Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update. But here it is. This chapter is completely different in a sense, let me know what you think of the change? I'm a bit iffy about this one. If it turns out horribly, I would like it noted that I was majorly sleep deprived and half asleep when I wrote it :)

Thanks:

Gwilwillith: I hope you enjoy it :)

JumperGuy: I felt the same, which is why I decided to rewrite it. I hope I manage to make this one better.

As always, every review is appreciated and inspires me. I love to hear what you guys think and feel, it helps me to improve as a writer.

*Flash forward three years*

Sherlock had developed quite the passion for science from the beginning. Addia, on the other hand, struggled with the subject in school until Sherlock had found a way to keep her interested. His mother had given him a chemistry set for his birthday and he performed small experiments whenever Addia came over. Addia would ask him what he was doing and he'd explain and let her help him. Eventually, her interest grew to the point where she'd suggest experiments like light refraction and changing the color of flowers.

Today, they were doing an experiment involving absorption and color distribution. The idea was to draw several dots in different colors with markers along the edge of blotting paper and then hang the paper so it was barely touching the water in a glass. The water would move up the paper and spread the colors and they would be able to see what colors each marker was made of.

Addia had been acting odd all day at school, which she was late for. Avoiding Sherlock's eyes, not wanting to be touched, crying at random moments and refusing to take her coat off even though it was extremely hot outside. Sherlock had decided to be patient and wait for her to tell him what was wrong, but his worry spiked as she winced when she tried to put up the paper.

"Addia, what's wrong?" He asked, eyebrows coming together in confusion.

"Nothing!" She responded a little too quickly and wrapped her arms around herself.

"You don't need to hide," Sherlock crossed the few feet separating them and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not hiding, Sherly," Addia turned and pressed her face into his shoulder.

He hugged her and frowned when he felt her cringe away from him. "How did you get hurt?"

"I… Fell down some stairs," she whispered hesitantly.

Neither of them noticed Mycroft, who had walked in to check on them, until he spoke, "Did your aunt tell you to say that?"

Addia's head jerked up in surprise. "No."

"You don't have to be frightened," Mycroft said gently, not wanting to scare her more.

"I'm not," she said determinedly, even as her body contradicted her. Her pupils were dilated, she was visibly shaking, and she was breathing a little too quickly.

"Addiana, we want to help you, but we can't help you if you won't tell us the problem."

"I'm fine."

Sherlock wrapped his arms around her as tenderly as he could, relieved when she let him this time. "Are you really going to try lying to me, Addia?"

Addia grimaced at that, she didn't like lying to him, but she also couldn't stand the thought of him hurt because of her. She could still hear James' words echoing in her mind, 'Tell your little friend and I will do worse to him. I will find him. She shuddered and whispered almost inaudibly, "I can't tell you."

Sherlock sighed and slid a hand under her coat and began rubbing small circles into her back like he had seen his dad do to his mum when she was distressed. As she began to relax into his arms, he stealthily brought his other hand to the zipper of her coat and before she knew what was happening, he had unzipped her coat and pulled it off her arms. Her eyes widened as she desperately tried to hide herself from the brothers, but it was no good.

Sherlock and Mycroft stared at her gob smacked. The only bit of clothing she had to cover her torso was a ripped training bra and that barely allowed her any dignity at all, being torn with what looked like a knife or possibly scissors. Her exposed skin was covered in bruises, scratches, and what appeared to be bite marks, there was barely any flesh that wasn't marked. Addia buried her face in her hands and let out a choked sob.

Mycroft was the first to snap out of his shock, "Sherlock, go get a shirt for her."

Sherlock seemed to mentally shake himself and rushed up the stairs to his bedroom, immediately grabbing the first clean shirt he saw and running back down to his friend. When he got to her, he realized she might have a bit of difficulty pulling a shirt over her head and looked at the shirt, noticing with relief that it was a button up. He walked behind her and carefully helped her get her arms in the sleeves before coming around to her front and buttoning it up for her, noting how skinny she was. He had thought he was thin, but his shirt hung off her a few sizes too big.

The second he finished with the buttons, Addia hugged him and cried into his neck. He looked to Mycroft, pleading him to help her with his eyes. Mycroft frowned at his younger brother, there was only so much he could do. Walking out of the room silently, he wandered into his father's study and picked up the phone, dialing his mum's number.

"What sort of trouble have Sherlock and Addiana gotten into this time?" Mae asked right away, wary amusement coloring her voice. She was used to phone calls explaining that her son and his friend had made some sort of mess or explosion.

