Chapter 2: Lovestruck

Tobias crouched just inside the door to the hall, the tip of his tail was twitching. He could see his victim just under the edge of the sofa in the sitting room. Silent as nightfall he crept into the room and in one bold move pounced on the mouse. He sunk his teeth into it's back and flung it across the room. He chased after it, flicking it back and forth with his claws. He tore from the room, into the hallway, and to the bedroom beyond. Turning quick as lightning he retraced his path to the living room and jumped into the air to strike at his grey prey once again. His heart was racing and his ears stood to full attention. Just as he prepared to assault the creature again, the key turned in the lock and Molly entered the room from outside. Change of plans. He picked up his trophy and carried it to her. She stood there as he placed it at her feet and looked up at her. He purred with satisfaction and yowled at her for approval.

"Oh what a good boy you are! Did you get that naughty mouse? Well done, Toby, you are a champion among cats," she rewarded Toby's efforts with smiling praise and a scratch behind the ears.

Molly then picked up the toy mouse he brought her and tossed it gently back into the living room. Sensing that his prey might try to escape again, he turned and ran after it. He was the defender of this flat and Molly Hooper in it, he would strike down whoever entered uninvited including catnip stuffed toy mice. Laughing at his antics, Molly sat her bag and keys down by the door in their usual place and went about the rest of her evening routine.

Once again smelling clean, Molly came into the main space, fixed a bowl of pasta for one, and settled down on the sofa with her legs tucked underneath her. Tonight's mental escapism was provided by a favorite science fiction movie that always made her smile, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Knowing Molly, she'd soon be up and at the bookshelf pulling down the well worn copy of the book as well. Tobias had gotten tired of his mouse hunt and joined her, curling up beside her leg. He sat there content as she ate, placed her bowl absently on the coffee table and began stroking his fur. About the time Arthur was tied to a stake having horrible poetry read at him, Molly decided to regale her companion with the events of her day.

"I saw Sherlock again today. He surprised me at lunch in the canteen. He was acting a bit strange to be honest, although strange for him is normal so that's not saying much. Asked what I was having and made a dark little joke about not wanting to eat pork while slicing up cadavers. I thought I was the only one who had such a twisted sense of humour," she giggled remembering, "That kind of thing would turn most stomachs. But he's right, I haven't been able to eat pork and do any cutting since they served ham slices in school after I'd done fetal pig dissection in A&P. Eugh."

Molly visibly shivered at the memory. Tobias didn't really see what the problem was, dead was dead and all dead things were potentially dinner. Beggars couldn't be choosers, he'd learned that from his brief stint as an ally cat snooping around skips for scraps. Although, the stuff in the tins Molly fed him was preferable. Molly continued.

"Anyway, I thought he had come to do some experiments, but it turns out that he needed to have access to some bodies that are part of a Scotland Yard investigation. Both of them appeared to be suicides, but something just didn't feel right about that. Trust Sherlock to show up to confirm my suspicions. I tried to tell him that I couldn't just let him in without prior authorization, but before I could really explain, he started flattering me. At least that's what it would have been if any other man told me he liked my hair. I'm not really sure what Sherlock's motivation was..." Molly's voice trailed off.

She sat there for a long while, twirling said strands in her fingers. Tobias recognized this as the absent-minded posture she used while thinking. She could sit for hours absorbed in a book or just staring at the wall slowly wringing a piece of hair in her fingers. He found that it was a very feline trait, almost like when he sat in thought flicking the tip of his tail. If she was going to be like that, he knew it was best to go about his own routine, he decided to take a bath and then a nap.

When the movie was over, Molly got up and stretched rousing Tobias from his nap. He stretched as well, arching his back sharply. It was about time for her to head to bed in order to be at work in the morning. She had a regular shift tomorrow, standard eight to five. He watched as she put her bowl in the kitchen and turned out lights. Tobias padded softly behind her as she went to the bedroom. Laying in the darkness, with her blankets pulled up around her and Toby curled up again at her shoulder, she spoke again.

"What I don't understand is that he really didn't need to flatter me to get access to the bodies. They were part of D.I. Dimmock's investigation and he could have easily authorized Sherlock to look at them. Especially since all they wanted to do was look at the feet." She crinkled her nose and then closed her eyes.

"They had matching lotus tattoos on the heel, which I of course had noted in my observations in the reports I had given to Dimmock. There was no real reason for Sherlock to come see me, unless…" Molly yawned as sleep started to take hold of her, "Unless he just wanted to see me. Do you think he might have noticed me after all? Wouldn't that be lovely, Toby?" She sighed and fully succumb to slumber.

Three weeks later, Tobias' thoughts would be occupied with a different potential suitor. Molly burst into the flat with an excited squeal that sent him scurrying from the sofa to the back bedroom to duck into her closet. What had gotten into her?!

"Great news, Toby! Really great news! I've got a date!" she exclaimed as she jumped up and down like a schoolgirl in the middle of the room. Coming into the bedroom, she scooped him up and twirled him around.

"I haven't been on a date in ages and I was beginning to think I really was invisible."

Tobias squirmed to be put down and Molly placed him on the edge of the bed with a little pat on the head before she went off to shower and change. His eyes narrowed and he began thinking hard about what Molly had just said.

It was true that it had been several months, almost a year, since her last date. He didn't think she was unattractive, just that she tried too hard. If she could just talk to them like she did with him, she would get along a lot better. Of course, there was also the smell, even with her regular showers some guys couldn't get over the 'morgue musk' she sported. And yes, she had a dark sense of humour and a rather large collection of books about death and dissection. But if you were in a relationship with a pathologist, he was sure this was something you would just have to expect. Tobias wondered who this new guy was and if he stood any chance of understanding somewhat sardonic but always affectionate Molly.

When she came out and headed for the kitchen, Tobias trailed along behind to see if she would give him any more information about her date.

"Today started off pretty rotten, but my dad always used to say that every cloud has a silver lining. I'm sure this is what he meant, Toby." She talked absently to him while fixing both their dinners.

"The lab computers simply would not sync up with the new patient tracking system the hospital has pushed in an effort to be paperless. Honestly, I doubt it'll really reduce paperwork all that much, although I'd be grateful if it does. Mmmm…" Molly paused to lick some red sauce off the back of her spoon.

"But anyway, I had to call I.T. for someone to come in and look at the machines to see if there was any way I could get my work done today. The sweetest guy came in and was so helpful and charming. His voice was so soft. He was very cute too." Her eyes were losing focus. Tobias saw and recognized she was creating little fantasies involving picnics in the park, white dresses and domestic bliss.

"Really turned my day around. And so I took a chance and asked him to coffee. He seemed more shy that I am, but he finally said yes. So on Thursday I'm meeting Jim, that's his name, at the cafe across the street from Bart's." Molly sighed happily and cheerfully went back to her dinner.

She was silent the rest of the evening, reading one of her favorite novels and dreaming about her date. Tobias resigned himself to being ignored for the night. He had the same reservations about this date as he'd had when she first mentioned Sherlock Holmes. Molly was a very poor judge of character, and although he hoped for the best for her, he knew this could very well end in disaster. So both Molly and Tobias went to sleep that night with very different feelings toward Jim from I.T.

AN: This story reflects a lot of myself and my own feline companion. Please forgive the self-indulgent HHGTTG reference. And about the dissection story Molly shares, that is a memory of my own. I had the bad luck to have Anatomy & Physiology before lunch in school and the only time dissection turned my stomach was when I went straight from the fetal pig lab to ham slices in the lunch line. Eugh indeed. Hope you guys aren't scared off as the meeting between Tobias and Moriarty is coming up. Reviews are love! - CG