Lizzy was currently engaged in an act that most normal human beings engage in. Namely, sleeping.

What managed to wake her was a rather loud bang.

Needless to say, she was rather irritated.

Of course, her first thought was- OH MY GOD IT'S A MURDERER.

And then she attempted to think a little more logically whilst groping for the machete she had hid under her bed. Was it a car backfiring? Maybe… Was it actually a murderer? Maybe…

Was it Sherlock?

Probably.

Perhaps you are wondering why she has a machete? Well, Lizzy had a fondness for antiques and when she saw the small shop squished in between two large apartment buildings as she wandered around London, she wasn't able to resist wandering in. She saw the machete leaning against a rickety shelf in the back and thought it would be a good thing to have in case somebody decided to sneak into her house in the middle of the night (not that she thought that would actually happen…but then again… ).

As she struggled to unsheathe the machete, she attempted to equally concentrate on waking up, not cutting her arm off, and puzzling over what the loud, irritating noise was, but she managed to get it halfway out of the sheathe while stumbling towards the door of her bedroom. Flinging the door open, she stared around her dark living room suspiciously.

She wasn't positive whether the noise had come from her apartment, or Sherlock's, or some other part of the building, but knew that she should probably find out. It's not like she could just hide under her covers and pretend whatever made the noise wasn't there, that would be cowardly! God forbid she ever be accused of cowardice… Creeping further into the living room, machete in hand and thoughts of headless bodies in mind, Lizzy peered around every corner while switching on every single light in the flat. She looked in the pantry and the coat closet for good measure.

After ascertaining that there were no creepy people or consulting detectives in her flat, Lizzy inched open the front door and cautiously peered out. Seeing nothing on the stairs, she began walking up them as quietly as she possibly could, yet, despite her extreme caution, she still somehow managed to step on one of the only squeaky stairs in the building. She froze and listened. Nothing.

Creeping forward again, she raised the machete into a somewhat defensive position and peered around the corner, only to be yanked around it forcibly by the collar of her Star Wars pajamas. She was too surprised to scream, but she did squeak a little and feebly attempt to stab her assailant with the machete. Of course, this didn't work out, and whoever it was did a very painful thing to her wrist, causing her to drop the sharp implement.

"Miss Naevee. I suggest you actually make an attempt to defend yourself next time."

"Wh- Sherlock!" Lizzy had the strong urge to pick up the machete and either impale Sherlock or herself with it. "I thought there was a murderer in here or something!" she whisper-yelled.

She had been expecting something along the lines of a scoff and a condescending look, but instead she heard; "There was, but he appears to be gone now."

Lizzy's mouth dropped open. "Wait… wh- Huh?"

Sherlock rolled his eyes. "I said, there was a murderer here, but he's gone now. Come with me."

Lizzy lamely allowed him to drag her up to his flat. She snapped out of her stupor when she saw the disaster that was his home.

"W-what happened here? Did he try to kill you?" Lizzy asked, eyes wide as she viewed the books strewed about and the papers fluttering about the floor.

"What? No!" Sherlock scoffed, "He wasn't even in here. I think he may have been attempting to infiltrate your flat, but he bumped into the side table in the hall. Idiot."

Lizzy marveled at the mess made by just two men. Actually, after a moment of contemplation, she realized that it was probably solely Sherlock responsible for the mess…

"Poor John…"

"What was that?" Sherlock turned to her.

"Erm- nothing…" Lizzy laughed nervously, deciding to change the subject. "So.. why am I in here?"

"John's gone to whatshername's for the weekend."

"Uh… ok, that doesn't answer my question… I mean, I'm kinda tired, and if the murderer's gone, then it should be okay to sleep? Right?" Lizzy muttered.

"Firstly, I need you here so that someone is listening. Mrs. Hudson stole my skull again. Seco-"

"Your what?"

Sherlock waved his hand dismissively. "I'll introduce you later. Stop interrupting. Secondly, the murderer came back, and the fact that it took the entire side table to falling over to wake you up, he'd probably successfully kill you."

"You mean he made more noise than just knocking over the table?"

"Side table. And yes. He practically threw the door open."

Lizzy rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. You could probably hear a mouse breath from a mile away if you tried hard enough, Sherlock." She trudged over to the couch in the middle of the room and started dumping papers onto the floor. She noticed a violin balanced on top of a leather chair to her right and resisted the urge to pet it.

Sherlock stared at her like she had two heads. "No I couldn't… that's impossible. The human's range of hearing only exte-"

"Why do you need someone to listen to you?" Lizzy yawned, plopping onto the couch she had cleared and lying down.

"Ah, yes!" Sherlock brightened considerably. "As I told you previously, I solve any cases that the police are to incompetent to figure out on their own…"

Lizzy hummed, feeling her eyelids drooping.

"Over the past two days, bodies have been turning up with missing heads… as you saw yesterday. The slightly unusual part is the cause of death… the decapitations. Usually killers stab or shoot their victims first, and the beheading is a post-mortem event. However, this one kidnaps his victims first. He knocks them out with chloroform and ties them up… He waits for them to wake up before he kills them." Sherlock paused for a moment.

"How do you know they are knocked out?" Lizzy slurred, her half-asleep brain barely forming the question.

"I can smell the chloroform on their collars," Sherlock sneered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, how do you know he waits till they wake up to kill them?" Lizzy mumbled sourly.

"The rope burns on their wrists… that couldn't have happened while they were unconscious, so they must have been awake to do it."

"Obviously," Lizzy muttered sarcastically. Sherlock said something else that Lizzy didn't quite catch, since she said a not-very-nice phrase in her head and went to sleep.

She'd deal with consulting detectives and stray executioners tomorrow…

A/N: Hello hello!

Here is a new chapter for you, I hope it's picking up a bit more?

To anyone who reads my other stories- I'm not dead, sorry for the leave of absence, I've been lazy! Horse show season has started, and I have chronic daily headaches.. so yeah.

Thank you to-

Guest at 221B- Why thank you! I'm glad you think Lizzy is realistic… I try to make all my OC's that way ^.^ Thank you for reviewing, and I hope you liked any of my other stories you read :D

lolitazilla- LOL yessss… She loves talking to her inanimate objects… Aren't they such good listeners ;3 I hope you liked this chapter.. *eyes potholder warily* Thanks! :3

Littlebirdd- They're so cute ^.^

Nimrodel626- Ohhhh I saw the Imitation Game now… It's actually pretty good, despite a few things… That and I like computers so it's my kinda movie… :3 Oh yes I see stuff like that on Pinterest all the time… Heheheh.. poor Sherlockians… Eh? Uhhhh Ok I have no idea why I said 'You did well' In Sindarin… O_o Ok I must not have been paying attention to my brain… *sigh* I meaaaant- Le fael! (thank you) *wacks self in head*

Guests 1&2- Thanks guys!

bored411- Probably XD Thanks for reviewing!

artemisdarkmoon- Oh why thank you so much :3 I'm glad you are liking it so far, I try to make Lizzy and the story as original as possible… Thanks again!

and all of my followers and favoriters, you guys rock!

Until next time-

Rousdower out_