"Always in pairs, John."

My head fell forward out of my hand and I jolted awake, blinking wearily.

"My name's not John…" I muttered with a yawn. "John's still sleeping."

"Numbers come with partners." Sherlock continued, probably not even hearing me. "Why did he paint it so near the tracks?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" I grumbled, resting my chin in my palm once more.

"Dozens of people pass by there every day."

"Mm." I moaned, standing up and stretching. "I better go wake up John."

"Of course…" Sherlock muttered, not answering me, but realizing something. "Of course! He wants information. He's trying to communicate with his people in the underworld. Whatever was stolen, he wants it back." He pointed to the photograph in front of him as I just peeked at him dully from around the corner. "It's somewhere here in the code."

"Too bad you're not paying attention, or else you'd be listening when I told you it was a book code."

"We can't crack this without Soo Lin Yao." Sherlock said, pulling a few photographs off the wall, before turning to me. "What are you doing? Go wake up John."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

I wandered over to John's door and knocked, but upon receiving no answer reached for the door knob and opened the door with a sigh, scratching the back of my head as I closed my eyes.

"John, Sherlock wants us to go find Soo Lin Yao. So you need to get u—"

A quiet snore interrupted what I was going to say and I looked up to see John lying on his stomach, an arm hanging off the side of the bed completely passed out. He looks comfy… I mused. I almost don't want to wake him…

"Sam! Time is of the essence!" A shout wailed from downstairs and I groaned, before moving over to John and shaking his shoulder.

"John, you really need to get up."

He groaned and rolled over. "Twenty more minutes."

"I don't think Sherlock is going to like that." I said, shaking him again. "John, we have to go find Soo Lin Yao. Sherlock says it's important to figuring out the code."

"Ugh…Then make him go find her." He complained.

"I'd love to, but—"

"Sam!"

I cringed at Sherlock's shout and shook John some more. "But it seems he's very adamant about us going…now."

"Alright, alright. I'm going." John finally said, giving in and getting up with a yawn. "I'll meet up with you guys downstairs."

I nodded and made sure to put on my jacket before heading down the stairs where Sherlock was waiting.

"Finally. Where's John?"

"Coming." I yawned, covering my mouth as Sherlock stared down at me with raised brows.

"Why weren't you sleeping?"

I gave him a disbelieving look. "I was helping you translate those numbers last night and then you were talking about the case. Was I supposed to be sleeping?"

He blinked down at me before looking back at the front door impatiently. "No."

I scoffed out of my nose, wishing I had time for a smoke, before John hurried down the stairs and pulled on his coat.

"Sorry about that!"

Sherlock let out a 'humph' and opened the door with a roll of his eyes, heading out and easily calling a cab back to the National Antiquities Museum. And if I'm lucky, Bobby won't be there this time. I yawned again as we finally pulled to a stop and got out of the cab, earning a look from John.

"Did you get any sleep?"

I shook my head. "No, but I'll be alright. I had some of Sherlock's black coffee for…uh, what was it?"

John chuckled. "I, uh, think it was lunch."

"Yeah, that." I muttered, waving my hand lazily as we approached Andy.

"Two men traveled back from China were murdered and their killer left them messages in the Hangzhou numerals." Sherlock said, rather frustrated.

"Soo Lin Yao's in danger. Now, that cipher…It was the same pattern as the others. He means to kill her as well."

Andy looked back at us fearfully. "Look, I've tried everywhere. Um, friends, colleagues. I-I don't know where she's gone. I mean, she could be a thousand miles away."

While they were doing that, I was over by the teapots and called Sherlock over, pointing at one of them.

"Hey, Sherlock. Wasn't there only one of these shining yesterday?"

They all glanced my way and headed over as Sherlock began to smirk.

"Tell me more about those teapots."

"T-The pots were her obsession." Andy replied, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Um, they need urgent work. I-If they dry out, then the clay can start to crumble. Apparently, you have to just keep making tea in them."

"She's been here then." Sherlock said, bending to look at the pots a bit closer. "Which means she's been hiding nearby. Good catch, Sam."

"R-Right." I said quietly, feeling a bit bad about taking credit for the discovery.

It's not like I actually worked hard to find it. Sherlock would've found it and I probably would've missed it if I didn't know about it before hand…I sighed and wandered off a bit as Sherlock and John spoke more to Andy. Some of the museum pieces were pretty interesting. The skulls, for one thing, were in amazing condition and I could figure out a few things about them, though the facts probably weren't very accurate. After a while though, I pulled my headphones on—the noise of other people starting to bother me—and began thinking about what I was going to do about Soo Lin Yao. I suppose I could try to save her. I don't know if I'd be much of a match for her brother, but…nobody wants to die. She probably doesn't either and, as scared as I am about fighting him, I don't…I don't want someone to die in front of me if I can do something to try and stop it. I stared back at the painting in front of me, of a couple of boxers fighting it out in a ring.

"George Bellows, A Stag at Sharkey's." I read off the plate below it, looking back up at it before sighing and heading back to where Sherlock and John were probably waiting, a majority of the crowd having headed off due to the announcement of the museum closing that I barely heard over the music in my headphones.

"Sam! Don't wander off!" John scolded when I returned, removing my headphones as the guards walked by to lock the place up.

