"What's happened?" John didn't even care to greet Lestrade as he answered the call, because a call from him could only mean one thing; trouble.
"Have you heard about the break in at Downing Street yet?", Lestrade asked, sounding a bit breathless. John thought that he must have been in a great hurry.
"Yes, Mary and I are reading about it right now. In the paper, it says that there's no reason to worry"
"That's the official statement. We're only saying that to keep avoid panic. But you've already guessed it, haven't you?"
"It...it does sound an awful lot like Moriarty's doing", John said, praying that he was very wrong.
"Yeah, that's what we also thought. So you probably understand why we don't want the public to know. It took a lot of time and effort to trick everyone into thinking that Moriarty's 'did you miss me?' was just a mean prank by some bloke, so imagine what could happen if people got to know our suspicions now", Lestrade said, obviously very stressed out.
"Yes, I understand that, but why in the world would you call me on this matter? I'm not particulary good at detective work", John said irritably. There was a pause and Lestrade didn't say anything. Right when John was about to hang up, he started speaking again, a bit confused.
"But I thought you knew about the situation with Sherlock. He refuses to help us, and you're the only one who have met Moriarty as much as he has"
Suddenly John remembered what Mrs Hudson had said the day before. That Lestrade had asked Sherlock for help, but that he refused.
"Well, this is utterly ridiculous! I will go to Baker Street right now and force him to help you. He is putting people's lives in danger, for god's sake!" John sighed, angrily.
"Good luck with that", Lestrade chuckled. "Give me a call later and tell me if you've been able to change his mind". He hung up, and John finished his breakfast while muttering things like 'bloody stubborn consulting detective' and 'selfish prick'.
John arrived at Baker Street half an hour later. He knocked harshly on the door. A few seconds later, Mrs Hudson opened.
"John, are you here again? I told you to come see Sherlock often, but maybe not every day". She sounded irritated, but John could see that she was secretly smiling.
"Is Sherlock upstairs?", he frowned.
"Where else would he be, dear?"
John stomped his way up the stairs and knocked harshly on the door.
"It's probably unlocked!", Mrs Hudson shouted from downstairs.
He pressed down on the handle an the door flew open.
"Sherlock?", he called, knowing that the idiot detective could hear him perfectly fine even though his bedroom door was shut.
"SHERLOCK!", he called again, walking over to the shut door. But before he could lift his hand to knock, the door was opened.
"I thought I made myself clear yesterday", Sherlock said, looking slightly annoyed. But that was all John could deduct from his expressions.
"Well, tough. Because I will talk to you whether you like it or not", John made himself clear, and before Sherlock could close the door again, he put his foot between the door and the door frame.
"I could crush your foot if I wanted to"
"Yeah but you're not going to do that. Because you, Sherlock Holmes, you are going to listen to me for once", John said, pointing accusingly at the dark haired man. Sherlock raised one eyebrow as if to say 'I'm listening'.
"You are going to help Lestrade in the Moriarty-case"
"Nope"
"Yes you are! You used to love chasing after him! You used to love chasing after any criminal at all, as long as the case was interesting! You would shout 'it's Christmas!', do a little jump, and happily follow Lestrade to wherever the crime scene would be located!", John shouted at Sherlock, not caring that he was less than a meter away.
For a long time, Sherlock didn't say anything. He just looked at John with a blank expression on his face.
"So, what do you have to say for yourself?", John said, after being a bit bothered by Sherlock's lack of words.
"Tell Lestrade that he's on his own this time. And I ask you kindly to not come here again".
With those words, he shut the door. John could hear his footsteps and the creaking of springs as he got back to bed. John suddenly felt very defeated.
"I am actually worried about him", Mrs Hudson said as John was sitting in her kitchen, ten minutes later. She poured him some tea.
"I know that he is a grown man", she continued, "but he's always been taken care of by someone. Before, it used to be his brother, but since he moved here, I was the one who fed him, cleaned his flat, and did his laundry. And you has been of great help too".
"Yes, yes, I know. And I know that he's supposed to be clever and all that, but when it comes to housework or socializing, he's got the capacity of a two year old. He's not that well-off on his own".
"So would you please help him?", Mrs Hudson begged, sitting down on the kitchen chair, staring down in her teacup.
"I'm trying to, but I can't do anything if he shuts me out all the time", John complained.
"Anyways, I need to leave now. I have to tell Lestrade that Sherlock still is as stubborn as ever" he said and left.
John went straight to Scotland Yard. Lestrade told him to call, but he needed to discuss it to him in person.
"So you're here without the freak this time. That's unusual"
John turned around to see Sally Donovan with a smug grin on her face.
"I need to speak to Lestrade. Do you know where he is?"
"Yeah, he's right over there", she said and pointed towards the printer. Lestrade was currently trying to get the printer to work, but he failed miserably. When he felt he was being watched, he turned his head and looked at John.
"Hello John, I didn't expect you to come here. I'm actually a bit busy today"
"I can see that", John sarcastically remarked, and nodded towards the printer. Lestrade blushed in embarrassment and gave up on his fruitless attempts to get the bloody machine to work.
"Is he worse, or what is it?" Lestrade led John into his office, probably so that Donovan wouldn't eavesdrop and come up with annoying comments. He offered him to sit down, and did the same himself.
"I don't think that he's worse than he was yesterday, but his behavior is bothering me. He's never acted like that before, and his is pretty consistent in his personality".
"You mean the sarcastic comments, the insults and the witty remarks?" Lestrade wondered, frowning.
"Well, he's still a bit like that, but he's changed somehow", John said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Lestrade didn't say anything for a while, then he got up from his chair.
"I think that you need to get out in the field a bit. Still got that job of yours?", he asked.
