Staying Alive - Sherlock (BBC)

End

The sound of roaring water filled the air and assaulted the ears. It was a beautiful day with a clear blue sky. Despite the tremendous noise, a calm, relaxing feel covered the entire Swiss landscape.

But it was short lived.

Sherlock and Lizzie stumbled up the rocky path towards the perilous waterfall, neither of them speaking.

Close to the summit, Lizzie stopped. "He is either up there as we speak or on his way. Are you ready for this?" She was breathing heavily, a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. The stress and worry had changed her, her cheerful, sarcastic spirit was gone.

Sherlock nodded. He was about to reply when, in the corner of his eye he noticed an advancing figure. He tensed up and turned to face the approaching person.

Neither of them said anything but they could both hear each others racing heartbeats over the sound of the waterfall.

The man dressed in black walked up to Sherlock and raised his head, they both breathed a sigh of relief. Unarmed, harmless, probably a tourist, he was not a threat.

It was not Moriarty.

Barely acknowledging either of them, the man reached into his pocket and handed Sherlock a piece of paper before walking away.

Lizzie looked over his shoulder and they both read it together. It said:

Englischer Hof, Meiringen

Come and play.

-SM

They both took a sharp intake of breath. "It could be a bluff." Sherlock spoke first.

"We can't ignore it, there's an equal possibility that it isn't. Anything could happen to the people down there, you know Moran." Lizzie looked shaken.

"I'll go down there and check it out. You stay here and wait for Moriarty." Sherlock suggested, torn at the idea of splitting up again.

They both looked at each other and nodded. Sherlock turned and walked back down the steep path, only looking back to see Lizzie smiling at him, he returned the smile and continued walking.

He didn't notice the tears in her eyes.

He didn't notice the pain in her smile.

He didn't know it was the last time he'd see her.

*****

The first time Sherlock saw Elizabeth sing was in a restaurant in London.

The posh, expensive building was a cacophony of sound. It was late at night and full of people talking. But above all of the sound Sherlock only had ears for the live music being played at the front.

He could hear the band, slowly playing along, but the singer had everyone's attention. She had a beautiful voice, a kind of voice no-one could ever forget, full of emotion and life. He almost didn't recognise it at first but he quickly recognised the cheerful edge to her voice that only she had.

That was when he saw her.

He had known her for over 10 years but had never seen her looking so beautiful.

She wore a subtle green gown and her hair had been curled into ringlets that trailed down her neck. Her eyes and lips had been brought out by the make up she wore.

As she was singing she caught his eye. Blushing slightly, she smiled at him, one of those smiles that could make anyone fall in love with her.

That was when Sherlock realised that he loved Elizabeth-Louise Parker.

He would never forget that day.

*****

Sherlock sprinted back up the cliff edge, his heart racing. All he had needed to do was see the building to notice what had happened. Moriarty would never do a thing like that.

He had instantly made the connection with Lizzie, how had he been so blind?

Just as the waterfall came into view he skidded to a halt.

His heart stopped.

Two figures were grappling along the perilous ledge. One of whom was almost certainly Lizzie.

Sherlock let out a shout that brought him back to his senses. He continued to run forwards, not once tearing his eyes away from the fight.

100m. They narrowly missed crashing into a rock.

70m. One of them lost their footing and almost slipped down.

50m. They continued to climb.

30m. One of them punched the other sending them flying close to the edge.

20m. The person left standing flung themselves at the other.

Sherlock let out a tremendous shout as he leaped across the last 10 metres. The mist concealed their identities as they both plummeted off the edge of the cliff and into the deadly water below.

Neither of them screamed or made any noise.

They just disappeared from view.

Sherlock ran to the ledge where they had just been. He lay across the path, looking over the edge into the abyss below.

Sharp rocks cut into him as he lay there screaming out her name. The water and mist caused his hair to stick to his face and his clothes to become waterlogged.

His tears were unnoticeable as they fell into the swirling torrent below.

As he sobbed and cried out.

His voice broke as he cried "Not again.".