"...Hello Mycroft, it's Sherlock...it truly is me Mycroft and I can prove it...simple Mycroft, in two different ways actually, the first is that I know for a fact that you have a meeting with the King in about an hour your time as you always do to update him on world events as needed. The second though should be more convincing, if it wasn't me how would I know about Leanard Halstan who messaged you a few months ago?...no need the Swiss government will be giving me a ride home...yes he's my second call actually...no either you or John will be the ones to break the news to them...okay I'll let you know when our estimated time of arrival will be...bye"
Once Sherlock hangs up on his brother he calls John which was just as hard a phone call for him but eventually he got through it and then turned towards Josiah.
"Well, now that I've taken care of that when shall we be leaving for London?"
"Not until tomorrow earliest"
"What for?"
"There are reasons okay?"
"Very well"
What Sherlock and most of the others didn't know was that while Josiah had informed the Swiss government about how Sherlock was nearly ready to go home he hadn't been sure exactly when that would actually happen since he didn't know how long it would take to get Sherlock talking about his friends loss. There was also the fact that earlier that day he had been called about the fact that the plane that was in reserve would be in repairs until the next day due to bird strike damage repair and maintenance being needed at the same time. Once he was alone Josiah let the government know that Sherlock was ready to go home whenever the plane was ready and to call him once maintenance and repairs were completed. The next afternoon was when he received the call he had been waiting for since it turned out that most of the parts had already been at the airport to fix the bird strike damage without realization due to the fact that the plane was already due to undergo maintanence after it had landed.
"Hey guys, so the plane is ready for you Sherlock, do you want to call or should I regarding when to meet you at the airport?"
"You should since I think you'll be better informed about everything that they might need to know"
"Very well"
"I'm already packed and ready to go by the way"
"We're sure you are since you didn't ever really buy anything once you moved here"
"You kept track"
"Yes we kept track, if only as a means of seeing if you were being properly provided by your job and commissions for working with us or if you would need more money at times"
"Did you take into account the fact that I would want to return home someday since my memory had returned?"
"Yes we were indeed keeping that in mind whenever we were watching your spending habits"
"Good"
"As such combine the fact that we knew what we payed out, what your job most likely payed out and the fact that you only ever bought necessities we knew you were always making sure that you were simply always ready to go home at a moments notice and not get attacked to any one location"
"Indeed"
"We'll send your items home on another plane Sherlock Holmes, for now the plane doesn't have any way of keeping anything but clothes safe so it's best that you simply bring some clothes with you only"
"Very well, then let's get going since I brought a small suitcase with clothes in it already"
And with that the long awaited reunion flight took off and six hours later Sherlock was finally reunited with his friends and family after just over two and a half years.
"Welcome home Sherlock"
"I'm home Mycroft, John, sorry it took me so long"
"But...but why?"
"At first it was because I was actually amnesic after waking up from a coma that lasted six months according to the doctor and then when I did regain my memories I felt it best that I stay away because of Moriarty's men. Lestrade...how did Gregson die?"
"What do you know about his death?"
"Just that it was case related I didn't...I didn't really want to read what had happened to him"
"I see, I guess I should tell you then seeing as how that's the only way you'll find out what happened"
"Yes it is indeed the only way I'll find out what happened since I refuse to read about his death and yet..."
"Indeed, you need to know more than most people what happened due to our history, oh by the way speaking of history my direct superior's now completely know about us due to factors that were outside of our control"
"Wait...so they know about..."
"About the reincarnation thing?, yes"
"I see, has that caused any problems?"
"No not really, in any case though, Gregson's death"
"Right, that conversation"
"You were the one who wanted to know Sherlock"
"True, so what happened?"
"Right, so this is what happened a month ago thereabouts...I'm afraid I slightly lost track of time so I'm not completely sure of the timeline"
"You wouldn't have lost time if you hadn't done that stupid move Lestrade"
"I know, in any case though I'm telling Sherlock the story"
"Right"
Lestrade sighs before speaking up again
"Like I said this happen around a month ago or so and I was recovering from a work related injury. I knew I would be temporarily desk bound since I hadn't fully recovered but I never thought that what had actually happened would happen to any of the group, not after you and Bradstreet anyways. I have the file by the way not as props but for you to read afterwords"
Lestrade holds up the files and thinks back to when he found out Gregson was missing.
