"Jesus," John found himself muttering over and over as he sat atop the sofa as Sherlock recounted everything he'd witnessed happen on the rooftop. Molly remained silent most of the time, though she couldn't help but notice John's eyes flitting over to her every so often.
"What happened before that?" John asked, looking over to Molly. The detective, who was now perched on the arm of the sofa next to her, also directed his attention to Molly. Being wrapped up in everything Moriarty could have done to her, he hadn't bothered to ask her or even think of how the event unfolded in the first place. He had only known to run up to the rooftop upon a very nearly baffling text from Mrs. Hudson.
SHELROCK MOLLY SI LK 4 U
He really needed to keep her away from any and all mobile devices from then on. Unless, of course, she could learn to type and text like an intelligent person.
Molly hesitated at first. If she told them what had happened, she was more than worried of getting a swarm of insults from Sherlock about things she should have seen were wrong with it. Maybe he could restrain himself, she hoped.
Her uneasiness must have been easily detectable, as she felt a gentle squeeze to her shoulder. Tilting her head upwards in surprise, she saw Sherlock look down at her and nod encouragingly. She sucked in her cheeks briefly, but exhaled slowly and nodded.
"I got a text," she said, reaching into her pocket and taking out her mobile, with the screen now cracked. She winced upon stretching her stomach even a fraction, her hips crying out in protest. John quickly moved to get ice from the kitchen, and Sherlock eased her back. Her reaction had been rather minimal, but she supposed their concern was incredibly kind. She smiled gratefully and pulled up the text, handing Sherlock the mobile and continuing to talk when John came back.
"I should have known it wasn't you, really," she said quietly. "Suppose I wasn't thinking. It seemed urgent. I don't know why." Sherlock's eyes darted from the texts to her as she spoke. His gaze remained glued to her after a few mere seconds, and John finished propping ice packs to her hips, wrapped up in a towel about her waist.
John didn't notice that Molly was waiting patiently for a prognosis, nor was she aware that Sherlock was staring at her with a look that the doctor did not recognize. Not from him. However, the look itself was entirely telling; it only appeared to be on the one man John never expected it from.
It was obvious. His blue green eyes were void of their iciness. In fact, they were shining. Not in a way that portrayed tears, or sadness. They were soft, much in the way they were when he apologized. And yet, they were different all the same. The skin in the corners of them were crinkled, his pupils were much larger than they normally were. His eyelids were turned up with a delicate arch in his eyebrows, but not in a way that expressed concern. Guilt was apparent, but that was just barely a part of this.
No, this look was love.
John nearly gaped at the detective. Sherlock Holmes was entirely in love with Molly Hooper.
Swallowing, his eyes glanced back to Molly, who had said something. "Sorry, come again?"
"Is there anything I should be recognizing? Or...something I'm not understanding?" she asked, her eyes looking between the two men in confusion. By the way John was looking at him, Molly figured that the two had figured something out somehow, something she was missing. Sherlock only continued to stare at Molly, something she was entirely unaware of.
In response, John's shocked face turned to amusement. Suppressing a laugh, he shook his head. "Yes," he answered, snapping the first aid kit shut. "Yes, there certainly is." He gave Sherlock a pointed look, who furrowed his brow in response. John rolled his eyes and jerked his head towards the doorway. "Mary's expecting me. Molly, you've got rather sensitive bruising on your hips, try not to move for the next few hours. Keep them iced." He stood up and moved to leave.
Molly blinked, opening her mouth to ask what was wrong, when Sherlock interrupted. "No, she isn't."
"Yes, she is," John insisted, moving towards the door with a smug smile on his face.
"No," Sherlock pushed, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes in annoyance. "She hasn't texted you, nor did you speak to her before you left."
"Yeah, but I know she's expecting me."
"And why is that?"
"Intuition."
"How exactly is that?"
"Love is a funny thing," John answered simply before rounding the door to leave. "But you know that." With that, he chuckled and moved down the stairs, the detective's eyes widening as the man disappeared, a guffaw of laughter echoing throughout downstairs before the door slammed shut.
...
"How do you even own this much tea?" Molly giggled lightly as the detective knelt in front of her on the sofa, gingerly placing her mug in her hands. "That's 20 refills you've given me, and I've not gotten through half a cup yet!"
"You're counting," Sherlock returned with a hint of amusement in his voice. Molly blushed a bit, looking down at the tea. "Yes, well, there's not much else to do, considering you've got me swaddled. Can't hardly move."
The pathologist was barely exaggerating, in all honesty. Sherlock had forced her to lay down on the sofa and wrapped a blanket tightly around her, ice packs pressed to her sides underneath it, and another blanket draped over that. He'd placed a pillow underneath her head and done nothing other than type furiously on his mobile and pace, grabbing her cup from her and returning a few minutes later with more, a habit she couldn't have understood for the life of her.
Sherlock, however, scoffed at her choice of words. "You are hardly swaddled. You could move if you wanted to."
Molly arched an eyebrow and squirmed pointedly, to which he immediately tucked her snugly back into place. Seeing her point, Sherlock leaned back up and rolled his eyes. "You heard John," he muttered. "We're simply following the doctor's orders."
She laughed lightly in response, earning a disgruntled look from him as he began pacing again. "What are you typing?" she asked.
"Text."
"To?"
"Approximately 200 people. Simultaneously."
Her eyes widened. "So...a very large group text?"
Sherlock lowered his mobile to stare ahead for a moment, thinking. "Nope." He then went back to typing.
"How..." Molly trailed off, shaking her head in dismissal of her own question. Sherlock was in something of an odd state; gentle and firm. It was something she was quite enjoying, though he was still just as impossible as ever.
They remained in silence for a moment, before Molly yawned. "Right. I'm knackered." She began sitting up, her hips feeling rather numb. She figured she could get to bed rather easily.
Sherlock moved over to her, gently easing her back down. "Molly..." he warned.
That might have worked several years ago, though at this point, Molly only smiled in amusement and sat up again. "It's okay, Sherlock. I'm safe. You played a massive part in that. And though you're an obsessive one, you're a rather wonderful nurse." She smiled, bemusement dancing in her eyes.
Before he could respond, she had eased his hands from his shoulders and wriggled, with some difficulty, out of the blankets. Swinging her legs out from underneath them, she smiled and kissed his cheek, just next to his ear. "Good night, Sherlock," she said with a hint of reverence for the man who looked so attentive, and a bit worried.
Sherlock watched as Molly exited the room, and he continued watching in her direction long after she'd reached her room, and long after she'd gone to sleep. He was dumbfounded. That woman never seemed to manage not to surprise him with some quality about her. As of the last few years, it had been her strength.
This time, however, she was not only very, very strong.
Molly Hooper, he realized with a smirk, was incredibly brave.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Not sure when the next update will be, but I'll try and do it more frequently. I think it will be easier since I've already plotted out the rest of this story. Thank you for reading and for being patient with the unfair hiatus a few chapters ago. Have a lovely day! :)