"Mrs. Hudson! Mrs. Hudson!" Sherlock hollered through the halls of 221B. He smiled when he heard Mrs. Hudson give a little yip in surprise in the kitchen below him. He knew she would make a fuss but he could never resist.
She scurried up the steps to find Sherlock sitting casually at the kitchen table his eye fixed on the specimen under his microscope. "Oh, goodness Sherlock, you gave me a fright! One of these days you'll scare the life out of me!" She said in a disapproving huff.
"Nonsense, Mrs. Hudson we both know you don't quite scare so easily…" he lifted his head to give a poignant glance. They both remembered the American men that had tussled with her. She gave a small smile knowing she was beaten.
Sherlock returned his attention to his experiment. "Mummy wanted to extend and invitation for you to stay with her and the Captain on the estate over the holiday."
"Oh that would be lovely, Sherlock, Violet and I go so far back but it's been so long!" Mrs. Hudson fretted. She missed her friend desperately. "But what about you Sherlock? I can't leave you here alone, with John being off with Mary and all…" She cooed.
"For the last time, Mrs. Hudson, I am a grown man and am fully capable of caring for myself," Sherlock stated matter of factly. "But that is beside the point because I will be accompanying you. John and Mary will be there as well, along with Detective Inspector Lestrade and Dr. Hooper."
"Oh that sounds delightful, Sherlock! Your mum is going to be so happy to see you, dear! Do you want me to fix you a cuppa and a few biscuits?" Sherlock grunted in reply.
Mrs. Hudson busied herself around the kitchen humming a cheerful tune. Normally this particular human habit of humming drove him mad but he had always had a spot for Mrs. Hudson. He was sure this feeling was completely attributed to the affection his mother had for the woman and not any type of feeling on his part.
The next day John and Sherlock arrived at Scotland Yard after receiving a call from Lestrade. "Freak's here!" Shouted Sgt. Donovan, her hands planted on her hips and a sneer painting her face. "Lovely to see you as always Sally." Sherlock replied not even sparing her a glance. Lestrade waved them into his office. His desk was covered in pictures of a dead business man, CEO by the look of his clothes and how grand the office he was killed in. His throat was slit, no weapon, nothing on the security cameras.
"Dull!" Sherlock groaned after looking at the images for less than a minute. "Arrest the night watch security guard, he would have had access to the cameras, you will find the blue fibers match the uniform, he's overweight and his wife is cheating on him." Sherlock finished, more preoccupied with the grime under his finger nails than the case he just solved. "Oh and Mr. and Mrs. Holmes request your presence over the holiday, they wish for my 'friends' (he made a face, using air quotes yet again) to stay for the holidays."
"Mr. and Mrs. Holmes…?" Lestrade questioned incredulously.
"Yes." The detective dead panned.
"Like your mum and dad…?" His mouth still hanging open.
"Yes, Lestrade! My bloody parents! I thought it was perfectly clear who Mr. and Mrs. Holmes were, do pay attention!"
"Alright! Keep your trousers on!" Lestrade said putting his hands up in surrender. "I'll go, just tell me when we're leaving."
"A car will pick you up Thursday afternoon." Sherlock said making his way out the door.
"Alright then, thanks for your help!" Lestrade called after the duo. With his face in his hand he leaned on the desk. He looked up to see Sgt. Donovan in the doorway, a questioning look on her face.
"What was the freak on about this time?"
"It seems I'm to be spending the holiday with the Holmes family…" He replied still not fully comprehending what he just agreed to.
With one person left on his list Sherlock decided to get it over with sooner rather than later. Sherlock crashed through the doors of the lab at St. Bart's hospital making Molly jump.
"Sherlock, John? What's happened? Is everything alright?" She shifted her eyes between the two men knowing something was amiss. Ever since John made her run that drug test she had been carefully monitoring Sherlock's moods. This time he seemed… antsy, if she didn't know better she would say he was nervous. Judging by the fidgeting of his hands and the inability to look her in the eye.
"Wrong? Nothing's wrong." Sherlock replied stiffly while moving to look into the microscope beside her that contained his ongoing experiment on the coagulation of saliva after death.
Molly was not convinced but she went about her business, filling out and filing paperwork. Out of the corner of her eye she saw John nudge Sherlock and whisper to him furiously. At this rate she was going to have John tested as well. Another few moments passed when Molly was started by a muffled slap and a complaining groan, John had rolled up what seemed to be a magazine and swatted the detective in the back of the head with it. When John noticed Molly watching in shock he quickly hid the weapon behind his back.
"Okay, I don't know what's going on with you two but you better fess up now or I'll kick you out." John looked smugly at Sherlock. "Both of you." She clarified, clearly including John in her threat.
"Just spit it out, you tosser. Or I will," John threatened his friend. Sherlock merely crossed his arms and grunted in refusal. "Fine, have it your way then. Molly, Sherlock's mum invited us all to their estate for the Christmas holiday and he is supposed to extend that invitation to you as well."
"Oh." Molly's eyes widened. "I don't have to come. Clearly you aren't too keen on the idea Sherlock, and I don't want to be a bother. Tell Mrs. Holmes thanks though." She said shyly, looking down at her hands.
When she dared to look up she met Sherlock's questioning gaze. "You wouldn't be a bother! I am rather concerned about being bothered. You have met Mycroft and myself. And I can promise you the rest of my family is not any better behaved than we are. Besides, Mummy would be very cross if she did not get to properly thank "the saint of a woman" who housed me while I was "playing dead" were to not be in attendance." John began to chuckle at Sherlock's growing habit of using air quotes but choked when hearing the tail end of Sherlock's speech.
John made a series of unintelligible noises, his eyes shifting between the pathologist and the world's only consulting detective. Molly blushed. "Alright then. I'll be there then." She smiled at Sherlock who was still looking at her.
"Splendid." He clapped, grabbing his coat of the back of the chair. "I will text you the information and a car will be picking you up on Thursday. Good day, Doctor Hooper." And he was out the door. It took John an additional couple of seconds to recover but he retreated to the door to follow his friend when he called behind him, "We will talk about this later, yeah?"
Molly sighed, seeing no point an argument.