A STUDY IN INTERPRETING AND DEDUCTIONS
Thanks again for all the amazing people who read and reviewed my one shots "A scandal by texting", "JOHN WATSON: User Guide and Operating Instructions" and "SHERLOCK HOLMES: User Guide and Operating Instructions"… If you still haven't, you're welcomed to do it anytime. I really love having feedback. I truly appreciate it!
Disclaimer
As tedious and repetitive as this is: I still don't own anything from Sherlock (sniffs). I'm just borrowing these brilliant characters, except the ones I create for the sake of the plot. All credit goes to Sir Conan Doyle, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. I only own my idea. Besides, all of this is for the fun of writing.
Summary: Molly Hooper has always known her value as a professional, but most of that is constantly forgotten in the presence of Sherlock Holmes. Suddenly, an enigmatic man starts working in Saint Bart's as a consultant as well and he's a complete dichotomy that Molly cannot figure out. She only knows of one consultant. What can life be like with two consultants roaming around her existence? R&R.
Chapter 1
Molly had always considered herself an ordinary human being and a simple creature of habit. She really couldn't complain about anything in her life. She was a successful professional for goodness sake. She actually had earned her place at Saint Bart's with a lot of effort, lived in a decent flat even if she was able to afford something better and was the perfect example of independence for her siblings back home. She graduated with honors and was ranked as the best in her class too. Colleagues greatly admired her and valued her opinion as well. Every compliment from people humbled her. Though, she concedes that she felt sometimes ridiculously embarrassed by it. She was truly flattered every now and then, although that didn't avoid the manifestation of a telling flush on her pale cheeks when such remarks where done in front of a crowd. She accepted praises with good grace and relished the moment when her work or judgment was appreciated. Constantly with a sunny disposition and obliging when her assistance was required. She had no problem to instruct others with the very knowledge she possessed. However, to Molly this seemed a cruel irony every time she became an incoherent stooge in the presence of the one and only Sherlock Holmes.
She never understood how everything came out to be like it was with him. She still didn't figure it out for the life of her, not logically at any rate. He certainly was something to behold. Such brilliance clouded by his brash behaviour had her at a loss. She considered him a very singular case of human nature to be precise, but not to be trifled with. His forwardness shocked her from the start and his uniqueness awoke her curiosity. His unconventionality lured her into his world and the rest was history. Lots of thoughts went through her brain when he was around, except she would not utter them for fear to say something that will draw the enigma of her dreams away. Unlike Sherlock, Molly Hooper prided herself on having the most powerful mouth filter that enabled her to keep her ruminations to herself no matter what; at least the ones she considered important. It was vital for her to play the game along the elusive detective. She didn't want him to really inspect her, she needed to divert his attention with anything to keep the observer in him occupied and make him think he had the upper hand. The apparently mousy pathologist internally smiled. Yes, she had permanently let Sherlock have his way only because she allowed him to and not because of his belief that she was to be easily manipulated. Besides, what she permitted was for the greater good. Lots of people were saved and criminals were put behind bars as a reward of her patience.
"It is a fair price to pay" she pondered out loud, the sound of her voice a whisper in the middle of the laboratory that saw her nearly every day. She was sitting down on her usual bench surrounded of petri dishes, beakers, test tubes and some binders with reports that needed to be filled. She had her hands over her temples as if trying to get rid of all the work that had to be done. She exhaled loudly this time.
"Oh joy, I'm behind schedule after Sherlock's last case. I'll never and I repeat never going to give him a brain again."
The sudden swish of the double doors snapped her out of her rant letting her know she was not alone any longer. She was half expecting and half hoping to see a mass of unruly dark curls followed by a black coat.
"That is the last thing I need now" she chastised herself internally. She audibly sighed and was resigned to have her solitude interrupted. "Good morning Sherlock, how can I help you today?" She turned around swiftly and ended up blinking to a different foresight. She opened and closed her mouth quickly in shock. There was a man standing close to the doors of the lab and it was not Sherlock. He had short dirty blond hair neatly combed.
"He's even taller than Sherlock" she thought. At most two inches taller than the consultant detective she noted. He was wearing a very stylish black leather jacket and a white t-shirt. He complimented it with some classy black jeans and trendy black trainers.
