I felt my heart rip in half and then half again and by the end it was in pieces.

Omg that was just angst the whole way through! I thought it would be TRF at the end but then when Sherlock was alive I had my hope up for a happy ending. But that was just heart breaking!
I still loved it though and it was really well written. And really, who needs to work? Just keep writing ff!

So true to character, all of it. Beautifully done! Thank you!

Very short, sweet, and to the point. A great one-shot.

Wow! This was powerfully written. It seems so much in character-so "John". You describe these key moments in his life so well. His parents dying, his trouble with Harry, getting shot...the words you choose and the description not only of the event, but also of how John was feeling. Excellent!

"...And she just has to know all of this about herself, because that means that she knows she can do better than awkward little eleven year old John Watson, and there has to be boys older than him, boys her age, who are so much bigger and stronger and cleverer than he is, so that when he finally plucked up the courage to tell her how much he likes her, she laughed.."

OH, JOHN. YOU ARE BREAKING MY HEART ALREADY HERE, ELVENDORK, AND I'VE JUST BEGUN READING!

"...When they say 'it's about your parents', he's filled with awful dread.

When they say 'there's been an accident', all feeling drains away, and he's left empty, numb..."

OH POOR JOHN...AND HARRY..

"...Now they're gone, and Harry is worse than ever. John can't do anything. She won't listen to him, and God, can't she see how close he is to being just like her? Can't she see how much he wants to give up, and lose himself, just for a while, just so he can have a break – but he doesn't, and that's the point.

He has to hold on, because she won't. He has to try, because she isn't..."

YOU MANAGE TO PAINT A VERY ANGSTY PICTURE AND USE EXACTLY THE RIGHT WORDS TO DO SO. LIKING THIS VERY MUCH. (VERY SAD THOUGH.)

"...He wouldn't have chosen this job if he was squeamish. He wouldn't have chosen it if he didn't already know the risks, and know that sometimes, there would be people he couldn't save. He would never have become a doctor if he was going to break down when he lost a patient. He would never have become a soldier if he'd been afraid of danger..."

AND WE ALL KNOW JOHN IS NOT AFRAID...HE'LL MARCH INTO HELL TO FIGHT ALONGSIDE HIS COMRADES OR TO SAVE THEM...OR TO DIE FOR THEM...

"...He won't give in to the nightmares, the memories, he won't listen to them. He won't let his new existence, boring and mundane and empty, trudging the streets of London alone, beat him. He'll carry on, because that's what he does.

But he wishes he could forget the pain.."

YOU ARE BREAKING MY HEART HERE...

"...John should know this man, should know who he is. But he doesn't, and he can see how much this hurts the stranger.

John wishes, he wishes, he could remember..."

OKAY, HEART OFFICIALLY BROKEN. PLEASE TELL ME THERE'S A SEQUEL? RUNNING OUT TO LOOK! GOOD JOB! BUT...OH HELL..

Lovely piece, this; unrelentingly sad but nice in a tragic way. I like that the snippets are quite short and snappy, like a real moment would be.

This story plucked quite the melancholy tune on my heartstrings. Beautiful.

this is a beautiful story, well written, sad ending that fits the story well.

i found one error:

"Ten years later, when John opens the door and sees the two policemen stood outside"- standing instead of stood, because the rest of your story is written in present tense and stood is past.

Brillant !

I totally love your story. Honestly. The end is so perfect and so unbearable. I might have bite my lip too hard while reading the last lines... First time ever !

I was expecting a happy end, unconsciously, and what a surprise ! It's very pessimistic, but it seems just like what John might think.

Be sure I'll read all of your fanfictions in the very near future.

Great story again !

Soucouette

Oh no, poor John! That was very intense, well done on writing something so vivid and loaded so succinctly! I loved it!

john is never allowed to forget Sherlock

ever

awesome work

I liked it, nw I want to read more of your stories...

*sad* poor Sherlock...and poor John, of course, but still poor, poor Sherlock not to have John right now...wow I need better priorities...

Awww! This was very, very good!