Four Thursdays John Would Never Forget

Chp 26

Ok, so bovvy3222 pointed something out that I totally didn't notice from one of the earlier chapters. If you guys notice a spelling error, or some sort of plot hole or even just have some random question, don't hesitate to point it out or ask questions. I'm really grateful she noticed so I can go back and fix it so other people aren't confused by my awesome lack of editing prowess.

If John had thought William was crazy before, then he didn't know what to call him when he came bursting through the hospital door to throw himself at his injured son. There had been a lot of tears, a lot of yelling, and a lot of scolding. As far as William was concerned neither John nor Bill was allowed to leave his sights again. Not that it mattered much to John since there was no way he could return to Afghanistan with the tremor that had taken up in his hand. The bullet had managed to cause a good deal of nerve damage along with taking an awful lot of his blood and it was unlikely he could ever perform surgery again. He tried not to let the thought bother him, but he couldn't help but feel that he had just been starting to feel good again. Being in the army had given him something to do, something with meaning. Now he was just going to go back to his flat and mope about.

Before Bill and John were released and going through physical therapy, it became obvious that John had somehow managed to develop a limp as well. The therapist who came to visit both of them separately for an hour each had said it was psychosomatic. She told him that it was likely he felt guilty about Bill's injuries and there for his body had produced a limp in John's body to match the one Bill had received saving his life. John didn't want to talk about it, and rarely did. Which of course was very much to his therapist's disliking but that didn't change the fact that he didn't feel like talking about it. She insisted that he take to writing in his blog again if he wasn't going to speak to her, to give him some sort of outlet. He wasn't sure he'd be able to given how much of his blog had been dedicated to his life with Sherlock.

Their only visitors during their stay had been Bill's parents (who came daily, much to Bill's despair), Mycroft, and Mrs. Hudson. Harriet made one short appearance, though it had been for money so John wasn't sure it counted as a visit. So by the time they were released it had been another month without contact from Mary. Not so much as a phone call to either of them. Although Mrs. Hudson said she'd received a call asking how they were. Which meant that she hadn't fallen off the earth or anything, but it just seemed even more odd that she hadn't talked to them directly for so long. However after John's eighth day back, and second day he managed to sleep in Sherlock and his old bed, he got a text from Mary asking to meet him at the Criterion coffee house. It was surprising to say the least and he called Bill right away to tell him. Apparently he'd been the only one to receive such a text and they both decided it might be best that John go alone given that she hadn't invited Bill and John and her had a sort of history now.

It was a nice day out when he was to go visit Mary and he decided that it would be a good day to take a walk. His limp was more manageable now that he was getting the hang of it, though Bill and him were still taking bets on who would loose theirs first, so a walk wasn't something to fret over so long as the distance wasn't too far. Walking through the city alone was odd to him; he'd done it many times before when Sherlock had gotten on his nerves but not much else. It was as though he was missing a limb, but he supposed it was something he was growing used to. Though walking through the city alone might be new, being without Sherlock wasn't. It was still painful to think about, but the pain was something he could live with now, it had just become another part of his life that he had to deal with.

When he reached the Criterion the first thing he noticed was that it was probably one of the most crowded coffee shops in all of London. He tried pushing his way to the line with little success and was close to giving up when he felt a hand shoot out and tug on his sleeve. His gut reaction was to turn and face the invisible and possible threat with aggression. Luckily he cooled his response quickly when he realized that the person pulling on his arm was not in fact an assailant, but his old friend Mike Stamford.

"Mike? What… what in god's name are you doing in London?"

John practically shouted in shock. It had been over a year since he'd talked to Mike, and even longer since he'd seen him. The last he had heard him and Sarah were attending some medical school closer to their home town.

"Well, I got a position at Bart's. It was supposed to be a surprise but, well, you'd already gone off with the army and all… to be honest I wasn't sure how to contact you since it was obvious you weren't going back on the blog."

Mike explained a bit awkwardly.

"Right, yeah, of course… how's Sarah by the way? I know you two went to uni together, you know where she's at right now?"

John asked with genuine curiosity as he searched the crowd for Mary.

"Ah, she's here too mate. She got herself a nice job at a surgery near by. Real nice, she's managed to work her way up the ranks rather quickly."

Mike informed as he steered the two of them into what John could only assume was the line.

"Well, good for her. Suppose I should be looking to do the same for myself soon. Not sure how keen Mycroft would be to me just lounging about while he pays the rent."

The soldier joked with a weak laugh and gave his left hand a squeeze. The large crowd was giving his PTSD a run for its money and his hand was trembling terribly.

"You know, you should talk to her about that. Last I heard they were hiring, you could probably get yourself a decent job there. Pretty sure it's only part time, but since you don't have a rent to make any way it should suit you just fine. I'll give her a call."

Mike offered with a big grin.

"That would be great, yeah; I'll have to talk to her."

John answered happily. It would be great to see Sarah again and probably would make for the most comfortable work environment he could have asked for.

"Why don't I give you our numbers, that way you can get in touch with either of us, eh? It'd be nice to be able to sit down and have a proper chat just the three of us, talk about old times and what not."

Mike mused as he grabbed a napkin off a near by table and proceeded to scribble down two phone numbers.

"Thanks Mike, this is wonderful."

John said as he accepted the napkin and folded it into his jacket pocket.

"I'll give you both a text in a bit so you can save my number as well."

He continued as he searched the crowd one more time and finally spotted Mary stuck in the vast sea of people near the door way.

"Oh! Sorry Mike, gotta run, the person I came here to see is stuck at the door."

John informed quickly as he began making his way through the crowd.

"Without any coffee? Alright then, I hope to hear from you soon!"

Mike called after him and John waved in acknowledgment as he drew closer to Mary.

"Mary!"

He yelled over the murmur of voices and her head snapped in his direction. She gave a weak smile and a wave and he waved back in response. It was hard to make in way through with a limp but eventually he got to Mary and pulled on her hand so he could lead the both of them out of there. It was far too crowded to have a proper conversation any way.

"God, far too many people, what do you say we head over to-"

John froze entirely as they exited the coffee shop and he looked down to see that Mary was undeniably pregnant.

"John?"

She questioned worriedly and took a step closer.

"You're… is that…?"

John stammered as he took in the sight of his Mary in maternity wear and sporting a very prominent bump.

"Yes I'm… well obviously I'm pregnant, but yes, he's yours."

She admitted timidly. John couldn't help but stand and stare in shock for a long time.