Fic Rec: The Breaking Wheel

[swissmarg]

Title: The Breaking Wheel
Author: J_Baillier
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Length: 93,259 words
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None
Verse: BBC
Author's summary: His immune system is decimating his nervous system - a civil war raging inside of him. Is there a reaction he's supposed to be having to this news, now? Something normal: cry, scream, pound the wall? Shake his fist at the uncaring universe? John can't stop this. An uncomfortable bed at some hospital ward isn't going to stop this. They keep telling him that this will most likely pass, but no one is answering the most important question: how will he be able to endure the uncertainty and the long wait?

Reccer's comments: This is big time Sherlock whump, a brilliant sickfic that locks us inside Sherlock's head with him and his demons as his body slowly deteriorates, leaving him unable to move or speak. The medical realism in this is writ large, full of insider descriptions of medical procedures such as MRI scans, lumbar puncture, mechanical ventilation, and insertion of central lines. Basically, Sherlock is very, very sick. The meat of the story is twofold: John and Sherlock's relationship, and how Sherlock deals with being essentially reduced to nothing but a brain for weeks on end. In other words, it's full of juicy hurt/comfort, realizations, words left unspoken, flashbacks to Sherlock's childhood and various incisive incidents in his past. Oh, and Mycroft, this has a fantastic Mycroft.

I don't want to give away the ending, except to point out that there is no Major Character Death tag, and there is a sequel which will begin posting on December 1. Don't worry though, this ends in a good place. Also, about the rating: it's rated Mature although there is no smut and I actually think it could have gone with a Teen rating but there is some suicidal ideation and references to sex.

Fic rec-Bury The Bells

[lijahlover.livejournal.com]

Title:Bury The Bells
Author: unknownsister
Pairing: Sherlock/John
Length:71,673
Rating:Explicit
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary:AU set after WWI in 1922. John is adrift in a loveless marriage. He takes a holiday to the country and meets a difficult patient. The spark that ignites between them might relight John's life or burn it to the ground.
Reccer's comments:This story was stunning and brilliant through out until the ending. What a glorious time period this was and it flowed beautifully. She had such a way with words, the flow of the story was perfect. This story was exquisite and all the little details made it come to life.

This fic was a delicious slow burn and I do looooooove those. All the secondary characters were lovely. Mrs. Hudson was the sweetest.

One of my favorite moments well one of so many is the turning point in chapter 9: "They watch each other closely, the scared doctor and the quiet detective. John's hand hovers between them, paused in indecision like his brain. Sherlock, eyes still locked with John's, reaches up to encircle John's wrist, slow and careful. His fingers are warm against John's pulse point and the contact soothes him more than he thinks it has any right to. “John.” John makes a quiet noise in the back of his throat, almost a question. “Mm?” “Let's go home.”

*happy sighs* If you have never read this you should you will love it soooooooo much.