A/N: hey my darling!

'Oh HAPPY DAYS!' I hear you think at the update e-mail. Yes, it is happy days.

I was lying in bed last night, thinking about my story and I thought: hold up a diddly darn second: reviewer Mighty Sword was mighty right and the thought of Molly hurting someone is shocking. But I thought: what if Molly is unintentionally hurting Kate by being a bit self centered at this and what not etc, etc. She doesn't know Kate that well, and, idk, stuff, is all i'm gon say. I think you'll see what I'm getting at during the chapter.

I'll delete the original chapter 10 tomorrow, unless you like the original better, but I think this shows more character and Irene's life a bit more; both as Molly and when she was herself.

In this, I'm in third person but in Kate's view, so she'll call the person by the name of the body, if that makes sense. It's only really for the first bit, and it's what we've been going on for the last few chapters as well.

Rahda rhada rhada. I hope you like it, but let me know what you think anyway.

Stay class, you beautiful thing, you!

x

Kate heard the front door slam and jumped from the work in front of her. She walked down from the study to see her Irene slumped at the bottom of the door, her face in her hands, sobs emitting from the hidden mouth. Kate rushed towards the dominatrix and sank down beside her, wrapping her arms around the venerable woman.

"It's okay, Irene. I'm here for you," she whispered before kissing the top of Irene's head.

The dominatrix lifted her head to look at Kate. Her eyeliner was running down her cheeks and her eyes were a little red. She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around Kate as well, sobbing into her shoulder.

"Never let Molly back into the house again. If she shows up, call the police," she sobbed out.

Kate nodded and pulled Irene closer. "What happened? What did she do?"

Silent tears ran down her face as she looked Kate in the eyes. Irene placed her hand on Kate's cheek and sighed. "We're in danger. Mycroft has raised our status to six. I don't know what to do," she whispered.

Again, Kate nodded and stood up, pulling Irene up with her. "Come on. Go back to bed and I'll bring you a hot chocolate and salt and vinegar crisps, alright?"

Irene bit her lip and nodded, letting Kate guide her back to her bedroom. After helping Irene change into something more comfortable, she went to the kitchen to get some comfort food for the dominatrix. There was a niggly feeling in her stomach as she walked away from Irene. She couldn't help but feel scared, but she knew she needed to stay strong for Irene. She could never show how scared and how weak she was feeling.

After Irene had eaten what Kate had provided, she opened the blankets and patted the empty space beside her.

"I don't want to be alone," she said.

Kate kicked off her shoes and joined Irene, holding her as she drifted into a deep sleep.

The phone rang, startling Irene out of her sleep. She jumped, her hair flying about and a section landing in her open mouth. She groaned and picked the hair from around her face.

Irene got off the couch and dragged herself over to the phone, wiping the drool away from her chin. She picked up the phone and held it to her ear.

"Yeah?" she groaned out.

There was a cough on the other end. "Molly Hooper?"

"Uh, yes?"

"It's Mike Standford. I'm afraid we need to call you in."

Irene frowned. "To Bart's? But I got time off."

"I know and we're really sorry to do this," Mike said, sighing, "but everyone else is unavailable. Apparently, a certain consulting detective has been hassling them."

"Alright. I suppose I can come in… in three days? I've just got to finish up and then I'll go over," she gave in, sighing in resignation.

"Great! Thank you so much, Molly! We'll see you then!" Molly could hear the grin in Mike's voice and she rolled her eyes.

She nodded and bit her lip. "Yeah. Great."

Molly sat in the lounge room, a glass of white wine in her hand. In all honesty, she wasn't happy anymore. She and Irene weren't talking and Kate had cleared the schedule, despite Molly's objections.

There was a timid knock on the door and a few moments later, it was opened. Kate stood there, bitting her lip.

"Irene, Molly's here. She says its urgent and consernes St. Bart's."

Molly nodded and waved a hand. "Bring her in."

