A case , it all started with a case and one very cold night.
It had been a long day for Molly , it was coming up seven in the evening and she had had back to back autopsies all day starting from eight that morning . All she wanted to do was go home , have some food a nice relaxing bath and then crawl into bed but of course that wasn't going to happen .
As she finished off her final autopsy , she was surprised with the sound of the morgue doors slamming open and then she heard the familiar footsteps and swish of coat that could only belong to Sherlock .
She knew as soon as she realized it was him that she more than likely would not be starting her evening plans anytime soon as she would not be able to stop herself from trying to please him .
" Hello Sherlock " Molly said as she continued to tidy up after herself , not bothering to look up to check if it was indeed him .
" Good evening Molly , you look well ."
'oh hes starting with the flattery already , it must be something big he wants me to do ' Molly thought to herself as she finally looked up at him .
" You look well too Sherlock , now was there a specific reason you came here or did you just want to say hi ."
" I require your help on a case Molly ."
"I thought as much , how can i help ?"
" I require a assistant for the week and i have chosen you ." Sherlock answered matter of factly , which caused Molly to stutter in surprise .
"Wh- What do you mean ? " She stared at him slightly in shock
" Well you were very helpful the one day that you helped me after i returned , so i decided you would be the perfect assistant for a case . " Sherlock said staring back at her with a smirk on his face .
"And also John is unavailable for a week long trip with Mary so close to her due date , he refuses to leave her alone but i still am in need of a assistant for the case , it is a nine , so what i am saying is , i need you to take a week off work so you can come with me on a case as my assistant instead of John. "
She knew she couldn't not say yes , a week alone in the company of the world's only consulting detective , it was like a dream come true . You would think after all the years of knowing him , helping him to fake his own death and having had the courage previously to slap him silly when he had done a stupid stupid thing , you would think that she would have less feelings for him but of course not , she was still in love with the ass and she couldn't help it .
" When are you needing to leave as i would need to give Mike a bit of notice before i disappear for a week . "
" That is all taken care of , i have already talked to Stamford and he says you have so much holiday time sitting there that he will force you to take time off sometime soon if you don't take it now , so he is fine with it . Oh and i plan to leave Baker street around seven in the morning , so i will pick you up at about quarter past seven . " He said as he turned and headed back to the door .
"Hey i haven't said yes yet Sherlock ."
Turning back around to her , Molly was sure she saw the faintest glimpse of a smile on his face. "Oh , so what is your answer then ? "
Molly sighed "Yes Sherlock i will go with you on the case but you could at least tell me what the case is ."
Grabbing out a small folder , Sherlock passed it to Molly ."This is all the information so far that i have collected , read over it tonight , oh and pack warmly we are going camping ."
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Molly had gone home almost immediately after Sherlock had left and had begun to pack her clothes , forgetting about how hungry she was due to her excitement of going on a case , with Sherlock , it was like a dream come true , she actually started to wonder if it was a dream and had to pinch her arm to convince herself that she was indeed awake. Pulling a old tramping pack out of the back of her wardrobe ( left over from camping trips with her father before he died ) Molly started to fill the old canvas pack with the essentials. After a few changes of clothes , wet weather gear and other essentials had gone in , she decided to take a break and have some dinner as the growling of her stomach was overcoming her excitement .
Pulling out the case file from her work satchel , Molly began to read it as she ate her dinner .
Case - Five couples had gone missing from Dartmoor forest while wild camping in the last six months , each were last seen in the Rough Tor area , with a camp set up and each time their gear and tent were left behind and there was no trace of them at all . The couples had no similarities between them the youngest of them being in their mid 20s and the oldest being in their late 60s , there was also no suspects according to the local police in Dartmoor . This Molly supposed was why Sherlock was now being invited to investigate.
Molly read and reread all the information that Sherlock had given her and believed she knew all it off by heart now , but she couldn't stop the feeling that there was a lot more to the case then was in the folder , and more than likely Sherlock knew this . Clearing the table of the case folder and her dinner , she headed back to her bedroom and continued packing , because now she knew where they were going she realised she may need different clothes .
Falling asleep at just after mid-night Molly woke with a jolt as her alarm clock sent a shrill sound through her ears . As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes she noticed the time was later than she had expected and she only had a short time before Sherlock arrived . Jumping out of bed she quickly showered ,dressed and was just finishing a bite of toast when there came a knock at the door .
" Coming " Molly yelled as she practically ran to the front door , unlocking it to see Sherlock dressed in his usual suit and Belstaff , he certainly did not look like he was going camping .
" Are you ready Molly ? " Sherlock asked with a huff of annoyance , as he had already picked up that she was indeed not ready .
" Just give me five more minutes i just need to brush my teeth and grab my bag ."
"You brush your teeth i will grab your bag , im guessing its sitting on your bed then ?"
Molly smiled and nodded at Sherlock , then rushed off to the bathroom to quickly brush her teeth and pack her last little bit of essentials for camping .
Going into Molly's bedroom Sherlock noticed it had not changed since the last time he had been there , the flowery duvet still covered the bed and the family photos and small ornaments were still scattered on top of her dresser and bedside table , it was so very Molly and Sherlock couldn't help but let a little smile out at this. If there was one thing he could count on it was that Molly will always be Molly , even when in stupid relationships like the one she had with "Meat Dagger " , she never changed and for that he was glad .
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he grabbed her bag in a rushed motion and left the room , so to get away from the sentimental thoughts he was having , not noticing that he had left one essential thing behind ... Molly's Sleeping Bag.
With the car packed with her gear and the apartment locked up tight , Sherlock hopped into the drivers seat and Molly into the passengers .
