Read me:Okay, last chapter I warned you. This could very well seem weird. Just hang on with me. I'll explain more at the end.

Chapter 28

"I'll have a cup of chamomile and a blueberry scone." a smooth baritone voice ordered.

After waiting a few minutes by the counter, the man sat in the booth behind me, choosing the seat directly behind me. I knew that I was doing a terrible job of ignoring him. He could probably feel me shaking.

"Your tea's getting cold." he whispered to me as if I cared about that. "Did you like the gift?" he tried again, sighing when no response was received. "I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to catch up."

"Catch up?" I hissed more venomously than intended.

He inhaled sharply and was silent for a few moments. "I… I've missed talking to you- hearing your stories. Tell me you haven't missed me even once and I'll go. You have to be honest, though."

"Honest? Well, you want to know what I bloody miss? I miss having a moment to myself where I don't feel like I'm going to get dragged away to God-knows-where at the drop of a hat. I miss seeing the best in people instead of wondering how many of them you hired to watch me. I miss the time when I didn't have bloody post-traumatic stress disorder!"

Moriarty turned so that he was able to look at me. When I met his eyes, I saw how distressed he was. I didn't falter, though. The rage, terror, and anxiety swirled through my blue eyes. I wanted him to see his handy work.

"You honestly hate me, don't you?"

"What the hell did you expect? That after what you did to me we could ever be friends or whatever the hell you called that?"

"Alice," the shop keeper called. "Are you alright? Is he bothering you?"

"He's been bothering me for a while. Don't worry about it. It's less trouble if you do." I told him, making a gun shape with the hand Jim couldn't see. The guy nodded, pale as a ghost.

"Right. If you're okay…"

Jim looked between the two of us, his eyes dark. The insanity was boiling inside him and I saw him start to reach inside his jacket pocket.

"Hey. Let's take this somewhere else." I whispered, hoping he'd go for it. "I… I've been waiting to open the present for the right time. How does now seem?" I smiled kindly, hoping to calm him down. His eyes softened slightly and he considered it, but that wasn't enough for me. I fought everything inside me as I reached out to take his left hand, which rested in his knee. I wouldn't risk him hurting anyone.

Gently, I place my right hand over his left and stood. "Come on. Let's go. Please?" I gave him a ghost of a smile, doing my best to not show the disgust. Trying to act excited, I dragged him out of the shop and into 221b. I led him to my room and picked up the box.

As he sat on the bed, I carefully ripped open the swirly red paper. It felt wrong. All if it felt wrong. I had to push it aside, though. My harshness earlier was understandable, but stupid. If it were just the two of us, it would have been fine. He didn't care about anyone else, though.

Under the paper was a jewelry box covered in black felt. Inside that was a silver chain with clear blue gems on the top left edge of the kite-shaped pendant. The top right was a clear yellow-green. On the bottom left I recognized ruby, with the bottom right being a more opaque aqua blue. The middle of the pendant was silver with a cutout upside-down keyhole. It was beautiful, and clearly expensive.

"Custom made. Only one in the world. It's aquamarine, peridot, ruby and zircon. Read the message."

"Message?" I popped the necklace from the box, and where the rest of the chain sat under the top layer was a note that read:

"Rubies-

For safety, peace, and wealth

For wisdom, love, and health

Next is a peridot

For when you need confidence a lot?(dammit…)

Now aquamarine

So you have clarity

And can be safe at sea

To finish you off

Here is zircon

For pain relief

And better dreams"

I stared at the message before looking at Jim confused. "You're not good at poetry are you?"

He chuckled a bit. "Not particularly."

The corner of my mouth lifted. "This was… actually a bit nice. You thought about this gift for a while, didn't you?"

"Of course. Do you like it?"

"I…" The small moment I had with Jim vanished just like all the others as the realization of who he really is came flooding back. The color drained from my face and the tremors returned. I wanted to tell him I liked it. I wanted to like it. However, instead I became increasingly aware of the fact that Jim Moriarty was in my room, even sitting on my bed.

Jim sighed and stood from his place on the bed. "I came today to let you know that I'm keeping tabs on you. You're still mine, Alice. It's not like how you think, though."

"Then how."

"I don't want the others getting to you. Word got out about you in the underground network. Between Sherlock and I, you're quite the big deal now. I'm watching you so no one else gets to you. All these things you thought were threats- the candy shop, Christmas- I was there with gifts because people were closing in. It wasn't a reminder for you, but for them. You're my toy. No one else gets to play with you."

"I'm not a toy."

"I know. You're better."

Angrily, I exited the bedroom and motioned for him to follow. "Let me show you to the door."

Jim nodded, but the disappointed exhale did not go unnoticed. "Of course." He then followed me to the front door. Unfortunately, Mrs. Hudson had just left her own flat, and when she saw Jim, she recognized him from when he'd walked me home.

"A-Alice, that's-!"

"He's just leaving. Please, go inside and stay calm."

"Alice, he-!"

"Mrs. Hudson, please! I'll explain in a moment if you'd like. Do not tell John or Sherlock."

Whimpering, the old woman went inside. Jim looked down at me with a raised brow, practically demanding an explanation.

"She saw you walk me home that one time a little over a year ago now." I shook my head, instead asking, "Do you plan to do this again?"

He shook his head. "I'll keep my distance as much as possible. More so than now. You will see me again, though. I promise. Also, the boys say hello. You'll see them around much more."

A strange bit of happiness filled me. I'd honestly missed them from time to time. Having so few people around was killing me. I mean, having John, Sherlock, and even slightly Lestrade and Molly around was nice, but I missed having people who I could be honest with.

"Will they be giving you reports on anything I say?"

"No. Just if someone is following, watching, or showing any real interest in you that could prove dangerous."

"So I can actually talk to them again?"

"That will be left up to you." After saying that, a black car pulled up next to the curb causing Moriarty to give a somewhat disappointed smile. "Until next time, Alice. Hey, look for my work and ask the boys I want to see how well you identify it."

"We'll see. Goodbye, Jim."

"See you soon." With that final parting, Jim got into the car. I found myself standing there, watching it go until a new black car took its place.

From the back seat, a dark skinned man (who I recognized as the guy who cut off the video feed on Sherlock's before taking him to Buckingham Palace) crawled out. I sighed knowingly, and opened the door for him.

"Upstairs. You know the way."

(A/N: I KNOW THIS SEEMS REALLY WEIRD. Quick explanation as to why Alice was pretty chill all things considered- Stockholm. I mentioned before like waaayyy long ago that she had a bit. Well, I've read about cases where people with it can switch back and forth. Like, for months they'll be thinking about how cruel and terrible the captors or whatever were like Alice, but something reminds them of the person just so or they see someone who looks likes the person or see a picture or whatever and it switches back, even if just for a little while. I want to show that to a certain extent, this is Alice. Also, She and Jimmy were friends for a while before the incident. Plus they got along for the most part when she really was kidnapped. Up until the last day, she even somewhat trusted he'd keep his word and that she'd go back as planned. All this to consider before leaving me any "wtaf?" type reviews.)