Vanessa was a little over one year old now. Moriarty still hadn't attacked. Sherlock had a feeling it wasn't Moriarty who was back, but just his network. He didn't want Alex to leave alone, but there were times that she had to. Today was one of those days. She had to go to the doctor's office. Sherlock didn't understand why John couldn't just make house calls, which would save money, but Alex wouldn't have it for some reason. As she was getting ready to leave, Vanessa tried to come with her.

"Mama, I come." She said.

"You can't, sweetie, you have to stay with Daddy." Alex said.

"But Daddy also wants to come with." Sherlock said.

"Sherlock, no." Alex said.

"I'm scared something bad will happen to you." Sherlock said. 

"Sherlock, don't worry. I'll be fine." Alex said, kissing her husband on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too. Be safe, okay?" Sherlock said.

"I will be fine." Alex said. "I'll see you in an hour or two."

"Okay. Bye." Sherlock said as he held open the door. "Call me later."

"I might do that. I might call you." Alex said playfully. She kissed her husband on the lips, letting her forehead rest against his for a moment. "Solve me a crime, Sherlock Holmes." 

Alex left the flat. She felt somewhat uncomfortable when she saw several men with their hoods up, smoking outside of the cafe by the flat. She looked up and was not surprised to see Sherlock watching as she walked away. He would keep an eye on her until he couldn't see her anymore. He was watching the men carefully.

"Okay, Alex, just relax." Alex told herself. She held up her phone and pretended to be checking how she looked, but saw that the men were following her. "Okay...no, look there's a coffee shop. They're just all getting coffee. At the same time...yeah..."

Alex started walking quicker. She could hear the men picking up their pace. Alex started to panic. She knew something bad was going to happen. She should have let Sherlock come with her. Now she was either going to die or get kidnapped. She opened her iMessage and hit Sherlock's contact.

Sherlock, help me. I'm at 

"Who you texting?" Someone asked in her ear. Alex jumped. She hadn't been able to send the text.

"Get away from me." She growled.

"Oh, I don't think she likes that, bro." Another one of the men said.

"No, I don't. So please get away from me." Alex said.

"Where are you going?" The man who seemed to be the leader asked.

"Away from you." Alex said. The man grabbed her and turned her around. "Let. Me. Go."

"I don't think so." The man said. "You're coming with us."

"SHERLOCK!" Alex yelled, his name getting muffled as the man put a cloth over her mouth. It had some sort of drug on it, which made her lose conciousness.

Oh, no, not again. She thought, wishing she could roll her eyes. This was just like the time she had been put in a bonfire with John.

Several hours later, Sherlock was pacing in Baker Street. Alex still hadn't come home and he was scared. Vanessa was taking a nap. Sherlock had tried calling his wife, but her answering machine had picked up. He called the doctor's office next to see if she'd even gotten to her appointment.

"Hi, this is Sherlock Holmes, Alexandra Holmes' husband. I'm calling to see if she made it to her appointment?" He asked.

"No, I don't think she ever arrived." The receptionist said.

"Okay. Thank you." Sherlock said.

Sherlock started to panic. Where was his wife? He had to find her. He called her phone again. Finally, Alex picked up. Sherlock breathed a sigh of relief.

"You scared me, dear. Where are you? Do you need me to pick you up?" He asked.

"Come and get her." Alex's shaky voice said.

"Alex? What's wrong?" Sherlock said.

"She's with us at the old warehouse on Victoria Street." Alex said. "She's running out of time."

"Alex!" Sherlock said, starting to get scared. The line clicked. Alex had hung up.

At the warehouse, Alex was holding her head up high. These were Moriarty's men. She knew Sherlock was probably having a panic attack. The leader of the men prowled around the chair she was tied to.

"You used to work for Moriarty, yes?" The man asked.

"I did." Alex nodded.

"Why did you quit?" He asked. "You were the best agent we had."

"Family. My brother." Alex said.

"Typical." The man scoffed. "But, we have a job opportunity for you."

"I decline your kind offer." Alex said.

"At least hear me out!" The man said.

"I'm still gonna decline it." Alex said.

"Maybe you won't. Doesn't Sherlock Holmes get on your nerves sometimes?" The man asked.

"Sometimes." Alex said.

"Doesn't it make you want to wring his neck?" The man asked.

"Sometimes." Alex repeated.

"Well, we just had you tell Sherlock Holmes to come get you. When he arrives, how would you like to kill him?" The man asked.

