Chapter 2

A More Welcome Visitor

There was only one more visitor that Sherlock had to deal with after Mycroft's hasty departure and that was Molly, who was far more welcome, although he didn't want to make that too apparent. He was now seated in his favourite armchair and Molly in the one opposite. She had made a pot of tea and laid out a plate of biscuits (she had bought some Jammie Dodgers as she knew they were Sherlock's favourite). They enjoyed a period of silence as they sipped their tea, until Molly dropped her biscuit into her tea.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, not knowing what to do. The cup and saucer were unsteady in her hands and as she panicked, she managed to spill the contents all over her lap. Sherlock meanwhile was trying to stifle a laugh as the sight of Molly covered in a mixture of tea and soggy biscuit was rather an amusing sight. But as he noticed the look of distress on her face, he realised her embarrassment and the smirk promptly disappeared from his face. He put his own tea to one side and went to assist her.

"It's alright Molly. It's just tea. Nothing is broken."

"Why can't I just have one visit where something doesn't go wrong? I always make a fool of myself, say the wrong thing…" She was on the verge of tears, standing there holding an empty cup and saucer, her new pink skirt stained with tea.

"Molly, you are not a fool. These things happen," Sherlock said reassuringly. He took the cup and saucer from her and set them down on the table. He then assessed the damage. "It will come out in the wash Molly, it's not ruined…"

"But I can't walk down the street looking like THIS!" she wailed, the tears were welling in her eyes now, her hands gestured towards her skirt.

Sherlock took a moment to think through the situation and how to resolve it. It only took a matter of seconds.

"Right Molly Hooper. Here is what we are going to do. You are going to go into my bedroom, remove your skirt and then we will get it washed and dried."

"But Sherlock… You don't have a washing machine… You send all your clothes to the dry cleaners…"

"Yes I do. But Mrs Hudson has a washing machine AND dryer. I'm sure she will be happy to assist. Now go and take that thing off."

"But Sherlock…"

"What now?" he retorted, growing slightly exasperated at Molly's objections.

"What will I do whilst it's being washed? I can't sit around her in my… underwear." Her face was flushed with embarrassment and she avoided looking Sherlock in the eye.

"You can wear one of my robes. There are some clean ones in the wardrobe."

"You would let me wear one of your robes?" she gasped, surprised that he would allow her to wear anything of his.

"Of course. It's the most practical solution. I don't have any spare skirts… Well at least I don't think I do…" he said, raising a mischievous eyebrow. That relieved Molly's nerves somewhat and she laughed. "No go and get changed. I shall pop downstairs and see Mrs Hudson."

After Sherlock had a brief conversation with Mrs Hudson, who was of course more than happy to help with Molly's predicament, he re-entered the flat to find Molly sitting back in the armchair clad in his plaid robe. The robe was too big for her, so she had rolled up the sleeves and it covered her legs completely as the fabric pooled over her feet.

"I left it on the table," she said as Sherlock stood in the middle of the living room. He looked to see the skirt folded on the coffee table. "Did you speak to Mrs Hudson?"

"Yes. It is not a problem. She will have it washed and dried for you in no time."

"Sherlock? I looked at the washing instructions, and it says 'do not tumble dry'"

"Oh they always put that on labels these days, just to cover themselves in case anything should go wrong with the process. On a low heat, it should be fine. I'll just pop downstairs with it…"

Sherlock delivered Molly's skirt into Mrs Hudson's capable hands and she set about the task of washing it. He once again climbed the stairs and re-entered the flat. Molly had moved from her position in the armchair and was in the kitchen washing the tea set.

"Molly, you don't need to do that," he said as he entered the kitchen.

"It's fine, just let me do something that I'm capable of."

"Molly, will you STOP DOING THAT!" Sherlock snapped suddenly.

Molly turned to him, her cheeks flushed, a look of uncertainty on her face. They stood opposite each other, their eyes fixed on each other in an intense moment.

"Stop doing what?" she asked in a quiet voice. She was notably upset by his impulsive outburst.

Sherlock realised that he himself had said the wrong thing. Well it wasn't what he had said, it was the way he had said it. It was time for some damage control again.

"Molly… I'm sorry for shouting at you. Forgive me. It's just… You are always putting yourself down and… I… I don't like it…"

He considered his next words carefully not sure if he should be completely honest with Molly but he knew that he could trust her. Even though he had treated her so badly in the past, she was always there and would always be willing to do whatever he asked. She had never faltered in her devotion to him and expected nothing in return. After some deliberation, he decided to tell her the truth.

"Molly… Yes you are a little clumsy, and yes you do sometimes make inappropriate jokes and say the wrong thing, wherein you have to either apologise or explain yourself, making the situation worse than it initially was… And then there is your obsession with cats and fluffy animals and a love of all things pink, which is a little bit twee… But that is all YOU Molly Hooper and… I wouldn't want you to change…"

Molly blushed even more than she already was. She was lost for words as Sherlock had never said anything like that to her before. It was also the way he had spoken, softly, in contrast to the annoyance he had expressed just moments earlier. He had looked her straight in the eye as he had spoken, proving to her that he really meant what he said.

"Sherlock… I… I…"

"You're stuttering again… I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."

"No… You didn't… I just didn't expect… You've never said…"

"Never said what? That I do care about you Molly? That I don't like it when you demean yourself? Because you shouldn't Molly. You are more brilliant than you believe yourself to be and I wouldn't be here without you. You are just as important as John, Lestrade and Mrs Hudson. I told you once before that you do count…"

"Yes you did."

"Have I ever told you something that wasn't true?"

"No…"

"Good!" he exclaimed returning to a more cheerful tone of voice. "Do you think we dare risk another cup of tea?"