Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Emily Lestrade left Scotland Yard after a night shift and immediately buried her hands in her coat pockets, it had become icy. It was no wonder they had December, after all, it was allowed to be so cold. It had probably snowed while she had her indoor duty because a small layer of snow adorned the walkways, which made her smile slightly. She briefly looked at her watch she was still well in time for her breakfast with her brother.

The soft ringing of the bell at the entrance of the cafe announced her arrival and she looked around briefly before she found her brother and with sure steps headed for his table. "Good morning sunshine" she was greeted by Greg with a hug. "Good morning Greg" she replied smiling tiredly and returning his hug all too gladly. They both took their seats and ordered their breakfast while talking about Greg's latest case. "Sherlock was able to help us again, fortunately, the case was really stuck and I can tell you one thing Sally was not very fond of. He was able to help us once again and was able to solve the case through him, does anyone accept that with thanks? No" Greg told upset which made Emily smile.

"Yes, I can imagine that very well. Philip isn't very fond of him either" she said laughing softly and drinking some of her Earl Grey. "But they always treat him so disparagingly, it makes me stunned and angry" she said sighing.

"I know what you mean, I've tried to talk to them before, but to no avail" he explained to her and continued to eat breakfast, whereupon they both fell into a comfortable silence. Greg looked at his watch after he finished his breakfast and sighed, he had to go, time had flown by again, he finished his coffee and paid for them both.

"I have to go, you get some rest and I'll see you in a few hours" Greg said goodbye and so they parted ways for now.

Emily left the cafe shortly after her brother, she still had to do a few errands and then she would immediately go home and catch up on a few hours of sleep. But on the way she noticed a black car, she had just little desire to the older Holmes, she was tired and had no nerves now to talk about his brother.

The brunette did not let herself be distracted and just kept walking and noticed how the car followed her, he could not be serious? Emily finally turned around after a while and looked annoyed in the direction of the black car, whereupon Anthea got out. "He wants to see you, get in" she ordered Emily, "Forget it" she said curtly, turning her back and walking on.

"Boss? She didn't comply with the order" Anthea informed, the elder Holmes by cell phone. "I thought so" said Mycroft, ending the call and already in the adjacent park where he knew the brunette liked to walk through. 

Emily turned around after a while and was relieved to see that the car was no longer following her. Now she definitely didn't want to go shopping anymore and just wanted to go to bed. If she had to, she would go shopping when she was awake again, but then she saw a familiar figure standing in the middle of the path, none other than Mycroft Holmes looking at her.

She sighed in annoyance even though he was a very influential man she didn't care most of the time she knew roughly what her limits were, why should she be intimidated either? "I've had a night shift and I'm going to sleep now so if you'll excuse me" she said still trying to sound as nice as she could and just wanted to walk past him.

"I am well aware of that my dear but still" he started but was interrupted by several masked men. She immediately pulled out her gun and shot the one who had snuck up on Mycroft.

The elder Holmes had quickly disassembled his umbrella and was holding his rapier in his hand, defending her. "I didn't know you hid anything like that in your umbrella" she said with a slight grin and defended herself, whereupon she only got a certain look from the older one. Emily tried to warn Mycroft, but she was shot and knocked down.

Mycroft only heard the bang of the shot and how Emily went down, this distraction had been enough for him to lie unconscious on the ground. They were tied up and shortly after loaded into a black van that had pulled up next to the masked men. "Come on, hurry up before we get chased," the driver shouted and sped away. 

The van stopped at a run-down house and the prisoners were taken to its basement, Emily only got something pressed on her wound in a makeshift way. The young sergeant came to a short time later groaning, her shoulder hurt like hell, she should have been more careful. She sat up as best she could with her restraints and looked around, she was in a cold, damp, dark room, definitely a basement.

Wait, where was Mr. Holmes? They had kidnapped her together after all, or had she been brought here to be disposed of and not to help Mycroft Holmes? Or was she serving something else? So many things were going through her mind. The cloth that was attached to her bullet wound had turned dark, as much as she could see.

The young cop somehow crawled to the wall closest to her and leaned against it, exhausted and panting."I know why I usually avoid the company of the Holmes brothers," she grumbled to herself. "Oh, yeah? And why is that?" asked a gruff voice, which made her flinch; it was Mycroft Holmes.

"Mr. Holmes? Where are you?" she asked immediately, "Next door," came an unnerved reply, whereupon she turned her face to the wall and, after her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, found a crack that served as a connection between the two rooms. It was just big enough for a hand to fit through.

"Are you all right Mr. Holmes?" asked Emily as she approached the gap as best she could. "Stop with the formalities already" Mycroft growled, "Fine, Mycroft" she returned bitingly. Emily pulled her legs closer to her body and rested her head on them, her whole body aching.So a few minutes passed in complete silence until she broke it and asked softly, "Mycroft?".

"What is it now?" he asked annoyed, whereupon she remained silent for the time being. Mycroft gave an audible sigh of relief, "What is it Emily?" he asked a little more calmly now. "Why were we kidnapped? I mean I just happened to be there and wasn't important. So why wasn't I just left there or killed?" she asked, fear resonating with her last words.

"I don't know" Mycroft lied, "You expect me to believe that?" she then asked exhaustedly, "Yes" she got a curt answer from him.

 All of a sudden the room lights came on, two masked men came into Emily's cell and ran towards her. "Stay away" she shouted sourly and tried to kick at them which didn't really succeed.

"Go on you take them, the boss doesn't like to wait" said the smaller accomplice to his bigger colleague. The latter growled sourly and walked up to Emily and roughly threw her over his shoulder like a sack, causing her to cry out in pain.

"What do you want with her?" shouted Mycroft, through the opening. "Believe me the boss will take care of you too" he only got as an answer and with that the three disappeared and Mycroft was left alone, what were they going to do with Emily? He knew why they were here and who they were with, but how did he know about Emily? 

As Emily hung over her tormentor's shoulder, she took some momentum and her knees hit him in the stomach. "You little..." he growled, but did nothing, knowing from the look on his accomplice's face that he had to pull himself together. They walked through several dark corridors, alone she probably would not have found her way out, let alone to the cell in which Mycroft was.

Emily noticed how they stopped and heard a knock, now it was clear to her, she would now meet the one who had kidnapped her and Mycroft. Emily heard a muffled entrance in a kind of singsong. What kind of madman was this? They entered the room and immediately became much warmer and was thrown onto a sofa.

"Hello Emily," said her counterpart with a grin. "So I see you're alive after all" she said sourly, looking at Jim Moriarty. "But of course, it's not just Sherlock who can fake his death. Only you know what your mistake was? You all lulled yourselves into safety and forgot about me" Jim said with a grin.

