- Detective Bell is nearly killed while driving home one night. A just-released felon is the first suspect but, when he's killed, suspicion moves to Bell's brother who, unlike the dedicated detective, has lived life on the wrong side of the law.—A Dude Named Dude
- Given recent intrusions in his home, Sherlock imposes on uncooperative Watson self-defense lessons, often at inopportune times, but also makes her an offer she can't refuse. NYPD captain Toby Gregson's protégé, Marcus Bell, barely survives an attack from an elusive drug dealer/killer, who is later found murdered outside Bell's home. Shortly after, it's Marcus' just-paroled big brother Andre's turn. Holmes goes to great lengths to investigate without painful dilemmas for Gregson.—KGF Vissers
- Things get very personal for Detective Bell tonight and Holmes and Watson come to an agreement.
On his way home, Bell calls Gregson and then is suddenly shot at and run off the road. He believes it was a drug dealer he put away named Bradshaw who just got out of prison. Although he was very hands off when working the streets he promised Bell he would come after personally and it was Bradshaw's car that contained the shooter.
Simultaneously, Bell is looking after his brother Andre who was also just released from prison. They have a rocky relationship and have since they were young and Bell went the straight and narrow route and Andre chose the thug life. But now he's out and eager to help his brother find out who shot at him even if it means violating his parole and consorting with criminals.
But then Bradshaw turns up dead and Bell is worried his brother did it for him. But when the murder weapon turns up in his house-- uncovered by Sherlock and concealed from Gregson-- it's clear he's being framed. Then Bell is worried his brother did it to frame him out of resentment. His brother is offended him and clocks him right in the middle of the precinct.
But later when Andre himself is shot-- and manages to write "was not Marcus" in blood before he passes out--they know it wasn't he.
It is at this point that Sherlock realizes they have been barking up the wrong tree all along, looking for criminals when they should've been looking a little closer to home.
Bell, it turns out, informed on a superior who planted evidence to take Bradshaw down. No one likes an Internal Affairs snitch-- even when they're doing the right thing as Bell did-- and when one of the people who worked with that superior and also had an affair with Bell, found out that he was the one, she went on a one woman mission to take him down. Sherlock gets her to confess. Andre and Marcus make up in the hospital.
Meanwhile, this whole time Sherlock keeps testing Watson with out-of-nowhere attacks to prove that she needs to take self defense courses in light of her recent violent encounter.
While her therapist thinks it's time to move on from this "grand adventure," it's clear that Watson doesn't want to.
Watson talks to him about boundaries. He then blurts out that he knows that she lied to him about renewing her contract with his father. He's not angry, but grateful she stayed to see him through his rough patch. But then he realized she wasn't staying for him but herself. So he asks her to consider a proposal: stay on permanently as his companion and he will continue to teach her and she will continue to assist him and she will receive a stipend that is equal what his father was paying and she can live at brownstone, relieved of the confidentiality agreement about his sobriety. He asks her, essentially, to be his partner. He admits that he is better with her: sharper, more focused, and it's difficult to say why exactly but perhaps in time he'll solve that as well.
Watson agrees, telling him she likes to be paid on Thursdays, she will stay at the Brownstone, and that they will still go to group support meetings.
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