Sherlock shivers in the cold of the morgue, cringing slightly as Molly pulls her fangs out of the sensitive flesh of his neck, and then bites her own hand to heal him with her immortal blood.

"I'm sorry", she says sheepishly, wiping her mouth off with a paper towel and balling it up in her fist, throwing it into the bin. Still learning how to curb her thirst for him, sometimes she still takes a bit too much, leaving him woozy and unsteady on his feet. Molly speeds over to him in a flash, quickly catching him before he falls. "Sherlock!", she gasps.

"I-I'm fine, Molly. Really. Don't worry."

"You're weak. I took too much..."

"You were hungry. You need to feed. I'll be alright."

Molly chews her lip, a worrisome look on her perfect face. "It's been over a month. Why can't I get it right?"

Sherlock steadies himself, using one of the empty slabs to haul himself up. "You can. You will. I'm not completely passed out, right? Weak is okay. I'll recover."

Shrugging, she finishes up her autopsy. It's only her third one since becoming a vampire. They have been extremely difficult, and Sherlock has been finding himself at Bart's more and more often, attempting to help her through the cravings. Especially since autopsies include a lot of blood flow. Molly chews her lip as she works, the veins under her eyes bubbling as blood seeps from the body. She takes the heart and weighs it, then places it in the proper place. Even though she is sated for the moment, the smell and movement of blood still triggers her vampiric side.

Sherlock watches her closely and walks over when he feels steadier on his feet. "You're doing so well, Molls. I promise. Deep breath in, then slowly release it. You can do this."

Molly nods and takes a deep breath, very slowly letting it out to calm herself. The veins slowly fade away and he smiles at her.

"See? You did it. It's only been a month and you have made so much progress. You know why? Because you're a good person, and you'd never hurt someone on purpose. You are inherently good, Molly Hooper. You have so much control, I am so in awe of you."

She tears up a bit and looks at him. Sherlock gently cups her face and presses a soft kiss to her lips, stroking her cool cheeks. Eagerly kissing back, she hums against his lips contentedly. "Thank you", she whispers, pulling away. "You really help me. I don't think I could still do this without you."

"You're welcome. I'll always help you; you know that. You have done so much for me in the past and even in the present Molly. I love you...I hope that's very apparent by now."

A few more tears fall down her face. "I know you do. I love you too...it's just..."

"What...?"

"My life is still over...I-I know it's probably stupid cause I would've died anyway but...I wanted children Sherlock. I wanted to be a mum some day and that's never a possibility now. Ever."

"Molly, we could always adopt..."

She scoffs sadly. "Yeah, sure...a vampire adopting a human child? Not only would I inherently be putting them in danger by just being with me, but you're forgetting that they are going to grow up, and I'm not. How is it going to look when they're in their twenties and I'm still thirty-four, huh?"

Sherlock looks down a bit, forgetting about that part for a minute. "Right. Well...I don't know. Not to sound crazy but...maybe we can somehow find orphans who are dying of diseases and y'know..."

"Sherlock! We couldn't do that, it's unethical and...and just...horrible."

"I suppose...but we would be saving them, and if the folklore on the dark net that I've read is true, they grow to be an adult vampire at rapid speed. Nearly a full year every couple weeks or so...and they only grow to adulthood, luckily their mind matures with them too. Around eighteen to twenty. Then they stop growing like a turned adult…like you. They could still be good members of society like you are, Molly."

"And if they aren't like me? If they become too thirsty and uncontrollable? If they become murderers? I can't take that chance. Plus, as I said, it unethical and immoral. I cannot turn a child. Whether they're dying or not. It's just wrong...they're innocent children. That's too much."

"Okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, it was just a hypothetical." Kissing her head, he smiles softly. "Look, you're almost done with your third autopsy. You got through it, and you'll get through thousands more until you don't even have to think about needing a break."

Molly smiles slightly. "Oh, wow I didn't even realize I was still working while talking to you."

"Molly, it's so ingrained into your mind at this point that you probably could do it with your eyes closed, in super speed."

She laughs and nudges him gently. "I won't be trying /that/."

"Maybe not."

Her smile quickly fades as she looks down at the corpse on her slab. There's something empty in her eyes and Sherlock tips her chin. "Molly? What's wrong?"

