#wipbigbangchallenge

[wipbigbang]

WIP Big Bang Challenge 2020

Hello all! It’s time for the WIP Big Bang Challenge once againe! This challenge is happening in conjunction with International Fanworks Day on February 15th. IFD is a day to celebrate all the absolutely amazing fanworks created by fans, so what better way to participate in that than posting some finished WIPs? Do you have WIPs that are too short for WIP Big Bang? Do you need a push to finish them? WIP Big Bang Challenge is all about getting short WIPs finished. You can post your finished works to our AO3 collection between now and February 15th, when they will be revealed for International Fanworks Day. Any kind of fanwork and any fandom are welcome! We will be using the hashtags #IFD2020 and #WIPBigBangChallenge to post about this challenge across all our social media accounts. Feel free to use them as well to talk about the WIP you're working on for the challenge, to encourage other participants, or just to discuss WIPs and IFD. Happy WIP finishing!!

See this post for copy/paste promo info.

[afteriwake]

Not A Slayer Anymore (A “The (Better) Verse?” Story) (COMPLETE)

Story Title: Not A Slayer Anymore

Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: the Series

Link(s): AO3

Summary: Cordelia wishes that Buffy wished she wasn't the Slayer, instead of wishing that Buffy never came to town.

Warnings: None

Characters: Anya Jenkins, Buffy Summers, Joyce Summers, Rupert Giles, D'Hoffryn, Larry Blaisdell, Harmony Kendall, Allen Francis Doyle, Jonathan Levinson

Pairings: Larry Blaisdell/Jonathan Levinson, Xander Harris/Willow Rosenberg, Jenny Calendar/Rupert Giles; past Angel/Willow Rosenberg

When I Started: Sometime in 2003

How I Lost My Shit: I left the fandom and moved on to the CSIverse.

How I Finished My Shit: I looked at what was written and figured maybe I could do a series with it, and just cap the fic off with Buffy thwarting Anyay's plan to get her to reverse the wish made. One chapter wrapped it up nicely, and so I finished another fic for @wipbigbang

[mousedetective]

More Than Just Numbers On A Wrist (2 & 3/3)

So this one ended up being super short, and the ending, while still bittersweet, is happier than I intended, but hopefully all of you (especially @come2myrescue and @sleepeatdancedream) will enjoy it.

More Than Just Numbers On A Wrist - Sherlock knows six years with Molly will not be enough, not when her counter says he'll have to live another forty years without her. And she won't take his time from him, any of it, choosing to accept her fate. But Sherlock knows the world needs Molly Hooper more than it needs him, even if she can't see it herself.

Read Chapter 1 | Read Chapter 2 | Buy Me A Coffee?

“I won’t let you do it, Sherlock,” she said. She never got angry about his pestering, because that’s really what it was, but she always told him no in such a resigned tone. Resigned. How could someone be resigned to the fact they only had six years with their soulmate?

“Molly, please,” he said, but she never understood. There was no way he could convey in any amount of words, whether they be few or many, how much he dreaded living a life without her. How he didn’t want to because the light would be out of his life.

Especially since the time was fluid, once you met your soulmate.

Yes, one could transfer time or even take time from their soulmate, but fate would have its own ideas as well. Accidents did happen, after all, even in a world such as theirs. You could wake up one morning and your clock would have said normally that you had years and years left, only to find there were no more indentations on your skin and your soulmate had died in their sleep. It was cruel and vicious and he hated it, now that he had Molly in his life.

He had forty years.

She had six.

And neither of them knew if that was what they truly had, which made him want to give her time even more.

“Twenty years, Molly. Twenty years and we can have a family, start to grow old together.”

“Six years is not enough, Molly. It just isn’t. Not for me, not for you. Don’t you see that?”

“The world needs you just as much as me. More than me, even. Please, let me give you time.”

“Time is fluid, and I could lose you so much faster. Don’t you see? Please let me give you a gift of time.”

