"You have been busy haven't you?" Mycroft said as he crumpled the newspaper in his hand.
"Moriarty's network. Took me two years to dismantle it." Sherlock said. He was reclined in a leather chair, face lathered with shaving foam.
"And you're confident you have?" Mycroft remarked.
"The Serbian side was the last piece of the puzzle." Sherlock said confidently, nonchalantly.
"Anyway," Mycroft whipped the folder he was reading shut and plopped it on the desk. "You're safe now."
"Hmm." Sherlock murmured.
Mycroft looked over at him.
"Thinking about something?" He asked.
Sherlock's face hardened, his mouth stiffening into a straight line. He paused, eyes darting back and forth doubtfully.
"How is she?" He said finally in a quiet voice.
Mycroft leaned back in his chair.
"Who? Jax?" He said.
"What other "she" would I be referring to?" Sherlock snapped.
Mycroft shrugged.
"Mrs. Hudson, Molly, one of your ridiculous cats."
"Mrs. Hudson can take care of herself, believe me," Sherlock said. "And those "ridiculous cats" have names."
"Oh, yes. What are they again? Blue Scandal? Bohemian Carbuncle?" Mycroft said just to annoy him.
"Blue Carbuncle. Bohemian Scandal." Sherlock corrected him, glaring.
Mycroft's assistant walked through the door carrying a fresh set of clothes. Sherlock stood up from the chair, clean shaven, and wiped the shaving cream from his face. As he was changing, Mycroft described to him the details of a new case.
"I need you to give this matter your full attention," Mycroft said. "Sherlock, is that quite clear?"
"What do you think of this shirt?" Sherlock said as he tucked it into his pressed pants.
"Sherlock."
"I will find your underground terror cell, Mycroft. Just put me back in London." Sherlock said. "I need to get to know the place again, breathe it in. Feel every quiver of it's beating heart."
"Oh, you'll be feeling something else when you get back to London." Mycroft said smugly.
"Jax doesn't strike me as the type for reunion sex." Sherlock replied flatly.
"That's not what I meant."
"I think she'll be pretty thrilled to see me, don't you think?" Sherlock said, looking at himself in the mirror as he adjusted his shirt collar.
"Go back to Baker Street, pop out of a cake."
"Baker Street?" Mycroft said. "She isn't there anymore. Neither is John."
Sherlock stopped and stared at him.
"Why would they be? It's been two years. They've got on with their lives."
"What lives? I've been away." Sherlock said.
"She's engaged, Sherlock."
Sherlock froze, his eyes locked on his brother.
"What?" He choked out after a moment.
"She's engaged. The wedding is in May." Mycroft handed him a file, and Sherlock opened it hurriedly. Pictures of Jax walking the streets of London, holding hands with a blurry figure seemed to burn in Sherlock's eyes.
"She works for a government intelligence agency that I am not at liberty to name, she lives in a two bedroom apartment-"
"Oh my god," Sherlock said. He was staring down at a photograph of Jax hugging a black-haired woman in a tight dress.
"Is-Is that...?" He stammered.
"Irene Adler? Yes, it is." Mycroft said.
"Irene Adler?" Sherlock exclaimed. "Jax is engaged to Irene Adler?!"
"Jax is bisexual, didn't you know that?" Mycroft said.
"But Irene Adler is in America!"
"No, she's in London. Got herself on a new program, hoped on a plane the first chance she got and showed up on Jax's doorstep to confess her love."
"You're lying." Sherlock said, incredulous.
"Regrettably, I am not." Mycroft said in a rigidly serious voice.
Sherlock stood there silently. After a while, he whipped on his jacket and made towards the door.
"I need to get back as soon as possible. Get me a flight." He barked.
"Sherlock-" Mycroft began.
The door had already slammed behind him.
~~~
Sherlock hung up his coat by the door and scanned the restaurant. An expectant father, two blackmailers, three bankers, two accountants. Couples, families.
His eyes fell on her.
Jax was wearing her hair long and curly down her back. She had on a long red dress and heels, she was even wearing makeup.
Sherlock stopped in his tracks and stared in awe, his breath catching slightly in his throat. He saw the ring on her finger, and it seemed like a manacle and chain on her hand, deflecting him like a shield. The woman sitting across from her had her dark hair twisted and pinned on top of her head, her low cut dress showing more than Sherlock cared to see. Adler, Sherlock thought bitterly as he gritted his teeth.
After he composed himself from the sight of her, he started to walk towards the back of the restaurant.
He waited.
He waited and waited and waited for the perfect moment.
