Would John have reconciled with Mary if she wasn’t pregnant?

 (Sherlock Meta by thecutteralicia)

The depth of John’s anger and sense of betrayal just seems so severe to me. He and Mary separated for about six months, after all. I just don’t see what his motivation for trying to forgive and struggle over the issue for that long would be were she not carrying his child. John is a fairly restless person and, excepting Sherlock, he doesn’t appear to have any other long-term relationships, including with his own family.

Now that’s not to say that John’s decision was therefore wrong or meaningless. Lots of couples have children (or other issues) that inspire them to work through problems that otherwise would cause them to throw in the towel. If Mary wasn’t pregnant and just the woman John had dated for about a year and was married to for about a month, I find it hard to imagine he would’ve struggled for six months and reconciled with her rather than just breaking up for good. But you know what, maybe that would’ve been wrong for him, too. Parenthood rearranges priorities, and maybe it was good for John to be forced to work through his feelings about Mary and consider their future, rather than just making a rash decision. He and Mary will forever be the parents to their child, whether they’re together as a couple or not, so it’s not a situation either can just walk away from.

I get the sense that, in previous romantic relationships, whenever things would get too difficult John either left himself, or emotionally checked out so that his girlfriend would leave him, so he wouldn’t have to deal with things.