There was nothing Sherlock dreaded more than getting to the end of the hallway he was walking down with John and Greg. A few minutes into the hallway found Sherlock reaching for the comfort of John's hand. The army doctor smiled faintly at the detective and squeezed his hand. A sense of dread and fear draped itself around the three men as they opened the door on the far end.

"Bloody Hell," John groaned as he stared at the bare room. It was obviously a garage of sorts, as the garage door had been opened to let the cool night air blow through. There were oil stains on the concrete, but nothing else had been left behind. The army doctor wasn't sure how Sherlock was going to be able to find the poor girl now. Even Greg looked around in disbelief.

Sherlock immediately set about to studying the oil stains and dust around the room. Both John and Greg watched with curious expressions before the latter turn to the blogger. "You and him eh?" Detective Inspector asked, chuckling. John shot him a look but smiled.

"Sorta. We haven't talked it out much. Too much going on." John smiled over at the detective who was currently studying a deep scratch with his pocket detectives' glass. Greg nodded as if he understood.

"Ah!" Sherlock sat back with a smile. "He's going to St. Barts." John and Greg stared at him, astounded.

"How?" Greg demanded, immediately texting Donovan and Anderson.

"Easy, he scratched I.O.U. in the concrete, then imitated someone falling." The detective shrugged and started to head out the door.

John stopped him and let Greg slip past, giving them a knowing look before joining his crew and heading to the hospital.

"That. Was. Brilliant. How do you do that?" John asked him, his hand still on Sherlock's chest.

"Was it?" A smile danced on the detective's lip as he answered the doctor. "It's simple observance, my dear doctor." He leaned down to gently kiss John before sweeping out of the room. John chuckled and followed after, shaking his head at his impossible detective.

The van stopped, lurching forward and sending the teen into a sprawl on the floor. She groaned as hands pulled her roughly to her feet and led her outside. The world was black, but noisy. She figured they were back in London proper. Where, she had no idea. As they walked into the building, Alex thought she could smell a familiar scent from an experiment Sherlock had completed the other day. It got stronger, and the teens nose crinkled in slight disgust as she grinned.

She opened her mouth to scream, or at least yelp as she knew they were passing the double doors to the lab, but quickly stopped as pressure increased in the hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't if I were you." Jim whispered into her ear, tearing the blindfold off as they moved towards the stairs. Alex swallowed back a retort and nodded as they began to climb up.

"Rooftop?" She inquired, looking up the flights of stairs. Jim smiled cruelly and nodded. "Okay then…" she trailed off, ascending the steps at a measured, even pace. She had a faint impression of where this was going, dating back to something John had told her about Sherlock. His fall to save his friends. John never said where though, a part of her mind whispered. Logical assumption, he's trying to hurt Sherlock by hurting me. Since his plans to kill Sherlock's only friends failed, the other part whispered back.

The wind chilled her to the bone. She wanted to wrap her middle with her arms to try and hold in some heat, but knew she couldn't until the bonds were released. She looked around curiously, her eyes skimming the skyline before turning up to study the stars. All her life she'd been fascinated by the little balls of light, and she looked at them now with a kind of reverence.

"A bit too easy." Jim mused, nodding to Seb to release Alex's arms.

"I'm sorry, what?" The teen rubbed her wrist absently as the blood began to flow back into them.

"A bit too easy getting you up here. You're very compliant. More so than most people would be. But then again, you knew what was at stake hm?" Alex glared at him. "Of course you did. I'm going to make him suffer, and, well, he cares about you. I can see why, you're so delightfully interesting."

"So…what? I jump to my death just like Sherlock did three years ago?" Alex asked irritably.

"Ah, you're getting it." Jim nodded and faced the girl. "I remember you as a child." He added after a while. Alex frowned and stared at him, slightly confused. "Your innocence to the world astounded me. Your father's desperate need to protect you confused me. Ah, but I changed that quickly didn't I?" He smiled fondly, eyes focusing on some forgotten memory. "I drove your dad insane with my demands. Never counted on him babbling to his seven-year-old. You see, that's why he had to die young Alex. He mentioned far too much."

"I was young! Do you really expect me to remember everything?" The teen almost yelled, throwing her hands in the air. She'd blocked out most of that time period, choosing not to relive those moments she'd almost lost her dad, or those nights he just babbled on, telling stories that would scare any sensible child.

"Regardless, I couldn't take the chance of him telling you something more drastic, even though he did in his dying moments." Jim walked towards the edge, carefully peaking to the ground below. Alex watched, thoughts of her father dying flooding her mind. She'd been so helpless to help, and she couldn't remember what he was telling her before he closed his eyes for good. She was only ten, and terrified out of her mind at that.

The girl walked slowly forward after a period of five minutes and looked over the edge at the people passing by underneath. It made her dizzy and sick, but she continued looking down as a taxi pulled up and a tall figure darted into the building. She'd never been one to be afraid of heights.