"So what? Don't you think it's a bit stupid to spread all over London right away that you're back?" she asked him with slight arrogance in her voice, was she tired of life to act like that? The brunette immediately regretted it as well, as Jim pushed her pretty hard against the sofa, making her gasp in pain.

"Oh was little Emily hurt?" he asked with an evil grin, pressing on the wound. "Seems like the bullet is still inside you" he said grinning. "W-what do you want anyway?" she asked in pain. "Let's put it this way, I want Sherlock dead. But there is one little thing I have to do first. Just as with dear Mycroft," he was almost singing. He was still very close to her and had not yet taken his hands off her.

"Oh, and that would be?" she asked sourly, "Burning out both their hearts. And they always claim they don't have one" he replied with a grin.

"And what do I have to do with all this?" she asked slowly, irritated, Jim only came closer and breathed into her ear: "Dear Mycroft is getting careless. He's showing interest in you, for whatever reason, because you really don't seem all that special to me."

"Please what? Don't make a fool of yourself. Mr Holmes and I have only seen each other a couple of times so far, which has always been of a professional nature" she replied.

"Then maybe he sees something in you that no one else does, but I highly doubt it. He probably just needs a pastime" he said with a nasty grin and threw her to the ground. She was about to get up again, but Jim pushed her back to the ground with his shoe on her injured shoulder, eliciting a strangled scream.

"Believe me this pain is still harmless" he said coldly, lifting his foot and then squatting in front of her. "We will have our fun together yet" he said and stroked her cheek, whereupon she turned her cheek away in disgust. The door opened and the two masked men came back in.

She felt a prick on her neck and the last thing she saw was Jim Moriarty looking at her with a grin. 

Emily was then taken to her cell and freed from her bonds, but this time the light stayed on. When Mycroft heard the door of Emily's cell next to him, he looked through the opening and saw the young woman lying lifeless on the floor.

He had to pull himself together he couldn't give Moriarty what he wanted. He called out in a neutral voice, "Emily?" but got no answer.

Chapter Text

Greg tried to reach his sister for what felt like the hundredth time; it wasn't like her not to get in touch. "I don't believe it!" cursed Greg. He had the phone traced and found it in a park. "Sally I'll go find Emily" he informed her when he noticed the look on her face.

It'll be nothing, she just lost track of time in the park or the freak intercepted her" she said and turned back to her files. "Not helping Sally" he growled and pulled his coat on as he walked, Emily had been late for 2 hours and he had a bad feeling. Sally sighed in resignation and immediately followed him.

"Wait" she called after him, Sally would not let him drive alone, not in this condition. When they got there Greg immediately rushed to where the cell phone should be. "This is where it should be" Greg muttered and looked around but there was no sign of his sister. The snow in front of the bank was churned up, everything pointed to a fight. But what shocked him most was the large bloodstain on the ground.

His whole body tensed, what had happened here? And the most important question was, where was Emily? He fervently hoped that the blood was not hers. "Sir? I've called forensics. They should be here soon" Donovihm informed, he only nodded absently, put on disposable gloves and examined the scene. He looked around in the bushes and found a cell phone hidden under the snow. He took it in his hand and immediately recognized it as Emily's.

The display was cracked but it still worked, otherwise the GPS would not have worked. He put the cell phone in a bag and sealed it and gave it to forensics. Greg looked up as one of the forensic team found a branch that clearly had blood on it. First the blood in the snow and now on the branch, who would be interested in kidnapping or even killing Emily?

He closed his eyes and swallowed, he couldn't think that she might be dead, he had to pull himself together. He buried his hands in the pockets of his coat and looked at the blood on the ground with a serious expression.

The forensics team was removing the snow from the spot, perhaps it was possible that they could match the blood to someone else. The silver-haired DI hoped very much that it was not that of his sister.

"Sir? We'll find her, she'll still be alive," Sally tried to build him up a bit. Even though she knew she couldn't really encourage someone at a time like this, he knew the statistics as well as she did. She already feared that Emily was dead.

"Oh stop it already. Are they going to come up with the same sentence tomorrow when we find her dead on the banks of the Thames?" asked Greg sourly, kicking the nearest tree in anger.

//Why her?// he asked himself and kicked the tree again, he was desperate and angry at the same time and the worst thing was he felt so helpless. "Why so upset Graham?" a very familiar voice asked him then. Greg whirled around and had grabbed Sherlock by the collar, pinning him against the tree.

John looked back and forth between Sherlock and Greg. He hadn't seen the silver haired man like that either. "First of all my name is GREG and if you continue to call me the wrong name you will get no more case at all do we understand each other? I also don't care that your brother is the government" Greg growled.

"Greg? Calm down, what happened?" asked John a little more delicately. Sherlock just raised an eyebrow and looked at Greg unimpressed //As if these amateurs could solve the cases themselves. They come running for every little thing now// Sherlock thought to himself. Greg slowly let go of Sherlock and turned to John.

"Everything points to Emily being kidnapped," he explained to John, running a hand through his hair. "Since when?" asked John, Greg wondered who was the Detective Inspector here, him or John. He answered him, "We saw each other this morning, she was supposed to come back to the Yard at noon today but didn't show up."

Sherlock had pulled out his cell phone and was about to call someone when his phone rang and he boredly answered it, "Yes?" "Your brother is missing. He hasn't been found yet" said Anthea on the other end of the line. "Since when?" asked Sherlock, sounding more serious now. "Since this morning, he went to meet someone but didn't come back" she explained to him.

"He's been missing since this morning and then you're just coming to me with this now? That your people are incompetent is nothing new. They wouldn't even find a lost dog" he said sourly and then hung up. He noticed that Greg and John looked at him questioningly.

"Mycroft is missing too, but I would suggest we look in all the bakeries, candy stores and pastry stores, he can't keep up the diet I've known all along" he said in his usual voice. "For crying out loud Sherlock, this is a matter of life and death. We're talking about Mycroft and Emily here. Who knows who's got a hand in this and what's been done to them?" said John angrily.

"All right then, no bakery theory" said Sherlock, but immediately started again. "The practical thing about Mycroft is if he was thrown into the Thames then he would" Sherlock started but was interrupted by John, "If you keep talking I won't guarantee anything" John said angrily.

"I'm just putting forward possible theories, that's all" said the curly haired man. "Theories? That sounds more like you're making fun of your brother's weight again, but not theories" said John, looking at him angrily. Greg who was standing next to the two sighed in annoyance and massaged the root of his nose.

"Guys, settle your marital dispute at home, but not here. This is a crime scene" Greg said annoyed. "John we're leaving, there's no body. It bores me" said Sherlock and then just left. "Don't listen to him Greg, we'll find those two" John said with a weak smile and followed Sherlock as fast as he could.

