A/N: This is my first attempt to write. Until this point, I have been content to merely observe from the shadows. But this little plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone, so I figured I would give it a shot. Please review, but be nice about it! It took a lot of courage for me to post this!
I own nothing but the mistakes and errors.
Molly slowly felt herself approaching consciousness. She could tell by the dim light peeking through her eyelids that it was still night. She hadn't been asleep for very long at all. She quietly stretched out and tried to figure out what had awoken her. As she rolled over to her other side, she opened her eyes – and suddenly felt wide awake.
There was a MAN in her BED! He was lying flat on his back looking up at her ceiling. She rolled back over, breathing rapidly and just about to call out for the maid.
A familiar, deep voice abruptly ceased her panic, "Do calm down, Molly."
She rolled over again to face him, leaving her looking at the silhouette of his face, outlined by the moon coming in her bedroom windows.
"Sherlock! What on earth are you doing here? Especially at this time of night?! You are fortunate that I had yet to call for the maid. That would have been problematic for the both of us!" Her fear and feelings of invasion manifested themselves into anger.
"I needed to think. Being around you calms my mind down. I didn't think you would mind. Neither of us care all that much for propriety and I did not intend to wake you."
She thought, 'Certainly, I must be dreaming right now. This is too close to my wildest fantasies to be real life. There is no way that Sherlock Holmes, the man that I have been falling in love with during the course of this summer house party, would be in my bed at night. No matter the reason, even if only to think. And, he would never admit that to me – it is too close to weakness.'
She was pulled out of her thoughts when she realized that Sherlock was still talking.
"…and, after all, I intend to properly share a bed with you soon enough."
She froze, shocked by the words that had just left his mouth. Any anger vanished completely. Not only was his statement incredibly improper, but also, it was entirely surreal. Molly rolled back over. She felt Sherlock turn on his side to face her.
"I am sorry. I did not intend to blurt it out like that. I…What are you doing?"
She sighed. "I am going to sleep. Obviously I am dreaming and I would really rather not get my hopes up because of a bizarrely realistic fantasy."
"What makes you think this is a dream. I can assure you, it is not. I actually intended to propose to you formally within the week." At her gasp of surprise, he continued, "Why are you so shocked? We have been courting for the past two months. Is marriage not the next step?"
"We have not been courting. I would know. You don't believe in sentiment or emotions, and you certainly don't believe in tying yourself down to a woman."
"You are correct. I didn't. Until I met you. You have taught me to open my heart and to trust again. You have shown me the benefits of love and sentiment. I am better because of it, because of you."
"Now I know I'm dreaming. Good night Dream Sherlock."
"If this were a dream, what would happen next? Would you truly go to sleep?"
"If this were a dream, I would turn back over and I would look you in the eyes. I would be braver than I am in real life."
Sherlock responded, "Then do it. After all, if this is nothing but a dream, what's stopping you?"
'Very well,' Molly thought to herself, 'Dream Sherlock has a point. Since this is a dream, I may as well get the most out of it!' She rolled back over to look at him, now face-to-face.
"Dream Sherlock, I think that was a ridiculous statement you made, but I am happy to temporarily share my bed with you. It is wrong, and I should make you leave, but I know that I won't. I care too much about you. So, I am going to enjoy this while it lasts! You half proposed marriage to me, and I accept! I will marry you because I love you! There. I have said it. Even if it's not to the real you, at least I have admitted it to myself!" She sat up slightly and lightly placed a kiss on his cheek before blushing and lying back down.
He caught her hand and held it tightly. "Was that so bad? Are you still convinced this is a dream?"
"Yes, I am. I would never be able to do that if I were awake!"
Without another word, he sat up and leaned over, brushing his lips against hers. He slowly increased pressure until she found herself being thoroughly and improperly kissed by Sherlock Holmes!
When he broke away, she was surprised to see his dilated pupils and hear his increased breathing. She lifted trembling fingers to her lips.
"This…this is not a dream, is it? I would never be able to create that as a figment of my imagination. It is simply too improper. You…are really here, in my bed, and you…really…just kissed me."
He merely looked at her and nodded. After some silence for a time, he spoke again, "Are you alright?" She nodded, still shocked and blushing furiously from embarrassment.
"Good. Now, I am going to do this properly. I have already, as you said, half proposed marriage. And you agreed. But I want to ask again because I am not certain that you meant to give me your agreement.
Molly, I have been courting you with this intention, apparently poorly up to this point, but I am going to ask you anyways. I have fallen for you in a way I never expected to be possible. I love you. Miss Molly Hooper, will you grant me the pleasure of becoming my wife?"
He looked at her with so much open vulnerability, and, even, could it be? love in his eyes, that she knew. "Sherlock Holmes, you are the oddest, most insufferable man I have ever met. You are probably the only man who would accept me as a woman, despite my interests in science and death. I love you for all of your eccentricities. Marry you? Of course I will!"
His grin lit up her heart and she knew she had made the correct choice. He slowly sat up and slipped off of her bed. "I have one more thing for you tonight. My grandmother's engagement ring, if you will wear it?" He pulled out from his trouser pocket a lovely gold ring, with a large ruby in the center and clusters of diamonds on the sides. At her nod, he gently slid it onto her left ring finger, where it glistened as if it was made for her.
"How are we going to explain this to your parents tomorrow morning? I would rather not tell them that you proposed to me in my bed…"
"Let's just tell them we went for an early morning walk and I asked you then, before breakfast."
He walked towards the door and, just before he slipped out, he turned back to her and said, "Thank you. For everything. Once again, you have managed to calm my battered mind. Sleep well and I shall see you in the morning. I love you."
Molly smiled to herself as she rolled onto her side to fall back asleep, watching the moonbeams dance off of the gems in her ring. She looked forward to seeing it upon waking in the morning as a reminder of the events of the night, a reminder that it was not just a dream.
A/N: Forgive me for the completely unrealistic events. (I told you it was only quasi-Victorian!) Thanks for bearing with me through this ridiculous little one-shot!