Sophia had been missing for three days. It didn't take too long for John to figure out that, left to his own devices, Sherlock would probably end up using again within the first day. So John and Mary moved into the flat. They were successful in keeping Sherlock off of the drugs. At least they hoped they were. But it proved that making him sleep, eat, drink and change his clothes was much harder.

He was still adamant that nobody could know. Of course, Lestrade had figured out something was up after the previous case. So Sherlock ended up begrudgingly telling him. Obviously, that ended up working in their favour. Using his position in New Scotland Yard he was able to obtain the security footage from the school. Sadly, that wasn't much help. They were able to see Sophia walking hand in hand with Moriarty out of the school but they walked out of shot. After that, they couldn't be tracked.

Lestrade was also able to get information on who owned the building that Moriarty had called from. It turned out that the building was brand new. It was still being made fit for offices so was almost completely empty. The owner of the building had no idea about people squatting in their top floor. No other floor mattered. There was hard evidence that Sophia was, at some point, on the top floor. Evidence that came in the form of neatly folded paper with the words 'please call sherlock holmes. hes my daddy and ive been kid napped'.

After that, the case went cold once more. Now Sherlock was in some sort of awful purgatory. He could do nothing but wait.

Sophia, on the other hand, was finding the whole ordeal rather boring . Of course, it was awful. Being kidnapped by your father's worst enemy was never going to be fun. But it wasn't half as exciting as Sophia had expected. For one, Moriarty seemed to have better things to do than hang around her every second of the day. He'd come to the basement where he kept her a few times a day. To ask irrelevant questions about her mummy and her mummy's boyfriends. He'd bring her breakfast as well if he remembered. Other than that he sent another man in to do the boring stuff that he needed to do to keep Sophia alive.

The other man wasn't too bad. Sophia liked him more than Moriarty. His name was Adeem. He wore a suit like Moriarty and brought her food twice a day. It was usually take-out which was a relief after the boring breakfast of plain toast that Moriarty delivered if he remembered too. He wasn't as mean as Moriarty either. He never said things to make her cry. In fact, he didn't talk much at all.

Sometimes, after Sophia had heard Moriarty leave the dirty and aging house he was making her stay at, Adeem would come down to the basement and take her up the stairs and lead her to the bathroom. If Moriarty found out, she had heard Adeem grumble once, he'd have his head. Moriarty didn't think Sophia should leave the basement. He wanted her to stay down there and do her toilet business in a little waste paper bin in the corner.

It was during one of their trips to the bathroom that Sophia asked the question that had been bugging her since she woke up that morning.

"Can I have some new clothes?" She asked as she held onto Adeem's hand. He led the way, a few footsteps ahead and peering around every corner. "I'm starting to smell."

"I'll ask the boss," Adeem muttered. Sophia looked down at her clothes with a sigh. He sleeves were stained with her tears and snot. A few times she had spilt food on herself as well. She was starting to look like she was still living with her mummy.

"He'll say no," Sophia whined. There was no way Moriarty would let her have new clothes. Adeem didn't disagree. Instead, he held the door to the bathroom open and waited for her to walk in.

She did so reluctantly. Knowing that if daddy did find her, he might be too disgusted to take her home. Her face was tight and crusty with dirt and snot and dust. For the first time in her life she wanted to take a bath. She wanted daddy to wash her hair even if he did scrub too hard and hurt her scalp.

There was no bath in this bathroom. Not even a shower. Just a toilet and a sink. The floor was wooden planks and the walls were cracked concrete. There was a spider in the corner, sitting in it's web waiting for the right moment to gobble Sophia up.

Keeping her eye on the spider, she crept across the room. Towards the sink where she reached out for the tap. After spinning it around a few times, water began to spurt out.

Warm, brown water that smelled like rotten food and the boys toilets in school. Using that would just make Sophia even dirtier. She imagined the little germs in the water. She imagined them crawling onto her skin, climbing into her mouth and giving her a tummy ache.

Anger swelled up in her stomach. She was bored, she missed her daddy and now she even missed clean water. It sent her over the edge. She wasn't sad now, just furious.

But then she saw it.

