I really regret the amount of time this took...

Wow...I'm sorry :(

I've just been really busy with school, extracurriculars, college applications, and other life things, so I intensely apologize for the lack of updates because I've realized I kinda left the last chapter on somewhat of a cliffhangers...

So yeah...I hope you enjoy this, and drop a review telling me what you think, not just about this chapter, but about the story as a whole!

(John's POV)

I'm going to make sure I'm there for him, when the time comes.

When it was time for him to wake up.

I want to be the first person he sees. Not some nurse or doctor. No, me. I want him to know, from the minute he wakes up, that I'm there, that I've been there this entire time. I need him to know how sorry I am for this entire mess...and I feel like being the first person to see him when he wakes up will prove that too him.

I just need to be there for him. It would be pointless to leave now, to suddenly drop my constant visits. I'm too invested, I've spent too much time by his side.

He's become everything, my whole world. The one and only things that's important in my life.

Some people might think that it's a bit...obsessive. And I do agree, to an extent.

I realize that this entire mess has probably cost me my relationship with Mary. I find it doubtful that'll she'll keep to her promise and take me back once things have settled down. There's really no reason for her to, she's done with me. But she's a nice woman, I'm sure she'll find a new man when the time comes. I know we'll be civil though, and I'm very thankful for that. It'll just make everything easier.

And of course, I know I'm in no position to see the baby now, even though she hasn't been born yet. She will be soon...and I'm constantly expecting a call or text from Mary. I know she won't want me in the delivery room...but I'm sure she'll call, give me a photo. Eventually, she'll let me see my daughter. We'll work out a custody agreement, I'm sure. Maybe I'll get her on weekends, something like that. All of this, of course, will happen once things are evened out for...once I have a steady job again...once I'm totally okay again.

I know my life's a mess right now. I know my cheap bedsit is no place to bring a child. I don't have much money, considering I haven't been able to work in a long time. Too depressed, too broken. Unable to get out of bed, unable to function properly. After Mary left...things were even worse. I didn't have her there in the morning to shake me awake. There was never coffee waiting for me on the kitchen table. She'd been the only one pressuring me to keep working through the time Sherlock was missing, because we needed money for the baby.

But I'll manage. I'm more than willing to work hard, to get better, if it means seeing my daughter.

Once everything is better with Sherlock, I'll be fine. I'll be better, mentally, knowing that he's getting the help he needs. With that worry at least marginally out of my mind, I'll be able to get a job somewhere, with another surgery that doesn't know me. I'll finally have some money, so I'll be able to get a proper flat with proper bedrooms and baby things.

I feel like that prospect, that life, is just on the horizon too.

Sherlock's better, remarkably so. He's not awake, but he's getting there.

They took him off the ventilator a while ago, and he's breathing almost completely unassisted now. Sure, he's receiving a little oxygen support, just because his lungs aren't fully recovered yet, but its remarkable how well he's doing. His chest is rising and falling with air from his own lungs, and that's enough for me.

His wounds are healing. The antibiotics are doing there job, flushing his body of all the nasty infections.

He's showing signs of waking too. His fingers will twitch a bit every so often. Sometimes his eyelids flutter almost imperceptibly. It's not even me being crazy, the doctors have noticed it too. The nurses tell me it's a good sign, that it means he'll be awake soon.

The idea is...exciting, I suppose, despite everything that could go wrong.

The doctors are honest with me, they have been since the beginning. They don't sugarcoat things. They let me know the truth.

Yes, he had the potential for recovery. His body is recovering nicely, right on track with their goals. He's meeting benchmarks. He's showing signs of responsiveness, of waking.

But none of that meant that he was be "okay", that he would be exactly like he was before. He was alive, technically, but that meant little.

He could be permanently damaged.

He might have to have memory problems, short-term or long-term. There might be amnesia. He might not be able to register speech. He might not be able to talk himself. He might have attention problems, issues concentrating. He might need to relearn skills he's forgotten. He might not be the same Sherlock Holmes anymore.

He'll need intense physical therapy too. His muscles have wasted away while he's been unconscious, and he's already extremely thin. There might be tremors to correct, muscle weakness to deal with. He might not even be able to walk when he wakes up, he might have to learn how to all over again. He'll need to work hard.

Even after he wakes up, he'll be in a hospital setting for a long time. Even in the best case scenario, he won't be returning to Baker Street any time soon. He won't be going back to work anytime soon.

But we don't no anything for certain yet, so I keep holding out hope that everything will turn out fine.

There's very little that I'm actually afraid of. Almost everything can be dealt with. It might be difficult, hellish even, but I'm convinced we'll make it through this.

He's going to be okay. It's going to be different, certainly. There's no way anything is going to be the same as before.

But there's hope, and that's all I have.

That's all...

I'm with him, when it happens, of course. I promised myself I would be.

I've been checking with the nurses, making sure he hasn't been waking without my knowledge. They assure me he hasn't.

It's a normal afternoon, just like any other. I sit next to his bed, a cup of coffee on the side table, still steaming. I've gotten used to hospital coffee. It might not be the best, but it does the job well enough.

The past few days have been dreary and rainy, absolutely miserable. A constant downpour. It hasn't helped my mood at all, and getting to the hospital has been a bit of a chore. But I still manage.

But today? It's beautiful outside. Perhaps it's a bit cold outside, but the sun is shining and there isn't a single cloud in the sky. It provides a rare bit of warmth. The sunlight might be a bit weak, but it's something.

I've opened the curtains fully, in the hopes of letting some light in. The weak beams filter through the blinds, casting horizontal shadows on Sherlock's still limp form.

It's...quiet. Peaceful, even. The ventilator machine no longer whirls in the corner, and it's still early into visiting hours, so the hallways have yet to become overcrowded.

For some reason, I feel good about today. Maybe it's the sunlight, maybe it's the peace. I just...feel good.

I'm sitting next to him, when it happens. My one hand is loosely wrapped his, like always, and my other holds a book.

I feel a slight twitch, and peer of the pages. I've gotten used to the little twitches.

I keep staring... and the twitches continue. No...not twitches.

They've changed. They seem...purposeful. His fingers are...are moving.

Slowly, I put my book down and lean closer as his hand begins to wrap around mine.

This is purposeful.

He's waking up.

I lean closer still, heart pounding between my ribs. I squeeze his hand a little, hoping it might help. I gaze intently, hopefully as his face, silhouetted by the bright light of the window.

I watch as his blue-green-yellow-gray eyes flutter open, blinking at the brightness. They fall, half-lidded but still open. I watch in shock as his head turns to face me, agonizingly slow from my perspective.

I watch those eyes stare, squinting at my face, as they focus. I feel the his weak hand gently squeeze mine.

It's not much, but it's enough. I'm sure.

I'm sure that somewhere deep down, he's still there.

O_o HE'S AWAKE! LEGITIMATELY AWAKE! But...were the doctors right? Is something going to be the matter with out wonderful Consulting Detective?

How badly to you guys want the next chapter? xD