He works. I don't go to the surgery. We take case after case. He doesn't sleep, so neither do I. I catch quick naps when he's taking a bath, or when he's busy with something I can't help him with.
I take Lestrade aside and quietly explain the situation. He looks stricken, but he pulls it together quickly. I promise to let him know when the decision is made. I do the same for Angelo. I know that he'll spread the word.
Sherlock is adamant that we not tell Mrs. Hudson. For once, I agree. If we do, we'll never keep her out from underfoot. We'll wait until it can't be put off any longer.
Sarah brings me the pills. Two pills, white and smooth. I keep them on me at all times. He will not take them without my assistance, and it'd be like him to grow frustrated and just say to hell with it, swallow them down in a fit of pique, and the notion of coming back from the shops and finding him – well. I keep the pills on my person.
For a few days he seems no worse. Then, that tightness in his face that signals a headache stops going away with the painkillers I give him. He stumbles now and then. I stand closer to him when we're out at crime scenes.
One week after his diagnosis, I find him throwing up in the bathroom. He is pale and sweaty. I give him some compazine and it seems to help.
That day he has his first significant aphasia episode. He stands there ready to lay it out, and suddenly the words won't come. I see his jaw working, his eyes, his mind ready to show us how the clues fit together, and words won't come to him. He looks up at me with panic behind his eyes, just barely visible behind the veil that always cloaks Sherlock's emotional state, the veil that normally only I see behind, and then only rarely. "John," he stammers.
"What's that?" I say, pointing to something, anything not related to what he was about to say.
He looks away. "It's a late-model Citroen." And he takes a deep breath, comes back and is able to lay out his deduction for us. Sally is frowning. Lestrade sighs and we exchange a quick glance.
It's starting.
YOU ARE READING
Alone On The Water
FanfictionSorrow's my body on the waves Sorrow's a girl inside my cave I live in a city sorrow built It's in my honey, it's in my milk Don't leave my half a heart alone on the water Cover me in rag and bone sympathy Cause I don't want to get over you. I give...
