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Chapter 29

Sherlock stood outside the office next to Lestrade; he appeared to be on edge but hadn't said anything for several minutes now- which worried Greg. They had decided to give John and Lucy some privacy as he took care of her legs- John had came out earlier, saying he would stitch a couple of them that needed a few stitches, and put butterfly stitches on the others. The ex-army doctor's face had been slightly pale with worry for the young teenager but as soon as he went back into the office he had put a neutral mask on his face, no signs of concern showing.

When Lestrade had called Sherlock, the consulting detective was angry- furious even. Not at Lucy, but at himself and his own stupidity. Neither he nor John had checked on her for those hours as they didn't want to make the situation worse by invading her privacy and risking another argument- so they had left her alone. And yet, they really didn't expect her to run off again. Sherlock was annoyed at how simple it was to get out from under his nose, but considering Lucy had memorised all of the creaky floorboards on the stairs, he was only mildly surprised at how easy it can be to slip out without being noticed. While Sherlock had been rather loud and annoyed on the phone to Greg, the DI had tried to explain why she had run off- that she needed privacy and just needed to get out for a while without constant supervision. Sherlock Holmes wasn't best pleased with this excuse. John could begin to understand, but he was still upset nonetheless. Sherlock couldn't understand the need to run off without telling them, he thought that it would mean that no-one would have to worry all of the time. If Lucy had asked him, he probably would have let her out for a while- John may be against this but they would both know that Lucy needed her space now and then.

Sherlock groaned aloud, and Lestrade shot him a sympathetic look.

"Thanks by the way." The consulting detective mumbled slightly reluctantly. Greg gave him an incredulous look, his mouth open in amazement and he laughed.

"Did you just thank me?" The DI asked chuckling, "Were you actually polite?"

"Don't push your luck." Sherlock grumbled.

"Thanks for what?" Greg asked once he had stopped laughing.

"For looking after Lucy, you really didn't have to help her and clean her up." Sherlock fixed his mesmerising eyes on the man, "And don't go thinking that I'm going soft- John's forcing me to thank you on our behalf." He wrinkled his nose in disgust, "I don't think polite suits me."

"It suits you now and then. Besides, it offers a great form of amusement," Lestrade smirked as he saw Donovan raise a questioning eyebrow at his laughter from the other side of the room. "And there really is no need to thank me. I said I wanted to help and I stick to that. Lucy may not know me very well, but she trusted me enough to help her."

"It's just as well you found her," Sherlock Holmes said, "Mycroft is in some sort of... stupid, imbecilic meeting that is supposedly important. I doubt it's important. The only thing Mycroft finds important is his three square meals a day of cake." Lestrade couldn't help but snicker at that. "So he wouldn't be able to track her down for us. It's probably good that Moriarty has disappeared for a bit."

"Do you think he'll come back?" Greg Lestrade asked at the mention of the consulting criminal.

"Of course he'll come back." He answered bluntly. "He'll find out sooner or later that Lucy is still very much alive. But next time I doubt he'll go after her even if she is that one that fooled him."

"What do you mean?" Lestrade queried, confused. Sherlock shot him a 'keep up' look but elaborated anyway:

"I mean, that he's had his fun with Lucy, he's tortured her and broken her down until she could barely function, and he's left us to deal with the consequences. Now, he'll be after me." Sherlock took a breath. "It's always me he's been after. Lucy was just a bonus, something fun to toy with, an extra distraction. But he's been fixated on me. We're both complete opposites but so very alike all at the same time. John would be too ordinary and boring to play with- so he'll go after someone who can match and even better his own intelligence. Moriarty will want to get me. He almost killed me and John last time- so who knows what he's planning now."

"We all know what James Moriarty is like. We'll be able to stop him next time." Lestrade muttered.

"I won't be so sure." Sherlock shook his head. Lestrade frowned at this, but decided to make no comment. They both fell into a comfortable silence for another few minutes.

"Oi, freak." Sally Donovan started towards them.

"Oh dear lord are you really going to go around Anderson's house again?" Sherlock sneered, "Do you really have nothing better to do? You've used his brand of hair shampoo- which by the way- is for men, really not a good thing to do."

"No-one asked for your opinion," she snapped, face pale from his words. "I just wanted to ask how the emo is."

"I really wouldn't call her that if I were you," Sherlock growled as he took a step closer until he was right up in her face, looking down upon her with cold, unforgiving eyes. Sally was about to make another scathing remark but Lestrade quickly interrupted:

"Go home Sally, I'm not having that attitude here." He gave her a look that meant his command wasn't up for debate- so with narrowed eyes, she whipped around, picked up her bag and headed out of the building where Anderson was waiting for her.

