Hey there! Well, first of all, I need to apologize for the delay and also excuse me if I'm making absolutely no sense on some of the plot details. I'm in the middle of my final exams and I'm going kind of crazy :/ Anyway, thanks for the people who are reviewing or following this story, I hope you like it as much as I do.

Back on the flat, there was an awkward situation going on. A pretty beaten up man was tied up you a chair. John was staring at him and he stared back.

"You're mind reading technique is impeccable John, but would you mind asking the questions out loud, so the rest of us can hear?" Sherlock broke the silence as he entered the room.

"Where is Molly?" John ignored the joke and noticed Sherlock looked pretty agitated.

"Downstairs, probably trying to hid her tears. " Sherlock answered emotionless. John had no further questions because he was convinced he wasn't going to get any more answers.

"Why were you engaged in a relationship with Dr. Hooper?" Sherlock asked the tied up man.

"He told me too." The man showed no fear and he looked confident (really beaten up, but confident) "He also said you would be here. He said you would bring the doctor, the gorilla and the bitch."

Santiago snorted when he understood he was "the gorilla" and he was ready to fight back when Sherlock interrupted him.

"Did he mention why would I bring Valentina?" Sherlock interrogated the man professionally but his eyes were already scanning every detail to find out more.

"He didn't say. Well he did said something about simplifying things for him But my guess is that…" the prisoner´s eyes drifted off to the figure of the young woman. Valentina was wearing a pair of tight jeans and a white top that fitted her body just right. She didn't blush or backed up at the staring of the man. "…you're having some fun with that thing sweet asss…" the final words were blurted out quickly because Santiago interrupted the man by knocking him out from a single hit.

Sherlock raised an eyebrow. "Way to go cave man. Now we have no information."

Santiago turned back to look for support in Valentina but she just shrunken her shoulders.

Sherlock needed the fresh night air to clear his mind. He had published an article about the benefits of soft shifts on the temperature of the atmosphere into the brain connections on a medical magazine under the pseudonym of Dr. Hoover.

Why his mind palace seemed like such a chaotic place lately? Maybe it had to be related to the fact that for the second time of his life, the life of those who cared for him were endangered.

Those who cared…

Molly.

"Sherlock." A soft voice startled him and when he turned around he saw that Valentiuna had decided to join him on the balcony. Her green eyes seemed to glow in the dark. "What's wrong?"

Why was so easy to talk to Valentina? Maybe because Sherlock knew that she wouldn't look for hidden meaning on every word he said and because she didn't bothered to complicate her life with those stupid little things called feelings.

"I believe that man was paid to hurt Molly. Someone planned to hurt Watson, Mr. Hudson, Molly and you, all because you were related to me." Sherlock explained his conclusions out loud as he ran his hands through his face.

"What's wrong, Sherlock?" Valentina repeated, encouraging him to continue.

"It's a rather simple plan, don't you think? It seems unlikely to me that someone hated me so much to set this whole thing up just to see me suffer, you know?" Then he grinned and added, "I'm not that important."

"Some men just want to see the world burn to ashes." Valentina agreed, looking at the stars already rising into the dark night.

"Michael Lokheart is twenty six, he goes to the gym twice a week and he is allergic to walnuts. He is rather an inferior mind." Sherlock didn't felt any repulsion or anger from the man he had beaten up to death almost a few minutes ago. Every trail of those intense feelings had softened and vanished as quickly as they aroused inside of him "He cannot be the man planning …this."

"Whatever this is..." Valentina smiled

"…exactly. The one who planned this is the same person who paid Michael enough to dress designers clothes, something that he could hardly afford with his graphic designer' job." Sherlock didn't bother to explain who he had obtained those conclusions because he guessed Valentina wouldn't need to know.

Another good thing in her.

"It's weird that he included me. I mean, I just met you and we are not that close." She avoided the intense gaze of his blue eyes. After all, she was right. Sherlock didn't have any rational reason to be close to her. He decided to do so, even against his prejudices about friendship. Valentina seemed to read his mind and she added, "Well at least no one knows we are that close. It seemed to me like I was just …convenient."Valentina tried to contribute to Sherlock's observations but he already had noticed that detail and he was also puzzled by it. Still, he appreciated her effort. It was like she was saying "There's a bigger plan. Got it. Let's get the bad guys together"

Then there was a silence that neither of them bothered to break.

"That girl is weird." Valentina finally spoke. Then she discretely pointed at Molly. It was just then when Sherlock noticed that Santiago, Molly and even john were observing them thought the window.

"She's stupid." Sherlock frowned as he said so. His brain knew that Molly was a brilliant pathologist and a rather smart person, but his heart was filled with resent and feelings that complicated things for his (always) rational mind.

"She's in love. Love makes the brightest woman taste a bit of foolishness." Valentina threw her head back and laughted softly and Sherlock appreciated just how beautiful she was. She would be capable to conquer any man she desired…excepting himself. He didn't saw her on that way. "That's what my mom used to say." Valentina's smile soon vanished and it was replaced for a worried frown. "I've never been in love. I don't know if I can feel…"

"You can." Sherlock interrupted her.

Could they feel love? He didn't know. Maybe he just wanted to make Val feel better. Maybe it had to do with the strange mixture of feelings inside him since his argument with Molly. After picturing again Molly's face filled with pure admiration for him the day he decided to fake his dead, he added, fully convinced, "I know that you can."

"She would like to hear that." Valentina took another look to Molly. Who was frowning and talking furiously with both men on the flat.

"Yeah, because she's too stupid to know better." That part was true. If an animal was hurt by something, it learned to stay away from that something; pure survival instinct. Well, for Molly, he was that something.

