Ok then, after the intensity of the last chapter I hope I can keep this one up to par. I'm having fun though, less so on this chapter but What can you do.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock or anything of that nature and those who do are much better then I.
Preview: Sherlock finally passes out and Jack may be forced to realize she has friends wether she wants them or not.
Two days, Sherlock worked for two strait days finding what they would need to treat her and relaying the information to the hospital staff. At first they would not take his advice so he called in to Mycroft and had her entire team replaced. John was running between trying to help Sherlock and failing and watching over Jack's sleeping form and feeling helpless. Sherlock read through his notes one last time, triple checking his math. The drugs should have counteracted the toxins by now. They had started by pumping her stomach before feeding her vital fluid through IV until he could find the correct medications. He had not spoken to anyone outside of ordering around the medical staff though he was sure he had seen the faces of Molly and Lestrade in the lab space but when he was focused, working to meet a goal, to solve a case it had his absolute focus. He could not allow for any distractions.
John sat beside her, she looked so weak in the bed. Her face was clear but the heavy bruising of sleep deprivation and illness made her look like she had gone several rounds in a ring and not just a night out with Sherlock. Molly, unsure of what else to do had gently brushed out her hair and neatly braided it for her, it now sat like a coiled rope beside her pillow. She had been intabated and the tube down her throat seemed grotesque when he was so use to seeing a playful smile on her face. Her body was tightly wrapped in blankets, her fever had broken the night before. One arm was heavily bruised, no doubt sprained as well, from taking the impact of the hard wood floor full on And during his administration of CPR he had cracked three of her ribs. Lestrade stepped into the room, hanging near the door. The case had weighed on him for some time but this seemed to take the cake. The man was guilty, he had pushed to have it solved and the amazing young women was in the hospital because of it. What's worse is they had nothing to show for her sacrifice.
"How is she?" John gave a weary smile.
"Her fever broke, what ever Sherlock is doing it's working but it will take time"
"How did this happen? I mean all the other women, they had days, it, it was hours" Lestrade fell hard agianst the wall and slide to the floor beside the door when the door way was darkened by another.
"Miss Macotii is not like the others" his voice still sounded off John felt as he watched Sherlock scan her body no doubt deducing her current state from across the room.
"The other women cared for their bodies religiously. They ate healthy, slept at regular intervals, exercised to maintain body condition, they socialized nightly. Jack does none of these things instead of being absorbed with the digesting food she was a absorbing nothing but toxins, alcohol included. Her immune system was already compromised, the toxins were so potent in her blood stream it thinned her blood so far that even the simple act of coughing as she was drew blood. The medications should take effect fully in the next thirty two hours." John finally placed the change in his voice, the great consulting detective was tired, exhausted by everything both physically, he had not been sleeping often while on the case and for forty eight hours strait he had not dropped for rest, he had not eaten in those same times. But also for a man with the emotional range of a spoon he had had a rather emotional few days.
"Why don't we get some thing to eat Greg" John didn't give the man a option as he hauled him to his feet.
"Stay here with her" John ordered Sherlock as he pushed him towards the chair at her bed side. Since the incident Sherlock had distanced himself from her, never coming to her room when anyone was around to witness it. Sherlock watched the measured rise and fall of her breaths, the monitor in the corner beeped a constant rhythm but Sherlock couldn't help but feel it was all to quite for Jack. He pulled out an iPod he had pick pocketed from her when she was being particularly annoying one evening. He found a playlist marked favorites and with a gentleness that no one would expect from him he slipped her favorite black ear phones into her ears and pressed play.
"I do not think they will allow you to play it at the volume you find necessary but this will have to do" she made no response. He sat back in the chair to think. He had first deduced she was in her thirties, a women dressing in bizarre fashion choices to desperately grasp at her youth but laying there bare of it all she looked much younger, he would now place her at 25 at best. He knew she did not eat or sleep often when on a case much like himself but with out the makeup to hide the evidence she appeared far more unhealthy. He always said the rest was just transport but hers appeared to be failing. He had the thought that perhaps this was why John pressured him so much to eat more but his thoughts were becoming muddled so me pushed that aside. He struggled for coherent thought but his own transport betrayed him and he dropped off to sleep. When John retuned he smiled at the sight, it was only a matter of time before the lanky man passed out.
"He cares about her" Lestarde voiced John's thoughts for him.
"You know what kind of danger that will put her in." John warned.
"You think he is going to do something stupid"
"He's Sherlock, for such a brilliant man he can be incredibly stupid, yes, I think he is going to do something he is going to regret."
"She is going to be ok isn't she?" Lestrade eyed John gauging his response.
"Her vitals are strong, when they test her blood every few hours the level of toxins are falling as they should. They will be reevaluating her need for the respirator in few hours. She has a few cracked ribs and will be in some pain, she is coming back Greg but," At that John looked at the room, their two geniuses sleeping almost peacefully.
"She technically died Greg. Her heart stopped they had to use defib twice in the ambulance with the CPR. There is always risk for brain damage when that happens. We won't know anything until she wakes." Before they could say more Molly showed up again with bright yellow carnations.
"Oh sorry, I, I thought the room seemed a bit dreary, I mean hospitals with living people always seem so sad to me" Molly blushed
"I mean I know I work with dead people and that's sad too but."
"Their lovely Molly" John led them all into the room quietly setting them down on a small table.
"She won't like them" they heard the detective sprawled out on the chair mumble.
"Thought you were asleep"
"Hmm, no, thinking" Sherlock's voice was thick but no one corrected him.
"Why won't she like them then?"Molly asked, she had been a bit stronger around him at Jack's insistence.
