I think I'll do 1 more chapter, 2 if I'm feeling generous. I really wanted to capture both Sherlock and Joan's relationship but I think I'll do that more in the next chapter!

Again thank you for reading! :)

He was completely silent in the ambulance, eyes fixated on Joan's limp figure. Not once did he let go of her hand until they reached the hospital and she was rushed into theatre. Then he just stood there, people passed him, even tried to engage in conversation, but he just stood there. Frozen.

Gregson and Bell had rushed to the hospital as soon as they saw the ambulance race off, obviously worried for Joan but also concerned for how Sherlock would cope. Even before entering the reception they paused and could see Sherlocks figure stood by a wall, completely still.

'He's not doing well, this is gonna be difficult' Bell whispered to Gregson as they proceeded to Sherlock.

'Hey Sherlock, you wanna sit down?'

No reply.

'Sherlock,mate, sit down you've been through some crap' Marcus nudged Sherlock to sit down, getting a small sigh from the man he felt accomplished and decided to sit next to him.

Hours of silence passed until a doctor walked up to the 3 men.

'Friends of Miss Watson?'

'Yes'

'Well, She's had a rough couple of hours in surgery, she had to be resuscitated twice and her wound had got infected, but she's stable and hopefully she'll be out of the deep end in the next couple of hours. She's under heavy pain killers and won't be awake until tomorrow so we suggest having only one visitor'

They all nodded and just as the doctor was about to walk away Sherlock spoke.

'How long?'

'I'm sorry what?' A confused expression rose on the doctors face.

'How long did her heart stop beating?' Sherlocks tone was wobbly, as all the emotion rose at once in his voice.

'Well Sir, erm, the longest she was gone for was approximately, erm, 14 minutes. But she is fine now! And oh if you want to see her she will be in room 347.'

Sherlock walked off, head hanging from the weight of guilt, feet moving from the push of anxiety. If he would have solved the case quicker, or even took on the case then Watson wouldn't have died for 18 minutes. 18 minutes. The two words revolved around his mind like a carousel. Dead for 18 minutes. Two more minutes and they would have given up. Sherlock knew he had to stay strong for Watson, but knowing he could have prevented this made it all the more worse.

'345, 345, ah 347' Sherlock stopped so quick, it had almost been like a brick wall was in front of him. Taking a deep breath he quietly opened the door to see the figure of his Joan on an overly large hospital bed. She looked so tiny, her face was constricted by a breathing tube, her arm was laced with wires and drips, her finger was being stabbed by a heart monitor. Drips, monitors, pumps filled the room but in the middle of it all was his small friend.

Taking a seat his eyes darted up and down her body, deducing only the worst about her condition, and he took her hand.

'I'm sorry, if it weren't for me this never would have happened. You deserve so much more than this Joan. Oh lovely Joan you deserve so so much better.'

Voice beginning to break with sadness he stopped himself from rambling about his feelings. He loved Joan, like a friend would, but he didn't know if his feelings were romantic and preferably didn't want to find out today. Sherlock sat back in his chair ready for a day of waiting.

PING

Startled by the sound of his text tone, Sherlock dragged his phone out his pocked to read: 'Me and Gregson have gone back to work on the case, stay with Joan and keep us updated'-MB

He'd been at the hospital for exactly 4 hours and 45 minutes. No sign of Watson stirring in her sleep or waking made him wonder if staying up incase she woke was worth it. Sherlock settled for a so called quick nap on the oversized chair. A quick nap that turned into a overnight stay.

Light was piercing Joan's eyelids as she slowly pulled them open, using almost all of the force she had left in her body. She felt physically and mentally drained and it didn't help that her side was in agonising pain. Looking around she saw medical instruments dotted around the room, until she saw a sleeping figure in a chair which was pushed rather closely to her bed. Smiling at the thought that he had probably been there all night she sank her heed back into the pillow and tried to process what had happened. Just as she was doing so she saw that Sherlock had noticed she was awake. His eyes were full of relief and even a small smile pierced his lips.

'Watson, I just wanted to...'

'Sherlock don't. Don't blame yourself, this is as much my fault as yours. We both ignored Jack for so long and even I knew that the time restriction he gave you was steep'

'I know I just feel partly responsible. I could have lost you Joan. Hell, I did loose you. You died for 18 minutes at one point. I could have stopped that. What if you didn't wake up? I don't think I couldn't imagine a life without you...'

'All that matters is that I'm here now, it was really scary Sherlock, but I promise I'm not going to leave you anytime soon'

They both smiled at each other, hand in hand they were content until a nurse came in, spoke about Watsons condition and abruptly left. She had about 3 more days left until she was able to leave and go back the the brownstone.

It was going to be a long 3 days but all the mattered was that Joan was safe, and she wasn't going anywhere.