Time had passed, and October was among everyone. John, Sherlock, Molly, and Mycroft had been invited to a Halloween party at a rented out pub. It was a costume party, meaning you had to be dressed as someone or something.

Molly, John, and Sherlock were in the morgue running some tests on a drug. At the moment Sherlock was looking at some new type of narcotic to try and guess the effects.

"What are you two going to be dressed as for Halloween? It's a day away, you know." She asked.

"A plague doctor. I'll just wear something dark colored and get the mask." John said. He turned to Sherlock. "Are you going to the party? It might be nice." John tried to sway him.

"I don't know." Sherlock said rather dully as he looked through the microscope. He had put the narcotic mixed in a solution of water and dead skin. He was hoping to see any kind of reaction.

"There will be plenty of people there to deduce and you can speak to others about possible cases. Meaning you won't be bored." Molly pointed out.

"If I won't get bored, then I'll go." Sherlock decided. "Although I'm not sure what to dress as. The last time I remember dressing up for Halloween, I was a coroner, and the year before I was a pirate. All the other times were not saved in my drive." 

"Maybe a vampire? Put in some fake fangs and find a cape. You already have the pale skin and dark hair, so it would fit." John suggested. 

Sherlock thought about it. "A vampire sounds suitable. A bit mainstream but it works."

"What will you be?" John asked Molly.

"Belle. I found a nice blue dress and white apron just yesterday." She said.

Sherlock watched the cells and saw a reaction. "Ah ha!" He said happily.

"What did you find?" John asked.

Sherlock took his eye off the piece. "This narcotic fills the cells with added moisture. So basically it is a narcotic that gives you the expected high, but it moisturizes the skin. Usually street drugs dry out the skin. So I'm hypothesizing that the drug is easy to take and not noticeable to others. But there's also the chance that if you take too much your body could go into shock. Overall, revolutionary." He explained.

"Perfect Sherlock. I'll be sure to tell the press." John joked. "Let's go to the party store. We need to grab a couple things." John urged. Sherlock locked away the drug and grabbed his coat.

The two headed out of the hospital and caught a cabby. It was further away, but there was a party store that sold Halloween costumes as well.

The two paid the cabby and headed inside. When they walked in, they felt intimidated. All over was Halloween skeletons, witches, zombies and more hanging around on display. They headed down the aisles and looked for some pieces. Sherlock found a black cape with a red lining and a pair of stick on fangs. John found a small lantern and his plague mask. It was made of a cheap look alike leather and fake metal goggles. But John thought it was good enough.

They paid for the items and headed back home. It was towards the end of the day, so they stayed inside the flat and talked to a couple surprise clients. Sherlock solved one or two or the cases and kicked out the rest. During the middle somehow, they got dressed in pajamas. Sherlock wore his usual blue pants and lighter shirt with the blue robe that Mycroft gave him, and John wore a long sleeve stripped shirt and pajama bottoms.

They both sat in the living room bored. John had already finished writing the blogs and had nothing to do, as did Sherlock. 

"Sherlock, do you ever watch movies?" John asked. It had just dawned on him that he had never really seen Sherlock watch a movie or hear him talk about one.

Sherlock shook his head. "I did occasionally when I was younger, but I never really feel interested in them."

John got up and sat in front of the laptop. He searched through for a particular movie. 

"I've got it. Have you ever seen the movie 'The Taking of Deborah Logan'?" John asked. He was smiling like a child.

Sherlock shook his head. "It sounds like an erotic movie." Sherlock thought.

"Wrong. It's a horror movie. It pretends to be a documentary about a woman's memory loss. But turns sinister. I think you'll like it. Let's watch it." John suggested. He didn't even wait for Sherlock's response, because he already pressed rent.

John moved the coffee table further away from the couch and then placed the couch pillows and cushions on the floor.

"Why are we watching the movie on the floor when we have a couch?" Sherlock asked.

John finished fixing the cushions and pillows. "A. We don't have a tv so we need the laptop to be at eyelevel. So the coffee table stays and we just move down to the floor so it's more comfortable with our necks. B. It's fun." 

John made them each a cup of tea and sat down on the floor.

John reached up to start the movie, and they watched.

"If you can, try your best not to analyze the movie. It's more enjoyable if you just let it happen and pay attention to the plot." John suggested to Sherlock. 

