Molly drains the bodily fluids from the autopsy and sighs, her hunger giving her a bit of trouble today. She had snapped at a couple of the interns and apologized. They probably just thought she was on her period or something, but she knows the reality is much worse than that. To top off her bad luck, Sherlock was busy with cases all day and he hadn't been by even once. She had considered stealing a few more blood bags from the supply room, but if she ever gets caught, she would be terminated and most likely investigated. There is no way she could risk that.
Being stuck in her thoughts, she washes her hands immediately after ditching her gloves out of habit and looks down just in time to see her daylight ring swirl down the drain with all the residues. "No!" she shouts and attempts to reach it, failing as it is already deep within the pipes. Sunlight pools into the window and what was once a warm sensation upon her forearm is now a deep stinging which turns into real burns as if it were a scalding poker stick or the licking of real flames. Her skin sizzles and bubbles, readying itself to burst into flames. Molly yells out in pain and immediately ducks down under the window, panting in pain as she watches her arm slowly heal from the burn blisters back into its flawless snow-white smoothness. Looking around the room, she realizes she is trapped, as the sun is pouring through every window. However, with her super speed, she could make it to her windowless office and hunker down in there to think of her next steps. Very slowly leaning up onto her feet, but still squatting, she focuses and her body blurs as she speeds into her office, closing the door.
Molly hisses due to the stinging of the where the sun had been cast upon her for mere seconds, her body healed by the time she looked at the affected areas since she was so fast. Collapsing onto her chair she groans and lies her head back, unsure of what to do. She still had two autopsies left on her schedule and Mike would be sorely disappointed if she didn't do them. Not once has she abandoned her work without notice. Growling with frustration and hunger, she tries to distract herself by filling out the paperwork for the ones she had already performed, knowing that would take up at least a good hour.
After a few minutes, she growls annoyedly and gets up, pacing a bit, distracted. The smell of blood is still on her hands. The small bit that always seeps through her gloves, the tiny particles that she never noticed before becoming a vampire. Her hunger grows with every passing minute and she leans against the wall, taking deep breaths, trying to control herself. Grabbing her phone she sends Sherlock an "SOS" text and taps her foot impatiently, waiting for a reply.
When it doesn't come, she hits her fist into the counter next to the small sink in her office, causing a noticeable dent in it. Swallowing thickly, Molly whines to herself and leans over the sink, her bloodthirst becoming insatiable. Thanking whatever higher powers there may be that nobody is around the morgue, she slumps back down in her chair and buries her face in her hands, doing her best to calm the raging desire within herself. Her sclera reddens and fades with every deep breath she takes, the veins from under her lower eyelids simmering with transition ever so slightly.
"No Molly…you can do this. Deep breaths, you're fine. It's gonna be fine. Just control yourself."
Suddenly there is a light knock on her office door. She whips her head to the side to stare at the door as if it is her "immortal" enemy. "S-sorry, I'm busy please come back later!"
"Molly? It's Leah…um...Mike just wanted to see if you could sign some of this stuff for the board. He sent me to get your signatures."
Molly clenches her jaw and mumbles to herself, "fucking interns…ugh."
"I'm really busy right now, you'll have to come back later."
"Oh…w-well er...no disrespect Doctor Hooper, but he said it's urgent because the board is meeting tomorrow…"
"Oh for fu-…fine!" Molly yanks the door open and basically growls angrily. The petite intern bites her lip and looks at her shyly, and most definitely intimidated. Her blonde braid hangs over one shoulder and the uncertainty in her eyes reminds Molly of herself when she was an intern.
"Sorry…I'm just...busy, ok?" Molly grabs the folder from her and flips through the pages. Every flip makes her angrier, Mike always leaves this shit 'til the last minute. Sitting down at her desk, she begins to sign the papers quickly, reminding herself that she can't use her superspeed in front of people but oh, how she wishes she could right now.
Once finished, she thrusts the folder a bit too roughly back into the hands of the intern. Leah yelps a bit in pain and jumps back. Molly pops up and gasps, feeling bad. "Leah?"
The small girl pulls her hand back to reveal a pretty good paper cut between her thumb and pointer finger. She hisses with the sting and all Molly can do is stare as the slit begins to trickle enticing deep red droplets of deliciousness.
Without realizing what she is doing, her instincts take over and she leans against the door, closing it. Leah looks at her quizzically and cradles her hand with her other. "Um...do you have a plaster?"
Molly licks her lips and swallows hard, the metallic scent of blood eagerly wafting into her nostrils, clutching the very depth of her hunger, forcing her to drink by any means.
"Doctor Hooper?" Leah waves her uninjured hand in front of Molly.
Molly grabs her wrist a bit too roughly and the intern gasps. "Hey! L-let go…", she stammers, beginning to get concerned and scared, feeling how cold the good doctor was.
