This is only an introductory chapter and focuses only on John the next chapter will focus purely on Sherlock.
This will probably become a Sherlock/John fic later on. so it will stay rated T until I bring in that pairing and then I'll up the rating.
Chapter 1 – John
Dr. John Hamish Watson sat in his office in the paediatric ward of St. Barts hospital he'd only been working there six months after being forced to retire from the army. He'd had trouble finding a job at first but then and applied to so many places with no luck what so ever then along came St. Barts. He never thought he'd have to work in a children's ward but he was rather enjoying it, although sometimes it was hard to work out what exactly what was wrong with the child but right now this was the right place for John. He was happy surrounded by the dolphin and tropical fish covered walls.
It was lively place filled with the voices of children recovering and their happy parents sometimes though it could be filled with the darkness of someone taken before they're time. The children's ward was a strange place there was never really an in between and doctors had to be strong enough to cope with the hardships of dying children.
John though as an army doctor had seen his fair share of horrible deaths and had a firm but loving way with the children. Sometimes you'd get particularly naughty ones such as Jamie who would escape any chance he got; Jamie was surprisingly energetic for a boy who'd had his appendix out a few days ago. Then there were the lovely nurses who were mostly women, there were only two men in the whole department John and another nurse. They always greeted john with a happy smile and a "hello Doctor Watson" every morning.
John was sitting in his office for a reason they had gotten a patient in today, he was a young ten year old boy named James with sever breathing problems at first they went for the easy option of undiscovered severe asthma. It wasn't asthma and they'd performed every test known to man on the child and they just couldn't figure it out. It seemed like an impossible disease and the whole department was stumped and the child was only getting worse, soon they'd have to put James on a ventilator to help him breath or else he was going to die.
John walked into James's private room; both his parents were solicitors and wanted only the best for their dying son. James smiled up at John for a dying boy he sure looked happy "hi Doctor Watson anything new to tell me?" James asked but he was mainly asking for his parents who were staring solemnly at John "I want to perform a Lung biopsy on your son, the biopsy will allow us to discover what is causing the severe breathing problems so that we can treat your son"
"No"
"Why not the procedure is relatively safe"
"Doctor Watson we have decided that it's not in our sons best interest to have the biopsy, we would rather have him pass on in peace that bleed out on the operating table" she gave John a scathing glare as if her choice should be obvious to him, as if he should agree with her didn't she understand that she was killing a boy who could be saved. John was fuming it took everything he had to leave the room without hitting the women.
"What the fuck does that woman think she's doing" John roared at one of the nurses on his tea brake "John if the family doesn't want the biopsy there's nothing you can do"
"They're killing a child who could be perfectly healthy"
"John you don't know that he could be incredibly sick"
"exactly we don't know how could she not want to know how could that idiot not even want to try and save the boy" John slammed his cup of tea down on to the table the boiling liquid spilling out and burning his hand "ahh bugger" he shouted and shoved his hand under the ice cold tap next to him, "John you have to try to understand this woman just doesn't want her child to die alone on the operating table surrounded by strangers"
"I know, I know I just don't want to waste a life that never truly had the chance to live"
"I know John" and the nurse turned away returning to her work and John sighed there just had to be some way to get the boy the biopsy.
John sighed as he walked into James's room the next morning, the boy had been put on the ventilator over night and no longer opened his eyes. The mother stroked the sons head and the father paced at the end of the bed. John knocked gently and walked in to check on the boy "this is your last chance you know by tomorrow the boy will be to sick, please get the biopsy give us a chance to treat him" the mother looked at him for what seemed like forever and ran a hand through her un-brushed hair and said "okay".
James was only In surgery for thirty minutes and John rushed the analysis of the lung tissue, John had to save this one he hadn't lost a patient in this hospital yet and he wasn't about to start now.
John walked in to James's room for what he hoped would be one of the last times to give back the lab results to the family "He had a very extreme Lung infection, we've put him on Corticosteroids to reduce lung inflammation and some antimicrobial medicine to kill the bacteria causing the infection. I've also been told to inform you that your sons case is extremely rare and that the conventional methods may not works so I'm afraid you just have to pray and hope for the best" John gave the mother a gentle smile and turned to leave "Doctor Watson thank you"
"There's no need for thanks I do this all the time" and with that John turned and left.
In a few weeks James was well enough to go home he smiled and hugged John thanking him for saving his life, and John felt happy as the boy left knowing that he had helped to save and protect another child's life.
This was six months and 4 days before John Watson meets Sherlock Holmes and the infamous case that brought the two together.
