Hello, it's me
I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet
To go over everything
They say that time's supposed to heal ya, but I ain't done much healing

Two years. He was sure he would come back and everything would be exactly the same. Things would pick up where they had been left off. John would see him alive and well. He would tell him of his adventures around the world. That he had dismantled Moriarty's web himself. John would love him for it. He'd be forgiven in time.

Hello, can you hear me?
I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be
When we were younger and free
I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet

He sat in the barber's chair in Mycroft's office daydreaming about when he and the doctor first me. Their first date. First cases. They were free… until Moriarty. The lies. The chaos. He jumped at the chance to save the man that was his conductor light.

There's such a difference between us
And a million miles

If only Mycroft could have allowed John to join him. This all would have ended long ago. The two would not have been separated for so long.

Hello from the other side
I must've called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call you never seem to be home

There were so many times he picked up the phone and dialed John. Even just to hear the doctor's voice. He wanted to apologize and tell him everything. Then he would remember the plan, the danger, and how it would have all been for naught.

Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart
Anymore

When he returned though, there was someone else. He'd been replaced. He walked into that restaurant with every intention of spilling the last two years and begging for forgiveness from that man. Except he found a woman in his place. So many times that night he tried to explain why he needed to leave. To ask for redemption. He should have expected the pain and the anger, this was still John after all.

Hello, how are you?
It's so typical of me to talk about myself, I'm sorry
I hope that you're well
Did you ever make it out of that town where nothing ever happened?

He tried to make things better. Be interested in John, not talk about himself so much. Support his decisions. He soon realized there would be no more lazy nights at Baker Street for just the two of them. John had her and their own space. He would not return.

It's no secret that the both of us
Are running out of time

That's it. John had proposed and he was too late. His new title? Best Friend. Best Man.
One was married. One was alone.

So hello from the other side
I must've called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call you never seem to be home

He tried, he really did. His cries for help went unanswered. Every time he picked up the phone, he remembered he'd lost. The needle would replace the phone as Mary had replaced him.

Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart
Anymore, ooooohh
Anymore, ooooohh
Anymore, ooooohh
Anymore, anymore

A month. That's all it took for him to hit rock bottom. First he tried to remove any trace of that man from their flat. His flat. When that didn't work, he removed himself. John had found him.

Hello from the other side
I must've called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call you never seem to be home

The anger that radiated from John said what he needed to know. Did he still care? Had he been forgiven?

Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart

Anymore

Thank you Adele for releasing this song. I love it. All credit for the song is hers.