"Don't say goodbye."
Those were the last words that he uttered to me. They were the last words anyone would hear from him.
They were not in a tone of regret, but rather like a scoff that didn't quite make it through the blood pooling in his mouth and the searching for breath.
There was no last great gasp. There was no dramatics. But he did not go out like falling to sleep either. His eyes stayed on me even after he was gone- like he couldn't stand to close his eyes forever.
I stayed there, in one spot, holding his hand until Lestrade came with his team. For the first hour, I would not respond. I just kneeled there, in the blood, and stared out over the distance. They tried to move me- but I would not let go of his hand.
He had asked me to hold it.