So when we last left them Molly was giving up all hope, but how does Sherlock feel. Read on to find out.

Chapter 4

Molly wasn't quite right though in her evaluation of Sherlock's mood. He felt unreasonable irritable and he didn't quite understand why. He lay on his bed and thought back over their conversation and pinned it down to the point where it had become clear that Molly had a date. He'd felt uncomfortable; she never chose well and it always ended badly for her. He tried to tell himself he didn't like to see her get hurt or upset but a nagging voice at the back of his head told him it was more than that...that he didn't like seeing her with anyone else.

He opened his eyes in the dark watching the shadows on the ceiling. Maybe he was just selfish, wanting Molly to be available at his every beck and call. It had been hard enough to give up John to Mary without losing Molly as well. He huffed angrily...love; it always got in the way.

When he closed his eyes to try to get to sleep the image that came to mind was Molly curled up in his chair the other night wearing her cream, fleece dressing gown. It wasn't a particularly sexy or attractive look for her but he'd liked it. She seemed to look so...he struggled to find the word to describe how it had made him feel. It was as though he were finally coming home after years away even though it was only two days. She just made everything feel...right.

God he needed a case.

It was lucky therefore that one was brought to his attention the next day. Lestrade called him soon after Molly had left for work. There was a body of a woman found washed up at the side of the Thames.

Sherlock texted John as he got ready and he collected him in a cab before heading down to view the body.

As they arrived Greg came up to meet the car, 'bit of an X Files case for you today Mulder.' He quipped as Sherlock paid the cabbie.

John laughed but Sherlock just looked bemused, 'what on earth are you talking about Graham?'

Greg rolled his eyes, 'nothing, never mind. The body's down here. Initial cause of death appears to be exsanguination and to top it off she has bite marks on her neck.

John's head reared back a little, 'so what, we're looking for a vampire?'

Sherlock shook his head in despair, 'hardly John. I think we can at least agree that there are no such things as vampires.'

'Well, see for yourselves.' Lestrade gestured towards the body.

The woman was naked and lying face down in the dirt. She'd obviously been in the water for some time. John watched as Sherlock circled the body before removing his magnifying lens and focusing in on her neck, where there were indeed two puncture wounds which looked just like a film version of a vampire bite. He also gently lifted her arms checking the veins for any other needle marks as well as her finger nails.

He stood, swiftly pocketing the lens. 'You'll be sending the body to Barts no doubt?'

Greg nodded.

'Fine, I'll let Molly know. Do we have any identity yet?'

'No, not yet. We're going through missing persons over the last 48 hours and I'll let you know if we pin it down at all.'

Sherlock looked around silently at the fast flowing water. Eventually he turned back, 'this won't be the last and something tells me it wasn't the first time. We need to check to see if there have been any other similar cases. We'll come back to Scotland Yard with you before going to Barts.'

Greg looked worried, 'so what? You think we're looking at a serial killer?'

Sherlock smiled gleefully, 'oh yes, I love those. Come on John there's work to be done.'

He left Lestrade wiping a hand wearily over his face, 'God I hate serial killers.'

MHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMH

Molly did indeed receive a text from Sherlock telling her the body was coming in, along with a list of things he specifically wanted her to look out for.

She was sad for the victim but was glad that he'd found something to occupy him. He didn't seem to cope well without at least some kind of case and it had been a while since he had really got his teeth into something.

She giggled a little at her own joke and then set about preparing the autopsy table and her equipment so she was ready when the body came in.

It was still a bit of a shock though to see the bite marks on the body but, like Sherlock, Molly was very clear that vampires belonged in books and films, there was no such thing in real life. She spent quite some time photographing and examining the marks as well as the rest of the body and when Sherlock came in she was ready with the preliminary findings.

He arrived just as she was putting the body away but she paused long enough for him to take another look over her.

'So, what did you find Molly?'

He seemed closer to her than normal. It seemed that the two of them living together meant that their personal spaces seemed to have reduced. He was now happy to lean on the table centimetres from where she stood, she could have put her hand out and placed it on his chest. She found herself almost fisting her hands to make sure that she didn't.

'You asked me to look out for any other puncture wounds but there was definitely nothing else. The blood must have been taken through one of those two puncture sites. They do look like they could be teeth marks, the size and shape would fit someone with extraordinarily long incisors but I'm sure you're with me in ruling out real life vampires.'

