Katherine sat on the edge of the bed, watching on helplessly as Jim paced back and forth with the mobile attached to his ear. The discussion was focused around a meeting of some kind with a client, a one she was meant to be attending this morning. Obviously she was in no state to go and meet a mob boss so Jim had said he'd handle it but...it didn't sound like he was winning.

"I'm aware what his standards are, I have my own. The meeting won't go ahead." He was stressed, she could tell by the droop of his head. "Yes, well, tell him to live with it. I have more serious client complaints to fix." Sarcasm dripped dangerously from his words. "Sort it out."

The last thing they needed was more enemies, but from the sound of things they were upsetting yet another bad guy. Last night, Katherine had been made to stay in the hospital despite Jim's wishes after the Doctor noticed she was still lightly bleeding from the miscarriage. It was probably nothing, that's what his words had been. But it was better to be safe than sorry.

She hadn't been scared or worried about her health. Katherine didn't sit up through the night scared of a complication developing. But she did keep herself up with the phantom sensation of feeling the life leaving her body, not her own, but the child's. It was all in her head of course but...it wouldn't stop no matter how tightly she clung to Jim or how much she tried to forget. He had stayed up with her, holding her hair when she was sick from the Ketamine leaving her system and mumbling in her ear to try and coax sleep. Both of them were now exhausted and emotionally void. They just wanted to go home.

Moriarty stood for a moment with his back to her, then turned as he returned her mobile to the pocket of his suit pants. His clothes were still stained with her blood, almost 48 hours after the shooting. He had refused to leave the hospital and therefor had been forced to remain in his clothes. It was a rare sight, Jim looking so tired and unkept. She didn't like it. It made the reality of it all dawn on her.

"Are you sure it's okay to go home?" Her voice brought him out of whatever trance he was in, and Jim turned to look at her. It took a while for the small smile to develop enough for her to notice it and even then it disappeared quickly.

"More than sure." Walking over to stand in front of Katherine, Jim held her face between his hands ever so lightly and kissed her forehead. "What are you worried about? You have pulled through the hardest, it's just a long recovery." She knew that, but it wasn't herself she was worried about, at least not in regards to her current state. She was worried for them and their safety once they stepped outside this room.

"What about the guy who followed me, who you say knew where to find me? What about him?" As well as laying with her through the night, he had answered every question she had about who shot her. He had tried to keep it just to himself at first but slowly started to spill the details the more she pushed. Turned out he knew who it had came from, most probably, he just needed to find them.

Moriarty let got of her and took a step back, but it was only for a second as then he crouched, forcing her eyes to meet his. "Do you trust me? Katherine do you trust me?" He shouldn't have even had to ask, he should know. Nodding, Katherine gave as much of a smile as she could muster. "You are safe. Now let's go."

Neither of them had any belongings in that room. Katherine wore a loose over sized t-shirt Doctor Phillips had supplied him with and bare legs. He didn't want to waste time having something of hers brought. He would leave in his bloody clothes and she would go with him comfortable and in something that didn't disrupt her stitches. Not that she cared. She just wanted to be where Jim was.

She slid from the bed and wobbled on her feet, still week from spending what was the best of two days in bed. Moriarty's arms shot out to steady her. Who knew getting shot could take so much energy from you?

"Careful." He muttered and wrapped an arm around her waist to aid her steps. However, only one metre into her journey, her legs gave way and she fell a few feet before Jim swooped her. He chuckled at her clumsiness and so did she for a second until he helped her back up.

She was useless to him like this. What need did he had to keep her around if she couldn't even walk herself. Of course she was over dramatising it all, she should have known she'd be like this. But it didn't make her feel any less pathetic. Had it been Jim, he'd be up and jetting across the country by now, not half naked and standing with the help of someone.

Jim pulled her back to her feet and waited until she was steady to lead the way again, but very soon the same happened and although he smiled at her, he wanted to put her back into bed and force her to stay there until she was 100%. But they couldn't stay there, he felt like a sitting duck. His clients knew this side of the world just like he did and very soon news of her survival would spread and they would come looking.

"Come on." Placing one arm under her knees and the other across the small of her back, Moriarty lifted her bridal style. "Don't get used to this." Subconscious, Katherine laid her head against his chest and listened to the sound of his heart beat. It was fast and becoming quicker as he walked out of the room.

"Am I heavy?" She was trying to lighten the mood and it seemed to work as she felt his chest rumble with laughter.

"We need to get you a good meal once we are home." She could think of other things she wanted more...uneatable things. So she'd settle for what he could give her.

"And ice cream?" In that moment, she was a child in his arms. Nothing more than a little girl, dressing in her daddy's clothes and using any excuse to go get ice cream. She was no more than twelve years old, she may as well have been sucking on her thumb.

