Holmes processes everything in startling clarity. The sound of the gunshot; the shock and pain on Watson's face; the sight of him sinking to the ground; the otherwise quiet of the night, other than the distant rattle of carriages and echoes of conversation. He sees everything, records everything, while he stands stock still, the music dying in his throat.

He leaps into action, then, but that moment of stillness will later haunt him because for those few seconds he feels inhuman. He feels nothing -- just the stillness, the moment of suspension before falling -- and there's only the whir of his mind as it took notes.

The emotions crash in soon afterward, however, as he all but throws himself at Watson, clutching his good shoulder and cupping his face, trying to gauge the damage underneath Watson's hand.

"Watson, are you alright?" he asks, desperate, miserable, and he gives Watson's good arm a shake. "Tell me you're alright."