Sunday, 18th August 2019

"You can wait in the car and I'll get Victoria," said Molly to Sherlock. They had left Victoria with Molly's mother for the afternoon, so they didn't have to find another babysitter for her while they did the play rehearsal.

"Okay, love. Tell your mother thanks again for watching her."

Molly opened the car door. "I will, but you know she loves taking care of Victoria, and Victoria loves spending time with her too."

She went to the door of her mother's flat and rang the doorbell. She had texted her mother to say they were on their way, so was not surprised when the door was opened almost immediately.

Molly's mum already had the changing bag and was holding Victoria. "Mama," said Victoria, holding out her arms towards Molly.

"Hello, princess." Molly looked at her mum. "Thanks for watching Victoria and having her ready, Mum," she said. "We're running just a little behind because we wanted to get through the scene we were working on, rather than stop in the middle." She kissed her mother's cheek and took the changing bag, then Victoria.

"No problem, darling. How are the rehearsals going?"

"We are in really good shape, I think. it's coming up quickly though, with less than four weeks to go," responded Molly. "Sherlock's parents are making a special trip to London just to see it."

Mrs. Hooper smiled. "I'm sure they are looking forward to seeing Victoria as well and taking a look at how your pregnancy is progressing."

Molly grinned. "That too. Well, Sherlock's waiting in the car, so I had better get going."

"Of course. By the way, Victoria took a nap for about an hour, and I gave her dinner already so you wouldn't have to worry about it."

"Thanks, Mum." Molly looked at Victoria. "Say bye bye to Nanny."

Victoria opened and closed her fist "Bye bye."

Mrs. Hooper kissed Molly's cheek, then Victoria's. "Bye bye. I'll see you soon."

Molly waved and returned to the car, then got Victoria settled into her car seat.

When they arrived at the Lestrades, Molly took care of taking the changing bag and Victoria, while Sherlock retrieved the playpen from the boot. Now that Victoria was able to walk around, they had decided it would be best to bring along the playpen to contain her, knowing that Greg and Lori would have nothing similar to accommodate their daughter. Once they became parents themselves, that would change, of course.

Greg opened the door upon Molly's knock. "Hi! Great timing, dinner's almost ready." He opened the door wide and gestured for them to come in. "What's that you're carrying, Sherlock?"

"Victoria's playpen," explained Sherlock. "Now that she is able to walk, we decided this would be the best way to keep her out of trouble."

Greg slapped a hand to his forehead. "Oh, I'm such an idiot. I never even considered the difficulties in bringing a child to a place where there is nothing to interest or entertain them. I'm so sorry."

Sherlock shrugged. "It's no problem. Once your child comes along, you'll see everything changes, from how often you go out socially to where you go."

Molly smiled at a still embarrassed-looking Greg. "On the plus side, next year you will have a child of your own, and you'll learn all that fun stuff for yourself."

"Greg, can you set the table please?" came Lori's voice from the direction of the kitchen.

"Of course, love," returned Greg, as he gestured towards the sofa. "You can set the playpen up right there."

Greg left the room while Sherlock set up the playpen where Greg had indicated.

"Should we put Victoria in it, love?" he asked, as Greg returned with plates and cutlery to put on the dining table on the other side of the room.

"Up to you," said Greg before Molly could respond, "but I'm not sure if Lori would appreciate you calling me 'love'." He winked.

Molly saw Sherlock roll his eyes, and she laughed.

She had Victoria on her lap and thought for a moment. "I think I'll hold her on my lap while we eat. Even though Mum already fed her dinner, she might like to try this meatloaf of Lori's. But you can take some toys out of the changing bag already and put them in the playpen."

Greg spoke up. "What would you like to drink? We have Coke, Sprite, hot drinks, and water, of course." He gave Sherlock a grin that Molly didn't miss. "There's beer too, if you like."

Sherlock rolled his eyes. "Last time I drank beer, I ended up in a holding cell. I'll have a Coke."

Greg smirked. "Ah yes, I'll never forget it."

Molly looked at the men. "Does this have something to do with John's stag night?" She addressed Greg. "I'll have Coke too, thanks."

Greg shot a look at Sherlock. "What? You've never told your wife about that night? Guess you'll be having fun explaining that when you get home."

Sherlock groaned. "It's a night I'd rather forget." He continued in a sarcastic tone. "Thanks for bringing it up."

"Oops, sorry", said Greg in an insincere tone. He winked at Molly and left the room.

