And here's chapter three! Please review, even if it's critical, it's so nice to read the reviews.
Sherlock staggered back. Blood was flowing freely from his nose and made him sick. He looked up and saw one man in front of him, examining his fist. That one must've hit him. Another one was coming for Sherlock. He saw the kick coming and tried to move out of the way, when something hit him from behind between the shoulder blades. Then Sherlock lost track of what was happening. He just tried to dodge all the blows and kicks that were coming for him and move slowly to the end of the passage where the road was. He only made very slow progress and when someone tackled him and he couldn't get up, he curled into a ball and tried to protect head and stomach.
By the time Katie had stopped crying it was already quite late. She looked up to John and noticed the lines of worry on his face. Neither of the two noticed that John had called her Katie. It should stay like that for a very long time.
'Thank you,' Katie said with a husky voice.
'You're welcome, sweetie. Are you alright?' John asked, concerned.
'Yes. Although I'm really worried about Sherlock now. Did he text you or anything?' She asked.
John checked, but there was nothing new.
'Alright, I'm going, well, not to bed, but I will try to read something, I can't just sit here and worry about Sherlock. Do you want to watch some more telly or are you going to go upstairs?' John said.
Katie nodded towards the telly. John looked at her, then went to his and Sherlock's room.
Half an hour later Katie turned the telly off. She just couldn't concentrate on all the stupid stuff and the fake problems of the fake people. She closed her eyes and was almost asleep, when she heard a quiet knock on the door. She looked at the clock, it was about ten. Who would want something of John or Sherlock this late? John didn't go to get the door, so she decided that he hadn't heard and went herself.
She opened the door carefully and slowly, which was quite hard because something was pushing against it. But it wasn't a strong push, more as if something heavy was leaning against it. She opened the door further and was just able to catch Sherlock's limp body. He had been sitting on the steps, back leaned onto the door and was obviously unconscious.
Katie gasped as she felt something went against her hands. She looked at Sherlock more carefully and saw the bruises and the blood soaked hair.
'O my god! Sherlock? Sherlock?' She said, quietly at first, then louder.
She reached down, put her hand on his neck and searched for a pulse. It was there, weak but steady. She pulled Sherlock inside and shouted, 'John! John, come quickly, please!'
She heard John walking through the sitting room and him calling, 'Katie? What's wrong?'
'Come down here, it's Sherlock!' she answered.
A few seconds later John stood next to her and looked at Sherlock with shock on his face.
'I don't understand... Why didn't they... I take his shoulders and you his legs, okay?' he said.
'Shouldn't we call an ambulance?' Katie asked, surprised.
'Not yet. Let's check what happened, and then we can decide whether he needs one or not. He absolutely despises hospitals,' John answered.
'I think I can tell you what happened. When he got your text, he turned around and used the nearest short cut. He was attacked there by... I would say five people who beat him up. He tried to fight, you can see the bruises on his knuckles, but it was too much and he just tried to defend himself as much as he could. Not much, obviously, but head, stomach, the important stuff.' Katie said.
'Well, then we just need to check which injuries are the worst. Can you get me some water when we put him on the couch?' John said.
When they had put him down, they hurried in two different directions: Katie into the kitchen and John into the bathroom for the first-aid-kit. Then they gathered around Sherlock who was still unconscious. Carefully John cleaned the face of his lover, and tried to get the worst out of his hair.
Sherlock had a gash on his head which had already stopped bleeding, but obviously was the source of all the blood. When John started to examine Sherlock's face, Sherlock's eyelids fluttered and he opened his eyes.
'Sherlock! What happened? Are you alright? Do you have a concussion?' John asked.
Sherlock blinked and tried to keep up with John's stream of questions. His mind was sluggish and his whole body hurt.
'Concussion? Not sure, a small one at the most. Alright... Well, not my best actually. What happened? Some people decided they wanted to beat me up. Wait...' Sherlock said.
He put his hand his coat-pocket. He pulled a little sheet of paper out of it, some kind of letter. Neither John nor Katie were able to see what was written on it, but Sherlock's features softened while he read it. John held out a hand. Sherlock sighed and put the letter in it. There were just a few lines on it, it a hurried, cradled writing by a hand which obviously didn't write much.
Sherlock,
We found you while those thugs were beating you up. I don't know how much you remember, you were already out, and we managed to drive the bastards away. You woke up shortly afterwards, but you didn't look like you recognised us. I don't know the guys who did it, we'll try to find out. You lost consciousness again because of the blood loss, so we left you on the doorstep, knocked, and watched until somebody found you.
HNW
'Who's HNW?' Katie asked.
'Homeless Network. My eyes and ears in this city,' Sherlock answered weakly. He had his eyes closed again.
'Sherlock? Sherlock, don't fall asleep!' John said loudly, the medical training kicking in.
'Jus' so ti'ed, John... nee'l, ' Sherlock slurred.
'You might have a concussion, a minor one, I suppose, so you mustn't go to sleep. Sherlock? Are you even listening? You have to stay awake!' John said again.
Katie hesitantly put her hand on Sherlock's head and pulled back quickly when she felt the radiating heat of his head.
'John... He's got high fever. And... he passed out again, you know?' Katie said, worried.
'Sherlock? O god, you're right. Well, he doesn't normally pass out so quickly, just if something is really bad...' John murmured.
He felt Katie brushing past, and watched her picking up Sherlock's phone, which was on the table, Sherlock had taken it out of his pocket with the letter.
'Ambulance? Yes, here is Katherine Holmes. My father, Sherlock Holmes, has got a concussion and is very unwell, he keeps passing out, what is very unlike him. Please, we are in 221B Baker street, London. Thank you, sir.' She hang up.
'They are here in a few minutes. I know Sherlock doesn't like hospitals, but I do not think this is normal. Look, he is awake again. Sherlock, how are you feeling?' Katie reported.
Sherlock mumbled something and shot her a very dirty look. Apparently he really didn't like hospitals.
When the ambulance arrived, Sherlock was out again. It seemed like Lestrade had been informed by the ambulance, and he arrived too.
'Is Sherlock okay?' he asked, when he saw Katie's and John's faces, both had lines of worry and wet cheeks.
John choked on the words, so Katie answered instead, 'He was attacked and beaten up by five men. He has a concussion and there's something else wrong with him, he keeps passing out. And... his heart stopped twice in a row, he isn't breathing on his own any more, he is very unstable, at least that's what the paramedics said,' On that part, her voice broke.
Lestrade spun around to the ambulance and saw the hem of Sherlock's coat, many paramedics standing around him.
'Three,' Katie said.
'What?' Both Lestrade and John asked.
'His heart stopped for a third time just then.'
Did anybody notice why? Sherlock himself says it. I will post the next chapter soon, maybe even today, I'm not sure.
Lots of love, It's-Somebody