All of these things were things he wanted to tell her but he couldn’t get out. Maybe if he could, she would agree. But he didn’t know, and he couldn’t try. But then again, if the choice was his, they’d have a hundred years together and the damnable clocks on their wrist would simply disappear while they still lived, and all would be well.

But, then again, life never went as planned, as he would soon learn.

[voldiebuns]

Help me choose a fic!

I need to start working on my fic for International Fanworks Day/WIP Big Bang Challenge soon, so it’s time to choose what I’m going to write. I’ve been narrowing it down (which was much harder than I expected lol) and have 5 possibilities atm, so I thought I’d see what ya’ll want to see from me!

Doom (2005), Reaper/Sarge. Soulmate AU, post-movie.

The Flash, Cisco/Harry. Jesse picks up on their flirting.

iCarly, Freddie/Spencer. Freddie comes out via a game of truth or dare.

Star Trek: AOS, Gaila/Winona, Kirk/Spock. Nyota finds out about Gaila and Kirk’s secret relationships.

Teen Wolf, Derek/Stiles. The pack figures out they’re a couple.

[wipbigbang]

Two weeks to International Fanworks Day!

We've got two weeks until International Fanworks Day and the reveal of our WIP Big Bang Challenge! I'm so so excited about the response we've gotten so far for it; there are already several fantastic fics in the collection. But there's still plenty of time and I would love to see even more!! So who's working on something for WIP Big Bang Challenge?? Are you still trying to decide if you want to do something? Picking out a project? Finishing one up? Stuck on something? We'd love to hear from you!

[wipbigbang]

Happy International Fanworks Day!

It's finally International Fanworks Day, which means it's reveal day for the WIP Big Bang Challenge! All works have now been revealed. If yours hasn't revealed, please let me know ASAP so I can fix it. And if you haven't posted yet, you are still free to do so! A bunch of fantastic looking works were submitted for the challenge, so please go check them out and leave our participants some love!!

See the WIP Big Bang Challenge collection here.

[afteriwake]

Inside A Genius’s Brain (COMPLETE)

Story Title: Inside A Genius's Brain Fandom: Sherlock Link(s): AO3 Summary: After musing that he would like to figure out just what makes Sherlock tick, he finds he has somehow been able to do just that...and he learns so much more about his consultant than he had ever thought possible. Warnings: None Characters: Greg Lestrade, Sherlock Holmes, Sally Donovan, Molly Hooper Pairings: None When I Started: May 15th, 2018 How I Lost My Shit: This was a commission with a slightly out there premise which I adored but I couldn't quite wrap my head around. One additional chapter in 2019 and then it stalled. How I Finished My Shit: I was rereading the newest chapter when I just got a rush of "I know what to do!" and sat down and wrote all the rest of it over one night. I decided Sherlock needed to be Sherlock as Lestrade could see him at times, and then it was done, just in time for @wipbigbang‘s IFD challenge.

[afteriwake]

WIP Big Bang Challenge 2020

So, I know I still have mod presents to do and fanmixes to make for Christmas presents at holiday_wishes, but there’s a few weeks open to try and finish as many fics as I can for WIPBB Challenge 2020 (which goes live the 15th of February), and these are the fourteen fics I’m considering:

Across Time And Space (Firefly/Heroes; Hiro, Malcolm & River)

All The Troubles In The Universe Just Sitting At My Doorstep (Superwholock; Lestrade/Molly, Rory/Amy, Eleven/River, other ships TBD)

Dangerous Kisses (Star Trek AOS/MCU; Kirk/Daisy)

Inside A Genius’s Brain (Sherlock; Greg & Sherlock & Sally)

Living A Life Unlived (Doctor Who; Amy, River, Doctor & Brian)

Not A Slayer Anymore (Buffyverse; ensemble)

Skull & Bones (Sherlock; Sherlock/Molly)

Super Secret Spies & Stuff (Star Trek AOS; Kirk/Spock, John Harrison, McCoy)

The Crack In The Wall (Wholock; Sherlock/Amy)

This Isn’t Storybrooke Anymore (Eureka/OUAT; August/Emma, Zane/Jo, Jack/Allison, Henry/Grace)

To Fight For The One You Love (Treklock; Khan/Molly)

To Find Oneself (Sherlock; Irene/Molly)

To Live Again (Sherlock; Mycroft/Mary)

Welcome Back, Professor Hooper (Potterlock; Sherlock/Molly)

Does anyone have any preferences of ones they want to see me work on in the next few weeks? Let me know!

