Chapter 13-The First Weekend

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

I am terrible at Father's Day gifts. Since my dad is reading this story and will eventually see this chapter thought I would dedicate a chapter to him. Thanks for reading dad. Love you!

Molly managed to make it through the rest of Friday without causing too much trouble for those around her. She even managed to set a rhythm working with the two morgue attendants. Both the men she worked with tended to prattle on so she was able to get away without talking too much. When she was alone in the morgue she took to humming songs or talking to the deceased not unlike Ducky himself. She had to be careful in what she told the corpses in this morgue because she never knew who could be around to listen.

She had breathed a sigh of relief when she found out that they would not be working the weekend. Tony said that they usually had weekends off unless something major went down or that the case they were working on had a hot lead they didn't want to lose. If that were the case the agents were likely to be at the office at all hours. They had managed to wrap things up enough on the latest case that they were told they could go home and enjoy the weekend.

Molly had been nervous about the awkwardness of shopping with the two women but Abby's excitement over the shopping trip was infectious. As promised Abby got her in to fix her hair. It was cut a bit shorter due to the jagged cut Molly had given herself but it ended up being a cute bob. She could not stop herself from wondering what Sherlock would think about it. He probably would make a snide remark on the shortness and demand that she regrow it to its previous length, he did so hate change. She thought about getting her roots died to the more timid chestnut color but Abby forbade it and told her that the redder color was too pretty to cover up. Since it was Abby's friend doing the job Molly did not have much of a choice.

They spent the rest of the afternoon at the mall shopping for clothes. Abby was a very persuasive shopper and managed to convince Molly into buying clothes she would not regularly wear. Molly had still bought an arrangement of colorful clothing as it gave her a sense of familiarity but she also bought a few more stylish items as well. She enjoyed adding some clothes with a little more of a gothic flare and thought once again of Sherlock and hoped he would approve of the skull-covered outfits. She enjoyed Hot Topic and had been tempted into buying a variety of vintage style Star Wars, Doctor Who, and My Little Ponies shirts among others. She also managed to find a near copy of her old cherry sweater that Sherlock had cut into pieces.

She had more fun than she thought she would and felt very accepted despite what many would think were questionable fashion choices. The only time Abby tried to change her decision was when she tried to get Molly to buy less baggy clothes. They came to a compromise in which Molly bought a few items in her own size but got to keep her baggy clothes as well. Another problem arose when Abby recommended lipstick to make Molly's lips look bigger. Molly bit her bottom lip to keep from snapping at Abby but went with a pale lip-gloss so as not to offend her new colleague. She also bit back tears from the now long ago Christmas memory. At least when Abby had said something she had not been meaning to tear down. She had since found out that Sherlock had attacked out of jealousy but the words still stung.

Ziva also seemed to be relaxed which Molly accredited to Abby's cheerful disposition. Molly insisted on the ladies buying whatever they wanted. Abby tried to decline but was talked into it by Ziva. Molly and Ziva shared a smile over their own small way of sticking it to Mycroft Holmes, it was not like he could not afford it but they would enjoy their little rebellion.

After they had gotten everything that they needed they made a trip to a bookstore where they picked up some much needed caffeine and Molly almost bought out the shop. Fairy Tales were her drug of choice and she would need them to escape in the coming days if she were to keep her sanity. When Abby saw the selection of books she cocked an eyebrow and recommended that it was more logical to get an e-book. It took some convincing but Ziva seemed to remember it was one of the things on Mycroft's list to get Molly anyway. Molly huffed and felt bad as she gave her books to a disgruntled employee. Ziva would file the e-reader in her name so Molly would not be able to be traced.

The trio swung by the grocery store to pick up more food and ingredients for Shepard's Pie that Molly had promised to make for everyone's help. Ziva was tired after the all day shopping spree and hoped that Tony had bought the beds and set them up. McGee had gone with him so hopefully he had kept Tony on task.

