“Let me.” Almost before she thought, in that instinctive snap that so often led her to trouble, Summer put her hand out, reaching to brush his shoulder. Not that she needed the touch, but ritual had become habit long since. Establishing a painblock was as easy as breathing in; she pulled his pain in and settled it somewhere deep in her mind, out of the way.
Summer came out of the reverie to find the man looking at her. Of course. “I’m sorry.” She dropped her gaze, flushing faintly. “That was presumptuous of me. Is there somewhere I can help you to? I’m afraid I cannot hold this for long.”
Sherlock stood stock still as the person before him reached out, touching his shoulder and seeming to, in his opinion anyway, take away the pain he had been fighting this entire time. And, while he was thankful for it, he knew there was something more at work here, and the pain wouldn’t be gone forever. In fact, Summer reassured that with her statement.
“… I normally do not have others coming up to me and… laying a hand on me. Other than those who believe they can get a few pounds off me.” Sherlock shrugged, now that the pain had subsided for the moment. “Back to my flat is where I was heading. I do not know what you’ve done, but if you must know, I prefer to deal with my pain on my own, though I do appreciate not having the pain for a few minutes.” The detective paused before continuing. “… Baker Street. That’s where I need to get to. Then I do believe I can deal with the pain myself.”
Her American drawl came through thicker now in her embarrassment. “I beg your pardon, sir.” She blinked, eyes going vague for a moment, before focussing on him again. The keen intelligence there caught at her attention, but she pushed it away. “Come.” Without giving him a chance to react, she took his arm and tugged him into the crowd, which parted smoothly before them and closed as silently behind.
To her, it was a simple forbidding, a swift urge to move away just for a moment, but she’d no doubt it seemed far different to the man she was towing along. However, if he could tend to his pain himself, as he asserted, best he did it quickly, and if not, best not to have him incapacitated in the street. With no further impediment, they were able to reach Baker Street with ease, and she paused at the head of the street, turning to look up into his dark eyes again.