John stormed into 221b Baker Street. Mrs. Hudson saw him coming and the way he looked, she thought it was best to follow him. He entered the apartment to find Tara feeding Rosie her dinner.

'Mrs. Hudson, please take Rosie with you' he said without looking away from Tara. The rage and anger in his eyes were evident to Tara and Mrs. Hudson.

Mrs. Hudson did as she was told, not wanting the little girl to see her father's anger and rage.

'John, what's wrong?' Tara asked in confusion.

He walked up to her, holding her up by her arm, rather harshly 'No, you tell me what's wrong. And don't you dare lie to me' he growled at her.

'John. John, you are hurting me' she tried to get out of his strong grip.

'Am I? Am I? And what about what you did?' he asked harshly, shaking her.

The look on John's face, his words, his behavior, everything gave it away. He knew. She didn't know how he knew, but she knew he knew. 'John. I can explain.' She cried softly.

'Oh! Trust me, you cannot...' He glared at her. 'I trusted you. I trusted you with my daughter and you lied' he yelled at her.

'John, I would never let anything happen to her' she tried to explain.

'Get out! Get out of here' he said as he began to drag her out of the apartment.

'John' she cried and almost fell down the stairs as John forcefully pulled her down the stairs.

He dragged her out of the building 'If I see you within a 100 meters radius of my daughter, you will see the worst of me' he barked at her before leaving her alone in the street and locking the door behind him.

When Mycroft and Sherlock arrived soon after, they found Tara standing at the gate, tears running down her cheeks. She stood there in the cold with no coat on. Mycroft ran to her, removing his coat, he laid it on her. He brought her close to him, holding her as she cried into his chest.

'I didn't mean to' was all she said, repeating it over and over again.

...

'I can't believe you didn't tell me about her' John said as Sherlock walked in.

'There was nothing to say' Sherlock stated plainly.

'You deduced her and you didn't think to tell me' John yelled at him.

'Watson, you have to listen to her. Let her explain herself' Sherlock told John as he removed his coat and gloves.

'Are you seriously supporting her right now? She lied' John asked him while pacing the room.

'She had a good reason. Just like Mary' Sherlock said, knowing very well he was striking a raw nerve there.

John glared at Sherlock. 'Do you know something that I don't?' pissed off that Sherlock brought up Mary.

'Mycroft knows everything and he is still with her. He is not a fool, John. He sees something we don't. He wouldn't have taken such a big risk if he didn't trust her. Just give her a chance' Sherlock asked John. Mycroft had made his share of bad decisions; Telling Moriarty everything about Sherlock, letting him talk to Eurus, etc., etc. But Sherlock was sure Mycroft was right about letting Tara into their lives.

'Is everyone I have ever met a psychopath?'

'Yes. Good that we've settled that. Now we have a kidnapper to catch'

'SHUT UP And stay shut up, because this is not funny. Not this time'

'I didn't say it was funny. John, you are addicted to a certain lifestyle. You are abnormally attracted to dangerous situations and people. I have said this to you before and I'll say it again. You were in a war. You did this with me, you did it with Mary and you are repeating it with Tara'

'Why is everything always MY FAULT?' he said kicking the chair.

Just then Mycroft walked in holding Tara close to him. In spite of his better judgment, he brought her back because Tara insisted on explaining herself to John. She didn't want him thinking she was a liar. Well, she was a liar but maybe he would forgive her if he knew her reason. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

'WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT COMING BACK HERE?' John growled at her.

'DR. WATSON, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM TALKING TO HER IN THAT MANNER' Mycroft reprimanded him, holding Tara closer to him.

'John, listen. Be calm and answer me' Sherlock said calmly 'What is she?'

'Our lying neighbor?'

'No, what is she?'

'A woman I considered a friend. A woman I trusted. A woman who has been the closest thing my daughter has to a mother, who has been lying to me since the day I met her.' He said looking at her without shifting his gaze. Tara looked at him with tearful eyes. He knew what Sherlock was asking, he was not an idiot. But he wanted to beat around the bush, to hurt her like he was hurting. She blinked her tears away, trying really hard not to cry.

Everybody knew what John was doing. He was hurting, he felt betrayed but, it wasn't fair. 'No. Not in this flat, not in this room. Right here, right now, what is she?' Sherlock repeated, hoping John would stop his juvenile game and just listen to what everyone was trying to say.

'Okay. Your way. Always your way' he said calmly this time. He walked up to the chair, picking it up and placing it back where it belonged 'Sit' he said to Tara.

She couldn't understand what was happening, she simply blinked at him

'Sit. This is where they sit. The people who come in here with their stories. They're the clients, that's all you are now, Tara. You're a client. This is where you sit and talk and this is where we sit and listen. Then we decide if we want you or not. So, sit.' He explained pointing at his chair, Sherlock's chair, and the chair she was supposed to sit on.

John walked to his armchair and sat down. Sherlock walked to his green leather chair, stopping for a moment to look at Tara, turning back he sits down in his chair. Tara sat where she was told to and Mycroft sat on the couch behind her.

'Mycroft, did you get what I asked you to bring?' Tara asked.

He simply nodded and handed her two files.

'Everything I was is in that file' she said, handing the file to John.

File-1

Name: Nayantara Singh Rathore

Date Of Birth: 18th June 1987

Sex: Female

Eyes: Onyx

Height: 5'3

Nationality: Indian

Occupation: Raw Agent, Ex-Indian Army Special Forces officer.

Position: Data Analyst

Code Name: Techie

Skill:

1. Designing unique communication systems

2. I-24/7 Monitoring

3. Reverse Hacking

4. Bomb Anatomy

5. Polyglotism

6. Interrogation Expert

7. Expert Tactician, strategist

8. Combat- Evidence-less killings, Sword fighting, Expert Marksman, Martial Arts, Master Combatant

Warzone Experience: Yes

Years Active: 2007-2017

Marital Status: Married- Tej Sareen (2007)

Death: 22nd March 2017

Cause: Murder

Reading the words death and murder, John looked up at Tara for answers. She signaled him to read the next file. John did as he was told and passed on the first file to Sherlock. A few pictures fall out of the file. John quickly picked it up and looked at it. A shiver ran down his spine and he shuddered at the horrific and rather graphic image. Not that John hadn't seen horrifying scenes before in his life, he was an army doctor, he worked with Sherlock Holmes. But knowing this had something to do with the woman he considered a sister made a lot of difference. He tried to shake it away and move on to the next file.

File-2

Name: Tej Sareen

Date of Birth: 17th September 1986

Sex: Male

Eyes: Grey

Height: 6'1

Nationality: Indian

Occupation: RAW Agent, Ex-Indian Army Special Forces Commando

Position: Field Officer

Code Name: Chanakya

Skill:

1. Bomb Anatomy

2. Interrogation Expert

3. Polyglotism

4. Expert Strategist, tactician

5. Combat- Evidence-less killings, Sword fighting, Expert Marksman, Martial Arts, Master Combatant

Warzone Experience: Yes

Years Active: 2007-2017

Marital Status: Married- Nayantara Singh Rathore (2007)

Death: 22nd March 2017

Cause: Murder

When John was done reading the files, he looked at Tara for answers. She took her cue and got ready to relive the painful memories of her past. She took a deep breath and began...

...