They made it up the stairs with their bags and heard disgruntled arguing coming from inside the apartment. Apparently Tim recommended Ikea and now the two men were trying their hardest to put the two beds together. Tony, being vastly competitive, had tried to turn the task into a race. This was the cause for two sets of bed frame pieces to be strewn through the apartment with no room to left to walk. They still had the full bed in the bedroom and had nowhere to put the twin beds if they even figured out how to put them together. The new mattresses were in the hallway and the new frames looked like torture devices that would not hold the weight of a pillow.

Ziva took a deep breath before yelling at Tony. McGee tried to hide from Ziva behind a door. Molly threw the bags from the mall in Tony's room and took the food to the kitchen where she started to boil potatoes. Abby stepped in the hallway to make a phone call.

Twenty minutes later Gibbs was there smacking both Tony and McGee on the backs of their heads for the ridiculousness of the situation. Abby smiled in triumph that she had come up with the best solution. Gibbs ordered the guys to haul the other bed to his truck and told Tony he would keep it for him until the mission was completed. While they set to following Gibbs' orders the older NCIS agent and Abby set to taking apart the monstrosities that had been constructed.

Molly took in the situation with wide eyes. She enjoyed the scene but felt like an outsider. Gibbs was here to help his new family and it was not a place she belonged. There was a tightness in her chest but she was also happy for him. She was happy he was not alone but wished that there was a place for her in his life. She quickly brushed away the tears that had threatened to pour down her face. She could not be a part of his life and keep him safe. She would do that much for him. She turned back to the kitchen and continued to cook the food her British mama had taught her how to make.

Less then an hour later two beds materialized. Abby, the social butterfly of the group, insisted on Gibbs staying for dinner after ascertaining if there would be enough food. She also hated for people to be left out and invited both Ducky and Palmer in joining them. Palmer bowed out since he was spending time with his wife but Ducky headed over a short while later with a bottle of wine in tow.

"Oh it smells divine in here," the elderly doctor exclaimed as he entered the apartment and took off his jacket. "I do declare it smells just like the Shepard's Pie mother used to make." From there Ducky launched into a full discourse on Shepard's Pie and with no case to attend to for once he was allowed to ramble on to his heart's content.

Abby had started helping Molly in the kitchen once the beds had been taken care of and calls had been made. She gave a happy sigh and stretched out like a pleased cat complete with a Cheshire grin. "It feels like Thanksgiving!"

"Does the team get together like this often?" Molly asked the scientist.

"No, I mean it happens, but it's a rare occurrence. Sometimes on holidays. Most of us are missing family members but we got each other's backs."

"I can understand the situation. It's really not unlike my own."

"So what's your family like?" Abby asked.

"Well, my dad was a psychologist."

"Was?"

"He died from cancer."

"I'm so sorry."

Molly gave a sad smile, "He was a kind man. My mum is one of the sweetest people on earth. She 's one of those people who genuinely believes in God and goes to church every week."

"Oh, I go to mass every week if you ever want to join me." Abby invited.

Molly was surprised by the invitation from the unlikely source and it showed on her face.

"I know I don't look like it but I believe in science, God, and magic quite equally."

Molly nodded her head in acceptance and Abby probed about siblings. Molly went on to explain about her family. By the time the food was ready Abby knew about her four brothers and their families. Ducky overhearing the conversation enquired after their health, which brought on a whole new conversation as the group sat down in various places around the apartment to eat.

Molly told Ducky that she had no idea how they were. The last thing she had heard was that they were attending her funeral.

"Do they know you're alive?" Gibbs asked joining in on the conversation.

"Probably not…for their safety." Molly cautiously met his eyes and then glanced down again. She took a sip of wine Ducky had brought but wrinkled her nose at the flavor. "Umm…so philosophical question…"

Tony groaned at the cerebral wording but Tim and Ducky perked up at the challenge.

"…so would it be better to tell someone you are alive or let them believe you are dead for their safety?" Molly managed the question knowing that she was taking a risk.

Tony started in right away, "You definitely need to keep your family safe."

"Depends on the details of the situation." Gibbs offered.

"We'll use my husband's situation as an example."

Abby stopped Molly for a moment, "Oh, can I please tell McGee who you're married to? Pretty please?" She begged.

"Thought that was to remain quiet," Ziva commented.

"Please, you guys gossip more than housewives everyone would have heard it eventually," Gibbs commented.