[afteriwake]

To Live Again (A “To Live Again” Story) (COMPLETE)

Story Title: To Live Again

Fandom: Sherlock

Link(s): AO3

Summary: After the events at the aquarium which leaves most of the world thinking Mary Watson is dead, Mary deals with conflicting feelings and moving on in the wake of knowing her marriage is, for all intents and purposes, over.

Warnings: None

Characters: Mary Morstan, Mycroft Holmes & Molly Hooper

Pairings: Pre-relationship Mycroft Holmes/Mary Morstan and Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper; past John Watson/Mary Morstan

When I Started:��January 9th, 2019

How I Lost My Shit: This was just one of many stories I'd look at and have no idea where I wanted it to go. Had a great idea at the outset but the execution of it went poorly.

How I Finished My Shit: I just needed it picked by a friend, apparently, to say they wanted more for the @wipbigbang challenge. I decided to turn it into a series and have the first fic be the set-up of the premise, that Mary faked her death at the aquarium and Mycroft handled the details of it with Molly's help. And then the rest of it just kind of flowed.

[wipbigbang]

Hello all! Since last year's challenge went so well, we are again running WIP Big Bang Challnge before WIP Big Bang starts up in March. This challenge is happening in conjunction with Internation Fanworks Day on February 15th. IFD is a day to celebrate all the absolutely amazing fanworks created by fans, so what better way to participate in that than posting some finished WIPs? Do you have WIPs that are too short for WIP Big Bang? Do you need a push to finish them? WIP Big Bang Challenge is all about getting short WIPs finished. You can post your finished works to our AO3 collection between now and February 15th, when they will be revealed for International Fanworks Day. Any kind of fanwork and any fandom are welcome! We will be using the hashtags #IFD2019 and #WIPBigBangChallenge to post about this challenge across all our social media accounts. Feel free to use them as well to talk about the WIP you're working on for the challenge, to encourage other participants, or just to discuss WIPs and IFD. Happy WIP finishing!!

(Get the banner on livejournal)

[afteriwake]

To Get (And Keep) Her Attention (COMPLETE)

So this was a birthday present I had started for @sincerelydayyy last year and is now done (almost close to another birthday, it seems). I had a lot of fun with this particular Sherlolly unilock AU, and I hope all of you enjoy it as well.

To Get (And Keep) Her Attention - Sherlock will, grudgingly, admit he has a crush on his friend Molly. But how does he get her attention away from that wanker Tom? And more importantly, how does he keep her attention?

READ CHAPTER 1 | HELP ME SURVIVE? | COMMISSION ME?

He hated studying. It was as though if the information wasn’t instantly absorbed during the lecture or, at the very least, during the group discussions that most of the professors held then it was worthless. He’d always felt that way, but the exams he was presented with here at Cambridge were a bit more difficult than he was used to.

A bit.

Fortunately, he had a secret weapon that made studying much easier to stomach. And tonight they were in the uni library, sharing their regular table.

Molly Hooper didn’t appear to be as brilliant as she was, but as he had found time and again, looks could be deceiving. She had an aptitude for absorbing knowledge, and a thirst for it as well, and the things he often considered too frivolous she knew more about and would patiently discuss them with him until he saw the merit in knowing that information. He’d had to admit, his marks had gotten better since the day she’d snapped at him to stop his incessant humming in the library so she could concentrate. What should have become a huge and very public row, knowing him, had become an invitation for coffee and a better understanding of biology.

He could not have been more grateful.

But he could be better at showing it.

“So he’s a shite physics professor,” he was saying to her. “Please tell me that’s a subject you understand?”