A line of waiters, each carrying trays of food, were placed in a row leading up to Jax's table. In one swift movement, Sherlock extended his leg and tripped the waiter closest to him. Like dominoes, they tumbled and fell over each other. In a strategically planned set of events, the last waiter in the lineup spilled his tray of wine all over the front of Jax's dress.
Sherlock smirked.
Jax jumped out of her seat as the sound of clashing plates filled the restaurant. Irene jumped up as well and started to smother Jax with napkins. Jax put her hands up and said something Sherlock couldn't hear. She started to make her way to the bathroom, and Sherlock followed her.
He opened the door silently. Jax was too busy cleaning herself up to notice him. She stared at herself in the mirror as she splashed water onto the stained fabric.
Sherlock's eyes bore into her as his mind raced.
"Oh, Jax, as usual, you see but do not observe." He said. "You must be slipping in your old age. I'm surprised you didn't notice that little trick with the waiters to lure someone to the bathroom. We used it on that smuggler on a case a few years ago, don't you remember?"
Jax froze. She stood there for a solid minute until turning around. When she saw him, she dropped the paper towels clumped in her hands.
Sherlock smiled.
"I never thought I'd see the Jax shocked speechless." He said smugly.
She just stood there staring at him.
"Sherlock?" She said like she couldn't believe it.
"The one and only." He replied.
She stared and stared, her eyes running over every feature as if to make sure it wasn't an imposter in a mask. Her expression was swirling with a hundred different emotions at once. Finally, she looked back up at his eyes.
"I understand you must be upset at the fact that you're not the smartest person in the room anymore, but-"
Jax walked past him and out the door.
Sherlock stood there dumbfounded for a moment before going back out to the restaurant. Jax was stomping back over to her table, her hands clenched at her sides. She grabbed Irene's hand and pulled her to a stand, heading for the exit.
Sherlock saw Irene's lips moving, asking Jax what the matter was, but then she turned and her eyes landed on him.
To Sherlock's confusion, she didn't look surprised. Irene just smiled at him and wrapped a possessive arm around Jax's waist as they disappeared through the doorway.
~~~
"What is it, darling?" Irene put a hand on Jax's shoulder.
Jax sighed and rubbed her temples.
"I don't know." She said quietly. "I just...I just need time to think."
"Alright, darling." She said. "Call me in the morning, okay?"
Irene put a hand on Jax's cheek as she said it.
Jax nodded, her eyes clouded. Irene planted a kiss on her forehead and smiled.
Jax opened the cab door and stepped out into the cold air.
As she unlocked the front door of her small apartment, her thoughts raced out of control. A black lab greeted her as she stepped into the living room.
Jax absentmindedly patted the top of its head as she set down her keys. She plopped down on the couch with blank eyes.
Sherlock.
She put a hand over her throbbing head and fell back against the cushion.
~~~
"That bastard." John spat.
"My thoughts exactly." Jax replied.
The two of them walked along the London sidewalk.
"He just barged in on your date?" John asked.
"Don't act so surprised. He ruined your engagement dinner, remember?" Jax retorted.
"Mary says she likes him." John said, sounding annoyed.
Jax rolled her eyes.
"Wish I could say the same." She said.
They walked for a moment in silence before John looked at her.
"What are you going to do, Jax?"
She looked up from the pavement.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what are you going to do about Sherlock?"
A troubled look crossed her face as she looked at the ground.
"I don't know, John. He was dead. What am I supposed to do? What would you do?"
He didn't know what to say to that.
"Don't you think you and Irene are moving a little fast?" John said after a while.
Jax paused, then shrugged.
"I could ask the same about you and Mary." She said. "After all, we've only been dating both of them for two years before getting engaged."
John didn't have a reply.
"Plus, I knew Irene years and years ago. You and Mary have only known each other for two years." Jax said.
"Alright, alright, I get it." John shrugged her off.
Jax smiled a little to herself, victorious.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She dug it out, narrowing her eyes at the screen.
"What is it?" John asked.
"Work." Jax groaned.
John rolled his eyes and huffed.
"Again?"
"I'm sorry, John. I'll make it up to you." Jax said. "I gotta go. See you later."
She rushed off before he could say goodbye.
~~~
Jax tightened her coat around her shoulders as she walked briskly down the sidewalk. Her eyes darted between all the different signs on the passing buildings, trying to find the right one. She looked down at her phone as it vibrated in her hand.
Where are you? - John
Jax used her teeth to remove the glove on her right hand and typed a response.
On my way. What's the name of the street again? - Jax
Her eyes landed on a small restaurant tucked between two brick buildings, and she quickly entered into its warm air.
It was dimly lit, cramped with booths, and covered in old French movie posters.
Where's your table? - Jax
In the back. Left corner booth. - John
She squeezed between the tables and made her way over to the booth tucked away near the entrance to the kitchen.
