Author's Note: Sorry for the delayed posting! Here is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it.
An hour later, Sherlock woke up. And...his body felt like it had been crushed by a very large car. Maybe an anvil. He didn't know which was worse, but he firmly believed that one of those objects had been dropped on his body. He groaned but was stopped by a hand on his chest.
"No...don't move, Sher. You need your rest." The voice said firmly but softly. John. Sherlock nodded and let out a breath.
"I hurt." He mumbled in a husky voice.
John frowned and ran a hand through Sherlock's somewhat damp hair. He had been sweating in his sleep.
"I'm sorry, love..." He rarely called Sherlock 'love', but the name kind of slipped out of him. He didn't like seeing Sherlock like this, and he thought that he could help him feel a bit better by using cute names. It was a silly thought, but he figured that he would give it a try. It couldn't hurt, after all. "Do you want me to adjust your morphine drip?"
Sherlock nodded and groaned.
"Hurt," he said again. But this time, the word was more slurred. John frowned and adjusted the morphine drip, hoping that it would help numb the pain a bit. Sherlock's eyes closed, and before John knew it, the consulting detective was asleep again.
Part of John wanted to wake Sherlock up. He knew that that was probably considered rude, and he knew that it would be. That's why he wouldn't actually wake up his sleeping husband. He knew that Sherlock needed his rest. The army doctor sighed and kissed Sherlock's hand.
"I'm sorry that you're stuck in this bed." He murmured, tucking some of the covers under Sherlock. Sherlock shifted a bit, moving closer to John.
John smiled and kissed Sherlock's forehead.
"That's right, Sher, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." He said, acting as if Sherlock was awake. He doubted that he would actually say that if Sherlock was awake, though. If Sherlock was awake, he would tell him that they would be leaving this place in no time. He would tell him that whoever shot him would face the consequences. Would tell him that John Watson was coming after him, and would kill - okay, he wouldn't kill him, but he would seriously injure him. He would injure him enough that he walked with a limp - or couldn't walk for the rest of his life.
Yes, Captain John Watson could inflict pain on others without a second thought, if need be. He was a doctor, so he did like to fix people, but he also liked to tear them down, cause them pain, if they went against him in some way. Of course, he didn't like to hurt people often, but when they hurt his close friends or family, well, he didn't mind inflicting some pain. This is not something he would tell Sherlock, though. If he told Sherlock this, he would...well, probably not look at him the same way. Or maybe he would. After all, Sherlock did spend his time hunting down criminals throughout London. Maybe when Sherlock got better, he and him could hunt down the jerk that did this to Sherlock.
Sherlock finally woke up about an hour later. He shifted a bit so he was half on top of John. John chuckled and looked down at Sherlock. Sherlock stared up at him with slightly glassy eyes.
"I need more morphine, John." He whispered, pointing to his IV drip.
John nodded and adjusted the drip so more would come out. Sherlock smiled and relaxed against the smaller man.
"Thank you," he murmured quietly, rubbing his head against his.
"You're welcome. How are you feeling, Sher?"
Sherlock gave a small shrug.
"I feel...okay. I've felt better before."
John let out a a small chuckle.
"You think so? You took a bullet to the shoulder, Sher." He frowned. Why hadn't he saved him again? Oh. Right. Because he wasn't paying enough attention to the people surrounding them. "I don't think that that happens to you very often."
Sherlock sighed and kissed John's chin hesitantly; he didn't want to rip his stitches. Okay, he didn't really mind if he ripped his stitches, but he knew that John wouldn't approve, and he didn't want to make him upset. Plus, he didn't want to die. There may have been a time of his life where he didn't really mind it if he died, but...well, that was a long time ago. Before he met John. John had managed to turn his life around. He managed to give his life meaning when he believed that his life was absolutely pointless.
John smiled softly and kissed Sherlock's forehead.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset, Sher. I just am mad at myself."
Sherlock frowned deeply; why was John mad at himself? He didn't do anything wrong. If anything, Sherlock had done something wrong. He had never had bothered to check and see if he had moved. And by he, he means the man who shot him. He knew that he had been planning on moving after they...had their falling out, but he had never bothered to think about where he would end up. He should've asked Mycroft to scan the city to make sure that his... nemesis wasn't living in the city that he was visiting with his husband. But, then, on the other hand, he shouldn't have to worry about something like that. After all, that ended years ago, and he never thought that his nemesis would do something like shoot him in the chest.
"Don't be mad at yourself, John," he said hoarsely. "This," he gestured to the wound in his chest. "wasn't your fault."
"But I should have protected you, Sher." He knew that he was saying Sherlock's name a lot, but he couldn't help it.
"You do protect me. This wasn't your fault. It was mine."
John's eyebrow rose. What was he talking about? How was this his fault? He didn't do anything wrong. He was shot for God's sake. He was the victim, not the perpetrator.
"No. This wasn't your fault. That guy was a lunatic."
Sherlock laughed softly. "Yes, he is a lunatic. But...John.." He winced. His laughter died out. "...I know him."
He stared at him for a few moments before something in his mind clicked. Right. Yeah. The man had seemed to know Sherlock. He seemed to know him...surprisingly well. Especially since Sherlock was so anti-social. How did a person like that know so much about him?
"How...do you know him, Sherlock?" He asked softly.
"He...was my boyfriend."