Sherlock walked down the street from 221B. He walked past a shop window and sighed. He remembered eating dinner there with John when they'd first moved in together. John had vehemently declared he wasn't Sherlock's date. Sherlock supposed he should've guessed at John's feelings from the constant denial. It had just seemed so impossible, and then John was married and expecting a child in what seemed like no time at all.
He should've seen this coming. Of course, it had to end like this. When Sherlock heard footsteps behind him, he dismissed it quickly as another Londoner out on the street. But the footsteps stopped.
"Sherlock," John said.
Sherlock turned around slowly. What could John possibly want? Sherlock had made it pretty clear that he wanted nothing more to do with John or Mary.
"John," Sherlock addressed cordially.
"I told her...well, the Doctor did, actually, but she's okay with this," John said quickly.
Sherlock was stunned. Why was Mary okay with this? What?
"What?" Sherlock asked.
"She's okay with us being together," John said, "I don't understand it either. Just, come back to Baker street so we can talk about this."
"This is preposterous," Sherlock said. Mary must not understand the extent of the affection Sherlock had for John. There was no possible way Mary would just be okay with all this.
John took Sherlock's hand, making Sherlock snap out of his head and focus on John.
"Why would I lie about this?" John asked.
Sherlock asked, "Why would you tell me you love me?"
"Because I do...love you, that is," John said, "Please, come back with me to Baker street."
"John, I don't-"
"Sherlock, please, for me. Come home," John said.
Sherlock paused. John was referring to Baker street as home. It might have been a slip of the tongue, but it was enough.
"Okay," Sherlock said. Could Mary really be on board with this?
Once they were back in Sherlock's flat, Mary fixed Sherlock with a hard stare. "Sit," she commanded.
Sherlock warily sat in his chair across from John's wife.
She said quickly, "I understand that you are in love with my husband. Is this true?"
Sherlock suddenly found it hard to breathe. He had no idea what to say to that. He knew Mary couldn't possibly be okay with any of this.
"Dear, it's okay. I just want to hear you say it. And if this is going to work, you're going to have to get used to me making you feel uncomfortable. I can't believe you aren't already used to it, honestly," Mary said.
Sherlock took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I love John."
Mary smiled and clapped her hands together. "Wonderful. John, come over here and take a seat. We have a lot to discuss," she said.
John gingerly sat on the arm of Sherlock's chair since Mary was sitting in his usual spot.
"First of all, if this is going to be a thing," Mary said, gesturing between John and Sherlock, "Then, are we all agreed that John and I will still be together as well?"
John said quickly, "Of course. I love you. I would never-"
Mary cut him off and said, "John, love, I know your feelings on the matter. Sherlock?"
"I would never do anything to interfere with your marriage," Sherlock said, "I also would never expect John to leave you."
Mary grinned widely. "Good," she said, "Then, I guess we should discuss living arrangements."
"What do you mean?" Sherlock asked.
"Well, it we're going to share John, it doesn't seem very convenient to live across town from you," she said.
Sherlock held his breath. This was too good to be true. The idea of them moving closer was amazing. Or was she expecting him to move? But he worked out of 221B. She couldn't possibly expect him to move. Did she?
"If Mrs. Hudson wouldn't mind, I think John would probably enjoy moving back in downstairs," Mary said.
Sherlock looked to John.
John's eyes lit up and he smiled at his wife. "I'm not sure if the downstairs flat would have enough room for both of us and the baby, but it could work," he said.
She grinned knowingly and said, "The downstairs flat actually has more room than where we're staying now."
"Really?" John asked.
Mary nodded, saying, "You can ask Mrs. Hudson if you'd like. I did."
Sherlock asked, "So, you and John would be moving in here?"
Mary nodded and smiled at Sherlock. Sherlock paused for a moment, trying to find the right way to express his happiness and gratitude. He settled on a suitable response and hugged Mary. She returned the hug hesitantly perhaps due to surprise, smiling at Sherlock at he sat back down.
"So, this is really happening?" John asked.
"I have one more thing we need to discuss," Mary said.
Sherlock sobered slightly.
"As we all are well aware, I'm pregnant," Mary said softly, "While this child is not biologically yours, it will be John's. You'll be a stepfather, really. Are you prepared for this?"
Sherlock froze. He'd never had any responsibility over another living thing before, well aside from Redbeard, but he wasn't prepared to think about that at the moment. He didn't know how to respond. It was John and Mary's child. He'd defend it with his life. He knew he'd love the child unconditionally, but he had no idea how to raise a child or care for a child. Babies were definitely not Sherlock's area of expertise. But if he was going to be part of this small family, a baby was going to be a reality sooner rather than later.
