Aftermath

"Four minutes and the Monarchy almost falls. I should never leave." I was sitting across Mycroft in his office. "Such a shame. I was looking forward to the undercover work."

"Always the child, Sherlock. This is a matter of nati-"

"National Importance. You say that about everything, Mycroft."

"At least I didn't get exiled." A smug smile spread across his face.

"Four minutes, Mycroft. Four minutes."

As he went to send an insult back, John interrupted us. "Shouldn't we get back to discussing the matter of national importence?"

"Ah, yes. Mary and John are aware of this, but Sherlock you are not."

"Of course. I've been in exile for the last four minutes." It was my turn to smile.

"Anyway, Moriarty has made a return." My smile faltered. 

"I watched him blow his brains out. There's no way Mycroft. You've gone mad."

I got up to walk out of his office, but John's face made me sit back down.

"You're not lying."

"No."

"What are you doing to find out how he did it?"

"Nothing."

"Why not? Mycroft, if he IS back, we need to know how he did it!"

"We do know how he did it!"

"How did he do it then?"

"He has a twin brother."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw "Bradley" at his funeral. Identical. I looked up his birth record, and he WAS born four minutes before his brother."

"Which one? Bradley or James?"

"Bradley. I suspect Jim brainwashed his brother, whom he has always loathed, into climbing onto that roof and threatening you."

"And Bradley died of his own accord?"

"No. Moriarty told him the were blanks in the gun, and for him to act like he was dead, but, obviously, they were not blanks."

"Dammit. Not as brilliant as my plan, though." I felt the smile tug at my lips again.

"YOUR BRILLIANT PLAN THAT LEFT ME ALONE FOR THREE YEARS SHERLOCK? I WENT TO YOUR GOD DAMN FUNERAL!" John roared. "A CALL, A TEXT, A LETTER, ANYTHING. ANYTHING EXCEPT SEEING YOU ON THE TELLY AND THEN KNOWING THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY I WOULD EVER SEE YOU AGAIN." The room stayed silent.

"I-"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY YOU'RE SORRY, SHERLOCK. YOU KNOW YOU WERE WRONG. JUST A TEXT. I CRIED FOR ABOUT A YEAR STRAIGHT. MARY WAS THE ONLY GOOD THING IN MY LIFE AT THAT TIME."

"I heard you, John."

"What?"

"I heard your speech. After that, I wanted to come back right then and there, but you were being watched. They stopped watching you two years after my death, but i was imprisoned inRussia at the time."

"You, you heard my speech? Sherlock, I-"

"I love you, John."

"I love you, too, Sherlock."