She smiled at him. Literally, her smile was one of the few things that could stop a full-on tirade and cause abrupt speechlessness in him. Otherwise, he would ramble on and on with increasing vehemence. “I’m sure I can get you through it. It’s basically a combination of upper-level math and science, isn’t it?”

“I suppose,” he said with a frown.

“Then we’ll muddle along just fine,” she said, reaching over to squeeze his hand. His mind blanked on him and he looked down at their joined hands, which much to his dismay were unjoined rather quickly. “Do you have any new compositions?”

Sherlock shook his head. “I haven’t had time to play the violin lately. But I should work on something, shouldn’t I?”

“Yes!” Molly said with an enthusiastic nod of her head. “You play the most brilliant things, Sherlock.”

A flush hit his cheeks and he looked down. “Thank you,” he said, damn near mumbling. Her encouragement to continue the violin was one of the few reasons he kept the blasted instrument around. The remembrance of his parents' insistence he master the instrument had led to some dark times, the times he preferred to never think about, let alone speak of.

Times Molly knew nothing about.

As close as they were, he kept things to the vest, even as she was open fully with him. Sometimes he wondered if he deserved her friendship. And other times, he sometimes wondered if she might be open to more if he were honest with himself. He was smitten and that, it seemed, could pose a problem.

But his mind was jolted out of its thoughts by the soft press of her lips against his cheek, and she saw she was gathering her things. “Where are you going?”

“Tom wanted to have a cuppa with me today, so our session for today is over, I’m afraid.”

“But why…?”

“To get your attention.” She smiled at him as she put her books in her messenger bag. “See you in two days?”

“Yeah, of course,” he said, bringing his fingers to where she had kissed his cheek. What did it all mean?

This was something he needed to ponder more...

CHAPTER 2

[wipbigbang]

Happy International Fanworks Day!

It's finally International Fanworks Day, which means it's reveal day for the WIP Big Bang Challenge! All works have now been revealed. If yours hasn't revealed, please let me know ASAP so I can fix it. And if you haven't posted yet, you are still free to do so! A bunch of fantastic looking works were submitted for the challenge, so please go check them out and leave our participants some love!! See the WIP Big Bang Challenge collection here.

[afteriwake]

Someone Who Understands (COMPLETE)

So this one was always supposed to be short but I never had the motivation to finish it until this round of @wipbigbang . This was a belated Christmas gift for @mcbangle that had been claimed by @onceinabluemoon13 that is now finished! I hope you all enjoy this.

Someone Who Understands - After the dissolution of her engagement and the crap week that follows, Molly just wants something to go well. So when she gets a bouquet of flowers from an unknown person she expects the worst since that’s the way her life seems to be going at the moment. But when Sherlock reveals it’s Janine who sent the flowers and Janine tells her she thought Molly could use something to brighten her day after the hell Sherlock put her through because she understands, Molly’s life takes a turn she didn’t quite expect it to.

READ CHAPTER 1 | HELP ME SURVIVE? | COMMISSION ME?

Oh, it had been an absolutely shite week, Molly thought to herself as she trudged from the Underground stop towards her flat. Sherlock high on drugs, then him getting shot, then John and Mary separating, and then finding out details she wasn’t even sure she had wanted to know… Her head had been in a constant spinning state, and that wasn’t even taking into the fact her own life, with the end of her engagement. Not that that had really come as much of a shock to many, really, not since the return of Sherlock.

No, of course not, she thought to herself bitterly. And the whole time he expertly times coming out of my bedroom in his pants to Tom’s arrival he’s off wooing the damn maid of honour from Mary’s wedding and planning to propose to her. that fact stung the worst, that Sherlock had almost single-handedly ruined her engagement with that stunt while she was asleep in the guest bedroom while he had no intention of doing anything with her. And then he had the cheek to comment on her lack of ring while high as a kite! He was lucky all she did was slap him three times! She really wanted to give him a black eye, really. Or a kick in the bollocks.

