Ok, this will be a bit of an in-between chapter. I figured John deserved a bit of a break… but only a short one.
Mycroft came through swiftly and mercifully and within three hours John was settled into his new room at a private clinic overlooking the Thames.
John was infinitely grateful. The bed was comfortable, the sheets obviously expensive and the blanket thick and soft. Turner reproductions decorated the walls and a large flat screen TV was affixed opposite the bed with a structure that allowed it to be angled so that it could be comfortably watched from the bed. The window was low enough that he could watch the view of London even from the bed and a large wingback chair was sat by the window along with a side table to allow for the comfort of visitors. More than any of this, what made John grateful was the steady supply of functioning pain relief and surprisingly good cups of tea.
When Lestrade arrived to the new clinic it was to find John asleep and Sherlock sat in the chair by the window with his laptop on his knees. Despite the assurances of Mycroft that the staff at the new clinic were all very loyal and would take good care of John he had sworn that he would not leave until he was able to take John with him. The level of fear and pain he had seen in his friends face when he awoke in the recovery room at the hospital had shaken him. He knew it bothered John so he didn't speak of it but it was clear that the plan of the unidentified man was working, he was upset, angry and even sad to see his friend in so much pain.
"How's he doing?" Lestrade asked as he entered the room looking down at John with sympathy.
"Better. Have you arrested the anaesthesiologist?" Sherlock responded, his eyes still on the laptop.
"He's disappeared. He was only filling in for the regular guy and no one seems to know where he came from. Very strange." Lestrade shook his head unhappily.
Sherlock put the computer away and looked up then. "You should interrogate the rest of the staff. They had clearly been switching out John's medication so there's more of them involved." He stated calmly.
"How is that even possible?" Lestrade looked incredulous "How can this guy get to medical staff in a hospital? Who are we dealing with here?"
"Someone clever and well connected obviously, no clearly not the husband as you know already, we need to widen our search." Sherlock informs and then he stands. "John, sorry we woke you." He strides over to the bed where John is blinking his eyes blearily.
"Lestrade, nice to see you" John smiles fumbling with the controls to make the head of the bed elevate.
"John, how are you doing? Sherlock informed me about your mystery stalker." Lestrade nods approaching the bed.
"I'm okay, this place is great." John smiles even wider. Lestrade can tell he is probably a little bit high from the painkillers.
"That's good. Are you up to giving me a statement?" he asks and John nods happily. Lestrade brings out the audio recorder and places it on the tray next to John's bed. "So tell me about this man." He prompts pulling up a chair, not as nice as the one Sherlock has been sitting in but smaller and thus more easily moved.
"Mmm… "John humms lazily "I met him in the pub two weeks ago. He threatened me… well no, Sherlock through me… hit me… it hurt." Sherlock hissed and Lestrade could tell that he hadn't known about that detail. The drugs were making John more honest than his normally private self.
"Ok, John give me details. What exactly did he say." Lestrade prompted.
"Sherlock got the love of his life locked up. She killed her brother. He molested her son… no… he didn't say that Sherlock did." John hesitated. "She was hurt in prison, hurt bad and this man was upset about it… he visited, he was unhappy… wants Sherlock to feel the same." John shook his head and winced at the pain it elicited. "He's stupid, he seems to think hurting me will do the same thing to Sherlock." John frowns and Sherlock turns his back to them staring out of the window.
"What has he been doing then John?" Lestrade asks, wondering if it is really a good idea to question John when he is this doped up.
"Not really sure." John looks confused "I think he poisoned me, there was a cup in the Yard, with a message… told me to throw up so I did. Still got ill though." He offered and he see Lestrade looking angrily at him.
"Why didn't you tell us John" he asked.
"That's what he wants. He wants Sherlock to know. I didn't want to play into his hand." John explained and then looked down at his knee. "I couldn't keep that up when he broke my knee, Sherlock could tell." John looked a little sad.
"He got injured by three different patients the other week" Sherlock informed, his back still turned.
"Is that true John" Lestrade asked his brows going up.
"Well yes… work has been horrible but it's just work… new boss is rather nasty. Not sure that has anything to do with this though. Surgery screw up might be though, that man really should have known how to put me under properly, that was probably deliberate" John offers even though it is not needed, Lestrade and Sherlock are both already convinced that what happened to John at the previous hospital was most certainly done deliberately.
"Anything else?" Lestrade asks and John shakes his head.
"Nope… that's it..." he offers and Lestrade looks at him with a slight frown. John is sounding far too flippant about all of this… it must be the drugs numbing his senses.
"Ok." Lestrade agrees. I'll get some people on trying to figure out who this guy is.
"Mmm… you should stay for tea, they make great tea." John mumbles his eyes drifting shut. Lestrade watches as his friends breathing evens out and he falls back asleep. That was definitely the strangest conversation he had ever had with the good doctor.
"You're staying with him for now then?" He asks Sherlock who is still staring out the window.
"Clearly. It's not the brothers, he's seen pictures of them both and it's not them. Get the husband to give you a list of any and all male acquaintances would you?" Sherlock demands without turning around.
"Sure. I'll be back as soon as I can" Lestrade offers and leaves the room ever so slightly worried about the two men he is leaving behind.