"Scarlett," Sarah whispered her name as she saw her eyes open slightly and she looked around the room, searching for one certain individual who she had yet to see.

"Scarlett," John whispered and the blonde began to sit up and she looked at John. Her mind was still groggy but she was coherent and her breathing felt a lot better.

"Where is he?" she croaked out and John and Sarah looked at each other.

"He's-"

"On his way soon," John interrupted Sarah and she looked over at him and he nodded at her sternly before she smiled forcefully back at Scarlett who knew something was going on. She may have just come out of an anaesthetic but she wasn't stupid.

"What happened?" she asked. "Where is he?"

"Well...you see..."

"He's here," a new voice entered the room and John and Sarah stepped aside to reveal the frowning Sherlock as he stood in the doorway, his hands stuffed in his pockets as Scarlett looked at him and then Sarah who seemed to have a face like thunder at that moment in time.

"We'll leave you to it," she said curtly. "Come on John."

John smiled once at Scarlett and grasped her hand tightly before following his girlfriend out past the quizzing glance of the consulting detective.

"How are you feeling?" Sherlock asked Scarlett, still lingering near the door as if he were ready to bolt out at any given moment.

"Tired," Scarlett simply said and leant back against her cushions which she had plumped up. "But I think that feeling shall pass."

"No doubt," Sherlock replied. "It will be the anaesthetic making your drowsy."

"So I've been told," she nodded and Sherlock sighed once, picking up on her determination to be curt and angry with him for reasons which he could understand but at the same time he couldn't. If he were a normal person then he would understand why she would be annoyed and yet he couldn't understand it. She knew his work came first. It always did and it always would.

"I apologise for not being here sooner," Sherlock said, remaining civil as he paced to the side of the bed. "I was busy trying to find George."

"I gathered," Scarlett managed to say.

"Am I going to get any more than a sentence out of you or is your vocabulary limited?" he asked her, trying not to sound snide but failing miserably.

"Don't be an arse Sherlock," she begged him. "Not today."

"It would help if you would tell me what is making you act cold towards me," Sherlock said.

"I was annoyed," her voice broke and she sounded raspy. "I was annoyed that you didn't answer your phone...I didn't expect you to be here...but I expected you to pick up."

"If I had known anything serious may have happened then I would have," he assured her.

"But you don't know Sherlock...I don't want to argue..." she said and her hand went to her throat in slight pain at speaking and her other held onto her chest. Sherlock picked up on the movement and sat on the side of her bed, his own hand removing hers from her throat as he soothingly stroked it up and down.

"I am sorry," he told her. "I didn't realise being alone would affect you like it has done."

"I wasn't that scared," she said. "I just wanted some comfort."

"Scarlett," he complained slightly. "I'm not safe...I can't comfort you all the time."

"I know," she said. "I need to be a big girl and stand on my own two feet. Not rely on you all the time."

"You can rely on me," he assured her. "Just not when I have a case."

"I know. You told me that ages ago," she pointed out.

"But I can see why you're slightly annoyed," he said and reached over to the water pitcher and poured her a drink. "You wanted someone to be here when you woke up...and Sarah's annoying tone is not one which you need to wake up to...and John...well..." Sherlock joked and handed Scarlett the water as she jokingly hit him on the chest and he managed to smile widely at her, pressing his lips onto her forehead.

"Are we okay?" he asked.

"We will be," she promised and then sniffed the air and raised a brow at him in questioning.

"You've been smoking?"

"Damn it, I knew I should have bought some gum," he whispered. "I jumped into a cab and then realised I needed to be with you...I had a cigarette before I came..."

"Why?"

"Because sometimes I find it impossible not to do so in some situations?" he sounded riled.

"You were doing so well," she said.

"Wasn't I just?" he murmured. "But I shall stop again soon...see..." he removed his coat and rolled up his sleeves and showed her the nicotine patches on his arm which he had been wearing all day.

"Just be careful," she said.

"So this is Scarlett?" a sudden voice asked and Sherlock took the water from her hands as Scarlett looked at the woman in the doorway and Sherlock simply just managed to groan loudly as the woman entered the room and offered her hand to Scarlett.

