Confrontations at the Yard.

It had taken Molly Hopper a week to get John Watson out of his funk, and the young woman could see how the last few months had taken their toil on the poor doctor. The man had helped her when he could over a 4 month period of time, but Molly would never forget how difficult it had been to get John to help her. She'd been tempted, more than once, to actually tell him the truth.

When she'd first met John Watson, he'd been holding himself together, clearly haunted by the things he'd seen during the war, but holding himself with sheer will. Sherlock had given Dr. John Watson a new lease on life, and now that lease was gone. Molly wished she could reveal the truth to him, but she'd been sworn to secrecy, like in those spy movies. But this wasn't a movie, and she knew if she revealed the truth then a man's life would truly be over, and his blood would be on her hands.

" What's this about, Molly?" Watson asked wearily, an edge to his normally mild mannered voice. Molly took a good look at him, John looked like he'd aged more than his middle age suggested.

" Before he died," Molly began, knowing the subject of Sherlock would hurt the man more than he already was, but she'd decided to tell him a partial truth. It was the worst kind of lie, but she needed his support. " Sherlock made me investigate a few things, and I've got a few bits of data, but-"

" Molly, Sherlocks' dead. Let him rest in peace," John said firmly, a glint of rage in his eyes at the apparent intrusion.

But Molly wasn't having it, " No, John. I was there too, at the funeral, you saw Anderson and Donovan's glee. I want nothing more than to make them regret that."

John's face contorted at the thought of those two self righteous bastards. Sergeant Donovan had warned him about Sherlock being a psychopath, and the arrogant bitch had lorded it over him when the police had come to arrest Sherlock, a man who'd helped them many times over. John had wanted, that night, to break her face. Instead he'd had to settle for a pompous superintendent.

Molly had a small smile on her face, it was cruel, but she knew she was close to winning.

" Don't you want him to be vindicated, for the media to kick that bitch Riley out for spreading lies?"

John nodded. Molly had won.

Four months later...

" Is this it?" John asked as he looked over the files. They weren't too thick, but they were full of information that screamed innocence. Molly and he had worked hard on this, and they were prepared.

Molly nodded, " Yeah, all my results. What worries me is that hardly any of this will work to clear Sherlock's name."

" Oh, I think it will. Mycroft'll help." John replied, remembering the text. When he saw Molly's confusion, he explained. When he'd finished Molly looked furious, " You mean Sherlock's brother gave Moriarty all that dirt printed in the media?"

John nodded, " He's been working on different angles than we have. I only just found out about it today. He met me, kidnapped me, and told me to meet him at the yard."

Molly pursed her lips. Sherlock had told her his suspicions about where Moriarty had got that rubbish, and she'd be proud her amateur dramatics training had stopped her revealing too much about what she knew, but that didn't mean she was happy. She was delighted Mycroft Holmes had been working to clear his brother, but she wasn't too happy about the prospect of meeting the man.

" Let's go," She said, picking up the gear. Molly's heart was pounding in anticipation for this.

Mycroft Holmes wasn't surprised to see Molly arrive with John, but he didn't say a word to the young doctor when he saw her. He'd clearly known about her work, in fact Mycroft had stepped in to help her without revealing his aid whenever someone questioned why St. Bartholomew's Hospital was demanding for medical information about the Bruhl children. Even Molly had been stunned by the ease, but now John had seen Mycroft's face when he saw Molly, he realised that Mycroft had been helping even if his direction had been different.

" John," Mycroft greeted warily; the last time these two men had met it hadn't ended amicably.

" Mycroft," John's voice was cold but mild.

Molly looked between the two men, the tension making her nervous, " Can we go inside, please?" She pleaded nervously.

Inside the Yard, Chief Superintendent Church was sitting nervously, with DI Lestrade, DS Donovan and Anderson nearby. Church was sweating like a pig, it was rare that government officials visited the yard, but when they did it was to announce it at the last minute.

Donovan's arms were folded, her body language and expression sickening Lestrade as it seemed to say I was right, we were taken for a ride, but I was the only one to see it, but the DI was more curious than irritated by the summons.

" I don't see what this is all about," Anderson spoke up at last, and Lestrade fought the urge to grit his teeth. Even though he'd hidden his loathing for the arse better than Sherlock, Lestrade hated Anderson just as much as the consulting detective had. Lestrade, unlike the others, hadn't believed that Sherlock had kidnapped those kids, he'd seen the astonishment in Claudie Bruhl's eyes when he ordered Sherlock out of the interview room when the little girl had screamed her head off, but Anderson and Donovan had gone above him to prove their animosity to Church. Lestrade hadn't associated much with either of them after, their gloating had been obnoxious to him.

Church was shaking from nerves, " Your guess is as good as mine, but we should be seeing this man soon."

" Probably someone who's gonna congratulate us for proving the freak was a fraud," Donovan added her own opinion. Lestrade shot her a look, and if looks would kill then Donovan would be dead. Surprisingly non else had see the look.

When Mycroft Holmes strode into the room, followed by Molly Hooper and John Watson, Church shot out of his chair whilst the other officers stood or sat there, their mouths open in shock at the unexpected arrivals. Church pointed at Watson, " He's under arrest! He hit me!" he whined pathetically.

This was news to Mycroft, he turned to face John, who was looking at the rooms other occupants with contempt, " What did he do, John?" He asked mildly, a little angry that his schedule was being upset by this latest development. The elder Holmes was more than convinced by Church's accusations, John Watson had been an experienced soldier, and he had never hesitated to protect Sherlock.

John pointed to Church, " He basically insulted Sherlock, and I punched him to shut him up. The pig cried like a spoilt brat, and I was hauled away whilst this smirking cow sneered at me as she led me away in cuffs." He indicated Donovan, who certainly wasn't sneering now.

