A/N: Warnings for this chapter- Moriarty is definitely really creepy… if pedophilic insinuations bother you then I'd leave now.
Three weeks passed. Moriarty laid low. Only one other text came in, merely a winky face emoticon followed by a pair of lips. Sherlock bore the taunting in silence but couldn't help but turn his frustration into frantically working the case. He had to find Moriarty. He had to destroy him once and for all.
In the meantime, he'd merely tried to settle into something of a routine with Alex. The boy had started attending school again, having taken a few days rest due to the trauma of all that had happened. But now Sherlock was used to dropping him off and Mrs. Hudson yelling at him when it was time to go pick him up. He tried his best to have some form of sustenance available at all times, did end up setting an alarm on his mobile to remind him for some of those important mealtimes and bedtime of course. Alex seemed to be settling into it just fine. Which was why the noises confused him…
Sherlock had been sitting and working on a new case (he needed something to keep his boredom at bay while waiting for further information on Moriarty) when he heard noises coming from the upstairs bedroom. He cocked his head and listened, thoroughly confused.
Children were stubborn about bedtimes. Or at least he had been. Alex on the other hand perplexed him in regularly being willing to go to bed at a set time. The boy became drowsy shortly after eight and usually would nod off on his own if Sherlock didn't put him to bed. So at one in the morning, noises were a peculiarity, one Sherlock had to go investigate.
Nightmares perhaps? Sherlock pondered the possibilities as he walked up the steps, pausing at the door and listening more closely. Alex's voice rang out, sharp and cracking as he pleaded. There was rustling on the bed. Not even pausing, Sherlock opened the door.
"Sherlock!" Alex gasped.
Even in the dim room, Sherlock could make out Moriarty's form hunched beside the boy on the bed. The man had one hand on the boy's arm, the other on a glittering knife that rested just a few centimeters away from Alex's throat.
"Let him go," Sherlock snapped, breathing slowly to make sure he kept control. A spike in adrenaline had his heart racing, but he needed to stay calm. He wasn't going to let Moriarty finish this job.
"But he's such a darling little thing," Moriarty crooned, giving a grin as his hand tightened on Alex. "Look at him, I could just eat him up." He leaned in and gave an audible inhale next to Alex's hair, eyes rolling in a mimicry of pleasure.
"Your quarrel is with me," Sherlock pointed out, eyeing the knife and pondering if there was anyway he could grab Alex without risking danger to the both of them. As if sensing his thoughts, Moriarty let the blade slip just a little closer.
"Oh don't be so boring, Sherlock. Wouldn't want to have a little accident with this now would we? Cut this pretty little throat?" Moriarty chuckled and leaned down to plant a soft kiss along the side of Alex's neck. The boy trembled and let out a whimper.
"You want me, you've got me," Sherlock pointed out. "Let him go."
"But what if I don't want you, Sherlock, darling? Haven't you considered that." Moriarty smirked and glanced at Alex, smiling as he admired the shivering that had started. "Mmm, there's a pretty pet. Do be calm. Daddy's just talking a bit. He can return all his attention to you as soon as Uncle Sherly leaves us be."
"That's not going to happen, and you know it."
"Oh, don't like me playing with your little doggy, Sherl? Don't want me touching him?" Moriarty released Alex's arm, though he kept the knife in place. Sherlock watched as the hand drifted down to the boy's pajama clad thigh, stroking along it and then up, pushing up the boy's shirt a bit to touch bare skin.
"Stop it," Sherlock snapped. "Whatever you want, I'll give it to you. Just leave him be."
"Ooh, he wants me to leave you be," Moriarty purred into Alex's ear. "Is that what you want, pet? Want daddy to stop?"
"Yes," Alex whispered pleadingly.
"Say yes, daddy."
Alex swallowed and looked at Sherlock. The detective nodded. The words were disgusting, but if Moriarty would hold true to his word then a little discomfort would be worth it.
