Thank you all for the views and reviews! This story is turing into one of my favorites to write, along with 100 Things About Annie in the Covert Affairs category. Thanks again! I promise I won't leave so many cliffhangers. ;) P.S. This will end up with Irene being who she actually is in the show. So, if you haven't watched the show, there will be spoilers! But not for a few more chapters…actually, a lot more. But just a warning!

Sherlock's POV

"Quite correct, Mr. Holmes. It's been a while since we've had contact hasn't it?"

I could feel my teeth clenching together as Gregson and Bell leaned closer, trying to hear the conversation.

"What do you want?" I growled.

"Just a favor, that's all."

"And what makes you think I would do a favor for you?"

"It's something that helps both of us, trust me." I stood and started pacing, thankful there wasn't anyone else in the waiting room.

"Did you kill that man?"

"The man you found in the alleyway? No, unfortunately you need to keep searching for that murderer. And I can anticipate your next question. Did I harm Joan? I myself did not, but one of my henchmen did, yes."

"Why?" I breathed through my nose, my mouth now barely working.

"To get your attention."

"You seem to be doing that just fine by calling me," I seethed.

"Holmes, who is it?" Gregson asked. I ignored him.

"You needed to know what I was capable of. I'm sure my man didn't harm her too badly, if he did he wasn't supposed to."

"So you're saying if I don't help you…"

"I can hurt her more. And others as well. Are Mr. Gregson and Mr. Bell with you?" I stared at them. "And what about your brother, Mycroft? I hear he's doing well."

"You can't hurt everybody." Gregson stood at that as Bell just looked on.

"But I can. And I will. Now, will you hear my proposition or not?"

I didn't respond right away. Every fiber in my being was telling me not to help this man. He had killed Irene. He had taken away everything I had lived for. He was the one who had pushed me into the downward spiral that would have taken my life if Joan hadn't intervened.

Joan.

I couldn't let him hurt anyone else. Not again.

"Fine. What do you want?"

"There's a man by the name of Liam Barwright. Recently he's dropped off the radar and I need you to find him."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Fine. I accept."

"Good. I'll expect updates every once in a while, and I do hope you find him alive."

"What is he to you?"

A pause. "A friend. Nothing more."

Then the line went dead. With a shaking hand, I let the phone drop from my ear.

"What the hell just happened?" Gregson spat.

"Moriarty." I answered, sliding back into my chair.

"Who's Moriarty?" Bell asked, searching my face.

"He's…he's an old enemy of mine."

"Old enemy? That doesn't sound good," Gregson sighed as he sat himself next to me.

"No, it's not. He killed someone very close to me a while ago."

Bell looked up. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "I've spent a lot of time trying to find this man…to avenge Irene." I hadn't even noticed I had spoken her name until Gregson asked.

"Who's Irene?"

"The woman he killed. You…you could say I loved her." I said reluctantly.

The air was silent. I could tell their brains were working, trying to figure how a man like me could love anyone. But they didn't pry.

"What did he want?"

"A favor. I'm to find a man named Liam Barwright. And that's all."

"You said that he couldn't hurt everyone. Did he threaten someone?" Gregson inquired, his hand automatically dropping to his holster.

"He…he may have waged a proposition. But as long as I do as he asks, no one will be harmed."

"You think no one will be harmed." Gregson corrected.

"I will protect them - "

"You can't protect everyone. Even with us helping you."

"Who said I need help?" I glared at him. I respected Gregson, I did, but he knew when to press my buttons.

"You're going to need our help. And besides, this man attacked one of our," he gestured to Bell and himself, "consultants. That means we're automatically assigned to the case."

"Or taken off of it."

"If we're taken off the case of who attacked Joan, so are you. Conflicting morals."

I stared at him. He had a point. If I didn't let them help they would just strip me off the case and it would that much more difficult to run my operation.

"Ok, fine. You can help. It's just…I know this man. I know how he operates. He's dangerous and intelligent. You could say there's only two other people with a brain that works like mine. Irene…and him."

"That's a lot of brains working like that. I thought you had a rare brain," Bell joked. His point was made however. Three of the greatest brains the world had ever seen…and somehow we were all linked together. It was a bit suspicious.

"Mr. Holmes?" I looked up at my name, and my heart leaped at the sight of a doctor standing near the edge of the waiting room. Standing, I crossed over to him.

"That's me. And this is detective Gregson and detective Bell."

"We're friends of Ms. Watson as well," Gregson supplied.

"Well, she can see all of you now. She's awake, but she doesn't remember much."

I cringed a little. I had hoped that Joan was able to at least give us a description of who had attacked her. But maybe a little time would refresh her memory.

"This way," the doctor led us through the double doors and through a maze of hallways until we reached a room at the end of one of the halls. I stepped in first, my breath hitching at what I saw.

She looked so much smaller while hooked up to all the machines. The wires ran around her like race tracks and at the moment she was fussing with one of them.

"Stupid things…always get tangled," she muttered. I couldn't help but chuckle as she messed with the tangled tube. Hearing my voice, her head shot up.

"Sherlock," she breathed. I tried to ignore the way my heart swelled when she said my name.

"I suppose you don't miss these?" I asked, coming to stand next to her on the bed and gently taking her hands. I quickly unwrapped the tube from around the other one it was attached to and laid it straight.

"Thanks," she whispered. "Hey, Bell. Gregson."