And then he had to get himself shot. By Mary, of all people. She had gone to check on Mary after Sherlock texted her to, with an uncharacteristic “please” in the message, and Mary was crying and it all just rather spilled out, the whole story of how she had a hidden past and was in Magnussen’s sights and had shot Sherlock and all she could do at first was sit there in shock. She should have been angry, should have walked out in a huff. Didn’t she love Sherlock? Shouldn’t she have wanted to hurt Mary for hurting him? But when Mary explained, she understood. Sherlock had pushed. Sherlock had pushed limits he shouldn’t have, goaded her in a situation he shouldn’t have and she did what she had to do.

Molly had leaned over and given her the biggest hug, holding Mary while she cried on her shoulder for she had no idea how long, and then told Mary to get some things, she would be staying at her place for a while, until things were sorted out. No women should be alone at a time like this. Mary gave her the most grateful look imaginable and went off to pack a bag, and Molly sent Sherlock a text that Mary was staying with her and her home was not a bolt hole for the time being. He sent a text back with the word “Understood” and his initials, and that was that.

And she hadn’t heard from him since.

It had been a week since that had transpired, and in that week she’d had a heavy workload, she’d dealt with some of the most insufferable DIs in the Yard and Tom had come to clear out the last of his things. That last part had been excruciatingly bad, and she’d spent a few hours with Mary afterward, finishing off a bottle of Louis Latour - Meursault 2014 while Mary commiserated with her, eating a pint of Häagen-Dazs Yuzu Citrus and Cream ice cream while she had a Magnum Almond Tub. The worst of it was Tom wasn’t even particularly angry about anything. No pointed comments about Sherlock, no asking if there were any of Sherlock’s things about, no insinuating she was a horrible cheater. No, he said the barest minimum to her, instead simply walking around with boxes, occasionally asking if there were certain things she would prefer to keep, and then he left, leaving her key on the table by the door. She had never felt more miserable ending a relationship before.

Which led to today and a rather nasty hangover and low threshold for bullcrap. It had gotten to the point she started getting snippy with the people giving her attitude, and Stamford, the only person who knew about her engagement ending, stepped in on her behalf before it got to a point where official complaints were being made and suggested she take an early day and go home and relax. She was thankful for the suggestion because if she had to deal with one more idiotic person, she would most likely be fired on the spot.

This was unlike her, she knew, but she didn’t know how to make things better. She had never been in quite this position before, to have her personal life feel so...bleak. She could have been happy with Tom, really. Maybe not deliriously happy, but happy enough. She loved him, she cared. They could have made it work.

Oh, who was she kidding? She wasn’t in love with Tom. Sherlock had done her a favour. But the man she was in love with had been playing at a relationship with someone else, so...she had no clue what to do there.

She finally got home, rather surprised at that because she had been so lost in her thoughts, and reached in her handbag for her keys. She noticed, though, there was a floral arrangement on the ground and then she smiled slightly. Probably for Mary from John, she thought to herself before kneeling down to pick it up. It was actually quite lovely and she was surprised it hadn’t been snatched, even though her front door was behind a gate; it looked like a mixture of multicolored lilies and roses and looked so vibrant and cheerful. There was a card stuck inside and she looked at it, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw her name on it.

That was curious.

She managed to shuffle things around so that she didn’t drop the flowers and could still get her keys out, and took everything inside once she got the door open. It didn’t appear Mary was inside, so she took it all into her blue tiled kitchen and set the flowers on the counter before opening the envelope. Inside was a card with hearts on the front, and when she opened it in perfect cursive was written "Deep inside you there is a roaring fire that is not cooled by comfort or tamed by fear. A fire that burns in all things."

She stared at the note for a long moment and then set it down. Most people would be flattered to receive a note and flowers from a secret admirer, but most people did not have the friends she had. Most people had not lived the life she had. There was only one thing she could do: call Sherlock Holmes.

CHAPTER 2

[wipbigbang]

Less than two weeks to International Fanworks Day!