"Yes, daddy," Alex whispered.
"Good boy. Learning so well. Give us a kiss and then we'll let you be."
Alex hesitated, glancing towards Sherlock again, face twisted up in a mix of confusion and disgust and fear. Moriarty grinned sickeningly as the boy turned his head slightly. The villain leaned in and pressed a full kiss to the boy's mouth, lingering there longer than Sherlock had initially expected.
Thankfully, the moment Moriarty pulled his mouth away he withdrew the blade too, allowing Alex to scramble off the bed and fly into Sherlock's arms. The detective scooped him up without another word, squeezing him tightly.
"Sherlock," Alex whimpered against his shoulder.
The detective made a shushing noise and ruffled his hair soothingly before looking back towards the still grinning villain.
"Just testing him, Sherlock. Wanted to make sure I'd given you a suitable replacement."
"Whatever do you mean?" the detective snapped.
"Oh Sherlock, Sherlock, Sherlock," Moriarty laughed. "Don't you think there was a reason I let the little kitten live? Thought you'd need a replacement since you lost old Johnny boy. Who better than his little brat. Hmm? One you can even train yourself…mold to your liking. So kind of me wasn't it."
Alex made a muffled noise against his shoulder. Moriarty leered.
"Ah, don't fret darling. I'll be back for you in a few years. We'll let Sherlock enjoy you for a while. Let him housetrain you."
Sherlock bristled and placed a hand on Alex's head. Why hadn't he brought a gun up with him?
"What do you want, Moriarty?"
"Merely saying hello, checking in…isn't that how this whole guardianship thing works? You have…checkups." He grinned, eyes twinkling with some darker purpose that Sherlock couldn't yet identify. "And I've missed you, Sherlock. It's been so booooring facing all these other nooormal people. They're not quite like you, are they?" He glanced at Sherlock's hand, still firmly on Alex's head, soothing as best he could as the boy gave soft shaking sobs.
"I suggest you leave us be," Sherlock snapped.
"Hmm, we'll see. We'll see, Sherlock. I'll be back later, don't you worry about it. Give your pet an extra kiss for me. Daddy will be back later to collect him," Jim chuckled and blew a light kiss before going to the window. Sherlock turned with Alex in his arms, knowing already Jim was on his way out, probably by the time he found his gun the villain would be long gone.
He went downstairs and set Alex on the couch, kneeling in front of him and quickly doing an inspection for any damage. The boy was upset, clearly, but not harmed. Sherlock sighed in relief, sinking back on his heels as he looked over the crying child.
"It's going to be alright," he murmured. "Shush. He won't touch you again."
"C-c-can I sleep in your room tonight," Alex said, reaching out his arms again and letting Sherlock pull him into a tight embrace.
"I think that might be best," the detective agreed, picking up his charge and walking back to the bedroom. He settled Alex on the bed and slid in beside him, not bothering to take off his clothes. He reached a hand towards the drawer on his bedside table, opening it to look in at the small gun still nestled inside.
Alex snuggled in close to him, and Sherlock closed the drawer again, moving to wrap his arms around his ward. Alex's breathing eased some, obviously drifting off to sleep. Much relieved, Sherlock sighed and settled for staring at the wall, reconsidering everything Jim had said. Perhaps Mycroft had a point. Maybe Alex was in more danger here.
But even if that was the case, Sherlock couldn't deny there was something nice about this boy here…another person to take care of, to hold, to laugh with, to tell stories to, or go for a walk with. Alex was there for him. He needed Alex. Perhaps it was selfish. But even in a few weeks he'd grown somewhat used to the normalcy of someone in his life. He'd lost that once, and no matter what Moriarty said he wasn't going to lose it again.
A/N: Please read and review! My latest fic has overtaken this one in terms of follows, so if I don't have reader support I'm likely to put this one lower on my priority list for a while (and that's really not fair to any of you who are following, but that's how it goes).