Can we try again and start a new and lovely story?

Sorry, sorry, sorry! Here goes the next part! Apologies to all Johnlock-shippers that might hate me for this... Stick with me, please :)

Jessy - Dancing in the Dark

When John arrived at the hospital, Mary's things were already packed up. Mary herself sat in a chair in the corner of the room, looking a bit pale but better than the day before.
"Hello, darling", she greeted him and John smiled in return. Apparently she had forgiven him enough to be his normal wife again, without fighting and accusing him. That was good.
"Are you ready to go home?", John asked and picked up her small bag. Mary nodded and stood up but waited for him to lead the way.

John happily did, he was used to being the one in command and it was good to know that Mary still saw that in him.

Outside, a cab already waited and John was proud of himself to have set that up. Normally one had to wait at least ten minutes for a free cab at this time of the day, and judging from the relieved sigh Mary gave when sitting back she was grateful to get home as fast as possible.

The ride was silent, quiet music from the driver being the only noise in the car, and John felt a bit uncomfortable but he had no idea what to say so he didn't talk at all.
It seemed to him that this was one of the wiser choices he had made the last days.

When they arrived, John quickly paid the driver and carried the bad to the flat, then rushed down again to help Mary climb the stairs. As he opened the door, Mary gasped.

What she could see from the door was thoroughly cleaned and polished and on the bureau stood a vase with fresh flowers.
John grinned and led her to the living room, where more flowers were decorated on all pieces of furniture. A small cake sat on the table and a banner with the words 'Welcome home, Mary!' hang on the wall.

"Welcome home, honey!", John said to match those words and grinned widely.
His wife turned to him and hugged him, hot tears running into his shirt but he just held her tight. He understood what was going on in her head and he felt entirely the same, even without the crying.
He was a soldier, he had gotten used to swallowing the pain.

So he just rubbed Mary's back and tried to soothe her until she stepped back and gave him a weak smile.
"Oh John… Thank you so much, this is wonderful."
She leaned close to kiss him and John beamed.
"This is not all", he grinned and picked up his wife to carry her to the kitchen. She squeaked and giggled but when she saw the table she went silent.

It was laid with candles and beautiful napkins folded into swans, more flowers and the good porcelain plates they hadn't used since shortly after the wedding.
In fact, the room resembled its old self when they had eaten romantic dinners in it to celebrate their relationship. They hadn't done this in months, and Mary didn't know she had missed it until now.

Hey eyes began to water again, so she sat down on the chair John pulled out for her, and used an unfolded napkin to wipe her eyes.
She wouldn't disassemble the swan, not ever.

While she was still looking at her napkin, unsure what to say now and seriously favouring nothing at all in case she might just burst into tears again, John placed a small salad bowl on her plate.

"First course: Green salad with tomatoes and radish, yogurt vinaigrette."
He had remembered the way she liked her salad most. Of course he had remembered.
Smiling, she thanked him again, and when he had grabbed a bowl for himself and sat down, she started eating to distract herself from the thought that John was not just a loving husband but would have made an absolutely wonderful father.
Maybe they could try again?

Mary wasn#t sure if she could stand all that trouble a second time, and she wasn't even sure if John took their relationship more seriously now. He might just wander off again and all her effort would have been for naught.

Her thoughts got interrupted when she had finished her salad and somehow John had managed to empty his bowl in the exact same moment.
Immediately, he picked up the dishes and carried them to the sink, bringing back two steaming plates from the oven.

"Main dish: Roast pork with potatoes and carrots, slightly sweet spiced and well roasted so it dissolves on your tongue. Your favourite wine to drink because you always want it, no matter if it fits the meal or not."
He smiled as he put the food down and poured her some wine.
Mary wanted to say something, not seem ungrateful or egoistic, but every word she could think of got caught in her throat, and John said "Enjoy!" and so she did just that because it was truly delicious.
She hadn't known he could cook like that, and she decided she'd ask him more often for it. How they had wasted ordinary food by not cooking it this way…

"Are you still up for some dessert or are you stuffed?"; John asked some minutes later and Mary groaned.
"There's more?", she asked with an obviously fake pained expression and her husband laughed.

"It's the cake in the living room and ice cream, but I put the former in the fridge and the latter can stay in the freezer, so we can just eat it later or tomorrow. I haven't planned the rest of the evening, though, so it's up to you."

Mary leaned back in her chair and thought about what she wanted to do.
Some telly would be nice, maybe they could watch one of the movies they had bought last month?

When she voiced that thought, John nodded happily and started clearing the table.

"Go to the living room already, I'll be there in a bit", he said and Mary did as she was told. Normally, she'd try to help her husband, especially after he had cooked so lovely, but she just didn't have the strength. She made a mental note to bake something next weekend to repay him for it and fell back on the sofa. Even though she had lain back for three days now, she felt her body relax and allowed her thoughts to drift a bit.

She heard John clean up in the kitchen and it seemed like any other day.
They had just married and John was an awesome gentleman, always here to help her.
Or it had been a hard day at work, for both of them, but John always said he didn't mind the extra chores and she was grateful for that.
Tomorrow would be another normal day, in the ordinary life of John and Mary Watson, and nothing could change that…

Her daydreaming got interrupted by John sitting next to her on the sofa and softly touching her cheek.
"Ready?", he asked and Mary smiled. She hadn't noticed that he had picked up the cake from the table, and that he had already decided on a movie but that was fine because she didn't care at all what they would watch, she just wanted her husband to hold her and never stop.

So she nodded, sat up so she could lean against John and watch him as he pressed Play.

The music started, but she couldn't look away from her husband, her beautiful, gorgeous army doctor with his deep eyes and strong arms…

While she was adoring him, she didn't notice her eyes closing and the view just being replaced by an exact image in her head. She didn't notice falling asleep because all she dreamt of was John, never leaving her.