Chapter 3 – Unexpected
Disclaimer : I don't own Sherlock or any of its characters.
Hey y'all! Sorry for the delay, I was busy with boring college stuff. Somehow, words like "Boring" and "Obviously" have become my favorite. I wonder why XD
Thanks for all the awesome reviews and follows/favorites guys! I love you all!
Enjoy.
Molly tossed and turned on her bed for hours but sleep never came. Whenever she felt herself drifting off, her eyes shot open and she sat right up in her bed with her heart hammering in her chest. She kept remembering how close she had been to Sherlock. Close enough to feel his cool breath on her own lips and distinguish between the mesmerizing colors which swirled together to form a beautiful shade in his iris.
At three am, there was a knock on her door. Molly, who already had been awake, shot up straight in her bed.
"Tell him that it's not an appropriate time to talk and that you will talk tomorrow morning. Go on, say it." She thought to herself.
"Molly? May I come in?" Sherlock's muffled voice asked from the other side of the door.
"Of course! Come in." Molly heard herself reply. "Stupid, STUPID!"
Molly hastily pulled her nightgown on as Sherlock walked in. To her surprise, he was clad in a bed sheet from shoulders to toes. Molly couldn't help but giggle at the ridiculous sight in front of her.
"Well Molly, I guess you must have deduced why I am visiting you at this hour of the night?" Sherlock asked her as he shut the door behind her. They were plunged into sudden darkness and Molly could just make out Sherlock's silhouette from the moonlight streaming in through the window.
"No…I…" This isn't happening. I am dreaming. I am dreaming. It's SHERLOCK for god's sake!
"No, you're not dreaming." Sherlock replied impatiently. Molly almost slapped her forehead with her palm. Had she been talking out loud?
"Sherlock, I am seeing someone currently." Molly said very quickly as she pulled the bed sheets around her narrow frame. Her breath got caught in her throat as she felt Sherlock sit down at the edge of her bed.
"Congratulations." Sherlock mused, his tone not changing one bit.
"I don't think we can-" Molly stopped in between her sentence as a blush spread out over her face.
"Why not?" Sherlock asked her in his no nonsense, cutting edge tone that left no room for argument. "I am cold, Molly."
"Wait….what?" Molly's eyebrows shot up as she tried to comprehend the meaning of Sherlock's words
"Wake up!" Sherlock seized her by her shoulders and shook her lightly "Your brain seems to function even slower when you are half asleep."
"I…what….um…" Molly spluttered as she blinked her eyes and tried to steady herself against Sherlock's firm yet gentle grip.
"I am cold, Molly. I need something to wear." Sherlock finally replied with exasperation creeping in his voice.
"Oh." Molly breathed out. She noticed that Sherlock's hands were still at her shoulders. "I thought…never mind." She laughed breathlessly. What had she been thinking?
"No, tell me. What did you think?" Sherlock pushed her back into her bed as she tried to get up.
"N-nothing that you should know." Molly replied, instantly regretting the choice of her words.
"Ah." Sherlock said after a pause.
"So, you need clothes, right." Molly finally got up from her bed and switched on the table lamp as she tightened the belt of her night gown around her waist. Her cheeks were burning and were probably tinged bright right due to her embarrassment. Had she really thought that Sherlock Holmes was visiting her in the middle of the night to seek sexual favors?
She threw her cupboard open and started ruffling among her clothes. Finally she took out an oversized pink silk dressing gown which had been a gift to her from Tom.
"Will…this do?" Molly asked Sherlock hesitantly as she held out the gown to him.
"Pink again? Seriously?" He wrinkled his nose in distaste as he eyed the gown in my hand as if it were a venomous python.
"That's all I've got." She snapped at him, surprised at how firm she sounded. "So either take it or let me sleep."
"Fine." Sherlock replied in a bored voice as he snatched the dressing gown out of Molly's hand and left the room without another word. Molly waited for him to come back but when he didn't she switched off her lights and just sat there in the darkness. Sleeping was out of question now and after a while; she got up with curiosity burning inside her and decided to take a look outside.