They both sipped their tea and watched the movie. In the beginning Sherlock felt a little bored. It seemed like a normal documentary. But he became more interested as the plot thickened. 

A couple of times when John glanced at Sherlock, he was leaning in and paying attention. John was just glad that Sherlock was enjoying the movie.

After an hour and a half, the movie is done. 

"Did you like the movie?" John asked him.

Sherlock grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "That was a really good movie. It's weird since I usually don't understand movies, but this one was really good. I wasn't really expecting that outcome since I have no knowledge of the made up monster in the movie. And the jump scares were cool. I felt see you flinch at times." Sherlock cheered.

John giggled slightly when he was talking about the jump scares. It was true that John was a sucker for them.

"What other movies do you know of? I think that something fiction is more likely to work since fiction is harder to calculate." Sherlock asked him.

John took the laptop and searched through for another movie. He found the movie 'As Above So Below'.

"I have not seen As Above So Below, but apparently it is a little historic but modern and fantastical. The beginning should have some history but that's about it." John said. He rented it and pressed play. While the screen was loading, John turned the lights off.

"Why did you turn the lights off?" Sherlock asked, noticing the darkness of the room.

John laughed. "Haven't you ever heard of watching scary movies in the dark? You're supposed to because it makes everything scarier." John explained. He sat down beside Sherlock and watched the movie. 

The beginning was historical. Sherlock knew of the legends and artifacts from Nicholas Flamel and the story of the Philosophers stone. But as the story progressed, it became less historic and more made up.

Sherlock started to get interested in the movie just as John did. There were some slight scares but nothing too scary so far.

They reached the scene where the group was starting to realize the wrong things in the tunnel systems. There was a jump scare, and they both jumped. Sherlock knew there would be some kind of scare but it still scared him.

As they continued, they got closer and closer. Nearly hugging onto to each other. The movie was very scary and unpredictable.

They were reaching the climax of the movie, and the group of people were scrambling away from the supernatural forces that lurked in the tunnel. The suspense was building up, and then a very frightening scare popped up.

Both John and Sherlock screamed and clung to the other's arm. Their eyes were glued to the laptop as they watched the scenes unfold. They flinches and jumped.

The movie finished and John turned the lights on. Sherlock set the pillows back on the couch and carefully walked around the room. Both were still jittery and scared. The scary thing was though, that they were both tired. John is normally tired at the same time of night, but that day was Sherlock's sleep day. He usually had a sleep day once every 3 to 4 days. Sometimes if he had been running around, once every 2 days.

Sherlock was feeling tired but knew that coffee and nicotine patches wouldn't be able to keep him awake. John yawned, and Sherlock yawned as well.

"I'm going to head to bed. Don't scare me or I might shoot you." John warned. "Goodnight." He said before venturing upstairs to his room.

He walked in and climbed under the covers. He wrapped himself in blankets and turned his night stand light off. 

He laid there for an hour unable to sleep. The walls were thin, so every noise and creak was audible. John was a heavy sleeper, but it was hard for him to initially fall asleep.

He heard some footsteps and his body went ridged. He heard the slight footsteps walked up the stairs slowly towards him. He wanted to reach for his gun but he didn't want to move at the same time.

The steps finally stopped and he heard his door knob giggle. His door opened and in popped Sherlock's head.

John sighed and sat up. "Scared the bloody hell out of me." John said.

"I couldn't sleep. I could tell by your lack of movement that neither could you." Sherlock said.

John checked the clock. It was almost midnight. "I can't seem to get to sleep. Do you have any sort of sleep pill by any chance? Or something allergy related that causes drowsiness?" John asked. 

Sherlock grinned and pulled out a little packet of pills. "Allegra. I unfortunately became immune to it after using it on a periodic basis. But they aren't expired yet." He told John.

John gladly took the pills and took two. 

Sherlock stood there awkwardly beside his bed. "Would you mind if I slept here tonight? I nearly shot the wall in my room because the print scared me." Sherlock asked. "I can sleep on the floor if you'd like."

John moved some pillows over and created a space. The bed he had was King sized, but not the best quality. It was how he was able to afford such a large bed. 

"You can sleep in the bed. There's plenty of room." John patted the area beside him. Sherlock closed the door and made his way around the bed. He slipped under the covers and laid on the edge.

