"Mumma! Dadda!" Scott said excitedly once again as he pointed out the window.

"Yes, darling, that's right!" Mrs. Holmes said with a smile. "But we have to finish getting you packed, don't we? You can't go see Mummy and Daddy till you're all ready and uncle Mike is here with the car."

Scott toddled around happily chattering to himself and looking especially bright eyed. He'd been told the news this morning. He understood little else, but there really weren't any other details that mattered to him anyway. He was going to see his parents…that was all he knew, and all he needed to know. His excitement was evident to everyone in the house, and of course, the rest of them did their very best to be just as cheery as him.

"Did you get everything upstairs?" Mrs. Holmes yelled up the stairs to her husband.

"It's all down there already!"

Mrs. Holmes shook her head at Molly. "He's probably forgotten something. I don't know why I bother asking!"

Molly smiled back and then nearly ran into Sherlock in the hallway. "Are you ready?" she asked, giving his face a little caress. Sherlock had actually volunteered to go with Mycroft and Scott for the drop off. Everyone's goal was to keep Scott as happy and comfortable as possible, and it seemed logical to keep someone with him at all times who was close to him. Sherlock was quick to offer. It put everyone's mind at ease, knowing that Scott would have "Uncle Clock" along with him. And it made sense, seeing as it was their brother they'd be off to meet.

"I think so. Not really packing much though. I'll likely be back in a day or less. That's the beauty of traveling by private jet!" Sherlock paused and examined her face, dropping his voice as he spoke again. "Are you alright?"

Molly nodded. "I am, really. It's hard but…I am."

They looked over in the living room and saw Sherlock's father had come downstairs and was sitting on the couch reading one of Scott's books to him, passing the time before his departure.

"I hope they'll be ok," Molly said softly. "They're going to lose another Holmes boy today. How many times will they have to endure that?"

"Oh, they'll be fine," Sherlock said confidently. "They still have me and Mycroft to fuss over. Perhaps I'll even let them read me a book once in a while."

Molly swatted at his chest and gave him a disapproving but amused look. "You want some coffee before you go? I'll make some." But as she spoke, Sherlock took out his mobile from his pocket.

He looked at her, his expression serious. "It seems Mycroft will be here with the car in fifteen minutes."

Molly swallowed hard and nodded bravely. "Ok, well…we'd better make sure he's ready to go then."

Scott played in the front yard, chasing little crickets that he saw jumping, as everyone else made sure he would be ready when the car arrived. When Molly stepped outside and saw him hopping around in the grass that came up to his knees, she felt that lump in her throat again; the one that had been an almost permanent resident for the past week. Oh, but he was so precious. It made her wonder how strong a parent's love for their own child must feel. This was already all encompassing, and it was mind boggling to imagine anything stronger than this. She glanced over at the house and saw Sherlock standing at the window. He was also staring at Scott.

A moment later, the car pulled up, just as expected. And it was time.

Mr. and Mrs. Holmes held Scott, each in turn, snuggling him and telling him how much they loved him. It was all Molly could do not to cry; just watching them say their goodbyes. But she was determined to remain strong through all this. This could be nothing but a happy send off, for Scott's sake. No reason to burden him with the downside of all this. Eventually, he would surely miss all the faces he was about to leave, but that shouldn't taint the joy of this day for him.

Mrs. Holmes walked Scott over to Molly and handed him to her. As she did, she gave Molly a very motherly smile; a smile of understanding.

Molly took Scott into her arms and gave him a wide grin. "You're going on a plane! Isn't that exciting?!"

Scott pointed his little arm up to the sky.

"That's right! You'll fly high up in the air! And when you come down on the ground, who'll be there?"

"Mumma! Dadda!" Scott answered excitedly, giving his hands a little clap as well.

"Yes! You'll see Mummy and Daddy, and I'm so happy for you!" Molly said, leaning forward and touching her nose to his for a moment. Scott responded by grasping her face in his stubby little hands and holding her close. Molly closed her eyes tightly, very carefully trying not to get too emotional. She pulled back and smiled again. "Can I have a bye bye hug, Scott?"

Scott dove forward and wrapped his arms around her neck as he rested his head on her shoulder for a moment. Molly made eye contact with Sherlock who was standing by the car, and she felt tears escape and slide down her cheek a she enjoyed the sweet warm weight of the little boy on her shoulder for the last time. She quickly swiped at her eyes and face before Scott could let go.

Molly walked over to the car as Scott released his grasp, but he wasn't quite through of course.

"Buh bye kiss, Olly!" he prompted, and leaned in to give her a loud smack on the cheek.

"Bye bye, darling," Molly whispered sweetly. "Olly loves you very much, ok?" She gave him a kiss on the cheek as well, and then leaned into the car to set him in his seat. She stood and sighed heavily as Sherlock buckled him in.

