Disclaimer: See Prologue. Title of this chapter is taken from The Bee Gees's Staying alive.

Epilogue: You know it's all right, it's okay, I'll live to see another day

Jim's eyes snapped open. He was still standing in 221C Baker Street. A smile appeared on his face. He had survived. It had been hard, but he had made it. Now the world was trembling at the sheer mention of his name. From the boy who killed to the man who ruled. Such a long way he had come. And he had never regretted it.

Mr Moran had died of a heart attack a few years ago. In silent nights, Jim often heard Sebastian crying, knowing it was his fault. His father had suffered the attack at the mention that his only son had been captured by the Taliban, probably never to return again. He never had to witness how his son was dishonourably discharged from the military. Most of the time Sebastian considered it as luck, that fate had taken the old man from him before he had to live through that shame.

Mrs Moran however had witnessed it. She was dead now, too. A car crash. Some old bitch a few years ago. Almost blind then, completely blind now. She should have never driven that vehicle. But Jim would take care of it. Soon. She was the third on his list. He had until now never hurt a woman. But the two on his list, they deserved it. And, to be fair, they had a good chance of surviving. The greatest man alive… well, the second-greatest man alive… would try to save them. He just hoped Sebastian had himself under control, that he wouldn't off his mother's killer before the twelve hours Jim had given Sherlock were over.

Sebastian Moran. The boy who never liked him. And now? Both trusted each other blindly. Jim knew Sebastian would die for him in a heartbeat. And he would do the same for the man, really. Sebastian was his closest associate now, the one who put every plan in motion. It had grown over the years, that trust, because Jim had, again, saved Sebastian when he was dying in the gutter, with no perspective in life but to slowly fade away. He had failed to save his reputation, failed to stop Charlie Milverton exposing the dark side of Sebastian Moran to the world. But he had given him another chance, and Sebastian had taken it and made the best out of it. Chief of Staff of the Moriarty Empire, the Number One shot in the country, his bodyguard and closest friend.

Closest? Well, almost. It left Sorcha. He still remembered the moment he had heard her voice again, on the phone, ten years after he left Brighton." Jim, I need your help. He had helped. Of course he had. And he had taken her into his team. The lawyer. The irony. Sorcha, the one who had let him walk even though she knew he was a murderer, had studied law at university, and now she was the one bending the laws as well as she could. Working for the government. Knowing all about their practices. Not high enough in the ranking to get to Mycroft Holmes, but a valuable insider nevertheless. She had access to all the cameras in the city and she heard and saw things. She was the intermediate between him and his clients. And she still loved him. All those years, and he had never been able to convince her that it was futile loving him. She just shook her head and shrugged whenever he mentioned it.

Jim smiled as he closed the door and reset the lock. Sherlock, I am coming.

His phone rang. He glanced at the display and rolled his eyes. Women in love. So annoying. "Hello, Molly dear. How have you been?"

And another baby grown. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

I have another story already in the making, a sequel to this, about how Jim rises to be what he is, but of course I don't know how many people would be interested in reading that...

Anyways.

Love, fergie