The next morning you wake up snuggled up against Jim's chest in bed. The soft morning light streamed down through the small slit in the curtains. Sounds of birds chirping outside could be heard clearly but everything else was quiet. His breath was slow and steady, his chest rising and falling in a uniform pattern. You could hear his heart beating; it was calming. You were contented and relaxed until Jim moved a little and murmured "Irene.." and you could tell that his heart started pumping more than just a tad bit faster.

"Unbelievable..." You sighed and shook your head and got out of bed angrily. Jim sleepily woke up as you did and saw you getting dressed hurriedly.

"Where are you going?" He asked with a groggy voice.

"Just going out. Need some time alone right now." You pulled on your converse and laced them up before putting your hair up in a messy bun. "Doubt you care if I'm here or not anyways, you have other people to keep you company." You snapped and walked out if the bedroom.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He called after you, very confused, as he got out of bed and followed you but you hurried out the front door before he could stop you. You ran down the street as the tears ran with you, ran right down your face leaving glistening trails behind them. You slowed a little and walked the next two blocks to your flat. Upon arrival you quickly unlocked your door and rushed inside before anyone could poke their heads out to see the source of hurried footsteps. You weren't in the mood to talk to Sherlock or John, you just went to your bed straight away and laid on your stomach with your face against your pillow. It wasn't long before you couldn't get any more tears out, so instead you just laid there. Nothing in your mind except the thought of 'who the hell is Irene?! Why is Jim so interested in her?!'

There was a soft knock at your door but you didn't get up. Another knock. Still in bed. You listened to hear if they had gone but instead there was a third knock, a bit louder this time. Sighing as you got up, you walked out to the living room and opened the door to find a somewhat short, blonde, and quite concerned blogger. "What happened? I heard you crying as you came inside. Is everything alright?" John asked with a genuine look of worry in his eyes and on his face. You smiled weakly and rubbed your eyes dry with the sleeve of your pullover.

"It's nothing to worry about. Probably just a misunderstanding. It's just that..." You couldn't say it out loud. It was a terrible idea to think let alone say out loud when you weren't even sure.

"It's okay, (y/n), it'll help to talk it out and get second opinions if you think it's possibly a misunderstanding." John smiled and put his hand gently on your upper arm.

"I think Jim's cheating on me, or at least interested in another woman." You murmured as you felt your eyes start to water up again. John's eyes immediately burned with anger.

"If he is, I'll kick his arse. Putting you through so much then doing that? He'll be wishing he'd never met you..." he said through gritted teeth.

"It's just that I found this in his office..." You pulled out the sticky note from your pocket and handed it to him to see. "And this morning I heard him say her name in his sleep before his heart rate escalated.." your voice was dripping with dismay.

"Irene, huh? Probably the same one we've had a few problems with." John frowned slightly and thought back to the incident at her house.

"You...know her? Who-who is she?!" You asked with desperation. Your mind whirling.

"Irene Adler. Professionally she's known as 'The Woman'."

You furrowed your brows some in confusion. "'The Woman'? What's her profession?"

"She is a, uh..." John fumbled with his words some, suddenly feeling quite awkward. "...dominatrix." He handed back the post it note as your stomach churned and your heart dropped. John saw this and immediately apologised. "I really doubt Moriarty would be into...that."

"But what if..?" You started saying when a tall blonde man walked up to your door. "Oh hey Seb. John, thanks for telling me but could you excuse us?" John nodded and wished you a good day before going back to his own flat.

"Jim was worried about you running off by yourself." Sebastian said with a yawn as he stepped inside.

"Then why didn't he come?"

"He was going to but then got an important business call so he messaged me to find you instead." He sat down on the couch, laid back, and closed his eyes. "Plus he has some work to do so I'd have to be hanging out with you anyways." You knew he was talking about protecting you from the threat of Chris and you were glad he was there.

"Of course because his work is more important than me." You snapped.

"You know that's not true." Seb opened his eyes and looked at her with slight confusion and worry.

"How close is Jim to Irene Adler?" You blurted out, knowing Seb would have an idea if anything was going on.

