Title: Buoyant
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Characters: Lestrade, Hopkins, Holmes, Watson
Pairing: Watson/Lestrade
Rating: G
Length: 431
Author notes: This involves a gas balloon, rather than a hot air balloon. And the "car" mentioned is the basket underneath. Thank you to thesmallhobbit for suggesting Lestrade and Hopkins be "look[ing] up wistfully..."
Summary: There is a struggle going on in a balloon over London. Lestrade and Hopkins watch anxiously from the ground.

Up above London a balloon floated across the sky, the car underneath it swinging to and fro as the four men inside it violently fought with one another.

Far below, Hopkins and Lestrade stood watching, the latter through a pair of field glasses.

“Are they winning?” asked Hopkins anxiously.

“I am not certain,” said Lestrade, keeping his attention on the balloon. “Dr. Watson has Pembleton restrained but Mr. Holmes is still struggling with Graxby.” Lestrade tightened his grip on the glasses. “But I think Mr. Holmes had got him now! Yes! He and the Doctor are securing the prisoners’ hands!”

Lestrade tensed.

“Wait! One of them must have got loose! He’s attempting to throw Mr. Holmes out of the car!”

“Oh, dear God!” cried Hopkins.

Lestrade suddenly relaxed again.

“No, don’t worry! I was wrong. It’s only Dr. Watson trying to throw Mr. Holmes out of the car.”

Lestrade lowered the field glasses, and he and Hopkins exchanged a look of complete understanding. Lestrade trained the glasses on the balloon once more.

“So what exactly is happening?” enquired Hopkins.

“Ah…” Lestrade frowned and refocused. “It seems the Doctor has stopped attempting to murder Mr. Holmes and is now gesturing a great deal. Something in the nature of: why didn’t you tell me who the criminals were earlier? Why didn’t you arrange for us to capture them on the ground rather than in mid-air? Why am I friends with you, you great idiot?”

Hopkins raised his eyebrows. “You can read all that from gestures?”

Lestrade spared Hopkins a quick glance. “I am very familiar with Dr. Watson’s body language.”

“Are you now...” said Hopkins.

“Yes. Somewhat.” Lestrade cleared his throat and returned his full attention to the skies.

Hopkins looked up too. “Well, that’s that then, I suppose,” he said. “Do you think they know how to descend safely?”

“I believe so,” said Lestrade. “I can just see Mr. Holmes starting to release the gas…”

Hopkins turned to look in the direction the balloon was drifting in. “Where do you think they’ll land?”

“Well,” said Lestrade, lowering the glasses, “taking into consideration the height the balloon is travelling at, and the strength of the wind, I would say…”

He looked in the same direction as Hopkins.

“...Calais, probably.” Lestrade raised the glasses to his eyes and began watching the balloon again.

“Heavens,” said Hopkins. He gazed upwards. “Do you think they both know?”

“I do believe Mr. Holmes has just explained things to Dr. Watson…” Lestrade removed the field glasses. “The Doctor is attempting to throw him out of the car again.”