About a month earlier
Lestrade walked into the office after being forced to stay away for two weeks due to being a patient in the hospital after being shot during an investigation, one week in the hospital recovering from surgery to remove the bullet which was dangerously close to an artery in the shoulder and the other week recovering at home since he had recovered so well in the hospital at a surprising speed for the doctors. And as soon as he steps into the office he completely stops and then asks the question a few other officers had been dreading while he had been away.
"Where's Gregson?"
"Missing"
"Okay, what happened?"
"We're not entirely sure actually, all we know is that he was going out to meet a source of his for a case and stated that he would be back in two hours. He never came back and never called us to explain the delay in his return"
"How long has it been?"
"Three days since he was last seen or heard from"
"Three days, and no one saw fit to tell me?"
"Well we uh...well that is we thought..."
"You thought what Constable?"
"We thought it best not to worry you or the other Inspectors while you were away and thought that we could find him on our own"
"I see, well you thought wrong and will now have to pay the price for such assumptions"
"Indeed you will, however what I don't understand is why the other Inspectors were waiting for me to come back to punish you guys"
"Simple, you're the scariest of the group now that...well you know"
"I see"
"If we could be scary enough we'd be the ones dooling out punishment but since we're not..."
"I understand, I'll have to think of something later though, right now finding Gregson is more important"
"You're right"
"Now then I know this isn't going to be pleasant but...we have to search hospitals and morgues along with asking our informants about him"
"Why?"
(Sighs) "I don't like to think about it, but Gregson could be hurt seriously enough to be unconscious or he could be dead and in both cases without his ID to alert the proper authorities that we need called"
"But why would he be without his ID?"
"There's lots of reasons for him to be out and about without his ID, including it being taken from him by his attackers"
"So we have a lot of looking to do"
"Yes, fortunately for both the hospital and the morgue we can focus solely on the John Does"
"Fortunately?!"
"Yes, fortunately, this is because of the fact that hospitals and morgues very rarely get John Does these days"
"Thus the searches at those locations will be quick"
"Exactly"
"Very well then, I guess I'll go"
"Thanks Constable"
As it turned out the first hospital that the Constable checked out would be the one where Gregson would be found.
"Hello Constable, what can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if you've admitted any John Does over the past two or three days"
"Let me check real quick"
The nurse checks the system real quick and then speaks up again.
"We do actually have a John Doe admitted about twelve hours ago, they're in the ICU so you may not be able to talk to them"
"That's okay I just need to confirm if they're someone I'm looking for"
"Very well, I'll have someone escort you to the ICU"
"Thank you"
Five minutes later and the Constable was taken to the John Does room where the person was hooked up to a ventilator amongst other equipment. The Constable still recognized the person though.
"Inspector Gregson"
"So you know him"
"Yes he's Inspector Gregson of New Scotland Yard"
"I see, do you know who has his medical power of attorney?"
"Yes, I'll call them so that they can come right away"
"Thank you"
Fifteen minutes later and Anderson was at the hospital in the ICU section.
"Gregson...doctor how bad is it?"
"Let's go to my office, we need to talk in private about his condition"
And so the doctor and Anderson went to the doctor's office where the doctor explained just how seriously injured Gregson was.
"Basically he's being kept alive by the machines and there's no hope of any recovery that we can tell. Even if he wasn't essentially brain dead he would be paralyzed from the neck down permanently and need help breathing for the rest of his life"
"You mean stuck on a ventilator"
"Not quite actually, eventually he'd be able to simply need oxygen for most of the day and especially while he was asleep at night but he'd never be able to be free from oxygen bottles ever again and would need almost constant care"
"I see...I need to talk to some people and get them to the hospital to say goodbye and then..."
"You'll sign the papers to take him off life support"
"Yes"
"Very well, are you sure you want to do this though?"
