Sherlock 1. Chapter 1

On a very wet and dreary Thursday morning, Molly Hooper once again finds herself inside her beloved morgue working her normal 9-5, five days a week shift. Originally, the plan was to catch up (and maybe get ahead) on work so that she could leave a couple of hours earlier than usual. She had been overworked the entire week and was looking forward to going home, cuddling with her cat, perhaps catch up on her network television, and possibly read during her bubble bath. Unfortunately, two of her co-workers called off today, both with very different and unconvincing reasons. Somehow her boss talked her into staying long enough to pick up some of the slack that they would be leaving.

Bringing a file over to the exam table, Molly starts a new round of paperwork. At this point, she is already working her overtime and is ready to go home. The messy bun her hair kept after her fixing it for the fourth or fifth time, and her reading glasses she eventually decided to put on because the constant paperwork started to hurt her eyes were the least of her worries at the moment. Caught up in her paperwork, she didn't notice let alone hear anyone enter the lab. She looks up, startled to see a very familiar face looking at her curiously from the other side of the lab table.

"John" she says, blushing and unsuccessfully trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Molly" says her good friend John Watson, retired captain and army doctor, current leading doctor in his department at St. Barts hospital. "So sorry if I startled you" Molly responds with a smile. "It's just that," he continues, "I wouldn't think to find you here at this kind of hour."

"Oh that's alright" she explains "Foreman and Hughes call off again today, so I'm just filling out their stupid paperwork that they were supposed to finish two days ago."

"Pulling some extra hours so that you can get more vacation days, you mean?" John jokes with an understanding smile. "However, I am glad that I did find you here. Sherlock and I need to use some of your lab equipment for a case. It'll only be for a few minutes, if that is okay with you"

Molly's head snapped up at the mention of the name. Sherlock Holmes. John's roommate and partner in solving mystery and crime cases. Being the world's only consulting detective, her sure always found his way to intimidate her. Though Molly often crossed paths with the guy so he could use her lab for cases, she never could seem to get used to him. There was something about him just plain fascinated her.

"Um….yeah, sure why not. I'm not exactly done here anyway, so go ahead" she says almost hesitantly

"Thanks a lot Molls" John says appreciatively. "Good news though, he's in a rather fair mood today, so maybe he will be a tiny bit easier to work with."

"Oh yeah, sure" Molly says sarcastically "We will all see how that turns out"

Looking around John explains "He should be here in a few moments. He was just leaving Baker Street when I arrived."

"So what exactly is this case dealing with?" Molly asks while attempting to quickly tidy up her workplace before Sherlock had a chance to insult her about it.

"Oh you know" John sighed "Two separate murders at the same time, linking us to the same killer. However, we need to find out just how many types of blood there were at the scene."

"Couldn't you just send that in to get tested through Lestrade's team?" Molly teased

"Yeah… well that'd just be too easy, now wouldn't it?" John replied sarcastically. "The idea is to find out if there were any other victims that we were unaware of. However, Sherlock has this clever idea to test and see if the blood could somehow -

-"If the blood would lead us to the killer, since it is his, of course." Sang a rich, deep baritone voice from the entrance way.

Completely startled once again, Molly jumped out of her skin while throwing her pen halfway across the room. She then threw her head up to eye the new visitor. Just the sound of his voice made her heart start pounding instantly. His lovely curly black hair looked like he had just spent three hours fixing it up, when in reality, he probably hadn't touched it in days. His signature coat and scarf in the process of being taken off. His intense gaze those bright eyes held the instant he entered the room. And that gorgeous smirk he wore just from that one sentence, as if he had just solved five murders at once.

Well, there he was. Sherlock Holmes.


	2. Chapter 2

"Speaking of the devil." John said, turning to Molly and making a face that only said his earlier assumption was already wrong. "Thank you for gracing us with your presence."

"Oh, no problem at all" Sherlock replied with an equal amount of sarcasm, while walking over to where John was standing. "Just make sure that you do not end up blogging about this wonderful experience."

Meanwhile, Molly stood on the other side of the lab table, still looking at Sherlock in awe. She actually thought the little exchange going on between the two guys was hilarious, but in reality, the emotion and words did not reach the rest of her body. As the two men continued conversing, Molly decided to give herself a little pep talk to survive the occasion.

"Alright Molly, you can do this. They are just here for your lab equipment. Nothing more, nothing less. You are going to have a successful conversation with Sherlock for once. Let them get in and out. And then go home to your cat. It shouldn't be too hard considering" -

-"Hello" "Molly?"

As soon as Molly snapped back into reality, she sees both of the guys giving her questioning looks. It turns out, John has attempted to get her attention multiple times by now.

"What?...Oh. Sorry…." Molly said after a couple of seconds. "So basically I just spent that entire time staring at Sherlock." She thinks to herself. "Fantastic."

"Shall we get started then, or will you need another moment to yourself?" Sherlock asks, almost teasing her

Molly nodded while Sherlock got to work. "Off to a great start." She thought to herself.

As John and Sherlock started their experiments, Molly got back to finishing her paperwork. All that Molly wanted at this point was to keep to herself and not let another opportunity for embarrassment slip by.

"So how has your mother been lately?" John asked Molly after a little while, breaking the long term silence. "Has her appointments been going well?"

Molly looked up, surprised from the conversation starter, but really glad that it was from John rather than the alternative. "She's been doing a lot better, thanks. I haven't spoken to her in a couple of days, but the last time I checked her doctor has been very satisfied with the progress." Molly replied, not really sure of how much detail she should get into. "And how about your sister then?" she decided to ask after a couple of seconds.

'Better, thanks as well." John replied, smiling. "We are all just happy for some progression." John has always admired Molly's thoughtfulness and overall tendency be polite to just about anyone. It is a part of what makes her a good person, and there aren't many of those around these days. He always felt bad that he in no way can warn Molly when Sherlock is about to do the exact opposite to her.

