AT A CRIME SCENE

Attempting to solve the case of the stuffed humans was turning out to be significantly more difficult than any of the three men who were involved would have imagined it to be at the beginning. Whoever was committing the crimes knew what they were doing, as they didn't leave much of any trace behind them.

Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, and Will Graham were on the job to find these few traces and somehow manage to link them together. They were supposed to be some of the best in the entire business. When it was clear they were struggling together, it seemed to be hopeless to many others.

But none of them were about to give up - there was a serial killer on the loose, someone who had already killed two people and maimed them in the exact same way. At least, that's how it seemed.

There had to be more to it than that, which was precisely why the three were out investigating the scene where the newest body had just been located. The entire place had been crawling with various police and forensics units, but as soon as Sherlock and his entourage entered the scene they all began to scatter. The man worked alone...plus Will and John, of course.

Now it was just the three of them in the room, standing around a dead body. There were bits of fluff sticking out out of various orifices, proving that it was indeed stuffed. He could hardly believe that there were actually two of these out there in the world - Sherlock had led him to believe that in reality there were hoardes and hoardes of these bodies. No wonder why there were so few people supposedly working on the project.

But this only inspired Will to work harder at trying to get this to work out. No, he couldn't just let more people die because some people didn't know what they were doing. Like Sherlock, he was known for having a capability for solving strange crimes. It was only a matter of putting that to work in order to get things accomplished. He needed to make sure that he could do such a thing and help out with the entire ordeal.

That meant using his own unique talents - just because Will was best known for his empathy didn't mean that he wasn't capable at other parts of solving a crime. There were more things that he could do than people ever seemed to give him credit for, and he planned to change that. Part of this was convincing Sherlock himself that he was worthwhile. Sometimes he wasn't quite sure what the consulting detective truly thought of him.

But regardless of this, John was always nearby to help reassure Will in everything. He was somewhat more easily impressed - even though that made John sound silly in a way, and that was not how he saw him - and was more likely to compliment or side with Will.

Then again, two against one when it came to Sherlock wasn't always such a great thing. Typically the consulting detective would find away around the fact that he was outnumbered - usually this ended up with him complaining about something.

This was precisely what Will wished to avoid at this crime scene. He had been through it time and time again when it came to other scenarios regarding Sherlock Holmes. He wasn't going to go through it again. Instead, he was going to make himself properly useful.

Will stood there with his eyes closed, going over the details in his head. He could see himself standing there in the crime scene from before. All the important things were there to be scrutinised, which made it somewhat easier to work things out. There was no one to bother him and tell him he was doing something wrong, and no one to distract him.

He did his best to recall the crime scene from the original stuffed human. What were those tiny details of massive importance, again? There was a lack of blood, pointing that it had been drained elsewhere. Certainly that had to be an important detail. Why had the killer chosen that particular house to drop off their dead body, anyways?

There were so many layers to cracking the codes of criminals, but Will found it easier than most. Not only could he see the details, he could see it through the culprit's eyes. This is what ended up leading him into trouble most of the time, unfortunately.

This time around, Will was trying to make everything easier for himself by making sure to avoid doing this at just about any cost. It was making the case more difficult to figure out, though. At the end of the day he prized his own sanity above the case.

All he wanted to save lives, and sometimes that required working with the dead. The career he had chosen ended up working out this way, after all. Had he known that he would have ended up going somewhat mad from the crimes, he wouldn't have gotten involved. But there were so many things that Will couldn't predict. It simply wasn't possible.

But that didn't mean he would simply stop trying to. He would just have to use a different method and hope that it would all turn out correctly.

Then again, there were so many flaws within the other methods. It was a significant amount more work than just simply using his powers of empathy. He wasn't much of one for laziness, but sometimes it did seem rather intriguing. For Will, this was indeed one of those few times.

Will was getting off focus - he had to get the image of the previous crime scene in his head and continue looking over it. He knew that he was capable of doing such a thing, it was just a matter of truly pulling it all off. This was just one of many rooms that had a door in a long, long hallway within Will's mind. Nevertheless, it was one of the most important ones he had, and he planned to succeed in figuring something out by comparing the two crime scenes.

His eyes were still tightly shut and his mouth in a solid line. He had hardly moved for approximately five minutes at this point. There was no reason for movement, after all. All he was doing was thinking, and all he had to do was stand there silently.

"Will," John said. He was aware that there was nothing medically wrong with Will at the moment, but it was still strange to see the man close his eyes and block out the rest of the world. He was somewhat used to it with Sherlock, but to see it on someone else was just rather perplexing.

When Will made no response, John called out his name once again.

"Sorry," Will said as soon as he opened his eyes. "I just got a bit lost in my mind for a moment there. It's not a problem...right?"

"No, not a problem," John replied, but he didn't seem fully convinced with his words. "I was just kind of wondering what you were doing."

