavy beat.

A/N: This chapter was inspired by this fabulous work: archiveofourown (dot org slash) works/308539 Should you choose to read it, settle in with a good cup of tea and listen to this playlist: youtube (dot com slash) playlist?list=PLEiJaD4bl2SzvYbVs3wJNlfpiaj_NA-a8