Vigil 1/3

[weefreethings]

Title: Vigil: Chapter 1 of 3
Summary: After saving Lestrade from a gunshot wound, John Watson finds Mycroft Holmes sitting beside Lestrade's hospital bed, watching him sleep.  John wants to know what binds the two men together, but the more he investigates, the more terrible secrets he uncovers.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings (this chapter only): description

Comments

[morganstuart]

Honestly, I don't know that I have the words right now to tell you how thoroughly this has blown my mind. This is utterly extraordinary. (Incidentally, I'm de-anoning as the OP here from sherlockbbc_fic. And I can't begin to thank you enough.) Not only was I hoping for dark (and this delivers perfectly, absolutely to my taste in every possible way), but you've managed to hit on all of the major mysteries that most intrigue me about the series' canon: Sherlock's withdrawal/getting clean, Lestrade's ring, and the Holmes's father

[weefreethings]

Thanks so much for your kind response! This prompt had me scared, but it was irresistible, and then once I started, ideas just kept popping out and deciding how they would be written. It was kind of scary, actually!

I'm a big fan of Elizabeth George's mysteries, and in those, pulling on a single thread of someone's life tends to unravel the entire community. It looks like this mystery will end up disrupting lives as much as hers, but I'm hoping for some happy resolutions. Of course, I will not know until I start writing... O.O

[morganstuart]

I just wanted to say I've reread this now several times, and each time I see something new. This really is incredibly compelling. I want to know so many things, most of them about Mycroft (and his father, and Lestrade, and Lestrade's wife/children, and the USA, etc.). But I am also fascinated by all that's been revealed, especially that it was his failure to find Lestrade's wife and whoever else was responsible for the childrens' murders that led Sherlock to hit "rock bottom," so that Lestrade, then, could help him kick his habit. (And how utterly amazing that he did, when he himself was at rock bottom, having lost absolutely everything. Hmmm... whoever set that fire to his house wanted him dead, too, obviously, which goes back to the mystery...)

Anyway, all that's to say that I adore this.

[weefreethings]

Still writing, but I know I won't sort out everything this fic. Enough to keep me busy for a while, though! :)

[darthhellokitty]

Oh! This is amazing! More please, I'm dying to see what happens next!

[weefreethings]

Thanks! I'm not sure myself, so I'd better get writing.

[morningstarzip]

I have to join in with the chorus of 'more!'. It's all fascinating so far.

[weefreethings]

Thanks for the encouragement. I have an outline, now I just need to write!

[rusty_armour]

I stumbled across the link for this story through the dilestrade Reclist for Wounded!Lestrade Fics and I'm so glad I decided to click on it! I love the image of Mycroft keeping vigil over Lestrade, only leaving when Lestrade's sister arrived -- and when all of that surveillance equipment was installed. *g* You certainly filled all of the requirements for the original request prompts in terms of providing an angsty story behind Lestrade's wedding ring, etc. And I love the way Lestrade and Mycroft first met, especially as it made such a strong impression on Mycroft. Considering what Mycroft went through at 16, I can understand why he prefers to stick to the shadows and not draw attention to himself. Oh, and lastly, I think it's great that all of this is seen through John's eyes as he's sympathetic and curious about everything he sees in Lestrade's hospital room.

Like everyone else, I would love to read more. In the mean time, I'm saving what you have written on my hard drive. :-)

[weefreethings]

Thanks for the encouraging words! John has turned out to be far more aggressive than I expected when it comes to narrating my stories. He wasn't even supposed to be a major character, the bum, and now he's trying to take over the investigations! :o Da noive! Thanks also for the reminder to back my stuff up. I think I wrote it on three different computers, so version control is now a thing of the past. >.

[hillshollow]

Just a heads up something went funky with the HTML

From this point on this page....

"What other reason is there for Mycroft to be so fascinated by Lestrade? Has Sherlock any idea of how well Mycroft fits his profile for the puppeteer?[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]"

[weefreethings]

Thanks. There were issues when I added the chapter 2 link. Will fix again!

[hillshollow]

Looks like you got it. :)

[weefreethings]

I'm just glad that you caught it so quick!