Molly and John had not long left, and Mary and Mrs Hudson settled into the chairs, when Mycroft and his parents arrived. Understandably Mr & Mrs Holmes were looking worried as they saw Sherlock, again critically ill, wired up to monitors, his life dependant upon the ventilator which was breathing for him.
Mary immediately stood up and gave Mrs Holmes her chair. Mrs Hudson offered to do the same but Mr Holmes refused. "I could not take a chair off a lady. Please remain seated." he said in a gentle and kind but firm voice. Mrs Hudson immediately warmed to him.
She looked at Mr & Mrs Holmes. They were so very different from Sherlock and Mycroft. Clearly so loving towards each other and especially caring towards their boys. Mrs Hudson wondered how on earth two boys like Mycroft and Sherlock could have come from two parents such as these.
Mycroft disappeared for a while then came back with Dr Channing, who introduced himself. He was able to take them all through exactly what had happened last night. It was good for Mary and Mrs Hudson to hear it as they were not fully aware of what had happened. As Dr Channing spoke, the tears rolled down Mrs Holmes face. She held Sherlock's unresponsive hand tightly as she listened to how ill he had been and still was. It was clear just how lucky he had been for a second time.
It was apparent to Mary and Mrs Hudson that the Holmes family needed some time on their own. Mary beckoned to Mrs Hudson that they should leave for a short while and they made their excuses, saying they were going to get a cup of tea and would be back in a bit. Mr Holmes moved into Mrs Hudson's chair and sat himself down. Mycroft then went and gently sat at the end of Sherlock's bed and lowered his head, his body gently rocking, clearly allowing tears to flow. Mary watched them from the window. They were silent. Mr Holmes' hand had taken Sherlock's other hand. He was lying there still and unresponsive, one parent on each hand and his brother at the end of the bed. Sherlock was, for now, in the safest hands he could possibly be in. They were safe to leave him be. For one short space of time the Holmes family were a loving, close knit family again. The barriers had been lowered by Mycroft and he was allowing his emotions to run freely. As Mary walked away from the scene, she doubted if there would ever be a time again when the Holmes family would be so open with each other.
Mrs Hudson took Mary's arm as they walked along the corridor. "They seem such a normal family on the surface don't they" she said absentmindedly.
Mary nodded. "You know, I was just thinking the same thing. Mr and Mrs Holmes are so very normal aren't they? Not one bit like Sherlock or Mycroft. But I really think Mycroft has just let the barriers down for a bit. Do him the power of good to let some emotion out for a bit. I've always said to John that underneath it all Sherlock's just a normal, regular guy who happens to be able to control his emotions much better than the rest of us. A complete genius, but underneath that cold exterior, just a regular guy. I think we're starting to see him open up now with Molly... " her voice trailed off "It will be OK Mrs Hudson won't it? I mean, Sherlock will get well again won't he? I can't bear to think how he'd cope or how Molly would cope if there was any form of damage there."
Mrs Hudson cut Mary off "You can't think like that Mary. You have to be positive for Sherlock. I'm confident things will be fine. This is Sherlock we're talking about. He's the master of making things turn out fine."
"I do hope you are right Mrs Hudson" said Mary hugging her.
Mrs Hudson and Mary sat in the hospital canteen for a while drinking tea and having bite to eat. Neither of them was truly hungry but they knew they had to keep up their strength for Sherlock's sake.
It was about an hour and a half later that Mary's phone bleeped. It was a text from Mycroft telling her that he and his parents were about to leave. Mary text back to say they'd be up shortly.
When Mary and Mrs Hudson did return the Holmes family had already left and the nurse was with Sherlock checking all his monitors, drips and observations. He remained still and un responsive, but his observations and monitoring were looking positive which was a relief. Mary text John to let him know. John text back to let her know that he and Molly were at 221b. They'd both had a couple of hours sleep and were planning to start heading back soon.
