Hello everyone :D
Thanks again so much for all your lovely reviews :')) I promise, that once this story is finished, I'll reply to every reviewer personally. I would have replied to every review, only I'm scared that if I do I'll give something away! And that's exactly what I don't want to happen.
Thanks again to Elly :DD
Anyway, I've got nothing else to say, except this is a sort of filler, set-up chapter.
Enjoy! x

Chapter Nine.

"You won't leave here. Not until I say you can. It's very important you do as I say, Molly. Just for now. Just until I can set you free."

Molly was curled up on the sofa, under his arm as he gently ran his fingers through her hair, as he would do to a child or a cat. Molly's heart was pounding in her chest - she was surprised he couldn't hear it - but the gentle thud of Jim's own heart underneath her ear calmed her, it's steady rhythm easing her, assuring her that she'd done the right thing. She listened carefully to Jim's every word, feeling the rumble of his voice even before any sound came out.

She should have been panicking, she knew. But Molly was certain she'd made the right decision. This was the only way to show Irene exactly who she was messing with - to get her revenge, so to speak. Maybe even win Sherlock back off her - under normal circumstances, Molly wouldn't have even dreamed that. But here, under Jim's arm, she felt like anything was possible. She felt safe.

"We'll show them, Molly. Together, we can do anything."

Molly couldn't help but agree, in that moment.

She'd fallen asleep there, leaning on Jim, just listening to him breathe. But when she woke up the next morning, she wasn't leaning on anything but the sofa.

Jim had gone.

Her breathing immediately quickened and she leapt to her feet, making herself a little dizzy in the process. Where was he? Had he left her again? Had he been there at all? Molly's thoughts were spinning as she frantically made her way into the kitchen, before a small note caught her eye, pinned to the table.

I'll be back later. Don't go out.
JM
x

Molly's breathing returned to normal as she slumped into the chair nearest the note, staring at the intricate, slanted writing on the post-it note.

She couldn't pretend that she wasn't a little unnerved by how much she'd panicked at the fact that Jim wasn't there, nor that she didn't get shivers at the fact that Jim signed his name in the exact same way as Sherlock. Their similarities were shocking - it was as if they were the same person, split into two.

Molly smirked. It was like she had her own personal Sherlock. Irene hadn't won, after all.

Tracing her fingers across the patterns in the wooden table, Molly spotted another note on the counter and a box on top of it. She pushed herself up heavily and made her way over to it. There, in the same, perfect writing, was another message.

This is your new phone, Molly. I'll contact you through this, and only through this. It's untraceable, unhackable - nobody will listen to what we're saying.
You won't need your old phone any more, but I've left it where it is - on the coffee table in the front room. Use it to see how much they miss you Molly, how much they care you're not there.
It will cement your faith in me, if anything.
As I said, I'll be back soon. Stay here Molly - please, trust me.
Stay safe.
JM
x

She opened the plain white box on top of the note and gently pulled out the phone inside, turning it over in her fingers. It was brand new, no doubt about that - the screen protector hadn't even been taken off the front, the back was scratch-free. In comparison, it made her little Nokia look quite underrated.

Carefully replacing the phone, she made her way back into the front room, wondering what he'd meant in his note. 'Use it to see how much they miss you, Molly.'

Of course, she never missed a day of work. Not even when she was traumatized by nightmares of her ex-boyfriend; she turned up every day with a smile on her face, pulling up a mask to the world.
Somebody was bound to notice she wasn't there - she was already three hours late. Sherlock might even be there now - he was sure to realize she was missing, bound to wonder why.

With a small smile creeping across her face at the expected missed calls and messages, Molly picked up her phone and unlocked it. When she did, however, she almost threw it back down, a cold pain hitting the bottom of her stomach.

There were no messages. Not even one.

Hadn't anyone noticed she hadn't turned up for work? Didn't anyone care?

She collapsed onto the sofa next to the coffee table, still clutching her phone. The cat leapt up onto her knee, purring and padding around, searching for attention. Molly pushed it away. She didn't care she was still in the same clothes she'd come home in last night, nor did she care she hadn't even had so much as a wash since the previous morning.

No, because Molly was gritting her teeth, assuring herself that soon, very soon they would all notice her. They would all notice her whether she was there or not and they'd all have no choice but to care. Because soon, Molly Hooper was going to be a force to be reckoned with, she was sure of that.

She sat there for a good fifteen minutes before she heard a phone ringing.

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the noise, flipping the mobile in her hand over instantly and without thinking, her heart giving a jolt at the thought of somebody checking up on her. But the screen was still dark, no sign of anyone calling her at all.

It was then she realized the noise was coming from the next room. From her new phone.

Molly took a deep breath before picking up the phone and clicking the green button through the screen protector. "Hello?"

"Molly!" And all-too familiar voice sang from the other line. Molly still wasn't used to hearing it and trusting it. "Do you like the new phone?"

Molly let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah - thanks. You didn't-"

"Of course I had to, Molly! Can't have other people listening to what we're saying, can we?"

Molly's stomach squirmed uncomfortably at that. The very thought that someone might actually want to listen to what they were saying was bad enough - but the fact that it was so secret Jim had gone to such lengths to make sure they couldn't? It made Molly feel like she was in a Bond film. And, even more disturbingly, at that moment, she could only imagine herself playing the bad guy.