"What's the big deal?" Tony wondered out loud.

"Yeah?" Tim agreed as his eyes darted between a red faced pathologist and a giddy forensic specialist.

Molly gave a shrug in allowance and Abby built up the dramatic tension with her hands held before her, "She is married to none other than the toast of Baker Street…Sherl-"

Tim catching on immediately interrupted Abby, "Sherlock Holmes?!"

"McGee you were supposed to let me finish!" Abby pouted.

"I follow the blog religiously but I didn't know he got married. I thought he said he was married to his work. You're not The Woman are you?" Tim said referring to details from John's blog.

Molly bit her lip at the mention of Irene Adler but was saved by Abby, "You know she died. Plus we visited her website before it was taken down and they look nothing alike."

"Well, Molly supposedly died." Tim argued his case.

"Before now I didn't really count and now Sherlock doesn't want John writing about me. The marriage was secret, really secret." Molly said with a grimace.

Tim sidetracked the conversation by asking what Sherlock was really like. Molly blushed and told him that to most people he was unlikeable arse. Gibbs asked her why she married him. She debated between three answers but settled for, 'I'm not most people.' Her runners up had been I like his arse or that technically she did not have a choice but thought that those answers would need more explanation that she did not want to get into. Gibbs allowed her the short answer.

"So why is this such exciting news McFangirl?" Tony inquired.

"Tony," Abby answered, "remember how McGee and I are always talking about the genius detective from England?"

Tony wrinkled his face in confusion, "The one with the funny hat that jumped off the building and then came back from the dead?"

"That's the one." Molly affirmed.

"Oh…he's kind of famous then isn't he?"

"Which is why we need to keep it quiet," Gibbs reminded his team.

"Quick question why does he always where the weird ear hat thingy?" Tony asked bemused.

Molly giggled at the question, which surprised the gathering that had not had the opportunity to hear the sound since she had been of somber mood. "Sherlock calls it the same thing. He wore it once and the media blew it out of proportion. It was supposed to be a disguise."

"Now that we know a little about your husband what was the example you were going to give us?" Gibbs got the conversation back on track to its original purpose.

"As Tony mentioned Sherlock jumped off the roof of a building. Long story short he faked his death in order to protect his f-friends. He disappeared for two years taking down the network of the man who supposedly blew up my flat," Molly started telling her story.

"What do you mean supposedly?" Gibbs interrupted.

"Well, he was supposed to be dead too," Molly answered.

"Is this a thing they do in England for fun?" Tony asked.

"Oh my gosh the zombie apocalypse has started!" Abby interjected.

Molly smiled at the comment but then realized she was losing count of how many people were supposed to be dead but were not really and gave a shudder. Gibbs prompted her into returning to her tale. "Where was I…oh…so Sherlock didn't tell his best friend that he was alive for those two years. Partly to protect him but honestly he could have told John before the two years were up. John was…" she searched for a word to explain both the pain and outrage that he had felt but nothing could describe the betrayal John had experienced. "John was…livid. They made up eventually. The question is what would have been right? Telling John or not?"

"Did you know about Sherlock?" Tim wanted to know.

Molly blushed and did not want to get into that line of questioning. She met his eyes for a moment before looking quickly at Ducky and down again. "This scenario isn't about me."

Ziva gave out a huff, she was growing weary of the way Molly would not look people in the eye properly when she talked. She tried to focus on the question at hand and ignore her unsettled feelings for the medical examiner. "It's a real catch forty-four."

The room was filled with a chorus of "twenty-twos," as Ziva's friends corrected her.

"How do you mean Ziva?" Gibbs asked interested in her insight since she seemed to know more about the situation.

"Well, if I were trying to protect my loved ones I would keep a secret if I needed to but…when we work on the team we share everything. That is how we solve our cases. John was not just a civilian who could not protect himself but he is a retired soldier and Sherlock's partner. Certainly he could protect himself," Ziva explained

"John is reliable and loyal," Molly added, "but he is…not the best at keeping secrets." She quickly clarified, "I mean he would not have told anyone but he's too honest. Too many people interested in Sherlock would have been watching him and his reactions. If John stopped visiting Sherlock's grave or stopped being depressed suddenly the wrong people would have noticed."

