Chapter Four - Redemption

True to his word, the man returned the next day and the day after that, and the day after that, until Anthea could practically pinpoint the exact second that he would walk through the door. To her surprise and slight annoyance, the man seemed abnormally interested in her. During their talks, which he mostly initiated, he constantly asked her questions, making sure to listen to her answers carefully, no matter how short they were. But she found that with each visit, she grew more and more comfortable around him, even going so far as to actually make eye contact for longer than a minute. It was truly a miracle.

She worked to grow stronger and stronger each day at the advice of the nurses and doctors, and soon enough, she was up and doing more talking, though she couldn't do it for very long without her jaw feeling sore. The man seemed very pleased with her progress, like he was watching a child learn how to walk for the very first time. She couldn't help but bask in the attention, in the fact that someone cared about what she was going through…that someone cared about her.

"You know, in all of the times we've talked, you've never told me your name," she told him one night during one of his regular visits as she struggled to open the little cup of apple juice that came with her dinner tray.

"Oh, yes, I haven't." He got up from his seat and took the juice from her hand, opening it for her with ease. "You can call me Mr. Holmes, or Sir if you prefer."

"I highly doubt 'Sir' is your name," she said as she took the juice back. He gave her a sarcastic smile and sat back down.

"I don't usually give my name out to people I don't know."

"Oh, but you'll go ahead and rename people that you don't know." She could've sworn she saw his lip twitch into a genuine smile.

"Anthea suits you better than…what you were called," he finally finished, and she chuckled that he couldn't bring himself to say the curse word. So formal and proper. This Mr. Holmes was a piece of work.

"I looked up what Anthea means." He didn't look impressed with her statement. "It means flower or blossom…" she trailed off, suddenly embarrassed at his very bored stare.

"Yes."

"So…why did you choose Anthea for my name?" He looked very thoughtful at her question, almost as if he wasn't expecting her to even ask him. Finally, after a couple of minutes, he spoke.

"I guess when I saw you, I thought about a…trampled flower. Delicate, yet…crushed and broken." The room fell into silence, and Anthea felt her ears turn red at the very vivid picture he presented.

"Are you a poet or something?" She finally asked, making him scoff.

"My father was; I, however, do something much more important than throw words together all day."

"And that would be?"

"I occupy a minor position in the British government."

"Minor position? A job as a janitor might be considered a 'minor position'. You're something more than that." She scanned him up and down to prove her point; a well pressed suit to go along with the sharp hairstyle and his use of a cane barely qualified as something 'minor' in her opinion.

"You know, it's nice to see you curious instead of fearful," Mr. Holmes suddenly said, and she sighed internally at his sudden change of direction in the conversation. "You haven't even asked about the man that did this to you since you've been here." She looked down to her tray of meatloaf, her heart gaining speed as his words sunk in. "What did you do that made him so ruthlessly attack you?"

"The flat wasn't clean when he got home," she answered slowly, stabbing at the hunk of meat with her fork.

"And he decided that the best reaction would be to nearly murder you?"

"I have to admit, this beating was the worst," she bit out the words and shifted to get herself more comfortable. "It wasn't this bad before…"

"Before," he repeated. "So, for three years, you've put up with this." Her look of surprise didn't even make him react; he looked almost familiar with the knowledge, as if it was an old friend that had popped in for tea and biscuits. "Why do you stay with him if he's so cruel?" She stared at him.

"Why are you so interested in knowing the answer to that?"

"I have to admit, sometimes I don't understand why people do certain things. It's almost like I'm watching an ant farm for a science project in school. Except it's people and I'm living among them. A world of goldfish," he murmured in an afterthought. With a sigh bordering on exasperation, she put down her fork.

"He was very nice in the beginning. Charming and romantic. I thought I was the luckiest girl alive. He convinced me that I didn't need anything outside of him. He told me he would take care of me, would always love me…" She smiled at the memory, but her face fell. "Then he started drinking, and that's when he changed."

"Alcohol does strange things to the human psyche," he said with a nod. "But I can see that it was more than loyalty keeping you by his side. In fact, I would go far as to say that…you loved him." She bit her bottom lip.

"Yeah, I did."

"And that is what I don't understand." Mr. Holmes grabbed his umbrella and picked it up to look at the end of it. "Seems illogical to me to stay in a relationship with someone who constantly beats on you." He put the umbrella down. "Since when did loving someone become a matter of playing God?" His words were quiet and dark. The chair squeaked as he leaned back and put his hands to his mouth, watching her with a very intense expression.

