A/N: Ayno23 – I hope you didn't mean my chapter was horrible in the sense that it sucked horribly, lol. I'm sorry my chapters are so depressing. I promise it'll have a good ending!

Thank you for reviewing again!

Chapter Seven: How It Should Be

.o.o.

.o.

Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry

You don't know how lovely you are

I had to find you, tell you I need you

Tell you I'll set you apart

Coldplay – The Scientist

.o.o.

.o.

Sherlock finished showering the grime and blood from his body before he stepped out and started to dry himself off before getting dressed again. He needed to come up with a way to stop this man from hurting the only man he had ever had the privilege to call a friend. He needed to help him before things got too far.

Hell, it had already gotten too far for Sherlock's liking but there was still time to save John. He walked into his living room and lay on his back on the couch before he closed his eyes and placed his hands together in a praying formation as he tried to come up with ideas. He was quiet for nearly two hours when he heard the front door open and saw Lestrade come in, hanging his jacket on the coat tree.

"Did you try looking into Adrian Brennon's file? Maybe see if he has any past violations?" Sherlock suggested, still not opening his eyes.

Lestrade sighed heavily before he wandered over to the armchair in front of the coffee table and fell into it, exhausted. "No, I haven't. We can't go digging into someone's personal records just because you assume they're up to something."

"He's not just up to something, Lestrade," the consulting detective growled. "He's hurting John! He's hurting our mutual friend. I can't prove it but I know for a fact that he is."

Lestrade just stared at Sherlock. "I understand how frustrating this is for you –"

He now opened his eyes and then bolted upright before he turned to face the DI. "Do you? Do you really, because somehow, I believe if you actually understood my frustration, you might do something useful and help me get Adrian Brennon arrested!"

Sherlock knew Greg Lestrade didn't deserve to be yelled at like this but he couldn't stop himself. If Lestrade wasn't going to do anything about the situation, he was going to go back out there himself and stop this. He rubbed his temples before he ran his fingers through his curls, ruffling his hair.

"Until the guy actually does something under our noses, we can't touch him, Sherlock. You know that!"

Sherlock shook his head before he stood up and started to put his coat back on. "Fine, then. I'll take care of this myself."

Lestrade stood up and crossed his arms in front of him. "You bloody better not, Sherlock! If you hurt this bastard, I can't get you out of trouble. Do the right thing and sit back down!"

He tied his scarf before he glanced back at Lestrade again. "I am doing the right thing. I'm sorry, Lestrade but I can't just stay here while my only friend is being hurt."

Sherlock left quickly, slamming the door behind him before descending the stairs. He hailed a cab and headed back towards the flat John was sharing with Adrian again. He knew the best thing for everyone would've been for him to stay away, but he still cared for, and even loved John still. There was no way Sherlock was going to give up on him now.

When the cab stopped, Sherlock nearly jumped out before he pressed the button for the proper flat, not having the patience to scam another elderly man in sneaking inside the building.

"Who is it?" Adrian's voice asked through the telecom.

"It's me, Sherlock Holmes. Let me come up!"

"Are you out of your goddamn mind? Go home! John doesn't want to see you and neither do I!"

Sherlock sighed and pressed the buzzer again, holding it irritatingly. Just then, he heard John's voice interrupt his buzzing.

"Come on up, Sherlock!" he yelled between the annoying buzzing right before he buzzed him up.

Sherlock heard yelling at that point and wasted no time in running up the stairs towards Adrian and John's flat, his heart hammering hard in his chest. When he reached his destination, he heard screaming back and forth from inside the flat. He opened the door quickly and saw a dishevelled John shoving Adrian back. He looked him up and down before noticing quickly his lip was split and bleeding but Adrian also looked in rough shape himself.

He moved forward and stood in front of John protectively, glaring darkly at the other man. "Touch him again and I swear I'll be handing you back broken limbs," he threatened, jaw clenched.

John was panting but he placed a hand on Sherlock's shoulder. "I appreciate the sentiment but I can defend myself…"

"I'm well aware you can but the fact that you buzzed me in just now tells me you wanted some extra help because you were scared of what he was capable of," he spoke matter-of-factly, never taking his eyes off of Adrian.

John didn't try to deny it but he was looking conflicted. Both the men he loved were in this room together and he had never felt more confused about his feelings. Sherlock could've just as easily walked away after John buzzed him in but his friend knew that John was feeling weak in this moment and needed some backup, just like the old days.