I frowned. "I'm not five, John."

He sighed. "Yeah, well…with a killer out, you never know what could happen. I'm just worried, is all."

I felt bad about getting angry and nodded, stuffing my hands into my pockets and glancing over at Sherlock.

"Does he have a plan or something?"

John saw who I was looking at and nodded. "Seems like it, though it sounds like we're just going to sit around and wait for her to come to us."

"It's as good a plan as any." I said with a shrug. "She cares about the pots, so she'll probably come."

"Yeah, let's hope so."

My stomach growled then and John smiled a bit. "Hungry?"

"Just a bit." I said, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment. "Lunch wasn't anything more the coffee…"

John raised a brow, before shaking his head. "I won't ask."

I nodded just as Sherlock headed over with a big grin on his face.

"Places. The lights are going out."

I groaned, but moved over beside Sherlock and John as most of the museum lights were turned off. It took a while and I was starting to get sleepy, but eventually we heard the creaking of metal of a grate nearby and a thin woman moved over to the teapots and removed one; beginning the process of making tea in the pots at a table. Sherlock moved beside me and I just watched as he frightened her.

"Fancy a biscuit with tha—"

He was forced to cut himself off as Soo Lin Yao gasped in fright and dropped the teapot in her hand, him catching it.

"Centuries old." Sherlock said, just loud enough for me to hear. "Don't want to break that."

As he stood upright and passed the teapot back to her, John and I stood and headed over as well, sitting in a couple of chairs.

"Hello." He said, making me roll my eyes as Soo Lin Yao spoke.

"You saw the cipher. Then you know he is coming for me."

She gave me a curious look, but I just fidgeted nervously and looked around the darkened room.

"You've been clever to avoid him so far." Sherlock replied.

"I had to finish…to finish this work…It's only a matter of time. I know he will find me."

"Who is he?" Sherlock asked. "Have you met him before?"

Soo Lin Yao nodded. "When I was a girl, living back in China…I recognize his… signature."

"The cipher."

She paused, obviously troubled by what she was telling us. "Only he would do this. Zhi Zhu."

"Zhi Zhu?"

"It, uh…means 'spider' in Chinese." I said, catching their attention as Soo Lin Yao nodded and began taking off her shoe to reveal to us the lotus tattoo on her heel.

"You know this mark?"

"Yes." Sherlock said, before he could continue though, I spoke.

"It's a black lotus flower. Like the origami we found with the victims."

Sherlock glared at me for interrupting, and I frowned, bowing my head and staying quiet.

"It's the mark of a Tong."

"Hm?" John questioned.

"Ancient crime syndicate based in China."

John nodded in understanding and as Soo Lin Yao began speaking, I kind of zoned out, checking for changes in the surrounding lighting for an indication of Zhi Zhu. It wasn't so much that I didn't care about what Soo Lin Yao was saying, but I had heard it so many times, I could practically recite it back to her; proving just how many times I'd re-watched Sherlock in my spare time. It was then that I noticed a shadow move quickly over by where the main light switches were and I decided to alert Sherlock.

"Um, Sherlock?"

"Not now, Sam."

Just then, the lights went out and I crossed my arms over my chest with a frown, though I doubted he could even see me.

"I was going to tell you I saw a shadow move by the main light switch."

I could practically feel him glaring at me and I childishly stuck out my tongue as Soo Lin Yao panicked.

"He's here. Zhi Zhu. He has found me."

Sherlock suddenly took off towards where I said I saw the shadow and John immediately began complaining.

"Oh no…Sherlock. Sherlock! Wait!"

Seeing that he wasn't returning, he grabbed Soo Lin Yao and I and began pulling us along.

"Come here. Get in. Get in!"

We were soon seated on the floor over by a desk as gun shots went off. John looked over to where they were coming from and I fidgeted as the adrenaline started to pump quickly through my veins. Come on, Sam. Keep it cool. Don't get too strung up or you'll end up getting hurt later. John turned to the two of us then, speaking quietly.

"I have to go and help. Sam, bolt the door after me and keep an eye on her."

I nodded, mentally glad that he was finally talking to me like an adult, and watched as he hurried off towards the gunshots, leaving Soo Lin Yao and I alone. The gunshots continued and I swallowed thickly, knowing that Zhi Zhu would be here soon, and Soo Lin Yao seemed to sense this as well.

"You."

I glanced at her, not sure what she would possibly say in a moment like this. "Y-Yeah?"

"You should go help them. They're your friends, correct?"

I nodded, but felt confidence swell in my chest for a moment as my shaking decided to subside for a moment. "I would, but I can't leave you."

She shook her head. "I am fine. They are the ones in danger now."

I turned to her with a frown, already frustrated with the woman and how quickly she was accepting her fate.

"No. You're the one in danger and why you're accepting your death so soon is beyond me."

She looked at me sorrowfully. "I have no chance against my brother. If he does not kill me now, then he will do so at a later time."

"And you're just going to accept that?!" I hissed out in a loud whisper, unable to control my emotions any longer. "Nobody wants to die! And you may be willing to convince yourself that you are, but the fact is that no one ever wants to die. You hiding yourself for this long is proof! And don't say that just because he is your brother you can't fight him, because that's what siblings do. They fight each other! And if he's coming to kill you, then what kind of brother is he?! Stop accepting things the way they are and do something about it!" I half-shouted, turning away from her while trying to keep from knocking some sense into her.

