Victim: John Smith

Time of death: 4.30 pm

Cause of death: internal bleeding due to fractured skull

Other abuses: failed attempt of strangling, head hit concrete floor

Verdict: murder

Molly Hooper quickly finished her paperwork on the new case she had just got to today. After thoroughly examining the body of the victim she had come to the conclusion of it being a murder, because neither the strangle marks nor the head injury pointed to suicide. Now she would just have to give her report to Lestrade and he could inform Sherlock. Her work was done for the day. She got up from her desk, grabbed the document and went out of the morgue. Turning off the lights she noticed that it had got really dark and she looked at the clock on the wall to see that it was already half past eleven! She quickly went to her locker to get her coat and finally head home only to receive a message at that moment.

Meet me in the lab – SH

She sighed and was about to write him that she was done for today, but then it was Sherlock and moreover the lab was on the way out. So there would be no harm done to just shortly visit him, right? Molly put on her coat and made her way to the lab. It seemed to be hardly illuminated judging from the outside and made Molly frown. Usually Sherlock's lab was brightly lit, because he hated working in semi-darkness for he couldn't clearly see his experiments and findings properly then. Maybe Sherlock wasn't here yet? Or maybe he meant a different lab? Although that was rather improbable. Nevertheless she went to the door and knocked. Maybe he was simply having one of his moods again and enjoyed working in darkness now.

"Sherlock? Are you in here? You texted me", speaking out loud after so many hours silently working her voice shortly put her on edge.

Molly slowly opened the door although no answer had come, which should have told her to turn around and go. But it was to late for that now. Her ring tone sounded all of a sudden again and made her squeal. She fished it out of her bag reading the message.

Sorry misunderstanding!

She frowned and internally cursed herself and him. She really would go home now and tell Sherlock what a jerk he was first thing in the morning. But just as she was about to put her phone away again she received another message. Two to be exact.

No wait. Still meet me in the lab!

And then:

Just don't be to disappointed I'm not Sherlock! - JM

Her phone slipped out of her hands then, skidded across the floor and under the long lab desk, on which's end, before not noticed due to the lack of light, sat a man she knew all to well.

"Hello my dear! Long time no see, he?"

Molly turned around to dash out of the room, but there was already someone there to block her escape, pushing her into the room again. She now was alone in the lab with her worst nightmare, the biggest maniac on earth and Sherlock's exact counterpart – though even that information hardly helped her out now. Instead of just killing her now – what she hadn't actually feared in the first place – he was just sitting there, watching her with that smug face of his and a half-smile underlining his insanity. Molly had known that this day would come, she just hadn't counted on it to be here so fast. In fact she had buried it with the past, even denying the mere existence of it. But there was no way she could avoid it now. She had had plenty of time to think about this. The things she had done, what would happen afterwards and what she could do about it, but it all had simply slipped her mind.

The thing was that Molly and Moriarty shared a past. And by that she didn't mean the short, shallow relationship they had had years ago, but to which it had led: Molly had played alongside Moriarty as well as Sherlock, but only one was aware of that situation. Two years ago Moriarty had visited her at home. With visit meaning breaking in, acting as if it's his home and talking with her under constant threat. She remembered it all to vividly.

She was sitting on the wooden chair, not manacled but feeling that way, because one move could get her killed or rather severely injured first. Moriarty was leaning against the wall eyes on her grinning, while red dots flashed all over certain, valuable, life-preserving parts of her body.

"I remember watching Glee with you here! You remember it, too?", under other circumstances this could have sounded like any other friend talking to you about your last date, but this was Moriarty and his voice changed with his moods, "WHAT A STUPID TV-SHOW! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW I HAD TO RESTRAIN MYSELF NOT TO SMACK YOUR HEAD AGAINST THE TV TO MAKE IT STOP? Anyway now we're here to discuss different matters."

Molly whimpered because she hadn't been prepared for the outburst. She only knew Moriarty as the kind, amiable person he had been when dating her, but this was a whole new side of him that was revealed to her.

"You know I need a favour from you and when I say favour I mean you granting it or someone's getting killed, understand?", he smiled at her again like they were discussing the arrangement of the furniture in this room or any other trivial topic "I want you to work for me, get inside information from Sherlock and help me find out how he ticks. I tried everything after our little encounter at the swimming pool which by the way was a rather harsh action, but I can't figure him out. I need you to observe him, to see him and then report it back to me. Refuse to and your Mummy and Daddy will not see the next day arriving! And we can add your little cat, too, just for making my point clear. What do you say?"

