I'm eagerly and anxiously anticipating Sunday's premiere. This chapter takes place around two weeks after the last.

"I need you to watch out for Nora."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean? I'm already driving her around and going with her bloody on shopping trips. What more do you want?"

"I don't know how long I'm going to be away. I need you to take care of her." Moriarty brought a cup of tea to his lips. "Remember our arrangement?"

"I do."

"Then you'll need to follow it. I'll be meeting Sherlock soon. Do you remember our plan for that?"

Sebastian swallowed.

"Tiger?"

"Yes. James, I remember the plan for that. But could I at least persuade you–"

"What's done is done." It was Jim who touched Seb's hand, his eyes gentle as they met his. "You know I still care for you, yes?"

Sebastian shook his head. Despite the little moments of care, he often doubted that James felt the way he once did for him.

"Why do you doubt me, tiger? It's not the sex with kitten, is it? Honestly, I didn't think you were the jealous type."

"I'm not. I just know what I've seen." He regretted his words the moment he uttered them. That flicker of Jim was gone.

"Oh, really? And what have you seen, Seb?"

"You know what. M'not bothered by it."

"You're lying. My tiger is lying. Why would my tiger lie to me? We both know you're bothered when it's in areas where you can see us. Areas where we've done it before." Moriarty grinned when he noticed Sebastian clench his jaw. He raised the cup to his lips. "Ah, so I'm right."

"Are we really going to have this conversation right now?"

"It would seem so. It's long overdue, don't you think?"

Sebastian didn't answer. Instead, he hit brew on the Keurig. If they were going to do this he needed coffee. It was much too early for this discussion, and he was far too tired to dig up raw emotions. Besides, it all ended abruptly nearly two years ago. He wasn't sure what needed saying anymore.

"I know what's been upsetting you: I didn't discuss getting a kitten with you." Moriarty took another sip of tea, then shrugged. "'Honestly didn't think I had to."

The marksman whirled around. "How do you think I felt, Jim? I knew we'd been somewhat distant. I knew we'd likely end up going back to a professional relationship. I certainly didn't think we'd last but, before we could even talk about it, Nora comes along. Not another word about us. Just mild flirting here and there, some teasing about threesomes while you fu—"

"There's no need to be jealous. You and kitten have different body types—"

"I'm not jealous! I just know that, in terms of romance, or whatever it was we were, based on what I've seen, you care for her more than me. You can't deny that."

"I can, and I will."

Sebastian took a sharp breath as James lifted his chin, his mouth hovering just a hairsbreadth from his own. He swallowed. The criminal wanted him to react and Sebastian did just that. The marksman grasped Moriarty's jaw in his hand and closed the space between their lips. He'd forgotten how James tasted. The criminal reciprocated, his hands gripping the collar of Sebastian's shirt. He'd forgotten how much he enjoyed his ex-partner's mouth and how stable he made him feel.

Sebastian separated from him. "Don't."

"Don't what? Kiss you?" Moriarty's eyebrows shot up. "Christ, Sebastian, you're the one who initiated it."

"I…we….You've got Nora."

"And?"

"You told her you love her. You never once told me that, James."

Moriarty said nothing. How could he when the marksman was so right?

"She's why we stopped." Sebastian's voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. "I no longer blame her for it. I blame you."

"Me? I didn't necessarily want to end things."

"Then why did we?"

Moriarty scoffed. "You can't be serious. Seb, you were the one who called us off. Nora was away visiting a friend, I was sitting just there," he pointed at the table, "and you came storming in, said you'd had enough. That you were done, which took me by surprise. Congratulations on that by the way, that doesn't happen often. You wouldn't let me say a word. Just said that you hoped Nora would make me happy and that you and I would keep things professional. Didn't at all ask how I felt."

He softened at his ex's recollection. "It's what was best for us at the time. I wasn't happy with what you'd done. I figured it was me or Nora, and you seemed pretty taken with her. So I took myself out."

"Did you ever consider that maybe I wanted you both?"

"You wanted to have your cake and eat it, too, Jim. You can't always do that. At that point in time, I didn't want you to. It was her or me."

"Oh, Seb," James patted his cheek. "If you had let me talk then, you would have learned what I wanted for the three of us. It would have worked."

"It's working now the way it is."

"Is it?"

Sebastian took a long gulp of his coffee.

"I see the way you look at Nora. I know you don't loathe her anymore. She's never disliked you, you know. The three of us, we work well together. It's not too late—"

"Are you that daft? You beat me until I bled. I only did what you asked. You wanted me and Nora to have sex. You wanted us to have a threesome. But it was also you who nearly knocked my lights out for touching her. So excuse me for thinking twice when you propose we be polyamorous."

"We already are in some ways," said Moriarty.

"James—"

"Just reconsider."

He said nothing.

"Tiger, please?"

Sebastian rubbed his eyes. "I'll think on it."

"That's all I ask." Moriarty stood. "I care about you and kitten just the same. Nora knows that. It's time you learned that now since you weren't aware then."

"Between you and your other half, you can be a bit hard to read, y'know."

"Mm, no, no, I disagree. I'm fairly transparent in that department if you're paying attention. I believe kitten's learned that by now. Seems that it's just my tiger that needs retraining."

"It'd be nice of you to remind me now and again that I'm even on your radar," said Sebastian, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You've always been on my radar. It was I who stopped being on yours."