"Well, I think that's about it," Sherlock announced. "We'd better be off."

Suddenly, Molly jumped. "Oh! Oh my goodness! I think we forgot something! Wait just a moment, I'll be right back!" She ran back into the house before anyone could even ask what she was after.

A minute later, she came running out again and back to the car…with Scott's family book in hand. She leaned back into the car and handed it to him, which made him smile.

"Don't you forget us Scott, ok?" Molly said, now out of breath and having a much more difficult time controlling the tremor in her voice. "Never forget any of us." She kissed him one more time, smoothing his soft curls as she did. "Love you, baby."

Before she could hesitate again, Molly stood up and shut the car door, waving to Scott as he happily waved to all of them through the window.

Sherlock strolled over to Molly and gave her a little kiss, leaning his forehead on hers for a moment as he pulled away. "He'll be fine," Sherlock whispered soothingly.

Molly nodded. "I know," she agreed, though she wasn't really worried about how Scott would be. It was the rest of them who would be a mess without him. "Make sure your brother and his wife get the book, ok?"

"Of course," Sherlock said with a smile. He let go and made his way to the car, waving to his parents as well.

"Text me," Molly called after him.

"I will."

Both Sherlock and Mycroft got in the car, started the engine, and a moment later they drove away.

Molly stood there with Mr. and Mrs. Holmes whose hands were tightly clasped together as they watched their only grandson leave their sight…possibly forever. She looked over at them, her own tears now falling freely, and she took Mrs. Holmes other hand. The older woman looked at her and smiled with gratitude.

"How do you do it?" Molly breathed out. "How do find the strength to let them go?" The Holmes parents had done it before, more than once. And with the life they all led, it was certainly possibly this wouldn't be the last time.

Mrs. Holmes turned to Molly, and the corner of her lips lifted in that half smile that had so clearly been passed on from mother to son. She had tears in her eyes, but in the future, Molly would recall that she'd never seen the older woman look stronger.

"Ah, you see…that's the secret," she said to Molly. Her voice was firm and clear. "You never do." She reached up and tapped at the left side of her chest. "They never leave here."

Molly smiled and nodded, her lip still quivering even as she marveled at the strength and resilience of this family. She hugged Mrs. Holmes tightly, both of them giving and receiving much needed comfort and support.

As Molly walked back into the house, knowing it was time to pack her own things and head back to her normal life in London, she wondered if the worst was now over…or if normal life would prove to be the greatest struggle of all.

Molly came home to her flat, and found that it was painfully quiet. She tried to busy herself tending to Toby but he was hardly happy to see her. He always went through a brief petulant period of anger if he'd been left for more than a day or two. He was clearly not pleased that someone from Sherlock's homeless network had been the one to stop by and feed him for the past few days. She knew he'd probably come around again by this evening. But it wasn't soon enough for her at the moment. Molly just needed...someone.

She unpacked and cleaned and did some laundry for the upcoming days of work. She even made a meal, enough for that night and leftovers for a couple of days. It was still relatively early when that was done, so she threw together some fairy cakes…just for fun. It was a shame she wasn't hungry in the slightest after all was said and done.

As she was doing dishes from her marathon cooking project, she heard her phone chime in her bag. She froze for a moment, almost afraid to check it. But finally she took a deep breath, dried her hands, and went to retrieve her mobile and give it a peek. She was right to be hesitant, because emotions burst free almost the second she opened Sherlock's text.

The first thing she saw was a picture of Maria holding Scott with Sherringford's arms wrapped around them both. Both adults clearly still had tears in their eyes but were also smiling widely into the mobile camera. Molly couldn't even make it to the nearest chair. She slowly sank to the floor; tears of relief and joy, and also a bit of grief, flooding her eyes. She managed to clear her tears a bit and read Sherlock's accompanying.

SCOTT IS SAFE AND WELL AND WITH HIS PARENTS. HE'S HOME. -SH

"He's home," Molly repeated to herself in a whisper. She smiled, despite the fact that another little sob also made its way out. With shaky hands, she managed to reply to Sherlock.

I'M SO GLAD. :') GIVE THEM ALL MY LOVE, AND PLEASE GET HOME SAFE! -Mx

Thankfully, Toby chose this moment to care about his mistress' well-being again. He trotted over and head butted her leg, meowing softly and then hopping on her lap. Molly sniffled as she scratched his head and snuggled him. She was glad to have him in that moment, but unfortunately she couldn't help but think about how different this was to the feeling of a little person sitting on her lap. It just wasn't the same. She wondered if she'd ever get to have that sort of experience again. And it wasn't just Scott she was missing.

