Sherlock and John arrived at Molly's flat and immediately got busy, carrying the empty boxes inside.
The detective put on the kettle and made tea for himself and his friend.
John had brought in one of the cardboard cartons and set it on the table, directing Sherlock not to look inside because it contained his surprise for the engaged couple.
Before pulling the books out of the bookcase, Sherlock took a closer look at them. There was some classic novels, the complete Harry Potter collection and a Bible as well as miscellaneous paperbacks, mostly historical romance novels. Sherlock was quite amused by those novels, apparently Molly was even more of a romantic than he had previously thought. He glanced at the back cover of some of the Barbara Cartland novels. They all seemed to be stories of rich Dukes or Lords or other noblemen who fell in love with beautiful, penniless orphans. Perhaps he should have accepted the knighthood he had been offered on a couple occasions for services to the Crown.
He reflected further that Molly's inner romantic nature may have been the reason she had never given up on him. Didn't those romance stories have a dark hero who saved the beautiful heroine from a dangerous situation? It certainly seemed that way, just by reading those synopses and looking at the front covers of the books.
Yikes, he was the hero of his own romance novel. Hadn't it taken a dangerous situation for him to realize he was in love with Molly?
On another shelf of the bookcase were several Agatha Christie novels. He actually owned several of the author's books back at his parents' home in Sussex. One day he'd have to show Molly his room with his collection of books. The most surprising thing he found though was a slew of books by the prolific author of children's books, Enid Blyton.
He vaguely remembered reading those books as well as a child and having them read to him by his mother. A memory struggled to reach the surface of his mind.
Eurus had been reading one of them aloud to him. Something had happened, she had frightened him by saying something that made him scream. He tried to delve deeper into the memory, but it eluded him.
There was still so much of his childhood that was cloudy. It was as if a mist had covered the memories, and try as he might, he could not retrieve them. It was extremely frustrating. The sleuth decided he should ask his mother if she remembered the incident. If Mummy Holmes could enlighten him, perhaps the memory would return.
"What are you thinking about?" asked John. "I could feel the wheels turning in your head. You had that faraway look in your eyes like you were deep in thought."
"I was trying to recall a memory with Eurus," said the detective, frustration evident in his voice. "I saw those Enid Blyton books on the shelf and was reminded that I read those stories as a child. There is some trauma associated with those books that has to do with Eurus, but I just can't remember it. It's like my mind palace has a short circuit in the area of my stored Eurus memories. They are fragmented and intangible for the most part."
"I'm sorry, Sherlock. I'm guessing the trauma of Victor's disappearance triggered a fail-safe in your brain to protect you. I would guess that is the reason you have had such a hard time dealing with normal human emotions over the years. I hate to say it, but I think Eurus's methods to give you emotional context succeeded. It was a high cost to pay, but my observations of you since then reassure me that you have embraced your true self, the one that was overshadowed for so long by your intellect."
"I do feel different," conceded Sherlock. "I know I am not the man I was before Sherrinford. Acknowledging my love for Molly was like pulling a cork out of a bottle of champagne that had been shaken beforehand. The emotions exploded from me, and it manifested itself in the way I destroyed that coffin."
"Yes, that was truly a sight to behold," agreed John.
"Well, I guess I should stop cogitating those things for now, or Molly will get home to find nothing done." As he finished speaking, Sherlock started pulling books off shelves and depositing them into a box.
John started working too, and before long the bookcase was empty save for the leather-bound Bible, which was worn at the edges and seemed to have been frequently read.
Sherlock took the Bible and curiously leafed through some of the pages. This was, in essence, the cornerstone of Molly's faith. He resolved to read some of it for her sake. Perhaps she could recommend a place to start.
The large volume was divided into two sections, something called the Old Testament and the New Testament. Then each testament was subdivided into different titles. He vaguely recalled his mother telling him there were books in the Bible and dismissing the notion. How could there be books inside a book? He didn't understand it.
The sleuth did notice that the New Testament contained a lot of red text, which piqued his interest. He would ask Molly about that as well. He supposed he would learn more about that stuff tomorrow with the pre-marital counselling session and at church on Sunday. The thought of church did not seem as intimidating to him as it once had, although he still felt nervous about making a fool of himself.
John was watching him with interest. "Now I've really seen everything," the doctor joked. "I never thought I'd see you within ten feet of a Bible. You were so uninterested in all things Christian that you were using your phone during Rosie's baptism."
Sherlock flushed with embarrassment and set the Bible on the table. "I apologize for the disrespect I showed. Thanks in large part to Molly, I am trying to be more open to new things. I have always been close-minded when it came to religion of any kind, I admit it. It has been perhaps my greatest failing as a person. I am attempting to broaden my horizons and acknowledge that I make mistakes like anyone else. You have certainly been privy to a number of them."
