"So…what did you want to talk about?" Sherlock asked his father. They had been sitting in silence for some time and Sherlock was getting more and more agitated. He was incredibly uncomfortable and wanted to run away as fast as he could.

"I wanted to take this chance to explain myself." Mr. Holmes said slowly.

"You don't have to do that. It's fine." Sherlock replied, rushing his words hoping that would be the end of the discussion.

"Sherlock please." Sherlock nodded and quieted down. Mr. Holmes heaved a sigh before beginning. "I'm not asking for you to forgive me. I just want to get a chance to tell you what happened…Edward was like a brother to me. He's like John is to you. And after he and his family were killed. Their daughter was thought to have fallen in the river."

"Wait, I don't remember that." Sherlock interrupted.

"It's a conspiracy of an old man, Sherlock. No one is really sure what happened to Edward's family. He and his wife were found on the road, looking like the driver had lost control of the horses and crash."

"I don't see what this has to do with you being a drunk."

"I became depressed, Sherlock. At first I drank to drown my sorrows but I soon learned I needed to drink to survive. If I was passed out on the ground then there wasn't a chance for me to do anything stupid. I couldn't hurt myself or anyone else if I wasn't conscious."

"You don't have to have this conversation with me. I'm fine." Sherlock snapped.

"No, you're not…you're not fine and you don't want to admit it. I don't care if you've forgiven me or if you haven't. I am still your father and I still need to look after you and make sure that you are okay."

"Look, I said I was fine. I AM fine!" Sherlock snapped. "You know what, I'm just going to get dinner. I don't need to hear this!" Sherlock stomped out of the room. Mr. Holmes shook his head and followed Sherlock out.

"Archie is sweet." Molly smiled as she stirred the soup she was making.

"He's what I think Sherlock would have been like as a child." Mary replied. Molly nodded and was about to say something when Sherlock barged into the room.

"I need my dinner right now." Sherlock snapped.

"Why? You promise to eat dinner with everyone today." Molly asked.

"Well, I lied. Now give me some food."

"No. You said you were going to eat with everyone so you will."

Sherlock didn't take very kindly to this. "I'm tired out after my case today and-"

"What did you do on your case today, Sherlock?" Mary asked. She was trying hard to diffusion the situation. She didn't want a screaming match in the kitchen.

"Mr. Williams died in his house, alone. He was unmarried and had no relatives that lived close by. Everyone that could have killed him had alibies and his house wasn't close to town. By what the idiot police saw, there wasn't any way anyone killed him. I was called in to see what happened. I thought it was going to be more challenging so I called in Archie and Wiggins. I turns out the Mr. Williams had pissed off someone in town because he owed the guy some money. Mr. Williams went to get a drink, it was drugged and he died within hours in the safety of his home."

"You are a terrible liar." Molly hissed under her breath.

"Oh, so now I'm a liar?!"

"Yes!"

Sherlock stepped forward until he was towering over Molly. "And why, pray tell, Ms. Hooper do you think that I am lying?"

"The devil's in the details. You wouldn't have to add all those random names and facts if it were true." Molly replied, not breaking eye contact.

"Well, congratulations Ms. Hooper! Aren't you just a genius?! Maybe they should have contacted you for the case?! I'm sure you would have solved it a lot faster than I did. Oh, wait I didn't have to solve it because there wasn't one!" Sherlock screamed.

"Sherlock, calm down. Are you okay?" Mary asked. She had never seen Sherlock this angry before.

"Why does everyone in this damn house insist that I am not okay?! I'M FINE!" Sherlock yelled. "I get hurt in tiny little skirmish and all of a sudden I'm practically dying! I'M JUST FINE!" Sherlock stood there breathing heavily, but soon enough his breathing picked up and his frown was replaced by a horrified look.

"I can't breathe." Sherlock wheezed out, now hyperventilating. "What's happening?! I can't breathe!" Sherlock's hands weaved themselves into his hair and he shut his eyes, trying to concentrate.

