Part two, hope you enjoy it. The first and second are only a bridge for the third, actually. Though there might be more soon (:

I don't own either Sherlock Holmes, John Watson or BBC's Sherlock. I write for fun, not for raising money.


Busted II

'W-what?'

John shifted his gaze to Sherlock's face and opened his mouth to say something but Sherlock spoke before he could.

'John. I know Mycroft told you to tell me that Irene Adler was in America in some kind of witness protection programme, while in fact she was dead. It seems-' Sherlock smiled at John '- it seems that Mycroft has been informed wrongly… Irene Adler is alive, as you can see.'

'But…' John started and then rethought his conversation with Mycroft Holmes. Mycroft had said that she'd only be able to escape when a Sherlock Holmes would have been there to save her… Sherlock hadn't been there, had he? As soon as John thought it, he realised he hadn't see Sherlock for a few days and in his ignorance he'd thought (afterwards, of course) Sherlock might have known about Irene Adler because of the damn text message – 'Goodbye Mr Holmes'. But hadn't Sherlock's absence been before Irene's death?

'Sherlock. You are not going to tell me you saved her, are you?'

'You are becoming slow, John', Sherlock said, smiling at me. Suddenly he flashed "The Look" at me. 'What else did you deduce?'

'You… ilike/i her. only you saved her not because of that but because you need her. Should I say more? I did catch your conversation earlier – you weren't exactly subtle. Your voice was rather loud, Sherlock. I do have other deductions, but I don't want to share them with you right now since the subject is here.'

Sherlock smiled again and patted John's shoulder. 'Thank you', he whispered in his ear, and leaning closer, he placed a soft kiss on the shell. 'I appreciate your secrecy. We will talk later, then. Would you mind leaving me and Miss Adler alone for an hour or so?'

John shook his head and when Sherlock pulled back a slight pinkish shade could be seen on his cheeks.

'I'll send Mrs Hudson up to bring you some tea and I'll go get some extra milk. I think there might be enough for you for now. Do we need anything else, Sherlock?'

'No, we don't require anything else, John.' A look of gratitude was clearly visible in Sherlock's eyes and John was happy to see that.

'I'll be back as soon as possible, Sherlock', he answered, the lie easily falling from his tongue. He didn't intend to interrupt Sherlock's rendez vous with Irene Adler. So he would go shopping for something they really didn't need (unless Sherlock had that cat adopted now).

If Sherlock needed him, he could call. John did have his phone with him.