Chapter 28

"Doctor?" Amy had her arm in front of her, trying so desperately to reach for the Doctor's shoulder, but her hand would never make contact.

She wanted him to turn around, just to see his face, anything to see his face.

"Please, stop," Amy tried, but the Doctor seemingly floated further away from her.

"Come along, Pond," the Doctor kept his back at her, but a distorted voice came from his mouth.

"Sherlock?" the dream continued.

"Amy," she heard Sherlock's voice, but didn't see him.

She looked around again and noticed she was on the roof of St. Bart's. Looking behind she saw the body of Moriarty. He was lying on his back, but he had no face. Where was Sherlock? She couldn't find him. She tried to step off the ledge, but her legs wouldn't budge. Amy forced herself to look over the edge, but there was no body on the floor, no blood, no nurses bringing the body of Sherlock Holmes into the hospital.

Amy found she was holding a phone to her ear and someone speaking on the other end, "what's going on?"

She recognized it as John's voice, and looked for him. She saw him standing on the ground, with Sherlock, and they were both staring at her.

"I ... what's happening?" Amy was confused.

"Wh-What?" Sherlock's voice was heard over the phone.

"I'm sorry," Amy was crying. "I can't move."

"Why are you saying this?" John asked.

"Help me," Amy whimpered.

"Okay, shut up, Amy, shut up. The first time we met ... the first time we met...," John spoke.

"No, John, this isn't real, I'm not...," Amy didn't understand what he was saying.

"You could," Sherlock assured.

"This isn't real, this ... whatever this is, it's not real," Amy closed her eyes.

"Do what?" she heard Sherlock's voice.

"Why are you saying this? Why are you repeating ...," Amy stopped and realized what was happening – it didn't matter what she said, they were repeating the conversation that they had when Sherlock fell, only Sherlock was in her place and she was in his.

"Leave a note when?" John asked.

Amy watched as she dropped the phone onto the roof of the hospital. She knew what was coming next, and she felt her legs moving without her control.

"No, no," Amy tried to force herself to stop.

Her arms lifted from her sides.

"Stop."

She felt the rushing of the air against her face and saw a glimpse of Sherlock and John. The ground was coming fast.

Amy Pond woke up taking in a sharp breath of cold air into her lungs. She didn't understand her dream. Sherlock and the Doctor were both alive. Sherlock was currently in her guest bedroom, and the TARDIS was parked outside. The previous evening she had a great Christmas celebration that included both of them, so the dream made no sense whatsoever. She looked over at Rory who was sleeping soundlessly. It was only 3:45 am. Instead of trying to go back to sleep, she got out of bed, put a robe on, and walked out of her room.

She silently walked to the kitchen and opened her fridge looking for some leftover dessert. With nothing particularly satisfying left she closed the door and turned around only to see Sherlock in the living space staring out the main window.

"Jeez! Sherlock, what are you doing?" she whispered as she neared him, her heart now pounding from the fright. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Travelling with the Doctor has changed my sleep schedule," he spoke plainly. "It's better this way – it gives me time to think."

Amy noticed that he was staring at the TARDIS. She waited for him to speak, and glanced outside. It stopped snowing, and she was calm with how still everything was.

"I suppose you two are the only people on this planet I can talk to about what I've seen," Sherlock finally spoke his mind. "Your husband and you."

"Did the Doctor take you far away? To the ends of the universe and back again?" Amy asked her last question rather seriously. "Did you see something?"

"Yes," Sherlock stoically responded. "But how does he do it?"

"He's an alien," Amy yawned. "He has a time machine."

"No, that wasn't what I was asking," Sherlock said.

Amy analyzed his face, but she was too tired to play his guessing game, "what do you mean?"

"He's been alone for a very long time, and from the looks of it, he doesn't do well being alone," Sherlock sighed, relating his deductions a bit slower than usual. "He told me what he did to his people. He let his entire planet burn. To save the rest of the universe, yes, but to wake up every day and live with that? How does he do it? He's old, Amy, and he's trying to forget about his past by making more and more memories."

Amy stared at him with a curious expression. She wondered if the Doctor told him this or if Sherlock managed to deduce the Doctor.

"Do you realize he's trapped in that box reminded everyday of what he had done?" Sherlock asked the question rhetorically.

Amy never thought about it that way. The Doctor travelled often and to the corners of the universe – was it due to his curiosity or was it to forget his deed?

"He has companions … friends that travel with him, correct?" Sherlock finally looked at Amy and she nodded. "He's aged a millennia. He's gone through many companions, one would assume, because they are human and they age. The lifespan of humans is the Doctor's demise and he does get so sentimental. How does he keep going knowing his friends are dead?"

"I could ask the same about John," Amy spoke in her tired state, but regretted it soon after she saw Sherlock subtly wince. "Sorry, I didn't mean to …It's just … never mind."

"It doesn't matter. I know I've caused him enough pain to want to kill himself," Sherlock said with a hint of regret.

Amy looked at him, "How do you know that?"

"I was there. I watched you two in the first few weeks. Maybe suicide wasn't the main goal – he drank to stifle the pain, ate next to nothing because he lost his appetite, and a paper cut led to more cutting. It was grief, but it could have been fatal. It is still my fault, technically," Sherlock met her gaze.

Amy couldn't exactly argue with that. His actions had consequences, and that was obvious. She didn't know about the cutting, though, and she felt her heart sank.

"But you kept him alive, you helped John when I couldn't," Sherlock looked away. "So, thank you for that, I guess."

Amy smiled at his attempt at showing gratitude.

"He is still alive, right?" Sherlock had to ask.

"Oh, very much so," Amy responded. "And still in London."

"Perfect," Sherlock turned away from the window. "I intend to go back to Baker Street."

"You won't find him there," Amy told him. "He's moved on."