"I'm sure, it's what he would have wanted"
"Very well then, we'll allow you to make the proper arrangements for the people who need to say goodbye to this officer and once you're ready we'll give you the papers that allow us to terminate life support for him. You must understand though that once you sign those papers there's no going back"
"I know"
"I see, I'll give you your privacy to make the needed phone calls and then make sure you guys have time to say your goodbyes"
And with that the doctor leaves so that Anderson could make his calls and an hour and a half after that it was time for Anderson to sign the paperwork that would take Gregson off of life support.
"It's not too late to change your mind officer, all you have to do is not sign this paperwork and he'll remain on life support"
"No, I made up my mind when you told me his condition"
"Then here you are"
And so Anderson signs the paperwork taking Gregson off of life support.
"How...how long before he...?"
"We're not entirely sure but it won't be too long now, no more than an hour most likely"
"I...I want to stay with him until the end"
"Very well you can stay, do the rest of you officers also want to stay?"
"No, the rest of us will head back to the Yard and wait for official word from Anderson, it's...painful looking at him thinking he's asleep and yet knowing that he's really dead and that his body hasn't truly acknowledged it yet"
With that permission given Anderson simply sits by Gregson's bedside holding his hands and watching the monitors religiously wanting to know the moment his friend was truly dead. Fifteen minutes later Anderson heard the heart monitor give out a single long tone which meant that Gregson's heart had stopped and only a moment later, after the doctor checked one last time for a pulse, Gregson was officially declared dead.
"Once everything we're legally required to do is done we'll release his body for you to have a funeral"
"Understood"
With that Anderson heads back to Scotland Yard and as soon as Lestrade sees Anderson entering the office he knows that he's lost his friend and comrade but doesn't let on or let Anderson reveal that publicly
"My office Anderson"
Once in the office Lestrade sighs before speaking up
"When did it happen?"
"About ten minutes ago Gregson finally passed away, fifteen minutes after he had been taken off of life support, he...he never woke up to speak to me one last time"
"You knew that was likely"
"Yes I knew I just..."
"You didn't want to accept that possibility and wanted to say goodbye in person and have Gregson hear that goodbye, I understand"
"Still, what...what killed Gregson? I mean, he was too smart for something simple to kill him, not with his two lifetime's of experience"
"We'll find out Anderson, I promise that we'll find out"
As it turned out ten minutes later is when they would find out what killed Gregson because two of Gregson's informants came to the Yard to see if he was there so that they could finally talk to him.
"We need to speak with Inspector Gregson immediately"
"I'm afraid you're going to have to speak with me instead, I'll explain why in my office"
"But..."
"Please, it's best to hear this in private"
"Okay then"
And so Lestrade takes Gregson's informants into his office and tells them about how he had passed away due to injuries that the Yard wasn't sure how he'd come by them.
"We know how it happened, though we were hoping to avoid it in the first place, it's why we were so anxious to come here and talk to him today"
"I see, can you explain it to me then?"
"Definitely, after all it was actually his instructions to tell you if anything happened to him where he couldn't tell you himself about the case we're working with him on"
"Wait, what case?"
"Right, you've been busy with your own cases and then you were out injured"
"Except Gregson knows to keep me in the loop about all of his cases"
"That one's our fault actually, we forced him to keep quiet about this case, he wanted to tell you stating that it was some sort of rule but we didn't let him obey that rule"
"I see, so then what exactly was this case about anyways?"
And so the informants explained the child slavery ring that Gregson was investigating, how children were first abducted and then sold either in Great Britain or to foreign countries depending on preferences.
"Okay, why did you force him to break the rules that were created for safety reasons?"
"Because of exactly what happened to him, we knew that if it was discovered that the police were looking into the case then one or more officers could be hurt or even killed, we were hoping that if only he was involved in the case then he wouldn't be discovered"
"Oh...so that's what happened, he had to break one rule in order to follow a different rule, one that's more important then the rule he broke in the first place"
"Wait what?"
