Note on the title: means soulmate in French :)

Title: Cold
author: Cindy Ryan
pairings: Lestrade/Molly
timeline: AU, RF doesn't exist in this timeline
summary: series of short stories or oneshots continues from my previous story Unexpected.

Molly Hooper was so cold she no longer shivered. If she did she didn't notice the tremors. She stared down at her cell phone which had long ago fallen to it's resting place by her feet. If it wasn't dark Molly would look to see if she had icicles hanging from her ears or nose. The thought made her giggle and she knew that was a bad sign. Molly struggled to get her brain to work. To remember the signs and stages of hypothermia. She knew she was well into whatever those stages were if she couldn't remember them.

Time had fused together. Molly had no idea how much had actually passed since her predicament started. It had seemed like such a simple thing to do. Her boss had asked her to check to see if the repair man had done the repair to the morgue's freezer door that he was supposed to the day before. Molly being ever practical had taken the precaution of propping the door with a mop. Unfortunately the mop hadn't been strong enough to hold the weight of the heavy metal door and it had fallen causing the door to shut all the way. The worst of it was Molly found out the hard way that the repairman hadn't been there. The door was still broke and she was trapped.

The pros and cons of Molly's job was that she seldom had visitors. Normally that didn't bother her. It let her be engrossed in her work and she enjoyed that. Obviously today she wished the lab got a bit more foot traffic. Her relief would be the only person that would notice anything was wrong. They had a set routine for a shift report. That was hours away it'd been early morning when Molly had went to full fill her boss's request.

Mid-morning...that word nagged at Molly's thoughts. It meant something important today. More than normal. Something about lunch. A date! Molly had a lunch date with Greg Lestarde. The thought warmed Molly and gave her new hope. If anybody could find her in time it'd be Scotland Yard's finest. Molly could only pray Greg would be more worried than angry when she didn't show or answer calls. Right now her boyfriend's instincts were the only chance Molly had at seeing the next sunrise.

Five phone calls, four text messages and checking his own voicemail were what it took to amp up Inspector Greg Lestarde's worry. Especially when none of those actions brought results. He and Molly had been romantically involved for almost a year. In all that time she'd never stood him up. Not intentionally and not without letting him know a Greg left the cafe his worry and anxiety mounted by the minute. If Greg found out he was overreacting it'd be the best thing ever. However years of police work told Greg he wasn't.

Twenty minutes later Greg arrived at St. Bart's and entered Molly's lab. he found everything brightly lit. Finding Molly's desk Greg quickly located the young doctor's purse and car keys. Her coat was still on the coat rack by the door. Her lab coat was draped over the back of the desk chair. One thing Greg hadn't found was Molly's cell phone which meant wherever she was she had it with her. That troubled Greg most of all. If Molly had her phone with her why hadn't she called him or answered his calls? The cold knot in Greg's stomach told him the reason: she wasn't able to.

With an idea Greg pulled out his own cell phone and placed a call. As he waited Greg began to pace. The call distracted him a bit but not enough. The reason behind the call was splintering Greg's heart in two. It was corny but Molly had become the light of Greg's life. If anything happened to her Greg wasn't sure how or if he'd be able to deal with it. Pushing the dark thoughts aside Greg decided to concentrate on only good thoughts. Molly would be fine and they'd laugh about it later. That hope was keeping Greg sane.

The harsh light blinded Molly momentarily disorientating her. She blinked against the dark spots that appeared in front of her eyes struggling to remember. Trying to figure out what was going on. However all Molly felt and knew was cold. When hands grasped Molly's shoulder's it took her brain far too long to recognize the person they were attached to. Even longer to come up with a name. A name that meant love and safety. She opened her mouth to speak but the cold prevented any movement. Molly wasn't quite completely frozen but she felt like it and knew she was at the dangerous level for hypothermia. From the worried expression on Greg's face Molly knew she must look a fright.

"I've got you Molly-girl; you're going to be fine."Greg stated quietly as he scooped Molly up in his arms and carried her out of the freezer.