12

Molly reached the landing and found both doors to Sherlock's flat closed, both the kitchen and the front room "Seriously?" she muttered under her breath. How could she be so…so…heck!, she couldn't even find the right word to describe her! But of one thing Molly was sure, all the sympathy she had felt for her for the way Sherlock had taken advantage of her was gone like snow in the sun.

She put her hand on the doorknob and turned it firmly then entered the room ready to give her a piece of her mind. Molly expected to find Janine sitting in Sherlock's chair in an alluring pose. Instead the room was empty and silent, exactly as she had left it a few hours earlier.

With small, cautious steps Molly walked towards the kitchen and found no one there either. Her gaze went spontaneously to Sherlock's bedroom, the door of which was open. But that wasn't a clue since, as Mycroft had said long before, Sherlock was a man who had never knowingly closed his bedroom's door without the direct orders of his mother.

Molly took a deep breath and walked down the hall and as she went, her nose smelled an intense fragrance of coconut shower gel not belonging to Sherlock. She paused on the threshold of the bathroom, not only the fragrance but also the steam hovered inside, as if someone had just taken a shower.

"It can't be" Molly said to herself, "She can't have that cheek!" she was somewhere between indulging in a harsh laugh and flying off the handle. Gingerly she walked up to Sherlock's bedroom door, facing something even worse than she had anticipated.

Janine stood in front of the inside mirror of the wardrobe door. She was wearing one of Sherlock's white shirts that barely covered her butt, a hairbrush in her left hand and, with the other one, she was applying lipstick to her lips.

When Molly cleared her throat to make her presence known, Janine didn't flinch at all. Quite the contrary, she raised her eyes to meet Molly's through the mirror and gave her a phony smile "Oh! Here is the shy lab mouse!" she teased her as she moved to the chest of drawers.

Molly found the situation unreal and forced herself to stay calm in the face of Janine's clear provocation, "What are you doing?" Molly asked in the most relaxed tone she was capable of. Janine turned slightly and blinked a couple of time, assuming an expression of fake innocence.

"You mean here in Sherlock's room or dressed only in his shirt?" she asked letting go of a laugh that was meant to be seductive, and before Molly could clarify her question, Janine cut in "What do you think is the answer, little Miss Perfect?".

Molly felt Janine's defiant look on her "May I have other reasons aside, maybe…getting Sherlock back?" said the brunette and pretended to think about it "After all he is not that different from all the rest of men, and a real woman always knows how to get one into her bed". Molly gave a little smile as she crossed her arms over her chest "For being a person who got dumped last night, you are pretty sure of yourself, Janine" she stated succeeding in hiding a hint of satisfaction in her voice.

Janine gave her a fiery look and started to move but something made her stop, and winding like a cat she opened one of the drawers. She rummaged inside for a few seconds and then pulled out something with a content exclamation "I bet tonight he won't" she chanted showing Molly handcuffs and a thin strip of black satin.

There was a victorious smile on Janine's face as she swung the two items in front of Molly's eyes "Still in the usual place!" she teased Molly wanting to show how intimate she had been with Sherlock, "So you're redundant here. Why don't you go home to look after your kitten?".

Molly swallowed hard, this confrontation with Janine was prolonging too much and above all it wasn't clear where she really wanted to get at. Punishing Sherlock for how he used her, embarrassing Molly or making her leave Sherlock forever? Maybe she needed to make it clear to Janine that nothing she said or did could change the feeling had developed between her and Sherlock over all the years of their acquaintance.

"I bet Sherlock's bed is still very comfortable. Top quality mattress, Egyptian cotton thousand threads sheets…A pity you, Molly, didn't experience it!" a triumphant little smirk on her lips. Molly's eyes became huge and her hands clenched into fists.

She was dying to wipe that stupid little smirk from Janine lips and the only way of doing so was letting her know that, after Culverton Smith's arrest, she had spent entire nights in that bed with Sherlock. Holding him in her arms, cuddling him, chasing away his bad dreams and fears, being for him the lifeline he had asked her to be.

But Molly decided not to say anything, Janine would certainly have replied it had no meaning as it was no sex, not understanding what they felt at that moment would have made sex a thousand times better experience than the physical act per se.

So she casually told her "There's a riding crop in the little trunk under the window, if you need it". Janine placed the items on the top of the chest drawers and leaned her back against it folding her hands under her breast, "Oh well, well…so little Molly played with the unflappable detective! You didn't tell me yesterday. Tsk, tsk…bad girl!" she tilted her head to one side and asked "And tell me, what's it like to be dominated by him?".

"Who tells you it wasn't me who dominated him?" Molly answered leaning her shoulder against the jamb. Janine burst into a loud laugh throwing her head back "He was right…little mouse is capable of transforming into a lioness!", Molly narrowed her eyes "Who told you so? Sherlock?".

Her laughter subsided instantly and Molly noticed Janine had stiffened as if she had let something not to be told slipped from her mouth, "Just out of curiosity, where's Sherlock?" she asked changing the subject abruptly, "Out. For a case" Molly replied politely without letting her guard down.

