Over the next few days, they fall into a sort of routine. Sherlock helps John up in the mornings, makes him breakfast and tea, helps him in and out of the shower and to a spot in the living room where he can read or watch tellie, or do his homework on his laptop. Sometimes Sherlock stays in, doing his experiments or reading, sometimes he disappears for hours on end, leaving John to try and get around the flat by himself if he wants something to eat or drink. Which is fine, John knows he needs to not rely on Sherlock too much, or he won't recover properly.
About a week after he starts staying with Sherlock, John lays in bed looking up at the ceiling in the morning, having been awake for a few hours. He can't help it, when he's by himself, it's easy to let his mind wander and he thinks about how different things are now. Which has led him to start thinking about his Sherlock, wondering what happened to his other body, if things are just going on as normal, or if he's in a coma, who is taking care of Sherlock? Who is making sure he's eating and sleeping, and does the detective even notice that John is gone?
The last thought is the most painful, and the doctor finds himself taking a deep breath, a tear leaking out of the corner of his eye and disappearing into his blonde hair. "Sherlock.." He whispers into the air, then he mumbles. "I hope you're ok..."
Opening the door to wake John up as he has for the last week, Sherlock blinks a few times upon hearing the former soldier talking to himself. "John? Are you alright?" He asks in a concerned tone as he walks over and sits down on the edge of the bed, reaching out to brush away the moisture at the corner of the older man's eye.
Glancing over at the detective who walks in the door, John smiles a little. "I'm sorry..." he says, shaking his head. "I just.. I can't help thinking about the other you..." He smiles sadly."If my other body is laying in a coma or something, what happened to you? I just wonder if you're doing ok, if someone is making you eat and sleep properly, or at least trying to make you. Or if you care at all." he says before he sighs. "In a way, I miss him. You are him, but you're not. Being here is brilliant, and I am glad that what happened did happen, so I can see you like this.." He reaches out and takes Sherlock's hand gently, giving it a little squeeze. "But I worry about him." he says thoughtfully, before he shrugs his good shoulder. "I couldn't sleep very well last night, I'm sorry if I'm not making a lot of sense." He admits, finally averting his eyes from the gorgeous man in front of him.
Considering all of this for a few moments, Sherlock nods in understanding. "I think I understand, John. I wish I could give you false reassurances that the other me would be alright, but I am not sure that I would be. So I cannot say for certain that he would be, either." He says quietly, finding this kind of conversation somewhat confusing but struggling through it for John's sake. "We probably will never know what brought you here, or how long you'll stay. Perhaps one day you'll disappear on me as well." He says quietly, even though he feels a tightness in his chest at that thought, his hand tightening around John's. "I hope you won't go too soon.." He says before he hesitates, leaning over John slowly, lowering his head and brushing a light kiss along the older man's lips. "We haven't even had our first date yet." he says with a little smile, looking into those deep blue eyes for a moment before he straightens and clears his throat a little, looking away in embarrassment.
"I still don't understand how this happened, Sherlock. And maybe.. maybe it isn't happening. I've heard it said that coma patients experience some very real dreams sometimes when they're unconscious." John says before he squeezes Sherlock's hand gently. "Afterall, you're so different. So much more open, willing to take a chance, and .. more open to a possible relationship. Those are things that perhaps I hoped for from the other you, but I never expected to get." The ex soldier says as he looks up at Sherlock, pulling his hand over and pressing it over his heart gently. "And if this is real, if it's not just a coma dream, or my mind having cracked finally, I think that's more terrifying. Because I don't know how this could have happened." He admits as he looks at Sherlock. "It feels real enough, but how can you send a person's mind from the future into their past body, or a different body at least.." he says with a shake of his head.
Watching his soldier, Sherlock tries to think up of what to say, what to do to make the older man feel better. Finally, he decides the truth is best. "I don't know how or why this happened, John. It is beyond anything I know. I could give you theories, but they would just be fantasies." He says as he continues to watch John. "I think it's safe to assume that however it happened it has happened." Removing his hand from John's chest, he takes the future doctor's hand and presses it against his own chest, over his heart. "That is my heart, this is me, I am here and I am real." He insists, leaning down again slowly. Since the first kiss went over so well he sees no reason why he shouldn't repeat it, leaning down and giving John another tender kiss. "Stay here, with me, John." He whispers hopefully as he looks at the other man intensely.
For a few moments John isn't sure what to say, then he smiles softly and nods slowly. He lightly returns the kiss, sliding one hand up into that ridiculous hair, - something he's wanted to do for a while - and sinks his fingertips into the thick locks. He initiates a soft kiss this time and then smiles. "I know you're real, Sherlock." he reassures softly with a little smile. "I'm not going anywhere. I may worry about the other you, but it doesn't mean I don't want to be here with you. Maybe I'm just feeling a bit under the weather from these bloody injuries." he says as he looks down at himself.
Guilt crosses Sherlock's face for a moment before he pushes it aside, slowly removing John's hand from his hair before getting up. "Well come on, then. Up you go, I made breakfast again, you need a shower, and then perhaps we can try going for a walk." He offers as he watches John, wanting to chase away the shadows that have formed in the man's eyes and make him smile again.
Nodding a little, John takes a deep breath before he winces and forces himself to sit up, letting out the breath as he takes a moment to keep his head from spinning, then he swings his legs over the edge of the bed slowly. "Well, at least if I'm going to have to deal with a nurse, I get the gorgeous one." he says with a little smirk at Sherlock, knowing that the younger man doesn't deal well with compliments about his looks, though he hasn't figure out why yet, since it's rather obvious that the detective is attractive.
Huffing a little in frustration, Sherlock can feel his cheeks go pink and he glowers a little at John. "You will not distract me with flowery words." he says with a firm tone, holding out his hands as an offer to help John stand up.
Grabbing onto the pale hands in front of him, John pulls himself to his feet, taking a deep breath and sighing. "Well, it was worth a try, wasn't it?" he teases as he looks up at the lanky detective, smiling a little. "At least you let me have some freedom, here." He says with a little sigh, keeping a hold of one of Sherlock's hands as he hobbles toward the bathroom. "Promise me you'll be careful when you go out wandering the streets of London, Sherlock." he says suddenly as he turns to look at the detective, standing in the doorway of the bathroom.
Although he's not sure where that comment came from, Sherlock can see the sincerity behind it and the fear and he understands it. John is afraid for him, afraid that something will happen to him and he'll be left all alone in this world. For a moment he looks at John, glancing him over, taking in the stance, the way he holds himself to show how much pain he's really in, nodding slowly after a few moments.
"I promise, John. I'll be careful."
Thank you to Ziael for giving me the inspiration for this chapter, I hope this update is soon enough. ;) I couldn't get this idea out of my head, so here it is!
Also, thank you to Spades who made me think about where I am going with this story and making me realize where I want it to go and how I want it to end. I now have a destination in mind, so I think this story is going to be shorter than I originally had planned. Of course, originally it was going to be a one-shot, but that didn't happen, did it?
I'm thinking maybe another 5 chapters or so should get me where I want to go to finish it up. And then maybe I can work on expanding one of my other one-shots. :)
Thank you for everyone who is following and reading this story, and thank you to my lovely reviewers.
Please let me know what you think! Reviews/comments very welcome!