"Who's that?" Sophia asked once the neighbour was out of sight. John rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hand, making his way towards the living room. Sophia followed quickly behind, her bottom lip sticking out in disappointment. This woman, whoever she was, was not her father. Therefore she was not wanted.

"She's a neighbour." John explained. Sophia sighed and trudged behind him until they were in the living room where she dropped herself down on the edge of the sofa, making a point to sit furthest away from Kate. She listened to what the woman was sobbing about but didn't offer any opinions or words of comfort. She was far too disappointed that it wasn't her father to care about anyone else.

"There you go." John's voice said, pulling Sophia out of her self wallowing. He placed two mugs of coffee down onto the table.

"It's Isaac." Sophia declared, earning a look of surprise from the sobbing woman.

"Ah, your husband." John nodded, looking down at Kate.

"Son." Mary corrected quickly.

"Son, yeah."

"He's gone missing again." Kate added. "Didn't come home last night."

"The usual." Sophia sighed with a shake of her head.

"He's the drugs one, yeah?" John asked.

"Yes. He's the drugs one." Sophia agreed. Kate burst out into a fresh round of loud sobs.

"Yeah, nicely put, John." Mary replied.

"Look, is it Sherlock Holmes you want?" John asked. "Because I've not seen him in ages."

"About a month." Mary pointed out before turning back to Kate.

"Who's Sherlock Holmes?" Kate asked, earning a gasp from Sophia who leant over to look at her in horror.

"See?" Mary asked John. "That does happen."

"There's a place... a place they go to, him and his friends... they all do whatever they do... shoot up. Whatever you call it." Kate continued.

"Where is he?" John asked. The look in his eye reminded Sophia of her father when he found an interesting case. That look was usually followed by him exclaiming 'the game is on'.

"It's a house. It's a dump. I mean, it's practically falling down."

"No the address. Where exactly?"

Shortly afterwards John was leaving the house, Sophia and Mary hot on his track. "Seriously?" Mary asked, still in her pyjamas and her dressing gown.

"Why not?" John asked. "She's not going to the police. Someone's got to get him."

"Why you?" She asked, stopping at the gate. Sophia stumbled past her. She was still in her pink pyjamas but had, at some point, also tugged her deerstalker onto her head.

"I'm being neighbourly." John answered.

"Since when?"

"Since now." John chuckled. "Since this exact moment." Sophia began to ignore them, instead focussing on making her way to the car without being seen. She knew that this would be a 'dangerous case'. Drugs was one of those dangerous words. Like murder and sex and alcohol.

She was good at being quiet and unnoticed. She opened the door to the car ever-so-slightly before slipping in. John and Mary didn't notice until they were in the car. By that time she had already strapped herself in and was waiting patiently.

"No." John said, looking back at her. "No. Sophia. There's no way you can come."

"We're going on a case." Sophia said firmly. "Daddy might be there."

"You can't come, Sophia. It's far too dangerous." John said, using his 'adult-voice'. "Go back and wait with Kate."

"No!" Sophia yelled. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at John. Full on tantrum mood was about to start. "If I go back into the house you won't come back."

"Yes we will." John spoke, his voice slightly softer. "Where we're going is certainly not a place for a person of your age."

"I don't care. I'm not moving." Sophia snapped stubbornly. John looked from her to his wife who just shrugged and stared ahead. Eventually, he let out a heavy sigh and stuck the keys into the ignition. It was hard for Sophia to hold back a cheer but she did. She was going to be a good girl today. Sophia Holmes was on a case.

/

They pulled up on a large, bare patch on concrete. It was, Mary said, the address that Kate told them. John had already left the car. It turned out that no matter how much she begged, she wasn't allowed into the house. John was certain about that. So instead she waited in the car with Mary. They spoke about the normal stuff six year olds spoke about. Disney musicals, dolphins, clothes and when they were next getting a McDonalds to name a few subjects.

"There he is!" Sophia called happily, pointing a finger over Mary's shoulder towards a stumbling figure. Mary wound down the window as she watched him stumbling forward. A breif moment of hesitation made her decide that it wasn't best if Sophia was sat alone in the back seat with a man high on drugs. It wasn't that she worried about her being hurt. It was more that Sophia was very impressionable at this age. Plus, it would be a disaster if she mentioned any of this at school. "Sophia, bring your seat and jump into the front. OK?"

