Lestrade made his way through the London traffic as quickly as he could. When he arrived at the hospital he was pleased to see the man from forensics had made it there before him. As he and Sherlock walked down the corridor Lestrade saw him walking towards them. "Did you get what we needed?" he asked the man.
"Yes Gov. He did a good job. There was plenty of skin under his thumb nail we should get DNA easily from that."
Lestrade smiled. Ever practical eh John, he thought. "So how is he?"
"I don't know. They didn't tell me anything. But they didn't seem overly rushed or panicked about anything so I guess that's a good sign. He's through there." the man said pointing to a door behind him.
"OK thanks Tim."
With that Sherlock and Lestrade walked towards the doors Tim had just pointed to. When they got there Sherlock paused, hand on the door and took a deep breath. He wanted to see John but he wasn't sure he was ready for this. "You OK?" Lestrade asked. Sherlock nodded and pushed open the door. He could see John lying on a bed across the other side of the room surrounded by doctors and nurses. His body looked battered and broken Sherlock thought.
The doctor from the helicopter was talking to her team. She looked up at Sherlock and smiled as she continued. "We need to make sure there are no other internal injuries from the beating. So everyone know what they've got to do?"
The rest of the team either answered "Yes" or nodded.
"OK well I'm going to have a quick word with Mr Holmes and then I'll be back to see how we're doing." With that she removed her gloves and headed over to Sherlock and Lestrade. "Come with me please." She said and ushered Sherlock & Lestrade out through the door. She led them into a small room across the hall. "Take a seat"
"How is he?" Sherlock asked.
She smiled "Well we are taking x-rays so we can see the extent of the damage to his fingers and check how many ribs are broken. We're checking for any other internal injuries from the beating but there's no sign of any so far. His fever is dropping and his blood pressure is stabilising. We won't know for sure that the antidote was administered in time for a couple of hours" the doctor watched Sherlock's face fall and she placed her hand on his arm "but so far things are looking good. I can say one thing for certain, he's fighting and that's the best sign. He hasn't given up and you shouldn't either. Is there anything you want to know?" Sherlock shook his head. "Right well as soon as we have all the test results back and we've got him settled in his own room I'll take you to him. There's a coffee machine down the hall to the left if you want it. OK?" The doctor smiled again and stood to leave.
Lestrade got up and shook her hand "Thank you doctor."
As the doctor left Lestrade heard Sherlock sigh. He turned and saw him sat with his head in his hands. "I'm sure he'll be fine you know."
Sherlock glared at Lestrade. "Really? She just said that she couldn't tell if I'd got to him in time for another few hours. So how can you tell he'll be fine? What if he isn't? What if I failed him, let him down? What then?" Sherlock turned away tears in his eyes.
"Look Sherlock you know that a doctor can't give you false hope. She had to tell you the facts and yes they may not know for certain that the antidote was administered in time for a few hours but she did tell you the signs were good. His temperature is dropping, his blood pressure stabilising and he's fighting. He's a strong man you know that Sherlock. Why would he give up now?"
"But he thought it was the end." Sherlock said weakly. "You heard him say this was it."
"Yes Sherlock I did but he's fighting. You've got to believe in him Sherlock. If anyone can make it he will."
Sherlock looked Lestrade in the eye wanting to make sure he really believed what he was saying. Then he nodded. They were talking about the man, who with broken fingers still managed to collect DNA evidence so this bastard wouldn't get away with his crime. As he thought about that Sherlock smiled "I guess you're right." he muttered.
"Right well while we're waiting there's some stuff I need to do. For starters who did this Sherlock? I need to get him picked up."
"The man's name is Robert Davis and as for picking him up I don't think you'll need to worry. I suspect Mycroft's men will have done that already. After all it is of national importance you know. Didn't you hear Mycroft tell me that?" Sherlock gave a small grin.
Lestrade shook his head and laughed. "Fine I'll check with Mycroft. I'll call Mrs Hudson and Molly as well let them know what's going on. Do you want me to fetch a drink on my way back? Tea? Coffee?"
"Coffee." Sherlock answered.
"OK well I won't be long." and with that Lestrade left the room to make his phone calls.
When Lestrade had gone Sherlock thought about his friend lying in the other room. John was strong and he would fight, Sherlock knew that but he wished he'd got to him sooner. He wished he worked it out quicker so he could have saved John some of the pain and suffering. John was always so impressed by the way he worked but just this once Sherlock wished he'd been better.