"Molly, what is the name of the body you are doing the paperwork for?" They heard Sherlock ask from across the room.

Molly looked down at her paperwork. "Julie Lowen" she replied

"What? That name isn't of any importance to me." Sherlock says getting frustrated

"That's because she's not part of your case, Sherlock" Molly replies almost immediately, as if she already anticipated how the conversation was gonna go. "That does happen every once in a while, you know."

"John looked up, obviously surprised by Molly's reply, which was not something like her to say

"Well then what did she die from?" Sherlock asks, hardly even fazed

"Reasons that are confidential in her file, and therefore unmentionable to you." Molly sent right back to him, continuing her paperwork

"Well then how am I going to find out what she died from?"

"Well then, I guess you're not."

"And why not?"

"Because she isn't of any importance to you, remember?" she said, resulting in silence from Sherlock

Molly had just won that conversation. She doesn't know what came over her, or why she said what she did to begin with, but she was okay with it. Turning herself away from the conversation, she gave herself a mental high five, and tried the best she could to hide her satisfactory smile. Screw surviving a conversation with Sherlock Holmes, she had just won one! Which quite literally happen once in a blue moon.

While Molly's back was turned, Sherlock glanced at her from the corner of his eye, smirking from just the corners of his mouth. Hardly anyone was able to outwit him in a crossfire conversation, ever. Besides the fact that it just happened, he would have never expected it to come from Molly. He never thought she had it in her, and couldn't help but feel even just a tiny bit impressed.

Meanwhile, John watched the whole dispute with his mouth hanging halfway open, quite stunned from what he had just seen happen from both parties, not sure if it actually just happened or not.

"Ready to go, John?" Sherlock asked a few moments later, gathering up his things

"Oh, uh, yeah" John stammered, following Sherlock's lead. "See you later, and thanks again Molls!" John called over his shoulder

As John walked out the door, Sherlock held back for a couple of seconds to glance one more time at Molly. Molly couldn't help but look at him with the littlest smirk she could hold without breaking. Looking up and down, he for some reason also wore a face of slight satisfaction.

"Good day Miss Hooper." Sherlock finally said with a grin on his face, while turning away, lingering out the door

They were gone, and Molly was finally able to go home. Taking off her lab coat, and replacing it with her zipper jacket, she heads out the door. Walking back to her flat, she couldn't help but feel happy and somewhat proud of what had just happened. Regardless, she was definitely in a good mood now.

She unlocks the door to her flat and walks in to see her cat greeting her from the sofa.

"Alright Toby, time for that much needed bath now."


	3. Chapter 3

Molly woke up the next morning with much reluctance. Looking around and rubbing the fuzz out of her eyes, she notices Toby at the foot of her bed, guarding her in case any monsters attempted to invade his castle. She chuckled to herself at the thought, throwing her covers away and rolling off the bed.

Walking into the kitchen, she notices a blue light shining from her phone, indicating that she has a new text message. Deciding to look at it later, she looks over at the pile of mail on her kitchen counter. She begins to go through the pile of and sort between important and unimportant mail. Important mail being any bills that she needs to pay, any important matters regarding the hospital, and letters from her grandparents. Unimportant mail being any spam mail or stupid companies sending her ads for their products.

After she finished up with that, she hopped in for a shower before she started her day. On the day she works, her routine consists of taking quick 5 minutes showers, throwing her hair in a messy ponytail, and grabbing a granola bar on the way out the door because she is almost always behind schedule. Never late. But behind schedule. The days she has off however, consists of showering for as long as she needed, singing at the top of her lungs if she feels necessary and wearing the towels around her body and on her head for as long as she wants before actually getting properly dressed. Then taking her time deciding what she wants for breakfast.

Getting out of the shower after about 20 minutes, she once again heads over to her kitchen counter, starting a cup of coffee, humming to herself and doing a little jig along the way. Memories of the night before started to return to her. The thought of her conversation with Sherlock once again made her smile

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

As she turned towards the living room to grab her coffee mug, she instead screams at the top of her lungs, nearly scared to death from what she saw in her living room

Sitting on her couch was none other than the man himself, Mr. Sherlock Holmes

"Okay, well, um, good morning." Sherlock says, hardly unfazed and slightly amused. "Oh, and uh, aahh to you too." He says attempting to hold back a smile.

Molly could hardly believe what was going on. Sherlock Holmes was in her flat. He was on her couch. And she didn't know about it. How long was he watching her? How much did he see? She didn't even know that he knew where she lived. Plus, how did he get in? or was she stupid enough to forget to lock the door last night?

"SHERLOCK! Oh my goodness….how long have you been there!?" Molly manages to get out, breathing hard, finally heading over to her phone and checking the messages.

"Hey Molls. So weird thing happened. Sherlock was acting pretty strange at breakfast. He mentioned something about you, and bolted out the door. So.. Maybe expect him? Maybe not. I don't know. Best of luck either way. –JW"

Molly rolls her eyes at the irony

"Don't worry, I've only been sitting here since you were in the shower." Sherlock said calm and almost bored, acting as if this kind of event was the most natural thing in the world.

"How on earth did you get in?" asked Molly, calming down. "I'm almost positive I locked it last night, and for your sake I'm hoping that you didn't use anything to shiv it open or something –"

"I used the spare key under the potted plant, Molly. Of course."

"Oh, okay." Molly said

**awkward silence**

"Well, this is still weird." Molly said, realizing she was still in her towel. "I guess I'm going to go change real quick." She says turning away from Sherlock

Then suddenly she realized

"Wait, I don't even have a spare key." She says questionably

"Welp" he says, popping the 'p'

"You do now." He says with a cheeky grin


	4. Chapter 4

After immediately excusing herself to her bedroom, Molly comes out a few minutes later dressed in her favorite pair of jeans and a sweater, (Obviously trying to make up for her being more than a little over exposed beforehand), finding Sherlock exactly where she left him on the couch.