"And ice cream." He agreed softly as he held her closer, bracing them both for the winter weather about the insult their skin.

Katherine hid her face in his chest as they stepped outside. Thankfully the car was no more than three feet away, mounted of the curb outside the detached building. Jim placed her back on her feet at the door, where thankfully a guard was stood waiting.

"Mrs Moriarty, allow me." The balding man held out his hand and helped her into the seat as Jim went around to his own side. She practically collapsed onto the heated leather with a small whimper as her shoulder jolted. It was her own fault, a fact she had to tell Jim when he climbed in beside her and asked what was wrong.

"Thank you." She spoke to the guard as he shut the door and then walked to climb into the Range Rover behind them.

He had organised and full convoy for them. At the very front was the black Mercedes, manned with two snipers and two guards. Behind that a black fully tinted Range Rover, containing three gunmen and a driver. Their own car followed, accompanying Jim and herself was their most regular driver and Sebastian in the front passenger, a long range rifle sat ready and loaded in his lap. Finally, the second Range Rover filled with another four gunmen and guards covered their backs.

It should have made her feel safer. It should have made her feel secure. But it did the opposite. Jim wanted to protect her but he was going to more lengths to do so than she had ever experienced. Over the years she'd seen her fair share of threats due to the business, of course, but none of them had taken action about them. They were empty sentences used to scare...and she had never scared easy.

But this felt different. This felt serious.

"This is a lot of men." It wasn't a question and it wasn't directed at anyone but she caught Sebastian glancing at her in the mirror and soon, Jim's hand was slowly pulling her into his side.

"Just precaution." She looked up at him, giving enough expression to tell him she wanted to know more. "We're lacking intel. This is just until we learn more." Better to be safe than sorry basically, that had never came out any good for her. "Sleep, close your eyes." But she didn't listen and from the moment the set of, all four cars staying in close proximity, her eyes remained open and staring out of Jim's window.

He let her get on with it for a small while, thinking if it made her happy there was no harm. But then her hands started to shake and her focus became more concentrated out the window. As they drove through the more populated areas, coming to a stop in amongst the traffic, she showed signed of panic as if every other car on the road was the enemy.

"Stop looking for someone who isn't there." Jim whispered in her ear, playing with her hair which was now greasy and thick with tats. The ends were still cemented together with blood. The sure looked like a pair, but safety was more important than hygiene.

Katherine didn't have a response with him but she took his hand and laced their fingers, trying to relax. On the radio, a soft song was playing, just loud enough for it to be clear in the back of the car.

Life once this was over would be confusing. Would it ever be over? Was the first first question that came to her head. Could it ever be over? When she used to have the time to watch TV, to binge in the dramas of 'real life', they never got over this sort of stuff. As soon as a couple lost a baby that was it. They were over. They were work through it together and cry together, but a year or so down the line the husband would meet someone young and independent and happy and he would begin an affair. He would fall in love with beauty while the wife lounged in her depression. Once the affair was out...well that depended on the program. Either the wife would get jealous and kill them in a passion filled blood spree, or she would leave and later find the real love of her life while the husband discovered his new happiness wasn't really real.

God, did she really used to watch so much crap on tv? Even if she did, she didn't know which outcome she'd rather come true. Maybe it would be neither? Maybe they would get over it...Jim definitely would. She knew it. And she would too. She would. It would just take time. To get over it, first she had to understand it and that's what she'd work on first.

So she'd been pregnant...it didn't mean anything. How was she meant to have a child anyway? The Moriarty's with a child? Preposterous. Princesses and princes existed on the side of the angels, not with them. It was for the best, it would have ended in tragedy anyway.

As for everything else...her shoulder would heal and once Jim found those who caused this she'd be back out in the field, just like she was. Nothing would have changed. It would be fine. They'd be...they would be Jim and Katherine Moriarty.

Her thinking led to her eyes closing, which led to her falling deeper into his chest. Before long she was asleep finally. Her foot twitched as she fell deeper, which was what caught Jim's attention. He looked down at her and for the first time managed to smile without any real effort.

"How is she?" Sebastian waited until he was sure Katherine was asleep and judging by her small smile, she was stone out. No one could smile after what they'd been though...accept maybe her. She was the thoughts women he'd ever met.

"As to be expected." Jim looked up, causing the snipers eyes to move back, looking out the front window. He felt...not bad but...awkward for what he had said to him. He wasn't saying he wasn't right and the guys feeling weren't true, but he had saved her life with his quick acting. "I'm sorry Sebastian." The words left a sour taste in his mouth and they obviously surprised Seb as much as himself as a scoff came from the front seat.

"Can I get that on tape?" The blonde didn't expect a reply and shook his head. But a moment later the seriousness fell back over them and he muttered. "What's the plan?"

