A/N: Thank you for all the lovely reviews guys. I think there's a glitch in the site though – I can't see or reply to your reviews on this site. I could only see the reviews in my mail. Thanks still. As of now, no one has tried to solve the double murder. I must say I was a little disappointed. You could still try – I'll believe you if you say you haven't peeked. The answer is in the next chapter.

Mycroft's gonna be pissed –JW

I'm sorry? – SH

Devil's Foot was his case...and the double murder...was mine – JW

Wait, what? –SH

*Jumpers has blocked your messages*

This was John's case? Ohhhhhh.

This case was a ten then. Since Sherlock couldn't solve it entirely. (The part about it being fake?)

It made complete sense. Sherlock wasn't allowed to see the bodies for there were none. A case was easy to fabricate but a body wasn't. It also explained the hotel room – a home was impossible to create for someone like Sherlock. A home is the ultimate encyclopaedia of a person's life. The effort required would be tremendous. Now that Sherlock had a better understanding of things, he realised that he should have noted the notorious absence of interviews with suspects. Sherlock merely assumed that Lestrade was scared about Sherlock's involvement. However, it had been very clever of John to make that all up.

The thought of John made Sherlock open the envelope for the next clue.

This is your final problem

Sherlock's brain did a double take.

This is your final problem

So, read close, this particular conundrum

The Final Problem, the Reichenbach Fall

I still remember your "last" phone call

What was the Fall? I need an answer

I am willing to wait, but you can't run forever

Well, that explained why John blocked his messages. This was something John wanted to talk about in person.

Go to the place where it all began

When you had only one (dangerous) fan

While you travel, ponder this:

Why everyone smirks (What did you miss?)

A ritual, you must initiate

To create darkness, and yes, the knife waits

Sherlock felt something remarkably close to a feeling that resembled someone punching him in the gut and crushing his breath at the same time. He felt...guilty. The Fall was something he never brought up and John, while angry at first, forgave him after the bonfire incident. The reason Sherlock never brought it up was simple. He did not want John to know the amount of control John had on him. Would you ever trust anyone with owning you? Because that's what it is. John owned Sherlock. He might not know it, but Sherlock, despite his strict marriage to his work, cheated.

That had been the Final Problem. The problem of dealing with all these feelings that arose with the realization that he was willing to die for John. Needless to say, he panicked. He ran away as soon as he could. Perhaps, part of Sherlock believed John would move on, that if he distanced himself from John, John would find a suitable companion and thus let John move on. It almost worked – John dated someone named Mary who was quickly removed from the scene by Mycroft when they found she was an agent on the run. John didn't need the danger.

So, when John still stayed true to him, (the irony) Sherlock played his final card. He uses his ever trusted mind palace to lock the entire incident. True, he could have just told John to move out – nah, who was he kidding? Mycroft always admired Sherlock's ability to repress things (apparently, it was a good thing). However, his mind palace wasn't that secure. There were moments – teeny, fleeting moments, like the times when John smiled at him after an inappropriate joke at a crime scene, when their knees touched while riding the taxi, when John took out Sherlock's phone from his jacket, when John massaged his head. God, that was fifteen minutes in heaven and hell simultaneously. Sherlock tries- he tries really hard and very nearly succeeds.

It's only in the nights when Sherlock entertains a possibility of a relationship with John. He imagines a candlelight dinner with John – Angelo giving them a knowing smirk. They would eat casually, perhaps hold hands. John's fingers would slightly brush Sherlock's. His heart races just at the thought. They would soon leave – since John's touch always turned on Sherlock. John would do these slight, barely touching strokes on his forearms that turns Sherlock's blood electric. They would look at each other- Sherlock uncertain but John determined. John would hold Sherlock's head in place – determined not to let Sherlock run away because that's what Sherlock did when he was confused. He would retreat. He would think and then decide. John moves closer slowly, cruelly. Because dream John knows the power of anticipation. He leans in, letting his breathe tickle Sherlock's lips. He looks Sherlock right in the eye, they would gaze at each other for an eternity and then John's lips brush Sherlock's. Sherlock sighs (slightly moans) at the thought, furious that his brain wouldn't let him see further. He knew real life was rarely so neat. Or, so he told himself in the morning, when the impulse to touch John would decrease considerably.

It wasn't that John was cruel, or John had a history of breaking people's hearts. The first, obvious barrier was John's sexuality. John showed no history of dating men. Even if he were gay, there was a reason Sherlock didn't scream and hug people with joy. Because he knew people. Despite what they say, everyone is bound by their own needs. Personal gain. Priorities shift, impressions don't last, happiness is made comparative. There was a basic human tendency – right from a three year old kid – people get bored. That was the reason why people cheat – because the unobtainable is always sexier.

People's thoughts aren't set in stones. They are mere clouds – drifting aimlessly, content to be at a place but forced to change with a strong wind. However, Sherlock wasn't like them. When he did something, he did it fully. If he were to love someone – there would be no moving on. At least not in the mere twenty years he had left. Caring was not an advantage, not when he knew he would be left broken hearted. So, Mycroft and Sherlock chose the only path remaining – a marriage to their work. It worked spectacularly well. However, now with John...Sherlock locked away this particular thought process. He read the clue again, the location obvious.

On the overleaf was written : I'm waiting

SHSHSHSHSHSHSH

While Sherlock was on his way to (if you haven't already figured it out) St. Bartholomew's, he kept thinking about what he didn't know. Why was he being summoned to the lab? Was there a case? God forbid, was it an intervention? No, not an intervention. Was Molly going to do a medical check-up? Was that why John was buttering Sherlock up? That must be it. The knife was waiting for surgery.

He went into the hospital, trying to figure out who it was he was going to meet. As far as he could make out (by the vehicles in the parking spot), John and Molly were there. No one else was there though (why was he expecting multiple people again?).

He walked into the elevators with ten minutes to spare in his stopwatch. He was going to finish the hunt on time. However, he didn't know if he was going to finish the hunt (he still did not know what everyone knew – did that count?)

He ran through the corridors, surprised at the darkness. How was he supposed to create darkness now? He opened the doors of the lab, his brain warning him that something unexpected was going to happen.

A/N: One more chapter also up? Yeah, yeah, thank me by reviewing. :P