You guys are honestly the best ever! A HUGE thanks to my amazing reviewers: fantansyfreak133, Guest, phoenixJ, TheInfernalPrincess, bored411, popstarJ01, shurfine, dinosauce4, LibbyTaylor, and LatinClover! Honestly if it weren't for you guys, I would have stopped writing ages ago!

Here you guys go!

Lestrade took a breath as he approached the staircase at 221B Baker Street. He could sense that it was not a good time. Pounding and yelling were coming from up the stairs as Sherlock's loud and violent violin music that he played sharply to annoy people.

The door banged open and Mary quickly descended the stairs, huffing to herself slightly with her purse and stack of papers in hand.

She looked up and saw her boss standing there staring at her.

"You here to see one of the two girls upstairs?" Mary asked.

"Uh… yeah…"

"Good luck," Mary said as she patted his chest, "You'll need it. Trust me."

Lestrade watched her walk away and out the door.

He heard the yelling increase as he heard something heavy hit the ground and the violin stop playing.

Lestrade sighed and shut his eyes, saying a silent prayer before he walked up the stairs.

"SHERLOCK! YOU CANNOT KEEP DOING THIS!"

"WHEN WILL YOU GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD THAT THIS DOESN'T MATTER! NOTHING MATTERS JOHN!"

"THINGS DO MATTER! YOU CANNOT JUST LOCK YOURSELF AWAY AND HIDE!"

"I AM NOT HIDING!"

"YES YOU ARE!"

"Guys…"

"I AM NOT! There is nothing else out there in the world for me."

"There's a whole world out there! Just because you are upset about Kylie leaving still."

"This has nothing to do with her and there's no reason you should be bringing that up."

"Oh, yes of course, because she TOTALLY has nothing to do with the woman you fell in love with…."

"I DID NOT LOVE HER! LOVE DOES NOT EXIST JOHN!"

"WE HAVE HAD THIS TALK SHERLOCK! YOU ARE IN DENILE"

"GUYS!"

Both Sherlock and John stopped yelling and stared at Lestrade is shock. Neither of them had realized that Lestrade had been standing there.

Silence.

"Uh, hey Greg," John said quietly, scratching his head awkwardly.

Lestrade turned and stared at Sherlock, looking at him in complete disbelief. The usually clean cut, clean-shaven Sherlock looked as if he hadn't shaved, changed, or showered in days. His usual dark curly hair was crazy looking and lack luster while his unshaven face made him look nearly unrecognizable while dressed in his dressing gown that now had a burn hole in it as well as a large stain.

Sherlock rolled his eyes and flopped down in a chair moodily.

"You want me to solve another stupid case for you?"

Lestrade looked at him incredulously, before turning to look at John for an explanation. John however just crossed his arms and shook his head, looking like a worn out parent.

Since when are cases and his livelihood stupid…?

"I, um… no…."

"Then why?"

Lestrade paused as he reflected on the conversation that he had just overheard.

If he brought up Kylie, he would never get him to go.

"I uh, have a lead on the Ripper Case."

Sherlock's eyes shot open as he sat up and looked at Lestrade with a light and intrigue in his eyes for the first time in months.

"Wait, the Jack the Ripper Copy cat case?" John asked, "That guy stopped killing ages ago!"

"Apparently he struck again…."

"Where?" Sherlock asked as he jumped up.

"Uh.. San Diego…"

"John pack a bag, we are leaving as soon as we can," Sherlock said as he jumped up and rushed into the bathroom.

The door shut and Lestrade looked at John in shock.

"Does he know that that is where Kylie is?" Lestrade asked slowly.

John looked at him with raised eyebrows, shaking his head, "He wont allow anyone to mention her name, let alone talk about it long enough to know where she is currently living…. A body showed up where she is living?"

"Yeah… and so, he has no idea that we are going to where Kylie is, and continuing working the last case with the woman he has been pining over for the last 8 months?"

"Nope."

"So, are we agreeing that we aren't going to tell him?"

John looked over at Lestrade, "Its getting him to shower. So, no. We aren't going to tell him."

*(&(# (*#() ) #()_

Kylie walked into the office running a hand through her much shorter hair uncomfortably.

Change is good. You need to move on, change is good.

The re-emergence of the Ripper Copy cat had left her in a tizzy. Thoughts of Sherlock Holmes had begun to reinfiltrate her mind. Seeing Mycroft once more hadn't helped that at all. The last few nights she hadn't been able to sleep at all. She had picked up her phone and nearly dialed his number at least three times an hour before convincing herself that she needed to let him go.