We've got less than two weeks until International Fanworks Day and the reveal of our WIP Big Bang Challenge! I'm so so excited about the response we've gotten so far for it; there are already a bunch of fantastic fics in the collection. But there's still plenty of time and I would love to see even more! So who's working on something for WIP Big Bang Challenge?? Are you still trying to decide if you want to do something? Picking out a project? Finishing one up? Stuck on something? We'd love to hear from you!

[afteriwake]

Passion Over Propriety (COMPLETE)

So this is a fun little Mollcroft fic I started a while ago for @fibrochemist and @mollyhooperish that I had languishing at one chapter but had the headcanons to fully flesh it out. I thought I had lost the headcanons but surprisingly I had them uploaded to my Google Drive so I was able to finish this. I hope it is everything you both hoped it would be,

Passion Over Propriety - Mycroft Holmes is loathe to admit he just might fancy Molly Hooper, one of his subordinate hand-picked to keep watch over his brother. And, due to propriety, Molly Hooper may be loathe to admit she has a crush on her boss (more or less), Mycroft Holmes. But Anthea can see what's between them, and she hatches a plan.

READ CHAPTER 1 | HELP ME SURVIVE? | COMMISSION ME?

Dr. Molly Hooper was his favourite agent.

Not that he would ever admit this to her, or anyone else, but she was. Ever since Anthea had suggested they find someone to install in his service who was into the forensic sciences since Sherlock had it in his head that he should be a consulting detective. He already had Lestrade involved in all this, because Gregory had been an old school chum, one of the few Mycroft had made, and would be a good influence on Sherlock whether Sherlock liked it or not. But his brother was a scientist at heart, and having someone at Barts as well would be preferred.

He had been drawn to her as a potential agent because her marks were extremely high and there were already universities and police organizations clamoring to get her in their employ, willing to offer just about anything to her to get her to work for them. Barts was among them, so he decided to use a little leverage to get her to consider Barts.

Or, rather, to make sure Barts was where she decided to reside.

He admitted, his dramatics had rather backfired at their first meeting. She’d been spitting mad to be kidnapped off the street on the way to her appointment to take a position at Barts, and even telling her she had it already and there was no need to go to the interview had barely mollified her. She said she felt violated and harassed and had been close to hitting him, he was sure. Beneath her mild-mannered outward appearance was a passionate woman who let her words be known. Mycroft admired the passion but needed the meek.

He kept getting the passionate woman.

Three times she refused his offer. Oh, not the offer from Barts; he made sure she got the job with a second interview which he did not interfere with. That job was rightfully hers, as it should have been, whether he got her to work with him or not. But it wasn’t until he saw the dingy flat where she was living the second time and saw the contrast of good cookware to shoddy kitchen conditions that he knew what his lure would be.

It had almost pained him to give up possession of the flat and the bright kitchen, but it had gotten Molly to sign on to work with him. And just in time, too; she’d recently had her first encounter with his brother and she could see why Mycroft needed her help. He was a genius, but he was brittle and edged with swords and would get into far more trouble if there weren’t people he trusted around him. She agreed, but only if Sherlock never knew.

That was an agreement he could make.

Still, there had been something since their very first interaction that drew him towards her. Her passionate side, he supposed. He was so used to people being cool and composed, having a facade up when they dealt with him. While Molly generally was on the timid side, push just the right buttons and the passion would pour out. It didn’t even have to be in anger; she was passionate about cooking and her pet cat Toby and science, and he took advantage of their meetings on a weekly basis, with tea late at night, to find out more about that passionate nature. And he, sometimes, would reciprocate, about art or music or theatre, the few pursuits he found interest in that weren’t the government or his brother.

It was alarming, then, the day he realized he liked Molly’s company more than he should. More than was proper. Something would need to be done, but what? That was the question.

And it was one he sorely did not want to answer.

CHAPTER 2 

[afteriwake]

Living In A City Of Death (COMPLETE)

Okay. So this was a WHolock fic I wrote in 2012 and was asked to continue but just...never had inspiration for. Now that I have another Sherlock Zombie AU under my belt and my investment in both shows has grown, I decided I’d finish this once and for all. I hope you all enjoy!