"I would say thank you, but I think I've said it enough tonight." Sherlock Holmes muttered to Lestrade who chuckled in response.

Lucy looked anywhere but at John as he carefully stitched up her leg. There were two cuts that needed about three stitches each- this would leave minimal scarring. John had also been uncharacteristically silent while he worked, and the deadly silence was starting to put the troubled girl on edge.

"Please say something!" She finally broke the silence with a quiet, upset voice. John looked up at her in concern at her tone, stilling his movements for a moment.

"What would you like me to say?" He asked, slightly surprised.

"Anything! Whatever! I don't mind. Just don't be silent. I can't bear it. Yell at me, scream at me, and tell me how stupid and idiotic I am, but please say something!"

"Lucy... Lucy calm down okay?" He put a hand on her knee as he looked into her eyes, "I don't want to shout or yell and I have no desire to tell you off." He sighed, "I just don't know what to say."

"Why don't you know what to say?"

"Because what are you supposed to say to someone who you love and care about when you know how much they are hurting inside... when you know how badly they are willing to hurt themselves to control the feelings... when you feel as though nothing you say will make a difference and save them... when you are terrified that one day that person you love may take it too far." John frowned, "What am I supposed to say Lucy? You know how much I care. You know how worried I am. But me saying it again will just make you feel worse. I don't hate you. I'm upset that I can't help you. I just... I want you to be happy, but I can't help. I was petrified when I found out you had run off again. But I know that we won't be able to stop you if you ever decide to run off again one day- so I don't really know what to say because I don't know what to say to make things better."

"I'm so sorry," Lucy murmured after a pause, "And I'm being genuine. I am so sorry for doing this. I needed space to get out on my own without supervision. And I just can't stop cutting John. I don't think I'll ever be able to stop and you know what? I'm actually scared. I don't want to do this for the rest of my life." John had started to finish her leg as she spoke. "You shouldn't have to say anything. You being here, staying by me despite everything speaks volumes. I'm just scared of the silence, I'm scared that one day I'll do something that would make you hate me and kick me out. And I know you're not like that, but I can't help but worry."

"Nothing you could do or say would make me- or Sherlock- love you any less." John said softly.

"Thank you John." Lucy smiled as he let her pull her jeans back up again. "For everything. I can't promise anything... but I'll see the counsellor... I'll try and tell you next time that I'm going out. I'll try. Today made me realise just how much people care. Lestrade... he was great... I can't believe he would do something like that for me without barely knowing me. And you and Sherlock... you deserve more than the treatment I give you each day, but know that I'm so glad and grateful for you two and everything you do." She stood up as John stood up, her flatmate smiling and trying not to be too emotional. Lucy pulled him into a hug, resting her head on his shoulders and sighing contentedly.

As they walked out, Lucy also gave Sherlock a quick hug, which surprised him, but made him smile slightly nonetheless. John said that his precise and delicate operation went well- which they laughed at- and they started heading towards the exit.

"I'll leave you guys alone for the night then," Lestrade said as Sherlock walked off to hail a cab. He turned to Lucy as John walked towards the road, giving the two some space. "Listen Lucy, if you ever need anything, anything at all, then please don't hesitate to talk to me. If you just want to talk, then I'm here, and if you want to talk about any problems or worries you may have, then I'm here for you as well- no matter what okay? And if you need to get away from the couple," he nodded towards Sherlock and John as the consulting detective laughed at how his flatmate struggled to hail a cab, "Then feel free to call me and if I'm free, you can come over to mine or come over to the yard." He smiled at her and gave her a piece of paper, "My mobile number is on there if you ever need it. Don't be afraid to text. Sherlock always texts me, the bastard, any chance to undermine me and my team. Gotta love him."

"Thank you so much Greg, this really means a lot." Lucy smiled, feeling a little overwhelmed at his kindness. She stepped forwards and tentatively wrapped her arms around him in a gentle hug- which he immediately returned. "And thank you for all that you've done tonight." She let go and smiled at him, waving slightly as she jogged over to where Sherlock had just hailed a taxi.

The rest of the night went peacefully. Sherlock slept with Lucy again, both happy in each other's company for the night. John checked in on them twenty minutes after they went to bed. He smiled at Sherlock- who was still awake unlike Lucy.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Sherlock whispered, still worried.

"I think she'll get better in time." John murmured back. But deep down, they were both scared as to what may happen. Moriarty would be sure to return and leave a new path of destruction in his wake- and if he did- neither of them were sure whether they would survive the consequences...