It was the end of a stressful and long day and Molly was grateful to be going home was looking forward to the chilled bottle of wine in her refrigerator. She flicked the lights off and walked towards the exit pulling on her coat.
"You're wrong you know." Comes a voice, his voice, from the shadows behind her making her spin around and clutch her bag tightly. "You do count. You've always counted and I have always trusted you. But you were right. I'm not ok." He says stepping out of the shadows and molly steps forward.
"Tell me what is wrong."
"Molly I think I am going to die." He says and her blood runs cold.
"What do you need?" She asks shakily and he stares at her contemplating her for a moment.
"If I wasn't everything you think I am, everything I think I am would you still want to help me?"
"What do you need?" She says her voice more steady and he steps forward closing the gap between them.
"You." He says his eyes locked with hers and she swallows.
"What-what can I do for you?" Molly asks and he gives her a sad smile.
"I have a plan." He says and Molly nods, of course he does, molly thinks to herself and she nods. "I am going to fake my death." Sherlock says making Molly's eyes widen as he continues to stare at her.
"H-how?" Molly asks and Sherlock gives her a very rare smile and takes her wrist and pulls her willingly towards a stool and sits her down. She blinks up at him as he pulls a stool out for him to sit down on. He sits directly across from her their knees almost touching.
"This is where you come in Molly. I need you to see to it that I appear dead. Can you do that?" He asks and Molly frowns at him.
"Of course I can, I am a doctor you know." She says making him straighten up and his lips twitch in humour.
"I do know that." He says and she nods.
"Right, well... can I ask one question?" She asks and he nods his head slightly.
"I suppose you want an explanation?" He says reading her mind and she nods. "Your Jim wants me dead; he has already shamed me now he wants to finish the job." Molly cringes at the mention of Jim from IT but tries to ignore it.
"So he is behind what is being said in the papers?" Molly asks and Sherlock frowns at her.
"I thought you said one question." He scalds but she just shrugs and goes red.
"Yes he, Moriarty, is behind it all." He says and Molly nods.
"No one who knows you will believe that you are a fake." She says firmly and Sherlock sighs.
"How I wish that were true but for now they must believe it Molly that is imperative." He says and Molly frowns.
"Why?" She asks and Sherlock looks at the ground.
"They will move on quicker if they think I have been lying all this time."
"Why are you not telling John all of this? Why me?"
"Moriarty is going to threaten their lives, John, Mrs Hudson and Lestrade. He is going to want to me to kill myself to save them so that is what I have to do. But you see he has underestimated your roll in my life Molly. This detail alone will be his downfall." He says with a pleased smile.
"I don't know if I can lie to John." I say and he frowns, "Sherlock I don't think..." Sherlock leans forward and takes Molly's hand.
"Please Molly." He says pleadingly. Molly blinks at him his eyes bright and desperate she knows in her heart that she will help him, there was really no doubt about it. It was Sherlock and he is just, well it is Sherlock she was smitten about him and she would help him in any way she could. He smiled as she battled with her conscience clearly pleased with what he saw flitting across her face. She didn't even need to answer. "Thank you Molly, you are saving many lives."
"This is real? Molly asks abruptly as Sherlock stands up he looks down at her and nods.
"It is as real as it gets." He says placing a hand on her shoulder making it the third time in five minutes he willingly touched her. She looked at her shoulder where his hand rested and then up into his icy blue eyes. "Can you do this Molly?" Sherlock asks his voice unsure wither this was too much for her to handle. She swallows hard and gets up making Sherlock drop his hand to his side.
"Yes I can do this." She said firmly.
Later that day Molly was standing in the hallway to the entrance of Bart's peering out and worrying about the crowd outside the doors and how this was going to work. The truck was there just like planned, the syringe of beta blockers heavy in her pocket and the bag of Sherlock's Blood under her arm to keep it warm.
"Why am I taking your blood?" Molly asked as Sherlock rolled up his sleeve revealing his arm.
"It needs to look real." He said as he tapped his arm to raise a vein. Molly pierced his pale skin and hit a vein instantly, she secured the needle and they watched in silence as the blood dripped into the bag.
"How do you know John will not reach you before I am able to get to you?" Molly asked as she watched the crimson liquid fill the bag.