"You…You're right." She whispered, making me turn to her as quiet tears fell from her face and hit the ground softly. "I-I don't want to die, but there's nothing I can do—"

I quickly grabbed the front of her shirt angrily, very near yelling in her face. "There is something you can do! You can do this! You can hide like you have been! Live! I'll make sure your brother is taken care of! And if I can't, then Sherlock will! But you can't just give up like this!"

She slowly nodded and I calmed myself down, releasing her shirt, when I suddenly realized something. The gunshots…they've stopped. Soo Lin Yao went to move, but I held a hand out, telling her to stay there. I shifted, hearing some papers fluttering about on the desk and had the frame of mind to grab the page we needed translated and pass it to her, before peaking out from behind the desk to look for Zhi Zhu. If he wants Soo Lin Yao, then I have to get further away from her. Feeling my limbs suddenly fill with lead, I swallowed and cautiously moved away from the desk, making sure to check for any moving shadows or shifts in the sounds around me.

Hearing the sudden intake of breath behind me from Soo Lin Yao, I was quick enough to bring my arms up to block the strap of cloth that was about to wrap around my neck and I ducked down, swinging my leg back in an arc and knocking Zhi Zhu off his feet. I didn't stop there, knowing that if I did, he would easily be able to take me out, and I quickly threw the cloth out of reach and tackled him to the ground the moment he started to sit back up. He hit me pretty hard in the side of the head, making my head ring from the sudden impact, but I got in a few shots myself before he kicked me in the stomach and knocked me off him. Damn, I wish I had a weapon on me! I mentally thought as I got up and ran after him as he went to get his cloth once more.

I dove across the floor and managed to grab a hold of his legs, but he didn't fall this time and I was kicked roughly in the side before I dodged some more kicks and got back up onto my feet. He went to punch me, forgetting about the cloth for now, but I grabbed his arm and brought my leg back, throwing him over my shoulder. That threw me off balance, but I rolled and got back onto my feet, only for him to kick me hard just above my knee, very nearly breaking my leg should I have not spotted the move and taken half a step back as it hit. It still caused a hell of a lot of pain and I fell backwards with a muffled shout, just in time for him to jump up and tackle me to the ground, using his bare hands to try and strangle me.

I choked, trying to get his hands off me, but he was strong and even as I tried to use some judo moves to get out from under him, he figured out what I was doing and pinned me down more efficiently. I began to see dark spots in my vision and, gathering up all my energy, I swung a fist haphazardly towards his face, somehow managing to catch him off guard and surprise him enough to kick him off me as I rolled onto my side to return the much needed air into my lungs. I spotted him trying to head over to where Soo Lin Yao was and grabbed his ankle, doing my best to stall him long enough for John or Sherlock to get here—both of whom were taking far too long for my liking—but doing so made him turn his attention back to me and he kicked me again in the side. I grimaced and barely kept from crying out, but held on still as he continued to claw at my hand and kick me, dragging me closer to where Soo Lin Yao was.

"R-R-Run!" I croaked out, desperately trying to get her out of danger, but she just looked between the two of us and I could tell what she was trying to do. "D-Don't! I'll be fine! G-Go!"

Zhi Zhu slammed a powerful foot into my chest, knocking the air out of me and grinding his heel in just below my sternum, finally enticing a small cry of pain from me.

"No! Stop!"

The pressure of his foot on my chest lifted and I struggled to keep my grip on his ankle as he went over to Soo Lin Yao, before he finally kicked me good and hard in the face and knocked me aside. N-No…I have to stop him. I tried to get up, but my body was already telling me to stop as the blows he had previously inflicted sent rivets of pain throughout my body. I have to…If I can't change this…how can I stop anything else? I dragged myself slowly towards them, inch by inch, but the moment she placed her hand on his face and he started pulling out his gun, I knew it was too late.

"Don't! Please!" I called out weakly, but the final gunshot rang out and I watched as Soo Lin Yao fell onto the table with a black lotus flower lying limply in her hand. "N-No…No…"

Zhi Zhu easily fled the scene out the open window and not a minute later, I heard the door click open as I clenched my eyes shut tightly and fisted my hands, still lying on the ground in pain.

"D-Dammit…" I muttered quietly. "God dammit."

"Sam? Sam, are you alright?! Sam, I—" John cut himself off, having knelt down beside me and caught sight of Soo Lin Yao's body lying on the table.

"I'm sorry, J-J-John." I said, pausing to cough and lay my forehead on the cool marble flooring. "I tried, I-I really did."

Sherlock hurried in then. "Did you catch him? Zhi Zhu?"

"Sherlock…" John scolded and Sherlock went quiet, as I slammed my fist into the tiling.

"God dammit! He was right there! I had him! I-I could've saved her!" I shouted, before immediately going into a coughing fit as John helped me sit up and tried to calm me down.

"Sam! Sam! It's okay! Everything's al—"

"No it's not, John!" I said, pushing him off me in my frustration. "She's dead! She's dead and I—Ngh!"

