Chapter Four
Molly looked at Sherlock from her bed. "You don't think I'm pudgy?"
Sherlock looked at Molly in confusion. "Who told you that you were pudgy?" His pale blue eyes were full of irritated curiosity.
Molly countered him with a question that had been eating at her since she became engaged. "Who said you had anger issues?"
Sherlock smiled, caught, and looked away. "I told you I'd get my temper in check." He murmured, looking at her bed.
"I told you I would exercise." Molly looked at his dark curls glowing in the sunlight.
Sherlock glanced at Molly and she was pleasantly surprised to see a blush settle on his face. "What we do at night is called exercise."
Molly turned a bright shade of pink and squeaked. "Who told you that?" No more running? Thank goodness. What they did at night was much more pleasant than running everywhere all the time.
Sherlock gave her a fond glance, adorably sheepish. "Um. . ."
Molly started giggling at his clueless face and said happily, thinking to the future, "Seven days."
Sherlock nodded, pale pink lips in a smile. He was excited. "It'll be great. Watson's coming, and Mrs. Hudson, and Lila. . ." His voice trailed off in content.
"What does Lila do beside her flower shop?" Molly asked, suddenly curious and sad for the friendly florist. "She wouldn't tell me."
Sherlock looked at her, sad. "She's not proud of it."
Molly's eyebrows lowered in confusion. "What does she do?"
Sherlock seemed reluctant to tell her. He went to her and whispered in her ear.
Molly looked at Sherlock. "We have to do something."
Sherlock kissed Molly's forehead. "Of course we will; Lila deserves it."
Molly thought about the complications and everything that could go wrong. A nervous chill went down her spine. "What if we need Lestrade?"
Sherlock pecked her forehead again and her arms went around his bare torso.
"Molly, darling, Lestrade and his men will be ready and waiting."
Molly yanked Lila away from her shop and said, "We're going to work together." She said, ignoring Lila's protests. Like Mrs. Hudson, Molly knew how wrap someone around her finger.
"No, we are not!" Lila cried and pulled away. "I'm not taking you to my job."
Molly gave Lila a deadly look and pointed to the awaiting cab. "Get in right now."
When they arrived, Molly looked at the dancing adults, the drunk men, and the beautiful woman wasting their lives on the pole. She turned to look at Lila and tried to say cheerfully, "I want to apply for a job here."
Lila's eyes bugged. "What?"
Molly looked at Lila and said sadly, "You think I make enough money at my job?" Lila looked skeptical. Molly gestured, hopefully cheerfully enough, around Lila's work environment. "This is where all the money is."
Molly tried to keep sadness off her face while she gazed at the pole dancers. "Where's your employer?"
Lila looked at Molly. "Wow, um, you look nice."
Molly looked at the emerald green undergarments and adjusted the straps. "It's nice enough." She said absently and joined Lila at the vanity. She began to dab black eye shadow on her eyes. She rimmed it with dark green and put pink blush on her cheeks.
Lila was dressed in dark blue and she made a point of putting red blush on her cheeks and silvery gray eye shadow on her eyelids. Lila inspected her outfit and makeup.
"Lovely." Lila said nervously.
Molly looked at Lila and frowned. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"
"Who wants to tell their best friend that they're a-," Lila then said a word that made Molly take a step back, "every night?"
Molly adjusted the strap on Lila's bra. "I heard you tried to quit."
Lila nodded and gestured around the empty back room. "I'm the only one left. Everyone else managed to quit, or at least I think they quit. They stopped coming to work."
Molly was confused. "What about the ladies on the pole outside?"
Lila looked scared. "They work somewhere else. My employer had to pull a few strings to get them here."
"Do they like it?"
Lila shook her head when an alarm went off. It was time to go.
"With a boss like mine, no one likes to do what I do."
"Go with it, Molly," Lila whispered and pulled Molly against her.
Molly dove her lips to Lila's neck. "You're my friend." Molly hid her disgusted expression into Lila's collarbone. "This is crossing a line."
Lila hummed, "Don't worry, Molly. I like men too," and moaned aloud for the audience, making them cheer. Molly had to suppress hysterical giggles and slowly danced her way back to her pole.
She glimpsed Watson in the crowd. He waved once and began to push his way to the front. Molly glanced at Lila to see her giving Watson a shining yet embarrassed smile.
The music was sultry and wrong. It made goose bumps rise on her arms, but she swayed to the beat, gauging her time. Sherlock and Lestrade were going to blow their cover in about two minutes.
She blushed at the thought of him watching and something changed in her behavior. She pictured him in front of her and she lost herself in daydreams.
Men around her began to cheer and Molly smelled Lila's heavy perfume. A body pressed against her from behind and Lila and Molly danced, lost in the devilish music.
The song began to change and Molly knew then that it was time. Please let Lestrade be ready. Molly prayed.
Bringing herself out of the trance, Molly waved to the audience -the men cheered back- and pulled one of Lestrade's pistols out of one of her dark heeled boots. She held the barrel up to the ceiling while the evil music played on.
Everything shattered when her gunshot ripped through the building. She ducked quickly, tossing the empty gun aside. She grabbed Lila and collapsed to the floor, while screams echoed off the walls. There was the heavy thud of feet and Molly glimpsed Lila lying down next to her.
There was a heavy silence and the sound of men shouting outside of the pub. There was the sound of dress shoes squeaking. Molly slowly sat up, looking around nervously.
Lila sat up as well, her blue eyes wide with fright. Sherlock and Lestrade stood over them and they both held blankets. Sherlock draped one over Molly and Lestrade pulled Lila to her feet, wrapping her in the blanket.
The scene outside was a sight to behold.
