Disclaimer: I own nothing of Sherlock BBC and this story is loosely based on Forever, a U.S. TV Series.
Mycroft Holmes watched their interaction with a cold-eyed stare. He played with his umbrella as the pair huddled around the microscope, discussing about the latest evidence. They were very much engrossed and wholly oblivious to their surroundings or at least Sherlock was. Molly raised her head, "Mycroft? Sherlock, your brother's here," and nudged the consulting detective in the ribs. "Ignore him and he would go away, Molly." Sherlock told the pathologist without looking up from the eyepiece.
Mycroft's patience was stretched to its limit though his face did not betray him; he took extreme pride in having excellent control of his features at all times. "Mycroft must have very important matters to talk to you if he's here personally. Don't be like this, Sherlock." Molly whispered to the consulting detective then asked the British Government, "Do you want some coffee, Mycroft?" to which the man declined with a polite but distant smile. "Thank you but no, Molly."
Sherlock made an irritated noise at the back of his throat. "What is it this time, Mycroft? Quickly, you have twenty minutes." The British Government countered icily, "And I have allocated less time than that for you, brother mine." Considering what Mycroft was about to say was national-level confidential information, the pathologist discreetly left the lab and by the time Molly returned, half an hour later just to be sure, the British Government had already left. "Mycroft left?" She questioned the consulting detective in an offhanded manner. "For good, I hope." Molly would take that as their conversation went well.
The pathologist went back home after a busy day at the morgue, a sudden surge of crimes in London meant more bodies to cut up. A man's arms snaked around Molly's stomach and neck, "How long do you plan to keep up with this act, Molly?" then inhaled the smell of her hair. His actions were intimate and although the pathologist was surprised that Mycroft came to visit her so late at night where normally he would be buried with work but she was none the less delighted to see him.
"What makes you think that this is an act, Mycroft?" Molly wasted no time to kiss the British Government which he returned it with fervour. She stripped him off his three-piece suit that did not take long to accomplish since the man had the foresight to remove his jacket, waistcoat and tie while waiting for Molly at her flat. "You minx." Knowing him, the pathologist folded them with care to avoid creases and piled them into a neat stack before setting it aside on the couch.
"How long do we have before you need to get back to work?" The British Government knew exactly which one was her bedroom and walked straight towards it without asking for permission because there was no need to. Molly followed Mycroft and closed the door even though it was just the two of them in her flat. "Half an hour at most."
Their relationship was carried on long enough to establish certain rituals each time they had sex in order to accommodate for the British Government's OCD and Molly did enjoy the structured side of their activity where she could look forward to what was coming, pun not intended. "So let's ensure we make full use of every minute that you allocated for me, Mycroft."
January 1981
It was a Saturday morning and most of the residents were still asleep in their warm beds so Molly practically got the park to herself. She was strolling leisurely, passing by the playground when a boy of about seven years old collided with her. The impact from their collision proved too much for him and the boy was about to land on his bottom. Acting on her reflex, Molly grasped his shoulders to prevent him from falling down.
"Are you alright?" She looked around and frowned at her own guess. "Where are your parents? Are you lost?" The boy looked at the ground, not answering any of her questions. She went on her hunches to lower herself to the boy's eye level and took out a mint chocolate sweet from her pocket.
"I'm Molly and if you tell me your name then I would give this to you." Instead of taking the candy without a second thought like any child would, he looked at Molly warily, "How do I know if you are not trying to abduct me? Mummy told me to not take things, talk to or go with a stranger."
What a very alert child, she mused. "If I'm an abductor which I'm not then what is going to stop me from kidnapping you? You know, it's very dangerous for you to be out here alone. It's fine if you do not want to tell me your name. Do you know your way back home?" The boy nodded solemnly, behaving past his age. "Then why don't I send you back? Your parents must be worried sick about you."
Molly obviously must have hit a soft spot because the boy then started to cry. "You are lying! Daddy and Mummy don't want me anyone now that they have my baby brother! I don't want to go home!" Sibling jealousy, she sighed quietly. Molly wiped away the fat tears running down his cheeks with her sleeve and did her best to comfort the boy. "There's no parent in this world that do not love their child and your parents are no exception, they love you very much."
She tried to say it with conviction but it would take more than that to persuade him. "How do you know? You don't even know them." Molly felt like she was going in circles and luckily was rescued by a man's shout. "Mycroft! Where are you? Mycroft!" From a distance away, she could see a figure frantically combing the park, urgently searching for his son. Little Mycroft's eyes lighted up at hearing his father's voice.
"What did I tell you? Never forget that your parents love you very much so don't run away from home anymore because there's no place like it. Family is all we got in this world, Mycroft. Here, take this." Molly stuffed the sweet into his small hand and gently prodded the boy towards the direction of his father. "I like you. Will I see you again? This spot could be our meeting place."
She should know better than to give a child an empty promise but going against every warning that sounded in her mind, Molly gave a nod to Mycroft, "But you cannot tell anyone about me, understand?" then watched him ran to his anxious father, "Daddy!" When the boy turned to look at Molly, she was already gone but Mycroft was sure that he would see her again because she promised him so.
It was when Molly was eating the candy a few days later that she recollected of her promise to a little boy with a strange and rare name called Mycroft. He would not be waiting for her at the playground right? There was a chance that the boy might because children took such things rather seriously and Molly spoke from experience when Martha was around that age. She suddenly had the urge to take a walk outside.
At the park, Molly felt like the child who took her promise too seriously instead when she could not find the boy anywhere. Molly began to make her way back home and Mycroft popped out from the bushes, catching her off guard. "I knew you would keep your word. I forgot to thank you for your sweet, it was very delicious." He said politely.
