Danielle never wore an orange safety vest before. She remembered seeing them in school- bus drivers or crossing guards, guiding kids along. There were some parents wearing them on career days. Even in the younger sorts of cartoons, Danielle saw those vests. The past few months she felt like she saw them every day around Sherlock and John. She wore that orange security blanket- really enjoyed that.
Today? She got to wear the vest itself. Danielle got really excited. The vest was disgusting, clearly worn from many workers over the course of god knows how long. It made her feel more important. Or like a kid playing dress-up. Danielle hadn't quite decided yet, but she knew she liked it.
John wore one too. Danielle walked by his side on the train tracks. He wasn't as excited by the idea of wearing an orange vest as Danielle. Maybe because he often wore medical scrubs, so he had different ways of looking and feeling like an adult. Danielle got less options for that- stuck with the boring options of paying bills or walking her dog. Nothing could bring her down right now. Not even the fact that all of this was because of Mycroft.
Sherlock went off to New Scotland Yard. He and Lestrade were trying to trace any leads from Miss Wenceslas. Danielle doubted they would get much. This Moriarty character was already going so far to cover his tracks.
(Danielle giggled, hopping off the rails to the dirt beside.)
They saved the little boy. Danielle cared much more about him being alive than anything else. Sherlock was also supposed to figure out how that boy connected back to Danielle's life. Lestrade would most likely tell her when Sherlock forgot on account of thinking Danielle would already know or shouldn't know.
The man leading them along the tracks eyed Danielle, confused by the glee. Danielle ignored the stare. She could handle it for the moment.
"So this is where West was found?" John asked the guard.
"Yeah." The guard answered.
John hummed. Danielle looked ahead. She couldn't see anything suspicious.
"You gonna be long?" The guard asked.
"Maybe?" Danielle replied.
"You two with the police, then?" The guard asked.
"Sort of." John replied.
The guard shook his head. Danielle walked ahead, kneeling down beside the tracks. She hadn't spotted any blood yet. Did they clean it up already? No, then Mycroft would've said something about crime scene photos. "I hate 'em." The guard complained.
"The police?" John asked.
"No. Jumpers." The guard explained. Danielle tugged on the sleeve of her jumper, rubbing the gray yarn against her skin. "People who chuck themselves in front of trains." He scoffed, shaking his head in disgust. "Selfish bastards."
Danielle wanted to punch him. She also felt the urge to call her brother to schedule time for a hug. Or to punch the guard twice.
"Well, that's one way of looking at it." John stood beside Danielle, kneeling down.
Danielle hummed. "Definitely, yeah."
"I mean it. It's all right for them. It's over in a split second– strawberry jam all over the lines." The guard huffed. Danielle looked down on the tracks. The lack of 'strawberry jam' more noticeable than before. "What about the drivers, hmm? They've gotta live with it, haven't they?"
Danielle glanced up at John. "John, do you see it?"
"No." John turned to the guard. "Speaking of strawberry jam, there's no blood on the line. Has it been cleaned off?"
The guard shook his head. "No, there wasn't that much."
Danielle stood up, brushing dirt off her jeans. "But the report said his head was smashed in?"
The guard shrugged. "Well, it was, but there wasn't much blood."
Danielle couldn't wrap her head around it. "Right."
Neither did John, by the way he licked his lip. "Okay."
The guard started walking back. "Well, I'll leave you to it then." He left them alone. "Just give us a shout when you're off."
"Sure thing." Danielle waved politely. When the guard got far enough, Danielle grimaced. "Tell me I'm not mad. A living person should bleed a lot more when they jump, yeah?"
"Right." John confirmed. He stood up, looking around the train tracks. "So. Andrew West got on the train somewhere-"
"Do we know that?" Danielle asked. She brushed hair from her face, getting a better look at John. "They checked his pockets- no ticket."
"Then how did he end up here?" John asked her.
Danielle chewed her lip. She checked the tracks again. No blood, no ticket, no sign of anything like a dead body falling here. It frustrated her but it relaxed her. A murder to solve that wasn't part of the pips- nobody out there was sat with a bomb on their chest. Sherlock trusted her and John to solve it. Mycroft didn't really expect much of them- probably just for them to fail so that Sherlock would get up off his arse.
Either way...Danielle liked it.
She got why Sherlock did too.
Back to the matter at hand...there was no blood on the floor. No ticket to speak of either. Still he got on a train...then fell off. How did he fall if it wasn't a jump?
A loud crack went off. Danielle jumped back, startled. John walked to the train tracks, kneeling down to watch. The track shifted alignments.
A lightbulb went off.
John hummed. Danielle turned to him.