"I just um...", her eyes water. "Sherlock...what made me more deserving than anyone who comes across my slab to gain immortality? There's something so terribly wrong about this picture. I-I'm technically dead...but so are they. Why...why do I get to still be here? How do I get past all of this guilt and all of this grief that I feel? I always felt bad for the people I did autopsies on, but now it's not just empathy. I feel so guilty...and the grief over losing all my life could have been I always under the surface too. I'm just...I'm sad all the time, honestly." Tears begin to flow down her face and Sherlock strokes them away soothingly. "Molly, it's going to take time. All of this is still so new. I know I can't change anting that's happened to you, but I can be here for you, and I plan to be."

"I know, I know you are." She scoffs sadly. "I'd say my heart is heavy, but I guess that could be taken literally since it's a cold, unworking thing inside of me...but the average weight of a human heart is about 300 grams so...not very heavy at all."

"Hey. Molly...the way people think of hearts and connect them to feelings is a ridiculous notion anyway. Your heart doesn't make you who you are, okay? Molly, who you are...it's always been there, and it always will be. I know you believe in the idea of a soul. Your soul is still the kindest, purest, selfless consciousness that makes you, you. Nothing will ever change that."

Molly sniffles and looks up at him, nodding slowly. "How are you feeling? I'm sorry again. I...I really hate hurting you. I know you say my bite doesn't hurt much, but I know you're just being strong for my sake. You're still human. I've known you for years and years. You always play tough."

He shrugs and rubs her back. "I have to not be selfish. That's good for me. You know how selfish I was for years."

"But I could really hurt you. Obviously, I wouldn't on purpose, but...it could happen. And I'm not even talking about bruises. I'm talking broken bones, even death. You're like glass to me now. It's so hard...I love you so much..."

"Molly...", he cups her face and looks into her eyes. "I'm stronger than your fear. I've had broken bones, I've had bruises, and cuts, and even a bullet. I've been tortured and battered. I promise you, nothing you could do to me accidentally could be worse than some of the shit I have been through. I absolutely promise you that."

Molly snaps her latex gloves off and tosses them in the bin, then puts the body into the correct compartment. She returns and cuddles him carefully. Sherlock holds her in his arms and lets her rest against his chest for a moment. "Promise?"

"Mhmm."

She smiles sadly and strokes his chest. "Your heartbeat used to make me thirsty and monstrous...it doesn't anymore. It calms me because I know you're still safe. You're still alright."

Sherlock strokes through her hair. "I'm glad it makes you feel calm. I do still want to be with you one day though. If we were equals, just imagine how incredible that would be, how incredible that would /feel/."

Looking up at him, she purses her lips and furrows her brow. "I don't want to think of that...I like you as you are. I always have."

"Yes, I know that. But imagine the total freeness of it, Molly." He leans in and kisses her ear, murmuring. "Not to mention how mind-blowing the sex would be if you didn't have to be careful or hold back."

Molly gapes and chews her lip. "Well, yes...but that's something I can handle..."

"But you shouldn't have to just /handle/ it. It should be incredible, and it will be one day."

"You're relentless."

"Oh, I know", he winks.

Letting out a breath, she pecks his lips softly. "Thanks for being so supportive and being around constantly. I know it can't be too great for you."

"You need me to be around. Soon you won't. Until then, it's one day at a time, right?"

She nods and strokes his hand with her cooler one. "How about I lock up and we can go back to my house?"

"Sounds good", he grins. "I'm proud of you. I really really am, Molls."

Molly beams cutely. "Oh, hush. Do you want Chinese take-out?"

"God, I'd love some, I'm starved."

"Okay. I'm glad that I can at least enjoy the taste of food, even if it doesn't do anything good or bad to me. I'm sure that's the dream of a lot of women. Eating without gaining weight", she snorts.

Sherlock laughs in his deep baritone. "I'd imagine it is." He slips his Belstaff back on and waits for her to gather her things. She still wears a coat, as to not look out of place. "Ready?"

"Ready", she smiles.

After locking up, she walks out to her car with him, hand in hand. As difficult as it is to be a vampire, she knows that having Sherlock by her side makes everything a hundred times more bearable in every way. Especially the sadness and grief.