"So" she says walking around the flat, looking for her hairbrush "Why have you decided to honor me with your presence this morning?"

A short moment passes before Sherlock answers, as if he's deciding what would be the appropriate thing to say

"Oh you know" he says, trying to act as non chalant and possible "Trying to find something even slightly interesting to do and pass useless time between cases." He says matter of factly

"John says you just ditched out in the middle of breakfast" said Molly, finding her hairbrush and sitting on the opposite end of the couch from him, starting to brush her hair.

"Yes, well breakfast is boring" he replies almost as if the conversation itself was already boring him "I didn't even participate in the eating part and I'm tired of sitting through it"

"Okay..and how exactly am I supposed to help you out with that?" Molly asks, still confused by his presence. She finished brushing her hair, and had started putting it into a plait

"After spending so many days with John, not only does he become very predictable in everything he does, but also more and more unwilling to appease my need to do something to pass my time."

So basically you want me to entertain you." Molly concludes

Sherlock replies with a stiff and slightly uncomfortable nod

Molly contemplates if this would be a smart thing to agree to. She is well aware that John puts up with him more than anyone else. However, Molly came to realize quite a while ago that all the quirks and annoying habits that John had to put up with, weren't anywhere near as annoying and tedious to her.

Molly still isn't sure if it's a good idea or not, but then she glances up and takes a look at his face

The look on Sherlock's face is telling Molly that all he wants out of this situation is to be able to freely be himself in whatever scenario they are dealing with, and have someone around to accept it (whether or not they actually like it.) Even if Molly said no, he would still go off and do his thing, but its obvious that he would rather have company (or and audience, she thinks to herself)

"Sure Sherlock" she decides after a moment "Sounds good, just let me grab my jacket." As she heads for her hallway closet

An immediate smile crept onto Sherlock's face from her reply, his eyes instantly shining from satisfaction. He hops up from the couch, suddenly with just a tad more pep in his step

"However, this comes with a catch" Molly informs Sherlock as she heads towards the door

He eyes her questioningly, almost afraid to ask about the terms and conditions of the adventure, resulting in a giggle from Molly

"I haven't even eaten yet. I was just about to start breakfast when you scared the living daylights out of me!" she says giving him a smile. "If you can keep me company while I go out for breakfast, then we can do whatever you want for the rest of the day. But that means you'd actually have to sit with me the entire time and wait until I am done and ready to leave."

Sherlock thinks it over for a second. He would still end up watching someone eat breakfast, but at least it will be a new face for once. Plus, he was sure he could count on Molly to help provide with new and interesting conversations for the time being. It was one of the reasons why he had asked to spend the day with her in the first place

"Deal" He says, helping her out the door

Hi everyone! I know this chapter in unbearably short, but I promise you that I am working on it.

I hope you are enjoying the characters so far. I had decided to do Molly slightly different than other people write her as. I still want her to be intimidated by Sherlock, but also not afraid in the least to say whatever is on her mind. And I wanted to make Sherlock a little more humorous than he is portrayed as a lot of the time. So I hope that it is working out so far.

Please review if you would like, they really would help me.

Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Molly and Sherlock had found their way to a nice cozy diner corner just a few minutes walk from Baker Street. Molly ordered an omelet with some sausage and hashbrown, and a glass of orange juice along with a regular glass of water. Sherlock ordered himself just a plain cup of coffee. They had easily found their way into a pleasant conversation as soon as they sat down, currently in the middle of discussing which type of science course was their favorite during their years at university.

Molly had been surprised at just how easy it was for them to click. Though she had no doubt that Sherlock would always want to have his word in on a conversation, she did not predict that the conversation flow would happen this easily or this soon into their day. As soon as they sat down, Sherlock mentioned the interior of the café resembling that of an American Diner in the 50s. Leading them into the conversation of world cultures and they are still celebrated to this day, and how they play a helpful part in anyone's day to day history. By the time they both ordered, they were talking about the best kinds of dog breeds to have according to someone's individual quirks. For example, you would need a certain kind of dog that is good with children if you ever wanted to have a family someday.

As Molly is eating some more, taking the time to enjoy every bite of her food in front of her, Sherlock retrieves his mobile from his coat, figuring out why it has beeped at him. After a quick glance at his mobile, he makes an annoyed huff sound and quickly shoves it back into his pocket

"Busy day at the office?" Molly lightly teases, curious to find out what caused his reaction.

"John texted, trying to figure out where I am. As far as he knows, I either went to the hospital to find you, or I'm wondering aimlessly around London" Sherlock replies with a sigh "Apparently he can't help but require a play by play report back from me."

"Well, can you blame him really?" Molly asks rather carefully, after a slight hesitation. "Perhaps he didn't know if he needed to follow you in case it involved him. From what I was told, you did just dramatically run out the door without a word."

Resulting in a huff of humor "True" he says, his mouth pulling up in a smirk

A comfortable silence fell between them. Molly looked around observing the interior of the diner. She never imagined she would be sitting here, eating breakfast with Sherlock Holmes, though it was one of those situations where she always wondered what it would be like. Sherlock is busy clicking away on his phone, probably trying to find his next case, Molly thinks

Molly looks back at Sherlock, for the first time really observing the infamous man in front of her. She notices that he is mouthing words, as he has started mumbling to himself. His eyebrows are slightly knit down, perhaps in frustration. His eyes look focused just like always. One hand on the mobile, the other on the cup of coffee. Molly has always wondered why women seemed to be throwing themselves at the chance to be with him. Granted, she doesn't blame them for fancying him for one second, she sees why. However, this is the first time they have ever talked outside of the lab, and it seems to be going quite well. Wait, or is it actually? She thinks it is. Does he think this is boring? Am I annoying him with the way I'm eating? How does he really think this is going?

