"That glass is tougher than anything." Lestrade said. He, Alex, John, and Sherlock were watching the security footage of Moriarty. He was in jail, awaiting trial.
"Not tougher than crystalized carbon." Sherlock said. "He used a diamond."
A few weeks later, the three of them were getting dressed to go to the trial. Alex was wearing a blue shirt with a black skirt and Sherlock and John were wearing suits. Sherlock stopped them at the door to the flat. He looked at John and Alex.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Yeah." Alex nodded.
"Yes." John said.
John opened the door. There was so much press. A policeman helped them get through. Alex covered her face, trying not to be seen. Pictures were being snapped and questions were being shouted at them. All three of them got into the car that was waiting for them. Sherlock looked out the window. He silently took Alex's hand. Alex looked up at him.
"Hey, it'll be okay." She whispered. "Just remember what we've told you. Don't try to be clever. Just keep it simple and brief."
"Confident the star witness is charged to come across as intelligent." Sherlock said.
"Intelligent, fine." John said.
"I'll just be myself." Sherlock said.
"Are you even listening to us?" Alex said.
They got to the court house and got out of the car. There were so many Sherlock Holmes fans. The trio had to fight their way to get into the building. Sherlock looked to Alex and John.
"I'll either see you in there, or be right back. I have to go to the bathroom." He said.
"TMI." Alex said.
Sherlock smiled at her and left. As he was washing his hands, he looked into the mirror and stopped dead. There was a young, red haired woman standing behind him. He kept his cool and dried his hands.
"You're him." The woman said.
"Wrong toliet." Sherlock said.
"I'm a big fan." The woman said. "I read your cases, I follow them all. Sign, my shirt, would you?"
She tried to hand him a marker. Sherlock refused to take it.
"There are two types of fans." He said.
"Oh?" The woman said.
"Catch me before I kill again, type A." Sherlock said.
"And what's type B.?" The woman asked.
"My lips are only a few inches away." Sherlock said.
"What type am I?" The woman asked.
"Niether." Sherlock said.
"Really?" The woman said.
"No, you're not a fan at all." Sherlock said. "Those marks on the edge of your forearm, the edge of a desk. You've been typing in a hurry probably, pressure on, facing a deadline."
"That all?" The woman asked.
"There's a smudge of ink on your wrist and the buldge in your left jacket pocket." Sherlock said.
"Bit of a giveaway." The woman said.
"The smudge is deliberate. It's to see if I'm as good as they say I am." Sherlock said. He sniffed her wrist. "Hm. Oil base. Used in newspaper print. Drawn on with an index finger, your finger. Journalist. Unlikely you get your hands dirty at the press. You put that there to test me."
"Wow, I'm liking you." the woman said.
"You mean I'd make a great feature, 'Sherlock Holmes, the Man Beneath the Hat.' " Sherlock said.
"Kitty Riley." The woman introduced herself. She took off her Sherlock hat. "Pleased to meet you."
"No, I'm just saving you the trouble of asking. No, I won't give you an interview." Sherlock said. "No, I don't want the money."
"You and Alexandra Watson just platonic?" Kitty asked. Sherlock ignored her and tried to open the door. She closed it and cornered him. "Do I put you down there for a no as well? There's all sorts of gossip in the press about you. Sooner or later you're going to need someone on your side. Someone to set the record straight."
"You think you're the girl for the job, do you?" Sherlock asked.
"I'm smart and you can trust me totally." Kitty said.
"Smart? Okay. Investagitive journalist, good. Well, look at me and tell me what you see. If you're that skillful, you don't need an interview. You can just read what you need. No? Okay, my turn." Sherlock said. "I look at you and I see someone who's still waiting for their first big scoop so that their editor will notice them. You're wearing an expensive skirt that has been rehemmed twice, the same that Alex is wearing except that one was a gift from John. It's the only posh skirt you've got. And you're nails, you can't afford to do them that often. I see someone who's hungry, I don't see smart, and I definately don't see trustworthy. But I'll give you a quote if you like, three little words" He took her tape recorder out of her pocket and held it up to his mouth. "You. Repel. Me." (I have to give credit to this actress because if Benedict had been three inches from my face and said, "You. Repel. Me." I would have started crying.)
Sherlock walked out of the bathroom after giving Kitty her tape recorder back. He found Alex and John shortly. Alex gave him a confused look.
"That was an awfully long time." She said. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. Just got ambused by a reporter is all." Sherlock said. "Come on, we have to go in now."
Soon, the trial began. Alex and John sat together in the jury and watched Sherlock, who was at the witness stand.
"A consulting criminal." Sherlock's lawyer said.
"Yes." Sherlock nodded.
"Your words." The woman said. "Can you expand on that answer?"
"James Moriarty is for hire." Sherlocks said.
"A tradesman?" The laywer tilted her head.
"Yes." Sherlock said.
"But not the sort that'd fix your heating." The woman said.
"No, the sort to plant a bomb on stage, an assassination, but I'm sure he'd make a pretty decent job of your boiler." Sherlock said. Some laughter passed through the room.
"Would you describe him as-"
"Leading." Sherlock said.
"What?" The woman said.
"Can't do that, you're leading the witness." Sherlock said. "He'll object and the judge will uphold."
"Mr. Holmes." The judge said.
"Ask me how I would describe him, what opinion have I formed of him." Sherlock said. "They don't teach you this?"
"Mr. Holmes, we're fine without your help." The judge said.
"How would you describe this man, his character?" The woman asked.
"First mistake, James Moriarty isn't a man at all. He's a spider, a spider at the center of a web." Sherlock said. "Criminal web, with a thousand threads, and he knows precisely how each and every one of them dances."
"And how long-" The woman started.