Let him go. You have to. Its over, let it go.

You cant… You know you cant let him go.

You have to.

She sighed and toyed with the end of her freshly cut hair. She had had a hair appointment yesterday after work and with her thoughts mainly on a certain dark-haired British native she had made the rash decision to chop her long auburn locks. The hair that had been long enough to reach towards the bottom of her rib cage, was now in a long bob, brushing her shoulders.

She wasn't comfortable with it, she regretted cutting it, but a quote her hair dresser had told her stuck in her mind.

'A Woman who cuts her hair is ready to change her life'

She needed to change. She couldn't live longing for a man that borderline hated her and was a full continent away. She had changed her looks, and now, this case from her past was going to be the first step in putting her past behind her and moving on.

She may not like her hair quite yet, but at least she felt like she was moving forward and finally beginning to feel like a changed woman.

Kylie stepped out of the elevator and made her way to her office, hearing her phone beep. She pulled out her phone, looking at the text from Lestrade.

Landing in an hour. See you soon.

-Greg

"Whoa!" a male voice said as he blocked her tracks.

Kylie looked up to see Charlie staring at her, with a slightly slacked mouth.

She shifted uncomfortably as she pushed her way past him into her office.

"What?" she asked as she set down her bag.

"Your…hair," Charlie stated as he followed her into her office.

"Yeah, I cut it," Kylie said indifferently.

"It looks… sexy as hell," Charlie grinned as he looked her up and down.

Kylie sighed and looked up at him frowning in confusion.

"What…?"

"Your hair, it's a change, but I like it. Looks good on you."

Kylie looked at him taken aback by the actually kind comment that came from her partner's mouth.

"…it makes you look like a dirty secretary. Makes me imagine you bent over a desk…"

"I thought that was a sincere compliment and then you do that…" Kylie sighed as she pulled out her wallet and sun glasses before walking out again.

Charlie just smiled at her as he kept following her.

"It's the truth Kylie!"

"I don't need insights to your dirty perverted mind. You'd probably get a lot farther in life if you left out those dirty side comments."

"But then I'd be trying to hide my true self."

"Good, do that," Kylie said in annoyance.

"You get it done this morning?" Charlie asked as they walked towards the elevator.

"No, last night."

"Really? You were late this morning."

"Toby wanted to run longer."

"You were late for work because your running partner wanted to run longer."

"I cant say no to him, Charlie. He's the only guy I cant say no to."

"…So many comments I could say to that."

"Shut up. You are just jealous because Toby can keep up with me and you cant."

"Toby has had a lot more practice and its easier when you can lounge around the house all day."

Kylie looked at him and frowned, "Are you seriously hating on my dog because he's a DOG and doesn't have a job?"

"What can I say, he's a handsome SOB who gets to keep at then end of your bed. Why cant I be jealous?"

Kylie smiled. She loved that dog. Toby was a retired police dog she had acquired and adopted upon her move to San Diego. He had been shot in action but had recently healed, but due to the severity of his injuries, he could not return to duty. Kylie had been offered and immediately took the adorable German Shepard without second thought as a faithful pet.

She loved him to pieces and if she were to be honest with herself, that dog was the only reason she was still standing after her move to the states. The dog was cuddly, fiercely protective as well as brilliant. He knew immediately when she was sad and would do silly things or quite literally fetch a box of tissues when she needed it. He constantly amazed her.

"Where are we going?" Charlie asked as they stepped out into the garage.

"Lestrade texted me, we are going to go pick him up at the airport."

Charlie frowned, "Did you bring your keys?"

"Nope, that's why you are driving," Kylie grinned at him as she put on her sunglasses and walked towards Charlie's standard issue SUV, "And we are stopping for coffee."

"I didn't bring my keys!"

"Yes you did!" Kylie exclaimed, "You always bring them and I know that bulge in your pocket isn't you, its too big."

Charlie glared at her, as she laughed, "IT WAS COLD!" he argued.

"It was 90% and apparently hazmat guys rubbing you down do it for you," Kylie laughed.

"You swore you would never speak of this!"

"Eh," Kylie stated as she shrugged, waiting for Charlie to unlock the car, "I had my fingers crossed and I have to say its great blackmail material."

Kylie gave him one last grin and opened the door, getting into the car, leaving a despondent Charlie outside.

He sighed and looked up to the sky, knowing this was the only woman who could and would frequently yank him around like this.

*#() *#) ()(#

"Kylie, you seriously run like fifteen times a day, its not healthy," Charlie argued as they walked into the airport an hour later with coffee in hand.

