Sherlock solved the Henderson case that night. But it took a while to gather sufficient evidence against the people involved. Henderson had apparently stumbled upon an embezzling ring run by a few of the account managers at Barclays and he had somewhat foolishly, confronted one of them about it. The scheme had been a lot bigger than Henderson had imagined, and the people running it, his boss included, had decided that getting rid of him would be a good way to shut him up.

While Sherlock figured the whole thing out that night, it took us three days to chase down everyone responsible. Finally, it was all done and we got home feeling exhausted. We walked in the front door, took off our coats and leaned against the wall in the hallway, as we always did, when we came in after several hours of chasing clues all over the city. That little stop is our way of dealing with the all adrenaline that tends to still be in our systems long after we need it.

I turned to look at him and there was a certain something that passed between us, like a ripple of electricity, almost. I had felt it before...every single time that we had been in this situation, in fact. We'd look at each other for a moment and then we'd look away and then one of us would crack a joke and we'd burst out laughing. The tension would be diffused and the moment lost.

I didn't crack a joke this time, though. I smiled and then I reached for him and I pulled him close and kissed him hard, putting all that adrenaline to good use. He responded as he usually did, by placing his arms around my waist and tugging me even closer...a couple of minutes into the kiss and I knew that we wouldn't be able to stop at that. And I had no desire to have Mrs Hudson walk in on us, so I pulled away.

We quickly made it upstairs. I shut the door behind us and locked it. Sherlock grabbed me from behind and started kissing me on the back of my neck. I could feel my breath hitch as I leaned against him. He turned me around to face him and we reached for each other again, kissing passionately...I could feel my brain shut down and the world disappear as I turned us around and pinned him against the door and explored his mouth.

I could feel him relax and melt into my arms, almost. It is such a heady feeling to have him give in to me completely like that. I pulled away from his mouth after a bit and started kissing and nipping at that delectable neck of his. He moaned and arched his body in response. It was enough to drive me wild. I tried to be gentle...I didn't want to give him a hickey that obvious, but it was hard to resist the urge to claim him in that way.

"I'd rather you didn't restrain yourself, John." He gasped, clearly reading my mind as usual.

I laughed lightly and then I bit down on his neck feeling a surge of possessiveness as the skin on the side of his neck coloured...I licked and kissed that spot as I wondered at my own feelings. I have never been a possessive man, but Sherlock brings out all these feelings in me that I didn't even know that I was capable of.

I started to run my hands all over him, feeling the need to be close. It was aggravating to have our clothes get in the way, so I pushed his jacket off and he pulled my jumper over my head. I was desperate to rip his clothes off, and I could sense his desperation as well, in the way he tugged at the buttons of my shirt. I held his hands and stilled them...we looked into each other's eyes for a long moment and then we knew. We knew that this was it. There would be no holding back tonight. There couldn't be. We needed each other too much.

But desperate as we were, we wanted to take our time. We were going to give ourselves to each other completely for the first time that night and that had to be special. We made our way up the stairs to what used to be my bedroom. I thought it was a bit ironic that I hadn't used it at all in the year that Sherlock had been gone, preferring to sleep in his bed instead and yet now that we were together, we had elected to make this our bedroom. "It smells like you, John." Was all that Sherlock had been willing to say about it.

We walked in and shut the door and then we proceeded to undress each other very very slowly, kissing and touching as we went. It was like a slow tease and it made me crazy with desire. I looked at Sherlock as he lay on his back, his skin practically glowing against the blue of the sheets...he looked so beautiful and so decadent. I found myself wondering again, why someone as gorgeous and sexy and utterly desirable as Sherlock would choose to be with me. What does he see in me?

"Only the most beautiful, most amazing man I've ever known. Do you have any idea what you're doing to me right now?" He said, as he ran his hands all over my body, looking right into my eyes with an intensity that made me shiver. "I want you so much..." He said in that wonderfully sexy voice of his and then he pulled me down into a long kiss that said everything that he couldn't say with words.

"How do you do that? How can you always know what I'm thinking?" I said as I pulled away and started kissing my way down his body, starting with his neck...

"You have the most expressive face, John."