"I wonder how he would look like in a Spencer Hart suit… He's definitely good looking and..." Her eyes widened at her blunder and she looked back to the new face only to see bright green eyes that observed her. He quirked an eyebrow and she didn't need to be a genius to tell there was a discreet upturn of his mouth at its corners. Had he been speaking to her? Her mind was screaming right back at her simultaneously "Oh god, this is so humiliating! Being caught like a hormonal teenager staring at a stranger! A very nice… No a very handsome… No, a really gorgeous... Argh! Ok Molly, focus now and don't embarrass yourself anymore!"
She mustered what was left of her dignity and tried to apologize instead "I'm… I'm very sorry I was…"
"A bit too focused on some paperwork that needs to be finished?" The tenor soft voice that greeted her distracted her once again, the man openly smiled now with a twinkle in his eyes and approached from his post near the doors.
"As I was saying Miss…Hooper. I apologize for startling you, it was not my intention."
"How do you know my name?" her eyes almost popped out this time and she put a hand on her mouth trying to swallow her mortification and she was sure she was red as a tomato already. She backpedaled immediately lowering her head "I…I mean…"
A hearty laugh was heard and it was all Molly could do to not cry out in total misery. She raised her head in spite of it.
He raised his hands to try to appease her and then briefly pointed to her lab coat with a tilt of his head "You have your identification card on you. That's how I got your name Miss Hooper"
"Oh." Molly didn't trust herself anymore and didn't know what to say. Her visitor apparently perceived it as well and cleared his throat to catch her attention.
"Right… I'm terribly sorry. This is my first day in Saint Bartholomew's Hospital and I'm not exactly familiar with the location of the different departments yet." He scratched his neck and appeared a bit sheepish.
Molly soon forgot her discomfiture and smiled "Oh, it's quite alright. I got lost at the beginning. You should get used to it soon enough mister…"
"I'm A.J. Cross, pleased to meet you Miss Hooper" he extended his hand for a handshake and she took it.
"Please call me Molly Mr. Cross. Everybody does"
He in turn showed her a full grin and she swore her heart skipped a beat "Only if you call me A.J. Molly".
"O.K. … A.J. In what department will you work in Saint Bart's?"
"I'm going to work as a consultant. I was expected to start next month, but they called me about some pressing matter. Hence the clothes, I didn't get the chance to change."
"Oh…" Molly wanted to shout at herself for being such an unhelpful mute. Once again, her rescue came from her new colleague in front of her who gave her a winning smile.
"Molly, I would be so grateful if you could show me the way to the Administration wing. I need to speak with the hospital's director."
Molly lost count on how many times this individual left her speechless "You're here to speak to… the director?" She didn't contain her surprise this time.
"You understood correctly. I need to get to his office before I end up in Autopsy or heaven forbid a secret Storage Room with some booby traps." His lips were in a tight line, but the glint in his eyes gave away his mischievous ways. She giggled freely and nodded enthusiastically "Of course, I'll leave you there in a jiffy so you won't end up being confused as a patient escaping either. The director must be wondering why you aren't there already."
A.J. chuckled self-deprecatingly "I probably wouldn't hear the end of it".
After passing the different halls of Saint Bart's, Molly got A.J. to his final destination. They spoke good-naturedly on how the newcomer found the city at this time of the year and how he still had to make some final arrangements about his flat.
"There wasn't enough time, but I'm going to have some furniture shipped to get finally settled."
Molly let out a soft whistle "You come here a month earlier and you already have a flat in no time… That's remarkable, considering on how hard it is to find a place in London to begin with."
The pathologist's companion remained quiet and face unreadable, but offered a kind nod "I take your word for it."
They stopped walking as they found themselves in the reception area of the Administration wing. The secretary was obliviously occupied attending a phone call, and giving the details on some very juicy gossip about a very popular surgeon going out with one of the nurses recently hired for the A&E and how she actually saw them in the city the previous day. The intriguing part was however how she purposefully avoided specifying names. "I tell you, there are quite surprising stuff happening nowadays... No, I will not."
For their part, A.J. and Molly stared at each other and were unknowingly competing on their best arching eyebrow skills.
"She doesn't normally do that." Molly whispered and took a moment to continue. "It must be truly a wonder for her if she's willing to tell it to someone else."
A.J. pursed her lips watching at the distracted assistant and deadpanned instead "Or she just happens to be bored out of her mind without any productive thing to do."
Molly shook her head as a response "That doesn't sound fair you know."
He looked back at her confused "And why would you say that?"