After throwing her head back angrily and giving the tap a good whack, she spotted the thin rectangular window at the top of the wall.

Without a second thought to the matter she scrambled up the sink. It creaked and groaned under her weight as she hauled her upper body across the bowl. She felt the sink shake as she pulled up her body and stuck her knees into the sink. As she stood up the faucet jabbed into her stomach and then scraped the skin from her leg. It didn't matter though. Standing on her tippy toes she reached up to the window.

Her fingers didn't even brush the edge of the window. She was too short, her arms were too stumpy and the sink was too low down. Maybe if she risked taking a jump on the wobbly sink...

"Hey," Adeem called, his voice awkward and worried from the other side of the bathroom door. "You need to hurry up."

As quickly and quietly as she could, Sophia jumped down from the sink. There was no point trying any longer. She was too small and she didn't want to risk Adeem walking in on her trying to get away. He was nice but, all in all, he worked for Moriarty. So, with a defeated sigh, she walked across the dirty bathroom and unlocked the door.

"I was washing my hands." She lied. The man let out a quiet grunt of acknowledgment before taking her by the wrist and leading her gently back to the basement.

He walked her down the steps to the basement and watched as she walked through the door. He let her go in before mumbling something about Moriarty coming back soon and locking the door behind her.

Once again she was left alone in the filthy room. There weren't any windows in there to try and crawl out of. There wasn't even any carpet. The walls were bare brick and cement. All that was in the room were scattered pieces of paper that Sophia had drawn on, a small mountain of broken crayons, a thin lump of a mattress, a dirty blanket to go with it and the waste bin that Sophia was too proud to use. There were also a few wires and cables hanging out from small holes in the wall but Sophia was clever enough not to go near them. Daddy had told her too many stories about people being electrocuted or strangled by loose wires.

Part of her wondered if she could convince Moriarty to go and touch the wire. Maybe he'd get electrocuted and die. Then she could find the keys for the door and just skip out.

That wasn't very realistic though. She was only a little girl and he was a grown man. He probably knew not to touch wires and Sophia wouldn't be able to kill him any other way. No, she needed to sit down and figure out a plan. A plan that involved the bathroom window. That was her best bet.

So, she swallowed the home sickness that welled up in her chest and threatened to spill out as tears and sobs. She dragged herself across the room to sit in the corner where she'd think and think.

Until she hit the best idea a Holmes' had probably ever had in the whole of history.

/

They let Sherlock smoke again. In the grand scheme of things, it didn't seem too bad. It wasn't heroin and at least he was doing it where they could see. They had become like over protective parents of a teenage boy. Every time Sherlock was out of sight someone would panic, certain he was about to do something stupid.

That wasn't to say that the temptation hadn't been there. There wasn't much else to do except sit and wait for the phone call. He knew it would come. Every time the phone rang he tried to prepare himself. He waited for a voice on the other end of the line to make everything around him crumble. It never came. Not yet anyway. Phone calls were still clients wondering if he was taking cases or strangers from strange call centres insisting that he had been in a car accident and was entitled to compensation. But he knew it would come. That the next phone could be a somber voice asking him to identify the body of a young girl.

And deep down he knew it was his fault. He was never made to be a father. None of this would have happened if he had sent her straight to social services the moment she turned up on the door. She'd be in a boringly normal foster family. A mother and a father who loved her and kept her safe. A foster brother or sister to play normal games with and maybe a dog. She wouldn't be where she is now. Probably dead at the hands of Moriarty. A man who wants to get rid of her just so he can go back to playing with Sherlock himself.

Maybe he should have given her up. Not just for the good of her but for the good of himself. How many cases had he turned down since he started taking care of her? Money lost and murders missed. Before she had barged into his life he had had the pleasure of never being awoken at four in the morning to a sobbing child damp with her own urine after wetting the bed and knowing that he and only he would have to sort it all out. He couldn't even remember how many times she had decided to shove her sticky fingers all over something he owned, ended up with it being broken on the floor.

