Sherlock's Love Interest (BBC Fan-Fiction)

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"H-he just wouldn't listen to me. I tried to stop him, follow him, but he wouldn't stop." Mrs. Graves sobbed.

Molly sat by her, comforting her as she relived the experience of her son going missing. Sherlock was looking directly at her as to not miss anything. John spoke quietly to her husband in the corner.

This was two days after Sherlock had left the hospital. Both nights, Molly had woken in the middle of the night and passed by Sherlock's room, and both nights she had seen him tossing in his sleep and sweating, yet shaking because he was cold. She had bit her lip and walked away, not knowing how to help. In his waking hours, Sherlock had a constant migraine that he wouldn't admit to.

When Molly had to tell them that their son's body had been found, Mr. Graves asked them to leave. John and Molly complied instantly, but Sherlock waved them off as they urged him to follow.

Emotions, he thought. Such useless things...until it comes to Molly that is...

He shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts, although it was nice that the hammering pain in his head dimmed whenever he didn't think of the case. He knew what it was like to feel that you'd lost someone; he thought he had lost everyone when Moriarty took John and Mycroft; he was seconds from losing them forever. He would never admit it, but he was scared, oh so scared, that he would be too late.

So he felt he needed to offer some condolences, try to say something that would comfort them. "Your son has given us a very strong lead. Without this happening, we would never be able to stop the one that...kidnapped him." He almost said killed, but thought better of it. "He would wipe out a whole generation."

Mr. Graves looked sharply at him, but his wife cut him off. "Thank you, Sherlock." He hesitated before nodding. Thank you. No one ever thanked him. Never.

He walked out and met the other two on the sidewalk, where they would walk to the next victim's house.

"What was that about?" asked John.

"What?" His mind was already far from the previous encounter.

"Staying behind. What'd you say?"

"I didn't say anything."

He shortened his steps so he could fall behind both John and Molly. His head was aching like nothing he'd ever felt before. Molly glanced back at him and lightly hit John's arm to inform him of his friend's condition. When John saw him, actually took notice of the pain written across his face, he stopped. Sherlock had endured many physical injuries, and he never showed pain.

"I can usually ignore it as I work," he answered John's question before he even opened his mouth. "Now that it's my head, I can't."

He nodded and kept walking. Molly kept her face from his view so he couldn't tell what she was thinking. She knew he would hurt himself, she knew it, but he wasn't going to stop. After a minute or two of thinking, she came up with a solution and pulled her phone out.

Don't reply now. I'm not sure exactly what I need to do to help Sherlock while he's sleeping, but I should, because he won't let me if he's awake. Text me the instructions later. (i.e. warm/cold compress every ten minutes)
-MH

Sherlock was so distracted he only caught don't reply now...not sure what...Sherlock...won't let me...text me later...(: Of course, he missed the last part, because she never used a colon, but he saw enough to let him assume the rest of the text message, which distracted him from seeing John pull his phone out. He assumed the following: