Chapter 24: In Heavenly Peace~

Christmas eve came and went, and Christmas morning was uneventful too, with everyone showering, and then coming to Baker Street, attempting to open the gifts, (Sherlock couldn't put on his new gloves, over the gaudy bandages John had affixed to his wrists) and eat the biscuits Mrs. Hudson( whom Nigel was insisting upon calling Violet, the two of them getting rather cozy with each other) had made them.

Then Mrs. Hudson,and Nigel went for a walk, Mycroft took a call from the Prime Minister, Molly and Greg put some cheesy Christmas movie in the telly,and curled up on the setee ,like wide-eyed school children, laughing a little too loudly at the corny humor, of whatever they were watching.

Mary wasn't feeling very well, and ended up falling asleep on the kitchen table,and John carried her to Sherlock's bed.

"He's your brother, he won't care. And if people talk , well, then they're stupid pigs."he laughed, pulling an afghan over her, and kissing her, and she stirred and made a little whining sound, like a tiny girl would do.

He left the room chuckling, and wandered outside. Wondering where Sherlock was, if he wasn't with anybody else, but ,clearly, wasn't on a case, either? His mobile was laying on the table, and that's not something he'd leave home if he'd taken a case at random. Or at least, John HOPED so.

Rather he found him, in the small lot behind the flat, standing in the snow, with his violin; coat and scarf blowing in the wind, and the instrument was singing the last lines of "Silent Night". Sherlock was singing too, in a soft, almost inaudible voice,

"Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace..."

"I'm sure she will..."John said softly, knowing what had prompted this choice of music, even if he didn't say.

Sherlock turned slowly, smiling,"She taught me how to play..."

"I wondered how you learned..."John laughed, and drew close.

They stood in silence, the instrument hanging at Sherlock's side, like a child drags a doll by a dangling arm.

"You ok?"John asked,trying valiantly to break this extreme ice.

Sherlock let a little gasp." Don't know..."

"Well, it's understandable, you've had a lot to process..."

"How did I forget her,John?"

John had expected such a question as this would come. Thankfully, he had better answers than a doctor could give. This was his life story too...

"I don't know...PTSD has weird effects on people? There were a lot of people who's names I couldn't put with faces for a while..."

Silence again, and then John let out a huff , and said,

"You know...It's ok. It's ok to be human ,Sherlock. To have a past. To not be ok...To have forgotten...It's ok, and you know why?"

Sherlock's brows curled, because ,honestly, he didn't.

"Because I'm here now, to help. Because we're a family again, all of us. Because you don't have to live there... anymore. In the shadow of Moriarty...In the heat of your flames...Or even with the memory of your needles...You may have forgotten, but you remember now. You may have regrets, but it's over now...Christmas- "people" call it the season of hope. And it's the season to remember that you can hope, but...I think it's a season of grace too..."

"Grace?"

"Yeah..."

Sherlock shifted, uncomfortably...

"What is grace, John?"

John swallowed, licked his lips, not really knowing how to put it into words... all that had happened, how bright their future could be...If only Sherlock could see that. Then he laughed.

"It's what you are to me..."

Sherlock was even more confused now, and John laughed merrily, and came and wrapped his arms around him.

"Oh, when are you ever gonna get it, genius?..."

"Perhaps, I never will?"

"Well, that's fine too...It's all fine...Or ,or it will be."

John looked up again. So much had changed. So much pain had leaped up like fire, and then left them in the ashes...

But that mysterious thing about love, is that in the end, it will still be there...and no fire could take it away...

"Can we go inside now?It's freezing out here..."

Sherlock laughed, and followed John back into the flat. Into their home...

He drew a deep breath, as he closed the door, and laughed at John for saying something about the mess everybody had left for him to clean up.

Yes, it would all be fine. They were all together again ,and it was over now.

That's when he went in his room ,to lay down his coat,and scarf,and put the instrument away, and found Mary asleep on the bed.

Well, it was Mary...but...it was also...

"My sister,Sherrinford..."

~The End