Molly couldn't think fast enough to say anything else before he left the room. She had said "okay" and that was all, but he probably didn't even hear that. He'd been halfway out the door by the time she'd said it. She began hurrying around putting things away and clearing out the usual evidence that Sherlock Holmes had been in the morgue. Not that most people weren't well aware and turned a blind eye. She felt she needed to hurry now though. He'd said he'd be upstairs. What if she was slow and he left before she got there?
She was actually stifling a grin because she felt a little proud of herself. There had been many days over the past couple of years that she'd looked herself in the mirror and said, "today I'll do it. If Sherlock comes in today, I'll ask him out." But thus far it hadn't happened. He was either too quick about his business for conversation of any kind, or he'd say something thoughtless and she'd get discouraged. But today she'd actually done it! And he said yes...sort of. Well not really, but he didn't say no. Surely he'd at least sit with her while he had his coffee, seeing as she had invited him. But even as she tried to reassure herself, she realized that Sherlock didn't hold to those sort of rules of conduct. It was highly unlikely that he'd do more than take the coffee from her hand, say thank you, and be on his way.
By the time Molly left the morgue, she was feeling down again. Somehow the high of asking Sherlock to have coffee had been whisked away briskly by her own mind. She chastised herself for allowing hope to grow even briefly. As she boarded the elevator she began to think she shouldn't have even asked in the first place. A couple of her close friends had strictly instructed her not to ask Sherlock out.
"Molly, he's known you for more than two years. If he hasn't asked you out by now, he's not going to," one had said.
"You're into science, you know this stuff! Don't take it personally. It's all chemical! You're probably not giving off the right chemicals for him and he will never be attracted to you, no matter how pretty you are," another had said.
"You already look desperate for his attention. Do not make it worse and make the first move."
All these well meaning pieces of advice fell on deaf ears, for the most part. She really didn't care what anyone else thought of Sherlock or how he treated her. It was only after she did something she really regretted that these special tidbits of advice would flood back into her head. Didn't happen often since usually she did nothing to merit any regret with Sherlock. He didn't allow much leeway for that.
Molly went to the cafeteria and got the coffee with a stony expression. She resolved to take the coffee to Sherlock in the lab, hand it over, and be the one to walk away quickly. She had no need to be there at the moment. Just give him the coffee and leave. No need to give him the opportunity to be rude or indifferent. She decided she should be the indifferent one this time.
Molly got to the lab and felt her heart betraying her already. Sherlock was putting something into a dish and leaning over to look closely at it on the table. The perfect fit of his white shirt and dress pants made him look more like he was posing for a photo shoot than doing an experiment. She took a deep breath and tried to envision herself being completely disinterested and setting the coffee down with barely a word. She stepped in briskly.
"Here you are, Sherlock. Black, two sugars." She set the cup down. "I'll be going now then." She began to turn to head back the way she came.
"You're off rather quickly Molly," he stated without looking up.
She stopped and turned around again. "Oh, did you need me to stay? I can stay if you'd like."
"What would I need you to stay for?"
Just like that, her plan of action had been squashed. She'd, once again, turned into the one hoping for attention and he was he one who didn't care.
"Well, I don't know...you seemed to be asking-" she began.
"I was simply confused at why you were rushing off since you're clearly done for the day. You have your list folded up in your lab coat pocket. You only do that at the end of your day. You take it off your clip board and fold it up, putting it in your pocket to drop on your managers desk on the way out. So I imagine you're not exactly in a rush to get back to work. And besides, you never rush off even if you do have a full list to attend to."
"Well, maybe I'd just like to get home."
"To your cat?"
She looked around a little embarrassed and folded her arms protectively in front of her. "Yes...to my cat."
"Right...well don't let me keep you. Thanks for the coffee, Molly." He barely looked up at her before returning his gaze to the counter and his work.
"Sure...see you later, Sherlock." Molly pressed her lips together while walking out of the lab. How had that happened? she wondered. Somehow she still managed to come out of there feeling like he couldn't care less whether she existed or not. Unless of course he needed her to do something for her.
And if she was honest with herself, she was already foolishly looking forward to the next time he did.