"Kill the sick bastards and feed them to the dogs."

He should have expected as much. But there was one small question, the big plan. The job Jim had had him gathering intel for, for months now.

"What about Sherlock?"

"Sherlock Holmes can wait."

That was a bold statement, coming from him. The detective, or so he called himself, had been the centre of Jim's world since...well he wasn't quite sure when. A part of him questioned whether it was a new obsession or something which stemmed far further back than he could imagine. He'd never seen him so deep in a case, he definitely hadn't witnessed Jim care so much about someone who had not directly crossed his path.

For his to be putting all that aside, for her, spoke louder than anything Jim had done since she walked into their lives. But, seeing how Jim was watching her now with such content but sadness, it was no wonder why he was doing it. Maybe, after two years of marriage, he'd finally come to his senses.


Katherine was asleep for most of the drive. She only woke up when they were driving into the deserted countryside. There was no one around for her to look for anymore, no dark high rise windows to be afraid of.

Her body shifted, but she had forgotten about her shoulder and instantly regretted the movement.

"Carful there, Sleeping Beauty." Jim's voice instantly soothed her, that was until his hand drew circles on her back and he insulted her. "You need a wash. You're sticky." She had a right to be, she'd been in bed for...for...was it 2 days?

"What day is it?" She asked the whole car, voice still husky from sleep.

"Monday." Moriarty answered easily, calming her. It had only been two days. Why did it feel like two weeks?

"The 22nd?" Katherine said after a slow calculation. But the result made her frown. "Its almost Christmas...I got shot for Christmas." Her body slowly rose and with Jim's help she pushed herself up into her own seat. "Your clients need to practise their gestures of thanks." He found that this was the case. When she awoke, even after dozing for just a couple of minutes, she'd almost be back to her old self. He'd thought it was just her recoding for the first few times, but then it dawned on him that she simply hadn't remembered yet. Jim knew what was coming, but it didn't stop him from appreciating her obliviousness.

"I'll make sure a memo is handed out immediately." He smiled at her and she returned it so easily. He didn't want her to remember, he'd do anything to just make her forget. To remove that small part of her brain that was causing so much sadness.

"Where are the dogs?" Her whole demeanour was different, she seemed almost jolly. The wound didn't matter, the fear wasn't there. She was the strong and unfazed Katherine who had left the apartment Saturday morning. It led Jim to believe she wasn't scared for her, she was scared of what they had took and that they would take more.

"Awaiting the arrival of their mommy at Bellmont." He said it without thinking, his voice taking on a carefree, fake American drawl. And her response was positive, for a couple of seconds. Then, just like he expected, the darkness descended over her as the memories came flooding back. At first she took a deep breath and released it slowly and then she just smiled at him and nervously played with her hands on top on her bare thighs. "Darling, I'm sorry." Jim's chest tightened and he tried to reach for her, but Katherine stopped him. At least he thought she was pushing him away, until she crawled into his lap.

"What for? It's fine..." She kissed his lips lightly, and then the corner of his mouth and then his jaw. She chuckled but it was forced, so Jim took her face and turned it so he could rich her lips again. "How much longer?" She whispered into his mouth.

"Less than an hour." Both of their eyes were closed and their warmth radiated from one another. Jim's hands found their way up the back of her thighs as she had moved to straddle him and she smiled.

Opening his eyes, Jim saw she still looked empty but this was her attempt at trying. She was trying to distract herself. Whether it was sensible to do so, in such a way, in front of his staff was questionable. But he didn't care, as long as she was smiling.

"What am I supposed to tell our good friend Mr Mycroft?"

"I'll talk you through calling one of them, you will tell them you won't be in until future notice."

"And what if they deem that unacceptable?" The likelihood of them letting her go was higher than them working with them. But they had to have a boringly average excuse, the less suspicion the better when dealing with those type.

"Then screw them, you've slaved enough for them, we have most of what we went in for." If Mycroft Holmes would rather replace her that wait for her then so be it. He would find another way in, a way which didn't compromise her safety.

The whole operation could wait, large developments could turn into baby steps. There was better things she could be doing anyway, he wanted her in deeper in the end and they had to start making progress soon if she was going to do it in the next few years at the earliest. Nothing like that came easy or quick, she had been injected into Mycroft's life but he needed her closer. Besides, Mycroft only showed his face on the rare occasion and even then it was lunch orders. She was being wasted.

"You okay, darling?" He was pulled from his thoughts when Katherine started to trace the blood patterns on his shirt. Now brown and dry, it didn't look as bad as it had fresh, but it was still sickening...though be it sweet. Her blood covering him showed a side of possession she had never imagined. It was romantically gory...she was definitely still feeling the effects of the drugs.

"I'll ring them once we arrive." She spoke, moving back to her own seat where she remained for the rest of the drive.