Janine's sudden change of mood had made Molly suspicious. The seductive Irish woman seemed nervous "Your case, I guess. Jordan told me about a man accusing you of lack of expertise", Molly didn't say a word as Janine stood up right "The dragon slayer! The knight in shining armour!" she joked approaching the chair where her clothes lay neatly folded.

"You know what? I've changed my mind. I'm leaving" she announced grabbing her white trousers and putting them on, "It would be boring to wait. Knowing him, he'll be out all night because of an important clue or a lead will make him solve the case".

"Actually" Molly said as she brought her clasped hands behind her back and leaning it against the door frame, "He texted me saying he's doing witness checks but nothing conclusive". Janine, in the meantime, had turned her back and had slipped Sherlock's shirt to the floor so as to put on her bra and green blouse.

She fixed her hair and snorted "Ah, so no conclusive clue, no solution to the case", she picked up her jacket and purse rolling her eyes "So he won't be in the right mood for recreational stuff". She walked past Molly without even looking at her then stopped in the middle of the hall "I'll leave him in your care for tonight" she said without turning, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Molly luv!" she giggled as she gave a brief nod and waving goodbye to her.

"Molly, luv!"… Molly's blood froze in her veins and her stomach flipped hearing that moniker after so many years. Among the memories hidden in the depths of her mind, the figure of the man who used to call her that way immediately made its way, and a cold shiver ran down her spine.

"I had a good time, tonight. See you tomorrow at The Fox, Molly luv?", Jim from I.T. was standing by the door of her flat and was taking his leave. He wore slacks and a fluo yellow t-shirt…a deceptive outfit, as deceptive had been his romantic interest in her. Molly, unbeknownst to her, had been Jim's bait so he could hook up Sherlock.

She shook her head vigorously, shoving those memories back to the corner of her mind where they had been until then. There was no connection between Janine and Jim, she told herself trying to be rational. Except they were both Irish, so it was assumed they both pronounced 'luv' the word love.

Molly was pulled out of her reverie by the ringtone of her phone, "Molly, is something wrong? I called before…" she sighed, relieved to hear his voice but still tense at Janine's visit and Jim's memory stirred by it, "I fell asleep, Sherlock…bad train ride tonight, remember?" she snapped quickly regretting having dumped her frustration on him.

She bit her lip scolding herself in her mind, "Sorry, I didn't mean…sorry" and as she took a deep breath he said jokingly "So, bad day, was it?". Molly couldn't hold back a tense chuckle, "You have no idea!" she stated in a more soft tone, "Then tell me, Molly! I know…I feel something is wrong" they both went silent.

Sherlock waiting for her to answer. Molly looking for the least unsettled way to tell him about Janine's surprise visit. "Molly?" he urged her impatiently, "What happened after John and I left?". She absent-mindedly looked at her reflection in the wardrobe's mirror then her gaze fell on the shirt Janine had left on the floor, and the words rolled off her mouth out of control "Nothing has happened except your ex-fiancé showed up here".

"What? Are you kidding me?" Sherlock's voice, although not very clear due to the road traffic in background because he was probably in the street waiting for a cab, sound shocked in Molly's ears, "Believe me, I really don't want to joke about this" she murmured as she picked up said shirt and collapsed on the mattress belly up.

She sensed Sherlock was taking a deep breath "What the hell did she want?" he asked with a creeping anger in his voice, "Well, basically, fuck you senseless on your comfy mattress and between your posh sheets…handcuffed and blindfolded, just to spice things up a bit" Molly couldn't hold back a bit of sarcasm.

"Good heavens! I didn't make myself understood!" Sherlock muttered annoyed, "I really don't know what to think…the whole meeting was weird" she admitted moving her eyes away from the shirt she still held in her hand and turn them to the ceiling.

"Weird in what sense?" he asked her, "I found her in your bedroom, just showered and half naked. She seemed to have a plan to seduce you and was very resolute to carry it out. Totally uncaring I was here" she reported, "Then all of a sudden Janine got dressed and left".

Molly avoided telling him how she had called her despite the very thought, made her stomach clenched "Anyway, let's not talk about her anymore, okay?" she suggested firmly, "Where are you? Any news on Stapleton's case?". There was a brief silent that made Molly fear the line was down "Well, I just finished here at Scotland Yard. I remembered I have to do something" Sherlock said after a while.

"I was wondering…on my way back…mm, what if I stop at Angelo's to get something for dinner?", she balled up the shirt resolved to get rid of it but hesitant whether to throw it away or burn it "That would be great" she answered with a soft sigh. "Okay then. It will take me an hour more or less" he predicted, the dull sound of a car door closing.

"And…Sherlock?" Molly called him back before he hung up, blushing at the very thought of what she was about to tell him, "We have free reign…Mrs Hudson will be out all evening".

He snorted in amusement "Good to know" he stated softly and cleared his throat, "Screw the dinner!'" his voice became husky, "See you in an hour, Molly…can't wait to be there".