Work Text:
Although the injuries had not been severe, I could not help but worry for my friend. I had not slept once we had arrived to our lodgings after completing our hunt. Instead I had kept watch over Holmes and our surroundings in case we had been pursued. Holmes often took up this duty as I would be exhausted and my leg would be in severe pain due our hunts. This was the case today as well, but I had insisted on taking on the duty so Holmes could rest. Usually, Holmes would not have agreed to this, but he had not slept much for several days while we had been surveilling our last target and he too was quite exhausted.
“Watson,” Holmes spoke.
I startled as I had not noticed him waking. Indeed it seemed as if I had been observed for several minutes now. Perhaps I was not in the best state to keep watch.
“You did not wake me so you could rest,” Holmes continued.
“I would not have been able to sleep,” I admitted. “You are injured.”
“Tut, tut! You are also injured, my dear Watson,” Holmes said, eyeing my leg.
I was admittedly quite sore, but it was nothing I had not dealt with before. I said as much to Holmes.
“Nonsense,” Holmes said. “My injury is not so severe that I cannot keep watch while you rest.”
Holmes tried to sit up and stopped with a small gasp, clutching his side.
“Easy, Sherry,” I said, alarmed at Holmes so visibly showing pain.
I leaned forward to help Holmes sit up before taking hold of his wrist. I found his pulse racing, likely from the pain. During our hunt last night, Holmes had been struck by a stray tentacle and slammed into a wall. It had been a heavy blow and Holmes had sustained serious bruising.
“Dear me, dear me,” Holmes said when I reached for his clothing, intending on checking on the bruising. “You have already prodded me quite thoroughly, my dear boy.”
“I need to make sure your injuries have not worsened,” I insisted.
Holmes watched me with amusement but did not stop me as I moved aside his clothing to examine his chest and side. The bruising had darkened overnight, splotches of deep black and purple curling around his side, but otherwise there was no obvious sign of injury. I ran my fingers across his ribs, checking for any signs of a break and found none. I checked Holmes’ back as well and again found nothing. The bruising did concern me as there was swelling and it was causing Holmes noticeable pain. I would need to continue observing it to ensure the swelling went down and I knew it would take time to heal. Holmes would need to rest and be careful, but it did not seem that he would have to heavily restrict his activity. It was a relief as our lifestyle did not always allow us that liberty.
It was unfortunate I could not do much to help reduce the swelling as I did not have access to ice. It was possible cool, damp cloths could provide some relief but it would likely not help very much with the swelling and Holmes would not enjoy being damp. I did have a supply of morphine and laudanum for the pain, but Holmes had refused both the night before in case we had to leave in a hurry. Unfortunately we had not found any brandy after using the last of our supply a few days ago and thus had none on hand. I offered the morphine or laudanum to Holmes once again but he shook his head.
“The hunt is still fresh,” he said. “I should not be sedated in case we are discovered.”
“I can give you a small dose of laudanum,” I said.
“No, I require my full facilities,” Holmes insisted. “A bruise or two are not enough to require sedation.”
I stared at the deep bruising across Holmes’ front and side, remembering how hard he had been slammed into the wall. “This is rather more than a simple bruise, but if that is your wish, I will not give you anything,” I said.
“Good old Watson,” Holmes said. “Now what of your leg? Do you require morphine or laudanum?”
I could not help but chuckle due to Holmes’ previous statement. I shook my head. “I am not that sore,” I said.
Some brandy would be helpful, but I would manage without. Holmes was unfortunately correct that I needed to rest. My muscles were tender enough that even a massage would only cause me more pain.
“You must rest now, my dear Watson,” Holmes said, looking as if he did not believe me. “I will keep watch.”
He slipped out of bed and stretched with a wince before turning towards me to aid me. I did not have a chance to argue as he helped me remove my shoes and lay down in bed. Holmes slipped a pillow under my sore leg before covering me in blankets and patting my head.
My instincts said to remain awake and continue to observe Holmes, but I was exhausted and I knew Holmes would not insist I rest if he believed he needed me awake. I reluctantly let my eyes close and almost immediately slipped into sleep.
I had pleasant dreams. Strolling arm in arm in the countryside with Holmes while enjoying the pleasant weather. My leg aching, but I had my cane in one hand and Holmes supporting me on my other side. Holmes pulling me towards a bush to show me the bees circling the flowers.
I enjoyed the peace and quiet for as long as I could before drifting back to consciousness. Holmes was sitting by the bed, writing something in his journal. A bottle of brandy sat beside him.
“Where did that come from?” I asked.
Holmes looked up from his journal and smiled at me, a mischievous look on his face. “I relieved the kitchen of it,” he said.
“Sherry…”
“Do not worry, Watson! We are not remaining here much longer,” Holmes said.
“We are not?” I asked.
Holmes shook his head, looking somewhat concerned now. “The police are actively looking for us although they do not know who ‘us’ is,” Holmes said. “Traveling also contains some risk but it would be better if we slip out amongst the tourists rather than laying low.”
It seemed quite reasonable, especially since we were running somewhat low on supplies. There was a safe-house a few towns away that perhaps we could go to and lay low there instead.
“Yes, we are going to the safehouse,” Holmes said.
Holmes was an expert at reading my thoughts, but it never failed to surprise me when he did so. He gave a silent laugh at my look of surprise before pouring some brandy into a glass for me. Holmes helped me sit upright before passing the glass to me. I sipped at the brandy as I listened to Holmes explaining his plans for our travels. We would go by train, in disguise as tourists and slip out undetected.
The police would no doubt be searching for us amongst the crowds but Holmes was very skilled with disguises and they did not know who to look for. Once we reached the safe-house, we could restock our supplies and take some time to safely rest so Holmes could recover from his injuries. Then we would plan our next hunt and continue our mission to rid our world of the horrible monsters who ruled it.