"Watson?" Sherlock was stunned. He stood staring at her with his mouth hanging open.

Joan reached up and placed her hand under his chin. "Close your mouth…" She gently pushed upwards so his mouth would close, "you'll catch flies." She winked and stepped around him so she could sit on the desk and swing her legs over the side. "Surprised?"

"Very…" Sherlock shook his head trying to shake the shock of seeing her. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I am." She winked again.

"What…?" Sherlock looked to Gregson for an explanation.

"Joan, explain it to him. I think he's speechless…for once…" Captain Gregson laughed as he observed Sherlock in a dumb state.

Sherlock looked back to Joan anticipating an answer.

"I work here now…well kind of. I'm a consulting detective, like you." She smiled and jumped off the desk to stand in front of him.

"I've been teaching her the basics of becoming a detective." Gregson continued. "I hope you don't mind."

"You accepted lessons from Gregson?" Sherlock asked, surprised. He looked up to Captain Gregson and gave a sheepish smile. "No offense…"

"It was her idea." Gregson ignored the insult and gestured towards Joan.

Sherlock raised his eye-brows at Joan questioningly. "Really?"

Joan looked at the ground in embarrassment. "Yeah. Sorry…"

"Why are you sorry? I don't mind…In fact, I'm flattered that you want to pursue this career further." He smiled as she lifted her head and their eyes met.

"Oh thank God." Joan sighed in relief. "I was afraid you were going to be mad that I chose Captain Gregson to learn from over you."

"I told you, I'm not mad. One question though…Why not learn from me?" Sherlock cocked his head to the side. He was the best; who wouldn't want to learn detective skills from him?

"I didn't want to be your 'apprentice'." She looked down at his feet, nervous that he would be insulted.

"What do you want to be to me then?" Sherlock lifted her chin so that they were looking into each other's eyes. He smiled as he noticed her cheeks get flushed and felt her pulse start to race.

She didn't answer. She didn't need to. He was smart enough; he knew her answer before she even did.

Sherlock stepped forward to close the gap between them and in an instant, his lips found hers. He kissed her softly at first, only for a second, but it felt like someone had lit fireworks in his stomach so he slowly he became more brave and opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. Joan leaned in more and forgot about the world around them. She was with him and that's all she ever wanted.

Detective Bell cleared his throat.

Sherlock broke the kiss and Joan looked down at the ground and blushed, clearly embarrassed that they had had such a personal moment in front of people they knew.

"Sorry about that. I needed to break it up before you two jumped each other like horny animals." Detective Bell was smirking.

"S-sorry…" Joan stuttered in embarrassment. She was still looking at the floor and internally smiling with a hint of red in her cheeks.

Sherlock took her hand and squeezed. It seemed to reassure her because she gained enough confidence to look up into Gregson's face.

Gregson had a smirk plastered on his face as he looked down at their linked hands. He rolled his eyes and sighed, "Finally."

Sherlock looked into Joan's eyes and they simultaneously smiled at each other.

"So partner, should we begin working the case?" Sherlock winked.

Joan squeezed his hand in reply and they followed Gregson to his office to begin their first case together as a team.

…

Joan rested her head on Sherlock's shoulder as they sat watching T.V. and she thought about their first day as partners. They had resumed the illegal hospital case and it turned out that Joan had helped out tremendously by identifying the unknown chemicals. The man responsible for the illegal hospital had been apprehended shortly after Sherlock had deduced that he may be masking his business online as a seemingly-innocent social site. They had tracked the IP address and found him in an abandoned building by late afternoon. Joan had to admit, working with Sherlock was intriguing and the new trust between them lightened their tense relationship. She could now trust him with her secrets and he had let his guard down enough to share more about his past in London.

"Tired?" Sherlock looked down at the woman resting her head on his shoulder therefore breaking Joan's train of thought.

She looked up at him and sighed. "Exhausted."

He shut the T.V. off and got up off the couch. Joan looked up at him, confused.

"What are you…?" She was cut off by him scooping her up off the couch.

"If you're tired, let's go to bed then." Sherlock winked. Sherlock was surprised by how easy it was to carry her. She was so tiny. He headed for the stairs with Joan in his arms and made his way up to her room. He entered her room and kicked the door shut with his leg. He slowly lowered her down on the bed and stripped himself of his shirt.

Joan scooted back onto the bed and admired his smooth chest. She looked up and found him staring at her. Joan blushed and tried to hide it by looking down.

Sherlock stood and noticed her blush. He wondered if he had gone too far too fast.

Joan looked up at him and found him with a serious look on his face. He was definitely thinking everything through and having second thoughts.

Joan grew impatient and jumped up to clasp her arms around his neck. She met his lips and he relaxed, lowering himself down on top of her onto the bed.

Sherlock broke the kiss and looked into her eyes with a smile. "I'm in love with you Watson."

…

Joan opened her eyes and found Sherlock staring back at her. His grey eyes sparkled like the stars in the New York night sky. His body readjusted to the soft mattress they were laying on as he motioned his hand toward hers, his fingers lightly brushing her hand before taking it in his gentle grip. She tilted her head upward, and their noses grazed, she could feel his warm breath on her cheeks. Joan closed her eyes, and simultaneously, their lips touched. She nuzzled up to him and placed her head on his chest. He placed an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

After they had been in that position for awhile, he broke the silence with a question.

"It was a nightmare, wasn't it?"

"What?" She tilted her head so she could look into his eyes.

"That day that you woke up screaming. It was a nightmare, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What was it about?" He asked casually.

"You're smart enough, I'm sure you can guess." She snuggled in closer to absorb his heat. Her room was freezing!

"It was about the day you lost someone on the operating table, wasn't it?"

She broke the gaze and felt a tear roll down her cheek. She nodded.

He stroked her hair to calm her down and lifted her head towards him to wipe away the tear with his thumb. "It's not your fault."

"I killed someone, Sherlock! It is my fault." She felt more tears roll down her cheeks.

"Everybody makes mistakes, Watson. Mistakes mean you're human; they don't decide what direction you go in, you decide your future. Everybody has made mistakes that make them feel like their lives were over...Don't let the mistakes hold you back." Sherlock wiped her remaining tears and kissed her lips tenderly. "You can always learn from your mistakes; I mean, look at me. I've made a lot of mistakes and I'm a better person because of them."

She smiled and wiped her eyes. "You always know what to say, Sherlock." She cuddled up to him and closed her eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too, Wa- Joan…" He corrected himself.

She giggled. "Everyone makes mistakes."

He laughed. "Besides, I'm grateful for mistakes. Your greatest mistake brought you here, to me. If you wouldn't have made that mistake, you never would've been my sober-companion. And if you never would've been my sober-companion, I never would've met you."

END

Thanks to Emily, LucyMiller, Dina C, ConanKudoFan, H22, Elementary Fan, sara, lily, Keep Calm and Be Ninja, Ms. Jynesis, AvengerNerd3, marshmallowdeviant, Sherlock holmes fan1, MGTwins, human, Guest, , mmkbrook, sunshine-minx, Dustyfog416, halaA, liya, TheBonesGirl33, Drawtist, Ange noir, blueberry24, ThePenIsMighty, Marcie Gore, SHADOWPRIESTESS16, bk-1205, hophophop, Hayley, jen4850, and Moongrl088 for reviewing and supporting me through this grand adventure. I am extremely sad that this experience is ending but I will not go on forgotten! I will continue to write stories and share them with you, my wonderful fans. Thank you so much! :D

~ImagineThis22