Saving Sherlock

"Stop waiting for Prince Charming. Get up and find him. The poor idiot may be stuck in a tree or something…" –unknown. Sherlolly.

Well I know it's been a while and I know they might be a little OOC, but it just kind of came out when I read this quote, so I hope you enjoy it!

Bzzzz!

Dr. Molly Hooper was in the middle of an autopsy when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She usually wouldn't have had it with her, but ever since Sherlock's return she had felt the need to keep it close by. She only paused for a millisecond before continuing her work. Very few people texted her while she was at Bart's anyway; people who didn't know she was at work or knew she would have to get back to them later, and of course, Sherlock Holmes. More than likely, it was Sherlock again, and he could wait.

Molly's phone vibrated three more times and she rolled her eyes. Twice more. On the seventh, she called to another pathologist in the lab. It had to be an emergency, didn't it?

"Thompson! Could you take this over a minute? Quick rest room break."

Thompson agreed and she washed her hands before leaving the room. In the hall she checked her phone.

Molly, emergency: I need your help. – SH

Immediate assistance would be convenient. – SH

Primrose Hill. East of the lookout. – SH

Bring a ladder. – SH

Molly? – SH

Molly, I need you. – SH

Please. – SH

While some of the message was Sherlock's usual impatience, the last two messages worried her the most. Molly sighed and went back to the morgue. This better be a real emergency. She told her colleague that she'd just received an urgent call and had to leave.

As Molly walked out of the hospital, she couldn't decide whether she hoped Sherlock was actually in trouble or if she hoped he was lying to get her attention. Either way, she was losing half a day's pay.

Now where was she going to find a ladder?

Arriving at the location Sherlock described, Molly looked around for the detective.

"Finally! Up here!"

She looked up in surprise. There was Sherlock, sitting on a thick branch about three/quarters up a tree. Molly tried not to laugh. Even from here, she could tell he was pouting.

"What are you doing up there?!"

"It was for a case!" he shouted impatiently. "Did you bring the ladder?" She held it up in her hand. It was metal and extendable. She hoped it would reach him. She was just thankful the cab driver had been willing to help her load and unload it. "Wonderful! Set it up then!"

If Sherlock wasn't so tall and could have kept his balance, Molly could just imagine him pacing along the branch. She managed to extend the ladder and unfold it, making it just long enough to reach the branch above Sherlock's head. She steadied it against the tree.

"Okay! Come on down!"

Sherlock hesitated, squirming in his seat a little. "Molly, could you come up here?"

Molly blinked. Really? She knew Sherlock couldn't really be afraid of heights, even after his "suicide", but she couldn't quite figure out what was going on with him. With a deep breath, she eased herself up the ladder.

"Sherlock," she greeted leaning against the metal.

"Molly."

"Sherlock, why are you really up here?" she asked exasperatingly.

"I told you I was on a case." He scooted closer and held out his hand. She was frustrated with him, but knew going along with his whims was the fastest track to really understanding him.

As Molly settled on the branch next to Sherlock, she looked out over London. It nearly took her breath away. Soon it would be sunset and an orange haze was settling over the city.

"It's beautiful," she breathed.

Sherlock made an agreeing sound, though she was sure he would have liked to comment on pollution effects on sky color or some other such thing. "Molly." He cleared his throat. "I've been thinking… Since Claire came into our lives and John and Mary named us as her godparents… I've been thinking… I would like that."

"Like what, Sherlock? This still doesn't explain why you're up here."

"I'll get to that. I mean I would like… a life like John and Mary."

They sat in silence for a while as the sun continued to set. Molly almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. Sherlock wanted a wife and a family? What else could he mean by "a life like John and Mary"? Where was this conversation going? Surely he was only confiding in her because she was the only one who could understand this kind of desire. John already had it, and he'd most likely give him a hard time for it. His brother wouldn't understand it. Greg's struggling marriage meant he probably wouldn't be encouraging on the subject. Who else did Sherlock have? She felt honored to be his confidant in this, but… she felt something was off in her deductions.

"What are you going to do then?" Molly asked.

Sherlock shifted and Molly watched the beautiful sunset, the colors streaming across the London skyline. "You know that case I was on?" She looked at him. The sky wasn't the only thing beautiful this evening, was it? His blue eyes were steady. "I was trying to find the perfect spot. To watch the sunset. With you." Molly looked out at the sky again, her eyebrows just slightly furrowing. Sherlock Holmes was a strange man. "I suppose I didn't think it all through. I can't really get on my knee here," he mumbled and she looked back him. What was he talking about? He slid a ring box from his pocket.

"Sherlock…" She nearly whispered, hesitant. There was no way…

"Molly," he continued. "Will you marry me?"

Molly gripped the branch; she was not falling out of this tree. Not because she was just proposed to, not because it was at sunset in a beautiful setting, not because it was Sherlock Holmes.

Her hesitation made Sherlock ramble. "Molly, I know I'm far from perfect, and I've hurt you too many times to count, but I want to make that up. I've been trying to make that up, but what else can I do? Even if you say no, what else can I do? I do love you, Molly Hooper."

Molly took a deep breath and looked at Sherlock, deep into his eyes. "Yes." What was she doing? "Of course, Sherlock. You don't have to explain anything. I understand. I love you too."

Their first kiss was perfect, in a tree on Primrose Hill overlooking London, a beautiful sunset making the sky glow. After they parted, they stayed a bit longer. They leaned on one another, reveling in their happiness, the relative quiet, and making a memory that would last the rest of their lives.

As Sherlock followed Molly down the ladder a while later, he chuckled.

"What's that then?" she smiled, brushing off her clothes now that she was on the ground.

Sherlock hopped onto the grass and looked up at the branch. "As part of our marital agreement, I suppose you will expect us to be honest with one another, so let me start by telling you, I really was stuck in that tree."

Molly giggled and Sherlock smiled. "Come on, get the ladder and let's head to Angelo's."

Sherlock did as he was told. "Yes, I suppose this will come as a bit of a surprise to him. Why there though?"

Molly laughed. "One, I'm hungry. Two, where'd you think I got the ladder?" They laughed again and held hands as they walked toward the main road. "Also now I'm thinking I need to tell Angelo that Dr. Molly Hooper saved Sherlock Holmes."

Sherlock held up their hands, the diamond ring sparkling. "In more ways than one, Dr. Hooper."

She smiled at him. "Soon to be Dr. Molly Holmes."