Prompt #8 from realariadne:
Sherlock isn’t doing well with rehabilitation. Mama Sherlock decides for drastic measures and makes him be sent to Afghanistan as a nurse. He really needs to understand reality! He’s placed under the orders of Captain and Doctor John ‘three continents’ Watson, three years before the injury. What could possibly happen?
***
The letter read thusly:
Dear Lady Holmes,
I am writing you regarding Sherlock Holmes and the early termination of his position as a nurse here at Camp Bastion.
I know he was meant to stay with us at least six months longer, but I don’t want you to believe that this means he is returning to England in disgrace. He has in fact served our nation admirably in entirely unforeseen ways. I’m sure you’ve received your invitation to the commendation ceremony by now.
More importantly, however, I am writing you because as Sherlock’s supervisor, I have been privileged to witness what sort of man your son is. You probably don’t hear this often, but I find your son quite charming, not to say extraordinary. I owe him my life, and he has become very dear to me. As such, I am daring to intrude on a family matter that needs to be settled for his sake.
The day Sherlock deduced the location of the regional leader of the insurgency—from an injured local man he helped me treat, it was really quite remarkable—we had quite a long talk, and I told him what I am now telling you: he is wasting his gifts. I understand that part of this stems from a family conflict as to how he can best put them to use. Mrs Holmes, I suggest you cease your pressure on him to choose an ‘appropriate’ career. There is no such thing as ‘appropriate’ for a mind like his. That sort of greatness carves its own channels, and you should let it, for both his own good and the world’s.
I don’t know what strings you pulled in order to arrange his position here at Camp Bastion, but I don’t mind telling you it was a highly inappropriate move on a number of levels. A war zone is not a rehabilitation therapy, and in addition, nurses require nursing degrees, not to mention a sense of compassion. I have met Secret Service agents with a better bedside manner. As a nurse, ‘abominable’ does not begin to describe him.
He is being sent back six months early because he accused my commanding officer of selling medical equipment on the black market. He may well be right, as inventory has been a bit squirrely, but he did it in public around a large number of loyal servicemen armed with guns. I barely got him on the helicopter alive.
I have promised to visit him on my next leave. If you have any questions or issues, I would be happy to discuss them with you at that time.
Sincerely,
Captain John H. Watson
Sherlock handed his mother the note with a smirk. “On the bright side, Mummy, you can leave off worrying about me finding someone to settle down with. One of the chaplains married us before I left.”