"Anyway," Jim went on, pulling Molly from her thoughts, "I rang to tell you to get ready and get packing."

He said it so nonchalantly, so much as a part of normal conversation, that it took Molly a few minutes to fully register what he'd said. She caught him just before he hung up.

"Wait, what? Packing? Why?"

Jim chuckled at the other end of the line. "Because you're coming with me, Molly. I told you, we need to worry them. We need to make them think you're missing. We can't do that if they know where you are, can we?"

Molly frowned. "Why do they need to think I'm missing?"

She could practically hear the grin in Jim's voice. "Because I've got plans, Molly. Really, really big plans. And you, my dear, take a starring role. One bag, Molly, that's all you're getting. Don't make anybody too suspicious - only take the bare essentials. Some clothes, your new phone - things like that. Nothing else, okay?"

Molly heard the rush of wind as Jim took the phone away from his face, still in stunned silence. She was moving house? Today?

Suddenly, Jim's voice was back in her ear. "Oh, and don't forget to bring the cat. Toby, is it? Yes. I like him. Bring him too."

Then he hung up, and Molly couldn't help but smile.

Packing was surprisingly easy, considering nothing was anywhere near ready and she didn't have a clue where she was going.

She was done by the end of the afternoon; her wardrobes mostly clear, whether the clothes had been put in a case or thrown on the bed. Her room looked like a bomb had hit, or like it had been ransacked by thieves, but Molly didn't care. It wasn't as if she'd be sleeping in it for a while, now. In the end, she doubted that it would matter if she forgot something - after all, she had Jim now, and she was sure that he'd help her with whatever she needed.

It was around half past five when the doorbell rang, long after Molly had heaved the over-heavy suitcase near to the door. So, bundling a protesting Toby under her arm and taking yet another deep breath, Molly opened the door.

The man on the other side wasn't Jim. She didn't know who it was, but it wasn't Jim. He was dressed like Jim - sharp suit and tie, impeccably perfect - but he wasn't Jim.

Her first reaction was fear. Somebody knew about them! About what she was doing! Her breathing quickened and she almost dropped the cat, earning yet more protests from the animal. She tried her best to keep a straight face though, to hide what she was feeling - after all, she'd gotten pretty good at it over the past six months.

"Can I help you?" She asked innocently. The man smirked.

"Miss Hooper, is it? I'm here on behalf of Mr Moriarty. I'm was told you'd be ready for me..." he reached inside his pocket and pulled out a note, "Here... he said to give this to you."

Molly took the note, now only supporting the cat with one arm. She was sure that soon, it would start to attack her.

This is Adam, Molly. He's here to take you to our new house. I'm sorry I can't be there myself, sweetie - but I can't really show myself much in public, being top of the Most Wanted list and all.
I'll be waiting for you. Please, keep trusting me.
JM
x

The sight of the now familiar handwriting soothed Molly in a way she didn't expect. She stuffed it in her pocket before cradling the cat, now with both arms, and offering a bright smile to Adam.

"Yes." she said, "Sorry about that. Shall we go, then?"

Adam smirked again, his long blonde fringe falling into his face as his gave a curt nod. "Sure. Here, let me take your bag."

Molly held back a giggle as the man stepped forward and picked up her bag, before nodding towards the exit. "The car's just outside..." he trailed off. Molly smiled a tight-lipped smile and stepped backwards.

"That's okay, I'll be out in a sec."

Adam suddenly looked uneasy, and for the first time, Molly noticed just how young he was. He couldn't have been older than nineteen; his age well hidden by his sharp suit and earlier cocky smirk. But now, with the idea of being unable to follow his orders, he looked anxious... scared, even? "It's just that Mr. Moriarty said that I shouldn't-"

"It's okay," Molly cut in, "I'll be out in a minute. I promise." She smiled again.

Biting his lip and with an anxious nod, Adam reluctantly turned and left, heaving Molly's bag along with him. Molly stood just inside the doorway of her flat, still cradling Toby, taking a scan of her front room.

"Well, Toby - say goodbye. I don't know when we'll be back here."

Molly continued scratching the cat behind the ear, and it let out a soft sound of protest. Molly shushed him.

"It's okay... it's okay. Jim will look after us, he promised he would. We're going to be fine, Toby. We're going to be great."

Still looking around the flat, Molly's eyes fell on her phone, lying on the arm of the sofa still. Her new phone lay cold and heavy in her jeans pocket - she didn't need her old phone anymore, she knew that. She didn't know whether she was even allowed to take it with her, he'd specifically said 'your new phone' earlier - there was obviously a reason Jim had gone to the trouble of getting her a new one. Or, had he 'fixed' her old phone too? There was still attachment to it; some kind of tugging inside.

After all, how else would she know they were missing her? How else would she know they'd been trying to get in contact with her?

Glancing at the doorway to make sure Adam wasn't watching, Molly stuffed her phone into the inside pocket of her jacket where it couldn't be seen and hurried towards the door. She pulled her keys down off the hook as she was leaving -just in case - and finally, with a sigh, turned to look at her flat. She didn't know when - or if - she'd ever be returning.

Then, with a last look at her front room, Molly turned and left the only house she'd ever lived in alone, with no idea where she was heading.

But she knew it was somewhere better than where she was.