AN: Sorry for updating so much later than usual. Busy day. Good thing I'm a little ahead on my writing.

How to Save a Life

It was September now. Nearly nine months that Sherlock had been staying with her. He was getting close to the end of his stay too, as his research was nearly done, and soon he would be taking his findings to the police and coming out of hiding. Molly wasn't sure how she felt about that. Part of her didn't want their time together to be over, but that was selfish. She would still see him, and so could John and Mrs Hudson, which was definitely a good thing.

Molly was just thinking how it had probably been too long since she'd paid John a visit, when she saw him entering the hospital, a few people ahead of her. He hadn't seen her. She tried calling to him, but he didn't seem to hear her. He was clearly focused on something, and it gave Molly an uneasy feeling. He marched straight past admin and over to the lifts. Molly tried to get through to join him, but had to stand back for a gurney to get past, and by the time she reached the lift, it was already on its way up. She jumped in the next one, poking her head out at each floor to try and catch sight of him. It was the top floor when she spotted him, disappearing through a pair of doors. Molly gasped.

It was the staircase to the roof.

There was only one reason Molly could see for him to go up there. Ice flooded Molly's veins, making it hard for her to breathe. Immediately she dove in the door to her left, the ladies toilets, and after checking they were empty she pulled out her phone, selecting Sherlock's number and silently begging for a quick response.

"Sherlock!" She cried as soon as he picked up "Sherlock you have to come! You have to come right now! He's going to kill himself Sherlock, you have to stop him!" It came out in a rush, followed by sobs that she couldn't control.

"Okay, Molly, get it together. Repeat the facts to me calmly and precisely. Who is going to kill themselves? What did you see?" Sherlock replied, coolly and calmly, though urgently.

Molly took a deep breath to calm herself, detached herself as she would with a body in the morgue and spoke in her professional voice. "John. He walked into the hospital with a determined look on his face, went straight into an elevator, then on the top floor took the stairs to the roof. I think he's going to jump."

"Then get up there and stop him." Sherlock replied, his composure slipping slightly to expose his worry.

"I… I don't think I can, Sherlock. If he wanted my help he would have come to me. He needs you." Molly pointed out.

"Well I can't go to him, can I?" Sherlock responded through gritted teeth. "You know what will happen if Moriarty's men see me. It'd stop him jumping, but be a sniper's bullet in his brain. And Lestrade's, and Mrs Hudson's."

Molly winced at his bluntness. "Then don't let them see you. If anyone can sneak past them it's you."

"And if I fail, John is a dead man." Sherlock responded. For Sherlock to even consider the possibility of his own failure spoke volumes. It wasn't a refusal though, it was letting her know what she was asking.

"If you don't try he's a dead man anyway." Molly replied firmly.

There was silence on the end of the line for a few seconds, then Sherlock's cold detached voice finally answered. "I'm on my way. Get back down to the morgue, if there are any further… developments, call me immediately. I won't risk the others unnecessarily." Then he hung up.

Molly took a big breath, putting the phone away with shaking hands. She followed Sherlock's instructions and went back down to the morgue. She tried to distract herself by getting some work done, but couldn't help but worry that any second they would be wheeling John's broken body in for her to examine. She jumped when her phone rang, fumbled to answer quickly and ended up dropping it.

"Molly?" Sherlock asked at the noise, as she scooped it up off the floor.

"I'm here… did you… is he… where are you?" She struggled to get the words out.

"Yeah, I've got John. We're on the roof still." He reassured her. Molly sighed in relief before Sherlock continued "I'm afraid it's all been a bit much for him, he's in shock. The thirst should kick in in a minute, we'll need water, bring a couple of bottles. Thanks"

"Okay" Molly agreed, breathless with relief. Sherlock hung up and Molly didn't waste any time rushing out of the morgue and finding the nearest vending machine. She had to wait for someone else to finish with it, but when it was free she got two bottles of water, and then spotted a snack bar with 'now with extra Vitamin B' written on the packet. She bought that as well, knowing vitamin B was good for shock victims. She slipped the bar into her pocket and raced to the roof. When she got to the door she could hear Sherlock and John's voices from the other side and felt a smile tug at her lips. It was heart-warming that they were reunited again after all this time. The handle on the door was stiff, and she struggled to hold both bottles and open it. The voices stopped and she blushed as she was making a spectacle of herself.

"Sorry it took so long, there was a queue at the vending machines. Here you go John" She explained on her way over to John. He took the bottles eagerly, finishing the first one in seconds and opening the next. "Wow, you really are thirsty. Oh and here, I bought you this too, you'll need vitamin b, this is the best I could do." She added, giving him the snack bar. "And also, I just wanted to say, I am so sorry for lying to you about Sherlock. I-"

"Don't be" Sherlock cut her off. His voice sounded harsh, but she knew his intention. He wouldn't let her shoulder unnecessary blame.