But it was fruitless. Telling himself all the reasons he should have never taken her in the first place was having no effect. Even if all of it was true there was still the overwhelming feeling in his stomach that begged him to do something, anything, to get her back. To find her and lock her up so nobody could get at her again. His entire being ached, needing to see her smile just once more. To hear her voice or the sound of her footsteps as she tried, in vain, to creep into his room and climb into bed next to him in the middle of a thunderstorm.

Because after all, he wanted it to all be a dream. He wanted to be woken up to her sobbing, covered in urine and snot and telling him that she had wet the bed. He wanted to turn down the next case because she was running a fever and throwing up but still insisting they watch some stupid kids tv show about a damn talking bear. He wanted to be snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of something smashing and a small 'oops'.

For God's sake, he'd go back to a hundred children's parties if it meant the little brat would come home safe and sound.

/

Sophia didn't sleep the night before. She was too nervous. Instead, she stayed awake, lying on the flat mattress, listening to the sounds of the house. She had long since realised that Moriarty didn't sleep in the house. He left at some point during the evening, probably to sleep in a nice bed in a nice house. Not this dump of a place. He'd return every morning to check in on Sophia. He'd give her breakfast and make sure she hadn't escaped or wasn't too happy.

"Good morning, luvvey." His voice boomed the next morning. Sophia sat up slowly, wrapping the dirty blanket around her.

"When am I going home?" She tried.

"Oh, princess, you're not going home." He smiled, walking closer towards her. In his hand was a plate with a plain piece of toast on it. No butter, no jam, no chocolate spread, nothing. Sophia swore to herself she'd never eat a piece of toast again after this. Well, maybe. She might make an exception for chocolate spread.

"Are you going to kill me?" She asked bravely, taking the plate from Moriarty. She mumbled a small thank you. After all, she may have been kidnapped but that didn't mean she couldn't use her manners.

"I'm not quite sure yet," Moriarty admitted casually. "I quite enjoy seeing your daddy squirm at the moment." Sophia glared up at him as she took a bite of her boring toast. "And we haven't done anything fun yet."

"I think it would be fun if you let me go home." Sophia shot back, crumbs spraying out of her mouth and falling onto Moriarty's shoes. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, almost snarling as she took a step back from her.

"Oh I was thinking more along the lines of chopping off your little piggies and sending them to daddy one day at a time." Sophia's toes curled underneath her socks. She tried not to look scared but found it rather difficult seeing as her toes were being threatened. So instead she turned her head away, concentrating on swallowing the dry lump of toast stuck in her throat.

"Oh, Sophia, don't worry about that today." He continued, his voice mocking her. "Today all you need to worry about is what you're going to say to daddy."

"What?" Sophia mumbled, looking back up at him. He nodded frantically, like an overexcited child.

"Yep. Today we're going to make a home-video to send to daddy to show him how much of a nice time you're having."

"Are you going to hurt me?" She asked, knowing the answer was most certainly a yes. It wouldn't be a surprise. He had already hit her and pushed her around a few times.

Once he said they could play hide and seek but it wasn't as fun as when they did it at school. She didn't want to play it in the first place. When Sophia was hiding Moriarty pulled her out of her hiding place by her hair and then when she had to find Moriarty she got scared and couldn't find him at all. Eventually, he jumped out from behind her and grabbed her with his hand over her mouth.

He never hurt her too much but it was too much for her. He only hit her or punched her or pulled her hair or kicked her. He never did any of the really bad stuff that the police officer who visited her school told them about. He never touched her in her private places and he definitely hadn't tried to kiss her. Daddy said not to kiss any boys. Ever. Girls were a maybe.

Moriarty never replied to her question. Instead, he just laughed and eventually left. When he did Sophia tossed the leftover toast onto the floor and said the naughty 'F' word under her breath. She swore all the swear words she knew.

If there was any doubt in her mind to go ahead with her plan it was gone now. There was no way she was going to stay here. Even if she died trying, it was better than dying at the hands of Moriarty.

/

An hour or so later she heard him leave. Her plan was set into motion. In a few moments, Adeem would knock on the door, unlock it and ask if she needed to use the toilet. She could feel herself shaking. The anticipation was killing her. Every second was dragging out longer and longer. John had always said that she had gotten her impatience from her father but she thought that anyone would be pulling their hair out with impatience if they were in the same situation that she was now.

