Smiling at the kiss, at having Holmes even halfway affectionate again, Watson followed, shutting the door behind him.

Nell was off like a shot, prancing to and fro, nosing curiously into every likely-looking bush or rock or patch of dirt, the entire world fascinating and all-encompassing. Her tail never stopped wagging, not even when she paused in her exploration to glance back at Holmes and Watson to make sure they were headed in the same direction she was.

Watson offered Holmes his arm, not at all sure he would take it and more than prepared to be ignored or turned down. And that would be okay, he told himself, there was no sense in taking offense when Holmes's recovery was still so new and tentative. "Did you have a destination in mind, or is this an aimless ramble?" he asked.