Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock Holmes, be it the movies or the books. I am merely an admirer.

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Holmes realised his mistake of watching too late and tried to turn back around, but a harsh blow to the head also sent him down, darkness enveloping him before he hit the ground.

The constant throbbing of pain from the side of his head was the first thing to bring the consulting detective back to his senses. The cool feeling across his forehead was the second.

Sherlock Holmes' eyes remained closed, and he tried to focus on subduing the pain that continued to poke and prod at him. The coolness across his brow helped substantially, and it helped him to recall the events that had recently unfolded. Reluctantly he cracked his eyes open, and immediately, bursts of light flooded his vision, leaving him momentarily blinded and wincing against the pain rippling across his eyes and head. Eventually, the light died down, and his blurry vision cleared to reveal a very worried-looking doctor hovering over him and pressing a hand to his head. His brain took some moments to identify the person, but finally Holmes recognised the person as John Watson.

"Holmes? Can you hear me?"

"Mmph." was all he could manage. The doctor's face sagged in relief, and he allowed a small smile to form.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Divine." Holmes muttered.

"Haven't lost your sense of humour, then." Watson said, sitting back on his heels.

Holmes harrumphed in response and raised himself on his elbows to take in his surroundings. By the looks of things, the two of them were in a large stone cell together, the iron bars across the small square window suggesting they were in some sort of dungeon. The cell itself was constantly being harassed by cold draughts, and the square slabs on the floor did nothing to improve the temperature. The door was also stone, but there was a small gap at about eye-level where one could look through. The only light came from the window, and the rays of sunlight were currently dancing on Holmes' face.

"Where are we?" he asked Watson.

"No idea," the man replied.

"What happened to me?"

Watson smiled grimly. "Judging by the gash on the side of your head, I would say you were knocked out with something heavy."

"Oh," Holmes said, struggling to remember what had happened. "What about you? Were you hit too?"

Watson shook his head. "Chloroform. I can smell it on me."

"You alright?"

"Fine."

The two sat in silence for a while, before Holmes latched onto Watson's shoulder and pulled himself up, not noticing Watson wince as he did so. He wobbled for a minute, but soon regained his balance and made his way over to the door. Peering through, all he could see was a dark corridor. It appeared as though himself and Watson were in the end cell, whilst others were on either side of the empty hallway. Holmes strained to hear if anybody else could be in the cells, but no noises alerted him. With a huff, he turned back around and saw Watson still kneeling on the floor, staring off into space and cradling his right arm. Holmes suddenly remembered the fight on the street earlier – the ruffian grabbing Watson's outstretched arm and violently twisting it backwards – and he scolded himself for not ensuring that Watson was alright sooner. He moved over to the doctor and stood in front of him. Watson made no move to show he'd seen him, instead he continued to stare ahead of him as if he could see right through him. Holmes bent and placed a hand on Watson's arm, causing him to jump and snap his eyes up at him. He stood up and looked up and down the detective.

"What is it?" he asked. "Are you hurt someplace else?"

Holmes rolled his eyes. "I'm fine," he assured. "How bad is your shoulder?"

Watson relaxed his stance a little, though still he hesitated to answer.

"Watson?" Holmes prompted.

Watson sighed, before looking up at him. "Dislocated, I think," he answered. "It still hurts, but I'll be fine soon enough."

Holmes opened his mouth to say something, but stopped short when the door to the cell unbolted and a big-muscled man stepped inside. Holmes plucked at Watson's jacket sleeve, and drew them both away from him. The man was wearing a tight-fitted shirt, which could barely contain his muscled arms, and as Holmes looked at his face, he noticed a long scar that started at one end of his lips, and finished at the other, so that it looked like he was always wearing a sinister smile. Behind Smiley, came a much shorter fellow, who was plain enough, except he really did wear a sinister smile, as if he knew what was in store for the two of them. Both men stood next to each other, blocking the door, until Titan spoke.

"Which one of yous is Doctor Watson?" the small man's voice was rough and crackly, and he folded his arms as he waited for an answer.

"I am." Both men answered at the same time, and Watson shot Holmes a look.

Titan smiled to himself. "I'm gunna ask again, and if I gets the same response, I'll shoot yer kneecaps off." he said to Holmes. The detective shrugged, but stopped when Watson stood on his toe.

"Now then," Titan continued. "Who's Doctor Watson?"

"I am." Watson said quickly, elbowing Holmes in the ribs as he did so.