"Goodnight John." 

"Night Sherlock." 

It only took John 10 minutes to start feeling the drowsiness effect. He finally fell asleep and so did Sherlock.

They only occasionally woke up in the middle of the night, but soon forgot why they woke and fell back asleep.

It was around 11 am and Mrs. Hudson made her usual trip up to Sherlock and John to check on them. She hadn't heard any noise, and so she figured they may still be sleeping.

She peeking into the living room, but neither of them were there. She stuck her head in Sherlock's room, but didn't find him there as well.

She walked up the stairs where John's room was. She opened the door and peeked in.

She had to stifle a laugh. Sherlock was laying on his stomach and his leg was peeking out from the top of the covers since he was laying on his side a little. He had no pillow, and slept with his mouth open. John slept next to him. John was sleeping on his side, but his leg was throw up onto Sherlock's lower back since he had slipped down the bed slightly. 

Overall, the two looked absolutely tired and weird. 

Mrs. Hudson backed up to the foot of the bed and snapped a photo with her phone.

Then she snuck out of the room and back downstairs.

Once Mrs. Hudson made it to her room, she made sure to slam the door as loud as she could to wake them up.

Upstairs, John and Sherlock woke up from the loud noise and groggily got up.

"What time is it?" John asked muffled by the pillow. 

"11. We should get up. We've got a client in an hour." Sherlock said. The two lazily got up and headed to the living room. Sherlock made some coffee and handed John a cup. They both sat in their chairs and drank their coffee. Both were still fairly tired, so they didn't talk much. 

After another cup of coffee, they both felt awake and alert. Their client came and left in the blink of the eye. Sherlock dismissed her almost immediately. Apparently she was like a book. Easily readable.

At 2, John went down to get a sandwich and Sherlock followed. Like usual, Sherlock either texted or talked to John while he ate. Sherlock was more of a breakfast person, and disliked lunch. It was only when the quality of food was high that Sherlock enjoyed food. That and he found that eating food made him more tired.

Back in the flat, they waited around boredly for the party. It was to start at 5, and they had another two hours till. They spent most of this time either lounging in the chairs or finding something to read. Sherlock gave up and escaped to his mind palace while John read through the entire newspaper a second time.

Finally 4:30 rolled around, and it was time to get ready.

John got dressed in some black slacks, a black button up shirt, and a black vest with some brown dress shoes. He grabbed his mask and lantern and went back to the living room.

Sherlock was already dressed in black pants and a black button up shirt with the collar opened up. He had his cape tied around his neck and the collar flipped up. He smiled wide to show the little fake fangs that stuck to his upper canines.

"I look ridiculous." He said.

"You look great. The collared cape reminds me of your coat. Just ruffle up your hair more." John said. He reached up and messed up Sherlock's hair a little more till he thought it looked right.

"Let's just get on with it. I'm bored." Sherlock said.

The two headed downstairs to get to a cabby. Mrs. Hudson was waiting for them, and she had a camera.

She stopped them from leaving. "Let me take a picture first. It's your first Halloween celebration in the flat. And you two look great." He said.

John and Sherlock stood next to each other for the picture. For the first one, John held his mask to his chest, and for the second one, John put no the mask. The bad thing was, John couldn't see a damn thing in the mask. His only window's for vision were supposedly darkened to mimic wear on the glass.

While Sherlock stood there, Mrs. Hudson was trying to situate Sherlock. She didn't want John to know what was happening, so she moved Sherlock towards the back right of John.

"Why would I do that? It's just a picture." Sherlock protested.

"Do it, or I'm doubling the rent. Mycroft will not pay if I double." Mrs. Hudson threatened. 

Sherlock thought about it and sighed. He leaned down and opened his mouth. Mrs. Hudson snapped the photo and released them.

The two hailed a cabby and were driven to the pub. John's mask in his lap.

They finally arrived and seemed to be right on time. Many people in costumes were entering.

They walked in and were greeted by Molly. She had on a long sleeve blue dress with a white apron, and her hair was tied back. She did look like Belle.

"Wow, you two look great. Nice fangs, Sherlock." Molly complimented them.

"Thank you. So who should I deduce first?" Sherlock thanked while looking around the room.