"Did you-"
"Points!"
Danielle yelped, jumping back. John shot up to his feet, whirling around to the source. "Yes!"
Proud as a peacock, Sherlock Holmes stood nearby. He grinned at them both. "Knew you'd get there eventually. West wasn't killed here; that's why there was so little blood."
Danielle held her hand to her chest, feeling her heart race beneath.
"How long have you been following us?" John asked.
"Since the start." Sherlock answered. "You don't think I'd give up on a case like this just to spite my brother, do you?"
"Oh you bastard!" Danielle's scolding was spoiled by her laugh. "You bloody bastard!"
Sherlock laughed too- a light chuckle that came from a wide grin. He nodded his head back. "Come on. Got a bit of burglary to do."
==NKMHLY==
Danielle and John walked side by side behind Sherlock. The consulting detective gave them the information taken from the museum curator. The woman hadn't known anything beyond the name.
Moriarty.
The name still sent chills down Danielle's spine.
The boy from the phone gave no leads either. His father was another classmate of Danielle's- kept silent when the police checked him by having literally no idea his child was even missing. Apparently they were on a couple's retreat. The nanny watching him vanished.
Sherlock reasoned that the nanny worked for Moriarty. It ensured no witness to Moriarty's face or voice like before. That didn't make the noise settle any better in Danielle's stomach.
As they walked up the street, Sherlock went back to talking about their current case.
"The missile defence plans haven't left the country, otherwise Mycroft's people would have heard about it." Sherlock explained to them. "Despite what people think, we do still have a Secret Service."
"Yeah, I know. I've met them." John replied.
"Wait what?" Danielle asked.
John shook his head. "It's no big deal."
"Obviously but why not say-" Danielle began.
Sherlock cut her off. "Which means whoever stole the memory stick can't sell it or doesn't know what to do with it. My money's on the latter." Sherlock stopped into front of a set of flats. "We're here."
"Where?" John asked.
Sherlock rushed ahead of them.
Danielle nodded. "Should've expected that."
"Really should, yes." John started running to catch up. Danielle did as well.
They climbed up a side stairwell. Sherlock was at a door, pulling a lockpick from his coat.
"Oi!" Danielle hushed. Sherlock used the lockpick on the door. "Can't we just knock?"
"He's not in." Sherlock replied. The door clicked open. He pushed it open. "Ladies first."
Danielle hesitated. She stepped inside, peering around.
"Jesus!" John huffed.
Sherlock walked in beside her. He went off into the living room to search. Danielle had no idea where to start. She stayed behind him, curious.
John closed the door. "Where are we?" John asked.
"Oh, sorry, didn't I say?" Sherlock asked, pretending to be as idiotic and innocent as anyone off the street.
The look did not suit him. "Not really, no." Danielle replied.
"Joe Harrison's flat." Sherlock revealed.
Danielle's eyes widened.
"Joe?" John asked.
"Lucy's brother?" Danielle recalled. "Why are we at his place?"
"He stole the memory stick; killed his prospective brother-in-law." Sherlock answered. He pulled open the window curtain to look outside.
"Wow." Danielle replied. Sherlock knelt down, pulling out a magnifier. "Really? Why? Is it because he hated him?"
Sherlock hummed. He stood up on his feet, adjusting his coat. John walked to his side, looking out the window. Danielle could only hear the dull humm of a tube crossing. "Let's ask him."
"Sorry?" Danielle asked.
Neither man answered. Then again, there was no need. The door behind them opened. A man's heavy footsteps walked up.
John held up his hand at her. He walked past her to the door. Sherlock walked up. His hand rested on her back.
"Don't. Don't." John's voice warned.
Danielle relaxed. Sherlock patted her back.
"I'm gonna be mad about this." Danielle told him.
Sherlock sighed happily. "No you won't."
Danielle groaned.
==NKMHLY==
John brought Joe into the flat. John sat him down on the couch. Sherlock waited patiently for Joe to get started. Danielle stood between them, staring curiously at the cyclist.
"It wasn't meant to-" Joe tried.
Sherlock rolled his eyes.
"God." Joe groaned, rubbing at his face. "What's Lucy gonna say? Jesus."
"You should have thought of her sooner." Danielle scolded.
Joe sighed again.
"Why did you kill him?" John asked.
"It was an accident." Joe excused. Sherlock snorted. "I swear it was."
"But stealing the plans for the missile defence programme wasn't an accident, was it?" Sherlock scolded.