I doubled over as pain shot up my side and John quickly went into action, telling Sherlock to call an ambulance but I—just as quickly—refused.

"No. It's just bruises. W-We need to—" I grimaced as I tried to stand, very nearly collapsing to the ground as my injured leg gave out from under me, though John caught me just in time. "We need t-to tell the police. T-T-Take down the gang and—"

"Absolutely not!" John scolded, having to practically carry me over to where Sherlock was standing silently, John making me sit in a chair. "We don't know what happened between you and this spider guy, but you're obviously hurt! Bruises or not, you are done for tonight!"

"You don't understand, John!" I retaliated, but I could already feel my strength beginning to slip away. "You don't understand, I need to—"

"You don't need to be a part of everything we do, Sam!" He shouted back, making me flinch in hurt. "You're our responsibility! If you're hurt doing something stupid because we let you, we're the ones getting in trouble! And how are you supposed to do anything if you're getting hurt like this! Grow up, Sam! Not everything is about getting revenge and having fun! Learn to care about yourself every once in a while!"

I felt tears threatening to make an appearance and struggled to swallow them down and keep them from making things worse, choosing to bow my head to hide my expression. This is all my fault…Soo Lin Yao is dead because of me a-and…I bit my bottom lip, wincing upon feeling a fresh cut there. Maybe John's right…I-I-I…I don't belong here with them…All I'm doing is causing them problems. John sighed and moved to help me walk, I reluctantly going along with it and allowing him to help me outside as Sherlock grabbed us all a cab after having called the police to check out the crime scene. The cab ride was very tense and the tenseness only grew when he helped me upstairs to 221B, before him and Sherlock left again to go speak with Dimmock. I'm so stupid. I thought, finally allowing a few tears to fall, before I forced myself to get up and move towards the bathroom. Maybe I'm just not cut out for this kind of thing…

I climbed into the shower, choosing to take a bath this time so I wouldn't have to stand any longer than needed and grimaced as I stripped out of my clothes. Black and purple bruises littered my side and chest, a few here and there on my arms, legs, and face, and finger shaped ones on my throat. I went to speak, just seeing if I could, but immediately went into a coughing fit and even a glass of water seemed to be difficult to swallow. I lit a couple of relaxing incense sticks that were in the bathroom and settled into the tub in a vain attempt to relax. I grew more upset about everything that had happened, remembering Soo Lin Yao's body falling right in front of me and Zhi Zhu just getting away with everything, so I reached over and grabbed my iPod, turning it up and listening to Muse as I sat there and struggled to relax.

Needless to say, I could only stand being in the tub for so long for fear of breaking down, and when I got out and changed into pajamas, I limped my way back out into the living room and dug through my things until I found my cigarettes and lit one up, moving to the window to give the smoke a chance to leave the room. I smoked for a while, ignoring the soreness of my throat, before finally snuffing out the cigarette and wandering over to the couch where I laid down and tried to go to sleep, already knowing that everyone would be better off if I just went back to my class tomorrow morning. After all, I don't belong here…and they're both probably fed up with me. It'd be better if I just left. I'm useless anyway.

Sherlock and John returned after informing Dimmock of what had happened and requesting the books of Van Coon and Lukis, hanging up their coats in relative silence. Almost immediately, they set their sights on Sam, who was sleeping on the couch, curled up rather childishly in a ball, the blankets on the floor beside her. John sighed and wandered over, covering her with the blankets, accidentally catching sight of her cut lip and the bruises on her neck and face, making him wince.

"Jesus, he really did a number on her. Sherlock, do you think—" John stopped, looking down at her and back at him. "Do you think I was too hard on her?"

Sherlock hung his coat up on the back of the door, turning to John with a raised brow.

"You believe you were too hard on her?"

John frowned, contemplating that as he took a seat in his chair. "Well, what she did was reckless and extremely dangerous. She went out of her way to confront some Chinese assassin and got hurt in the process! So, of course I would yell at her!…But…in a way, she was only trying to help."

Sherlock nodded. "Trying to save a life, at that. Though I do believe the better question is what would you do in her place?"

John let out a long sigh, leaning his head back against the chair. "Probably the same thing…But she's only 21, Sherlock!"

"And perfectly capable of making her own adult decisions, John." He complained, having had enough of this conversation. "She is at least semi-intelligent and knows what consequences she could face for her decisions and in a few vital seconds, chose to fight for the life of another at the risk of her own. I do believe your novels would call it something along the lines of 'heroic' or 'daring' though the terms 'stupid' and 'reckless' could also apply."

John gave him a look. "I'm not sure if you're trying to help me or help her."

Sherlock rolled his eyes, facing John in annoyance. "While it was correct to be concerned over her well-being, I do not believe it was appropriate to scold her as harshly as you did, as she was only trying to do what she felt was right. Now can we return to the matter at hand?" He asked, waving a hand towards the pictures still stuck to the wall, and turning to face them. "It's not just a criminal organization. It's a cult. Her brother was corrupted by one of its leaders."

John shook his head at how eager Sherlock was to get off the subject of what happened with Sam, but went along with it for now.

"Soo Lin said the name."

"Yes. Shan. General Shan."

"We're still no closer to finding them."

