I'm back again, I didn't want to leave you hanging for too long. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and support on Monday. The day went as well as I could have hoped. It was hard but I feel I gave Mum the right send off. I feel kind of peaceful at the moment, in Sherlock's words 'it is what it is' and it's the only way I can view everything that has happened recently. I shall move on it that vein and just take each day as it comes at the moment.

Anyway, back to the fic. I'm so glad you all enjoyed the confusing sleep filled smut but now we have a murder to deal with.

Chapter 10

The body was located at the back of a car park and Molly looked around at how dirty and dark it was. What a place to meet your end, all concrete, rubbish and tarmac.

Lestrade met them just outside the tent, which was shielding the body from the prying eyes of the press, and Molly was unnerved at how white and peaky he looked. It must be bad if someone like Greg was affected. She schooled her featured and prepared herself for what they might see. Sherlock was asking some questions about when the body was found and how long it had been here but she wasn't listening, she was just looking at the entrance to the tent waiting to go in.

Greg looked between them and then stood to one side to let them past. 'It's pretty grim in there. Poor cow, no one deserves to end up like that.'

Sherlock glanced at Molly and she gave him a tight lipped nod and then he held the plastic sheeting up so she could enter.

She blinked a couple of times letting her eyes adjust to the lights inside and then to the sight and then she wished that she hadn't. For a split second she wished that she could just turn around and leave but she couldn't, instead she took a couple of steps forward feeling Sherlock enter the tent behind her.

Already her sense of horror at the scene was being overtaking by her sense of professional curiosity.

The woman was lying on her back and bar her shirt, which had been torn down the middle and splayed open she was naked. Well almost naked, there was one shoe still on her right foot but the left was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes were open and her mouth fixed in a semblance of a scream but her pain must have been short-lived as her throat had been cut and judging from the amount of blood, that had been the cause of death and it had happened before any of the other mutilations.

Molly had never quite seen a crime scene like it. The victim's abdomen had been cut open and her organs were all pulled out leaving the cavity almost empty. She quickly took stock of everything trying to see if anything was missing.

Sherlock was circling the body, bending down every so often with his telescopic magnifying glass out. She could hear him muttering to himself.

She started to speak but had to clear her throat. 'Her uterus...I think it's missing.'

Sherlock frowned and looked up at her and then back at the body and then he nodded his head. 'Annie Chapman was the Ripper's second canonical victim...she had her uterus removed...if he's following tradition as regards the actual murder that would make sense. I need to know who this woman was and why she was here. Her footwear and hands tell me she was a nurse, possibly at Barts, but she was also working as a prostitute. Fallen on hard times or just found it too hard to live in London on a nurse's salary...'

Molly felt a little ill at the though that it might be a work colleague, someone from the same hospital as her. It made it seem a little too close to home.

'It seems obvious that the cause of death was the blood loss following her throat being cut but the rest of it...God, who would do such a thing?'

Sherlock glanced at her for a moment but didn't reply and she was glad that for once he'd realised it was a rhetorical question. There wasn't much she could do without her kit so after establishing an approximate time of death she left the tent and bumped almost straight away into Greg who was finishing up with Anderson and one of the official forensic examiners.

It was Anderson who spoke first. 'I hope he's being careful in there. I don't want to have to explain why his DNA is all over the body again.'

Greg shushed him and moved over to Molly. 'Hey, is he nearly done in there? We need to get on with the rest of our procedures. I see the press spotted him arriving...shit, that means the chief is going to be on at me later for letting him see the crime scene. They're still twitchy about his involvement if it goes public.'

'Yeah, I think he's nearly done. I can be at Barts in half an hour to do the autopsy if you need me to.'

Greg grinned. 'Like he'd let us have anyone else doing it.' There was a pregnant pause. 'So...go on...what were you to doing together when I rang?'

Molly couldn't believe that Greg was fishing for gossip with a dead woman less than ten feet away but when she commented as such he just laughed. 'Molly, we have to brighten our day somehow. So come on?'

It was at that moment that Sherlock exited the tent, stripping the blue latex gloves off his hands and stuffing them into a nearby hazard waste bag. 'She's moving in with me, that's why she was at Baker St.'

Molly saw Greg nearly choke for a second as she broke in to the conversation to clarify the situation.

'I've sold my flat you see...just need somewhere temporary and Sherlock kindly offered me John's old room.'

Sherlock glanced at her confused. 'I thought we'd agreed that it wouldn't be temporary...that you were moving in permanently.'

'No, you made the offer but I haven't agreed to it yet.'

Greg's head was swinging back and forth between them as though he was at a tennis match before he brought his hands up to stop the discussion.

'You know what, I've changed my mind, I don't want to know. Sherlock, what have you found out?'

Molly half listened to Sherlock recounting all the bits of information that he'd picked up about the woman and how. She was always fascinated with how his mind worked and how he pieced together someone's life. She was still a little unsettled though about how she had been gutted after death. She'd seen worse in her morgue, of course she had, but it somehow seemed more real out here on a London street.

