Chapter 24

Happy New Year!

Molly took her trousers from the dresser drawer and slowly moved over to her bed, tucking them into her bag. She really didn't want to leave, but she knew that if she stayed, it would only be worse. Sherlock would never return her feelings, but at least back on Earth, she had Bart's and her cat and her friends to distract her from it. She could never stay here; it would be like a slow death inside.

Molly turned back to her packing, her mind turning towards Sherlock. Was he still with the Council? Had they delivered a verdict? A punishment? Was Sherlock mistaken and they actually had no idea that he had been planning something? But if that was so, then why had they needed to talk to him?

A knock at the door shook Molly out of her musings, and she tucked the shirt she had been folding into her bag. She stepped up to the door and pressed the button to open it. It slid open with its usual swooshing sound, and she looked up to see Sherlock standing in the corridor.

Sherlock gave her a fixed smile. "Hi."

Molly smiled back. "Hi."

"May I come in?" asked Sherlock.

"Sure." Molly stood aside as Sherlock walked into her quarters, the door sliding closed after a moment. Molly turned around, watching as Sherlock came to a stop in the middle of the room and turned towards her. "So, how did it go? Did they punish you?"

"Surprisingly, no," Sherlock answered, clasping his hands behind his back. "They gave me an update on my mission."

Molly frowned, cocking her head to the side a little. Why would they update his mission? They put an end to it. "An update?"

"They gave me a choice." Sherlock paused almost dramatically, very obviously building the suspense. "Either I stay here on Vulcan, or I return to Earth. Forever."

Molly's heart fell once more. A choice between seeing his family and his home or being exiled? What kind of a choice was that? It was just the Council giving him a choice they already knew the answer to, and a way to get Sherlock to fall in line.

Molly nodded stiffly, knowing which answer to expect. "What did you tell them?"

Sherlock hesitated, his mouth slowly opening as though nervous about what he was about to say. "I told them I belonged at home."

Molly's heart clenched painfully in her chest. She had been expecting it, but it still hurt to hear it. Her heart broke for him; he was completely trapped, unable to ever escape from under the hands of the Vulcan Council. This was it. Their last conversation. There would only be the goodbyes tomorrow morning—

"With you."

—and then he would be gone. It would all be gone; his multitude of visits to the lab, his strange requests for body parts, his brilliant mind, his confident nature, his cocky yet warm smile—

Molly's eyes widened as her gaze shot up to his. What had he said? He was coming with them? "What?"

Sherlock was now staring intently at Molly, his eyes blazing with something she had never seen there before. "Molly, when I told you that the Vulcan in me doesn't allow me to feel very much emotion…that may have been a bit of an exaggeration. While it's true that my Vulcan genetics tend to rule my emotional state, it's only because I let it."

Molly stared at him, stunned.

"Sherlock, on the other hand…is half human, which means he can choose whether to let his human side—his emotions—in. And he chooses to be Vulcan."

"I believe Sherlock Holmes feels much more than he lets on."

I don't believe it, she thought. John was right.

Sherlock turned and began to pace to the other side of the room, bringing his hands around in front of him. "I tend to form deep emotional connections if I'm not careful, and I knew I would have to refrain from that if I were to return home after ten years, so I pushed my human half away." He came to a stop at the window that overlooked the valley, staring out of it. "Well, it was really more of a response to the ridicule and jests made by my schoolmates when I was a child."

Molly's heart ached at that. What emotional torture must he have gone through just because of his DNA to cause an emotionless machine to emerge.

"That was when I learned to cast off my humanity," continued Sherlock. "And I vowed to remain Vulcan ever since." He then slowly turned to face her. "The one thing I didn't count on was you."

Molly frowned a little, not sure what he was saying.

"Your smile…" he continued, taking slow steps towards her, "your eyes…your courage…your strength…your heart…"

Molly was sure she was blushing heavily at this point.

"I've tried fighting it for years, knowing that it would only end up hurting you when I had to leave." He came to a stop in front of her, gazing warmly down at her, "but you clung onto my heart for dear life."

Molly could do nothing but stare up at him, stunned. Was he really saying this?

