rodina2000 on tumblr requested: #25. "This is a once in a lifetime thing and you want me to blow it off!?"

Sherlock was debating on whether he should see Molly directly after arriving back in London. It's not that he didn't want to but he was terrified of how she'd react to seeing him. What if she no longer wanted him in her life? He wouldn't blame her; after all, she had waited for him seven years. It's not how it was supposed to be. He would have rather swept her off of her feet than have those words ripped from them.

"Are you going to see Molly?" John asked, his voice breaking through Sherlock's thoughts.

"I don't know," he replied.

"Ah, well, it's probably for the best," John shrugged. Sherlock's brows furrowed in confusion at the nonchalant remark.

"Perhaps Doctor Watson's right," Mycroft piped up. "Best to just allow her space to move on."

"What?" Sherlock asked. All of a sudden, his chest constricted with the thought of her moving on.

"Something about that bothering you, brother mine? After all it's not like you meant it," Mycroft continued.

"This is a once in a lifetime thing and you want me to blow it off!? I'm going to see her and that's final, Mycroft," Sherlock argued.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" the elder Holmes smirked. "Thank you for your help, Doctor Watson."

"It was my pleasure; reverse psychology works every time."

Sherlock had stopped at Baker Street first to see if he could at least retrieve his violin and some clothes. When he climbed the stairs, he froze in the doorway. There, in the burned up sitting room was Molly Hooper. He could hear the faint sobs coming from her mouth as she actually tried to tidy up the place. Her head turned to see him, wearily holding onto the door frame.

"Oh my God, Sherlock," she cried and flung her arms around him. "I thought you were dead when I hadn't heard from you and then I hear on the telly that Baker Street had been blown to pieces and-" He held her in his arms and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"It's alright, Molly, I'm here," he soothed her. "I hope you know that I truly love you."

"I know," was all she mumbled into his shoulder.

"The more important question is why were you trying to clean this up all by yourself?" Sherlock asked with an amused smirk.

"I honestly don't know," Molly laughed. "I guess it just made me feel better." She wiped a tear from her eye. "I just feel a bit broken I guess."

"I know how you feel; I have a sister who killed my childhood best friend and tried to kill me. Granted, I had erased her from my mind until finding out recently," Sherlock confessed.

"Okay, you win," she told him. "Tell me about it? When you're ready, I mean."

"We'll clean things up together and I'll tell you. Maybe we can fix what's broken," Sherlock remarked.

"The flat or us?" Molly asked.

"Both," he smiled, wrapping her up in his arms.