A Heart Made of Glass

Back To Work

I talked to Mrs. Hudson before leaving for the clinic, she'd said she would make tea and keep Sherlock company for the day. Unfortunately, her appointment was at 4pm, and hour before I'd even get off of work. Sherlock would be alone. Only for two hours or so, but the thought of it made me nauseous.

Sherlock has woken only briefly when I left, nodding with a small hum as I explained what I'd gone through with Mrs. Hudson. His head had dropped immediately back into the pillow, still exhausted.

The nightmare from last night had kept him in a coughing fit for minutes.

I took a cab to the clinic, the routine of it startling. I stood outside the building, an emotion I couldn't quite place washing over me. It was deep, melancholic, but somehow good. The last time I'd been here, Sherlock had been dead. Everything was different now.

Finally, I made my way in, clocking in before tossing my stuff down in my office.

"Ah, John. There you are."

I turned, Sarah stood in the doorway.

"How's your Uncle doing? I know it must've been a difficult visit."

My brow scrunched in confusion, what was she on about? She raised her own at me, eyes going wide for a moment in warning. Then I saw her, just a glimpse of blonde hair not ten feet behind Sarah.

Mary. Of course she'd been asking where I was, of course she had.

"Yeah, yeah it wasn't easy, but I'm glad I got to see my, er, Uncle."

Sarah gave a tight lipped smile, grateful I'd gone along with the lie she'd told to get people, more specifically Mary, off her back about where I was. Thank God she'd thought of something, I hadn't even considered what people would think. What she would think.

I nodded to Sarah, and she handed me a clipboard.

"I'm glad. We're glad to have you back, Dr. Watson, come along now."

I nodded, following her to the first patient as I began my day at the clinic.

The day went by quickly, if not more smoothly than I'd anticipated. There was indeed one bad case of the flu, I texted Sherlock about it.

In fact, I texted him as often as I could, asking if Mrs. Hudson was there, if everything was alright. He texted back within minutes until he finally texted 'I'm okay. Focus on saving people, how many can you really save when you're texting me every five seconds?'

I smiled at the text, at its mundaneness. But in reality, it was nothing close to mundane. It was him, he was texting me while I worked at the clinic. That had been something I thought I'd never have again. Even with Mary, that's something I'd never had.

Someone to come home to.

I didn't text him again after that, mainly because the clinic picked up. Finally, Sarah knocked twice at my office door. I knew it was her, she was the only one in the office who knocked twice.

She came in a moment later, smiling in greeting.

"Hey, I just wanted to come to check on you. Day's almost over, and all."

Indeed it was, 4:48, the clinic would close in twelve minutes.

"I'm alright. It's weird to be back." It was true, the clinic seemed different now.

"I imagine." She paused, her lips set into a thin line, something like a smile but not quite there. "Look, I know that there's a lot that's changed, but I need to know when you're coming back. The superintendent saw that your care is one of the most sought after in this district, he wants your hours to be increased."