A/N - look at the lil family photooo 😂

These are Cleo's siblings minus Ivy and Jacob because I can't find any actors young enough that I can see playing them 😂

So left to right:
- Robert - Josh O'Conner
- Chris - Tom Felton
- Theo - Joe Cole
- Jenna - Daisy Edgar-Jones

________________________

The following morning, after Sherlock had left the night before, Elizabeth discovered that she now disliked waking up on her own.

After having slept next to the detective for ten days consecutively, the loss of his warm presence was felt deeply. She pulled the white cover over her face as she maneuvered herself into the centre of the bed. His side was cold. It still smelt like him though, albeit subtly, but the earthy, alluring smell had lingered, the only sense of familiarity. He had only been gone for one night so far and she missed him terribly. But perhaps the lovesick puppy in her was more so missing him out of the fear of losing him to Irene, regardless of his promise.

The thief sighed, shutting her eyes again, inhaling his scent once more.

She knew she couldn't stay here all day but without anyone to entertain or be entertained by, she was at a loss of what to do. Work didn't start until Thursday, she had kept on top of tidying the flat so there was no chaos to clean, John would be working and Mrs Hudson had her own plans to go out.

She could visit Rita at the hospital again...

But Elizabeth found she didn't want to, not after how their conversation had ended last time. Moral culpability now liked to hold her steady as it's wave engulfed her whole, surrounding every inch of her body with the drowning weight of responsibility for what had happened to her friend and confidant. It was her fault Jim had done this to Rita. Had she just accepted that she was his 'property' and returned herself to him, no one would be hurt - not even Sherlock as she wouldn't have been present to complete those missions for Mycroft.

The thief knew she, herself, would be hurt though.

If she had gone to Jim, she knew she would always long to be with Sherlock, but given his career path, she knew that he would turn her in without question for a betrayal such as that.

Her phone buzzed on the bedside table.

Peeking out from under the thick duvet, she looked at the phone, gently slipping her arm out from under it to grab the device. Unlocking it she saw she had a message from Sherlock:

<I love you. - S.H.>

Her lips softly curved up at the sides as she replied:

<Be careful. I love you too. - E.P.>

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Rita was sat up on her hospital bed, her bandaged legs dangling off the side as two nurses changed her bandages. The doctor couldn't bear to look down at herself, despite that morbid curiosity whispering to her that she should. All she did was held her head high and kept looking forwards, straight ahead, focusing all of her gaze into the same spot of the wall opposite her, wishing it were another certain person instead. Staring at it so intensely, she thought the white wall was beginning to churn and fizz, just like sea foam.

What she wouldn't give to be on a beach right now, sipping a piña colada, book in hand, listening to the gentle shushing of the waves as they collapsed onto the beach while taking in the sun.

But the reality was, with burns like these, she wouldn't be spending much time out in the sun at all this year (let alone in wintry January/February).

The nurses soon left, meaning Rita was left on her own again, left to her thoughts, left to acknowledge the rough cling of the cream bandages to her aching skin.

Then there was a knock on the door.

A lanky man with dark hair strolled in with a wheelchair, a nervous smile across his face, "Dr Rita Rahat?"

"Yes?"

The stranger took in her appearance before coming closer, "I'm Robert, Cleo's brother, I've come to...get you out."

"Where's Cleo?"

"She thought it less suspicious if she didn't show up again, what with CCTV and all." He pushed the wheelchair closer to her, "We have to be quick though: Little Sister is distracting your security guard. Pulling the 'lost her mother' card,'" He smiled a little bit, rubbing the back of his neck as he breathed a laugh, "Little does he know we lost her years ago now."

It was obvious that he wasn't used to this, sneaking around. He seemed shy, almost jumpy - had a lovely reassuring smile though. Was he really the right person to be doing this?

"God, you're the baker, aren't you?" She questioned, tilting her head at him as she gradually, painfully slid off the bed, moving even slower to take a seat in the wheelchair, "From the Rob'n'Cat?"

"Y - yes."

"I can tell. You're the 'good one'."

Alarm rang in his tone, "Is it really that obvious?"