With sneaky steps, she tiptoed to her bedroom door and pulled it open an inch. There was no sign of Sherlock anywhere. She stepped outside and made her way to the bedroom-her bedroom- where Sherlock was staying for the night. The door was partly open but the lights weren't on. She decided to take a peek inside and pushed the door open, cringing as it made a squeaking noise.
I need to oil the hinges first thing tomorrow morning. She made a mental note to herself as her eyes adjusted to the darkness inside.
"Hydrogen." Sherlock's husky voice reached her ears. She blinked as hey eyes focused on his sprawled out form on the bed. The whole room was a total mess. Bits of papers with Sherlock's elegant scrawl were littered all over the room and there was a pile of books on the table which were definitely not hers, judging by their titles. A microscope resided on the table beside her table lamp and at her feet lay the sheet which Sherlock had carelessly abandoned after changing into her dressing gown. Her….pink dressing gown. She stifled a giggle as light from the hallway fell on Sherlock's asleep form. He looked ridiculous in the pink satin coverage and the gown was a bit short for him, ending at his knees. To her utter surprise, her cat Toby was there on the bed too and was contently sleeping beside Sherlock with his head resting on his thigh.
Molly quickly took out her phone, intent on taking Sherlock's picture but she almost dropped it when she heard Sherlock murmuring.
"Helium…"
"Ex-excuse me?" She stuttered but soon realized that Sherlock wasn't awake. He was talking in his sleep. This caught her interest and she inched forward to hear him more clearly.
"Lithium….Beryllium.." he droned on without a pause.
Oh my god….he is reciting the periodic table in his sleep!
"Molly."
She stopped dead in her tracks. She was sure that there was no element named "Molly" in the periodic table. Was he awake, then?
She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he was still sleeping and was taking long, deep breaths. She waited for him to say something else but when he didn't, she opened the camera of her phone and took a picture of Sherlock, giggling under her breath as she did. She felt really stupid doing so but she couldn't let a moment like this slide by.
"Goodnight, Sherlock." She whispered as she closed the door behind her. She checked the time and saw that it was almost four am. Great.
She decided to make herself a cup of tea since she was awake and had nothing better to do. She drummed her fingers on the kitchen counter while she waited for the water to boil. A sudden vibrating sound made her frown and she turned around and saw that Sherlock's phone was vibrating on the kitchen table. He must have left it there earlier. The caller id displayed John's name and she battled between waking Sherlock and taking the call herself. After all, it could very well be an emergency as John was calling at such an absurd hour.
She peeked inside Sherlock's room once again but after seeing his peaceful expression, she couldn't bring herself to wake him up and decided to take the call herself.
"Sherlock?" John's annoyed voice questioned at the other end, not giving her a chance to speak. "You bloody git! What in the name of Christ have you been talking about to Mary? She is acting all mysterious around me and wouldn't even tell me! I swear to god Sherlock, if you try and cause problems between me and Mary-"
"John, John it's me, Molly! Calm down!" Molly gave a nervous laugh. What was John talking about?
"Molly? Oh god…I am so sorry." John's voice lowered down three octaves as he muttered his apologies. "Wait, how do you have Sherlock's phone?"
"Um…he's sleeping. In my bedroom."
"Wait…what? Sherlock is sleeping?" Molly could practically imagine his eyebrows vanishing in his hairline due to the shock. "In your bedroom?"
"No! I-I didn't mean it like that-" she spluttered as her face grew red. "He is just lounging here for a day or two. I have my own bedroom." She added quickly before John could jump to other conclusions.
"Oh. Right, yeah." John said and an awkward silence followed his words. "Right so…tell Sherlock I called."
"I will. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." John said and the line went dead. Molly kept the phone back on the table top and frowned. Why was Sherlock talking to Mary? How did he even know her?
After gulping down her tea, she made her way to her bedroom. Maybe it would do me some good to catch a couple of hours sleep before my morning shift at Bart's. She thought morosely as she slipped underneath her covers. She took out her phone and smiled when she saw Sherlock's photo. She had gained enough significance in his life to make him dream about her.
X_X_X
"Good Morning, Molly Hooper." She groaned and added a pillow on top of her head as bright sunlight flooded her room. It physically pained her eyes to endure such bright light after getting only a few hours of sleep.
