Apologies for the long wait for this chapter, life's been hectic, hope it was worth the wait

Chapter 19: No Tears and Pounding Hearts

Nancy sat in silence in the carriage with Holmes, his hand held hers and he ran his thumb over the top of her hand, Nancy didn't move she sat perfectly still, staring out of the window into the darkness that passed letting the silent tears run down her cheeks. Holmes didn't try and break the silence, he didn't push her to talk and she appreciated him for that but as the carriage raced on and she felt every bump in the road she couldn't help feeling she wanted to be alone. The carriage ride felt like it had taken forever when they finally arrived at her family home, the night air was warm and muggy, she walked ahead of Holmes shaking her hand free of his grip, the door swung open before she reached it and her aunt Peggy stood in the doorway, she looked exhausted and rushed into Nancy's arms, burying her face in her nieces shoulder. It took Nancy a while to calm her aunt down before she could talk properly,

' I've been sitting with Hugo, he doesn't sleep well and your uncle was so exhausted I refused to let him stay up another night, so I've been staying with Hugo trying to make him more comfortable and…', she trailed over clamping a hand over her mouth, Nancy nodded,

' Oh listen to me going on, you've been through enough tonight darling, you go and get some sleep', Holmes had already gone upstairs to his room when they'd arrived,

' No, I won't sleep tonight, you get some rest I'll sit up with Hugo, no arguments', something in Nancy's tone told aunt Peggy not to argue with her so she nodded her head and went upstairs giving her niece another hug before she went.

Nancy crept quietly into Styck's room, he was awake and he smiled weakly at her as she sat in the chair next to his bed, he looked so weak and so unlike himself she thought, Nancy swallowed hard as her eyes began to well up,

' Don't you start' Styck's voice was more of a croak than anything else,

' That's all I've had crying, weeping, mourning I'm not even dead yet, so until I am dead no crying in this room please' Nancy nodded a small smile on her lips at seeing the old Styck shine through even at death door,

' Do you need anything?'She was surprised how croaky her own voice sounded,

' No sweet pea I'm fine, what about you?'

' What about me?'

' I heard your aunt and uncle talking, got a tele-thing from that hoggle lady, telling them about Lenore, I'm sorry sweet pea' Styck held her hand as best he could with his failing strength,

' I'm still shocked, why is this happening' Styck took another deep wheezing breath and pulled an envelope from under his pillow,

' If I wasn't at deaths door your aunt would kill me for giving you this, though your uncle agrees with me you deserve to know, you want answers you go to this address and ask for Catherine Slater, that's all the help I'm giving you…don't tell your aunt'

Nancy smiled taking the envelope and putting it in her pocket, she sat with Styck for the rest of the night and they talked, he reminisced about her as a child, and told her war stories, Nancy listened to every word, when the sun finally rose, Styck had obviously deteriorated and could no longer speak, Nancy heard the door behind her creak and turned to see her uncle, he pulled up another chair and sat next to her, Styck breathing was now deep and shallow and it seemed to take all his strength to blink his eyes, Styck squeezed Nancy's hand before letting go and reaching out for her uncles hand, Nancy watched as the two men shared a quiet moment together, they gripped each others hand and uncle Harry placed his free hand on top of their hands, Nancy knew this was how they'd always showed their affection to each other since they'd met in the war, Styck smiled at them both once more before slowly closing his eyes, the shallow breathing stopped, Styck didn't move. Uncle Harry placed Styck's hand back on his chest and stood up, Nancy stood with him putting her arms round her uncle, they left the room and sat at the table where her uncle finally cracked letting the tears flow.

A few days later they stood in the cemetery for Styck's funeral, quite a few of Styck and her uncles war friends showed up to pay their respects. Nancy had barely spoken to Holmes she hadn't told him about the envelope Styck had given her, in fact she had avidly avoided him, Holmes had spent a lot of his time with her uncle, he found that telling Harry stories about his cases seemed to cheer him up, Nancy had focused her attention on Alice and her aunt, Alice was deeply upset by Styck's passing and stayed with Nancy throughout the funeral allowing Nancy the excuse of looking after her to avoid Holmes further. When the funeral ended a few people went back to the house Alice left with aunt Peggy and Harry was reminiscing about Styck with his old war friends. Nancy walked through the wooded area near the cemetery, she tried to get her head around everything but the more she thought about everything, the angrier she got, she heard twigs snapping behind her and saw Holmes following her, her rage bubbled to the surface and she aimed it all at him,

' Stop following me! Can't you see I want to be alone', Holmes stared at her he didn't look shocked by her outburst, he seemed to have been waiting for it, secretly he welcomed it,

' Oh so now your talking to me' his tone was arrogant and it riled Nancy further, she stormed away from him in the woods but knowing he would follow she continued to shout at him, Holmes stayed silent allowing her to vent her rage at him,

' Is it making you feel better to shout and scream?'

' Yes it is actually'

' Would you like me to leave?'

' Yes go back to London and catch the man who's ruining my life, or maybe he's here waiting for you to leave so he can finish me off, I wish he'd hurry up about it though' Holmes snapped, he grabbed her by the tops of her arms and spun her round to face him,

' Don't you dare ever say that again' he spoke slowly letting every word seep into Nancy, she knew he cared and that she had had over stepped the mark but she was still angry, and she beat Holmes' chest struggling against him,

' Let me go'

' Not until you calm down' Nancy broke free of his grip and ran towards the edge of the woods, Holmes caught up with her, and he grabbed her from behind and both of them halted to a stop in front of a large tree, both breathing heavily, she gripped Holmes arm tightly as his other arm wound around her waist, she put her head back and kissed his cheek, she turned around in his arms pulling him towards her, as she lent against the tree, Holmes kissed her neck and chest passionately moving the kisses down her body, she gripped the bark of the tree as he pulled her dress up, he held the dress up as he stood back up, she began undoing his trousers, their haste made both of them a little clumsy in their actions but seconds later it didn't matter, Holmes held her up and she wrapped her legs around him both leaning on the tree for support as he thrust into her, her legs wrapped tightly round him, he rested his head against her chest, she held onto him tightly running her fingers through his hair and his thrusting quickened, Nancy moaned loudly as she felt his hot breath on her cleavage, Holmes' hand found her raising it above their heads against the tree and pushing deeper into her, thrusting harder with more need, Nancy almost screamed at the sensation she felt as she climaxed, Holmes' muffled shout came seconds later as he buried his face in her shoulder, Holmes went to release Nancy from his grip but she hung onto him,

' I'm sorry' she murmured quietly into his ear

' Isn't that what you're supposed to say before we make up' she could tell he was smiling as he said it, Holmes pulled her dress back down and did his trousers up before pulling her close again, she gripped him tight, resting her head against his chest and listening to the pounding of his heart.