Hey, hey I'm back from my London trip and can I say how good Benedict was looking at Letters Live. He did not disappoint! Loo Brealey was also there, as was Toby Jones so we had a few Sherlock faces.

I'm sorry I didn't get to post on Halloween itself, work has just been a bit mad, and I had way too much to do the last couple of days.

Anyway, shall we get on with the story. You all had a few ideas about the girl that Sherlock was looking at so adoringly - Euros, his mother and a lot saying his and Molly's daughter. No one got it right but let's just say some were very close.

Chapter 3

A couple of minutes later, Sherlock found her waiting for him outside the room. She was leaning against the wall with her hands on her knees.

'Are you OK?'

Molly glanced up at him, feeling anger and frustration bubbling up. 'Do I look OK? I'm exhausted, terrified, confused and…God, I just want to lie down and fall asleep and hope that this nightmare is over when I wake up.'

She saw him thinking for a second before nodding his head. 'Fine, come on. I need to think anyway.'

She wearily followed as he set off down the corridor, almost too tired to dodge the odd 'ghost' as they made their way back downstairs.

'Where are we going?'

'I saw an On Call room near the makeshift morgue. That area seems pretty quiet so we should be able to stay there undisturbed. I can alter the sign to show it as occupied.'

'Yes, how do you do that? Move things…I can only seem to do it when I'm scared.'

She saw him shrug. 'I don't know, I just do it.'

A minute or two later Molly lay down gratefully on the single bed. She watched as Sherlock threw off his coat and jacket, shucked off his shoes and settled into the nearby chair so he could think. His feet were balanced on the edge of her bed, crossed at the ankles.

She wanted to ask him about the woman in the lab, but she didn't know how, and she really was too tired. All her adrenaline seemed to have been used up and the tiredness that she'd felt as she'd been finishing her shift, on top of the stresses she'd suffered since they'd arrived in this world, meant she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

She had no idea how long she slept, but as she started to come too, she was grateful that she couldn't remember dreaming at all. In fact, she was surprised she hadn't had nightmares.

The room was lit by a dim, gas fuelled night light in the corner and when she blinked and stretched, she saw that Sherlock was awake and watching her, a strange, thoughtful look on his face.

'Hey, did you sleep at all?'

He shook his head. 'No, like I said, I needed to think.'

Molly pushed herself into more of a sitting position and felt a flicker of hope running through her.

'Have you figured it out? Do you know how to get us back?'

He frowned. 'Oh, that, no I wasn't thinking about that.'

Molly literally felt her mouth drop open. 'You weren't thinking about it. Then what the hell were you thinking about Sherlock? That woman that you seemed so attached to so fast.'

She heard the bitchiness in her voice as she said that last line and almost cringed. Sherlock barely seemed to register her tone though.

'Yes, I was thinking about her, she was fascinating.'

'I bet.'

Molly swung her legs over the side of the bed. In this moment she wished she could just get as far away from Sherlock as she could, but she was stuck here with him.

He finally seemed to notice her mood. 'Molly? Are you…jealous?'

'No.'

As she said the word, even she realised how untruthful it sounded and she saw Sherlock starting to smile.

'Oh Molly…humour me. If you had a daughter what would she be called?'

The change in topic was so strange that Molly felt caught off guard. 'Rebecca, after the book, why? What was her name? That woman.'

'Emma.'

The flicker of excitement that Molly had felt for a moment was quashed, leaving her just feeling confused.

She had no choice, she had to ask him. 'So, who was she…and why did she seem so important to you?'

'She's important to both of us, and I think she might be the reason why we're here.'

Molly still had no clue what he meant and so she stayed silent, knowing he'd continue.

'I've always believed that my work was the most important thing in my life, more important than friends, than family, than…love…'

At that his eyes slid up and met her own and Molly found herself caught in his gaze…and yet, she still had no idea where this conversation was going.

'Even after all I've been through, finding out about my sister, confronting my feelings, I still thought that I was better off alone…no, that's wrong…I thought that you were better off alone.'

'Me?'

Sherlock slowly nodded his head. He took his feet off the end of the bed and leant forwards with his elbows on his knees. 'I'm not a good man Molly, I'm reckless, impulsive, I invite danger into my life and the lives of those I love. So, I thought that I shouldn't pursue my feelings.'

Not for the first time that night Molly felt her heart thudding in her chest, but this time it wasn't out of fear it was out of hope.

'I sat down next to that woman and as I started to read her notes her style felt so familiar…and then I saw it…'

When Molly spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper, almost as if she didn't want to break the spell of the story he was recounting. 'What did you see?'

'A newspaper article recently printed. It was accompanied by a photograph of two women who had both received OBEs from the monarch for their contribution to medical science…but it was their names that caught my eye…and…quite simply it made me rethink everything.'

Once again, his eyes met hers and held contact.

'They were Dr Rebecca Hooper-Holmes and her daughter Dr Emma Holmes.'

Molly sat in stunned silence for a moment trying to take it all in.

'So…so…she's…who is she?'

'She's our granddaughter Molly…and more than that she recognised me.'

Molly felt the room tilt a little and for a moment she wondered if she'd pass out. But it seemed he still had more to tell.