For his sake, she lied, "No. Cleo told me. You don't like to get involved."

Better to keep him calm rather than alarm him after all, especially if he were new to participating in this criminal side of his family life. He wheeled her out into the corridor, peeking out in search of the guard. Down the hall was a younger girl with brown, curly hair, very similar to Cleo's except from the colour, crying to the guard. She looked to be a young teen.

Out the corner of the girl's eye, she saw her brother beckon her prior to rolling Rita away. The young teen stopped crying to the officer, announcing she had spotted her mother and ran off after the two of them.

Once outside, Robert neared the edge of the pavement as a navy blue SUV pulled up in front of them. The window rolled down to reveal a man in the driver's seat.

"Ride for Dr Rahat?"

"Theo, you're going to have to help her up, I need to take the chair back - "

"Just leave it there, Robs, you help her up." The man (now established as Theo) instructed, "Where's Ivy?"

"Here!" The teen chirped up and then struggled to hide her grimace at imagining what horrors lay beneath Rita's bandages, "Somebody sure gave you a lesson..."

"Ives!" Robert scolded her, "C'mon, open the door for her."

As Ivy did this, Theo asked, "Where's the guard?"

"Just ran and left him. I don't think he followed."

"Yeah, well, at least - " Theo's eyes narrowed as he saw a security guard leave the hospital entrance, looking around, "Rob, Ivy, do not look back. Get her in the car - quick."

"Theo, she can only move so fa - "

"I'll be fine. Help me up."

Without hesitation, Rob followed the order that had been barked at him. He offered her his arm and Rita stood, using him to lean on, hissing at the pain of her wounds as they shifted uncomfortably under the bandages. She pushed herself off Rob, up and into the car seat. Ivy leapt into the front seat, as nimbly as an excitable dog, brushing past Theo as she clambered into the back seat, next to Rita. Robert closed Rita's door shut before hopping into the front passenger seat and slamming his own door closed.

Before the three could even get their belts on, Theo sped off.

Ivy looked at Rita attentively, "So what did they do to you?"

"Ives!" Both brothers scolded.

"I'm just asking, jeez!" The young teen held her hands up in defence.

Rita knew she would have to get used to this, used to the lingering stares and the questions and remarks about her appearance. She cleared her throat as she looked at Ivy and asked:

"How old are you?"

"Thirteen, why?"

"How much do you know about what your Cleo does?"

Theo sent Rita a disapproving look through the rear-view mirror.

"I know she runs a gang. And I know Theo and Chris are part of another gang. Robbie doesn't like it so he runs the café. Jenna helps Cleo and Robbie with the business side of things. Me and Jacob help bake with Robs." She paused looking at her brothers in the front, "I miss Jacob. And Chris too."

Rob looked back at Ivy, a sympathetic expression crossing his face, "We'll see them again Ives."

"When?"

This he had no answer for.

"Jacob's my twin, Robbie, it doesn't feel...right without him. I just want to know when - "

"When Cleo sorts it." Theo snapped, garnering all their attention and silence, "She will sort it. It's Cleo for God's sake. Us Elephant and Castle boys can all pretend we're big men and all but Cleo? Cleo has a bigger pair than all of us put together. So she'll sort it, Ives, just...trust her."

The uncertainty emanating from all of them took a toll on the atmosphere. Rita prayed that Theo was just bloody right but she did fear that her friend and boss had bitten off more than she could chew. The car kept going, heading towards the docks and then away from them, zig-zagging through the city in what Rita assumed was an attempt to confuse anyone that may try and follow, and finally out of Central London.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Elizabeth was lying on the apartment couch, duvet wrapped around her so she could form a burrito. She hadn't moved from this position in an hour. Her toes were frozen into nonexistence on this brutally chilly day and no amount of material seemed to warm them. But leaving the duvet of warmth also felt impossible to do. The only thing she could do was sit and lament in the melancholic absence of her lover.

That was until this cold silence was disrupted by Mycroft striding through the door without acknowledging her. He went through the Sherlock's room and even paused in the kitchen before standing in the kicking room again, peering around like he was missing something obvious.

"Hello to you too..."