"I'm not explaining the rule he obeyed by breaking a different rule but I can tell you that if he had survived his injuries he wouldn't have been in any trouble. For now though we have to plan a funeral and send his obituary to the news media"
"Understood, you should know that with Gregson's death the group might go further underground which means catching them will be much harder"
"I know, but they're going to learn that you can't murder a police officer and get away with it, even if it takes time to catch all of them"
"Inspector Lestrade, how can we keep in contact with you in a way that won't jeapordize our status as informants who aren't known to be police informants?"
"I'm not quite sure really, but we'll figure something out I promise, in the meantime though I'll look through Gregson's...through his desk to see if I can't find any notes about the case you just told me about. Plus any of his other cases that he might be working on that I do know about or might not know about simply because of the fact that he wasn't sure if he had an actual case or not"
"Wait being unsure if it's a case is a reason to keep quiet?"
"Yes because if it's not an actual case then there's no sense in everyone knowing about it and potentially distracting us from actual cases that we're working on"
"Oh, well in any case it's time for us to leave for now, if we figure out a way of remaining in contact with you before you do we'll let you know"
"Agreed"
With that Gregson's former informants leave while Lestrade begins the work of clearing Gregson's desk which allows him the chance to find Gregson's notes about the child slavery case he was working on in private. He also found notes for some of his more public cases and as such those he decided to give to a few younger Inspectors who could use more experience in certain aspects of investigation and a few Constables that were interested in becoming Inspectors and thus could use the experience before the tests they would have to take to advance in rank. However this confused many of the officers since while Lestrade's superior's knew about Gregson's death the superior's were keeping it quiet at the moment not sure of when they should tell everyone that they'd lost an officer, especially since they weren't sure of why Gregson was so seriously injured and thus died from his injuries.
"Lestrade...won't Gregson be mad about you giving away his cases when he gets back?"
"Wait you...you haven't heard?"
"Heard what?"
Lestrade shakes his head though.
"No, if you haven't been told yet then I can't explain, but I am going to have to ask some people about why you've been kept in the dark"
Suddenly Lestrade's superior's come out realizing that with Lestrade going through Gregson's desk it was time to inform the Yard as a whole about the loss of one of their own even if they weren't sure yet why Gregson was so seriously injured it led to his death.
"We'll explain Lestrade, I guess we shouldn't have waited so long"
"It's okay sir, by the way I know why...well you know and will explain it in private"
"It's somehow case related isn't it?"
"Yes sir it is"
(Sighs) "I understand, I also get the feeling that you can't explain the case"
"Not until everyone else is informed about...you know"
"I see...then I have an announcement everyone, Lestrade and a few others already know this but...today we have lost one of our own, Inspector Gregson died about an hour ago from injuries incurred apparently related due to a case. I don't have the full details but what I do know is that he was brought to the hospital basically dead already but wasn't officially dead until paperwork taking him off of life support was signed. I don't know why exactly it took us looking for him for him to be identified at the hospital which did not have the authority to simply have him declared dead but such was the case this time. He'll be buried at the usual place once his body is released to us"
"That's why you're giving us his case notes for all of his cases, and why you knew he wouldn't be upset with you...it's because you have to give his cases to others because he can't finish them"
"Yes, we have no choice but to finish his cases for him, including the case that ultimately got him killed, however that case is off the record and as such I will be the only person dealing with it until we can make it more public, which we'll be able to do once evidence arises considering they killed a police officer, and that's something you don't do without consequences"
"Wait, there's a case that we know about but can't help with?"
"Yes, it's the case that got him killed everyone, I don't want to risk it until I know for a fact that we can actually be public about it so that we don't risk losing more officers"
"Are you sure we won't lose more officers when we're public?"
"Not entirely, but that seems to be the most likely"
"I hope you're right"
"Same here quite frankly"
"In any case though everyone now knows why Gregson's cases are being passed on, however I will allow those people a few days to get familiar with his notes before asking for results"
"Uh...looks like I have a few phone calls to make regarding my new case that was originally Gregson's"
"Sorry Roberts but..."