"Are you saying that I'm so transparent that you can always tell what I'm thinking?"

"No, not always. That's what makes you so fascinating...you are so expressive and so obvious and yet every now and then, you say or do something that is completely unexpected and you surprise me..."

"Like this?" I said, and then I took him in my mouth, feeling insanely gratified when he nearly arched off the bed and moaned. That moan made me harder than I already was and it made me go at him with all the passion that I was capable of. He turned the tables on me soon enough and then it was my turn to feel like I was going to explode. We spent a long time making love that night...

For all my supposed experience, I had never known that sex could be this fantastic. But then again, I had never been in love before...And with Sherlock, it isn't just love or desire. It is a need to belong, a desire to claim and be claimed in turn...he is a part of me, every bit as much as I am a part of him and we simply have to be together to be whole.

...

I woke up the next morning and found Sherlock sitting next to me on the bed and reading as usual. He followed me into the shower and ensured that I was late for work...I heard from him several times that day. He had nothing to do, apparently and he'd figured that texting me was a good way to relieve his boredom.

I miss you. SH

I love you. SH

Get home soon. SH

I'm bored...I wish you were here. SH

Even my experiments are boring. SH

All of these made me smile and I replied to them every time I had a couple of minutes between patients. Slowly they went from sweet to petulant.

I don't understand why you have to go to work. SH

I am a doctor, love. This is what I do. JW

There are other things that you could do which wouldn't take you away from me. SH

True. But this is what I want to do. As it is, I spend more than half my life running around after you. JW

I hate your job. SH

I'm going to be home in a couple of hours. Stop complaining. JW

And then, the texts turned suggestive.

I'm not complaining. I just want to feel your arms around me and your lips against mine. I want you, John. SH

I never knew that a text could make it difficult to breathe...I was still contemplating a reply when he sent another.

I still have difficulty sitting down. You were very thorough last night. SH

That resulted in images and thoughts that are very inappropriate in the work place. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath.

Bloody hell, Sherlock! I'm at work. I cannot be thinking these thoughts...stop texting me. JW

What thoughts? Ooooh! Are you imagining me naked and writhing under you? SH

I was imagining it now and it was a wonderful image, capable of doing all sorts of completely inappropriate things to my anatomy. My face was flaming...and then my next patient walked in. Somehow, I pushed all those thoughts aside and focussed on my job. Finally I got through my shift, but a part of my mind was still being tortured by those damn texts. I'd felt my phone vibrate in my pocket a few more times and I knew that it would be more of the same. I tried hard not to look at my phone when I was done with the last patient of the day, but I only succeeded for about ten seconds...I honestly do not have that kind of will power.

So I got my phone out of my pocket. There were four texts. I was expecting more innuendo and flirting and remarks designed to wind me up and instead, this is what I saw...

Now I'm imagining you all naked and flushed and writhing under me. It is such a lovely image. Do you know how beautiful you look when you've just climaxed? SH

I think I'll have that picture burned into my heart forever. I love you, John. SH

And now I want you, really badly. Is there such a thing as being addicted to a person? SH

I've never been like this with anyone. This is a whole side of me that only you seem to bring out. You make me feel playful and sexy and you make want to flirt...It is so freeing, John. I love you. SH

What do you do when someone says things like these? Most people, even when they're in love, tend to hold back a little bit, but not Sherlock. In all the time that we've been together, he's always said exactly what he's thinking. He has no qualms about letting me know exactly what I mean to him and just how much he loves me and needs me. He's completely honest and it takes my breath away every single time. He makes himself totally vulnerable to me, without once worrying that I'll take advantage of him. I asked him about that once and he said that he doesn't worry about it, because he knows I will not take advantage of him and so he doesn't see why he has to hide any of his feelings.

So what did I say in response?

I just read through the last four texts that you sent me and I'm overwhelmed. I really have no idea what to say...except that I am the luckiest bastard alive. I love you. JW

It has been many many years since then and I still think that I'm the luckiest bastard alive...

...

A/N: This for now is the end. There may be a sequel sometime in the future, but I can't be sure about that now. This has been a lot of fun to write and I want to thank everyone who read it and particularly those of you who made the time to leave a review.