Sorry, this chapter ended up being posted later than I intended. However it does mean that I can give a big Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers. I hope you have a great day and enjoy shopping for bargains tomorrow...as we in the U.K. seem to have adopted that custom I know I will.

So, we left Molly hoping to hear from Sherlock. Shall we finally see how he's reacted to them sleeping together...

Chapter 14

It had been a busy but ultimately frustrating couple of days for Sherlock. After he'd left Lestrade he had spent the afternoon doing the rounds of his homeless network followed by an evening visit to his brother at the Diogenes club to persuade him to obtain copies of the CCTV coverage of the area around the murder.

Mycroft sighed and rolled his eyes. 'I take it this is because you've once again managed to make yourself a suspect in the case...and before you ask it yes I do still keep tabs on you and yes I could corroborate your alibi but I'm not going to...at least not until I'm forced to. It isn't widely known that I divert government funding to the protection of my family and I'd like to keep it that way.'

He took a sip of his extortionately priced whisky and tilted his head. 'You haven't forgotten that it's your turn to visit our sister next week.'

Sherlock frowned feeling testy with his brother and his jibes. 'No of course I haven't.'

There was a pause and he shifted uncomfortable as he wondered how to word his next request.

'Spit it out Sherlock, it's obvious that you have something further to ask of me. I'm assuming by your discomfort that it is more of a personal issue...Ms Hooper then?'

'Dr Hooper to you...and yes.' It pained Sherlock that his brother always managed to read him so well.

'I'd like to take her with me to Sherrinford so an extra place will be required in the helicopter.'

He looked his brother square in the eye and challenged him to make something of it. There was a beat of silence and he saw Mycroft's eyes narrow imperceptibly but then he just nodded his head in acknowledgment. 'Very well, I'll see that it's done.'

They spent another half an hour discussing the visit and the areas that Sherlock should check in more detail and by the time he left it was late.

He buttoned up his coat against the chill wind and decided to walk back to Baker St indulging in a cigarette as he went. He briefly contemplated taking a taxi to Molly's but she would be in bed by now and he knew he ought to focus on the case. He had plans for the following day and there was a lot he needed to research before he could sleep.

MHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMH

Molly spent the next day at work on tenterhooks. Every time someone entered the morgue or the lab her heart would skip a beat and she would look up only to be disappointed that it wasn't Sherlock. She knew her reaction was ridiculous but she couldn't seem to help it. By mid afternoon she decided that she had to resolve this one way or the other and the only solution was to go round to his flat that evening and talk it out with him.

She didn't want to put it off any longer and so she showered in the staff changing rooms, to remove the ever invasive smell of death, and then made her way directly to Baker St trying not to let her nerves get the better of her. She wasn't normally this anxious with guys she had slept with but it was evidence of just how strong her feelings had become for Sherlock. This wasn't just any guy and if he rejected her now she knew she would be crushed. The trouble was she couldn't really envisage any other outcome other than him wanting them to go back to being friends and she wasn't sure that was possible for her now.

It was Mrs Hudson who let her in, greeting her with a kiss on her cheek and remonstrating with her for not popping in for a coffee more often.

'I take it you're here for Sherlock, go on up, I suspect having a visitor will do him good. He's too wrapped up in that case at the moment and that never bodes well for my walls.'

She smiled at Mrs H and agreed to visit her soon then she took a deep breath and made her way up the stairs. She could hear Sherlock muttering to himself as she reached the top and when she walked through the doorway she saw him stood on his settee moving some of the pictures that were pinned up on his wall.

He glanced at her briefly and smiled as he turned back to what he was doing. 'Good, I'm glad you're here. I need to go over the autopsy details with you again, particularly the knife wounds...'

Molly felt a rush of emotions; arousal at seeing him again, a sinking feeling over what he was saying and then anger that he wasn't even trying to address what had happened between them. For all she knew he'd probably deleted it.

'Is that it? Is that all the greeting I get? I thought I deserved a little more Sherlock.' She could feel the adrenaline kicking in as she fought to control her anger.

What she wasn't expecting was his response. She saw him narrow his eyes before widening them as he always did when he'd figured out the solution to the problem. He stepped down of the settee and came over to her chatting as he did.

'Sorry, this really isn't my area...'

Then as he reached her he brought up his hand and cupped her face before kissing her. Whilst it wasn't a long kiss it was devastatingly good and Molly's mind seemed to blank out as she just gave into it. Then as quickly as it had started it stopped with him pulling away and turning back to the wall pointing at a couple of the photographs from her autopsy files.

'Now I'm fairly certain that the knife used in two of the murders was the same one. Would you agree? The sizes of the wounds in both of your reports are the same and the depths show the length to be between 3 and 5 inches. At first I thought...'