" I didn't know you could drive Sherlock . "Molly said as he turned the key in the ignition and the car purred into life .
" There are a lot of things you don't know about me Molly , most of them only i know and i hope no one else ever finds them out ." He said as he thought about the main thing that he knew if he ever told anyone would probably ruin him and that was that he was pretty certain he was in love with Molly. A sentiment he really wished he could avoid as it complicated things so much.
Pulling out of the parking spot , Sherlock got his bearings and started driving out of London and to Dartmoor .
" So how far is it to Dartmoor ?" Molly asked after ten minutes of silence .
" It is approximately a four hour drive if i remember correctly , and of course i always do ." Sherlock said adding the last few words as a joke , one ad enough to rival Molly's bad jokes.
Molly smiled at Sherlock picking up on his joke instead of thinking that he was being a pompus twat like most people did. " Oh of course , you are never wrong " She said sarcastically , smiling even brighter than before .
Sherlock looked over at her quickly before looking back at the road . " Yes im never wrong ." he smirked as he heard Molly laughing .
" Alright then i will just let you carry on believing that ." She said trying to control her giggling .
"Thank you ." Sherlock said giving her a cheesy grin .
Not sure what to say next , they feel into a comfortable silence , Molly eventually nodding off for several hours until they were just out of Dartmoor .
While she slept Sherlock couldn't help but notice how peaceful and ...beautiful she looked while asleep , it was something he wouldn't mind seeing more often he thought before banishing the thought from his mind .
When she woke up , she stretched as she yawned hitting Sherlock in the jaw " oh crap , im so sorry " She said pulling her arm away quickly.
Rubbing his jaw Sherlock sighed " Its alright just don't do it again."
"I won't , i promise ."
Not long after they got to the very outskirts of Dartmoor and were welcomed by a sign that said "Welcome to Dartmoor " and in smaller writing underneath " The Home of the Hound."
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Sherlock sighed as he read the smaller writing on the sign , it had been nearly five years since he had solved the case that John had named on his blog " The Hound of Baskerville " and yet Dartmoor still insisted on having it as a tourist attraction , because well it bought in tourists which was the aim . Even though he had proved the sightings to be nothing more than a chemical induced paranoia , the Hound myth had stuck and Sherlock knew that he would more than likely be asked lots of questions when recognized so he decided to let Molly do most of the things that needed to be done in town , just so it would be done on a lower profile , he didn't need any distractions when it came to this case .
Molly watched out her window as they passed the landscape fast ,the trees thinning out to the moors and then the first signs of civilization as they flew past the houses that seemed to be getting closer and closer together until they arrived in their first destination , the Dartmoor township .
Looking over at Sherlock , Molly pointedly asked " So is this where you had that " Hound of the Baskerville " case , as John calls it in his blog ?"
" It is indeed and because of that im going to get you to ask the questions and get our essentials for camping , so that i can keep a low profile ." Sherlock answered without taking his eyes off the road .
" Okay fine by me , but are you going to be following me around while i do these things ? "
" I am , because i need to be there to see if the person is not telling you the truth ."
"Well in that case Sherlock , you are going to need a totally different style of clothing , because they are going to remember you straight away if you saunter in there wearing your suit and belstaff. "
Sherlock didn't answer for a while as he thought about her words , mentally slapping himself as he saw the truth in her words , if he was wearing his normal clothes he would be instantly recognized . Begrudgingly Sherlock answered Molly back . " You are right Molly , i definitely need a change of clothes other than these ."
Molly smirked slightly and nodded . " You really do , so first things first we find a clothing store , i will go in there and get a change of clothes for you and you will wear whatever i choose alright ? " She said grinning brighter , making Sherlock a little bit worried .
"Okay ."
After a little bit of searching , they found a mens clothing store . Handing Molly his credit card , she ran into the store and after about ten minutes she came back with bags consisting of a pair of jeans , several band shirts , a hoodie , a pair of doc martins and a beanie . Seeing this assortment of clothing Sherlock looked at Molly bewildered by her choices .
"You have got to be kidding me "
" You said you would wear whatever i bought you . I bought you those so now i expect you to wear them ."
"Well technically i bought these as i paid - "
" I don't care if you technically bought them , you asked me to get you a disguise , so i got you a disguise and you are going to wear it . " Molly cut in before he got further into what she knew would be a long monologue if she allowed him to continue.
" Alright , i will wear them ."
"Good ."
Molly looked Sherlock up and down in his new clothes trying not to laugh at the sour look on his face .
" I may never forgive you for this Molly . " he said grumpily but knowing he would eventually.
Before answering she took out her phone and snapped a picture . " Oh well then at least i will have this photo as a memento ." She giggled and put it down her front so he could not get to her phone and delete it . Which caused Sherlock to stare at her for a while before snapping out of his thoughts.
" Okay we need to start doing work for the case now Molly and we are here under the pretense of going wild camping together as ahh.. partners."
" Oh so you mean i have to pretend to be your girlfriend and you have to pretend to be my ... Boyfriend ." She said teasingly as a lump formed in her throat at the actual thought of having to be his " Girlfriend."
" I prefer the word partner but yes that is what i mean , and the first thing we are going to do is book into the Kross Keys Inn and then we are going to walk around the town and casually ask questions about the area and wild camping on the Moors on the pretense of finding out the best area to go and bring up the rough tor and see how people react . Have you got that ?" Sherlock asked quizzically staring at Molly his brows furrowed as she nodded trying to stifle the laughter coming out of her mouth with her hand .
Finally getting her composure back , Molly and her " boyfriend" "Craig " headed to the Inn to book in .