I Still Remeber John Watson's Daughter

Chapter 33 Not Dead

Two long years Sherlock and I worked on taking down the network Moriarty had set up all over the globe. We were currently running through some forsaken forest in the dead of night just as winter was beginning. I think we were Siberia, we had been to so many places the last two years I wasn't sure where I was anymore. I wanted my flat, I wanted my bed. Above us were helicopters, just great, behind us humans and other creatures it sounded like.

We had nothing to help us see in the dark, they did. It was only a matter of time before we were surrounded. I could run very fast in areas that I knew, but I wasn't familiar with the area and hadn't had a proper meal in days. It wasn't long before I knew we were completely surrounded and Sherlock stumbled, falling to the ground. I stayed beside him.

The men took us and chained us in a room, they stripped Sherlock of his shirt and removed me from the room. They dragged me off to another room. I knew they would torture us separately, whatever they had planned for me wasn't going to be pretty. As they stripped me of my clothes I could hear them beating Sherlock and Sherlock grunting, trying not to scream.

They proceeded to beat me with whatever they could pick up for hours. I did my best not to show that I was in pain, keeping it off my face was the hard part. Keeping quiet was easy, the men Harry had lined up could get quite rough. If I made noise Harry inflicted more pain. After they grew bored of leaving bruises on my body they pulled off my undergarments and took their turns with me for several more hours.

When they were finally done they drug me back into the room they had Sherlock in. Sherlock was chained in such a way that he was kept in a standing position. I was dropped onto the ground near him. I was in so much pain I could barely breathe. For the moment we were alone in the room. "Sentiment?" Sherlock asked.

"Sentiment," I replied barely able to get the words out. I would be surprised if he could hear me. At some point, a man came and just sat in the corner. I ignored him, he just sat there. Moments later someone else came in and started beating on Sherlock again. I was far too tired to focus on the words exchanged but at some point, he left the room and the man in the corner got up. He came over to Sherlock and said something, I recognized the voice as Mycroft.

What was he doing here? He hated any kind of work that involved him getting out from behind a desk. He must have freed Sherlock because he was at my side, "Can you get up?" I looked up at him, just, moving my eyes took almost all my strength. I tried to stand but couldn't even get myself onto my hands and knees. The multiple beatings and rapes had taken all my strength. Sherlock somehow managed to pick me up and started to follow his brother, with that I allowed darkness to claim me.

When I woke the plane was landing in Heathrow. Mycroft being Mycroft had a private jet with a medical staff that had taken care of me and Sherlock. I was full of pain meds so I could shower, having some sleep also helped with that. Mycroft took us to his office where he had us cleaned up. There was a barber for Sherlock and a hair stylist for me. My hair needed some work after being kept in a braid for two years. I hadn't done anything with it, it had just been sitting in the same braid for two whole years.

I wanted so desperately to get cleaned up, to feel human again. Mycroft talked as Sherlock and I were cleaned up to be presented to people. Sherlock's hair had grown to brush his shoulders in the two years that we had been running and it was very tangled. I ignored the pair of them as the hairdresser behind me brushed out my long hair before washing it. I liked having someone play with my hair.

I just relaxed as for the first time in two years I would be able to run my fingers through it. "Bella! Both of you need to focus, the terror alert has been raised to critical."

"A terror alert is always critical," I replied. "Perfect time for it to happen to, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?" Mycroft asked. I could almost hear him roll his eyes.

"Look at the calendar," I replied. "I would see who in Parliament has been bought by whom."

They continued their discussion, moving on to John and of course, Sherlock hadn't been in contact with him at all. Sherlock was just planning on walking right back into his life. Someone shoot me now. Living with me for almost a decade hadn't taught him much. "Lock you just can't walk back into his life, if you did that to me, I'd probably kill you myself; if the shock didn't kill me first."

Sherlock and I were given our coats, I got the keys to the flat, and Sherlock's watch back; which I quickly put on his wrist. We left the office, properly fed and clean for the first time in two years. It felt good to be home again, this city was home. Sherlock roamed the city, I went off to say hi to everyone I had left behind.

After I had gone to see everyone I had gone back to the flat for a while and cleaned up a bit before I went to meet Sherlock at the restaurant. I got there just as he and John were thrown out. John had a woman with him. "Sherlock I told you not to do this, not like this." He was holding a napkin to his split lip.

"Oh, you must be Bella," the woman said.

"Yes," I replied. "Sorry John, I told him to tell you." I slapped the back of Sherlock's head.

"He could've-" Sherlock started.

"Don't even, you know that's a load of crap, you were doing an experiment. Don't be an asshole, you owe him an apology." We headed to another place, this one being a small diner. John tried asking Sherlock a bunch of questions and Sherlock was answering them, but not giving the answers John wanted or needed.

"Not how, why Sherlock? Why didn't you tell him?" I said when Sherlock started explaining his plans for what would happen on the roof. That led to another fight after Sherlock asked for John's help in solving the terror problem in London. We once again had to move our meeting place as we were kicked out.

"Why didn't you tell me?" John asked turning me, pointing his finger accusingly at me.

We had taken up residence at an even smaller diner for the time being. We were all standing in the corner talking. "I did tell you, but you didn't listen," I replied.

"What are you on about, you told me nothing."

"I told you I was doing what I had to do to keep him alive and I have never failed a mission, that nothing is what it seems. I told you the world needed to believe this. Look at the letter I left you. I capitalized only two letters, John. The two letters tell you who I was with. Read it again."

He pulled the letter from his pocket and started reading. I remembered the letter well.

john, i know you don't understand anything that's happened in the last few weeks and that's unfair to you. it's also unfair of me to leave you in this, but it's what i have to do. moriarty still has people like him out there. someone has to stop him. remember that i said nothing is as it seems? that the world needed to believe this? i said i was doing what i could to keep him alive. i've haven't failed a mission given to me. don't worry about me when i'm undercover. i'm in Safe Hands.

-bella

"So, you're really keeping it?" Sherlock asked.

"Yeah, Mary likes it."

"No she doesn't," Sherlock replied with just a brief glance at Mary. The two argued for a few minutes before John looked at Mary.

"Oh, I really missed this," John said pointing at Sherlock who was still nursing his split lip. I took the napkin from him and put an ice cube in it and gave it back. 

"I'm sorry I didn't know how to tell you," Mary said causing me to laugh at the pair.

The two proceeded to yell at each other about how John was the only one acting like a human being, even though I thought he was overreacting just a little. "I need your help, John. Come on you've missed this. The blood pumping through your veins." At that moment John headed butted him and broke his nose.

"Well that was predictable," I said grabbing several napkins and pinching Sherlock's nose and tilting his head back. I got the bleeding to stop and set his nose before heading out with John and Mary. John went to call a cab for himself and Mary while Mary stood with me and Sherlock. We talked till the couple left, then Sherlock and I went home.