"So" she says, clearing her throat and giving in to her curiosity. Resulting in Sherlock looking up from his phone, and directly at her. "How.. would…you say.."

"Don't worry, you're already doing better than John" he interrupts "I am quite enjoying myself, really. Nothing to stress out about" he say rather monotone, but with reassurance in his eyes, making Molly feel better by the second.

"Unlike John, you have yet to go off about work drama or petty gossip problems in your life." He says, looking back down at his phone

This statement surprised Molly, she never really thought about that kind of stuff in the first place

"Well" she began. "Drama. Eh. Not really worth it. I don't put myself into it, so it doesn't follow me around." She finishes putting her fork down. "Besides, I figured if anyone wanted to know about my life that bad, all they all they would have to do is ask."

As Molly is looking down at her feet, contemplating what she should say next, Sherlock the opportunity to look up at her and observe. She's much more interesting than he ever pictured her being. From what he has seen from her, she has a very analytical and logical way of life. It's not something you see every day, and for that Sherlock is relieved

"Welp, as it turns out I am just about finished here" Molly says taking one last drink of water and getting up from her chair.

"Great, wait here just a second" Sherlock says getting up from the table in a rush

By the time Molly has stood up, put on her coat, grabbed her purse and keys, and started walking towards the front, Sherlock was already walking back.

"Shall we?" he says, leading her out the front door, passing the cashier

"Wait a second, I need to pay first." She realizes in the door frame

Nudging her the rest of the way out the door he says "No need, I already took care of it."

Hi everyone! I hope you liked it. If you want leave a review, it really would help me pop these out a lot quicker! But either way, enjoy and have a nice day!


	6. Chapter 6

Molly ended up spending all day running around the city with Sherlock. He took her with him to pay off his homeless network, surprisingly taking the time to introduce Molly to each one of them. Granted, not all of the time in the world. Enough for a handshake, a hello, and a name until Sherlock was off to the next person, as his interested quickly expired. It caught Molly off guard at first. She's always known this about him, but she's never gotten to see him in action until just now.

'Maybe I should have Sherlock run my errands for me when I haven't the time' Molly thinks to herself with a mental giggle

Done with the impromptu errands, Sherlock and Molly find themselves paying off the last of the homeless network in one of the more secluded parks in London. After Molly introduces herself to the person, she this time heads over to a wood bench a good 30 feet away, hoping to rest her feet, even if just for a moment, from all the running around today, while Sherlock talks new assignments to the homeless network agent. Instantly feeling relief when sitting down, she sighs and lets her mind wander.

She thinks about how this was a very unrelaxing and unexpected way to spend her day off, however she comes to the conclusion that she has actually had fun today. She then realizes that even though today was the first occasion that her and Sherlock have ever hung out, she's had fun with him no matter what they seem to be doing. I guess some people have that effect on others. Molly guessed that it was because she found Sherlock genuinely interesting and therefore entertaining. To be quite honest, Molly sure needed to go out and do something different on her day off, rather than lying on the couch with Toby watching daytime soaps and then reading her life away. It felt rather refreshing now that she thought about it. For her it was a new experience, and she never realized how fun they can be

She then thought back to all the girls she's ever met that have a thing for Sherlock. Quite a lot of girls do. They didn't even know anything about him. To be honest, neither did Molly. Not that much at least. However, she did know for a fact that she was the only one that Sherlock has ever asked to hang out with him. She could feel the corners of her mouth pull up in the smallest smirk possible from realizing that fact. For some reason it felt satisfying. She didn't even know why it felt satisfying.

"Care to come up for air?" Sherlock jokes, walking up to her.

"Hmm. I don't know. There are some pros and cons to that, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for the responsibility" she replies with a smile, happy to see his good mood.

"And may I ask what has your mind thinking so hard?" Sherlock asks, sitting down next to her on the bench. "You worried that your feet are going to wear out on you from hurting so much?"

"Actually yes, they hurt like hell, but nothing to complain about" she replies coolly, shifting around so that she is sitting facing towards him, one leg up on the bench and one on the ground. "Did we get everything done today?"

"Actually, yes. Normally we would get most of the way done and then John would start moaning about the trouble its giving him." Sherlock says

"John also gets to spend a lot more time with you than anyone, ever, I think" Molly jokes "I don't blame him for getting exhausted by it every now and then."

"So horrible is it then?" Sherlock subtly teases

"Oh no, not horrible at all. I quite enjoyed myself" Molly says nonchalantly, rubbing her ear and looking at the park around them. "It's a good time when you're with the right company" she continues without thinking about what she said.

Sherlock looks at her as she says that. He found himself holding back the smallest possible smirk himself. He actually had a good time just running around doing errands today. Usually such a mundane task, he found himself not really wanting it to end for once. He then realizes that he was the one in good company.

"Yeah?" he asks eyeing her, not really knowing how he wants her to respond

"Yes" she replies instantly, turning her head back around to look at him, a second later realizing that she may have answered that too quickly.

They spend a moment looking at each other. A short moment, but a good one, filled with interest and potential. They enjoyed the comfortable silence to look at each other's eyes just for a few seconds, observing each other, at the same time, for the first time.

The moment was then broken by a ring of the phone, startling the both of them

"God dammit" Sherlock says aggravatingly reaching into his pocket to retrieve his mobile "What do you want?" he answers

Molly watches him, wandering who he's talking to that's gotten him instantly annoyed

"You well know that's not necessary." He continues, listening for a reply. "I will only comply if you agree that you will shut up." "No, do not send your car. We both know that I do not care for that." He finishes, and then hangs up the phone. He looks back up at Molly with an overdramatic annoyed face.