"No. I'm not killing my husband." Alex said. "Once again, I decline your kind offer." 

"All right. When he comes, we'll let you go, I guess." The man shrugged. He grinned deviously at his companions, who snickered.

Sherlock was having Mycroft watch Vanessa, since he knew that was where she would be the safest. He was pacing in Baker Street. He didn't know if he should bring Lestrade or not. Alex could get killed if he brought the police. Maybe he should also bring some money in case this was a ransome. He grabbed as much money as he could spare. For the first time in his life, Sherlock Holmes was truly afraid. He didn't want to lose the person he cared about the most in the world. He felt like he was going to start crying any second. Sherlock needed Alex like he needed air to breathe. He wanted to bring John, but he didn't want to lose the other Watson either. He also didn't want to cause pain for Mary if John died. Sherlock finally took a deep breath and went outside to hail a taxi. He climbed in and told the cabbie where to go.

Hang on, Alex. I'm coming. He thought.

Alex was waiting anxiously for Sherlock. She knew something bad was going to happen when he came for her. The men were still prowling around her. She was scared, but not for her. For Sherlock. She wanted to call him or text him, just let him know she was alive. Alex came up with a brilliant plan.

"I have to go to the bathroom." She whined.

"Really?" The leader said.

"Yes, really." Alex said.

"You, take her to the bathroom." The leader said, pointing to one of his henchmen.

"Fine." The other man groaned as he untied Alex. 

He helped her up roughly and led her to the bathroom. The warehouse was abandoned, but apparently the electricity and water still worked. The man tried to follow her in, but Alex stopped him.

"No way are you coming in here with me." She said.

"Fine. But don't pull anything." The man said, waiting outside.

Alex went into a stall and took out her phone to text Sherlock. She needed to let him know she was okay. She sent him a text telling him that she wasn't hurt and to not reply. She knew that he would be relieved. 

In the cab, Sherlock got the text. He breathed a sigh of relief. His darling Alex was okay. When the cab pulled up to the building, Sherlock jumped out and ran inside. The only thing on his mind was rescuing Alex. He needed to find her. He heard a cry of pain. It sounded like Alex. He ran towards the noise. When he got to her, he saw a man hitting her. Alex was bound. She couldn't do a thing. She was holding her head up high. He stopped hitting her once he saw Sherlock.

"Ah, Sherlock Holmes." He said. 

"Get away from my wife." Sherlock said.

"Gladly." The man said, holding up his hands and backing away from Alex. "Boys, untie her."

The other men untied Alex. Alex got up and started to walk to Sherlock. She had a sick feeling that this wasn't over. Something bad was going to happen. She turned around.

"There's a catch. I know it." She said.

"Smart girl. I can see why you two got married." The man smirked. He grabbed Alex and pulled her back to him. He held a gun to her head.

"No, no, don't kill her." Sherlock said, starting to panic again. "Kill me instead."

"Very well." The man said after a minute. He let go of Alex and thrust the gun in her hands. "Either she's going to kill you or she's going to kill herself."

"No. Please." Sherlock said. It was the first time Alex had seen her husband this scared. "I...I'll do whatever it takes. I have money. Just...don't do this."

"Too bad." The man smirked.

Alex's face was ghostly white as she held the gun in her hands. She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to shoot Sherlock, but she also didn't want to die. She didn't want Vanessa to grow up without her father, but she also didn't want her to grow up without a mother either. She turned to the leader of the group.

"What if I just walk out of here with him?" She asked.

"Then we kill your family and your friends." He said. "And leave you all alone with the guilt of what you've done."

"That's a little dark, isn't it?" Alex asked.

"Well, we do work for Moriarty." The man said.

Alex looked at Sherlock. He was staring back at her sadly. She knew he was scared. She started crying. That made Sherlock even more sad. He knew she was scared. The man hadn't said that he couldn't be by Alex. He walked up to her and held her in his arms. She cried into his chest.

"Shoot me. It's okay." Sherlock said. "I've had a good life."

"No, no way." Alex said. "I'm not killng you."

"I refuse to let you kill yourself." Sherlock said.

"Get away from her or I shoot both of you." The man said.

Sherlock backed away to his original spot. Alex calmed down. She knew what she had to do. Her gaze changed to one of intensity. Sherlock knew what that look meant. Either Alex was coming up with a plan or she was going to die bravely. Alex turned to the man who had kidnapped her.

"Have you made your decision?" He asked. Alex nodded. "What is it?"

"I'm going to kill myself." Alex said.