Greg just looked after the two and stroked his hair again. "Maybe it would be better to drop the case" Sally suggested, "No, I'll find the two of them. I just need to find out who might have something to gain from them both disappearing" he said firmly and walked back to the car, Sally looked at him sighing sympathetically, she only meant well

Greg was sitting at his desk, looking at the file on the "Emily Lestrade & Mycroft Holmes kidnapped" case. His head was supported by his hands, his face buried in them. He still couldn't believe it, the blood had clearly been that of his sister.

In his mind he imagined the worst, yet he couldn't think that way. "Oh Ems" he said desperately against his hands, he was quite distraught and afraid for her. But to give up the case, he would not think of it until he had to go to the Chief Inspector. He could already guess who he had to thank for that, and he looked sourly at Sally as he passed.

She and Phillip had already blackballed him once to the Chief Inspector, the reason then had been the younger Holmes. He knocked and was immediately invited in. "Sir?" asked Greg calmly, "Sit down Lestrade" demanded his counterpart to sit down. Lestrade complied with this request and now sat opposite him.

"I have been told that this case is too close to you. That's why you're being taken off this one" said the Chief Inspector. "Sir, listen," Greg immediately began. "No, you are being taken off the case. We'll find your sister and Mr Holmes all right. They would do anything else rash, no backtalk or they will be demoted" said the Chief sourly.

Greg looked at him angrily, he wasn't serious. "You can go" said the Chief and Greg left the office more than angry. Sally was just coming up to him. "Sir, I" she started, however she was immediately interrupted by Greg, "Don't even try, Donovan. I thought you realized at the time that what you were doing was wrong. But now you are stabbing me in the back once again" he said sourly.

"Sir, you have to admit that the case is weighing too heavily on you," Donovan said. The DI said nothing to that, but chastised her with an angry look and walked past her. He had to get out of here, he had to see Sherlock. But maybe this one would only make him angrier.

He dialed John's number on his way out, and he immediately picked up. "Greg? What's going on? Do you have any new information?" asked John immediately. "The blood is Emily's and I've been taken off the case" Greg replied, exhausted. He had barely slept or eaten out of concern for Emily.

"How is Sherlock in a mood? Can I come over for a minute or can we see each other?" asked Greg. "He's highly focused, he doesn't really notice me, so we can see each other. At the pub as usual?" asked John. "Yes and thanks" mumbled Greg, "That's what friends are for" said John smiling and hanging up.

"Sherlock? I'm meeting Greg if you're looking for me" said John but the curly haired man was in his mind palace and didn't notice anything. "Whatever " John muttered, wrote Sherlock a note where he was and then just left, grabbing a cab and driving to the meeting place.

He had noticed that Greg's voice sounded exhausted, but it was no wonder, his sister had disappeared. He entered the pub and saw Greg already sitting at a table and immediately went to him and sat down opposite him. "Hey" he said in greeting, "Hey John, thanks for coming" Greg said with a slight smile.

"Sure thing, but now tell me what happened, you said you got pulled off the case?" echoed John. Greg's expression got a little angrier again. "Yeah, Donovan again, normally you'd think you'd be working together as partners. She's working against me, tattled on me to the chief that I'm too worried and can't think straight," Greg said angrily.

"Donovan again? Are you serious? It's getting worse and worse, Anderson has improved" said John. "Yeah, he's turned into more of a Sherlock fanboy" said Greg shaking his head. "Oh yeah, I'm starting to get the feeling she wants your rank" John said more seriously to Greg. The latter sighed and looked at the ex-soldier.

"Let's not get into that, I don't want to think about it. I'm more concerned about my sister" he said, looking at John pleadingly. "Of course, sorry" John said, they had ordered something to drink, which was timely. Greg took a sip and then said, "John? You saw the amount of blood too didn't you? I want your honest opinion, do you think she is dead?" he looked at him seriously. He wanted to hear the truth.

"Well, if the wound hasn't set, then it certainly doesn't look good" he replied and concern was in his gaze. "I didn't expect anything else," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. Greg didn't want to believe that his little sister was dead, she had to be alive.

"So far Sherlock hasn't found out anything either, he's in his mind palace and hasn't noticed that I'm gone, I left him a note once. I think it bothered him more than he admits, that Mycroft was kidnapped. I think the two of them actually like each other, even if they don't show it," John said with a slight smile, which infected Greg.

There was silence between the two for a few moments until Sherlock suddenly burst in. "John, George, I know" he said loudly. Greg looked unnerved at the consulting detective and said, "Greg, my name is Greg, we've known each other a little longer now can't you remember 4 bush letters?" asked Greg unnerved.

"Boring and unimportant, Gavin, Jim Moriarty has Mycroft and Sergant Lestrade" Sherlock explained. Greg gave it up and said nothing more about it, "How do they know?" he asked. "Who else would it be? That was logical, so who else would it be? Moriarty just got back and who would he most want to kidnap and humiliate? Who else do you think pissed him off besides me? No idea? My dear brother!" he said, looking at the two of them as if John and Greg were the biggest idiots.

"And why my sister?" inquired Greg. "My dear brother has developed feelings for her sister for whatever reason. I thought he would take someone in a high position" he explained. "And where are they?" asked Greg, but he only got a meaningful look from Sherlock.

Chapter Text

Emily had not yet regained consciousness and Mycroft noticed how his eyes kept wandering to her. He didn't know how much time had passed when the two masked men entered. He gave them both an arrogant look, which visibly annoyed the taller of the two.

He walked up to Mycroft and took him by the collar, setting him on his feet. The older Holmes looked at his opposite unimpressed, but this was a mistake, the masked man only felt more provoked by Mycroft and gave him a punch in the stomach. The older Holmes suppressed a gasp with difficulty.

Then he heard a growl: "Come on, he doesn't like to wait. The smaller of the two masked men loosened Mycroft's shackles and pushed him forward towards the door, where he was given a sack over his head. He couldn't see anything, Mycroft often stumbled and got a bump in the back every now and then.

Suddenly they stopped and he heard knocking. Mycroft noticed that it was getting minimally lighter and warmer. He was about to start moving when the bag was pulled down and he got a harder push in the back, making him fall hard on the floor.

"Hello Mycroft, this is how I want it in the future. You lying at my feet" he said laughing and squatting down in front of him. Jim took Mycroft's face in his hand, forcing him to look at him. "You have made me very angry my dear" he said angrily. "And you shouldn't have messed with me and my brother" Mycroft replied unimpressed.

"Wrong you should have taken my side" said Jim and let go of Mycroft. The older Holmes looked at Jim in disgust. "And now you have to suffer the consequences, or should I say little Emily?" he said with a grin.

Mycroft's expression darkened and he said dangerously calmly, "Sergant Lestrade has nothing to do with this." "It may be that it did then, but it seems she has become very important to you now. Sherlock has Johnnyboy and you now has little Lestrade. Very cute indeed, the Holmes boys showing emotion" he said laughing.

