Molly wasn't asleep for long, however. The car hit a particularly big bump, and she jostled awake. The first thing she heard was Sherlock talking on one of the mobiles they'd been given when the boarded the private plane.
"We're about an hour out from the city. We'll get there in time to catch one of the ferries." He paused, listening. Molly cracked an eye open, watching him as he concentrated on talking while driving. "Right, so I'll leave the car there and then use it to come back?"
Molly closed her eyes again, letting the hum of the car and Sherlock's voice lull her into half-sleep. She knew she should be enjoying the scenery, but the day had just been exhausting. Eventually she heard Sherlock end the call, and she sat up, looking around. "Are we there yet?"
Sherlock looked over at her. "No, not yet. About 45 more minutes. Do you need to stop for...anything?" he asked, looking vaguely uncomfortable.
Molly giggled. "No, Sherlock, I don't have to use the bathroom. But, you know, it's a thing I do, so you don't have to be all weird about it."
Sherlock scowled at her. "I wasn't being, as you put it, "weird" about anything."
"Uh-huh," she said, turning and looking out the window at all the trees. "There's a lot of trees up here."
Sherlock decided to ignore Molly's need to state the obvious, and they continued the rest of the drive in silence. He pulled into the parking area for one of the ferry lines, and took a ticket from the gate. Pocketing the ticket, he parked and they started unloading their bags out of the boot of the car. After a few moments, a woman drove up on a golf buggy. "Headed to the ferry? I can take you and your stuff over to the dock so you don't have to carry it all."
Sherlock and Molly climbed onto the buggy and held onto their bags as she drove them back through the parking area and across the street to the dock.
Sherlock walked over to where they needed to drop their bags. "Molly, you take care of this, I'll go get our ferry tickets."
The man checking in bags smiled at Molly. "Which hotel are you headed to, miss? We'll tag the bags, and then the porters from the hotel will pick them up at the dock, so you don't have to worry about it. They'll deliver your bags to your room."
Molly looked down at the paper she had put in her handbag. "The Grand Hotel", she said, reading off the slip. "It says here there will be a taxi to take us to the hotel, but that can't be right, can it? I was told there are no vehicles allowed on the island."
The porter smiled, and slipped a tag on each of their bags. "What's your name? I need to write it on the tags."
Molly looked up. "Oh, Warner," she said.
The porter scribbled "Warner" on the bags, and then handed the claim tickets to Molly. "Just in case there's a mixup, but there rarely is. And yes, there will be a taxi, but it's not a vehicle." He winked, just as Sherlock came up behind her.
"I have our tickets, Elizabeth. The ferry will be leaving in about ten minutes. Would you like to walk down to the dock and look out at the island?"
Molly immediately recognized this as Sherlock's way of dragging her away from people, and she smiled at the porter and then turned to Sherlock. "Yes, darling, I'd love to see."
They made their way down to the end of the dock. The line to board the ferry was closer to land, but Sherlock obviously wanted to get Molly alone. They walked in silence until they reached the end of the dock, and Sherlock pointed. "That's Mackinac Island, there. There are four islands in this area, but only two are inhabited.
He pointed to the large bridge to their left. "That bridge is approximately five miles along, and connects the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of the State of Michigan. On the east side of the bridge is Lake Huron, and on the west side of the bridge is Lake Michigan. They combine here at the top.
"So that's still Michigan on the other side of that bridge?"
Sherlock nodded. "There was some sort of property dispute with another state, and Michigan got the land to the north. Anyway, I brought you up here to see how you're doing, Elizabeth."
Sherlock gave her a long look, and she smiled. "I'm doing just fine, Scott."
Sherlock nodded. "Hopefully we can get this murder sorted out quickly." Just then, he looked up and pointed. One of the ferries had left the island and was speeding across the water, shooting up a huge rooster tail of water behind it.
"How fast is that ferry going?!" asked Molly, alarmed.
Sherlock shook his head. "It is a transfer, not a pleasure ride, although if it's too rough for you, we can sit inside instead of up top. We should go get in line, though."
Sherlock turned and walked towards the line of people waiting for the ferry. Molly lagged behind, enjoying the cut of the casual trousers Sherlock had chosen to wear today.
They eventually boarded the ferry, and Molly watched the porters load the collection of bicycles and vacationers bags after all the people had loaded in. She chose to sit inside, and sat next to the window on the bench seats, watching the giant Mackinac Bridge as they cruised to the island.
