There was a whirring of sounds, ambulance sirens cut through the quiet air, stomping of boots, and constant beeping of monitors sounded. Two ambulances rode to separate scenes, one came to rescue an unconscious, battered girl, the other aiding a bleeding war hero.
Both vehicles were to arrive on their separate scenes, simultaneously, their array of noises ensued. The hard stomping of rushing paramedics, shouts of orders, and the rumbles of the machinery. All would be louder than necessary in normal situations, but not these cases.
In these situations, silence must be avoided. For we all know what silence means. Noise means life, noise gives meaning, hope even. All of these noises distracted from the pressing silence of the victims.
The wailing sirens added a voice to the one sided conversations the Holmes brothers carried, as their loved ones lay in their arms.
John had been quiet; too quiet for Sherlock's liking. But Sherlock kept talking, saying things that he would never say to John, had he been conscious.
Stroking the soft hair off of His Doctor's forehead, Sherlock whispered quiet pleas. "John…Please. Say something." Soft breaths left The Doctors lips, but no words came. "John…Please…Stop. You can't…You…" Sherlock shook his head, fiercely; trying to remain cold and calm. "I need you." He continued. "I know I don't say that enough. And I know you don't think I do but, trust me, I do." Sherlock let his thumb stroke across John's cheek.
"You're brilliant, John…Amazing…Wonderful…Genius…Fantastic…" Every word became harder and harder to say, as Sherlock poured out his long overdue praises. "I used to be alone, and alone was what protected me but then you came…And you shot that bloody cabby." Sherlock laughed, tears falling down his face. "And I didn't want to be alone anymore…You changed that, with your stupid groceries, and crap telly…You protect me now, John and I don't know what I would do without you." He let a hand cup John's warm cheek, as the Doctor's head rested in the Detective's lap. "You make me feel alive…And I don't even need cases anymore, as long as it means that I have you. And that scares me, John. I've never cared this much…So I tried to push you away…" A quiet sob wracked the Detective's body. "I was wrong…So wrong, John…I should have told you every day, how much you matter. Because you are perfect every day. You are perfect, John…And I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" Pulling John close, Sherlock let released his tears, sobbing loudly into John's blood stained jumper. "I'm sorry for everything!"
The ambulance's alarm drew closer, before arriving on the scene.
Paramedics jumped out, running over toward the bleeding Doctor and the sobbing Detective.
A quiet whisper reached Sherlock's ear, just before his John was pulled away. "It's fine, Sherlock…It's all fine..." There was a pause, before John spoke again. "I love you…"
The Doctor was pulled from Sherlock's grasp, leaving The Detective to sit in silence once more.
/
Clare had been unconscious for quite some time now. Leaving Mycroft to sit in an eerie silence, as he held her close.
Unlike his brother, Mycroft held his confessions in. He had much to say, but he chose to express it with quiet touches to his daughter's hair, reassuring strokes and constant closeness, there was no need soil this moment with words, not yet.
He studied his daughter. Running her soft, honey colored hair through his fingers, studying her pail skin. He noted the light freckle that resided just below her right eye, its brown color contrasting with her ivory skin. Mycroft smiled, a lump rising in his throat as he lightly touched his thumb to the mark. He saw the dimple in her chin, and the way it pointed out wards.
She had his chin and his ears…Tears prickling at his eyes, he lightly touched each. He noted how she had her mother's eyes, and he remembered how his expressions reflected through them. He traced the sharp lines of her cheek bones, their definition marking her as a Holmes.
He traced a finger down her nose, noting its larger size. This was no doubt something that Clare would like to change. For, that was always a feature Anne had complained about on her own face, he recalled.
But he would never let Clare change it. She was perfect, in his eyes. His perfect, darling girl.
And he would never forgive himself for putting her in this situation.
Daddy…She had called him Daddy.
Unable to hold on any longer, Mycroft broke down. Silent sobs wracked his body as he pulled Clare into him, clinging to her, desperately.
The Ambulance sounded in the distance, ready to rescue.
/
Sherlock sat in a private waiting room, a cold numbness washing over him. They would not let him follow John. But he had tried, oh had he tried.
He fought his way through Doctors and Nurses, pushing them out of the way, making a scene. Eventually, the staff was forced to call security who deposited him into this waiting room.
The room seemed to be dedicated to hold the more reluctant relatives of trauma victims; the ones who would not be parted from their loved ones side, no matter how necessary it might be.
The wide doors opened, jerking Sherlock out of his thoughts.
The same two security guards came in, pulling Mycroft along with them.
They sat The Elder Holmes next to his brother, and left without a word.
Sherlock glanced over. Mycroft looked lost, completely raw and stripped of all of his defenses.
A heavy silence settled in the room.
"You were right…" Mycroft whispered, his eyes not leaving the wall.
"What?" Sherlock said; his voice louder than his brother's. His tone was harsh and confused.
Mycroft continued staring at the wall, a far off look in his eyes. "You told me once that I was jealous of what you had with John, because of what happened with Anne. And you were right. And I am sorry." Mycroft's eyes were wide, haunting.
Sherlock had seen his brother like this once before. And when Mycroft, the ever balanced and unbreakable man, fell; he fell hard.
"Caring is not an advantage, Sherlock." Mycroft's voice was barely audible. "But a life without it is not worth living. I should have told you that." Mycroft began to shake, he began to break down.
Sherlock looked down. He didn't want to see this.
"I care." Mycroft whispered, turning towards his brother.
Sherlock glanced at his brother's haunted eyes. Mycroft was on the verge of a complete melt down. Sherlock felt a sudden pang of compassion, a rush of feeling for his brother as the full weight of the Mycroft's words hit him.
"I know." Sherlock said, looking down. "I always knew."
Still shaking, Mycroft turned back to face the wall.
They were silent for three more hours.
Suddenly, the door swung open as a white clad doctor, briskly entered the room.
Nodding to both of the brothers, she introduced herself. "I am Doctor Jordan, and I have been assigned to both-"
Sherlock cut her off, jumping out of his seat. "Do not bore us with pleasantries. Get to the point." He growled. Mycroft remained silent, still watching the wall.
Scowling up at Sherlock, Dr. Jordan spoke. "They are out of danger, however you will have to wait a couple days before you can see them." Not waiting for a reply, she turned and left the room.
Relief flooded Sherlock's body; he turned toward his brother, a tiny smile breaking across his face.
Mycroft had his head buried in his hands, his body shook with sobs.
Sherlock sat down, wrapping an arm around his brother, all of his previous resentment washing away. "This will make John proud." He thought.
"That was too close." Mycroft gasped through his sobs, his face still buried in his hands. All of his emotions pouring out at once. But he was relieved, he was so relieved.
"It's fine, Mycroft. It's all fine." Sherlock said. And it was, it truly was.
-Thank you so much to AldraanRefugee, helenamaimi, 26TARDIS, and luv dove -10 for reviewing! It means so much! School has been awful, so I don't know when I will update next but I will try to make it as quick as possible! I think that this story has about two more chapters to go before I wrap it up, but I am thinking about writing a sequel! If you think that's a good idea, let me know! Thanks to all who followed and favorite as well! You guys are the BEST : ). As always, have a nice day!-