"So you think that Sherlock made the right decision?" Ducky asked.

"It's a tough call. I'm not sure…John was crushed but he was also safe. He also didn't have to worry everyday for two years about whether or not Sherlock would return to London in a box so perhaps it was a kindness. He would not have to restart the mourning process again." Molly put down the plate of food she had been holding in front of her and grabbed her knees and got into her protective ball.

"So you did know that Sherlock was alive!" Tony exclaimed.

Gibbs was close enough to hit Tony on the back of the head for his lack of tact. Everyone had picked up on what Molly had said in between the lines and it could have gone without saying. Sometimes Tony's exuberance got the best of him.

"Why would he tell you and not John?" Ziva asked.

Molly shrugged without looking up but her face had begun too heat up again. Ducky was the one to solve that mystery.

"You signed his death certificate didn't you?" the elder medical examiner accused.

Molly hid her head for a moment in shame but after giving it a minute of thought she had realized she had nothing to be ashamed of. She had betrayed the truth on a piece of paper but she had protected someone she loved and she would do it again gladly. Hang the rules! If she could keep the body of a loved one off of a cold morgue slab she would do so. She lifted her head up.

"What was I supposed to do?" Molly asked. "If you had an opportunity to help save the life of someone you cared about I think you would find it quite easy to sign the papers too! Besides if not me Mycroft would have easily found someone else to do so." She did not divulge everything she had done in order to prepare for Sherlock's deception.

"I did not mean to question your motives my dear. It's just that…in our profession we have a sacred duty…" Ducky started to speak.

"I know and I understand your concerns," said Molly who held up a hand as she returned to sitting cross-legged, "but sometimes there are exceptions. I have never faked any of my reports except the one and I would do it again."

"From what Mycroft says you would do pretty much anything for Sherlock," Ziva inserted.

Gibbs closed his eyes knowing that he should leave before an inevitable catfight broke out but hoped that the two women would get it over with. He recognized the tone Ziva was taking and knew she was spoiling for a fight, she usually kept a calm demeanor in front of him but something was bothering her deeply. He wondered how the young pathologist would handle the situation.

Molly blinked at Ziva a few times, "I…he's…we're married." Molly stuttered not knowing to what Ziva was referring. She knew she did some things for Sherlock that were sometimes 'not good' but she had never hurt anyone. Some of those things she would rather her mentor not know about and her eyes quickly drifted to Ducky and settled back on Ziva as she licked her suddenly dry lips. Molly grabbed her glass of wine but made a face at the taste of it.

"You may not have faked any reports but you have no qualms about letting him experiment on body parts," Ziva divulged.

Molly quickly gave a cheeky response and was thankful her father did not know her identity or she would have been further mortified. "Well, we are married so of course I let him experiment on…body parts."

A couple people laughed at the comment but neither Dr. Mallard nor Ziva had joined in.

"You know that's not what I meant," Ziva hissed.

"Then you will have to clarify," Molly met her evenly.

"Margaret Elizabeth Hooper, do you allow Sherlock Holmes to perform unnecessary experiments on the remains of people in your care." Dr. Mallard inquired.

This was what she had tried to avoid. She hated saying no to people and hated to disappoint them. She also tried to avoid them and now she was in a room full of people who would not understand. She heard Sherlock's voice in her head, 'It's not as if they are using they're bodies anymore, it would be a shame to let them go to waste.' She shook her head at the thought. Out loud she said, "It's Holmes and most of the bodies are donated to science-"

"Most?" Ducky asked indignantly. "I thought you learned to respect the dead-"

"I do!" Molly raised her voice.

"And yet you allow Mr. Holmes to do as he wishes. You should have your license revoked!"

Molly closed her eyes at the harsh words that she felt she deserved. She had no defense and felt she was now stripped of a friend. She felt bereft. "I'm sorry you feel that way Ducky." She felt the beginning of tears and bit down on her lip.

"Do we need to worry about any of the bodies you will be working on doctor?" Gibbs addressed Molly.

