I open my eyes.

Everything is bright. I lift my head but there's too much light, so I lay back down again. The ceiling looks different. Then I remember; we're not in Room anymore. I look at Pa. He's fast asleep. I wonder if Chain is still attached to his leg.

I push the covers off me and sit up. The light still hurts but it's better. I crawl to the edge of the new bed and put one foot on the floor. It's different from the floor in Room. I look around. I don't understand. Why does outside have so many insides? I must ask Pa. He's good at explaining things.

Now I'm standing in this new space. I see a window and I walk towards the light. I want to see World's Strip Light. Is it long like Room's?

I look outside. I see trees and people and cars. The ground is different from the inside and different in other places. Some of it is squashy and green like the ground yesterday. I wonder why the people all look so small. I stand on tip-toe and look down. There are small cars beneath the window. Why am I higher up? Am I dead? I run back to the bed and jump back on it screaming "PA!"

Pa gasps and catches me before I fall off the bed. "Good morning. I didn't think you were going to wake up."

I panic. "Am I dead?"

"What? No, we're in hospital, in a bedroom."

"Are we sick?"

"No, we're fine. In fact, we couldn't be better."

"Where's the Somebody?"

"I would imagine he's gone home. It was very kind of him to stay as long as he did."

"Is he coming back?"

"I don't think so."

I sniff. "But he's good at hugs, like you. You were supposed to hug him."

Pa looks embarrassed. "I don't think…"

BRING!

I jump at the new noise. I've never heard it before. Pa rolls over and that's when I see all the bruises. Pa holds something to his face and talks into it, but I don't care about that. My mission was to save Pa and now Pa is hurt all over.

Pa is still talking. "Bring it up in twenty minutes. Thank you." He looks at me. "Hey, hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"My mission was to save you and I messed it up!"

Pa pulls me into a cuddle. "No you didn't. See? I'm right here with you."

"But you're hurt!" I'm crying like a baby, but I can't stop. "The Monsters got you!" I get the hiccups. "And now I've wet the bed!"

Pa lifts up my leg. "That doesn't matter." He cups my face and presses our foreheads together. "I'm alive because of you, Jack. You are the bravest little boy in the whole wide world. And don't you ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Now let's get you clean."

We walk into the bathroom. Pa pulls my pants off and throws them in the bin. "Pa, that's waste!"

"The hospital will lend you a pair. We don't have to worry about being wasteful. We don't have to beg for clothes anymore."

"But my clothes are in Room. How do we get them?"

"We'll get new ones." Pa grins. "I'll be able to wear trousers again."

I stare at his ankle. "Chain's gone!"

Pa beams. "I know. We're free, Jack, we're finally free." He pulls me over to the mirror. "Look at us, Jack. Remember this moment. This is our victory. It only gets better from now on."

I twiddle my hair. "Will the Monsters find us, Pa?"

Pa grips my shoulders tight and wears his serious face. "No. They will never find us."

Pa gets undressed and walks behind a wall. I follow him. Water sprays from above his head and I run away. Pa laughs. "It's just a shower, don't worry. We both need to get clean."

"Where's the bath?"

"There isn't one."

"I'm a Pirate. Pirates need baths."

"Well, if you don't get under the shower you're going to be a smelly pirate." Frowning, he leans forward. "What happened to your knee?"

"I bumped it when I jumped out the truck."

Pa stares at me, then he smiles. "So brave," he whispers. He flicks water at me and we laugh. I watch him as he gets clean. He had his back to me, because I'm not supposed to see him naked, but I can't look away because I'm worried. Pa has bruises everywhere. When it's my turn to shower, Pa uses all the shampoo on my hair. He's being very wasteful. It's good we're not in Room anymore or Chain would get tighter. I'm secretly worried about what the punishment is outside. What if Pa gets us into trouble?

Pa puts my dressing gown on, but it's too big, so he rolls up the sleeves. He has one too. They're blue like Pa's eyes and we match. He rubs my hair dry. I hold his hand and we walk over to the window. The light is too bright and it hurts Pa too. I blink a lot until I can see the sky. It's very cloudy. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. But I still can't see the Strip Light. I ask Pa.

"I think we're facing south, so the sun will come around soon."

"What's the sun?"

"It's a star. It keeps the earth warm."

"What does it look like?"

"It's round and yellow. But you mustn't look at it, or you could damage your eyes. It's very bright."

"Why does it move?"

"I don't know."

My mouth falls open. "What? But you know everything!"

"I deleted it."

"But why?"

"Because it wasn't important. And because…" he takes a deep breath. "Because I never thought I'd see daylight again."

Pa looks sad, so I hug his leg.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

I tug Pa's sleeve. "Pa the door is ticking."

Pa turns. "It's okay, don't worry about it." He leads me over to the bed and we sit down. The door opens.

"Good morning," says a new voice. I press my face against Pa's chest and I hide behind my hair.

"Come on, Jack, stop it."

"Good morning, Jack. My name is doctor Stamford. You were asleep when I saw you last night. I've brought you some food, would you like some breakfast?"

I peek through my hair. The person has crouched down so he can see me better. Luckily he hasn't come too close.

"What do you think, Jack?" asks Pa. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, you must be starving." The doctor pushes a table on wheels towards us. "We've got pancakes and fruit for you."