Sophia did as she was told with hesitation or argument. Picking up her seat she climbed over the seats and got into the front. She was excited. It was rare for her to be allowed to sit in the front of the car while there was two adults there.

"Hello, Isaac." Mary said happily.

"Mrs Watson, can I... can I get in please?" The boy replied.

"Yes, of course. Get in. Where's John?" Mary jabbed her thumb to the sea behind her. Isaac stumbled forwards, opening the car door.

"They're having a fight." He replied sounding, in Sophia's opinion, rather sleepy.

"Who is?" Mary asked urgently. That's when Sophia saw it.

Two figured came out of the house on the first floor. She recognised John almost instantly. She didn't recognise the other man until he was a bit closer. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt her stomach fill with butterflies. "Daddy?" She whispered.

"Sophia..." Mary warned, but it was too late. Sophia had pulled open the door and thrown herself out. She ran as fast as she could towards her father, ignoring Mary's shouts telling her to stop. This was her daddy. He was finally back. He hadn't run away forever like her mummy had. He was back and everything was OK.

John was the first one to spot her. His heart broke. Sophia was running towards them wearing her deerstalker hat. John hadn't seen her looking so happy since before Sherlock abandoned her. Another wave of anger washed over him for his friend. He watched as Sophia stumbled to a stop in front of them. She had realised something was wrong.

"Daddy?" She whispered, looking up at him in horror.

"Sophia, go wait in the car." John said. He struggled to get his words out.

"I missed you." Sophia said with a shaking nervous smile, completely ignoring John. Sherlock rolled his eyes. Sophia's face fell, her bottom lip stuck out and her eyes gathered with tears. John could have punched Sherlock in the face.

A squeal of brakes signalled that Mary had pulled up beside them. "Get in." She snapped sternly. "All of you. Now." Sophia threw herself forward, yanking open the car door and pushing herself into the front seat. She strapped herself in, keeping her head down.

"Please, can I come?" A voice said. She looked up briefly. Enough time to see a scruffy looking young man standing in front of the car. "I think I've got a broken arm."

"No. Go away." Mary grumbled.

"No, let him in." John sighed from the back seat.

"Why?"

"Yeah, just get in." John called to the man. "It's a sprain."

"Anyone else?" Mary asked as the man ran around the side of the car to get in. "I mean, we're taking everybody home, are we?" Sherlock let out a sigh but Sophia refused to turn around. She heard John, Sherlock and Isaac move over as much as they could for the young man climbed into the car.

"All right, Shezza?" The man asked as he sat down.

"Shezza?" John asked incredulously.

"I was undercover." Sherlock snapped.

"Seriously?" Mark asked. "Shezza, though?" Sherlock let out another sigh. Sophia still didn't look around. She rested her head against the window and closed her eyes. Why was Sherlock abandoning her? She hadn't ruined Mary and John's big day. She hadn't even mentioned Jim to anyone. He had no reason to hate her.

"We're not going home." John stated. "We're going to Bart's. I'm calling Molly."

"Why?" Mary asked.

"Because Sherlock Holmes needs to pee in a jar." If Sophia wasn't so upset, she'd giggle uncontrollably at the sentence.

/

Sophia was sat on top of one of the tables. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to be at home. She wanted everything to be normal. Sherlock was too angry. He was scaring her. She wanted him to run to her and give her a cuddle. Kiss her on the forehead and take her home to watch documentaries.

"Well, is he clean?" John asked as Molly took off her gloves. Sophia looked up at Sherlock, hiding behind her hair. Her certainly was not clean. He was covered in dirt and in desperate need of a bath.

"Clean?" Molly asked, throwing her latex gloves down. She turned to face Sherlock and then did something that Sophia would never have expected. She slapped Sherlock across the face. Sophia jumped in shock and let out a tiny yelp. She didn't understand but, then again, she hadn't really understood anything all day.

"How dare you throw away the beautiful gifts you were born with." Molly cried. Sophia didn't get it. "And how dare you betray the love of your friends and family. Say you're sorry."

