Sherlock: His Lover Called A [Sherlaide II]

Once Bitten, Twice Shy?

"Well, Darling, you know how I've been working around venomous reptiles..?"

Sherlock's immediately feared that she had been bitten by the Inland Taipan- possibly the world's most venomous snake. He sat down on the bed and leaned forward on his knees, "You were bitten weren't you, Adelaide?!" He dreaded the answer.

"Yes, I got bitten today and envenomed-"

"And it must have been an Inland Taipan! Adelaide, they have the world's potentially deadliest neurotoxin!! How did you get bit-!?!"

"Sherlock, it wasn't an Inland Taipan! Would you please let me finish explaining what happened!? It wasn't a snake, or even a reptile either."

"Then what was it..?"

"A Sydney Funnel Web Weaver Spider. Basically the Arachnid equivalent of the Inland Taipan. Luckily we were pretty close to the hospital and got here in time for them to administer the antivenin. And, yes, Sherlock, I am okay. If I wasn't then I wouldn't have called because the venom can kill a human in 15 minutes."

Sherlock breathed out and buried his face in his free hand, "Just what were the symptoms? I presume that that spider possesses neurotoxic venom as well."

"Sherlock-"

"Just tell me!"

She sighed, "Numbness in my mouth and lips came first, followed by severe muscle spasms and tremors. It also gave me a killer headache, joint pain, chills, and made me really nauseated. I did get sick a couple times. The hospital is keeping me here for at least three days to monitor me for new or persistent symptoms."

"But you said you received antivenom therapy. Shouldn't that have stopped the symptoms?"

"Most but not all, Sherlock. It's a very potent and tricky venom. I've still got joint pain and a headache. But they say those could clear up tonight."

On the other end, Adelaide frowned as she listened to Sherlock. She couldn't see him but she could tell his reaction from his breathing and voice. Her fiancé sounded very upset, which made her heart ache because she knew he had already been lonely and worried about her before the spider bite. And she was aware that he could decide to catch a flight over from London, "Darling, I'm alright. I promise. And I probably will get be home in two weeks as planned."

"Adelaide, how bad was the bite and how did you incur it?"

She knew she couldn't assuage the situation. It had been a really nasty bite and she'd gotten a high volume of the venom. The zoologist sighed and answered, "The bite was deep and the spider released a lot of venom. As for how I got it, I was trying to catch an Eastern Brown Snake and grabbed the wrong rock, turned it over and it struck. Bit me on my right wrist and held for a second before going into threat posture. One of my colleagues collected it to take with us and they identified it as a male Sydney funnel weaver- they are more venomous and aggressive than females."

"H-How is your wrist?"

"My hand and lower arm are swollen red and sore. The bite itself looks like a bullseye. But that's not what the staff are worried the most about. It's a fairly standard bite reaction," She sighed as she looked at it herself, "Anyways, that's been my day. I just wanted to let you know that I am doing okay."

Sherlock massaged his temples and exhaled a long breath. In his mind, He could only imagine what the wound looked like and what pain she was in, "I knew something like this would happen. You could have died today..."

"Darling, nobody has died from a funnel web spider bite in decades because of the antivenom availability and fast emergency response."

"But you could have been the statistical outlier."

"Sweetie, I know. But I'm okay now. Moving past it, alright?"

Sherlock shook his head even though she couldn't see, "Please tell me that you do not intend to return there for a long while. I can't handle nearly losing you more than twice."

"Oh, believe me, after this I might not come back unless it's on holiday. I think I've had my fun in the field here. Plus I would have to keep running into my ex and he's angling to try and get me back."

"Good. I support that decision."

She sighed, "I need to get going, Sweetie. It's been a chaotic day and some rest is in order."

"Of course, Love."

"I love you, Sherlock."

"I love you too, Adelaide."

They said goodbye and hung up. Sherlock dropped his phone on the bed and held his head in his hands as he tried to slow his heartbeat down.

John knocked and opened the door a bit, "You alright, mate? Did something happen to Adelaide?"

"Bitten by a funnel web weaver spider. She's been hospitalized and treated but is being monitored," Sherlock then hopped to his feet and paced to his wardrobe, "I need to get there immediately."

"Sherlock, if she's doing alright then it might be overkill to fly over there because of the spider bite."

"Oh no, there's more to it than that. I need to assure she does not have another run in with another one of Australia's deadliest animals, for one, and I need to make sure her ex doesn't start harassing her."

"Her ex? He's down in Australia?"

"One of them anyway. And he is still enamoured by her. Can't blame him but she is my fianceé and I don't want her getting distressed when she's already on bed rest."

John closed the wardrobe door and hummed, "You also want an excuse to not wait another two weeks to see Adelaide, don't you."

"John-"

"It might not do much good if you go over there and hover over her. Once they discharge her than I'm sure she'll be back in the field anyway, doing her thing. Did she say she wanted you to come?"

"She didn't say that she didn't want me to."

Thank you for reading!!