A/N: This is a story that a few of my fellow students and I wrote as an assignment for school. Each chapter is written by a separate student and we were asked to publish it somewhere. So here it is. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but no flames, thanks!

Disclaimer: BBC's Sherlock belongs to various persons and corporations that are not in any way associated with me. This piece of fanfiction is written by 5 students who just wish to pass an assignment they were given. I claim no ownership of the show or Sherlock. No profit is made from this material, now or in the future.

Chapter 1

Thinking back on my early years of traveling in my life, both on my own and with my friend Sherlock Holmes, I had joyful, and a large number of merely strange memories about them. Though I had been traveling and working with many different cases with my friend, the one time I travelled alone, I never thought this would be the most memorable and surprising trip of all.

"This is 18 karat gold, with a solitary 1 karat Top Wesselton diamond. It also has a special design that you can't find anywhere else than here in Sweden. Finally, it has got a princess cut. Just for your princess."

"Oh, this is absolutely perfect. She can't say no to that."

"I would be surprised if she did." said the expedite called Anna. She had long blond hair and big blue eyes. It was almost exactly how I had thought a Swedish woman would look like. It was a nice store, Guldfynd, close to Gustaf Adolf's square in Malmö.

"I will put it in a special box for you. So, how did you two meet?" she asked with her Swedish accent and a great, genuine smile.

"It was 2 years ago. She found me in the worst stage of my life. It felt like everything was falling apart for me. Then she came and made me sort of complete. She is the biscuit to my tea and the beat to my heart. I would be nothing without her." I took the picture of Mary from my wallet and showed it to her. "This is the love of my life."

"How beautiful! Well, she must be a pretty lucky woman to have you as well Mr…?"

"You can call me John."

"Thank you for your purchase John, and I wish you the best of luck with Mary."

Although the store was crowded with a lot of people, I really felt happy with the service that I got and walked out of there with a smile on my face. It was a foggy day. The leaves had turned yellow and brown on the trees in the park. It was the middle of October, but not as cold to be wearing a winter coat. Mary would have loved to be there, but there wasn't any time for that. I was only invited to Malmö for a short visit to a medical convention. They had called me a month ago, asking if I wanted to come and share my experience as a doctor in the war in Afghanistan. I was not sure at first, only because it is in my past and something that still haunts me in my sleep. Yet I felt proud of my journey and if that could inspire and help others, I would not resist. After all, I did find the special ring Mary had talked about, so it had been worth the trip.

I was set up to speak two times at the convention which was exciting, but also a bit nerve-racking since I did not know how many other doctors, specialists or nurses there would be. They had booked a room for me at Clarion Hotel on Malmö Live where I stayed for two nights. I felt like a celebrity walking into the doors of the hotel. They carried my bag and guided me to the reception where the receptionist welcomed me.

"Hello, Mr. Watson. Welcome to Malmö. Have you been here before?" said the tall man with a smile, whiter than the snow in the winter. "I am Erik, and I hope that you will enjoy your stay here. I can see that you are attending the convention starting later today."

"No sir, I have not been to Sweden before, only heard a lot about it. I am very pleased to be here and just by looking inside this lobby, I think I will definitely enjoy my stay here." I went up in the elevator to my room which was on the 22nd floor. I did not even consider the stairs for obvious reasons, although it would have been a good exercise. The first thing that caught my eyes was the king size bed with at least five shiny pillows, just for decoration. The room had a wall-to-wall carpet, heavy dark purple drapes, walnut wooden drawers, a wardrobe and a desk. I was a bit exhausted from my flight and a quick nap seemed like a good option.

I woke up at 3:45 pm, realising that I was supposed to be at the convention 4 o'clock downstairs. I went through my leather weekend bag to find a proper shirt appropriate for the occasion. I quickly unpacked the rest of my clothes and put my latest purchase, the wonderful ring, on the nightstand.

Once downstairs, I saw hundreds of people mingling around in a big conference room. The walls were white but decorated with giant green and red streamers and other flower decorations. If I had not been sweating on my way down to the lobby, I was surely sweating imagining standing in front of a crowd this large. I started to think if it was a good idea to do this after all, but then a gentleman came, serving drinks. He said something with words I did not understand.

"Sorry, I am not from here. What did you say?"

"Ah! Care for a drink perhaps?"

I drank it fast, thinking that it might calm my nerves. There were many different people in the room. Both men and women in different age groups. Some seemed to have retired recently, while some were newly graduates. A long table of various appetizers stood in the left corner of the room. I went for a piece of dark bread with roast beef and mustard when a collision of my hand and another man's hand occurred.

"Oh, sorry! said I. Seems like we reached for the same sandwich."

"No worries. You can have it, of course, Captain Watson."

I looked up at the man standing in front of me. "Captain?" I thought to myself. I had not been called that since the war. Hearing from his accent I could tell that he was from Britain as myself. He had short dark hair with hints of grey, although his mustache had already turned fully grey. His eyes spoke of experience. He had seen a lot of things in his life. He wore a brown tweed suit. In his other hand, he carried a black cane.

"Remember me? Long-time no see!" said he.

"Hmm… I am afraid not. Well, I am embarrassed now. Would you enlighten me?"

"It's me, Lieutenant James!"

"Oh! I did not recognise you. Of course, how are you?" said I and was glad and surprised to see him after all these years.

"Well, I am great, but…"

"Dr. Watson! Hello, I am a big fan. Can I just take a picture with you and maybe you can sign my paper here?" said an almost hysterical middle age woman and grabbed my arm. "Come here!"

I followed her to a short man with a camera almost bigger than himself. I turned around to wave at James, but could not see him anymore through all of the people in the room.

"Here we go Watson!" said she. "Okay now, say cheese!"

"Cheeeeeeeeese!"