Kylie looked down at her phone, seeing Lestrade's most recent text.

We just landed. We'll be off the plane and out in about ten. Meet you at Baggage claim.

.. We? Who the hell was We?

Oh dear God, please don't be Donovan.

"Kylie!"

"What Charlie?" she yelled at him once more, "I do not run 15 times a day! I run once in the morning and once in the evening with Toby!"

"Like this morning, running your dog can also happen in the morning. I'm positive that Toby wont mind getting up early."

"I like to run, it clears my head!"

"Yeah," Charlie scoffed, "That, and it helps you clear all the sexual tension you are holding on to."

Kylie glared at him in offense as they wove their way through people making their way toward baggage claim.

"Seriously, when is the last time you got laid?" Charlie asked her… loudly.

Kylie glared at him as she walked faster, "None of your business and I have no sexual tension to get rid of."

Charlie laughed, "Yeah, that's why you have been asked out on several dates since you have been here and you have turned down every single one."

"You know it doesn't help your case when its coming from you; the world's worst authority on dating and the king of one night stands."

"I can have a real relationship when I want one," Charlie told her in offence.

Kylie scoffed at him as she took a sip of her coffee, "You are more afraid of commitment than a cat is afraid of water."

"I am not afraid of commitment. I just am not ready to settle down."

"Bullshit," Kylie called him out, "you just like having booty calls and annoying me by sleeping with everyone that we work with and making our job ten times more difficult because I have to keep women from ripping your throat out… not that I would blame them in the slightest."

"KYLIE!"

Kylie looked up to see Detective Inspector Lestrade walking towards her, wearing a large smile.

Two people were following behind him; one a shorter blonde man and a taller, dark-haired figure.

Kylie frowned in slight surprise as she identified one as John.

John? Why was John here?

Not that she minded.

.Wait…

Her eyes traveled to the dark hair figure, seeing all too familiar dark, curly hair and piercing blue eyes.

Sherlock.

He was stopped dead in his tracks, obviously not expecting to see her from across a crowded airport either.

Kylie was barely aware of her surroundings as she just stared at him through a crowd of people. Her heart was no longer beating, she couldn't breathe. Electricity ran rampant throughout her body.

8 months. It had been 8 months since she had laid eyes on him. It felt as if every single bit of progress she had made in trying to get over the man had fallen flat and been knocked down by the presence of the very man she had been trying to get over.

She heard Charlie introducing himself as Lestrade and John approached, but she barely noticed it. She was locked in a trance with Sherlock and she could not get out of it.

"Ky?" Charlie said nudging her, bringing her out of her trance and snapping back into reality, "Is that your ex?"

Kylie shook her head and blinked a few times, still feeling breathless as she turned to Lestrade and John, hugging them both.

"What in the hell is he doing here?" Kylie whispered to Lestrade.

Lestrade frowned and looked over at Charlie peculiarly.

"Your partner told me to bring Sherlock."

Kylie slowly turned and glared murderously at Charlie.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Charlie said recognizing the murderous look that Kylie was giving him as he stepped away fearfully, " Didn't even know that was your ex, nor did I have anything to do with any of that!"

"You RAT BASTARD!" Kylie said rounding on him furiously, "You just had to stick your nose in y business. You cant stand not knowing every single aspect of my

life!"

"That is rich coming from you!" Charlie argued back as people in the airport began stopping and staring at them.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because you are literally the most infuriating person that I know! You hate not having control! That's why you get so mad about my love life."

"Kylie…" Lestrade tried to input, but Kylie ignored him as she kept arguing with Charlie.

"The only reason why I get so upset about your 'conquests' is because they are ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WE WORK WITH!"

"KYLIE!" Lestrade yelled finally getting her attention.

"WHAT?!" she yelled back as she turned her attention to her former boss.

"Its your other partner who called me," Lestrade told her, "the bloke who called me was British, it wasn't him."

Kylie and Charlie both froze, staring at him in slight shock.

"What…?"

"Lestrade, Charlie is my only partner. I don't work with any one who is British," Kylie stated to him slowly.

"So, who called Lestrade?" John asked.

"The killer," Sherlock's deep voice said as he walked up and stood next to Kylie. She could feel the heat from his body radiating towards her, the same smell of clean soap that was so distinctly him. She shut her eyes as she felt a dizziness take her over as her heart began to race.

"Its part of his game," he continued, "He wants Kylie and myself to work the case. For both of us to play the game. That's why he killed again."

Silence fell over the group as they looked at each other.

The killer had just raised the stakes and forced them to play their hand….

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