"Wrong. We've got almost all we need to know. She gave us most of the missing pieces." Sherlock gave John a look, confused as to why he didn't respond. "Why did he need to visit his sister? Why did he need her expertise?"

"She worked at the museum."

"Exactly."

John seemed to finally be catching up to what Sherlock was saying. "An expert in antiquities…Mm, of course. I see."

"Valuable antiquities, John. Ancient Chinese relics purchased on the black market. China's a home to a thousand treasures hidden after Mao's revolution."

"The Black Lotus is selling them."

Sherlock seemed to get an idea then and went over to steal—borrow—John's computer, when a quiet sound reached their ears. Stopping what he was doing, he turned towards Sam, who was shifting slightly in her sleep, her being the one who was making the odd sound. He moved over towards her and leaned over to find her brows furrowed in fear, before standing straight and turning to John, who was watching in confusion.

"She's having a nightmare."

"O-Oh, well…um…wake her up?"

Sherlock looked down at her with a small frown. "That may not be the best option in this case. Most likely, she is reliving the experience that happened to her not too long ago and waking her now may only serve to prove how skillful she is in her martial arts. And I'd rather she didn't use them on my person."

"Then what do we do?" John asked, concerned. "We can't just leave her like that."

"Hm, perhaps give her something that may calm her down. Something familiar or something she enjoys the scent of."

"What?" John asked, completely confused. "I get the familiar thing, but a scent?"

Sherlock rolled his eyes as he searched through the room in search of something, moving towards the bathroom even. "Just as a baby finds comfort in their mother's scent, people unconsciously relax when smelling something that pleases them or is familiar or nostalgic. Ah!"

Sherlock returned to the room with a couple of incense sticks from the bathroom and proceeded to light them and place them on the side table beside her head, smirking as her whimpering and fidgeting slowed to a stop.

"See?"

John blinked in confusion as Sherlock returned to the desk where his laptop sat. "How did you know that that would work?"

Sherlock waved a hand nonchalantly over his shoulder. "She bathed before going to bed, something you can tell from by the dampness of her hair and the humidity in the bathroom itself. She most likely lit some of the incense while she was in there to try and relax. The scent still lingers. Here, John."

Sherlock pointed at the screen and John headed over, leaning over to see the screen.

"Hm."

"Arrived from China four days ago. Anonymous. Vendor doesn't give his name. Two undiscovered treasures from the East."

"One in Lukis' suitcase and one in Van Coon's."

Sherlock began typing in the search box, speaking out loud as he typed. "Antiquities sold at function…Look, here's another one."

"Hm." John hummed, leaning closer.

"Arrived from China a month ago. Chinese ceramic statue. Sold four hundred thousand."

John began flipping through the pages in Lukis's diary, comparing the dates. "Uh, look, a month before that." He said, pointing to the screen. "Chinese painting. Half a million."

"All of them from an anonymous source." Sherlock mused. "They're stealing them back in China and one by one they're feeding them into Britain."

"Huh." John skimmed through the diary again. "And every single auction coincides with Lukis or Van Coon traveling to China."

"So what if one of them got greedy when they were in China? What if one of them stole something?"

"That's why Zhi Zhu's come."

Things grew tense in the short silence, but a sudden rap on the door frame made the two men turn to see Mrs. Hudson's smiling face.

"Oh-ho. Sorry. Are we collecting for charity, Sherlock?"

"What?"

"A young man's outside with crates of books."

"John, you get it."

John frowned, but did as he said, showing the couple of police men up the stairs with the crates and letting them know to just bring them in and set them anywhere there was room.

"So the numbers are references." Sherlock said, watching them for a moment before turning away.

"To books."

"To specific pages and specific word on those pages."

"Alright." John said, still looking a little lost. "So…fifteen and one that means…"

"Turn to page fifteen and it's the first word you read."

John nodded. "Okay, so what's the message?"

"Depends on the book. That's the cunning of book code." He took a deep breath. "It has to be one they both own."

"Okay, fine. Well, this shouldn't take too long…" He grumbled

Just as they started skimming the boxes, Sherlock paused with a frown.

"John, did you ever mention a book code to me before? During this case, I mean."

John raised a brow. "No, why?"

"I distinctly remember someone saying something about a book code while I was in my mind palace or conversing to myself."

"Sam, perhaps?" John mused, shrugging. "I have no idea though. I never said anything… Should I wake her?"

Sherlock shook his head, going back to the books. "It would certainly move things along quicker, but I suggest letting her rest some more. She's been constantly yawning most of the day and hasn't slept for a good while."

"Alright…"

Dimmock suddenly walked in, holding a plastic evidence bag. "We found these at the museum. Is this your writing?"

John took a look at it, having sat at the desk to write down some of the words and nodded. "Uh, we hoped Soo Lin could decipher it for us…Ta."

He placed the bag on the desk and Dimmock looked over at Sherlock.

"Anything else I can do? To assist you, I mean?"

"Some silence right now would be marvelous." Sherlock said, moving some books before gesturing to Sam on the couch. "My assistant is sleeping after having a rough night attacking a Chinese assassin."

Dimmock glanced at her before shifting his gaze to John, in the hopes that he'd give him something to do, but John shook his head apologetically. A bit upset that he wasn't able to do anything, Dimmock took his leave as Sherlock and John scoured the books. John though still had one more question for Sherlock, as said man dropped off a pair of books with 'cigarette' as the first word.