"Don't be ridiculous, what would I want with Sergeant Lestrade?" asked Mycroft with an annoyed look. "She seems to be an important figure in our game and in your lives" said Jim smiling. "I hate to repeat myself but she is a Sergeant and so she is useless to me" said Mycroft irritably, but this was not the truth, he appreciated her very much.

Jim slowly became more and more angry with Mycroft and kicked him several times. That's when he heard it crack and Mycroft gasp painfully, which made him grin. "When I want something, I get it, remember that Mycroft" he said, giving the downed man a sinister smile and calling for his accomplices.

They entered and the taller of the two held Mycroft while the shorter one started to beat Mycroft up. The older Holmes just let it wash over him and showed no emotion. "Enough take him back to his cell" he ordered the two.

"We will teach you manners next time and believe me after that you won't recognize yourself. Your previous life will be just a little thought in your head and you will become my pet" he said laughing. Mycroft looked at him hatefully, "Before that hell freeze over before I will serve you" Mycroft growled.

"Oh, and as for little Emily, she will either die of her injuries or if she makes it one of my men will get her" Jim said provocatively. At this Mycroft began to struggle against the strong grip and got the sack put over his head again and was pushed outside and stumbled.

"She has nothing to do with it" he shouted sourly but by then all he heard was the door slamming into the lock. "Move" he said and Mycroft felt another push in his back. He quickly noticed that these two guys were rougher this time, so he stumbled often and when he did fall, he was roughly pulled to his feet and pushed forward again. When they arrived in front of his cell, they pulled the bag off his head again and pushed him into the cell. Emily was startled at the sound of the cell door, but immediately held her shoulder. She was not feeling well, cold and hot at the same time.

"Mycroft?" she asked quietly, dragging herself to the opening and settling down there with a gasp,he too had settled by it. When she caught sight of him, however, her breath caught. Mycroft looked pretty banged up, a split lip, a bleeding wound above his eyebrow.

Emily tore off a piece of her blouse and reached through the opening, Mycroft looked at her questioningly but then he felt her wipe the blood away. He flinched a little but didn't move back, it had been a long time since anyone had touched him like that, he thought painfully.

"What did he do to you?" she asked him softly. "Not that important, how's your shoulder?" he asked, looking at her. She withdrew her hand again "Not so important" she murmured. "I think DI Lestrade wouldn't be too pleased if you got killed just because you're too proud" Mycroft said again in his usual voice.

"You don't really think I or we are going to survive this, do you? And who knows what was in that syringe" she said and had become louder. Mycroft hadn't expected such an outburst and then asked, "You were injected with something?" looking at her more closely now.

"Yes, I just don't know what, maybe it was a narcotic or a poison?" she said looking down at the floor, "And honestly my shoulder is burning like fire, I can't stand this pain anymore" she said still looking down at the floor. Mycroft was now the one reaching through the opening and was already tentatively touching her forehead, noticing how hot it was. This was not good at all.

Emily sighed as she felt the cool hand on her hot forehead and looked at him out of feverishly shining eyes. "If you can find a way to escape from here then go and leave me behind" she demanded. "I don't think you are in a position to give me orders" Mycroft said angrily. He was not angry at her but at what she demanded.

"As you say, the government cannot be replaced as quickly as a simple Sergeant" she muttered. Mycroft had unfortunately withdrawn his hand again and so she was now leaning against the cool wall, falling asleep from exhaustion and pain, Mycroft didn't notice.

He started talking, "I will take you with me if we can escape. I promise you, do you hear? I will not watch anyone .... important die again. So pull yourself together" and looked at his ring he always wore.

His wife had died in a kidnapping, he had been too late and she had died in his arms, he didn't want it to happen again. Because even if he didn't show it, Emily was an important person in his life and that Moriarty knew this now was anything but good. He remembered how they had met.

Flashback:

He had just arrived at a crime scene and saw his little brother and John from a distance. They had solved another case. He also recognized DI Lestrade with whom Sherlock always works. But what was this young woman doing next to the DI?

He approached the group, but of course what had to happen the suspect managed to break free and grab a pistol from a police officer. On closer inspection, he recognized a minor politician whom he had seen once or twice. The politician had also spotted Mycroft and was running toward him. Mycroft positioned himself so that he had a good stance and his thumb was on a button on his umbrella.

But what he didn't expect was that this young woman followed the approaching politician, she could just grab him and she was thrown in front of Mycroft's feet. She had been taken by surprise because she had not expected such an action and Mycroft also looked surprised at the woman lying on the ground.

The older Holmes just noticed how his opponent pointed the pistol at him, but he was pulled aside, or rather knocked over. The only thing he heard was a gunshot, a horrified scream and a warm, lighter body lying on top of him. Mycroft looked up and saw the young woman lying on top of him, already fearing the worst. "Miss?" he asked, she looked at him with reddened cheeks at being so close to him and immediately stood up.

Greg, Sherlock and John had taken the politician into custody and Sherlock had taken the opportunity to beat him unconscious. Colleagues loaded the unconscious man into a car and drove off. "Em?" asked Greg immediately, coming up to the two lying on the ground. "I'm fine" she said and stood up straight, "Sorry" she apologized to Mycroft as she had knocked him over a bit too roughly after all.

"Nothing happened to her Gavin, she did fall softly. Didn't she brother?" said Sherlock with a nasty grin, looking at his brother on the ground. "You're grazed" Greg said seriously and saw that she was bleeding from the arm, "Yeah is nothing big. I'll get the arm bandaged and that's it bro" she said smiling at her brother. Greg just sighed and shook his head and went ahead.

"Oh well, Mister Holmes, I don't think you have an ounce too much" she said smiling again, winking at him but quickly following Greg. She noticed her cheeks glowing, Greg said nothing in response but walked her to the ambulance. Mycroft looked after the young woman, had he just heard correctly? Had she just complimented him? To him? To the British government?

"Oh, brother dear, you're not going to start letting feelings in again, are you?" teased Sherlock in the background. "Guys" John tried, but the two Holmes brothers didn't respond. "Where are you thinking Sherlock? Who had let feelings get the best of him and ruined an entire project?" asked Mycroft, alluding to Irene.

"That doesn't matter" said Sherlock immediately. "But of course it does" Mycroft simply said in response. John slowly despaired in the background, "Can't you two behave for once?" asked John louder now, finally having their attention. "Anyway, I commend myself" said Mycroft nodding to the two and walked to his limo where Anthea was already waiting and typing away on her cell phone.

This young woman was really interesting, since she was the sister of the DI, he would quickly find out who exactly she was. "Constable Emily Lestrade" said Anthea, she had already figured this out. Mycroft nodded his thanks to her, Emily Lestrade, he would remember that.