John laughed slightly. "Try to find someone and have fun. Costumes make it harder to deduce because they're pretending to be something else. Just don't offend anyone. The last thing we need is to be kicked out or arrested." John warned. 

"Alright, but you're coming with me." Sherlock decided. He hook his arm around John's and walked further into the crowd of police officers.

Soon, they were stopped Donovan. "Wow. I didn't think you'd show up. And you dressed up. A vampire and plague doctor. Fitting." 

Sherlock looked at her costume but was a little confused. She was dressed as a poorly portrayed nurse. Wearing a short white dress and a white heels.

"Why would a nurse wear such clothing? That certainly wouldn't do well in an emergency situation. The shoes would hinder your movement and the dress would limit your activities." Sherlock asked.

Both John and Donovan chuckled a little. "Sherlock, it's not supposed to be accurate. Many of the women here dress are dressed in more feminine versions of costumes." 

She cracked a smile. "Still clueless as ever, I see. Isn't John helping you out with that?" She asked, looking over to John.

"Working on it. It's not like I'm trying to change him. Sherlock just needs to learn to understand some forms of social interaction since he lacks that." John told her.

"I have enough social interaction to last. I've got you, Mrs. Hudson, Lestrade, and Molly. That's more than enough." Sherlock protested. 

"Fine fine. But at least try to make an effort to understand sarcasm." John finalized. Sherlock just shrugged and Donovan left to speak to another person.

Sherlock and John made their way to the bar and ordered drinks. Sherlock wasn't a big drinker, but on occasion he liked it. And John was no stranger to alcohol.

They sat at the bar and talked, occasionally talking some other people who approached them. Sherlock and John met some other officers that they didn't know and Sherlock, of course, offended some with his lack of emotion in the conversations.

One girl had gotten mad because Sherlock slipped something about her cheating on her boyfriend of 6 years, which made her stomp away.

"Do you think I went too far?" Sherlock asked John.

John didn't seem to think so. "She has a boyfriend for 6 years, has a secret guy to the side, and she was flirting on top of that. I'd say she deserves to have been called out." John agreed.

As the night progressed, less people came up to them. Most likely because the word about Sherlock spread and people were afraid to approach him. In fear that they'd find something they were keeping secret.

John and Sherlock were talking and were getting slightly tipsy together. But to a stranger, no one would guess they had been drinking. They were just laughing and joking around.

"Are you sure that's Sherlock Holmes? He doesn't seem like an emotionless sociopath." An officer said to his friend. They were further away at a talk, looking at the two joke and laugh.

"He get's very friendly when he's drunk. We had to detain him once because he went around trying to solve cases on a belly of alcohol." The girl told him.

"What about the shorter guy? He seems very cute. Is he a sociopath as well?" 

The girl shook her head. "Far from it. Very compassionate, nice, but stern at times. He's like Sherlock's leader to get him out of trouble. John was also an Army medic, a doctor, and now he is Sherlock's partner in cases. They even share a flat. Apparently at the beginning of the year, his wife was shot. She was pregnant as well. That's just what I heard from the paramedics. But word is spreading that John's bisexual, so I guess you'll have a chance." She nudged him with her elbow.

The two left their empty glasses and went to the two.

"Sherlock Holmes, right? I'm Ann Bell. I've heard a lot about you." The girl greeted Sherlock.

The man approached John and shook his hand. "Eric Thomas, pleasure to meet you." 

"John Watson. I don't recognize you. Are you knew?" John asked.

"Fairly. I'm usually stuck with the paperwork." He said.

Sherlock and John got into conversations with the new people, but Sherlock still felt awkward. It was obvious the woman was flirting with him.

"Do you dance?" Ann asked Sherlock.

"Only waltz and ballet." Sherlock told her dully. He had finished deducing her, and he was getting bored.

"Do you want to go dance with me?" Eric asked John, motioning to the dance floor.

"Oh, I'm not sure I should." John said. Eric hooked an arm around John's and dragged him out of the seat.

"Nonsense, come on." He urged. Sherlock glanced over as he saw Eric drag John away to the dancers and into the crowd.

Ann looked behind her and knew what Sherlock was looking at.

"So are you and John close?" She started lightly.

"Very close. I was his best man at his wedding." Sherlock said proudly.