"I can't say I'm prepared," Sherlock said, "But I'm willing to learn."
"Honey, that's not entirely what I'm saying," Mary said, "I'm asking if you're going to be a part of the baby's life."
"Oh," Sherlock said, "Yes, of course I will."
John took a hold of Sherlock's hand with a smile, and Mary grinned at the both of them. "Good," she said.
"So, this is really happening?" John asked again.
Mary nodded.
John turned to Sherlock and asked seriously, "Is this what you want? Me, Mary, and a baby?"
Sherlock gently squeezed John's hand. "Yes," he said, "You, Mary, the baby. All of it. You two are giving me a family. Of course this is what I want."
John leaned over on the arm of Sherlock's chair and kissed Sherlock. It took Sherlock a moment to comprehend what was happening, but he managed to kiss John back. It was different than kissing Janine. This felt real, like how he imagined genuine love felt. It was nice.
When they broke apart, looking at each other with some surprise but mostly joy, Mary was staring at them.
"God, that was adorable. Will you two be doing more of that?" she asked, grinning from ear to ear.
John laughed.
Before Sherlock could find a suitable response to anything that happened, Mrs. Hudson walked in.
"Mrs. Hudson," Sherlock said quickly, "John and Mary will be moving in downstairs. Is this alright?"
She said, "Oh yes, that's lovely, but I have something to tell you...about the thing I'm not supposed to talk about."
"Mrs. Hudson, there are a number of things you shouldn't talk about, which is this one?" Sherlock asked.
"The thing I'm not supposed to mention that you buried in the yard out back," she said.
"What about it?" Sherlock asked.
Mrs. Hudson wrung her hands nervously and said, "It's gone."
"What do you mean Moriarty's body is gone?" Sherlock asked.
Mary asked, "Wait, you buried Moriarty in the backyard?"
"It was a quick decision," John said. "Come and see," Mrs. Hudson said.
John and Sherlock ran down the stairs and out the back. The yard wasn't the biggest, but it had accommodated the hurried body disposal. The earth was completely dug up and inside the hole was a piece of paper held down with a small rock.
Sherlock grabbed the paper. This wasn't good.
"What does it say?" John asked.
Sherlock sighed and handed the paper to John.
It read, 'Fool you once, shame on me. Fool you twice, shame on you.'
"Why can't Moriarty just die?" John asked.
Sherlock said, "It's going to be okay."
"Yeah, the first time, I lost you, and the second time, we almost lost Mary. And you're just going to tell me it'll be okay?" John said in disbelief.
Sherlock grabbed John by the shoulders and look him directly in the eye.
"Nothing will happen to you or Mary or the baby or me. I won't let it. I promise," Sherlock said, "This is just another case. We'll figure it out."
Sherlock led John back inside and back upstairs. With Moriarty back, they'd need to be prepared for anything. John handed Moriarty's note to Mary and plopped down in Sherlock's chair.
"Moriarty's back? How could he be back?" Mary asked.
"Well, he was a demon," Sherlock said.
"But Cas killed him," John said, "The demon in him died."
"Considering that we were working with people who nearly started another apocalypse, there might be something bigger at work here," Sherlock said.
"Another?" Mary asked.
"Long story," Sherlock said.
John asked, "Do you think we should call the Winchesters? I mean, Moriarty is a demon. It's sort of their thing."
"No," Sherlock said, "I think they've got their hands full with Cas and Adam."
"What's going on with Cas?" Mary asked, "Wait, did they save Adam?"
"Long story," Sherlock said.
"Same long story, actually," John said.
"I think we'll be able to handle Moriarty, I mean, we cured a demon already. The knowledge we've acquired from this case alone should be enough to at least give us an edge against him," Sherlock said.
"You did what?" Mary asked. Before Sherlock or John could say anything, she said, "Long story. I get it. But when either of you have a minute, you have really got to fill me in on what all happened."
"We may not need their help," John said to Sherlock, "But we should probably let them know that an extremely intelligent demon who now knows they exist is back on the loose."
"You make a very excellent point, John," Sherlock said.
John sat down with Mary as Sherlock pulled out his phone and called Dean Winchester. The phone rang against Sherlock's ear as he walked into the kitchen. He could feel it. The adrenaline of a new mystery, the thrill of a highly intelligent adversary.
From the kitchen, he heard Mary say loudly, "What do you mean you accidentally went to purgatory?!"
As the dial tone rang again, Sherlock knew he'd be able to protect his family. He knew everything would be okay. The game was on again.