DISCLAIMER: Sadly I own nothing so please don't sue.

SUMMARY: John is marrying Mary and he and Sherlock have drifted apart. With their friendship in tatters and their trust severely frayed, can John ever make things right again and at what cost?

A/N: Story does not follow what happened in the TV Series so before anyone says anything...I am well aware that Sherlock and John made up pretty much straight away.

TITLE: Addicted

Addicted

Chapter 1 - Goodbye Sherlock

6 Months Ago

"You should talk to him." Mary stared intently at John's back, noting the way in which he tensed at her words.

"I have nothing to say to him." He didn't turn around, choosing instead to focus his attention on stirring the tea in the cup on the counter in front of him.

"Yes you do." She sighed. "There is a lot you have to say to him." John remained silent and Mary rolled her eyes. "He's your best friend...you need him."

Whirling around, John glared accusingly at her. "He didn't need me for the two years he was 'dead', he doesn't need me now and if he does then..." Sighing, defeat crept into his voice as he said, "Too much has happened."

"Give him a chance John, let him make it up to you." Mary shook her head sadly. "You'll regret it if you don't."

Staring at her, his eyes softened as he slowly nodded. "I'll...I'll go and see him after work tomorrow."

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"Why didn't you tell me?!" Glaring at the taller man, John tried to gain control over his anger.

"I couldn't." Sherlock stared helplessly at him.

"Two years, Sherlock! Twenty four long, painful months! Two years you were gone and I just had to carry on without you!" His voice was getting louder and Sherlock winced as John practically screeched the last sentence.

He could feel his own anger bubbling up inside him but did he best to hide it. "I was protecting you."

"Bullshit!" John shook his head and stepped closer to the younger man. "You could have given me a sign! You could have...should have...trusted me!"

Sherlock finally snapped. "I did trust you but I couldn't force you to keep my secrets! They were going to kill you! I wanted to give you the chance at having a normal life!"

"I didn't want normal!" John's breathing was erratic and he was fairly certain that if he didn't get it under control then he would start to hyperventilate but he was too angry to even care. "It wasn't your decision to make!"

"Yes it was! I refused to watch you die for me! It was always my decision!" His eyes narrowed as he stared down at the smaller man. "Besides, for someone that didn't want normal, you moved on pretty well." His voice was low and snide and he regretted the words as soon as he had said them.

Seeing red, John reached out and punched him hard in the face. His voice finally lowered to a snarl as he said, "You bastard. I had no choice but to 'move on'. You had died and didn't know what else to do."

"John, I..." Before he could continue, the smaller man interrupted him.

"Save it Sherlock, I'm not interested. The only reason I came here was because Mary told me to talk to you but I knew that it would be pointless." Shaking his head, he took a deep breath as he said, "We can't fix it this time. It's too late for apologies and I...I don't want to hear them."

"But John..."

"No!" Holding a hand up, he muttered, "Just no...not this time."

"I need you." Sherlock's voice sounded foreign to him, desperation creeping into the words.

"No you don't. You've already shown that you don't." Confusion flickered in Sherlock's eyes and John let out a humourless laugh. "Two years without me...two years without so much as a text proves that you don't need me." Heading for the door, he stopped and turned to face the detective. "That game is over Sherlock." Opening the door, he walked out of the flat and descended the stairs before leaving 221b for the last time.

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Present Day

Heading for the front door, John called out, "I'm off to work, see you later!"

Walking into the hall, Mary nodded and walked over to him. "Don't forget that we have a meeting with the Venue Manager at four o'clock."

"I won't. I'll finish early today." She nodded and he leant down to press a kiss to her lips. "I'll see you later."

"See you later." She watched as he left the house and sighed as her gaze rested on the wedding invites list which had been pinned to the notice board in the hallway. There was a name missing from it and she knew that John was more upset than he was willing to admit.

As John headed down the street, he tried to block out all thoughts of the wedding. It was starting to stress him out and he was sick of looking at sample invites and pictures of country houses. He was also sick of Mary pestering him to choose a best man when she knew that the only man who could ever live up to the title wasn't returning his phone calls. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath before exhaling and opening his eyes. Shaking his head free of past memories, he continued walking down the street and headed into the surgery to face the day ahead.

The day passed relatively slowly, as they often did lately, until John headed for the door at half past three. "Right, I'm off for the afternoon."

Alice, a new receptionist, looked up at him and smiled before saying, "Good luck with the venue people."

Rolling his eyes, he smiled back and mumbled, "Just between you and me, I'm starting to get sick of all this wedding planning stuff."

"I won't tell Mary you said that." She chuckled and looked back at her computer screen before frowning.

Picking up on the frown, he quietly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Leon hasn't picked up his Methadone prescription." Worry flickered across her face and John sighed. Leon had been doing so well getting clean lately and John hated the thought that the boy had had a relapse.

Looking at his watch, he allowed his conscience to make the decision. "I'll call on my way home, check he's okay." Alice smiled and nodded and John headed for the door.

He knew that Mary would kill him if he was late and promised himself that he would be quick but had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that the visit would take longer than planned. He hurried through the crowded streets and into the apartment block before climbing the stairs and knocking on the apartment door. Looking at his watch, he started to get nervous.

The door swung open and he came fact to face with Leon but gasped in shock when he saw the bloodstained shirt that the young man was wearing. "Leon, what happened?"

"It isn't mine. You have to help me Doctor Watson." The younger man pleaded and desperation clouded his eyes.

"What do you mean? Who's is it then?" He raised an eyebrow and waited.

"I was on my way to pick up my prescription and he stopped me in the street. He's been beaten up pretty bad...he's in a really bad way. I told him that I'd call an ambulance but he told me not to so I brought him back here to clean him up." He continued to ramble but ceased to make any sense.

"Okay, calm down. Let me in and I'll take a look at him." Leon moved out of the doorway and John walked into the small apartment, automatically heading for the bathroom. Pushing open the bathroom door, his heart nearly stopped and the whisper escaped before he could stop it. "No...Please God not him." Closing his eyes, John bit back sudden tears. Opening them again, he stared at the bloodied mess curled up on the floor and sighed. "Oh Sherlock...what did they do to you?"

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A/N: Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed it and want more then don't forget to press the review button.