"You are welcome. Consider yourself lucky because today I also happened to bring some with me." Molly was glad that she grabbed a handful of candy before going out just in case Mycroft was really waiting for her. "I hoped you did not run away from home again? Your parents know that you are here?" She wanted to make sure which the boy assured Molly this time his parents knew that he was in the park and they gave him half an hour to play.
Looking at Mycroft eating the candies, as a responsible adult she should stop him from consuming too much but Molly knew how tasty they were, she thought best to stay by his side and send him home afterwards. It was unusual that Molly was so helpful to another person but she did not think too much of it and it was even more uncommon that they continued to meet up in such manner throughout his youth.
September 1991
"Congratulations, Mycroft. I was surprised that the university did not accept you when you were younger. I always knew that you were far more intelligent than those of your age." Molly gave a friendly pat on his shoulder. Being credited of having an IQ of over 140, Mycroft understood that she was different from others for Molly did not age at all in the last decade. The fact did not frighten him. She was his…friend, his one and probably only friend in this world. For the future British Government, less was more in the area of friends-making.
Molly was fairly smart but not as intelligent as him which was something that Mycroft was willing to overlook on account of their long-term friendship and most importantly, since the first day they met, she had treated him not as a child but as an adult. "It had come to my attention the fact that I'm still a virgin would disturb my university studies when classmates who might one-sidedly see themselves as my friends would urge me to lose it," Molly could see where this conversation was going and was apprehensive about it.
"Hence I decided that you would be the best person for me to give you my virginity." Molly asked herself before why she chose to continue this friendship with the little boy. In the eyes of others, they would say this was wrong in so many levels and she should never continue meeting him. Even though Molly could not come up with a reason to continue, she could not find a reason to stop either.
Molly should have seen this coming, she was being selfish again. When Molly dies because that day would eventually come, she would definitely go straight to hell, if such a place does exist, for all the things she did and did not. What a sinner. "Mycroft, I'm too old for you. In university, you would meet a lot of girls so there's no need for you to do this now. You would regret your hasty decision…" The teen cut her off, "I had given this matter my full considerations. This was not a hasty decision. I would not regret this unless you would, Molly."
"You don't understand, Mycroft." She wondered just how they arrived to this sticky situation. "I do, Molly. You are not like us, you don't grow old but it does not bother me." He ignored how juvenile his words were because Mycroft really wanted her to know that he understood and kissed her softly, afraid of scaring her away. After what seemed to be the longest moment of his life, Molly finally responded and Mycroft's heart soared at the variety of emotions rushing through his blood veins. This was what forbidden fruit tasted like and to him, the fall was worth it.
Feeling utterly relaxed after a vigorous session of love-making, he wrapped his finger around a strand of her hair and gently kissed Molly's cheek. Mycroft was so pleased with what had happened between them; he did not notice the change in her expression soon after it ended. In his mind, the future British Government had already came up with different ways to meet Molly after his school term commenced.
Molly then gathered her clothes and put them on without a word, unsettling the adolescent. "From now on, we should stop meeting one another. I don't want to end our friendship on bad terms. I wish you all the best. Find a good girl and start a family, you would be a great husband and father, Mycroft." She pressed her lips on his cheek. It had progressed out of control, not just physically but also emotionally. Molly would take no chances at the prospect of Mycroft in danger because of her.
This would end here, she never should have played with fire, Molly told herself. Not that she regretted it. Sinful, hell yes. Remorse, sadly none. "You are a whale, you know. Everyone else is a goldfish to me, Molly." In the case of Mycroft, it was a compliment of the highest order. In over a hundred years, Molly met a lot of people but she would never forget him when something that wrong felt so right.
"Someday you would find another whale, Mycroft. Forget me and move on. I'm nothing but a passer-by in your life. Don't try to find me; I had lived long enough to consider myself an expert in disappearing and hiding if I put my mind to it. Goodbye, Mycroft." Molly broke her word to him but kept the promise that she made to herself until he strolled right into the morgue of St. Bart's twenty years later.
The pathologist instantly recognised Mycroft despite how long they had not seen each other but in front of Sherlock, she pretended that the two of them never met before and the British Government went along with her. Memories of him flashed through Molly's mind like a roller coaster ride. After that day, she moved out of the neighbourhood within a week, determined to physically distance herself from Mycroft as far away as possible for his own safety even if he was never far away from her thoughts.
Molly was not astonished at Mycroft's accomplishments, becoming the British Government and all that, the pathologist knew of his capabilities and potential since he was young. He did well for himself. Swallowing down the bitter taste of their reunion in her mouth, the pathologist understood it was for the best that they remained this way for his sake. Yet Mycroft thought otherwise.
Molly was walking out of St. Bart's after her shift ended when Mycroft was casually leaning on a black sedan and holding an umbrella. The British Government was waiting for her and the pathologist's heart raced a little at that notion. "Would you like a ride back home, Miss Hooper?" There was always more to Mycroft's surface and Molly saw his underlying question – continue this childish pretence and resume their (sexual) relationship behind the back of others, behind the back of Sherlock?
The pathologist never believed in having 'no choice', there were always other choices, other alternatives. Molly could take the tube, bus or even taxi back home but she found herself to be in the regular state of loneliness because of the curse and of course, she could always find ways to cope with it or simply get used to being lonely. However Mycroft knew her secret and just that fact was more than enough for the pathologist to board his car. Molly was a prisoner of time and she would do anything to survive.
Author's note: I would like to try and see if I could push the boundaries just a bit, hope I did not ruin my favourite character right from the start!