"Do you think she'll be upset…about what I said?"

"Who?"

"Sam."

"I'm sure she'll get over it, John." He said, as John set his stack of books on the floor and went over to grab another group.

"Well, yeah, but I think what I said may have upset her a bit too much. I mean, I did basically tell her that she was being a burden and didn't feel welcome with us."

"Mm." Sherlock hummed, more focused on the books than John's conversation.

"What if she just decides to run off? Or go back to her dorm?"

"She is free to leave, John." He replied, dropping off another set of books on the desk.

"Yes, but…I kind of like having her here."

Sherlock paused in his searching, giving John a look, before resuming.

John sighed, setting his books aside for the moment. "Oh, come on, Sherlock! You can't tell me you don't like her even just a little bit."

"I don't like her even just a little bit." He repeated, childishly.

John rolled his eyes. "Not even when she deduced Sebastian? You've got to admit you enjoyed that. She one up-ed him for you."

Sherlock stayed silent and John continued.

"Well, the truth of the matter is, that I like having someone else around who actually talks to me."

"I talk to you." Sherlock said, sounding a bit confused as to why John would say that.

"No. You talk at me. I could say the most ridiculous things while you were going off on a rant and you wouldn't even notice."

"Like what?"

"Like…floppy banana."

Sherlock stopped, giving him a disbelieving look. "You can't expect me to stop talking about a case just because you said something like…floppy banana."

John tossed up his hands. "It was the only thing that came to my head, aright?! You can't just put me on the spot like that and expect me to come up with something—"

"Wait…that's it."

"Huh?" John looked over at Sherlock, confused.

"What I told you before. About hearing someone mention book codes before. It was Sam. I had been talking to her, thinking it was you while you were upstairs sleeping. She'd stayed up so you could sleep for your job or whatever and when I mentioned finding Soo Lin Yao, she said that." Sherlock paused in his book searching and placed his fingers to his temples, scrunching his eyes closed as he thought back to that moment. "'Too bad you're not paying attention, or else you'd be listening when I told you it was a book code'. She told me, John." He said, snapping his eyes back open. "She knew before I did what this was. But how?"

John shook his head, going back to what he was doing. "Maybe she'd seen it somewhere before."

"But then where? And why didn't she mention it again? It would've saved us quite the bit of trouble if she'd told us beforehand…Unless…" Sherlock frowned. "But that's impossible."

"What's impossible?"

Sherlock gave him a look, a frown marring his features. "Unless she knew that by telling us, we wouldn't go find Soo Lin Yao."

John turned to look at him in confusion. "But that's impossible. We didn't even know Soo Lin Yao was in danger until later."

"Exactly." Sherlock said, eyeing the sleeping Sam on the couch, not knowing just how close he was to uncovering the truth about her.

I jolted upright in a panic as remnants of my nightmare slowly faded away, sighing quietly as I turned to see Sherlock and John going through stacks of books that had magically appeared while I had been sleeping. Sherlock was still pretty absorbed in what he was doing, but an alarm went off on John's phone and he checked to see that it was actually morning before sighing tiredly and dropping his head in his hands. He caught sight of me then and lowered his head a bit sheepishly, as I bowed my head and started going through my things for a change of clothes.

"I, uh, I'll pay for your cab fare, if you want, Sam."

"Sure, thanks." I muttered, getting up and very nearly crumpling back to the floor as my body ached in the process.

"Ah! Sam, are you oka—"

I pushed John's hand away from me, as he had gotten up to help, and stood up on my own.

"I'm fine." I bit out through grit teeth, limping to the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

I felt bad for the way I was treating John, but I knew he was probably still upset about yesterday and I personally didn't want to talk about it, especially since the memories were still very fresh in my mind. And I spent most of last night reliving them. God, I'm tired. I grimaced as I pulled on my dark jeans, trying in vain to keep from crying out at the pain that raced up my leg at the slightest of movements. He really did a number on me when he kicked my leg like that. It's a damn good thing I stepped back or I'd surely have a broken leg. Once I was fully dressed, I exited the bathroom and grabbed my jacket, going to wait downstairs for John. The walk down there was slow though, my leg protesting every step, and by the time I reached the front door, John was already finished and heading down the stairs.

"You never told me where you found a job." John said, as he hailed a cab.

"A café. I'm a waiter." I muttered, climbing in once he caught one.

He followed after as I told the cabbie the address and the ride began in silence. Very…tense silence. Even the cabbie seemed a bit unnerved and John was the first to try and break the ice.

"Look, Sam…I'm really sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have yelled at you and I didn't mean what I sai—"

"Yes, you did." I said, turning and glancing at him briefly before looking back out the window. "And I get it. I'm stupid and reckless and didn't think things through enough for you. Fine. Sorry."

Things grew tense once more and John sighed.

"I was just worried, Sam. You were really hurt and all I could think about was what I would do if something really serious happened. What if you had died?…I kind of stopped thinking about what it was you had tried to do. Or what I would've done if I was in your position. I…don't think you're a burden or don't belong with us or anything. I just…want you to be more careful."

