Love, Lies & Death ( A Sherlock Fanfiction)

Chapter 9

Greg sat in the waiting area of St. Bart's Hospital, anxiously glancing at the clock again. Three hours had passed, since he arrived and time seemed to be stretching like chewing gum. In those three hours, he had imagined all kinds of scenarios of what might have happened to Minerva.
As soon as he had arrived, he'd informed Sherlock and John and he was almost certain that they told Mrs. Hudson.
His thoughts travelled back to Minnie. He wanted to know, how she was doing. She was probably still in surgery and hopefully she'd make it through. He couldn't imagine what would happen, if she died. Although he didn' tell her, Greg loved her.
"Mr Lestrade?" Finally, a nurse came up to him.
"How is Minerva?" He asked.
"Her condition is stable. We were able to fix up her wrist and the cuts, but she has gone into a coma, due to injuries, blood loss and exhaustion." The young woman explained. With every word Greg's worry had grown.
"Can I see her?" He inquired, further.
"Yes, of course. Please follow me." He did as the nurse asked him to and soon they reached the room. As soon as he entered, the DI's heart broke into pieces. Minerva looked so fragile and vulnerable in this moment. Her left hand was covered in a cast, and an infusion had been applied to her right. A bandage was wrapped around her forehead, another protected her right lower leg and her nose was covered in a blue like shade.
"Could I be alone with her?"
"Sure, no problem." The nurse went out. Greg made his way to a chair next to the hospital bed and sat down. His vision started to get blurry, as the tears he held back finally streamed down his face.

"I-I don't know, i-if you can hear me, Minnie, but I've wanted to tell you something for a long time. A-And I know that this is not the best time, but I was scared to admit it at first. We've spent much time together at the Yard and even though I never realised it until now, you are my best friend. No, you are more than that. In those few weeks we spent toghether, I learned so much about you. So what I'm trying to say is....I love you. With all my heart. And it hurts me to see you like this. So, if you can hear me, please wake up...please." Gregs voice faded into the silence of the room. He carefully took Minnie's hand and rubbed it lightly with his thumb.

Soon after, footsteps were heard in the hallway. Sherlock, John and Mrs. Hudson entered the room.
"Oh my goodness!" Mrs. Hudson gasped and hurried to her unconsciuos niece's other side.
"Ho-How long has she been like this?" John asked.
"I think about three hours." Greg answered.
"And how long is she going to be like this?" Sherlock inquired further.
"I don't know"
"Who did this to her?"
"A man. He was tall and looked oddly like her. Brown curly hair and the same piercing eyes." Greg explained.
"That's her father." Mrs Hudson spoke up. Three pairs of eyes turned to her.
"What?!"
"The man you described. That's her father. He was abusive and would hit their mother. But as soon as the twins were born, he left. Minerva and Cordelia never met him. Well until now. Sadly he was also the reason, Minerva was neglected. She looks like him and it reminded her mother, what this excuse of a man did to her. It is horrible." The elderly woman finished.
"Oh god. Pleas tell me you caught that guy." John sighed.
"Yes, we did. Right after he did........this." The DI looked down. Tears were forming in his eyes. He could belive this.
"Hey, what is it?" John asked carefully.
"I failed her, John. She told me to get out and promised, that she'd be fine and now..."
"I don't know, if this helps, but a few years ago she shot a criminal in the leg, because he was about to kill me. I later asked her, why she did that and her answer was 'I chess, the role of the queen is to protect the king.'" Sherlock said.

Almost three weeks had passed. Minerva was still in the coma. Greg wished for her to wake up, but everytime he went to visit her she was still sleeping.
I those weeks. the three men had figured out the next clue to get closer to Moriarty. It had always been letteers. First H, then O and the latest one was M. They were pretty sure, that the word Moriarty was trying to build, was HOME, but the letter E was missing. And nothing ever happened since they figured out the latest letter.
Greg was sitting in Minerva's hospital room again, her hand in his. He squeezed it lightly and to his surprise, there was a weak squeeze back.
"Minnie?"
"Hey, Greg." She smiled. Her voice was weak.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Greg couldn't be more happier.
"Honestly? Like a ton of shit." She giggled.
"I have a question. Why did you take this harm? You could have called out or something, I-"
"Because in chess, it's the queens job to protect her king."
Before Greg could ask another question, there was a knock on the door and a nurse walked in.
"Oh, you're finally awake. This is wonderful. Do you mind, if I do a quick checkup on you?" The young woman asked.
"No, it's fine."

After the checkup, Minerva was sitting in her bed, Greg still holding her hand. There was one thing on her mind, wich she was unsure of.
"Hey Greg, did you mean what you said?"
"What are you talking about?" The DI inquired, taken aback.
"You said, you loved me. Do-do you mean it?" Minnie repeated her question.
"Yes. Every word of it. And I'm sorry, that you're in hospital because of my daughter."
"It's not your fault. I offered to help. You know that you're my pressure point, don't you?"
Greg nodded.
"Well, then there is no need for me to hold back anymore. I love you. With all my heart. It even goes back to the time, when I was still working at the Yard. It was also the reason I quit. And because of my Philophobia, I was unsure how this would work out. I think that's what I was trying to say, but never had the courage to do it." The woman confessed.
"I love you too. More than you could ever imagine." The DI placed a hand on her cheek and for a split second he glanced down at her lips. Even though he thought it was unnoticeable, Minerva saw it and it made her stomach do backflips. She wasn't quite sure, but somehow she just knew that he thought the same. And she was right.
"Are you okay with this?" He asked. Minnie nodded. Both of them slowly leaned in, their faces only inches apart. A few short moments passed, before they met eachothers lips. The kiss was hesitant, yet gentle and soft. It lasted only a few seconds, but they were left with a wonderful feeling. The feeling of finally being with the right person.

Hello, Chapter nine.
I very much hope you like it.
I hav fun writing it.
Have a good Day/Night
HH