"You actually think he appreciates you being here? He chose me over you, Sherlock Holmes. I would've thought that was evidence enough about how little you mean to him," Adrian sneered before he chuckled indignantly.

His words hit Sherlock hard in his chest but he tried to push his hurt down. He could feel John's warm breath on his neck and it was all he could do not to pull him into an embrace right then and there. He took a deep breath of his own and swallowed hard. "It looks to me like he no longer want to be here with you. If you've been hurting him like I know you have, then it's evident you're just trying to get power and control over something else because you don't have either of these things in your life at the moment. Why don't you just let me take him back to my flat? You don't love him, I can see it in your eyes that you don't…"

Adrian looked away and Sherlock could see the fresh hint of tears in his eyes. "I did… I did love him, and he loved me…"

"Right, maybe I did but that was before you…" John froze, afraid to say the words aloud. He ran a hand through his hair and then just shook his head, frustrated he couldn't even speak the truth.

Sherlock felt an ache in his heart as he watched John's reaction. He looked over at Adrian again, able to see that he was being truthful in this moment. "You probably did at one point, Adrian. I don't doubt that John felt the same way for you as well, but it's apparent that things have changed since then… if you loved him still, you wouldn't hurt him like you have."

He had meant for it to come out less aggressive than it had but he couldn't hold back the venom he felt towards this asshole for hurting John so badly. It was all he could do to resist beating him to death right here and now on the rug.

"You have no fucking right to get between the two of us so… just stay the hell out of this!" Adrian yelled at him.

John stepped forward but still stayed close to Sherlock, almost instinctively. "H-He's right, Adrian," he spoke up. "You… you crossed a line and… I can't love you after what you did the other night. That was… that was just… sick and sadistic."

"You know I had no other choice, John…"

Sherlock gritted his teeth before he took another step towards Adrian. "You had a choice, all right. Millions of people go their whole lives without raping another human being! It's not like you didn't have a choice! What you did was illegal, and I have Scotland Yard on my side and on speed dial so I suggest you do the proper thing and turn yourself in, Adrian."

Adrian started to pace, making a whimpering sound as he rubbed his face with his hands in distress. "Damn it… no… no… I didn't want any of this to happen…"

"You can fix this!" Sherlock encouraged. "It's not too late! I'll call Lestrade right now and we can get this all settled!"

Adrian shook his head as he kept muttering to himself. "No… no… mistakes… I… I can't go to jail! Just leave!"

Sherlock wet his lips as he tried to think quickly. He could leave with John but he also didn't want this man to hurt anyone else ever again. If they left, it would give Adrian time to try and leave the country. It had to be progress that John realized the kind of person his boyfriend actually was though; that was something at least.

He scratched his chin thoughtfully before he took a couple steps towards John. "I don't want to leave here without you, John. Please, come with me."

John looked at him with conflicted brown eyes. He looked like he was yearning to take Sherlock's hand and go with him but his body didn't move. "I can't just leave him like this, Sherlock! He's in distress… h-he needs me."

Sherlock swallowed hard before glancing over at Adrian who was still muttering to himself before he looked back at his doctor. He wet his lips for a second as he tried to think about his words before they came out his mouth. "I need you, John,"

The doctor looked speechless for so long that Sherlock continued on. "We can take him to hospital. He needs psychological help. You can't do anything for him. He's not physically injured. He needs to be checked out."

John bit his lip hard and sighed heavily. This man had violated him in the worst way possible but he felt a sick sort of sympathy towards Adrian.

Stockholm Syndrome.

He didn't believe in self-diagnosing but he knew what this strange feeling of feeling sympathy towards his pseudo-captor was. This wasn't right; this wasn't what a real, healthy relationship felt like. He couldn't keep living this lie.

John looked over at Adrian. "I'm… I'm sorry, Adrian, but he's right. You do need help and you… need to pay for your actions…"

"No! J-John… you need to stay here with me! You can't go with this psychopath!" he suddenly began to yell in a desperate voice.

"I'm not a psychopath," Sherlock muttered under his breath. "I'm a –"

"Sherlock," John warned, knowing what he was about to say, but also knowing that the next words out of his mouth would not be helpful in the situation right now. He looked over to Sherlock before he mouthed two words.

