"Hello, my dear." He smiled. "It's so good to see you again."
She frowned. She remembered him…she remembered back then.
"Did you miss me?" he asked. "I missed you; I missed the silence that you would bring."
She tried to move away but her limbs hurt. How did she get here?
"Don't worry, I won't let that bad man come and take you away again," he shook his head. "Leaving you with that junkie for a whole day, what kind of parent does that?" he reached out and brushed some hair away from her face, she cringed. "I'll be a better father than he ever could be, I know I don't have a lot, but now I have you." He smiled. "We can be together again, Artemis. No more screaming kids to distract us."
She squeezed her eyes shut as he placed his hand on her cheek.
"We can be a family again." He whispered.
Two years ago…
A blonde girl was crying as a dark-haired boy ripped apart a stuffed bear. A teenage girl was sitting on the counter, smiling at a teenage boy. A three year old boy ran around the house in his underwear, yelling nonsense as loud as he could.
But in another room, just down the hall with crayon drawings on the walls and stains on the cheap carpet, if you opened the very last door to your left you would see a five year old, knees tucked into her chest and her head down, choppy black hair covering her face.
She jumped when the door was thrown open and one of the teen boys laughed, clearly drunk of the old man's liquor.
"Well, there you are." He grinned. "Everyone's out here having a great time, I knew it was odd for it to be fun for once." He stumbled into the room. "But now I realize it's because you aren't there." He slurred.
She glared at him with complete disdain, she had always hated him.
"Want some?" he handed her the bottle of smelly alcohol.
She simply stared at it as she held it in her small hands.
"If you don't want any, give it back." He shrugged and reached for it.
She shook her head and let him take it.
"Lee, what are you doing in here?" the teen girl walked in and smirked. "Oh, it you." Her smirk fell however, when her eyes landed on the small girl.
She simply looked away and got up, she had come to that room for peace, but clearly she wouldn't be getting any anymore.
"Where are you going?" the teen girl sneered. "Off to go cry in some corner?" she laughed.
The black-haired girl didn't respond and was soon out in the living room with all the other kids.
The three year old threw up somewhere next to her, she went over and patted his back as he plopped down and cried. She then looked at the boy who was dangling the mangled teddy bear over the young girl's head as she screamed and cried for it.
When would the old man be back?
This wasn't right, he couldn't just leave a bunch of kids by themselves…he had to know that, right?
She sighed and made her way to the window where she stared at the empty driveway. They wouldn't dare drink his liquor if he was here, and as much as she didn't like him, she didn't like the other kids even more…so she wished he would come back soon.
A few days later, things had calmed down. The teens were all exhausted from partying non-stop, and the children were less rowdy because the teens weren't around.
The small, black-haired girl sat in the kitchen, she had searched every nook and cranny for some food and came up with only a can of beans and some spoiled milk. She sighed; the three year old must have been hungry, since he stared at the can with such intensity with his sparkling green eyes.
She smiled at him and picked up the can, gesturing it to him. He nodded, knowing what she meant, neither of them spoke, except for the occasional war cry that he would let out when he was running around.
She looked in the drawers and found a can opener; she opened the beans and poured a bit into a small bowl. There wouldn't be enough for everyone, but she figured that the youngest kids were the top priority.
So she set the bowl in front of the toddler and watched as he scooped the beans up with his hands and ate them quickly.
She smiled sweetly as he finished the last scoop, he looked to her and his face was a mess, he reached for the can she was holding and made small grunts, trying to get her to give him more.
She shook her head at him and pointed to the other children in the living room.
The toddler looked disappointed but nodded anyway; she smiled again and poured some more beans into other bowls. She picked them up and started to the living room, but stopped and looked sadly at the boy. She then handed one of the bowls to him and pointed to the living room again.
His face lit up when he realized she wanted him to help her carry them.
"Food?" the other young girl, who looked just a bit older than she did, looked up with hope.
The black-haired girl nodded and handed her the bowl.
"There's not a lot in here…" she frowned and looked back up. "Aren't you going to have some?"
She hadn't thought of that, she looked back at the can, there was only enough for the teens left.
The blonde girl, as if she had sensed what Artemis had been thinking, gave the bowl back. "I'm older than you, that means I should be taking care of you."
She shook her head and set the bowl back on the ground in front of the blonde. The girl simply pouted and reluctantly started eating.
