Title: Secrets Destroy
Author: YaoiGoddessNekoJin
Rating: M
Warnings: See Chapter 1
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 (Yeah, I'm lazy XP )
A/N: Well, here we are! Chapter 2. First, I want to thank the people who reviewed the previous chapter. Your encouragement actually inspired to go ahead and write more for this fic instead of going ahead with the other I had planned. I will still be writing that one, but I want to get more of this story up first. ^-^ Well, Enjoy!
Chapter II
"Darling, why are you not eating?" the soft voice startled Watson from his deep thoughts. It seemed that he had been staring at his dinner for quite some time and, when he looked up, he noticed Mary had a worried look marring her face. He cleared his throat before answered her.
"I'm terribly sorry, dear. I just had a rough day today." Well, that was partially true, anyway. One of his patients hadn't made it to him soon enough after falling ill and ended up passing away. The main reason he was so distracted, however, was because he was worried about Holmes. He hadn't seen his dearest friend since the closure of the Blackwood case. That was three months ago and they hadn't exactly left things on the best of terms. During their last case together, Watson had noticed that Holmes had become somewhat distant, well more so than usual, and their relationship strained. To begin with, he had attempted to visit the detective on several occasions, only to be turned away by Mrs. Hudson. She was very apologetic about the fact that Holmes had demanded that he have no visitors. As time wore on, Watson became increasingly busy with his practice and his soon-to-be wife. The day of his marriage was not very far off now and there was nothing more he wanted than to patch things up with Holmes and have him there at the ceremony. 'I guess there's only one thing to do.' He thought as he rose from his seat.
"John?" Mary questioned. Grabbing his cane and hat, he turned to look at his fiancé.
"I'm going to check in on Holmes. It's been far too long since I had a chance to." Turning to the door, Watson was stopped by a petite hand on his arm. He looked down to see imploring eyes staring back at him.
"John, please. That man is more trouble than he's worth. I'm sure he's fine and merely trying to make you worry. Obviously, it's working." Watson chuckled slightly.
"Mary, with all due respect, dear, you haven't known Holmes very long. He may be quite melodramatic at times, but he does have his own share of burdens to bear. I just want to mend things between us and make sure he's alright." As the door closed behind John, Mary cursed under her breath. Separating those two was going to be harder than she had originally thought.
~x~x~x~
Holmes was lying in the floor where he had been for days on end. He felt like he was going insane. He couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and did not find any cases the least bit interesting. He constantly noticed himself wallowing in the depths of despair and not finding it within him to claw his way out. He just didn't care anymore. He had hoped that he would be able to apologize to Watson for his behavior during their last case, but it seemed that every time he brought it up, Watson just changed the subject. What hurt the most about the entire situation, though, was that, even after all of the years they had been a team, that foul cur of a woman his friend had found was suddenly more important than he himself was. People may not have been aware, but Sherlock Holmes was a rather emotional person. He had learned very young, however, that it was necessary to build a stoic wall around his true self in order to protect him from the inevitable destruction of the outside world. This was something that had been instilled in him for so long that he didn't know any other way to cope. Holmes propped his head on one of his arms and just stared into the dark hole that was the fireplace. A single, crystalline tear fell from his eye and traced a moist path across the bridge of his nose before being absorbed by the carpet.
~x~x~x~
The sun was beginning to set by the time that Watson reached Baker Street. He looked up at the purple and pink sky as the stepped over to the door and tapped it with the handle of his cane. He smiled at the familiar sound of Mrs. Hudson bustling around and rushing to the door. When it swung open, Watson was taken aback by the bedraggled and exhausted appearance of the woman. Worry gripped his heart and his stomach roiled with the fear of what could have possibly happened.
"Mrs. Hudson! What's the matter?" he asked, alarmed. The older woman sighed in exasperation before answering the doctor.
"Dr. Watson. Am I ever relieved to see you. It's Mr. Holmes, sir. He's driving me out of my mind with anxiety." Though she looked relieved to see Watson, she still held a look of apprehension in her eyes.
"What has he done this time?"
"It's not what he's doing, it's what he's not doing. He hasn't taken a single new case since you have been gone. Inspector Lestrade has even been over here to try and entice him to render his aid on a case. He's also been refusing food every time I attempt to take a tray up." While he would admit that refusing cases was extreme behavior for London's greatest detective, his attention was mostly focused on the second part of that statement.
