A Marriage of Minds: First Christmas
A Sherlock & Molly Story
By Brown Eyes Parker
Author's Note:
When I made a list of all the stories I wanted to write for Christmas, I couldn't get this idea out of my head. And actually, I had been planning on writing this the whole time.
Rated: T
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
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"Sherlock, darling, I'm home!" Molly Hooper-Holmes called as she entered their flat on Baker Street.
"I'll be there in just a minute!" Sherlock replied. "I'm just doing something. . ."
"Oh?" Molly asked. "And what is it that you're doing?"
"It's a surprise!" Sherlock answered. "Don't come in here!"
Molly rolled her eyes and put her hand on her expanding stomach. "Oh Sherlock, honestly! I've been on my feet all day, I'm exhausted. All I really want to do is sit down and take a rest before I have to start dinner."
"Mrs. Hudson already made something for dinner," Sherlock told her. "She figured you might have had a long day."
Molly sighed as she took her coat and scarf off. "Sherlock, what are you doing? You're not performing experiments again. Are you?"
Sherlock scoffed. "Hardly!"
"Sherlock, it's so drafty out here! Please let me come in!" Molly begged.
Sherlock opened the door a crack and looked out at her. "Go and see if you can have tea with Mrs. Hudson. I'm working on something right now!"
"So you've said," Molly replied, fixing him with a look. "But if you're not experimenting on animals or people again then what are you doing?"
"It has something to do with Christmas," Sherlock said, shutting the door.
"Does it?" Molly asked. "Is it my Christmas gift then?"
"No! John and I are going to do our Christmas shopping together later this week, if we don't have any pressing cases that we're working on that is."
"If it doesn't have anything to do with my Christmas present, then why can't I come in?"
Sherlock sighed and opened the door. "Since you have to know! I was attempting to set up a tree. My mother always decorated the house before Christmas Eve and I was trying to do the same thing for you. But now you've ruined the surprise. I hope you're happy."
Molly's lips twitched. "But Sherlock, I enjoy decorating for the holidays. It isn't something you need to do by yourself."
"Are you sure you're up to it though?" Sherlock asked as he followed her into the living room.
"I'm pregnant, not at death's door! And this has been a fairly easy pregnancy. Stop worrying about me, darling. So, what have you gotten done so far?"
"I got the tree up and put half the lights on it, but that's all."
"Good! Decorating the tree is one of my favorite parts! Come along, we can have some dinner and then after everything is cleaned up we can start putting the ornaments on the tree. And I have a surprise for you; I've been keeping it tucked away for a day like this."
Sherlock frowned, ready to put up another argument, but he knew Molly wouldn't hear of it so he followed her into the kitchen and helped her heat up the dinner that Mrs. Hudson had put into the refrigerator for them.
During supper, they chatted about their day and what they had gotten accomplished. Sherlock took another opportunity to bring up Molly taking early maternity leave, but like always, she wouldn't hear of it. Besides, she was just doing desk work now; other people were working with the chemicals and dissecting dead bodies for her. She was just there to make sure nobody screwed things up.
After dinner, they cleaned up together and then retreated to the living room. Molly put one of the Glee Christmas albums on, despite Sherlock's protests and then went to their bedroom to get the surprise she had been hoarding for a while.
"Teresa sent this to me last month," Molly said. "She and Patrick purchased it for us during the American celebration of Thanksgiving. I haven't opened it yet because the note requested that we open it together, but she also suggested that we wait until we were decorating for Christmas to open it."
"Well, go on! Open it!" Sherlock told her. "I mean, we both don't have to take turns tearing the paper off. Do we?"
Molly smiled. "No, of course not."
A few seconds later, Molly had opened a beautiful porcelain heart with 2014, Our First Christmas printed on it in silver letters.
"How lovely!" She exclaimed. "See what they sent us Sherlock? What a thoughtful gift!"
Sherlock glanced at it and nodded as he started to wind another strand of lights around the tree. "I suppose so, if you like that sort of thing."
"You know I do!" Molly said beaming as she gently placed it into the box for later. "I guess they'll be getting married sometime in February. I do wish we could attend the wedding."
"Yes, I know but at that point you will be heavily pregnant. I just don't see how you could make the trip," Sherlock answered, stopping and plugging the lights in. "Do you want to put garland on the tree? Or do you want to leave it as is?"
"I think its lovely just the way it is," Molly answered. "But if you want to put garland on the tree, then by all means, do it my darling."
"I guess I'll do one or two ropes of garland. Since I spent most of the afternoon untangling it."
Molly smiled to herself as she sat down on the couch and started to unwrap other ornaments.
"What's so funny?" Sherlock asked.
"I wasn't laughing," Molly replied. "I was just thinking about how ironic life is sometimes. Who'd have ever imagined you and I would be here together discussing whether or not we're going to put garland on the Christmas tree."
"I will admit, I wouldn't have imagined this would be a scenario but sometimes life can surprise even me," Sherlock told her. "Believe it or not."
Molly smiled a little bit wider. "I don't think I can. And even if you are surprised sometimes, I don't think you particularly enjoy being surprised."
"No, not really," Sherlock admitted as he finished winding the garland around the tree. "Well, the tree is all ready to be decorated. Do you want to do the honors and put the first ornament on?"
"Why not?" Molly answered, getting to her feet and going over to the tree with the ornament her parents had given to her on her first Christmas ever. She placed it on a branch that was eye level with her and stood back to look at it. "I love decorating the Christmas tree."
"I know," Sherlock answered, coming and standing beside her. "Come on; let's finish decorating before it gets too late."
"Okay," Molly agreed.
They decorated mostly in silence with Molly telling him stories about each different ornament from her childhood every now and then. They saved the ornament from Teresa and Patrick for last, Molly made sure to place it somewhere everybody could see it.
Afterwards, Sherlock turned off all the lights except for the ones on the tree on her request and they stood back to admire their handiwork.
"It's beautiful," Molly whispered, afraid to break the spell she felt had fallen over their living room. "It's the best time of the year."
Sherlock didn't reply, not because he didn't agree with her but because he still struggled with sentiment. Thankfully, his loving wife understood that and didn't press for him to be mushy and gushy with her or share the same thoughts while they looked at the tree. It was enough for her that he had gotten the decorations out and started to put them up as a way to surprise her. Things like that slipped his mind before they had gotten married but being with Molly had caused him to pay more attention to the silly things like that.
The grandfather clock in the corner chimed the hour and Molly slipped her arm around his waist.
"Come Sherlock," she said, looking up at him. "Let's go to bed."
When they had brushed their teeth and slipped under the flannel sheets, she rested her head on his shoulder and sighed in contentment.
"Yes?" Sherlock asked, sensing she had something to say.
"Thank you for tonight," Molly replied. "It meant a lot to me."
"I know," Sherlock said. "I'm glad you're happy."
"I am," Molly said.
That was all Sherlock wanted to hear, it was a promising start to their first Christmas together. He only hoped the rest of the month would go just as well as tonight had. He was sure it would though.
Molly was easy to please. It would easily be the best Christmas of his life.
With that thought in mind, Sherlock drifted off to sleep with dreams of Christmas to come dancing in his head.
_The End_
Author's Note II:
I hope you enjoyed this installment of A Marriage of Minds, I have at least two more story ideas for this AU. I hope you'll stick around for them. Merry Christmas!
Love,
Holly. 12/2/2014_