"Violet Holmes," she said. "How do you do?"

"Um...hi..." Scarlett managed to take her hand and limply shake it as Sherlock stood up and looked at his mother.

"Weak handshake," Violet shook her head. "Never a good sign."

"What are you doing here?" Sherlock asked her. "Spying on me?"

"No dear," Violet said and looked at Scarlett who was looking intently at Sherlock.

"Well then why are you here?" he asked her and she smiled dangerously at him.

"I think I am entitled to meet the woman who my son is dating, don't you?"

"Mother?" Scarlett croaked out and she looked from Sherlock to Violet and noticed some similarities. The cheekbones, for instance. And the piercing stare.

"Yes, mother," Sherlock confirmed. "Though I specifically told you not to come today when Scarlett is still quite weak and not in the mood for visitors."

"But I wanted to make sure she was alright. After all, you've kept her quite a secret from me,"

"Why do you think I have done that?" Sherlock asked her and Scarlett and Violet looked at him questioningly.

"Yes...why have you been keeping her from me?" Violet pondered.

"You know why," Sherlock said lowly. You'll chew her up and then spit her out for breakfast Sherlock thought.

"I don't," Scarlett squeaked.

"Tell me dear," Violet began and sat on the edge of her bed, "why did you never pursue a career in Law?"

"Pardon?" Scarlett blinked several times.

"You have a Law degree, yes?" she asked and Scarlett nodded.

"I do," she agreed and Sherlock simply folded his arms and glared at his mother.

"Well then," Violet laughed. "Why not go for a good career? Why settle for such a mundane job...and speaking of settling...when do you plan to settle down with my son?"

"Excuse me?" Scarlett asked. "I don't know...we've only been going out for a while..."

"So you don't know Sherlock that well if you've only been going out for a while?" she checked. "So why are you with him?"

"I love him," Scarlett simply said, her throat beginning to pull a little.

"Love?" she checked. "Why do you love him?"

"Mother," Sherlock warned her.

"Because the way I see it," Violet clarified, "you're not worthy of him."

"Sorry?"

"You heard me," Violet said brashly. "You're nowhere near as clever as he is...you're certainly trying to be something you're not with your flashy wardrobe which is full of items similar to those in designer stores but nowhere near as expensive which means you're trying to imitate the well dressed. You also have confidence issues...hence the push up bra-"

"How the hell do you know that?" Scarlett squeaked out and she looked at Sherlock.

"Mycroft gave her a key to the flat...she was in their when I came in."

"Grotty little place, wouldn't you say?" Violet asked her. "Although I imagine it is much better than where you lived."

"I had a nice house," Scarlett whispered, her voice small as the woman simply continued to pick on her.

"Well then that would be a good place to settle down...although I dare not imagine what your child would be like-"

"Shut up!" Scarlett snapped, her voice weak but demanding.

"Pardon?" she sounded appalled as Scarlett began to cry.

"Sherlock," she begged him.

"Get out mother," Sherlock demanded. "Now!"

"I don't understand-"

"Out!" he snapped.

"I shall not be treated like this," she stomped her foot as Scarlett simply just wiped away her tears and Sherlock ushered his mother from the room.

"Have a good day and don't rush back," Sherlock said and he shut the door in her face before walking back over to the bed where he saw Scarlett glaring at him.

"You could have defended me," she informed him.

"Excuse me?"

"There were some occasions where you let her just slander me!" Scarlett snapped and Sherlock began to roll his eyes.

"She would have said those things anyway," he told her.

"But you never disagreed with her," Scarlett pointed out to.

"There was no need to. You know what I think of you," he said. "Don't let her upset you."

"Well she has done," Scarlett murmured. "And so did you."

"Just because-"

"Yes!" Scarlett interrupted. "Just because!" and she rolled onto her side and curled into a ball before she heard Sherlock walk to the door and she looked back at him.

"Where are you going?"

"I need a cigarette," he said and picked up his coat as he left and went through its pockets.

"Don't," she warned him.

"It's either a cigarette or something stronger," he replied. "With a mother like her I can honestly say I could opt for something stronger."