"Doctor how exactly do you know all these exact dates and locations of Sherlock's life?" John's mind suddenly sparked.
"I'm the Doctor John, not A doctor like you, THE Doctor, I did my homework," was the alien's reply, sorting out their next location.
"2005 John, the home stretch," the Doctor was excited. It was London. John could tell that from the dark scenery and tall buildings around him. The TARDIS was merely parked up on a street corner, unsuspecting to the rest of the world, John was wondering if he had seen it before. The blue box was so ordinary, yet so iconic. On the dark streets blue sirens went past. The two followed these sirens; until they came to a scene John was all too familiar with, the scene of a crime.
From the looks of the scene things were being wrapped up, the police were escorting a man into the back of one of their vans, and more were standing around a chalk outline with a body encased within it. The Doctor and John stood a far; just John noticed something about the body. It was a large body, it seemed as if patches of skin had been torn away from it, ripped out, and from these rips what appeared to be green leathery skin was showing.
"Oh we are here…" the Doctor even seemed scared by this. Away from the body stood two men. One John could tell straight away, his Sherlock, it was more and more becoming John's Sherlock, the only main difference was shorter hair and a shorter coat, plus a cigarette hanging from his mouth. The other seemed familiar, a new policeman, a young one.
"Lestrade." John chuckled at the policeman's young face. Lestrade looked unhappy at Sherlock.
"This must be their first encounter." John wondered to the Doctor.
"It must be, for this John, is the first time Sherlock took the name of the consultant detective."
"His first case." John smiled once more. They remained hidden from Sherlock. The policeman seemed to be writing out a check and pointed it in Sherlock's direction, which he then took no time in snapping it away from his hands, and wandered away. The two followed.
Sherlock waited on another street corner. John carried on closer, like a toddler waddling to his father but the Doctor held him back.
"Not too close."
Where Sherlock waited till another man, a man with a woman.
"Who's that?" John asked.
"Exactly." The Doctor answered in his usual mysterious way.
He had short hair, a dark brown colour, with ears and a nose so big they dwarfed the rest of his face. He was wearing a black leather jacket with a jumper underneath and black trousers. The woman next to him seemed young. Blonde hair in jeans and a jacket. They were talking with Sherlock, the two men shook hands, and the leather jacketed man with his… companion… headed off. Only for to twist around and grab the cigarette from Sherlock's mouth, and stamp it on the floor. Once again to disappear into the dark alley ways of London, Sherlock too took his leave.
"Doctor who was that man and woman with Sherlock?" They were both in the TARDIS now.
"They're not important, the Doctor had a hint of lying in his voice, John could tell. Yet he decided not to bring it up, he was the Doctor's guest after all.
"Anyway…" Doctor changed the conversation. "One final stop. John, you're a medical man, things start and things end, you may not like what is outside those doors, we can leave if you want too."
"What's out there Doctor?" John had worry in his voice,
"You've seen the start, now you can see…" but before the Doctor could finish John was running out the doors.
The immediate sunlight hazed John's vision for a moment, blinding him to where he was, soon though his vision became clear. A roof top. Not the tallest but higher then its surrounding buildings. One of the buildings near to it struck memories back within John, and the man on the ledge of the building struck even more.
"Sher…" John screamed, only to be muted by the Doctor's hand over his mouth.
"Rule one of time travel, you cannot do something like that!" the Doctor whispered into John's ear while removing his hand. John was silent. He looked to Sherlock standing on the rooftop. A bloodied body lay behind him, Moriarty, while the great detective held a phone to his face, John knew what this meant. Looking down to the street he saw himself. His tiny self, made smaller from the height and the distance, Sherlock was far away too, but he didn't seem tiny at all. His great coat blowing in the London winds. John swallowed his fear and carried on watching, with the Doctor standing by his side.
He couldn't hear his and Sherlock's conversation but he knew exactly what was happen. The entire thing had played through countless times in his mind. It was when Sherlock hung up he begun to shake, and cry.
John tried to keep it together, he knew that part of him needed to see it from another perspective, to give him closure that Sherlock was really dead, to beat the lies that he had created himself that Sherlock was still alive, yet when Sherlock's first foot stepped off the building, everything John had built up in that time crashed as he turned and ran back into the TARDIS. The Doctor watched, analysed, and then went to consult John.
"I don't like the end." his voice was weak, his eyes were red, his nose was running.
"I know you don't John, I'm so sorry."
"Even in my head, when I run through it, I skip that part, always, always!" John voice rose at his last word, but his entire being collapsed afterwards. John fell to his knees on the TARDIS floor, yet he was not there for long before the Doctor picked him up and took him in to his arms.
"Well that's that." John had got himself back together. "Where are we now then?"
"Home. 221B Baker Street. About half an hour after I crashed the cab. Mrs. Hudson has just put the kettle on." The Doctor was nothing but precise.
"How can only half an hour passed we were gone what seemed a life time."
"It was a life time, Sherlock's life time, yet time travel can do that. Save the world get the girl and be back in time for tea." The Doctor smiled, but John didn't return.
"I am sorry John, he was a great man."
"He is a great man," John emphasised. "Thank you Doctor, for all you have shown me, honestly it was… amazing, is there just nothing you can do? Please. Pick him up from the past? Let me live with him then? Take me to the future and show me what is really going to happen? Something."
The Doctor looked to John. "I suppose there is one thing,"
"What?!" John's voice was one of excitement.
"Hello John." A low trembling voice came from inside the TARDIS, and behind John.