So I could write so much about the Sherlocked convention yesterday but I'd probably bore you all to tears. So I'll just say that Andrew and Rupert were lovely. Amanda was so funny, telling anecdotes about filming. I got to meet Steven Moffatt, Phil Davis and Tim Carlton and saw so many others. In all I had a great time and wish I was there today meeting Ben and Loo. If you want to see my pics check out my tumblr account under MrsMCrieff.

Chapter 13

It started three days later when she came across Sherlock walking down a corridor without his stick and showing very little signs of a limp. She felt a wash of fear flow over her and she looked around cautiously to see who else might be near. There were a couple of other soldiers, one a leg amputee struggling with his crutches and the other helping his friend even though he himself only had one arm.

She hurried over. 'Mr Holmes, I am surprised to see you without your stick.'

Sherlock had been smiling but it turned to a frown. 'Why? You know perfectly well the progress I am making.'

'Yes...yes I do,' she lowered her voice slightly. 'But it isn't safe. The army is sending some officers soon to check progress and...'

He put his hand on her arm and shook his head. 'Molly, I am no coward. I cannot say that I would be happy to go back to the front line but if that is what is required of me I will not shirk it. Anyway my brother is confident that the war is in its final stages. He predicts two months at most and he is rarely wrong.'

'Yes but...'

'No buts Molly. You can't and shouldn't protect me from this.'

He suddenly let go of her arm and stood back. 'Thank you for your concern. Good day to you Doctor Hooper.'

Molly glanced behind her and saw a couple of other doctors joining them in the corridor.

She nodded her head. 'Good day Mister Holmes.'

She couldn't help the nagging fear that stayed with her as she went about her duties for the rest of that day. She hoped that she would get another chance to see him but she was disappointed.

Just as she had told him the Army examiners arrived promptly at eight o'clock the next morning. There were five of them and they soon set up a rota to go to each ward with the accompanying doctor to check on the progress of those patients who may be able to return to active duty.

Molly hated to see any of her men returned to that hell-hole but the agony that seemed to accompany her as she led them into Sherlock's ward almost took her breath away. The Major who was with her was also a qualified doctor and he was uncaring in his assessment of the men; treating them little better than livestock to be used and abused. He had already re-enlisted five men against Molly's advice with his criteria for wellness being much lower than her own. Only the obviously insane and amputees were safe.

His assessment of Sherlock took less than five minutes before he gave his conclusion.

'Fit for service. Pack up your things and be ready to leave by seventeen hundred hours at the front of the hospital.'

'Wh..where will he go?' Asked Molly, as she struggled to rein in her emotions.

The Major turned to her with an angry look. 'I hardly think that is any business of yours Miss Hooper.'

Sherlock couldn't help himself. 'That's Doctor Hooper to you.'

'And I am Major Donovan to you Captain. And I can still hardly believe that they have allowed a woman to treat some of our men. You are totally unfit for the job...far too emotional.'

He turned on his heel and moved further into the room. Molly knew she had to go with him but she had to see Sherlock before he left. There were no guarantees that she would ever see him again.

She quickly whispered. 'Come to my room at two.'

He nodded and she had to force herself to move away from him. It was the hardest thing she had ever had to do. She wanted to scream and cry and hold on to him with all her strength but she couldn't. She felt utterly powerless.

When she looked back on those few hours between Sherlock being given his orders and him turning up at her lodge she had little recollection of what she had said or done. She had stumbled behind the Major answering his questions in a perfunctory manner and going through the motions of what was expected of her but all the while her mind was on Sherlock and the fact that he was leaving her.

Finally she was able to get away from the hated Major and the hospital. She hurriedly tracked down John and explained what was happening as she begged him to cover her wards for a couple of hours that afternoon.

John started to shake his head but Molly took his arm and pleaded with him, asking him how he would feel if Mary were being sent away.

'I am more than a little shocked and it is against my better judgment Miss Hooper. I suspect I know why you want this time and I am not in agreement with it. However, as you say if our situations were reversed I would probably want the same. Tell him I will be in my quarters from four o'clock and I would be glad of the chance to say my farewells.'

'I will and...thank you Doctor Watson.' Impulsively she leant up and kissed him on his cheek and when she pulled away she could see he was blushing and trying to not smile.

He cleared his throat and nodded his head once and Molly turned and made her way back to her lodge as fast as she could. A glance at her pocket watch told her that it was almost two and all she could think was that she only had two hours left with him and it wasn't enough, it would never be enough.

As soon as she got to the front door Sherlock came out from around the side where he had been waiting. She fumbled with her key and he had to take it from her grasp to help her open the door.

'I take it we'll be alone?'

She nodded her head. 'Yes, two of the girls are away in leave and the others will be working. Sherlock I...'

She struggled to go on as the tears she had been holding back finally started to overwhelm her.

