Sherlock sets up a surprise for Molly's Birthday

"Molly! I need-" Sherlock stopped half way through the door, seeing Molly with another man, laughing over a corpse on the table, both of them holding parts of the small intestine and he immediately tried to read the man, but with things covering his clothes he got nothing.

"Hey Sherlock, I will finish up here... and we can talk about what you want then." Her smile was gone, her eyes looked almost annoyed and as he nodded and went to get a stool. He sat and pulled out his phone, making sure Molly would think he was sending messages, and that was when he heard them whispering, about old classes, about professors and old things he wasn't concerned about.

"I forgot how funny you were." Molly giggled once again, which turned out to grate on Sherlock's nerves as he sent a text to Mike Stamford to ask who was with Molly in the Morgue. He didn't get the answer right away, at least, not before Molly giggled again.

"Are you quite done dilly dallying Molly? I do need something right away." Sherlock stood now as they started to close up the body and she looked up and looked almost concerned.

"Is someone coming in?" She asked as she let the man take over finishing. She took off her gloves and set to work on getting her used garments off.

"No, but if you will, take me to the lab so we can talk in private." Sherlock said and she just nodded and waved to her friend and he sent a glare to the man as he followed her out.

"So, what do you need?" She asked as she moved to get hand sanitizer.

"I need the keys to your flat." He said and she gave him a glare.

"No." She shook her head and moved to go around him.

"Why not? I don't even know when you changed the locks." He said and looked a little puzzled. "When did you change the locks?" He asked as an after thought.

"Two weeks ago. After a month of silence from you, from Mrs. Hudson, from John. I haven't seen Rosie in two months at least." She said and shook her head. "I was left out of the loop, and since I was out, I will be out. I am here to assist in medical matters. If you want into my flat... too bad. You are no longer able to do so."

"But-"

"No, my flat is just that Sherlock. My flat. My home. Where I sleep, where I eat, where I have sex with men who actually find me funny and attractive. Just because you, the high and mighty Sherlock, don't find anything remotely attractive about me doesn't mean other men don't. I am threw with being your doormat. I am threw with letting you kick me out of my own bed." Molly poked his chest and he took a step back as she turned to the side. "Now, if that is all you required, you may leave me to my work." She dismissed him and entered the lab, making sure the door was firmly closed behind her.

She got to the lab work, kept making tests up so she knew for sure that when she was done, she could head home without hearing any grief from Sherlock.

After another autopsy and some more tests, Molly excused herself from her old friends company. David was a really good old friend. He was looking for new job locations, trying out each hospital for a couple days at a time. He didn't want to work with her already, he didn't want to take her job. Not that it was in jeopardy.

She went to her locker, grabbed her things, headed home. She loved walking home when it was just getting dark out. She didn't live that far from her place of work for that exact reason, she loved walking.

Molly got to her place, saw John outside and sighed. "Did he send you?" She asked him and he nodded silently. "Well, you're not going to change my mind." She told him and moved to get her key out.

"Do you know why Sherlock wanted to get into your flat?" John asked her and she just moved inside, but he stuffed his foot inside the door jam and waited for her to turn to him.

"No, and just like Rhett says to Scarlett in my favorite movie, 'frankly my dear, I don't give a damn'. Now, leave me alone. It's been a good day until now." Molly told him and moved to close the door again.

"Happy birthday." John said not moving his foot and Molly paused. "I didn't know. Greg didn't know. Mrs. H didn't even know. But Sherlock did, and Sherlock wanted to make you dinner, or set up dinner. We both wouldn't trust his cooking." John said and Molly too a long moment before he laughed. "You know what... he was so sure that you would bring a man home he called Wiggins."

"He got high because I told him he couldn't come to my flat anymore?" Molly asked loudly and John shook his head.

"No... Billy has another interesting quality about him." John said and pushed the door open a bit and let himself in.

"And what is that?" She asked already knowing the answer.

"Picking locks, disabling security systems... and cooking." John said and nodded to someone behind her and she turned and saw Billy Wiggins walking towards her.

"Everything is warm and the table is set, just soak everything-"

"Alright, lets go." John grabbed him and pulled him out and as Molly made protests about them leaving. But John wasn't having it and just gave her another nod, another wish for to have a great birthday before shutting the door behind him and Billy.

"Sherlock?" She called out as she turned around and put her purse down and stripped off her jumper. "Where are you?" She called out just a bit louder, but when she heard nothing but the start of a violin she followed the sound. "Sherlock." She called out a little calmer before pushing open her door to see him sitting on her bed.

"John told me how this was a bit not good, but it is your birthday, and I know your parents are gone, and last year Mary made a big deal about it which seemed to make you both happy, I don't know why exactly, but I know she was right to celebrate you." He told her as he stood up and seemed to pause in walking towards her.

"Yes well, Mary and I made plans to have fun. That is what made it fun. Not being surprised." She snapped slightly and he nodded. "Why did you even want to do this. Before Mary you didn't even care." She said and he shook his head.

"I cared, I just thought you didn't. It's not that uncommon, we both know I hate my birthday." He told her and she just crossed her arms. "Come here." He said holding out his hand and she looked at his and then around before giving him her hand.

He pulled her close as the tempo of the violin picked up just slightly.

"And why are we dancing?" She asked and he kept her close as they started to waltz.

"Because I know you love it." He said and she just narrowed her eyes. "You asked Meat Dagger five times at the Watson wedding to dance, but he didn't know how. No one asks that much unless they really love to dance." He told her and she looked away at the mention of Tom.

"Why are we dancing in my room, in the dark?" She asked him and he just smiled slowly and pushed her out, making her spin, and then pulling her back into his arms.

