Holmes and his companions do not belong to me.

Couldn`t resist an attempt at a different take on 3GAR, please let me know what you think.

Includes reference to plots of The Three Garridebs and The Final Problem

Holmes POV

Split second

"In an instant he had whisked out a revolver from his breast and had fired two shots..."

A split second separates a moment of distraction,

From the moment that a bullet slams the doctor to the floor

And it forces him to contemplate, for what seems an eternity,

The prospect of a nightmare he has never faced before.

There's an all- consuming anger, as he tackles the assailant,

And a rising sense of panic he makes no attempt to hide,

As he tries to block the image of a still and lifeless figure

And a bleak and empty future, with no partner at his side.

A split second separates his fear and apprehension,

From the moment he is certain that the doctor will survive,

And he knows with mounting fury if the outcome had been different

That the killer would have never left the murder scene alive.

The relief is overwhelming, as he tends his injured comrade,

And he's shaken by the level of his anguish and his fear

And his thoughts return to Reichenbach, and all that followed after,

And the impact on the doctor of his choice to disappear.

A split second separates the urge to hail his comrade,

From the overwhelming impulse to begin his life anew.

So he watches from the shadows as the doctor's world is shattered

With no real understanding of the pain he's put him through.

So the case is now concluded and the villain brought to justice.

There are two important lessons he'd be wise to comprehend;

He should never underestimate the danger of a gunman,

And should never underestimate the value of his friend.

End

many thanks once again to medcat for beta reading