Sherlock: His Lover Called A [Sherlaide II]

New Round [A]

"Stay behind me."

I nod and we enter, with him leading the way into the living room. Suspecting the worst I brace myself for a confrontation.

Just to find that the only two people sitting on the futon are none other than Finley and Mycroft. The latter is twirling his umbrella and eyeing both me and Sherlock, "Went out to introduce my brother to the realm of Tesco, Adelaide?"

"Without telling us you were leaving?" Finley asks.

"It's not like you don't have cameras and microphones wired around the flat, the building and down the whole street," Sherlock retorts, "You surveill this place every minute. You knew when we left."

I nudge my fiancé and then sigh, "My apologies. I should've thought to inform you that we were going out. But what exactly are you doing here, Finley? I thought today you were taking final exams," My brother's face falls and I get concerned, "Finn, what is it..?"

Standing, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. Sherlock seems to recognize it immediately, setting the bags on the floor and taking the paper from my brother. Finley clears his throat, "I found that in my mail box when I came back home for lunch. Rushed over here to ask Sherlock about it and found you two missing. Then you didn't answer your phone either. Neither of you did."

"I'm sorry I didn't text you, Finn. I really wasn't thinking about anything but groceries when we left." I apologize.

"It's alright. You're here in one piece, after all."

Sherlock suddenly lets out a sharp breath and Mycroft tsks, "Brother mine, you know what this means."

"What what means?" I ask and step closer to Sherlock. I peek at the note, half expecting to see another notorious smiley face or a "Miss Me?".  But instead I see a strange sign. Wait,  "Isn't that the new Network's symbol? It was on the note that Moran gave you a week ago."

"It is. And this message is a warning." Sherlock replies.

Mycroft stands up and exhales, "Precisely. Either you resume the game or they will force you to."

They're threatening me and Finley. They could also target Nan, Aunt Francine and Grandfather.

"This means that while the network's new head is not Moriarty, they are emulating him. That's the frailty of genius... they need and want an audience. Whomever this is, they're getting bored," Sherlock tuts, "I am not going to let them win another round."

He and Mycroft start going back and forth. My arms, sore and tired from holding the grocery bags, prompt me to finally carry the load into the kitchen and start putting things away. Finley grabs the bags from Sherlock's and joins me. After a few minutes he asks lowly, "What do you think is going to happen now, sis?"

"I'm really not sure, Finn. There's no way to tell for sure how everything will play out."

"Has any of this affected your wedding plans, then? Because it seemed like you were up on the planning and then you stopped telling me and Nan how things looked."

"Honestly, Finley, we just haven't been able to do much about it because of what all has been happening. We've talked a lot about it in the past week but it's difficult to really buckle down and plan when you've got a criminal network wreaking havoc," I sigh deeply and tap my fingers on the counter, "I mean, we know we want a small, simple, and private ceremony. We wanted to get married soon and now I don't know when it could happen."

He brings me in for a quick hug, "Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out soon. I just want to see you happy and safe. So whatever will ensure that, I support."

I smile and hug him back, "Thank you, Finn."

"No problem, Ada. And between you and me, Nan wants the same. She just doesn't want to influence your decisions. So don't tell her I said that." We both chuckle.

"I won't, don't worry."

We return to the living room as Sherlock lets Lestrade in. Finley and I take seats on the futon and listen as the scene unfolds.

Sure enough, it's another case courtesy of the network for Sherlock to solve. It's different though- not a homicide. It's a kidnapping instead, which I'm almost glad for. He's been complaining about the lack of variety. Still, I don't want him to have another episode.

Mycroft soon leaves to drop Finley off at his last exam, and to ensure that he can make up the others, per my request. While Lestrade steps out to take a call and wait for Sherlock to join him to the crime scene, my fiancé sits beside me on the futon. He takes my hand in his and exhales, "I have to get back to working cases. I don't want the network taking out their boredom on you."

"I know. Just promise me that if you feel like you might have another episode that you'll tell John and text me?"

"I promise, Love, as long as you promise to stay safe here at the flat."

"I promise."

He reaches into his coat pocket and extracts a pocket can of Mace, otherwise called pepper spray, "Just in case. Mycroft brought it for you. It's a military grade formula so please use it carefully." I nod and he places it in my free hand.

"I won't experiment with it," We lean in and share a few kisses. Then I cup his face, "Now go win this round, Darling."

Sherlock smiles confidently, "I will."

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