"What do you mean? I've been away," Sherlock said indignantly.

Amy scoffed and began walking back the staircase up to her room, "he has a mind of his own, Sherlock. Not everything is about you."

Sherlock narrowed his eyes, "does this have to do with whatever a 'Morstan' is?"

Amy didn't even have a chance to respond before Sherlock spoke again, "I'm assuming it's a person. Likelihood that it's a first name is quite slim, so surname then. I can see that you're quite tired, so I'll skip to the end. So John's moved out of Baker Street and gotten himself a new flatmate?"

Amy slowly blinked – again, she didn't get a chance to respond, "Nevertheless, Baker Street is my home and I intend to go back. Hopefully Mrs. Hudson hasn't let out the place."

Amy realized she was making extra effort to try and stay awake, and Sherlock was well aware of this, "I'm going back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

"Wait," Sherlock stopped her. "At dinner, why did you make this Morstan figure more important than he sounds?"

Amy turned to look at him, and for the first time in two years, she was able to see that Sherlock looked rather concerned, "She."

"What?"

"Morstan is a woman."

"Right. What about?"

Amy looked at him with her eyebrows raised, "Are you really not making the connection, Sherlock?"

"No, wait," Sherlock looked at her for a moment. "He's dating someone?"

"More than dating, I would think," Amy told him in her sleepless voice. "Seems serious enough that he'll marry her one day."

"When?" Sherlock asked rather suddenly.

"Why don't you ask him yourself," Amy smiled at him with tired eyes.

"Not yet. There's still more of Moriarty's network that needs to be disabled," Sherlock spoke in a commanding tone.

Amy looked at him, leaned on the rail, and thought pensively, "So you're not staying then?"

"Today was just a pit stop. The Doctor insisted we stop," Sherlock walked towards her and past to get to the guest bedroom. "The Doctor is helping me. The network is too vast for me to go it alone, and it would take maybe more than four years to take it all down, but I'm almost done thanks to your Doctor. So the Doctor brings me to where I need to go, he does his own thing, and picks me up. Once it's done, I'll be back in London."

"When are you leaving?" Amy was trying to push the thought that Sherlock would never be in her home if the Doctor decided not to visit.

"Early in the morning," Sherlock said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "The Doctor hates how time moves so slowly."

Realizing that Sherlock probably wasn't going to sleep, and seeing that she was awake now, she decided to forgo sleep. Amy walked down her stairs and to the kitchen where she began to make coffee.

"What are you doing?" Sherlock watched her the entire time.

"Since you're leaving in the morning, I thought it'd be best if we talked some more. You have questions and I have questions. It's a good time for talking. So sit," Amy told him to sit on the couch.

"As you wish, Ms. Williams," Sherlock dramatically took a seat.

Amy made two cups of coffee and walked them over to Sherlock, "where shall we start?"

"What's the Doctor's real name?" Sherlock asked.

Amy dramatically gasped, "You don't know!?"

This made Sherlock look awfully annoyed, "No."

Amy giggled, "Yeah, well neither do I. I don't think anyone does. But it's not important."

Amy asked how Sherlock faked his death. Sherlock explained it effortlessly for her. She questioned the validity of it. Questions like how Sherlock could possibly have known that Amy would suffer paralyzing flashbacks of the Doctor's death with the mention of the Doctor's last line would render her frozen at the spot whilst the biker ran over John stifled his medical skills prompted more questions – all of which he was happy to answer. He asked her why she was no longer living in Baker Street. She told him that she couldn't bear it anymore – the grief, the dust, and the silence. She thought it best to follow in John's footsteps and try to move on. She asked him where the Doctor first took Sherlock. At first, Sherlock tried avoiding answering, but once Amy pestered him.

"I asked him to bring me to when Mycroft was a child, before I was born," Sherlock relented.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted a new perspective on my brother. He is so secretive about his past."

"Did you like what you had seen?"

Sherlock nodded. Turns out, he played a part in his brother's childhood – he was the man who helped Mycroft when he accidentally got lost. More questions were asked. He asked her about River and who she was, John and what he had been doing, but became fixated when the topic turned to Mary.

"I'm certain you'll have a chance to deduce her," Amy said. "But I'll tell you that I think they're quite good for each other. So don't you dare try to ruin it!"

"Tell me something!" Sherlock stubbornly pestered.

"No! Whatever preconceived notions I give you will affect what you think of her. When you see her, you can make your own assumptions!"

They continued back and forth with their questions right as the sun came up. The sound of the TARDIS doors opening caught both of them by surprise. The Doctor walked up to the door of Amy's home, opened it, and saw Sherlock and Amy on the couch.

"Well come on then, Sherlock, let's get a move on!" the Doctor were unfazed by the pjs, the coffee, or the obvious dark under eye circles from a sleepless night. "No time to waste!"

"Right," Sherlock downed his cup of coffee and got up. "I'll see you soon."

"Wait, one last question," Amy held onto his arm. "The Doctor could have come here alone. Why'd you join him?"

Sherlock looked at her earnestly, "Because I knew you could handle me coming and going. John, on the other hand, would have tried to kill me if I left again."

Amy didn't know what to feel – she was happy Sherlock came to her first, but sad to know that the only reason he came was because John couldn't handle it. She thought Sherlock would have been more confident in John.

Sherlock was halfway out the door when she spoke suddenly, "be back soon, Sherlock. And be safe."

He had his back to her, "of course."


Little note: time is going to get a bit wonky here, in Sherlock, it's two years that John and Sherlock haven't seen each other, but it'll be a bit longer in this story when you read the next chapter, but no worries - everything will still stay more or less the same.

A little timeline info - we're heading into season 3 of Sherlock, and sort of in the series 6/7/Pond Life area of Doctor Who.