The toddler handed the other bowl to the dark-haired boy with hesitance, it seemed he had been listening to the two girls' conversation…well, one-sided conversation.
"Will they be getting any?" the dark-haired boy looked to the shut door down the hallways where the two teens resided.
The girl nodded.
The dark-haired preteen clicked his tongue. "Shame, they'll probably just throw it up again."
She smiled in amusement, it was true, those two were very hung-over.
She had started pouring the beans into two separate bowls for the teens, but the three year old continued to frown as he watched her. She finally sighed and took his bowl, dumping the last of the beans into it. It wasn't much, but it might tide him over until she could go out and find something else.
She reached down and handed the bowl to him, he took it into his small hands, but the frown remained on his face. She shrugged it off and took the two bowls and quickly went into the hallway.
She took a deep breath to calm herself, they would be mad if she woke them up. She stood in front of the door, wondering how she was going to tell them to eat…without actually speaking.
"Do you want me to do it?" a voice sounded from the living room, the dark-haired boy looked at her. She just stared back. "It'd be suicide to open that door without their permission, and you'd have to have a good reason to get permission." He stood from the ground he was sitting on. "I figured you wouldn't exactly be able to tell them that reason was food."
She looked down, he was right.
"Here," he took the bowls from her and shooed her away, she heard him knock on the door before she walked back into the kitchen.
There, the toddler boy sat on one of the few chairs in there, the small bowl was still in his hands and he stared intently at it, his dark brows furrowed in concentration.
She came up behind him and tapped on his shoulder. His head whipped around and he stared at her. She tilted her head in silent question.
He looked back down at the bowl and she finally noticed that it was still filled with beans; he took it and thrust it at her. His concentrated face suddenly broke out in a wide grin.
She realized what he was doing; he knew she wasn't going to eat anything. She looked at him with a concerned face, but then took the bowl and smiled. He grinned even wider if that was possible, his cheeks, although pale and thin, looked glowing with pride. He was obviously very happy that she had accepted.
She took a spoon from the drawer and ate a bite of the cold beans, she nodded at him with a smile.
He giggled, completely elated, but his happy mood soon fell when she took another spoonful and put it in front of his face.
He frowned and looked at her, he didn't want any, he wanted her to have some.
She raised her eyebrows, he knew she wasn't going to have anymore unless he ate that bite, so reluctantly, he took the bite and scowled at her.
She grinned mischievously as she took another bite and scooped up some more for him.
They eventually ate the rest, he did not look happy with her anymore.
She smiled at him and patted his head, but they both froze when they heard the sound of a car.
"He's back!" the dark-haired boy yelled from the living room.
The two ran out and saw the blonde girl and the dark-haired boy standing on the couch, looking out the window.
"Hurry and go hide before he sees you two." The girl said worriedly.
They knew he always went for the youngest when he saw them, if he saw either of them he would only see them for the rest of the day. And nobody wanted that.
So the dark-haired girl ran into the room right next to the one with the teenagers, she quickly made the small boy crawl under the dirty bed that was in there with them.
But there wasn't enough time for her to when the door burst open, she turned around but frowned when she saw, not the old man, but someone younger and well dressed in a suit and tie.
"That's five…" the man mumbled. "Where's the boy?"
She blinked, not knowing who he was.
"The little one…" he said to her. "Doesn't speak, still in diapers...I think he's about three?"
She glanced to the bed but then shrugged.
"Shit." He cursed. "I'm going to kill those two." He growled and stomped out of the room.
She followed him with one last look at the bed, the boy was peeking out.
The man had walked into the living room where the two teens were sitting for some reason.
"I can't find the boy." He barked at them.
"How are we supposed to know where he is?" the girl sneered.
The man slapped her, causing the teen boy to shout. "Don't touch her!"
"What are you going to do about?" he shoved the girl away and glared at the boy.
"Where's the old man?" he looked out the window.
"He's not coming back for awhile, had some business up north." He went into the kitchen. "Was he even feeding you?" he asked as he went into each of the empty cupboards.
Everyone stayed silent.
"Guess I'll have to go shopping." He grumbled angrily.
"Who are you?" the teen boy asked bravely.
"I'm the old man's nephew." He said while rolling his eyes and loosened his tie. "I'll be watching you until he gets back."
