This is absolutely the longest chapter I have written and also the end of this little story. :/ But after all I think it's the best chapter, so it doesn't matter. ;)

This time I also tried to explain how I think Sherlock faked his death. I don't know if my speculation is right, but in my opinion it's the most logical one.

Have fun and don't forget to review!

Chapter 7

Not a hero

When they got back to Baker Street the first thing Sherlock noticed were, of course, all the cardboard boxes standing around in the flat.

„You...you're moving out?", he asked.

„Yeah, actually I, you know... I wanted to get some distance from the whole story and everything in here reminded me of you.", John replied a bit conscience-stricken „Not that I wanted to forget you, I just needed to have...like a new beginning."

„Sure", Sherlock said. He wasn't angry about it. Lestrade had told him about John's plans and he himself had experienced the uncomfortable feeling of memories haunting him, so he could actually understand.

„But, you know, now that you returned, maybe I'll ask Mrs Hudson whether I could keep the flat. This is if you plan to stay." John added.

Sherlock looked at him in a very serious manner.

„Of course I plan to stay! I'd never planned to leave, in fact. And I ensure you, you've never been alone during the past months. I engaged some of Mycroft's top co-workers/spies to have an eye on you. And I myself always stayed nearby and watched you secretly."

John smiled. „You know, this sounds a bit confusing."

„It totally was.", Sherlock replied, relieved by John's smile. „I always had to be in disguise. It was kind of fun, because you, blind as a bat, didn't even detect me, when I once drove a cab you were in."

„Seriously? Damn, looks like I've been really fucked up the last months."

„You know, this inattention has to stop, if we want to go on working together.", Sherlock said with a wink.

„So you want me by your side again when you dig into crime scenes?"

„Of course that's what I want, John! I want you to be bewildered at first and then totally stunned by my amazing skills of deduction and I need you to write hymns of praise about my work on your blog and at the same time grumble about my untidiness and all my experiments blocking the rooms. And you know what I missed the most? You're annoyed face when I've done something really ill-timed or impolite. I'll make sure to see it as often as possible from now on."

John grinned in order to not give him the pleasure of seeing 'the annoyed face'.

Suddenly they both heard steps on the stairs outside of the flat and startled.

„You already told Mrs Hudson?" John asked anxiously.

„No I didn't. I only just returned from the dead about one hour ago." Sherlock whispered.

„So what do you want to...?"

„It's alright, I'll manage that. Go into the kitchen and make some tea. And maybe something stronger for Mrs Hudsons nerves."

John feared the worst and shook his head: „No, Sherlock. You'll give her a heart attack by appearing safe and sound right in front of her eyes. Let me talk to her first and you go and make some tea."

Sherlock actually wanted to speak to Mrs Hudson in person, but he perceived that John probably was right. He didn't want to scare Mrs Hudson to death by suddenly being alive and she was an old lady. Such a shock could be really dangerous for her.

As silent as possible he sneaked into the kitchen and closed the door up to a thin gap, so that he could hear what they were talking about.

Mrs Hudson entered the room carrying a big box in her hands.

„Ah, good to see you, John, listen, I just found this bunch of old test tubes and other stuff in the attic. Shall I throw them away, I mean... they smell awful."

„Yeah, sure. Er...Mrs Hudson? There's something I need to tell you, it's...the situation has changed a bit."

„What do you mean, dear?", she said while flitting around picking up some other lab-tools that were still lying around on the shelves. „Look at this mess! I think we'll need some more boxes for the trash."

„Er... I think I'm gonna stay after all.", John declared.

Mrs Hudson stopped and looked at him in surprise.

„Don't be silly, my dear, I know you love this place, but it's really time to let go."

„It's just..." Damn, this was really difficult! After all she would certainly get a huge shock, no matter how carefully he told her about the thing.

„Sherlock is back!", John ejaculated.

She stared at him as if she didn't trust her ears.

„What?"

„I mean it. He's back. He hasn't been dead in fact. I met him this morning."

„What? Oh no, dear.", she threw back her head and started to laugh „Not that again."

Then she looked at him in seriousness. „John, you are imagining again! This needs to stop, you... AAAHH!"

In this very moment Sherlock entered the living room with the teapot in his hands. The box of test tubes slipped out of Mrs Hudson hands and when it crashed onto the floor all the tubes flew out and distributed within the whole room.

The landlady herself released a sigh of amazement and then tilted backwards.

John took a dive and was there only just in time to keep her from hitting the ground. He placed her gently on the sofa and then turned around to Sherlock who was still holding the teapot in his hands.

„Bloody hell! I told you to stay away and let me take care of that! I knew this was gonna happen if you just strolled in like nothing happened. Now go get her a wet washrag and some strong drink!"