"Scratch that, one more thing left to do." He says with a sigh, getting up from the bench

"And may I ask what that is? Molly asks, slightly confused but follows his lead getting off the bench.

"You're going to meet the one person I can consider my nemesis, maybe perhaps my enemy on bad days" Sherlock says putting his phone back in his pocket

Molly has a look of shock and worry written on her face, as she eyes him questioningly

"My brother" Sherlock says shortly, putting his hand at the small of her back and leading her out of the park hastily.


	7. Chapter 7

Sherlock hails a cab and gestures for her to get in first. She gets in and Sherlock quickly mumbles some coordinates to the cabbie, and they set off.

They ride in silence as Sherlock stares out the window, probably lost in his own thought, while Molly is looking out the window with a million questions zooming through her mind. She isn't sure if she should actually ask any of them though, seeing how annoyed he got just by the thought of his brother.

"Didn't mention a brother" Molly says hesitantly, glancing his way quickly

For a few seconds it seems like Sherlock isn't even going to acknowledge her. Molly continues to look out the window as nonchalantly as possible. 'Why did I have to talk?' Molly thinks to herself, closing her eyes. Just as she was thinking of apologizing, she hears a sigh from Sherlock. She turns her head his way to see him pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Yeah, well. I was doing that on purpose" Sherlock replies. Molly notes that his voice isn't heavy or strained. She guesses that his visitations are more frequent than he would like them to be. However, he wasn't being short with her, so she took this as a sign to keep talking.

"Never had a brother myself" Molly continues as casually as she possibly can.

"Don't worry, I didn't really either. He's more like a second mother, an ugly one at that" Sherlock says coolly, looking up at Molly. She responds with a smile, while making a bad attempt to hold back her giggles. This catches him off guard, but he recovers by giving her a small smile before quickly turning to look back out the window.

The cab stops and Sherlock gets out, making a point to turn back around and offer Molly his hand to help her out. He leads her into a building, through several rooms, up and down a couple flights of stairs, until finally Sherlock reaches a door.

"Here we go" Sherlock says quickly, glancing back to Molly

Sherlock grabs the handle and strides into the room, Molly still lingering in the doorway

"Alright, what is it?" Sherlock asks instantly. Molly follows his gaze to a man she guesses to be his brother. He was a tall, stuffy looking man who was going bald and had a cane.

"Thank you so much for fitting me into your schedule, dearest brother" she hears the man say, as he gets up from behind his desk. "Oh, and have you brought yourself a friend?" he asks, noticing Molly in the doorway, causing her to freeze. "Oh, don't be shy. It's not often he brings a friend" he says, looking back over to Sherlock "Well, anyone other than that Watson fellow"

"Right, well" Sherlock says quickly, cutting off his brother's last word. "Mycroft, this is Doctor Molly Hooper" he says, gesturing a hand towards her.

Molly takes the cue and enters the rest of the way to the office. She walks over to the man and gives him her hand, as he was holding his out. "It's very nice to meet you Mr. Holmes" she says, giving him a small smile

"Mycroft, my dear" the man replies, releasing her hand "I just need to borrow my brother for a few minutes" he says

"Don't worry" Sherlock says, looking to her "Won't take too long, I assure you"

"I'll just wait outside then" Molly tells them, not wanting to get in the way. She steps outside into the hallway and starts looking around at the artwork on the walls. Her mind was full of questions of the man. 'Mycroft' she reminds herself. She expected him to look at least a little like Sherlock as she couldn't tell they were brothers by just looking at them, though she noticed they carry themselves the same way. "I guess great minds think alike" she says quietly to herself.

She hears the click of a door, and turns on her heels towards the noise. She sees Sherlock head out the door, and look at her to follow "Good day brother" Sherlock calls, already making his way down the stairs. She looks over to Mycroft to see him standing in the doorway.

"Don't worry" Mycroft says as Molly walks over to him "It'd be an off day if he wasn't like that"

"It was nice meeting you" Molly says, shaking his hand once more and then following Sherlock down the stairs

"And you" Mycroft says, watching her leave.

"Good talk then?" Molly asks Sherlock, running up to him on the pavement outside the building

"As good as it gets" Sherlock answers, stopping to let her get to him. He turns to notice the curiosity etched on her face "Ah" he concludes "My brother asked me to take our mother and father out for lunch next week. He had already promised to do it, and was hoping for me to get him out of it"

"No such luck?" Molly asks, curious as to whether he would do favors for his family members

"No such luck" Sherlock answers with a grin, as he continues to walk

By the time they had found their way back to Molly's flat, it was already dark outside. Sherlock walked her up the stairs, and stood with her as she unlocked the door. Once she had it open, she looked back at him, not sure of what to say. He was looking around the hallway, probably deducing her neighbors by their welcome rugs.

"Well, uh, I had fun today" she says nervously "I don't usually go out on my days off"

He looks over to her, small grin on his face "I had a good time as well" he says "Thanks for not being John"

"You're welcome" Molly giggles, turning towards her door "I'll see you later?" she asks, genuinely curious for his answer

"I'm sure you will" Sherlock answers, turning away and heading down the stairs. "You're the only scientist with a lab that I can tolerate" he calls over his shoulder

This makes Molly smile, as she heads into her apartment, making sure to lock the door behind her. "Good evening" she greets Toby. She feeds her cat, and then makes herself some dinner. As she is eating it on her couch with the telly on, she recalls her day, smiling to herself in the process. She would have never expected to actually have a good time spending time spending the day with him, but she sure is glad she said yes.

