Sherlock: His Lover Called A [Sherlaide II]

Nightmare

Sherlock gritted his teeth and spun, straining to listen for Adelaide. Sharp, cold wind gusted against his ears and blocked out almost every other noise. John came up behind him, "It's no use in this weather, Sherlock!"

"No! I still have an hour to find her, John."

"At this point she could have easily gotten hypothermia, mate! That alone could have already killed her!"

"Moriarty gave me four hours and he won't kill her before then!"

John grabbed his arm and yanked him around, "Listen to me! If Moriarty left her in this weather, the exposure would kill her for him. It probably already has!"

The consulting detective shook his head fiercely, "Adelaide is here, John! I will find her and she will not be dead!"

"Just listen to yourself! You're the one who left her alone and let Moriarty take her!"

Sherlock whimpered and turned about. He cast his gaze over the snow-whitened park and his breathing sped up, "She is alive, John. I will get to her before the cold does!"

Then he took off running towards one of the gardens. John stayed behind, shaking his head in disgust. Sherlock ran until he stumbled upon someone in the snow.

Moriarty spun on his heel with a wicked smile, showing Sherlock a lighter, "I told you that I would burn your heart out, Sherly! Now look! Look at what you've let happen to your precious pet!"

Sherlock looked down at the ground and saw Adelaide nearly fully buried in the snow. Deep red blood oozed from open wounds in her skin and stained the frosty white blanket underneath her. Sherlock shoved Moriarty out of the way and fell beside her, set on rescuing her.

But as he tried to brush off the snow his fingers hit a layer of solid ice that had formed over her body, gluing her under the snow and to the ground. He scraped and clawed at it but he could not get through it, "NO!! Adelaide!!" Hot tears finally started to flow. He gripped her shoulders and pulled as hard as he could. But she didn't budge. He cried out with a gurgling scream as he grabbed her wrists and found them as heavy as iron, no pulse in either of them.

Sherlock leaned to try and start compressions but Moriarty yanked him back, shoving the lighter into his chest cavity with a wicked grin, "There goes your heart, Sherlock!"

He tried to get it out as his heart combusted but he couldn't. He screamed as he fell backward-

"NO!!!"

Sherlock yelled and bolted up from the couch, falling onto the rug. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it was on fire and he was in a cold sweat. He took a breath and then raced upstairs, convinced in his half-woken state that Adelaide was gone. His blue dressing gown whipped behind him and caught on the banister. He muttered a curse and yanked it free before continuing up the stairs.

He burst into the bedroom and looked around frantically for Moriarty's message before his eyes found Adelaide. She was still tucked into bed, with her face nestled into the pillows and blonde hair splayed out around her. He couldn't help but pace to the side of the bed and check to make sure she was still breathing and that her heart was beating. When he was satisfied he choked out a sob and slid to the floor, leaning against the bed. She's fine. She's been fine. If someone had come to kill her you would have woken up before they could get in.

He tried to reassure himself but nevertheless, he started hyperventilating. For whatever reason, just the dream of Moriarty stirred up more than his fair share of dark memories. They bubbled up and overtook his mind as he tried to quell them, to no avail.

"Sherlock?" Adelaide suddenly questioned, having woken up to his cries. She rolled up into a sitting position and tentatively placed her hand on his shoulder, "Sherlock, what's going on?"

He flinched as she touched him and she quickly removed her hand. Frowning, she got out of bed and stepped in front of him before kneeling, "Sherlock, You're alright. What's got you worked up, Darling?" She spoke calmly and softly. He continued to hyperventilate however, "Breathe with me, Sherlock. Come on. In.. Then Out."

Somehow she managed to reach him and eventually his breathing slowed to where he was able to pull his mind somewhat from the mental torment. He finally looked up and a few years pricked his eyes when he saw that it was her, "A-Adelaide..?"

She smiled gently, "It's alright, Sherlock."

"I-I woke you. Go b-back to sleep, Love."

She shook her head and cupped his cheeks, "No, Darling. What's going on? I want to help you."

"N-Nothing."

"Sherlock, there's something going on. What is it?" She said softly and looked into his eyes and saw the clouds of emotion, "It'll help if you talk about it, Darling..."

She stroked his cheeks and he finally let out a long sigh, "I was just r-remembering Moriarty, Love. That's all."

Thank you for reading!!