Happy Birthday to my good friend Lil. She wanted this update and so she can have it. I hope you all enjoy it however :)

Chapter 10

When they got to her flat it didn't take Molly long to pack. Sherlock had checked the weather report for her and it seemed the weather where they were going was similar to the UK. They also dropped her keys off with a nearby friend who would collect Toby later and bring him back to her house to stay.

They finally arrived at Fitton airfield just after 3.45 and were greeted by an elderly lady who appeared to be the owner of the firm chartered to fly them out. The plane looked fairly old and Molly was a bit of a nervous flier but Sherlock assured her that he and Mycroft had used this firm many times before and they were both discreet and reliable if not a little unconventional plus apparently the captain was a distant relation of Sherlock's which just made Molly curious to see him.

As they took off she couldn't help but hold Sherlock's hand in a tight grip but at least she knew him. On previous flights she had been known to cling onto whichever poor sap ended up with the misfortune of sitting next to her. Once they were airborne though her nerves dissipated and she took some time looking out of the window and asking Sherlock more about what his plans were when they arrived.

He talked her through all the aspects of the case until she felt her eyelids starting to close. It suddenly felt as though it had been a long day...the fear of realising she was being followed, the rush to get to Sherlock's, his declaration and her conflicting emotions all combined to engulf her in a wave of exhaustion.

The next thing she realised was that she was waking up with her head on Sherlock's chest, with his arm looped around her shoulder. She was still half asleep and she couldn't help but take the time to enjoy the feel of being so close to him; he smelt amazing and she could hear the steady beat of his heart. Her hand had come to rest on his shirt, one of her favourites, and she couldn't resist sliding it down to rest on his firm abdomen. She heard him hum in response and tilted her head up to see him looking down at her and the look on his face took her breath away.

'If you want to keep things slow Molly I suggest you don't let your hand travel much lower.'

She struggled to sit up rubbing at her eyes to wake her up. 'So this is still a thing then?'

He gave her a slightly confused smile. 'If you mean us? Then it's only been...' He looked at his watch, 'ten hours so yes, it's still a thing.'

'I just don't get it. Why now?'

He shrugged. 'Is there a rule book that says when you have to realise your feelings for someone?'

She didn't reply and he sighed before continuing, understanding that she needed more from him. 'I'd like to say it just happened but if I'm honest my feelings have been there for a while. When I...when I said I loved you all those months ago it just seemed to start something, it felt right somehow but I wasn't ready to act on it; to follow it up. I was a mess after learning about Eurus and Victor and I put my feelings for you away...but I don't want to do that anymore...I can't.'

She glanced out of the window for a moment wondering when it had got so dark. 'But what if you get bored, what if they change back? What if the reality of being with me is too much, too human for you?'

She looked back at him and he could see the fear in her eyes. 'All I can say is I know how I feel right now, in this moment, and I don't think that's going to change.'

For the first time she initiated things. She brought her hand up to caress his face, stroking his cheek and letting her thumb slide over one of those gorgeously defined cheekbones. Her gaze moved from his eyes to his lips and she licked her own in anticipation as she wondered if she were brave enough to kiss him. Just as she had decided she was and had started to lean in they were interrupted by the slightly over enthusiastic steward.

'Hi, just to let you know we will be starting the descent in a couple of minutes so if you'd like to take this opportunity to engage your restraints that would be brilliant.'

Molly looked at him in surprise, wondering where he'd popped up from. 'Sorry?'

'Skip says it's time to put your seat belts on.'

'Oh right, OK.' Molly removed her hand and concentrated on her seatbelt trying not to think about how much she had wanted to kiss Sherlock. She swore if she got the chance she would do it later.

Their arrival at the private airport, just outside Tbilisi, was reasonably straightforward although Molly hadn't understood anything that had been said. Sherlock had done all the talking and had smoothed their way with quite a lot of money, at least that's how it had seemed to Molly and within the hour they were being taken, by car, to an expensive looking hotel in the centre of the city.

Once again Sherlock did the talking and then they were being led to their rooms. Or room as it turned out.

'What...we're sharing? Couldn't we get separate rooms?'

'Well we could,' answered Sherlock, 'but where's the fun in that. I got us twin beds so it's all above board.'

Molly huffed but didn't kick up too much of a fuss. Truth be told she didn't know the city or the language and she felt safer sticking with Sherlock than being on her own.

'I didn't know you knew Russian.'