"Oh, well..." Will began, feeling somewhat embarassed at first. He didn't like to talk about precisely what was going on within his mind. Those details felt rather intimate - the only person he could really trust with them was his therapist. Despite Hannibal apparently being in the area as of late, Will was fairly sure that he wasn't going to be having an appoinment any time soon.

"I was using my memory palace," Will finally said, preparing himself to be ridiculed. But instead of being met with anger and other forms of discontent, he found that both John and Sherlock had fallen completely silent. He started looking around the room to see if someone else had entered. No. He looked over the body, wondering if there was something of the utmost importance that he had missed. No.

"Er..." Will said, unsure how to prompt them to speak up.

"Could...could you say that again, Will?" John asked, tilting his head slightly. At least he had spoken - the strange silence had started to become somewhat uncomfortable for Will.

"I said that I was using my memory palace," Will began. He wasn't sure how else to explain it - he was going to strange no matter what, and all he was receiving was a round of semi-blank looks. Especially on Sherlock, this was something completely new for him. He didn't like it very much.

"You were doing what?" John asked in disbelief.

"I was using my memory palace to go over the details of the case," Will repeated, unsure of why his words were so strange.

"Memory palace?" Sherlock asked. "Would you consider it to be similar to a mind palace?"

"Uh, I think it would be the same," Will replied, starting to be more cautious with his words as he saw the looks on Sherlock and John's faces.

"What exactly do you do in this memory palace?" Sherlock questioned, starting to move closer to Will. While Will was tempted to step backwards, he decided against it and stood his ground.

"I keep important details about various things in the case in there. I use markers and then I sort of...er...walk around to see them. It helps me to remember."

"You have various rooms with various objects that remind you of more important details," Sherlock stated.

"Exactly," Will exclaimed.

John and Sherlock shared a look with one another, making Will feel somewhat left out. It was obvious that he was missing something important. Usually he would just push it aside, but he felt just the tiniest bit too curious to simply let it go. He felt that he had to know what was going on, why they were reacting so strangely to something he didn't find all that out of the ordinary.

"You said you have a memory palace. A mind palace," Sherlock said, practically repeated what he had said again.

"Yeah," Will replied, nodding slightly. "It's part of the Method of Loci. Dr. Lecter taught it to me. He apparently uses it himself and practically swears by it for memorising things."

"Just like your mind palace, Sherlock," John said. "How come you never really explained it to me? Now it seems like quite a few people are using it. Maybe it's not so special after all."

"It takes a certain kind of mind to be capable of using mind palaces," Sherlock replied, starting to defend his superiority. "It's used to enhance memory storage - the ability to memorise many things must already be present. Very few have the patience to learn and utulise their memory out of those who have the capability there."

"Then Will here must have a good memory," John decided. "I don't see that as very surprising...I suppose."

"Never mind that," Sherlock sighed. "We have more important things to attend to at the moment."

"Of course we do," Will said under his breath. But he watched as Sherlock gave a sigh and made his decision what was to be done.

"We have to get Molly to examine the body, as we had planned before," Sherlock decided. "Cause of death, time of death. I don't believe there is anything more to be gleaned from standing here in the crime scene."

"Well, that's surprising," John grumbled. He was used to Sherlock wanting the crime scene to remain unscathed for weeks and weeks at a time so that he could scrutinise absolutely everything. But he wasn't going to complain about it.

"We're going back to St. Bart's?" Will asked.

"No need to be so excited," Sherlock replied. "I know you want to see Molly again, but we won't be staying there long enough for you two to have a conversation. I suggest you get her number if you wish to continue communicating with her on a regular basis."

John just closed his eyes - Sherlock never let him forget that he tended to be rude when it came to figuring out things about other people. He had thought that maybe, just maybe, his flatmate might be kind to Will after getting to know him, but this was not the case.

"Well, how long do you think that'll take?" Will asked. He was inwardly hoping two conflicting things - staying longer for the autospy would mean that he'd be fulfilling Sherlock's ideas of wanting to see Molly longer, but a shorter wait would mean he could head home sooner. People must have started wondering what was taking him so long.

"I think Molly's been rather busy lately," John said with a grimace. "You're probably going to have to stay for a bit longer. Sorry, Will."

"I don't..." Will began, already feeling the heat of embarrassment creeping around his words and preventing him from coming out to say what was necessary. "I don't think I can afford to stay here any longer," he finished.

"John has recommended that I provide you with compensation for having to stay here in London for such a long time," Sherlock replied, as if this had been in the back of his mind for quite a long time. "I have decided to follow through with this recommendation and give you some money."

Like he was performing a magic trick, he produced a wad of cash from his coat pocket and handed it over to Will. He started walking out of the crime scene, leaving behind his two companions to speak about what had just taken place.

"I never said anything about reimbursement, at least not as far as I can remember," John said, his eyebrows creasing. "Not that I disagree with it, but I know that I've never said that."

"Really?" Will asked. "That means Sherlock must have come up with it himself, then."

"Somehow that doesn't seem right," John replied. "Maybe we're missing some detail here. Who knows? I guess we shouldn't really worry about it."