"Oh they've been friends for a few years now, talk to each other off and on. They've done some business together as well. Why?" He didn't know where this sudden interest and concern was coming from.

"What kind of business?" Your mind immediately went to her career.

"I can't say for sure but Irene has needed to get rid of some threats before so I'm sure that's it." He shrugged.

"So not like- I mean- Jim hasn't done any related to...you know, Irene's business...?" You ask nervously, hoping he didn't confirm your fears.

"No, no, I don't believe so. He's never talked about that happening and I'm his best friend so I'd hope he'd tell me about that." Seb looked at you for a moment and widened his eyes in realisation. "Oh, no, Jim would never do that to you, I promise."

"Well even if he hasn't, he sure has some level of want for her. He was dreaming about her last night...."

"Whether he is or not, he will never cheat on you. I can promise that." Seb said with a serious and reassuring tone. "He cares about you too much to make a mistake like that and chance losing you. And who knows? Maybe that dream didn't have anything sexual to it." The sniper shrugged and laid back on the couch with another yawn. "Do you mind if I sleep here? I was up late on a job last night and then with Jim calling me so early..."

You suddenly felt guilty. "Oh of course. I can go get a blanket for you and a comfier pillow if you'd like." You didn't even wait for his response as you hurried into your room and found a big throw blanket in your closet and grabbed a rarely used pillow off your bed. "Here." You said with a small smile as you handed them to him. Sebastian thanked you and made himself comfortable.

"Now don't leave this house while I'm asleep, got it?"

You nodded. "Got it." With nothing else to do, you decided to go back to sleep as well so you got in bed and laid there with your eyes closed. Your mind slowly shut down and drifted into sleep and your body let out all it's tension.

A few hours later you woke up and hoped it all had been a bad dream but as you looked around your bedroom though you knew it hadn't been. Sighing, you sat up and stretched your arms before throwing your blanket back and swinging your legs over the side. Your bare feet met with the cold hardwood floor causing small shivers to run through you.

Sebastian was still asleep when you quietly walked out to the kitchen to make yourself tea. That was until you dropped a spoon on the ground. Seb quickly sat up and reached for his gun automatically. "Its just me. Sorry Seb!" You apologised as you bent over to pick up the utensil. He sighed in relief and rubbed his hands over his face.

"You're lucky I didn't shoot you." He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair and smiled. "Need help cooking?"

"Sure. I was gonna make French toast once the tea was done." You grinned back as Sebastian got up and stretched as he walked to the kitchen.

"I can do it for you if you need to go shower or get ready for work or something." Seb suggested as he took the bread from her. You beamed at him and got out more ingredients.

"You sure, love?"

"Yep. I can do it all by myself. You drink your tea then go. It'll be ready when you're done." Seb gestured at your tea cup with a grin. You sighed and shook your head happily.

"Fine. I doubt I can change your mind. Can't say I'm complaining though." You let out a breathy laugh and finished making your tea.

After about 30 minutes you had finish showering, dressing, and doing your hair and makeup. You walked out to the kitchen and Sebastian handed you a plate of french toast. "Should still be warm. I started cooking it once I heard you turn the shower off."

"Thanks." You smiled and took it the the table to eat.

Seb chuckled. "I ate mine already and it was pretty good so I hope you think the same.

"Well it looks delicious so I'm sure I will."

After breakfast you did up the dishes then sat by Seb who was lounging on the couch looking at his phone.

"Did Jim seem mad at me for leaving?" You asked quietly, suddenly embarrassed again for leaving.

The sniper shrugged. "I think he was mostly confused. He was still half asleep when you got up and left so he didn't even know why you were leaving. Jim was just mostly worried about you being out alone when he called honestly."

