This is so sweet! I can't wait for more!

I'm madly in love with this story and I can't wait for an update!

'As he's grabbing his coat, a slender hand reaches out above his and grabs the great coat from the hook above where John's black jacket hangs. John looks behind, and sees Sherlock silently pulling on his coat. Only then does he realize that the other man not only looks like he hasn't slept, but also that he's wearing John's jumper—and a pair of loose jeans that John swears he hadn't been wearing five minutes ago—and has a slight tremor in his hand.
"You're coming, then?" John asks, in an attempt to be casual. He knows he's failed, but Sherlock nods all the same, and they progress out the door.'

Wonderful Emotion packed without being over the top. Just great.

'John smiles indulgently to himself, once Sherlock is away and can't see him. He thinks maybe they should go out to lunch after they're done at the grocery, and begins taking a mental catalogue of the restaurants in the area open for lunch.'

The shopping and the tea conversation are so homey and so very John and Sherlock. John quietly supportive and understanding adn Sherlock slowly improving becuase of John.

'He's never been good with talking with old flames—he's British, for God's sake.'

Hahahahaha and Male. :)

'Finally—finally —Sherlock comes round the corner, juggling three boxes of tea and muttering, "Is there a difference between 'strong' and 'robust'…?" When he looks up, he blinks for a moment and says, "Oh! Boring teacher."

Hahahaha How every Sherlock.

'There is silence, and then, snorting, John leans into Sherlock's ear and murmurs, "I'm sorry I outed us at Tesco's."
Then Sherlock breaks into a laugh, and his mood from that morning is completely gone. John finds that he can't regret what he did, if it helps Sherlock get through the day.'

Love it just love it.
Rairakku

'John rolls his eyes. "Well of course, but I still imagined it, you know. Even if elves weren't real, I wanted to go on my own adventures. At least as close as I could get in the real world." He smiles down at the book, turning it over in his hands, and says, "I liked it, you know? The idea of…seeing strange new lands, fighting for something you believed. Helping to save the world."
Sherlock steps back into the room and draws closer until he is standing in front of John. He stares at the well-worn cover and the dog-eared pages and says, "You did."'

Hahahaha Fantastic Idea. Sherlock dressing up for a Middle Earth case. Also this conversation between John and Sherlock about living out life adventures. :) Just great.

"Hmm. Always wanted to kiss an elf."
Sherlock makes an infuriated noise in the back of his throat and stomps out the door,...'

Hahahahaha How wonderfully Sherlock.

Rairakku

'The figure silhouetted there is far too short to be Sherlock, and John cannot make out a face due to bleariness from sleep, and he hall light casting shadow on the face of the person. He shoots up in bed, and is about to grab the gun out of his bedside table when a distinctly feminine squeak sounds from the door, and John realizes who it is.'

Love this reaction from John.

'He's splayed on the bed—John pities anyone who's ever had to share a bed with the man—prone and completely uncovered except for one foot. The rest of the blanket has escaped onto the floor and, it would seem, is trying to make a break for the door. John wouldn't put it past anything in Sherlock's room to walk by itself.'

Hahahahaha :)

'Sighing, Sherlock finally uncurls himself from the bunched-up position he'd been in, and says, "I need something…to remind me that I'm not alone. When you're not around, something that I associate with you helps." He starts dapping his fingers against each other—another nervous habit—and continues, "When I was…quote-unquote 'dead,' the only thing that could help was…sometimes, I just smoked and felt better…other times, I needed something stronger. I'm not strong enough to resist it by myself, John. Sooner or later my brain starts screaming, and I just have to."

Again Amazing.
Rairakku

'They will always be different, John thinks. One does not lose their best friend and have everything go back to the way it was, even if said friend returns from the dead. He's not so sure he can speak for Sherlock, but he can feel the change in the air as surely as he feels the drop in temperature.'

Wonderful :)

'John simply sighs and shakes his head, and points upwards. When Sherlock looks up, an irritably perplexed look crosses his face and he snaps, "What on Earth is that?"
"Seriously?" John demands, raising his eyebrows. "You don't know what mistletoe is?"
"Mistle what?" Sherlock demands, still staring with incredulity at the white-berried sprig. Then he adds, "On second thought, I don't frankly care what it is; what's it doing in our kitchen?"'

Hahahahaha What a great thing to have had him delete. :)

'It's not cliché. It's rather normal; John is aware of the whir of the refrigerator and the muffled noises coming from Mrs. Hudson's television, not to mention the cold of the kitchen tiles below his feet. He's also, however, aware of Sherlock's hair on his face and the difference in texture between his lips and the very inside of his mouth, which John can feel against his bottom lip. He's aware that it's awkward because they are two grown men standing barefoot in their kitchen kissing, but for some reason it's all okay.'

:) Love it.
Rairakku

'Their feet are a sight next to each other; Sherlock's black trouser socks and long, thin feet next to John's wool-clad pudgy ones. '

I wish I could tell you what I liked about this image but since I am not sure I can just tell you I like it.

"Right. Because a doctor would indulge you right into a relapse." John snorts loudly—it's almost reminiscent of a sound Sherlock would make—and crosses his ankles one over the other on the coffee table.'

Hahahaha. I love how you handled the bills and trust fund issue. Comes of as very realistic and very Holmesian

'John stares at Sherlock for a moment, wondering if this is one of those times when Sherlock will answer his own question. But he just continues his pointless staring at the menu, and eventually John says, "Sherlock," in a way that prompts him to look up. "You were missed, you know. By a lot of people. People who read the papers and believe what they hear may have believed that you were a fake…but the people who know you…we all knew that you couldn't have been a fake."