"I don't know how well a person—a being—like me can do with a relationship, but I do know that I am tired of fighting it." Sherlock stepped up close to her. "I want it. I want you, and everything that comes with you."

Molly gaped up at him, completely speechless. Her eyes searched his face for something—anything—that betrayed his usual manipulation, but all that was there was…something Molly still couldn't place. "But…but w-what about your family? Your home?"

Sherlock raised his hound and placed it along the side of her face, causing her to gasp. "You are my home. I love you."

The air seemed to have been sucked out of the room. Molly could only stare at him as he caressed her cheek with his thumb.

This can't be happening. It can't.

Sherlock's eyes stared intently into hers for a moment before he slowly began lowering his head to hers, placing his lips on her own. The kiss was tender and hesitant, and before Molly knew it, Sherlock was pulling away.

Molly's lungs finally released, letting out the breath that had been frozen there. She looked up into his eyes, finally recognizing that look in his eyes: love.

"Is this for real?" Molly whispered, still stunned.

Sherlock's smile widened as he lifted his other hand, framing her face between them. "Oh, Molly, I assure you this is very real. I love you, and I never want to let you go."

A smile finally broke out on Molly's face. "I love you, too."

Sherlock's eyes brightened as his smile widened further. He placed his forehead against Molly's, moving his arms from either side of her head to her upper arms. "I will not be perfect. I will forget important dates during cases. I will leave experiments all over the flat. My Vulcan side will often emerge and say crass things without even realizing it. I am still me, and I will not be a normal boyfriend. I am unpleasant and rude and ignorant and obnoxious—"

Molly shook her head with a smile as she reached up and placed her hands behind his neck, pulling him down into a hungry kiss. Sherlock froze for a moment in shock at Molly's bold move before he slid his arms around her, pulling her close.

John set his two bags down at the foot of the ship's ramp.

"Slow start for you, too, eh?" asked Greg as he walked up with his own bag.

John turned towards him. "Yeah. Kind of wanted to delay it as long as possible." He glanced over at Tairok's crew as they prepared the ship. He then turned back to Greg. "Did you see Sherlock again after he was called to the Council?"

Greg shook his head. "Haven't heard from him."

"Do you think he's okay?" asked John. "The Council wouldn't have done anything to him, would they?"

"Oh, don't worry, boys," said Thomas as he approached them. "I saw Sherlock leaving the Council chambers. He's fine."

"Then where is he?" asked Greg.

Thomas gave a shrug. "Probably wants to delay the goodbye."

Remembering what Sherlock had said a few days ago about denying the inevitable, John instantly slumped his shoulders, feeling incredibly sorry for his friend. "But he will be here. I mean, I know it's hard to say goodbye, to have us say goodbye, but he will be here, right?"

"Oh, don't worry," Thomas told them, a strange smile on his face. "He wouldn't miss this. He'll be here."

John nodded, still worried about his friend.

Mycroft stepped down the ramp towards them. "We are ready to launch, if someone would like to fetch Dr. Hooper."

"I'll go," John responded, looking back at Greg and Thomas. "I'll find Sherlock on my way back." He turned and headed into the complex, winding through the corridors and stairways before coming to Molly's door. He pressed the button for the buzzer and waited for Molly to come to the door.

The door slid open, revealing Molly in a dressing gown.

"John," said Molly, her eyes sliding over to the corner of the room.

"Hey, Mycroft said the ship is ready to go, so…" said John.

Molly nodded. "Okay, thanks. I'll, um…be right there."

John nodded. "All right. Listen, erm…have you seen Sherlock?"

Molly's eyes slid into the room's corner again. "Erm…"

"No one's seen him since last night, and I'm just worried," John told her. "We all know he's a bit unpredictable, and I'm worried about what he might do today—"

Sherlock strode into the room behind Molly, heading straight for the bed. "Molly, I've just solved the problem of where to put your cat."

John froze, his jaw dropping a little. His eyes slid from Sherlock in his Vulcan robes to Molly in her dressing gown—nothing but her dressing gown. She was avoiding John's eyes and blushing, and was that a love bite on her neck? John's eyes slid back to Sherlock, who had not stopped talking the whole time.

