A/N: Once again, this plot is borrowed from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with reverence and respect. I have changed many of the details in order to make it fit into our times and circumstances.

Disclaimers: This is a work of fiction, any similarity to real persons or events is purely coincidental. The characters and plot are not mine and this was not created for profit.

Warnings: Adult subject matter, marital infidelity, underlying slash (still not openly expressed).

Sherlock Holmes Saves a Marriage - 1

The events of the past few days have been so bizarre, that even though I can't publish my notes on this case right now (and possibly will) I feel like I have to make a record of them. I have changed the names of the parties involved, to protect both them and myself.

It's been a few weeks since the discovery of the events surrounding the murder of Sherlock's mother, and the discovery of the existence of Mycroft's son.

Mycroft called Sherlock last Tuesday morning to say that he needed to see him on an extremely important matter, and would be bringing two guests with him.

Sherlock and Mycroft had been getting along much better lately, and so Sherlock didn't try to argue or put his brother off.

Much to our surprise, Mycroft arrived with two people I never expected to see in person: the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary.

After introductions were made, I hurried into the kitchen to make tea for everyone, desperately hoping that I could gather five mugs that would be safe to drink from. I was also wishing that our sitting room was a bit tidier. It was a bit uncomfortable to see two of the government's top officials sitting surrounded by the clutter that Sherlock always accumulated.

Mycroft had seated himself in my chair, and clutched his hands tightly around the wooden handle of his umbrella. I was no Holmes, but I could tell that whatever brought them here, it had to be very serious. The Secretary in particular had a tired and distraught look on his face, while the Prime Minister looked grim.

As I made my way back with the mugs of tea and began handing them out, the Secretary was talking to Sherlock, "When I discovered it was missing at 8 this morning, I immediately informed the Prime Minister, who then notified Mr. Holmes, as it was his department that had acquired it. He suggested that we consult you."

"Have you contacted the police?" asked Sherlock. I could see Mycroft visibly flinch.

"No," said the Prime Minister, "that is impossible. To get the police involved would get the public involved. That has to be prevented if at all possible."

"Why?"

"The...document is so important that if the contents were leaked it could easily...probably lead to an ugly international incident. This document could start a war. Its contents have to remain secret or else we may as well not recover it at all. We have to assume that whomever stole it wanted to make the contents available."

"I see," said Sherlock. "Secretary Hope, will you please tell me, in exact detail, the circumstances of the document's disappearance."

"Yes, Mr. Holmes," said the Secretary, "The letter, it's a letter from a foreign head of state, was intercepted by Mr. Mycroft Holmes' agent six days ago. The contents are so important that I have never left it in my office overnight. I have been taking it home each evening and keeping it in my fire-safe in my bedroom. It was there last night, I know it was because I opened the safe before dinner and saw it inside. This morning when I went to leave for work it was gone. The box was underneath my bed all night. My wife and I are both light sleepers, so we know that no one could have gone through the safe during the night. But somehow, the letter is gone."

"What time did you have dinner?"

"7:30."

"How long before you went to bed?"

"My wife had gone out for the evening so I waited up for her. We went to bed at about 11:30."

"So, for four hours the fire-safe was unguarded?"

"I was at home the entire time, and no one else was in the house."

"Who else knew of the existence of the letter?"

"No one."

Sherlock looked skeptical, "Your wife had to have known."

"No, I never said anything to her about the letter until it was missing this morning."

"Could she have guessed?"

"How could she have guessed? Nobody could have guessed."

"Who else besides we here in this room, knows of the existence of this letter?"

"In England, only the members of the Cabinet."

"And abroad?"

"The agent who intercepted it and the man who wrote it. The writer, we believe, acted entirely on his own and members of his own government don't know of it. The usual, official channels were not used."

Sherlock sat in thought for a moment or so before saying, "I have to ask you what this document is and why its disappearance would have such terrible consequences?"

