Molly Hooper was tired of waiting for Sherlock Bloody Holmes to notice her. She had tried all of the conventional ways. Changing her hair hadn't worked. Lipstick was a failure. New jumpers might as well have been made of invisible cloth rendering her unseeable. Perfume, nice dresses, even blatantly asking him for coffee had been a no go. She refused to wait around any longer. Conventional means didn't work. Sherlock was, however, an unconventional man, perhaps unconventional means were the way to the mans heart.
It was with this revelation in mind that she hesitantly climbed the stairs to 221B Baker Street. All morning she had formulated her plan. She knew that this would be her one and only chance to get to him. The door was ajar and she took that as a signal to enter the flat.
Sherlock was sitting in his chair, violin in hand, staring absently into the kitchen. Molly approached cautiously, hands held steadily at her side, bag slung over her shoulder. She lowered it to the floor by the door and then continued on her path to Sherlock.
He didn't stir as she sat across from him in John's old chair. He must have moved it back into place from storage. After sitting for a few minutes in complete silence she cleared her throat. He shook himself out of his mind palace and looked over to her. Once she knew that she had his full attention she began to speak.
"Alright Sherlock, I came here today to talk to you about… us." Sherlock didn't say anything but he raised an eyebrow at that. "I have been thinking about that for a long time." She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the next part of her speech.
"Today I came to ask you a question Sherlock. Before you say anything, hear me out. I have come to ask you to marry me." She could see Sherlock struggling to comply with her request to not interrupt and she silently thanked him for that. "Here are my reasons: first, people who are married and are in committed relationships live longer. You could continue to make contributions to the world for decades longer than if you never get married.
"Second, in case of medical emergency you will have someone, namely myself, who is a doctor and is not your brother as your next of kin. I will be the first person they call. You trust me Sherlock, there is no reason to not make that trust official.
"Thirdly, and I know this will be most difficult for you, children. If we have children, which I certainly hope so, they will be magnificent. Brilliant, beautiful, amazing. Whatever they do will be genius level and will leave the world a better place.
"Marriage will bring you many benefits Sherlock, benefits you have always been afraid of, but no longer need to be. Sentiment doesn't have to be for the losing side. Sentiment can make you stronger Sherlock, my love can make you stronger. I will always be there for you, waiting for you to return, I will help you with whatever you need."
Molly allowed her voice to die out, letting silence fill the flat once more. She could see that Sherlock was in his mind, thinking things over. Now it was just a matter of waiting for his response. She tried not to be nervous but she was literally waiting for her future to be decided by the man sitting in front of her.
Three hours passed with Sherlock still in his mind. Molly shuffled around the flat, tidied up a bit, made a cuppa, ate some left over Chinese, or at least attempted it. Her stomach was in knots, keeping her appetite at bay. She sat down in John's chair, her chair if all things went according to plan, and watched as Sherlock slowly emerged from his mind palace once again.
He looked at her and leaned forward slightly. She held her breath waiting for the verdict. Her heart almost stopped as he said one word.
"Yes."