She needs to learn to stay away from me before she gets hurt again…

"Sherlock, my mom." Valentina interrupted Sherlock's thinking.

"Already fix it. Trust m…" he started, but the girl nodded and approached quickly to kiss his cheek.

"I do. Night, Sherlock." She good-bye softly before walking away.

"Good night." He whispered back, following her path with his sight until his eyes crossed with Molly's. She looked hurt. Again.

Why didn't these bloody feelings inside him go away?

"What do you think they are talking about?"Molly asked with a tired voice. She had finally come inside and she joined the two men who were contemplating Sherlock and Valentina talking outside.

"My guess is that they are competing to recite more digits of the pi number…" Santiago mocked with a grin and Molly felt a little better realizing she was not the only one suffering. She identified that spark of anger and jealously in his eyes because she felt it inside her too.

"I just don't get who they ended up together." John was intrigued, but when he felt the staring of his other two friends, he corrected nervously. "I mean, they are pretty close, right?"

"No." both Molly and Santiago answered at the same time, which made the first blush furiously and the second smile sadly.

"They are not together." Molly stated sadly and not fully convinced. "Right?"

"I really don´t know…" John started but just then Valentina kissed Sherlock cheek and Molly's face turned bright red.

"THEY ARE NOT TOGETHER!" Molly screamed and then dramatically went to her bedroom and slammed her door.

Another awkward silence followed. It was only broken when Sherlock entered the room and stated "We're staying overnight. I'm not leaving Molly here with that." And he pointed at Michael, who was starting to react.

Santiago sighted and he left the room without saying anything, recollecting the luggage and bringing it in. while he was busy with that task, John decided to push his friend a bit.

"Sherlock, I don't want to tell you what to do. I think you're big enough for that. Although, let me state clearly that I think Valentina is too young for you and…"

"Is not like that. Not at all." Sherlock stated solemnly, but did blush a little.

"Then what is that all about?" John asked carefully. "What's going on between you?"

"Honestly?" Sherlock seemed all the sudden very tired and he sight as he confessed. "I don't know."

The room was nice. It wasn't the image that you'd picture of a mental asylum. The room was ell illuminated and painted with a light peach color palette. The smell of roses and the sound of classic music surrounded the environment, making even more pleasant and cozy.

Mrs. Hudson found herself actually laughing as she watched her soap opera, sitting in the couch with a bowl filled with pop corn on her legs. Sitting next to her was another woman, who played with a strand of fabric on her hands. She tied nots all over the stand, un do them and then start all over again. She had been doing that for days.

Mrs. Hudson had gown closer to the woman. When they brought her in, almost a week ago, Mrs. Hudson was terrified. She tried to be brave and kept some sense of dignity as she was conducted to her room. The room was actually nice, but she had been still scared.

Then she found a rose on her bed and a note:

"Mr. Hudson,

I'm afraid this inconvenience is related to my acquaintance to you. I apologize deeply. I could call Mycroft and ask him to take you out of the hospital, but I'm afraid that I won't. In fact, I will push all the boundaries of your generosity by asking you to stay there and watch after one important guest that will be sharing your bedroom. She's the mother of a very close friend and she's very sick.

I will make sure that if, indeed, you do decide to stay, you both receive the best of the treatments and cares. If you decide not to, call the number on the back of the note and Mycroft will pick you up immediately.

Love,

SH"

Mrs. Hudson felt a rush of excitement and happiness after reading the note. She didn't question Sherlock's come back from the dead, and she just accepted it naturally. More than that, she was so happy to know he was alive, that she decided to stay.

That same night they had brought in the other woman.

She was very beautiful, but she seemed quite medicated and dizzy. She mumbled things on Spanish, but Mrs. Hudson understood very little of it. She had started to regret when the woman gave her a note that said:

"Thank you for staying. I will pick you up soon.

SH."

After that, she had decided to enjoy her paid vacations…

Now both women were sitting on the couch watching TV. Every now and then the strange woman find a particularly beautiful knot and extended her hand to show it to Mrs. Hudson, who approved with a nod. "Very pretty, dear."

Then the woman would smile shyly and Mrs. Hudson would continue to watch the TV.

John meditated as he watched the hostage. He had insisted to take the first watch, even though he felt his eyelids getting heavier every time he blinked. He just needed time to process things. Sherlock was alive. At the beginning he had been rather furious to find out he had been fooled, but then he decided just to be happy about it. After all, a small part of him didn't accepted his dead.

There was another thing that bothered John. During all this time he had assumed Molly wouldn't visit him because he reminded her of Sherlock. Now that he knew the truth he felt extremely guilty. Not as much as Sherlock, of course. John had detected a spark of resent on Sherlock's eyes, but he couldn't figure out more. Maybe Sherlock cared more about the pathologist that he would admit.

"Interesting…" his mind played with the idea, thrilled with the fact that there was at least one thing in this world that the famous Sherlock Holmes couldn't figure out.

He took another look at the prisoner. Mike seemed to be asleep. He didn't looked any dangerous, so John relaxed.

He didn't heard the door of the flat opening.

Instead, he ran his hands through his hair and yawned. He wondered about Mary. He hadn´t stopped thinking about her for a second. What she would think of him, what she would look like, what she would say, what she would smell…

Smell…

When he was in prison, Sherlock's hallucination had ask him about the smell of the boy in the shop.

John didn´t found any connection then, but now he did.

"He smelled like wax." John concluded out loud. Then his mind found another hidden connection, this one more powerful and attuning. He stood up, suddenly victorious as he said "He was…"

And then his world went black.