" What did he say about Sherlock?" Mycroft asked, his voice no more than a whisper.

" He called him a vigilante, really." John replied.

Mycroft could see that there'd been more to it than that, and he regarded the police superintendent without expression. " I see. Do you normally say that about people who risk their lives to help fight for justice?"

Church didn't answer, he didn't know what to say. Donovan, not knowing about this man's link to Sherlock, sneered, " Risk his life? You mean the freak, a man who kidnapped those kids? We had the proof-"

" Shut up, Donovan!" Lestrade barked, he'd let Donovan dig her own grave, but now he had a good idea about who this was. It would've been great to see Donovan try and climb out of the trap, but he wanted her to sweat a little when she found out who he was.

Donovan looked at her DI with shock, " Sir, he-"

" This is Mycroft Holmes," Lestrade interrupted, trying to stop the smirk appearing on his face, delighting in Donovan's shock and sudden fear. " This is Sherlock Holme's brother, he works for the British government."

As Donovan spluttered in terror, realising that with this Holmes she wouldn't be able to get away with as much, Mycroft approached her, " Do you normally insult grieving family members when a loved one is dead, Detective Sergeant, or do you arrogantly believe that your rank can protect you from the repercussions?" Donovan backed away from the clearly angry civil servant, Mycroft's eyes were calm, but Donovan was smart enough to see the rage behind those same eyes.

" My brother respected you, did you know that?" Mycroft asked, enjoying the look of shock on her face, " But he didn't like your insults because he felt that you should be a better observer. In my opinion, do you want to know my opinion?" Mycroft asked, carrying on before the flustered woman could answer him, " You should never have become a policewoman. Not only do you not have the talent for solving puzzles Sherlock has, but you also lack the respect and decorum a police officer needs in order to interact with the public. After I leave, you will pack your things, and I will issue you your notice. Then you can find a different job more into your scope." Mycroft whispered in a voice like honey, but everyone could hear the British government in his voice.

Mycroft turned to face the shell shocked Church, and handed him a file taken from his suitcase, " Have you got the DVD player I requested?"

After they'd watched the DVD of the interviews with Claudie Bruhl and Richard Brook and the two thugs in Moriarty's emply, Mycroft, John and Molly enjoyed the looks on the police officer's faces as they realised Moriarty had fed them lies, and they'd eaten them all up. It got worse when Molly added her own evidence. Anderson normally would've sneered in disdain when he saw Molly, but not he was too busy thinking we're doomed, we were taken for a ride, but Sherlock Holmes was the victim, and when Molly gave her evidence to Sherlock's innocence, Church was now thinking that he was due for an early retirement.

" The Bruhl children were exposed to a drug, similar to the one used in that Hounds of Baskerville case," Molly reported. Lestrade shuddered as he remembered only too well how Sherlock had been exposed to the drug, he'd muttered, " Moriarty - no," and Lestrade was more convinced than ever that Sherlock had been innocent. " It's a hallucinogenic agent, and if you wear something that shows what you want the victim to see and fear, then you can make that fear realistic."

Mycroft took out a folded piece of plastic holding a mask, and dumped a file on it, " There's DNA in that Sherlock mask, the DNA belongs to James Moriarty, and this file," he added handing the police the file the secret service and the government had on the man proved there was no doubt they'd been played for fools, " You've been made to look like fools." Mycroft summarised, trying hard not to laugh in their faces.

Church was now more than convinced he would be seeing early retirement. Mycroft took out of his suitcase Sherlock's mobile, and replayed the recording Sherlock had made. Lestrade had been stunned, so had the others in fact, but John was focusing on him, that Sherlock's suicide hadn't been planned, John was as surprised as he was, even more so when Sherlock had clearly committed suicide to protect him, Mrs Hudson and Lestrade. That was the thing that made Lestrade break down. Sherlock Holmes had thought of him as a friend, and yet he'd gone and committed suicide after he, the DI had issued a warrant for his arrest, and now there was no way for him to make amends.

A few days later, the headlines read " THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE - SHERLOCK HOLMES NOT A FRAUD! MORIARTY A REAL MAN!"

" MEDIA AND SCOTLAND YARD TAKEN FOR A RIDE BY MASTER CRIMINAL!" or " SHERLOCK VINDICATED!"

The stories were simple; they outlined what had happened to Sherlock, just as they did after he'd died, only this time they revealed the ghastly truth of what Moriarty had done. The story of how Moriarty had used the hallucinogen uncovered by Holmes, and used it on children was a blow to the country. The mask, the DVD evidence was released, and clips were shown of it, showing a clearly terrified Claudie and Richard Brook, the real Richard Brook, talk about how Moriarty had kidnapped him, and stole his life from him just to drive someone to commit suicide. Brook left public life after that, determined never to speak to another member of the media again, showing his disgust for them. Kitty Riley, whose name had been made by the Moriarty is an actor story, found herself fired for not double checking her sources, and for helping in a conspiracy to drive a man to commit suicide. The media knew they couldn't keep her, and Mycroft used his connections to make sure the woman had a harder life than before. She deserved no less for the part she'd played in his brother's destruction.

An official apology was made of Sherlock Holmes, directed at the Holmes family, and the restoration of the worlds first consulting detective's reputation was made.

John Watson stood with DI Lestrade, back as a friend, with Molly and Mycroft in front of Sherlock's gravestone. John had forgiven Lestrade, but he hadn't forgiven Mycroft, and probably never would for the events leading up to Sherlock's death, but he could forgive him for only one thing.

Proving his brother innocent.

Molly said nothing, knowing the truth...

Sherlock will appear in my future story - Obsession. But please read and enjoy my story.