It Started With Stealing | Sherlock Holmes

66 - You Are All I Have

Elizabeth nodded, tying the bedsheet because his life did depend on it.

"Okay, okay, help me get him on the duvet cover. We're not going to be able to carry him otherwise."

And the two women got to work, Rita swiftly, Elizabeth tearfully but determined she was not going to lose her Sherlock to some gang idiot.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Sherlock had been laid on his bed as carefully as possible by the two women. Elizabeth was sat on the bed to the right of him, caressing his hand. Rita was sat on the left, never breaking her focus for a moment as she tried her best to repair the damage that had been done with the doctor's kit she had rushed to fetch from their room after they had gotten Sherlock in his cabin.

She croaked, "Will he be o - "

"I can't promise, Elizabeth." Rita replied sharply, "We need to get him to a hospital the second this ship docks."

All Rita had been able to do was clean, cauterize and close the wound. She had neither the resources nor the circumstances to commit to a full operation which meant risking more internal bleeding or organ failure. She snipped the spare piece of surgical thread off.

"I can't promise that will help him but I've done what I can, Elizabeth." Rita said as she packed away her instruments. She paused when she was done, acknowledging the horrific bruising around the thief's neck, "Are you okay?"

"Olly's dead."

"What?"

"I found Olly, I found his body in the bath. They slit his throat."

Rita remained silent.

"And then Gray tried to kill me. He tried to strangle me and said that he recognised me from the club CCTV. I forgot about the office CCTV so he recognised me and he tried to kill me. I fought back and so I got Olly's baton and I hit him 'til he didn't move. I hit him still after he stopped moving."

Rita tried to reassure her, "You were defending yourself."

"I know." She swallowed, "But when I was looking for the drugs, I didn't hear him come in. I didn’t hear Simon come in and he tried to kill me too, tried suffocating me but he fell back. And there was a knife on the floor that Gray had dropped and just when I thought I was gone I reached it and stabbed him - twice."

Rita stood and walked around the bed, taking a seat beside Elizabeth.

"You were defending yourself." Rita repeated.

"I know." Elizabeth said again, "But it doesn't change how God damned terrified I was. Three people are dead because of this mission - maybe, oh God, maybe more if Simon dies."

"He won't die."

"How do you know?"

"Because I am going to check on them now."

"But - "

"You need to stay here and monitor Sherlock. Check his pulse regularly. If he stops breathing or if his pulse gets worse come find me, okay?"

Elizabeth nodded. Her eyes glistened under the light but she accepted. The Sandborns would need to be kept alive.

Rita stood, grabbing her doctor's bag before looking back at Elizabeth, "Look at it this way, Elizabeth - karma is a bitch. Simon stabbed Sherlock twice, so you stabbed him twice. You restored order to world."

Elizabeth kept quiet but appreciated the thought, "Be careful."

"I will." Rita nodded before leaving the two together.