"That's nice. I heard from the other officers that John's wife died. It's very unfortunate." She sympathized.

"It was. Although I think John is finally getting back to his normal self, which is good." 

The two talked more, but Sherlock tried his best to be courteous yet leave the conversation.

John was dancing a little with Eric, although he felt a bit awkward. Eric was definitely into John, but John didn't feel the same way. He felt a little awkward as a matter of fact.

"So is it hard to live with Sherlock? I've heard many stories about him." Eric asked.

"It used to be hard to live with him. Not anymore. I'm pretty used to anything he throws out." John said casually.

"He seems a little weird. I mean, he didn't seem interested in Ann. A little rude since she has been talking to him for awhile." He shrugged.

"Sherlock is a complicated person. He doesn't really enjoy small talk unless it's of something that interests him. And I've never seen him actually interested in anyone sexually or romantically. That's just the way Sherlock is." John just shrugged. It was normal for Sherlock to get that kind of reaction.

"So how come you were able to stick with him?" Eric asked.

John didn't even know the answer himself. "I'm not sure. The first day I met him, I moved in, and I was on a chase to help him solve a case. It happened so fast, I just fit in." John told him.

Eric was going to say something, but someone grabbed a microphone to make an announcement.

"Attention officers. Please gather around in front of Bill for a picture. Make sure your masks are on if you brought one." He said.

The music stopped and everyone scrambling to get in rows in front of the photographer. 

John was more in the front since he was so short, and Sherlock stood right behind him.

"Alright. Masks on and look at the camera!" He exclaimed. John pulled his mask on and held the lantern up a little. As he heard the count down, he felt an arm wrap around his neck, and pull him towards someone. 

He could see a little flash of light and everyone was scrambling around. He pulled his mask and looked behind him. It was Sherlock.

"Oh, there you are. I've been wanting to find you. I didn't mean to leave you, I was sort of dragged away." John apologized quickly. He really just wanted to be around someone he knew.

"I think I'm going to leave. I've had my fun here." Sherlock decided. 

"Well then I'll-" John started, but someone startled him by hooking an arm around his neck lazily.

"There you are John. Let's go dance some more." Eric interrupted. 

Sherlock was heading out to leave, and John tried to follow, but was pulled back into the crowd. Eric got him a drink and shoved it into his hand.

"Come on, drink. There's more fun to be had." Eric encouraged. He took a drink of his drink, and so did John. John knew he would get drunk if he continued, so he dumped it while Eric wasn't looking.

As they were dancing, John felt a little tired and weak. He just felt like he needed to sleep.

"Hey Eric, I'm going to head home. It's all a bit too much for me. And I've got clients tomorrow." John decided.

"Well if you're tired, how about you crash at my place? It's very close to here." Eric tried persuading.

"Really, I should get back to the flat. Sherlock is probably worried, and I need to make sure he doesn't burn down the kitchen." John urged again. He was feeling more tired and his eyes were drooping. 

"Come on. I've drive you back in the morning." Eric urged. John started to feel like something was very wrong, but he knew how to get out of it.

"Fine. Let me text Sherlock so he knows I won't be back till the morning." John said. He pulled his phone out and sent a very quick message to Sherlock.

As soon as the message was sent, John started walking outside and Eric followed him.

"Where are you going? My car's this way." Eric pointed in the opposite direction.

John continued to walk. "I'm not going home with you. Accept it before I hold you at gun point." John said angrily towards Eric. 

Eric ran over and grabbed John's arm and yanked him away from a cabby.

"You're coming with me." Eric said as his grip tightened around John's arm. John was feeling worse by the minute.

He reached for his gun, but Eric took it away. John's vision started to get worse second by second, and Eric was almost carrying him. He couldn't fight back or do anything.

John became so weak that he collapsed. He could feel Eric carry him on his back. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Lestrade passed by and saw the two. "What's going on, Thomas?" Lestrade asked Eric.

"John here had way too many drinks and passed out. I'll find him a cabby and get him home." He said. 

"Alright. Make sure he's safe or Sherlock will be on your ass." Lestrade warned, chuckling.

"Will do, sir. Have a good night." Eric said before he left. 

He carried John down the street and put him in his car. He sped away towards his destination.