"Because, I am not quick to judge. Not enough data to get a conclusion based on a snippet of a conversation and all of that. We weren't supposed to listen in the first place and…"
The impromptu monologue got interrupted as a tired intake of breath was heard from the reception desk "You say my job is boring and I clearly believe you are mistaken. I get to see a lot of brilliant stuff here. These people actually save lives every single day on ridiculous schedules sometimes, and I even get to see some near some impossible situations like the one I told you. For the last time, I'm not giving you their names so just leave me be. Goodbye."
Taking advantage of the secretary's lack of attention Molly continued muttering to her companion smiling "So…you were saying?"
He snorted and smirked unrepentantly anyway, mock glare gracing his face. "Some may believe you have a point."
Molly had a hard time keeping a straight face "Some may believe you like to be right the whole time."
A conspiratorial grin made an appearance on him "I'd love to see how much time it takes for her to see us."
"No. We should make our presence known to her. The director is waiting for you after all."
A.J. winced and pouted briefly "You're no fun."
Now it was Molly's turn to clear her throat and the response that she got nearly made her guffaw on the spot. The absentminded girl nearly fell off her chair followed by a swirl of papers going to the floor. Molly immediately got to her knees to help the woman out and the proceeded to put everything on the desk as she stood up.
"I'm so sorry Karen. I never thought I could have scared you. I'm actually here as someone needs to talk with Dr. Mallard."
The woman in question noticed the new addition to the reception and was momentarily dumbfounded. "Good morning. Of course, he mentioned he had an appointment at 9 o'clock. You must be Mr. Cross. I'm Karen Grey, Dr. Mallard's assistant."
A.J. responded with a nod and shook her hand too. She asked for him to wait a moment to inform the director and excused herself, the sound of the closing door echoing in the room.
"That went rather well…"A.J. couldn't help to snicker at the turn of events. "I can't say that I manage to leave people speechless as a daily routine for some unknown reason."
"Very funny, but seriously…" she was awed when she appraised her wrist watch "You just got here thirty five minutes late and you're commenting on people left speechless? Dr. Mallard has always been strict about time…"
A.J. grunted noncommittally "And I have always been strict about planning. If I had had more time I would have come a day earlier to become familiar of my surroundings. Believe me, it was really outrageous to land in London today, pick a cab to my flat and leave my suitcase to come here and not knowing where to go. I must have taken a wrong turn at the beginning I think. By the time I got near your lab, I had almost given up on finding someone to help me. The other rooms were conveniently empty. It was like being in a haunted house during daylight."
Molly gasped in disbelief "You came straight from the airport?!"
A.J. nodded once more and for the first time Molly noted the slight sign of tiredness on the young man's eyes. He smiled ruefully as he was being watched, to which Molly blushed a slight pink and furiously avoided looking him straight to the eyes. They heard the door opening again and Karen calling A.J. to come in.
"That's my cue."
"I guess so."
"It was nice meeting you Molly."
"Likewise."
"Can I have your number?"
"Oh… Sure."
They exchanged their mobile numbers as he moved to leave. Before entering Dr. Mallard's workplace he faced her "Again, I apologize for taking you by surprise before. I hope you're up for a cup of coffee sometime though."
"Oh…okay. I don't see why not… Have a nice meeting."
He gave her an impish grin one more time and winked at her and that was the last Molly saw of him. Karen purposefully pretended to ignore the scene unfolding and busied herself with paperwork.
It took a moment for Molly to gather her wits at the sudden revelation… It left her numb and excited at the same time. Her mind spun with tons of questions.
"Did he just manage to ask me out for coffee? How did that even happen?"
"Wait… what type of consultant is he going to be in Saint Bart's?"
Molly realized she didn't really know anything about him, but she had already agreed to go out with him. She had no idea of where he lived and what his occupation was!
"A.J. Cross… What does A.J. even stand for?" She was so taken by him and he had masterfully evaded all the important questions when she could have asked him. She didn't feel alarmed by it. Yet, she felt conflicted trying to evaluate her sense of self-preservation.
"I wish Mary had been here." She thought mournfully and left the Administration wing after waving to Karen. She had a lot of paperwork to complete too for the rest of the day.
Author's note: Well, this is the first chapter for this little baby. Let me know what you think on this turn of events and if it does create expectations on you. I really appreciate feedback as I enjoy giving it every time I go through a story.
Happy reading and writing to all of you :)
—Noukinav018—