Author's note- I'm so sorry for being so late updating, I do my best not to let it go this long usually. If you're looking for excuses, it's because I had to move house and I've been so busy at college recently. I'll do my best to update as often as possible.

Disclaimer- Nothing is mine.

Chapter 45

Sometime later, Lucy and John found themselves in one of the labs at St Bart's hospital. To the teenager, it was blatantly obvious that there was something troubling the consulting detective, he seemed to be in a world of his own almost- and when John tapped on the counter, she didn't miss Sherlock's eyes widen and repeat the gesture. She narrowed her eyes at him, but Sherlock didn't catch her gaze, instead, he retreated into his mind as he got out his phone, turning away from his flatmates. Eventually, Lucy and John had fallen asleep, sitting on the floor of the lab- it was after all, the middle of the night. A strange kind of heaviness covered the air the following morning. The bright yellow rays of sunlight streamed through the windows, casting light on the room, signalling that it was early in the morning. It all felt odd to Lucy, as though there was something seriously bad going on; Sherlock was more withdrawn than usual, and she guessed that he hadn't slept at all. His behaviour was normal for him, but he seemed distant, and he had barely spoken to Lucy since they had arrived. Of course, this was completely unusual- but considering the situation, for him to ignore her completely, it was more than odd.

They'd all skipped breakfast, feeling too tired and a little bit sick from the previous night's events to eat. John had gone off for a walk, having needed to stretch his legs, leaving Lucy and Sherlock alone.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Lucy said shrewdly. Sherlock turned sharply to look at her, leaning back on his seat.

"There is nothing to say," he mumbled.

"There really is," Lucy said, "I know something is up. You're keeping things from me and John and I'm scared Sherlock! I'm bloody scared because I know what Moriarty is like and I don't want you to… get hurt." She could see Sherlock's eyes soften for the first time since they arrived.

"Don't you worry about me. Just keep yourself safe." He told her gently. But then he looked away, ending the conversation, and she knew there was no point continuing it.

It was at that moment that John came bursting in, eyes wide looking extremely worried. Mrs Hudson had been shot. He was panicked. And Lucy immediately sprang up, ready to go with John back to Baker Street to their lovely landlady.

"You… you machine!" John yelled at Sherlock, and Lucy looked taken aback at John's uncharacteristically pissed off tone. But when it came to those he cared about, John Watson would do anything to help them, and he couldn't understand, for the life of him, why Sherlock refused to go with them. The ex-army doctor stormed off, leaving Sherlock sat there. Lucy hesitated, looking at Sherlock for a moment, at his completely blank face.

"See, now I know for sure something is up," The teenager said to Sherlock, "You care about Mrs Hudson. You have something planned and I swear Sherlock, you better be bloody careful!" She looked at him, and he looked back for a long moment, before the young girl turned and ran off after John.

"I always underestimated her." Sherlock murmured to himself as he watched her disappear, regret shining in his green eyes.

"John!" Lucy yelled as she caught up to him.

"I can't believe that man," he muttered as they exited the building.

"I think something's up with Sherlock."

"Yeah, he is a bloody idiot."

"No, like, there must be a reason he isn't coming."

"He just doesn't care," John hailed a cab.

"You know that isn't true."

"I know," John sighed, as he told the cab driver where to go. They sat in silence, both worried about their landlady. They had only been driving for five minutes and yet, there was an odd weight to the situation. Lucy knew there was more to this than what they were being told. And she knew that Sherlock would be in trouble on his own. And she had to make a decision, fast.

"John," She started, "You're not going to like this, but I'm going to do it anyway." He turned to look at her with a frown. Lucy looked at him before saying to the cabbie: "Can you stop here please?"

"What are you doing?" John asked incredulously as the driver pulled over.

"I have to go back," She told him, "Mrs Hudson will be okay with you there, but I just know there's something wrong with this whole situation." There was a pause in which she gave him a smile before getting out of the cab, leaving John speechless.

