Chapter 2

A/N For certain parts of this fic, it might make more sense to check out CrazyCousinEiko and her story "Things you don't know about Dimmock."

When she was about 7-9 Sally was walking home from school and she saw a little boy sitting all alone in his front yard. She went up and introduced herself, and the two of them hit it off. His name was Iain, Iain Dimmock, and he was home schooled because of his chronic migraines, which was why she had never seen him before. They started to play everyday after school, and soon Iain became her best friend. She doesn't know what she'd do without him some days.

Since both she and Iain see Greg as a father, they have taken to calling each other brother and sister, and Sally often teases Iain mercilessly, like any big sister would.

Sally and Greg are two of the only ones on their floor who work on Christmas Day and other holidays because they have no where else to be. They exchange gifts on that day, and work with Christmas tunes playing in the background. They don't often talk, but it's peaceful and nice.

One time when they were young Sally witnessed Iain having a horrible migraine. He started throwing up and she had no idea what to do, there were no adults around and she didn't want to leave him alone. So she just sat there with him and waited until he was better, not talking, as she knew that would hurt him. After a bit she scooted closer and held him in her arms until it ended. It lasted for 3 hours, and Sally stayed with him the entire time.

Sally's mom was murdered sometime around when Ryan was killed in the 9/11 attack, so neither Sally nor Iain were there for each other when they lost one of the most important people in their life. They both really regret that.

Lestrade always holds doors for Sally, which drives her crazy because she thinks it's sexist of him, but he won't stop doing it and it's become almost a game with them. They end up just standing there with him holding the door and her glaring at him both refusing to go through until someone comes out of the building and yells at them.

Iain wishes that Sally and Sherlock got along, he doesn't want to have to choose between the two of them.

Iain still doesn't know that Sally was bullied horribly in high school, because he didn't go and she never told him. There was hardly ever physical evidence, and when there was she had learned to hide it. She didn't want him to worry.

After Sally's brother ran away to join the army, Iain promised himself that he would protect her. Sometimes he feels like he failed at that to.

A little after she first met baby Ryan, Sally decided that Iain had horrible taste in baby clothes and took them on a shopping spree to get Ryan a decent wardrobe. Iain still doesn't know how Sally talked him into buying his kid a mini leather jacket.

She wants to ask John Watson what Afghanistan was like. But she doesn't. She'd like to know what her brother faced while he was there, because he barely talked about it even when he was responding to her letters. But with the way she treats Sherlock, she knows any questioning on her part would be unwelcome.

She has seen Lestrade cry many times, but she almost always pretends that she doesn't. He needs his pride. Sometimes though she comes and hugs him from behind, and if she's feeling particularly brave she'll rest her head in the crook of his neck, and I hope that maybe just this once she'll be enough to make his sadness go away for good.

Anderson wasn't the only married man she's been with.

She goes out with married men partially because of the forbidden fruit aspect, but also partially because she wishes Greg would see it and care enough to call her on it. He doesn't.

She also likes to pretend that the men she's screwing are the husbands of the stuck up girls who bullied her in high school, with their perfect lives and perfect families and perfect husbands. She thinks that it would serve them right.

Her and Sherlock's rivalry has gone on for a very long time, both hurting each other more than they realize. What hurts Sally the most is when he reveals her past relationships in front of co-workers, that hurts. Especially when they cat-call her or say vulgar things about her behind her back.

What's probably the worst is when Sherlock says that kind of thing in front of Greg, because Sally can handle the jerks at work, she's been putting up with them her whole life, and knows that they aren't worth her time.

But that fact the Greg knows all her dirty secrets hurts the most, because if there's one person that Sally wants to impress it's Greg, and every time Sherlock does that to her she dies a little bit more inside. Even though she partially does all those things to get Greg's attention, on another level she doesn't want him to know, to think less of her. She can't stand to let another parent down. And Greg has done so much for her. He saw her at her lowest and still chose to help the black girl with and eating disorder, when it would have been so much easier to just leave her behind like anyone else.

Sometimes she thinks Sherlock does it on purpose, tries to make Greg think less of her by saying those things. In those moments she hates Sherlock with all her heart. Because he already has Greg's heart, does he really need the tiny sliver that belongs to Sally?

Even though Dimmock has vowed to protect her, he really likes it when Sally is protective of him. He's missed having an older sibling look out for him, and it's comforting to know that Sally would kick someone's ass just on his say so.