It was just before dawn as she snuck back in the house. Elizabeth had managed to slip into the front door and close it softly before the entryway light was switched on, bathing the space and her in a golden glow in the early hours.

"And where in the fuck have you been?" Her father's harsh tone echoed in her ears, making her flinch as she turned around. His face was a rather unique shade of red, one that usually meant trouble. "ANSWER

"I-I..." she stumbled over her words, her mind had disengaged, nothing was coming to mind, no lies, and there was no way she was going to tell him the truth. She was still trying to make her mind work when she felt herself being slammed into the front door.

"You best answer me if you know what is good for you" the alcohol on his breath was overpowering as was the anger in his low voice, but all she did was shake her head. The nursing student knew what was coming next as she was thrown to the floor, she had enough time to curl up before the blows rained down on her, gasps escaping her lips. She had tuned out the noise from above, the insults, his reasoning, instead she focused on breathing and staying that way.

Elizabeth slowly came to her senses, the floor hard under her sore body as she took in a deep breath before coughing as she inhaled the dust from the floor. It takes a few moments before she can properly turn herself over on her back,gasping as the pain in her back intensifies as she places all her weight upon it. It was obvious she had been out for awhile, the sitting room was full of sunlight that came in ribbons from the slots in the blinds and the curtains. For a few moments she laid there, her eyes closed as she tried to judge the damage that was done and if it was bad enough to even reach out to John.

After deciding that the pain in her sides were from ribs that were in fact bruised and not broken she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, her hands holding most of her weight as she tried not to fall back on the tiled floor. Quietly she got to her feet and leaned against the wall for support as she reached for the bag that appeared to be smashed in the door several times. frowning Elizabeth bent down and grabbed it, sighing as the smell of iodine reached her nose and the brownish stain became apparent against the fabric. All of her supplies had been compromised, she would have to make a detour after class on Monday to get more. That was if No one needed her assistance over the weekend.

The journey down the hall to her room seemed to take longer than it should have, but she was moving so slowly to stop herself from hurting. Once in her room, she shrugged out of her clothes,tossing them on the floor, her jeans falling with a slight 'thump' as they fell with the weight of her mobile. It didn't take long for her to change into something that wasn't so constricting as the jeans or the sweatshirt she had been wearing. For a few moments she is thankful she is home alone, like every Friday, before fishing for her mobile and settles down on the soft mattress.

The Nursing student's fingers find the power button and the screen comes to life in a bright glow and that is when she sees it.

13 missed calls

5 new voicemail

6 new Messages

They for the most part, are all from the same number, the number that had called her at 2 am that morning because he needed help. The pain in her body is instantly replaced with guilt, anxiety, and the overall feeling of being sick. She wasn't expecting this,she wasn't expecting him to reach out so early. When she had left, Sherlock had been falling asleep, completely bandaged, dressed in some decent night clothes and curled up on his side,staring at the wall.

"Fuck" Elizabeth muttered under her breath. "If he isn't panicking by now, it might as well be a miracle"

The chemistry major lay in his bed, tears streaming down as he tried to call her once more. He got the voicemail straight away, due to the turned off mobile. He tried to stay composed but found that he couldn't.

"Hello, Elizabeth. I am sorry for bothering... I-I just wanted to check in... This has been the fifth voicemail... You've not yet responded to my text nor answered any of my calls. It's been seven hours and I've been worrying sick about you. Please call me back. You have my number. I hope everything is okay... Also, I figured you should know that I am going to leave Victor as soon as possi-" Sherlock was cut off, a harsh voice in the background which could only be Victor.

"Who the fuck said you could end this?" Victor asked with a snarl, forcing the younger man onto the bed, Sherlock's fingers quickly pressing end as he let out a sharp cry.

"Please, Vic... I didn't mean anything. I'm sorry.. I just wanted to reassure Miss Watson. I-I-" He was cut off by the older man's hand over his mouth. The unwanted yet familiar feel of a needle pressing into his arm. He fought against it before realizing what he had received. Today it wasn't heroin nor the liquid form of cocaine. Today it was a sedative, the numbness of his body the strangest he felt in days.

With his fingers still working for him, he quickly sent a single word text to Miss Watson.

Help. WH

Elizabeth listened to her voicemail as fast as it would play, and skimmed over her messages rather quickly

"Fuckity, Fuck,Fuck, Fuck" She muttered as she sat up, wincing, as she threw her legs over the side of the the clothes she had worn on her late night healing session, she made her way to the closet, hitting the call button under the number. She held the phone between her head and shoulder, hoping he would answer.