"There's a lovely little closet out on the landing of 221B," continued Sherlock as he put the last of Molly's clothes in her bag. "Now, I'm not suggesting he live in there. Even I know that's inhumane. That's simply the place where we'll put his litter thing. It'll be out of the way, unseen, and won't interfere with any of my experiments. Oh, and the food, of course."

Molly smiled at John, who smirked at her, and then she looked back at the detective. "Sherlock."

"Oh, not to worry, I'll put a little door in the bottom so he can get in and out," Sherlock told her, still not looking up at them.

Molly stifled an amused smile, trying not to laugh. "Sherlock, John—"

"Oh, yes, asking John if you can move in would probably be polite," said Sherlock, still oblivious. "Excellent idea."

John put a hand over his mouth to stop him laughing. Molly's smile widened as she walked over, turned Sherlock towards her and gave him a passionate kiss.

Molly pulled away, a smile on both of their faces, and placed her hand alongside his face. "You can be really oblivious sometimes." She glanced at and nodded to John, who lowered his hand and smiled, amused, at Sherlock.

Sherlock looked up at the door, his brows rising in surprise at the sight of his friend. "Oh, John." He turned towards him, wrapping an arm around Molly. "Would you mind terribly if Molly moved in to Baker Street?"

John gave a shrug, still smiling. "All right by me."

"Excellent!" said Sherlock, placing a kiss on Molly's cheek. "We'll need to move some things around to make room. Shouldn't be too difficult; she'll be in my room, after all. And you'll only have to pay a third of the rent. Even better!" He zipped Molly's bag up and brought it to the door.

"Wait, a third?" asked John, his smile fading in confusion. "As in, all three of us?"

Sherlock straightened up after dropping Molly's bag by the door. "Oh, did I not mention? I'm coming back with you."

John's brows rose in surprise. "The Council didn't know about your plan? You're still going through with it?"

"No and no," stated Sherlock, heading back across the room.

"Sherlock…" John groaned, rolling his eyes.

"The Council didn't know about his plans," Molly explained. "They gave him a choice to stay or go. Now, he gets to live on Earth for the rest of his life."

John gave Molly a grateful nod. "Thank you." He looked at Sherlock and immediately back at Molly. "What?"

"Yeah, they're letting him stay," Molly told him with a smile.

John smiled as he looked over at Sherlock. "Really? You're staying?"

"It would seem so," Sherlock told him, turning towards the washroom. "Oh…" he looked back at John, "could you stop by my quarters and pick up my violin?"

"Sure," said John. "I guess we'll see you out there." He started to turn away. "Oh, and Sherlock…" he gave his friend a smirk, "you have a little something…" He gestured towards his own jawline just below his ear. He turned and left, the door closing behind him.

Sherlock frowned as Molly stepped over, turning his head to have a look. "What is it?"

Molly giggled, wiping at his skin. "My lipstick."

Sherlock looked down at her hand, seeing the smudge of red on her fingers. He laughed as he ducked down to kiss her.

Sherlock followed Molly out of the door to her quarters, her bag in his hand. As he stepped up next to her, he reached down and wrapped her hand in his. Molly smiled up at him, linking her fingers with his.

"So, what do you think changed the Council's mind?" asked Molly.

"That is a very good question," said Sherlock. "The Council almost never changes their mind."

"Well, it's a mystery," shrugged Molly.

"Yes, it is." Sherlock clenched his jaw.

Molly smiled, knowing Sherlock was upset that he wasn't going to get to stay and solve the mystery. She stopped him by placing a hand on his cheek and turning his face towards her. She planted a passionate kiss on his lips. "I'll make it worth your while."

Sherlock smiled and gave her a kiss before starting to walk down the hall again. "Oh, there's something you should probably know about Vulcan biology."

"Oh, yeah, pon farr," stated Molly.

Sherlock came to a sudden stop, staring at Molly in shock.

"Seven weeks in space, Sherlock," Molly told him. "I did a lot of reading."

Sherlock stared at her another moment before giving a nervous smile.

"So, when are you due?" asked Molly.

Sherlock's eyes fidgeted a little before locking with hers. "Two years."