Before they knew it, they had docked at the island and they made their way off of the ferry. Sherlock stood on the street, looking around, and then pointed. A horse-drawn carriage was there, with the name of their hotel on the side. It had about five rows of seats. Molly smiled and made her way over to it.
"Good evening, ma'am" said the driver. "Are you headed to the Grand Hotel?"
"We are!" said Molly. "Is this our transportation?"
"It is indeed!" he said. "Come on up!"
Excited, Molly made her way up to the row just behind the driver. "Your horses are beautiful!" she said to him. Sherlock watched them, and Molly knew he was deducing the driver. "What are their names?'
The driver turned around to Molly. "The one on the left is Sarah and the one on the right is Stephen. And I'm Peter, since you didn't ask." He smiled at Molly and she knew he was teasing.
Molly smiled, and looked around her, taking in the sights and smells of the main downtown area of Mackinac Island. Small shops and restaurants lined the streets, and people on bicycles made way for people on horseback or in small carriages. Larger carriages full of people made their way, the driver making announcements. Peter saw Molly watching. "That's the carriage tour of the island. It goes out into the woods and shows some fantastic features of the island, and ends at the old fort." He pointed towards a large structure on a hill, overlooking the water.
"That sounds fun." said Molly. She turned to Sherlock, who glanced around, pretending he hadn't heard her.
Molly rolled her eyes, and settled back in her seat. After a few moments, Peter turned back to the horses and started the short ride up to the Grand Hotel. Molly gazed around her. "It's so beautiful. So green and sunny and quiet."
Sherlock wrinkled his nose. "And smelly."
The driver laughed. "You'll get used to the horse droppings. We do have people who go around picking it up, it doesn't stay on the road for long. But watch your step while you're out and about."
They were drop off at the hotel with several other vacationers, and made their way into the hotel to check in. "Warner," Sherlock told the front desk, who quickly saw about getting them their keys.
"Your stay here includes, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dinner in the main dining room is fancy dress, men are expected to be in suits and women must be in dresses or pants suits." She looked them over. "Your bags will probably not be here in time for you to have dinner in the main dining room tonight, but you can eat at one of the other restaurants in the hotel or across the street at the golf course, or you can have something brought up to your room."
Molly suddenly felt the weight of the day on her shoulders. "Room service sounds wonderful," she said to the clerk, who smiled and handed her a menu.
"Have you traveled all the way from England today?"
Molly nodded, and turned to Sherlock. "Darling, can we please go up to our room as soon as possible. I am exhausted."
Sherlock smiled one of his patented fake smiles at her, and they were off to their room.
When Sherlock opened the door to their room, Molly gasped. The hotel had been a cacophony of Victorian color, but she wasn't prepared for the beauty of their room. Done in pastels and mints, the green and yellow and pink all played off each other wonderfully. A small door led out onto a small balcony.
Molly eyed the single bed.
Sherlock stepped in behind her and followed her gaze. "I'll take the sofa. I doubt I'll be sleeping much anyway, I have got to investigate. Why don't you order us some food while I stroll around the halls a little bit and acquaint myself with the layout?"
Molly nodded and reached for the room phone, calling in an order of a couple of sandwiches for them. She also ordered up a bottle of wine; if Mycroft was paying, she should be able to enjoy a glass of wine or two out on the balcony. Sherlock had disappeared out of the room, and Molly dug around in her carry-on for her book, settling herself on the sofa to read.
The food came long before Sherlock returned. Molly took the wine and her sandwich out on the balcony and was please to find a small table to sit at. She looked out over the island and smiled. Sherlock could run around solving crimes, she was very much going to enjoy this vacation.
oOo
By the time Sherlock came back to the room, the sun was setting and Molly had returned back into the room, using the luxurious en suite bathroom to change into a pair of summer pyjamas and put her hair up in a braid.
She was sitting on the bed, on top of the covers, flipping through the channels on the TV when he made his way in, sighing and wandering over to the leftover dishes from Molly's meal. "Is there anything for me?"
Molly pointed to the small refrigerator. "I put yours in there, I had no idea when you'd be back. There's wine, too."
Sherlock hummed and pulled the plate out of the fridge, pulling the top piece of bread off the sandwich and investigating before picking it up and biting into it, wandering around the room. He glanced out the window for a moment, then set the plate down and began rummaging around in his bags. He pulled two suits out of the garment bag and hung them up and then started pulling shirts out, tsking at them.
