I'm so sorry for how long it has taken me to update. I have no excuse for it, I've just been distracted by other things, but! Sherlock and John are back!

Police sirens wailed past John and Mary's flat. John, Sherlock and Mary all seemed to be awaiting police to barge into John and Mary's small flat at any moment and whisk Sherlock back to prison. Sherlock's eyes flickered from the door to the window as he explained. "I didn't kill Sharp" was the first thing Sherlock said once the three had sat around the dining table. It had taken an hour to get through the streets of London back to John and Mary's flat. To stay hidden Sherlock had taken every back road and alley he had learnt in his years of being a consulting detective "If I want to get through the streets of London unseen John, I will" he had said as John unlocked the front door, his hands shaking, eyes watching every small moment and shadow. He was almost convinced someone was following them, ready to jump out and catch Sherlock. "I didn't kill Sharp" had been an odd thing to start the explanation with. "Start with the most important Sherlock" John sighed. "This is the most important thing John" Sherlock hissed back "If you would let me finish". He tugged at his scarf and John noticed red markings lacing his neck. As he looked closer while Sherlock tugged his scarf off he noticed they were strangulation marks. John's stomach swooped and he turned away from Sherlock to glance at Mary. Her fingers ran circles over her cup of tea but her expression was unreadable. He didn't want to think about Sherlock's time in prison. It made him nervous, he wanted to ignore it but he couldn't the uneasy feeling and the swiftness at which Sherlock had uncovered them told John it had something to do with why he escaped prison. "Sharp is not dead"
"We got that the first time Sherlock"
"Shut up John" Sherlock snapped, John was taken aback by the sharp comment. He was used to the sly eye roll or the purposeful interruptions. John wanted to snap back but he remained silent. "Sharp is planning something, something in the prisons."
"How do you know this?" John asked. As John thought, it had something to do with the angry red marks. "They told me" Sherlock ran his hand over his throat and John felt a spark of rage for unknown people "Why you? You are the reason they are in there" Mary added. Sherlock glanced at her, his eyes narrowed and he lent back in his chair. "Because I was stuck in prison, just like the rest of them. There was nothing I could do about it."
"Couldn't you have just told a guard?" Mary replied still staring at her mug, she said this in an almost defeated tone. Sherlock shook his head
"They would have killed me, they tortured me with the information and I was okay with it but then they mentioned your name" Mary's finger's stopped circling her mug and she grasped it tightly.
"What I don't understand is how your name could be mentioned in a prison"
"Neither do I" John added to the conversation. He felt like he was losing grasp of the information as Sherlock and Mary talked. Sherlock glanced back out the window and the room feel silent. "What did they tell you?" Mary asked, she had become more anxious.
"I couldn't hold onto much because they were hard to understand and it's hard to focus on someone's voice when they have you by the throat against a wall, I'm unsure most of it was English anyway. They told me Sharp was planning something, and they would finally get what they had asked for. Sharp was apparently doing it for science and for underdogs everywhere. Then they mentioned your name, told me to watch out for you. Something is coming, payback"
"What was coming? Payback for what?" John asked, he had leaned forward in his chair and he grabbed for Mary's hand. Sherlock cleared his throat and looked down at his hands "I don't know, I blacked out"
"What?" John's voice wavered "I'm ringing Mycroft; he should have never let them put you in there. They all knew it was too dangerous!" John stood but Sherlock blocked his way.
"Don't you dare" he warned. John ran a hand over his forehead in frustration. He knew Mycroft wouldn't do anything. He would only get involved if Sherlock's life was in real danger. A sudden thought crossed John. "Does Mycroft know you pulled a Houdini?" Sherlock shook his head
"No, I haven't told him but he will know by now" so it was settled, John knew he wasn't going to get help from anyone. He couldn't go to the police and say his wife needed protecting because Sherlock had broken out of prison to tell him, and without a proper reason they would never put her in government security. Mycroft wouldn't be able to protect her. That could mean losing his job, he would rather die. John was stuck. He had expected Sherlock to tell him why they wanted Mary and how to protect her. "Next time you break out of prison to tell me my fiance is in danger you better bloody have a good plan" he said taking a seat. Sherlock glanced out the window. "I'm rather hoping there won't be a next time" Sherlock replied.