"Sorry your engagement's over." Sherlock said, looking Molly straight in the eye. Sophia took a guess that Molly didn't mean that type of sorry. She didn't even know that Molly's engagement was over. That was one of the things that you didn't mention to children. "Though I'm fairly grateful for the lack of ring."

"Stop it!" Molly snapped angrily. "Just stop it." Sophia felt a lump rise in her throat. She knew it was bad because none of the adults were pretending it was OK. Usually in bad situations the adults would lie to her and tell her it's OK. They weren't now. Molly looked as if she would cry and John was storming over to Sherlock. He looked as if he would punch him right in the face.

"If you were anywhere near this thing of thing again, you could have called, you could have talked to me."

"Please do relax." Sherlock replied smoothly. "This is all for a case."

"A ca..." John asked in disbelief. "What case would need you doing this?"

"I might as well start to ask why you've started cycling to work."

"No. We're not playing this game."

"Quite recently, I'd say." Sherlock continued even though John had already started walking away. "You're very determined about it."

"Not interested."

"I am!" The man from the house said. Sophia had forgotten about him. He, like her daddy, was far too dirty looking. "Ow!" He cried, looking down at Mary who had been bandaging his arm.

"Oh, sorry. You moved. But it is just a sprain." Mary said.

"Yeah. Somebody hit me."

"Huh?"

"Eh, just some guy." The man answered while looking at John.

"Yeah, probably just an addict in need of a fix." John said casually.

"Yes. I think, in a way, it was." Sherlock said. His voice was the same voice he used when Sophia didn't know something or Mycroft didn't know a joke he and Sophia was making.

"Is it his shirt?" The man asked suddenly.

"I'm sorry?" Sherlock asked, looking around at him.

"Well, it's the creases, innit? The two creases down the front. It's been recently folded but it's not new. Must have dressed in a hurry this morning. So all of your shirts must be kept like that. But why? Maybe cause you cycle to work every morning. Shower when you get there and then dress in the clothes you brought with you, ready to pack." The man answered. Sophia glared at him. She didn't like it when other people did that. Only daddy could do that.

"Not bad." Sherlock commented.

"An I further deduce you've only started recently because you've got a bit of chafing."

"No. He's always like that. Remind me, what's your name again?" Sherlock asked.

"They call me The Wif."

"No they don't."

"Well, they call me Wiggy."

"Nope."

"Bill. Bill Wiggins."

"Nice observational skills, Billy." Sherlock praised. Sophia's stomach flipped. Her daddy hardly ever said anything nice like that to her. He never told her she was good at things or had 'nice skills'. A lump rose in her throat and tears gathered in her eyes. She wouldn't cry. Not while she was in a bad mood with Sherlock.

/

She didn't speak to anyone. She didn't even look at her father. As soon as the cab pulled up outside 221B she ran out. She'd go to her room and sulk in there until daddy felt bad, she decided. So, she pushed the door open and stomped into the building, pausing briefly when she saw Mycroft sat on the stairs. He smiled at her but she just glared at him. This was, for some reason, his fault. It felt bad to blame Sherlock for bad things even if deep down she knew it was all his fault.

Stomping her way past him, she continued thudding until she was into the flat. She wanted everyone in the building to know that she was angry. Her stomping was ruined though, when she saw two people standing in her kitchen. She glared at them for a few seconds before they noticed her.

"You're that man who works for daddy." She said loudly, making the two people in her kitchen jump. "You're the stupid one!"

"I don't work for your daddy." Anderson replied. "I sometimes work with your daddy."

"Why are you in my flat? You're not allowed in other people's houses without permission." Sophia snapped. Anderson looked over at his partner, a woman who looked far too happy.

"Well..." Anderson began.

"For God's sake." Sherlock yelled furiously as he came into the flat. Sophia stumbled backwards in fear. "Anderson."

"I'm sorry, Sherlock." Anderson replied, holding up a hand apologetically. "It's for your own good."

