Ooh, how fun! I’ll play, if you don’t mind:

From “Lost for Words”:

John nodded. “I wish I hadn't gone to that conference,” he said. “I keep thinking if I'd been here, he wouldn't have been hurt.”

“You couldn't have known,” Lestrade said. “And you might have just been in here with him...”

So what if John hadn’t gone to the conference? Would he have been hurt as well? Would Sherlock still have gotten hurt?

Hmm, that's a good question. Verringer specifically waited until John was away to attack Sherlock, as he knew he'd be better off to get him on his own. So, probably the whole thing would have been delayed long enough that Reichebach would have happened, and Verringer wouldn't be able to seek revenge, because Sherlock would be 'dead'.

However, if he did decide not to wait, there are some options of how the attack might have gone:

a) Sherlock still would have been hurt, and John would have managed to fend Verringer off or chase him off, and because John would be there to ring for the ambulance, and provide medical care until it arrived, the ICP wouldn't have been as severe, and so the injury to Sherlock's brain wouldn't have been as severe.

b) There is also the option that John would have gone around the corner first, and therefore been the one attacked. In which case, Sherlock probably would have, er, 'subdued' Verringer, and rung for an ambulance, but John would have been badly off. I think, if the roles had been reversed, Sherlock would have been a bit drill sergeantish with John about helping him get better with his speech. Certainly not as patient, or as tentative as John was about helping. Just full on flash cards and making him talk until he was better.

c) Both Sherlock and John would have been hurt, but one of them to a lesser degree, as Verringer reacted instinctively, so would have lost steam by the time he went for the second person.

d) The final option is that, because the two of them were there, Verringer might have just gone with his original plan, which was to talk. If that were the case, John would have made Sherlock explain about why knew the brother was guilty, and hopefully let Verringer get some catharsis that way.

Oh, this is so interesting! I love all the options, though obviously I prefer a) because John fighting off Verringer while Sherlock is hurt is super-badass and awesome! But it's sad that Verringer's original plan was just to talk, but then everything went so wrong.

Thanks!!!

Edited at 2014-02-03 06:06 pm (UTC)