"You haven't."

"Hm. Well, when I get back, we'll work on that. But for now, I need you to look out for kitten. She'll be worse than last time." Moriarty sighed, "Do as we rehearsed. I'll be back soon."

"Back from where?"

Both men faced the doorway where Nora stood. She blinked expectantly. Though Sebastian knew she hadn't been standing there but a moment, he wondered how much of their discussion she'd heard. He watched Moriarty kiss her and stroke her cheek.

"Nowhere, pet," said the criminal.

"But you said you're going to be back soon. Where are you going?"

"Seb and I have to run an errand later."

She furrowed her brow. "Errand? What kind of errand?"

Moriarty rolled his neck and Sebastian suppressed a smile at his frustration. Nora wasn't as thick as she led others to believe. He could see the cogs turning in her mind. Sebastian knew she'd flood him with questions the minute James was out of earshot.

"Is it related to Sherlock?"

"It's nothing," Moriarty spat. "Now be a good girl, stop talking, and don't worry your silly, little head. Alright?"

After taking a second to steel herself, Nora lifted her chin and said, "But the fall, you said it's happening within the next couple of weeks. What exactly are you going to do with Sherlock? You said the final problem was staying—"

"Nora!" Moriarty put his hands forcefully on her shoulders, and shook her once. "Not another word about it. Do you understand me?"

"Y-Yes, Moriarty."

"Thank you. Now go upstairs. I'll be up in a moment."

"I still believe you."

Sherlock looked over at John. "Oh?"

"You know, she almost had me for a moment." John looked down at his coffee for a moment. "Kitty Riley and 'Richard Brook' said you paid him to be Moriarty. What Riley wrote...it was all….Even though Nora, er 'Eileen' kept up the story that Richard Brook is an actor, both she and Richard acted as though neither of them knew Moriarty existed. She told us she was a poor liar months ago. Well, it showed in the cracks of her story."

The detective crossed the kitchen and pressed his lips against John's. Slightly taken aback, John placed a hand on the counter behind him to steady himself. He set his mug down, then leaned into Sherlock's mouth. It wasn't a long kiss, but it was enough to convey the relief surging through Sherlock's veins. He admired the taste of hazelnut on his partner's lips, and the sobering effect John had on him. The doctor touched his cheek as they separated.

Sherlock mentally sighed. In that moment, he was so thankful for Nora's inability to keep her story straight. He'd almost lost John to Moriarty's lies. He saw the doubt in his eyes the moment he refused to go with Lestrade to the station. That doubt extrapolated after they met with Kitty and Richard. He had hoped that finding Nora would bring John back from Moriarty's fabricated reality. As much as Sherlock hated to admit it, the thought of John losing faith in him scared him. He could handle everyone else turning their backs. Everyone, anyone, but not John.

"I..."

John nodded. "I know."

After one more kiss, the two separated. Sherlock began to pace the length of the kitchen. His mind raced now that he was certain his partner believed him.

John leaned against the counter. "I also know I talked to Nora that day in the bookshop and I know Moriarty was with her. I know what I saw. Nora and Moriarty are real. Richard and Eileen aren't real."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that last statement."

"What do you mean? You know Richard Brook isn't real."

"Yes, but I'm not sure Eileen isn't real."

"What's that supposed to mean? "

"Tell me, did you notice anything different about Nora the other night?"

John shook his head.

Sherlock stopped pacing. "Think back, think harder. Remember how she spoke, her behavior. Did you recall anything at all about her that wasn't similar to how she spoke in our flat?"

"Well, she did seem different."

"Different how?"

"I'm not sure. But she wasn't the same now that you mention it."

"I have a theory that Nora is dichotomous. The woman in the apartment, the woman who was in Bart's, it wasn't Nora. It was her physically, but everything else…"

John furrowed his brow. "Hang on, she came to the lab?"

"Yes, John. Keep up."

"When did that happen?"

Sherlock made a steeple with his hands, then muttered, "A spider like Moriarty would choose someone who is similar to him."

"So a black widow, then?" said John, jesting. The taller man made a face. "Sorry. So you believe Moriarty is dichotomous?"

"Jury's still out, but possibly. Nora thinks she's so clever."

"But you have to admit she is, though." John took a sip of his coffee. "She nearly had me fooled."

"The woman in the lab that day was clever."

"So, Nora, then?"

"No. I'm telling you, John, she wasn't Nora."

"If it's her body, her voice, but her personality isn't similar, wouldn't she still be Nora?"

"Not necessarily."

"She could've had an off day when you saw her. Or, you saw Nora exactly as she was in the lab." John sat down. " After all, she was drugged before the interrogation."

Sherlock took his place in the chair across from his. "When we interrogated Nora, we got the real her. That blubbering mess was not the same as the woman in the lab."

"Then who was she, Sherlock?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out!"

John said nothing for a moment, then asked, "Do you believe she actually lost a baby? She seemed rather upset—genuinely upset."

"Not within the last month, but Nora has definitely been pregnant before," said Sherlock. They both knew what that meant for her given Moriarty's person.

"Sherlock, have you ever thought—"

"Once."

John lifted his eyebrows. "Really?"

"But not now." Sherlock took in the silence brought on by his last comment, then said, "Perhaps later."

It would have to be later. Much, much later. Well after this nonsense with Moriarty and his fall.