Chapter Six: Proving my point.

221B Baker St., New London

"See? What a load of junk. You don't believ- oh, you DO, don't you?!" Lestrade looked despairingly from Holmes to Watson.

Watson looked flabbergasted and Holmes was trying (trying being the operative word) to look completely unsurprised.

"I didn't say anything of the sort, Inspector...though you must admit, the resemblance to your life is startling and with that test...." Holmes trailed off, trying to sort out whether or not he DID believe them. Unfortunately, his train of thought was not going to be allowed to reach the station.

"Oh, is that right, Holmes? And just HOW would you know what my life was like before I was an inspector?" Holmes opened his mouth, "No! Wait, I've changed my mind. I don't want to know."

Holly stood up, interrupting the soon-to-start argument. She had a point to prove and not much time to do it in. Her voice was layered with mesmer when she spoke. Turning to Holmes, she spoke very clearly. "Your will is mine, human." Holmes' eyes lost focus and he nodded obediently.

"What are you DOING?!" Lestrade shrieked and raised a fist.

"She's exhibiting one of the lowest forms of magic, the mesmer. It's like hypnosis. She's just trying to prove her point." Artemis slipped in between the two sisters, to prevent future physical damage.

Holly looked away and Holmes snapped back to consciousness with a 'What?'.

Artemis turned to Lestrade, "It doesn’t hurt and he won't remember it at all."

"Won't remember what?"

"Never mind." Artemis sat back down, steepling his fingers. "Tell me, Inspector, what exactly do we need to do to prove ourselves too you?"

Lestrade looked from Holly to Artemis and back again. Their faces were set and she knew they were going to stay here for as long as it took. She felt a wave of pity for them, she knew what it was like to be laughed at and not believed. "Okay, okay, fine. If all this is true, how come I don't have any magic?"

"You haven't performed the ritual. Every fairy must, once every couple years, go to an ancient oak growing beside a river bend at the full moon and take one of its acorns. Then they have to plant that acorn somewhere far away and they'll replenish their magical powers." Holly hadn't wanted to say all that in front of Holmes and Watson.... "You two by the way," she nodded towards those just mentioned, "CANNOT tell anyone about any of this, no one at all....if you value your life."

Holmes and Watson rolled their eyes.

Resisting the urge to do the same, Lestrade buckled and asked: "So, where's the nearest ancient oak?"

Holly smiled, they were finally getting somewhere. "It's a fifteen minute drive from the edge of New London. Come on."

And so, with that, the occupants of 22b Baker St. filed out into Lestrade's hovercar and proceeded on to the nearest 'ancient oak'.

*******

Lestrade brought the hovercar to a screeching halt. Jumping out with practiced ease, she took in her surroundings with a dubious expression. A full moon shone down on the odd company; illuminating Holly as she struggled to get out of the car, a small, but swift river, not five feet away, and an ancient oak tree, stooping like a gnarled old man, nestled on the near side of a bend in the stream.

"Interesting that it should be a full moon the very night you decide to bring us here." Holmes commented mildly.

Holly, now completely out of the hovercar, rolled her eyes. "Of course it's a full moon. We wouldn't come to find Beth at just any time of the month."

Artemis nodded to himself, so that was why Holly had seemed so terribly rushed when she'd asked for help.

"Anyway, now all you have to do is find an acorn. That shouldn't be so hard." The said fairy motioned briskly to the old tree, while looking expectantly at Lestrade.

Asking herself one more time why she was doing this, the Inspector knelt by the oak, ruffling through the dead leaves at its base. At last her fingers closed on a cold, small nut. Triumphantly, she stood back up, displaying her prize for all to see. "Now what?"

Sighing loudly, Holmes took her by the arm and led her back to the hovercar. "How may time are we going to go over this? You find the acorn and you bury it-"

"Somewhere else. I know, I know!"

"Then WHY did you ask?" Holmes demanded of the door of the hovercar, which had just been closed in his face. Rolling his eyes and muttering something about the incompetence of female inspectors, he opened the opposite side of the car for the other three and himself.

********

Artemis closed his eyes and decided he was, without a doubt, going to be completely sick. At just that moment the car lurched to halt in a public park. Opening one eye cautiously he saw the Holly being lifted out by Watson. "Uugh." was his only comment.

Holmes smiled. "I see I am not the only one who suffers from Lestrade's-driving-aphobia. Don't worry Mr. Fowl, we only had thirteen near death experiences there. You’re lucky. Usually it's more around twenty."

Repeating his former "Uugh." statement, Artemis gratefully accepted Watson's hand up.

"Oh, please Holmes, my driving's not THAT bad." Lestrade sent him a look that could've crumbled New Scotland Yard's HQ, as she bent down to bury her acorn.

Unfortunately, she never got the chance. Narrowly missing having gotten a haircut via laser fire, Lestrade, and the rest of the group, beat a hasty retreat to behind an conveniently placed, eight-foot laurel hedge.