"Oh, that's him, isn't it?" The woman asked, leaning in towards Anderson. Sherlock stormed towards his chair where another member of the 'search team' was sitting. Sophia hadn't even noticed him. She hoped there were no more. He scrambled out of the chair in time for Sherlock to curl up in it. "You said he'd be taller"

"Some members of your little fan-club." Mycroft noted as he walked into the room. Sophia felt stupid standing in the middle of the living room but she couldn't move. She wanted everyone to go away. She wanted to be alone with Sherlock so he could tell her what was going on. "Do be polite. They're entirely trustworthy and even willing to search through the toxic waste dump that you are pleased to call a flat."

"We clean this flat." Sophia heard herself snap. "I help!"

"Mmm." Mycroft mumbled, looking at Sophia for a brief second before turning back to Sherlock. "You're a celebrity these days Sherlock... and a father. You can't afford a drug habit."

"I do not have a drug habit." Sherlock replied.

"What's a drug habit?" Sophia asked. Everyone looked at her but nobody answered her.

"Hey!" John cried, changing the subject. "What happened to my chair?"

"It was blocking my view of the kitchen." Sherlock grumbled.

"Well, it's good to be missed." John said sarcastically.

"Well, you were gone." Sherlock said. "I saw an opportunity."

"I thought you saw the kitchen." Sophia asked, earning a smirk from Sherlock.

"What have you found so far?" Mycroft asked Anderson. "Clearly nothing."

"There's nothing to find." Sherlock snapped back.

"What are they looking for?" Sophia asked. Yet again, nobody answered. She hated being so little. Nobody told her anything important.

"Your bedroom door is shut." Mycroft commented, walking painfully slowly down the hallway. "You haven't been home all night. So why would a man who never knowingly closed the door without direct orders from his mother bother to do so on this occasion?" His hand hovered over the doorknob. Sherlock threw himself up into a sitting position in panic.

"Okay, stop! Just stop!" He barked. "Point made."

"Jesus, Sherlock." John cursed. "You have a daughter now."

"Have to phone our parents now, of course, in Oklahoma." Mycroft commented. "Won't be the first time your substance abuse has wrecked havoc with their line dancing."

"This is not what you think. This is for a case." Sherlock said, walking towards his brother. That sentence made Sophia sigh in relief. She didn't know what was going on but as long as it was for a case then surely it was all OK.

"What case could possibly justify this?" Mycroft asked.

"Magnussen." Sherlock said simply. Mycroft's face dropped. "Charles Augustus Magnussen." Sophia didn't know who that was or why Mycroft looked so horrified. He turned to Anderson and the woman he was with.

"That name you think you may have just heard, you were mistaken. If you ever mention hearing that name in this room, in this context, I guarantee you on behalf of the British security services that material will be found on your computer hard drives resulting in your immediate incarceration. Don't reply. Just look frightened and scuttle." They did as they were told causing Sophia to let out a giggle. Mycroft turned to her, looking her in the eyes with a look that made her stop giggling immediately. "Sophia, if you mention any of this to anyone you are grounded until you're eighteen."

"Who am I going to tell?" Sophia asked. She was rather annoyed that Mycroft thought he had the power to ground her. She wanted to tell everyone this man's name just to spite him but she had already forgotten it. "None of my friends are interested in the boring stuff you and daddy do."

"Good." He said, turning around to John who was stood next to Sherlock. "I hope I won't have to threaten you as well."

"Well, I think we'd both find that embarrassing." John shot back. Sherlock let out a snort of laughter and turned his head. Seeing him laugh made Sophia smile. If he was happy then everyone should be happy. Of course, that wasn't the case.

"Magnussen is not your business." Mycroft snapped to Sherlock, as if telling off a child.

"Oh, you mean he's yours." Sherlock replied swiftly.

"He's your boyfriend?" Sophia asked hopefully. She could do with another wedding and Mycroft did seem awfully lonely at times.

"You may consider him under my protection."

"I consider you under his thumb."

"If you go against Magnussen, then you will find yourself going against me."

"OK." Sherlock replied nonchalantly. "I'll let you know if I notice." He strolled towards the kitchen door leisurely. "Er, what was I going to say? Oh yeah!" He opened the door, pointing the way out. "Bye-bye." For a moment Sophia thought Mycroft was going to do as he was told. He would walk out of the flat and leave everyone in a happy mood. She watched as he left but he paused, turning towards Sherlock.

