Soooooo next chapter! I have been thinking, should I do a time-jump now or should I write a bit more to this one? Don't worry, the stuff after the time-jump would still be about this, but approximately a month would not really be mentioned much... What do you think? Either would work, please review or PM and tell me what you think.

Now: Enjoy!

The following days are hard, very hard. Sherlock's first reaction to seeing Mycroft awake was strange. He stormed in after I called in, looked at his brother, took in the whole room and me in a matter of seconds and then ran out again. I guess it was too strange for him to see Mycroft like this.

Sherlock and I almost never leave his side after that. With Sherlock and Mycroft in one room and not really something to talk about is awkward, but somehow we manage it. We have to.

Every time we leave him alone and someone he doesn't know comes in, he panics. I don't know why he changed so much, and it scares me, but certainly I am not going to just leave him alone. Today was the first day he accepted the nurses without any fuss.

It's strange knowing that she had been working against us. The knowledge that she could have killed us all in our sleep is disconcerting.

When Emma, one of the nurses comes in, I break out of my thoughts and look up at her. Mycroft is strong enough to just let her change the dressings for his back, arms and hands, unlike four days ago when he was still unconscious.

"My, are you okay?"

His eyes focus on me instantly and after a tiny pause, unnoticeable to Emma, he nods.

"Do you want me to stay here or..." I'm not entirely sure what to do. Sherlock is on his break, having finished his shift an hour ago, and even though he probably isn't sleeping like he said he would I don't want to disturb him. I don't know what Mycroft wants, either. Should I stay here and watch or help or should I wait outside? I had never seen him topless or anything, not regarding the surgery, but that doesn't count. I don't know how he'd react.

"Stay. Please," I only nod and Emma starts.

She helps him sit upright which he accepts with narrowed eyes, showing the resemblance of the Holmes-brothers which you usually can't see. Neither of them like hospitals, and both of them have their pride. At least Mycroft takes better care of himself than Sherlock.

Carefully she helps him take off his t-shirt (which actually is quite weird on him, I mean, I am used to him wearing a suit!) and now I can see all the bandages properly.

His whole back is wrapped, as well as the back of his neck. As already visible before, also his arms and hands are clad in white, showing just how much damage she made.

Emma starts with Mycroft's back. Slowly she ease the bandages off, and now he looks thinner again. I bite my lip when I see his back.

The lines are mostly clean now, so I can see where exactly the cuts were made, but that isn't a good thing. His whole back is littered with wounds, most of them with stitches, certainly all of them painful. Emma doesn't do much. She only cleans them gently, while Mycroft is pulling a face and I wince sympathetically every time he does, and the bandages him back again. She repeats the same with his arms and his neck, but I need to close my eyes once she unwraps Mycroft's left hand.

It's swollen and red, the cuts standing out and his palm is slashed. I realise belatedly that this is because of him pushing the knife into her stomach, but still, I don't want to be in My's skin right now.

Luckily his right hand is a bit better, but I can't help but worry about the future. The government will survive a few days without him, maybe even two weeks, but after that? And more importantly, who will help him? Who will he let help?

Mycroft, and with him Sherlock and I, stay in the hospital for two weeks. By the end of it, Sherlock is bored out of his mind so his shifts are shorter, Mycroft is worried about the government and I am worried about Mycroft. Most of the cuts have healed, but somehow nearly all of them scar. The only one which are still in danger of opening again are four big ones on his back, and they still have stitches, but that doesn't mean that the other ones won't open. And even worse, Mycroft's "I'm a respectable politician"-look is diminished now. The white lines on his hands, the clearly visible welt where the knife cut so deep on his left hand, which is slightly stiff and not responding as Mycroft wants it to, destroy this picture. They do make him look different. Older, but also a bit more vulnerable, especially the scars on his neck.

Mycroft's fear of other people, unknown people is slowly wearing off and he is getting better and better, even though he doesn't trust anybody besides maybe Sherlock and me.

But that is something I understand now. When she had kidnapped him, tortured him, she had shown him how dangerous his position is – and that even with the deduction-skills every Holmes seemed to have, you don't really know the other person. What I don't understand, but accept gratefully, is why both Sherlock and Mycroft trust me. Maybe because they have no other choice.

Eventually I realise that I didn't talk to Melissandre in three weeks – without any warning. A look at my phone tells me that I have six missed calls and ten unread messages. All of them consist of Are you okay? What's going on? Have I done something?

So I decide to answer back as quick as possible. I only hope she isn't too angry with me for ignoring her.

Hey Mel. ~KM

Kiara! Where WERE you? ~MB

Sorry – one of my friends got hurt and we were in hospital with him... ~KM

God, is he okay? Who is we? ~MB

He will be, yes. Another friend... ~KM

How are things going in uni? ~KM

Okay, the others mostly ignore me – maybe that's because they think I visit you every few days. But I'll be happy when I'm done with it in December. ~MB

December? ~KM

Yes, I am graduating early... ~MB

Nice :D I need to go, sorry, the doctor is here, My might need me. ~KM

What? ~MB

My, nickname for my friend – he is having a bit of a hard time this month, so... ~KM

Okay, I get it :D Write again soon, k? ~MB

Will do :* ~KM

A bit more of Mel here - in case you forgot, she is called Melissandre Baudelaire, darum MB... She will play a big part in the story as well, probably. By the way, what do you think about a sequel to this one? I mean this story is far from over, when you think about it, I think four months have passed since Kiara and Sherlock teamed up, at least another year will be in, but after that? Review and tell me what you think?

~Valkyrie