Joe bristled under the stern glare. "I started dealing drugs. I mean, the bike thing's a great cover, right? I dunno– I dunno how it started; I just got out of my depth. I owed people thousands– serious people. Then at Westie's engagement do, he starts talking about his job. I mean, usually he's so careful; but that night after a few pints he really opened up. He told me about these missile plans– beyond top secret. He showed me the memory stick; he waved it in front of me. You hear about these things getting lost, ending up on rubbish tips and what-not. And there it was, and I thought...well, I thought it could be worth a fortune."
Danielle shook her head, disgusted.
"It was pretty easy to get the thing off him, he was so plastered." Joe added- like that was supposed to make Danielle feel better. 'Yeah I stole the memory stick but Westie made it so easy, so obviously it's not my fault'. "Next time I saw him, I could tell by the look on his face that he knew."
"What did you do next?" Danielle asked.
Joe winced. "We just started fighting. He yelled, I yelled back and then- I hadn't meant to hurt him. I just pushed him, and he tripped down the stairs. I was gonna call an ambulance, but it was too late. I just didn't have a clue what to do, so I dragged him in 'ere, and I just sat in the dark, thinking."
"When a neat little idea popped into your head." Sherlock pulled back the curtain, pointing to another train driving by. "Carrying Andrew West way away from here. His body would have gone on for ages if the train hadn't met a stretch of track that curved."
"And points." John repeated.
"Exactly." Sherlock finished- closing the curtain with flourish.
"D'you still have it, then? The memory stick?" John asked.
Joe nodded.
"Fetch it for me– if you wouldn't mind." Sherlock instructed.
Joe stood up, sighing like the weight of a dead man sat on his shoulders. He walked off.
Danielle smiled at Sherlock. "Go on then- be impressed by us. We solved it!"
Sherlock made no show of it.
"Give is a smile. Come on!" Danielle smiled wider, giggling in delight. She can't believe it. She and John solved it and got it right!
"You solved it partially." Sherlock reminded her.
"Which is a lot more than you or him expected of us." Danielle pointed out.
At that, Sherlock did give a smile. "Distraction over, the game continues." Sherlock reminded them.
Danielle frowned. Just took all the joy out of the moment, that was.
"Well, maybe that's over, too. We've heard nothing from the bomber." John replied.
"Five pips, remember, John? It's a countdown. We've only had four." Sherlock stated.
Danielle shivered, holding tighter to her gray jumper.
==NKMHLY==
She lied down on their couch, watching with a disbelieving smile on her face. John kept glancing over his shoulder to grin in between typed sentences. No doubt writing up these cases on his blog. Danielle might even read them this time.
For now? She watched Sherlock.
As the crowd started cheering, Sherlock scoffed. "No, no, no! Of course he's not the boy's father! Look at the turn-ups on his jeans!" He shook his head, offended but still not looking away.
John and Danielle giggled. "Knew it was dangerous." John commented.
Sherlock hummed, not looking away from the screen.
"Getting you into crap telly." John added.
"Hmm. Not a patch on Connie Prince." Sherlock replied.
"Did Mycroft get the memory stick?" Danielle asked, sitting up.
"Yep. He was over the moon. Threatened me with a knighthood." Sherlock explained dryly. "Again."
"You should take it- rub it in Mycroft's face that you got knighted and he hasn't." Danielle suggested.
Sherlock considered it.
"You know, I'm still waiting." John told him. Sherlock hummed. "For you to admit that a little knowledge of the solar system and you'd have cleared up the fake painting a lot quicker."
"Didn't do you lot any good, did it?" Sherlock countered.
"No, but I'm not the world's only consulting detective." John teased.
Danielle giggled. Sherlock smiled again. "True."
John closed the laptop. "I won't be in for tea. I'm going to Sarah's. There's still some of that risotto left in the fridge." He stood up, getting ready to leave.
Danielle stood up. "I should get going for the night. Erika and Nightwing must be starving."
Sherlock hummed, eyes glued to the screen.
"Uh, milk. We need milk." John told himself.
"I'll get some."
John paused. Danielle did too.
"You'll...pick up milk?" Danielle asked.
"Really?!" John asked him.
Sherlock nodded, vaguely. "Really."
John exchanged a look of confusion with Danielle. "And some beans, then?"
Sherlock hummed an affirmative.
Danielle had to admit, she was surprised. Still she liked it. She also liked the look on his face- that look of intense unshakable focus. The kind of face that was just so adorable you wanted to kiss.
As Danielle went back to her flat, she denied any want to kiss Sherlock Holmes. It was just a one-off thing, yeah? Well really a lot of one-off things...Danielle could ignore it. Sherlock himself said he was married to his work, he would never even consider her.
So it's best to just forget it.
==NKMHLY==
Danielle unlocked her door, walking into the flat. "Erika? Nightwing?" She called out. She dropped her keyring and purse on the coffee table. Calling out to her pets again, this time clicking her tongue.