Chapter Text

Greg sat at his desk and looked at the case file. His head was supported by his hands, his face buried in them. He still couldn't believe it, the blood was clearly that of his sister. In his mind he imagined the worst, yet he couldn't think that way. "Oh Ems" he said desperately against his hands, he was quite scared for her but he didn't think of giving up the case until he had to go to the Chief Inspector. He could already guess who he had to thank for that and looked sourly at Sally as he walked past. She and Phillip had already reported him to the Chief Inspector once, and the reason had been the younger Holmes. He knocked and was immediately invited in. "Sir?" asked Greg calmly, "Sit down Lestrade" demanded his counterpart this. Lestrade complied with this request and now sat opposite him. "I have been told that the case is too close to you, as one of the victims is your younger sister. That is why you are being taken off this one" said the Chief Inspector.

"Sir, please listen," Greg immediately began. "No, you will be taken off the case. We're going to find your sister and Mr Holmes. You'd do anything else rash and end up causing more problems and we don't have time for that. Don't talk back or you will be degraded. Are we clear?" the chief asked angrily. Greg looked at him with anger, he couldn't be serious. "You can go" said the Chief sternly and Greg left the office more than furious and couldn't stop himself from slamming the door behind him. "LESTRADE" he heard from the chief's office. Sally approached him to explain herself, "Sir, I," she began, but was immediately interrupted by Greg, "Don't even try, Donovan. I thought you realized at the time that what you were doing was wrong. But now you are stabbing me in the back once again" he said angrily. "Sir, you have to admit that the case is weighing too heavily on your mind," Donovan said.

The DI left this uncommented, but chastised her with an angry look and walked past her. He had to get out of here, he had to see Sherlock. But maybe this one would only make him angrier. He dialed John's number on his way out, and he immediately picked up. "Greg? What's going on? Do you have any new information?" asked John immediately. "The blood is Emily's and I've been taken off the case" Greg replied, exhausted. He had barely slept or eaten out of concern for Emily. " So how's Sherlock in the mood? Can I come over for a minute or can we see each other?" asked Greg. "He's highly focused, he doesn't really notice me, so we can see each other. At the pub as usual?" asked John.

"Yes and thank you" muttered Greg, "That's what friends are for" said John smiling and hanging up. "Sherlock? I'm meeting Greg if you're looking for me" John said but the curly haired man was in his mind palace and noticed nothing. "Then don't" John muttered, wrote Sherlock a note where he was and then just left. He took a cab and drove to the pub, he had noticed that Gregs sounded exhausted, but it was no wonder, his sister had disappeared and so far there was no useful trace.

He entered the pub and saw Greg already sitting at a table. John immediately went over to him and sat down across from him. "Hey" he said in greeting, "Hey John, thanks for coming" Greg said with a slight smile. "Sure thing, but now tell me what happened, you said you were taken off the case?" echoed John. Greg's expression got a little pissed off again. "Yeah, Donovan again, normally you'd think you'd be working together as partners. She's been working against me, snitching on me to the chief that I'm too worried and can't think straight," Greg said angrily.  "Donovan again? Seriously? She's getting worse and worse, Anderson has improved a bit" said John. "Yeah, he's turned into more of a Sherlock fanboy" said Greg shaking his head. "Oh yeah, I'm starting to get the feeling she wants your rank" John said more seriously to Greg. The DI sighed and looked at the ex-soldier. "Let's not get into that, I don't want to think about it. I'm more concerned about my sister" he said, looking at John pleadingly. "Of course, sorry" John said, they had ordered something to drink, which was in time.

Greg took a big sip and then asked a question that had been burning on his tongue for a while: "John? You saw the amount of blood too didn't you? I want your honest opinion, do you think she's dead?" he looked at him seriously. He wanted to hear the truth. "Well, if the wound isn't bandaged, then it certainly doesn't look good" the blond replied and concern was in his gaze. "I didn't expect anything else" Greg muttered and ran a hand through his hair. Greg didn't want to believe that his little sister was dead, she had to be alive.

"So far Sherlock hasn't found out anything either, he's in his mind palace and hasn't noticed I'm gone, I left him a note for him. I think it bothered him more than he admits, that Mycroft was kidnapped. I think they actually like each other quite a bit, even if they don't show it," John said with a slight smile, which infected Greg. It was quiet between the two for a few moments until Sherlock burst in. "John, George, I got it," he said loudly. Greg looked annoyed at the consulting detective and said, "Greg, my name is Greg, we've known each other for a few years now.  Can't you remember four letters?" asked Greg, in a frustrated tone.

"Boring and unimportant, Gavin, Jim Moriarty has Mycroft and Sergant Lestrade" Sherlock informed the two. Greg gave it up and said nothing more about it, "How do you know?" he asked. "Who else would it be? It made sense.  Moriarty just got back and who would he most want to kidnap and humiliate? Who do you think pissed him off besides me? No idea? My dear brother!" he said, looking at the two of them as if John and Greg were the biggest idiots.

"And why my sister?" inquired Greg. "My dear brother developed feelings for your sister for whatever reason. I thought he would take someone in a high position" he explained. "And where are they?" asked Greg, but he only got a meaningful look from Sherlock.

Chapter Text

About two more days passed in captivity, they were looked after, but really only got the bare minimum. Jim wouldn't let them die yet, he had let it slip that he especially needed Mycroft, or rather wanted to possess him, so he would keep Emily alive a little longer.

But Jim was sure that the young police officer wouldn't live much longer, with a bullet in her shoulder that hadn't been treated, the outcome would be quite agonizing.

He sat in his armchair and drank his tea with a grin, he had his ideas of what he could do with Mycroft, he already knew that the politician would soon obey if his Emily was no longer alive, he would be devastated even if he didn't show it. But Jim had an idea of how he could control Mycroft and keep him distracted.

Mycroft noticed that Emily was getting worse, they had to get out of here as quickly as possible because the injury had definitely become infected and if it wasn't treated, he couldn't even think about it.

He was feeling a bit better but he looked more damaged than she did, he had bruises, bleeding wounds that were slowly healing but what really hurt were his wrists, they had been roughened by those damn ropes and had become a bit infected.

The sight of Emily hurt more than he wanted to admit, as she was looking worse by the day. Emily snapped him out of his thoughts when she asked: "Do you think they're looking for us?" He looked at her, a little irritated at first, but he was actually starting to let his mask slip.

"Of course, my people will have already arranged everything necessary and will be looking for us, not to mention my brother," he replied. Emily nodded weakly and risked a glance under the cloth covering her wound, but immediately regretted it, the wound had become very infected and was oozing.

She felt sick and had become noticeably paler and mumbled "Oh God". Mycroft looked at her, frowning, and then asked: "What's wrong?" "The wound, it's got worse," was all Emily could manage. He was about to ask her something but both cell doors opened. Moriarty's two masked lackeys entered.