'I know a lot of languages Molly and it's Georgian not Russian although I could probably get away with speaking Russian, many people do. It only took an hour or two to learn this one though.'

He gave that snippet of information so casually, as though it were a normal thing to say, and Molly was once again reminded of just how blisteringly intelligent Sherlock actually was. It was something that Molly always found very attractive about him even if she did sometimes feel like a talking monkey next to him.

She dumped her case on her bed and wandered over to him. He'd removed his coat and jacket and was undoing the buttons on his cuffs and pulling his shirt out from his trousers and she just couldn't resist getting the kiss she'd missed out on earlier. She still had serious concerns that he could and would break her heart but right here and now she just wanted to enjoy the opportunity it afforded her to touch him and kiss him; she even wondered just how far she might be prepared to let herself go.

He stilled as he saw her come over and watched as she placed her hand flat on his chest over his shirt. She glanced up at him briefly and saw him looking down at her as she gently started to undo the buttons on his shirt. He was wearing a purple one which just made her mouth water, and it was so tight she felt almost sorry for the buttons having to strain to hold it in place.

One by one they flicked open until she was able to push the shirt off his shoulders. He shrugged it down his arms and threw it onto a chair near the bed whilst she let her hands slide over his skin. She knew she was pushing the boundaries. She did still want to keep things slow but she felt almost hypnotised at seeing him like this and knowing she could almost do whatever she wanted with him. For a split second a voice in her head urged her on, asking her why she was bothering to wait but it all came down to trust; and whilst she trusted him with her life she didn't yet trust him with her heart.

She let her hands move up until she was able to link them around his neck and she pulled him down to her so she could kiss him. It felt amazing to be able to do it after all these years and he kissed her willingly and expertly. His tongue when it entered her mouth made her groan out loud and she didn't even break off from the kiss when he moved them backwards and onto the bed.

She could feel his weight on her and was even aware of a hardness near her hip but as much as her body cried at her to continue she broke off from the kiss, breathing heavily, and knowing that they had to stop.

It didn't help that Sherlock's lips had immediately gone to her neck where he was busy licking and biting at the skin and she realised with a shock that his hand was openly palming her breast over her shirt making her mewl with need. She needed to shut this down before they both went too far.

He seemed to sense the change in her mood though because he let his hand move back to her waist and his head dropped to rest on her shoulder. 'Aaannnddd you need us to stop.'

She was silent for a moment as her head argued with her heart but eventually she nodded. 'I'm sorry, I really, really am but yes.'

He pushed himself up and off her, glancing at his watch as he did. 'Maybe it's no bad thing, it's past midnight and we have an early start in the morning. Do you mind if I use the bathroom first? It appears I need a cold shower before bed.'

Molly smirked just a little but agreed, taking the opportunity to change into her night clothes whilst she listened to the shower running trying not to think about the fact that he was naked and that she could have been in there with him. Thoughts like that would not do anything to help her keep her resolve.

When she came out of the bathroom herself, ten minutes later, Sherlock was in his pyjamas and lying on top of his bed with his eyes closed and his hands in a prayer position under his chin. She really, really wanted to kiss him good night but she knew if she went near his bed she wouldn't leave it so instead she crawled under the covers of her own bed. She glanced over at him one last time before turning their light out.

'Good night Sherlock,' she whispered wondering if she'd actually be able to sleep with him in the same room as her.

'Good night Molly', came his response.

MHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMH

When Molly awoke in the morning, light was just starting to make its way around the edges of the curtain. She stretched and rolled over and it was only then that she saw Sherlock, splayed out on his back all tangled up in his covers and fast asleep.

The events of the day before came rushing back and her heart skipped a beat at the realisation that she was actually embarking on a relationship with this man. This amazingly, gorgeous, but emotionally challenged, genius of a man. She wondered once again how the fantasy had become a reality and how much better it was.

She propped herself up on her elbow so she could see him better. The greys of the bedroom cast darker shadows around his eyes and cheekbones whilst the expanding rays of sunlight highlighted his jawbone and the cupids bow of his lips always so mobile when awake but so still now.

She longed to touch him, to slide her hands over his body and lose herself in his kiss. She bit her lip as she imagined him moving above her, thrusting himself into her and she wondered once more what was holding her back. Wouldn't she regret it if they did split up and she hadn't taken the opportunity to know what it would be like to see him during sex, to see him come; to know that she had brought him to that. It was in that moment that she realised she would never forgive herself and it was that thought that had her leaving her bed for his.