As the two men finished talking Sherlock turned and took her elbow, guiding her out through the many people who seemed to be milling about the scene.

'Come on, we might as well go to Barts. Greg is having the body sent over and I'm going to go and see security and see whether we can't identify the victim. If we wait for Greg to do it it will be middle of next week.

The reporters again tried to barrage them with questions as they left but once again Sherlock said nothing to them but instead tried to shield Molly physically from their cameras. His hand on her lower back and his body pressed against her side was just adding fuel to the journalists fire and she was fascinated to see what they'd say. She was also surprised that he was so comfortable being physical with her after what they had done. Did this mean he wasn't angry with her?

She wanted to talk to him but as soon as the cab set off he was on his phone and talking to someone. She assumed from his tone that it was his brother. He was asking him to talk to Barts security to get him access to their records.

She tuned him out and instead looked out of the window of the cab watching as the world turned from darkness to shades of grey, colour starting to bleed in as the sun rise on a new day. And for the first time since she had fully woken up Molly gave herself a moment to hope...to hope that maybe, just maybe her and Sherlock had a chance of something more than just friendship

MHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMH

It was late morning when she finished the autopsy. She still had to write up her findings but her direct work on the body was done so she called over to the new morgue assistant to take over sewing up the body and putting everything away. Having him working here was making all the difference to Molly's workload and she really appreciated it.

It was only as she made her way up to the lab that she realised she hadn't had any coffee in over three hours...or any breakfast for that matter. She decided she was going to dump her files and wend her way to the canteen. She'd been up since five and given it was now past eleven she deserved a bit of a break.

She bit her lip as she pushed open the lab door wondering whether Sherlock would be there but there was no sign of him and so she decided to follow her original plan and get some coffee.

The canteen was fairly quiet given that the lunch rush hadn't started yet and Molly grabbed herself some coffee and a ham and cheese croissant. As she started to make her way to an empty table she heard her name being called and looked around to see her friend Meena who worked in Radiography.

Molly grinned and made her way over before sliding into the seat opposite her friend.

'Hey, long time no see. What are you doing here at this time?'

Meena shrugged. 'I started early and I was starving so I decided on an early lunch. You?'

'Same.' Molly took a bite of the croissant and had to hold back a moan at how good it tasted. She was just realising how hungry she was.

'So what's going on with you then? Did you find a place to stay in the end?'

Molly knew she was blushing as she nodded, keeping her eyes anywhere but on Meena. The news of just where she was staying was going to generate a lot of questions and Molly wasn't sure she was ready for them.

'You're acting suspicious. Come on, what's happening? Where are you moving to? Did you find a new flat?'

'No, at least not one to buy. I...well I'm staying with a friend and we're going to see how it goes...might make it more permanent.'

Molly was still surprised that Sherlock was up for that idea following what had happened this morning but if he wasn't put off she certainly wasn't.

'Alright, so who's this friend then? I'm assuming it's someone I know...you don't have a massive circle of friends.'

Molly knew she couldn't dissemble any longer. If she refused to tell Meena that would just be odd and it was going to come out anyway. She delayed the moment though by taking a swig of her coffee and burning her mouth to boot.

'It's Sherlock's place. You know, in Baker St. John's old room is empty so...'

She tailed off as Meena sat back in her chair looking shell shocked. 'Seriously...you're moving in with the guy you've been crushing on for the last five years. Is that healthy Molly?'

Molly shrugged in a non committal way which just had Meena narrowing her eyes at her friend.

'Something's happened hasn't it...what?' Molly watched as a smirk slowly spread across her friend's face. 'Don't tell me you two have finally got it on.'

When Molly delayed in her answer, trying to find the right words Meena's eyes went wide. 'Oh my God something has happened. I want all the details. This is huge.'

'No, no it really isn't. I mean...well...we've shared a bed the last couple of nights...just as friends you know...'

'No, I really don't know. Men and women don't tend to sleep with each other just to sleep...at least not until they're old and married.'

Molly shook her head but smiled all the same at her friend's outrage. It even seemed odd to her own ears now that she'd said it out loud.

'Anyway, this morning...stuff just kind of happened. Trouble is I'm not sure how awake he was.'

Meena chuckled. 'Yeah, you two are just odd. I take it he knows something happened.'

Now it was Molly's turn to be outraged. 'Yes of course he does. He...I mean we...let's just say we didn't have sex but he was satisfied...we both were...oh God, this just sounds awful. What am I going to do?'

Meena laughed at her friend's confusion. 'Well that's obvious Molly. Next time don't just dry hump him, you need to actually have sex with him.'

Molly closed her eyes and shook her head whilst Meena went on. 'OK, but seriously just talk to him. What's the worst that can happen?'

Molly groaned. 'This is Sherlock we're talking about. You have no idea how bad it can get.'

What do you guys think? Should she just go for sex or try some talking first?