"Yeah, I remember," said John dryly, "a certain incident where you deliberately added sugar to my tea because you assumed it was drugged and wanted to check your hypothesis."
"Yes, one of my rare miscalculations." As he spoke, he head the front door being opened.
"Molly," he breathed, striding towards her. "I missed you." He proceeded to demonstrate how much he had missed her by putting his hands on either side of her face and kissing her deeply.
Molly responded by putting her arms around his neck and continuing the embrace.
John cleared his throat. "Ahem, when the two of you are finished snogging, I have something for you."
Sherlock pulled away from Molly. "I hate that word," he complained. "Makes me think of children doing things when their parents aren't around."
"Well, if the shoe fits..." said the doctor, grinning. He was holding a notebook in his hands.
"What's this?" queried the detective.
John turned the front cover of the book towards the couple. "Mary made this when we were planning our wedding." He offered it to Sherlock.
Sherlock took the wedding planner from his friend and opened it, leafing through the pages while Molly peered at it from beside him. He saw multiple entries for all sorts of different businesses which catered to people getting married. He had to grin at the last page where Mary had written his own name next to "serviettes."
"This is wonderful," exclaimed Molly. "We haven't had time to look into much regarding wedding preparations."
"I thought you could make use of it, and I know Mary would have wanted you to have it."
"Thank you, John," said Sherlock, giving his friend a big smile. "This will be an invaluable resource for us." Having said this, he put the planner on the table and said to Molly,"I guess we should get on with the packing."
"Yes," said the pathologist. "Once Kaitlyn and Kayla arrive, I'll order the pizza for us." Turning to John, she asked, "Would you mind packing up the things from the linen cupboard? Sherlock and I will start packing the clothes from my bedroom."
John raised an eyebrow. "You had better keep the door open or you might not get too much done," he joked.
Molly laughed, and Sherlock said reprovingly, "We will behave ourselves of course, Dad." Then he stalked off to the bedroom with his fiancée in tow.
Fifteen seconds later, he returned to the sitting room and grabbed two boxes, then made his way back to the bedroom as John laughed at him.
Sherlock started with the chest of drawers while Molly began taking clothes from her wardrobe off their coat hangers, depositing them neatly into another box.
"Need more boxes," muttered the sleuth as he finished with one.
"Me too," said Molly as she went to get more from the sitting room.
When she deposited another carton in front of Sherlock, he grabbed her and pulled her in for another kiss. "I'm still making up those kisses you didn't give me this morning," he whispered in her ear.
Molly giggled. "Sherlock Holmes, you are too much," she said as she kissed him back.
John's voice came from the other room, "More work, less play."
The couple laughed and got back to work.
The doorbell rang several minutes later, and Molly answered it. Kaitlyn was at the door with an armload of boxes.
"There are more in my car," she said, indicating down the street.
The two men went back to Kaitlyn's car with her and were able to take the rest of the cartons between them.
Kayla turned up a few minutes later. Molly introduced her to Sherlock, then John and Kaitlyn.
Sherlock observed that the brunette kept glancing at John. She was a pretty girl, in some ways similar to Molly in appearance, although perhaps a year or two older.
Her slim silhouette deemed her to be a person who enjoyed being on the go. Her nails were cut very short, with no nail polish, and she wore the neat attire of skirt and blouse with sensible shoes. Her hair was in a loose bun. He was almost certain she was a school teacher.
Instead of showing off his powers of observation in his formerly characteristic superior manner however, the detective merely said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kayla."
Molly called the closest pizza delivery place and ordered two pizzas. The five agreed on ham and pineapple for one and then ham and mushroom for the toppings on the other.
Molly invited everyone to sit down and relax. "We can eat before getting to work," she said. "Besides, this will be a good opportunity for everyone to get to know each other."
Sherlock noticed that Kayla chose a seat on the sofa next to John and immediately engaged him in conversation. Her body language as she crossed her legs towards the doctor and leaned into him was a clear indicator to the sleuth that the girl was interested in him.
He decided it would be a good thing if someone could be there for his friend and help him to get over the loss of his wife.
Molly and Kaitlyn were talking about bridesmaid dresses and colours of said dresses, so Sherlock decided to act the part of waiter and see what everyone wanted to drink. He checked Molly's fridge and saw some cans of Coca-Cola and Sprite, as well as orange juice and bottled water.
After the detective asked about hot or cold preference and gave the options, Kayla asked, "I don't suppose there is anything diet I can have?"
John looked at her and asked, "Why would you need a diet drink? You don't need to diet. Besides, all those chemicals in diet drinks are worse than sugar, in my opinion..."