They pulled the two of them along roughly, which caused Emily pain as she was grabbed by her injured shoulder of all places.

They re-entered the room where Jim was staying and were forced to kneel before him. Jim held Mycroft's sword in his hand and grinned as he saw the two of them kneeling before him, if only everyone did that.

"I didn't know you had such a nice sword, Mycroft," said Jim, but Mycroft didn't say anything back, instead glaring at him darkly

"I think we should try it and give it a go, don't you?" he asked with a nasty grin and walked towards Emily. She suspected what he was up to and wanted to back away, looking at him in panic, but Jim's two lackeys held her in place.

"Then let's go and check on your injury. The doctor's here now," he said with a mean grin. He had actually hoped that Mycroft would intervene to stop him, but there was no reaction from him, the older Holmes looked stubbornly straight ahead.

//Someone must be trying to keep their mask on// Jim thought to himself with a grin. He removed the cloth from over Emily's injury and now he could see how bad it was. The injury was infected and oozing, not a pretty sight. "Doesn't look good at all, we'll have to change that right away," said Jim with a grin.

He slowly penetrated the injury with his sword and Emily cried out in pain. "Ah, there's the bullet," said Jim and pushed it further into her body with the help of the sword. The warm blood that had mixed with the wound ooze ran down Emily's chest.

Mycroft looked hatefully at Jim and then said angrily, "Stop it." Jim stopped what he was doing and looked with a grin at the politician kneeling on the floor. "I'll do what you want," Mycroft said between clenched teeth.

"No," Emily gasped and looked at Mycroft, shaking her head. At that moment Jim gave a signal and Emily was released with a jerk and he pulled the sword out of the wound with a smacking sound, she had lost consciousness and fell to the floor.

"Come on, take them both to a cell, we want to give them both their last minutes or maybe hours," Jim ordered. Mycroft was roughly pulled up and pushed forward, while Emily was simply dragged ruthlessly behind him.

Due to the rough behavior of Jim's lackeys, the older Holmes stumbled several times, but he was always pulled back up and forced to continue walking.

They arrived in front of a cell and first Mycroft was pushed into it and Emily was simply thrown in. When the heavy metal door had closed and they were among themselves, Mycroft took off his jacket, pulled her onto his lap and pressed it onto Emily's wound.

This suddenly woke her up and she said weakly, "Mycroft" and clawed at his shirt. Now he really couldn't keep his mask on any longer and looked at her, almost panicked and worried. "Relax, I'm here," he said quietly.

"You-you shouldn't have agreed with him," she said, coughing.

"But otherwise he would have killed you immediately," he said and his grip on her tightened. "But then you would have been spared that now" she said quietly and her eyes slowly closed.

"Don't fall asleep," he said a little louder and gently shook her uninjured shoulder. "Mycroft? There's something else I want to tell you" she said softly. He cleared his throat and then said softly, "Tell me when we're out here," but Emily just smiled at him and her body went limp in his arms.

Chapter Text

Greg and John had paid for their drinks and immediately followed Sherlock, “WHERE? Where is she?” Greg asked immediately. “Take it easy Graham” Sherlock just said and kept walking. “GREG damn it” said the DI angrily.

“Whatever” said Sherlock, unimpressed and unruffled. “If you want help from Scotland Yard, you'll have to go to Donovan,” said Greg, now Sherlock stopped abruptly and the two others ran into him. “I'm certainly not working with this creature,” he said immediately. “You have to, but I've been taken off the case,” Greg said grumpily, burying his hands in the pockets of his coat.

“Like that's going to stop me,” Sherlock said, pulling Greg and John after him to Greg's car. “We'll get in there now and then we'll drive off and if you refuse, I have my ways of keeping you immobilized, Lestrade,” Sherlock said, his voice taking on a dangerous undertone.

“Sherlock,” said John, completely stunned, but he didn't respond, “So? Either get in or I'll drive,” Sherlock threatened, walking closer to Greg. Greg didn't like the look on Sherlock's face, he had never seen him like this before, but his sister's life and Sherlock's brother were at risk. So they had to hurry, even if he would get into a lot of trouble for disobeying the chief's orders.

“I'm driving,” growled Greg and then got in, as did the other two. “Where to?” asked Greg, 'The harbor' replied Sherlock, 'The harbor?' asked John, 'Yeah, there are a few abandoned houses there, Moriarty could hide there perfectly and keep the two of them prisoners' said Sherlock.

"Well then, the harbor" growled Greg and drove off. They were there in twenty minutes and no one had said a word during the journey. Greg got out with his gun ready, closely followed by John, who was also armed.

The DI looked back to say something to the other two and saw that Sherlock was also holding a gun in his hand, “Where did you get that again?” he asked, stunned. “That you're even asking that question, really Gavin,” Sherlock said arrogantly.

Greg scowled at him and just hissed, “Greg” and walked on, having forgotten what he was going to say thanks to Sherlock. They walked along but a shot rang out and the three of them immediately looked around in alarm as another shot rang out and this time Greg's left arm was fortunately only grazed by the bullet.

“Damn it,” he growled and quickly looked for a hiding place to avoid being a walking target. “Let me have a look” John said, but all Greg did was shake his head. “It's no big deal, just a graze really John” Greg said with a slight smile. John looked at him critically, but said nothing, because they had to find Mycroft and Emily, and a graze was not that serious.

“Emily? Emily, Emily,” Mycroft kept saying, shaking her by her shoulders, but she didn't open her eyes. “Please, open your eyes,” he said softly, looking down at her sadly, apparently he was denied happiness, just as he had lost his wife, he had now lost Emily.
He heard footsteps and fell silent; it could only be Moriarty, because the footsteps of his accomplices had sounded heavier. Shortly afterwards the door opened and there stood Jim Moriarty, grinning down at him from above.

“At last, I thought I'd never get rid of her,” Jim said spitefully and Mycroft scowled at him. “Come on, get up,” Jim demanded, pointing the gun at Emily. As Emily's body had already taken enough damage and he didn't want it to get any worse, Mycroft stood up.
“Well, that's a start, my dear,” Jim said spitefully, pulling Mycroft with him as he walked towards him, so he only got a quick glance at Emily before he had to walk in front of Jim and felt the gun in his back. They walked up several flights of stairs, this house was pretty run down.

In the meantime, Sherlock, John and Greg had been able to track down Moriarty's men and knock them down. Now they were standing back to back in the square between all the buildings, so they had a good view and would notice immediately if Moriarty or one of his men came out of one of the surrounding houses.

As Mycroft and Moriarty stepped outside, the former squinted his eyes as he was not prepared for the brightness at first, his carelessness caused him to be pushed by Moriarty and he tripped down the few steps and fall to the ground.

“Oh Sherlock, so we meet again,” Moriarty said with a grin. Sherlock just glanced at him and checked on his brother who was just getting back up, several injuries but nothing serious, he wasn't wearing his jacket and had a very light beard.

