John woke up slowly, turning his head to place a soft kiss to the top of Sherlock’s head.  It had been a month since the trial, and, while things were a long way from perfect, Sherlock was slowly starting to recover.  There were still nights - far too many nights - when John would be woken by his partner’s thrashing and crying through a nightmare, ( Read more... )

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13

Chapter 14 - Trials and Tribulations

It took another two weeks before Sherlock felt really able to manage without the cocaine, but, eventually, he started returning to his old self, throwing acerbic comments at Anderson ( Read more... )

Chapter 6 - Never Stop Searching

Arthur sighed wearily, dropping tiredly onto the edge of his bed in Buckingham Palace. His lunch with his father and the Prime Minister, and, unexpectedly, his step-sister Morgana, the Duchess of Edinburgh, had been even more stressful than he had expected it to be. As well as facing the usual hints about his ( Read more... )

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12

Chapter 13 - Withdrawal

Sherlock began his detox from the cocaine immediately. After giving John specific and determined instructions not to leave him alone or let him out of the flat under any circumstances and to inform Mycroft of ( Read more... )

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11

Chapter 12 -Two Talks

John walked slowly down the stairs towards the front door, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself.  Guilt and fear was gnawing at his gut, but, despite this, he knew that he had to talk to somebody who knew ( Read more... )

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

Chapter 11 - Returning

Sherlock's return to Baker Street was not, unfortunately, uneventful.  He stepped slowly out of the taxi, grudgingly accepting the assistance offered by John and Mycroft, and walked with pained, uneven steps up the stairs to 221b.
( Read more... )

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9

Chapter 10 - Rebuilding

The next couple of hours passed by like a hazy dream for John. Sherlock was bundled quickly into the ambulance, and, after Mycroft threw the full weight of the British government behind his demands, both he and John accompanied the detective ( Read more... )

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8

Chapter 9 - First Aid

It took less than five minutes for a loud banging to echo through the garage, and a voice from the other side of the metal door to call out “Police! Open up!”

Lestrade. John thought with relief, placing Sherlock's long black coat into the crook of ( Read more... )

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

Chapter 8 - Redemption

Sherlock lay as still as he could, eyes clenched closed, waiting for the bullet to hit. Any second now, the bullet would hit is head, and his life would be over.

Seconds ticked by in his head, and still Sherlock waited. Time seemed to run unnaturally slowly ( Read more... )

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter 7 - Broken

Warning - This chapter contains rape.

The world came swimming back to Sherlock extremely slowly and with notable reluctance. He could hear the sounds of another person breathing and pacing, the noise pounding into his brain with almost as much force as the original blow. ( Read more... )