Even The King (Sherlock)

[morganstuart]

The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated! LOL. With apologies for my recent absence (nothing's wrong, just ridiculously busy), here's a wee little 221b offering...


Title: Even The King
Author: Morgan Stuart
Fandom: Sherlock
Disclaimer: This universe does not belong to me; I'm just an appreciative visitor. I make no profit from this fan work.
Description: "Only a fool never doubts."
Historian's Note: This takes place during events depicted in the second-series Sherlock episode "The Reichenbach Fall."
Author's Note: This is a 221b ficlet (221 words, the last beginning with "b").
Warnings (Highlight to Read): Spoilers for "The Reichenbach Fall"




"And then, even the King began to wonder."
- Jim Moriarty's "The Story of Sir Boast-A-Lot," as told to Sherlock Holmes, "The Reichenbach Fall"

"Only a fool never doubts."
- King Arthur to Sir Lancelot, Camelot


He'd come to terms with the fact he wasn't infallible years ago, and he'd swallowed a great deal of black coffee and cigarette smoke and personal pride since then.

To Lestrade's mind, that was the beginning of… if not wisdom, then pragmatism: the humility to ask for help, to seek out others' insights when they might prove useful.

Any honest detective second-guessed himself.

Added to that, Lestrade had Sherlock's repeated word - and the Chief Superintendent's as well - that he was an idiot, didn't he?

When the objections first appeared, of course he wondered.

He was duty-bound to do so.

Never mind that the thought burned like ashes and bile. Never mind that discovering he'd been not only a dupe but an accessory to some murderous charade would break him, as surely as superiors' reprimands and a wife's betrayal and the daily sight of violent death hadn't done.

He stared down "what ifs," scrutinising his recollections of past cases, imploring the facts to speak clearly for themselves.

They vindicated him and his loyalty. Swiftly. No, he hadn't been mistaken.

Not about Sherlock, at least.

But the team Lestrade had assembled, the colleagues he'd respected, the very institutions he'd long served, all so readily manipulated, twisted: they were another matter entirely.

As for the promise of justice…

Oh, he doubted.

Bitterly.



THE END

Vital Stats: Originally written in April 2012.

Comments

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

So glad you're back. This is beautiful. And so sad, one part of his life vindicated, but the larger part, that he'd spent so long building up so quickly and forcibly torn down.

[fengirl88.livejournal.com]

seconding what thesmallhobbit said - beautiful and sad, and right.

[melliyna.livejournal.com]

LESTRADE AS KING ARTHUR!!!!

Apologies for the caps lock I just, apparently have A Thing for it and you write it so perfectly - genuinely Arthurian feel - sad, beautiful and hopeful.

[sc010f.livejournal.com]

Oh poor Lestrade!

This is bitingly beautiful.

And so glad you're back!

[list-of-lists.livejournal.com]

Oh, Lestrade. As others have said, so beautiful and sad.

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

Fantastic!

("Camelot" quote FTW!)

[impishtubist.livejournal.com]

Very beautiful and sad. Well done, as always.

[bk7brokemybrain.livejournal.com]

I love that Lestrade is as open-minded as any scientist, willing to revisit the evidence. And I'm glad he was able to believe in Sherlock and himself. Very cool moment.
XOXO

[splix.livejournal.com]

This is excellent. I don't read a lot of Lestrade POV and this feels very much like him - it has bite and soul to it. Thank you.

[eanor.livejournal.com]

So glad to see you're back! :-)

This was very poignant as usual. Poor Lestrade - but then one could say he's the wisest for allowing doubt and testing it scientifically. I really liked that he wasn't so easily fooled. And the first sentence is my favourite! :-)

[mazaher.livejournal.com]

Sometimes one's honest best is simply not enough, and fighting against something as impersonal as institutions and public opinion is the hardest of tests. I still hope that Lestrade will be vindicated in S3-ep.1. Meanwhile, this short story is as masterful as usual for you: welcome back, and thank you!

Love this.

[lastwordy-mcgee.livejournal.com]

I see it as a beginning-- this sounds, to me, like Lestrade preparing for war. He has come to some painful realization, but he also can fall back upon knowing his own integrity is pure and that he was right. That's a place of great power, for someone who knows how to wield it.

And he does.

[freya-fsc.livejournal.com]

OMG... here you are. With a Lestrade POV 221b ficlet. *faint*
I just love it. And I especially like this sentence: "He was duty-bound to do so." It's his job. I even started to wonder if Lestrade had Sherlock arrested and brought into the Yard, he probably would try to prove that the other man was innocent.
Thank you for this! Welcome back!

[mijeli.livejournal.com]

This is a very good and plausible Lestrade characterisation. He's duty-bound to doubt and to accept weakness - both things that make him anything but a fool indeed. I also really like this scene in the Reichenbach Fall, and I like what you did with it.

[ascendant-angel.livejournal.com]

Beautiful and sad.

[lotl101.livejournal.com]

Absolutely beautiful! Great characterization.

[fitofpique.livejournal.com]

Oh oh oh. This is absolutely heart-breaking!

[cookiefleck.livejournal.com]

You make a good point here... even if Lestrade's faith in Sherlock is unshakeable, he has to have suffered over his team's/institution's actions and how that has affected his relationship with them and the Yard. I'd like to think that his friendship with John and Molly might help see him through this difficult period in his life.

[labellecreation.livejournal.com]

I only hope John in S3 has enough sense to see that Lestrade was between a rock and hard place, not arresting Sherlock would have been seen as insubordination and arresting Sherlock ruins his five years of friendship. The man couldn't win either way.

[cuddles-and-jam.livejournal.com]

This is very true to Lestrade, and very sad.

[phiso-kun.livejournal.com]

I liked this. I like how, now that we know what's going on with Lestrade's wife, it fits so well into this narrative. And I like how Lestrade is not afraid to doubt, because he knows how important it is, but once he has checked he does not doubt again. He will check once, maybe twice, but he will not be tricked three times.

It's a shame that he worked so hard for Scotland Yard, and it betrayed him this way. He lost a lot for it, and now it's kicking him out, not even realizing how wrong it was.

Oh, Lestrade. <3

[trishkafibble.livejournal.com]

Perfect. ;_;

[trishkafibble.livejournal.com]

Oh! Oh, thank you so much for his doubt, settling on other shoulders than Sherlock's. Yet it is indeed so bitter, to have those doubts settle so close to home, on the people and the institution he'd given so much loyalty to. The tragedy of that fall reaches far and deep.