Call Lestrade. Sherlock nodded once and then proceeded to stroll into another room of Adrian's flat, speed-dialing the DI.

When he heard Greg pick up, he started to tell him the situation in a low voice. "Bring several of your strongest men over here. He will most likely try to fight, and he's not in his right state of mind. He doesn't appear to be… all there."

"Was this your doing, Sherlock? Did you have anything to do with his mental break?" Lestrade growled.

Sherlock didn't reply; instead he hung up and pocketed his phone before he moved back into the living room where Adrian and John were still. He looked over at Adrian carefully, needing time to keep him here until Scotland Yard came to the flat.

"Adrian, you might not have realized it but what you did to John, how you hurt him, it wasn't right. Normal people don't do that. You know that, right?" he asked him this gently, but inside he was trying to contain the anger he felt towards this man.

Adrian had started to pace and he ran his hands through his hair in distress before he turned to face Sherlock, his face defiant and angry. "Oh! And… y-you'd know a lot about how normal people act, wouldn't you? John told me about you, Mr Holmes! He told me how you act anything but normal!"

Sherlock felt like he had been slapped. He forced down the hurt that had risen up. He didn't dare look over at John, feeling like his face was hot and red. "I admit I have my faults but I never… raped him." It hurt to even say the words but there was no other way to say it.

"I-It wasn't rape. He… he said it was okay. He wanted it!" Adrian insisted.

Sherlock shook his head, his hands shaking from the rage he was feeling. "He was probably too fucking terrified to tell you he didn't want it because he knew what you'd do! Stop acting like you're an innocent party, Adrian. It's not going to work! What you did was wrong. If I was Lestrade and it was up to me, I'd hang you myself."

Adrian suddenly let out a long, sick laugh, any signs of fear or hesitance gone now. He shook his head. "You! You're a piece of work, Sherlock… you really are. You think he wants you? You're nothing! You barely even pass as human! At least I'm more man than you will ever be! I can give him what he wants!"

Sherlock shook his head. "You're insane!" he roared. "You don't love him. You only want to prove your dominance but over taking him, which quite frankly, isn't that difficult of a feat if you're skilled enough! I may only barely pass as human but at least I know what's right and what's wrong and I don't even care if he wants me or not after this! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let him live here, continuing to be under your thumb and be raped by a bastard like you!"

Adrian smirked sickly and rolled his eyes. "Has anyone ever told you how boring you are? You can claim you're a sociopath all you want but we all know what you really are. John knows you're a psychopath, like me. You're no better than I am! This is what you'll turn into, Sherlock, so take a good long hard look because this is what you're going to become!"

Sherlock didn't know what snapped in him but his rage was unleashed and he threw himself at Adrian, punching him hard and breaking his nose before he punched his mouth. He knew this didn't help his case in proving he wasn't a psychopath but he had hurt Adrian before he could stop himself. He panted, breathing hard as he stared at a now bloody Adrian. "I… w-will never be what you are!"

"What the hell is going on here?"

Sherlock looked over and saw Lestrade enter the flat, heading towards Adrian with handcuffs but he was asking the question to Sherlock who had blood on his knuckles. He looked back at him speechless and then swallowed hard.

"He was protecting me, Greg," John explained quickly and plainly.

Greg raised an eyebrow but just proceeded to cuff Adrian, who let him, and then told Donovan to take him downstairs and into the car. Once she had left with him, Lestrade moved closer to Sherlock and John, looking between the two of them.

"Alright, one of you tell me what happened here before I slap cuffs on Sherlock as well."

John cleared his throat and looked at Greg Lestrade. "If you're going to arrest him, you might as well arrest me too. He was defending me. Adrian… he… he hurt me and it was a good thing Sherlock came up here. He protected me."

The exhausted DI looked at him with skeptical eyes but just groaned before he nodded. "I'll come back to Baker Street later on this week to ask you for a full report. Until then, you two try and keep a low profile."

John nodded and then looked at Sherlock who was nursing his cut hand distractedly. Lestrade disappeared out of the room and headed back to his car. Once they were alone in the room again, Sherlock looked up from his hand to look at John.

"So… erm… home then?"

John nodded once. "Yes, home. Let me just… pack my things back up and we can go. Do you… err… want to help me?"

Sherlock nodded slowly. "If you require my assistance."

