Written: 10-27-12
Fear
He would never admit it, but he had other motives. It was not the mission that made him hide his presence at Reichenbach Falls, exhausted from his death-defying climb and haunted by his enemies; he for the first time in their acquaintance unconsciously gave his terrors free rein.
Afterward he might have gone after Watson, whisked him back to London and left him with the knowledge that his friend was in fact still alive, but for the fact that the continued truth of that latter detail became debatable in the next few hours.
When he later told Watson of the countless times he had taken up pen to inform him of his continued existence, Holmes quietly omitted the fact that with every halt of action he had fought the fear he could not be forgiven now.
