Chapter 4

John glanced sideways at his friend sitting in the cab next to him. He hadn't been surprised at all that Sherlock had gladly agreed to accompany him to buy Rosie's Christmas present without embarking on one of his usual invective against the uselessness of the Christmastide.

The reason for his good disposition was obvious. Molly's return to London.

John hadn't expected Sherlock to encourage her to go to Baltimore, not after witnessing his 'I love you' to her or after he and Mycroft found them fast asleep in the same bed, a tangle of legs and arms. They had left the safe house without Molly and Sherlock noticing their presence, expecting in the following days to finally see them romantically together. But none of this had happened.

Sherlock had thrown himself body and soul into facing and solving all the problems due to his sister's crazy actions, starting with his parents to whom Mycroft had given Eurus for dead. And in all that period Molly had been discreetly beside him, giving him time and space to process and metabolize all the flow of thoughts and feelings that had been unleashed by Eurus and that were stirring within him.

And just when Sherlock had taken his life back, and John was sure he was ready to open up to Molly, that prestigious job offer had arrived for her. And perhaps for the first time since Sherlock had known Molly he had done something unselfish. He had encouraged her, even pleaded, to take the job. After all, it was only a three-month assignment.

In the first week of Molly's absence, Sherlock had withdrawn a little in himself. He was in a mixed mood and for it he blamed the incompetence of Molly's replacement at Bart's, who did not give him suitable support for his cases and odd experiments. Sherlock's state of mind had improved a little after Molly had video-called him a couple of times on Facetime, as if seeing where she lived and being able to make sure she was happy and safe had calmed him down.

Video-calling each other had later become a habit. John suspected it was a way for Sherlock to delude himself she wasn't on the other side of the world. Seeing and talking to her allowed him to fill the void she had left, even though he would never admit it.

Then like a bolt out of the blue, Molly had told them she had been asked to stay at least until Christmas and that she had accepted. Sherlock, while she explained the reason of her choice, had not taken his eyes off the laptop's screen and had concealed his disappointment well. But when Mrs Hudson and Rosie drew Molly's attention to them, Sherlock had got up, plopped into his chair and pouted.

Over the next two days it had been impossible to deal with him. He had plunged into his work, accepting even the trivial cases, and every time John mentioned Molly, Sherlock would give him a look that made him shut up. He seemed to be angry with her, as if she had broken a silent friendship treaty made with him that set her mandatory return after three months.

Molly for her part, not having heard from Sherlock for three whole days, had phoned John "Is he with you?" she had begun and when he had nodded, she had sighed "Is he still on grumpy mood?" again John had nodded positively, "Okay. Just tell him I would have expected more understanding for my choice to stay in Baltimore a little longer. Especially from I'm-married-to-my-work-Sherlock-bloody-Holmes…".

John had turned his gaze towards him who had not looked up from the microscope but the left corner of his mouth was curled in a hint of a smile, "However, also tell him that from the photos he sent me by email, I found something suspicious. A small hole in the base of Mrs Hough's neck. I've already told Dr Williams to look for tetrodotoxin in her blood…It was a pleasure, Sherlock" she said louder, "I expect an apology call tonight". Nothing new, had been John's thought, Molly gave Sherlock a slap on the wrist and he came back in line.

"It won't take long to choose the gift, I hope. You already have an idea, right? Hamleys has four floors, I hope you don't want to visit them all…" the cab hadn't yet completely stopped that Sherlock was already starting to complain.

John was about to reply to him when his attention was drawn across the street, right outside the entrance to the toy store. Sherlock saw his friend's eyes widen and his mouth opening slightly in a surprised expression, "Isn't that Molly?".

He followed John's gaze and suddenly had the sensation of being thrown into another dimension. The noise of cars and pickup trucks on the street, the flow of people going from shop to shop to buy the latest gifts, time itself had slowed down, faded to silence.

And Molly was there, right in front of him. At first he paid no attention to the little boy wrapped in a heavy blue coat that she was holding firmly by the hand, as he was totally focused on her.

Molly had her long hair down to her shoulders and a white wool cap pulled down on her head. The long camel-coloured coat only showed that she was wearing blue jeans and black ankle boots. In his eyes she looked beautiful and the tightness of his stomach made Sherlock realize that he had missed her much more than he imagined.

Her skin was luminous and rosy from the cold air, and the smile she was giving to the kid she crouched in front of, was very sweet. Molly was talking to him with his gloved little hands in hers, and he was nodding, smiling, and then he threw his arms around her neck with enthusiasm.

She hugged the boy tightly but Sherlock noticed that albeit discreetly Molly was constantly looking around and her body was tense, "Who is that kid?" John's voice brought Sherlock back to reality, "Didn't Molly say she was coming tomorrow?".

Since Molly hadn't notice them, John took a step forward with the intention of crossing the street and talking to her, but Sherlock stopped him by holding his arm and pushing him behind the bus shelter where they could watch her undisturbed, "What are you doing? What's wrong with you?" John asked almost tripping over his own feet. Sherlock didn't answer, keeping his piercing gaze fixed on what was happening across the street.

A black sedan had just stopped beside the pavement, the driver got out and opened the boot to put the two gift packages Molly was handing him. Immediately afterwards the rear window rolled down to reveal the passenger's identity, "Your brother? What's Molly doing with him?" he noticed his friend's jaw was set and was carefully watching the two speaking intensely, trying to deduce what they were up to. Because he was sure they were hiding something.

"John, you go and buy Rosie's present. Call you later" Sherlock said, taking his phone out of the inside pocket of his coat, "What are you going to do?" he asked noticing that across the street Molly was getting the kid into the car with Mycroft, "I'm following her. But I need help" he replied and as soon as Wiggins answered, Sherlock set up a surveillance network within minutes.

Sherlock tailed Molly to the entrance to the Tube station then let his homeless network follow her movements. He called a cab and waited for Wiggins to text him Molly's location. Sherlock's phone chirmed twenty minutes later

MISSUS IN 'TEA AND TATTLE', SHEZZA. MRS H. WITH HER – BW

Sherlock frowned as he reread the text. The tearoom where the two women had chosen to meet was small in size, which meant that a reservation had to be made days in advance. This meant his landlady had long known Molly would be back before the 23rd, Molly's appointed day.

He looked at the entrance of the room from behind the cab's window, breathing a long sigh. Why had Molly lied to him? Why had Mrs Hudson kept her game? Did Mycroft have anything to do with their plan, whatever it was, or were he and Molly involved in something else?

Sherlock told Wiggins to keep an eye on Molly and gave the cab's driver Molly's flat address. Perhaps there he would find something that could explain Molly's unusual behaviour.