AN: Alrighty here is Part 19 with a little twist. Things are going to be getting interesting for the boys soon, so please stick with me for it. Thank you to all my readers and reviewers.

Disclaimer: Still don't own...

SH/JW

Moriarty.

The name alone was enough to give Irene chills. She had had no real idea of just how truly insane he was until he had gotten a hold of one of her associates. It turned her stomach to think of what that creepy little Irishman had done to the poor girl. And now he was after her. She had kept Sherlock occupied and had given him the information he had needed to harass the elder Holmes brother, just like they had agreed upon. But none of that seemed to matter now.

Apparently there was a problem that had cropped up that none of them had foreseen. It seems that Sherlock Holmes had disappeared off the face of the Earth and no one could find him, not even Moriarty or big brother Holmes.

Fortunately for her and her skin, he was just angry with her and his current wrath was focused on the assassins that he had hired to keep an eye on Sherlock. Irene didn't expect any of them would survive the tender treatment that Moriarty was sure to give them. She would not survive long herself if she didn't find a way to vanish. It was most auspicious for her that she had had the foresight to set up a way to send an emergency message to John Watson.

Sherlock's dear Doctor Watson was such a kind man that she just knew that he would help her. Firing off a quick text, she curled up in the aging arm chair that sat in the corner of the rooms that she was currently occupying in Oxford. It didn't take long for a reply to come through. Just a number for her to call, but it was ever so happily received.

Quickly imputing the numbers she was pleased when the phone was picked up on the first ring and answered with a very familiar voice.

'Yes?'

She let out the breath that she hadn't realized that she had been holding. 'Thank God you answered. I need your assistance.'

'You know I will help however I can, however you need to be ready to do penance.'

'I imagine that he is most displeased with my past behavior. I will do whatever penance is required of me in order that I might make peace with him.'

'My husband will appreciate that sister-dear.'

She smiled with a sigh of relief. John was going to help her, she was just going to have to beg Sherlock's forgiveness and earn it as well. She would do whatever he asks of her as long as he can help keep her safely alive. 'Sister? Is that to be who I am from now on?'

His voice was hard when he answered, 'If you want my help… then yes.'

'I understand.'

'What is the danger that you are in? I need to know what to expect. He's not here now, but what I am to tell my husband when he asks why you are suddenly here when he returns?'

Irene tried desperately to keep her voice steady and clear of the fear that she felt. John was already worried for her and she knew what she was going to tell him would only make that worse. 'A certain Irish gentleman with whom we are all familiar is causing trouble for me. I rather fear that harm will befall me should I not seek help. You and your darling husband are the only ones I could trust enough to keep me safe from him as he does tend to get a trifle violent from time to time.'

John's hummed in agreement. He knew well of whom she was speaking, given what the mad man had done to him. He had told her all about how Moriarty had kidnapped him and strapped him into a Semtex covered vest months before they met. 'Do what you need to disappear, preferably in an apparently mortal fashion. Then Serenity MacDougal, you get a new phone, text me again and I will get you directions to the house.'

'Thank you. You are too good to me.'

'I am doing what must be done to keep my family safe.' He paused for a moment. 'That includes you now too Serenity.'

She knew a few people, well knew what they like anyways. Shouldn't be too hard to fake her own death. Getting a new phone wasn't a problem either. None of it was really, especially since John had given her the information that she needed to craft a new identity and find him. In just a few days, Irene Adler would be no more and Serenity MacDougal would come out of hiding to join her brother and his husband. It didn't matter how she ended up with them, it just mattered to her that John actually cared enough to help her regardless of their history. 'I am beyond thankful that that you would do this for me. I don't know what to say, other than thank you.'

He snorted, and then spoke with a bitter tone. 'You had better figure something out, because my own will not be nearly so kind to you as I. I gave into your teachings because it was what I needed to do to get back to him. Just because I enjoyed what I learned does not mean that I have easily forgiven how you went about keeping me. My own will not forgive you. He will accept your usefulness, but do not expect forgiveness from him.'

She was disappointed, who wouldn't be, but she understood. Sherlock Holmes was a hard man. When they had first met, he hadn't even looked at her twice. All of his concern at the time was focused on the game and then on the safety of his beloved John. She could see the appeal. John was a singular individual. He was kind where many others were hard, not to mention loyal for life to those he had deemed worthy. Would that she swung that way for anything but business, she would have kept him for herself. But she didn't and so had happily handed him back to his Sherlock when his training was done. 'I will do what I must to earn his respect at the least. Even if I am never forgiven by him, I will still try.'

'Iain.'

'Pardon?'

He laughed at her confusion. 'My name is Iain sister. I don't suggest you forget.' He paused for a moment before he continued. 'Be here in two days. My husband is due back in three. I expect to hear everything.'

'I understand. I'll contact you in two days for directions.'

'Good luck.'

With that the mobile beeped that the connection had ended. Pulling it from her ear, she started to input a different set of numbers. It was best that she start setting things in motion, so that she could keep her appointment with John in two days. She had a lot to do and barely any time to do it.

Several hours later she received the call that her papers were ready and that a suitable replacement body had been found. Soon she would be on her way to join the two boys. Soon Irene Adler would be dead.

SH/JW