She wondered why he and John got on each other's nerves so easily. Obviously, they lived together she notes. John was the one spending all day every day with him, and we all know Sherlock has his faults. It was no wonder why they were short with each other. Then she realized Sherlock was always friendly with her, almost uncharacteristically, though she hardly knew him in the first place. She liked Sherlock in a good mood. When he was friendly to her, he came off to her as rather charming…

Then Molly caught herself, realizing what she was beginning to think. She went wide eyed, and put her plate down on the coffee table, looking around to see Toby staring at her. She hopped up from the couch and wiped her hands on her pants. "God, I need some sleep" she says out loud to herself and to Toby, and then heads to her bedroom for the night


	8. Chapter 8

Molly woke up the next morning to the sound of her door bell. Her eyes pop open and she groans, rubbing her eyes and sitting up in her bed. She throws her robe on and makes her way down the hall, yawning in the process as she works on the chain lock attached to her door.

She reaches down to grab the door handle as she begins to turn it, instead she is startled when the door is suddenly forced open, knocking it into her face, causing her to fall to the ground. She lands with a hard thud and immediately brings her hands to her face, trying to soothe the pain she felt in her now busted lip.

Before she had a chance to turn her head and ask the person 'who the hell they thought they were', she feels hands come down on her shoulders, roughly pulling her to her feet. As soon as she was up she immediately felt them move to grab her arms, twisting them painfully as they tried to force them behind her back, restraining her.

"What the hell?!" Molly shouts, before giving out a yelp of pain.

In a moment of panic she started kicking her legs behind her repeatedly, hoping to impact the person. She gives an extra forceful kick and hears a man groan from behind her, as she feels the grip on her arms behind her loosen just enough. She wrestles herself free from him, catching herself from almost falling to the ground again. She makes her way to the open door and starts shouting for help as loud as she could into the hallway.

She feels his hands return to her shoulders, turning Molly back to him and giving her a solid punch in the face before she could take in what he looked like. Molly had never been punched before, and good god it hurt like hell. Molly fell back once again, immediately crying out from the sharp pain now encircling her right eye.

Before she made it to the ground, she felt a hand move over her mouth, pressing down forcefully as one of his arms moved to wrap around her neck, squeezing it hard. She tried her best to flail her legs around, in hopes to loosen his grip once more, and gripped the man's hand on her mouth with her own hands, hoping to pry it off herself, but the man had already locked her into place.

Molly didn't know how all of this happened so quickly. One second she is peacefully sleeping, and then the next second she is fighting for her life. What she did know was that she couldn't take him in a game of brawns, and she had already tried everything she could think of to get away from him. She also didn't know how this was going to work out for her, she was trying her best to catch him off guard, even for a split second, so that she could find a chance to get out of his grasp.

Her attempts to struggle and break free only left her to tire herself out quicker, and her movements became slower as she desperately tried to keep her mind focused. Before she knew it, she could tell her eyesight had become fuzzy as the color of black began edging into her sight, and she could feel her brain starting to feel numb.

It was then that she knew she had lost. Her legs and arms had given up their struggle as the rest of her body begins to numb along with her brain, forcing her to no longer move. She results herself to only focus on thinking, keeping her thoughts alive, making sure that she wasn't going to slip into unconsciousness. As much as her efforts were, she could still feel herself slipping away, her eyes glazing over, her entirety of her body succumbing to the numbness until all she could do was stare, unfocused, into her flat.

She knew that this was the end for Molly Hooper. She had given it her best effort, and she had fought as hard as she could, now she knew there was nothing left to do but to give up.

She knew the guy had stopped holding her, though she couldn't feel anything either way. The only way she knew was that he had gotten up and let Molly fall the rest of the way, and she could see just enough to tell when her head had finally hit the ground.

Her hearing was mostly gone, but she could still barely hear some low, faint noises coming from somewhere behind her. She focused on listening through the wood on her floors, trying her best to see whether or not someone was walking. From what she could tell, there were two people, another guy had shown up. To help with her body, Molly concluded.

Before she knew it she could make out someone yelling her name, it was low and barely audible to her, but they kept repeating it over and over. She could tell that someone had grabbed her shoulders and was shaking her, trying to get her to respond. After a moment her glassy eyes cleared up enough to allow her to see a figure in front of her, it was John Watson. Somehow John Watson was there, shaking her shoulders, moving his hands to her neck and wrist, frantically searching for a pulse, and patting her cheek to get her to focus on him.

But all she could do was stare. She found it enough of a miracle that even with her mind this numb she was still able to make even the simplest of thought process. She could see the figure of John get close to her face. She could tell he was yelling her name at her, she could see the outline of his lips mouthing it, but all she heard was a low, muffled, barely audible hum from her ears. He was holding her face, looking into her eyes, trying his best to keep her alive. Then the blackness finally engulfed her and John was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

Molly found herself squinting at the ceiling above her, immediately wincing from the shooting pain she felt in her head. She realized that she was no longer laying on the wood floor, and uses all of her energy to tilt her head to the side to resolve her confusion. The last thing she remembered was the silent John screaming for attention above her, now she discovers that she is was lying on the couch at his place on Baker Street.

She was confused as to why he had decided to bring her there, and why she wasn't still at her own flat. She brought her hand up to cup the back of her head, hoping to rub away the sharp pain, groaning to herself as she does so.

She hears footstep as someone was coming up the stairs. She tilted her head towards the open doorway to see John whistling to himself as he entered the flat, carrying a paper sack in each arm. "Molly!" John exclaimed once he had made his way into the flat. Molly had thought that he sounded surprised to see her awake, as if he didn't expect her to anytime soon. "I was just picking a few things from the store" John explained, walking into the kitchen and setting his things onto the counter.

Molly rubbed her face with her hand and nodded her head in his direction, not having enough energy to muster up a response. "Yeah, don't worry" John assured her warmly, catching on to her silence "You're able to talk if you would like, but I'd take it easy for a little while.