"I know, no choice in the matter"
"Indeed, but if needed I'll help you with those phone calls"
"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay"
"Understood, just let any of us know if you do ultimately need help"
"Will do, I know my limits after all"
And so while Constable Roberts made the very necessary phone calls to Gregson's informants regarding the fact that Gregson was dead and that he was taking over his cases Lestrade started working on one of Gregson's less dangerous and more easily made public cases. One of the cases that Gregson was working on was an ongoing protection scam involving specific types of businesses and the reason Lestrade decided to take on that one instead of a murder case was because of the child slavery case that he also had to work on in secret.
"Lestrade, I know you took more than the secret case from Gregson, so what did you take?"
"A protection scam case sir, I will need to talk to everyone he's talked to so far and to have those people pass the word that I'm the contact person for any new cases in the future"
"I see, and that secret investigation that you need to do?"
"Don't worry I know what I need to do to continue that case, but I have to move carefully on that one so that we don't lose any more officers. Plus there's the fact that I don't want to do too much before the funeral"
"Understood"
Five days later and the group was able to bury Gregson, what no one knew was that the day before the funeral Lestrade was actually exposed to someone with a summer cold and had actually caught said cold though he wasn't aware of it quite yet. And as such he was there and also gave a speech when it was his turn to talk about Gregson.
"I've known Gregson since what American's call High School, we met in class one day and we became friends almost instantly since we just seemed to connect easily. When we joined the Yard we didn't exactly know that such a thing would happen due to the fact that I joined before he did, but our friendship from our school years transferred over to our police years. I'm going to miss him a lot but I will keep a promise with him that we made in private shortly after he joined the Yard and we started working together in the same department"
Once the funeral was over with several of the officers went right back to work and then three days later Lestrade came into work obviously sick.
"Lestrade are you sure you should be working?"
"Can't afford not to, it's just a cold according to my doctor, and yes I'll wear a mask whenever I'm not alone in my office"
"Fine, just be warned that Watson will be alerted and you know full well what he'll do if you push it"
"I know alright"
"Okay, just making sure I passed on the standard warning is all"
"Understood sir"
Ultimately Watson would indeed sedate Lestrade for working too hard while sick and would keep him either sedated or actually in the hospital for a solid week because of how sick Lestrade got due to the fact that his cold turned into pneumonia.
"You should have known better than to push yourself when ill Lestrade"
"Sorry Watson"
"Too late for that now Lestrade, you've got pneumonia and you're lucky it isn't worse than what it is"
"I'll be more careful in the future, I promise"
"Hm...we'll see, in any case you're being released tomorrow"
As promised Lestrade was released the next day and soon enough a month had passed since Gregson's death.
"Hard to believe it's been a month already"
"I know, and it's been...well it's been a while since Mr. Holmes' death too, there are days like today that I truly miss both of them"
Suddenly a Constable who was relatively new to the force entered the office area and spoke up.
"Inspector Lestrade, both Doctor Watson and a Mycroft Holmes are requesting an audience with you"
"In my office"
The two are quickly escorted into Lestrade's office and when he sees Mycroft close the door and make sure that the privacy blinds are down he knows that it's a serious conversation.
"What's wrong Mycroft, John?"
John and Mycroft look to each other which makes Lestrade uneasy and then Mycroft simply gives John a nod in a clear case of giving the floor to John.
"Lestrade about two hours ago Mycroft and I received...well what we consider a shocking phone call. I know I don't need to remind you of what happened two and a half years ago, however it turns out that what we thought was the truth wasn't actually the truth. It turns out that Sherlock's alive Lestrade, he's proved his identity to both of us over the phone and told us to pass on the message to you"
"You...you're sure it's him just through the phone? I mean, you haven't been tricked somehow?"
"We're as positive as we can be with phone confirmations, it turns out that the Swiss government saved him, though we don't know the full story yet"
"Did he say when he was coming home? I mean, if it really is him"
"Soon, he said that the Swiss government would be making the needed arrangements"
"I want to be there to confirm for myself that it's him"
"But of course Lestrade, once we know the arrangements we'll inform you so that you can be there"
Once the two had confirmation of the plan they let Lestrade know so that he could make the needed arrangements to be at the airport on time. Once the plane landed and Sherlock came out Lestrade knew instantly that it truly was Sherlock Holmes standing before him.
