Chapter Two:
Blinking her eyes open, Emma became aware of the sound of beeping instruments and the groaning and coughing of other patients. After stretching her arms and fingers john appeared by her bed side.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice kind and sympathetic.
Emma laughed to herself before answering " a cut across the stomach?... I've had worse, much worse" she replied staring at the wall remembering.
"yeah, the nurses said you had a few scars... Just how involved were you in your brother's life?"
"Probably too much" Emma said laughing slightly before realising it hurt too much.
"The doctors will only let you out tomorrow if you are my care, because I can continue to give you treatment and check on you. But if you're not comfortable with that then they can keep you in till you're fully recovered."
"ugh no thanks, if it's alright could I stay with you? These hospitals are just a bit too miserable."
John laughed in agreement, "sure, look I've got to go to work but I'll be back tomorrow morning to pick you up, okay?"
"Right. Thank you John, for everything, it's all very kind of you"
Giving a smile in reply John nodded goodbye to the nurse and left.
Drifting in and out of consciousness from the pain killers, tomorrow morning came quicker than Emma could imagine.
When John came to pick her up, Emma was surprised to find that he had bought her a new shirt to wear as her old one was a bit, torn and blood soaked and he had gone to the trouble of making sure the hospital put her name down as Moriard.
"ready to go?" he asked her as she finished brushing her hair with a brush the nurse had brought her
"well I'm not staying here" she replied back.
As they walked outside to call a taxi John had a sudden realisation that Emma would need a few things "I guess we need to make a stop by your apartment then?" he asked her as a taxi pulled over to take them
"oh, yes right that might be useful if I have clothes and things, sure." she then leaned over to the taxi window and stated her address. Upon the taxi drivers reply they got into the cab and took the short ride to the apartment in silence.
On the way up the stairs, Emma explained that she had shared the apartment with her brother so John didn't really know what to expect upon entering the flat but what he saw didn't completely surprise him: a full wall was lined with books varying from Lewis Carroll's whole line of work to complete sets of world books and encyclopaedias. A huge cork board took up another wall but unlike the one that used to hang in John and Sherlock's apartment, this one was scattered with pictures showing the siblings on holidays and with their family as well as postcards, birthday cards and quotes pinned up alongside them but littering the board if you looked close enough was information on places like Buckingham palace and the bank of England as well as the contacts of several "well known" and accomplished criminals.
The flat was well organised and tidy, a feat Sherlock and John never had been able to manage.
While John continued to look curiously around what used to be the home of Moriarty, Emma packed her small suitcase full of necessities with a few insurances packed in as well; a gun, knife and her work phone, really, she was relieved and surprised that no one had stolen it while she was in hospital.
"ready?" John asked knocking on the door while Emma packed one of the only photos she had of her full family. " I must say, your flat is different to what I imagined"
"what did you expect? Guns on the walls, prison cell in the back room?"
"no, it's just all those photos of you and you brother, that's nice"
A cab pulled up and John stated the address before falling back into conversation with Emma.
"I didn't realised that you and your brother would be close like that, it seemed quite normal, given who he was"
Emma smiled "yeah well, your brother is your brother. We got to go to some pretty cool places being in the business that we were, we'd always stay a bit longer and make a holiday out of it." Emma laughed remembering the memories she kept so fondly.
After paying the cab driver they walked up the stairs to the apartment, John found it unbearable to continue living at 221b Baker Street so as soon as he found a suitable flat he moved. His new home was drab and boring, no gunshots in the walls and no heads in the fridge. Luckily it had a small study off the living room so Emma would have somewhere to sleep. As he showed her where to put her stuff they talked of general things like work and furniture but found they were both too emotionally and physically tired to hold a real conversation. After giving her a full tour of the small flat and checking on her wound they both resided to their rooms for the night.