Do Not Observe
Originally posted to Watson's Woes on Sept 11, 2009
Title: Do Not Observe
Author: Pompey
Rating: PG
Words: 477
Warnings: um . . . none, really
Weekend prompt answer : effect of war
A/N: how sad is it that it took me until now to come up with an answer to the prompt I came up with? sheesh
At first Holmes was both surprised and flattered at Watson’s reaction to what he considered mere trifling deductions. He had encountered similar reactions before but never before had anyone been so honestly delighted or genuinely astonished.
“It is nothing a man cannot do himself, provided he can observe and draw from his observations,” Holmes had said dismissively.
In hindsight it was one of the most heartless things he might have said, not in the least because it showed how he himself failed to follow his own advice. Though, to be fair, Watson did a fair job of hiding his difficulties.
There were signs, of course, had he thought to put them together. How Watson had a tendency to take his chair or their couch as the sun set and not get up until it was fully dark and the lamps were lit. Or how he rarely rose until after sunrise, even in winter. How he struck matches and snapped lighters in dim light with his eyes half shut and how there was a slight hesitancy to his agreement after Holmes pointed out a miniscule clue.
But it was not until the dangerous events of Stoke Moran that Holmes finally realized the truth. “You see it, Watson? You see it?”
But Watson had seen nothing. He quietly muttered that he had merely been dazzled by the bright light after sitting in the dark for so long but it was too late for lies. The truth was that Watson had scarcely any night vision left and no dusk vision whatsoever.
They never spoke of it so Holmes was left with mere speculation. But to Sherlock Holmes, speculation was often accurate enough. Watson had served in the deserts of Afghanistan for over a year. Between the sun itself and the reflection of sunlight upon the sands, it was very possible his eyes had been irreparable damage.
In daylight and lamplight Watson was as perceptive as any other man and he a remarkable eye for color. And for another man in another line of work this handicap might not have proven so terrible. But as Stoke Moran proved, this lack of night vision could prove deadly while on cases.
Unless they took steps to compensate.
Holmes took to guiding Watson in the dark by way of sound and light touches on the wrist. He gifted the doctor a magnifying glass of his own, though the police good-naturedly guyed him for emulating Holmes whenever it made an appearance. And he said not a word when, upon asking Watson to look at something under the microscope, he had to adjust the lens drastically or move the candle’s position.
Most importantly, Holmes was painstakingly careful never to let on to Watson that he knew. Burned retinas were more easily forgotten an injury compared to that of a proud man’s bruised ego.
Title: Do Not Observe
Author: Pompey
Rating: PG
Words: 477
Warnings: um . . . none, really
Weekend prompt answer : effect of war
A/N: how sad is it that it took me until now to come up with an answer to the prompt I came up with? sheesh
At first Holmes was both surprised and flattered at Watson’s reaction to what he considered mere trifling deductions. He had encountered similar reactions before but never before had anyone been so honestly delighted or genuinely astonished.
“It is nothing a man cannot do himself, provided he can observe and draw from his observations,” Holmes had said dismissively.
In hindsight it was one of the most heartless things he might have said, not in the least because it showed how he himself failed to follow his own advice. Though, to be fair, Watson did a fair job of hiding his difficulties.
There were signs, of course, had he thought to put them together. How Watson had a tendency to take his chair or their couch as the sun set and not get up until it was fully dark and the lamps were lit. Or how he rarely rose until after sunrise, even in winter. How he struck matches and snapped lighters in dim light with his eyes half shut and how there was a slight hesitancy to his agreement after Holmes pointed out a miniscule clue.
But it was not until the dangerous events of Stoke Moran that Holmes finally realized the truth. “You see it, Watson? You see it?”
But Watson had seen nothing. He quietly muttered that he had merely been dazzled by the bright light after sitting in the dark for so long but it was too late for lies. The truth was that Watson had scarcely any night vision left and no dusk vision whatsoever.
They never spoke of it so Holmes was left with mere speculation. But to Sherlock Holmes, speculation was often accurate enough. Watson had served in the deserts of Afghanistan for over a year. Between the sun itself and the reflection of sunlight upon the sands, it was very possible his eyes had been irreparable damage.
In daylight and lamplight Watson was as perceptive as any other man and he a remarkable eye for color. And for another man in another line of work this handicap might not have proven so terrible. But as Stoke Moran proved, this lack of night vision could prove deadly while on cases.
Unless they took steps to compensate.
Holmes took to guiding Watson in the dark by way of sound and light touches on the wrist. He gifted the doctor a magnifying glass of his own, though the police good-naturedly guyed him for emulating Holmes whenever it made an appearance. And he said not a word when, upon asking Watson to look at something under the microscope, he had to adjust the lens drastically or move the candle’s position.
Most importantly, Holmes was painstakingly careful never to let on to Watson that he knew. Burned retinas were more easily forgotten an injury compared to that of a proud man’s bruised ego.