The Nursing student couldn't help but feel guilty at the fact her friend had needed her, but she had and possibly was, unable to help him. The last message came in nearly ten minutes before, she honestly hadn't realized she had been laying there that long, but that would explain the soreness in her muscles.

"Come on William, pick up"She muttered as she pulled out a pair of jeans and a sweater as her heart pounded harder, faster in her chest. Her common Sense was telling her he wasn't going to answer. Not of Victor was there. Not if Victor had him. Much to her dismay, the only thing she got was his voicemail, in a huff she tossed her phone on the bed and changed her clothes, tossing them aside as she picked up the iodine stained bag she had placed near her door as she shoved the mobile in her pocket and headed out.

Victor looked to the phone and answered it with growl. "Whoever the fuck this, William can not answer his mobile. Leave us alone." He snarled, before clicking the end button.

Sherlock looked to Victor with a whimper, the sedative kicking in. "Do not touch her..." He slurred, whimpering beneath the older man. "Please... Just find someone else. I am the only one who deserves this."

Victor smirked and pinned his arms above his head. "Yeah well, if your fucking bitch comes here, don't expect her to escape without a scratch."

Sherlock was petrified. The mere thought of someone hurting Elizabeth made him sick. Before he knew it, Victor was pinned beneath him, a snarl escaping the chem major. "Touch Elizabeth and you will regret it."

The man who answered the mobile the next time she called was not the man she had expected to answer the mobile. And as Victor Trevor's voice snarled at her over the line, she froze. She didn't retort back, instead she just stood there in the middle of the walkway, people bustling past her, When the line went dead she held her mobile to her ear for a few more moments as her mind tried to get back into working order.

She wasn't too far from home, she could just turn on her heel and go back to the house, hide away in her room until she had to explain herself to her father before ending up on the floor for the next seven hours like she had earlier. That was what her mind wanted to do, of course her gut and her heart had a different idea. if Trevor was there, then she would most likely have to sneak out in the middle of the night once more and if she walked at a slower pace, and if she waited at the tables not to far from Sherlock's building, then as soon as she saw Victor leave she could go to him. Of course that would be easier if she actually knew what the bastard looked like.

Elizabeth's feet began to move as she followed the path she had been taking, if she was lucky it wouldn't take long for the man to leave the dorm and she could get in, unnoticed. However, with how the day was currently going, she doubted that it would be that easy. It would probably have been easier to get Haven to tell her who his supplier was, and that was saying something considering there brother-sister relationship was strained at best.

As Sherlock came to, the sedative wearing off eventually, the chem major found his way to the closet, looking to the unconscious dealer on the bed. Sherlock couldn't remember a single thing but he knew that when Victor was to wake, he wouldn't be happy.

Reaching for his mobile, the younger man smiled as he sent the text he never thought he would freely say with confidence.

Miss Watson, run away with me. Please. I wish to protect you from the bastard of a father that you have and after what happened this evening with Vic, I don't think it's safe. He didn't like the fact that the punching bag fought back. But I'm not as badly bruised as I normally am. WH

Elizabeth stared down at her screen as the new message came in and for the second time that day, she froze, but this time it wasn't out of fear, more like out of shock.

You cannot be serious Mr. Holmes, we have known each other for forty-eight hours, if that and you want to Run away with me? Protect me? EW

Yes, Miss Watson, this is what I want. You're all that matters. I didn't see your potential while you and I were in the study sessions but instead in the moments you saved my life. Both times in the spans of the two days. WH

You mean when I snuck out of my house and went to bandage you up this morning. Before losing seven hours of daylight. EW

I didn't think your father was that violent... That is one of the reasons why I want to run away with you. WH

It isn't normally like that, I just got caught coming back in... maybe we should be having this conversation in person? I just stepped on campus. EW

I'm leaving the dorms now. Library? Or uni cafeteria? WH

Sherlock limped his way to the exit, looking over his shoulder every other moment, fearing that Victor had awoken and would follow after him. He held his violin case in one hand, the emergency overnight bag in the other. He spotted the familiar blonde within inches of the main campus entrance and rushed towards her as fast as his limp would allow.

Elizabeth looked at her screen for a moment before looking up, locating the inky mass of curls that belonged to her friend, and made her way towards him. She reached out to take the bag he had in his hand. Her eyes scanning his face and neck.