Molly nodded. "And apparently, the Vulcan male becomes quite…insatiable."

Sherlock smirked, glancing around the corridor as he stepped closer. "And that's a Vulcan without a human half." He gave her a salacious wink before moving on.

Molly giggled, walking with him as they moved through the complex towards the launch site. When they reached the ship, John, Greg and Mary were standing at the foot of the ramp discussing something.

Greg spotted them and moved around the group towards them. "So, you're coming with us?"

"Obviously," Sherlock told him.

"That's great, Sherlock," said Mary. She looked at Molly. "And you two are moving in together?"

Molly smiled at Sherlock. "Looks like."

"Could I have your flat, then?" asked Mary.

Molly laughed. "You don't tiptoe around, do you?"

Mary shook her head. "Not really."

Molly nodded at her. "Sure, you can have it."

"Thanks," Mary told her.

"So…" said Thomas as he walked up, "you're headed to Earth."

Sherlock turned towards him. "It would seem so, although I'm not sure why."

"Well, maybe the Council just changed its mind," said Thomas with a shrug. "After all, prisoners do tend to cause immense amounts of trouble."

Sherlock stared at him, the word "prisoner" triggering something in his memory.

"It might as well be a prison sentence."

Sherlock narrowed his eyes at his father. "What did you do?"

Thomas gave another shrug. "Merely pointed out how getting rid of you would remove the problems you've caused over the years."

Sherlock stared at him for a moment, touched by the act. "You were listening to our conversation."

"Little bit, yeah," Thomas told him. He paused for a moment. "You don't belong here, Sherlock." He gestured to the humans. "You belong with them. You've never liked it here. You've been happier in the last week than I've ever seen you in your whole life."

Sherlock nodded gratefully and glanced over to see his mother approaching with his brother. He turned and shared a look with Molly before stepping forward.

Sherlock raised his hand, separating his fingers in a Vulcan salute. "Dif-tor heh smusma, ko-mekh."

Ainok lifted her own hand. "Dif-tor heh smusma, t'nash-veh sa-fu."

Sherlock then turned towards his father, raising his hand in the salute once again. "Live long and prosper, Father."

Thomas nodded. "You, too." He then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Sherlock in a hug.

Sherlock stood stunned for a moment before wrapping his arms around his father. Thomas pulled away and turned towards everyone else as he backed away to stand next to his wife. His gaze stopped on John.

"Take care of him," Thomas told him. He then looked at Molly, who had joined hands with Sherlock again. "Both of you."

John nodded as Molly placed her other hand on Sherlock's arm, smiling at him.

"If we've all said our goodbyes…" said Mycroft from the ramp behind them.

They all glanced back at him before bending to pick up their bags, Sherlock carrying Molly's and his violin. Greg, Mary and John headed up the ramp, and Molly squeezed Sherlock's hand once before heading up after them.

Sherlock looked back at his parents. He had never felt particularly close to either of them, especially his mother. Whether it was his newly released humanity or gratitude for what his father had done for him, he had to admit that he was going to miss them. He sent a grateful nod their way before turning and heading up into the ship.

Molly was waiting just down the corridor, smiling at him. "So…next stop Earth, hmm?"

Sherlock set the bags down as he wrapped his arms around her. He gave her a few tender kisses, smiling at her. "And just think: we have a whole seven weeks to ourselves before we have to move in with John." He smirked suggestively.

Molly smiled excitedly as Sherlock's smirk broadened. "Mm…we should get started, then." She turned and hurried off to her quarters, dragging an amused Sherlock behind her.

Forty-eight days later…

John turned as the turbolift doors opened, Sherlock and Molly heading out onto the bridge. "Well, if it isn't the two lovebirds. Haven't see you guys much the last few weeks."

"Yes, well…" Sherlock smiled at Molly, "things to do." He wrapped an arm around Molly and whispered something in her ear, causing her to giggle.

"All right, don't need details," grumbled John, turning away from them to face the rest of the crew on the bridge of the T'Plana-Hath.

"Are the orbiting satellites diverted?" asked Mycroft.

"Two are still within range," reported Officer Nimoy. "Unable to redirect without raising suspicion."

