Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter- almightyswot, Are You Dizzy Yet, DeterminedStockings, Raine Cooper, Siibi, PoisonLily, xxkissesandcuddlesxx, Tracy137, Laudine, WordsWrittenByHeart, OhTex and ILoveHLaurie. Thanks so much.

I hope you like this chapter. Let me know what you think of it.

By the way. The story is sort of AU, or at least set sometime in between the second and third episodes.

Enjoy.


Sherlock was sat at the table typing away furiously on his laptop by the time John returned later that evening.

"Ugh, that afternoon shift will be the death of me," muttered the doctor striding through the open door.

He bent down to pick something up from the floor as his flatmate remained silent.

"Rebecca must have dropped this earlier," he murmured flinging down the scrap of paper Rebecca had scribbled her electricity meter readings on, down onto the table, where it landed beside the detective's laptop.

Sherlock reached for it absent-mindedly, as John took off his jacket and slumped down into an armchair.

"Anything in?" asked John closing his tired eyes.

Sherlock remained silent, closing his laptop with a sigh and rolled his ballpoint pen between his fingers.

"Not in a talkative mood huh?" said John without even opening his eyes. "Well I guess that's good thing for both of us."

Sherlock remained quiet, smoothing out the slip of paper in his hands and staring down at Rebecca's elegant handwriting.

Monday around 9.00am - 06000

Tuesday around 9.00am - 03559

Wednesday (today) around 9.00am – 01202

Sherlock stared down at the scrawl of numbers vacantly.

They meant nothing to him, just the scribbles of a person's dull life.

"Did I tell you?" said John suddenly. "Rebecca agreed to go on a date with me."

Sherlock tensed suddenly, his grip tightening around the pen in his hand.

"Yeah, she said if she had nothing else on she might come with me to the cinema next week," said the doctor in a chirpy voice.

Sherlock stared forwards, his eyes black.

"Didn't think she would say yes," said John getting to his feet and heading into the kitchen. "But I'm kinda' chuffed that she did."

Sherlock clenched his jaw and stared down as John left the room.

The ballpoint he had been clutching had been pressed down onto the scrap of paper he was holding so hard that it had created a tiny hole through the parchment. Even the oak table underneath has a small nib-sized indentation.

He groaned inwardly.

What did he care if John had a date with Rebecca?

He sighed gazing down at the paper before him that showed clear evidence that he was lying to himself.

Suddenly something caught his eye.

The hole in the paper had come out between the numbers that Rebecca had scribbled.

A number that now read.

012.02

He tilted his head.

These numbers...there was something odd about them...

Sherlock scanned the page, a thought sudden occurring to him.

He grasped for his abandoned pen and started to amend the script.

Monday around 9.00am – 060:00

Tuesday around 9.00am – 035:59

Wednesday (today) around 9.00am – 012:02

The detective stared down at the numbers. They weren't readings...they were...

"JOHN!" shouted Sherlock getting to his feet, his eyes never leaving the page of numbers clutched in his hand.

"What? What is it?" came the voice of John, poking his head around the great glass doors dividing off the kitchen.

"What time does Rebecca get up in the morning?" asked the detective, his brain working fast.

John stared at Sherlock like he was crazy. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just tell me!" shouted the exasperated Sherlock.

"I don't know, about 7 maybe?" said John shaking his head. "Why what's the matter? What's wrong?"

But Sherlock didn't answer and just continued to scribble.

"Sixty-two hours," he breathed staring down at the numbers. "Sixty-two hours."

"What is?" said John with a frown. "Sherlock what are you talking about?"

"Rebecca's meter John," said Sherlock brandishing the paper. "They weren't just readings. The numbers were counting down."

"What?" said John his eyes widening. "Counting down to what?"

"Rebecca had a break in. She said that nothing was stolen, but what if there was another reason for someone braking into her house. What if they attached something to her electricity meter?" said Sherlock striding about the room his fingers tugging at his curly clocks. "Oh yes. It all makes sense now. The moment Rebecca switched her electricity back on the countdown stared. Seven o'clock in the morning. Sixty-two hours, John. But why...?"

His heart pounding in his chest. "A sixty-two hours to what?" John breathed.

But before Sherlock had time to answer his phone bleeped. He dived into his pocket to grab it.

It was a text.

'You figured it out. Clever you.

The answer indeed was sixty-two.

But a lawyer's career is very short.

When the power goes out, a lesson must be taught.'

Sherlock stared down at the message, his heart pounding furiously in his chest.

"Sherlock what is it?" said John snatching the phone from the frozen detectives hand.

John's eyes became orbs as Sherlock glanced down at the scrap of paper once again.

Wednesday (today) around 9.00am – 012:02

"Nine o'clock," he muttered as John looked up at him. "She has until Nine o'clock tonight."

"Until what?" said John, his face paling.

"Until the power goes out," said Sherlock quietly.

"But its 8.40 now," said John his face forming into a worried frown.

In a second, Sherlock had snatched up his coat and made a dash for the door.

He ran down the stairs two steps at a time, John running after him.

"I'll call her!" yelled John, dialling her number on Sherlock's phone.

He pressed the mobile to his ear.

"Its engaged!" he cried angrily as Sherlock wrenched open the front door.

The two men bustled out onto the busy street.

"Try it again!" shouted Sherlock hailing a cab which pulled up quickly before them.

They got inside and slammed the door.

"Paisley Street and step on it!" cried John, trying Rebecca again.

Sherlock stared out of the window. He usually revelled in cases. A mystery...

But not this time.

Rebecca was in danger.

He just prayed that they could get to her in time.

Before it was too late.

...

Rebecca placed her mobile down onto the kitchen counter as she opened a can of dog food and emptied it into Toby's bowl.

"There you go Tobes," she said patting the dog's head affectionately as he munched down his supper.

She washed out the tin and threw it into the recycling bin, glancing up at the electricity meter as she did so.

00004 it read.

Rebecca sighed and shook her head, she really didn't understand these machines at all.

She had been on the phone to her electricity suppliers for the past hour and the last time she checked, the meter had read 00112.

Surely she wasn't using electricity that fast.

Rebecca grumbled, heading into the living room to watch some boring soap opera on the TV.

What she didn't notice was her mobile phone vibrating furiously on the counter, as the timer changed to 00003.


Hope you like that!

My boyfriend is coming over for a few days so I probably wont be able to update again until the end of the week. Cliffhanger...

But please review!