"It's okay, I understand" John spoke over him, giving Sherlock a look for his rudeness. Just like old times. Molly couldn't help but smile.

"Okay" She nodded. Then she spotted the coat around his shoulders and turned to Sherlock. She was almost distracted by the bruise on Sherlock's cheek, but immediately realised that was probably John's handiwork and Sherlock had probably earned it. She focused back on what she was going to say. "You wore the coat? I thought it was too dangerous, what if someone recognized you?"

"Nobody saw me, I took back alleys all the way here, came in the back door and put all the hospital cameras I had to walk past on a loop until I was clear. I bought the coat for John's benefit, I didn't want him to see me out of the corner of his eye, think I was someone else and jump before I could reach him. " Sherlock explained, giving her a subtle nod, a confession that she was right, he was the only one who could have stopped him.

"Yeah thanks it helped, what with the new haircut and all." John said absentmindedly, looking from Sherlock to Molly. Molly wondered what he was thinking, but he never said. Instead he turned to Sherlock with another question. "So what now then? Are you coming back for good now?"

"No, still too early for that yet. It's still not safe for you. Shouldn't be too much longer though." Sherlock assured him.

"You have a plan, right?" John asked

"Of course. I haven't exactly been idle these 9 months, even if I haven't been able to get out much." Sherlock said, getting up and pacing as he explained what he had been doing to John, and what he planned to do.

"Wow, yeah, that should do it" John agreed with a laugh, before sobering slightly "but what about me? I just go back to… what I was doing before, when I thought you were dead?"

"I'm afraid so, you need to act like you never saw me today, any change in your behavior and the people watching you will get suspicious." Sherlock explained to him. Molly winced, knowing how hard that would be for John. Sure enough, John confirmed her thoughts with his confession.

"I don't know if I can. I mean… jeez I was a mess. A proper mess. The drinking…. And it wasn't just me I was messing up, it was Harry too. I can't keep doing that to her."

"Hmm" Sherlock mused "There might be another way. If something else was to inspire your reformation perhaps. A new religion maybe?"

Molly listened as they bounced idea's back and forth, trying to think of anything herself, eager to help John in any way she could.

"Alright then, a new girlfriend then. You never seemed to be lacking in those" Sherlock suggested

"Yeah that was before, I haven't had a new girlfriend since you scared the last one off." John pointed out "And besides, who would want to date me if I'm still acting like a depressed, jobless drunk?"

"Maybe if that person was only pretending to date you" Sherlock said.

"Who? Oh!" John asked.

Molly looked up and was surprised to see both their eyes on her. "Me?!" She gasped. She had wanted to do something for John, but wasn't sure this was it.

"It's a perfect cover" Sherlock assured, turning back to John without giving her a chance to deny it "If anyone asks it was Molly who stopped you killing yourself. She talked you down and you started to feel a spark, something that wasn't there before and decided to see where it went. But obviously you knew you'd have to clean up your act for a serious relationship and she agreed to help you.-"

"But I haven't agreed to anything yet!" Molly spluttered. Selfish as it was, all she could think about was how hard she'd been working, trying to win over Sherlock. And now she was supposed to go out with his best friend? It just seemed wrong.

"Oh come now Molly, it's no big deal, you're only pretending to date him. What price is that to potentially save his life?" Sherlock cajoled. Molly clenched her jaw, recognizing the tone he had always used to manipulate her. He was supposed to have given that up! Although he hadn't promised, Molly remembered. But then, tone of voice aside, she couldn't help but admit he was right. John's life and Sherlock's secrecy was at stake. She would do anything for those two.

"Okay. I suppose that would be okay." She agreed.

"Excellent" Sherlock smiled at her. He sounded a little too happy and Molly couldn't help but wonder if he had ulterior motives suggesting she date John, if he was trying to distract her from himself. If so he was underestimating her again, she wouldn't be that easily distracted.

AN: Sorry for the sudden plot twist with her dating John. This story was supposed to be a complimentary piece to my other fic 'A New Page' and although it has massively overtaken it in popularity, I am still following that story-line. But don't worry, there will still be plenty of Sherlolly in-between. If you do want to read what happened with John and Sherlock on the roof you can find it in 'A New Page, although if you want to read it in parallel with this story (for maximum effect and no spoilers) only read up to chapter 7 (John's New Girlfriend) for now, and I'll tell you when to read the next chapter.