He gave a curt nod and indicated for her to go on.

'They could have been made a number of different ways and then I suspect the murderer used one of them to hide the syringe mark and siphon the blood.'

'I suspect she'd been in the water between 24 and 36 hours...no more than that and she was dead when she was put in it. There was no water in the lungs. Death was caused by the loss of blood and there were no other significant injuries though I did find ligature marks on her wrists and ankles and evidence of gagging.'

'I've taken what little blood is left and asked for an urgent tox report, though they're quite busy at the moment. Gemma's off ill and Sanjay is on holiday.' She hurried on as Sherlock rolled his eyes in disinterest, 'right...yes well I've taken samples from her nails as requested and they're in the lab waiting for you. I can come up and help in a few minutes if you need it.'

'Thanks, yes that would be useful. John had to go as Lizzie was being sick and Mary wanted him to check her over. If you're making coffee I'll have one too.'

As he walked away Molly smiled, at least he'd stopped telling her how he liked his coffee. Five years was long enough to know how he drank it but up until she'd moved in with him he had told her every, single time.

MHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMH

They spent a good couple of hours working on the tests that Sherlock wanted to carry out and he had been able to pinpoint the compound under her nails. Most of it was chalk but some was soil and he'd narrowed it down to two areas in London, Greenwich and Islington. He texted the information to Lestrade and then started to chase Molly for the blood tests. She rang through to the labs but they were back logged and hadn't got round to it yet leaving Sherlock very disgruntled.

He picked up Molly's autopsy report and started reading through it as she carried on with her paperwork.

Once or twice she found herself glancing over at him. He was looking particularly hot today in his black suit with a fitted white shirt. She wondered, not for the first time, if she would ever get over this man...if she even ever wanted to.

He looked up, catching her staring but his mind seemed to be elsewhere, 'Molly, you mention puncture wounds in the fingertips, you didn't mention them to me downstairs.'

'Yes well you asked me to look for syringe marks, that kind of thing. These were very shallow, no blood could have been taken from them. I only noticed them after I cleaned her hands.'

'And they were on all her fingers, just one...what?'

'Mainly her index fingers and thumbs and mostly her left hand.'

He started texting again.

'Does that mean something?' Molly asked as she came over to stand by him, feeling curious.

'She's in fashion for a living, the prick marks combined with the chalk deposits indicate dressmaking. It's not a popular hobby nowadays so I suspect she works in the industry somehow.'

Just then the door opened and Greg came in holding his phone and no doubt reading Sherlock's text. He looked up and grinned, 'you're not wrong Sherlock, you're never wrong. Her name was Cindy Green and she made handmade ballet shoes for the Royal Ballet here in London. She lived in a flat just outside of Islington. I don't know how you do it but I'm sure you'll enjoy telling me.'

'Perfect, we need to interview, friends, family, work colleagues.'

'Already on it Sherlock. My team is arranging access to her flat and we can take it from there. Looks like it's going to be a long day.'

Molly could have laughed at the excited look on Sherlock's face as he hurriedly gathered up his belongings before putting on his Belstaff and tying his scarf around his neck.

'Are you coming Molly?'

She frowned, 'don't be daft I've still got work to do here. I can't go gallivanting off at the drop of a hat. Go on, enjoy yourself and I'll see you back at home.'

He scowled, 'fine but don't worry about food, I won't need anything today.' With that he hesitated but then smiled and bent his head and kissed her briefly on the lips. He pulled away smirking at her shocked look and hearing a 'bloody hell' from Lestrade in the back ground. Gently he put his hand on her jaw and swiped his thumb across her lips as he gave her a wink, 'don't wait up.'

He turned towards the Detective Inspector who was stood gawping at the two of them, the case momentarily forgotten. 'What the bloody hell was that?'

'Private joke, nothing for you to concern yourself with. Now come on this murder isn't going to solve itself.' And with that he pushed through the doors and left with Greg trailing in a stunned fashion behind him.

Molly sat down on one of the lab stools and put her fingers to her lips, if that was Sherlock's idea of a joke Molly was happy for him to make it every day.

Maybe a bit OOC for Sherlock? If so sorry but I couldn't resist him turning the tables on Molly and totally not realising how much more of a big deal it would be for her. Next time is date time! However will it go? Let me know what you think.