He wakes up in his room. And indeed, his mother did install bars on his windows... He tries to sit up from the floor but pain shoots on his body. He sits up and winces as he feels the bruises and scars. That's when he sees the medical kit on the bed. 'A medical kit? Why?' He crawls towards it and opens it. It's a legitimate medical kit and so he drags it with him as he crawls to the mirror which he is fortunately floor-length.

'Disgusting.'

He sees a pale, skinny, scared lump of flesh full of bruises and scars and blood. Red-rimmed eyes. Bags under those very eyes. Tears in its eyes... Oh the tears are falling on its face. Look, its hands are shaking. More tears. He looks away, he couldn't stand seeing that poor pathetic creature.

He looks down at his body and starts treating his wounds. He's surprised how generous his parents are to let him have a medical kit inside his room.

It's been six more months since he's been held prisoner in his own room. It's been nothing but chores, clean this, clean that, punch here, kick there, slapped there. But for the past two months, they've been very careful not to let his face have cuts or bruises. He gets hungry. He probably lost more weight - and he's already underweight. He's tired. Very tired. He's not allowed to touch knives or scissors or anything sharp. They probably think he'll kill them.

He wants to. There are lots of ways to kill them. But he doesn't. Because they're still his parents.

He's finally allowed to go to school. And he begs to go outside the night before... and he kisses his parents' shoes so he would be allowed. He was kicked of course and his father slaps him once and he kisses the sole of his parents' shoes. Both dirty of course and he coughs. They allow him. He thanks them politely and smiles when he turns around. He's never been more thankful to his parents in his entire life.

So he goes outside. He looks longingly at the outside world. 'I'm outside! I AM OUTSIDE!'

And so he visits the person he wants to see again.

"Sorry... Too many ladies..." Mary tells him as she pats his shoulder and sits in front of him. They're in a restaurant just beside the school. He's wearing his best suit and Mary is wearing a beautiful dress and she looks so... beautiful... "You okay?" And he's aware that he's staring.

"Yeah, yeah. Me? Fine. I am fine."

She smiles at him. He chuckles. 'Beautiful.'

"Now then, what did you want to tell me?"

'Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.'

"Uhh.. So... Mary. Listen... Um... We've been together for a year... I know we haven't been seeing each other much because of school and activities and..."

'Just tell her.'

"Go on," she encourages.

'Bless this lady.'

"Yes, I will. As you know, this year hasn't been easy for me... and being with you..." he looks at her eyes and she looks back... "Yeah... Meeting and being with you has been the best thing that could have possibly happened."

"I agree."

"What?"

"I agree I'm the best thing that could have happened to you."

He laughs and she chuckles.

"Sorry."

"Well no. That's umm..." He looks at her. "You know... We've just really seen each other twice in a month... With you being the responsible... uhh... student and my Rugby Practice and... um... school work and that... I just want to tell you that..."

She giggles when he keeps stuttering. He clears his throat.

"I just want to tell you..."

"... John." He hears a baritone voice beside him.

"... John." He says his name. He can see John freeze. Inhale. Exhale. Not believing. He looks up at him. Now, he's scared. He feels like John would be a bomb about to explode. But he needs that bomb and he doesn't care if it explodes and kills him.

"John?" The girl, Mary - he remembers, sitting in front of John says.

John stands up shakily and he fears John would stumble. John looks up at him and the two of them look at each other after a year.

"John, what is it? What?" Mary asks.

"Well.. I'm still... Not dead..." John looks at him and he feels nervous. 'Oh god.. I should've warned him first... What to say?' "Bit mean, springing back to you like that, I know."

"Oh it's you..." Mary says, shocked.

"Oh yes."

"Oh my god."

"Not quite."

"You're gone. You never came back."

"No."

"You left!"

"I did."

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Do you have any idea what you've done to him!" She scolds him.

He's starting to grow nervous. John is much angrier than he thought. But he couldn't help himself. He misses John so much. After all he's been through. He wants his friend again. He doesn't even care if he's angry at him. He just wants to see him again, even if it means John doesn't.

"Okay, John. I'm suddenly realising I probably owe you some sort of an apology."

John slams his fist on the table. He flinches but tries hard not to show it. Mary starts comforting John with words.

"One year..." he whispers tightly.

'Fuck...'

"I thought... you were gone... Hmm?"

'Shit shit shit shit.'

"Now, you left me hanging... hmm? How could you do that?" Sherlock bites his lip. "How?" He softly but furiously asks.

"Before you do anything you might regret... One question... Just let me ask one question..." He points at John's glass... "Are you really starting on drinking now?"

He chuckles to himself. Mary laughs with disbelief. Next thing he knows, John grabs his lapels. Sherlock grabs a hold of John's wrist in an instant so he wouldn't choke him to death. Then realising that John is the one doing this, not his father, he lets him because he deserves this beating as well.

