Guest: I know but I started this story before season 3 came out so I didn't know when I wrote that chapter.

I love Janto: yes he is.

Harlean Hull: thanks for the fave.

Utopia Avius: thanks for the faves and alerts.

Yuki Uzumaki Uchiha Namikaze: thanks for the fave.

steampunklover95: thanks for the alert.

crazy1person2you3been4warned: thanks for the alert.


Mycroft must have known that John would plan to tell Lyra. John didn't think that the meeting had really been necessary. If he had to he would do anything to stop Lyra from getting hurt he would in a heart beat. She was Sherlock's sister, more importantly they had struck up a friendship.

Plus he could have just talked to him over coffee or something. The Holmes brothers are so needlessly over dramatic sometimes.

Holmes brother, John mentally corrected himself. There's just Mycroft now. The pain felt so raw and suffocating. The pain was still so fresh in his mind and heart. Everyday he tried his best not to look at Sherlock's violin or chair or any of the things Sherlock kept lying around. There were too many memories.

John sighed and called Lyra. She answered after a few rings.

"John?" she asked. She didn't sound like he had just woke her but he still said that he was sorry if he woke her. "Oh, I wasn't sleeping. Just doing some reading. Why are you up this late?"

"Well your brother had something to do with it," he said then he realized how that sounded.

"He needed to talk about something with you?" she asked.

John nodded even though he knew that she couldn't see him. "Yeah. But he didn't keep me for that long, I was just taking a walk before he showed up. I don't think it was worth bothering really." Just aimlessly wandering the city alone at night, John thought. The walk certainly hadn't cleared his head.

"Well Mycroft doesn't do aimless chit-chat it must have been about something." There was a long pause before Lyra said "Am I going to have to ask what he wanted? I thought you called me to tell me."

"Yeah, I did. Sorry. He wanted to talk about you. He wants me to protect you apparently."

"That is a waste of time. I am a grown woman, its not like I can't take care of myself. I wouldn't be surprised if he had bugged my flat."

You can go be the British government or whatever it is you do but I need to stay here a bit longer. John hadn't really given those words much thought. She had been grieving, sure it wasn't a nice or fair thing to say but people said unfair things when they were grieving. John had more than his fair share of patients let their anger out on him. But maybe there was even more anger behind those words than he had known. Maybe it was more than just grief talking.

And now I'm analyzing her, John thought. He didn't know how he felt about that.

"Was protecting me really all he talked about?" Lyra's question pulled John out his thoughts.

"Yeah. Well Sherlock was mentioned. He thinks I was good for Sherlock."

"Don't you think you were John? We can't always save those we love but that doesn't mean you didn't make a difference in his life." When John didn't answer she added "You should get some sleep."

"I don't know if I can." John felt physically and emotionally drained but Sherlock's death was fresh in his mind once again. Regardless of whether or not Lyra had a point he couldn't help going over the scenarios in his mind. If I had never left Sherlock alone. If I had followed after him. If I had made him talk to me before I left. John could feel himself getting a headache. There were no tears just an aching in his heart and a different ache in his head. "You probably have work in the morning though. I should go."

"Maybe you ought to have some warm milk. Bye John." She hanged up.

He went to his room, took off his shoes and lied on top of the bed. The air felt stale and smelled odd. Before he drifted off to sleep John considered opening the window.