He lifted his head and looked at Molly with an exasperated look, she had been trying to pick holes in his plan for the last twenty minutes, and Molly peered at him through her eyelashes.
"I have distractions in place. Just you worry about killing me." He said and she looked up at him frowning.
"This-this isn't right Sherlock." She said and then looked away before she could see his reaction busying herself with getting cotton buds for when she removed the needle.
"I realise what I am asking of you is a lot." He states and Molly nods still not looking at him, "Molly if it is about money or..." Molly spun around angrily effectively stopping him mid sentence.
"Money?" She says loudly as she glared at him. "No Sherlock this is not about money, this is about people's feelings. My friend's feelings, you being dead is going to hurt a lot of people."
"They will get over it." He said with a shrug and I frown.
"For someone so brilliant you can be so stupid sometimes. You have no idea do you?" Molly says and he frowns.
"About what?" He asked looking confused about her sudden change in temper.
"About how much people care for you." Molly said crossing her arms and frowning at him.
"I know I just don't understand it." He says and molly sighs and walks over to him and pulls the needle out.
"I'm sorry." Molly said as she pressed the cotton ball to the crook of his elbow.
"Why?" He asked and Molly just stared at him and shrugged.
There is a loud bang and Molly's heart stops in her chest. Was that a gunshot? Molly thinks to herself as she quickly looks out of the window she is shocked to see that all the people from earlier are gone and the doors are clear. "I have distractions in place." Rings in her head as she moves towards the entrance and right on cue she hears a yell.
"Sherlock!" It is the agonised cry of John and Molly looks up and she sees him fall. His black coat billows behind him as he plummets to the earth. Molly's heart is beating rapidly and in the few seconds it takes for him to land it is close to escaping her chest.
The truck, the oh so conveniently placed truck, shudders violently when he hits into its load. Molly watches in shocked silence as she watches him quickly and clumsily clambers over the bags of laundry. He falls to the floor in a heap and stays like that. Molly rushes out to him and sees from the corner of her eyes john being hit by a bicycle.
"Now Molly!" Sherlock groans from the floor and she pulls out the syringe and injects it into his leg while emptying the blood onto his head, she sees him pass out. She looks up and sees that John is still on the floor and as other people rush out to him she backs away pretending to be a horrified bystander. She backs into the hospital and just catches a glimpse of a dazed looking John push through the crowd before she turns and runs through the hospital and down into the morgue. She slams the door shut and quickly disposes of the blood bag and needle. She rushes into her office and sits down at her desk and pretends to do some paperwork when she is really desperately trying to not cry and calm her shaking hands. She just cannot get the image of John's distraught face out of her head and she takes to counting ticks on the clock to clear her head.
Twenty seven minutes, that is how long it takes for his body to be wheeled in. She watches as his body is wheeled in by a porter who is being closely followed by a red-faced Lestrade. Molly gets up and plasters a smile on her face and exits her office. Lestrade looks at her then to the body and his shoulders sag.
"Hi Greg, what have you got for me today?" Molly says in her best calm voice. Lestrade blinks a few times before sighing heavily.
"You haven't heard?" He asks in a kind voice making Molly feel dreadfully guilty.
"Heard what?" She says with a little frown trying her best not to break down then and there and divulge the whole plan.
"It's..." Lestrade swallows and he puts his hand on Molly's shoulder and gives it a squeeze. Molly frowns at him and lifts the corner of the sheet and gasps when she reveals the bloody face of Sherlock. She throws the sheet closed and looks at Lestrade who is staring at her with watery eyes.
"How?" She asks and Lestrade retells the events to her and she cries openly allowing the stress of the day wash over her.
"I am so sorry Molly; I know how you felt for him." He says and Molly nods wiping her eyes.
"John?" Molly says with a choked voice.
"He's not great he got hit by a bike and he has had to be sedated as he was screaming." Lestrade says and Molly's tears flow again. Poor John.
"That is awful, did he..."
"He saw him jump." Lestrade says answering his question and I nod. "Is there no one else here?" He asks looking around and Molly shakes her head.
"Just me."
"Do you... do you want me to get someone else in to do it?" Lestrade asks glancing at Sherlock's covered body.
"No I can do it. There will not be much to do." Molly says and Lestrade nods.
"I'm sorry to leave you like this Molly but I..."
