When Caroline heard Mycroft was in the hospital she knew she had to go visit. It didn’t matter that he was a client more than a friend, she still cared. And when someone was in the hospital you visited them, it’s just what you did.
Caroline made her way to his hospital room, a caring smile on her face, and a get-well soon teddy bear in hand. Sure Mycroft probably didn’t want a teddy bear, but the only other thing Caroline could think to bring him was cake which probably wasn’t good for someone who was dealing with food poisoning. Standing in the doorway she gave a soft knock to let him know of her arrival instead of just barging in. She did have manners after all.
Mycroft was doing infinitely better now than when he was first admitted into the hospital, but the doctors wanted to keep him there a little while longer for observation. His bed was propped up in an upright position, and he was sitting, typing out a letter on his laptop - he’d gotten the message to one of his colleagues at the Cabinet building to bring him his computer, because God forbid that he should actually stay idle and rest.
The knock told him, without even looking up, that the visitor wasn’t Sherlock, who had been by his side most of the day; his brother would’ve simply barged inside. When he did look to see who his guest was, the last person he expected was Caroline, and the surprise registered upon his expression.
“Ms Forbes!” he said, by way of greeting, followed by sarcasm, “How do you like my new office? It’s not as personal as my other one, but at least it’s clean. I’m told these accommodations are merely temporary.”
Caroline could see the surprise on his face. Hopefully it was a good surprise though. He seemed to be in good enough spirits which was definitely a relief. “Oh you know,” Caroline said stepping inside and making a point of looking around. “It’s nice but it could use some decorating. A plant or two,” she joked right along with him. “Or, this,” she added offering up the teddy bear.
“Amazing! An event planner, and now an interior designer! Clearly, you’re a multi-faceted woman of many talents.” Mycroft was being a sarcastic little shit, but it was in a good natured sort of way, meant to amuse and not insult Caroline. He held out his hand for the bear. “My recovery is guaranteed to be speedy, thanks to this stuffed animal.” He smiled, and then spoke sincerely, “Thank you. Are you able to sit and chat for a moment?”
Caroline just laughed and shook her head. Yes, Mycroft was being sarcastic but she knew it was well intentioned. “Just a few of my many talents,” she joked handing over the bear. “I have been known to have a healing touch,” she added with a small smile. Of course Mycroft didn’t know how true that was. Although vampire blood could only heal flesh wounds, not illness. She learned that the hard way. Her smile faltered for a brief moment as thoughts of her mother’s cancer filtered in. She recovered quickly though. She was here to cheer Mycroft up. Not bring him down with her old life.
“I think I can manage that,” she said taking the seat near his bed. “You should know I don’t do this for all my clients. Just the ones I like.”
Mycroft turned the stuffed toy in his hands as his mind automatically made rapid fire deductions at a glance. Busy at work, over extending herself, hasn’t eaten yet today. Something wrong, she’s not comfortable in a hospital. Past experience, family member hospitalized. Died. Close family member. Father? No, mother. Teddy bear, good quality, she’d put some forethought into the purchase, not something she rushed out and picked up in the hospital gift shop or the dollar store. She’s being sincere - she wouldn’t have gone through this much trouble to come and see me otherwise. He smiled. “I appreciate the gesture.” He set the bear down upon the small table beside his bed. “Has something happened at your work? You’ve got a lot of events to plan, but you’re overworked, doing tasks that you usually assign to others… you had to let one of your employees go,” he said, continuing his observations with unnerving accuracy.
Well this certainly wasn’t how she was planning this visit to go. But in Caroline fashion she brushed it off. Even if she was the type to complain (which she wasn’t) she certainly wouldn’t complain to someone in the hospital. “It’s no big deal,” Caroline assured with a smile. “I just hired someone new.” Caroline liked him too, she could tell he had a good work ethic. But he was from a different time period, still learning the technology. Caroline was a perfectionist, but was trying her best not to micromanage. “Just an adjustment period right now,” especially with having to fire another employee. “But enough about me. You’re the one in the hospital,” Caroline reminded him her tone light. “Are you sure this is food poisoning and not eating too many cakes?” she couldn’t help but tease.
Mycroft could tell Caroline was sparing him the details, but whomever she hired was somebody she liked… but not in a romantic way. For much the same reason Caroline didn’t want to get into her employment woes, Mycroft opted to keep the conversation light. What good would it do to tell her about Moriarty, the parole hearing and how he’d been purposely poisoned to prevent him from giving his testimony in court? Instead, he joke right back and said, “You did see me polish off an entire tray of cakes, so you know what I’m capable of. The problem was, the cakes weren’t from you. I’ve learned my lesson. No more sweeties unless they’re authorized by your business!”
“Well now you know better,” Caroline replied with a large smile. “Should I email you a list of all my approved places?” She was still joking of course but then she did get more serious. “You’re going to be okay, right?” He seemed to be doing pretty well actually, but still Caroline needed to hear it, and yes the worry did show on her face.
“Please do. I’ve been meaning to ask you that myself before.” The smile on Mycroft’s face faded to match Caroline’s mood, speaking in a reassuring tone of voice. “The doctors tell me that there doesn’t seem to be any lasting damage, and I may go home as early as tomorrow afternoon, if my tests return positive. So yes, I’ll be okay.”
“Consider it done.” She meant it too. As soon as she had a minute to go throw her list she would send it over to Mycroft. “Thank goodness!” Caroline replied the look of relief evident on her face. She was already planning on showing up at his apartment with cake in the evening. “I’m glad you’re going to be okay,” she added as if her exclamation wasn’t enough. “I should let you get some rest,” she said as she stood back up from the chair. It was a nice visit but he needed to recover and she needed to get back to work... and stop by the blood bank.