Told from Sherlock's POV

~~~~~~

 Y/N wasn't in a good place when I first met her. On the day we met, John and I just so happened to be at the police station. Lestrade was having a conversation with her about some people she had gotten mixed up with. It wasn't hard to figure out a few things about her; she looked very tired and probably hadn't been sleeping much, most likely due to stress from her life. She was young, couldn't be any older than sixteen. She looked scared while talking to Lestrade, but she didn't seem guilty. 

 "What is it?" John asks me. 

 "That girl," I answer. "Just...picking out a few things." 

 "Sherlock, John." Lestrade comes over to us. "So, this case-" 

 "Who is that girl?" I interrupt. 

 "Her? Name's Y/F/N Y/L/N. Got mixed up with a bad crowd, but she hasn't done anything. Nice girl, really. I've called her mother. She's coming to pick her up."

 I nod. "Single-parent home. I imagine that has something to do with it. Do you mind if I talk to her?" 

 Lestrade shrugs. "I guess you could, if you want. I've already talked to her, though. And don't scare her, all right?" 

 I walk over to Y/N and sit down in the chair opposite her. 

 "You must be Y/N," I begin. "I was just talking to Lestrade about you." 

 "Are you another detective?" she asks. "I already told him, I haven't been doing anything illegal." 

 "I can see that. If you were guilty, I would have been able to tell. Let me guess: single-parent home, too much time to yourself, a lot of insecurity, and a very basic case of a nice girl finding herself hanging around people she didn't know were that bad." 

 Her eyes widen. "How do you know that? Who are you? Do you actually work here?" 

 "It wasn't hard to piece together," I answer. "My name is Sherlock Holmes, and no, I most certainly don't work here." 

 After that little conversation, John and I managed to befriend Y/N. She would often come to Baker Street after school or during the summer months. Her father had died some years ago, and her mother worked odd hours, so she would be alone at home. She didn't seem to have many other friends, and I began to mind less and less when she came around to the flat. She and John got along pretty well, and she would talk to Lestrade whenever he came around to talk about police business. 

 Over time, even I began to consider her a friend. She grew very interested in detective work and chemistry, and she was a good listener. It seems that because of all this, I never considered that there was more to her than we thought. 

~~~~~~ 

 It's over now, thankfully, and Y/N is safe. Moriarty kidnapped her, something I was never expecting. He knows about her now, that she's a friend of mine and I care about her. Lestrade put together a large police team to rescue her, and she was thankfully recovered, but Moriarty somehow escaped. No one knew how, since the police had the warehouse he'd taken her to surrounded, but he's gone. 

 There was a camera in the room where Moriarty had Y/N, and of course it was there; he would have wanted me to see her as his hostage. John and I have seen the footage from the camera, and what we saw surprised us. I imagined Y/N would have been scared, but what she said and how she said it was something I wasn't expecting from her. 

 "Now, I think you'll be safe right here for now," Moriarty says, that awful grin on his face. "Let's see how long it takes for Sherlock to come rescue you. It could just be you and me for a while, my dear." 

 "I don't believe that," Y/N replies firmly. "Sherlock and John are gonna come get me. They're my friends. They won't hesitate to save me from you." 

 "But are you quite sure about that? You know, I've never gotten the impression your friend Sherlock cares all that much about anyone. I would think about that one again."  

 "Yes, they will!" Y/N cries. "They're coming for me, and they'll probably bring the police, too. I'm also friends with Inspector Lestrade. And if you don't let me go and get out of here, my friends will kill you." 

 "Ah!" Moriarty looks amused. "Such big threats from such a small girl. I suppose you're going to kill me, too?" 

 "Maybe," Y/N answers calmly, her eyes gleaming. "If I manage to untie my hands, I could always try. Why not? I don't think anyone would miss you."  

 "I see." Moriarty steps closer. "I think you'll be having a very hard time with all of this, my dear. I suggest you just sit there and be quiet."  

 Y/N suddenly swings her leg out and kicks him in the shins. Moriarty jumps back a moment, looking surprised, and then he says, "Clearly, you need your ankles tied as well." 

 He binds her ankles and gags her, and she continues screaming until he leaves the room and locks the door behind him, leaving her alone. 

 "It's almost like listening to someone else," John remarks. "The way she threatened him, you know? I mean, it could just be because she was scared, but she almost sounds-" 

 "Psychotic? Crazy?" I suggested. "But you must admit the way she kicked him was amusing." 

 John smiles. "Yeah, it was. Well, maybe you're just a bad influence. You're the one who says you're an insane sociopath. I think we should definitely talk to her about what happened ourselves." 

 Y/N doesn't come around to Baker Street until a few days later. She asked Lestrade to drive her, and he comes up to the flat with her. 

 "I know the two of you helped in rescuing me," she says. "Thank you both." 

 "You're welcome, obviously," John says. 

 "The way you threatened Moriarty was interesting to see," I remark. 

 "What? How do you know about that?" 

 "There was a camera in the room," John explains. "We saw the footage. I didn't know you could be that violent. I mean, you told him we'd find him and kill him, and if we didn't then you'd kill him yourself. You just had a bit of a crazy look. You even kicked him, which was actually funny, by the way." 

 She sighs. "I'm sorry if I've gotten you worried over that. I don't know what came over me, really. I...I was so scared. I really did think he was gonna kill me when he kidnapped me. I think...maybe I have got a bit of a psycho side, you know, that I just haven't used. Again, I'm really sorry you guys have been worried about me." 

 "Hey, as long as you don't use that crazy side for anything illegal, I'm sure you'll fit in fine around here," Lestrade says. "I'd rather not have to arrest you." 

 She smiles. "Okay. Maybe you guys are getting to be a bad influence. You don't exactly have a lot of ordinary routines around here." 

 John looks at me. "I told you." 

 I sigh. "Yes, John, I know. Well, Y/N, you may as well stay for lunch. I'm sure Mrs. Hudson will be glad to give you something." 

 "Okay." She walks over to me and hugs me. "Thanks, Sherlock." 

 It felt a bit awkward, given that we'd never hugged before, but I hugged her back. I found I didn't mind it.