Sherlock looked up from the microscope.
"Do be careful, Molly. Hydrochloric acid has a very low pH."
Molly extended her arm high above her head, standing on top of a chair that was leaning precariously against the counter.
"I know." she answered, "I'm not getting hydrochloric acid."
"Nitric acid has a low pH, too."
Molly grunted and stretched farther, "I know that, Sherlock."
"You're in a precarious position."
"I know."
"So be careful."
It was quiet for a moment. Sherlock glanced down at the microscope, dubbing it not as interesting as originally intended. He looked up quickly as Molly let out an exclamation of triumph, having attained her chemical solution. Molly turned the small vial around in her hand, wobbling slightly as she did so. Yes, this was the right one. She half-stepped back in an attempt to get down from the chair. This made her shake dangerously. Before she knew it, she was falling.
Everything seemed to go in slow motion. The bottle flew from Molly's hand, spilling on the floor. The acid burned her finger, but she couldn't scream. She didn't have time to. The angle at which she was descending was going to cause her head to hit the floor hard and possibly knock her unconscious, or worse. What a pathetic way to die that would be. And in front of –
Suddenly, strong arms caught her from behind. How in the world - ?
"I told you to be careful." Sherlock said gruffly.
Molly didn't say anything. Then she gasped as the pain from the acid burn set in.
Sherlock looked down at her, then at the chemical spill, then back at her.
"We're going to need to get this cleaned up."
Molly nodded and proceeded to stick her finger in the cool liquid of her mouth when Sherlock batted her hand away.
"Toxic." he warned.
He pulled her backwards off the fallen chair and helped her on her feet. He then took her burnt hand in his and led her to a sink. He turned the faucet on and brought her finger under the cool water.
"Stay here." he said, letting go of her hand. Molly blinked, still slightly stunned, and realized tears were sliding down her cheeks. She turned her head slightly and watched as Sherlock prudently cleaned the acid spill. He poured about a half-cup of water on the spill to neutralize it, then began to wash the floor with a soapy rag. His purple shirt tightened across his back as he moved his arm back and forth, scrubbing hard. Molly couldn't help but notice how strong his muscles were. She blushed and turned her attention back to the sink. She didn't hear Sherlock walk up behind her, coat in hand, after her muddle was cleaned up.
"I hope your finger is faring well."
Molly jumped, "Oh. Yeah. It's fine."
Sherlock stared at her, sensing that she wasn't telling the whole truth.
"I mean, it's been better. But it's fine."
Sherlock nodded slightly, "Good."
He placed his coat on the back of a tall chair near the sink and sat down. He watched the water pour over Molly's burnt finger.
"What are you doing?"
"Waiting until you get back to work."
He cursed himself inwardly. Not because of his poor choice of words, but that his mother had raised him a gentleman and protocol required that he stay with his injured companion until she was fit or got suitable medical attention. The acid spill had been miniscule and didn't need a doctor's attention, or at least not a professional doctor. He and Molly combined certainly knew enough about chemistry that they had handled the situation.
Sherlock sighed. If he was honest with himself, he enjoyed spending time with Molly, but he had more important things to attend to. He was about to get up when Molly decided to tell him a surprisingly humourous anecdote about her cat Toby.
She finished a good ten minutes later and giggled with Sherlock about her feline's insatiable need to climb things, including her shower curtain rod.
"Thank you, by the way, for helping with that mess." Molly said, blushing slightly.
"Of course." Sherlock replied, "I'll be seeing you later I suppose."
Sherlock got up and started walking away, but stopped with his hand on the door knob. He turned back to Molly.
"Take care of yourself, Molly Hooper." he said, "I can't afford to lose my pathologist."
I'm not the only person who forgets acids have low pH and bases have high pH, right? I just have to remind myself, H20.