"Actually, this time neither of them did anything wrong," Mycroft answered.

"Then what is wrong?" Worry started to lace her tone.

"It's Addiana… She was abused quite savagely. She didn't even have a shirt on under her coat and she is covered in wounds and bruises." Mycroft said quietly.

There was a pause on the other end of the phone before Mae asked quickly, "Who did it to her?"

"I thought it was her aunt, but the sexual nature of the matter leads me to believe it was her older brother."

"Sexual nature?" Mae questioned.

"There are bite marks everywhere and the training bra she was wearing was ripped to shreds." Mycroft heard the disgust in his own voice.

"Why didn't her aunt stop it?"

"Probably because she was drunk. Addiana said that she is always drinking."

"So not only was she abused, but her aunt was too drunk to even notice? Jesus, it's no wonder she spends so much time with Sherlock and not with her family."

"What should we do about it, though? If we report it, she'll be put into foster care and that would likely tear Sherlock and Addiana apart, we both know neither one of them would be able to cope with that. If we leave her there, there is a high probability that her brother would continue to abuse her." Mycroft sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You're right." There was another pause at Mae's end as she contemplated what to do. Finally, she spoke, "Make sure Addia doesn't go home tonight. I'm going to talk this over with your father and then we'll have a family meeting tonight, including Addia."

"Yes, Mummy."

"I have to get back to work now, I'll see you tonight."

Mycroft said goodbye before hanging up the phone. He went back to the room that had been designated Sherlock's experiment room to keep the mess somewhat contained. If someone had told him four years ago that someday he would walk in to see his thirteen year old brother comforting a crying girl, he would have scoffed and disagreed wholeheartedly. However, something changed in him the last three years, he was more considerate and would talk and laugh. He was still socially awkward and hated mingling with people outside his family and Addia, but he could do it in somewhat good graces now. So now, as Mycroft walked into the room, he wasn't surprised to see Sherlock sitting cross legged on the floor with Addia in his lap. She was just starting to control her tears as Sherlock stroked her hair, another thing that he had seen his father do. He glanced up at his brother as he entered the room and gave him a questioning look.

"Mummy says Addia is to stay here tonight and we'll decide on further actions tonight during a family meeting."

Sherlock nodded and went back to comforting Addia as much as he knew how. He had only ever seen her break down once before when they first met, but this was something new entirely. She wasn't crying for a loss this time, she was crying for complete betrayal and hurt caused by her only family and someone she was supposed to be able to look up to and trust.

"I'm sorry," she managed to choke out.

"Why would you even feel the need to be sorry?" Sherlock asked with a hint of anger. She had no reason to apologize. This wasn't her fault.

"He told me not to tell you.. He said he'd hurt you if you found out," Addia looked up at him, fear showing on her face now.

Well, that explained why she hadn't wanted to tell us, Mycroft thought, aloud he said, "Addiana, I promise you, Sherlock won't be hurt because of this."

"How can you be sure?" Addia asked through her tears.

"I won't let him be hurt," Mycroft stated simply, "Now, it's nearly time for supper. I suggest you go wash yourself up as best as you can."

Addia reluctantly disentangled herself from Sherlock and made her way to the nearest loo. She slowly washed up, trying not irritate her damaged skin. As she looked herself in the mirror, she grimaced and scrubbed her face again, trying to get rid of the blotchiness and puffy eyes. She wanted to look somewhat presentable for the Holmes'. Sighing, she gave it up as a lost cause and wondered to herself if she would ever be able to forgive James. No, she decided resolutely, I can't forgive him… In fact, I want to hurt him for hurting me and threatening to hurt Sherly.

She tentatively walked to the dining room and sat down next to Sherlock. He peeked over at her, taking in her once again shaking body and placed a hand on her shoulder, surprised when she seemed to calm at once.

They ate supper in silence, well Mycroft ate. Addia and Sherlock mostly pushed their food around on their plates. Mycroft looked at them disapproving at this, but didn't make any comments.

Afterward, they all went into the main sitting room and Mycroft decided to introduce the two of them to Doctor Who and popped in the eighth Doctor's movie. It worked to distract them and even cheered Addia up a bit. She leaned against Sherlock throughout the movie and even giggled at some parts. Halfway into the movie, Alexander and Mae Holmes came home, both looking slightly grim, but resolved.

