I won't be, no I won't be like you
Fighting back,
I'm fighting back the truth

Eyes like yours can't look away
But you can't stop DNA
No, you can't stop DNA

John didn't see the first punch coming. Nor the second one. To be fair, he really should have known something like this was going to happen.

The pain came shortly after the shock. It seared through his nose and he could feel the blood dripping from his face. Everybody reacted before him.

Lestrade jumped and tackled Hamish while handcuffing him.

'Does he always bring handcuffs with him where ever he goes or is it just when Sherlock is around?' John thought while trying to stay conscious. Those punches really took a number on him.

Sherlock was telling him something but he couldn't understand him.

"John! John, are you okay?" He could finally hear Sherlock. He realized he ended up sitting on the floor sometime after the second punch. Huh.

In his periphery he could see his father shouting profanities and all kinds of insults he could come up with. He's quite creative when it comes to these kinds of things.

He rolled onto his knees and threw up in the decorative plant Mrs Hudson insisted on. His head was throbbing and he wasn't entirely sure what was happening around him.

This time, he didn't wake up in a hospital bed. He woke up in the bed he shared with Sherlock. There was a blanket covering him up and he was wearing a set of clothes John recognized as Sherlock's.

He was still quite dizzy and couldn't remember what happened. He got up with some trouble and walked over to a mirror where he saw why everything hurt so much.

There was a bandage over his nose that did nothing to hide the swelling under it. There was some bruising to his jaw and he had a huge black eye. He tried moving his jaw but stopped immediately when the pain increased.

The door to his room quietly opened. John turned around to see Sherlock standing in the entrance, havng stopped at the sight of John awake.

Seeing Sherlock made him remember what happened last night. After that there was just one thought circling around in his mind:

"Shit"

"What are you doing out of bed? Shouldn't you still be sleeping?"

"Umm.. I just, uh " John couldn't think focus enough to finish that sentence. His thoughts were all over the place and his head just. hurt. so . much.

Sherlock's arms found themselves around John's waist, lightly pushing him back to their bed. After he made John lay down again, he walked to the other side of the bed and laid down next to him while wrapping his arms around his shoulders and pulling him closer so that John's head rested on his chest.

He repeatedly brushed his fingers through John's hair in a certain rhythm which helped relax John. That is, until he remembered something.

"Where's Harry? I need to warn her, he could have already done something... What if he did? Oh, God-" As John talked he began to get up, despite the pain that was throbbing in his head, until Sherlock pulled him back.

"Harry's fine, John. She's in the living room talking to Mrs. Hudson. She's going to be okay," At that he looked at John and met his eyes," And so will you"

They looked at each other for some time, their eyes talking without words as they both clung to each other scared that if they let go, the other will disappear. A knock made them look away.

John sat up when he saw Harry walk in. She looked at his face, his bruises, and immediately the tears slid down her face. She felt scared, she felt like a child again, afraid for herself, her brother, her family.

She ran to her brother who embraced and held her like he did so many years ago

A couple of days later,after his father went to jail again, John and Sherlock would sit on their sofas listening to the rain as John talked about everything he never dared to say. He told Sherlock about his father, his abuse, his mother, her death, his foster parents, the nightmares, the scars.

With every word, Sherlock would become more and more furious at the man who ruined his lover's life and more sure of the love he has for the brave man sitting in front of him.

As a tear slides down John's cheek and he wipes it off furiously, Sherlock swears to whoever is listening that he will have his revenge. After all, it is prison. A lot of bad things can happen to you in prison.