Living In A City Of Death - London belonged to the dead now. Will Amy’s good friend come save them, or is all hope lost for the current residents of 221B Baker Street? And what happens next?

READ CHAPTER 1 | HELP ME SURVIVE? | COMMISSION ME?

London belonged to the dead. It was Halloween now, a day that normally would have been spent with children going from door to door asking for candy, but now involved those left in the city trying to fend for their very lives.

The current occupants of 221B Baker Street had been in the place for a week. It wasn’t just Sherlock, John and Mrs. Hudson there. There were three others, a married couple named Rory and Amy Williams and an enigmatic woman named River Song. John had met them on his last run for supplies. They’d had supplies of their own, and weapons as well, and that was the only reason he’d let them come with him. Sherlock hadn’t liked the decision, but Mrs. Hudson had pleaded their case so they’d been allowed to stay.

Rory and River had guns and other weaponry which Sherlock and John did not. They had some weaponry that didn’t even appear to be of this era, some futuristic things that River assured him would work better than traditional guns and ammunition. They’d had their first chance to see how it worked when three of the zombies approached the home. Rory went to the second floor, took careful aim, and pulled the trigger. A laser blast went out, one two three, and took each of them out. Only then did Sherlock accept them there.

Well, rather, he accepted Rory and River. Amy could shoot the gun too, and did, but there were arguments between the three of them in heated whispers of a mysterious Doctor who would come save them. Apparently, Rory and River had given up on him coming and Amy still held out hope. Those arguments grated on everyone’s nerves, and today, a week after they were all holed up together, it came to a head.

“He’s not coming,” Rory said quietly, his voice just slightly above a whisper. “It’s been over a week. If he hasn’t shown up by now he’s never coming, or else we’ll be dead before he gets here.”

“He has to, Rory. We’re his friends. He wouldn’t just leave us to this fate.” She wasn’t looking at her husband, instead training her eyes outside to look at the door. “You have to have faith.”

“You know I don’t have faith,” he replied. Then he dropped his voice lower, but Sherlock could still hear him. “You know when we were at the hotel all I saw were exits. If I’d had faith in anything, I would have had a room. That thing would have come after me.”

“But you believe in him,” she said.

“Not anymore,” he said.

“He’ll come. I know it.” Rory sighed and went back to River. Sherlock watched. The relationship between the three of them was strange. It was more familial than anything else, as though Amy and Rory were the parental units and River was their child. It couldn’t possibly be that way, but that was how they acted nonetheless.

After Rory had left, Sherlock went to Amy. “Your friend isn’t coming. You might as well face it. Humanity is lost.”

“He’s coming,” she replied. “And what would you know? You don’t even know him.”

“Your friend is apparently very special. He has ways of traveling that are unusual, and he has a penchant for fixing problems. If he really considered this a fixable problem he’d have arrived by now. He’s turned his back on you.”

He felt the slap before he’d registered that she’d done it. He blinked once, then looked at her. She was glaring at him, and he stared back. “He’ll come.”

“He won’t. Holding onto this fantasy will cause everyone harm.” He turned his back and went back to where he’d been sitting. He had chosen to sit by the other window and keep a lookout on the street, so he was looking when it happened. A small horde of the zombies came from the street on his left. “Do you see them?” he asked Amy.

“I see them,” she said with a nod, getting the laser gun. He also had a more futuristic weapon, one that sent out pulses of energy which seemed to blast the zombies to bits. They both took aim and began to fire. Just when they got done with the first group a second appeared. “There’s so many,” she replied.

“Just make sure you get them all,” he said. They both kept firing, even as Rory, River, and John joined them. Suddenly they heard a sound on the roof, and both Amy and Sherlock paused in their shooting for a moment. “What is that?” he asked.

“It’s my friend,” Amy said with a grin.

“It could be more of them,” John said. “We’ve locked the windows on the side as well as the roof access.”

“Take this and check the roof,” Sherlock said, handing John a smaller energy weapon.