„What is it that you wanted to do, eh? Just telling her I was back? Great idea! She simply had to believe it if you told her!"

„Just shut up and get the stuff!", John shouted angrily.

Half an hour later the mood was calmer again. They had been able to awake Mrs Hudson and explain to her the least of what had happened. She still wasn't able to speak, but just kept crying on and on, so they both decided to bring her into her bedroom and let her sleep for some hours.

After that they returned to their living room, where John had lightened the fire and so they sat there, nobody saying a word.

After some time Sherlock broke the silence.

„Do you want to know how I did it?"

„Did what?"

„How I faked my death."

„Well, in case you can tell me without showing-off."

Sherlock smiled towards the fire.

„After all, it was ingenious!", he began.

„Ok, that's it, you're boasting already!"

„Sorry, I'll try again, ok? Molly helped me", Sherlock continued.

„Wait! Molly knew about it, too?", John interrupted in bewilderment. It seemed that everybody knew about Sherlock being alive except for him.

„I needed her help to prepare the corpse."

„What corpse?"

Sherlock rolled his eyes. „My corpse, of course, silly!"

„Does that mean that this man, who lay there on the street, the man whose pulse I took, that wasn't you?"

„No, obviously not. That man was dead."

„So who was it then?"

„Don't know. One of the dead guys I found at . Molly helped me prepare it, so that it looked exactly like me.", Sherlock explained.

John still didn't understand. „But the face! He looked just like you!"

„That's what I just said, John, you need to listen more attentively! But you are right about the face. I think we did a marvellous job, it looked perfect! So natural but still..."

„Yeah right, can we just skip the part about you bragging about your fabulousness?"

Sherlock sighed. „Ok then. Do you remember that little girl screaming?"

John mulled over it. Then suddenly he remembered. There was that girl that had been abducted from the children's home and she had screamed when she had seen Sherlock.

„How do you think Moriarty did that, making her freak out like that when she saw me?", Sherlock asked.

„I don't know. Maybe he showed her a photo of you and told her you were dangerous."

„Yeah, probably the one with the hat. No, of course not! These children would definitely be more scared of the guy who abducted them than of some random man on a photo."

Suddenly John understood.

„You mean, he wore a mask or something like that, so that he looked like you."

„Exactly! Now when I later returned to the place where the kids had been held captive, I found it there. It was very easy then. I only had to find a dead guy who had approximately my stature and hairstyle. We dressed him up like me and poured a bit of blood over his face and onto the ground next to him when Molly placed him there just seconds after I had jumped."

John gazed at him, absolutely stunned. „This is fantastic!"

Sherlock smiled. „I just waited for you to say that."

„But how did you survive the fall, after all?"

„Remember the truck that had been parked in front of the building?"

„Yeah, I think so..."

„Do you remember him still being there after I had jumped?"

„No, he had been gone by then...You have been on it! You jumped onto the truck!"

„Correct John, I'm amazed about your improvements in the matter of deduction. In fact, that was the whole plan. Not too complex actually, but very effective. I was gone. You had seen me fall, you had seen the corpse. You simply had to believe I was dead. And so did the snipers. Everything had been arranged most carefully."

Sherlock looked at John in anticipation of applause. This one still stared at him open-mouthed. After some time they both look at the fire again.

„I'm a bit disappointed, in fact.", John began.

Sherlock looked at him in astonishment. „Why?"

„Because you told me you did all that to protect me from being killed by Moriarty's men, you sacrificed yourself for me, but actually you had planned everything. You've never been in real danger up there on the roof. So that's not really a sacrifice."

Sherlock started to laugh. „Really? That's a problem for you? Because I'm not a proper hero?"

„You told me you never wanted to be one."

„Yes, and I meant it. To die a hero is honourable, but staying alive a rogue is much more comfortable."

Now John had to laugh, too. He suddenly realised how incredibly glad he was to have Sherlock back. They both had met again just some hours ago, and still it felt like no time had passed at all. His decision stood firm: He wasn't going to move out. He'd stay here with Sherlock. It was going to be just like back then. He couldn't imagine a life better than this. Not at all.

Suddenly Sherlock's phone rang and broke the atmosphere of nostalgia.

Sherlock answered the phone. „Holmes...Yap...Oh, really? Is he wearing green shoes?...Ok, we're coming...Yes, John and me. I explained everything to him...Fine, we'll be there in a minute."

He hang up.

„Come on, John. There's been another murder in that drug dealer's case. I told Lestrade we'd both come and look at it."

A moment later the two of them sat in a cab, driving to the scene of crime.

The game was on again.

So how do you think Sherlock faked his death? Do you think my speculation is right? Let me know!