I don't own the characters or places!

When he finally returned to the office where the others were waiting, nearly two hours had passed. It surprised him since the time with Moriarty didn't feel that long. In fact, time had been flying by while John asked question after question for Mycroft and tried to write down all the answers on the small notepad he'd taken with him. Moriarty had tried to make everything as exciting as possible, once or twice even telling John a few backstories about the things the oldest Holmes wanted to know. They'd been interesting, though he didn't see a reason to write them down as well. Surely, Mycroft wouldn't be amused about John knowing those things.

The moment he stepped into the office, the others jumped to their feet. Well, everyone except for Sherlock, who'd already been standing, surely walking around restlessly. His boyfriend crossed the room faster than expected and suddenly, John was in his arms and for the first time since arriving at the prison, he could finally relax.

"John, are you alright?" Sherlock asked immediately, looking at him closely. His eyes were narrowed and there was concern in them. Much concern. Only when John reached for Sherlock's hands did he realize that they were shaking. He felt guilty, knowing that this was because of him. He'd stayed with the criminal far too long.

"I'm fine." He replied and pulled Sherlock closer, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. "Everything's alright. We have what we need. It all worked out."

"What did he say to you?" His boyfriend wanted to know, but John only smiled.

"Nothing serious. He was mostly offended because I kept talking about you so much." He then grabbed the notepad and held it out to Mycroft, who looked surprised. "Answers to all your questions, just like requested."

The oldest Holmes stared at him before turning his attention to the paper in his hand. "Thank you very much, John. How did you manage to make him talk so much?" It was true, he'd filled many pages with information.

He grinned. "I might have shouted at him. A few insults fell." A shrug. "It amused him and afterwards, he was willing to tell me everything."

The others all stared at him in surprise. "That's… I don't even know what that is." Greg said in the end.

"He must be really into you." James muttered, earning a sharp glance from Sherlock. "What? I mean, he told John everything! I'm sure you could have asked for much more information and he would have given it to you."

"So what about the ring?" Q asked suddenly and now, all attention turned back to him. Even Mycroft looked up from the notes. "Who's after James?"

"They're called Spectre." John repeated what Moriarty had told him. "Involved in everything illegal you can imagine. Moriarty said they're a threat in business. And the Pale King is someone called Mr. White."

At this, Q and James exchanged a look.

"You know him?" John asked.

James sighed. "We've met in the past. Can you find out where he is now?"

Q nodded. "As soon as we're on the plane, I'll start looking for him."

"Then we should leave." Sherlock threw in and without even waiting for an answer, he began to drag John out of the room and back towards the plane. The others followed in silence.

Once they were back in the air and the island with the prison vanished in the distance, Sherlock sighed quietly. "I didn't like you talking to Moriarty." He admitted without looking at John.

He glanced around, sure that they would have an audience for this conversation, but it seemed like the others were all busy with other things. James and Q sat in front of Q's laptop, surely trying to track Mr. White. Mycroft was reading more of John's notes and Greg had closed his eyes, apparently trying to get some sleep.

"I didn't like it as well." He said quietly. "No matter what people say, this prison will never break him. I bet that even now, he's scheming and trying to figure out how to get away from there. He mentioned people willing to break him out, if someone would take the lead."

Sherlock's eyes were hard. "And he thought that you could be that person?"

John scoffed. "As if I'd even think about that. He threatened you multiple times. I think this place is too good for him. Normally, he should rot away in a dark cell. Not a place like that."

"What did he say to you to get such a reaction?" Suddenly, Sherlock looked interested. "Tell me." The unspoken I need to know, otherwise I'll go crazy hung in the air between them.

So he told his boyfriend everything, trying to recall what Moriarty had said as good as possible. The more he talked, the angrier Sherlock seemed to get. At least according to the way he clenched his fists tightly. When John came to the part where he'd started shouting and Moriarty finally decided to tell him things, disbelief appeared on Sherlock's face.

"He must be very interested in you." The detective muttered with a shake of his head. "And he's clearly insane."