"Yeah, I kind of need this money anyways," Will sighed. "The hotel room was only meant to be kept for a few days, and now I've got to pay quite a bit for it. And then of course, there's meals to worry about, and taxi fare..."

John nodded knowingly - Will was living in London without officially living in London, and he didn't exactly have any sort of job to sustain him. Without this money, he probably wouldn't be able to stay off of the streets for much longer...unless, of course, Sherlock were to take him into 221B as if he were some relative staying over for several weeks.

"I just wonder why he decided to give me all of this money seemingly out of nowhere," Will sighed. "You're sure you didn't mention something to him that might have ended up inspiring him to do such a thing?"

"No, I'm sure - unless, of course, something slipped. It does seem like Sherlock to notice those tiny details and make a big deal out of them."

"It does..." Will replied, looking down at the money once again. It was absolutely absurd - but he wasn't going to be complaining about it, that much was for sure.

John had been right about Sherlock - it hadn't been his idea to recompensate Will for staying so long. But he would stay absolutely silent about who *had* been the one who had inspired him to do such a thing. The truth of the matter was that he had been in contact with someone else, someone else who had somewhat of a weak spot when it came to Will Graham.

But it could only go so far, of course. Everything had its limits.

"So..." Will began. "There has to be something else we can do while we're waiting for the autopsy. This case just can't be forgotten about...people must have cared about these victims."

"I hate to say it, but I'm not so sure that's the case," John replied. "Sherlock apparently did a bit of research on the victims. We couldn't find any real connections, aside from the part that they were both single and didn't have any close relatives."

"Both men," Will murmured to himself. "At least, that's what we think."

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch what you just said," John said.

"Nothing," Will replied. "I...I was just thinking out loud."

John nodded slightly, deciding that it was better if he didn't pry into the matter. Will seemed to be somewhat embarrassed by being caught talking to himself. Since embarrassment was certainly something every person goes through at some point in their lives, he could sympathise well with him.

But what he wasn't as good as doing was empathising - no, that was Will Graham's job. That's what he was attempting to do at the moment. If he were the serial killer, what would have made sense to him? He needed to merge their minds, if only for a moment.

"We should probably go catch up with Sherlock," John finally said. "He's likely already gotten himself a cab and made his way home in the time it took us to speak to one another."

"You're right," Will replied. He followed John through the halls until they made their way outside and found that Sherlock was indeed still there - he had actually been curteous enough to wait for them. Both John and Will had another bit of surprise in their day from Sherlock's actions.

From that point onwards, each man made their individual way home. They all ended up right where they needed to be for a well deserved day of rest.

The men didn't realise that it would be their last time working together for several weeks. While Will still recieved texts from Sherlock telling him that he had to stay in London, he wouldn't actually see him for many days. There was nothing from John, either.

The thing was, life began to catch up to everyone in ways that none of them could have imagined. Will was left behind in this - after all, he didn't live in the country and there wasn't much there that could catch up to him. He tried to continue working on the case, but there didn't seem to be anything he could do without Sherlock and John.

But Sherlock ended up taking up a new case concerning an important member of the British Government. Since there was very little progress being made on the stuffed human case, he took it up in full swing. Lady Smallwood came before seemingly random deaths in his mind. He wasn't giving up the case, but it was no longer his focus.

Will, on the other hand, could not take his mind off of the case for very long. He gradually learned his way to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, trying to see if he could gain access to the morgue. The problem was, he needed someone else to help get him in.

He ended up getting involved with Scotland Yard in order to get more support in the case. While it did help him stay on the track, it wasn't the same sort of investigation he was used to with Sherlock and John. Will got wrapped up with Sally Donovan and Greg Lestrade - both of which were very competent, but weren't exactly driven on this case.

He was sure that he was missing details, but which ones were beyond him. Will decided that he would just wait for Molly to get around to doing an autospy on her own time. But of course, her life was going a bit mad as well. She ended up wrapped in personal matters of her own, what with her engagement being broken off.

For the longest time, the Watson home life had been going fairly well. Mary had to deal with the trials of pregnancy and John had to support her, but it was all fairly normal. At least, that's how it looked on the surface. The fact of the matter was, Mary's past was gradually coming back to haunt her. Seeing Hannibal Lecter had been a striking experience for her.

Mary had quite a bit of experience with the Magnussen brothers, though she wished it to stay a secret. The trouble was, there was only so long she could just stand by and wait for it all to blow over. Those four initials always popped up back in her head, like she had used some sort of device to remember it.

Instead, the four letters were engrained into her mind as if they had been branded there. If she closed her eyes for a moment too long, she felt them pop up and remind her of everything she had left behind. That was a past life for her, and she intended to keep it that way.

There would always be reminders of the things that everyone wanted to forget. Whether it was like some sort of mnemonic device or not, there would be those details that triggered thoughts of the past. It didn't matter if they wished to escape it with every fibre of their being. It was simply impossible to outrun the reaches of time.

A/N I will write this later.