AN: I had this idea and just had to write it down. It's a little different from what I usually write so I hope you like it. Let me know what you think.
Telling Your Family is still in progress for anyone who's interested.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to BBC and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The tedium of hospital work always made John Watson miss the war. Admittedly there were some interesting cases that would show up but mostly it was just more of the same day in and day out. John had been an Army doctor in Afghanistan so this, in comparison, was dull and boring. He had been invalided home due to being shot and, since then, life back in London had been one dark day after the next; no light at the end of the long and tiring journey that was now his life. He had only taken the job at St Bartholomew's Hospital to try to stop the endless boredom.
That all changed when a man arrived, by ambulance, at the hospital with a sword sticking through his shoulder. Apparently, he had even been stabbed by someone who was dressed like a knight. That alone intrigued John about the strange man who had now taken residence in one of the wards. He must have been important since there were guards posted outside his room(he'd heard he wasn't a criminal which had been his first thought). They had tried to transfer him to a private facility but the strange man had refused.
Doctor Watson was now on his way to the second floor of B wing to visit his patient. The man had been operated on for most of the night and was now in one of the recovery wards having had been stitched up and was no longer in critical.
He made his way to the second floor and found himself standing in front of room 21, the sign on the door reading 221B. He knew he was at the right room as two people, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses, were standing on either side of the door. John entered the room, leaning heavily on his cane as he walked. He made his way over to the end of his patient's bed and picked up his chart, unaware of the eyes that were now fixed on him. The patients name read Sherlock Holmes.
Sherlock looked up as someone entered his room. The first thing Sherlock noticed was the cane in the man's hand and he spent the next few seconds cataloguing all his observations and deductions about the man that stood in front of him.
"Afghanistan or Iraq?" Sherlock asked, getting a confused and somewhat surprised look from his doctor.
"Sorry?"
"Which was it, Afghanistan or Iraq?"
"Afghanistan...sorry, how did you know?" replied John, now even more curious about the man that lay in front of him.
Sherlock just smirked in response and, through the surprise and confusion, Sherlock could see John looked slightly impressed by however Sherlock had figured out his past. Sherlock felt the need to impress him again but he didn't get the chance as, when Sherlock hadn't immediately responded, the doctor had continued.
"I'm Doctor John Watson and I'll be your doctor while you're here. How's your shoulder feeling?" asked John, as he approached the side of the bed.
Sherlock felt his heart rate increase as John arrived at the side of the bed but he had no idea why. John glanced curiously at the heart monitor which had started to beep more quickly. He checked it and everything seemed to be working fine so he went back to examining his patient.
"My shoulder's fine but when can I go? I have experiments that are going to expire and I'm bored," said Sherlock, looking expectantly at the Doctor by his bed.
"Mr Holmes, you will have to stay in bed for at least a week before we can discharge you incase complications arise," replied John and he almost stepped back in response to the glare he was now receiving from Sherlock, but he stood his ground.
"But it's so boring in here!" Sherlock pouted, making him look like an oversized child, "and don't call me Mr Holmes, it makes me sound like my brother".
John just shook his head at the petulant man and chuckled, which surprised Sherlock; people didn't usually react to him this way. This intrigued Sherlock and he glanced up at John curiously.
John was confused by the look Sherlock was now giving him and was about to respond when someone came into the room behind him.
"I'm sorry doctor, we need you down the hall, it's Mrs Peterson again," said a nurse, holding a clipboard out to the doctor.
"Right, thank you Holly, I'll be there in a minute," replied John, smiling politely as the nurse left.
"Alright, Sherlock," said John, emphasizing his name because of his response to being called Mr Holmes before, "I'll be back tomorrow, get plenty of rest and you'll be out of here before you know it."
He smiled at Sherlock before he turned around and left, leaving Sherlock alone in the room once again.
John Watson, thought Sherlock, this man intrigued him. This man with the psychosomatic limp(obvious from the way he had been standing). He seemed to be very unhappy with his life but was good at hiding it, but Sherlock had seen straight through his act. The smile that he had given Sherlock before he left was genuine though, which surprised Sherlock, having seen his fake one towards the nurse that had called him away. He stored that away in his mind palace to think about later. He also stored away his reaction to John's close proximity, the increase in his heart rate. John had even looked impressed after one of Sherlock's deductions and Sherlock found he wanted to impress him again.
He now found himself sitting in bed, considerably less bored than before. He had a lot to occupy his mind now, trying to figure out the mystery that he now found in John Watson. Strangely, he noted, he now wasn't anticipating leaving this place but the next time he got to see John again.
AN: Next chapter, Sherlock vanishes from his room leaving John to find him. Thanks for reading and reviews are much appreciated.