"No, no, don't do that. That's really not a good question." Sherlock said. Alex shook her head.
"Mr. Holmes!" The judge said.
"How long have I known him? Not really your best line of inquiry." Sherlock said. "We met twice. five minutes in total. I pulled a gun, he tried to blow me up. I felt we had a special something."
"Miss Sorrel, are you seriously claiming that this man is an expert after knowing the accused for five minutes?" The judge asked.
"Two minutes would have made me an expert." Sherlock said. "Five was ample."
"Mr. Holmes, this is a matter for the jury!" The judge said.
"Oh, really?" Sherlock said. "One librarian, two teachers, two high-pressure jobs, probably the city. Foreman's a medical secritary trained abroad judging by her shorthand."
"Mr. Holmes!" The judge said.
"Oh no." Alex murmered.
"Seven are married, two are having an affair with each other, it would seem. Oh, and they've just had their tea and biscuts." Sherlock said. "Would you like to know who ate the wafar?"
"Mr. Holmes! You've been called here to answer Miss Sorrel's questions. Not to give us a display of your intellectual poweress! Keep your answers brief and to the point. Anything else will be treated as comtempt!"
"Sherlock, knock it off." Alex mouthed.
"Do you think you could survive for just a few minutes without showing off?!" The judge asked.
Sherlock took a deep breath. Later, after the trial was over, he was led to a cell, along with Moriarty next to him, though neither could see the other. Alex and John paid the fee to bail him out.
"What did I tell you?!" Alex asked. "You blew it! Sherlock, this was our chance!"
"I know." Sherlock sighed. He was still in his cell.
"Come on. I got you bailed out. I swear, it's like I work with toddlers!" Alex said as the policeman opened the door. "I feel like you're some dog I've gotta get out of the pound every time he escapes from my backyard! I'm going to need to put a bloody muzzle on you one of these days!"
"What did I say, I said don't get clever!" John said as Sherlock was signing some papers.
"I can't just turn it on and off like a tap." Sherlock said.
"Then learn to!" Alex said.
"Well?" Sherlock said.
"Well what?" Alex asked.
"You were there for the whole thing. Up in the gallery start to finish." Sherlock said.
"Like you said it would be." John said. "Sat on his backside, never even stirred."
"Moriarty's not mounting any defense." Sherlock said. They were reffering to Moriarty's lawyer.
"Bank of England, Tower of London, Pentonville." John said when they got back to 221B. Alex was changing into something more comfortable. "Three of the most secure places in the country, and six weeks ago, Moriarty breaks in. No one knows how or why. All we know is-"
"He ended up in custody." Alex said, coming out of the bathroom. She looked at Sherlock and sighed. "Don't do that."
"Do what?" Sherlock asked.
"The look." Alex said.
"The look?" Sherlock said.
"You're doing it again!" Alex said.
"I can't see it, can I?" Sherlock said. He looked in a mirror. "It's my face...?"
"And it's doing a thing." Alex said. "You're doing a, 'we both know what's really going on here,' face."
"Well, we do!" Sherlock said.
"No, we don't!" Alex said.
"Of course you do, you're smart." Sherlock said. "Go on, then. Tell me what you think is going on."
"If Moriarty wanted the jewels, he'd have them." Alex said slowly. Sherlock nodded at her.
"Keep going." He said.
"If he wanted those prisoners freed, they'd be out on the streets. The only reason he's still in a prison cell right now is because he's choosing to be there." Alex said.
"Somehow this is part of his scheme." Sherlock said. He looked to Alex. "You really are smart, remind me to give you more access to my cases."
"Wow...thanks." Alex said, blushing.
The next day, John went to the second part of the trial while Alex stayed with Sherlock. He wasn't allowed back there now, not after what he'd done. She was keeping him company. Sherlock was muttering what the judge was saying right at the moment, even though he wasn't there.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, James Moriarty stands accused of several counts of attempted burglary, crimes which, if he is found guilty, might elict a very long, custodial sentence and yet his legal team has chosen to offer no evidence whatsoever to support their plea." Sherlock said quietly. "You must find him guilty...guilty."
"So they're going to have to decide that he's guilty for him to have to go to jail?" Alex said. Sherlock nodded.
"It would seem so." He said.
Meanwhile at the courthouse, John was coming back into the room after a short intermission. This vote would decide whether Moriarty was guilty or not.
"Have you reached a verdict on which you all agree?" The judge asked.
Sherlock's phone rang back at the flat. Alex jumped up to get it. It was John. Her heart pounded as she answered the call.
"Yes? Is he guilty, did we win?" Alex asked hopefully. Her heart sank as her brother sighed. "I know that sigh. We didn't win, did we?"
"Afraid not." John sighed. "No defense, and Moriarty's walked free! He's going to be coming after Sherlock!"
"I know. Pick me up some McDonald's on the way back, I'm starving." Alex said.
"What do you want?" John sighed.
"My usual!" Alex said.
"Fine." John said. Alex hung up on him and walked back to Sherlock.
"No doubt you heard that?" She said. Sherlock shook his head. "You've gotta be careful, Sher."
Alex rested her head on Sherlock's shoulder, upset about the probability of Moriarty coming after her, her brother, and her best friend. Sherlock looked down at her. Alex was smart, no doubt about that. He was getting a funny feeling around her now that he knew that. Come to think about it, he'd been having that feeling for a long time, ever since the end of their first case together. Sherlock's heart skipped a beat as he had an epiphany.
Sherlock Holmes, the man who never showed emotion, was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with Alexandra Watson.
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OMG OMG OMG SHERLEX! IT FINALLY HAPPENED! Well, kind of...he still hasn't told her he loves her yet. I have big plans for that. *chuckles*