"I'm 21!" I said loudly, glaring at John. "What's it going to take for you and Sherlock to remember that?! You guys keep prancing around me like I'm some child who has no idea what they're talking about! I've had to deal with that my whole life!"

The cab pulled to a stop then and I got out, leaning back in to glare at John angrily.

"I thought I had finally found someone who would understand and would treat me the way I want to be treated…but I guess I was wrong."

I slammed the cab door and stormed into the café I was working at, heading to the back and changing into the clothes I was required to wear, putting on an apron and calming myself down so I could work the floor. Just stop thinking about it. Worry about work for now, leave the personal issues with them. Taking a deep breath, I straightened up and placed a smile on my face, heading out and grabbing a small notepad to write down orders and greeting the first group at their table; thankful that I had found some concealer in Sherlock's bathroom to hide the bruises on my face. Don't ask what he uses it for.

"Good morning. Have you decided on what you would like to order?"

After hours of working, and playing polite, I was finally let off which I was extremely grateful for, because I was beginning to limp now that I had been on my feet all day. Damn, my leg hurts. I cringed as I massaged it in the back room, stripping out of my uniform and hanging it up as I changed back into my other clothes. I checked my wallet then, making sure that I had enough money for cab fare back to Baker Street, but I paused. Did I really want to go back? John's upset with me, Soo Lin's dead…I can't do anything right. I'm just a burden to Sherlock and John and…Maybe I should just go back to my class. I let out a deep sigh, dragging a hand through my hair as I left the café and headed down the street to a park nearby, sitting on the bench and staring up at the sky with a frown on my face.

I had an idea then, but I really didn't like it. I didn't want to talk to this person at all if I could avoid it, but I felt like this was the only thing I could do. He was the only person I could really talk to here and, as much as I would probably hate it, perhaps he could help me figure out what to do in my situation. With a sigh, I pulled out my phone and dialed the number he had given me that first day on the bus.

"Hello?"

"Hey, uh, Bobbie…It's…Sam."

"Sam! I didn't think you'd be calling me, heheh! How's it going on your detective case?"

"That's the thing…It's not going so well and…something happened that…makes me almost want to come back to class."

"What?! You don't want to do that! Not when you're out having adventures and stuff! Here. Tell me where you're at. I'll come meet up with you and we can talk about it!"

"You can't do that, you idiot!" I scolded, sitting upright. "You have class!"

"Then you come to me!"

"Bobbie, I can't." I groaned, pulling a hand down my face. "For one thing, I don't have enough cab fare to get to the school. So, can I just…bounce some things off you?"

There was complete silence on the other line, before Bobbie's voice came through the phone, sounding oddly….worried.

"…Sam…what's wrong?"

I was surprised that Bobbie was intuitive enough to know that something was wrong but, as much as I wanted to question how he knew, I felt that my other issues could do with a bit more solving.

"I just…I saw someone get killed last night."

The other line was silent, so I continued.

"I-I don't want to get into details, but…the detectives I'm with…We were on a case and there was this woman who was being targeted. I ended up getting left behind with her while John and Sherlock—the detectives—went after the killer. A-And I know judo. I can protect myself, you know, and I had just convinced this woman to not give up hope and everything but…the killer showed up." I swallowed thickly, my mind replaying the scene in my head as I spoke, making my voice tight. "I-I did my best to stop him but…he got past me and…killed her."

"…Are you alright, Sam?"

I nodded, knowing that he couldn't see me. "Yeah, no. I'm alright…I'm a bit beat up but seeing the body was a bit…much…I'd have to see it sooner or later, right? But…It's the fact that I couldn't do anything about it. I…couldn't stop him or protect her or hide her or anything. I knew he was coming, but I was…useless."

"…Sam…"

I shook my head, pressing a hand to the side of my face as I felt myself slowly breaking down. "I was so useless! I should have done something! Anything! How am I supposed to prevent things like this from happening again if I couldn't even stop this one event from happening?!"

I felt a tear break through my façade and struggled to keep it together as Bobbie spoke calmly to me.

"The way I see it, Sam, I can't tell you what you want to hear. I can't tell you I understand, because I don't. I'm not in your situation. And I can't say everything will be alright because, for all I know, it won't…But I can tell you that you're not useless. That you're not stupid and that you've just done something that not every person can say they did. You attempted to save a life And that…That is more than anyone could've asked of you."

"B-But…I failed…"

He chuckled a little. "That's the thing about trying…There's only one way to fail, and that's by not trying at all. You did what you could, Sam, and what you did was amazing. I didn't even see it, but I know that it's true. And you did accomplish something. You gained something that not even your detective friends could have gotten out of that situation. You gained the knowledge you needed to make sure it doesn't happen again. Isn't that what being in law enforcement is all about? Saving lives and learning about how to improve the way you save them?"

"I-I hate you, Bobbie…" I muttered, wiping the tears that had fallen down my face.

"Aw, you know that's not true.~" He chimed, back to his old self and not this kind, wise, worried fool that he was.

I let out a light sigh, a small smile slowly working its way onto my face. "Thanks, Bobbie."

"Anytime, Sam."

I hung up then, tucking my phone away before standing and hailing a cab, climbing in and giving the cabbie a small smile.

"221B Baker Street, please."