Along the streets of London the teenager ran, gasping for breath. She couldn't squash the feeling of dread that kept building up, so she had to keep running. Eventually, her running slowed to a jog, as she was unable to keep the pace. It had taken her longer than she would have liked to get back to St Bart's hospital and she immediately went up to the laboratory where she last saw Sherlock. And yet, he wasn't there. From in her pocket, her phone started to ring.

"Hello?" She picked it up, without looking at the caller.

"What are you doing?" The silky voice of Mycroft responded.

"What are you talking about?"

"You need to go back and look after Mrs Hudson."

"Sherlock is in danger Mycroft! Don't you care?"

"My brother has made his own decisions." He replied.

"You're not stopping me." She growled before hanging up. Heart pounding, she raced up to the top of the building, bursting out onto the rooftop. Lucy stopped dead in her tracks.

"Well well well, looks like she wanted to witness the grand finale," Moriarty greeted her with a smirk. Lucy looked from him, to where Sherlock stood on the edge, realisation hitting her, knocking her roughly.

"What's happening? I knew something was going on." Her eyes were wide as she moved forward.

"Why aren't you with Mrs Hudson?" Sherlock asked sadly.

"Because I knew you were in trouble."

"Oh she is a smart one," Moriarty grinned, clapping his hands together in glee.

"I knew you were real," Lucy snarled at him.

"But you did doubt him for a while didn't you." Jim said knowingly. Sherlock turned to face them.

"Lucy, you need to go, now. I don't want you here." The consulting detective said firmly.

"Aww isn't that sweet?" Jim mocked, "He's so caring now. Come on Sherlock Holmes, let her witness the fall of the great detective!"

"You can't jump Sherlock!" Lucy yelled at him, "You can't commit suicide because some insane man has played a dangerous game."

"If I don't die Lucy, I'll have to live life as a fraud. And I'm not letting you and John get hurt because of it." He shouted back, and Lucy could have sworn she saw a tear in his eye.

"Oh please, you're boring me now, just do it already." James Moriarty rolled his eyes. Lucy stepped forward. "You can't save him." The criminal mastermind told her.

"I can't let him die!" She pushed Moriarty in a moment of anger. "He saved me so many times! I can't lose him. Why can't I help him for once?"

"Because there is nothing you or anyone else can do." Sherlock said, "I don't want you here anymore Lucy. Just go. Go now, and don't look back." Moriarty had been quietly looking at the exchange between them.

"Look Sherlock, it's very sweet that she wants to help. But I might have to give you more incentive to do it unless you shut her up!" His voice became a deadly shout. And in that split second, Sherlock had to make a decision, and Lucy could see the regret and sadness in his eyes as he came down from the ledge to move towards the teenager. She felt her heart racing, the adrenaline pumping through her veins, yet she was weak, and she knew she was weak.

"Please Sherlock…" Her eyes were brimming with tears. "I can't lose you. I don't care even if you are a fraud."

"I'm sorry Lucy. I have to look after you. I made a promise to make sure you were safe. And I have to stick to that." He looked into her eyes, a silent apology written on his face. Sherlock had to stop her, and he hated himself for what he was about to do. With a quick and swift movement, before the teenager had a chance to register what was happening, he had stepped closer to her, gripped a pressure point on her wrist, another pressure point on her arm before hitting a spot just behind her ear. Immediately, everything went black and the teenager slumped to the floor, completely unconscious. Sherlock lowered her down, not wanting to hurt her further. The consulting detective stroked back a part of her hair that had gone into her eyes before giving her one last, long look.

"I'm sorry." His voice was little more than a quiet murmur. No-one heard it. But Sherlock had to save her. He couldn't let Moriarty hurt her again. Straightening up, he faced his nemesis, prepared to do anything.

Author's note- this was an extremely hard chapter to write. But hopefully I'll be uploading more soon! The method used to knock Lucy out is a real method and I did research into it.

Please leave a review.

I understand this isn't the best chapter, but it's the only way I could think of doing it without changing the episode itself!