Watson's Woes 2017

by Pompey

Welcome to another month of torturing Watson! Answering the daily challenges from the LJ Community Watson's Woes during the month of July. (These stories will be of varying lengths, universes, tones, and ratings. Rating this whole thing as "T" for safety.)

1. July 1 - Lucky

Title: Lucky

Author: Pompey

Universe: RDJ

Rating: PG?

Warnings: Slight departure from the unrealistically minor injuries depicted in the movie.

Word count: 200

Summary: Fate is being kind to Clarky, all things considered.

Prompt: July 1 – Watson injury from a non-Holmes POV.

Clarky thought it was pure luck they had found Watson at all, let alone that he was among the survivors of the exploding processing plant. When they had spotted his hand, for a moment Clarky thought they had discovered nothing but a detached limb. They they had shifted aside the still-smoldering debris and found the rest of the doctor, intact but badly damaged.

There were large blisters already swelling – a few even bursting – along his face, scalp, neck, and hands. The visible skin not burned was bleeding. His clothes were half burned away and what remained was sooty and tattered and loaded with wooden splinters. He breathed in shallow, strained wheezes. And he made no response as they improvised a stretcher with an old horse blanket from the Maria and maneuvered him onto it.

But as lucky as Watson was to be alive, Clarky counted himself equally lucky – that he would not have to be the bearer of tragic news to Holmes (or to Miss Mortan, for that matter); that he was the one to find Holmes so he might give him a chance to evade arrest; and that Lestrade missed Clarky's flouting of his lawful duty by mere seconds.