The two falls on the ground. He winces when his new cuts and bruises on his back hits the ground. John puts his hands around his neck and tightens his grip. He keeps quiet. He tries to remove John's hands. 'John! I know you're angry! Don't kill me yet! I haven't apologised to you yet!'

Mary and some of the waiters in the restaurant grabs John and stops John from killing him. He stays on the ground, breathing... 'Air... Air... Air...'

"Please sir. You have to leave," he hears someone tell John.

"Kids these days," he hears an old man say.

He stands up, wincing in pain. A waiter helps him up, touching his back and chest tightly to stand him up. He tries hard not to show that he's in pain.

"So, where've you been?" John asks as they sit in another diner. Mary sits patiently beside him.

"Nowhere..."

"Why?"

"I've been busy going across cities... I did take some cases with finding lost items... Like this one time, a woman named Molly Hopper lost her pet cat. I deduced carefully from the fur around her house and saw little trails going to the other side of the road... I didn't see any signs that the cat might have died... So I followed the trail until I saw the one confirming my deduction that-"

"You know for a genius you can be remarkably thick... I don't care how you spent the year, Sherlock. I want to know why."

"Why? Because a lot has asked for my consultation!" John keeps looking at him. "Oh 'Why' as in..." John nods and so does Mary. "I see, yes. 'Why?' That's a little more difficult to explain."

"I've got all night," he answers darkly.

He clears his throat. "Actually, um, that was mostly Mycroft's idea." 'Idea of dumping me in the manor and then going off to live in a place on his own.'

"Oh so it's your brother's plan?"

He nods.

"Was he the only one? The only one who knew?"

"Couple of others," John lowers his head and he panics and starts to babble. "I wanted to be left alone. It was a very elaborate plan - it had to be. So the trail of fur lead me to-"

"Who else knew?" He hesitates. "Who?" John asks louder and he flinches.

"Bill."

"Bill?"

"Bill Wiggins and some of my homeless network and that's it."

"And you didn't bother to text?"

'I want to. But I couldn't.' He keeps silent.

"So just your brother, probably your parents, some clients, and a hundred tramps?"

He chuckles. 'Silly John!' "No! Twenty-five at most."

John jumps on him across the table. He sees the table is weak so he guides John to get across him and John throttles him to the ground. John punches him and he can feel his lip bursting. They're all thrown out again.

They're in another diner. He stands in front of Mary and John. John doesn't look at him. He winces in pain as he presses a napkin to his lip.

"So how's your sister?" He asks John.

John scoffs, "Oh like you care?"

'Oh.' He feels a heavy weight on his chest. He cannot breathe but he puts on a brave face.

"One word, Sherlock! That is all I would have needed! One word to let me know that you're okay!"

"I've nearly been in contact so many times," he starts quietly and John laughs disbelievingly. "But under circumstances, and busy work, I couldn't."

"Why?"

"Because I've been busy and you might... you know..." 'Learn that I'm just a worthless junkie who left my own life so I would die on my own instead of dying in the hands of my parents because I'm the worst person to ever exist.'

"What?"

"Distract me from my work."

"Distract you?"

"You wouldn't understand..."

He sees John turn red with fury. "Why? Because I'm too slow for your mind?!"

He then feels a pang of guilt. He did say that the last time they saw each other. But he was confused and angry and he doesn't want John to know of what kind of person he really is... He'll be disgusted...

"You did miss me though... Admit it... The thrill of the chase from Moran... The blood pumping through your veins... The two of us against the rest of the world-"

John grabs his lapel again and he knows what he's about to do. He doesn't stop him and prepares for the blow.

Now his nose is bleeding. He falls on the ground and the manager yells at them to get out. John storms out of the diner. Mary helps him up by pulling him with his arms. His back stretches a bit and he tries hard not to moan in pain.

Mary pushes his back to stand him up and he flinches and bites his lip so hard, it draws blood... again...

She guides him outside as John hails a cab. He pinches his nose and holds a napkin on it.

"I don't understand," he tells her. "I said I'm sorry... Isn't that what you're supposed to do?"

"Gosh you don't know anything about human nature, do you?"

"Nature? No... Human? No."

"I'll talk him round."

"You will?"

"Oh yeah." She nods. He deduces her and everything comes out beautifully. She seems like the perfect person for John. Obviously, she is the one who helped get through all John's misery. 'She's the best for him. She makes him happy. She's important. He needs her. He loves her. I have to leave. I'll only be the burden on his shoulders. He hates me. He doesn't like me as much as I need him.'

She smiles at him and John calls for her. She gives him her farewell and follows John into the cab.

He watches them both. John doesn't even look back. "John, I'm sorry," he whispers to himself.

He turns around to leave...

And Moran and his friends pull him to the alley and they smile wickedly at him.