The door was closed and Molly waited for the other woman to enter the room. It had taken a few more minutes, but the door opened and Irene entered, her head hanging.

"Irene. What do you want?" Molly spat.

The woman sighed and sat down beside Molly. "They've called me in. No-one else will work and they want me."

Molly sighed. "Tell them you can't."

Silence.

"I… already said I would."

Molly looked at Irene. "What?" She narrowed her eyes and put down the glass of wine. "You literally can't. I went to medical school for that. I studied for years and you can't take over my job. You've got no experience and you've got no understanding of what you've got to do." She flailed her arms. "What are you going to do? Walk in, pick up a scalpel and hope for the best?"

The other woman sat in silence. Molly rubbed her temples and leaned back in the chair.

"Can't you teach me? Just the basics of what I have to do? Or you could come in as well and hide around the corner whenever someone comes in?" Irene asked, desperation seething through her voice.

The dominatrix, nee pathologist, sighed and stood up. She opened the door and called for Kate to join them.

Lying naked across the coffee table, Kate watched as Molly took a red marker and started to put broken lines across her body.

"Don't enjoy this too much, Kate," Molly warned with a small smirk before sobering up and looking at Irene. "Cut along these lines. Not deep, but deep enough to move the skin apart and get the organs," Molly said. Irene nodded, her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes concentrating on the red marker. Changing to a blue marker, Molly sighed. "The organs are…" She drew an outline of the shape onto Kate's body.

A few hours later, Kate was sent to the shower, told to scrub off all the lines. If they even saw a faint outline, she would be punished. When Kate disappeared, Irene crossed her arms.

"She never bent to my demands like that," she commented, glaring at Molly.

Shrugging, Molly picked at her nails. "What can I say? I needed comfort and she was more than happy to comply."

Irene frowned at Molly. "You've changed Kate?"

"Not at all," Molly argued, dropping her hands, "this was who she was the whole time."

"'The whole time'? No. She's scared. She's staying strong. I know her better than you do. What did you say or do?"

Molly flailed her arms. "I don't know!"

There was a deafening crack that resounded through the house. Molly's hand flew to her cheek and she gaped at Irene, who did her best to intimidate Molly.

"She's scared! You treat her with the respect she deserves but keep her safe and secure! Comfort her! Let her know you're there for her! If you don't, I will hurt the people that mean the most to you," Irene boomed.

Shaking her head, Molly took a few steps back. "This is the only help you're getting. The next time you leave this house is the last time you do. You're not to come back, got it?"

Irene copied Molly and took a few steps back, glaring at the woman in front of her. "You're hurting Kate and you can't even see it."

Kate returned, a few lines marking her body. Molly looked her up and down.

"You'll be punished," she said with a wink before glaring at Irene. She handed the other woman the markers. "Do it and then get out."

The three days were up and Irene walked into St Bart's in black pants and a white shirt. She walked straight up to the morgue and started to get ready for the day. Irene was thankful for the help Molly gave her. She just had to track down some of her regular doctor clients who were hesitant to help her. Of course, Irene had incriminating photos on hand to convince them in helping her.

She stood in the morgue, three people in front of her: a dead body that used to respond to 'Sarah Jeffery', Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade (who Irene wasn't quite sure if he was a client or not), and Detective Sergeant Sally Donovan (whose arse Irene couldn't help but admire for several long moments and Irene wished was a client).

Irene's favourite part of the day, other than watching Sally walk in and out of the morgue, was the paperwork. She never thought that she'd enjoy sitting at a desk to work. In fact, she thought it was so menial and ridiculous that she it existed, but it was fun to not be doing hands on work all the time. It was like a break. Irene started considering the possibility of getting some paperwork into her own job, just for fun, before realising the magnitude of incriminating files that would create.

She smiled as she made her way home, a feeling of pride for completing the day. If Irene had a clean file and years to waste, she'd consider becoming a pathologist. Her smile faded as she continued on her way. If she didn't return to her own body, she would be a pathologist with no training.