"Where's - "

"Sherlock's on a case, Mycroft." She quickly defended.

"Not him. Where's Rita?"

Elizabeth sat up a little straighter, "Rita?"

"Yes. She's gone. She left the hospital this morning. They're still sorting CCTV footage, said they'd report back to me soon."

As Mycroft had stopped his searching and stood before Elizabeth, she had a moment to actually look at him. Mycroft was unrecognisable - sickening grief had overwhelmed his appearance by way of his increasingly pronounced frown, slightly dishevelled hair and skew tie. The thief actually found she was manifesting some sympathy for him.

"But she's - recovering. She can't have gotten far."

At last, the shivery thief threw the duvet off of her, reaching for her phone on the coffee table, ready to call her.

"I've already tried calling. She won't pick up."

"Maybe not for you."

"Why ever not?"

"I don't know, she just - might not want to speak to you, especially if she's upset." Elizabeth said still dialling the number, "We know you Holmes's struggle with emotion after all." She commented pointedly, still aiming this more at Mycroft than at Sherlock in her mind.

She sighed when she, too, had no luck at reaching her.

"Where is Sherlock? I'll find him and pick him up on the way ba - "

"I already told you that he's on a case. He didn't want to be disturbed and even told me to stay behind. He's not in the mood - "

He snapped, "It’s Rita - "

"Yes. And I will help."

Mycroft scoffed, "You? What makes you think you could ever match Sher - "

She stood, approaching the slender snake and stared up at him fiercely, "You and him might have the deduction thing, Mycroft, but that doesn't mean I can't help. She's my friend too." She paused, "So do you want my help or not?"

"This won't mean that I like - "

"Save it." Elizabeth hissed, "We don't have to like each other but now you are wasting time."

Mycroft watched the thief, sneering, as she fetched her jacket from the coat stand and turned back to him, her mouth filling with instructions:

"Go back to the hospital and watch the CCTV. Update me if you find anything important."

"And what exactly will you be doing?"

The thief paused by the door, "Finding more help in the form of John Watson."

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

The place Rita had been brought to was a relatively large house on the outskirts of London. There was a pretty, well-tended front garden with colourful winter jasmine, snowdrops, heather and pansies decoratively lining the perimeter; the street was quiet, barely anyone out, in fact quite posh in her mind - not what she had expected Cleo's residence to be like at all. She didn't know why she didn't consider this though.

Robert cautiously helped the recovering surgeon out of the car, offering her his coat, seeing as she was still in her hospital gown and there was quite the chill in the air.

Ivy had already sprinted up the garden path to the front door, fetching a spare, muddied key out of one of the flower pots, and used the edge of her turquoise t-shirt to clean it. As she was opening the door, Theo strolled next to Rob and Rita. The young teen had already gotten inside, leaving the door open for them.

"So what mess has our sister gotten into then?" Theo questioned her.

"She hasn't told you?"

"Course she hasn't told us." Theo shook his head.

"A bit secretive, is our sister." Robert added quietly.

Theo continued, "But we know something's wrong because we haven't seen our brothers in a month."

"What do you mean?" Rita looked at Theo, her brow contorting out of pain and curiosity.

"Well, one day our brothers just didn't come home." He shrugged, "Chris only took Jake out to get him some new shoes. Sure enough his card said they got the shoes but neither them nor the shoes were to be seen."

"Not to be rude, but you are in a gang - "

"We don't involve the twins - they know what we do but they know to stay out of it. Shoes, Rita. Who goes missing when buying new fucking shoes?"

"No, need to swear at her, Theo." Robert looked at his brother disapprovingly.

"Anyone could have had it out for your brother - "

"Now you see, I think you know what's going on." The three of them stopped at the open front door, "You keep making excuses but you have this knowing look that I've seen many times before. So you're tell me what's going on."

"Oh, am I now?"

"Cleo's not gonna be home for a few hours more."

The three paused outside the open door as Rita replied, "Don’t you think there's a reason she hasn't told you?"

"I'm sure there is but this is a family matter. I want to know where my brothers are."

"I don't know where."

"But I can tell you know who."

