John was a bit shaken up, which was understandable since a rock with a threatening note had just been thrown at the door. Greg called Sherlock to inform him of the latest development in the case. The Consulting Detective was on his way over and John hoped he would have some kind of plan to rid themselves of Madeline. They had to stop her now before she harmed anyone else or came after John.
Greg came out of the kitchen with a glass of water taking it over to John who sat on the couch. Greg sat down next to him holding the glass out to his traumatized lover. John took it thanking him, his hands visibly shaken as the glass shook while he sipped at the drink.
"I don't understand. Why in the hell is she doing this?" John asked. "We were just friends. I never gave her any inclination that I was interested in her or any woman. She knows I'm gay. How in the bloody hell could she misunderstand that I like men!?"
Greg shrugged, "I don't know. But normally people that are mentally unstable only see and believe what they want. It's not about what's correct. That's what makes them so dangerous. Besides, we won't have those answers until she is arrested or slips up."
"So basically she has to come after you in order to get caught, correct? Which means you could be hurt or worse. Is that what you're telling me? That we have to wait?" John said, his voice rough and shaky.
Greg put his arm around John's shoulders and pulled him close. The worry that was evident in John's voice concerned him. "John, I am going to be fine. You don't need to worry about me. I know how to handle these types of situations."
Greg was a capable detective - there was no question to that - but John still wanted to protect him and keep Madeline as far away from the man he had come to care for as possible. Though that would be next to impossible considering that the woman he thought he knew was turning out to be a complete stranger to him. A stranger that was carrying out such despicable acts of violence all because she misinterpreted or read into something he said or did. That was the common reason for a stalker, wasn't it? Madeline was under some sort of delusion.
This was almost too much for John to take as he was being followed by a delusional flat mate on top of realizing he was starting to fall fast for Greg. It had only been three days since they met, but it felt like much longer with everything they had went through in those short three days. He felt more comfortable and able to be truly himself with the Inspector. Despite the craziness of their time together, he already was falling in love with the man. The guilt that he was the cause of all this turmoil was eating at John.
"I'm here if you want to talk." Greg said.
"I know that technically this isn't my fault, but it's just hard to make myself believe it." John stood up and stepped in front of Greg, the agitation evident by his body language. He looked up at Greg, gripping his arms as if he needed his support to ground his frustration at the situation, "I can't help but...feel I need to protect you from Mad...from her. I feel responsible for you now. You're a target because I agreed to go on a date with you."
"You do not need to feel responsible for me. You could have never known any of this would happen."
John shook his head, aggravated that Greg wasn't understanding the point he was trying to make, "It's more than just that!"
"Then how about you help me understand." Greg said.
John stammered as he struggled to explain, unsure he should even admit as much as Greg was asking. John figured if a crazy stalker didn't scare Greg off his confession wouldn't either. He might as well take the chance before he lost his confidence altogether. God only knew what would happen after the murdering stalker case was over. He already lost a couple chances at happiness, he wasn't about to lose another without at least trying.
"It's more than just guilt. I feel horrible that you're in this position at all. But...it's also because I see our relationship going past this week like something more long term. That might sound a bit presumptuous, but I can't help but feel that way."
Greg at first was taken aback, half expecting to hear quite the opposite of what John had confessed. In most cases like this, the person that was being threatened by another's stalker would want nothing to with the victim. The person blamed the victim for what happened. It was a normal fight or flight response. Greg, however, knew better than to blame John for Madeline's behaviour. The detective struggled a bit to find the right words. He didn't want what he needed to say to make John understand what he was feeling to come out wrong or trigger an emotional response from John that would make him want to push Greg even further away.
Greg thought he was the only one who felt that their relationship was more than a brief fling. He wanted John in his life despite them only meeting days prior or still learning about the other. It was just that with his history of rushing into relationships that ended badly and with his heart broken more than once, he was taking the cautious road in order to preserve what they had. He had never felt so scared of losing anyone. It had only been three days but somehow it felt like a lifetime.
The silence was deafening since John's confession and John let out a sigh, embarrassed, while looking down at the floor, "I'm sorry. I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Just forget it before I get any more mortified."
Greg jolted out of his stupor and pulled John closer to him until their chests were nearly touching. Clasping John's hands and intertwining their fingers, he looked deep into John's blue eyes before saying, "John, it's ok. You have nothing to be embarrassed about, love. I just didn't expect to hear those words from you, at least not this soon. Though it is a relief to know I'm not the only one that feels it."
John looked up, his eyes sparkling with renewed hope. Greg smiled at the look of awe on his lover's face, "Yes, I have fallen just as hard for you as you have for me."
"It isn't too fast?" John asked.
"No. I moved faster than this with my second ex-wife. Of course, the circumstances were different." Greg smiled, pulling their entwined hands until John was flush against his chest and their lips were inches from one another. Greg's breath ghosted over John's parted lips,"I want more than a few mere dates. You're an incredible young man with a heart of gold-no thanks to your parents-who will do whatever possible to help his little sister be happy. You are more concerned for others and their safety than yourself. Even now you are worried for me when you have a delusional, dangerous flat mate who is obsessed with you. No one I have dated can begin to compare to you. There is no contest because you are miles above them in every aspect. I don't think I have ever felt this happy when I have been with someone. You have already changed me for the better and I'm not letting you go."
John smiled, "Really?"
Greg nodded, "Yes," leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on John's forehead before embracing the man tightly, breathing in the scent that was purely John. The two relaxed in their embrace, enjoying the feel of the other's arms around them.
Their moment came to an abrupt end when the front door slammed opened suddenly causing Greg to flinch before reaching for his weapon out of instinct. John whirled around, placing himself in front of Greg. Both men upon seeing that it was Sherlock relaxed and breathes deeply to calm their racing hearts. John put his hands into his trouser pockets to hide the shaking that wouldn't stop.