"Hey, girl. How do you feel?" Bell asked, laying his hand gently on her arm again.

"Fine. Well, as fine as I can. Any leads on our dead guy?"

Typical Joan. Worrying about everyone else before she worried about herself.

"Not yet. We were more focused on you." Gregson said.

"Don't be, it's not that big of a deal." She shrugged. My hands tightened around hers involuntarily and she noticed. "What's wrong?"

My eyes caught Gregson's and he nodded. We had to tell her but that didn't mean I wanted to. I had worked so hard to keep Joan away from my past life. I wanted her to know the Sherlock Holmes that was in the present, not the one that was in the past. But I couldn't keep it from her forever, no matter how hard I tried. And Irene wasn't a topic that I was very open to talking about.

"Bell, why don't you and I go get some coffee?"

"What - " Bell began. Gregson's face said it all. "Right, sure. We'll be back soon."

Bell smiled at Joan as he and Gregson left the room.

"Why did they leave? Sherlock, what's going on?" Her bright eyes bore into mine and suddenly my mouth became dry.

"Well, there's…there's been a bit of a problem." I sighed.

"Problem? With what?"

"Not with what…with who." She didn't speak, so I continued. "I got a call from an old enemy of mine…his name is Moriarty."

I had to look away from her. Her gaze was too sharp, too pure. I felt her hands squeeze mine.

"What did he do to you?" She asked quietly. She didn't care about who he was, she was more worried about me. Typical.

"Would you believe me if I said that, even with my type of personality, I did love someone? She was intelligent and charming, and she kept me at my wits end."

"I believe that."

I looked at her quickly, trying to find a hint of a lie on her face. There was none.

"Her name was Irene. Moriarty, he - he killed her." The grimace on Joan's face was faint, and she quickly masked her face again. "I've been searching for the bastard ever since."

"That's why you moved to New York."

"Partly. My father was the other reason. He believed that London was too toxic for me after the aftermath of Irene's death and I didn't disagree." I was grateful that Joan didn't ask about the aftermath. I hadn't taken me long to find the drugs after Irene was killed.

"Have you had any leads on where he might be? You said he called you?" I could tell she wanted to pry for more. More about Irene, more about Moriarty.

"Yes, he did. He had a favor to ask of me."

"A favor? He kills the love of your life and then asks you for a favor?" There was something in Joan's tone that I had never heard from her before. Rage. Barely controlled rage.

"He made a very…convincing argument."

"What kind of argument could he possibly make?" She spat. How could she be this angry at a man she's never even met?

"He said that if I didn't agree…he'd start hurting people. Just like he hurt…" I trailed off, looking her in the eye. It was her this time that looked away.

"He was the one who hit me?"

"Not him specifically. One of his henchmen. But he was the one who made it happen." I whispered.

She didn't respond right away and I clutched onto her hands, not wanting her to pull away.

"What did he ask you to do?" She whispered, her soft voice breaking the silence. I cleared my throat before answering.

"He wants me to find a man named Liam Barwright and disclose his location to him. Apparently, they're friends." I rolled my eyes. A man like Moriarty shouldn't have friends.

"So, we should start looking at old case files, both in America and Britain. If he's a friend of Moriarty he probably has some sort of criminal past. Although it may be covered up - "

"Joan. What are you talking about?" I asked incredulously. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"You said Moriarty asked you to find this guy and even though I think you shouldn't let him mess with you…we're going to find him."

"Joan," I shook my head, "I already have Gregson and Bell forcing themselves on this. We'll take care of it. You rest and - "

"No."

I cocked my head at her.

"What?"

"No."

"Why?" I whispered. Couldn't she see that I was trying to protect her?

"This man hurt you. I'm not going to let him get away with it. We'll find Liam, hopefully alive, and then we can force him to bring us to Moriarty."

"He may not even know where Moriarty is."

"I bet he does. If they're friends, he'll at least know a general locations or places he's been before. That at least gives us a lead. What about the guy in the alleyway? What's going to happen to his case?"

"I assume Gregson is going to give it to another detective. I don't assume he wants to take on two big cases at once."

"Unless they're related."

"Moriarty said he didn't kill the man. But he may have had a part in it."

"So," she squirmed a little. "We'll keep an eye on that case but focus on this one. When are they springing me from this hell hole?"

I noticed how her voice got darker when she spoke of being released. I knew that she had a certain dislike for hospitals after her accident…but I never guessed that she despised them.

"No word yet. I'm assuming soon, since you have no lasting condition. They just need to watch for a concussion."

"Pretty sure I already have one. I know what to do, so why don't they let me go?" She asked and suddenly I realized something else. She didn't just have a hate for hospitals…she was scared of them.

"It's alright, Joan. You won't be here for long." I slid my thumb over her hand, trying to calm her. By watching her heart rate monitor, her heart rate had picked up a bit.

"Good. Are…are you staying here?" Her eyes looked hopeful but then she quickly shook her head. "Never mind, I'm sure you want to get started on this case. Go, but call me if you find anything."

I chuckled. "My dear Watson, I'm not going anywhere."

She looked at me carefully. "Really?"

"Sleep. I'll be right here."

As she slid deeper into the bed I heard her mutter, "I don't need a babysitter."

And as her eyes started to slide shut I whispered, "I know."

It's not a cliffhanger! :) Thank you for reading and reviews are appreciated!