"Sherlock, you're having a panic attack." He heard Molly say gently as she took his hands from his hair and held them tightly in hers. "I need you to take deep breaths."

"I can't breathe and my heart is going wild, and you want me to just take deep breaths?!"

"Sherlock, you are going to work yourself up again." Molly put her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her "Now, deep breaths: in and out and in and out."

Sherlock followed her lead. "In through the nose, hold it for a couple of seconds, and then out through the mouth." Molly told him. If Sherlock hadn't been in the position that he was he would have laughed at Molly's face as she breathed with him.

Sherlock wrapped his hands around Molly's wrists and held on like they were his life line. He stared into her eyes until he could breathe normally again.

"Better?" Molly asked.

"Better." Sherlock replied, still a little out of breath.

Both Molly and Sherlock turned when they heard footsteps come into the room. They both had failed to notice that Mary had left. She ran in with John right behind her. Sherlock's parents came in soon afterward.

"I'm a doctor. Let me check him." John rushed to Sherlock's side.

"I'm fine John." Sherlock said, sounding tired.

"Don't you dare start that again!" Mary argued from across the room.

Molly back off as John took over, looking Sherlock over. When he was satisfied that his friend was okay, he pulled Sherlock into a hug.

"Don't ever do that again."

"John, I doubt that I have control over wheatear I have a panic attack again." Sherlock replied awkwardly hugging John back.

"Shut up."

"Sherlock, dear" Mrs. Holmes said after John had finished hugging Sherlock "is there anything you need? A blanket? Some hot tea?"

"I think I should like to sleep." Sherlock said. Everyone nodded and watched as he slowly left the room.

"Is he going to be okay?" Mrs. Holmes asked after he was out of earshot. "Is that going to happen again?"

"It depends." Molly said from her spot. Everyone in the room turned to look at her. "If he doesn't stress himself out, he should be fine. However, he isn't used to taking things slow and I'm afraid he doesn't have any intention of starting now."

"What's wrong with him?" Mr. Holmes questioned.

"He seems to have symptoms of PTSD: post-traumatic stress disorder. It is to be expected. He did go off to war." Molly was very straight-forward and clinical. It was purely medical. "He can get over it. He needs to take time and realize that he is not the same as he was when he left."

"Sherlock? Can I come in?" Molly whispered outside Sherlock's door. Everyone had eaten dinner without him and it had been practically silent. They had all been worried about Sherlock and no one really felt like they had anything to talk about. After Mrs. Hudson had come home and been informed what happened, everyone decided that they were tired and went to bed. Molly had snuck out after everyone was in their rooms and gone to Sherlock's room.

"Do you want me to-" Molly whispered when the door was yanked open. Sherlock was standing in the doorway in his pajamas.

"Come in." Sherlock whispered back and taking Molly's hand and pulling her into his room. When he had shut the door he turned back to face Molly.

"Would you mind telling me what exactly I had today and how exactly to get rid of it?" Sherlock said slowly.

"It was a panic attack, mostly likely brought on by post-traumatic stress disorder. If you don't stress yourself and are willing to talk about what is bothering you instead of holding it in, you could be fine in no time."

"So I have to talk about my…feelings?" Sherlock spit the word out with disgust.

"Yes. Yes you will."

Sherlock let out a groan and flopped onto the bed, putting his hands under his chin into his thinking position. "That seems unnecessary."

Molly gave another giggle and lay down next to him on the bed. "You don't have to tell everyone. You can just talk to me, but you can't keep bottling your feelings up."

Sherlock rolled over to face her and just stared at Molly. She was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable when Sherlock let out another groan.

"Fine, I'll do it."

"Good…can we go to bed now?"

Sherlock nodded and got up to pull the sheets down. He lay down and pulled Molly down to the bed, covering them both up. He wound his arms around her waist and placed his head next to hers on the pillow. He gave her a small, sleepy smile.

"Goodnight Molly."

Molly smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight Sherlock."