Heroes

The policemen froze, not daring to come any closer and endanger Molly's life. Molly trembled as Dimitri started to pull her backwards with him, going for the backdoor again, ignoring the policemen's negotiations and barking at them to stay back again. Tension was thick in the air, as the cops warred with themselves, wanting to save Molly, and prevent Dimitri's escape, but unable to do anything without risking her life.

They reached the backdoor, and Dimitri pushed it open behind him, still keeping a close eye on the police. Suddenly he froze, as Molly heard a movement behind them.

"Game over Dimitri. Now let the girl go." Came John Watson's voice from behind them. Molly was both relieved and terrified at the same time. Although she couldn't see what was happening, she assumed John was threatening Dimitri somehow. But would that make him let her go, or would it inspire him to pull the trigger? She was in a very precarious situation right now.

"Ah, Doctor Watson, I wondered when you'd show" Dimitri said, casually, as if he wasn't in the middle of a rather tense stand-off. He made no move to kill her or release her.

*Click* "I'm not playing here Dimitri, let her go or I will shoot". Gone was the warmth Molly was used to hearing in John's voice, replaced by cool command.

Time seemed to stand still, then suddenly speed up again, as Dimitri made his decision, throwing Molly away from him. She fell hard on the floor, but quickly spun to see what was happening. Dimitri dropped like a stone, knocked out by a heavy object in John's hand. Molly didn't get a chance to see what, as the room suddenly become full of activity, blocking her view. A few of the policemen came straight over to her, helping her up gently and asking if she was alright. Molly nodded, feeling slightly numb, and not really hearing their words or seeing their faces. There was only one face in the crowd she wanted to see, and her eyes frantically searched for it. When John made his way to her through the crowd, she practically tackled him, diving into his arms. He held her tightly, as relieved to see her as she was to see him.

"I knew you'd come" She murmured.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here any sooner. Are you okay? They didn't hurt you too badly, did they?" He asked, pulling back slightly. She could see how worried he'd been as he made a visual examination of her, frowning at the bruising on her arm and face.

"I'm fine, just a few bruises" She quickly reassured him. She felt a little guilty, knowing how her acting would have affected John. "I…It… it wasn't as bad as I made it sound on the video, I-"

"I know" John told her quickly. 'He told me' went unspoken, but it was there in his eyes. Molly smiled in relief.

They carried on staring at each other for a few seconds. John seemed uncertain about something. Molly waited for him to say something, or to do something. She was feeling a bit shaky, and needed his comfort. John seemed to sense this, and he put his arms around her, pulling her back to him. She closed her eyes, feeling much safer in his warm embrace.

"Dr Watson. We're all done here, we need to head back to the station." A young officer came up and addressed John, causing him to let her go again. Molly felt awkward, uncertain what to do with herself now. She just wanted to go home. Again John seemed to know exactly what she needed, and asked the officer if he could take her home first. Arrangements were made, and it was all a bit of a blur to Molly, but before she knew it, a police car was stopping outside her building to let them out. John guided her up the stairs. He had her bag, and dug in it for her keys, letting them in.

Sherlock was waiting, as she knew he would be. Their eyes met, and she was startled by the depth of concern she saw in his.

"Molly. I'm so sorry I couldn't come." He said, his voice almost breaking with sincerity.

"I understand" Molly nodded reassuringly. She didn't need an explanation from him, she already knew. What she needed was comfort. She knew he was capable of it, he had taken such good care of her after she'd been attacked that time, but she had made a mess of that, trying to kiss him, so daren't ask for it again.

She didn't need to. Sherlock opened his arms in invitation, and she ran straight into them. She clung to him, her fingers knotting into the back of his shirt. His arms wrapped around her in return, and she felt truly and completely safe. All the protective barriers she had held up to help get her through the ordeal crumbled, and all the pain and fear finally got to her. She broke down, relying on Sherlock's strong arms to support her as she sobbed into his shirt. He didn't protest at all, letting her cry it out. One of his arms left her back and she missed it for only a second, as his hand cupped the back of her head instead, gently combing through her hair with his fingers, helping to calm her.

Molly heard John mutter something about needing to get back to the station, and the rumble of Sherlock's response, as Sherlock's hand lowered from her hair, settling around her waist again. Molly knew she should probably say something more to John in thanks for rescuing her, but could 't tear herself away from the comfort of Sherlock's arms. The door opened and closed as he left, leaving just her and Sherlock. He still didn't let go, and didn't say anything, simply holding her for as long as she needed, until the shaking left her body, and the tears died down to a more manageable level.

"I… I think I'll be okay now" She said, pulling back reluctantly. Sherlock's arms lowered reluctantly too, as his eyes examined her.

"You shouldn't have had to suffer this. I should have been more observant, I should have had my eye on the people watching John…" Sherlock muttered in apology.

"Don't do that to yourself, Sherlock." Molly told him firmly "Just don't."

Sherlock was silent. The look in his eye told Molly that she'd never convince him it wasn't his fault, and she didn't have the energy to fight him on it today. She sighed, walking around him to the kitchen, and pulling out ingredients for dinner. A rather early dinner, but she was rather starving. Out the corner of her eye she saw Sherlock walk past her into the bathroom. He came out a minute later and took the utensils out of her hands.

"You have a recipe for this?" he asked.

"Um… yeah, but I don't need it." Molly answered confused.

"I will. Where is it?" He asked, opening the cupboard where she kept her recipe books. Molly took the right one out and opened the page for him "Thank you. I can manage this. The bath is running for you. Go, get in, relax, clean yourself up a bit. I'll call you when dinner is done."

Tears rose in Molly's eyes again at his kindness. He seemed to know exactly what she need.

"Thank you" She whispered, wiping her eyes and going to get her bath. He had put bubbles in it and lit candles and everything. Molly laughed slightly.

She had the best men in her life a girl could possibly want.

AN: The last few chapters of 'A New Page' are now safe for you to read if you are reading the stories in parallel. But don't worry, just because that one is over, doesn't mean this one ends with it, I'm carrying this on a little longer, it still has some interesting twists and turns left in it ;)