Molly knew she had to stop him. Her mind was reeling from his kiss and she still needed answers.

'Wait, hang on can we just talk about what happened first?'

She dropped her bag onto John's chair and shrugged out of her jacket as she saw Sherlock turning to her looking a bit confused; his hand still pointing up at one of the photos.

'What do you mean what's happened? Do you mean with my being taken in for questioning?'

Now it was her turn to feel confusion and exasperation. 'No you idiot, I mean us talking about the fact that we had sex.'

She couldn't help it but she knew she was blushing and she saw his lips quirk up into a slight smirk as he saw it.

This time when he walked towards her he was slower but his eyes seemed to bore into her very soul.

'I would have thought that was obvious. I mean it's not as though I have a reputation for sleeping around.' He tilted his head and smirked again. 'Well, apart from in the papers that is.'

By now he was in front of her and she could feel her whole body responding as she looked up at him shyly.

'I had sex with you Molly, because I like you and if it's alright with you I'd like to have sex with you again.'

His hands moved to her hips and pulled her closer to him and his eyes never left hers as he moved in to kiss her again. They only closed just as his lips met hers.

At the touch of his mouth Molly felt as though all the air left her body. She felt everything acutely, the weight of his hands, the feel of his lips moving against hers; the way her breasts were brushing against his chest. All she could think about was him and how he was making her feel in that moment.

She felt lust deep in her belly and her arms moved around him, her hands sliding across the satin material of his house coat.

Somehow without her realising it he had turned them and she felt the edge of his PC table against the back of her thighs. She leant against it and felt him move in between her legs as his tongue snaked into her mouth twisting against her own. He groaned and it just seemed to set off a chain reaction in her ending deep in her belly and she ached to be touched by him more intimately.

Before they could do more though his phone started ringing and Sherlock groaned for a second time as he stopped kissing her and instead rested his forehead against her own. Then he took a deep breath and stood up, hunting under some folders on his desk until he found his mobile.

'Yes.'

Molly remained where she was for a moment trying to catch her breath and come to terms with the fact that Sherlock seemed more than comfortable with them continuing their relationship.

The word repeated itself in her head and she pushed away from the desk as she felt a smile starting to spread across her face.

'Don't be ridiculous Anderson...of course I'm alone but I am most definitely not lonely.'

Molly carried on smiling at the tone of Sherlock's voice. There was always the same level of irritation in it when he spoke to Philip Anderson and she felt sorry for the other man.

'No, don't come over. If I did need company I still wouldn't want yours.'

Molly made her way into the kitchen to see if he had anything to drink and she shook her head as she went. He was being cruel and she knew she'd have to say something.

'Well don't try and be nice. I don't like nice, it's insipid.'

He hung up and threw the phone on his chair as she opened the fridge and her eyes lit up when she saw the single bottle of white wine lying on its side at the back of the fridge behind a human liver. She frowned and tutted; she hadn't even noticed him take from Barts. It was at least a week old and starting to smell.

She screwed up her nose in disgust and made a mental note to bring a cool box next time she came round so she could dispose of it but she still reached past it to hook out the wine.

By the time she returned with two glasses of the wine he was back concentrating on his wall again and this time she happily answered his questions. Just the knowledge that he wanted to be with her was enough for now

An hour or so later Mrs Hudson came up the stairs with a plate of sandwiches, announcing her arrival with a sing song 'oo oo' and a tap at the door.

Molly hadn't really thought about food but as soon as she saw them she realised she was ravenous and she ate up four in the time it took Sherlock to absentmindedly eat one.

It was only when she started to talk about going home to bed that Sherlock dragged his mind off the case.

'What? No, don't go. You can stay over can't you? The shirt you borrowed is still on the chair in my bedroom.'

It didn't sound as though he was going to join her but Molly could live with that. She knew how wrapped up he could get in a case and she didn't want to change him...not for anything. This was the man she had fallen in love with and she knew his faults. Not that she'd be a doormat for him, she hadn't ever been a doormat for a guy but she knew what she'd put up with and what she wouldn't.

This time when she put on the purple shirt it was with a shiver of excited happiness. She let down her hair and scratched her scalp feeling that itchy buzz that she always got when she took out the band, then she went to brush her teeth and clean up.

When she finished she decided to go and say good night to Sherlock and she found him sitting in his chair reading some report or other.

She took a moment to just appreciate how gorgeous he looked lit up as he was by a lamp behind the chair. It cast shadows across his face, highlighting his impossible cheekbones.

As she moved forward he glanced up and away and then back up again as he seemed to notice her again for the first time in hours. The look in his eye told her that she might not be getting to sleep for a while yet.

Well I hope you like his reaction and I hope you want to read whatever's coming next. As ever, let me know. I love hearing from you all xxx