Mycroft gave a sigh. "I suppose it will have to do. Any longer and the ship will be picked up by Earth's radar." He turned and sat down in the captain's chair. "We'll do damage control afterwards."

"Or…" Sherlock strode forward and approached the officer at the navigation station. "I'll need to borrow your chair."

"Sherlock, what are you doing?" asked Mycroft.

Sherlock looked back at them all. "What does it look like? I'm taking over this landing."

"For what purpose?" asked Mycroft.

"To land it," said Sherlock, pausing a moment. "Unobserved."

"Unobserved?" asked Greg.

"I can pilot it to the surface at such a rate that radar will not be able to keep up," Sherlock explained.

"Impossible," stated Mycroft.

"I've done it," Sherlock told him.

"When you first came to Earth?" asked Molly.

Sherlock nodded. "Trust me, no one will see us coming."

Mycroft considered for a moment before gesturing towards Officer Takei, who stood and moved towards a chair at the side of the bridge.

Sherlock slid into the chair and began touching several of the buttons. He looked up at the view screen, his eyes narrowing in concentration. "You might want to take your seats." He looked back at the others with an audacious smile. "This may be intense."

John, Greg, Mary and Molly hurried to some seats at the back of the bridge.

Sherlock was pressing more buttons at the console. "Warp 1 at my command."

When no response came, Sherlock looked up at Officer Doohan at the console next to him, who, in turn, looked back at Mycroft.

Mycroft gave a single nod. "At his command."

Sherlock turned back to the console, looking up at the view screen, which showed a miniscule blue planet rapidly growing larger.

"Distance to Earth: 90 million kilometers," reported Nimoy. "70 million kilometers. 50 million."

"Warp 1 in five…four…" said Sherlock, readying his hands over the console.

John stared at the screen as the Earth began to be recognizable. It was starting to get awfully close awfully fast.

"Three…two…"

John's hands clenched as the Earth began to fill the screen. Surely, Sherlock should have switched to Warp 1 by now.

"One," said Sherlock, hitting a few buttons as Doohan did as well.

Everyone lurched forward a little in their seats as the ship suddenly decelerated.

"Steady!" cautioned Sherlock as the Earth zoomed towards them, the planet turning into a continent, a country, a countryside.

My God, we're going to crash, thought John.

"One quarter impulse!" commanded Sherlock, touching several buttons.

They lurched as the ship once again decelerated, the countryside rising towards them.

"Leveling our descent," said Sherlock, hitting a few more buttons. "Steady…"

The ground moved towards the ship as a building filled the screen, swallowing them up.

"Engines off," commanded Sherlock.

Another second later, the ship lightly touched down inside the lab at MI-7.

Sherlock glanced at his watch as he turned in his seat towards them. "Twenty-one seconds. I believe that's my new record."

"That was…unprecedented," said Mycroft, standing from his seat. "Excellent work."

Sherlock stood and moved over to his friends, motioning to the turbolift. "After you."

John, Molly, Mary and Greg headed into the turbolift, Sherlock right behind them. They each collected their belongings and met up at the entryway of the ship.

"Well, this was an exciting break from our usual," said Greg.

"Yeah, no kidding," chuckled John. "Although, I am looking forward to getting back to normal crime solving."

"So, back in business, yes?" asked Mary.

"I should hope so, now that Mycroft's people have cleared my name," Sherlock replied. "All that's left is to announce my faked death and resurrection."

The ramp suddenly opened and dropped slowly down to the floor of the lab.

"So…shall we head out into your new home?" Molly asked Sherlock with a smile.

The others laughed as Sherlock smiled and dropped his gaze to the floor.

"Vulcan was never my home," said Sherlock solemnly.

Molly exchanged a sad glance with John at the reminder of how Sherlock had been tormented by his fellow Vulcans and had never fit in.

"It was my training ground." Sherlock's gaze moved back to Molly with a challenging smile before he looked at John.

John returned the smile before Sherlock turned back to his bags.

"Well, shall we, then?" said Sherlock, picking up his violin and Molly's bag. He turned towards the ramp, his smile widening. "The game is on."

Don't quit yet! Still have the epilogue to read! Hope to have it up within the next two or three weeks!