The Dragon's Companion

Disclaimer:

I do not own BBC Sherlock.

Notes:

Basically there are people who are creatures. They can look human but can make certain animal features of theirs appear/disappear at will to blend in with ordinary humans. There's prejudice between humans and creatures so they generally hide what they are.

I'm gonna dedicate this chapter to paintear10 for the seven brilliant reviews I was pleasantly surprised to see yesterday.

Chapter 8

Green eyes shifted from the dragon to the man and back again, her mouth curving in amusement.

The dragon blinked and as if the previous conversation had not taken place he looked over at the wolf and asked, "I expected you'd take longer."

Janine frowned in confusion.

Meliora's lips pursed in a pout of displeasure, "It was stated that as your pack-mate it was my right to draw first blood-"

"-however as my brother it was his right to draw her last breath," Sherlock finished, understanding. "But there's something else," he continued as he watched her expression. "Some other reason you're upset with..." His eyes widened slightly in realization, "He made you family."

The wolf's left eyebrow twitched in irritation.

"And in return you welcomed him into the pack." Now the consulting detective also looked displeased. "Terms?"

The political ramifications were...well the reason why Meliora was so stingy with who she declared pack. When Mycroft had declared her family it would have been an insult not to call the dragon a pack-mate. There was no getting out of that. It was the creature crossover that gave her a headache. Dragons didn't have packs. They had family. Although they rarely hung around each other it was a dragon's obligation to see to the protection of his family. Mycroft's family now included Meliora and whoever she took as a life mate along with any future offspring. It also gave Mycroft the right to negotiate Meliora no longer being Sherlock's Alpha but for her to act in his stead while he was not there. Meliora refused but could not refuse negotiations on the matter. In fact, nothing really changed when it came to Sherlock. She was still his Alpha and Mycroft still did his best to protect him. The only real change was that they needed to consult one another when making important decisions and agree or compromise. "We have to talk over important decisions." Also, if Mycroft came knocking she was obligated to at least listen. No more slamming the door in his face. At least not if he insisted on still talking to her after she did that.

Sherlock's chin rested on the tips of his fingers, his hands pressed together as if in prayer. "It could've been worse."

"Would someone care to explain?" John asked.

"Dull," the dragon sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"I'd rather not," the black-haired wolf said when the two humans looked at her.

Just because she has a photographic memory does not mean she doesn't forget things. For instance, everyone knows 1+1=2. However, when you're not consciously thinking about 1+1 there's no reason to know the answer is 2. At least this is how she justifies how she briefly forgot about Sherlock's remaining problem, the disgusting shark that is Magnussen. Still, despite everything this does not mean that she did not help Sherlock form a plan. And a back-up plan. She knows Sherlock likes to always go with plan A or improvise but there is many a time when Meliora has secretly had a backup plan. Or two. Occasionally three if she believes she can predict enough circumstances. So, needless to say, when Christmas came around she felt ready for anything.

It was a plan within a plan.

Plan A: Sherlock would 'steal' Mycroft's laptop to trade to Magnussen in exchange for seeing Appledore. Just because Mary was gone didn't mean the man would stop trying to blackmail Sherlock. Magnussen was a danger to John and Meliora and Sherlock would ensure their safety. Mycroft would follow the chip in the laptop and seize Magnussen and Appledore.

Plan B: This was Meliora's plan with Mycroft. If anything went wrong and the pack was in danger...Magnussen would find himself shot. The weapon would be untraceable and any trace of who had been holding the sniper rifle would be non-existent. It was for this reason that Plan A had been put off until Christmas. Meliora was a good enough shot but she needed to be able to make a professional-looking shot. From there it could easily be assumed that someone had sent a professional to follow Sherlock to Magnussen and take the man down. After all, the shark-like man had many enemies.

Plan B took effect when the wolf spotted the pained expression on the dragon's face as Magnussen flicked John's face. She waited for Sherlock to take John's gun. It would not be until the weapon was examined that it would be found that not only was John's gun full of blanks but that the actual bullet hole was on the wrong side of the head and according to forensics had hit the head from a much further distance. By then the gun and any other evidence would be disposed of.

After New Years

This year definitely won the title of best even though the previous one with Sherlock had been by far the best of her life. Not only did Meliora have a pack but a family. She wouldn't have believed it possible if someone had told her a year ago that this year she had stopped running and hiding, that she found a life mate she was now engaged to, that said life mate had actually proposed to her, that Sherlock's depression was quickly lifting, and that their family was actually safe for the first time in a very long time. Now if only John and Dray would hurry up and admit their feelings for one another already!

Janine watched over her fiance, her eyes soft with love and amusement. Although they had yet to have sex she felt closer to Meli more than she had to anyone else. She didn't mind waiting until after their marriage. Besides, holding off on sex meant more time to make John jealous and hopefully confess. Her eyes wandered over to Sherlock who was lying beside her wolf. Both of them made sure to inform the consulting detective in front of John, multiple times, that he was welcome to join them in bed. After all, the flat only had two bedrooms. Traditionally John took up his old room upstairs while Meliora shared with Sherlock. If there had been room she would have moved in officially but... Well, it was just one more reason to attempt to convince John to accept Sherlock as something more than a platonic partner. Not that she minded sharing a bed with Sherlock. She understood her life mate's need to cuddle with the pack and even teased Meli about the fact that this meant they'd have to include John. The wolf had simply grumbled that as long as John didn't specifically cuddle up to her, she was fine. And who knew, maybe seeing Sherl happy would be just the thing to get Meliora to stop disliking John so much.

