When John returns to the morgue, there is no detective to be found, and so he stands inside the door for a moment, feeling rather awkward since Molly is standing at a station off to the side. So he just clears his throat a little and glances around. "Where'd Sherlock go, then?" he asks as he looks around again as if he could miss the tall, lanky man.
Startled, Molly looks up, apparently having forgotten about John at some point. "Oh. He found something on the body, he said he would be right back, he just wanted to run a quick test. I'm surprised you didn't see him on the way out, or get a text or something. Sherlock was fiddling with his phone on the way out.." She offers innocently as she closes a folder and goes over to cover up the body that Sherlock was previously examining, rolling it back to where it came from.
Not having heard the phone go off, John puts down one of the cups of coffee to pull out his cell phone. "Nope. Nothing here. Wonderful. Well, I suppose I won't bother you any further. It was very nice to meet you." He says politely with a nod toward the girl, picking up the second cup of coffee. Just in case he sees Sherlock on the way out.
"What does he want with you?" Molly blurts out as she looks over at the soldier. "I mean.. not.. I didn't mean for it.. I just mean.. I've only known him a short time, but he doesn't really have friends." She points out as she looks at John for a few moments. "And now you're showing up out of nowhere, and he's never even mentioned you before. It just all seems a bit odd." She admits as she watches the man suspiciously.
John can't help but chuckle a little, taking a sip of his coffee. "Well, he wouldn't, would he? Talk about me. He's not exactly the type to open up and chat about his private life, is he?" he asks as he watches the mousy young woman. "No matter how much you may want him to. The faster you accept him for who he is, Molly, the easier it will be for both of you, I'm sure." He decides to cut through everything and just get straight to the meat of the matter, tired of dancing around the subject. "It's rather obvious you fancy him. Probably not to him. Not at all to him. We are all means to an end with him. I'm not sure what I'm a means to, but I'm sure he maintains our friendship for a reason. It would be far too easy for him to merely dismiss it and stop putting the effort into it. Because for him, it truly is effort, as far as I can tell." he says as he thinks about it for a few moments.
Clearly flustered, for a few moments Molly seems to be trying to deny that she fancies Sherlock until she finally lets her shoulders sag in defeat. "Is it that obvious?" She asks as she looks at him. "But.. you're close to him, aren't you? I mean, he looks at you when you talk, he pays attention. The look on his face, it's something different. Like, he's trying to figure you out, but not in a normal way." She says in frustration as she looks at John. "I've never seen him look at anyone.. or any thing, like that before."
"Neither of us knows Sherlock Holmes in his entirety." The doctor points out as he sips at his coffee again, looking around. "This is the first time I've seen him like this, in his element, deducing and using that brilliant mind of his." He says with a note of awe to his tone as he shakes his head for a few moments. "I've seen different sides of him, but since I've been deployed it's been rather hard for me to see him do anything in person." he muses with a small chuckle. A soft smile crosses John's weathered features as he thinks about the drawings that Sherlock sent him, and the thoughtfulness that went into each one of them.
Molly tilts her head to the side a little, ponytail flopping over as she watches the blond man in front of her, trying to figure him out, and trying to figure out what sort of friendship he and the other man have. That is, she isn't sure how long the two have truly known eachother or if John could be lying to her and that is what she is trying to figure out. "What other sides? I only ever see him here, what is he like when he's not.. you know?" She motions vaguely toward the bodies.
With a small smile, John looks at the ground for a moment and shakes his head slowly. "If he hasn't shown those sides to you, then I'm afraid I can't tell you. Sherlock is my friend, and I know he shares things about himself very carefully." Luckily he is saved from any further questions since his cell phone finally does beep and once again John puts his coffee down in order to pull it out and look at the text.
One floor up. Lab. Bring coffee. - SH
"It's him, isn't it?" Molly asks with a note of jealousy and frustration to her voice that she just can't seem to keep out of it.
Nodding a little as he tucks the phone back into his pocket, John picks up the coffee once again. "Yes. it was nice to meet you, Molly. I'm sure we'll see eachother again." he says before he turns, pushing the door open with his elbow before he exits and heads up to find where Sherlock is.
When he finally enters the lab, the detective glances up from his microscope. "There you are. What took you so long?" he asks with a brief frown, obviously thinking that the soldier should have some sort of radar to tell him where Sherlock is, without having to be told.
"It has been quite some time since I've been to St. Bart's, and if you haven't bloody well noticed, there are a lot of labs on this floor." John points out as he brings the mug of coffee over. "And here is your coffee." He says with a touch of irritation that he may not necessarily feel but he doesn't think it's a good idea to give the brunette all that much leeway.
For a moment Sherlock looks at John, then he picks up the coffee, taking a drink and making a slight face for a moment before he turns back to the microscope, tapping a few keys on the computer beside him. "It was brick, the debris in the wound. A very specific type of brick. Not a mixture that's used anymore. There was also some pollen previously collected off the body, I got the information from Lestrade." he explains, sitting back as he looks at the computer.
"Between the two, can you tell where the man was killed?" John asks as he walks over to stand behind the detective and to one side, looking over his shoulder at the monitor to see if it comes up with any results that would presumably show places the two are both present.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Sherlock lets silence reign as he figures out the best way to answer that question. "Mmmmm.. yes." he finally decides, looking at John for a few moments before he quickly sits forward when the computer beeps, taking another disappointing drink of his coffee before he taps a few keys. "More and more interesting.. but a mistake!" he says triumphantly as he sees a red dot on the map and he gets up quickly, grabbing his jacket to slip back into it, having removed it at some point.
"Shouldn't we tell Detective Inspector Lestrade what you've found?" John asks as he finishes his coffee and tosses away the cup before he prepares to follow the whirlwind somehow compressed into human form.
Once again giving his companion a withering look, Sherlock buttons up his jacket and flips up the collar. "Why would we do that? We have a location, not a crime scene, not a murderer. Think, John!" He scolds before he turns to stride out quickly, briefly glancing around as he does.
"Of course, silly me." John mutters sarcastically, yet slightly amused as he finally follows close to the swirling hem of the taller man's Belstaff, heading out presumably to a cab. A part of him is amazed that he gets to know such a person who is both ridiculous and brilliant, and another keeps telling him how insane and stupid this is, and that he is really too old for these types of games. Of course, would he want to die tomorrow regretting any of this? That question pretty much answers it all.
Woot! Two in one week, I am getting back to a writing schedule that I like! I just needed a little bit of self-discipline. :) I put a little bit more Molly in, I didn't feel like that one chapter was enough, but I was itching to get back to John and Sherlock and their adventure! So they are off once again. I hope you all enjoy!
Comments/Reviews welcome!