"Ready for school?" John asked kindly and handed Macy a glass of juice.

"How could I not be?" she asked as she grabbed the glass from his hands, poured it out in the sink and replaced it with a mug of coffee.

"Right, well, breakfast is ready," he replied with a sigh. Macy shook her head.

"Don't like to eat before I have to think." John rolled his eyes and turned to his friend.

"Sherlock? Have anything to say about that?"

"About what? Oh! Yes, I most certainly do..." He looked between his friend and his daughter; "Don't... Do... Drugs?"

"God's sake," John complained, feeling both relieved that his friend was finally taking part of his daughter's life, and at the same time, very, very frustrated.

"No, Macy, you have to eat breakfast," John argued and handed her a plate with two pieces of toast on it. She looked at the plate before sadly receiving it and sitting down by the table.

He sighed in relief and turned to his friend.

"We'll need to be home by the time Macy's off school," he explained before turning to the girl; "When is that, Macy?"

"Three thirty," she replied, her mouth already full of bread and butter; "Wait!"

She let go of the bread and quickly got to her back where she pulled up a note from, which she handed to Sherlock, who without looking at it, handed it to John.

"It's your principal. He'd like Sherlock to stop by, just to make sure everything is alright," he mumbled while reading the little slip.

"Why? I don't go there?" Sherlock replied confused.

"No, but your daughter does, and besides being a transfer student she just lost her mum," John argued.

"Why don't you take her today?" he suggested; "I'll head over to the Yard to see if Lestrade needs help with anything."

"This is it," Macy explained, showing her father the way to the school for his first time.

"I would have never guessed," Sherlock sassed and went in the door without waiting for his daughter who quickly caught up with his long steps.

"Hey Macy!" A guy greeted. Macy turned around and smiled; "Martin, hi!"

"Wait, that's - you're Sherlock Holmes!" Martin realised. Sherlock looked to his daughter who nodded awkwardly.

"What's he doing here?" he asked with a curious look pointed towards the man in front of him.

"He's... It's complicated, he's kind of my... Guardian, at the moment," Macy tried explaining, ignoring Sherlock's loud snicker.

"Penrose," he hurried.

"Right." She turned back to Martin; "How about I meet you at lunch?" she suggested. Martin nodded.

"It's a date," he agreed.

"'It's a date'," Sherlock mocked on their way towards the office.

"An expression, Sherlock," Macy mumbled. He looked at her.

"Why don't you have friends?" she looked annoyed at him and stopped walking.

"What?" she asked angrily.

"Well, it's fairly obvious that you don't have any friends. Why is that?" he asked and looked closer at her; "You can handle social situations, better than me even." Macy looked at him with a look that said 'as-if-that's-saying-much'.

"You're not rude without reason to, you don't even deduce people out loud without haven been asked to," he stated; "You clearly are capable of making friends, so why don't you have any?"

"Well, I just moved here," Macy tried but received a shake of her father's head as first reply.

"No, it's obvious from how you acted around that boy that you're not used to situations like friends would have. So tell me, Penrose, why are you lonely?"

"I'm alone," she corrected; "Not lonely."

"I don't see the difference," he admitted. She sighed deeply before explaining.

"I like drinking coffee alone," she started.

"I like reading alone. I like riding the bus alone and I like walking home alone. It gives me time to think, and God knows I do that and need time for it.

I like eating alone, I like listening to music alone, I like to be on my own..." Her voice ran silent as the man before her looked at her.

"But?" he asked, encouraging her to continue.

"But when I see a mother with her child, a girl with her lover or friends laughing together, I realise that... As much as I like being alone..."

"You don't like being lonely," he finished for her. She nodded.

"Macy! We're so lucky to see you again," he said sarcastically.

"Thank you," she replied calmly.

"That was sarcasm," he pointed out to her, as if it wasn't obvious.

"Yes, I am aware. However, thank you for pointing your obvious ways out to me. You know, in case my baffling intellect was so superior I should struggle to even talk to you," she added with a sassy smile.

"I asked you to bring your father along, didn't I, Miss Macy?" mr Smith asked her annoyed.

"And I delivered. Sherlock Holmes himself. Sherlock, I'm gonna head to class," she added to her father who nodded acceptingly before watching her sway out the the door.

"Sherlock Holmes?" mr Smith asked the man who was curiously looking around in the office.

"You would have thought the fact that my name has been said twice just in this case would have established that by now, would you not?" he asked, and finally turned to face the man behind the desk.

"I see where she got the attitude from," mr Smith commented, and sounded a bit like an old sour worm - which was a surprisingly accurate description of his personality as well as his tone.

"Yes, I like to think she's the best of her mother and myself," he commented.

"So, your wit - what did she get from her mother?" mr. Smith asked.

"Oh, no, she's all me," the proud father smirked.

Mr. Smith sighed deeply before pinching the bridge between his eyes.

"I merely need you to sign some papers, mr. Holmes, then you can go," he informed and pulled out a few papers.

"What is this?" Sherlock asked and looked through the white sheets of paper.

"That you, as her guardian, has allowed her to go this school," mr Smith explained and handed Sherlock a pen.

He quickly scribbled down his name and turned towards the door.

"Oh, and Mr Holmes?"

He turned back around.

"Nice to meet you." Sherlock nodded before leaving through the door.