Her cat appeared on the couch. Danielle sat down, brushing on the cat's back. Nightwing purred, leaning into the affection.
"You lovely thing you." Danielle praised. "Where's your sister, hmm? It's time for her walk and she's not-"
Something caught her eye.
Her Spock toy was on the ground.
Danielle froze. She wanted to sit up, startled. She kept herself on the couch, petting Nightwing. Panic buzzed through her, making her want to run and hide and scream for Sherlock and John. She didn't want to alert anyone to her concern.
Someone broke into the flat...did anyone have a key? No. Danielle made sure only herself and Mrs Hudson had keys to her flat. Felix got one too when he moved to Uni...Then again, if they could get into 221c, why not Danielle's place too?
Sherlock was right. Her security was a joke.
"...she's not out yet." Danielle tried to keep her voice level. She lifted the cat into her lap, holding tighter to Nightwing. "Where is she then?"
Did someone hurt her dog?
Oh people were gonna die if someone hurt her dog.
Danielle glanced out of the corner of her eye. Whoever was here, they would've left something behind. Another bomb?
Oh god is it the bomber?
"That's a good girl, Erika." He praised the dog. The words sent chills down Danielle's whole body. She found it hard to breathe, to get herself to inhale. Breathing would help calm her racing heart. "Is Mummy back? Let's go see."
Nightwing leapt out from Danielle's slackened arms. Danielle could only watch him go, too scared to reach out.
Her dog came around the corner, a leash around her neck. Jim followed behind with the leash in his hand. He wasn't dressed in his normal casual clothes. No, he wore a pressed suit that looked too expensive to be in her flat.
"Ah, you're back!" Jim cheered. He kneeled down, hugging Erika's side. Danielle wanted to cry out and scream. "That's good. This would be a lot harder if you were still out."
Danielle swallowed. "Harder?"
Jim Moriarty made a face. He held tighter to Erika- the dog whined at it. Danielle gripped tighter to her couch. "You're right, that's not exactly the right word here." Moriarty turned down to Erika, scratching her head again. "What would you say, Erika? What is it?"
The dog tilted her head into Moriarty's hand. Danielle's heart raced. She started panting, keeping her eyes locked on Erika.
"Oh you're a smart doggie, you are!" Moriarty ruffled the dog's head. The dog licked his hand. Moriarty smiled at Danielle. Not his usual polite smile. No...this smile was like a shark's. "It's less fun. Would you like to have fun, Danielle? It'll be a blast. You, me, and Sherlock! We'll play together."
Danielle did not like this idea of fun. "Why are you still in my flat?" Danielle asked. "I asked you to feed them hours ago. You didn't need to stay."
"You know, I was going to take the other one." Moriarty replied. "But then, he's just so borish. Not a lot of fun there, is it? It would be so much better if I took you instead."
Danielle couldn't help it. She squeaked, leaning back on her couch. Oh god. Oh god no please no- "I gave you a key."
Moriarty tilted his head, confused. He looked over by the window to spot Spock on the floor. "Well I'll admit, I did enjoy you letting me in your flats. But what I like a lot more is that look on your face."
Danielle shook her head. "Why?"
"Don't worry- I'll tell you all that in the car." Moriarty promised.
"Car?" Danielle repeated.
"Silly stupid Danielle. How else will we get to the pool?" Moriarty asked.
==NKMHLY==
Danielle remembered the last time she drove in a black van like this. This time she knew where she was going and it did very little to comfort her.
Instead of Frankie or Anthea or whatever name she used today, Danielle's driving buddy was Moriarty. Moriarty didn't tell bad puns or jokes to pass the time. He just talked.
"Did you ever remember it?" Moriarty asked. "Even a bit?"
Danielle just stared at him, silently crying.
"Come on. I kept sending them to you- over and over." Moriarty leaned forward, closer to Danielle's face. "Did you not remember them?"
Danielle shook her head. "Stop it. Stop it."
"Did you remember little Carl?" Moriarty asked.
"You killed him." Danielle replied, eyes welling up with more tears. "He was a kid."
"He was a bully." Moriarty replied. "Nobody even missed him. You know, it's rude that you never held up your end of the bargain."
"Bargain?" Danielle repeated, incredulous.
Moriarty smiled. "You're twenty years late. Time to collect, Danielle."
Danielle could only stare at him. "Twenty ye- I met you three weeks ago!"
Moriarty laughed. "See, that's the problem with being around everyone. You're all so slow." He jumped forward, practically kneeling on Danielle's feet. He looked over her, dark eyes glaring into her light. Her heart jumped out from her chest. "Think, you idiot, think!"