Instead of arresting the women, the girls were standing around in identical dark gray blankets. They looked pale and petrified. One kept asking, "What's going to happen now?" in a daze.
The girls were terrified and another started crying, "I do this for my one year old. I can't lose my job."
One of the police officers was reading out rights. There were dozens of police cars outside and men were pushed up against them being arrested. Two police officers was interviewing a line of young men, holding up wanted papers and asking questions. Those who answered the right questions were being pushed up against cars. Others were let free and given their money back.
Molly looked at the chaos and then at Sherlock and Lestrade in gratitude. Watson and Mrs. Hudson stood nearby and Sherlock and Lestrade guided Lila and Molly to them.
As Lila passed one of the police cars, she looked at one of the men. Molly was shocked to see rage come on her face and then she was shoving the blanket off. She stalked up to the man, ignoring the police officer.
She snapped, "Hello, Jeb."
The man looked up at her and he spat. "Lila." Jeb began to talk and Molly and everyone watched as Lila's cheeks darkened with anger. "How're your folks? And your student loans?" he started laughing. "You should be getting arrested too. Been doing this for years. I paid you when you first started out. I kept you on your toes, and this is how you thank me? You are such a-"
Lila's fist went flying across his face. Jeb fell to the ground on his back and Lila began to kick at his stomach and face with her heels, screaming at him.
After a few long seconds, Lestrade began to pull Lila away. Lila, not struggling at all, shouted after him, "You deserve everything you're getting!"
Lila let Lestrade pull her to Molly and Molly pulled her in a hug, chanting. "Lila, it's fine now, it's fine."
Lila was sobbing. "Damn him," she sobbed the words over and over.
All the men who were arrested weren't given bail. Jeb had the worst charges and would be sitting in prison for a long time. The women who were working for Jeb were given jobs at Lila's shop or at Lestrade's desk. They weren't entirely trusted at first, given the circumstances they had gone through. Mrs. Hudson even made a few of them maids at their flat and they helped Watson keep his flat clean.
Molly had never learned of Lila's past and didn't want to reopen old wounds by asking. To her pleasant surprise, she watched Watson and Lila grow closer within three days of the event.
The pub had been emptied out and was now an abandoned building. The poles were uprooted and everyone who worked there was gone. The media had tried to interview Lila and Molly at first, but after Lestrade's biting words, they backed off.
Molly was glad for what they had done. Sherlock had told Molly about Lila's job, and Molly knew from experience that certain pubs were up to no good. They saved Lila and other women from hardship, and Lila insisted that she pay them back somehow.
They settled on Lila being one of the godmothers for their future children. Watson was the godfather. Watching the two of them, Molly could see another marriage coming in the future.
The next few days were odd enough for Molly, though she was happy she helped Lila. Sherlock looked the most pleased and they all made sure to hug Lila whenever they saw her.
"Thank you for helping me." Lila said to them when they all stood around, looking at where the wedding would take place. Their eyes went to her face. She looked happier, less tired. She had even filled out now, and she seemed more energized since she had lost her second part time job.
"No problem, dear." Mrs. Hudson said sweetly, taking off her scarf. Lila had taken a liking to Mrs. Hudson that was both adorable and a little saddening.
Lila smiled at them, hair pinned to her head by a thick wool hat. "It meant the world to me for what you all did."
Lestrade smiled, brushing snow off his gloves, looking touched. "It was our pleasure."
Lila nodded and moved to Watson's side. Everyone suddenly looked at Molly and Sherlock.
"What?" They both asked, blushing.
Watson smiled. "Have you wrote your vows yet?"
Sherlock and Molly exchanged glances before smiling. "They say the same thing."
Mrs. Hudson simplified what Watson was really asking. "Can you give us a peek?"
Sherlock smiled and looked at Molly. She nodded and Sherlock answered, pale blue eyes bright.
"Our vow is to love each other no matter what."
Molly looked at her paper and watched Sherlock duck into his kitchen to get her a cup of tea. They would move into the flat soon after their wedding day. They were marrying on the last day of December and would welcome the new year with their friends as newlyweds before going off to their honeymoon.
Molly's brown eyes went back to her vow. It was exactly the same as Sherlock's, though she knew she would add a few words.
Their vow said:
Our vow is to love each other no matter how much we annoy one another, no matter how hard times get, no matter how much we make each other cry, and no matter how many times we disappoint one another.
If we break our vow, we will be sweet and kind to each other, never vicious or hateful.
We both believe that our vow will never be broken, and our secrets will be cherished if they are meant to be. Our child or children will grow up surrounded by love and honesty.
Our vows say the same thing: we will do what's right always, and we will never tell the other that we're disappointed in them, because that will never be the case.
Sherlock called to her. "Molly Holmes?"
Molly smiled when she heard his deep voice say her soon-to-be name. "Yes, Sherlock Holmes?"
"I was, um, I'll use Watson's word, daydreaming." Sherlock said. "And I was wondering. . . How'd we become engaged?" Before she could reply, he called sheepishly, "I remember how, but I love to hear you say it."
Molly smiled, setting down her vow. She left the couch and walked to where her fiancé was. Her brown eyes happily gazed at him at the kitchen table. He waited for her with two tea cups on the table. A new pair of red and white roses sat in her pale blue vase.
Molly smiled at him and joined him at the table. She grabbed his hand and kissed her fingertips. She spoke.
"It started when you first walked into my lab." She said happily. "A few years later, you offered to take me to lunch."
Sherlock smiled at her, sunlight shining on his dark curls from behind. "And then?"
Molly's shy smile grew bigger.
"I was sold when you bought me two roses." Molly pecked his cheek.