Molly gave Sherlock an interested look. "Well, you are definitely going to have to tell me all about that night when we get home." She looked down at Victoria. "Looks like Daddy has some secrets to confess."

"Dada," said Victoria.

Sherlock opened his mouth to speak, but Lori came into the room then and walked over to Molly. "Hi! Sorry I couldn't say hello earlier. I was getting the meatloaf out of the oven and mashing the potatoes." She bent down to ruffle Victoria's hair. "Hello, sweetie," then looked up at Sherlock. "Hi, Sherlock."

"No problem," said Molly. "If you need help, I can hand Victoria over to Sherlock."

Lori smiled. "No need. It's all ready, just gotta bring it to the table."

A few minutes later, they were all seated around the table. Molly looked at the meatloaf. It really did resemble the shape of a small loaf of bread, and it was sliced like it as well. She saw tomato ketchup spread over the top of most of the meatloaf.

"I wasn't sure if you and Sherlock would want ketchup on your meatloaf, so I left some of it plain," Lori explained, as she offered the dish to Sherlock to serve himself some.

He took the plate and peered closely at the meat. "It just looks like the inside of a burger, if you ask me, but shaped differently, of course."

Lori laughed. "That is pretty much what it is, I guess, except that you can add a few extra spices and then you bake it in the oven."

"Come on, honey, take some and pass it around before it gets cold," said Molly in a chiding tone as Sherlock continued to look at the meat in fascination. "While you're at it, you can put some on my plate." She was holding Victoria, so it would be easier if Sherlock put the food on her plate as well as his own.

"Yes, love," he said meekly, then gamely took some meatloaf with the tomato ketchup. At his enquiring look, Molly nodded, and he placed a slice of the meatloaf with the tomato ketchup on her plate as well.

The potatoes and vegetables were passed around, and soon the four adults were eating the meal.

"What do you think?" asked Lori with an anxious look at Sherlock and Molly after they had both tasted the meatloaf on their plates. "If it needs more salt, you can add some." She indicated the salt shaker on the table.

Remembering what Lori had said a few days earlier about over-salting her last meatloaf, she supposed Lori was being more careful, but it seemed well seasoned to her, so she said, "It's fine, just the way it is. I really like it. I might just have to add it to my own cooking repertoire."

She fed a piece of the meat to Victoria, who also seemed to enjoy it.

"I agree with Molly," said Sherlock. "It's like a hamburger in some ways, but the texture is a little different."

Greg looked over at Lori. "I think this may be one of your best ones yet," he said.

Lori grinned. "Better than the last attempt." She looked at Sherlock. "Did Molly tell you that I had a meltdown a couple weeks ago over a meatloaf I made where I added too much salt?" Lori had told Molly this on Wednesday evening, when they had been discussing Lori's battle with depression over the years.

"She did not," said Sherlock. "I imagine it would be difficult to get the perfect amount of seasoning in something like this, as you cannot really test the raw meat."

Lori nodded. "Exactly. No meatloaf is the same as another, which is rather fun. I've used various seasonings. Sometimes I add a little bit of onion gravy for flavouring like I did this time."

Victoria pointed towards Molly's meatloaf. "Mama"

"Well, it's definitely a hit with Victoria too, and she already ate dinner at my mum's place," said Molly, cutting another piece of the meatloaf with the side of her fork and feeding it to her daughter.

Molly noticed that Sherlock took another piece of the meatloaf after he finished his first one. She was definitely going to have to make sure she had instructions from Lori on how to make it.

After dinner, Molly handed Victoria over to Sherlock's care, insisting that she help Lori with the cleanup. When Lori protested, Molly said firmly, "It will be a good chance for us to talk, and then our husbands can catch up as well."

As the women did the dishes together, Molly decided to take the opportunity to ask, "Did you end up speaking with your midwife about getting some alternative medication for your depression that is considered safe for pregnancy?"

"I did. I called on Thursday, and she wrote a prescription immediately for me. I have been taking it now since Thursday evening, and so far, so good."

Molly smiled at her friend. "Glad to hear it." She changed the subject. "Speaking of pregnancy, when is your next scan?"

"It's this Thursday," said Lori. "We can't wait to see a picture of the baby again."

"The second scan is so much better than the first one. It's such an amazing feeling. When I had my second scan with Victoria, we noticed some movement she was making, and it turned out she had hiccups."