He glanced around to make sure they weren't being observed and then guided her through the now open door.

'I know Molly, I know but we knew this moment would come and we have no choice. I may be rebellious by nature but I will do my duty to my King and my country.'

Molly mutely nodded her head. She knew he was right but it didn't mean she liked it. It did clarify one thing in her mind though and she took his hand and led him through to her bedroom.

Silently she drew the curtains so they wouldn't be observed and then she walked back up to him and placed her hand on his chest over his heart. He didn't say anything but when he mirrored her action and placed his hand over her heart it said more to her than his words ever could.

Slowly he brought his lips down to hers and they shared the most tender kiss that Molly had ever known. All their pain and regrets seemed to be poured into it and they wound their arms about each other holding on as tight as they could.

Gradually bit by bit the kiss morphed into something far more passionate until Molly couldn't stand it anymore. She knew it was wrong, knew it with every remembrance of her upbringing but she couldn't bring herself to care enough to stop. She needed him; it was like an ache deep within her a desperate clawing need that she had to satisfy.

As they fell onto her small bed she was already pulling at his clothes wanting to feel his skin, naked and bare to her touch. She was nervous but certain that he would go at her pace and teach her all she needed to know.

He knelt up briefly and pulled his shirt over his head throwing it to the ground and then he was lying on her again, kissing her and pressing her into the mattress. The weight of him felt so right and she wanted to feel him on her and in her. She knew she should be ashamed for thinking such a thing but she wasn't, she felt so desperate to be joined with him that she even shimmied her skirt up her hips so she could spread her legs a little allowing him to lie between them. As he did she could feel that he was hard and ready for her, pressing himself against her in a way that had her gasping for breath. It felt so good.

Her skin felt as though it were on fire and his lips left tingling trails wherever they went. He started to unbutton her shirt but tore it in his frustration and when she felt him pull down her loose corset and take her breast into his mouth she worried she might actually pass out from the sensations flooding through her body.

She wished someone had told her honestly that being with a man could excite her in this way. When she had thought about sex it had only been from the perspective of the children it would create. No one had ever said that she would get such pleasure from it and she was certainly getting that. She could feel every movement of his body, every swirl of his tongue and 'oh God' every bite of his teeth on her sensitive nipple. She heard herself crying out and begging him for more and he gave her what she needed.

As he gave attention to her breasts she felt his hand on her knee before it slid it's way up her thigh until he reached the soft cotton of her cami-knickers. She felt herself pout when he sat up and had to struggle against the instinct to cover her naked breasts from his gaze. It was only when his other hand moved up her left leg that she realised what he was wanting to do and she lifted up her hips so he could slide her underwear down her legs and off.

As he gazed at her bare womanhood she felt her face heating up in embarrassment. He looked almost reverent and for a moment she thought he might even kiss her 'down there' and the thought both shocked her and aroused her in equal measure. He glanced up and must have deduced her thoughts from her expression because he lay back down and before he kissed her he just said, 'in time Molly, but maybe not for your first time. Are you sure?'

She mutely nodded as she felt his hand between her legs, his fingers lazily moving over the skin on the inside of her thigh. She wasn't sure she could actually speak even if she wanted to.

'Just say if you want me to stop at any time. I can't say it would be easy for me but I would endeavour to do so.'

Again she just bit her lip and nodded and then she felt his hand move to her quim and she had to close her eyes and just focus on his touch and nothing else. She let out a gasp as he pressed his fingers against her. He seemed to be finding nerve endings that she didn't even know existed. She didn't even have the words to describe how it felt but she knew she didn't want him to stop. It was similar to the feelings she had experienced with him the other night but so much more.

Her eyes shot back open however and her hands grappled at his shoulders as his fingers breached her entrance. 'Oh...'

'Shall I stop?'

Molly's head whirled but she knew one thing absolutely. 'No, God no.'

He bent his head and captured her lips as his fingers started to move within her, slowly at first but then moving more surely. She knew she was moaning into his mouth as he kissed her and she could feel his hips rocking in time with his hand but all her thoughts were centred on that strange but familiar feeling which seemed to be growing between her thighs.

She could feel her internal muscles almost moving of their own accord and although at first his movements had felt strange they now seemed natural and right.

Just as she thought she could take no more he removed his hand and she could have cried in frustration at the loss of it. Instead he leant to one side and started to unbutton his trousers and she realised that this was it...the moment of no return. If she went through with this she would no longer be a virgin, a maiden. She was giving him the most precious gift that she could. She had wondered when they got to this time whether she would have any doubts but she had none. She wanted to do this and regardless of the future she wanted it to be him.

You're all going to hate me aren't you for leaving it there, but don't worry I'll be back soon with the next chapter. Good things come to those who wait ;). Is Molly doing the right thing though? What would you do?