Suddenly Molly's sclera match the color of the blood trickling from her small wound and dark veins appear beneath her eyes, branching off to splay across the top of her cheeks as Molly's incisors grow by an inch, sharpening into the finest of points like a needled blade. Her transformation completes as her thirst for blood takes over all of her faculties, grabbing the young girl by the throat as she opened her mouth to scream and pinning her against the wall. She feels her struggling against her unwavering grip, unable to pry Molly off. Then she does the very thing that she was terrified of.
Molly drinks roughly and ferociously from an innocent. Her fangs puncture the girl's neck and sink deliciously into her artery, much-needed sustenance finally gushing into Molly's mouth and down her throat. She rips into the girl's skin with a hunger she has never experienced, the fight thrilling her even more, increasing her bloodlust. Drinking with fervor, she doesn't cease, even when the girl stops struggling and goes limp in Molly's hold.
The next thing she knows, she hears yelling and a tugging on her shoulders.
"Molly! Molly stop! Stop! Molly!"
Realization of Sherlock's voice settling into her brain, Molly gasps and for a split second, lets him pry her off of her victim, the girl falling to the floor in a bloodied heap. Molly's mouth and cheeks are stained red, the delectable liquid dripping down her chin messily.
Turning around quickly, she growls in warning, baring her fangs menacingly. Sherlock grabs her face in his hands tightly, enough to hurt a human but not her, and pulling her to him roughly. "This is not you! Stop it!", he growls back. Molly blinks a few times, looking a bit confused. Her sclera fade back to white, the veins thinning back into her pale skin until they are no longer visible, and her fangs retreating until they look like normal human canines.
"Sh-Sherlock...wh…"
Sherlock swallows and turns her to face her victim on the floor. Molly gasps and lets out a strangled sob. "No! No, I-…I…oh God what did I do!?" Molly breaks down and covers her mouth, her hands sticking to her skin with the drying blood. She quickly pulls her hand back and gapes, horrified at her hand covered in red. "No!" She sobs hard, tears running down her face and she collapses onto her knees in front of Leah, gently pulling her close and cradling her head in her lap. "Wh-what did I do!? Sherlock what did I do?", she cries out hard.
Sherlock tears up and locks the door, quickly kneeling by her and checking the girl's pulse. "Heal her, Molly. You can do it, you've healed me. Hurry, her pulse is very weak. Make it right."
She cries but brings her own wrist to her mouth and forces her fangs out, biting into herself until she bleeds, holding it against the despicable looking bite on Leah's neck. She balls her fist so more of her own blood mixes with the bite wound. After a few moments, the bite begins to fade, healing itself completely. Sherlock grabs the seat cushion from Molly's chair and puts the girl's head on it carefully.
Molly curls up and sobs hard. Sherlock grabs paper towels and alcohol spray, cleaning up the blood on the floor and wall, then wets one with warm water and cleans up around where the bite wound was, wiping up the blood that was headed towards the intern's top, relieved that miraculously none got on her clothing, as it was all splattered on the wall messily and pooled onto the floor where she had slumped. He then grabs a rag and dampens it with water, moving over to Molly and tenderly wiping the evidence off of her face, until it was no longer bloody. He wipes her tears away with his thumbs and puts his forehead on hers. "Molly, this is my fault. I... I was gone all day from the time I woke up and I should have swung by. I knew you would have needed to feed and…God, I'm so sorry", he tears up.
Molly's face crumples as more tears fill her brown eyes, and she shakes her head. "I'm a monster", she chokes out and sobs, collapsing into his chest. Sherlock holds her close and sways gently, stroking her hair.
"No…Molly you are not a monster. You need to eat as much as anyone else does. It wasn't right for me to leave you hungry all day. Your instincts tell you to feed when you are hungry. As much control as you have, you can't blame yourself for needing sustenance. I am so so sorry. Moll, you are not a monster. You…you just-…you were hungry, and you thought you could handle the urge. You just overshot your control a bit. I will be here from now on. I will always drop by, no matter how busy I am. Look at me", he cups her face gently and strokes her cheeks with his thumbs.
She breathes shakily, sobs still escaping her throat and tears dripping onto his thumbs. "I almost killed someone", she cries weakly. "Sherlock I almost killed her!"
"Shhh…shhh", he rocks her gently. "But you didn't, and you saved her. She'll be alright. So will you."
"The only reason she isn't dead is because you pulled me off. Wh-what if you hadn't gotten here? I-I don't think I could've stopped…and that terrifies me. I'm scared of myself. I shouldn't…be a threat to anyone."
"Molly. I believe you would've stopped. But this was just one accident, and it was because you hadn't fed all day. That will never happen again. I'll be here. You are /not/ a monster."
"I'm evil", her lip trembles and she shakes, tears streaking down her face.