Molly gathered up all her strength to say the next words: "Please just kill me already! Leave my parents... and cat... out of this and kill me. I'll not betray Sherlock!"

"Oh dear, dear Molly... Your love for him really runs deep, doesn't it? And he? He probably doesn't even know you exist apart from work and he surely doesn't requites your love, does he? So what would I gain from killing you? You are worth nothing and you don't count in any way that it would hurt him or leave any durable effect! And even if I killed you now, what would guarantee you that it would stop me from killing your parents and lovely cat first thing in the morning? You simply have nothing to bargain here Molly. So if you want everything to stay as it is – healthy and alive – THEN. DO. AS. I. SAY!"

Her heart was pounding. She couldn't phone someone, couldn't write a note and she would either die here without anyone noticing it or be dragged into something were someone would get killed maybe even by her hand. With Moriarty there were no other options to choose.

"You are indispensable to me and I need you to help me fake my own death!"

That turn of events made her heart stop and watch him differently: "Why? Why would you want to fake your own death? And why do you need me of all people to help you?"

"GLAD you finally ask!" a grin spread on his face and he was really excited now "You are the perfect person to first observe Sherlock and help me gather information then help me commit suicide the way it makes him believe I'm really dead. Everything concerning that matter I've already planned and worked out, but I need you to sign the deal in the end. You're a pathologist I hear so that will be no problem at all."

"But why fake your own death? To what purpose?"

Moriarty started laughing then, a laugh she had never heard before, that made her hair stand on end:"Simply because I'm bored! I'm bored and I want to start anew and I want Sherlock to be clueless and dumb until I strike again full force! Just imagine the look on his face! Well, but back to business. Whenever you see him, talk to him, anything remember any detail and tell it to me."

"What good will that do? You already know him better than I do..."

"Not nearly good enough. You are inconspicuous almost transparent to him. You can and will help me fill up the gaps and install my plan."

"Which is?" she asked with trembling voice.

"I love games! That's why I will not only kill myself but will make him do the same!" , he explained to her and had to giggle then, "I'm enjoying this far to much... but then again it's why I plan on doing it! This will be so much fun! You know? The gun I'll use will just make the sound of a shot while little balls woven into my hair will explode via a trigger and it will look so stunningly real that I myself have to do my best not to look too alive! And the best thing will be Sherlock trying to help his silly mundane friends and survive at the same time! I wonder how he'll pull that off..."

Molly could just stare at him as he rambled on about his ingenious plan. How was it possible that such a vile man even existed? How did he come to being this way? He couldn't have gotten this rotten if his parents hadn't been the same or responsible for it. She just couldn't believe that one was born this way. But then again, her mind whispered to her, Sherlock was the same and could be as cruel and crazy as Moriarty if he liked and as far as she knew he had had proper parents.

"Just go to him tomorrow, confront him or tell him that you somehow know that something is off and then ask him if you can help. He already knows that I want him dead, but I have no idea what he's going to do, so it would be nice to have someone to tell me. I'll speak to you again tomorrow same time same place! Expect my... visit", he grinned at her and then just left the room and her house without another word, the red dots leaving her, too.

As soon as he was gone Molly broke into tears letting all the fear, relieve and anger out she had suppressed the whole time. She had to be strong now. Tomorrow she had to act as if nothing had happened. She had to talk to Sherlock or get him to talk and then she would meet Moriarty again and if she hadn't any good information, he would kill her parents and her cat. Maybe even letting her watch him do it before killing her or letting her live with the torturing pain. She had started sobbing uncontrollably then and had been unable to eat and sleep the whole time from then to Sherlock's Fall making her think about how she even had seemed convincing and unknowing towards Sherlock at all...

She shuddered after reliving that memory and now being thrown back into a similar reality. Back then she had obeyed to Moriarty's word fearing his wrath. She had told Sherlock a story of her father that wasn't even far-fetched, to get him to talk and he really had come to her although she had shortly believed her try had been in vain. He had talked to her about Moriarty's plan, what he wanted to do about it and Molly had helped him create possible escapes although he always came up with better ones. In the end she had told almost every plan to Moriarty who had listened with delight. She only ever had left out the lorry option as she had thought of it as highly improbable. Who would have known that it would be the option of choice in the end? But was this really the reason for Moriarty coming here tonight seeking her out? This one lie, this one defiance she had kept towards him? It was time to finally find that out.