"She hates bright colors particularly yellow and green. She does her best to never even interact with the colors. I once did an experiment I placed several pens in a cup in the lab, she is always losing pens when she unknowingly sticks them in her hair, each pen was a different color but contained the same shade of black ink. By the end of the week the back and red pen where missing, blue and dark green and significantly less ink and all other colors, showed only small amounts of usage however the yellow and pale green pens had not even had their caps removed. She avoided them purely based on their color."
"They are lovely flowers Molly, don't let him bully you" John offered when she looked a bit down.
"Hang on a tic, you did an experiment to see what colors Jack liked?" Lestrade seemed to find the whole thing unendingly humorous. Sherlock seemed stunned for a moment but recovered quickly.
"A persons color preference can tell you a lot about them" Sherlock scowled and sank lower into his chair. Their was considerably less conversation fromSherlock once he began pouting but movement on the bed drew all their attention, John sent Molly to quickly find a nurse as Jack's eyes fluttered open. John joined Sherlock in leaning over the bed. Her eyes looked scared as her brain tried to process why she couldn't draw in her own air. Her hands moved to claw at her throat in the process dislodging her ear buds.
"Jack listen to me" John took her hands into his own and brought them back down to her sides. Her eyes locked with his, they were wide, her pupils blown open in fear.
"There is a breathing tube we have gone to get a doctor but you need to calm down until he gets here." John spoke in soothing tones and she nodded in understanding. A nurse rushed in with most of Jack's medical team trailing him they worked quickly sliding the tube from her body causing her to cough hoarsely. She kept trying to speak up the doctor would shush her with each attempt. Her eyes finally found Sherlock's.
"Bartender" was all she could get out, her voice rough and unrecognizable but Sherlock's eyes lit up.
"Oh, Stupid!" He hit his head with his hands but he was smiling widely. He pushed a nurse away to grab either side of her head.
"You brilliant clever girl" he kissed her forehead in excitement.
"Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise"
"You're the only one who says I'm not" her words sounded painful but she smiled along with him none the less.
"Oh, how could I have been so stupid" he spun to face the others but they all looked confused.
"Ok, what are you on about then?" Lestrade asked sensing something important had just occurred.
"Statistically speaking men are more likely to drug women but women, women are more likely to use poison as a weapon. We were looking at the wrong sex. Who is a women who would go unnoticed in a club like that, guaranteed entrance every night, and would have access to every drink with out suspicion." He was met by blank stares as the medical team continued their check on Jack.
"Nothing really, oh it must be so boring in your brains. Jack just woke from a coma and she gets it, come on think" Sherlock was pacing the room.
"The bartender!" John exclaimed.
"If we move quickly we may still get her" Lestrade ran from the room along with the detective and his blogger. Molly stayed behind waiting for the team to finish before sitting down beside her.
"Why are you" Jack tried to ask despite the doctors orders to stay silent till her throat had a chance to heal a bit.
"You don't have to talk" Molly interupted.
"Why?" Jack tried for shorter sentences.
"Am I here?" Molly asked
"Because your my friends Jack, thats why all of us were here. We wanted to be here for you. Even Sherlock, he thinks no one knows but he came to visit you a lot. He cares about you even if he doesn't want to." Jack grimaced. She didn't want friends, Molly frowned when her words didn't get the reception she had expected.
"I know you don't like it" Jack tired to look apologetic, Molly was lovely but friends only meant there was someone who could hurt you.
"No don't be sorry. I can tell you don't really want them, but you have them anyway. Your kind of like Sherlock in that. He didn't want friends but he has them now and I think they make him a better person" Molly smiled and squeezed her friends hand where it lay on the bed, Jack squeezed back.
"Get better" Molly left to return to her work while Jack lay with only her thoughts. Hours turned as the light faded out side her window with the night sky replacing the sun and clouds. When she was sure she was alone she let a few tears slip from her eyes, they had told her how close she had come to not pulling through. As her tears dried her thoughts turned to how much she now owed Sherlock now, she owed him her life, she sighed, she would have to be nicer to him at the very least.
"We found her, Meredith Osprey, Scotland Yard is going to her residence as we speak to arrest her"
"You didn't go with them" there was no question in her soft voice.
"I was not allowed, apparently they feared I would do something irrational"
"You?" She asked in mock surprise.
"Yes, the last time someone I care for was hurt her attacker was thrown out a second story window, several times" she lifted a brow at his words more so the first part then the later.
"You once said were big enough to admit you needed my help, I will return the favor by being big enough to admit, in some small way, that I care. Much like John I find your usefulness to out weight your irritating qualities and your companionship is not unwelcome"
"Well don't I feel all warm and fuzzy" Jack commented but Sherlock was awarded a smile for his honesty. He turned to leave all he had come to say having been said.
"Thank you" the voice was soft but it was different, this once again was the other half of Jack he did not know.
"You saved my life"
"Lestrade would have never allowed me another case if you had been permanently harmed." Sherlock didn't turn to face her.
"And mop top, my lab better be in perfect working order when I get back there" Sherlock smiled.
"It will be once I'm through with it." He gave her a wink as he rounded the door and left, his long coat sweeping out behind him. Jack didn't want to feel the swell of emotion in her chest but she smiled none the less.
Ok shorter but to be fair the last two kinda took a lot so bite me. Do not fear Jack's back and the angst is just around the corner. Still a mystery but Sherlock seems to like her a bit more. I tend to write Molly weak but I think she will start to strengthen up a bit under Jack's new regime. So why doesn't Jack want friends, what happened in the past to cause her to mistrust people who get close, what is her real name! Because I swear to you she has one. Anywho, please review if not this chapter the the last one. As always
- Theives
p.s. Welcome Baiters08, nice to see a new face (of sorts). Thanks so much for the review good job by the way ;).