Molly wondered how long she had been at their place, on their couch. She wondered how long it had been since John rescued her. It felt like it had happened just a few minutes before, yet she felt as though she had been sleeping for weeks.

"You're quite the fighter" John continued, taking things out of the paper sacks and putting them away. "You weren't ready to give up just yet" he mused, chuckling to himself.

Molly smiled inwardly at his words. John was a bright-lighted soul, he was always able to find the good in horrible situations. She had known he struggled with dark times when he had returned home from Afghanistan, but perhaps afterwards he had figured himself out along the way. The John she knew was nothing short of awe-inspiring to her.

"Ah yes" he said, finishes up with his groceries. "Let me give you a look". He made his way out of the kitchen, pulling a desk chair up to the couch beside her. After rubbing his hands together for a few seconds, he reaches to touch her neck, measuring her pulse, and then moving down to her wrist. He hummed to himself approvingly and then moved on, moving his hands around her neck, massaging it to feels where she was still tense. Molly winced just a little from the pain, giving a soft moan. "Yes I know" John eased her "You will be quite sore for quite some time. Now" he continued, holding one hand up in front of her "follow my finger". Molly trained her eyes to follow John's finger as he moved it side to side and up and down several times. After he was satisfied with that, he ran back into his room, returning with his stethoscope to check Molly's breathing ability.

"Mmhmm" John concluded "You are going to be just fine, just extremely tender and sore until you heal up" he finished, patting her on the shoulder. He ran back into the kitchen to fetch Molly some medicine for her headache and pain, returning with a glass of water as well. He helped Molly set her upper half up, feet still laid out on the couch, so that she was able to take her medicine

"I assume you would like to know some context" John offered, watching her force down the pills. She cringed after swallowing them, and then lazily nodded her head to him. "Well you were attacked, which I guess you know" he said, gesturing to her awkwardly. "I had come to your place to ask you about your day out with Sherlock. I heard your screaming and then ran up the stairs, and saw him pinning you on the floor. I was able to come up behind him and pull him off of you, and knock him out." he hesitated on his next words. "Molly, if this would've happened any longer…ten seconds even" he paused "I don't know if I would've been able to do anything for you" he finished quietly.

Molly slowly nodded to him that she understood. "Now" John said, shifting the mood and keeping his voice light. "We had Lestrade look into the guy. His name is Timothy Lomax, and he is a trained predator. People hire him to kill other people." Molly cringed at his words "But, he is securely locked away" John said proudly "We don't know who hired him just yet, but our best men have been looking into it."

"WHY MUST EVERYONE I COME ACROSS TODAY BE SO STUPID!" they heard a bellowing voice say, as Sherlock dramatically bursts into the flat.

"Speaking of" John sighed tiredly, using his hand to rub his forehead. Molly looked over to Sherlock in concern

"Ah, Molly" Sherlock said pleasantly, switching gears and giving her a smile. "I see you are feeling quite better" he observed, taking off his scarf and belstaff, placing them on the coat rack at the entrance. Molly blinked at his sudden switch of tone. It made her wonder what had caused his mood in the first place. "It also seems that John has been pestering you with his daily hospital gossip" Sherlock added quickly, sitting himself down into his chair.

"Giving her some medicine, actually" John corrected him defensively.

"Yes, well" Sherlock dismisses him, crossing his legs.

"So Molly" John said after rolling his eyes at his roommate "Might I suggest that you go and draw a bath for yourself to help ease the tenseness, and when you come out I will have made a delightful lunch for all of us. Hmm?"

Molly hesitantly nodded her head yes to him

"Don't worry, we made sure to grab an extra pair of pyjamas from your flat" he patiently assured her "Towels are above the toilet" he said, putting his hand on her arm to comfort her and then moving himself to the kitchen to start preparing food.

Molly looked over to Sherlock, who was too immersed in his phone to pay them any attention. She got up from the couch and made her way down the hall into their loo, closing the door behind her.

Molly was confused now more than ever. She didn't understand why she was at their flat instead of hers, or more importantly the hospital. She didn't know why she was almost killed in the first place. Heck, she still didn't even know how long it has been since she was attacked.

She started the water and then undressed, waiting for the tub to fill, as she spots her pyjamas on the toilet. She grabbed a fluffy towel from the cabinet, and placed it on the sink. She looks at herself in the mirror, for the first time taking in the harsh bruises that aligned the side of her face and down her neck. She grimaced at her reflection, for it only made her realize that this had been real. This really did happen to her, and she was not dreaming. Someone had tried to kill her.

The thought terrified her, not only because she had no idea what she did to make someone so angry, but because someone actually wanted her dead, for her life to end. She blinked at her reflection, forcing herself to forget the horrible thoughts. She gave a loud sigh, pulled her hair back into a bun, and then got into the tub. She was immediately thankful for John suggesting this, for it was already proving to relax her body.

When she emerged from the bathroom, she saw John still working in the kitchen with his back to her. She recognized the sound of music and found Sherlock in the front room playing his violin, deep in thought. "Ahh. There you are" John says, spotting her. He turns around to her, revealing a plate in his hand containing a deli sandwich, some crisps, and some side salad. "Eat up" he said, handing the plate to Molly and then turning his attention back to the counter. Though she was a little surprised, she took the plate from him and gave him a smile.

She made her way back to the couch and sat herself down, observing the delicious looking food that was waiting for her. She didn't realize until now just how hungry she was, wondering how long it had been since she last ate. John came into the front room, carrying another plate with him and making his way to the other man. "It's there if you'd like it" John said to Sherlock simply, setting it on the table next to him and then immediately returning to the kitchen. Sherlock did not reply nor pay him any attention as he continued his melody.