"It is ok Greg."Molly says with a sniff and Lestrade hesitated before he grabs Molly in a hug and leaves without another word or another look at Sherlock's body.
As soon as Lestrade has left Molly rushes to the doors and locks them. She switches on the 'room in use' sign and hurries over to her office and grabs a bag of clothes from under her desk. She rushes back over to the trolley where Sherlock lies. She injects him with a small dose of adrenaline and feels his pulse speed up. She opens the drawer containing the John Doe she and Sherlock decided would be the decoy body and unzips his bag and grimaces at the bloody face. She shudders when she recalls Sherlock making the face almost unrecognisable.
Pulls off Sherlock's shoes and socks and jams the socks on the corpse and makes short work of pulling off Sherlock's coat and jacket. He groans slightly and she jumps, despite the fact she knew he was actually alive people don't normally make noise in the morgue and it makes her heart miss a beat before she shakes herself. She snatches up a little light and opens Sherlock's eyelid and shines it into his eye. He snaps his eyes shut again and she smiles.
"Sh-Sherlock can you hear me?"Molly says shaking his shoulders. He groans and his eyes flutter open and land on Molly's.
"Water?" He says his voice hoarse and Molly reaches for the bottle he placed there earlier, she opens it and holds it to his lips and he drinks until he has drained it. "My ribs." He says sounding more like himself and Molly frowns.
"Have you hurt them?"
"Broken, I think." He groans as he tries to sit up. Molly noticing his struggle helps him and he gives her a grateful smile. He grips his chest and tries breathing deeply and winces. "You will need to bandage them or I am not going to be able to move." He says swinging his long legs over the trolley.
"Right." Molly says and she rushes around and gathers bandages and rushes back to him as he is unbuttoning his shirt. She helps him pull his arms free and looks at his ribs. They are red and slightly swollen and she runs her hand along then feeling for anything irregular but she cannot feel anything. Sherlock sits still as she does a few checks on him and helpfully lifts his arms slightly when she starts to wrap him up. He grits his teeth as she tightens the bandages around his ribcage and she shoots him an apologetic look. She ties of the bandage with a tidy knot and Sherlock looks down at her handiwork.
"You are very good at this, why did you not stick to treatment?" He asks and she frowns.
"Is this really the time to discuss my career choices?" Molly asks slightly shocked by the fact he was trying to converse with her at that very moment.
"As good a time as any." He says with a shrug and she shakes her head in disbelief.
"I gave it up because I do not have to have conversations with dead people." She says and his eyebrows quirk up in humour at their current predicament. "Well apart from now obviously." She says trying herself not so smile.
"I am glad you chose this, where would I be without your help?" Sherlock says with a haunted look and molly shivers at the very though.
"I'm glad too." She says and he gives her one of his very rare true smiles, Molly smiles back shyly and looks away as the power of his gaze makes her blush as it always did. Sherlock hands her his shirt she takes it wordlessly and starts putting it on the decoy Sherlock. She watches as Sherlock gets gingerly to his feet and looks away when he starts to unbutton his trousers. Molly's mind ran through the many fantasies that she had about Sherlock undressing in front of her and this, when he had just faked his own death and was covered in blood was not one of them. However when she heard the whisper of the trousers falling to the floor she had to bite her lip and use every morsel of will power to not peek. The trousers are kicked over to her and she crouches down and her eyes flick over to him and catch sight of his long bare legs as he pulls on the worn jeans that were in the bag. She looks away and frowns at herself as she pulls the trousers on the decoy. Molly reluctantly keeps herself faced away from him while he continues to dress. As she is pushing Sherlock's shoes onto the decoys feet he taps her shoulder and she jumps. She drops the shoe and hurries to pick it up. She looks up at Sherlock and her mouth pops open.
"Do I look different?" Sherlock asks adjusting a blonde curly wig onto his head. Molly stares at him and he looks down at her. "Molly?"
"Yes-yes, very different." She says and she roams her eyes over his hoodie, jeans and trainers he was wearing.
"Not like myself?" He asks pulling at the top. Molly shakes her head and looks down at the decoy Sherlock who now looks more like Sherlock than the real thing standing in front of her. "And no one will ask questions?" Sherlock says looking down at the decoy.
