Been a long while since I've updated but here you go :)

Beth, hope you enjoy this, took me a while to write the ending!

The Intruder

Monday came slowly. For Beth, the weekend was filled with nothing but thoughts of the close proximity with Moriarty during the ball. Each time the memory of his face so close to hers and the smell of his sweet peppermint like breath that hugged around her nose, she closed her eyes wondering what the hell it was that made her feel so flustered. He was a criminal and an enemy of Sherlock's. She was meant to despise him. Yet there she was. Wanting to writhe under the memories. But she knew she couldn't. She was at work.

She sat up to her desk, her fingers resting on the keyboard of her laptop, but they did not type. Not because she didn't want to, more because she didn't know what to type. Her mind was blank and her face was pale with fatigue. She didn't understand why such an act affected her in such a way. A sigh of frustration escaped her lips as she pushed herself away from the desk and made her way to the office kitchen.

The warming smell of coffee filled her nose as she made her way back to her desk, a cup of coffee in her hand. Once she took a step into the office where her desk lived, she paused, noticing that a tall figure that was familiar to her blue eyes stood by her desk. He turned, his curly locks bouncing slightly to the sudden movement. His face was emotionless as he looked over her. She wore plain black trousers, black pumps and a long sleeved button up shirt. Sherlock deduced that she had slept rough due to the way her clothes were roughly slung on her body, there were no elegance in the way they fitted on her. Her hair was a little messy and the bags under her eyes was an obvious give away.

"Beth," He said simply. She knew it was his way of saying good morning or hello. So she gave him a slight nod before taking a sip of her coffee and placing it on her desk.

"Is everything okay?" She asked as she sat back down at her chair and looked up into his sky blue eyes. He put his hands in his pockets and without blinking, returned the gaze.

"Can we talk in private?" He asked, and with a nod, she led him to the roof of New Scotland Yard. She liked to go up there and look over London. No one ever went up there and so she could think over things in the peacefulness of her own company. As she walked over to the edge, she sat on the ledge and looked back at Sherlock, waiting for him to say what he wanted to say.

"We may need further assistance with Moriarty," He stood in front of her, his hands remained in his pockets and his face almost blank, no expression shown to give away any emotion or thought. In reality, his mind was racing over the possible outcomes for his childhood friend, if she was to continue the path he is leading her down. In a way, he felt the need to keep her out of it all, but if he did that, then they would get nowhere. Or at least it would make things a little harder. Beth was his doorway to get to Moriarty.

"I'll do whatever I can to help," She replied simply as she looked over the scene before her. Tall buildings of London lined the horizon as the sun shone high above the spots of grey cloud. The sun was warm against her skin, but it did not stop the chilly breeze that brushed over her. She could feel Sherlock's eyes fixed on her as he continued to speak.

"I'll text you when I need your help," With that said, he turned on his heels and began to walk towards the door that lead inside. But Beth quickly spoke out before he could go from her sight.

"Sherlock, I'm sorry for leaving..." Silence bestowed them both, only the sound of sirens and city life filling the air that came between them. When Sherlock did not speak, Beth continued.

"I must have caused you a lot of confusion and pain. If I could turn back time I wou-"

"It is impossible to turn back time, so don't waste your breath. I coped perfectly well without you around, so please stop with the apologies, they are unnecessary." His words hit her hard and she recoiled back slightly. However, she knew all too well when Sherlock was covering up his pain that he felt, and so she relaxed, her face falling lax into that of sorrow.

"What did you do Sherlock?"

"Nothing,"

"Sherlock, please... Or do I have to go to Mycroft and ask him instead," She threatened and she watched as Sherlock's muscles tensed at the sound of his older brother's name.

"Well?"

"Cocaine," Sherlock replied bluntly, his head turned to look over his shoulder at her, his expression almost angry at the fact that she forced him to tell her. Beth's jaw dropped slightly and she began to stutter.

"c-cocaine? Sherlo-Why?"

"I was a teenager, don't most naïve teenagers do silly things when they are alone?" He said, his voice slightly mocking, then quickly he left through the door of the roof and disappeared, leaving Beth standing there, shocked by the ordeal.

The rest of the day was nothing short of lack of work and people asking her if she was okay. No she was not okay, but she replied to her work colleagues with a small smile and a nod of her head. They could see through her lies, but didn't want to dwell on it.

Finally the clock on the office wall struck 5 o'clock. Beth got her things together: her macbook was in her bag along with her other things she brought with her on a daily basis. She was quite desperate to escape the captivation and isolation she felt whilst at work with the unruly thoughts that flooded her mind. Home is where she craved to be, within the comforts of her own bed, away from the jobs that had overcame her at work. She wanted to be alone to think over everything that she had discovered.

So when she finally cracked open the door to her flat, she walked in desperate to get rid of the bags that were weighing her down. She let them fall from her hands to the wooden floor beneath her feet. A sigh of utter relief escaped her lips as she smelled the familiar scents of her home.

However, a strange but familiar aura tingled within her as though she wasn't alone. Hesitantly, she began to make her way down the hallway towards the bedroom door that was slightly ajar. The light of the bedroom poured into the hallway, revealing a shadow of a figure. Her heart went to her mouth as she quietly crept slower and slower until she finally pushed the door open. The figure turned his head to look at her. His presence now known, Beth's eyes widened in shock.

"M-Moriarty. What are you doing here?" She said with a wavering voice.

"Ah Beth," He began and looked down at the photograph that he was holding between his fingers.

"You failed to tell me just how...close... you are to Sherlock," He chuckled slightly as he looked at the image of Sherlock looking contently at Beth who was smiling into the camera, they were both holding hands.

"You are certainly full of surprises," He let the photograph drop back onto the bed before he began rummaging through the opened drawers of photographs.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned again, this time her voice slightly angered by his intrusion and ignorance to her privacy.

"You know Miss Mcneill, I'd very much like to know what your relationship with Sherlock is," He evaded her question and smiled as he looked at the many photographs of her and Sherlock that she kept in her drawer.

"He's a friend," She simply stated but Moriarty chuckled to her answer.

"Now, now. No need to tell a lie," Moriarty smirked. Beth's mouth opened slightly but she fought the urge to argue back.

"Please leave," She said firmly, but with that said, Moriarty looked over to her, his smirk now gone from his face. He dropped the photograph back down into the drawer and began to walk closer and closer to Beth. She backed up to get away from his increasing closeness but eventually her back pressed against her bedroom wall.

Eventually, he was so close that she could feel his hot breath on her face, making her fluster. His eyes wandered over to her lips as one of his hands trailed up the side of her body and the other rested on the wall beside her head. Her heart began to beat fast and her breath hitched slightly to his touch.

Within a second, he crushed his lips against hers and started a steady rhythm of the heated kiss. He forced her mouth open and his tongue met hers which made her welcomed to the sweetness of his breath upon her own tongue. She returned the kiss as she was slowly losing herself to him. But after a few seconds, her eyes shut tight knowing that it was wrong what they were doing, and so with her hands on his chest, she pushed him away from her.

A smirk and a chuckle was all she received from him before he walked out of the flat, leaving Beth alone in the bedroom. Her head fell back against the wall and her fingers lightly traced the tingling on her lips.