─ tiny dancer, s.h.

xiii. Fake smile.

Melody led there, in bed. At this time of night, the ceiling seemed quite interesting. The swirling patterns, the uneven surface. Even the most simplest of designs, so intricate. Sherlock stirred slightly next to her, turning to face away from her, before setting back to sleep again.

She wasn't sure why she couldn't sleep, because it was usually Sherlock in this position. But tonight, the Insomnia took shelter in her mind, instead of his. And it sucked. At the end of the bed, led Luke, their new puppy. A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Melody was worried at first that Charlie wouldn't like him, and that they would have to take him back. Because frankly, she loved Luke almost as much as she loved Charlie.

And maybe also as much as she loved Sherlock.

Melody had been thinking about that for a while now. Do I love Sherlock? That one question popping up at the most inappropriate of times. It was usually when she caught Sherlock doing something cute. Which, wasn't often, but more often around her. The answer had been floating around in her head for a while, but she didn't know if it was the right one. She needed time. Time to think things through. She couldn't just go telling him that she loved him, when she didn't even know if it was so.

And what if he didn't love her back? It was a miracle (apparently, according to John) that Sherlock even let Melody in in the first place. And to let her become that big of a part of his life, well, it was unheard of for Sherlock Holmes. But, Melody thought that it would stop at that. When Jennie asked about herself and Sherlock, and having children, Melody honestly didn't have a clue.

Of course, Melody wanted children at some point, and if she got to have them with Sherlock, then she would be the happiest woman in the world. But, she just couldn't imagine Sherlock wanting that. Loving each other, getting married (him proposing?!) and then having children. She just could not picture Sherlock wanting to have that sort of life, especially with how much it would interfere with his work.

But he gave up his work for me, so why would it be any different for children? She thought. No, that's completely different.

After ten more minutes, the silence she was lying in was deafening her. Melody slowly sat up in bed, being careful not to wake up Sherlock, Charlie or Luke, and tiptoed lightly out the door. As she walked into the kitchen, she looked around the room, grimacing at how messy it was.

"I was wondering when you'd get up." Melody jumped a mile at the sound of another voice in the living room. "I knew you were awake, it was just a matter of how long." Oh, Melody knew exactly who this was.

"Well well well, if it isn't Stanton Hicks himself. Finally decided to stop hiding behind your men?" She made a fake pouty face at him, before returning serious. "What do you want? You clearly haven't come here just for a chat."

Stanton slowly shook his head, getting up off the sofa and dawdling towards Melody, stopping at a safe distance. "No, you're wrong. I have come here for a chat. It's just that...we're not going to chat here, where Sherlock is just in the bedroom over there," he pointed behind Melody, "and I also know for a fact that there are at least five cameras and two listening devices in this room alone."

Melody nodded her head. "You're right. So, where are heading to then?"

"We're just going to go for a little drive, won't take long, I just want you to be clear on some things before everything starts." Melody narrowed her eyes at the criminal (not so much) mastermind.

"So basically, you're going to drive me around and tell me to stay out of your little 'game' with Sherlock, or else he or I get hurt, or killed."

"Um...basically, yes." Stanton gave her the biggest fake grin he could muster, before turning on his heel and walking out of the door, expecting Melody to follow, which she did. Damn my curiousity.

~

It was now 2 o'clock in the morning, and Stanton had been driving Melody around London for half an hour. She wondered if Sherlock had woken up and noticed that she was missing. He probably hadn't. As the car kept moving, she realised that they were going to a bad part of London. Of course, why would he not. Eventually, he turned onto an abandoned lot, about 45 minutes out of the city. As far as Melody could see, there was nothing around them. No buildings, no vehicles, nothing.

"So, do you know why I've brought you here?" Stanton turned around in the drivers seat to face Melody. He had a smirk on his face, his head tilted to one side, looking scrutinisingly at her. "I figured you would have some idea, seen as you're taking lessons from your lovely boyfriend."

"Of course I know why you've brought me here. I wouldn't need those lessons to figure it out. You want to talk to me, most likely ask me to do something that I won't want to do, and so you drove to this place, so if I try to escape, there isn't anything that I can run to." Melody spat out in just under 10 seconds. Stanton's eyebrows rose ever so slightly, almost a micro expression. In return she smirked, happy that she surprised him.

"Well, I must say, those lessons have come in handy. But I'll just get straight to what I wanted to ask you, or rather, order you, because it isn't a question...more of a command." Stanton still has the smirk on his face, while Melody's expression remained impassive. "Now, what I want you to do, is stay far, far, away from Sherlock. You were never supposed to be here. I mean, when I was planning this last year, how could I have predicted that little Sherly would fall in love? That was very unfair on your part. So, what I need you to do, is leave. I don't care how you do it, kill yourself for all I care, but I will not let you interfere with my plan. I will execute it, and it will go smoothly."

Melody raised one eyebrow. "Fine." Stanton looked shocked for a moment, before regaining his composure.

"Really? Hm, I thought it would have taken more convincing, maybe a gun to your head...oh wait! You've been trained to resist torture techniques. How is that going, by the way? Is Mycroft teaching you all of the tricks?" Stanton said smugly. No one was supposed to know about this, but it wasn't a surprise to her that he did.

"Yes, he is. But that is none of your business, as long as I do what you ask. Which is what I'm doing. So now, you can drop me back home, and we'll all be on our merry way." Melody said, a fake smile on her face. Stanton thought for a minute, before nodding his head and starting the car again. Once the headlights flickered on, they were on the move.

~

After getting out of the car, Melody made her way back into 221B, closing the door behind her quietly. It was still only 4 o'clock in the morning, and she didn't want to wake anyone. When she reached the flats door, she carefully twisted the knob, but before she could push it open, it swung back, revealing a disheveled Sherlock, who let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her. "Oh, thank god you're back. Where have you been?"

Melody gave Sherlock a small, convincing smile. "Just out. I needed to clear my head, so I went for a walk." Luckily for her, she was a good liar, otherwise Sherlock would have sniffed her out in two seconds. "Now come on," She said, reaching a hand out to Sherlock, "let's go to bed."