John's lips curled and settled somewhere between a smile and a frown. "I should have been there to..."
Sherlock opened his eyes and sat up abruptly, water sloshing and splashing on John's face and chest. "To get yourself killed? And probably me, too. It was difficult enough for me to infiltrate Moriarty's ranks. I spent three months in Norway as Per Sigerson. How's your Norwegian, John?" His speech grew more rapid and terse. "Ikke veldig bra. I suspect your Mandarin is equally proficient."
"Sherlock..."
"And maybe you think you can get two of us through the woods unnoticed. Didn't work for one, even. And they weren't exactly looking for me, as I was already dead. Though by then, they had suspected I wasn't...the element of surprise only buys you so much time. Once the bodies start stacking up, people make an educated guess, and then they want to make you dead in actuality."
"Sherlock..."
"You would have protected me, yes? Stopped me from taking unnecessary risks. I wasn't about to have you killed, John, by being there with me or by preventing me from doing whatever I had to. He had to be stopped or he would continue to terrorize everyone I cared about, and all of greater London besides."
John spoke quickly before he was interrupted again. "I don't question how dangerous it was. I had no idea what you were up against. And I should have known better... the men he would have worked with." John fidgeted, but remained seated.
"Meanwhile, you were dating Mary, having quite a bit of fun, judging by the fact that she was pregnant within six months of your meeting her. At her age, her fertility rate wouldn't be that high, would it?" Sherlock's eyes were like lasers: sharp, glowing, deadly. "Shall I attempt to determine the number of times you..."
John sprang to his feet. "Sherlock! You and I had gotten as far as dancing around a relationship neither of us were quite sure we wanted, and you seem to forget that you were dead! That I watched you die. That I watched you jump off a bloody roof right in front of me and do you have any fucking idea what that is?" John made what he knew would seem like overly grand gestures with his hands before letting them fall abruptly to his side. "What that is to watch your whole fucking world collapse in front of you? Voluntarily? Why the hell did you want me to be there? You did, didn't you..." He pointed an accusing finger. "You knew that I would come back once I saw Mrs Hudson was okay, and you staged the whole bloody thing for me so I could what...be your witness? Grieve convincingly for you? "Not dead." Should have put it on a postcard. Okay, okay, you weren't exactly near a post office." His hands moved rapidly through the air again. "It wasn't a beach holiday. But, have Mycroft whisper it in my ear? Too conspicuous? Maybe have one of your bloody homeless network people drop me a note?"
Sherlock spoke quietly, sinking back into the tub. "Firstly, it wasn't voluntarily. It was either jump or watch my friends die. Fortunately, I had anticipated that scenario." He looked directly at John for the first time. "And secondly, you know why not, John."
FILL 13b/?" Three" (Threesome fail)
Sherlock opened his eyes and sat up abruptly, water sloshing and splashing on John's face and chest. "To get yourself killed? And probably me, too. It was difficult enough for me to infiltrate Moriarty's ranks. I spent three months in Norway as Per Sigerson. How's your Norwegian, John?" His speech grew more rapid and terse. "Ikke veldig bra. I suspect your Mandarin is equally proficient."
"Sherlock..."
"And maybe you think you can get two of us through the woods unnoticed. Didn't work for one, even. And they weren't exactly looking for me, as I was already dead. Though by then, they had suspected I wasn't...the element of surprise only buys you so much time. Once the bodies start stacking up, people make an educated guess, and then they want to make you dead in actuality."
"Sherlock..."
"You would have protected me, yes? Stopped me from taking unnecessary risks. I wasn't about to have you killed, John, by being there with me or by preventing me from doing whatever I had to. He had to be stopped or he would continue to terrorize everyone I cared about, and all of greater London besides."
John spoke quickly before he was interrupted again. "I don't question how dangerous it was. I had no idea what you were up against. And I should have known better... the men he would have worked with." John fidgeted, but remained seated.
"Meanwhile, you were dating Mary, having quite a bit of fun, judging by the fact that she was pregnant within six months of your meeting her. At her age, her fertility rate wouldn't be that high, would it?" Sherlock's eyes were like lasers: sharp, glowing, deadly. "Shall I attempt to determine the number of times you..."
John sprang to his feet. "Sherlock! You and I had gotten as far as dancing around a relationship neither of us were quite sure we wanted, and you seem to forget that you were dead! That I watched you die. That I watched you jump off a bloody roof right in front of me and do you have any fucking idea what that is?" John made what he knew would seem like overly grand gestures with his hands before letting them fall abruptly to his side. "What that is to watch your whole fucking world collapse in front of you? Voluntarily? Why the hell did you want me to be there? You did, didn't you..." He pointed an accusing finger. "You knew that I would come back once I saw Mrs Hudson was okay, and you staged the whole bloody thing for me so I could what...be your witness? Grieve convincingly for you? "Not dead." Should have put it on a postcard. Okay, okay, you weren't exactly near a post office." His hands moved rapidly through the air again. "It wasn't a beach holiday. But, have Mycroft whisper it in my ear? Too conspicuous? Maybe have one of your bloody homeless network people drop me a note?"
Sherlock spoke quietly, sinking back into the tub. "Firstly, it wasn't voluntarily. It was either jump or watch my friends die. Fortunately, I had anticipated that scenario." He looked directly at John for the first time. "And secondly, you know why not, John."
John sighed. "I was being watched."