Sherlock's secret

CHAPTER 4

John sat in the undecorated waiting room at the St. Bartholomew's hospital. It's where it all began, he realized. It was the hospital he met Sherlock in, it was the place they spent so much of their time in.

It was the place he jumped from, he thought dejectedly.

Another small tear trailed down his cheek. His legs bounced up and down; his bloodshot, puffy eyes darted one way and another, taking in the doctors rushing around, hoping beyond hope one of them might bring him good news. He hadn't been this distressed since, well, since the day that his heart broke; since the day he watched his best friend - the only person who truly understood him - die.

Except, he hadn't died. He was in one of these hospital rooms probably fighting for his life.

Running his hands roughly through his mussed hair, he leapt out of the seat, unable to remain still any longer. He started making his way to the Nurses desk, hoping to coerce the Nurse in to letting him see Sherlock, but was interrupted by a firm hand on his chest. Looking up, he saw the doctor that had begun treating Sherlock upon their arrival to the hospital before John was ushered away. A flicker of hope sparked in his heart.

"How is he?" he blurted immediately, his words tripping over each other in an effort to make their way out of his now dry mouth.

"He – he should be fine. He's lucky he had you; we mightn't have been able to save him if you hadn't tried to stem the bleeding when you did."

The thought of Sherlock dying simply because he might not have found the slits in time was almost too much to bear. His legs started to shake and his knees buckled. The doctor grabbed his arm, steadying him, and guided him to a nearby chair.

"Are you okay, sir?" Worry coated the young doctor's face.

"F-fine. Just, hard to take, I guess." He stammered in reply.

"I understand." After a long pause, "Would you like to see him?"

"Yes, yes, please take me to him." John stumbled out of the chair, following the doctor into Sherlock's hospital room.

What he saw, nearly tore him in two.