"No, it was a bit too... dull"
"I understand, and I have the perfect offer. We've been lacking in forensics lately, and with your knowledge...?", Lestrade began, knowing that John would get the hint.
"Hmm... I don't see why not", John said, shrugging. He secretly thought that it would be kind of fun solving crimes again, although it would be more fun if Sherlock were there too.
"Great, what do you say about starting now. We have a crime site in Camden, and I'm going there right now. Wanna tag along?"
"Sure"
"Where have you been all day, sweetie? You could have given me a call", Mary said when John returned home in the evening.
"I got a job", he said and smiled. He was immediately hugged.
"That's great! I'm so happy for you! Where is it?"
"At Scotland Yard. And before you say anything, no it has nothing to do with Sherlock. I just wanted to get out a bit, not sitting in a boring office all day". Mary gave him the amused smile which meant that she didn't believe him.
"So it's not because you hope that he will come back and solve crimes with you? Why don't you just talk to him?", she caressed his arm and looked like she was pitying him.
"I've tried talking to him! And no, I honestly don't think that he will drop his weird attitude and help Lestrade just because I'm working there now", John frustratedly said.
"Maybe not. Congratulations to the job!", Mary said, changing the subject. She hugged him again, although it was a bit tricky because her big belly was in the way.
"I want to spend more time with you though. The baby could be on its way any day now", John said an smiled. He looked into Mary's eyes, the woman who loved him so much. And he loved her.
"Don't you worry about me", she stroke his hair. "Worry about your grey hairs instead", she chuckled and went back to the living room. John muttered something about that he definitely didn't have any grey hairs.
A week passed and John was doing his best to adapt to his new job. The job itself wasn't very tough, but he had to work with Donovan and she kept making irritating remarks. He had already known that she wasn't really a fan of his, but he thought that her constant sarcasm was getting ridiculous.
"So you're here again? 'Thought you couldn't work properly without that freak hovering around you."
"Donovan, stop it already!", Lestrade snapped. But John knew that it wouldn't help. Donovan could finally pick on him, without getting quick retorts from Sherlock.
John sighed and continued to examine the body lying on the ground. The only information he was able to get without an autopsy was that he had been a male in his 30's, been of good health, that the cause of death was by choking, and that he had died around noon at that same day. The peculiar thing was that he was lying in the middle of Piccadilly Circus, and further investigation showed that he had been put there after his death. And that, very shortly after he was put there, he was found by a group of teenage boys. The police had been interrogating people throughout the whole day, and they watched the security camera tapes from all the shops nearby, but no one saw who put the man there, and the security videos didn't show anything either. It was like he had appeared out of thin air.
"Have you found anything else?", Lestrade asked, quietly begging that John would have found the answer to mysterious case.
"No, sorry. Molly should take a look at him, maybe she will find something".
"All right. You're free to go home now", Lestrade gave John a tired smile and walked over to the rest of the police force.
"Mary, I'm home", John called when he came home. He waited for a few seconds, but he got no answer. He felt the panic fill him like he was showered in ice cold water, and he ran inside the kitchen, not bothering to take his jacket off.
"Mary?", he asked again, not finding her anywhere. He ran into the living room, but still no sign of her. Finally, he found her in the bedroom, fast asleep. He looked at his watch and shockingly realized that it was half past midnight. A pang of guilt hit him as he realized that she had probably waited up for as long as she could, before the fatigue took over. He looked at his phone, and true enough, seven missed calls from her. He had shut the phone off, not wanting it to bother him in the investigation, but he couldn't have imagined that he would be working so late. Before walking to the kitchen for a night snack, he kissed her forehead and quietly promised her that he wouldn't do something like that to her again.
"Good morning, sleepyhead. I made you a cuppa", Mary gently woke John up the next morning.
"Mhghh", John mumbled in an attempt to greet her a good morning.
"I let you sleep in today, because you came home so late yesterday. And it's Saturday anyways", she gently stroke his forehead.
"I'm so sorry for not calling you. My phone was shut off", John sat up, grabbing the cup of earl grey tea, quietly sipping on the hot beverage.
"I fell asleep quite early anyways", Mary said, but John could tell that she was lying.
"You're pregnant, I'm the one who needs to take care of you, not the opposite", John gently kissed her before getting up.
"No, of course you need to be at work. Or you'll get fired", Mary took the empty tea cup from him and put it on the bedside table. "There was something I was supposed to tell you", she pondered.
"What?", John asked as he got dressed.
"...I can't seem to remember. Must be the pregnancy-hormones talki...oh, right! Mrs Hudson called yesterday night. She said she needed to talk to you about something" John looked up, suddenly worried.
"What's happened? Did she say if it was urgent?", he asked, his trousers only half-way on.
"I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with Sherlock, somehow", Mary looked just as worried as John felt.
"...But I won't go there now. I'm sure is not that serious", John said, after a few seconds of thinking. He had promised Mary that he would take care of her and spend more time with her, so he couldn't run off every time there was something else going on. She could probably sense what he was thinking about, because she said:
"John, I really don't mind. You've known him longer than you've known me"
"Yes, but he's not my wife!", John immediately regretted his choice of words, because Mary chuckled heartily, just as anyone did when a relationship between him and Sherlock was implied.
"All right then, but you could at least give Mrs Hudson a call, because she seemed a bit worried", she walked out of the room, taking the teacup with her.
"Hudson", Mrs Hudson answered with a steady voice.
"Hi, it's me, John", John replied.
"I'm so glad you've called! Did Mary tell you to?", Mrs Hudson immediately sounded a lot happier.
"Yeah, but the only thing she said was that you called because of Sherlock."
"Yes, I'm very, very worried about him", she answered, her voice trembling a bit.
"What's he done now?"
"Yesterday afternoon, he went out. He said that he was going to buy some milk. But he hasn't come back since"
"What?!"
