Beauty and the High-Functioning Sociopath {#PFCC2k16}

Alex in Danger

Alex's hand that she was holding the gun with shook and lowered slightly when she saw Sherlock. He was staring at her with wide eyes and a slightly open jaw. Deductions that he had first made about her raced through his head and he remembered one that he had totally ignored. It was that she had a secret.

"Is my brother with you?" She choked out.

"He's...um..." Sherlock's voice trailed off.

"Is John here?" Alex asked again. Her voice was shaking.

"He's downstairs." Sherlock said.

"So, what do you do now?" Magnussen asked. "Kill us both?"

"Alex, whatever he's got on you, let me help." Sherlock said slowly. "It's okay. I'm not mad. Don't do this, dear."

"Sherlock, go." Alex said. "Go, now."

"Alex, don't kill him. Come here and give me the gun." Sherlock said. He started to walk forward.

"If you take one more step, I will kill you." Alex said.

"Stop trying to keep the tough image up." Sherlock said. "I know you're scared. You're sweating and shaking. Come here."

"Go!" Alex yelled. "I don't want you to see me like this!"

"This isn't you, Alex." Sherlock said. "I promise, if you put the gun down, no harm will come to you."

"Sherlock, you okay?" John yelled, coming into the room. He saw Alex and stopped dead.

"John..." Alex's voice trailed off.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" John shouted at her.

Alex got scared and jumped. In the process, she accidently pulled the trigger on the gun. A bullet pierced Sherlock's chest and he looked down, shocked. Blood started to pour from his wound. Alex screamed and dropped the gun. She hadn't meant to shoot Sherlock. No matter what she said, she wasn't going to shoot him. Tears started pouring down her face. John grabbed the gun and whacked Magnussen over the head, knocking him out. Alex didn't know what to do.

Sherlock went to his mind palace. An alarm was going off. He knew Alex hadn't meant to shoot him. It was an accident.

"It's not like it is in the movies. There's not a great big spurt of blood and you go flying backwards." Molly said. She was walking in a circle around him. "The impact isn't spread over a wide area, it's tightly focused so there's little or no energy transfer. You stay still, and the bullet pushes through. You're almost certainly going to die, so we need to focus." She slapped him. "I said, focus! It's all well and clever having a mind palace, but you've only three seconds of conciousness left to use it. So, come on. What's going to kill you?"

"Blood loss." Sherlock said.

"Exactly." Molly said. "So, it's all about one thing now, forwards or backwards. We need to decide which way you're going to fall."

"One whole or two?" Anderson asked.

"Sorry?" Sherlock said.

"Is the bullet still inside you, or is there an exit wound?" Molly asked. "It will depend on the gun."

Sherlock pulled up a wall with all the guns he had seen in his time up in his mind palace. He needed to do this quickly. "That one, I think. Or that one."

"Oh, for God's sake, Sherlock. It doesn't matter about the gun, don't be stupid." Mycroft said. "You always were so stupid." Sherlock became his child self again. "Such a disappointment."

"I'm not stupid!" Child Sherlock said.

"You're a very stupid little boy. Mummy and daddy are very cross, because it doesn't matter about the gun." Mycroft said.