"How about we get inside first?" Robert suggested, feeling the frost crawl it's way across his face and reddening his nose.

"No." Theo stared at Rita, his eyes getting darker as she returned the gaze.

"Theo, she's still recov - "

"I said no, Robs." He addressed his brother sternly, "She works with Cleo, I'm sure she can deal with a little cold." Theo looked back at the doctor, "Because we will be dealing with it until you give me a name."

"It's not my place."

He rose his voice, "And it's not her place to lie to her fucking family about our fucking family!"

Rita scoffed at his frustration, "Let's put it this way, Theo: the man who is likely to have your brothers did this to me." Rita gestured to her face and hands, "So I can only assume that Cleo hasn't told you to protect the rest of this family. If she is losing control like I think she is - "

"Don’t fucking say that about her - "

"No. You listen to me: she is losing control and it is because of the man who has done this to me." Rita reiterated this quickly, "Which is surprisingly good news because it means that your brothers are still alive. If they weren't, you and the rest of the family would know and Cleo would be hellbent on trying to kill him. So right now, we can safely assume that whatever she is doing, she is doing it to ensure the safe return of your brothers but make no mistake - she is not in control of this situation."

Theo's nostrils flared as he glowered at the doctor. His sister had always been the strong one, had always been the one to have control but if this was true, he didn't know what to think. All he felt was his blood boil, the fire in him burn out of contempt for the man who had broken his sister control.

"Well, are you gonna come in and shut that door? We pay for heating, you know." Came a younger, lighter voice from inside the house.

"Sorry Jen, Theo was just doing his 'routine interrogation'." Robert helped Rita inside, still wary of not wanting to hurt her.

"You don't have to interrogate everyone who comes here, Theo." She shook her head at him, "Remember what happened last time?"

"Don’t." Theo snapped, heading straight for the stairs, his feet thunderous against the wood as he ascended.

"You wouldn't think he's in his late twenties, would you? Storming off like that?" She chuckled, "I take it that you're our fugitive then? Ivy said you had quite the beating."

"I can only wish it was a beating." Rita half-smiled, "Chemical burns."

Jenna's eyebrows bunched in the middle, "I'm sorry about that."

Rita just nodded in appreciation.

"Robert!" Ivy called, appearing from the direction of the kitchen, "Robbie, can we make that pie now?"

"Ives, I've barely helped Dr Rahat into the house - "

"But you promised!"

"Give me a - "

"Go, Robs, I'll help the doc."

The baker muttered a quiet thank you, giving his charming smile to Rita before following Ivy into the kitchen.

"Should probably say, I'm Jenna." She smiled, "Can you make it up stairs alright?" Jenna asked.

"I haven't, uh, tried stairs yet..."

"We can take it slow, it's fine." She shrugged, guiding her to the stairs.

Gingerly, Rita raised her leg and placed her foot on the first step. She felt a weird pull but the pain was dull. Without thinking, she moved her arm a little too fast and winced.

"Are you alright?" Jenna questioned, her hand on Rita's back.

"Yes, I - skin's healing." She inhaled, processing the throbbing in her arm, "It's thinner, easier to tear but also my muscles are stiffer too because I haven't moved much in so long."

Jenna bit her lip for a moment, "Why don't you tell me a bit about you? I'm sure I'll have your whole life story by the time we're at the top."

For the first time in days, this brought a small smile to Rita's face and the two shared a little laugh.

And to think that the only thing the future had in store for this family would be pain and ruin if Cleo continued being puppeted by the Napoleon of crime.

Rita's heart hurt for them deeply.

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A/N - I SHOULD HAVE ADDED THIS WHEN I POSTED THE CHAPTER IT WAS ONLY WHEN I WAS LOOKING THROUGH MY CAMERA ROLL THAT I REMEMBERERD AND I FEEL TERRIBLE

I am so sorry for forgetting!

Now, for some more art appreciation!

This cover was made by localsociopath :

Absolutely ADORE the blue orchid in the background 😍😍😍

Thank you so much for this and I'm so sorry for not posting it earlier! I'm really glad you like the book enough to make fantastic art for it too 😄❤