"Sometimes, being in that type of a relationship isn't exactly logical," Anthea answered softly. "Emotions can make you blind to the truth."

"Oh, yes, the fly in the ointment of Life, emotions." He sighed tiredly and waved his hand. "I always tell my brother that caring is not an advantage. Maybe it's time to relay that advice to people outside of us."

"Your brother?"

"Sherlock." The name came out with a mix of annoyance and affection. "He's the reason you're here, actually," he added with a nod. "I should thank him or something when I see him next…whenever he isn't boring me with another tale of sleuthing around London and crime solving." Anthea chuckled.

"Maybe I should thank him, too," she said quietly.

"No, no, you don't want to overwhelm him with thanks. I fear if he gets more than one, he'll never be able to fit his head through another door." He rolled his eyes. "Sherlock can be quite the arrogant sod."

"I wonder where he gets it from…" Anthea held back a grin as Mr. Holmes sneered sarcastically in her direction.

"Hilarious," he said dryly. "Now, eat. You'll need your strength for your physical therapy tomorrow." With an eye roll of her own, she picked up her fork and started to eat her meatloaf, watching from the corner of her eye as Mr. Holmes leaned back and closed his eyes, finally letting himself rest for the first time in days.

After almost a month in the hospital, Anthea was finally given the clear to go home. The nurses and doctors that oversaw her care all came and offered their well wishes, all of the commenting in one way or another about how strong she was to overcome the intense obstacles that faced her during her treatment. From her position on the bed, she smiled at Mr. Holmes, who was watching her from his usual chair, his chest and chin almost puffed up with pride.

"So where are you going now?" He asked her after they were alone again.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I thought about trying to find a job, but I don't really have any skills to find a good one to support myself." She picked at the blankets in thought. Suddenly, Mr. Holmes stood to his feet and came to her, pulling a Blackberry out of his pocket to hand it to her. She looked between it and him, trying to distinguish what he was up to, but his straight face was impossible to read.

"You'll need this." The Blackberry came closer.

"For what?"

"For your position, starting Monday." Her eyebrow rose.

"And what exactly am I doing?"

"I need an assistant to help me keep track of some things," he said airily with a shrug.

"And you just assume I want the job?"

"It comes with everything you'll need to be comfortable," he reasoned. "You won't lack for anything, I assure you." The question left her mouth before she could stop it.

"What about Justin?" For a second, she wasn't sure if he was going to answer her, or even if he heard her in the first place, but after a minute, a look of intensity descended onto his face and his chin rose higher.

"Let's just say you'll no longer need to worry about that. I've taken care of him…" A shudder ran through her at his ominous tone. As much as she wanted to ask about Justin's fate, she was sure that Mr. Holmes wouldn't tell her anything, no matter how hard she tried to probe.

She reached out her hand and took the Blackberry from him.

"I'll see you on Monday…sir." With a nod, he turned to walk to the door.

"By the way," he said, not bothering to look back. "My name is Mycroft…though you still have to call me 'sir.'." She beamed.

"I thought you didn't give your name out to people you don't know." He looked back over his shoulder.

"Well, you're not exactly a stranger to me anymore, now are you?" With those words, he shut the door behind him and she shook her head, turning on the Blackberry to the main screen and opening up a text message to type her thoughts.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes

I was redeemed and reborn under his hand

And given a new name

I am Anthea.

The End

NOTE: Thanks to camilia holmes, Vampire Princess 789 and A genius says for the reviews and to Generated Anomoly for the story follow!

Mini project done! Usually, I do a trivia page for each of my stories, but because this is so short, I'll just attach it into this author's note.

Trivia Page/Note:

-Most of this story came from personal experience. I wasn't severely abused to this degree, but I was given a run for my money by a man I used to call my true love and he also used to call me that "horrid name" that Justin used to call Anthea.

-This is the shortest multi-chapter project I've ever done (I don't count one-shots as 'projects', they're more like 'assignments')

-Some of the music I used to help plan and write this project was: River Flows in You by Yiruma and Tears of the East and The Approaching Night, both by Philip Wesley.

And that it! Thanks to everyone that took the time out to read, review, favorite and follow!

See you all later!

GeorgyannWayson