John ducked as an explosion sent debris flying over his head. Sherlock screeched beside him, wings outstretched in protection. They'd been here only a few weeks and it had been the most intense couple weeks of his life. John stumbled to the ground beside a soldier, pressing a hand over the wound bleeding sluggishly from his side. Sherlock formed a barrier around them, blasting lightning at an enemy that came too close. "Sherlock! I need bandages!" the dragon shifted his position so the pack John needed was beside him and let John fumble for what he needed. Before he could start unraveling the bandages the man beneath him sputtered, blood pouring from his mouth and then lay still.
"God dammit!" John cursed, throwing the roll down in frustration. Sherlock made a series of noises in question, blasting another enemy. "It's no use! We have to get out of here!" Sherlock turned, nudging John to his feet and shuffeling him back towards the camp. Explosions were still going off around them, rocking John's footing and making him fall several times. On the fifth fall Sherlock sighed heavily, pushing John to his feet then shoved his head between the soldier's legs and flipped him onto his back. "Sherlock what?" John stammered, then lurched to grab hold of the harness as wings flapped and they went shooting into the air. "Holy shit!" John yelped, hanging on for dear life. Sherlock flapped firmly, taking them quickly out of the danger zone and back towards their camp. They finally got to a reasonable height and Sherlock's wings straightened, letting them glide more easily. John sat up a bit, looking around. Up here it seemed peaceful, the gentle rhythmic flapping of wings relaxing. "I'm...I'm riding a dragon," John whispered in awe, looking down to Sherlock who glanced back at him with a slight smirk. John repositioned himself, slipping into the seat of the saddle that had always been on Sherlock but never been used. His feet slipped comfortably into stirrups and there was a curve of leather across the front to hold on to.
They were losing altitude as they neared the camp and were about to touch down when Sherlock's head snapped to the right and something slammed into them. John clung to the handle in front of him, pulling himself as close to the dragon as he could as they rolled, hitting the ground hard. Sherlock slid to a stop and John was flung about 20 feet away, hitting the ground with a snap. He cried out in pain, clutching his arm and suddenly Sherlock was there standing over him and snarling at whatever had hit them. John looked up and saw a dragon approaching, fangs bared and growling. Its hide was a beaded red and flames were licking the corners of its mouth. The dragon had a harness with army insignia on it and John groaned, partly in pain and partly in frustration. Keeping so many dragons in one area caused many fights for dominance and Sherlock had proved to be a very dominant dragon. He'd never been involved in these fights until now and his throbbing arm proved just how tough these fights could be. Sherlock was still standing over him snarling, refusing to move even as the other dragon drew closer. John could hear the electricity crackling over his scales and the buildup of energy made the hair on his arms stand on end. The other dragon started to charge and Sherlock let a blast go as he flattened himself closer over John.
"Moran!" a voice yelled and John heard the slam of another dragon tackling the fire drake. Sherlock lifted enough to allow John to see Lestrade had tackled the attacker and was holding him down. Moran's keeper was running to the dragon and the general was stalking towards them.
"What is going on?" the general demanded. Sherlock made a whimpering noise, nuzzling into John's side gently. John let him help him up, injured arm clutched against his side.
"We were on our way back from the mission sir," John explained, grimacing in pain. "We were about to land and got tackled. Another dominance fight sir."
"Land? You were riding?" Bowen asked, impressed. John nodded, clutching Sherlock's harness to keep upright.
"First time he's let me sir," John told him, starting to tremble.
"Better go see the hospital tent," the general finally dismissed, realizing John was barely standing. John nodded, moving in the direction of the camp and only made it halfway to the gates before his vision darkened and he felt himself going down.
John woke with a jerk, another nightmare startling him awake. The tent he was in was dark and everyone inside was sleeping, all except for the person laying beside him in his cot. "What the?" John whispered, as he noticed dark curls and the glimmer of scales against pale skin. Sherlock was in his human form, nestled against him in the cot, nose pressed into his side. He grumbled in his sleep, wing draping over both of them and stilled once more. John's arm was wrapped snugly and strapped to his chest and whatever pain meds he'd been given were wearing off. He tried to readjust himself and a sharp pain shot up his back making him gasp. He glanced down and realized glowing blue eyes were regarding him curiously.
"You're in pain," Sherlock said simply, sitting up and shaking his wings out.
"How did I get here? I passed out before we got to the gates," John asked, trying to sit himself up.
"I changed into this form and carried you," Sherlock shrugged. "I don't exactly have opposable arms in my natural form." He reached to help John sit up and John accepted the help readily. He cringed painfully and Sherlock got up, rustling through a nearby medical bag. He came back with a vial and syringe and handed them to John to draw up. He sat back down on the cot, wings draped around his shoulders. John drew up the meds and injected them into his bicep, tossing the syringe aside and sighing heavily.
"We're not gonna be able to go out on missions for a while," John moaned.
"You need to heal," Sherlock said simply, pressing into John's side. "Go back to sleep." John grumbled but laid back down, yanking the scratchy army blanket up over his shoulders. He heard Sherlock chuckle lightly but was soon slipping into blissful sleep.