Molly just wanted Sherlock. She wanted him so badly in that moment. She just needed to lean on him and feel his arms around her and enjoy saying nothing at all while just soaking up his solid strength. She just needed the man she loved.

A day went by. It was evening when Sherlock sent those texts, which meant it's possible they stayed over wherever they were. Perhaps he wasn't traveling back till the following day. But that night, Molly heard a text come in.

HOME SAFE. -SH

She breathed a sigh of relief. That was her biggest concern by that time, now that Scott was safe and happy. She fired off a reply.

I COULD COME OVER IF YOU'D LIKE… -Mx

A BIT TIRED. WILL PROBABLY SLEEP FOR A WHILE. -SH

OK. TALK TO YOU LATER. -Mx

Another day went by. Molly had her second full day at Bart's and came home and hadn't heard from Sherlock again. She knew they were safe now, but she began to worry about how the trip in general had gone. What if there was something Sherlock was afraid to tell her? She opted to text Anthea, not wanting to contact the Holmes parents and worry them unnecessarily. It was practically the same thing as contacting Mycroft himself...and Anthea was always speedy to reply. Sure enough, Molly got an answer in less than two minutes.

HI! HATE TO BE A BOTHER, BUT DO YOU KNOW IF EVERYTHING WENT OK WITH MYCROFT AND SHERLOCK'S TRIP? -MH

EVENING, MOLLY. YES, EVERYTHING WENT FINE. MYCROFT BRIEFED ME ONCE HE WAS BACK AND THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS AT ALL. -A

OK THANKS! -MH

Molly set her mobile down and frowned to herself. She knew Sherlock, and was familiar with how he could tend to hide away from the world at times. But this seemed like such a different situation to her. And she couldn't imagine him not wanting to see her right away and perhaps tell her everything himself. A new sort of worry began to set in.

She glanced at her watch, seeing that it was already half past nine. She had work again in the morning, so decided to just be patient and give him till after her shift the next day. That was perfectly reasonable.

But reasonableness went out the window by late afternoon that following day. Because by the end of Molly's shift, she still had not heard from Sherlock. That was when she decided it was time to simply pay a visit to Baker St. She couldn't possibly exercise any more patience than she already had.

Molly knocked on Sherlock's door twenty minutes later and immediately heard his long strides coming to answer. The door swung open and there he was. The moment their eyes met, Molly could sense a discomfort in him. The look of, not good?

"Molly...hello."

"Hi." She looked around for a moment, waiting for an invite inside.

Finally he stepped to the side, wordlessly allowing her entrance. "Unfortunately I have a client coming in just a few minutes," Sherlock added as he shut the door.

"Oh!" Molly exclaimed. "Um, sorry, I didn't realize. I just wanted to see you because...well, we haven't talked since that text a couple days ago," she said, nervously toying with her hair. "But it seemed like everything went really well."

Sherlock stuck his hands in his pockets and gave her a little smile. "Very well, yes. They're all settled now and very grateful...and happy of course."

"Of course!"

There was a brief silence and Molly glanced around the room. Her gaze fell on a bag near the door. She could see that it contained a few odd toys that had been left behind. Not favorites of Scott's, so they hadn't been payed attention to during the commotion of packing.

Sherlock saw her eyeing the bag and spoke up before she had the chance. "I plan to give those to my homeless network. There's a few families whose children could use them."

Molly nodded and smiled. "That's nice."

Another silence followed and Molly was horrified to realize that she wasn't sure what to say to Sherlock. Sherlock Holmes, her boyfriend...and she couldn't think what to say. She had been so desperate to see him, and yet this wasn't how she imagined them being reunited after his return. What was almost more frightening was that he seemed to be experiencing the very same thing. She had been so sure, he had made her so sure, and yet now Molly was beginning to doubt again...was Scott truly the basis of the relationship they'd built those weeks ago?

"Well, I should probably go. I um, didn't realize you'd be so busy once you got back," Molly said with a little nervous chuckle.

"Yes, sorry about that," Sherlock said quickly. "I just fell into some cases as soon as I was back in the city...figured it couldn't hurt to get back to work without delay."

"Right, of course," Molly agreed. "Always good to stay busy. I'm back to work as well."

She made her way to the door and didn't catch the look of hesitance on Sherlock's face. He followed her and held the door, giving her a half smile when she turned again.

"I'll see you soon?" He was asking, as if he was unsure.

"Of course," Molly said softly. "Just um, text me or something." She smiled again and leaned in, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Something just felt off though, and even kissing him wasn't quite the same at the moment.

They parted with affectionate smiles, but both were left feeling like something was missing. It was equally disturbing to both parties, because they were pretty sure they knew exactly what it was. Or rather...who it was.