Chapter 1

Katie slurped her drink and looked up at the arrivals board for the second time in a minute. Venice; Arrival in 2 minutes. She sighed, they had been there for an hour already. Chloe was snoozing, and Katie had long ago got tired of wondering what she could draw on her friend's face. Eleanor had the sense to bring a book, and was happily engrossed in The Hobbit. Sherlock was being snoozed on and was in his Mind Palace. Katie always wondered what went in in there...

Bored. The thought rang through the rooms of his Mind Palace. Bloody sentiment, wanting to come to be with Chloe, and to greet John and Rachel. All the girls had got under his skin, and he held them in regard as high as Mrs Hudson. Chloe... Maybe higher. John was his best friend, and maybe Greg was too. Greg. Look at me. Sherlock had only started calling him that after the fall. He realised then that Greg had been there, through drugs and relapses and all he'd messed up. He deserved better than how the world treated him... Sherlock closed the door on that thought. Far too sentimental. And Molly, lovely Molly, she put up with less of his crap now. She was her own person, Greg had helped her realise that.

A lot had changed since he took a swan dive off the hospital.

"Rachel. Rachel." She adjusted her position on John's shoulder, brows furrowing. "Rachel, they won't let me carry you off the plane. And my shoulder hurts."

Her eyes flew open and she sat up. "Oh my god, was that your injured shoulder? Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, why didn't you say-" John was grinning. "Your shoulder wasn't hurting at all, was it?"

His grin widened. "Nope. You should know which one it is by now, since we're engaged."

She batted his definitely unhurt shoulder. "I do know, I was half asleep. Now, let's get out of here."

They were one of the last people on the plane by now, so they grabbed their bags and walked off. They had no hold luggage to collect, so they were out fairly quickly.

"Right. Are you prepared for the tackle hugs?" Rachel asked before they went into the area where the others were.

"Are you ready for the gushing and hand-pulling so everyone can judge the ring I bought you?" John replied.

"Nope. Let's go!"

It all went as expected. Katie leapt up at the sight of them, calling out and running over. This started a chain reaction: Eleanor looked up, Sherlock zoned in and Chloe woke up. Chloe practically leapt over the table in her hurry, almost kicking Eleanor in the face. Sherlock raised his eyebrows and Eleanor giggled. They stood at a more sedate pace, and joined the others where Katie was telling John everything that had happened and Chloe was chasing Rachel for a look at the ring. Sherlock grabbed Chloe round the waist as she passed, lifting her off the floor and pinning her arms to her sides. She pouted, and everyone laughed.

"Go on then, let's see this famous ring." Rachel held out her hand, Chloe was released and they had a calmer look at the silver ring with an amethyst held in place by thin silver strands. Sherlock watched John as he gazed at Rachel, a protective, loving little smile upon John's lips. He couldn't claim to know much about love, but John was certainly in it.

"Hello John."

"Sherlock." John smiled. He had a smile for every person, and each was a little different. Rachel: love. Eleanor: friendship. Chloe: exasperation, and endearment. Greg: comradeship. But Sherlock's was a little bit of it all. And it made him feel better.

"I... I'm pleased for you. She loves you. And you love her. And she's right for you, and she has a well paying job and will bring you the family you want because it's in your genes and-"

"Sherlock. Shut up." John was smiling. "Right," he addressed the whole group, "I want to go home."

When they were back at Baker street, Sherlock instantly ran up the stairs to an experiment. Mrs Hudson kissed John's cheek, and gushed over the ring and one of her boys getting engaged at last. He grabbed the bags and took them upstairs, leaving Rachel to talk to their landlady. When he got up there, he discovered Sherlock not bent over the microscope as he expected, but slumped on the sofa, hands under his chin in the prayer position.

John raised his eyebrows. "What's up?" No response. "Come on, Sherlock, talk to me."

There was silence for a bit. "John. I need your advice."

John's eyebrows shot up, and he sat down. "Ok...what about?"

"Love."

"...Ok, who are you and what have you done with my flat mate."

Sherlock sighed and sat up, fixing John with a stare. "You heard me." Then the stare dropped, and he looked like a little boy. "Please John. I don't know what to do."

"Alright. What's the issue? And you need to tell me everything- names and all."

"Chloe. And, I feel weird around her. Like I want to follow her anywhere. I want to be with her. I need to, John."

"You're either a stalker with an obsession, or you love her, mate." John grinned. "Any idea if she feels the same way?"

Sherlock sighed. "No! Its easy for you, your good at emotions."

"Analyse her. You are good at body language. Think about how she acts when around you." John yawned. "Ahh, jet lag. I'll talk to you in the morning, ok?" Sherlock hummed in agreement, and John wandered up to his room.

Sherlock couldn't help one thought bouncing round his brain: what if she loves me back?