Titan seemed content with this answer. "Come wiv us." he turned to go and Smiley stepped aside.

Watson stayed where he was. "Why?" he asked.

Titan stopped in the doorway, and turned to face him. "Because if you don't," he said quietly. "I'm going to take your friend 'ere and tie him to a tree. Then, me an' my mates are gunna throw hundreds of rocks at him until the ground beneath him permanently stays red. After that, I'm gunna throw him off the nearest cliff into the sea and let the fishies down there eat him alive. That good enough for ya?"

Watson swallowed before standing up to his full height, and limping out of the cell with Teeny and Smiley.

Holmes stayed where he was after the door had banged closed, dreading what Silverstone (if it was Silverstone. It would be a very big coincidence if it wasn't) had planned for Watson. Eventually, he moved to the back of the cell and slumped down against the wall, stretching his legs out in front of him and closing his eyes. His head was still throbbing, and he was beginning to feel tired. Just his luck to finally be able to sleep somewhat peacefully, only to be kidnapped the following day. He felt deeply guilty for bringing Watson into this, though of course he was too stubborn to say so, and too selfish to realise this earlier. Time after time, he threw himself and Watson into dangerous situations, with no regards for either of their lives until it was too late. He'd always left the caring to Watson, and he had no desire to let his emotions get the better of him.

He's hurting, Sherlock. Mycroft's words echoed around his head, and now that he was somewhere quiet, he couldn't stop them from resonating in his mind. You need to tell him you trust him, otherwise he's going to break. He did trust him. He'd waltz into the gates of Hell and know he'd have his loyal Boswell by his side, constantly watching out for them both and making sure they left alive and somewhat unharmed. Holmes had never even considered the possibility that Watson was hiding things from him – usually the doctor was an open book, and Holmes could easily tell what was on his mind. Ever since the events at the church, however, Watson had become more and more reserved, though he never tried to appear 'down' before his friend. Holmes sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, desperately hoping Watson was alright.

He was awakened suddenly by the loud clanging of the door, and he stood up as it opened to reveal Smiley dragging the limp form of Watson alongside him. He entered the cell and unceremoniously threw the doctor down and left. Holmes rushed towards his friend, and managed to catch him before he hit the floor. He looked down at his friend, who was now coming to, and felt a rush of anger as he studied the damage done. Purple bruises were plastered across his body, and crimson blood oozed from a large cut along his left cheekbone. His right arm was swollen red, and rope burns were lashed around both wrists. The dislocated shoulder was looking extremely out of place, and his right hand was blistering.

Watson's eyelids fluttered, and his green eyes focused on Holmes' brown ones. He forced a weak smile and tried not to wince as he slowly sat up.

"Evening." he croaked.

"What did they do to you?" Holmes said, forcing back the emotions that threatened to surface.

"Nothing serious." he muttered.

"Have you seen yourself? Tell me, please."

"I don't want to." Watson whispered.

"Why not?" Holmes asked incredulously.

"Because I know how you'll react. It's best you don't know."

Holmes knew he wasn't going to get anything from him, so he changed his tactics. "What did they want?"

Watson frowned. "They wanted this." he dug in his pocket, and pulled out a small, velvet box. He opened it up to reveal a silver ring containing a small, red ruby. Watson handed it to Holmes and waited for his opinion.

"I'm sorry, Watson, you're not my type." Holmes stated as he studied the ring. Watson smiled as he mentally processed his injuries. "Whose is it?" he asked.

Watson looked up at him, surprised that Holmes didn't remember, though he knew Holmes didn't care for romantic trifles. "Catherine Collins'." he answered.

Holmes looked up sharply. "Patrick Collins' fiancée?"

Watson nodded. "I've yet to give it to her, and I suppose they knew I still had it."

"Do they know you have it on you?" Holmes asked.

Watson shook his head. "I told them it was on a ship somewhere headed to France."

Holmes raised his eyebrows but said nothing. "They mustn't know we've got it."

"I kind of gathered that." Watson said.

For a second time that evening, the door shuddered open, and Smiley came in. Watson quickly stuffed the box back in his pocket as the man walked into the cell.

"Mr. Olmes. If you'd be so kind." Smiley said. Holmes got up, and casting one last look at Watson – who nodded imperceptibly – strutted confidently out of the cell.

A/N: Again, I don't know when next I'll be able to update, but thank you all so much for reviewing, favouriting and alerting. Please leave reviews, and I'll update ASAP ;)