"Either I'm going to have to iron these or send them out. My casual clothes fared better but my silk shirts are a mess." He sighed, and hung them up. "We'll see how the shower steams them in the morning. Won't need the suits until dinner anyway."
Molly watched all this, realizing she hadn't even considered unpacking her things. She had been so exhausted. "It's interesting to see how vain you actually are," she commented, flipping the channel on the TV again.
Sherlock stopped to look at her. "Vain?"
She nodded, picking up her wine glass and taking a drink. "Vain. Your suits are bespoke, even when your hair is a mess of curls, you can tell they're intentionally ruffled."
Sherlock smirked at her and continued to hang up his clothes, but she couldn't help but smile at herself when she watched him run his fingers through his hair when he passed by the mirror.
After a while they pulled some of the pillows off the bed for Sherlock, and they rummaged around in the closet until they found an extra blanket. Sherlock stepped into the bathroom and came out in a pair of pyjamas and a dressing gown, his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. He walked back to the window again, absentmindedly brushing as he looked out over the island. Molly took advantage of the time to do her own nightly ritual, taking her contacts out and putting on her glasses, and then brushing her teeth.
She was just finishing up when Sherlock stepped back into the bathroom to spit. She stepped aside and he rinsed his mouth out and then looked down at her. "I didn't know you wore glasses."
"Only at night. I don't like to sleep in my contacts, so I wear glasses at night and keep them near the bed in case I have to get up." She stared up at him, suddenly aware of how close they were. She couldn't exit the bathroom because he was blocking the door, and he was showing no signs of moving.
After a moment he seemed to realize that he was the bottleneck, and he stepped out of the bathroom and towards the sofa. Molly turned off all the lights except the small bedside lamp, and then climbed into bed. "All set?" she asked.
"Yes," said Sherlock.
Molly reached over and turned out the light. "Goodnight, Sherlock."
"Goodnight, Molly," came his voice through the darkness.
oOo
Sherlock tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable on the sofa. He'd slept on the sofa of 221B many times, although if he were to be honest, usually that was because he'd passed out after being up for days and days working on a case. He'd never actually slept on it intentionally.
He sat up, peering across the room at the king sized bed the pint-sized pathologist was using. Surely there was room in that massive bed for him. It was a waste for so much of it to go unused.
He stood, grabbing one of the pillows, and walked over to the bed. Molly was sprawled out on the bed on her back, arms akimbo, her mouth slightly open. Soft snores came with every breath.
Sherlock gauged how much bed she was using and decided that he could definitely sleep on the bed without disturbing her. He set down the pillow and then went back for the blanket. He would lay on top of the blankets she was using, and cover himself with the extra blanket. Surely she couldn't object to that?
He climbed into the bed slowly, as to not disturb her, and fell asleep within minutes.
oOo
Molly awoke slowly, the sun coming in through the large windows. She woke up on her side, facing the edge of the bed. She lay there for a moment, listening to the birds outside. Yawning, she tugged the covers towards her chin, hoping to get a few more minutes sleep. The covers didn't move, however, and she turned to see what was going on.
What was going on was that Sherlock was sound asleep in the bed, on top of her blanket but under his own. She stared at him for a moment. He was curled up on his side, facing her, his long curls tumbling down over his eyes. She had the sudden urge to smooth his hair back out of his face.
Her arm had barely twitched when Sherlock's eyes opened. "Morning, Molly."
Molly stared at him. "Why are you in the bed?!"
Sherlock sighed and sat up. "Because the bed is large and that couch is very uncomfortable. I stayed above the covers so you wouldn't be uncomfortable with any closeness. It was all very proper."
Molly shook her head and got up, walking over to the window. "None of this is proper, it's weird. What are your plans for today?"
"First, we're going to go to breakfast like any other couple on vacation. Then you can do whatever you want while I stick around the lobby. I will probably find a comfy chair and take my computer down there under the pretense of a working vacation. I will be able to keep an eye on the comings and goings of the lobby staff. Also, I will see who checks in and checks out. Later, we will meet for dinner."
Molly nodded and stepped out onto the balcony. "What time is it?" she called over her shoulder.
"7:30. Do you want to shower first or shall I?"
Molly stuck her head back in. "Go ahead. I'm going to enjoy the quiet morning out here for a bit."
Sherlock turned and headed into the bathroom, and Molly sat down at the small balcony table. She had a whole day on the island to do whatever she wanted. How lovely.