“Where is Sergant Lestrade?” Sherlock asked, noticing that she was missing, Mycroft avoided the gaze of the three and was grabbed roughly by Moriarty and felt the gun on his right side. “ Inside” he said with a grin and strode forward with the older Holmesbrother, immediately 3 guns were aimed at him and his hostage.

“Boys, let me through or he'll end up like little Emily” said Moriarty with a grin. “What?” was all Greg asked, lowering his gun only slightly. Sherlock made eye contact with his brother and he looked to the side, stricken, so they had indeed arrived too late to save her too.

Emily sat up with difficulty and had to remain seated for a moment, the loss of blood almost causing her to collapse all over again. She had to pull herself together - this was Mycroft. When she finally stood, she staggered more than she walked normally.

Outside the cell lay the two men who had brought her and Mycroft to Moriarty the whole time, it served them right. She took one of the weapons and then walked forward, always keeping a supporting hand on the wall. She heard the tumult outside, which she saw as the perfect moment to intervene.

“Moriarty,” she yelled in anger and pointed the gun at him. “Leave Mr. Holmes alone,” she shouted, glaring at him darkly. “You want him? There you go,” Jim called out, shoving Mycroft towards her and grabbing the rope ladder, firing at them both again. Mycroft managed to pull her away just in time but she was grazed on the ribcage.

“D-did he get you?” She gasped and held her injured side, her face grimacing in pain. “No, everything's fine,” he assured her. And also applied pressure to the wound. As soon as the chaos had subsided, Greg was the first to reach his sister.

“Emily, I-I,” he breathed distraught and couldn't get a single word out. “I'm alive,” she breathed exhaustedly, realizing how tired she was. “Don't go to sleep,” Mycroft urged her and slapped her cheek lightly. Greg saw the bleeding wound on her shoulder and all the blood that was slowly drying John was the next to join them and took charge of the patients.

“Take care of Emily, I'm just a little under the weather,” Mycroft assured him, to which he nodded slowly and looked after Emily. “You're alive,” said the younger Holmes, 'Obviously Sherlock,' replied the elder Holmes and looked at him in return. Nevertheless, he could tell that his younger brother seemed relieved, even if he barely showed it.

The paramedics, who had now received clearance from Mycroft's agents, who had finally turned up, immediately rushed to them with a stretcher and took care of Emily
When Mycroft tried to get up, his knees gave out and if it hadn't been for Sherlock, he would have fallen to the floor very ungallantly.

“Myc,” Sherlock breathed so softly that only the elder Holmes heard. “Thanks Sherlock,” he thanked him and allowed himself to lean on Sherlock while he took him to one of the ambulances. Greg could ride with Emily, which he did. He swallowed, she looked so pale and that she was still alive was a miracle

Chapter Text

When they finally arrived at the hospital, which was located out of London, Mycroft was taken to a hospital room and treated immediately.

Emily, on the other hand, was taken straight to the surgery and they had to wait. Greg called the chief and told him that they had found Mycroft and Emily, but he was anything but pleased.

“You disobeyed my orders and went on a search with a wannabe detective and doctor? You will be demoted and suspended for a week, do we understand each other?”.

"Yes sir", replied Greg, but then the mobile phone was snatched right out of Greg's hands and Sherlock said angrily: 'You should be grateful because your incompetent people still haven't found a trace of where my brother and Sergeant Lestrade were. Believe me, there will be serious consequences, I don't think you know what position my brother is in. There will be serious consequences for you and your team, I've rarely seen so much incompetence in one place.

The silver-haired man was sitting on a chair with his face buried in his hands and was starting to panic, John took pity on him by taking the cell phone from Sherlock, hanging it up and handing it back to Greg.

“What the hell's got into you?” John asked angrily, ”Why? I was only telling the truth” Sherlock said and sat down as well and waited for a doctor, but that would probably take some time in Emily's case.

“Yeah, and Greg's in a lot more difficulties now than he already is,” John said angrily. “Mycroft will sort it out” Sherlock said indifferently.

“Stop it, don't always rely on him, he might stand up for you, but not for me” said Greg furiously. It was all just getting too much, his worry about his sister, then the scolding from his boss and the fact that Sherlock had just made everything worse.

“Why should I? I'm just the stupid inspector who helps you over and over again and provides you with cases. Thank you for always screwing things up and not needing to know my name,” he said angrily, getting up and walking a few meters to go out onto a balcony to light a cigarette.

“Did you have to do that?” John asked angrily, following his friend, ‘What are you doing John?’ Sherlock called out, not understanding what he had done wrong again. “Helping a friend,” John replied and left.

Mycroft, who stepped out of the room after a brief treatment, saw his younger brother sitting in a huff on one of the visitors' chairs and Greg with John on one of the balconies. “What have you done now that they're both angry with you again?” he asked the younger man and sat down next to him.

“How are you?” Sherlock muttered, avoiding his brother's question and only glancing at him briefly. “It's getting better, I don't have to tell you that Sergeant Lestrade was hurt more badly than me. Any news yet?” he asked the counter question. “No,” Sherlock said and looked away again, whereupon Mycroft just rolled his eyes.

“Mycroft, how are you?” John asked immediately after re-entering the hallway with Greg. “Nothing serious, a few bruises here and there, but I'll have to stay in here for better or worse, but what's happened here again?” he asked, eyeing the two men critically.

“Injuries? You've been shot,” John objected, ‘I wasn't shot, it was just a graze, Ms. Lestrade was worse,’ he replied to the Doctor and then looked at the older Lestrade.

“Your lovely brother snatched the cell phone out of my hands while I was talking to the Chief while he was demoting and suspending me,” Greg growled. 'Don't worry, I'll see to it that this is undone,' Mycroft said curtly.

“This is no time for jokes Mr. Holmes,” Greg said in a defensive tone. “It certainly wasn't meant that way. I don't want to sound arrogant, but what Sherlock has done is very easy to fix,” he tried to reassure the silver-haired man. Greg looked at him, stunned, and waited in tense silence for news.

“The relatives of Emily Lestrade?” a doctor asked after an hour, whereupon Greg immediately stood up, already expecting the worst. “How is my sister?” the silver-haired man asked immediately. “It was a close call, but she's alive if you want to see her,” the doctor replied, to which Greg simply nodded. Mycroft followed after a brief glance, as did John and Sherlock.

Once there, Greg saw his sister lying in a bed through the glass, the worst part was all the equipment she was connected to. “Can I go and be with her?” he asked the doctor quietly and he nodded to him, whereupon Greg hurried into the room.

He sat down by her bedside and very carefully took her hand in his. “Emily,” he breathed and looked at her sadly, she was so pale and the minor wounds and bandages made her look so fragile.