"I'm going to bed, it's late" Mary said. No she wasn't, not without him. John wasn't letting her out of his sight. He was the only one who could protect her but John knew the three wouldn't solve anything by sitting around talking in circles at ten o'clock at night. "So am I, Sherlock you can take the sofa tonight" John explained but Sherlock shook his head "Yes you are" John demanded, he wanted to be in control for once. This was his fiance, this was his house. This wasn't Sherlock and John, the crime fighting duo, faced with another case. John had come to realize that a long time ago. This was John protecting those he loved. This time he was going to take control and Sherlock would have to deal with it. "I am not leading them here John, no way" he wrapped his scarf around his neck, hiding the red marks like they didn't exist.
"Sherlock you can't go out there, they will find you"
"They will likely find me here as well and I'm not allowing you or Mary to be hurt or thrown in prison, it would make prison less boring but that's not the point." He headed for the door but John grabbed his elbow. Sherlock flinched and threw is hand off. John took a step back, he knew he was right. Lestrade knew this would be the second place Sherlock would go, only second to Baker street. "Be careful" John added
"Always do John" Sherlock replied.
"No I'm serious Sherlock"
"You were serious when you first stated it, stating that you are still serious about this is not going to make me listen anymore" Sherlock said smiling. John sighed and threw Sherlock his coat. The door slammed shut behind him and John naturally began waiting for his phone to light up with news he had already been caught. John pulled back the curtain and watched Sherlock make his way across the road. Was the car going to stop and notice him? Was the man walking his dog going to tackle him and lock him up? Sherlock disappeared into the blackness of the night as he pulled his coat collar up.

John finally let the curtain fall and allowed his mind to wander. It was a luxury these days because his mind was stuffed with other things to worry about. "You can't keep worrying about him, remember what he did to you that day at the station" Mary said, she stood in the doorway not wanting to go to bed without John. John shook his head
"He was different that day; he was grieving and he was genuinely scared"
"You said he's been different since he, I don't know, returned from the dead"
"There's doubt there now, there was never doubt before. He used to have everything solved, everything planned, now he seems to be turning to me for answers more and more and I wish I had them" Mary wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his shoulder.
"You may not have all the answers but I think you both realize that's not the way your friendship works. Sherlock's smart he has his own answers" It irked John slightly that Mary still didn't seem to understand that this change in Sherlock wasn't just in his head. He knew it wasn't her fault for not knowing Sherlock until six months ago but he just wanted someone to confirm for him that he was not crazy. That Sherlock was starting to run out of answers. He pictured Sherlock unable to speak, his words cutting out before he could talk because he had run out of answers and run out of words. He shook his head to get rid of the image and took Mary's hand. He guided her through the hallway and into the bedroom. "Whatever happens, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. They will not hurt you Mary. I promise" He searched her eyes for her thoughts, wondering if he could see exactly what she was thinking skating across her eyes. Mary smiled at her shoes. "What do we do now John?" She looked up at him; her eyes had begun to water. "You are used to this, you and Sherlock"
"No this is different. This is personal. This is connected to Sherlock's past, he is his own client." John pulled her close and clung to her. She was so familiar to him he could put her back together like a jigsaw puzzle if she fell apart. "I don't know what to do but give me a night to think on it." Mary nodded against his chest. His arms tightened around her like they were preparing for a fight if someone took her from him. "What will Sherlock do?" she mumbled "He can't go back to prison they will kill him as soon as he walks in the holding cell, the guards won't stop them, they couldn't care less about someone who has escaped from them"
"I know, I have no idea where he will go and I don't care as long as I don't get a phone call or text from Lestrade or Mycroft telling me he was stupid enough to get caught" John threw the covers off the bed and slipped into his pajamas. Mary slid in next to him and they clung to each other. Neither talked. They both stared up at the ceiling like it held the answers. John hadn't lied, Sherlock could be hiding in a gutter for all he cared, he knew he would stay safe. He had to think of Mary, it was refreshing to worry about someone new, it still felt the same. The massive hole of the unknown in his mind and he knew the fear that would follow if that unknown became dangerous. A different name would be played in his head over and over again. One he could say a million times and still love the sound. He kissed her on the forehead.
"Goodnight Mary" he whispered.