"I don't-" Danielle shook her head. Think? How can she think right now, heart pounding and blood pumping fast, her head spinning with the craziness of it all. "I don't know you."
"Yes you do!" Moriarty snapped.
"No I-" Danielle paused in her pleading.
She could recall something. A small meemley, tucked away in her head. Faded but there. Burrowed deep between images of her mother's fearful look and of other children's games.
After Catherine Aldernay's trick, after boys kicked dirt in her face, somebody took her to the science lab. The water fountain there helped her get the dirt out. Only older students could get inside...or a really intelligent boy with no regard for rules.
"I hate them! Oh I hate them so much!" Her own voice whimpered, crying and holding a towel on her face.
"How much?" A voice asked her.
"So much!" Danielle repeated. "I just want them gone!"
"I can do that." The voice replied. "Send them so very far away."
"R-really? You promise?"
"Cross...my...heart.
She lifted her head from the towel. A face stared back- Danielle couldn't remember the specifics. The water in her eyes made it blurry. But she could see dark eyes looking back, and a sharp smile like a shark's.
"You'll just owe me one little favor. Can you do it?"
Poor little Danielle- poor little stupid Danielle who never learned anything- smiled at the older boy. "Yes! What is it?"
Back here in the present, Danielle sat in the back of the car. Her back pressed as far into the seat as she could go, face wet from tears. Moriarty loomed over her now too. That gaze unchanging even after twenty years. "No."
Moriarty grinned. "There it is! Remember me now?"
"I was seven!" Danielle hissed, desperately pleading again because oh god oh god she ordered a hit when she was seven what the hell was wrong with her- "I didn't mean-"
"Oh I knew what you meant." Moriarty replied. "You wanted them dead. Just like I did. We're exactly the same inside. Your mum, she was a bad girl!" Moriarty taunted. Danielle tensed at the mention of her mother. "She took you away but I found you again. It's like she didn't even try."
Danielle could only stay seated, unable to speak. Moriarty sat so close to her. She could feel him breathing against her face.
"So it's not your fault you didn't hold up the bargain." Moriarty replied. His hand came up, grabbing Danielle's arm. She stiffened as his grip squeezed. "You can do that now. Right after we have a little talk with Sherlock."
Danielle shook her head. "I'm not like you!"
"SHUT UP!"
Moriarty grabbed at Danielle's throat. The woman choked beneath him. She could feel her body trembling in terror.
"Shut up. See? Shut up." Moriarty snarled. Danielle froze- barely able to breathe.
Would he kill her? Or did he need someone else to dress in a bomb?
I am not gonna risk it
"Don't you get it? We finally did it!" Moriarty hissed. "Everyone running scared, everyone panicking because who's next? Whose gonna blow? It's all a mess- even the IceMan is scrambling." He grinned still. "Now we get Sherlock. He's so interesting, isn't he? Better than the rest of them. Don't think I don't know. You've been looking."
Danielle's hands balled.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill him. Not today." Moriarty promised. He moved his hand off her throat. He took her wrists in his hands, squeezing them tight. "Maybe. Things can change in the moment."
Should she kick him and run? How far would she even get?
Not far. Moriarty is the type to move fast.
Danielle would be lucky to get out the door.
She shook her head. Moriarty hushed her.
"Oh hush up." Moriarty wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Tears will ruin your performance. "Whether you like it or not." Moriarty crawled a bit too close to her face for Danielle's liking. "Us Moriarty's always put on a killer show." He giggled at his own joke.
Danielle could only stare.
What...?
==NKMHLY==
AN: Did this episode really call jumpers selfish bastards and repeatedly call Sherlock a selfish bastard just so when season 2 happens they can hurt us-
I hate and love this fandom. Sarah Z did a video about Sherlockians about three months ago, and I am disturbed by how much of it applied to me. Like...damn...I started writing Danielle when Season 4 came out- I remember writing early drafts with a friend, going over her life and eventual shipping with Sherlock, looking up stuff in tumblr for us to talk about after the episode aired...wow.
Good times...but this part of the story is just about done. One more chapter, and you loyal as fuck folks get a new story. Hopefully one with a bit less slow-burn...or more I like being mean.
(And I swear I came up with this plot before we found out about Eurus)
Thanks to lisarussell687, CrazyCatTimelord, leenap1105, Butter20, FangirlingAngela, leopards200, and Stella-Nyx for favoriting
Thanks to lisarussell687, MOMO2000, Ellsv, Lilomaus223, Stella-Nyx, jessica02, bettikus, leenap1105, and CrazyCatTimelord for following