Sleeping in the chairs by the side of Sherlock's bed had obviously become common place because Mary suddenly found herself aware of her surroundings with a hand upon her leg which didn't belong to her. She looked through weary eyes to see John standing next to her with his hand on her knee
"Wakey wakey sleepy head" he said gently with a smile on his face.
"How long have you been here?" Mary asked suddenly roused from her slumber. "How's Sherlock?" She turned her head immediately in his direction.
"About half an hour" smiled John "We've been catching up with the doctors about Sherlock's condition. His observations are looking stronger and stronger, and they're cautiously optimistic."
"What time is it?"
"About 7pm" said John with a smile. "Dr Channing's going to pop in soon to see how Sherlock is. He wants to start to wake him if the signs are good."
"Isn't that a bit early, John? He's only been out of his second lot of surgery for about 15 hours or so."
"It might be. We'll only know once we start to wake him. Dr Channing is optimistic. Lets see".
The on duty nurse popped in with tea for them all and they sat silently drinking it, watching Sherlock's chest rise and fall with regulated regularity. Molly still couldn't get over how he looked
"I know I've said it before John but he's going to be heart broken about his hair. It'll grow back yes, but it will take ages. The thing that will upset him most is that it won't be grown back for your wedding."
"He'll understand, Molly. Lets just hope he comes out of this well enough the other side. There's nothing Dr Channing could do to avoid it this time. "
"Did I hear my name?" asked Dr Channing popping his head around the door and smiling at John. "How's he doing, John?"
"Well, I've had a look at the notes and from how he's been, all appears well. But we thought that last night didn't we?"
Dr Channing picked up the notes and studied them carefully. He walked up to Sherlock and shone a light into his eyes, checked his pulse, blood pressure, temperature etc. "He's a touch tachycardic I see. Still, that's to be expected." He turned to Molly and John "I think we'll let him sleep a few hours more. I'm handing over to Dr Rayabov later on, and I want to be the one to start to wake him. If he's still stable when I come in mid morning tomorrow, then we'll start to wean him slowly off the drugs and the ventilator then to see how things are."
Molly immediately asked him "What are his chances?"
"No idea at present to be honest. We'll only really know when he wakes up and starts responding to us. We're looking for him to be quite settled upon waking up. Patients with injuries like this have been known to get quite aggressive when they wake and this can cause them more damage so we need him to stay calm. That's why I want to wake him myself, as I want to make sure it's done at the right speed and by withdrawing the right amounts of medication at the right time. Best thing you can all do in the mean time is to get some sleep. Tomorrow may be a very long day" and with that, he headed out of the room.
The four of them sat in silence for a while before John spoke up "I'm happy to stay with him tonight. You three get home and get some rest. You'll be much better for it."
"I'm not leaving him, John" Molly said quietly. "I'll settle myself in on one of these chairs for the night, but I'm not leaving him now until he wakes up." John nodded at her. He knew she would say that.
"I'll take Mrs Hudson home again" Mary volunteered. we'll come back in the morning. "You ought to phone Mycroft too John to give him the update." Mrs Hudson walked towards Molly, gave her a big hug and then went over to John and did the same. She then headed for the door. "See you in the morning" said Mary hugging Molly "Please keep us posted if there is any news or any developments won't you?"
"Of course" said John walking towards Mary. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug.
John and Molly watched as Mrs Hudson and Mary walked down the corridor and got into the lift. Their attention turned back to the figure in the bed. So still and unresponsive, but somehow still Sherlock. His colour was so much better than it had been for a while.
"He's still there, John. I know he is" said Molly sitting down next to him and taking hold of his hand. "He's in there. He's really tired and exhausted and his body is very broken, but I know he's in there. It'll take some time to get him back but I'm sure we will. I've got to be optimistic haven't I?"
"Of course you have, Molly. As you say, he has a very long road ahead of him. He will sleep for days and days while recovering. His body will need to regain all its strength. He went into this quite weak so it will take some time, but he'll get there. We just have to be there to help him through."
"Of course we'll be there, John. That's what friends are for."