Consulting Fangirl

Chapter 13: John

I wrung my hands together, my back hunched over in the hospital chair. The only sounds in the room were the gentle whispers of her breath and the steady beep of the monitor attached to her arm.

The car came out of nowhere, sending her flying across the road. The shock of the accident hit me like a wall, stopping me in my tracks. It took a few seconds for me to snap back into action, running towards her seemingly lifeless form on the side of the road.

Memories of last night floated around in my brain, sometimes gently in the back of my mind, sometimes as hard as a tsunami. No matter how hard I tried, the images kept plaguing my mind. I couldn’t escape them.

“Someone call an ambulance!” I screamed, kneeling beside her. My doctorly instincts seemed to kick in. I took her pulse, nearly crying in relief when I felt it steady, but weak. I determined that she had broken several bones and had slight damage to the brain, as well as some internal bleeding. By the time the ambulance arrived, it was nearly too late.

"Dr. Watson?” A nurse spoke, snapping me from the wave of memories. I nodded weakly at her, the weariness settling on my shoulders. I hadn’t slept since the night before last. My entire body was screaming at me to close my eyes, but I’d hardly even blinked since the moment she ran from the restaurant.

“Yeah, what?” I snapped, nearly wincing at the harshness behind my words. The nurse’s face softened, though, despite my anger. She seemed kind and understanding.

“I was just checking on you. You haven’t left this room since last night. Didn’t know if you needed anything.” That was unusual for most nurses. She must be new, I thought to myself. No experienced nurses had the time to give comfort to anyone but the patients.

“I’m fine. I need to stay here, for when she wakes up.” My words sounded hopeful, but my stomach dropped when I saw the look in the nurse’s eyes.

“Doctor…” her voice trailed off, pity covering her face. I hated pity. I was so goddamned sick of people’s pity. Ever since Sherlock died, everyone treated me as if I was glass. Even Mai, but I knew that she had good intentions, more so than everyone else.

The pity disappeared on the woman’s face, after a moment of consideration, and she smiled.

“Yeah, you’re right. She’ll want you here when she wakes up.” With one last smile, this one obviously faked for my benefit, she left the room. I tried to think about what that smile could have met, but I was soon pulled back into another memory.

“Hold on Mai. Don’t you dare die on me. I won’t let you,” I whispered, clutching her hand in the back of the ambulance. She didn’t respond, of course. She looked so peaceful, more peaceful than she had in months.

Maybe I was a selfish coward, but I hated that peaceful expression. It looked too close to death. God knows I’ve seen enough death to know what it looked like. I didn’t care if I was selfish, I wanted her here with me, peaceful or not. I needed her. God, I needed her.  

I wasn’t forced out of this memory. It was a calm transition from trance to reality, like the gentle tide pulling me back to shore.

I leaned back into the small plastic chair, taking advantage of this calm. I could use a few minutes of sleep. Surely I was allowed a few minutes of rest.

Naturally, that wasn’t the case.

“You have to let me see her! I don’t give a damn about the family rule, I’m her best friend and you will let me in there now!” A familiar voice shouted, causing me to jump in my chair.

I jumped up from the chair and ran into the hallway. Sure enough, Dan, Mai’s best friend (don’t tell Katie!) was shouting at the nurses who were trying to make him wait in the waiting room.

“Dan!” I shouted, signaling him. The other man almost smiled when he saw me. He would have, if circumstances had been different.

“John, please tell these ignorant cretins that I should be allowed to see Mai.” His knowledge of the English language never ceased to amaze me. It wasn’t that surprising, considering his profession. Still, I had to strain to remember the meaning of some of the words he considered ‘acceptable conversational terms’.

“Nurse, please, let him see her.” I asked gently. There it was again, the pity in that young nurse’s eyes. This time, though, the pity could be used to my advantage.

“Alright, he can visit, but I’m breaking a lot of rules for you, Dr. Watson.” I pulled my best fake smile, then nodded towards Dan. He practically ran over to the room, only pausing to give me a nod of thanks.

I let him have his privacy with her, but could still hear some of the things he was saying. Mostly, he spoke of all the books he’d have for her when she woke up, and how he brought her one so when she did wake up, she’d have something to do. I smiled at this. Their friendship truly was amazing. It hurt, yes, because it reminded me of Sherlock, but I was happy for her. 

When Dan left, hours later, he stopped at the door.  I had taken to leaning against the wall, sitting on the floor. He sat down beside me, a long sigh escaping his lips.

“Thank you for getting me in.” He said quietly. I didn’t meet his eyes, staring at the wall across the hall. Unsure how to respond, I kept silent, the tiredness making it nearly impossible for me to even sit up straight.

“Look, I’ve known Mai for years. She’s my best friend and I love her more than anything. Knowing her so well, I have to tell you that I’ve never seen her happier than when she’s with you.” I closed my eyes, fighting back the tears that tried to escape.

“And no, it’s not just because you’re the famous John Watson. It’s more than that. She really loves you. I just wanted you to know.” His voice was comforting. I finally met his eyes then, and found him looking at me with no pity, just kindness. I was so grateful.

“Thank you,” I managed to say, my voice rough from exhaustion. He nodded slowly, standing up. I watched him walk down the hall before finally deciding to stand up and go back into the room.

She still had that peaceful expression on her face, but it didn’t make me nearly as angry and scared as it had that night.

I sat down heavily in the chair beside the bed. After a few minutes of silence, I noticed the book on the bedside table. A copy of The Hobbit sat beside the lamp, a pink, half curled sticky note clinging to the cover.

Mai, I brought your favorite book for you to read when you wake up. Enjoy! –Love Dan

I smiled at the note, despite everything. Her favourite book was The Hobbit. I’d known that before, but it was still adorable.

After a moment of consideration, I scooted the chair closer to the bed and picked up the book. If she couldn’t read it herself, I might as well read it to her.

I opened to the first page and cleared my throat.

“In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.” I read to her until my eyes shut, the words slurring into nonsense as I drifted into a deep, clutching darkness.

A/N Hello my readers, I hope you liked this chapter. This is deicated to @EKShortstories because she's an extraordinary writer and you NEED to check out all her works. If you liked, please leave me a comment or vote, thanks :)