"And then the Doctor figured out that the trees were actually trying to help us. The flare struck, and the trees absorbed the impact! It was amazing to watch!"

John Watson laughed softly as he watched his girlfriend grow more excited as she told her story. He had been dating Clara Oswald for a few months now, ever since they had worked Dadre's case. Every time he saw her, she would tell him a new story about her adventures with the Doctor.

"Who would've thought that the trees would protect us after what we've done to them?" Clara wondered aloud.

"Well, it is their planet too," Sherlock commented from across the table.

John, Clara, Sherlock, and Molly met at Angelo's often. Clara had even managed to drag the Doctor down a few times. They exchanged stories there, and often received odd looks from the civilians, as Sherlock had taken to calling them.

Under the table, Molly entwined her hand with Sherlock's. They had started dating about a month after the events on Raxacoricofallapatorius. The two of them couldn't be happier now that they had finally found each other.

"Well, enough about the trees. How was court?" Clara asked.

John groaned in response. "It was a bloody nightmare. I had to bail Sherlock out of jail for talking back to the judge."

"He was asking for it," Sherlock replied indignantly.

Clara laughed and shook her head. "But this Moriarty guy got off clean, didn't he? How did he do that?"

"Blackmail," Sherlock responded.

"Where is he now?" Clara asked.

"We don't know," John answered. "We're just waiting for him to make his next move."

"Brilliant," Clara commented.

"I can't believe I dated him," Molly said.

Clara nearly spit out her drink. "You dated a criminal mastermind?"

Molly laughed. "Yes. That was an adventure."

The quartet continued to talk and laugh long into the evening. It was as if time had frozen on that joyful moment. It was during those frozen moments that everything seemed right. Of course, they all suspected that this was just the calm before a storm, but for now, they would put there worrying aside and enjoy the moment.

Later, of course, there would be more intense danger and heartbreak, but while they had each other safe, they were going to make the most of it.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

AN: Thanks again to everyone who read! I should have the prologue to the sequel up in a minute. It's called Plunged Into Darkness in case anyone is interested.

-Dead Man's Toe