"Wow, Jack, pancakes!" whispers Pa, gleefully. But I'm too scared. I don't want to see more people. What if they're scary like the Monsters?

"Anyway, I've spoken to the police, they explained that the Room you were in was very dark, so I've brought you some sun screen for Jack and quality sun glasses…"

"I DEMAND THAT YOU GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

I jump and Pa pulls me closer. The door swings open and the man with the evil umbrella walks in. I scream and curl into a ball. Pa doesn't move.

There's a long silence, the tension thick enough to be cut with a knife. Sherlock stares at the newcomer, his jaw slack and their eyes are riveted to one another. Eventually, he manages to make his mouth work. He stammers. "Mycroft?"

The older man swallows, eyes locked on Sherlock's face and the bruises that run along his jaw line, down his neck and disappear down his chest and into his dressing gown. Sherlock squirms under his scrutiny. Feeling belittled compared to his older brother who still hadn't uttered a single word, he attempts to stand and grasps the bed for support when his injured leg refuses to hold his weight. Mycroft is cataloging every one of his injuries. Sherlock has so many things he wants to say: Where were you? You were right all along. Where were you? Instead he chokes out, "Are you real?"

Stretching out a trembling limb, he reaches for his brother slowly, unsure of the reaction he will get. Mycroft strides across the distance between them and grips his shoulders, himself uncertain as to how to act, now that the moment he has dreamt of for so long has finally arrived. Sherlock tries to conceal his emotions, but he was never any good at hiding from his brother. Shaking like a leaf, tears welling up, he hopes he won't cry in front of this man so full of himself and authority.

Mycroft holds his wavering gaze. "Hello, Sherlock," he rasps and Sherlock allows himself to break down, knowing he's not the only one who's not coping. He ensnares his brother, wrapping both arms around him and vaguely aware of Mycroft patting his back awkwardly. But that doesn't matter because he's real, so very real. Mycroft says nothing and Sherlock soon understands that he is expected to get himself back under control and quickly. He takes a deep breath and leans away from him, mumbling "sorry" under his breath. Mycroft clears his throat and pulls back the top of Sherlock's gown to get a better look at his injuries. Sherlock tries not to flinch. Then he remembers.

"Jack!" he exclaims and turns back to the small boy. "Jack, look, it's uncle Mycroft. It's okay, I promise. Mycroft, this is my son, he helped me escape. His name is Jack."

Sherlock's hands shake as he tries to coax Jack into looking at Mycroft. He needs Mycroft's approval, to accept Jack as family, as a Holmes.

Mycroft assesses Jack, his poker face impeccable. Jack peeks at him through his hair and Sherlock's guts twist anxiously. He smiles. "Hello, Jack. Thank you for saving my little brother."

Sherlock chokes back a sob and pulls Jack against him, giving Mycroft a watery smile, grateful for his approval. Doctor Stamford watches them quietly. Mycroft doesn't attempt to touch Sherlock again, but watches Jack with a certain amount of emotion that Sherlock can't recognize. He turns to Mike. "How are they, Doctor?"

"I'm going to need to keep them here for a little while Mr. Holmes. I need time to assess them, especially Jack."

Sherlock's gaze is like ice. "Nothing happened to Jack, there's nothing wrong with him."

Mike twiddles his thumbs nervously. "I know that, but he's never been in contact with most of the germs we are used to, he will need time to adapt to people, the outside, sunlight in particular and he's a bit small for his age, probably due to lack of nourishment. There may be other things too."

Jack lifts his head and Sherlock bends to hear him better. "I'm Jack the giant."

Mike smiles and crouches down to look at Jack, but Jack is hiding, face buried in his father's gown. "What was that, Jack?"

Sherlock practically spits in his face, snarling at his patronizing tone. "He says he's not small, he's Jack the giant."

Mike ignores Sherlock's tone. "You will be, Jack, you will be." He stands up. "Your parents are here, Mr. Holmes, but they want to talk to me before they see you. Perhaps you would like to see them outside, or would you rather be in here?"

"Outside." Says Sherlock. "I want to get some fresh air."

"Very well, I'll have the nurse bring you some clothes. Oh, and there's a man outside, friend of mine, can't get him to leave, John Watson, you probably remember him from last night. Jack responded well to him, can he come in and say hello?"

Sherlock looks down at Jack, who nods and seemingly regains his confidence. "Okay, I would like to thank him properly."

"Right, I'll call him in." He turns and walks over to the door. He murmurs something to someone outside and steps back as John walks in, a nervous smile on his face. "Hello, um, you probably don't really want me here, but I just wanted to make sure you were both okay before I headed home."

Sherlock is shocked. "You stayed the night?"

John shrugs. "Jack was so brave and you were both so lost and…" he struggles to find words. "Maybe I should go."

"No." Sherlock cuts him off. "Please, stay." He blushes. "Um, I mean…"

"Yes, I mean… uh, if I…eh…"

Mycroft rolls his eyes. "Doctor Watson, you will be rewarded for helping my brother. And you will stay or I will do everything in my power to ruin your life. Are you understanding me?"

Jack beams. "Yay! Now the somebody has to stay."

Sherlock catches John's eye. They share an amused smile.