The Final Chapter

The 23rd

*John POV*

"John."

"Hmm?"

Sherlocks lips brush against my neck when he speaks, breath ghosting across my skin.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm worried about tomorrow."

"Its going to be okay, nothing will happen."

He is lying under me again, starting to shake violently.

"Relax love, its okay."

"I dont like it."

"I know. You said we would do it for the boys, remember?"

He nods, reaching his hand out for mine. I grab his hand, kissing it lightly.

"Its okay Sherlock."

My cell rings, a call from Mycroft.

"Its your brother, let me take this call and ill be right back. Okay?"

"Yeah."

I carefully roll out of bed, wincing when I twist my shoulder a tad bit. Sherlock notices my discomfort, reaching out.

"I'm fine. Ill be right back."

I answer the call quickly, noticing Mycroft sounds worried.

"Is everything okay?"

"Where is Sherlock?"

"What do you mean? He is in the bedroom."

"I called him three times, no answer."

"That must have been what woke him up, we were sleeping."

"Can I talk to him?"

"Yeah, give me a minute."

I walk back into the room, passing Sherlock my cell. He puts it on speaker, leaning against me.

"You're on speaker."

"Mummy isnt coming this year. Father got sick, and she needs to stay home to take care of him."

Sherlock relaxes instantly, shaking subsiding quickly.

"Oh."

"Greg and I are still coming tomorrow, I just thought you may want to know what's going on."

"Thank you."

"Goodnight Sherlock. Goodnight John."

"Night Mikey."

"Goodnight Mycroft."

The line goes dead, and I toss my cell back into the night table. Sherlock is still sitting in stunned silence, barely responding when I sit down beside him. I watch him for a few hours before moving again, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Lie down with me Sherlock."

"Hmm?"

"Lie down, you need to get some sleep."

"Does your shoulder still hurt?"

"A tad bit, its fine."

He lies down now, making sure I am lying comfortably before moving closer.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Someone knocks on our door, making Sherlock jump before he figures out who it is.

"William."

"Pardon?"

"Its William."

"Come in."

William runs to our bed, bursting into tears when he sees us.

"Whats wrong?"

"Hamish had another nightmare and he scared me again."

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah. I calmed him down, but now I can't sleep."

"Come lie down with us."

He crawls into bed with us, falling hard against Sherlock. I grab an extra blanket, wrapping it around them. Sherlock still has no clue what to do, but he is trying to talk William down a tad bit.

"What happened?"

"He started crying, so I calmed him down. Then the door opened and someone came into the house."

"When?"

"Right before I came in here. I was walking down the hall and the door unlocked and soneone came in. Two people."

Sherlock springs up, nearly knocking William to the ground as he gets out of bed.

"Sherlock, come sit back down. Its okay, let me go with you."

"No. Stay with Will, I need to go get Hamish."

He opens the door quickly, yelling and striking out at something quickly when he steps into the hall.

"Bloody hell Sherlock!"

"Mycroft?"

"Who else would it be?"

"Greg."

"Dont be smart. Let go of me."

I run into the hall, gun fitting comfortably in my hand. Sherlock takes a few steps back, running into me. He is shaking badly, clearly fighting the urge to turn towards me.

"Why are you two here so early?"

"Its five forty in the morning Sherlock."

"It is?"

"Yes. Greg and I decided to come a few hours early so we could help you with anything, plus now we don't have to pick up mummy."

"Oh."

"Are you okay? We didn't mean to wake anyone."

"Its fine, we were already awake."

Mycroft looks down when William hugs him, seeming to notice the tears for the first time.

"Whats wrong William?"

I notice that both Sherlock and Will look at Mycroft, though Sherlock looks away before his brother notices. William goes back to the guest room with Mycroft and I take Sherlock back to bed. Mycroft knocks on the door just as Sherlock is falling asleep, coming straight to the bedside when I open the door.

"Are you sure you're okay? I didnt mean to scare you."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Mycroft kisses Sherlock on the forehead, whispering something in his ear before leaving.

"Get some sleep you two, I managed to get William to lie back down."

"Thank you."

He closes the door softly behind him, walking straight down the hall to the guest room.

"John..."

"Hmm?"

"I'm cold."

I turn back to Sherlock, cuddling up against him. He wraps his arms around me, kissing me softly before falling back asleep.