Sherlock sniffles and shakes his head. "No. No way. Molly, you are not evil. Do you hear me? You are the sweetest, kindest, most amazing person I have ever known. You are not evil; you don't have a mean bone in your body. I swear to you." He cradles her face and nuzzles her nose. "It's going to be okay; I promise. I'll always be here. I won't let you down again."
"It's my responsibility and I failed. I hurt her…I-I fed on her. She's an innocent kid and I almost murdered her…I don't want to be here if I'm capable of that", she chokes out. "I just don't want to be. I don't want to be a threat to anyone at any time."
Sherlock's blue-green eyes glisten with tears. "Hey…what the hell are you saying?"
"I-I'm saying that you need to stake me…", her face is somber and remorseful, but her eyes are filled with fear of what she's become.
"Absolutely not! I am not losing you!"
"Don't you get it, Sherlock? You already have lost me! I'm not the woman I was. I'm not your Molly Hooper anymore. I'm…I'm a dangerous, ferocious beast who feeds on blood. That's…reprehensible and unforgivable, and yes, evil. I am inherently evil now and I don't want to be. I want to die knowing that people can remember me for who I was." She begins to cry again. "It's weird because I really don't want to die", her voice cracks. "But I'm already dead." Molly looks down as tears fall quickly.
He sniffles and wipes his own face. Tipping her chin, he looks into her eyes. "I don't see an evil beast. I see a woman who is scared and lost and helpless to her condition. I see the Molly Hooper that I have always cared for and always will. I see a loving, gentle, caring person who would never ever hurt a fly if she could help it. You have incredible control, and like I said…what happened happened because I wasn't here for you. You didn't have a choice. You need to feed to stay mobile and looking…", he trails off.
"Looking human…? That's what you were gonna say…"
"Yes…but just because you aren't fully human doesn't mean that you don't have the incredible human qualities that you always have. You are the same Molly, just…with a complicated twist. But it's something we can figure out and work with. You're a vampire, but you are not evil or conniving. That's the thing. You're not a grim fairy tale or a nightmare. You can make yourself whatever you want to be, you are not held back by pop culture's false narrative. Not with me. I know the truth. Please keep trying, I can't live without you in my life, Molly. I meant what I said before…I want to be with you forever, I want you to have someone throughout the ages. I never want you to feel alone again."
Molly throws her arms around him loosely and carefully, cuddling him. Sherlock holds her and nuzzles her shoulder. "I'm sorry…I am so sorry."
"Shh…I know, and it's alright. If…If I ever feel that way, I know that I'll have to sneak a blood bag. I don't want to hurt anyone again."
"You won't, and I'll be here. Promise."
Molly sniffles and strokes his cheek. Sherlock leans in and kisses her tenderly. "There is one good thing to come from all of this, however."
"How? What?"
"Well…no doubt she will be waking up soon…you're going to have to compel her to forget what happened. I suggest putting the notion in her head that she fainted from dehydration and overworking herself."
"Wh-what? What if I can't? What if it doesn't work and she tells everyone…oh my god..."
"Don't panic. Molly, rule number one. Don't panic. Stay calm. You can do it."
"But-"
As if on cue, Leah groans softly and stirs, rubbing her eyes and stretching, rubbing her neck a bit. Sherlock nods at Molly and she swallows hard, going over to her gently. Leah opens her eyes and gasps. "Stay away from me!"
Molly bites her lip and grabs her shoulders to look directly into her eyes. "Leah…calm down. I need you to listen to me. You never saw what I am. You came here to get the paperwork signed for Mike and I was in a bad mood. I signed the papers and when you went to leave you felt lightheaded and passed out. I caught you. You're dehydrated and overworked." Molly's pupils expand and contract a bit, and Leah's do as well for a moment, her gaze frozen on Molly's.
After a few seconds, she shakes her head and looks around again, a confused look spreading across her face. "Doctor Hooper...?"
"Yes, Leah?", Molly bites her lip.
"Ugh…my head hurts…d-did I pass out?"
"Yeah. Luckily, I caught you. You looked a bit tired and then you just crumpled."
"Mhh, thanks...I must be dehydrated. I haven't had much time to eat or drink today."
"Must be, silly girl. You should go home. Call someone to pick you up or get a cab. I'll handle Mike, you should take care of yourself, ok?", Molly hands her a water bottle from her mini-fridge.
She blushes sheepishly and chugs half of it. "I feel so stupid…"
"Nooo. Internships are really draining, and you've been working really hard, I've seen it. Just remember to take care of yourself from now on too, not just your studies. I'll see you Monday, alright?"
Leah nods gently and bites her lip. "Thanks again, Doctor Hooper." She rises to her feet and looks over at Sherlock, turning redder. "Oh God, I didn't know Sherlock Holmes was here. Now it's even more humiliating."
