"12th Year?" Sherlock tried not to sound impressed, but he was. That kid was a lot older than William was, and yet he still stood up to him. The tone of his voice made William look up for a moment, but as soon as he saw his father looking at him, he looked down into his lap again.

Sherlock sighed and took a seat next to John, William was one more seat away.

As much as standing up to bullies was a good thing, they were still going to have to punish him for fighting. There are other ways to stop bullies than using their own tactics against them.

Sherlock took John's hand and gave it a squeeze. It was an 'I'm sorry you have to deal with this on your day off, I'm sorry you have to deal with this in general, and an I'm here for you' all in one little squeeze.