The lunchroom was quieter than usual. Subdued. At the other end, near the kettle, some officers were talking quietly, but those seated in the vinyl armchairs were silent apart from the occasional rustle of Anderson's newspaper. The Daily Mail, of course. Anderson never had much taste.

Greg watched as a hand emerge, picked up the coffee cup, and replaced it. Sherlock stared at him from the front of the paper, in the middle of a crowd of enormous, accusatory words. He sighed, very quietly.

The funeral was in two days.

The newspaper rustled again. "D'you think he was in on it?" Anderson asked wonderingly.

Everyone there knew what "it" was.

"Who?" Sally asked around a mouthful of pasta. It was interesting, Greg mused, that Anderson was the only one of his officers he thought of by their last name. There was Sally and Harold and Felix and… Anderson. Just Anderson. Greg had never really liked the man.

"Watson," said Anderson, drinking more of the awful instant coffee that he'd loaded with way too much sugar. "Do you think he was part of the ruse?"

"John?" Sally sounded stunned. "Of course not."

"Well, he can't have lived with that maniac and been entirely oblivious, he must have known something was up…"

Greg wanted to shout that that was because nothing was up, Sherlock hadn't fabricated it at all…but he couldn't. He knew that everyone was already looking at him edgewise, putting him on probation while they investigated the web of lies. Instead, he said, "Maybe it wasn't all made up."

Sally stared at him, and then shrugged. "We'll, I'm going to the funeral."

The newspaper fell from Anderson's fingers. "What?" he exclaimed in that arrogant, superior tone that always made Greg want to punch him. "You're going to the freak's funeral?"

"Not for him. For John."

"Oh, come off, they were just shag buddies…"

"Shut the fuck up," Greg growled, before he could stop himself, and half the lunchroom turned to look at their corner. He suddenly realised he hated Anderson, really actually hated him…

"You weren't there," Sally said quietly to Anderson. "You didn't go to the hospital, you didn't see John. Whatever those two had going, at least it made the freak less of a freak. And that's a good thing. And even if he wasn't human, John is. So I'm going." She stood up.

"And I'm staying at my house tonight." She stalked off.

Greg couldn't help but enjoy the shocked look on Anderson's face.