Mycroft, the Prime Minister, and the Secretary all exchanged glances and the Prime Minister frowned.

It looked like Mycroft was trying not to smile as the Prime Minister began to speak, "The envelope is long and light blue. There is a red seal with a tree on it. It is addressed in large handwriting - "

Sherlock interrupted, "These are interesting and important details, but my question is more on substance. What was in the letter?"

"That is a matter of national security, I cannot tell you, nor do I think it's necessary. If you have the powers your brother says you posses, you should be able to find this envelope, and if you do, you will have done this country, and the world, a great favor and you will certainly be rewarded for it."

Sherlock stood up from his chair smiling, "You three are the most busy men in the country, but I also have a lot of demands on my time. I'm sorry that I can't help you with this, so I won't waste any more of your time."

He began to walk over to the sitting room door. The Prime Minister stood up, looking extremely angry, and glared at Mycroft, who only smiled blandly back from his seat. The Secretary also remained sitting, looking rather sick.

After a moment of tense silence, the Prime Minister sat down, but still looked angry. He huffed in irritation and then said, "Fine, we accept your terms, Mr. Holmes. I suppose it is unreasonable for us to expect you to act for us unless we give you our confidence. I am depending on you and Dr. Watson to keep this matter secret. The possible repercussions of this letter are extremely serious."

Sherlock rolled his eyes, "You can trust us."

I nodded.

"The letter is from a certain foreign head of state who has become upset by some recent...actions by another country in the general region, although the two countries do not share a border. It was written in a hurry, by this head of state, while in a rage, it was his individual doing, and not endorsed by his government."

Mycroft broke in, "Our discreet inquiries have revealed that none of his Ministers know anything about the letter."

The Prime Minister nodded and continued, "But the language and threats in the letter are so inflammatory, that if it were published it could incite dangerous reactions in the region. I would speculate that within one week of the publication of the letter the entire region, and possibly beyond, could be at war."

Sherlock walked over to his desk, wrote something on a piece of paper, and handed it to the Prime Minister who looked at it and then tore the paper to pieces.

"Yes, you guessed correctly, he's the writer. And so, this letter, which could cost untold lives and fortunes, has somehow become lost."

"Have you notified the sender?"

"Yes," said Mycroft.

Sherlock addressed his brother, "So he knows that you intercepted it, and that it didn't reach his intended recipient."

"Yes," said Mycroft again, after a pause he continued. "To give you some idea of the seriousness of what was in this letter, the agent who intercepted it had spent years getting close to the writer. Taking it meant that the agent had to flee, and he barely got out of the country. We may never get another agent that close to the writer again. However, the agent knew after reading the letter that it was worth the sacrifice."

"So now that the writer knows you have it, what has been his reaction? Maybe he wants it made public," said Sherlock.

The Prime Minister broke in again, "No, we have good reason to believe that he has had a change of heart and realizes that he acted in an irresponsible way. It could be a disaster for him or his country if the letter came out."

"If that's the case, whose interest would it be in for the letter to be published? Why would anyone want to steal it or publish it?"

Mycroft looked grim as he said, "You don't follow international politics closely enough, apparently. Consider the situation of the region in question. It is all an armed camp, sitting over one of the world's most precious resources. Any shift in power allows an opening for another party to stick their foot in there and possibly wield their influence. The downfall of one government usually results in the gain of another."

"I see. So another party would want to obtain and publish this letter in order to create chaos that may give them an opening?"

"Exactly."

"And where would this document be sent if it fell into opportunistic hands?"

"To any number of governments around the world. It may be on its way to one of them right now."

Secretary Hope dropped his head in his hands and groaned. The Prime Minister patted him on the shoulder.

"No one can blame you. You took every precaution."

He turned to Sherlock, "Now you know the facts, what do you recommend?"

Sherlock shook his head, "You think that if this document isn't recovered that there will be war?"

"I think it's very possible."

"Then prepare for war."

TBC...