“I’ll go with you,” River said, pulling out her own personal weapon. John nodded and the two left. Amy and Sherlock went back to shooting the zombies as they got in their line of sight, and Rory paced. Finally, ten minutes later not two but three people came back from the roof: River, John and a man Sherlock didn’t recognize. But Amy and Rory did, as Amy went away from the window and hugged him tightly. “It’s her friend,” River said to Sherlock as he watched.

“I am terribly terribly sorry,” he replied. “I had to go get Martha and Mickey and Sarah Jane and Jo and as many of my old companions as I could, as well as their families and in a few cases close friends who’d managed to hang on. Not all of them survived, but most did. They’re in the TARDIS, and I’m going to take them someplace safe while I fix this.”

“Why wait so long for us?” Rory asked. “There’s been an outbreak for two weeks.”

“I knew if anyone could survive it would be the both of you, and if history books had changed because of this River would have found you eventually,” the Doctor replied. He looked over at John and Sherlock. “I have room, for the both of you.”

“Somewhere safe?” John asked. The Doctor nodded. “We have a third person to bring, Mrs. Hudson.”

“Bring her as well,” the Doctor said. “Anyone who helped keep my friends safe is more than welcome.”

“Excellent,” John said. “Perhaps you should explain it all to Sherlock while I go fetch her.”

“Very well,” the Doctor said. He turned to Sherlock. “I’m an alien, from the planet Gallifrey. I travel through space and time. I’ve known Amy and Rory for a long time, and they’ll vouch for me. My TARDIS is on the roof.”

Sherlock’s mind was reeling. He didn’t want to believe the man, but Amy and Rory seemed to not blink an eye, and whatever it was John had seen, he’d probably believed the same story. And if this man could take them to safety… “I’m not sure if I believe you, but I’ll go with you,” he replied as John came into the room with Mrs. Hudson.

“Excellent! Gather your things. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to bring the weapons, though I do rather detest guns. How did you get them, anyway?”

“River,” Rory and Amy chorused.

Their friend turned to River, who gave him a beatific smile. “I had to make sure my family was safe. When the history books started changing and I realized they were living in the epicenter I brought them weaponry. I would have taken them somewhere safe but my vortex manipulator stopped working and I haven’t been able to fix it.”

“But guns?” he asked, his face pained.

“How else are you supposed to take care of zombies from a distance?” she said, patting his cheek. “All right, I suppose we get going. I bet that horde of zombies outside the door has continued to grow.”

“Very well. Up to the roof!” the Doctor said. The seven of them went up into the attic, then up to the roof. Sherlock was surprised to see a blue police phone booth on the roof, and when the Doctor got towards it he snapped his fingers and the door opened. He stepped inside and Amy, Rory and River followed. John, Sherlock and Mrs. Hudson lingered outside for a moment before John straightened his shoulders and walked in. Mrs. Hudson and Sherlock followed.

It was much larger inside than the outside suggested. Sherlock looked around, surprised. And then the Doctor came up to him and he turned his attention to the console. There were other people there that he didn’t recognize, and neither did the Williams family or River. The Doctor began making introductions as he fiddled with the controls. Martha Smith-Jones, Mickey Smith, Jo Grant, Sarah Jane Smith…the children and teenagers he didn’t remember because there were so many. The Doctor told Amy to start showing them to rooms so they could get comfortable, and while John and Mrs. Hudson went with her Sherlock stayed. Soon it was just him and the Doctor. “Don’t you want to get comfortable?” the Doctor asked him after a moment.

“I want to help fix the problem,” he said.

The Doctor grinned at him. “The great Sherlock Holmes, always looking for a mystery to solve. All right, you can help solve the problem. I definitely appreciate the help. Very well, let’s go to the study and begin sorting things out and figure out just where it all went haywire, and if there’s anything we can do to fix things.”

Sherlock nodded. “Very well.”

“Let’s get started then,” he replied. “To the study!” And with that, the Doctor left the console room with Sherlock close behind. Sherlock hoped that they could find a solution and actually fix things, or else all of humanity would be lost.

CHAPTER 2