John didn't sleep again that night as he held Sherlock in his arms. Sherlock didn't notice when John pulled himself carefully out of the bed once more as the sun started to rise. He turned on the kettle before heading down to gather the morning paper. He had just settled down at the table when Sherlock wandered into the room. He smelled heavily of cigarettes again and he took John's tea as his own as he continued on towards the living room.
"I was drinking that," John complained even as he got up to make a new cup. Sherlock grunted at him proceeding to the couch. He set the cup of tea down on the table before falling face-first onto the cushions. "I hope you enjoyed that cigarette this morning because I am throwing the rest of the pack away." Sherlock grunted in reply at him causing him to smile. John worried that it would be another day of tantrums but a soft snore alerted him to the fact that Sherlock was once more asleep. John rolled his eyes as he settled at the table once more. He knew that Sherlock had cigarettes in other places than the bedroom. They were hidden all over the flat and he moved them at random to keep John from finding them all. If he was really going to get Sherlock to quit then he would have to get the man to agree first. Until then he would put the idea in his head and gently push him towards quitting.
Pulling out his phone, he looked at the time. It was just after six in the morning. In about an hour he would text Sarah and if he still had a job at the practice he would go in before inquiring about a medical conference. He should have been fired long before now due to the amount of time he missed or left early due to cases with Sherlock. He was half-convinced that the only reason he even still had a job was that Mycroft was interfering without him knowing. He also didn't know whether or not to be angry at that fact. He waited about another hour before picking up his phone and sending her a message.
"Sorry I haven't been able to work for the last few days, but I am available if you need any help at the practice." He didn't have to wait long for a reply.
"We had a callout today if you can fill in." It was short and to the point.
"I'll be in soon." John responded.
"Thank you." John finished his tea and then got up to shower and dress. He pulled on his coat before going to kneel by the couch. He placed a hand on Sherlock's arm giving him a gentle shake. Sherlock groaned turning his head so he was facing the back of the couch. "Sherlock."
"Go away," Sherlock mumbled. John sighed. Sherlock was allowed to wake him at all hours for any reason but he tries to wake Sherlock just one and the man makes it impossible.
"I'm trying to," John replied. Sherlock turned his head quickly towards him as his arm reached out to grab John's shirt. He had spent three days trying to drive John away and now they had come to an understanding, John was trying to leave him. It didn't make any sense and he narrowed his eyes in confusion as he ran his eyes over John's face, his tired brain working hard to deduce why John was leaving. John chuckled taking his hand and kissing his knuckles. "I didn't mean permanently. Sarah text me and they need help down at the practice so I am going in today."
"Fine," Sherlock responded. Embarrassed he let his hand drop as he turned towards the back of the couch again. He felt John drop a kiss on the side of his head and then listened to the familiar sound of him heading down the stairs and out the door. He sat up rubbing his hands through his hair. He knew that John wanted to continue working even though they could easily support themselves on his trust fund as well as the money they make from the cases.
He was still tired but his body was just transport and he refused to continue to let it win. He got to his feet heading to the shower. He had a few experiments that he wanted to run and Molly should be in the morgue so that he could procure a human kidney. He also wanted a couple of toes but unless she had a body heading directly to be cremated it would be difficult to procure them. The cup of tea that was on the table was going cold and he couldn't remember the last time he ate anything but he ignored those facts as he put his coat on before wrapping his scarf around his neck. He made it out the door and hailed a taxi settling in the back. He tried to think about what experiment he wanted to do but his mind kept going back to John's body. To the scar that he finally got to examine but he couldn't determine the sensitivity of it with just his fingers and he refused to use his mouth despite John's offer. Maybe he could steal something from the morgue that would allow him to do just that. Adding that to the list of things he wanted, he waited impatiently for the taxi to reach its destination.
Across the city, John stepped into the familiar practice that he had been working at. He entered the building to find Sarah standing in the lobby talking to a nurse. She held a finger up to him indicating that she wanted him to wait before he could retreat to his office. He paused knowing that he was about to get lectured for the amount of time he missed and really hoping that she hadn't invited him in just to fire him the moment he got here. He tried not to show his thoughts as she finished her conversation leading him to her office. She didn't say one word to him until the door was closed.
"When I agreed to hire you at this practice, I didn't realize that it would be on an on-call basis that revolved around a second job. In any other case, we would be discussing whether or not we should continue your employment here or if it would be best for us to go our separate ways," Sarah informed him as she took a seat at her desk. John didn't sit, however as he listened to her.
"I understand. My and Sherlock's cases do end up taking a lot more time than I originally planned but I am still interested in continuing to work here. I was even hoping that you could recommend a medical conference that is happening in the next few weeks so that I can continue to learn and grow as a Doctor." It wasn't quite true. He really wanted an excuse to go away to think about his relationship with Sherlock and where they should go with it.
"I would like to believe that but we both know that Sherlock is going to come first," Sarah answered. He winced. The attraction had been there and they had managed a few dates but in the end, Sherlock had come first. They hadn't even managed to sleep together before she ended it knowing that she could compete for his affection against Sherlock. "Therefore I am putting you on probation and taking you off the schedule. I will allow you to continue on an on-call basis for the next few months and depending on how much you work, we will reassess your continued employment here in six months."
"Thank you," John stated.
"Don't thank me. If I had my way I would have you clear out your desk but we need doctors and I received a call the other day letting me know that you had been in a non-life-threatening explosion and would need a few days," Sarah explained.
"Mycroft," John mumbled.
"Actually it was a detective Lestrade," Sarah responded. John knew that it was still Mycroft behind the call but there was no point in explaining that the detective was currently in a relationship with Sherlock's brother. Sarah glanced at the clock. "You should probably get ready."
John headed to the office he used to drop off his things and get ready for the day. He was brought the file for his first patient and sighed. It was clear that he was out of favor with the entire practice and had been given a known difficult patient. He had the feeling that it was going to be a long day and he briefly wondered why he even wanted to come in at all. He could find the information for a medical conference online but without being able to use work as an excuse Sherlock would be convinced that John was running from him. At that thought, he realized that Sarah never told him where a conference was being held meaning he would need to talk to her again later. There was a soft knock at the door before it was opened.
"Mr. Michaels is waiting for you in room two," the nurse informed him.
"Thank you, I will be with him in a minute," John responded. The door closed again as John picked up the chart. Holding his head high he made his way to the room ready for the battle ahead.