Taking A Chance

She got thrown out of the cab into the pouring rain three quarters of the way to Baker Street, the cabbie, with his leering at her rain spattered blouse had slammed on the brakes and literally demanded her out of his cab after she'd discovered that she'd left her money at home. She'd screamed and hopped, rain flying into her face and body, making her shiver before a wrinkled faced, smiling man picked her up. He'd driven her to Baker Street, her jumping out of the car as soon as it ground to a halt outside 221b, looking at the familiar architecture.

"I'll pay you back later" she called through chattering teeth. The man merely smiled and waved her away.

"Go get him love" he whispered. Karen thanked him with a kiss on his whiskered cheek. Fumbling with the keys with shaking fingers, she managed to place the correct key into the door, twisting it and wrenching the door wide open.

"Was that who I think it was?" a familiar voice came from 221a as she thundered up the stairs, nearly slipping twice in her wet shoes.

"Karen?" a soft male voice said from below her. John. Her mind ignored this fact and threw herself up the stairs, pushing the door open with one fell swoop. Eyes flicked up from the sofa to meet her.

"Oh my-"she whispered, looking at the fallen detective. His eyes, were extremely dull none of their usual illumination. They were red rimmed, tears falling steadily down his cheeks, which appeared to have been shaved by erratic shaking hands. Cuts littered his hands, face and arms, particularly deep ones shows by his rolled up sleeves. An ashtray with hundreds of used cigarettes was lying on his stomach, the ash spilling out onto his expensive dress shirt. Sherlock.

Her voice comes out as a hoarse whisper. The eyes that didn't belong to that face flickered for a single moment, returning to their usual ferocious splendour.

"It appears the withdrawal symptoms have a terrible sense of humour. Meaning that my mind has an awful sense of humour" Sherlock practically growled at her. She flinched at the harshness in his voice.

"Withdrawal symptoms" she whispered, her voice breaking more and more with every second in his presence. Sherlock smirked and Karen felt her heart putter in her chest.

"Yes... you're a hallucination brought on by me trying to give up on the drugs. It appears my body knows me far too well; you're giving me memories of the one person I want to forget. The one reason I want to switch my brain off" Sherlock groaned getting to his feet. Fixing Karen with a stare, he crossed the room, peering down at the frozen woman.

"Got you more accurate than normal" he muttered, crouching down to look her deep in the eye. He leaned forward inhaling her scent, causing her hair to ruffle slightly. Her eyes closed as he leant away from her. Sherlock sat back on his haunches, frowning.

"Even got the perfume that she used to wear" he muttered. Karen inhaled subconsciously; there barely noticeable was her perfume.

"Hypnotic Poison" she whispered, her eyes flickering open to meet the stormy grey eyes. They frowned again, darkening.

"Why on earth- would I choose to remember that?" he said, cocking his head. Karen shrugged.

"Maybe because I'm real and you're not remembering me" she whispered. Sherlock let out a groan, walking and flopping onto the sofa.

"Urgh- dull, cliché. Of course a hallucination would- oh" he stopped short as Karen walked over and gently cupped his cheek with her hand. His eyes flashed to the hand touching his cheek.

"That's... not so cliché" he muttered, his eyes locked on the slender hands that were caressing his cheekbones. A quivering hand reached upwards hovering over the spot where she was touching him.

Karen looked at him, his eyes soft, daring to believe what was happening. They kept flashing over her face, of disbelief apparent in them. Reaching upwards, Karen allowed her fingers to brush against Sherlock's hand, bringing it upwards to mimic her actions on her cheek.

His fingers twitched in their trapped position between her hand and face.

"This. Can't. Be. Happening. Its. Cruel" he stammered, running his fingers down her face, his other hand gently stroking her hair.

"Why is it cruel?" she whispered, her voice hushed and her eyes closed.

"Because when you disappear, it'll kill me." Came the quiet reply. His hand clenched over hers, entwining their fingers.

"Are you going to disappear... Karen. Please don't disappear" he whimpered, looking her dead in the eye for the first time, clenching onto her hand like a dying man. Her hand skated up to his chest, feeling his heart beneath his shirt.

"No, I'm here Sherlock. I promise." She whispered, her eyes meeting his again.

He jumped to his feet, him looking down at her, his chest rising and falling in ragged gasps. With her looking up at him from beneath her lashes, he gently cupped her cheek, his breath coming out in a quiet whoosh as she closed her eyes and gently nestled into his warm hand, her hair tickling the back of his arm where it cascaded silkily over his skin.

With that, he pulled her close, pulling her into a hug and inhaling her scent. She was skinnier that she had been since the last time he'd seen her, her eyes were red-rimmed from crying recently and she had dark rings under her eyes. With a pang in his chest Sherlock realized that he had caused all of this.

Karen sensed him tensing in her grasp, and pulled away slightly from his arms. A fleeting expression of panic crossed over his angular features, him expecting her to turn and run again. This melted as she went up on her tiptoes and gently pressed her lips to his. Suddenly everything seemed like it was before, she was in his arms and she was kissing him like she had before.

His arms crept slowly around her waist, him smirking for a moment as her hands snaked from behind his back and pushed his hands into place. They broke apart for air, a chuckle on Karen's lips. Sherlock however had turned deadly serious.

"Karen- you need to know, I- I didn't-" he was cut off by Karen laying a finger over his lips, her eyes glistening with tears. She shushed him, her other hand coming up to brush a stray curl from out of his eyes. Her hand rested on his cheek and he closed his eyes at the touch.