"No I don't think so. I have written my report and with the papers you have forged from Mycroft I doubt there will be any hesitation with anything. I have called to have him, you, picked up as soon as possible." Molly says and Sherlock nods. Someone rattles on the morgue doors, Molly rushed to them and opens them and a man in a black suit enters and Molly rushes out to greet him.
"Michael, that was quick!" Molly says her voice higher and more panicked than usual. Michael looks at her and nods.
"Was told it was a special pick up so here I am." He says and he looks over to the open drawer where the decoy Sherlock is laying. He grimaces and molly rushes back over to zip up the bag and gives him an apologetic look.
"Sorry I have just finished with him." Molly says looking around nervously for Sherlock but she cannot see him anywhere. She wheels the trolley over to Michael and he stares at the bag. She hands him the file and he looks at the name and his eyebrows rise up.
"Sherlock Holmes eh?" He says and Molly nods crossing her arms around her stomach and eyeing the bag sadly. "Friend of yours?" He asks and Molly nods.
"He was." She says and he nods.
"Sorry about that. Have you been reading what they have said about him in the papers?" Michael asks and Molly frowns.
"Yes I have and you shouldn't believe everything you read." She says and Michael chews his lip obviously embarrassed about bringing the subject up. "His brother wants him cremated as soon as possible, it is all there." Molly says and Michael nods looking at the official looking government document. "He doesn't want a media circus with this and trust me you do not want to argue with his brother." Molly adds for good measure and Michael nods again.
"Right well I'll be off." He says clearing his throat. Molly nods and looks down at the body one last time before he is wheeled out. The doors swing shut and Molly starts to tremble. The severity of what she is doing has really started to hit her now she has just send the body away.
"It is out of our hands now." Sherlock says from behind her. She turns around still trembling. "Not to worry Molly, like I said I have this all planned out."
"I'm not worried I am terrified Sherlock. If this gets out it will be the end of my career, I will be put in prison!" Molly says as she feels her heart speed up.
"Molly you need to calm down you're having an anxiety attack. I promise to you nothing will happen to you I will see to it you're safe." Sherlock says as Molly stares up at him helplessly.
"You promise?" She says shakily and he nods.
"I promise." He says and she nods seeing the sincerity in his eyes. "Are you ok to go on?" He asks kindly and she nods and straightens herself up.
"Yes, yes I am fine." She takes a deep breath and nods, "Let's get you out of here." She says and he smiles.
"Good girl."
"Ok you wait here for five minutes and I will meet you at the underground." Molly says as she sticks her head out of the door to check if the coast is clear and Sherlock rolls his eyes.
"Molly I know." Sherlock says and she nods.
"Of course." She says and she opens the door and looks back at him.
"Go!" Sherlock says and Molly rushes out the doors and down the hall to the elevator, just like every other day. She thinks as the elevator pings and the doors slide open. When she gets to the main floor she puts her head down and she notices the whispers and looks of pity as she passes. She bumps into a doctor just before she reaches the door.
"I'm sorry." She says and she looks up at the doctor and he just gives her a little smile.
"It is ok, I am sorry to hear about your friend." He says and Molly nods and looks down at the floor fighting the urge to run.
"Thank you." She says and he pats her shoulder and lets her past. She rushes off and bursts through the entrance door and gasps for some fresh air. She quickly scans around her and she sees a police cordon around the entrance of the hospital blocking any reporters getting a good view is the scene. They are only allowing emergency vehicles through. She looks down at the ground where the stain of blood is still evident on the ground and she rushes away as fast as she can. She passes the reporters who are all craning to see the scene of Sherlock's down fall and as she passes they don't even give her a second glance. She keeps her head down as she walks down the street towards the underground.
She is standing in the crowd craning her neck to see if she can spot Sherlock but there are too many people around her. She starts to get nervous after a while and begins to wonder if she should go back, that he may be stuck, when a hand takes hers and she is pulled along behind a tall blonde man. She almost screams when her turns around and Sherlock winks at her.
"For god sake you scared me!" She hisses at him and he just squeezes her hand in response. He holds his hand out for a cab and one pulls up a few seconds later and he opens the door for her. She steps in and he follows her closely and sits right next to her and leans forward.
"King's cross mate, Goldinton Street please." He says and he sits back and throws his arm over Molly's shoulders. Molly stills and looks at him.
"H-How did you..." Molly begins but he turns to her and arches and eyebrow. "Right of course. It's you." She mutters and he chuckles.