"Please Sherlock. Don't leave again." John said as he stepped into the room. Sherlock was a mess and there really wasn't any indication as to why. "I'm sorry John. I really am, but I can't stay like this." He said as he went to walk out of the room.
John stuck his hand out and grabbed his arm, pulling Sherlock back. "Whatever is going on with you, I want help. Stay and let me help. Don't do this alone." John says and when he looks at Sherlock, really looks at him, he can see it. That was how he looked when he was home from the army. That's a pain you can't hide, not even the great Sherlock Holmes.
"I have to go John. You don't understand what it's like." He says and John squeezes his arm harder. "I do Sherlock. I'm telling you, I know what's happening to you right now, better than you do." John says and Sherlock finally takes a breath and looks at John.
"I've been through this before, remember. I can help." He says and Sherlock closes his eyes. "I can't stop seeing it." Sherlock admits and John doesn't know what his friend is talking about, he didn't want to know what had happened to Sherlock when he had returned home, but now he's going to have to find out if he wants to be of any help to his friend.
"Sit down and talk to me." John says as he guides the genius backwards and waits for him to sink into his chair, before he sits down opposite him. "Tell me, what happened. Just the worst of it. The moments which are making you lose your mind?" John asked as he mentally prepared himself for horror stories.
He was right to prepare himself, because the longer Sherlock talked the worse it became. He had never realised what Sherlock had done to protect those he cared about, but hearing the horrors that he faced, John can see just how much Sherlock cares. He wonders if any of the others, know about any of this. Probably he thinks. They all talked and made Sherlock talk to them. It was only John who was being a bad friend.
At the end of the story John felt almost sick. He had been on the battlefield and not seen as much horror as Sherlock had been inflicted with. There wasn't a quick fix for Sherlock. The man was so complex that anything he did could not work, but he was going to damn well try. He wasn't about to let his friend suffer alone. Not like he did.
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