'When I was sat with her, she seemed to almost be able to tell I was there. Her colleague asked if everything was alright and she told him she could smell her grandfather's cologne, that it was quite distinctive, and she hadn't smelt it since I'd died. Then she said she wished I was there as I'd no doubt be able to help her solve the problem of the deaths…and she was right. I noted down the details of the government file that Mycroft had had sealed in our time. Hopefully, it will help her, and our daughter, work out the cause and treatment of the outbreak.'

'How can you even talk so casually about us having a daughter, a granddaughter…Sherlock, we aren't even together, you don't feel that way about me…I just…I don't understand.'

He stood and moved to the bed, sitting down next to her and Molly bit her lip as he gently took her hand in his. Part of her wondered if she wasn't still dreaming, but he felt so real, his touch so electric.

'I don't think I fully realised my feelings myself until my sister forced them out of me, but the moment I told you I loved you I knew it was real. Trying to come to terms with those feelings over the last few weeks has been increasingly difficult. And now, to see the proof right there in front of me…our granddaughter. She was amazing…beautiful, intelligent, she had your eyes, and she's quite possibly about to solve a puzzle that's killing hundreds if not thousands. How can I still tell myself that you're better off without me, or that my work is more important than that?'

'But you don't want me, like that…'

His gaze was almost too much to bear, and it was only compounded when he brought one hand up to cup her face, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. 'Like what Molly? Romantically?'

He let out a sigh. 'I think it's about time I truly tell you how I feel…no ambiguity. I'm in love with you Molly. You are the only woman who has ever so completely captured my heart.'

Molly shook her head, still feeling overwhelmed and almost scared. 'You love me?'

He nodded his head, watching her every reaction, a soft smile playing on those beautiful, lush lips.

But even hearing those words that she'd longed to hear weren't enough. She still needed more. 'You might love me…but…do you want me?'

She felt shy asking him and she knew she was blushing, but his smile just turned into a grin which seemed to warm her very soul.

'Oh Molly, you see but you don't observe. Maybe I should just show you.'

With that he bent his head to hers. Molly was still disbelieving that he was going to kiss her right up until the moment that his lips met hers.

For a couple of seconds, it was just a press of his lips against hers, but then it was as if a switch was flipped inside her. She suddenly realised that Sherlock was here; that he was hers for the taking, and she wanted him…she had always wanted him.

With a soft sigh she opened her mouth to him, tilting her head slightly as she let her hands slide up the front of his shirt. She could feel the heat of his body under the thin material, feel the thrumming beat of his heart beneath her palm and it seemed to mirror her own.

The kiss just became more and more passionate until he was leaning into her, making her fall back onto the bed pulling him down with her.

Without quite knowing how, shirts were lost, clothing was loosened, and Molly felt like she was coming alive for the first time in years. His hands moved over her breasts, exploring every inch of her with his mouth following not far behind.

As his tongue circled around the nipple of her right breast she could feel his hand dipping into her pants, probing and parting her until she could feel his fingers starting to slide inside her. She had never moved so fast with any previous partner, never had a one-night stand…but this was Sherlock and it felt so much more natural than she would have expected. If she only had this one night with him, this one opportunity she was going to take it.

It seemed, as with everything, he was a fast learner and he soon had her crying out his name as she came, but he wasn't finished with her. Instead, he helped her to push off his trousers and finish removing her own clothes until they were both naked. As he moved over her, she could feel his cock nudging at her entrance, but he held off, lifting his upper body so he could look down on her. Shadows played over his face, enhancing the sharpness of his cheekbones and that strange cat-like slant of his eyes.

'Are you sure Molly? I don't want to rush you, but…God, I want you…'

He already sounded so undone, and it gave her confidence, knowing that it was her who was affecting him so much.

She brought her hand up, letting her fingers smooth his hair from his eyes. 'I'm sure. I want you; I've always wanted you.'

As he pushed into her, she felt her eyes roll back in her head as she relished the slight burn of being so completely filled after so long. It had been well over a year since she'd finished with Tom, and she hadn't been with anyone since. She didn't want casual hook ups and how could she commit to anyone else when her heart belonged to Sherlock.

He moved slowly at first, as if getting used to the sensation and it had her wondering if he'd even had sex before, not that she could ask him now. She encouraged him with her hands and with her lips against his throat, urging him to go deeper, harder, faster. As his pace increased, he lifted himself up once more and she let her hands trace over his chest, down to his stomach, then up and over the muscles in his arms and she knew she was going to come again. It was so close, just a little more…

The moment he started to climax he took her with him, until they collapsed into each other's arms, still kissing, and holding each other close.

Sherlock fell asleep first, his head on Molly's chest, her fingers carding through his curls, nails scraping against his scalp as she stared up at the ceiling and wondered just what the morning would bring, but it wasn't long before she was asleep as well.

So, she was their granddaughter. I wanted the timeframe to be further into the future than a daughter (the right age to make Molly initially jealous) would allow for. Anyway, I hope it, and Sherlock's subsequent admission, were not a disappointment.

As ever, let me know your thoughts and I'll be back with the final chapter at the weekend xx