When Sherlock came home on a frigid January evening, he saw there was already a warm fire crackling away. The scent of freshly baked ginger nuts filled the flat and on his desk was a gift wrapped in pretty midnight blue paper, a silver bow adorning it. He approached the desk, reading the tag that was reminiscent of a Christmas from years ago.
Dearest Sherlock
Love, Molly xxx
"Happy Birthday," Molly smiled, approaching him from behind. He turned to face her and pressed his lips to hers.
"Thank you, darling," he replied. "As sure as I am that I'll love your gift, I can think of something else covered in blue that I'd like to unwrap." He winked at her, reveling in the fact she was wearing his blue dressing gown.
"There'll be time for that later, I promise," she told him. He turned over the gift in his hand and unwrapped it, revealing a book filled with unsolved mysteries from all over the world. "I know it isn't much, but—"
"Molly, this is perfect, thank you," he assured her.
"You're very welcome! I made kind of a big dinner," she admitted, "but I also made your favourite biscuits. I may have gone a bit overboard."
"I appreciate it all, my darling," he told her. "You didn't have to go through so much trouble though."
"It wasn't any trouble at all," she replied. "I just—"
"—tend to cook and bake too much when you're upset?" he finished. "What's wrong?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow. I wouldn't want to ruin your birthday," she said quickly. Sherlock knew not to press on for more information. He was worried about what had her so upset, but he knew the best thing right now was to enjoy a night in together to keep her mind off of it.
The next day, Molly came home in tears. She hadn't expected him to be home but she was thankful that he was when she felt his arms wrap around her. He hated seeing her cry and wanted nothing more than to fix whatever it was that had been upsetting her. Sherlock took her bag and coat, setting them aside, and lifted her in his arms, settling her in his lap on the sofa. She clung to him, her tears subsiding.
"Tell me what's wrong, Molly, please?" he asked softly, wiping her tears with his thumb.
"Th—there's only a s—slight chance that I'll be able t—to have children," she cried.
"It's going to be alright," he assured her. "You still have slight chance; that's better than none."
"I know," she replied. "But I also know how excited you were to start a family together after we get married and what if I really can't?"
"Then, we'll still be okay," he told her.
"I'm broken," she sobbed, burying her face into his neck.
"You are not broken," he spoke softly. "You are Molly Hooper, a beautiful, strong woman who always seems to defy the odds. We'll get through this. There's still a chance and we're going to have that one in a million."
"Do you really think so?" she sniffled.
"Yes," he replied. "In fact, I know we will. Is this what you were upset about last night?"
"It was, but the actual results came back today," she explained.
"Why don't we just focus on planning the wedding for now, okay?" he suggested, his eyes so gentle.
"Okay," she half-laughed.
"There's my girl," he smiled. "We're going to be just fine."
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, y'all! I was trying to get all 12 of my Christmas fics done lol! Kinda sad, but y'all know how I roll on happy endings lol!