"I know- I know Sherlock. Mycroft and John explained everything- John unintentionally so." She whispered. Sherlock groaned as realization set in.

"What's John been saying on his blog" he said slowly, his eyes dark and worried. Karen thought for a moment- before deciding that the truth was the best option.

"He was saying what you were getting up to- hurting yourself because of me leaving, that you were crying in the night- taking drugs, and..." she faltered for a moment, looking at the floor. Sherlock looked at her pointedly.

"And?" he said. She took a deep breath.

"And- he said you fell in love with- me" she said slowly. She dared to look him in the eye, where he was frowning down at her slightly. Her heart skipped a beat, panic rising in her chest; she allowed her head to drop downward, her eyes looking at his feet.

Sherlock placed a finger under her chin, raising her face. She looked at the wall behind him.

"Look at me Karen" he said softly, echoing her words from that fateful night. She looked at his stormy grey eyes and it took all her willpower not to run from the flat or kiss him again where he stood.

"Not that it was any of his business to go putting that on his blog- but its true" he said, his voice low and slow. She nodded, her stomach churning and fluttering like butterflies.

"I- I love you, always have, and always will. It just took me a bit longer than most to realize it. I can understand why you wouldn't want to be with me after what I did and what I said, and I won't try to stop you if you want to go, but I needed to know that." he said. He stopped speaking faltering as the silence and Karen's face speaking volumes.

Her face lit up with a smile and she captured his lips with him again, practically throwing herself into his arms and kissing him ferociously.

"You idiot" she mumbled against his lips, her fingers entangled in his hair. He nodded, gasping for breath.

"Yes- I'm an idio-"he yelped as Karen pushed him onto the couch. She sat down next to him, her head resting on his lap and his fingers gently stroking her hair.

"Let's take this a bit slower Sherlock- if we want this to go somewhere, we need to take things slowly" she said, gazing up at the stained ceiling. Sherlock placed his freehand behind his neck and he smiled as Karen shifted upwards into the crook of his arm.

"So- no more cases?" Sherlock said slowly. Karen laughed, the vibrations rocking through both their bodies due to the close proximity. She span so they were face to face.

"No- I didn't mean that kind of slow Sherlock- I wouldn't expect you to give up such an important part of your life for me" she said. Sherlock sighed, smoothing her hair back from where he's brushed it forward into her face.

"But you're the most important thing in my life, I would give them up for you" he said thoughtfully. Karen shook her head.

"No you wouldn't, your married to your work-""No I would, in a heartbeat for you." He said stopping her in her speech. Her eyes roamed over his face and she smiled as she looked in his eyes.

"Well... good thing you don't have to choose then" she said. Sherlock sighed again.

"And-I don't know what to do about John" he said, his eyes on the ceiling again. "He- has feelings for you as well" he finished, his voice getting quieter as he spoke.

"I know" Karen said, causing Sherlock's eyes to look at her in puzzlement.

"I'm not blind- he's liked me since my 2nd week here- but I've liked you longer. Ever since the police station, I felt it then and there. Then you broke into my flat and the feeling cooled a little, but you quickly redeemed yourself, I'll just have to let him down gently- I hope he doesn't hate me too much" She whispered the last part. Sherlock cupped her face again.

"No-one could ever hate you- you can't help who you fall in love with and who you don't fall in love with, even though you would be safer with him" he said, raising his eyebrows.

"And who says I even want safe?" she said. "Besides if I went off with him, I doubt you would stop hanging round like a bad smell, and then we'd hardly be safe." She hissed the final word like a swear word.

"Besides, I couldn't do that to Molly again-" she said thoughtfully.

"Molly? Wha- what's she got to do with it?" Sherlock said confused. Karen chuckled, rolling her eyes and placing her head in her hands.

"Oh you are so blind sometimes- she was in love with you but she realized you liked me. So she turned her attentions to John, if I now go after him I doubt she would forgive me again." She said, shaking her head. Sherlock hummed.

"Molly likes John? Who'd have thought it?" he said. Karen placed her head back on his chest looking up at him with her eyes huge.

"We'll have to get them together" she said. Sherlock waved a hand about.

"They'll sort it out sooner or later- I'm sure John will realize soon" he said pointedly, looking at the door. Karen span, looking at the door to the living room, she bit her lip to stifle a laugh.

"But he'll have to make the first move- Molly would never make the first move, ask her out for a coffee, go to the cinema, cliché but she'd like it- we could even go as a double make it easier on the two of them" she said, looking at the closed door.

John took his hand from the door and made up to his room, his phone already dialling Molly's number.

Karen and Sherlock were laughing quietly as they listened to John's retreating footsteps and his voice as he began the uneasy conversation with Molly.

"Do you think he realized?" Karen said her voice shaking with laughter. Sherlock shrugged.

"He's not as dumb as he looks, does it really matter? If they're happy" he said pointedly. Karen smiled down at him.

"No I suppose not" she whispered. "And if we're happy?" she said a question on her voice. Sherlock propped himself up on his elbows, slightly tipping Karen off his chest so that she was sitting on his legs.

"Oh-That'll be a bonus" he said softly, pressing his lips to hers again. She moaned as his hand slid up her back and he began to slowly rub circles with his hand.

"Big- bonus" she managed to murmur between kisses. Sherlock's lips twitched into a smile against hers.

"Hmmm... oh and Karen" he began, pulling away from her. She looked up at him, her face flushed and her eyes glittering.

"We're not going on a double date with John and Molly" he said. She simply laughed pulling his lips to hers once more.