Back at the flat, Sherlock was pulling his fangs and cape off when he heard his phone ring. He checked and noticed it was John. He read the text.

Eric drugged me. I need help. NOW.
JW

Sherlock grabbed his gun and rushed down the stairs. 

"Where are you going so soon? You just got home." Mrs. Hudson asked.

"John is in trouble." Sherlock rushed before leaving the flat.

He hailed a cabby and told them to go to the pub. Once he got there, he jumped out of the cabby and threw the money through the door. He ran to the pub and saw Lestrade outside.

"Lestrade! Where's John?" Sherlock asked urgently.

It was obvious that Lestrade was a little tipsy, borderline drunk. "Oh, I saw Eric carrying him. Must have had too many drinks." He said.

"Give me his address. He drugged John, and John was passed out." Sherlock demanded.

Lestrade pulled out his phone and searched through his contacts. He found Eric's address and sent it to Sherlock.

Sherlock hailed another cabby and was driven to Eric's flat. 

Once he got to the door, he knocked furiously. After no answer, he kicked down the door. 

"John!" Sherlock called. No answer. No noise. He searched around and no one was there. He looked around for clues, or maybe another place they could be.

He looked through Eric's personal papers and found an address to a storage unit. It was the closest thing he found that could be used as a private area.

He jumped back into the cabby and was driven to the storage company. He didn't bother asking for the tour, and ran through the aisles looking for the number.

After 20 minutes, he found the storage unit. He picked the lock and threw the door open.

The place was empty except for a single envelope on the floor. He picked it up and ripped it open. Inside was a note.

Dear Sherlock, I see you have found
the note, so that means yo
u have a
nother case. Find Joh
n Watson. I'm in anoth
er safe house with John. Hurry up, time is ticking. Sincere
ly, Eric Thomas.

The note was weirdly written and broken up. Sherlock pocketed the note and ran out of the area. He hailed a different taxi and hurried to the police station. He knew there was a unit that was being paid to stay on duty. He knew that he had very little information about Eric, and if he wanted to get John, he'd need to be quick about it.

He bursted into the police station and started talking to the first officer he saw.

"Give me everything you have about Eric Thomas, the new officer on duty." Sherlock demanded.

"How come? Did something happen?" A woman at a computer asked. She was looking through some files.

"He drugged John and abducted him. I checked his flat and storage unit, and he's not there. He left me a note telling me to find him." Sherlock explained.

She knew Sherlock and what he did, so she gladly went through the records. She found Eric's file and looked through.

"He owns flat in London, a storage unit, and has joint custody over a cottage in the country. But that's it." She said. Sherlock typed down the address for the cottage and got directions. 

"Try to track him down while I search for him. Text me if you find anything. My number is in my file." Sherlock told her.

"Wait, you don't have a file!" She exclaimed. 

"I put my file in a couple days ago in case of an emergency like this." Sherlock said before leaving the police station.

He started to dial Mycroft, and he lazily picked up the phone.

"Mycroft. Get me a motorcycle stat. It's of the most importance." Sherlock said.

"Well hello to you too, brother. Now why do you need a motorcycle?" Mycroft asked.

"John has been kidnapped, and my best bet is traveling in a motorcycle. Halloween day, and the streets are backed up with cars." Sherlock told him.

Mycroft searched through and made some calls. "Someone should be delivering a motorcycle any minute. I'll get my people to ping his phone and I'll track him down." Mycroft promised before hanging up.

Sherlock waited on the side of the street and placed a nicotine patch on his arm for thought. A minute later, a man wearing all black drove up to him on a motorcycle. He took the helmet off and handed it to Sherlock.

"There's Bluetooth in the helmet. Mycroft can call you, and you can call him if you press this button." The guy instructed. There was a small button on the handles.

"Tell Mycroft I said thanks." Sherlock pulled the helmet on and drove away. He weaved through cars and through red lights.

He heard Mycroft's voice ping through the helmet. "Did you get the motorcycle?" 

"I did. I'm on my way to the address. He might be in the country side at Eric's cottage." Sherlock told him.

"Good. My people think his phone is turned off, so we're working a little harder to track his phone. May take longer. What are you thinking about all this?" 

Sherlock thought. "What I'm thinking?" 

"Yes, Sherlock. What are you thinking?"

Sherlock grinned. "The game is on."