"Where's the note?" Sherlock asked, glancing between the two, knowing he walked in on a private moment but couldn't find it in him to care. He was here for the case and that was the only thing of importance right now.
Greg pointed to the entertainment center, "Don't take it out of the bag. I need to take to the lab techs tomorrow for prints."
Sherlock walked swiftly over, grabbing the bag of evidence, "I doubt they will find any nor anything of value. The techs are idiots and couldn't find a murder weapon if it was placed in front of them with instructions detailing how to it was used and by whom. How you manage without me is astounding."
Sherlock peered at the note through the clear bag with a sigh of annoyance, "She has been careful up to this point and, though this was done in a moment of spontaneity, she most likely will not have left anything useful for us to use against her. The only reason she has been connected to the crimes so far is because she slipped up on the phone with John. Thankfully I was able to capitalize on that blunder and link her to John. If I hadn't connected him than you have no lead. Not surprising. How do you manage to close any cases without my assistance?"
The detective rolled his eyes, letting out a sigh, "Look, we need some kind of plan to catch her in the act. There will be no other way to catch her before she strikes again. And though I'm confident in my ability to stay alive, I'd rather not have to look over my shoulder every 5 minutes."
"Luckily for you she isn't a high functioning sociopath like myself." Sherlock said with an air of arrogance and a smirk to the two men.
John cocked a brow, "A what?"
"He's an anti-social genius." Greg said as though he'd have to describe and defend Sherlock on a daily basis, which, after meeting Sherlock, John could understand.
John chuckled, muttering under his breath, "So, that's what you call a show off."
The consulting detective looked up from the note raising his left brow imperiously as he looked over at John.
The blonde shrugged, "That's exactly what you are. A bloody show off. You don't have to do this, you choose to. You want people to know how smart you are. You remind me of one the customers at the restaurant I work at, always deducing me and shite. Bloody annoying...unlike you. You're a bit brilliant at it actually. Helps that you're attractive unlike him. He just comes across as a self-important man who is overweight but can't help but order the dessert every time...despite the fact he claims to be on a bloody diet."
Sherlock smirked, "So you've met my brother."
John rolled his eyes, groaning, "Figures, should have seen that coming. There would be two of them running around London. At least we got the cute one."
Greg's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline as he looked at John, "Should I be worried?"
John chuckled, "No, just trying to lighten the mood, I guess. Didn't want to lose my mind." Turning to Sherlock John gestured for him to continue, "Go on. Impress me with your deductive skills I've heard so much about. Show me what you got."
A smile played Sherlock's lips, "You're angry with her, though you are managing to stay calm under the pressure despite your history of losing control when the smallest amount of pressure was placed on you by your parents growing up as a child. Your parents refuse to believe you're homosexual and want you to marry a woman of their choosing. So as result of your rebellion they criticized you, making their disappointment evident. Which you don't take well and never have as you took it out on a class bully as a young teenager. Yes, I read your blog. It was clearly your therapist idea as at first you displayed your anger towards authority and those who see themselves above others in the first three blogs. Rather dull and predictable really. I would expect more from someone who would rather place themselves in danger than see an acquaintance, let alone an actual lover, be harmed. You hold onto the past being as you talk about your deceased fiance quite a few time with a fondness of romanticizing his memory. It also explained why you stopped dating. You were assaulted two years back by a date. You manage to get the upper hand landing him in jail."
"How do you know about that incident?" John asked, speechless.
"Your background check which I took the liberty of taking off Lestrade desk." Sherlock told him.
"Oi!" Greg called out as his face scrunched with annoyance at once again having to turn a blind eye to Sherlock's less-than-socially-acceptable ways.
"He called you out for being gay and you finally snapped sending him to the hospital. The amount of aggression displayed suggested it had been long building up. So after reading your blog I figured out it was your father since you mentioned how much you resented the man."
"How much more do you know about me?" John asked. "And my family?"
"Enough to know you were vulnerable to Madeline's deceit and that you're good at fooling others." Sherlock said with a smirk. "Much better than Lestrade."
Greg growled at the jab before going into the kitchen to get a drink. The man did nothing but insult him time after time, but he sure did the job requested of him.
John gave his head a small shake at the onslaught of information thrown at him, "That was fantastic, but I'm curious. How many times have you been punched in the face?"
Sherlock paused for a moment at the praise given from John while ignoring the smirk sent his way.
Sherlock didn't respond looking back down at the note, "She is more than likely under the delusion you two should be together. The last victim she chose threw me off."
"How so?" John asked.
"After searching his home, I found a hidden panel in a closet. Inside was a box proving my theory that he was obsessed with you. Contained within the box was a notebook with names of what seem to be conquest and you are on the few that said no. He was a sex addict and he refused to take no for an answer which seem to get him into a lot of legal issues." Sherlock ranted, "She was eliminating him as a precaution."
"So she's in love with me?"
"You lied to the police when they came to question you about the second victim's death. He requested your presences for a date two days before his death. You were still deciding whether or not to accept and assuming you confided in Madeline when considering your decision unintentionally sealing his fate."
John groaned, "How did you find that out? I didn't post that on my blog."
"He wrote it down in a journal he used to record his thoughts. I found them amongst his belongings while his brother was packing them up." John went pale, "No, I didn't tell him anything about the case. Though he will mostly likely be talking to Lestrade tomorrow."
"I assume since you are such a genius, you have sure fire plan to fool her." John said, his hands no longer shaking, though he was a bit irritated at Sherlock's nonchalant attitude.
"Of course. However, it involves both you and Lestrade...and, in all likelihood, be dangerous. Intrigued yet?"