Then came the knock at the door. Sophia sat back up, the tatty blanket draped over her shoulders. The door creaked open, revealing the face of the only person Sophia had seen in the past few days that wasn't Moriarty.

He was pretty. In other circumstances, Sophia would have probably had a crush on him. His skin was light brown and smooth and his eyes reminded her of big black marbles. If he wasn't so nervous all the time, Sophia guessed he'd look rather kind.

"Do you want to visit the bathroom?" Adeem asked. Sophia nodded and jumped to her feet.

"I need to bring the bucket." She said, pointing to the waste paper basket. "I needed to pee in the night." She walked across the room to the bin that now contained as much pee as Sophia could force out during the night. An activity that had proved to be far more difficult that Sophia could have ever thought. "I'm going to empty it down the toilet cos it's starting to smell."

"Sure." Adeem replied, holding the door open for her as she waddled forwards.

Now would have been a great time, she mused, to toss the pee in the man's face and run away. But, alas, she had to stick to the plan and Adeem was too nice anyway. If she could throw pee in Moriarty's face then she would. She would pay for the opportunity... if she had her own money. Instead she'd just have to make do with day dreaming about it.

"I'll be outside." Adeem said, like he always did, as Sophia made her way into the bathroom. She hummed a noise of acknowledgement, hearing the door being closed behind her. Balancing the bin of piss in one arm she reached back and slid the lock on the door across. She knew that, if Adeem really wanted to, he could kick the door open within a few seconds. The lock didn't really mean much.

That's why she had to make sure that she made no sound that was too suspicious. Opening the toilet and tipping out the contents into the toilet was fine. Everything after that had to be silent. She had to be silent. Climbing up the side of the sink, empty waste paper basket in hand, she couldn't make a noise. Not even a tiny gasp of pain when her arm scratched against the broken faucet. She had never been so quiet in her life. Even when she was asleep daddy said that she made noises. That she snored or said words she never remembered when she woke.

Now for her master plan. It wasn't great. Nothing that Sherlock would be impressed with. It wouldn't make the newspapers like daddy's plans did but nevertheless she was still impressed with herself when she thought it up. And it was simple. All she had to do was tip the wastepaper basket upside down and balance it on the sink.

Then, with her hands pressed against the wall to steady her, she delicately climbed onto the base of the bin. It shook and swayed under her weight. It took her a moment. She couldn't move, instead teetering like a circus performer. She wondered what she'd would happen if she fell. She'd probably break her arm or maybe her back. If she did Moriarty would be furious. He'd know she was trying to escape and he probably wouldn't help her at all. He'd let her arm stay broken without a cast or even medicine to help.

That thought pushed her forward even more. She jumped back into action, reaching up so her lower arms were able to hook over the windowsill. They fumbled around for the lever to open the window. It was rusty and stiff and after a few moments it opened with a loud thud.

"Are you OK in there?" Adeem asked. Sophia froze, arms reaching out of the window as she stood on her tippy-toes. A million lies ran through her head, none of them worthy to be told out loud. She had been found out. This was it. She was done for.

A/N: SO! HOW ARE MY LOVELY READERS?

I'm sorry this took so long. My life had a burst of interesting-ness. I'm talking Comiccon and going to Belfast and internet friend's coming to see me and getting really, stupidly drunk and talking about fanfiction, oh, what was that? My goddamn 21st Birthday is on Monday! What happened to me? I'm pretty sure just last week I was a twelve-year-old discovering fanfiction for the first time. Oh God, that was ten years ago. Leave me here to wallow in my own old-ness. I bet you're all in high school. Living it up in your youth.

So, before I start having a quarter life crisis, here's my question for you beautiful lot,

What are your plans for this week/ what did do last week? I'm genuinely curious to find out all this stuff! You're all so interesting. here's me, snuggled up on my own and one of you is moving to Italy, one of you is moving to LA. You're all in college doing cool things.

ANYWAY, I hope you all like this chapter.

Keep these reviews coming, I'm pretty sure I'll drop dead if they stop. Not even joking, this is an addiction now. Please, no one help me.