Sherlock rode to the crime scene in Lestrade's car. Not something he typically did, but it would be quicker and he planned on solving this case as soon as possible, take a cab back to the flat, fill Rose in on the details and therefore be one step closer to earning her trust.

"So…" Lestrade said, interrupting his thoughts. "New flatmate then?"

He rolled his eyes. It was completely obvious that Lestrade was fishing for information about Rose and about Sherlock's relationship with her, which there wasn't one.

"Yes," he replied shortly.

"A woman."

Another eye roll.

"Yes."

The last thing he wanted to do was discuss details about Rose. Details that might get back to…Oh! He glanced at Lestrade, smiling, which seemed to startle the inspector, but he ignored that because a plan had formed. A plan that would make it very difficult for Mycroft to make her disappear.

"She's Mary's cousin…distant cousin," Sherlock explained.

"John's Mary?" Lestrade asked, raising his brow.

It was perfect. Mary was an orphan, well, pretending to be an orphan, but that was another story. None of her family had come to the wedding.

"Yes, they'd never actually met, but Rose contacted her after losing her family, seeing as how Mary's the only living family she has left."

This would do two things. Give Rose family and make sure Lestrade had an investment in the woman's well being, seeing as how he and John got on well.

"Losing her family? What happened?"

"Car accident."

"When?"

"Three months ago. Very tragic."

"But…if she's Mary's cousin then why's she staying with you? Especially, someone in her condition."

Why did everyone insist that she was in a delicate condition? Yes, she'd been traumatized, but she wasn't as ordinary as everyone else. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"With Mary expecting everyone felt it was best."

He pulled out his phone and began texting John. That way his friend could get hold of Mary and by the time he solved the case everything would be taken care of. He wasn't sure why he didn't think of it before…well, he did. He'd been focused on finding answers, something he was still focused on, but that made him overlook the real problem. Mycroft. Sooner or later his brother would be coming for her and he needed to keep that from happening.

"Thanks," John said as Rose handed him a cuppa. "You didn't have to go to the trouble. I could've made my own tea."

"I don't mind," she replied with a smile as she sat down in Sherlock's chair. "I used to make it all the time for my…friend."

She sighed. It was hard talking about him. All of them actually, but she knew she'd have to eventually.

"So," John said, wanting to change the subject because he could see how hard remembering was for her. Though she'd have to talk about it eventually. He was fairly sure her sleepwalking had to do with the fact that she hadn't dealt with it, hadn't grieved since she recovered her memories. "We could watch some telly if you-"

He was cut off by the sound of his phone chiming. He pulled his mobile out and read the text.

Tonight. 7 pm. Bring Mary.

"What is it?" Rose asked, noting the confused look on John's face.

"It's from Sherlock. I think he wants me to bring Mary round tonight at seven," he said, stuffing his phone back in his pocket.

"Why?"

"I've no idea."

Sherlock made it perfectly clear last night that Mary shouldn't be involved, probably because she could see through him. What changed Sherlock's mind?

It was nearly seven-forty. Mary had been there for nearly forty minutes, half of which was spent on trivial small talk and greetings between her and Rose. He'd waited, impatiently, finally revealing his plan after everyone sat down, Mary next to Rose on the sofa, the two seeming to have hit it off.

"Okay, so if I'm understanding all this," Mary said, using her hands for emphasis, "Your intention is to establish relationships for Rose. Friends, family, people who would miss her when Mycroft tries to take her."

"Precisely," Sherlock said. "Since you have no family to speak of the appearance of a distant cousin shouldn't be suspicious."

"It'll be enough to complicate matters, but, Sherlock, you know as well as I do that if Mycroft wants something that won't be enough to stop him."

Mary's eyes travel over to Rose and Sherlock knew she was wondering what it was that the girl knew, which was what he wanted to know, but he wanted to be the one to find out first. He had to waylay her train of thought before she started asking questions. This was one of the reasons he hadn't wanted Mary to know that Rose's memory was restored, but it was the only way to keep the girl safe.

"Complicating matters is just the beginning," Sherlock said, drawing Mary's gaze back to him.

"I really do appreciate you doing this for me," Rose replied, taking the woman's hand.

Mary smiled.

"I've been in…a similar situation," the woman said.

"I know." Mary's smile slipped as she glanced at Sherlock. "He didn't tell me. I can see it." Mary raised her brow. "That bit of darkness, same as John's. Things you've had to do, things that changed you, but you found your way back."

"You can see that?"

"I've always been good at telling if someone's dangerous or not. It's saved my life quite a few times. You…you could be, but only if you were threatened or if someone you cared about were threatened. Might've been different before, but not anymore. On account of him," Rose indicated John. "Just like those two," she glanced from John to Sherlock, "you two saved each other."

"And, exactly, where did you train?"

Rose laughed, making Mary raise her brow.

"Like I said, I've always been able to tell the difference, but I had this friend I used to travel with, helping people, and I got better at it because I had to. I guess you could say I was trained, but it was more life training. In the field training."

This was far more information than Sherlock wanted aired in John and Mary's presence so he cleared his throat to focus the room's attention back on him.

"As it's getting late I think it would be best to let Rose get some sleep," he said.

"Late?" John inquired glancing at his watch. "It's only eight-twelve."

"Yes," Sherlock dismissing standing up and reaching for John and Mary's coats. "But as you should know individuals who suffer from sleepwalking should begin preparing for bed early."

"Right," his friend said, giving him a suspicious glance, but unable to argue with the facts, which were true. "I'll stop by on my way to work in the morning."

"And I'll accompany you, seeing as she is my cousin," Mary replied.

Then they stepped out the door. Sherlock turned around and Rose quirked her brow at him, grinning.

"If you were anymore obvious, the word obvious would be stamped on your forehead," she said.

"Sorry?" he asked.

"I bet you cut in line in secondary too." He gave her a confused look, which made her laugh again. "You rushed them out because you want to be the first to know." She sighed, glancing at her hands and the weight of it drew him to the sofa. He sat down next to her. "Thing is I don't know if I can talk about all of it." She caught his gaze and the sheer magnitude of emotions hit him. He laid his hand over hers, but in the next moment she clasped his hand in hers and a strange feeling crept over him. It was as if her hand was always meant to be there. He shook that feeling off. "I'll tell you what I can."

Standard Disclaimer.

Thank you to all my brilliant readers!

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