Chapter Beta'd by Swimmergirl0726.
When John is brought back to A&E after having his knee and back x-rayed he can tell that Sherlock has arrived. There is a marked tension in the air and one of the nurses is slumped in a chair crying with her head in her hands.
John looks up at the nurse pushing his cot 'There will be a tall, handsome, dark-haired man with an overly dramatic coat around somewhere causing havoc. If you bring him to me he will be marginally less bothersome.' He informs the nurse and smiles up at her as she gives him a puzzled look.
'Your very own tall, dark stranger?' She jokes and John chuckles slightly.
'More strange than stranger. He's my flatmate.' He corrects and it is the nurse's turn to laugh.
'I'll get him for you.' She promises as she locks the wheels of the cot and leaves John alone in the exam room.
Two minutes later Sherlock comes pelting through the door looking every bit the romantic hero that the nurse had suggested he was, but without his usual coat.
'What happened? That stupid woman said you fell down some stairs.' Sherlock fixes him with examining eyes.
'That would be an accurate description. I must have slipped on something, stupid.' He lies, hoping that he will be convincing enough for Sherlock to believe him.
Sherlock hums slightly and frowns down at John as he comes to stand by the cot. The look on his face changes to one of mild concern as he registers the bandage round John's head and the pain etched on his face.
'How bad?' He asks and his voice is unusually soft and gentle.
John sighs 'I suspect I will be stuck here overnight. I hit my head pretty hard and my knee is screwed up. Possibly broken. I'm waiting for the doctor to arrive with the x-rays, but judging by the way it bent when I fell I suspect it might turn out to be less than pretty.'
Sherlock nods in sympathy and lifts the blanket from John's legs to look at his injured knee. It is swollen and gradually turning purple. It is being held immobilised by some sort of splint and Sherlock has no doubt that it is terribly painful.
'How's the back?' He asks as he put's the blanket down again.
'How did you… never mind. It hurts, they've x-rayed it but I doubt anything's broken, just badly bruised. I won't be much use to you for a while I'm afraid' John doesn't look at Sherlock as he answers. He already felt useless enough before ending up with a busted knee.
It is another half an hour before the doctor arrives. Half an hour of Sherlock pacing up and down in the confined space and John trying desperately to not shout at him as he grows more and more frustrated with his flat mate's nervous energy. He wishes he could tell Sherlock to just sit down, but there is no chair in the room so it's not an option.
When the doctor finally arrives they both breathe a sigh of relief. 'I'm Doctor Wilsell.' he says politely extending his hand, first to John who shakes it and then to Sherlock who ignores it. 'I have your x-rays. I thought you might want to see them since I noticed you're a doctor yourself' Wilsell offers and snaps the x-rays up on the lighting board on the wall. 'I'm afraid it's not great news.' He warns as he flicks the light on.
John can see straight away what Wilsell means. The patella has snapped clean in two and there is a crooked line running through the Tibia, suggesting a fracture there as well. 'Damn,' he curses, fists clenching in his lap as he takes in what this means. 'The MRI showed that you also have a tear in the Lateral Collateral ligament,' the doctor explains and John nods as he continues. 'I'll schedule you for surgery as soon as possible.' Wilsell informs him as he replaces the x-rays of John's knee with those of his back. 'These, on the other hand, look much better.' He smiles and John lets out a small sigh of relief as he studies the pictures and finds his spine and ribcage intact. 'I'll send a nurse in as soon as we have a bed for you upstairs.' The doctor assures him and, retrieving the x-rays, he bustles out of the room to arrange for John's admission.
No longer distracted by the doctor and his x-rays John realises that Sherlock has gone uncharacteristically silent. He looks up to find Sherlock studying him with an angry frown. 'Sherlock?' John asks but he suspects he already knows what Sherlock is thinking.
'John, what happened to your knee?' Sherlock asks with steel in his voice 'You obviously fell on your back but that knee was struck from the front, with enough force to break your kneecap, so don't lie to me.' John feels his heart rate pick up as he realises that his ruse has been discovered. He squeezes his eyes shut, desperately trying to decide how much to tell Sherlock. He knows Sherlock will be furious when he finds out John has been hiding this from him for two weeks. This is not going to be pretty.