Lori gave her a wide-eyed look, sponge poised in the air as she stood at the sink. "Really? It's so amazing to think of a baby having hiccups in the womb."

"I know. I've heard that babies sometimes suck their thumbs as well. Creation is a true miracle." She placed a hand on her abdomen, thinking about the baby girl she was carrying.

"Oh, Molly. I never expected to be a mother. I feel so unprepared," confided Lori, as she returned to washing a plate, before handing it to Molly to dry.

Molly nodded, remembering her own feelings about it. "I completely understand, Lori. I had resigned myself to not having children of my own too, once I broke off my previous engagement, because I realised I was still in love with Sherlock. God has blessed me so much. I was so glad of Sherlock's reassurance when I would worry about being a mother. When he would get worried about being a father, I'd reassure him as well. It really helps to have a loving husband and someone who is a sounding board when you're worried."

Lori nodded. "That's so true. Greg has been amazing. He's such a wonderful husband to me. I just don't understand how his ex-wife didn't appreciate him." She scrubbed vigorously at a saucepan before adding, "I have to tell you, inviting Greg to do your play was a terrific idea. He has been asking more questions about things in the Bible, now that he has been doing the role of Peter. He's always been curious about my faith, and I think he's getting close to making a commitment to Christ."

Molly beamed. "That's wonderful news, Lori. Sherlock and I have been praying he would come to know Jesus as his Saviour. I remember how amazing it was when Sherlock turned his life to Jesus the night he saved me after I was kidnapped during our engagement."

Lori handed the saucepan to Molly, then put the dish that had housed the meatloaf into the sink. "I'm going to just let that soak," she said, then continued the thread of their conversation. "Greg told me how you were kidnapped, and how Sherlock figured it out, and also how you left an earring as a clue."

Molly thought back to that night, only weeks into her engagement to Sherlock. Horrible though it had been, God had used her experience to bring Sherlock to a full acceptance of Jesus as his Saviour, and it had been worth those dark hours of terror when the end result had been so profound. Thankfully, Sherlock had also arrived before Sebastian Moran could succeed in his plan to rape her, and the man had died when a blow from Sherlock had caused him to fall and strike his temple against a television stand in the hotel room. "God is merciful, Lori. He can use the most difficult circumstances for His purposes in bringing about much good. We'll keep praying for Greg to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus as well."

She finished drying the saucepan and put it on the stove.

"Thanks for helping me, and for the chat," said Lori. "Guess we should go and see what our menfolk are up to."

Molly giggled. "Now that's an American term, obviously."

Lori grinned. "Gotta stay true to my southern roots."

The women returned to the sitting room, and Molly was surprised to see Victoria sitting contentedly on Greg's lap. He had taken off his watch, and she was playing with it. "Getting in some practice, Greg?"

He grinned up at her. "Can't let Lori be the only one to practise parenthood."

They sat together for an hour, chatting about various things to do with pregnancy and parenthood, things at Scotland Yard, and Sherlock's detective work. Victoria was given a lot of attention by Greg and Lori too, which she thoroughly enjoyed, judging by the way she smiled.

After that hour had passed, though, Molly could see Victoria was getting restless. Sherlock was the one to voice her thoughts. "We should probably get going. It has been a long day for Victoria, and Molly has an early start tomorrow."

"It has been great to have you both over and just relax for once," commented Greg.

"Yeah, it is nice to have a proper catch up," agreed Molly.

She took the toys out of the playpen so Sherlock could fold it up. Victoria hadn't used it, after all.

Once they were in the car on their way home, Sherlock asked, "Did you and Lori have a good talk while you were in the kitchen?"

"We did. I'm so glad she took my advice and called her midwife. She has been prescribed different antidepressants, so hopefully they will work well and she won't have any more major issues with her depression. She also told me she thinks Greg is seriously thinking about the Christian faith, especially since he has been playing Peter in the play."

Sherlock glanced at her with a smile before returning his attention to the road. "I'm glad to hear that; it was one of my main reasons for inviting him to be in the play."

"I know, and I'm proud of you for thinking of it," she said. "And what were you and Greg talking about while we were in the kitchen?"

"Actually, he had news about that case I was working on earlier in the week, you know, the one with the man we think was abusing his wife."

Molly's brows rose. "Oh, did he confess to pushing her down the stairs?"

"Well, not exactly. He claims they were arguing, and that it was an accident, but Greg said there is a recent life insurance policy on the wife which casts his claim in doubt, It's just a little too convenient. The man has been arrested and charged with the wife's murder. I guess it will be up to the courts to decide on his guilt or innocence."

