"John? John, where are you!"
"I don't know, Sherlock..." John muttered, coughing slightly. The motion sent a spark of pain straight down his body and he wasn't entirely efficient at biting back the groan of pain that followed.
"Observe!"
John sighed, pressing the phone closer to his ear. He was so tired...
"John!"
"I don't know..." he breathed. He shifted his mobile to the opposite ear, using his free hand to press against the wound in his lower stomach. His jumper was stained red. There's so much pain...
"Fire your gun!"
For a second, John thought that he had heard wrong. From the blood loss, it's possible that he's hearing things incorrectly. But, John realized, Sherlock wouldn't be too far away. After all, they had been on the case together, only gotten separated at last. Sherlock would hear the gunshot and-
John fumbled with his gun, ended up dropping his phone onto his blood-stained lap. He plugged one of his ears and raised his gun, firing it into the sky. The gunshot was deafening.
He wanted to curl up and sleep.
He should have picked up his phone again, but he couldn't bring himself to. Instead, he just dropped his hands into his lap and leaned back against the foundation behind him, applying pressure to the wound.
"John? John!" Sherlock's voice. John reasoned that he ought to respond, but he didn't open his mouth. "John!"
"Shut up, Sherlock..." John muttered, bringing his voice to the loudest he could manage. Which wasn't very loud, all things considered.
"John?" Sherlock suddenly peered around the corner of the statue. Oh. It was a statue. Where the hell were they...? John had forgotten...
Sherlock was suddenly there, crashing to his knees next to John and shoving John's hands out of the way. "John, stay awake." His voice was brisk and demanding and distant, but John heard the underlying worry.
"I'm not falling asleep," John murmured, even though he was. (Sherlock didn't need something else to worry about.)
Sherlock's hand was now pressed against John's abdomen as the detective shrugged his coat off. "Sit up. Sit up!" he repeated, as John had made no effort to move. John sighed quietly, moving a bit away from the statue he was leaning against. Sherlock draped his coat over John's shoulders. It was warm and heavy and it smelled like Sherlock...
John closed his eyes. He just needed five minutes of sleep...
"No- John-" The pressure on John's wound intensified as something similar to panic snuck into Sherlock's voice. John reopened his eyes, disgruntled.
"Sherlock, I'm fine. I'll be fine." He knew he hadn't lost enough blood for any serious complication- not yet- but he was just sleepy...
"Lestrade will be here soon. Stay awake. Look at me."
John struggled to focus on Sherlock's face. "Lestrade...?"
"I figured out where you were from the sound of the gunshot, obviously. Called Lestrade on the way, after you had stopped talking to me." Sherlock's voice sounded slightly annoyed at the latter statement.
"... Sorry..." John muttered, raising a hand to pull Sherlock's coat closer. He was probably going into shock. Oh well. He was best friends with Sherlock Holmes; their partnership couldn't be balanced unless he got hurt once in awhile.
And, if it meant taking a bullet for his friend in some strange, roundabout way, he was fine with the pain.
"John?"
The near-hysteria in Sherlock's voice was something that made John wonder if he had lost more blood than he thought. He had to be hearing things, because Sherlock didn't get worried, and he most certainly did not get hysterical.
"I'm right here, Sherlock..." John mumbled, forcing himself to meet Sherlock's gaze once again.
To everyone who wondered if Sherlock's Dark will have a spin-off, I've got to say 'no'. Yes, the chapter was vague, yes, there's no plot, no, there's no answer to why he was upset because I didn't think of one. I think dark Sherlock is difficult to write, and I won't be continuing it in a spin-off. Sorry.
To everyone who is now wondering if this will have a spin-off, the answer is also 'no'. Go ahead, be mad at me. However, this will be picked up- to an extent- in the next chapter, Sherlock's Relieved.
Thanks!