You sighed and slumped back into the couch. "I'll go back and apologise after work. It was stupid for me to leave in the first place."

~~~

As you worked your short 4 hour shift at the cafe, Seb sat guard at a table by the front door. Nothing seemed off or odd to you but you had to admit that having Sebastian there helped you stay relaxed.

On your lunch break you went out back to get some fresh air since the many costumers inside were making the air stagnant and stiff. As soon as you opened the back door though you regretted it. The sight and smell made you gag. Your stomach churned from disgust and anxious fear. There laying a few feet away from you was a dead rat; it's stomach sliced open and innards splayed out in front. Next it, a note.

Watch your back (y/n)

You ran back inside and threw up into a small rubbish bin in the back room. Chris was a bit more psychotic than you thought. You had to tell Sebastian about it and maybe even show him so he could really understand the situation.

Trying to make everything seem calm and natural to everyone else, you walked up to Seb and faked a smile. "Come to the back for a minute, Sebby, I need to talk to you about something." He knew it was important and he got up immediately. You walked with him to the back door while explaining with whispers what had happened, and opened it once again with hesitation but this time the animal was gone. A shimmer of crimson remained behind as the only evidence and a new note was left taped to the outside of the door.

Dirty rats who tell their secrets don't last long. This could have been over by now if you didn't blab to your boyfriend

You covered your mouth and shook your head as tears began rolling down your cheeks. "Why does he have to do this to us...?" You mumbled to yourself. The tall blonde sniper wasn't usually good at dealing with people's emotional problems but this time he knew what to do. He wrapped his arms around you gently and held you close to him to try to make you feel safer.

"How about heading to Jim's place now? I'm sure your boss would understand." He suggested as he used his jacket sleeve to wipe away some of your tears. You just nodded and took a few deep breaths.

"I'll get a cab for us while you get your stuff, alright?" He smiled softly and walked out to the front of the cafe. You hurriedly grabbed your jacket and purse and threw your apron onto the coat hanger before joining him.

The cab ride wasn't long but you couldn't relax. The image of the rat was seared into your brain and the note kept running through your head. As soon as the cab stopped you got out quickly and ran up to the door. It was unlocked so you silently looked around trying to find Jim, wanting to apologise for this morning and be comforted by him. You heard him talking quietly in the bedroom and your heart dropped as the first thought to pop into your head was 'cheater...' You peaked your head into the room and sighed in relief.

Jim was laying on the bed with Oreo and talking to her as he stared up at the ceiling. "What did I do? I can't think of any possible reason for why she'd get upset and leave. I just want to tell her I'm sorry for whatever I did, I just want her to come back..." Jim said softly with a sigh. This brought a small smile to your face and walked into the bedroom.

"I'm actually the one who needs to apologise."

Jim jumped a little but sat up quickly, setting Oreo on the bed, and grinned widely as he got up and hugged you tight. "I've missed you and been so worried all day." He murmured as he held you close to him.

"I'm sorry for leaving...and for jumping to conclusions. I found a note in your office and heard you talking in your sleep this morning about 'Irene' and I thought maybe...Maybe you were..." You choked on your words, you couldn't say it. You felt tears flood your eyes and roll down your cheeks onto Jim's suit. "I'm sorry, James, please forgive me." Jim just pet her hair comfortingly and held you against him.

"Shhhhh, its okay, I do forgive you. My actions have seemed a bit secretive lately and I see why you'd think that. But I promise I'm not. I've been seeing Irene a lot but just to get her help with a big plan of mine, nothing else." He smiled softly and kissed the top of your head. "That dream last night was about that plan and Irene ruining it before I could even go through with. Kitten, I promise I don't have a thing for her."

You sobbed into his chest for a few minutes as he stood there with his protective arms wrapped around you and his head resting against yours. After a while you pulled back some and looked up into his deep chocolate eyes. You took a deep breath and wiped your tears away before opening your mouth to speak. "There's something I need to tell you about Chris, it happened at work today...."

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Hello lovely readers! At last I have finished this chapter and am ready for you all to read it, hopefully you enjoy it as much as you all have enjoyed the rest of the story so far.

I appreciate all the funny and lovely comments I've gotten so far and all the votes are just way beyond what I ever thought I'd get so thank you!

I hope you all have a wonderful day/night <3

Until next time!

-TM