Present
"And that's basically the whole story regarding Gregson's death, I'm still working his case regarding the child trafficking but only whenever I get the chance and I'm sure I'm not risking myself, the informants I inherited or the Yard as a whole. Now then I believe that you owe all of those who remember and are left the story regarding your survival since Watson was sure you were dead considering you were shot through your bloody heart"
"Right, that does deserve an explanation"
Once the group was in a secure location (aka Sherlock and John's apartment) Sherlock explains to the group how the shot had somehow missed his heart though it was close enough that John naturally thought he had been shot through the heart. He also explained how he had been found by the Swiss government and had been in a coma for six months and then spent the next six months in rehab before traveling Europe for a bit until he'd learned of Bradstreet's death. He also explained that until he'd read of Bradstreet's death he had been amnesic, but once he regained his memories he deliberately stayed away because it was too dangerous for him to return due to the fact that Moriarty's network was still very much active at the time.
"Where have you been then if you weren't here?"
"In Germany actually, once I regained my memories I was a special consultant for the Swiss government but I also had a regular job as well until I felt it was time to return home"
"What made Gregson's death the reason you returned home Sherlock? I know that something about his death was part of why you came home after around two and a half years instead of after three like originally"
"In some ways it's hard to explain and yet in others it's fairly easy, you see initially I did my best to ignore Gregson's death because it hurt too much to think that I had lost another link to my past. However the Swiss government decided to force a confrontation and I realized that I needed to be home to not only help you Lestrade with getting closure but also realized that Moriarty's men wouldn't take action with you possibly being on a manhunt"
"So you're forcing their hand this ways huh?"
"Yes, I am"
"Still, while we finish Moriarty's group we do still have the child slavery case I inherited from Gregson to work on, which I hope you're willing to help with Sherlock"
"But of course Lestrade"
"But first we need to deal with the paperwork that not only gets you recognized as legally alive but also a police consultant again"
"I'll check with them but the Swiss government probably already has the paperwork getting me legally declared alive again already dealt with and if that's actually the case than all we have to deal with is the paperwork to make me a police consultant again"
"Okay, then we have a plan in place"
"However we'll have to wait until tomorrow to begin implementing it since the Swiss government agents that came with me have to go to Switzerland first to figure out if the paperwork regarding my real identity has been filled out and simply not filed"
"Good point, still it is nice to have you back Sherlock, even if it can't be official yet for legal reasons"
"It's good to be back, by the way do your superior's know Lestrade?"
"No, I've kept this from them deliberately due to the fact that I felt it best to not give out false hope"
"I see, then when I return in the legal sense it will be a shock to them, though hopefully a pleasant one"
"Yes, it will be a shock to them, one that is unfortunately necessary, if I thought they could handle the shock I would have told them but...since I myself didn't believe it to be true I decided it was best that only I felt the disappointment of there being an impostor"
"I see, well in any case let's hope that the shock isn't too severe for them ultimately"
"True"
"Wait...did you ask the Swiss government agents about seeing if the documents declaring you alive are filled out in Switzerland or not?"
"Yes I did"
"And you're sure we'll have answers tomorrow?"
"Positive"
"Okay then, by the way this makes you stuck in this apartment until further notice you know that right?"
"I know Lestrade, I was prepared for this when I came to terms with the fact that I was thought dead in the first place and knew that if I ever returned home under any circumstance other than the one I originally came home for last time this happened I would have to stay in my apartment until legally declared alive again"
"Let us hope things go quickly, for now though I have work I have to get back to, all three of us do actually"
"I know"
As it would turn out the next day when Sherlock heard from the Swiss agents, there was paperwork regarding his true identity filled out and simply not filed with any world government, not even his home government of Britain. This was actually done in respect to Sherlock's wishes to remain dead for a time and the Swiss government was just waiting for him to say the word on when he wanted to be declared alive once more. Only problem as it turned out was that while they had received word the day he decided to return home the computers were unfortunately undergoing emergency maintenance after an extremely nasty virus had managed to get in their system and thus they had to wait until the day after Sherlock's return home to print out the forms to be sent by courier to the British government