John and Mary were sitting there waiting for her. When he saw her, John immediately got up and offered her the seat on the inside of the booth.
"Sorry I'm late," Jax said as she settled in. "Traffic was a nightmare."
"Don't worry, you're worth the wait." Mary said with a wink.
Jax smiled at her and let her hands fall on the tabletop.
"Soooo," She said. "Why did you want to meet?"
John and Mary looked at each other.
"Mary and I have been talking," John began. "And we both agree that—"
"Oh my god, is Mary pregnant? Are you pregnant?" Jax said excitedly, bouncing in her seat.
"No, no, no." John said, shaking his hands.
"We've been talking, and we both agree that you and Sherlock have some things you need to work out."
Jax's face fell.
"Did you bring me here to try to convince me to talk to Sherlock?" She demanded.
Mary's eyes shifted between Jax and John.
"No, we brought you here so that you would have to talk to Sherlock." John replied.
Jax's eyebrows knitted in confusion, and then a figure emerged from behind the adjoining wall. Mary moved, and he sat down directly across from Jax on the opposite side of the booth.
Jax's heart beat involuntarily sped up, and her skin started to crawl.
"Let me out." She said without looking at the person across from her. Her voice seemed to be incredibly pained and emotionless at the same time.
"Let me out, John."
Now she knew why John had offered her the inside seat. With him sitting next to her, she was trapped against the corner.
"Jax, just listen," John said. "He wants to apologize."
Jax scoffed as she tried to move past him.
"Sherlock? Apologize?" Her voice cut through the air.
John had his arms outstretched so she couldn't get up, and he was immovable.
"Damnit John, let me out!"
"Just listen for a minute." John pleaded. "You two need to talk."
Jax's glare pierced him through the skull, but after a moment of silence, she sat back in her seat.
Finally, she met Sherlock's eyes.
He was paler than she'd ever seen him, and his shoulders were slumped, making him shrink into himself. Soft sadness and a noticeable shade of guilt played in his eyes.
He hadn't been this guilty-looking when he "apologized" to John, if you could call it an apology.
Jax stared coldly at him. She gestured with her hands and a nod of her head.
"Fine." She snapped.
Sherlock took a breath as he looked at her.
"Jax, I know you're upset..." Sherlock said like he was carefully choosing his words. "And I understand that the situation requires a sincere apology."
Jax scoffed to herself.
"So, I want to formally say that I am sorry." He said with a steady, quiet voice.
"Sorry for what?" Jax snapped, her arms now crossed in front of her.
Sherlock blinked. Apparently, the question had taken him by surprise.
He looked at John and Mary for assistance.
John just nodded his head towards Jax, urging him on.
Sherlock pressed his lips together, then locked eyes with her.
Something changed in his expression. The usual hardness in eyes softened, and his gaze centered solely on her.
He was looking at her like she was the only other person left in the world.
"I lied to you. I deceived you and I abandoned you. You of all people know how painful that is."
Jax's face changed slightly. Her narrowed eyes, once bitingly cold, had relaxed. Her lips had even parted slightly.
"I thought that I was protecting you. I thought keeping you out of the matter was the best thing to do. I was wrong to think that you couldn't handle it. I'm sorry."
Sherlock's gaze was intent on her.
John and Mary looked back and forth between them, and then at each other.
From the expression on Jax's face, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Jax broke the silence by taking a deep breath.
"Outside. Now."
She shoved John aside and stood up, making her way towards the door.
Sherlock looked at Mary and John, then rushed to follow her.
~~~
"What am I supposed to do now that you're back from the dead?" Jax snapped.
Her hands were on her hips as her eyes sliced through him.
"I have a life. I have a job. I have a..."
She paused, her voice seeming to die at the difficulty of what she was about to say.
"I have a fiance." She said finally, throwing up the hand with the ring.
Sherlock's eyes narrowed slightly.
The catch in her voice. The disgust towards her own engagement ring.
"What did you think was going to happen, Sherlock? Hmm? Did you think that I'd run into your arms and kiss your feet and rejoice at your miraculous return? Did you think my life had ended just because you weren't in it?"
"I had to do it. It was for your own safety." Sherlock said, his tone calm and collected.
Jax set her jaw.
"You know I can handle myself." She said.
"Yes, but I wasn't willing to take any chances. Jax, I..."
He trailed off.
"I won't lose you. I did what I thought was best. I'm sorry that it hurt you."
Jax looked him up and down. She looked like she was trying to figure out if he was sincere or not.
Sherlock stared at her, waiting for her reply.
After a pause, Jax shook her head at him.
"You idiot." She said. "You stupid, stupid genius idiot."