So I'm on holiday and got hit with this and the cuteness was too much to handle so I wrote it. It will span from age six to adulthood! (Rating *may* change ;) )
Molly bounced up and down in her seat, willing the car to get there already.
"Ma, are we there yet? We've been driving for HOURS!"
"Not yet, sweetheart. Just half an hour left until we see the sea!"
Molly squealed happily, gazing out of the window as if sheer will power would make the time pass quicker and draw the sea to her.
Soon enough, her mum wound down the window and the small family car was filled with the sounds and smells of the ocean, though she couldn't see it yet. She smiled wide enough to hurt her cheeks, so rubbed them thoughtfully, wondering if she would make friends there, and how many shells Ma would let her take home this year.
She hoped she would be allowed lots and lots, of both friends and shells.
The road became rough and jolty as they left the main road in favour of small, weather beaten ones that knackered the suspension and made little Molly feel sick, so she stuck her head out of the window and shrieked loudly when the bright blue expanse of water met her excited gaze.
"Ma, Ma! Look! It's so big! I bet it's at least," she paused to think, sticking her tongue out and playing with a lock of hair, "I bet it's at least ten miles wide! And fifteen metres deep!"
Her parents chuckled, sharing a glance,
"Well, honey, you're not wrong there."
Her dad's light brown eyes met hers in the mirror, the excitement within them matching his tiny daughters'.
She stuck her head out the window again, bringing her little doll, Fleur ( she had been unable to say the doll's whole name, Fleuretta, so they had shortened it to Fleur, which she had also struggled with, calling her Fur for the two years she had her), to the window too.
"Look, Fleur! It's the sea! Do you know, there are whales, and dolphins, and fishies, and SHARKS in the sea! And star fish! And crabs! Ma, do you think we'll see any?"
Her mum looked around and put her finger to her lips thoughtfully, an action copied by Molly, and smiled.
"I bet we'll see lots and lots of fish, Molly, and birds, and shells."
"YAY!"
In her excitement, her grip on Fleur slipped as the doll went tumbling out of the window, her bright smile seeming to drop from her stitched face.
"No! Ma, da, STOOOOP!"
Molly burst into noisy tears as her dad pulled over to the side of the road, and turned to face her.
"What happened? Molly! Stop crying and tell me!"
She sniffled periodically.
"I let Fleur look out of the window and, and, and she's gooooooooone."
She dissolved back into tears, snot running in thick streams down her face.
Her Pa had started the car again, prompting a scream from his young daughter, who was afraid he was going to drive off without Fleur.
"Molly. We are going to turn around and get it. I promise."
They turned, drove and found her, nestled in the arms of a peculiar looking little boy, with a round little face, a snub nose, adorable little blonde curls, piercingly intelligent blue eyes and an air of calm detachment.
Molly ran out of the car, and came to an uncertain stop in front of the boy.
"Excuse me, please could I have Fleur back?"
He looked up from stroking her hair, startled to be caught with a girls toy by a stranger.
"I found it. Just here. What were you doing with her, letting her fall out of your window? That was stupid."
Molly smiled at him, understanding he was embarrassed.
"I was letting her see the sea. We're very excited. Never seen the sea before. Please can I have her back? I love her, you see."
The boy smiled tentatively back, then handed her the doll.
"It's nice to meet you, and Fleur."
"I'm Molly. Molly Hooper." She grinned, wiping the leftover snot on her sleeve.
He held out his hand for her to shake.
She took it.
"Sherlock Holmes."
The rest of their holiday passed uneventfully, with Molly and her parents squealing as they paddled in the cold Cornish sea, gorging on ice cream and pancakes, having fresh fish and chips each night and Molly constantly on the lookout for her little blonde friend.
Her parents were grateful for the boy's parents assistance, as the father had seen the doll fall out and had pulled over, little Sherlock insisting that he needed to examine her.
For his part, he was intrigued by the snot faced little girl, with her hair in plaits with yellow bows and wearing a pretty matching dress. She had clearly been upset at the loss, but hadn't minded his holding it. She had also borne his ire and rudeness, and been nice in return.
He was learning a new trick, to build a mind ship, so he gave her her own cabin, and hoped against hope he would see her again.
(The room was yellow, with a thick ocean blue carpet like the sea, with the doll, yellow dresses and ribbons, small teeth, a chest in the same colour as her eyes- a rich mahogany- and a small notebook where he had written some songs for her already.)