The blonde girl frowned and looked to the dark-haired boy.
"Now, I need to look for that kid." He sighed. "Any of you know where he might be?"
Everyone looked to the black-haired girl, causing him to frown at her.
"Where's the boy?" he asked her.
She just stared at him.
"Just tell him!" the blonde girl urged.
But the small girl didn't trust the new man; there was something off about him.
"He's under the bed, isn't he?" the teen boy asked.
The man looked at the small girl, then to the teenager. Her wide-eyes showed him that the teen was right.
He shook his head. "If he's in the house, then I don't care." He waved it off.
All the children looked at each other; the small girl looked behind her and saw the three year old peeking his head out from the door.
Artemis swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. The man had gone, but she knew he'd be back.
She hated this, she never wanted to remember that place…and he just kept bringing back memories.
She sighed into the rag that was stuffed into her mouth to keep her quiet. Mycroft was coming for her, right? He'd rescue her any moment now…who was she kidding?
He probably did think she was more trouble than she was worth…maybe he didn't want her anymore. Maybe he'd just leave her here, at his mercy.
She opened her eyes again, but it was too dark to see. She could taste blood in her mouth from when he had hit her because she wouldn't look at him…how long ago was that?
Her body ached and she felt exhausted, how long had she been there? When was the last time she ate or drank?
She wanted to cry out, but couldn't find her voice…it was nothing new, but now it sent a sense of dread down her spine at the thought that she wouldn't be able to call for help.
"I'll talk to them myself if I have to, just get those files." Mycroft barked into his phone as a knock on the door caused him to glance up.
Vanessa stood there, several manila folders in her arms. "It's the records you asked for."
He nodded and hung up the phone. "Thank you, Vanessa, that'll be all." He said and started to go through them, but her presence never left. He looked back up. "You can go home," he said. "I'll handle these."
She looked away.
"If there's something on your mind, tell me." He narrowed his eyes.
She swallowed down the nervousness. "Mr. Holmes, it's been a few days now since…well," she paused. "And you haven't found anything, so I'm wondering if maybe you should look at things differently."
He leaned back in the chair and glared at her.
She sighed. "The man said he was Artemis's father…but what if he's not?"
"What do you mean?" he raised an eyebrow.
"He was clearly off his rocker." She scoffed. "I just think maybe…maybe he imagined he was her father." She continued. "Maybe he just became obsessed with her, and it's not exactly a bad idea because…well, we haven't really made any breakthrough trying to track him down."
"And what do you propose we do?" he asked.
"Take a different route?" she pulled out a rather large binder. "Maybe, we should start looking into other people in her life."
He took the binder and flipped through it. "How did you put this together?" he frowned, she couldn't have had a lot of time to, seeing as he had her running around trying to find out who Artemis's father was.
"In my free time, sir." She nodded.
"You don't have a lot these past few days, your free time has just been to sleep…right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She hesitated. "I can't seem to do a lot of that…sleep, I mean."
He sighed. He couldn't talk, because he hadn't slept a wink since Vanessa had discovered Artemis's room to be empty.
"Well, I suppose I should explore everything, I'll have read through this in the morning, come back then."
She nodded and left the room.
He ran a hand through his hair and slumped forward, the stress of not knowing…it was wearing on him. He didn't know the name of the man who took her, or what he was doing right at that moment…was she scared? Probably, she was only a child, after all. He had never felt such burning rage before, the thought of her being hurt, or worse…it made his fists clench and his stomach churn.
When they catch this man, he'll make sure he gets the maximum punishment. He looked towards the door and wished she would just walk in, saying that she got away…and that the bad man was gone.
Sherlock was right; he had grown attached to her…more than he cared to admit. Was this what it felt like to have a child? Every waking moment that they're out of your sight, you feel uneasy? If he had known that he would feel like that, he wouldn't have gotten a kid.
But a part of him was glad that he had adopted her, he was glad that he had taken her out of the system.
"When I get you back…" he whispered to the picture of her in the large binder. "I'll promise to keep you safe."
I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry!
There is absolutely no excuse for my late update other than my own forgetfulness and laziness. I meant to do it yesterday but forgot and decided to do it today...only to forget once more.
Anyway...special thanks to Aubrey Cortez for her reviews!
Guess that's all...don't forget to review.