"Unwise, brother of mine." He said lowly. What happened next terrified Sophia into tears. Her father seized Mycroft's arm and twisted it up behind his back before slamming him face-first into the wall. Mycroft let a cry of pain escape his lips.

"Brother of mine, don't appal me when I'm high." He growled. John rushed over to Mycroft's side. His eye's never left Sherlock's.

"Mycroft, don't say another word. Just go. He could snap you in two, and right now I am slightly worried that he might." Mycroft pushed himself free,clutching his left arm in pain. He watched as Sherlock walked away, towards the crying Sophia who dodged his path.

"Don't speak." John said to Mycroft. "Just leave." When Sherlock's eyes caught Sophia's she became instantly more terrified. When she lived with her mummy and she cried everyone got so angry. Mummy's boyfriends would smack her or throw her across the room. She didn't want that to happen again. Not by daddy.

So she across the room and fell to her knees before pushing herself under the table. She brought her legs up to her chest, pressing her forehead against her knees. She tried her best to be quiet, sobbing silently to herself as John and Sherlock spoke. She was scared, so scared that she thought she might wet herself. That would just make Sherlock more angry though.

"Sophia, are you OK?" John's voice asked softly after a while. She didn't look up. She kept her face pressed into her denim covered knees. She could still feel hot tears spilling from her eyes and soaking into the fabric.

"Go away!" She shouted. It only took her a second to feel bad about shouting at John but he didn't seem to mind. He let out a sad sigh before the sound of him moving filled Sophia's ears.

"If you need me..." He said quietly. "I'm over here." Sophia nodded but still made no effort to move. Knowing that John was calm and OK did help her a little bit. It helped her sobs quieten down. Soon enough she had calmed down and was reduced to just sniffling. She wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve and lifted her head up.

Standing in the kitchen with John was someone who was certainly not Sherlock. She crawled out from under the table. Determined not to be seen, she carried on crawling. It wasn't until she was peeking out from behind the kitchen door that she saw who the mystery person was.

It was Janine and she was wearing nothing but daddy's shirt. Sophia felt her eyes widen as she watched her. The woman walked down the hallway to the bathroom. "Morning, room for a little one?" She asked. Sophia heard her dad laugh. That wasn't right, she thought grumpily. You weren't supposed to go into the bathroom when someone else was in there. They could be naked and you weren't supposed to let people see you naked. Unless it was daddy or Mrs Hudson and they were giving you a bath. When you were a grownup you certainly weren't allowed to show anyone your naked body. That's why Sherlock yelled and panicked whenever Sophia tried to open the door when he was having a bath.

John turned around. He looked shocked and, at the same time, highly amused. Sophia didn't find it as funny though. "Daddy kicked me out so Janine could stay." She said. John jumped in shock, looking down at where she knelt on the floor. "He doesn't love me anymore."

"Sophia, it's complicated." John said.

"No it's not." She screamed, jumping to her feet. "That's just what adults say when they don't want to talk about it." For the second time that day she felt herself burst into tears. She threw herself in the direction of her bedroom and didn't stop running. Not even when she heard John calling after her. She ran and ran before throwing herself under the covers of her bed. No one wanted her. First mummy, then John and Mary moved out, then Daddy, then Mycroft. She was going to be all alone soon.

/

A/N: That was a long chapter. I forgot how long I wrote the chapters. Anyway, I hope you all liked it! I'd love to hear from you all. Speaking of which, if you reviewed last chapter as a guest or without a reply option, I'm not leaving you out, here are your replies!

First Guest: I'm glad you like the story! Trust me, I have a plan for Moriarty. It's going to play out a lot more once I've finished following the TV story line!

Second Guest: THANK THE LORD FOR REVIEWERS LIKE YOURSELF!

Guest Number One: You got in there early, that's why you're number one! You will forever be number one now. Thank you so much for your lovely review! You made me feel a heck of a lot better. I hope you like this chapter, especially when Molly slaps Sherlock! Have a lovely day!

That's all the guests done, all the profile reviews replied with a PM, all the souls crushed with this rather bleak chapter. I hope you all have a lovely day because you all deserve the best. I promise the next chapters will be much happier!