"Well, you did your part, at least," said Molly.

He flashed her another grin. "As did you, love. You pointed out that there was older bruising on her body that indicated possible spousal abuse. We make a good team."

Molly smiled. "We've always made a good team. Once we get Victoria to bed, I still want to hear about that time you ended up in a holding cell too."

His lips twisted. "I was hoping you had forgotten about that."

"Nope!"

They lapsed into silence for the rest of the ride home.

At home, Sherlock set up the playpen in its usual place while Molly went upstairs and gave Victoria her bath. Victoria played happily with her little rubber duckies as Molly washed her downy brown hair. It was getting thicker and longer, and Molly was able to see a resemblance to pictures of herself as a baby. But she loved seeing Sherlock's blue eyes looking back at her from her daughter's face. It thrilled her to see that unique combination of Sherlock and herself. It was one of the most exciting things to look forward to with their unborn baby. Even though they knew it was a girl, there was so much to look forward to in discovering which traits she would inherit from which parent.

After Victoria's bath, Molly took her downstairs to play in the playpen for a little while until she could see the baby's eyes growing heavy.

Together, Molly and Sherlock went upstairs with Victoria and kissed her goodnight. Victoria's eyes closed almost as soon as Molly placed her gently in the cot.

"Want an early night?" asked Sherlock with a devilish gleam in his eye as they left Victoria's room. He slid an arm around her waist.

She gave him a mock frown. "Oh no, you don't. First, you are going to tell me that story."

"I'll make you a deal. We take our showers and get into bed, and then I will tell you," he said, tapping her nose lightly with his finger.

She gave him a suspicious look. "You won't try to distract me once we are in bed, will you? I know your methods of distraction too well."

He bent his head to give her a fleeting kiss. "Very well. I give you my word that I will tell you the story. Now go on and have your shower, or I will join you and then all bets are off. While you are doing that, I'm going to check my email and see if I can set up some consultations for this week while you are at work."

"Fine, I'm going."

Molly took her shower and, clad only in her towel, went upstairs to Sherlock's office. "You can take your shower now," she said to the back of Sherlock's head as he typed on his laptop.

"Thanks, love. I'll be down in a minute." He turned his head and raked his gaze over her. "You'd best not visit me up here only wearing a towel again. I'm tempted to toss everything off my desk and have my way with you."

Molly giggled. "Like all those silly films or novels where people make love on a desk? I don't think that sounds too comfortable."

He smirked. "I'd be willing to give it a try."

She sniffed. "You wouldn't be the one dealing with a hard desk at your back. I'll take the bed, thank you very much."

Then, with a cheeky smile, she unwrapped her towel to give him a quick flash of her naked body before turning and racing back down the stairs with a giggle, even as Sherlock called after her, "Cheeky wench."

While Sherlock was in the shower, Molly looked through her drawers of lingerie. Might as well give him a nice surprise; it had been a couple of weeks since she'd put on anything sexy. The last time had been on their wedding anniversary. She picked up her electric blue corset and looked at it wistfully. That would have been fun, but corsets were out of the question right now with her expanding girth. That also went for her teddies. Oh well, Sherlock was always especially fond of the babydolls, and those she could still wear, fortunately, as they tended to have flaring tops. But which one?

She decided on the purple babydoll, one Sherlock had bought her for their honeymoon, and she got into bed to wait for him. She pulled up the duvet to conceal her "surprise".

When Sherlock came into the bedroom, gloriously naked as usual, because he saw no point in dressing if he was going straight to bed, he remarked, "By the way you have covered yourself, I assume you have put on some lingerie for my benefit."

She grinned. "Maybe so, but you don't know what kind."

Not surprisingly, Sherlock had to start making deductions. "Not a corset, as I do not believe they would accommodate your abdomen right now, and that would also apply to wearing a teddy, so I am assuming it is one of those delightful babydolls."

"No trying to guess which one, though," said Molly.

He chuckled. "I'll find out as soon as I lift the duvet to join you in bed," he responded, doing just that.

His hand snaked out immediately to caress her and pull her close. "Very sexy." He would have kissed her if Molly hadn't pushed at his chest. "Explanation first."

"Tease." He pouted, then released her. "As you know, I had too much to drink at John's stag night. For a long time afterwards, I thought you were the one who had miscalculated my alcohol intake for a lightheaded buzz."