"He hurt you again didn't he?" She asked

"Yeah... I'm sorry for the frightening fifth voicemail... I didn't expect him to do that. Nor did I expect to fight back, though you are worth fighting for, Miss Watson." He added with a shy smile, looking at the ground as soon a the words escaped his lips.

"Don't worry about it okay? It gave me the motivation not to lay in bed and wait for him to come home." She said softly as she placed her hand under his chin. "It is nice to know someone thinks that, now do you have a place to stay?"

He gave her a small nod as his eyes still refuse to meet hers as she spoke. "There is a lady who owes me a favor, I did some... work for her and she offers me a place to stay when I need it"

"Do you want to go there now?" She asked her hand still under his chin, her skin warm against his making his pulse increase a fraction.

"N-No, No, I want to make sure you alright" Sherlock stated as he looked at her, his newly freed hand twitching slightly as if he wanted to reach out and touch her, but he knew he couldn't. Too many people knew he belonged to Victor, too many people wouldn't think twice before selling him out if offered free drugs.

Elizabeth sighed as she removed her hand from his face and nodded "Do you want to go to the library? or maybe the Uni Cafeteria? Or we could just get as far away from here as possible"

"We could go to the library... maybe get some studying done." Sherlock replied as he looked over his shoulder, seeing if Victor had emerged from the building.

"William, at this moment, I don't care about Chemistry, I want to make sure you are going to be okay" Elizabeth responded as she began to walk towards the library anyway. "You are more important than some stupid exam I have on Monday. "

Sherlock paused for a moment, looking at the girl in front of him, he had never really been important to anyone outside his family. He knew he wasn't important to Victor and they had been together for almost a year. Yet this girl, someone he had just met, someone he had been some what cruel to cared. That much was obvious, she had come to help him that morning, and now there she was again. Hurting herself after getting beaten, because she wanted to make sure he was okay.

"I am not important" Sherlock stated as he came out of his thoughts and caught up with her. "You are more important than I am.. more potential than some junkie freak" the last part crossed his lips in a whisper.

"You are not a junkie freak" she stated as she stopped in front of him, the entrance to the library feet from them. "And you are just as important as I am, and I am not saying that because you want to help me, or protect me. I honestly believe it."

Sherlock looked at her for a moment before she turned and entered the library, he followed her, keeping some distance as she walked up to the counter to get a study room. He kept his head down, curls hiding his bruises.

"You know the room has cameras" he stated as she returned, his icy eyes looking her over, "They will see everything and the-"

"Shut up, Holmes" Elizabeth's voice was soft. "I told them I was going to use it for first aid practice and you were my assistant, so they turned off the camera for me"

"I-I can't believe you are doing all of this for me" He whispered as she grabbed his wrist gently and began to lead him to the back of the library. "You really shouldn't be doing this…"

"This is what friends do,they look out for one another,they care for one another,and in this instance they lie to the guy at the desk because they need a place to bandage up their friend." Elizabeth remarked as she stuck the key into the door of the room before bowing him in. Once inside she closed the door quietly behind them, locking it before moving to draw the blinds.

Quietly Sherlock slid up on the table, his feet dangling up off the floor as he removed his shirt, putting it aside as Elizabeth opened up her bag and pulled out supplies that were still wrapped in sterile packaging. The Chem major kept his eyes on his hands as he heard her rip open the gauze and bandages. He jumped slightly as he felt her warm hands gently remove the old dressings. It didn't take very long for him to notice how stiffly she was holding her body now.

"You are hurting" He whispered as he glanced at her."I can tell by the way you are standing, your back is stiffer than it normally would be and you keep shifting from foot to foot to elevate the aching but it isn't working…"Sherlock stopped himself from speaking, thinking that what he said was probably not welcome."S-Sorry"

"No, don't apologize William" Elizabeth said as she gave him a small smile as she wrapped him with steady hands. "I am not going to get upset because you deduced how I am feeling. Which you are correct by the way,but I always feel this way on the weekends."

The sun was setting as they walked down the street, their hands in their respective pockets,as they wet.

"You do have a place to stay right?" Elizabeth asked again as they finally came to a stop in front of a small cafe.

Sherlock nodded "Yes, the lady that owes me a few favors will take good care of me for the night" He offered the nursing student a small smile before he gave her a hug. "Thank you… for just everything" He lingered for a moment before heading towards the steps of the flat that was next door and knocked softly. The door of 221B opened and a woman in her middle ages appeared in the door, giving a small smile before ushering him inside.

Elizabeth stood there for a moment, lingering, her eyes focused on the door before she turned and headed the way they came, she headed home to what fate awaited her.