A Journey of a Thousand Miles

[capt_facepalm]

Title: A Journey of a Thousand Miles
Author: capt_facepalm
Rating: PG
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (Gaslight ACD)
Characters: The Surgeon-Major, Mr Singh, Captain John Watson
Summary: A conversation in the Peshawar military hospital, 1880
Warnings: (none)
Word Count: 100
Author's Notes: July 14th 2016 prompt: ‘Rehabilitation/Recovery’

.oOOo.

‘You have that look about you, Mr Singh. How is young Watson doing?’

‘It is the proverbial double-edged sword of good and bad news, Major-Sahib. The good news is that he is gaining strength and he is becoming aware of his surroundings.’

‘Splendid! Have you changed his dressings?’

‘Yes, I have turned him on his side to let his bedsores air.’

‘Very prudent. And the bad news?’

‘He is asking after his regiment.’

‘He doesn’t know?’

‘No. He was evacuated before the full extent was known.’

‘Say nothing. When he is stronger I will break the news to him myself.’

.oOOo.

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Comments

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Aww, Watson must have been devastated when he finally heard the news.

Query- Was ACD Watson a Captain? I did a quick search of the epubs I have of the books for a drabble earlier this month and couldn't find where they said his rank, but I didn't have a lot of time for research so just rewrote what I was working on as to not refer to his rank.

[capt-facepalm.livejournal.com]

There is no mention of Watson's rank in canon. I did a bit of research into Surgeon-Major Preston and it took him 15 years of service to attain his rank by Maiwand. My firmly established head-canon for all my writings is that Watson's first commission was as an Assistant Surgeon with the equivalent rank of Lieutenant. After serving with the Northumberland Fusiliers he transferred to the Berkshires with a promotion to Surgeon-Captain. That still would have been remarkable in those days except that most army medicos only had a Bachelor's in Medicine whereas our Watson is a physician and a Doctor of Medicine (that is canon). Plus, if you add in the fact that although he is the last to acknowledge it in his Holmesian writings, Watson was a very capable man and promotion would be likely. I also like for him to be a Major in WWI so it all fits nicely in both historical contexts.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

*nods nods* That fits pretty much with my thinking as well. (Although I always do have to twist logic around to fit Watson, an older gentleman who had been invalided out of the army decades previously, into being able to serve in WWI.)

[med_cat]

Another excellent missing-scene vignette

[capt-facepalm.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Peshawar is a crucible for Watson in my writings.

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this moving drabble. And well thought, about the bed sores.

[capt-facepalm.livejournal.com]

Thanks! In other drabbles concerning Watson's time in Peshawar he has been left to waste away in the fever wards and although he survives the initial fever, he nearly perishes from neglect as his bedsores become septic. A hospital orderly, Mr Singh, has Watson transferred from the fever wards to the main hospital.

[pompey01.livejournal.com]

*oof* Many punches in so few words -- Watson becoming coherent, Watson having bedsores (owie, owie, owie!!!), and Watson not knowing (or not remembering?) the fate of the Berkshires.

[capt-facepalm.livejournal.com]

Thanks! My head-canon is very much influenced by On Afghan's Plains and your related works, and my writings attempt to be a close fit. One divergence is that I give Watson a miserable time in Peshawar. He is left to die in the fever wards but somehow manages to cling to life. Eventually, his recovery is noticed by Mr Singh and he is transferred back to the hospital proper. Watson remembers his Maiwand experience up until the time of his wounding. He knows the British were routed. He remembers seeing friends slaughtered, but he did not know the full extent nor the outcome of the Siege of Kandahar. Fortunately, once Watson is back in the main hospital he is given excellent care (like the kind you write about). Then I throw a horrendous gale at him while on the Orontes just to make sure he never wants to leave Britian again.

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Oh great - bullet wounds, typhus, AND survivor's guilt.

[capt-facepalm.livejournal.com]

He has undergone hardship and sickness, as his haggard face says clearly. His left arm has been injured. He holds it in a stiff and unnatural manner.
When Holmes first meets Watson he can only see the surface of what the doctor had survived. I haven't decided if Watson ever tells him the full extent of his ordeal but with observation over time Holmes comes to a greater understanding of the strength of Watson's character. Also, I like young Holmes to be flippant and cocky, and likely to make snap judgements. Thanks!

[thewhitelily]

Ouch. Poor Watson. A skilfully executed drabble that packs all the more punch for not actually delivering the blow.

[capt-facepalm.livejournal.com]

Thanks! A drabble truly succeeds if one can paint a picture that goes beyond its 100 words. Not all of mine do that but I believe this one did.