Chapter 9: The Loss

The next morning hit me like a ton of bricks. I lay in my bed and the light of the sun shining in my window hit my eyes hard. I was laying on my stomach wrapped up in my white sheets. My head was killing me. I quickly raised up in bed and saw none other than Mycroft staring at me.

"Late night dear brother?" He said with sarcasm. "I knew you would take the condition of mother's illness badly, but I didn't think it would cause you to do all this."

I quickly wrapped the sheet around my body.

"A bit of privacy would be great, Mycroft!" I said angrily. "I'm nothing but a bare bottom in here."

"Oh don't be so modest, Sherly," he said with a laugh. "I remember when you were in diapers."

Quickly, I got out of bed and threw on a robe. I still didn't understand what the deal with my brother was- Suddenly, I noticed Lillie was gone. Throughout the flat I searched and searched for her.

"She's gone, Sherly." Mycroft said with his hand outstretched; a newspaper in it. "I'm afraid you've lost the game brother."

I snatched the newspaper out of his hand and what I read made me sit down really fast. The headline read: Lillie Diamond: Former Elephant Gang Member and Mistress of Sherlock Holmes. Damn it! That weasel of a husband and Arthur James Raffles had been in this mess together. The blackmailer had published his evidence to the newspapers. Of course he left out her relationship with him and put me in his place. But the bigger question was: where was LillIe?

"She's gone, Sherly…" Mycroft reiterated and looked over at my bedside table. I ran over to it and saw a letter with the symbols L.D. on it.

"My Darling Holmes," it read. "Last night was one of the most memorable nights of my life. I had intended to visit you when you were in a fitter state, but I couldn't just not see you one last time before leaving. My husband told me he was going to teach me a lesson. He partnered with Raffles and said he was going to sell my story to the local tabloids. Mainly stories about me being a mistress with you. Raffles published details about my involvement with the Elephant Gang. I knew it was only a matter of time so I wanted to spend just one more moment with you before leaving. No need to worry about me. I am moving to Scotland to start over. My heart breaks to know that you will be so angry at me for not telling you, but this is for the best. If you had known you would have wanted me to stay. But something tells me; you need to spend some time alone for a while. I truly believe you will make a fine detective one day. Don't let this one failure cause you to lose faith in yourself. I will always believe in you. And love you. Love Lillie Diamond."

This is what she was trying to tell me at the lab that day, but I was too stubborn to listen. My attention had been divided; between this whole Raffles affair and my mother's health; it was difficult to juggle both emotionally. I wiped my tears away quickly; not wanting to give Mycroft the satisfaction. He had warned me many times about dealings with women. As usual I never listened. My heart had been broken but more importantly I was furious at A.J. Raffles and Reginald Diamond for what they did to Lillie. My reputation as a consultant for the police was also on the line, but that didn't matter. Everyone in London seemed to have an opinion that I was nothing more than a ragged, rough and tough controversial crackpot.

"I'm so sorry dear brother. Truly…but as I told you. Not even the highest positions in the British government can apprehend this man. What made you think you could?"

I had removed my robe and was putting on my trousers and shirt. I couldn't speak to Mycroft on this as he would never understand. From that day on, I swore I would someday get my revenge on Raffles, but I began to understand that Lillie was right. With his prestigious social standing and wealth no one would dare touch him. The reason I thought I could apprehend him? I thought I could make a difference…even a small difference in the life of one person…

I never saw Lillie again. Just the memories of her that still linger in my mind and heart. I have made peace with letting her go, John. I'm sure she is happily married in Scotland. At least I hope she is. She deserved that much and more.

***We are now back at Baker Street; Holmes has finished telling his story so we are switching back to Watson's point of view***

After hearing Holmes recount this story to say I was shocked was an understatement. As far as I knew, he was never romantically linked with anyone. The closest I had seen him with anyone was Miss Irene Adler, but the idea of him having feelings for even her was hard to imagine. My heart ached for him. To lose someone you love…and in that way I could tell it was hard on him. It seemed he truly and deeply cared for her. I walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I just want you to know that you have made a difference in the life of one person," I said, smiling at him. "Me."

"Thank you John…" he said, returning a solemn smile back at me. With a big yawn and a stretch of his arms he added with humor: "Well now that that downer of a story is over you can understand my loathing for Raffles."

"Hiding behind that facade again I see…" I thought to myself. "But also that slimy despicable man or gentleman thief as they call him is a real piece of work."

Sherlock nodded in my direction. "If I hadn't been so infatuated with her, maybe…just maybe I could've stopped him…"

I smiled at him. It was nice to know that even if it was just a few short moments in his life; Sherlock had had someone once.

"I want to thank you for telling me this story," I told him. "I know it wasn't easy for you." I wanted to ask him more about the other half of the story about his mother but decided against it. As a doctor, I knew that in most cases tuberculosis had only one outcome. This particular topic seemed too painful for him so I decided I would ask again at a later time even though I knew quite possibly what had happened.

The brilliant man before me then stood up and smirked. "How about lunch?" He said putting on his coat and walking to the door. "You're welcome to join us…Liam…" he said upon opening the door.

There in the doorway stood none other than William James Moriarty. I had wondered how long he had been standing there and how much of the story he had heard from Sherlock. Almost as if he read my mind, William spoke.

"If you're worried I've been eavesdropping Dr. Watson don't be," he said. "I just arrived a few moments ago…without Mycroft this time."

Sherlock still sneered in his direction.

"What do you want?"

"I only know some of the details from your brother of what went on between you and Mr. Raffles. To you I want to offer my condolences for what he put you through and what you have lost. You were there for me once, Sherly…now it's my turn to be there for you." He said, placing a hand on his heart.

"And what do you propose?" I asked curiously. Sherlock was now smiling.

"That we catch this man…together this time…"