Sherlock couldn't help but glance briefly at his brother, barely recognizing any emotion in him. “Is there something going on between you two?” he asked the older man as the three men stood outside the room to give the Lestrade siblings privacy.

“I don't think it's any of your business,” Mycroft replied coolly. “I think” Sherlock began, but was interrupted by John: ''Now leave him alone, the recent days have been hard enough''.

“Shouldn't you be with Mary?” Sherlock asked irritably, hearing a heavy sigh from John. “I already told you that we split up after the whole thing with her identity, then she lost the child and we split up, why else do you think I moved back into Baker Street?” John said then sat down on one of the chairs.

“I vaguely remember,” the curly-haired man mumbled, a slight smile appearing on his face, which the ex-soldier didn't see, but Mycroft did. John was back and that was what counted.

Chapter Text

“What exactly did Moriarty want from you?” Sherlock asked as they stood in the room Mycroft would be staying in for the night.

The government official had no intention of telling him, but Sherlock actually surprised him with his next statement: “It was about Emily, wasn't it? You developed feelings for her - I can't imagine anything else or he would have had her killed in the park. Am I right in my assumption?”.

“Possibly,” Mycroft replied, avoiding his brother's glance.

“She'll be good for you, like John is for me,” Sherlock said, leaning against the wall, whereupon Mycroft immediately looked at him.

“Or don't you want that? Abigail would have liked her and wouldn't mind you getting back into a relationship after so many years,” Sherlock tried.

“I don't know you as sensitive as that, brother mine, you'd think the dear Doctor was making you soft,” Mycroft began arrogantly, but Sherlock grabbed him roughly by the collar and glared at him darkly.

“And if that were the case, it's not your problem, stop shutting your heart to someone who would have died for you today,” growled Sherlock, letting go of him abruptly.

At that moment, John came in and looked at the two brothers. “Shall I,” he began.

“Yes” "No", the Holmes brothers replied at the same time. “Come in,” Sherlock said simply, "Any news?" Mycroft asked.

“She's not awake but her vitals are stable” John answered him. “Wouldn't it make more sense for her to come into the room with you?” Sherlock asked, to which Mycroft gave him a venomous look before agreeing: “It might be better with Moriarty out there. I'll find one of the doctors and arrange for her to be transferred here.” He disappeared from the room shortly afterwards.

John looked at the curly-haired man with a certain look, to which he only replied with a smile. Greg, who had been looking for the other three, glanced at John and Sherlock in confusion, were they up to something again?

“Greg, how is she?” asked John, "Still stable, she's sleeping, the wound has become infected and festered, she's got a fever and understandably that wasn't treated during her captivity, which is why she's going to stay there a little longer to monitor her fever and the infection", the silver-haired man repeated what a doctor had told him shortly before.

John nodded, “That's more than understandable, Mycroft is looking for a doctor so that the two of them can get a room together, because of the protection, since Moriarty is still out there,” he explained to the DI, whereupon he nodded and asked: “For safety?”.

“That's what my brother says, but we know there's more to it than that,” Sherlock added curtly. “That you have to be so mischievous again,” the blonde doctor muttered.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Sherlock replied, looking at the two men. “I think she'll be in good hands if that's the way it's going to be” said Greg. "I think so too, we all know Mycroft and" began John, but someone cleared their throat behind the DI and the doctor.

Sherlock looked at them both with a certain look and then glanced at his older brother.

“I didn't know my life or even my love life was any of your business,” Mycroft said more coldly, but the older Holmes was anything but intimidating at the moment. Mycroft had not changed his clothes since they had arrived at the hospital, only washed off the blood and dirt.

“Well, it is my business, Emily is my little sister and I'm just as allergic to her getting hurt as you are too Mr. Holmes,” Greg replied with his arms crossed.

He looked at him with a raised eyebrow and nodded briefly, after which the still sleeping Emily was pushed into the room and the four men made space for her.

He looked at her as she was pushed in. She looked a little better by now, she was no longer as pale as when she was brought in.

“I'm supposed to give you this,” Sherlock said, taking a cell phone out of his coat pocket and handing it to his brother.

“And you've only just now remembered to give it to me?” Mycroft asked angrily. “Well, you deserve a few hours to rest after all those days, don't you?” Sherlock asked with a smirk, whereupon the older man gave him a cold look.

“As if I haven't been in worse situations,” the government official grumbled and then left the room.

“What?” asked Sherlock, John and Greg both looking at him. “May I remind you that you behave almost exactly the same way when you should be taking it easy?” John reminded the curly-haired man, but he looked at him unimpressed when John remembered something and looked at the DI.

“We have to treat your wound” said the doctor and looked at Greg, 'That was just a graze John, let it go' Greg tried but the doctor didn't let it pass and walked out of the room with the DI.

Time passed, John had treated Greg's arm and slowly the three men had to leave, even if Greg was unwilling to leave his sister alone. “Mycroft is here,” John tried to calm the silver-haired man down, but Sherlock intervened, “That's supposed to calm him down?” John punished him with a scowl and they left.

Late in the evening, Emily slowly opened her eyes, where was she? She felt a very soft bed beneath her and smelled the smell of disinfectant. Mycroft, who was still awake, noticed the stirring in the bed next to him and sat up and carefully came to her.

“Mycroft?” she murmured weakly. “We're safe, in a private hospital outside of London,” he explained to her, but he had the feeling that she didn't really realize it.

“You're fine,” she murmured. The older Holmes looked at her and then pressed the button on her bed, a nurse came in immediately and he explained that the younger woman had just woken up.

Emily was examined but then fell asleep again, after which the elder Holmes looked at her and realized that the tension had lifted from him a little.

He didn't want to sleep, even though he knew that this hospital was perfectly secured, he didn't want to let her out of his sight, but at some point he couldn't stop his eyes from closing, the last few days had been too much.

Mycroft woke up in the morning and the first thing he felt before he opened his eyes was a gaze on him. He opened his eyes and looked Sherlock in the face, “What are you doing here?” he grumbled and sat up.

“Looking after you, what else, you fell asleep and couldn't look after her,” his brother replied. “Why are you really here?” Mycroft asked, looking at him more forcefully, but he chose to ignore the question, so Mycroft had his answer.

“Are John and Greg here too?” he asked the curly-haired man. “Yes, they're downstairs having breakfast,” he replied to his brother.
“Did your boss get in contact again?” John asked, “Yeah, he was pretty pissed” Greg mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

“But apparently Mycroft was actually able to do something about my suspension,” the silver-haired man replied, to which Jon smiled knowingly.

“You see, I would have found it very strange if he hadn't, you've known each other all these years and you've helped Sherlock more than once,” John explained, the DI just nodded.

They just finished their tea and slowly made their way back upstairs. “I hope she's awake by now,” sighed Greg, whereupon John briefly squeezed his shoulder.