"We already knew that." John pointed out and finished his story in short words. He didn't mention all the questions he'd asked for Mycroft or Moriarty's nasty comments to those.

To his surprise, Sherlock pulled him closer, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "I'm glad you're back, John."

He smiled. "Me too. Let's not do this again."

"As if I'd ever let you go there once more. This was out of necessity. There won't be another situation like this." Sherlock's voice was determined when he said it.

"I hope you're right." He breathed in his boyfriend's comforting scent and closed his eyes. "I wouldn't be mad if I never have to see him again."

"The next time, he won't just ask for newspapers." Sherlock tried to hide it, but by now, John knew him well enough to hear the uneasiness in his words.

He looked up at him again. "He won't even get a second of my time. That's not negotiable." Now his own voice sounded hard.

Sherlock smiled. "I'm glad you see it like this." Then he leaned in to kiss John deeply. When he pulled back after what felt like a very long time, his eyes were shining. "Let's just go home and forget the rest of the world for a while."

This suggestion, which was something rare out of Sherlock's mouth, made John grin. "Sounds lovely."

On the plane again, Greg closed his eyes and tried to relax. From what John had told them, the conversation with Moriarty hadn't been a total disaster. They had the information they needed now. Q and James were already tracking this Mr. White, whoever he was, and surely it wouldn't take the youngest Holmes long to do so. Then James would be on his way to gather more information.

Sherlock and John were already lost in their own world again, talking quietly. He assumed that John told his boyfriend everything that had been said because otherwise, the detective would never be able to calm down. It had been obvious how hard waiting was for Sherlock. In fact, Greg had assumed that he'd get even more impatient. But next to walking around aimlessly and muttering to himself, nothing had happened during John's absence. The others had tried to make some conversation, but in the end, they'd all just sat there silently for most of the time.

Since two couples on the plane were busy, that left Greg and Mycroft. Well, or rather just Greg. Because Mycroft was busy with the notes John had taken, always comparing them to something on a small tablet he'd gotten somewhere. Most probably, he was already solving a national crisis or planned to do just that. It wouldn't surprise him.

Since he didn't have anything better to do, Greg did the only thing left. Trying to sleep. Which wasn't that easy because his thoughts were still running wild. Everything had happened so fast in the past weeks, it still made him feel a little uneasy.

Someone was after James. They'd met Mary and she was behaving strange. Mycroft was always keeping far too many secrets. Then Moriarty, someone he'd assumed they'd never have to deal with again.

It seemed like everyone in their group had some kind of task. John in talking to Moriarty. James and Q were standing in the middle of all this. Sherlock was trying to get information through his many sources. Even Mycroft could do something, considering that he had the security clearance to keep an eye on such criminal organizations.

So where was Greg's job in all this mess? Yes, he'd tried to question Mary the previous evening, but it didn't go well. In fact, he didn't get a single new thing out of her. She'd been the one asking questions most of the time, while he only tried to answer them as good as possible. With lots of evasion of the most important points.

"I can hear you think." Mycroft's soft voice said suddenly, ripping him out of his thoughts. He blinked in surprise and looked at the other man next to him, only to find Mycroft still staring at the tablet. When he noticed that Greg had stopped pretending to be asleep, he switched off the device and turned to him. "You can't expect me to believe that you've been indeed asleep, Greg. Your breathing was far too uneven for that."

He sighed. "Alright, you caught me there. I've just been thinking."

"Of what?" Mycroft asked with a frown, surely already trying to deduce just exactly what Greg was feeling in this moment.

He shrugged. "Nothing of importance. You should continue working. It seems to be important, now that you have the answers to all your questions."

As if to prove a point, Mycroft placed the notepad in the inner pocket of his suit jacket. "This can wait. We've been searching for answers for so long, a few hours won't make a difference. I don't think that your thoughts aren't of any importance, Greg."

The intensity of the oldest Holmes' gaze made him swallow. "I've just been thinking of the previous weeks. Everything that happened and how on earth we could find ourselves here, on our way back from Moriarty's prison. I never thought we could use his help one day."