"What are you doing, Sherlock? Oh god…" She threw the pillow away and sat up in her bed "What's the time?"
"A little after nine thirty, I suppose." Sherlock said after glancing at his wrist watch. He was immaculately dressed in a new black suit and Molly had no idea where he got that from as he was carrying no spare clothes with him yesterday.
"Oh my god!" Molly exclaimed as she almost fell out of the bed in her hurry to get out. "I was supposed to be at Bart's an hour ago!" She swore under her breath and it made Sherlock raise his eyebrows.
"Molly-"
"Not now, Sherlock." Molly brushed past him as she headed towards the bathroom to brush her mind was racing ahead of itself, trying to decide many things all at once. What will I wear?...No time for breakfast…..will have to ask Mrs. Beaver to water my plants….
She went into the bathroom and hastily shrugged out of her clothes for a quick shower. She was in the middle of removing her t-shirt when Sherlock barged in without notice. A small scream escaped her mouth as she tried to cover herself."Sherlock, what the-"
His eyes didn't waver from her face "You have the day off."
"No I….Can you turn around please?" She stammered as she clutched her T-shirt to her chest.
"You have the day off, I ensured it myself." Sherlock said as a small smirk pulled up the corner of his lips. "And, nudity doesn't appall me, Molly."
"I…you…" Sherlock turned around and left, leaving behind a very red faced and embarrassed Molly.
After locking the bathroom door behind her, Molly took a quick, cold shower (and checked the locks on the door twice, just in case) and dressed up casually since she had the day off. She went to the living room and kept her eyes fixed on the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
"Whenever you feel like looking up Molly…"
Molly's eyes shot up and she was met with the most…well unanticipated and impossible sight. Sherlock Holmes was standing in front of her with a bunch of red roses in his hands.
"Roses.." Molly whispered, unable to move from her spot.
"Your ability to distinguish between different varieties of flowers is quite extraordinary, I must say." Sherlock said as he held out the roses for Molly.
"Is this for an experiment?" Molly asked him as she accepted the roses from him. Her cheeks were almost the same color as that of the rose petals.
"You could say that." Sherlock smirked, as if he enjoying a private joke. He sniffed the air once as he stated "You smell like vanilla. It's nice."
Without another word, he turned around in one swift, elegant motion and walked into the kitchen. Molly followed him inside and if the Sherlock's previous gesture had left her speechless, then it was in no way of any comparison to what she saw now.
A fully fledged breakfast was laid out on the table. There was cereal, scrambled eggs, bacon, French toast, buttered toast and obviously, tea. There was even a lit candle on the table.
Molly's jaw went slack as she turned around to stare at Sherlock "You…you made all this?"
"Obviously." Sherlock replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Sherlock Holmes…handing out flowers and making breakfast. Maybe hell had frozen indeed.
"Are you all right?" Molly laughed nervously as she touched Sherlock's forehead with the back of her hand to check his temperature. Sherlock raised an eyebrow in response and Molly quickly retrieved her hand.
"Contrary to popular belief, I don't have to be necessarily sick to prepare breakfast or perform any other mundane task." Sherlock said as he placed his hand on the small of Molly's back and gently guided her towards the table. She sat down and stared at all the food with wide eyes.
"Breakfast? This is a whole meal!" Molly exclaimed as she started piling up her plate with different things. "I didn't even know that you cooked."
"You're exaggerating now." Sherlock rolled his eyes as he took a seat opposite Molly. She noticed how he had deftly avoided answering her question but she let it pass. She was too bewildered.
"What's all this about?" Molly asked as she took a sip of her tea. Everything on the table was according to her liking. She enquired Sherlock about the same.
"I've known you for years Molly. And it also helps if you have superior observational skills." Sherlock replied casually as he formed a steeple out of his fingers and rested them under his chin.
Molly took a bite of the French toast and almost moaned but caught herself just in time, blushing at how inappropriate it would have sounded.
"Eleven." Sherlock muttered under his breath.
"Sorry?"
"Nothing of importance." He replied instantly, his mouth curving into a smile which vanished within the next second, hence telling Molly that it was a superficial one.