Someone knocked on the closed bedroom door.

The green-eyed creature growled lowly, tightening an arm around Sherlock.

She smiled at her fiance.

"Sherlock?" John's muffled voice came from the other side of the door. "Greg says he has a case for you."

The dragon sat up, paying no mind to his pack mate who wrapped her limbs around his neck and waist as he stood up to open the door.

Janine held in a giggle at John's expression when catching sight of the woman on Sherl's back.

The wolf nuzzled her face against the side of Sherlock's neck and mumbled, "Too comfy to move."

As his friend was clinging to him with her own strength and in no way impeding his ability to move at the moment, he allowed it. She wasn't very heavy after all.

Lestrade raised an eyebrow at the sight but otherwise ignored the fact a grown woman was on Sherlock's back as he explained the current case.

The black-haired woman cracked one eye open slightly, searching out John. She refrained from grinning as she saw how he shifted from one foot to the other, occasionally clearing his throat and so obviously trying not to look at her. Truthfully, she didn't dislike him as much as she used to. Now the human was just annoying the hell out her. She knew he was aware of his own feelings by now but for some reason despite no longer pursuing anyone (the man was turning down date offers even) he still had not confessed his feelings to Sherlock. She'd be satisfied if he even just asked Sherlock for a date. Marriage would be better but for god's sake, was some obvious sign to Sherlock that he saw him as more than a friend too much to ask?! Was it?!

Janine walked into 221B to the sight of Meli pouting. "No such luck then?" She asked as she sat on the arm of the chair the wolf was sitting in.

Her pout grew for a moment before disappearing into a grin. She looked up at her human, "He made some funny faces when I started grooming Sherlock."

"Groomin- Meli, exactly what did you do?" Jan questioned curiously.

"Well, as you know he's got the most ridiculously soft hair. Occasionally I try to count the number of strands of hair he has. Sherlock keeps track on how far I get before getting bored. Thanks to John I've broken my record." The wolf stated quite proudly.

"Only you two," she commented with a light chuckle as she leaned over and pressed her lips against the creature's forehead.

Her smile brightened.

"So what else did you do today?"

Meliora's smile turned into a small smirk.

"Sherlock?"

The consulting detective pressed his hands together under his chin as he thought. This case was only a 5 and therefore he didn't feel the need to use his more-than-human strength to bust the door open. However, if his suspicions about the one who had locked them in here was correct such an easy escape might not be possible.

"Sherlock?"

If he was wrong this would possibly bring the case up to a 6. Unlikely but possible. But if he was right, why would she lock them in this room? Why now? Why at all?

"...and if I have to lock you both up to prove it..."

His eyes narrowed slightly as he recalled snippets of one of the wolf's rants, one he had mostly tuned out as he'd been busy thinking about a case.

"..just so obvious there's even a bet going on at the yard."

What had she been talking about?

"Sherlock? Are you even listening to me?" The wolf sighed, "You haven't heard a word I said about-"

"Sherlock!"

The dragon blinked as he noticed John standing over him. "Yes John?"

"I've been calling your name for the past five minutes," the man sighed in exasperation. "The door's locked."

"Hm. Obvious."

"And you didn't feel the need to tell me?"

"Knew you'd figure it out on your own. I was busy determining why."

John took a moment to think. "Why, not who? Who locked us in here then?"

"Meliora. Or there is the less likely chance that it has to do with the case. Doubtful. Locking us in this room would serve no purpose. The killer would have had to be extremely stupid to lock us in here with the ability to easily phone someone. Or in this case, text. Which is what I did the moment I realized the door was locked and there were no other viable exits. Lestrade should be here soon."

Once again, the human needed a moment to process. "Alright, so why did she lock us in here then?"

"No idea," he slowly replied.

Janine stared at her life mate. "Won't he be able to just tell Greg to open the door?"

Her smirk widened.

2 hours ago

If Sherlock asks you to come get him or unlock a door ignore him. I've locked him in with John until they finally admit their feelings for one another.

-Meliora

Lestrade shook his head, smiling as he read the text message.

Present

"Shouldn't he be here by now?" John asked.

Sherlock frowned. Meliora must've told Lestrade to ignore them. He stood up and began examining the room. He checked each of the walls, the door and the ceiling. From what he observed from the outside the walls were too thick to force his way through as they were solid rather than hollow. If the ceiling had been high he might have been able to gain enough speed to punch through but there wasn't enough room. It was the same with the door. The room was simply too small for him to gain enough speed to ram through the thick door since he could see the shadow of something leaning against it from the outside from the crack at the bottom. There was a ventilation shaft but it was too small for even a child to use. It was however a weak spot he might be able punch through though. His eyes flickered briefly over to John. "I'm going to have to reveal some of my creature form in order to get us out."

Next chapter, John is apparently once again clueless. This time about life-mates. Meliora leaves Sherlock to shed some light on this topic. Hopefully this idea will go better than her last.