Hey everyone! I hope you've enjoyed Lyssa as much as I have. I haven't decided if I want to keep this one going, let me know what you think, please be constructive!
Lyssa fell into a routine after that. Her days were spent looking after John, Sherlock and Rosie, she joked to Mrs Hudson she had three charges not one but she was coming to love them all. Sherlock spent hours quizzing her on her background but she was ordinary, he'd had Mycroft run her background of course but there was nothing unusual. She came from a small family, who lived in a small town in the northern United States. She was a good student but never attended college, she was intelligent but nothing extraordinary, all around she was ordinary and according to Mycroft boring. Sherlock ignored his brother on that point. Lyssa had an ordinary background but she wasn't boring, no more so than John as boring. She had a quick wit, asked intelligent questions and actually seemed to learn from the answers and she seemed to accept Sherlock and his peculiarities. Most importantly to John's mind however was her devotion to Rosie, she did her absolute best for the girl and both men had been gratified at her suggestions for Rosies development. She was creative in the games she played with the child and genuinely loved doting on the girl.
If she had a fault Sherlock surmised it was that she was so ordinary. She had few bad habits, the most distressing of which was her tendency to come home with new tattoos on a fairly regular basis, and dyed her hair an array of strange colors, never anything inappropriate but John wondered what people must think of their tattooed, rainbow haired Nanny. She occasionally smoked but only outdoors after Rosie was in bed and usually only when she was scared for Sherlock or John on a particularly bad case. And she swore when she got angry, it wasn't often but she had sworn a blue streak at Sherlock when he started firing a gun in the house while Rosie was still in her room. John had nearly pissed himself laughing at the sight of Lyssa, a good six inches shorter than Sherlock with peacock blue hair on tip toes swearing as she lectured him on the dangers of unprotected hearing and gunshots. Sherlock had grudgingly promised to warn her ahead of time if he was going to discharge a firearm indoors and had bought everyone protective ear guards.
John was just glad that there was another person in all the world who could handle Sherlock at his most deranged. He'd worried that she'd bolt the first time after she moved in and woke to find Sherlock dissecting a cat on the table in his kitchen. She'd paled a little but had simply turned and picked Rosie up taking her for a walk in the park until she was sure he was done.
They were always careful to keep her and Rosie away from the cases they worked, to keep the bad guys away from Rosie and Lyssa but inevitably the bad guys found them. About six months in Sherlock received a phone call that shook him to the core. He and John were out on a case following a lead when Johns phone rang. They were staking out a drug den waiting for the suspect to leave so they could follow him back to his headquarters when the call came in "Yeah Lestrade what's up?"
Sherlock kept watching the building while John turned to take the call but he heard Lestrade through the speaker. "Lyssa is in the Hospital."
Sherlocks head whipped around his eyes going wide. "Is she alright? Where's Rosie?" John croaked.
"She's with Molly. Lyssa is pretty hurt." Lestrade sounded worried and Sherlock broke cover and turned away from the drug den headed towards the main street already trying to hail a cab. John hurried to catch up with him. "What happened?" He asked Lestrade.
"She had Rosie at the playground, witnesses say she was approached by a couple of thugs who started asking her questions. She refused to answer and tried to eave. They tried to take Rosie from her and according to an eye witness she went ballistic. The thugs took her down and took it in turns to kick the shit out of her but a good samaritan rushed in and ran them off, she wouldn't let go of Rosie though until Molly came up to take her."
They were in a cab and Sherlock gave the driver an extra fifty quid to ignore traffic laws. When they got to St Barts they ran through the halls until they found the ward Lyssa was being treated in. They could hear Rosie crying inconsolably and Molly trying her best to calm her, when they rounded the bend John already had his arms out and Rosie all but jumped into his arms from Molly's. Molly looked relieved and scared. "She… She's not good." She said and hugged herself.
Sherlock carefully wrapped an arm around her and gave her a small squeeze before he turned to the hospital room door and walked in. Lestrade was sitting in a chair by the bed pen and pad in hand but ignored. Lyssa lay in the bed a mass of bruises. Sherlock's mind catalogued every single cut, bruise and scrape as he moved closer. One eye was swollen shut, her lips were bruised and split and she was hooked up to IV's, monitors and there were even brain scans showing on one of the screens. Sherlock felt a little sick as he heard John discussing her injuries with the Doctor in charge.
Lestrade stood up and gave Sherlock a sympathetic look. "I have some new intel on her attackers. They belong to a drug ring you took down a few months ago."
"Sherlock gave him a sharp look. "I thought they all got swept up."
Lestrade sighed. "The lower level thugs all got swept up and carted off to jail, the higher ups made bail and skipped town."
Sherlock growled and started pacing suppressing the urge to hit something. "What exactly is the point of my finding these useless wastes of oxygen if they are allowed to roam free and physically abuse my God Daughters Nanny?!" He yelled.
John opened the door and walked in with said God Daughter who had her head laid on her father's shoulder thumb in her mouth. Sherlock felt a tremor run through him, Lyssa had almost gotten her free of that habit but she still sucked her thumb when she was extremely upset. "Sherlock…"
"No John this is unacceptable. Look what they have done to her." He pointed at Lyssa who looked tiny and fragile in the hospital bed.
"I see her and we will find them but you're scaring Rosie and she needs you right now." John said soothingly.
Rosie obliged by sitting up and reaching for Sherlock who took her and gently tugged her thumb from her mouth. "Now Rosie Ms Lyssa doesn't like when you do that." He said gently.
She whimpered but left her thumb out of her mouth and cuddled against him while he rubbed her back. John walked over and gently touched Lyssas hand. "The Doctor says she's in a medically induced coma, there's swelling in her brain from the beating."
Sherlock forced himself to remain relaxed knowing if he got tense it would transfer to Rosie. "Where are they Lestrade?" He asked.
"We aren't sure." Lestrade admitted.
Sherlock took several deep breaths to stay calm but Rosie sensed his anger and started whimpering. John came over and took her back, he was furious as well of course but at the moment he had detached himself from the anger and emotion, the way he did when he was working in the clinic. "Sherlock, go. Go find them, I'll stay here with our girls."
Sherlock nodded and turned on his heel, Lestrade hurried after him and John sat down in the chair beside Lyssa's bed.
When Sherlock returned he had a black eye and split knuckles but he was grinning fiercely as he stalked over to Lyssa's bed and leaned in to whisper something in her ear. John winced a little remembering what he'd done to the CIA agent who'd hurt Mrs. Hudson.
It took Lyssa three weeks to recover enough to come home and another week before she was in any kind of shape to look after Rosie. Rosie for her part woke frequently with night terrors that left Sherlock and John exhausted and concerned until Lyssa started taking the girl to bed with her. "It's not a long term thing." She explained when Sherlock raised concerns about the arrangement. "She saw me get the shit beat out of me. She's scared and doesn't have the experience to deal with the fear." Sherlock had to concede the point and John got Rosie into therapy that week.