"Does this scare you?" Jim asked, amusement evident in his voice.

"No. When I lived back in the states', my friends and I used to jump off buildings into pools and trampolines. I love heights." Alex replied, watching the smug look disappear. She chuckled to herself and got up on the edge, still looking down. She could see John clear on the other side, looking up with slight fear. She waved slightly, before turning back around to face Jim. "So, how are you gunna make me do anything?"

"It's simple. You jump, or they die." Jim smiled at her.

"Oh, scary. Same tactic you used against Sherlock. Pick something original eh?" She shot back, rolling her eyes. She sat down resolutely on the edge of the building and grinned. Jim's jaw tightened and he glared at the teen, snapping his fingers at Seb.

"Aim at Doctor Watson if you don't mind." The sniper complied, pulling a rifle bag off his back that Alex hadn't noticed before. She swallowed and looked back at John, who was still staring at her with a mixture of fear and concern in his eyes.

"Okay, okay." Alex raised her hands and stood up, feeling the wind whip around her. Her hair covered her eyes and she angrily swiped at it as the door to the roof was opened again and Sherlock stepped on the roof. She looked back curiously and watched Jim smile.

"Just in time. Alex here is going to jump right?" Alex swallowed again and nodded, looking back to the sidewalk four stories down. People milled around, oblivious to what was happening on the rooftop. Or so she thought as several police cars showed up and moved pedestrians out of the way. She realized she was the only one they could see, the only one in view on the high rooftop.

"Why would you do this Moriarty?" Sherlock asked him, voice and face expressionless. Alex turned back and studied him closer. His body language was tense, and there was worry deep in his blue eyes.

"Why do I do anything?" Jim sang, smiling like the maniac.

"It's the same reason he killed my father Sherlock. Same reason Ray was sent to meet my mum. Because I know of his international ring, I know he's willing to kill a man, torture him, in front of his ten-year-old to get what he wants. And, according to him, I know of something potentially dangerous, that I can't even remember. So, instead of risking it, he's going to make the sixteen-year-old jump, thereby killing the information and hopefully hurting you as well." Alex answered dryly, rolling her shoulders a bit. She winced as her bad one gave a small burst of pain.

"Very good." Moriarty clapped slowly, giving her a predatory smile. "Shame. You would be a great asset to my team. Observant skills to match even Sherlock Holmes." The man chuckled and flicked his wrist. "Might as well jump already, I don't think my guys will wait much longer. Nicky and Sarah aren't completely safe yet." Her eyes widened a fraction, and she found herself cursing Jim as she subconsciously took a step closer to the edge.

She wobbled uncertainly, her eyes darting to meet Sherlock's. She smiled weakly and almost groaned as the rooftop door opened again and Lestrade started to run towards Moran and Jim. The other two had no reservations of jumping off the side, oddly enough, though it didn't surprise Alex when she saw the fact that they had landed on a zip line. Though how they'd managed to put it up without anyone noticing was beyond her.

She wobbled again, desperately trying to regain her footing. She felt her body being pulled backwards and suddenly she was being cushioned by air and the wind was ripping her hair and clothes around her. She was only slightly aware of a cold hand gripping her ankle as the blood rushed to her head as stars danced in her vision. "Hang on, I've got you." A voice came through the hazy fog that her hearing had become.

Her body was pulled upwards, even as it protested and tried to pull down, and Alex found herself staring blankly into worried blue eyes before the world became dark around her once more.

She woke with her whole body aching and an ear-splitting migraine pounding at her skull. Thankfully she found herself lying in a bed she was pretty sure was at the flat. The room smelled of John, so she assumed she was upstairs, where the army doctor normally slept. She tried to sit up and groaned as another dizzy spell hit her. She tenderly probed the back of her head and found stitches buried into the soft skin there.

"Oh, you're awake then. Please tell me this isn't going to become normal if you come to live with us?" John joked as he carried in a cuppa. Alex indicated the tea with a waved hand and gripped her throat. It was terribly sore, probably from screaming. John smiled kindly and helped her sit up slowly. She closed her eyes as stars danced once again and gripped the mug in a death grip. She took a cautious sip, then downed the contents eagerly.

"How…" Alex struggled, swallowing thickly before trying again. "How long?"

"Only a few hours. Hit your head pretty hard when Sherlock caught you." Alex nodded and sighed.

"Migraine, could tell." She rubbed at her face and smiled. Sherlock bounded into the room and smiled at the girl warmly. "Thanks, for catching me." Alex told him, crossing her legs and rubbing at her head.

"Oh, it was nothing really," Sherlock dismissed it with a wave and sat next to John, carefully. Alex noticed with a smile they were holding hands. "This arrived for you while you were out. Sorry, I took the liberty of checking it." He handed her a white envelope, torn open. Her eyes roved across the funeral announcement for Dean and skipped straight to her aunt's wedding invitation.

"Cool, I get to be a bride's maid."