Molly's chapter is here! This is a flashback to Sherlock's conversation with Molly in Bart's lab, which lead to Sherlock devising his 'social experiment'. It will go back to present when they are still talking to Greg Lestrade.
I don't own BBC Sherlock, nor any of the AU stories out there. I just own a for-once-cooperative muse!
Sherlock laid down his samples on the work bench besides the microscope. He began to fiddle with the lens adjustments in order to get the focus he needed.
"Hello!"
Sherlock was startled out of his concentration by Molly Hooper's voice. He managed not to betray his surprise and calmed himself quickly. "Hello Molly." He answered her calmly.
"So, a new experiment, is it?" She asked him cheerfully.
"Mhmm." He answered her noncommittally. Molly did not move away. Sherlock let out a sigh, then he looked back up at her, "How come you are always here at the hospital, Molly?"
Molly opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. She regarded Sherlock for a moment then took in a deep breath in order to steady herself, "I like it here better than my flat, less boring, you know?" She said with a goofy smile.
"Did you get bored of your cat, Toby, already?"
"Oh no! Toby is great, but he's not people." She explained.
"You work in the morgue. How likely it is for you to see any people there?" Sherlock pressed.
Molly leveled him with a look that Sherlock was more used to giving rather than receiving. Then he saw Molly's eyes narrow a bit. She cleared her throat, "I see dead people Sherlock."
"And I observe dead people, Molly. What's so great about merely seeing them?"
"No, Sherlock, you observe dead bodies." She explained, "I see dead people!"
Sherlock looked at her blankly.
"You don't get the reference do you?" Molly asked, "'Sixth sense'? Kid talking to ghosts of dead people? Ring a bell for you?" She finished with a nervous giggle.
"You're telling me that you can communicate with people's consciousness after they have died?" Sherlock asked her slowly.
"It was a joke, Sherlock!" Molly said in despair, "I'm here whenever it is my shift. They happen to coincide with whenever you pop in here randomly." She finished in a huff.
"Oh!" Sherlock said slowly, "Your shifts."
"Yes! I bet John doesn't have that problem because you have his schedule somewhere in your mind palace." She ranted.
"John has a schedule?" Sherlock asked confused, "Are you sure? He seems to always be in the flat." He pondered that for a moment, "Or not…that explains why I can't hear him at times."
Molly gawked at him, "Hmm… That makes me feel a lot better." She mumbled to herself. She turned to go back to her work.
"So, can you really talk to dead people?" Sherlock called after her.
Molly turned back and faced him, "What if I can?"
"Can they tell you who murdered them?"
"Not everyone is murdered, Sherlock."
"Yes, but what about the ones who are murdered. Can they tell you who the murderer is?"
"I doubt it. The poor soul is so shocked they don't even know they're dead, let alone," She waved towards Sherlock slowly, "all of that." Molly answered with a small frown.
"Then what is the point of this ability?" Sherlock said while gesturing at her.
"Um," Molly bit her lip, "I don't know, the company?"
Sherlock regarded her briefly, "Well, that explains your rather morbid sense of humor." He deadpanned.
"I…guess so?" She said uncertainly.
"You really can't see ghosts, can you?"
"No…" Molly trailed off, then tilted her head and grinned, "Since I don't have a sole of my own, I can't see other souls either. One of the setbacks of being a vampire, you see."
"A vampire?"
"Oh yes. Being a pathologist has a lot of perks when you're a vampire." Molly said airily.
"I suppose the windowless work environment is an advantage." He conceded.
"That too, but the main advantage is my virtually unlimited access to the blood bank!"
"And you haven't been caught yet?" Sherlock asked incredulously, "Did no one notice the missing blood?"
"I'm a pathologist, I can cover my tracks." She said proudly.
"Wouldn't it be wiser if you took the blood from a more, er, accessible source?"
"I'm not going to bite corpses, Sherlock. That is disgusting, and it would leave a suspicious trail." She admonished.
"Can you wipe out memories and do mind control as well?"
"Nope! Otherwise my life would have been a lot easier!" She said with a sad smile on her face.
"Do you have any super-natural abilities at all?" Sherlock inquired.
"Does being a magnet for criminally psychopathic count?"
"Ah, lure in the criminal and drain them. Very clever!" Sherlock approved.
"You're not bothered by any of these ideas?" Molly asked, genuinely curious.
"No, they're mildly amusing."
"What if they were true? What if I really was a vampire?" Molly pressed.
"Vampires don't exist, Molly." He told her evenly.
"What if they did?"
"I don't think you would bite me. If you were going to, you would have done it by now." Sherlock looked at her calmly.
Molly smiled, "That's good to know."
"Good to know what?" He asked bemused.
"That you're a real friend."
"I am?"
"Of course you are! A real friend accepts you for who you really are no matter what you are." Molly said while leaving the lab.
Sherlock went back to the microscope. Somehow Molly's last remark kept echoing in his mind. "How can vampires and mediums prove a real friendship?" He asked himself, "That needs more investigation!"
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"If Molly gave you the idea, that means she won't be interviewed." John decided.
"No, I imagine that wouldn't go well." Sherlock concurred.
"I can't believe you have no idea about John's schedule. You have been living together for more than a year now!" Greg exclaimed.
"I'm used to it by now." John placated the DI, "I think since Sherlock himself doesn't adhere to any kind of schedules, it's hard for him to remember the rest of us have them."
"So, a discussion about schedules lead you to make a lengthy questionnaire." Greg surmised.
"I didn't hear you complaining!" Sherlock retorted.
"I'm not. I had quite a bit of fun with it, to be honest. It let my nerd side out to play a bit." He said amiably.
"It seems that half the yarders are nerds, judging by what you said." John piped up. "I wonder what they would do if their theories were confirmed."
"I'm not going to interview Anderson, I can't stand him for any long stretches of time." Sherlock said irritably.
"And I wouldn't advise using Sally as a subject either." Greg advised, "She might dose you with holly water or something after hearing the first question!"
"I don't think she's patient enough to sit through the whole list." Sherlock agreed.
"What if she has to come face to face with her theories?" John mused.
"What horrors are you cooking up in your devious mind John?" Sherlock asked him wryly.
"Greg, are you willing to participate in the pranking of your crew?" John asked the Detective
Inspector.
Greg's face split into a grin, "I thought you'd never ask! What's the plan?"
"Let's just say we're going to make the questionnaire a bit livelier in order to make them go through the whole thing. But first, we're going to have to recruit more participants." John explained.
"We'll alert you after we have talked to Mycroft." Sherlock told Lestrade.
"Alright, when do you think that would be?"
"Probably in a few hours." Sherlock answered. He went to the window and looked out, "Judging by the behavior of the CCTV cameras in Baker Street, I think he's on route for a little visit!"
Stay tuned, because Mycroft is going to be in the hot seat in the next chapter!