The Final Chapter

Last Ones

*Sherlock POV*

Moriarty. He is the one thought that never ceases to be in my mind. Hiding. Waiting for something to bring him back. Here he comes now, as if drawn by my thoughts. It's difficult to tell where I am, how large the room is.

"Awake already?"

I flinch when he reaches out towards me, but manage to keep my eyes open. He slowly touches my face, brushing my hair out of my eyes. His fingers are cold, making me shiver.

"What do you want?"

"What I always want Sherlock."

This isn't real, it can't be. They said he couldn't get back, he couldn't get in. I realize where we are now, my kitchen again.

"What do you want?"

"This..."

He grabs a handful of my hair, forcing me to look at something on the floor in front of us. One of the boys is lying there, barely moving. I see something shift in the shadows behind Moriarty, a small figure is crouching there. The figure on the floor shifts, its Hamish. Moriarty lets go of me, drawing a knife from the counter and crouching beside Hamish. A gunshot rings out suddenly, deafening me. Moriarty falls to the ground, bullet through his skull. William runs out of the corridor, dropping down beside Hamish. The gun drops, clattering loudly on the floor. Someone starts laughing suddenly, and what I see in front of us is enough to terrify me.

"It's not that easy Sherlock."

Moriarty sits up slowly, retrieving the gun from the floor.

"You didn't think that would be enough, did you really?"

He raises the gun suddenly, quickly firing off two shots. Both boys start screaming, blood spilling from fresh bullet wounds. I fall forward as the ropes binding me are cut, dragging myself towards them. Hamish stops yelling, barely moving anymore. 

"Hamish, look at me."

Hamish looks up at me, reaching his hand out for mine. I realize he was shot in the stomach, I can't help him. Moriarty watches my futile efforts to stop the bleeding, laughing as Hamish bleeds out. Will presses against me, blood soaking my side. I watch Moriarty raise the gun one more time, pointed directly at my head.

"Can you do it too Sherlock?"

He pulls the trigger, but I don't feel anything. My vision goes dark seconds later, hugging William close to my side.

I sit up suddenly, heart pounding. 

"Sherlock?"

John sits up carefully, reaching out towards me slowly. 

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"Where are the boys?"

"Calm down, they're fine."

"Where are they?"

"Come here Sherlock, relax."

He holds out his arms, jumping back when Honeycomb starts barking. 

"Calm him down, he won't let anyone near you."

I shift towards John, cautiously watching the dog. He sits beside us, still staring at John threateningly.

"Sherlock, what happened?"

"He came back and...the boys were there and..."

"Shhhh. Its okay, the boys are fine.  How are you feeling?"