Author's Note: guess who's back...back again? Shelby's back with fictional friends xD thanks to my friend, glitterkitty4ever, on Tumblr for allowing me to use her name for my OC in this chapter.

"No," Sherlock mumbled into his pillow. Molly jolted awake at the feel of him tugging her closer. "Molly, please!" He was shouting in a panic now.

"Sherlock," Molly spoke with urgency. "Wake up, it's all a nightmare."

"Please don't leave me," he said in a strangled sob.

"I'm not leaving you," she told him softly. "Darling, wake up." Molly smoothed back his curls, damp from the perspiration that accumulated on his forehead. She pressed her lips to his hairline, running her fingers gently down his back. He was calmer now, at least. It gave her enough time to try and wake him. Just a few nudges and his eyes opened, blinking back tears.

"Molly," he spoke her name like a prayer.

"I'm here," she smiled, cupping his face with her hand. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" he asked, slipping out of bed and only putting his Belstaff over his pajamas as Molly slipped her warmest jumper over her tank top.

"It's a secret," she whispered playfully. After their shoes were on, they ventured out into the chilly night. It was two in the morning, and luckily, Molly was able to hail a black cab for them. The pair of them entered the backseat whilst Molly told the driver the address of their destination.

Sherlock was quiet during the ride, allowing Molly to calm him with little affectionate gestures. She held his hand, rubbing circles on the back of it with her thumb. Every now and then, she'd kiss his fingers or wrist, sending tingles through him. They arrived at a small building squeezed between two larger ones. If you blinked, you might miss it. A neon twenty-four hour sign flashing in the window.

"What is this place?" he asked her as they approached the door.

"It's a little all night diner I used to come to in my uni years frequently," Molly told him. "Remember when I asked if you'd like coffee? I meant it as a date here."

"So we get a bit of redo?" he questioned with a small smile on his face.

"Sort of," she giggled, leading him inside.

"Molly Hooper, as I live and breathe," the woman behind the counter smiled, laugh lines creasing her face. "And you brought Sherlock Holmes with you? What brings you around?"

"Hey Lorianna," Molly greeted her. "Just here for a couple of milkshakes"— she looked up at Sherlock—"well, if you don't want a milkshake, that's fine."

"Uh, no, I could go for one," he replied. Molly ordered her banana cream shake and Sherlock's mint chocolate chip shake.

"Lorianna was the closest to a mother figure I had after my parents both passed. She helped me through uni and my early years at Bart's," Molly explained to him.

"I remember you coming in here just to talk to me about him," Lorianna laughed. "And now I hear you two are engaged! How things change in a span of a few years." Sherlock noticed the faint flush that crossed his fiancée's face and pressed a reassuring kiss to her temple.

They sat in a booth with their freshly made milkshakes, noticing for the first time that they were the only customers in the diner.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Molly asked him, her free hand reaching out to hold his.

"It's the fifteenth," was all he said. It didn't take her long to realize it had been a year since the Sherrinford incident. She squeezed his hand affectionately, silently telling him she understood. "It was different in the dream. You were trapped inside the coffin instead. I couldn't solve my sister's riddle to free you in time. When the time ran out, I did realize the answer and thought there was still a chance." After a shaky intake of breath, he continued. "You were dead when I got to you. I kept asking you to come back, to not leave me. But you were gone. I lost you. And I failed you."

"It's okay, Sherlock. I'm right here," she spoke softly. "I'm sorry that you had such a terrible dream." Her heart ached for him. "This is going to sound like I'm analyzing things—and maybe I am—but maybe the fact that you failed in the dream is because you're afraid of failing me in some other way."

"You're not wrong," he confirmed. "You know me too well."

"What is it that you're scared of?" she asked quietly.

"Being a rubbish husband," he admitted. "I know it's not too much different from where we're at now in our relationship, but there are so many marriages that fail for various reasons."

"You really think our marriage would fail? We've been to hell and back together, Sherlock," Molly pointed out. "If I haven't left your side yet, do you really think I ever would?"

"No," he answered. "You wouldn't."

"You're stuck with me, Mister Holmes," she teased, her tongue poking out between her teeth.

"There's no one else I'd rather be stuck with," he chuckled. Small moments like these made them both feel safe with one another. The more they learned about each other, the more they continued to fall in love.