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The Rehabilitation of Dr. Joan Watson	By : LadyLaran Category: 1 through F > Elementary Views: 4616 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own "Elementary" nor do I make money from this story.

Chapter List
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Author’s Note – Outside of losing my internet again, I ran into a series of technical issues that managed to not only keep me from posting but nearly caused me to lose everything. My working laptop started having issues, and my IT friend (also my heart brother) said it was a bad LCD. Add to that, at the same time, he had to fight a Trojan that had managed to get itself onto my gaming laptop. Long story short, I’m now working on the gaming one and trying so very hard to get used to a new operating system. I’m so very sorry for the delay! Thank you to everyone who has been kind enough to review and share their thoughts with me!
Disclaimer – I do not own “Elementary” nor do I make any money from this story.
Chapter Five – Mrs. Hudson Takes Charge
Sherlock didn’t know how she did it, but Mrs. Hudson arrived two minutes after his hastily written text. Their wonderful housekeeper let herself into the brownstone by using her key, and the woman entered the living room with a worried look on her face. The expression deepened for a moment when she spotted the look on her friend’s face before schooling herself to a more neutral state. He was rather grateful for that; Sherlock would be the first to admit he didn’t do too well with emotional situations but would do all he could to help Joan through this. He didn’t think that his friend would be able to handle any form of sympathy from well-meaning people at this time.
“Watson, Mrs. Hudson is here,” the consulting detective announced quietly, gently patting the hand that held onto his. She hadn’t let go of him during the wait, and he hadn’t tried to get her to do so since he knew she had taken comfort from that contact. That fact struck him as rather strange, but the Englishman wouldn’t question it right then.
The blond haired woman knelt by the couch just as Joan looked up, revealing a tear stained face that pulled right at her heart strings. Her voice was gentle but firm as she spoke to her friend, hoping to help pull her away from her pain.
“I think you could use some time to clean up,” she said softly, watching the Asian-American woman as she nodded. “All right then, will you let Sherlock help you up? We don’t want to stress those ribs of yours, and I don’t think I’ll have the leverage I need to get you to your feet without causing you pain.”
Once they got the nod of permission, the consulting detective helped his apprentice off of the furniture and let her use him to steady himself. It took her a few moments to make sure she had her balance and wasn’t putting any undue strain on her ribs. Joan didn’t let go of him but didn’t put too much weight on his shoulder after she was steady on her feet.
Mrs. Hudson picked up her purse and the bag she brought with her, then walked beside Joan as they headed upstairs. Sherlock left them when they reached the floor where the former doctor’s room was, heading back downstairs to give them privacy.
“Let’s get you into the shower to soak for a few moments to relax and warm up a bit,” Martha told her friend. “Even though I know why they keep it that way, hospitals can be miserably cold and you never feel warm until days after you get out. I’ll lay out something for you to change into once you’re nice and toasty, and then I’ll help you get cleaned up.”
“All right,” Joan answered, throat sore from the strain of keeping her tears at bay. The blond haired woman made a mental note to make a cup of tea with honey for her friend later, knowing that would help with the strained throat.
The pair made their way into the bathroom, and the transgendered woman got the tub started and set the temperature to a nice one that would be comforting but not too hot. It was at a level she herself enjoyed and thought her friend would too.
“How’s that, Joan?”
“Perfect,” she commented, testing the water before rubbing her face with the damp hand.
“All right, dear. It’ll have to be a shower for you because of your ribs. I’ll handle the areas you can’t reach, and then we’ll convert the kitchen into a hair salon to take care of this gorgeous mane of yours. This way I won’t be in your space too often. How does that sound?”
Joan didn’t answer verbally, simply giving her a nod. She was quiet as Mrs. Hudson helped her undress, watching as she wrapped the cast up with saran wrap and taping it in the right way so no water would affect the plaster. Once the bandages on her ribs were removed, the other woman helped her into the shower.
“I’m trusting you not to overdo it,” Martha told her, handing her the bath sponge and soap. “If you can’t reach, don’t do it and let me take care of it. I’ll be back in a few moments, all right?”
The former surgeon closed her eyes, letting the warm water chase away the chills from earlier. Her friend had been right about how long the chill of the hospital could linger with you. She managed to get her upper half clean, except for her back, and didn’t have to wait long for her helper’s return.
“Back dear,” she called, announcing her presence before entering the small room. “Ready for help?”
“Yes please,” she answered, expecting cold air to enter when the curtain was moved. Joan was pleasantly surprised when it was warm air that greeted her when Mrs. Hudson pulled the curtain back.
“I turned the heater on in here,” she advised, taking the bathing sponge from Joan. “I figured it would be easier on you if we keep the temperature steady while we do this. I know I hate it when I get nice and toasty and have to step into a frigid bathroom.”
“I appreciate it,” she answered, closing her eyes as the other woman cleaned up the areas she hadn’t been able to reach.
