Caged
(Sequel to 'How to tame John Watson' and 'Keeper: Sherlock Holmes')
As the lock clicked behind them they knew the situation got worse with every second. Sherlock and John freed themselves from the blindfolds and look at their surroundings and it wasn't the best place to be, a cage. A huge cage with iron bars and a not breakable lock. They were trapped after being kidnapped and brought outside town.
How they got into that situation was unclear to both of them. They have enemies, of course but none of them had made a move and Sherlock was sure he didn't do anything to provoke them during the last months. The ropes around the hands were loose enough to get them off, back on back. The cage was big enough for Sherlock to stand up.
A door opened behind them, not the door for the cage but the one that leads into the room with it. Two men and a woman entered one of the men and the woman wore lab coats, the other one was holding a gun and was wearing some kind of military uniform.
The man with the lab coat walked to the cage and stops out of reach for the ones inside. "Welcome my friends. I hope you had a pleasant journey and the room is to your satisfaction." John and Sherlock looked at each other, it sounds like a joke, a cruel, evil joke. "Mr. Holmes I ensure you, you are not the one we are after today it will be Dr. Watson who will get all the attention. Don't feel left out." Sherlock´s eyes got small, he could only think of one thing that will make John special, tonight. They were here for the beast and somehow these men had found out about John.
They had planned a quiet evening and then the night spend together in his bedroom, like the last time together in a relaxing atmosphere to calm John down but on the way back to Baker Street they were attack and taken to this place. Now he hopes someone will come and get them out soon. If it would have been his fault he would be curious to find out more. But with John only hours for his transformation it wasn't the best time to do that.
Both stayed silent as the lab man continued. "But Mr. Holmes here will stay to ensure Dr. Watson´s cooperation or he will be killed ether way you two stay in there and we will watch the beast do his thing. It had taken years to find a grown exemplar of your species." The man laughs and Sherlock felt John getting nervous behind him. The reason why he broke the silence of their side first.
"Can you please let him out?" John asks nearly pleading, he was afraid again that he could hurt him. Sherlock trusted his instinct and John´s heart that he would never hurt him on purpose.
"I´m afraid Dr. Watson that Mrs. Holmes here has to stay for our little experiment." With these last words they left the room. All of them, Sherlock and John were alone again. John begins to pace in the small cage, in one corner away from Sherlock. With every passing minute the transformation came closer.
"Do you have to change?" Sherlock asks suddenly, remembering that John´s last transformation was just one night and the time before that was more than a few nights. John was looking at him.
"No, I don't. But if I wouldn't do it, it would happen unexpected without knowing when and it could be a few days in a row or more then one day in a few weeks and it hurts more. I would prefer the way we did it the last time but I really consider it to stop it." The pacing had stopped and John was staring into space.
"Then I would prefer if you change, nothing will happen to us and I don't want you to feel more pain than necessary." Sherlock was seriously and John could see that that further discussion would be just be a waste of time and energy. But he could at least try it.
"Sherlock, it could hurt you. I could hurt you. I don't want this to happen. Do you understand I don't want to hurt you. I will survive if I repress the transformation." The look he sends over to the relaxed figure of his friend. "You are not afraid, are you? How can you trust a monster with your life?" It came out a bit sadder then intended.
"I trust you. You would never hurt me. You are the one that protects me. How could you ever hurt me? Let it happen." A small smile was the answer he got and the conversation died. Sherlock trusted John and the beast more then he should and John trusted Sherlock that his ability to judge a situation would be correct.
Sherlock had never witness the transformation, the last time he was dead tired, collapsing after a case. He remembers the nervous behavior of John, a bit he thinks. But the warm feeling from John´s body pulled him into sleep. He would be able to watch it today but the circumstances are not ideal. In a cage with camera´s watching every move of them and a dangerous air around them, unsure how the night will end. Sherlock tries to let John do whatever he does to calm down and waits for the sun to go down.
It didn't happen suddenly, John went silent as if he prepared himself. The pain came next. John was still quiet and he tried to hide it but Sherlock could see the pain, the agony in his eyes. "John?" His friend looked over to the detective that did nothing the last hour to not distract him. "Let it happen, I´m here." John´s eyes close and he went to his knees. Sherlock pushed himself away from the cage wall but John´s hand stopped him. The transformation had begun.
John´s body grew, fast. His skin disappeared under thick, black fur, the whole body shape changes. His eye color had turned into a dark blue, it wasn't black like it had looked the first time he saw them. Sharp teeth got his attention and then there he was. John Watson fully grown black wolf but the human light in his eyes was missing, not like the last time.
Without showing any sign the wolf jumped at Sherlock, he holds his arms up to protect himself, unable to call John before he was thrown to the ground. Blood flows down his arm where John´s claw had scratched him. It was not dangerous deep but knowing his body wouldn't take much a fight against John, Sherlock made himself small and looked up into the wolfs eyes. "John, can you hear me?" What else could he do? He wasn't strong enough to fight and wouldn't hurt John if he could.
The wolf looked at him a long time. "John?" Sherlock´s uninjured arm was lifted and he placed his hand on John´s head. "It´s me. I´m not a threat. Come back to me." Sherlock´s voice was filled with love and slowly John´s look changed a bit, just a bit of the lighter shade of blue came back but it was enough. John stepped back and Sherlock sat up, crawling over to the wall and lend against the cage. He pets his lap and John understands that it was him who should rest with him. Walking over with hanging head, his huge head rests on Sherlock and he turned so that he could lick the wound at the arm. As if he wanted to apologize. Sherlock was fine with that. John close and relative save like they were.
