What a heartfelt story! And a lovely character study of both men at once: Holmes through Watson's eyes and Watson through our own.

When he is not a coiled cobra ready to attack, he is in a weak state, fragile, like a young kitten.
So true! Poor, darling little Holmes. I loved his outburst about Watson not being a pet--what a hilarious and utterly Holmesian misunderstanding of Watson's trip to the pet cemetery.

For a second, he is turned into a pillar of salt.
I love this sentence. In fact, I'm a little jealous that I'm not the one who wrote it.

Well done!