"Because you would have seen how the table was moved in your living room when the light from outside shone in." He told her and kept swaying back and forth.

"And the dark?" She asked as the song started to end.

"The lights are for later." He said and when the violin stopped he smiled and waved her out of the room. "Dinner time." He told her and she just walked with him. "Can I say how glad I am that you didn't go out and find someone else that find you attractive like I do." He said and his steps faltered a bit and she looked up at him. "Dinner." He seemed to try and focus before moving her towards her kitchen.

"What is it?" She asked smelling something delicious.

"Billy knows how to make a couple of things, but I know you liked simple stuff, so it's just stuffed cabbage rolls. Some with sausage, others with just vegtables-"

"How do you know what I love?" She asked looking up at him and he gulped.

"Because I pay attention."

"But you delete things, unimportant things." She said and he just looked confused.

"I know, but what you love is important." He told her like he was not understanding why she was confused.

"Why?" She asked and he just gulped and moved to pull out her chair. She say and watched as he dished her food and he moved to set his own plate.

"Rice?" He asked her instead of answering her question. She knew if Sherlock didn't answer that just meant that he wasn't going to. Or he would in his own time.

As they ate there was another song floating through her room, into his flat, and she realized that this felt like a date. But she looked at Sherlock, how he was eating in silence, and her stomach turned. She might feel like this was a date but with Sherlock she knew that it wasn't.

"You finish up and I will go and set up the next activity." Sherlock said standing and looking almost nervous. She heard him head back into the bedroom, she heard water running and she just pushed it to the back of her mind as she finished up with her dinner and then went to soak the bowl and put the rice away before clearing off the table.

She went to the living room, taking a seat in the dark and just listened as Sherlock kept the water running. What was he trying to do? This wasn't a date. This wasn't romantic.

She kept the mantra up as he called out her name. She didn't break her thought process until he was standing before her and tipping her chin up. "I've been calling you... are you okay? Did the food taste off?" He asked Molly and she just shook her head.

"I am fine. I just want to know what is going on. This isn't a party like Mary threw me. If anything it seems more romantic and date like, which is why it is confusing. You don't date. At least, not seriously or without a plan behind it. So what is happening? Did you read this somewhere? That was probably some boyfriend or husband doing this for someone he loved." Molly was over speaking, knowing that she couldn't stop.

Sherlock took a moment, listening to her and thinking back to what his goals where for tonight. Dance, dinner, relaxation, and a goodnight kiss.

John told him that was exactly the order, but Sherlock's mind was whirling as Molly started to tear up and get a tad angry. So he threw out John's warning to keep to the schedule and leaned down, taking Molly's soft lips with his own. For just a second he thanked Janine for the recent practice before focusing on making sure Molly understood what was happening tonight.

"That wasn't supposed to happen until after your bath." He murmured pulling away and watching her face contort even more.

"A bath?" She asked and she shook her head to clear it and then making eye contact with him.

"Well John said to make sure you relaxed, and a hot bath with your scented candles and bath salts and some rose petals is basically the equation to make you relax. It's what you usually do after a hard day." He told her and she nodded before looking confused. "You don't want to ask." He stopped her and she just gave him a confused look.

"How do you know what I am going to ask, and that I don't want to know the answer?" She asked and he just clenched his teeth before shaking his head.

"The same way I know everything about you." He told her, really not wanting to her to find out.

"But you delete things that don't involve importance." She said and he gulped this time, wondering if he had been too standoffish with her all these years.

"Molly, when I had to fake my death, what did I tell you?" He asked taking one of her hands in his and waiting as she seemed to try and figure out which conversation he was referring to.

"The time that you said that you needed me to find the man James used to scare the kids?" She asked and he shook his head.

"It was a bit before that. When I told you that you mattered. Maybe I wasn't clear. You matter the most to me. More than John, more than Mary, more than Rosie. More than even Mycroft." He told her and waited for her to acknowledge what he was trying to make her understand.

"You never said it like that." She told him and he gave her a small smile.

"I thought it was implied. When Euros took us, captured us, and we had that awful phone call, I did mean it. And yes I let you believe it was in a friendly way because I wasn't ready to accept your life and mine merging. But it's been a year, things have come close to what normal used to be. And John has been pushing me. Telling me that if I didn't start wooing you that I would loose you. I turned 41, and your 38." He paused and she just waited.

"And? What does my age have to do with anything?" She asked wondering if it had something to do with how she would change in just a couple of years.

"I've known you for ten years Molly, and it's time I have acted on something before it turns into 15 or 20." He said and leaned in and gave her another kiss. And this one turned heated fast. He moved his hands to her knees, spreading them and pulling her into his arms and picking her up. She felt his shaft against her core and that gave her loads more confidence in what was going to happen between them.

"You know what John told me once." She asked him pulling back and he gave her a quick shake of her head. "That you quiet enjoy baths as well." She said and he looked confused. "If you are really trying to act on your feelings joining me in the bath, and in bed... might just quicken things up." She told him.

"John said not to go too fast." He warned and she just leaned in to give him another kiss.

"I think we've been going to slow these past 10 years Sherlock, speeding this part of our... relationship..." She paused wondering if that was the right work.

"We will be having a relationship Molly Hooper." He told her as he stopped in the doorway to her room.

"Then we can speed past the dating and the 60 days I usually make a man wait. You're way past that anyways." She told him and he gave her a narrowed look. "What?"

"Then what was that this morning? The whole go out and find any man?" He asked and she blushed this time.

"You made me angry... and it hurt not seeing anyone for almost two months." She told him and Sherlock just leaned in and gave her a soothing apologetic kiss before he moved into her bathroom.

"So, what are we doing?" He asked and she reached for his coat and undid the button.

"Stripping and having a bath."