A rapping at the door awoke Molly from a deep, dreamless sleep. When she opened her eyes and saw the DVD menu on the telly screen she realized that she had fallen asleep during her movie. Toby was curled up at her feet and her popcorn bowl had spilled. More urgent knocking on her flat door pulled her fully out of her groggy state. She glanced at the clock on top of the telly, noticing that it was 3:38AM. "What the… Who on Earth could that be?"

"Molly! Let me in!" yelled a most familiar voice. Knowing the voice immediately, Molly rushed to the door. "Bloody locks…" Molly mumbled as she struggled to undo the chain locks Jim insisted she should have installed for her safety. 'Don't want my Molly-doll coming under any harm,' he'd told her as he screwed them to the door.

"Molly!" yelled the voice behind the door.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Molly exclaimed as she finally undid the third and final lock. She swung open the door to a sight that caused her to take a step back. She gasped and put her hand to her mouth. "Oh Jim…"

"Hello, Molly-doll. Might I come in?" asked Jim with a smirk that contrasted the rest of the way he looked. He was wearing a suit that once was probably very nice but was now tattered and covered in ash, dirt, and what was very likely blood, his hair was disheveled and there was a gash on his forehead that still appeared to be bleeding.

When Molly didn't immediately answer, Jim entered anyway. He knew Molly wouldn't mind, she never really minded. A weak, dull, unintelligent woman he'd thought when he'd met her at St. Bart's hospital. That had been the ultimate reason he'd decided it was safe to use her to aid him in his plans to get to the one man who could ever stand in his way. Whenever he thought though about the quick summation though, thinking her dull and witless, he felt something he very, very seldom felt. Guilt.

He went straight to the window and peered out from between the blinds. "I doubt very much that I was followed but it never hurts to be sure," Jim said aloud, more to himself than to Molly. The street below was calm and quiet. There was a rushed sound of the wailing of sirens off in the distance. He was safe, just as he always was.

"Jim…" Molly was still standing by the door seemingly immobile.

"I need a shower. I assume the gym bag I accidently left last time I was over is in your room, probably atop your dresser?"

Molly nodded. That nod seemed to rouse her from her shocked stupor. "Jim, what happened? Why are you bleeding? You need to let me look at that cut. You may need stitches. Did you hit your head? You might have a concussion. What happened?"

Her sudden barrage of questions sent Jim into an even darker mood. His targets had escaped and he didn't need questions or lectures right at that moment, especially not from little Molly Hooper. He had grown quite fond of Molly but there are just some things that no one should have to put up with in a time like that, and Molly's incessant chatter was certainly one of those things.

When she approached him to look at the gash above his brow, he stepped away from her. The look on her face was a mixture of confusion and hurt. Jim couldn't hold back his sneer at the display of such weak emotions. Molly took this as a wince of pain, however. "You really should let me look at that. It seems that the bleeding has slowed considerably but it still may need suturing up."

"Ha! I'm fine Molly. Plus, there is no need to scar this lovely face of mine," Jim said with a sincere smile. Jim's vanity never really bothered Molly until recently, but she pushed doubts and negativity out of her mind and chose to view it as making light of a dark situation.

"It'll scar worse if you just leave it," Molly replied feebly.

"I need a shower and then I'll let you look," said Jim, giving Molly a kiss on the forehead.

"Jim, please tell me what happened."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Jim quickly strode to the bedroom door. Before closing and locking it he looked at Molly, an incredulous look shown across her delicate features, and simply said, "Molly, please."