Kayla blushed and said she would have water. John asked for the same. Kaitlyn wanted a Sprite. Sherlock realized he had no idea what Molly's favourite cold drink was. He had only ever seen her drinking tea or coffee.
"I'm going to have a Coke," he announced. "Molly?"
She smiled at him. "I'll take a Coke as well."
Once all the drinks were organized, Sherlock let the conversations wash over and around him, not feeling the need to talk himself. The pizza arrived and everyone settled down to eat, using some paper plates Molly had brought out from a cupboard.
"Less clean up that way," she said practically.
After dinner, everyone got to work. Molly instructed her friends to work on packing the breakable kitchen items like the crockery and glasses. She gave them some rolls of paper towels to wrap around the items.
John finished the linen cupboard and then worked with the girls in the kitchen.
Sherlock and Molly continued packing clothes and other bedroom items. As they worked, Sherlock saw a little book in Molly's bedside top drawer called "Our Daily Bread." He opened it and saw it had three months of readings with Bible verse references and a story followed by a prayer at the bottom of each page. That reminded him of a question he wanted to ask of Molly.
"Molly, I saw you had a Bible in your bookshelf. I left it on the table."
"I noticed it there and added it to the top of a box of books," said Molly. "I need to make sure I know where it is. It is one of my most treasured possessions, although I have to admit it has been neglected of late because you have been a bit, well a lot, of a distraction."
She gave a wry smile. "Was there some reason you are telling me this now?"
"I saw that little 'Our Daily Bread' book in your drawer, and it reminded me of a question I wanted to ask about your Bible."
"You actually opened it? I'm surprised, but I think that's great," Molly said, coming over to her fiancé and standing on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "What was your question?"
"What is the purpose of the red text in sections of the..." he searched for the name, "New Testament?"
"Those words are red to show they were spoken by Jesus."
"Ah, interesting," murmured Sherlock. "He had a lot to say, didn't he?"
"Of course he did," responded the pathologist. "He is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. He's the reason we have Christmas and Easter. Even our yearly calendar is based on dates before and after Christ. He was - is - the most important historical figure in human history, and he was a human as well as God."
"I don't understand," said Sherlock, feeling very confused. "How could he be a man and God at the same time?"
Molly shrugged. "It's not an easy concept to understand. In fact, it is only faith that allows us to accept what seems impossible as possible. Christians believe in a triune God, a God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit all at once."
Despite himself, Sherlock was interested in what Molly was saying. It all seemed so contradictory, yet she had no problem in believing it. He was forty years old and had never bothered to read anything about religions in general, having decided all religion was man-made and a waste of time.
But millions, perhaps billions of people all over the world ascribed to these beliefs. Even now, people in foreign countries were dying for those beliefs. He wanted to learn more, understand more about this.
"I..." he said hesitantly, "I think I'd like to know more about this God of yours."
Molly's eyes shone as she took his hands in hers. "I would like nothing better than to introduce you to Jesus and share my faith with you, if you are truly open to listening. I guess this is not exactly the opportune time for it, but let's discuss it more soon, okay?"
"I'd like that," said Sherlock, squeezing her hands in return. "I look forward to discovering more about you, Molly Hooper." He kissed her gently on the lips and they got back to work.
At around nine o'clock, Molly called a halt to the work. Substantial progress had been made with the packing. In fact, most of it was done, save for miscellaneous objects lying here and there.
"Thank you so much, everyone," she said. "I can't believe we made so much progress so quickly."
"Teamwork," said John and Kayla together. They both then laughed, a little embarrassed.
Kaitlyn offered to drive Kayla home. Molly made arrangements with her friends to go out looking at dresses the following Tuesday evening.
After the girls had left, John offered to drive Sherlock and Molly back to Baker Street. "Did you want to take any of these boxes along?" he queried, gesturing to the stack of cartons that was ready to go. "Molly, why don't we take some of your clothes. They are the most likely thing you would make use of."
Molly nodded in agreement. The boxes of clothes were put into the boot of John's car.
Before leaving the flat, Molly grabbed the wedding planner from the table and retrieved her Bible from the top of the pile of books in the one carton. She locked the flat, and they were on their way.
All in all, it had been a good night's work, reflected Sherlock to himself. He had met someone new, learned some new things about Molly and watched his best friend come out of the shell he had enclosed himself in since Mary's death.
Of course, the best part was that Molly was now under his protection, and he would make sure she stayed safe.
Author's note: Here begins the heavy duty Christian content as Sherlock becomes more interested in learning about Molly's faith.
I hope I am writing this in a way that makes it easy to understand what Christianity is about. If you are curious to learn more, please pm me.
So, Sherlock has some childhood trauma associated with Eurus - what could it be? And John has made a new friend. Will he find happiness again? What do you think?