"How long has he been declining food?" he questioned with a sense of urgency. Mrs. Hudson thought for a moment before replying.
"It first started about a month after you left, I'd say. That seems like the amount of time it took to tie up all of the loose ends regarding the the case with Lord Blackwood. As soon as he finished that up, he locked himself upstairs and hasn't been out since." To say that Watson was shocked would have been a vast understatement. All of the color drained from his face as he took what he had just been told.
"Two months? He hasn't eaten anything in two months? Why did you not contact me sooner?" He had to work to reign in his anger, not only at the woman before him, but the entire situation. Mrs. Hudson took on a baffled look.
"I did, sir! A month and a half ago. I sent an errand boy to deliver the message. He told me that the lady of the house sent him away telling him that you were not to be bothered with drama concerning Mr. Holmes any more."
"W-w- I...I...I never instructed any such thing to be done. Mary never told me anything about that!" he paused for a moment to collect himself from the shock. He would have to deal with that matter later. Right now, Holmes needed him and he was damn well going to be there. Clearing his throat, he continued. "May I go up?"
"Of course, dear. There's nothing better I could think of." Smiling kindly, Mrs. Hudson motioned for the good doctor to ascend the staircase.
As soon as he reached the top of the stairs, Watson tried the door handle to find that it was locked, as he figured it would be. He put his ear against the wood to see if he was able to discern any sounds from the inside. Fear gripped him when the only thing that met his ear was stark silence. When knocking failed to evoke a response, Watson stood back and positioned himself to kick the door in.
"Holmes, I'm coming in. If you're anywhere near the door, I would suggest you move." He waited for a moment before putting his all into a swift kick that splintered the door and flung it wide open. He was not surprised to be met with pitch black darkness and felt for the lamp that he knew was within arm's reach. Once the dim light fought off some of the dark, blue eyes scanned frantically for his friend. Just before he was about to move to the bedroom to continue his search, he caught sight of a lump in front of the fire place. At first glance, it was camouflaged by the clutter around it, but when Watson saw the undeniably human shape of said lump, he rushed over and fell to his knees beside it. Fearing the worst, he steeled his resolve and ripped the blanket away to reveal his best friend. Holmes was disheveled and pale beyond belief. There were dark circles underneath his eyes and he looked far too skinny. Watson wouldn't know the extent of the damage caused by malnutrition until he was able to do a full examination. For now, he just wanted to make sure that Holmes was alive. Lifting slightly trembling fingers to the expanse of pale throat, he pressed gently. After a moment of near panic, he finally sighed in relief when he found the thrumming of a heartbeat. It was weak and somewhat unsteady, but it was there. With his cane to aid him, Watson stood, ignoring the slight ache in his leg, and leaned over to gently lift Holmes from the cold floor. Navigating his way through the mess, he made his way into the bedroom and delicately laid the man in his arms upon the bed. He pulled the covers up to Holmes' chin and tucked them around him. Reaching into his breast-pocket, the doctor pulled out a vial and syringe. The clear liquid he drew in through the needle was packed with nutrients that would help Holmes back from the edge of death. He lifted an arm from under the blankets and rolled the sleeve up. Watson sucked in a gasp when the saw the angry red and purple marks that lined the pallid crook of that elbow and gently ran a finger over the skin before sticking the needle into the only viable vein he was able to find, injecting the liquid. After he had everything settled, he pulled a chair over to the bedside and sat down with a sigh. Watson gently brushed dark wisps of hair from Holmes' forehead and reached for the damp cloth he had brought over when he realized Holmes had a slight fever. In a rare moment of tranquility, he let his body move of its own accord and found his hand tracing down from the cloth to the lax face of the unconscious man. Watson lightly caressed the all-to-prominent cheek bone with his thumb, making a silent promise that he would never leave his friend to suffer alone again.
TBC...
A/N: Woot! Chapter two is finished! Oh the drama! ^-^ I had to do some research for this chapter. I was amazed at just how long you can survive without food as long as you drink water. Also, I'm taking liberties with the time line to make it fit the events of this story. I don't yet know whether or not I'm going to tie in the events of the second movie to this fic. Well, R&R and let me know what you think so far! ^_~
