Title: Stupid
Fandom: Basil of Baker Street (Great Mouse Detective)
Rating: G
Length: 171
Summary: Dawson feels inadequate sometimes, but Basil reassures him.


Whilst being able to work with Basil is a truly remarkable opportunity, I do sometimes feel rather slow by comparison. On one particular occasion, he had solved a spate of burglaries that had baffled everyone else. I had followed some of the deductions that he had made, but inevitably became lost. I sat apart while he received the congratulations of the police and the mice whose jewels had been returned to them. Despite it being well-deserved, he looked tired and overwhelmed. Gently brushing off the last of the crowd, he headed over to me.

“Is something troubling you, Dawson?” he asked.

I smiled a little at his perceptiveness. “Nothing really,” I said. “I just feel a little stupid. I couldn’t follow a lot of what you were doing.”

He looked shocked by my statement. “My dear doctor, you are not stupid, you are wonderful.”

He smiled reassuringly and I felt happiness bubble up inside me. As he moved away and gestured for me to follow him, I whispered to myself, “Wonderful.”