Martha’s touch was gentle and non-threatening, helping Joan to relax a bit more. She’d been worried about this, but the fact that the blond was chattering about the latest book she’d read helped keep her calm. The woman was managing to keep her mind engaged on the topic, making Joan want to read the book at a later date.
Once clean and rinsed off, Mrs. Hudson helped her out of the tub and aided with drying her off. The saran wrap was removed and discarded, and she rebound the ribs with an efficiency that spoke of having done this before. The former doctor had to admire her handiwork since most people wouldn’t know how to do this kind of bandaging.
Joan stepped into her undergarments, grateful for the help, and she blinked when the pajamas had been revealed. These were something she didn’t recognize and were definitely something she wouldn’t have bought herself.
“I know those aren’t mine,” she said, staring at the flannel fabric.
“I knew your size and decided to make a quick stop on my way here,” Martha said, giving her a playful smile. “You’ll want something warm that covers you without being restraining. So I picked up something that would provide everything you would want and made sure it would make you smile too.”
“These are outlandishly adorable; I love them. It’s more Sherlock’s reaction to these that I’m looking forward to,” Joan commented, eyes taking on a hint of laughter as she looked at the pajamas.
The fabric was a shade of baby blue with pink honeybees decorating it. Said bees had huge smiles on their faces as they fluttered around yellow flowers that were also smiling. Truth be told, she knew the detective would probably not like the pajamas, and Joan actually was looking forward to seeing his reaction to the silly material.
“That’s part of why I chose these,” she confided to the Asian-American woman, who started giggling. The giggles got louder when Martha placed a pair of cartoonish bee slippers onto her feet so she could keep her feet warm without fear of slipping. Every time she wiggled her feet, the antennae bounced with the movement.
“I can’t wait to see how he reacts to these,” Joan said with laughter in her voice, making the other woman giggle with her.
“Neither can I,” she said, cheeks pink with laughter. “Now, let’s get you down to the kitchen and wash your hair. We’ll see what Sherlock has to say about your new pajamas and slippers, shall we?”
The former doctor gave her a smile, grateful for the other woman. She walked beside Mrs. Hudson, moving slowly down the stairs. The blond steadied her, ensuring she didn’t stress her ribs, and they made it to the ground floor.
Sherlock heard their approach, looking up from the database, and he stared for a moment, doing a double take. His eyes raked over her from head to toe, then back again as he tried to determine what it was she had donned after her shower.
Both Mrs. Hudson and Joan were inwardly crowing with glee at the response to her sleep attire and footwear; the two were wishing they had a camera to capture his reaction. It was rare when Sherlock Holmes had to do a double take!
“Watson, what on earth are you wearing?”
“Don’t you like it? Mrs. Hudson got them for me so I’ll be nice and warm.”
His jaw worked for a moment as he struggled to come up with some form of answer that wouldn’t be too caustic since it was obvious Joan was in a good mood, and he really didn’t want to ruin it. His first instinct was to find a lighter and burn the items, and it was difficult to find a response that would be somewhat diplomatic.
“It’s colorful,” the detective managed. “I am curious as to where they came up with the idea that honeybees are pink and smile like that. Smiling flowers are rather unique as well and not quite what I would expect to see.”
“I think it’s cute,” she said, tapping her feet a bit to make the antennae bounce again. “It was really nice of her to think of me.”
Both Martha and Joan had to hide their growing laughter when the strained look on his face grew worse when he spotted what was on her feet. The former doctor made sure to wiggle her feet again, wanting to make the antennae move.
“They’re interesting,” he said, looking back down at the database he had been trawling through. He couldn’t look at the pajamas or slippers again and hoped to erase the sight of them from his memory.
The two women met each other’s eyes, hiding the urge to break into giggles. Joan headed into the kitchen, followed by Martha, and once the two closed the door behind them, they started laughing once they were sure of privacy.
The older woman leaned against the table, snickering hard as she did so. She was happy to see the Asian-American woman laughing so freely, and it felt good to see her free of the fear as she had been so lost in earlier.
“All right, dear,” she said with a soft laugh. “Now that we’ve had our fun with the poor man, let’s get you taken care of, shall we?”
Joan nodded, watching as the older woman set things up so she could wash the younger woman’s hair without straining her neck or ribs. It felt odd being taken care of like this, and she was very grateful that Martha was so willing to help out like she was.
Mrs. Hudson finished with her set up, then turned the water on and got it warmed up. She was determined to pamper her friend and help her relax. Joan had a long road ahead of her, and she would do what she could to work with Sherlock as he helped the former physician heal from the trauma she had gone through.
If that meant finding the most obnoxious pajamas and slippers to torment the detective with, so be it. The laughter certainly would go a long way to help Joan, and Sherlock deserved a chance to be a part of the fun. Even if it meant being the butt of the joke a few times.
Author’s End Note - Shorter than I’d like but it’s moving forward! Yay! Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think of the chapter! ~ Laran
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The Rehabilitation of Dr. Joan Watson