As the cab drove, I stared out the window with my chin in my palm, watching the scenery as I thought silently. First thing's first, I'll need to make up with John, but I'm still not pleased with being yelled at and treated like a kid…so I'll make him work for it. I felt my lip twitch up in a small smirk but quickly shoved it back and adopted an annoyed expression as the cab pulled up to Baker Street; which wasn't hard considering that my leg was really hurting. I'll need to grab some pain meds or something. Let's hope Sherlock or John keep some. I headed up the stairs with a grimace, and ruffled my hair tiredly. I wasn't surprised to find Sherlock standing with the boxes of books, flipping through a Bible and, judging from the noise upstairs, John was most likely in his room.

"I doubt it's the Bible, Sherlock. There's too many translations for it to be the same word on the fifteenth page in every one."

He lifted his head with a frown and set the book aside, looking me over for a moment.

"You work at a café?"

I looked down, trying to figure out what he saw that made him think that, but couldn't find anything. Shrugging though, I looked up with a dull look, shifting towards the bathroom door.

"Yeah. I'm a waiter. I get to pretend to be nice to people all day."

"Dull." He complained as I began riffling through the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

"I suppose. If I'm bored though, I can always try to guess what their occupation is or what they'd want to eat based off of their personality or who they're with." I called out to him, not finding what I was looking for.

"Hm." He hummed, messing up his own hair in frustration as the door to John's room clicked shut; the man himself having came downstairs wearing some nicer clothes than he had been in when I had last seen him. "I need some air. We're going out tonight."

"Actually, I've, uh, got a date." John said with a smile.

"What?"

"Hey, do you guys have any pain meds?" I asked, sticking my head out of the bathroom.

John nodded. "They're under the sink. Sherlock was using them for experiments so I had to move them. You alright?"

I frowned at him. "Just peachy."

I then searched under the sink, smirking to myself about messing with John, as him and Sherlock continued speaking.

"A date?"

"It's where two people who like each other go out and have fun?"

"That's what I was suggesting…" Sherlock said, catching sight of me as I took a couple of dry pills and left the bathroom. "Though with us, it would be three people."

I felt my cheeks flush a bit, but shoved the emotion down, knowing that Sherlock didn't actually mean a date.

"You weren't suggesting a date." John said. "At least, I hope not. And, uh, are you sure you're okay, Sam? You're limping pretty badly."

"Let's kick you in the knee and see how you take it." I glanced at him glaring; grabbing an apple off the table and taking a bite out of it before turning to watch Sherlock pout.

"Where are you taking her?"

"Eh, cinema." John said, shifting his glance from me to Sherlock.

"Dull." Sherlock said.

"Boring." I also mused.

"Predictable." Sherlock continued, moving over to John and passing him a paper with a box office phone number on it. "Why don't you try this? In London for one night only."

John looked at the number for the Yellow Dragon Circus and chuckled. "Thanks, but I don't come to you for dating advice."

I rolled my eyes. "Just do it, John. Take it from a girl. We'd rather have fun at a circus than sit in a cramped dark theater for two hours watching a movie that we know the guy isn't really interested in."

He turned to me with a frown, but quickly eased up and sighed. "Fine. I'll try it out. But only because you suggested it, Sam." He shifted his gaze to Sherlock. "I don't trust him."

"Pft." I scoffed, muttering quietly to myself. "You'd probably take a bullet for him."

Plopping the apple in my mouth and holding it with my teeth, I stood up and headed back to the bathroom, having forgotten to remove the heavy concealer from my face. I stopped before I entered, feeling eyes on me, and caught sight of John looking sheepish. Okay, that's it. I'm already tired of him tiptoeing around me.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll forgive you for now, but don't expect it to be so easy next time."

He blinked at me in surprise but before he could say anything, I went into the bathroom and began cleaning up my face. Idiot. Shaking my head, I left the room and watched as Sherlock hung up the phone with a smirk, John having left already, it seems.

"You just got us both tickets to this circus thing, didn't you?" I asked, finishing off my apple and throwing it away. "John's not going to be happy you ruined his date."

Sherlock continued to smirk as he went over and pulled on his coat and scarf. "John's date is of no concern of mine. Besides, the case is more important."

I shook my head with a chuckle. "Uh-huh. Just remember, when John asks who's idea it was, it's all on you."

He rolled his eyes before looking me over. "You're going like that?"

I looked down at myself, eyeing my dark jeans, combat boots, and grey t-shirt in confusion.

"What's wrong with this?" I asked, with a curious frown. "It's not a date for us. We're going after a gang, right? Is there any need to get dressed up?"

He blinked, looking a little lost, before he seemed to connect the dots. "You dislike dressing up."

Damn, he caught me…"It's not that. I just…don't care for stuffy clothes. And I hate dresses." I frowned. "And most other girly things. I could care less what people think of me, but if I want to look good for something, they better expect me to be wearing nice jeans and a dress shirt, because that's as formal as I'm getting."

Sherlock began to smile, but just when I caught sight of it, he turned and began heading to the door. "Good to know that I won't have to wait. Come along, Sam."

I rolled my eyes with a small smile and trailed after him, putting on my jacket; unable to wait to see what happens next, though slightly worried about bumping into Zhi Zhu once more.