John took that as a yes and let him towards the room he had shared with Adrian, pausing briefly to stare at the unkempt bed before he forced his eyes towards his suitcase and begin to pack his clothes. Sherlock looked towards the bed and felt anger building up once again.

"Is this where – "

"Yes," John cut across him quickly, as if he didn't want Sherlock to finish his question.

The consulting detective nodded and began to help his friend pack his belongings before he opened the door for him. "Are you sure you want to come back with me, John? I'd understand if you didn't want to."

John shook his head before he stopped and looked at his friend before smiling sadly. "Sherlock, I promise there is nowhere else I'd rather be."

After they had gotten John moved back into 221B, Sherlock made them both tea but neither had sat down yet. John leaned against the kitchen counter, nursing his tea cup. His friend stood inches away from him with his own tea cup steeping beside him on the counter.

"Sherlock, I'm… I'm sorry about everything I said to Adrian about you. I didn't mean to hurt you like that."

Sherlock tried not to look hurt or solemn but he could tell his eyes were giving him away. "Why would I ever feel hurt?"

John sighed softly. "You know why, Sherlock. He was wrong; you're not mechanic, or a machine. You're as human as they come. You act like things don't affect you but I know they know. I might be the only person in your life who knows the true you, and I'm fine with that. What he said, what I told him…. It was wrong of me to do that. I only told him because I was… frustrated towards you at the time and Adrian was still proving to be a decent person."

Sherlock sipped his tea before he searched his friend's face. "Are you still frustrated towards me?"

"No," John shook his head. "In fact, I've missed you a lot. Sherlock, the truth of the matter is… since you came back, you're the only thing I could concentrate on. Not just because of the cases we've been doing or anything like that; you've made me see that life can change, for the better. Before I met you, I was lost, having nightmares… and you came into my life. I didn't need a cane or therapy anymore. And now today… you saved me from… an absolute madman. He was a mistake I made and I know I don't deserve you anymore but… would you consider allowing me to be your… your boyfriend?" he asked with a nervous chuckle.

Sherlock searched his friend's eyes, unable to believe this was really happening. He nearly dropped his tea in shock and surprise but quickly set it back down on the counter. "Yes, of course I would, but… are you sure you're ready so soon? It's only been a few hours since you ended things with Adrian and that didn't exactly go over smoothly."

John shifted his weight and he smiled weakly. "I'm sure, Sherlock. I'm… madly in love with you and I only regret not having told you before. I was confused, I suppose. I knew Adrian from work and it somehow made more sense to me to date him to… make sure my feelings were the right ones. I know this all sounds absolutely ridiculous but – "

Sherlock had grown weary of John's talking and moved towards him before he gently kissed John. He lingered on the doctor's lips before he moved away reluctantly, blinking. "I'm…I'm sorry, John. I'm not sure why I just did that."

John laughed, grinning now. "It's because you love me too. You still love me, after all the hurt I caused you."

Sherlock smiled meekly, breathing a sigh of relief that the feeling had been mutual. "Yes, I suppose I do. John, I must confess… I'm not familiar with relationships at all. I don't know what to do and I'm afraid of disappointing you."

John leaned up and kissed him again, this time more passionately, unable to get enough of his companion's lips. When he pulled back again, he looked at Sherlock with love and warmth in his eyes. "You don't need to be afraid of disappointing me. I'll help you if you have trouble. I'm sure you'll do fine though. Just… do what your heart tells you, Sherlock."

The detective nodded in understanding before he hesitantly placed his hand on John's jaw softly. He leaned in and then kissed him back with just as much passion as John had given him moments ago. The two of them stayed like that, tasting each other finally before moving away again. John smiled at him again.

"Are you hungry? You must be hungry. You barely eat. Let me make us something…" John offered, moving around him to get out a pot from the cupboard.

"Oh, no, John. I assure you, I'm really not very hungry. I just… want you."

John raised an eyebrow and chuckled before he turned around. "Maybe we should move this conversation to the couch?"

Sherlock laughed a deep-throated laugh before he lead them into the living room, gently grabbing the doctor's hand and pulling him onto the couch with him. He wasted no time in pressing his lips against John's again, this time letting his hand caress over the doctor's shoulders and around his back. Their bodies soon contorted to fit both of them on the couch as they made out until their lips ached.

Once this happened, John rested his head on Sherlock's chest and it wasn't long until he fell asleep to the gentle, steady rhythm of his heartbeat.