AN: Silly me, I've forgotten to do the disclaimer where I point of that this is a work of fiction that contain characters that don't belong to me. I'm quite certain no one was under the impression that I was either Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or anyone from the BBC, so I figured it was a moot point. Now that the legal stuff is out of the way, let's continue, shall we?
Days turned to weeks, but to John it was as if it was all one big blur. He spent his days lying in bed, staring at the ceiling with enough intensity to burn through it, were he able. Of course this time was punctuated by his morning sickness and hunger. John continued to live on, but only barely. Greg would stop by every so often. They'd sit and chat, steering the conversation as far away from Sherlock as humanly possible. They spoke of recent sporting events and John's new neighbors, who apparently had begun assuming that Greg was his boyfriend.
"Would that be such a bad thing?" Greg tentatively asked.
"What? Us dating?" John gasped through laughter. "I have to say you can do better than the sad mess I've become. Besides, pretty soon there'll be a kid and..."
"I know, but..." Greg sharply inhaled and continued. "You're a pretty decent bloke, John. You're smart, kind, and funny. I can't remember the last time my ex and I ever came close to having the conversations we have had. She was always so career oriented and I guess I was too."
"Greg, I appreciate it, but... Look, I'm not going to lie and say I haven't thought about it. I mean, you've been so helpful and kind throughout all of this. Other than Mrs. Hudson, you're the only other person I have. You know about my sister and I and my parents...let's just say even if they were alive, they wouldn't have been any help."
"So what's the problem? I mean, I know I'm not the best looking bloke..." he said, patting his slight tummy from a few too many takeaways.
"That's not it at all, Greg. You see, all my life, I just knew I was straight. Never gave blokes a second glance, but then HE came along. Suddenly everything I thought I was, that I knew about myself, was different. I hate him for what he's done, but I can't see myself ever not loving him."
"I wouldn't dream of asking you to." Greg quickly said. "I was just wondering if there may be room for me in your heart. It doesn't have to be now, I'm willing to wait."
"I cant ask you to do that, Greg..."
"Who said you're asking me? Look, as long as you need me, I'll be there. Not because I want you to feel like you owe me or anything, but because...I'm falling for you. I really am. As scary as that is, I wouldn't stop it for anything. I don't want to be Sherlock's replacement, hell I couldn't be even if I wanted to. Just...give it some thought, yeah? No matter what you decide, I'll understand."
With that Greg placed a hand on the doctor's shoulder, gave a comforting squeeze and silently left the apartment.
John leaned back in his chair and with a deep sigh, let what just happened replay in his mind. He did that until he drifted off to sleep.
John was running through a dense jungle. His breathing was labored, his legs were aching but he continued running. He was chasing after something, as if his very life depended on it. He darted through the trees desperately searching until he saw it. In a small clearing, stood a jet-black panther with eyes as silver as the moon. The panther stood there glaring at John, as though it were appraising him. After an uncertain amount of time, the panther slowly turned and darted off further into the jungle. John once again gave chase. He had to catch up to it. For what reason, he was unsure.
The chase continued until the panther was camouflaged by the darkness of the jungle. Suddenly, John was alone. He couldn't see which direction the wildcat fled, and he didn't know what direction to go next. He turned around in place, searching for some sort of clue of where to go next. He began to panic, he was alone with no hope of escape, no hope of catching up to the elusive feline. He dropped to his knees in desperation and began to pull at his hair. John got up and frantically began running again, not caring which direction he went. He was plunging further and further into darkness as the trees began to fade from his sight. Suddenly, there was a loud howl. John stopped and looked around searching for the source.
Slowly approaching him was a grey wolf surrounded by an aura of soft white light that cut through the darkness. The majestic beast walked slowly in front of John, blocking his path. With the light emanating from the wolf, he saw that he was a few steps away from plummeting from a cliff. John jumped back in fear and fell on his back. The wolf approached John and once he'd gotten within reach, he gently lowered his head in a show of submission. John tentatively reached out and pet the wolf and as he did the wolf began to change. Suddenly, Greg Lestrade was standing before him with the same ethereal glow. Greg proffered his hand to help John up.
'It's ok...I'm here now.' he whispered into the doctor's ear as he helped him up.
'I'm here now..." he repeated, and John felt the fear and panic he was plagued with a few moments before wash away in almost an instant. Greg began to grow brighter and brighter until...
John blearily opened his eyes and quickly shielded them from the sunlight beaming through his window. He stretched his aching muscles and realized he must have dozed off in the chair. Looking at his watch he saw that is was about three in the afternoon the next day. He thought back to his dream. His very strange and very vivid dream. John was not a man of faith or of superstition. What he did know was that his subconscious was trying to tell him something.
He reached around for his cell phone and dialed Greg's personal line at work.
"John? Is everything all right?" He quickly asked, not used to receiving calls from the good doctor at work.
"Yes, yes everything's fine. I wanted to ask you...ask if you wanted to grab dinner or something tonight." he clumsily asked.
For a few seconds there was a pause and finally Greg said "Sure...I'll come 'round 8, all right?"