I woke up the next morning in a hospital room. Wires were strapped to me, and I lost feeling in my right shoulder. When I glanced down at it I saw that it was bandaged up. An IV was lodged in my left arm, but I quickly looked away before the needle made me woozy. A door opened from behind me, and I turned to see who it was.
"Hello, Emily." Sherlock said, coming up to my bed and sitting in a chair beside me. "How do you feel?" He asked as he took my hand.
"Very numb. What happened?"
Sherlock studied me before he answered.
"You were shot twice in your shoulder." He said as he looked down at my hand. "And… and your heart stopped."
I nodded slowly. I already had a feeling that had happened. I faintly remembered being revived. I glanced back up at Sherlock and saw his eyes tearing up. I brought my hand to his face and pulled him closer.
"Sherlock… what's wrong? I'm ok. I'm alive." I said, trying to cheer him up. He took my hand and pressed it to his lips.
"My dear Emily…" He said as the first tear rolled down his face. "I'm so sorry for everything. I should have known there was something wrong. It's my fault Emily. It's all my fault."
"No Sherlock. It's not your fault. It's ok now. Everything's alright." I said as I cupped his face in my hand.
"No, it's not alright. Emily, as long as you're near me, people will try to kill you. I have hundreds of enemies that will try to hurt me in the worst way possible way, which is to hurt the people I love." He said as more tears fell on my hand. "I need to stay away from you."
I was quiet as I let his last sentence sink in. His words echoed in my heart, and burned through my soul. He couldn't leave me.
"Sherlock, we'll work it out. I don't want you to leave. Don't be ridiculous." I said as I felt my eyes start to sting.
"Listen Emily. I need to go. I love you too much to hurt you anymore. Stay with John, he loves you just as much as I do, but he'll take better care of you."
"No! Sherlock!" I screamed, as I grabbed his jacket and sobbed into it. "Please don't leave."
He held me to him as my breathing quickened. I heard my heart rate start to beep on the monitor, and my sobbing became worse.
"Emily, please… calm down. You're working yourself up." He said as he brushed hair from my face. I tried to calm down, but my heart rate was high. Sherlock gently pressed my upper body back down against the bed, and called the nurses for assistance. They pumped me with morphine for my pain, and to slow my heart. When they left, Sherlock leaned down next to me and whispered in my ear.
"Emily… I want you to forget about me. Forget we ever met. I want you to be happy with John. I don't want to get in the way. Just remember that I'll always be protecting you from a distance." He kissed my forehead, and squeezed my hand. "Goodbye, Emily Minnick." I heard him walk out of the room, and I tried to call him back, but the morphine took effect, and I went out.