An unsmiling woman drops them off exactly where Mycroft had specified that she would. The coolness of the air surprises John, and he shivers a little as Lestrade examines the GPS he'd been given. And rightfully so: John still has trouble working his mobile phone and he's had the stupid thing for well over two years now. He waits patiently while Lestrade works it out and then falls into step behind him. They head into the woods instead of following the road, and right away John has to take out his torch and switch it on because he can't see a bloody thing. The torch doesn't really help either, considering that he can either aim it at his feet and not trip or aim it in front of him and not get slapped in the face by branches, but it's all he's got.

They travel in silence for a good five minutes before Lestrade clears his throat and says, "When this is all over and Sherlock is back to himself, are you two finally going to stop pretending that you're not arse over heels in love with each other?"

For a moment, John is so wrapped up in being relieved that Lestrade had said 'when' Sherlock is back to normal, not 'if', that the second portion of his sentence doesn't really sink in. When it does, he stops dead in his tracks. "What?"

"You heard me."

"I -" John stops, because he's not really sure how to respond to that. He's really not. "What do you mean?"

"Are we really going to do this?" Lestrade shoots him a raised eyebrow. It's enough to get John moving again, and Lestrade pushes a branch aside for him before he continues, "It's so obvious, John. I've never seen Sherlock so fascinated with anyone, and I mean that literally. The only thing that used to occupy his attention the way that you do is the work. And you, well." He shrugs. "I guess I've been assuming that you feel the same way, considering that you've stuck by him all this time. You don't?" And there's a shard of worry there, ready to fragment.

"No. I mean yes, I do. I mean..." He gives his head a rough shake and sighs. "You really think Sherlock likes me?"

"He loves you," Lestrade says without hesitating a second. "And judging by the soppy look on your face, I'm guessing you feel the same way."

John is ridiculously glad of the dark for the first time, if only because it helps to hide the warmth he can feel in his cheeks. "I do," he confirms in a low voice, like someone else might hear if he's not careful. "Sherlock is - he's just different, you know? I started realizing it right around that whole disaster with Irene Adler. Sherlock was so fascinated by her and I was, I was jealous; I admit it now even if I couldn't back then. But then he disappeared, and after he returned I wasn't sure... Things have been tense between us." He gestures lamely. "And then the idiot went and got himself turned into a child, so there's that."

Lestrade snorts. "Yes, there's that." He goes quiet, their boots snapping debris, and then he says, "Don't - don't hurt him, John."

"Is this the I break his heart, you break my legs warning?" John says in astonishment. In retrospect, it makes so much sense he wonders how he didn't see it coming sooner. Mycroft is certainly not the sort of person to ever admit that he cares enough about Sherlock to make those sorts of threats, and Lestrade is easily the closest thing to a father Sherlock's got. John's reminded all over again of when he saw the two of them at the station, with Sherlock on Lestrade's lap, and he thinks that there may be more to that than he realized.

"I suppose. Except I won't just break your legs. I might keep this gun, and I should warn you that my work as a Detective Inspector has given me loads of ideas about where to hide a body."

"Fair enough," John says faintly when he's recovered from nearly tripping and falling on his face. "I wouldn't, though. Hurt him, I mean. I - I care a lot about Sherlock, Lestrade. You must know that by now."

"Of course I do. I just wanted to make sure," Lestrade says easily, glancing down at the GPS. He stops suddenly, throwing an arm out to halt John as well. "Hang on. According to this, we're on the estate now. The mansion should be somewhere up ahead. From now on, we'll have to be quiet. Let me know if you see the house."

Instead of responding, John settles for a nod. This time he tries to keep his footsteps as quiet as possible when they begin walking, though that's easier said than done: there are so many branches and dead leaves on the forest floor that each step practically announces their position. He watches Lestrade's back thoughtfully when he's not looking at his feet. That conversation was unexpected, though really it shouldn't have been. Awkward though it was, at least on John's part, he realizes that he's relieved Lestrade cares enough about Sherlock to bother initiating it. Sherlock hasn't got nearly enough people in his corner.

The mansion seems to sneak up on them for all that it's a massive place. Looking up at it, John has no idea how they're going to get Sherlock out. But at least he knows how they're going to get in - and they won't even need Mycroft's fancy blueprints to do it. Someone's left a window open on the ground floor. He catches Lestrade's eye and they both move forward at the same time, stealing across the grass. The room beyond looks like an old-fashioned parlour of some kind, and more importantly it's empty. John wastes no time in putting his hands on the sill and boosting himself up with Lestrade's help. His shoulder aches with the effort as he scrambles inside.

Lestrade hoists himself up with an ease that makes John envious. As he swings his legs inside, he says, "Alright, that was a lot easier than Mycroft was expecting. Let's hope that the rest of this goes the same way." He reaches for his gun, pulls it out of the holster. The click of the safety sounds enormously loud.

Not knowing where Mummy Holmes is makes John nervous. He wishes they had the opportunity to do a little more recon instead of going into this blind. But he knows that Sherlock's bedroom is on the third floor, and chances are that's where Sherlock will be. He takes out his own gun, both because Lestrade has the right idea and John is almost hoping they run into Mummy so he can shoot her, and says, "Let's go."

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