A/N

Another story that I have been writing on my mobile phone for the last months. I have had a Sherlock relapse for some weeks now and this is sort of the result. Because it's not completely finished yet, I'm going to publish it in smaller chapters. I hope the Molly and Sherlock stay in character. The story can be read as Sherlolly but the intention was to stay as close to the series relationship as possible. I wanted to explore Molly's thoughts about Sherlock and her surroundings. Rated T+ to M for later chapters, just in case. Spoilers for The Empty Hearse because I mention Tom. Obviously spoilers for the events of The Reichenbach Fall.

Chapter 1: A not so strange meeting...

The rain began to intensify as Molly Hooper crossed the last road that led up to the Gotham hotel on 46th street. She smiled brightly to herself. The afternoon and early evening had been absolutely wonderful. She had never been in New York before and what could possibly be better than doing the city with someone special? Very special indeed.

She had been seeing Tom for about two months now. He was working as an underground station guard in central London right now but he had been doing a lot of different jobs since he came home after a worldwide travel streak. Molly found him good looking, quite much actually and he was one of nicest and most humble persons she had ever met. They met through friends in London but soon she came to know that he actually had friends all over the world. This trip to New York he had planned for a long time but in the last minute, he had offered her to go with him. Molly had hesitated at first. She wasn't used to going abroad and also, she wasn't sure if she was going to be... needed... at home.

"Come on!" Tom had insisted. "You said you had holidays you could use? I want you to meet all my friends so I can show them how proud I am of you. I think London can make it without you for one week." Molly had looked at the one microscope in the lab, thinking that she was not so sure...

But she couldn't deny now that it had been a great idea. Tom's American friends were wonderful and had greeted her with open arms. For once, she didn't feel like the invisible person in the room but actually the focus of everybody's attention. At first it was kind of awkward, but now it felt as a nice change and she really liked it.

Molly flashed another bright smile at the hotel receptionist before going up the elevator to the 8th floor. Tom had wanted to stay at the pub with his friends for another two hours or so and she was fine with it. Well, company had been nice but she could understand him. He hadn't been seeing them in more than a year. One year, one month and 17 days to be exactly. She remembered this because he had said he had gone home last time on the 15th of June, a date which held a very special memory for her...

Molly opened the hotel room door with her key card and went in. The room was pitch black except for the street lights shining through the curtains while the rain was pattering against the windows who covered the room's left wall. She closed the door behind her and was just about to put the light on when she heard a sharp sound from the windows. She instantly stopped in her movements and it felt like her heart skipped a beat. The scared woman looked at the curtains in the far end of the room.

"Who's there?!" she cried and wished that she hadn't let Tom stay with his friends at the pub. She got no response. Then the cracking sound was heard again and a dark silhouette emerged from the floor. Molly cringed to the door behind her and stared at it with terrified eyes. She was about to scream and run out of the room when the silhouette suddenly began to speak.

"Everything looks more terrifying in the darkness. A human's mind fears what it can't see but sometimes the dangers are even more terrifying in the light. Then you wished that they had stayed in the dark, wouldn't you?"

Molly drew after her breath because she recognized the voice immediately! In fact she thought she could recognize it in whatever situation possible because it could only belong to one person. She turned on the lights in the room and to her absolute amaze, Sherlock Holmes stood there by the curtains...

A/N To be continued soon...