Another punch across her face. Another cut in her skin. Another day without food. They were trying to break her, but she had been through worse. They didn't know that, of course. The criminal world had been made to think that she was just Moriarty's arm candy. She had ditched her dog tags when she saw them coming. They had no idea what it would take to break her.
She waited patiently for her chance. All it took was for him to get sloppy once, and she took the opportunity to catch the man's neck between her legs. She choked him until he passed out. It didn't take her too much longer to finish working her way out of the rope they had used to bind her. She used strips of her unconscious assailant's shirt to stop the bleeding, then took the gun from the table and headed out.
She was the only one that made it out of that building alive.
John heard a knock on his door, and as late as it was, he knew who was there. He opened the door and winced. Sebastia had a bloody lip, a busted cheek, a black eye, and that was just the beginning. She offered a half-hearted smile and headed for the tub. He sighed and grabbed his medical kit, following her.
It took a while to get her patched up to John's standards. He left to let her shower, instructing her to be careful around her stitches. She rolled her eyes and set her dog tags on the counter, rubbing the indent they had left on her palm from clutching them so tightly. He ran a finger across them, then down her good cheek, then left.
When she emerged, hair dripping onto one of his shirts, dog tags shining against the grey, he made space for her on the couch. She gingerly laid against his side, being careful of her wounds. He brushed her hair out of her face, placing a gentle kiss on her bruised forehead. It was a moment before he spoke.
"I know I'm not supposed to ask, but I've got to know. What happened? This- all this, it shouldn't have happened. They usually can't land a blow."
She sighed. "They caught me. They wanted information. They didn't get any."
John waited for her to continue, but when she didn't he began putting the pieces together on his own. She had been caught, hence why they were able to land so many blows. Her cuts had been clean, straight cuts, so she hadn't been moving or struggling. She had been holding her tags, not wearing them, so she probably hadn't been wearing them during her torture. The word torture made him recoil, and he pulled her a little closer to shield her even though the threat was gone. She had beaten them. He kissed her head again. He didn't like that she had been tortured, but there was nothing he could do know. He hated that. He felt her nudge him, and she was watching him when he looked over at her. Probably had been for a bit.
"Got it figured out?"
He smiled sadly. "Yeah."
She returned the forced, faked smile and laid her head on his chest. It was over now, and she was safe now.
For now.