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Oh, I so love a well-researched historical fiction! Great job!

This is stunning...in imagination, in breadth and in execution. I can't remember when I've read a piece that so pleased and engaged me. Congratulations and many, many thanks for this!

What a gem of a backstory you've created for ACD's Dr. John. H. Watson! (Forgive me for not commenting on every chapter, I was too enthralled to stop reading.)

Not only is this fiction a compelling embellishment for his modestly terse summary in the second and third opening paragraphs of "A Study in Scarlet," it is MASTERFULLY done. You describe with astonishing detail the hardships of war and the challenges of survival among the wounded, especially at a time when medical advances were so limited. The research you devoted to get this fiction as accurate as possible-without having firsthand accounts upon which to draw-has me standing and applauding, Bravo, Bravo, Bravo! I especially enjoyed your writing style-British restraint, all the way-without sacrificing poignancy and genuine sentiment. Again, brilliant!

Ending the story right before their paths cross was the perfect touch-although I would have enjoyed your take on that meeting. Still, their encounter and subsequent adventures are in the hands of the very capable ACD, so I will not complain. My one complaint is that I only discovered your moving and canon-compliant depiction now-thirteen years after you wrote it!

Thank you, thank you for providing readers with a better understanding of the actual "misfortune and disaster" Dr. Watson endured in his life before Sherlock Holmes.

:D

Wynsom

So, this is when he first starts growing that mustache! :)

And this is where he meets up with the first of two canon characters, Colonel Hayter! I like that. Both of them have left the army and will be returning to England together; that’s nice! Hayter's a naughty man, if you ask me! [wags finger]

And so, farewell to Dr. Ives and the field hospital! I like this scene in which the two men say good-bye to each other. Seems to me that Dr. Watson is going to be running into two canon characters before this story is over! :)

Another detail I just noticed. "It was, he reflected, the best send-offs he had received from the army." Might ought to either change "send-offs" to "send-off" or write it as "the best of send-offs".

One thing's for sure: Dr. Watson has a lot of ground to make up in regaining his full health. Just as well he won't start off helping Holmes out with his cases as soon as he moves into Baker Street; he probably needs that time to recuperate further.

Watson sure doesn't relish having to wait till next August before he can apply for a position at Netley, does he? And Dr. Ives is even less pleased that Watson will have to leave for the Orontes tomorrow. He could have used a little time to recover before having to travel, it seems to me!

Thank goodness he's well on the mend now! It's a shame that the fragments of that bullet can't be removed from his body., and that he couldn't have undergone further surgery to further repair his shoulder.
It would be interesting to learn how the impairment to his shoulder later affected his work with Sherlock Holmes.

At least Dr. Watson has turned the corner now! It'll take a while, but he's going to get well now. Doesn't mean he's going to have a pleasant time of it, though! Not if the events of this chapter are any indication.

Can I toss some strawberries at you? You could catch them and pop them into your mouth. :) LOL! Seriously, Dr. Ives is certainly devoted to his patients, I can tell, and to getting them well.

Dr. Watson is now deathly ill. Will he recover or die? That's the million-dollar question! Scary that in his near-comatose state, he knows he's facing death!

I don't think I'd want to have to exist on the diet the poor convalescent patients will having to live on! Camel's milk doesn't sound very tasty.

BTW, I've come across another detail. One of your sentences is slightly misworded. "...seeing a fellow medical man, and one young enough to be own his son, brought to this...well, it hurt." The words "own" and "his" need to be switched around, and worded "his own son".

Colonel Potter, I'm familiar with, but I know nothing about Dr. Winters or Dr. Burnley.

Poor Dr. Watson is feeling pretty miserable, isn't he? And the fever dreams aren't helping any.

I've read the "Little House" books, so I know about Mary Ingalls's shingling while she was so sick. That was when she went blind.

Too bad Murray wasn't allowed to stay with Dr. Watson! He would have devoted himself to looking after the doctor while he was so sick. Unless he came down with the typhoid fever, too, that is.

Wonder if Dr. Watson went back to watching the dancing walls after Dr. Ives left him? :)

His condition is definitely worsening, and what makes it so bad is that he knows it.

Ugh! This is NOT good news, this typhoid epidemic spreading through the field hospital. I wonder what typhoid fever's fatality rate was back in the 1800s? And now Dr. Watson’s coming down with it! Well, we knew he would, didn't we? He's in for the fight of his life now. He sure doesn't relish having to return to complete bed rest, does he?

"The message were quite short, as Watson’s free time was limited." Did Dr. Watson send more than one message, or 2 or more copies of the same message?

May I make a suggestion regarding this sentence? "Watson could not help suppress a gasp at how cold the hand felt against his own skin." I think if you worded it as "help but suppress a gasp" or "help suppressing a gasp", either edit would improve the sentence structure.

I like how the story is progressing! And at how well you have stuck with canon in writing it.

Tsk, tsk, Dr. Ives! Temper, temper. :) I'll say it again: he's definitely a colorful character!

So, Dr. Watson already knows that he won't be able to remain in the army, even before he comes down with his typhoid fever, and it's because of his ankle. That's got to be hard to face! In my story, it takes longer for John to begin to be forced to face that very real probability.

Uh-oh! Speaking of typhoid fever, it's already starting to rear its ugly head. It's only a matter of time now until Dr. Watson comes down with it!

I've discovered another detail. Dr. Ives says, "Because you are fellow doctor, my boy..." Might want to insert the word "a" between "are" and "fellow". With that said, it speaks well for the quality of your writing that all of the edits I've found in this story that need to be made are minor edits. This is a VERY good story, so good that I recommend to others that they read your story before reading "A Study in Scarlet". Your story is THAT good! :)

Why did it take the army commanders so long to decide to let the injured soldiers travel by train? Shame on them! [wags finger at Command] If they knew that the wounded could not survive another lengthy cart journey-and they should have-there should have been no question about letting them use the train.

I don't think I'd want Dr. Ives to be my physician! He may be an excellent doctor, but his bedside manner leaves something to be desired. At any rate, he's quite a colorful character. :)

I'm quite the nit-picker, aren't I? Hey, it's the editor in me! :) If it's any comfort, I'm just as nit-picky with my own stories. But I've discovered another detail. You typed, "The 700 mile journey northeast to Peshawar took just over a day by rail, less time it took the bullock carts to travel 130 miles." It lacks just one word. You might want to insert the word, "than," in between "time" and "it". That will improve the sentence.