Chapter One: Head Trauma
Joan follows after Sherlock. The pair was currently being chased by a bloody murderer and his accomplices. "I will kill you if they don't do it first!" She shouted at him, falling behind a bit. His legs were so long and hers, well, not so much. Sherlock had to be at least six feet tall and Joan barely made it to five-two. You couldn't blame her for lagging.
He rolled his eyes and tutted at her, slowing his pace a bit. Eventually, they made it out of the building, which they were being chased around. The goal was to lead them on a wild hunt, buying time for Lestrade to get his force outside so he was able to arrest the crazy bastards and finish the case. Everything was going fairly smooth, that was until one of the mugs that was working with the serial killer grabbed Joan by her hair and pulled her to the ground. Hard.
She gasped and yelled out in pain. Her scalp and head was throbbing from the sudden jerk to the ground. The man slammed her head down to the floor and she could feel her brain oscillate against her skull. "Joan!" She heard Sherlock yell. She gritted her teeth. She could feel a blood trickle down the side of her temple.
Everything was coming in black and white. Spots dotted her vision. Joan didn't even have enough consciousness to think of a sarcastic comment for being slammed to the ground. She shut her eyes tight, a white light blaring in front of her lids. Pain. All she could think or feel was pain. Obviously she had felt worse, but this was a rather nasty head wound.
There was a bit of commotion, from what she could hear. Every sound made her head pulse more. Her head was slammed into the ground once more, unceremoniously she might add. Then she heard a body fall to the floor and then hands were on her. Larger hands. She was being lifted- it was Sherlock. A groan left her lips as she leaned against him. She tried opening her eyes, but winced at the bright light of the sun.
Then there was black. Everything turned to black. The last thing Joan Watson remembers is being set down on a cot. It was also the only thing she remembered, that and her name.
Joan woke up covered in a blanket and an IV in her arm. There was the sent of disinfectant that she knew all too well. She was in a hospital. How on earth had she ended up in a hospital? She really couldn't remember a thing.
When she finally decided to open her eyes. She had to shield them with her hand. Bright unnatural light filled the room. It was painful to say the least. Her head felt as if there was a tiny construction crew building a skyscraper inside of her skull. And then she noticed people. Who were these random people? She didn't have a single inkling of an idea.
Two men and a woman. The woman had curly dark hair and a disappointed look (which seemed rather permanent) on her face. She didn't seem very kind. The first man was shorter then the other. He had soft features and greying hair, even though he couldn't have been that old.
Her eyes fell to the youngest man in the room. She felt like she had seen him from somewhere before. His face was so familiar. He had dark curling hair and sharp features. He was utterly striking. Why on earth would he be in her hospital room? Joan didn't remember knowing any beautiful men. "She's awake." She heard the older man say.
Joan felt like she was under inspection. The white lights and everyone looking at her. It was a very uncomfortable situation. She had no idea why she was in the hospital or why random people were in her room. If anyone should be here, shouldn't it be her brother Harry? He was, after all, her emergency contact, no matter how insufferable he could get.
The dark haired man looked at her, his grey-blue-green eyes sad. Well, his face wasn't sad, it was a small infliction of his features that contorted the shadow of mystery that seemed to be permanently on his face. Joan somehow knew that that meant he was sad. "How did I get here?" She asked, her voice coming out in a croak. She must not have used it for a day or two. The throbbing in her head was still there, but it was dying down. She must be hooked up to some sort of pain killer. Most likely morphine.
"You were hit, on the head. Multiple times. Very, very hard." Said the doctor who just walked in. He checked her vitals and made sure everything was fine, asking her how she felt before walking out of the room again. He must not have been very concerned, or knew that maybe the people in the room wanted to have a little chat about who-knows-what.
More questions were pressing on her mind. The most prominent one vocalized itself. "Who are all of you?"
The older man rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He seemed off put by something, but she couldn't tell what. "Oh, I'm...er, Detective Inspector Lestrade." He said, looking altogether spooked by the introduction.
"Why are you in my hospital room? Who are the rest of you?" She asked. The Detective Inspector gave the younger man a look. He bent his head of dark, luscious curls down before sweeping out of the room, coat billowing around his feet like a cape or a robe.
Joan was absolutely confused.
"You'll have to excuse the Freak." Said the woman. "I'm Sally Donavan, Detective Sally Donavan." There was a bit of amusement in her voice. Joan wondered what could be so amusing and was off put by her Bond-like introduction.
Sherlock was distressed. That was the simplest way to put it. If he hadn't of enlisted Joan on his little adventure for the case, she wouldn't be in the situation she was in now. She had looked the same (minus the bandage on her head), sounded the same, everything was normal about her, except one thing. She just didn't remember anything.
The doctor had told him that it was highly probable that her memory would come back, but it would take time. Her brain had been jostled around in her skull when her assaulter slammed her to the ground. That obviously wasn't safe. He blamed himself for not paying closer attention.
Everything that had happened to her was his fault a thousand times over. No one could convince him it wasn't. So he vowed from now on it would be his mission to bring her back to health and protect her from any other harm.
He paced in front the window that looked into her room, looking up once or twice seeing her talk to Lestrade and Sally. After a few moments, Lestrade walked into the hallway, a troubled look painted on his features. "You've got to go talk to her."
Sherlock's head snapped up, rolling his eyes in only a way he could. Of course he had to talk to her, that what he's been thinking of since she'd been thrown to the ground. The only difficult part was finding the correct words to say. Sorry didn't seem to fit the mold and it wouldn't exactly mean anything since she would have no recollection of what he was apologizing for. "Thank you for your brilliant as always advice, Greyson." Sherlock said, lips dripping with sarcasm and frusteration.
He heard Lestrade mumble something like "Greg."
Quickly, he fix his long coat and scarf, walking into the hospital room a broad smile on his face. This time he didn't have to fake it (even though he was pained by the sight of her), it was for Joan.
"Yes, well I'm Sherlock Holmes, your flat mate. It seems you've had a nasty blow to the head and have forgotten about everything, but that's okay. I'm here to help you." His heart hurt, seeing the very confused look on her face. He knew pleasant was the only way to go about things, introduction wise. And being blunt about her situation might help the comprehension of the entire affair.
He watched her with a calculated gaze as she absorbed all the information he had just given her, minimal as it was. "I have a flat mate?" She asked. Joan rubbed a hand across her face and met his gaze again, it being oddly intense for such a good-natured woman. "Are you my boyfriend?" She asked, not missing a beat.
Sherlock knew some demon or devil was out to get him. His face didn't move, but a blush was very much visible in the harsh lighting. "No." He said sternly. Obviously her assumption of being in a relationship with him came from the two sharing a flat together, but it still put butterflies in his stomach like an idiotic school boy. He quickly surpassed all those feelings. Now was not the time.
There were three things the William Sherlock Scott Holmes was aware of: He was stupidly in love with Joan Watson, that the decomposition of a dead body began right after death and she couldn't remember a single thing about him. In some world where everything worked out perfectly, Sherlock would know how to express his feelings and have the opportunity to do so once he figured out how. But he didn't. So he kept quietly to himself, living as if nothing got to him.
"Oh," She said lamely. Her gaze dropped his. "I think I need to sleep." And with that she rolled onto her side and shut her eyes.
Eventually Lestrade and Sally left, but Sherlock stayed. He watched her sleep. This was going to be one of the hardest things he has ever done.