"I think neither of us considered this possibility." Mycroft replied thoughtfully.

"You did, Myc." He argued softly. "You weren't surprised when we decided to ask him for help." There it was again, the point which had led to their previous argument. However, Mycroft didn't seem to have the energy to argue anymore.

He sighed deeply. "I never thought that Dr. Watson would agree to a meeting. But let's get to the point. You've been wondering what your role in all this is."

Of course he'd already guessed his thoughts. "I'm not very useful." There was no way to deny what was bothering him. Mycroft wouldn't believe him anyway. "It seems like everyone can contribute in some way, but me? Not at all."

Mycroft kept looking into his eyes. "You would be surprised to know in how many ways you help us all."

Greg scoffed. "I didn't even get a single useful thing out of Mary yesterday. How is that helping?"

"I think your conversation gave us more insight on her motives." Mycroft argued to his surprise. "Especially the questions she asked with no one else around."

"She's interested in James. We already knew that." He threw in. "And she tried to question me about it."

"Which you successfully avoided."

He rolled his eyes. "While talking about my problems. Which was the only way to make her shut up for a while." He didn't mean to say it, but now the words were out. When the others had asked before, he'd explained that there wasn't much to tell. But there was. Only that Greg didn't mention any names. He'd just complained about a man he was interested in and who was unbelievably complicated. Mary had listened quietly and even tried to give him some advice.

It looked like Mycroft wanted to say something to that, but in this moment, Q called his name. "Mycroft, can you come over here for a moment? There's something you should have a look at."

The oldest Holmes looked torn between going to his younger brother and staying with Greg. But then he just sighed. "We'll finish this conversation later."

For now, though, it seemed that later would mean another day. Because Greg went over to join John and Sherlock once Mycroft was gone, not wanting to explain his feelings just yet.

It didn't take Q long to find Mr. White, who was currently hiding in Austria. After arriving back in London, they said goodbye to their friends and made their way to the MI6 headquarter. James only needed to get his equipment from Q Branch and then he was ready to leave. And of course they had to inform M about the successful interrogation of Moriarty first.

When they arrived at M's office, they were surprised to find that he already had some company. A man who was introduced as Max Denbigh and whom James decided just to call C. He was head of the Joint Intelligence Service, whose plan it was to merge MI5 and MI6. A disastrous plan, especially since it should go along with ending the Double-Oh program. Instead, they wanted to introduce something that was called the nine-eye-system. A cooperation between nine countries for a global surveillance of all activities.

James could see how much M hated the idea and he felt the same repulsion towards it. Just like Q, who stared at C as if he was completely insane. Which he seemed to be, in a way. It was only made worse because he could have been Moriarty's brother. James thought that it was scary how much the two men looked alike.

C seemed to be so sure that his plan would work and in the end, he left M's office with a wide smile on his lips. Only when they were sure that he was gone did M sigh deeply. "I'll try everything to avoid this new system." He said determinedly. "Though I fear that it won't be that easy. There's a political decision behind all this."

Q frowned at that. "Does Mycroft know about it?"

M just looked weary. "Someone at the government made this plan, but I'm not aware that Mr. Holmes had any say in it."

"Then maybe we should tell him." Q's posture was stiff and James resisted the urge to place a hand on his back. Of course M knew about their relationship, but it was an unspoken agreement not to mention it in his presence. "Seems like the problems come from all sides now."

M frowned. "All sides?"

In short words, they informed him about the conversation with Moriarty and what he'd told them. "Mr. White." M muttered. "It doesn't surprise me that his name is connected to the network."

"From what Moriarty said, it looks like he betrayed Spectre." James threw in thoughtfully. "Q has been able to locate him. I could leave within an hour."

M nodded. "Do that. And be careful, Bond. It seems like they're more dangerous than we first thought. In the meantime, I'll see what we can do about the situation with C." He looked at Q. "Speak with your brother as soon as possible."

"I'll call him once James is on his way to Austria." Q confirmed.

"Good." M looked at both of them in silence for a short moment. "Let's get done with all of his. Good luck, Bond."

With that, they were dismissed.