"No sir. Sherlock's not here to snitch anything." Molly answered quietly.

"You allow him too much Molly and someday it will get you into trouble I fear." Ducky said a bit more calmly.

"Hasn't it already?" Molly asked pointedly.

"It can't all be Molly's fault," Ziva said in defense of Molly feeling badly for instigating the argument. "From my experience the Holmes men can be very…persuasive."

"Sherlock is not his brother," Molly automatically rose up in Sherlock's defense.

"But he carries similar traits, no?"

"Perhaps…" Molly trailed off not being able to completely deny the claim.

"He even went so far as to marry you in order to keep you agreeable would be my guess."

"Excuse me?" Molly asked in a quiet yet shocked tone.

"Sherlock is a sociopath who only does things for his own gain. He would not marry your for the sake of love but because he gets something out of it. He is renowned for being married to his work. You help him with that and he wanted to keep you close so he married you. That is why Mycroft had to intercede and send you here for your safety because Sherlock would not have bothered to do so."

Molly's mouth opened and closed a few times like a goldfish. The words coming from Ziva's mouth were mostly ludicrous. She did not know how to respond. "I…I…I have no idea how you came to those conclusions but it is probably good you quit solving crimes."

It was Ziva's turn to say, "Excuse me?"

"I mean, I didn't even know we were married so he did not do it in order to keep me close. He is definitely not a sociopath despite his claims to be so and Mycroft sent me here because he has a God complex," Molly said in one breath

Gibbs chose that moment to interrupt with a confused look, "What do you mean you didn't know you got married?"

"Um...Mycroft is basically the British government and like I said God complex…" Molly was inwardly groaning, she did not want Gibbs to get the wrong impression of Sherlock. "Sherlock and I were…courting," she smiled at the memory of his choice of words, "and I wasn't ready to get married but in order to ensure I would be cared for in case of his untimely demise some papers were filled out and we are legally bound together."

"Just because some papers were forged doesn't mean your married," Gibbs argued.

Molly's face fell. Her guts churned uncomfortably. She tried to tell herself it did not matter what he thought but it still burned. "Of course we did get engaged and we were already planning on getting married anyway… it was a proxy marriage, so what? I agreed with it later and…it doesn't matter. We're married, we love each other, and that's that." She stood up and grabbed her dishes. "I'll be sure to wash the dishes in the morning. Thank you everyone for your help. I hope we can make it through this…situation. Ducky I'm sorry I've disappointed you but I do care about what I do. Abby thank you for shopping with us. Tim, feel free to ask questions about Sherlock's cases but I can't promise to answer everything. Tony, thank you for putting up with me in your home. Ziva, I'm sorry Mycroft dragged you into this. If you want me to I can probably get you out of it but otherwise we need to work together and not be at each other's throats. I hope that all of you enjoy the rest of your weekend."

She made her way to the kitchen to put her dishes away. Gibbs noticed she had not included him in her farewells. As she passed back by the living room Abby asked if she wanted to go to mass the next day. Molly looked at Tony to see if he would be willing to go. He whined a bit but Gibbs smacked him on the back of the head again. Tony got the details from Abby and made plans for the next day.

Molly made to go to her room but was stopped by Gibbs voice. "For what it's worth you don't need to feel guilty about not telling them."

Molly turned to face him, "What?"

"Your question earlier. You asked it because you feel guilty for not telling your family you're alive. You don't need to worry about it. When you can go home and all of you are safe they will understand. That's what's most important."

Molly searched his eyes for a few moments before nodding. Since Gibbs said the words himself she felt exonerated from having to tell him her identity. If things had been different and it had been safe she would have gladly told him. However, her world was not safe. She cried herself to sleep that night and thought perhaps it was for the better since he could not seem to understand her relationship with Sherlock and she would not have been able to choose between the two.

Sorry. Rough times. Who misses Sherlock besides Molly? He will be back next chapter.

I know not everyone knows the NCIS characters. Would anyone be interested in a supplemental chapter explaining the characters? Like a glossary? Thanks for the input.

Thank you everyone for reading and responding. I always appreciate it greatly and it makes my day! Thank you for your help!