Not Yet Dead by Castiron (Gen)

[the-hobbet.livejournal.com]

Fandom: SHERLOCK BBC
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes & John Watson
Length: 105297 words
Author on LJ: castiron
Author Website: Castiron on AO3
Why this must be read:

This one is hot off the presses; the last chapter was posted at the end of August and I'm excited to have the opportunity to rec what is sure to become a fandom classic.

Sherlock is haunted by nightmares of his distant namesake cousin, murdered more than a century earlier by his supposed friend, Dr John Watson. When a modern John Watson enters his own life he wants to reject the possibility of reincarnation, but an encounter with hypnotherapist Jim Moriarty tempts him into trying past-life regression.

Castiron builds heart-in-your-throat suspense with verve, wit, and spot on characterization. Can Sherlock and John solve a century-old mystery, stop a modern serial killer, and escape the snare being surreptitiously woven around them? Enjoy finding out!

It was only the dream.

He rose from the bed; after the dream, there was never any point in trying to fall back asleep. And there was still much to pack. Best to finish early, in case Lestrade called about those so-called serial suicides.

He did not need the stream of useless psychiatrists of his youth to tell him why that dream, why tonight, the night before removal day. Thousands of people in London looking for flatmates, possibly a dozen that might be willing to tolerate him, and he had to meet the one who was named John Watson.

It was merely a coincidence.

Sherlock believed in coincidence. The improbable was not the same as the impossible, and it was irrational to think that the improbable carried any special meaning. Clearly, though, part of his brain remained irrational.

The battered leather suitcase sat with the two boxes that contained his other most vital possessions, ready to be moved in the first load; Sherlock stroked its smooth surface, not needing to see the contents. Newspaper articles (mostly prints from microfilm, but one precious original of the London Times with the headline "TRIAL OF HOLMES MURDERER TO BEGIN IN SWITZERLAND"), obituaries, and copies of the court records in the original French as well as in German and English translation. His meagre share of his predecessor's remaining possessions — after the second time he was evicted from a dodgy flat, Mycroft had confiscated the rest, saying that he refused to lose family artifacts to Sherlock's irresponsibility — an old magnifying glass; an improvised measuring tape; a photograph of an unidentified woman; a broken pocketwatch, face mold- and water-damaged; a set of lockpicks.

Today, they would return to their former home, his cousin's former home. Tonight, he would be living in 221B Baker Street, and if it was with a John Watson, well, he would endure Mycroft's amusement and the Yarders' teasing.

Struggling for his life. Falling water.

He shook off the dream. The experimental equipment alone would take another hour to pack.

Not Yet Dead