Since he knew about the wolf thing Sherlock´s feeling hadn't change, they had become stronger, pure and more intense. John was the one he would always feel save. John was his one and only, his everything. Like that with John´s head in Sherlock´s lap and Sherlock´s hand on John´s head. They fell both in a light sleep waiting for the night to leave and the hope that someone would save them. They didn't have much time to rest.
They woke by the sound of someone knocking at the bars. Jock jumped up and Sherlock stands up with him. Standing close together they meet eyes with the man in the lab coat and another one in dark clothes.
"Good morning." The lab-coat man smiles hungry at them. "It seems that you two can survive together in a cage without killing each other. But my point was proven." The man's eyes travel down to Sherlock´s arm. The place where John had scratched him, but there wasn't one anymore, only a light red line was left. It looks like the wound had healed and was a week old. Sherlock tried to not look too surprised but apparently his friend could heal wounds.
"It is true." The lab-coat man grimed. "That means we can continue with our experiment." Suddenly the other man pulls out a gun and shoot at Sherlock. A grasp escaped him followed by John´s far more loud and aggressive growl. The human light was gone again. But Sherlock was pushed into the corner of the cage, protected on two sides with walls and the others by John´s body. The beast must have decided that Sherlock was on his side and got his protection.
The bullet had only graced his arm and Sherlock tries to settle John with his uninjured one. He doesn't want him to get hurt by the bars, a gun or any other way they feel appropriated to satisfaction their curiosity.
John´s growling sounds even for Sherlock´s ears dangerous and he starts to feel dizzy and tired. But it couldn't be the blood loss. The wound wasn't that bad, he had far worse in his life, so it must be something that came with the bullet into his system. So not good but getting John´s attention wasn't the best idea, he had to wait until the threat was gone. But they were already leaving the room, to his luck.
As the door was locked John stayed protective in front of him until Sherlock slowly slide down the wall and a muffed sound escaped him. "John you have to get the poison out of my system." That got his attention. John turns around sniffed at the wound. With one of his crawls he opens it a bit further, Sherlock bit his lips to not make a sound and he knew the poison had to get out. His blood float freely down his arm, John starts to lick over the wound and Sherlock felt a sucking. It didn't take long; John had spit out his blood and continued to lick it to heal the wound. A fascinating ability, but he wouldn't test it like they did.
The crushing tiredness begun to suck Sherlock into darkness, he lowered his head for his mouth to be as close as possible to John´s ears. "John, Mycroft knows he has to find us tonight. I told him nothing about you but I said that if we are disappearing on your changing nights he has to find us imminently. I told him in the morning that it was tonight. He will come and get us out. So keep calm and don't fight to hart, whatever they do to us. Don't give them a reason to really hurt you. Please, for me." Sherlock pulled his head back to look into John´s beast eyes to search for understanding. He found it and let himself back against the bars while John kept his body between Sherlock and the enemy. His arm didn't hurt anymore and it was nearly heals but the poison had still starts to do his job by tiring him out but he would stay awake until they were save.
Sherlock stayed alarmed enough to hear the upcoming noises. John must have heard them long before but ether he didn't want to show that he knows something is coming or he wanted not alarm Sherlock who was very close to falling asleep. But he Sherlock stands up, with a little help of John to stand next to him. He was to nearly 100 % sure that it will be Mycroft and his men who are outside but you can´t really be sure in situation like that. It could be another experiment.
To Sherlock´s and John´s relief men that clearly belong to Mycroft came into the room followed by the man himself. He looked over Sherlock with his all-seeing eyes and then at John who stands protective in front of him. Sherlock´s hand on his head and following the invisible comment they walk over to the door together.
"Good morning, brother. You look exhausted." Sherlock stayed quiet keeping himself upright with John´s help and walking together through the door as one of Mycroft´s man had open it.
"You are late." Was Sherlock´s comment as he passed his brother and as close as possible John and Sherlock walked outside. One of Mycroft´s unit´s care was open and due to a lack of a better place to hide they climbed into it and closed the door behind them.
Mycroft went over to the car Sherlock and the wolf has disappeared in, he couldn't quite rap his mind around the fact that the doctor had become that creature. But Sherlock had always attracted special people. The picture he is shown as he opened the door was more than a bit surprising.
On the ground between the seats on the walls to the left and right lays on the floor a big fury ball, that looked ready to protect, ready to fight into his eyes. Mycroft holds up his hands to prevent any sudden movements from the wolf, no John. John had curled himself into a ball and Sherlock laid on him sleeping, his friend tail covers his hips and the top of the tail rested in Sherlock´s hands like a child would hold a stuffed animal. Snuggled into the warm fur Sherlock was resting, protected by his strong friend.
Mycroft remembers the nights as they were children, when Sherlock was lonely, sad or too tired to fall asleep he sneaked into his bed to cuddle to his brother. The cuddle thing hadn't change over the year´s. Sherlock just hadn't allowed it.
He closed the door slowly behind him to let them sleep and continued to supervise the cleaning of that place. All evidence of John, the wolf or Sherlock will be erased