Tribute to Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes, and clearly lifted from one of the movie's scenes.


Lestrade noted, as he was shown into the sitting room at Baker Street, that Gregson was not only alive and well, but had reached his destination and was seated calmly on the couch as if Lestrade had not been waiting for him to return for the last three hours. The revelation did nothing for his mood.

He reined in his temper and crossed the room, coming to stand beside the previously missing inspector, trying to figure out how to demand an explanation without starting a shouting match in the middle of someone else's sitting room.

He was immediately hushed by Gregson. "He's conducting an experiment." The man nodded toward Holmes.

"And it's taken this long?" Lestrade demanded, lowering his voice to match Gregson's.

The other inspector nodded, and Lestrade turned his attention from the man to see what had managed to distract him.

"Get that thing out of my face." Doctor Watson said at last, breaking the silence.

"It's not in your face, it's in my hand." Was Sherlock's quick reply.

Doctor Watson didn't blink. "Get what's in your hand out of my face."

The Doctor sat at his writing desk, turned away from it, eyeing the violin bow Holmes was brandishing at him, the tip mere inches from the doctor's nose.

Watson was trapped; he could not retreat through the wall behind him, nor could he go over his desk, and the violin bow blocked the way forward.

"Holmes." The man's tone suggested that he was getting tired of this 'experiment.'

Still the bow remained.

"Watson won't touch the thing," Gregson whispered. "He's been threatening Holmes for the last hour, but he won't actually risk doing anything that might damage the bow."

Doctor Watson sighed irritably. "I could just grab the thing, you know," he informed Holmes. "Or simply knock it out of my way." His words had no effect whatsoever; Holmes continued to brandish the stick at him.

"I do have other things to do today, Holmes." The doctor tried again a few minutes later. "And you have two inspectors waiting for you to decide to stop pestering me so they can talk to you." When this elicited no response, the doctor growled at the detective. "This is absurd, Holmes!" he declared. "Is there some purpose to this- this-" he broke off, too exasperated to find the right word.

Ten minutes later Watson started swearing.