Molly smiles softly and strokes her shoulder. "He's a friend, don't worry about it. He was concerned too."
"Okay…see you Monday."
"See you…"
Leah leaves and Molly lets out a relieved breath, sagging onto her bum on the floor, rubbing her face. Sherlock scoots over and wraps an arm around her. "You did it, Molly. I'm proud of you."
"I don't feel very proud, I feel guilty, and terrible, and bad…"
He tips her chin and looks at her sadly. "This too will pass…I know that everything will be alright. I'm going to make sure of it. I swear to you."
Molly nods lightly and leans on him. "I can't work anymore today, and I can't leave", she mutters.
"Why? Are you okay?"
Shaking her head, she holds out her right hand. Sherlock furrows her brow and takes it, stroking over her middle finger. "Molly, where on Earth is your ring? Don't you dare tell me you tried to commit suicide by sun…"
"What? No, no. I didn't…plus, that's...way too painful. It went down the drain during an autopsy. The morgue is so sunny in the evening and it was burning me…I just...I ran in here for shelter. Even if I had changed my mind and wanted to go get a blood bag, I couldn't have. The third floor has a huge internal bridge remember? It's all windows across the bridge so I wouldn't have even made it there. I would've exploded into flames and even if I didn't, I'm sure people would have noticed my literal skin smoking like a barbecue…", she sighs.
Sherlock holds her and kisses her cheek. "Then you had no choice. You needed to feed and…you had no choice."
"I should have had a choice. I should have had more control."
"Molly you're still new at this. I've said it before, but you have way more control than you should have. It's incredibly impressive, the willful strength you have."
She shrugs and looks down, stroking her bare finger. "What am I gonna do? I can't be trapped here forever, and genuine lapis lazuli is incredibly expensive and hard to find."
"Luckily, I have many resources. I will find you a replacement daylight ring."
Molly looks at him and Sherlock makes many phone calls, grinning after a few hours. "Goal achieved. Size six ring, right? Right."
She raises an eyebrow. "I'm not even going to ask how you knew that, but yeah. How…"
"You know I have connections in high and low places."
"Yeah, I suppose."
Sherlock smiles and pecks her lips, popping up and holding out his hand. Molly takes it and allows him to help her up.
"Look, it's dark now. Sun is gone, you're free. Let's go pick up your new ring, shall we? By tomorrow you will be unrestrained yet again."
"I hope that's a good thing…"
"Molly…it is. You're a good person and believe me, Bart's needs you. Though you'll have to play catch up tomorrow."
She groans a bit and nods. "I know."
Once she has locked up and gathered her things, Sherlock walks with her into some back roads of the city. Molly looks confused, but follows him, knowing that if she had to, she could defend them from any criminal. Sherlock stops in an alley and waits for a moment. Soon a short, dark figure appears. Molly stands up straight, on her guard and Sherlock gently squeezes her arm, letting her know that it's okay.
A young teen boy pulls down the hood of his sweatshirt and looks up at Sherlock.
"Do you have it?", Sherlock questions him.
"Yessir. I-I was told to gather the negotiated amount for it before handing it over."
"I suppose fair is fair", Sherlock muses and pulls out cash, handing him the negotiated amount of pounds owed. Molly gapes.
The boy beams at the money in awe. "Wow, thanks, sir!" He pulls out a wad of paper towels crumpled together and places it in Sherlock's hands. He opened the wad and inspects the beautiful pure lapis ring within, smirking.
"Nice job kid, now get going back to your Mum, she'll be wondering."
He nods and grins, nearly skipping back down the alley, throwing his hood back up.
Sherlock grins and presents Molly with the ring, gently holding it between his two fingers in front of her. "Mi'lady", he feigns and curtsies.
Molly giggles a bit and blushes, holding out her hand. Sherlock slips it onto her middle finger. It fits a bit snugger than the other one did, but is more comfortable too. "Sherlock…I don't know how to thank you, for today and…for this…and…"
Sherlock pulls her close and kisses her, stroking her cheek. Molly returns the kiss, melting into him a bit.
"Thank me by persevering, by not giving up, by fighting. I love you, Molly Hooper. Human or vampire, you're all the same to me. Whether your heart is beating or not, it still holds a world of compassion and love, and that is what makes you who you are, and the woman I love."
Molly tears up and sniffles. "I love you too. Gosh…you must be famished by now too, hm? Let's go to Angelo's, I know you like his pasta after a long day. Something I can actually get you to eat."
Sherlock chuckles and nods. "I am a bit hungry. Let's go, date."
She snorts and rolls her eyes. "Oh, Angelo. He's a character."
"He certainly is. I can't wait to tell him you really are a date."
Molly blushes and hugs his arm carefully, looking up at the sky. Maybe, just maybe Sherlock is right, and they can be okay someday.