"Yes, I know, until you discovered John had added an extra shot for himself and accidentally handed you the wrong glass, and it was all downhill from there," said Molly. "At the reception, you talked about a client providing you with the mysterious Mayfly Man case and how you went off to investigate, without success. It was John who mentioned later that it was the same night as his stag night. So, if you were doing an investigation later that night, how did you end up in a holding cell?" She frowned slightly. "For that matter, how were you even capable of entertaining a client when you were drunk?"

His brows drew together. "I'm going to tell you, if you'd kindly let me proceed at my own pace."

Molly pursed her lips but said no more. She was always being told off by him for interrupting when he was trying to tell her something; it was definitely one of her worst faults.

"John and I had returned to Baker Street after only a couple of hours-"

Molly's eyes widened "You were drunk after only a couple hours?" She couldn't help interrupting again.

He glared at her. "I do not hold my liquor very well. Drinking to excess has never been one of my vices, so I never developed a tolerance for it." His eyes narrowed. "May I remind you that you don't have a very high tolerance for alcohol, either? As I recall, you were quite intoxicated when you came home after that night with your bridesmaids. I could easily have seduced you, if I had so chosen."

Molly blushed. He was absolutely right. On that night, for the first time, she had discovered how alcohol could interfere with intellect and lower the inhibitions. If Sherlock had not been the gentleman he was, they would most certainly have consummated their relationship that night, rather than waiting until their wedding night as they were committed to doing. It had also given Molly a new understanding on how passion could easily lead even a Christian to go against their values and give in to their physical desires. "You're right," she said now. "I'm sorry. Do go on."

"I'm warning you, my love, any more interruptions and I will not tell you the story, after all. I would much prefer to get to our non-verbal communication."

She nodded and resolved to keep her mouth shut.

"Anyway, as I was saying, John and I were back at Baker Street when I got this unexpected client. I was having a difficult time focussing, as was John, to what nonsense this Tessa woman was saying about thinking she'd had dinner with a ghost." He squeezed his eyes shut briefly, and Molly knew he was trying to recall what else had happened. "God, Molly, being drunk is awful. I don't like the way your memories get all fogged over."

Molly gave him a sympathetic smile. Oh yes, she recalled that only too well, that fuzzy feeling, and not being able to recall clearly what had happened. She listened as Sherlock continued.

"I remember we ended up going to the flat where the woman had dinner with the man, and that I was not thinking clearly at all. I think-" he paused in apparent embarrassment, "actually, I do remember I ended up getting sick on the carpet. My mind is blank after that until I woke up. John and I were in a holding cell, and Greg came in to tell us he'd settled things and was getting us a taxi. Oh, the hangover, it's almost worse than withdrawal." He shuddered slightly. "Anyway, that's the whole sordid story of the first and last time I got drunk and had a hangover." He paused, then added, "Are you satisfied?"

She pushed the duvet cover down and propped herself up on one elbow, not bothering to answer his question. "I love learning new things about you. It never gets old."

His arm came out to slide along the side of her body. "Next time, you can tell me something I don't know. Is it time for non-verbal communication now?" He gave her a lopsided grin.

"Come closer and find out."

With a low growl, he did so, pressing his body against hers, kissing her slowly at first, then more passionately as his hands toyed with the fabric of her babydoll, then slid beneath to touch her skin. His warm hands and possessive touch heated her flesh as always.

And when the tempest abated, Molly gave a deep sigh of contentment as Sherlock's arm covered her abdomen, stroking her belly lightly with his hand. She felt that little fluttering in her womb that reminded her of the precious gift of life she carried. Then she thought of the other precious life she and Sherlock had created, who slept peacefully in the bedroom next door. Her last thought before falling asleep was of how much she adored the precious, wonderful man who was spooned against her, his warm breath fanning her neck as he too passed into slumber.

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed seeing some social interaction between the two couples.

This chapter makes a couple references to events that occurred in my initial story, A Journey to Love, Faith and Marriage. If you have not read it, perhaps the mentions will tempt you to begin the journey where it all began for me as an author!

I enjoy bringing in references to canon in my stories, and I felt it would be fun to revisit what happened after the stag night with Sherlock's explanation to Molly. Hope you enjoyed hearing about it.

Just a heads up - the next chapter jumps to the night of the play, and it, along with the two chapters that follow, takes place on that night and will end this story (at last).

As always, it means a lot to me to hear from my readers, so click on that review box below and share your thoughts on the chapter!