221B Recs

Title: The Curious Adventure of the Drs Watson
Author: ShinySherlock
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (BBC and ACD)
Length: 40,883 words
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC, ACD Canon
Author's summary: What if ACD Watson and BBC Watson switched places . . .
“Imposter!” Hands clenching the lapels of John’s coat, Holmes shoved him anew.
“Yes!” John agreed, nodding, and then grimacing. “Sort of!”

Reccer's comments: I love casefics that use the case to advance the relationship, and this one does it for two couples: John/Sherlock and Holmes/Watson, all whilst solving both the original ACD case “The Hound of the Baskervilles“ and the mystery of how to return John and Watson to their respective centuries... or perhaps dimensions.

The treatment of the ACD case is fairly straightforward, although the characters are fleshed out and there are a couple of small twists that make it worth paying attention even if you know the original plot. The most important part of the story is really the human interactions, both between John and Sherlock and between John and Holmes (Watson is “stuck” with Sherlock, but we never get to see him directly), as the reality of their situation sinks in, causing each man to gain a new view on his own relationship.

The most charming part of the story for me was the use of ‘texting’, which in this case involves a magical (or perhaps highly technologically advanced) journal. There’s a bit of angst and a tiny smidgen of infidelity, but there’s a generous helping of fluff and swoon-inducing declarations to balance it all out in the end.

Excerpt:

Sherlock had told him to “isolate the most important question” and criticized him for not prioritizing, and yet, faced with all the information John had written the night before, Sherlock’s first and only question had been, “He kissed you?”

Huh. Priorities.