I love that Sherlock doesn't get it. That John has to explain the sentiment to him. It's great that you also touched on Lestrade and John's own feelings of quilt

'Sherlock laughs at him some more, and things feel normal for the first time in five months.'

I really like the image of them just sitting there watching London and Angelo intrupting them. HEhehehe Lovely Chapter
Rairakku

'So Sherlock has been bored. And, as so many people in London know, a bored Sherlock Holmes is like encountering a hellhound.'

Hahahahahahaha

"Oh, I have no doubts that you weren't," Sherlock remarks, easing himself down into his chair and placing his crutches to rest against his seat. John wonders how gross of a violation of his Hippocratic Oath it would be to take one of them and hit Sherlock upside the head with it. "I'm just not inclined to cave to petty threats." Folds his hands in front of him and contemplates John for a moment, head tilted to the side. "Tell me what's bothering you?"

How very Sherlock. And I love John's thought about hitting Sherlock upside thehead. hehehe

'John throws his hands up. "Oh look, the pot is calling the kettle black!" His hands land back on his chair with enough force to make an overly loud bang. It's enough to make Sherlock jump. "How many times have I, have others, conveyed our emotions to you, only for you to shove them back in our faces? Perhaps, Sherlock, the best medicine for you is the stuff you dole out to other people."

I think it's great taht you had John loose it a little at him :)

"I get bored," Sherlock mutters. "Lack of activity hurts, John. It physically hurts. It's like…Imagine how much of a headache you would get if you were locked in a room with ten people trying to tell you ten different things all at once. They just keep shouting louder and louder and you can't focus in on any of them, and they don't even hear you when you tell them to shut up. That's what it's like for me. All the time. There are only a few things that make it stop…and even fewer are legal."

What a great description of what it might be like in Sherlock's head. It must be so hard to see all that.

'It's hard to put a name to, because it's not love per say. It's the overwhelming feeling that he cannot live without Sherlock. He doesn't even know how he survived three months without him. Unfortunately, he hasn't the words to articulate it. '

Fantastic.

'Sherlock's hand crosses no-man's land and grabs John's. They squeeze.
John smiles into his palm.'

I am so glad you had Sherlock be the one making the move here.

Rairakku

'However, dropping him would also present the possibility of another break, and the last thing John needs is more to take care of. So he eases the complaining detective up the stairs and into the living room of Baker Street.'

Hahahaha Giggle Hahahaha. Loved the entire paragraph about getting Sherlock upstairs. Fabulous.

"I'm supposed to rely on your judgment of what looks important and what doesn't?" Sherlock demands incredulously, rearing his head back in an expression of intense displeasure. It makes him look rather like a ruffled pigeon, but John can't bring himself to chuckle. At the moment, his 'humor' switch is broken, and the repairman is on an extended leave. So John stomps upstairs, grabs the three boxes all piled on top of each other in Sherlock's closet, and comes back downstairs.'

Wow. So many things going on here. Sherlock being well Sherlock. and the severe pain coming of John in this section, but again you did an amazing job keeping it in character, keeping it John. amazing.

The conversation on second chances was wonderful.

Thanks so much for sharing this with us I am really enjoying it,
Rairakku

'In the weeks after Sherlock jumps—twelve of them, to be exact—John remembers poignantly the feel of Sherlock's hand in his own, of holding into him by the hand, of now people will definitely talk. He thinks that, if he had not undone those handcuffs, had kept Sherlock's hand in his, Moriarty would not have been able to get Sherlock alone, that he would never have been able to force him to jump off that building. He knows it's irrational, but after Sherlock dies, it feels as though all rationality has been taken from his life, and he doesn't care.'

Wow Insanely wonderful opening paragraph. Yanks me right in and twists my heartstrings. And yet not overdone feels like John.

'Their reunion, when Sherlock does return to Baker Street, to London, and to John, is explosive. '

Love this, love the mixture of anger and relief. Feels very real to have multiple feelings.

'I had him diagnosed before the ambulance even arrived you overconfident snobs.'

Hahahahahaha Sorry I love it when authors show off how good a Doctor John is. and I love the saddness/exhuastion I felt like John was feeling in this paragraph.

"You can take your time," John says. "But I won't be left in the dark forever."
"I won't leave you in the dark," Sherlock mumbles. His long fingers pick a fuzz on his blanket and eventually he says, "What are you reading?"

I really liked this whole conversation here both before and after I what I pulled out to highlight. It had a similar feeling to the graveyard scene in Hound. really amazing detail.

'He holds Sherlock's hand, and continues to do so even after they both fall asleep.'

Great chapter ending, :)
Rairakku

Good chapter.

I tottally love it!
I very much enjoy the way you interpret the prompts (some of them are very surprising, not what I'd expect, e.g. watching a movie). I'm waiting impatiently for the updates.

PS. at the top of the chapter 8 there seems to be a mistake (you wrote day nine instead of day eight)

Sherlock at Tesco's must be hilarious. I never liked Jeanine *haughty sniff*
JOHN WATSON ALREADY HAS A MAN! oh yeah
Forte

Interesting chapter title-all Book of Ruth-like. It seemed to fit the action, though. Thanks for writing.

D'AWWWWWW Sherlock just needed something of John's... too sweet. Fav bit: "Oh, I don't know," John remarks, smirking up at the ceiling. "I've been told that I could pass for a hobbit." BAHAHAHAHA Sherlock/LOTR crossover anyone?