"Aren't you eating?" Molly asked him after swallowing her toast. Sherlock's behavior was really intriguing her today. Not that it didn't on any other day as well.
"No." He replied in a flat tone "Eating early in the morning slows my brain down and anyway-" The fake smile was back on his face "I am saving my appetite for later."
"For what?"
"I am taking you out for dinner this evening." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Molly choked on her tea and to her embarrassment, some of it streamed down her nose as she coughed and spluttered. She was too taken in by her coughing fit to react to the light touch of a hand on her back. When her coughs finally subsided, she wiped her streaming eyes and wiped under her nose with the sleeve of her t shirt.
"I would have broken that to you later on if I knew that you'd that a reaction like that…" Sherlock mused as he handed Molly a handkerchief. "Interesting material for an experiment-"
"Dinner?" Molly squeaked out. "With you?"
"Problem?" Sherlock asked her as he lifted the tea pot and refilled Molly's tea cup. Oh dear God.
"No…it's just weird. You're acting differently." Molly clenched her left hand into a fist and suddenly, her engagement ring seemed to burn re hot on her ring finger.
"I am trying to be more…human, as John would have said." Sherlock smiled a real small smile which pulled up at the corner of his lips and brought a twinkle to his eyes.
"Why?"
"Dear god, you ask more questions than a kindergartener!" Sherlock got up from the table and dusted his suit "And before you ask me how I know that, I'll just say that I had the misfortune of dealing with a child of six for a case." Sherlock paused and shuddered dramatically "Never. Again."
"I think that kids are quite adorable…"
"Don't try to make conversation, Molly." Sherlock said with a pained look on his face "It's not a field in which you excel. Just eat."
X_X_X
Molly finished eating and she fell full to such an extent that she felt like her stomach would burst open any second. Rubbing her abdomen, she made her way out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Sherlock was lounging on the sofa and he muttered something unintelligible when he saw Molly.
"Sorry?"
"I'm BORED!" Sherlock burst out suddenly, making Molly jump four feet in the air.
"Oh god…" Molly clutched her heart "Don't do that again, Sherlock."
Sherlock ignored her. "I am bored. I need a case, John."
"Molly." She cleared her throat "It's Molly, not John."
"Oh, did I say John? Don't mind me." Sherlock waved a hand as he slumped back onto the sofa. "I need a case so badly that I can probably commit a murder, if that's what it takes."
"And solve it yourself?" Molly chuckled as she sat down on an armchair beside him.
"I want a case. I need a cigarette!" Sherlock bellowed.
"Sherlock!" Molly felt anger rise within her as she glared at Sherlock. "Don't even think about it."
"You're not my mother." He sneered and kicked over one of the pink cushion off the sofa. He flexed his hand involuntarily and traced his fingers over his skin where a nicotine patch would have been. "So shut up."
"Well, I am not your mother as you quite correctly pointed out but in case you haven't noticed, you are lounging at my house and if you don't want me to kick you out this instant-" Molly stopped herself before she went too far. Her chest was heaving and her face was slightly red, the cause being anger this time.
"Molly-"
"Forget it, Sherlock. You can do as you please." And with that, Molly turned around and went back into her room, slamming the door behind her in the process.
Sherlock just stared after her with an expression of pure bewilderment on his face before he took his phone out and quickly typed a text.
Got her roses. Made breakfast. Didn't work.
-SH
After a while, his phone beeped, signaling a text.
Oh dear. What did you do wrong?
-Mary
I don't know. Just said I am bored and asked for a cigarette.
-SH
You might be a genius but u r totally tactless around a girl, Sherlock.
-Mary
I'M BORED! I need John!
-SH
John is mine.
BTW, guess what?
-Mary
John shaved off his stupid mustache, I presume?
-SH
He totally did! Thanks Sherlock :P
Now go apologize to Molly.
-Mary
Okay, shut up now. I need to concentrate.
-SH
I couldn't help adding a text conversation in the end. Haha.
I hope you guys are liking this story? I know I took a long time in posing this chapter but come on, give this girl some break! *cries alone in a dark corner*
Review, if convenient. If not, review anyway. XD