Selfishness- Devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others. Characterized by or manifesting concern or care only for oneself: selfish motives.

Mycroft Holmes is a selfish man; everyone knows that. Even he himself knows, and he is not bothered by it in the slightest. Selfishness, in the mind of Mycroft Holmes, is a very good thing. It's the thing that keeps everything going. It's the thing that allows him to separate from the "sentiment" of other people, the "sentiment" that holds everyone else back. So, yes, Mycroft Holmes is a selfish man, but he is also a brilliant one; and in his mind the two go hand in hand.

However, there was a time when Mycroft Homes thought differently; a time when selfishness had no place in his mind, or in his heart. There was a time when he allowed "sentiment" to get the best of him, and he let someone in. Her name was Anne, in case you were wondering. Yes, Mycroft loved Anne, even though he would never admit it; he did. He loved her more than himself, more than anything in the world; and rightfully so, for Anne was his wife. Anne was the one thing he let into his heart, well, until Clare was born.

He would do anything for his wife and child; he loved them more than he could say. They were a part of him. Though, as wonderful as that sounds, there are always risks involved when things become too important.

So, on May 9th 1997, Anne was taken away by a man with a grudge and an A-K 47.

And where she went, she took Mycroft's heart also.

"There are those hearts, dear reader, that never truly mend once they have been broken; and if they do mend, they mend the crooked backwards way, as if they were sewn together by a careless craftsman." I read that in a children's book once and it never struck me how true it was until know.

So, Mycroft's heart did mend, but in the crooked backwards way. He chose to ignore the gaping hole in his heart, and become the selfish man he is today. For, in his mind, if all you have is yourself then you can't get hurt when the others leave. And they always leave.

In the midst of his despair, Mycroft sent his daughter away hoping that she would be safe from the dangers her mother fell victim to, and hoping that he was safe from getting attached to yet another person, and facing the possibility of losing them.

Fifteen years passed and Mycroft was a cold as ever. Nothing could penetrate the wall he had put around his, crooked, backwards heart. Or so he thought until this letter came.

Dear Mr. Holmes,

We regret to inform you that the guardian of your child has passed away. In light of the circumstances, and according to the agreement that you have signed, your child will now reside with you. Please contact our Agency to organize a meeting, and set the terms in place.

Sincerely,

David Rodgers.

It was then, when Mycroft Holmes began to feel the ice thaw and the walls crack as a piece of his broken heart found its way back. And that, dear reader scared him more than he could say.

-Hello! I want to thank you for reading this story! I really hope that you enjoyed this chapter! If you have comments feel free to review. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, as long as you're nice about it! Thanks for reading, and have a nice day!

Ps. the quote for the child's story is from The Tail of Desperaux-