They let the children finish their movie and observed them out of the corners of their eyes. It was clear how close the two were. Sherlock, who had never liked physical contact, looked comfortable as Addia rested her head on his shoulder and had even taken to stroking her hair again. She on the other hand, seemed to draw strength from him and would smile up at him every now and then.

When the credits started rolling, Mae turned off the telly and turned to face her family and Addia. She could remember when she first met Addia, she had been so shy and yet at the same time excited. She had hid behind Sherlock at first and only answered with a nod or shake of her head, but eventually grown comfortable enough to start talking about her own mum and dad. She was mature for a girl her age and would quote her mum a lot. Both Mae and Alexander found her endearing at first and had eventually come to think of her as the daughter they never had. Seeing her now, in one of Sherlock's shirts which didn't cover all the bruises, made Mae's heart break slightly and Alexander felt a rush of protectiveness.

"I'm sure Mycroft informed you that we're having a family meeting tonight, regarding Addiana's well being and situation." Mae sat down next to Addia and placed a light hand on the twelve year old's shoulder.

"Addia, do you feel safe enough to return to your aunt's home?" Alexander asked.

Addia looked at each member of the family and slowly shook her head.

"And you don't want to go into foster care, do you?" Mae asked softly.

She shook her head frantically, her eyes terrified.

"Well, that's where we would find ourselves in a predicament. No one here likes either of those options." Mae reached out to stroke her cheek with her thumb.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Sherlock looked between his parents, puzzled.

"Well, your father and I have discussed this earlier and we see no reason why Addia shouldn't be welcomed into our family." She smiled at her, watching the adolescent's mouth open and close in surprise.

"We could adopt you in a sense, no legal documents or anything, but we will raise you and take care of you like a proper family," Alexander added.

"But what if my brother finds me? Then you could all be hurt…" Addia looked down at the floor.

"We'll be moving tomorrow to our summer home in West Yorkshire, I doubt a teenage boy would be able to follow us there. We want you as far away from him as possible. In addition you and Sherlock will be home schooled." Alexander answered easily.

"That's a lot of trouble to put you through just for me," Addia shook her head.

"Addiana, we already consider you family, family protects and helps each other," Mae said softly.

"Please, Addia, stay," Sherlock murmured softly.

She turned to look at him, he was staring at her, face void of any emotion, except his eyes which were pleading with her to say yes. Hesitantly, she nodded.

"Excellent," Mae looked relieved as she hugged Addia.

"Mycroft, Sherlock, you both need to pack tonight. We'll be leaving first thing in the morning. Addia do you have any clothes or anything important at your aunt's?" Alexander looked her curiously.

Addia shook her head, touching a locket that held a picture of her mum, dad, and James, and murmured, "Clothes… My brother destroyed them all… Important… I have everything I need right here. Thank you."

"We'll take care of you," Alexander smiled at her.

"Speaking of taking care of you, Addia will you accompany me into the loo? I would like to have a proper look at your, ah, injuries." Mae stood and held out her hand to the newest addition to her family. Addia took the offered hand and stood up, following Mae into the loo.

"Now, I'm going to need you to take your shirt off so I can have a look," Mae said gently and got out their first aid kit.

Addia unbuttoned the shirt and slid it off her shoulders. Mae took in the numerous wounds and felt sick, but cleaned and dressed the wounds to the best of her capabilities. As she finished, she wrapped the young girl into her arms and whispered, "Thank you for joining our family."

Addia hugged her back and returned, "Thank you, for saving me.. I'm so grateful."

"Don't worry about it, but it is late, you should get some rest."

Addia nodded and peeked into the living room to see if Sherlock was there on her way upstairs, noting his absence. She climbed the stairs and went to Sherlock's room, and glanced through the door. Sherlock was on his bed, sitting against the headboard, everything he wanted to bring was in a duffel bag. Addia went in and sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder again. They didn't say anything and before she knew it she was being pulled into a dreamless sleep.

She awoke the next morning, to the feeling of cool air being blown into her face. Groggily, she opened her eyes and saw Sherlock sleeping, his face rather close to hers. She threw a glance at the clock and sighed knowing they had to get up. She shook him and tried calling out his name, but he wouldn't wake up. Suddenly, she got an idea and closed the distance between their faces. She grinned evilly and darted her tongue out, licking him right across his mouth.

Sherlock jerked awake and turned to his friend, "That wasn't very mature."

Addia shrugged, "You wouldn't wake up, clearly, licking you is effective."

He rolled his eyes, but offered her a grin, "Wait until I get revenge."