Once John made another trip into the living room to bring everyone their drinks, he finally sat down with Molly to eat. They had little conversation considering Molly wasn't talking, so they just ate in a comfortable silence as they listened to Sherlock play his violin. Molly was astounded by his playing ability. She wondered if he had taken lessons as a child to be able to play with this much skill, or if he just picked it up one day out of boredom and was able to catch on quickly.

Molly was taken out of her thoughts when she heard the music stop. She blinked herself back into the moment to see Sherlock finally putting down his violin and scooping up the plate provided for him on the table.

"Well this is rare" John says, just as surprised as Molly "Doesn't eat that much to begin with, so for us to see it is quite a strange sight" Molly nods her head in agreement

"So Molly" Sherlock says, completely oblivious to any prior conversations "When would you like your things to be moved?" he asked, finishing off his sandwich

"Uhh, Sherlock.." John quickly intercepts, giving him a look of warning

Sherlock sees the immediate confusion on Molly's face, and looks to see the glare he was receiving from John.

"Maybe now isn't the best –"John begins

"Nonsense" Sherlock interrupts, shutting him down "It's not like us keeping it from her now is going to help her in the long run. Sooner or later she's going to wonder why we aren't letting her go home."

Molly looks back and forth between the two of them for answers. She had no idea what they were talking about, and if John was hesitant to tell her then she knew she wasn't going to like it. Sherlock sighs at John's silence and continues.

"As I'm sure John told you, someone hired that man to kill you" he said flatly. Molly winced at the harshness of his words, but once again nodded her head "which means that whoever wants you dead knows where you live. Both John and I agreed that it would be best for your safety if you relocated here until we know you are out of danger"

Molly blinked at him

"You're moving in with us" he clarified for her. John sighs, putting his face into his hands, annoyed as his roommate's strategy of breaking the news

"Don't worry, Toby can come here too" John assured her as Molly gave a look of relief.

Sherlock sighed "Your own life is in danger and you're worried about your cat" he quickly mutters to himself "Right well" he continues, clapping his hands together "I'll arrange a time with Mycroft's men to start moving your stuff over.

"Any leads then Sherlock?" John asked, biting into his sub

Sherlock returned his empty plate to the side table, adjusted himself in his chair and brought his hand up together in front of his face in his 'thinking position' as John called it. "We already know who hired the man, the only leads we need are to figure out is how to get to them"

"Wait, we do?" John questioned, mouth full of his food

"Of course we do. I figured it out not even couple of hours after she was attacked." Sherlock replied with a hint of smugness that Molly found hard to ignore

"Okay, then mind sharing with the group?" John pressed. He hated when Sherlock assumed everyone was able to read his mind

"Moriarty" Sherlock stated simply, as if this were the most obvious statement in the world. Molly nearly choked on her food mid bite when she heard the name. Her eyes grew wide and her blood turned cold at the mere mention of the man.

"Sherlock" John said seriously "How can you be sure? You need to be sure" he lectured

"Of course I'm sure" Sherlock defended himself, immune to the possibility of being wrong "I am right, and the further we investigate to track him down, the more it will solidify that fact."

"Moriarty is not the person that we can just assume and accuse" John replied, all of the friendliness in his voice replaced with a thick, dark tone "If we go after him and it turns out we're wrong, we can't just say oops and then take it all back. This is Molly's life we're talking about!" he finished, fuming at his roommate

"Jim?" Molly spoke for the first time, pulling John out of his anger towards Sherlock

"Molly, take it easy now" John said, putting his hands on her arm out of concern. "We shouldn't let this overwhelm us, it's not something that we know for a fact" Molly fidgeted under his touch and anxiously nodded her head to him

"Jim" she questioned again, directing it to Sherlock. She tried to push down the fear that was creeping out of her. She had to be sure it was him. Molly had dated the man for a short period of time last year until she ultimately broke it off. She enjoyed the time they had spent together and had grown to think that she understood the man she fell for. That was until she later found out just what he was capable of and how much power he had over other people. Once she became aware of the things he has made people do, all of lives he ruined and families he tore apart just by a hand gesture, all of the lives he decided needed ending because he was bored, her feelings were immediately replace with that of pure fear and horror. She wanted to puke when she realized how she had allowed a man of such power and cruelty of life to be so close to her. All of the times that they were alone together and all of the intimate moments that they shared. It chilled her to the bone when she thought of what he was easily capable of doing to her during any of that time.

"It makes the most sense" Sherlock hesitated after seeing the look in her eyes "Not only because he knew where you lived from when you two dated…"

'Oh no' Molly thought to herself. Of course that's how he knew. She had invited him there herself and he had stayed over so many times. How could she be so stupid to allow this to happen to her?

"…but because the timing is right" he continued. "The two of us spend the entire day together, running around the city and meeting up with people left and right, and then the very next morning someone tries to kill you" he concludes. "We don't know why he targeted you, but the timing is not just a coincidence, the universe is rarely so lazy" he added as John rolled his eyes "The timing is so convenient that it is basically jumping out at us, begging for us to pay attention"

"Now Molly" John began, once again trying to comfort her "we should not let the fear of him get to us. Mycroft has men keeping guard for us. There are people stationed outside the door, by the stairs, in Mrs. Hudson's place, and even on the roof making sure that you are safe. No one enters or leaves without Mycroft knowing." He tried "and Lestrade has his men at your place investigating and keeping patrol to see if anyone else tries to show up"

Molly just stared at the two of them in shock. A lot was happening all at once, and it was too much for her to take in so fast. Her life was in danger, it may or may not have been the most dangerous man she could think of who knew more about her than she wanted, and she was expected to just sit tight and relax at their flat on Baker Street and try her best to act as nonchalant as possible.

There was only one thing out of all of this that Molly knew for sure, and it was that Molly now had a headache.


End file.
