OK, this one was a bit tough to write. I had to work at it! The previous chapters just happened!
Anyhoo, hope you like! Thanks to everyone that has reviewed, favourited etc! Love you all and thanks for the support! xxx

Chapter 3

He Cares! He Really Cares!

Molly looked horrified at the prospect of having to handle another cup of tea but they had to do something to pass the time whilst she waited for the return of her skirt. Sherlock made it this time, opting for two mugs as he knew they would be less likely to cause any further mishap. Molly had opted for the couch this time as it was closer to the coffee table which she could use. Sherlock surprised her as he also sat on the couch but seated himself at the opposite end leaving a safe gap between them.

"Sherlock? What you said before… did you really mean it?"

"Which part? You'll have to be more specific."

"The part where you said… that… you care about me…"

Molly shifted uncomfortably on the couch, her eyes fixed on the floor, unable to look at Sherlock as her cheeks turned a bright shade of crimson.

"Well I do…" he said, with a perplexed expression, as if he didn't comprehend why she would find it so hard to believe. He did suspect that the reason was that he had never said such a thing to her before.

"But Sherlock..." Molly continued, struggling to try and find the right words she wanted to say. "You don't usually..."

"I believe what you are trying to say is that I don't usually express my feelings," he interrupted. "That I try to distance myself from experiencing emotions, which includes caring about people."

"Yes, that's right."

"It has taken me some time to realise, but since... that day... I have... changed..."

"You've never really talked about it before, well not to me."

"I've not talked to anyone about it. I didn't want anybody to know."

"Know what?"

"That I was unable to ignore my feelings. My brother and I have previously agreed that we believe that caring to be a weakness. That day, I realised I did care about those around me, that I did have friends. And that I was prepared to die to protect them."

"But that didn't include me Sherlock."

"Because you weren't on Moriarty's hit list?"

"Yes. He didn't think you had any affection for me. I wasn't important enough."

"Well he was wrong. If you had been in danger, I would have done the same. But it was fortunate that you weren't as you wouldn't have been able to help me."

Molly suddenly felt a pang of warmth in her chest. She started to believe that Sherlock was capable of including her as a friend. But there was still a part of her that told her not to get her hopes up, that it was too good to be true. What she had wanted for so long, to have Sherlock's interest in a more friendly way, had become something she had come to believe she would never have.

"Molly?" Sherlock asked, as she had lapsed deep into thought.

"Sorry Sherlock, I was just... thinking..."

"I know. I could hear you. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that that... I've gotten so used to you being so aloof and unfeeling. If you have indeed changed, it's going to take time to adjust..."

"I understand. Change is always hard to accept, but it has to be dealt with."

"Sherlock? Remember the Christmas party, what happened, what you said and what I said back?"

Sherlock grimaced as he recalled the awkward scene when he had inadvertently upset Molly. He had been too busy deducing the gift to even suspect that he was the intended recipient. And he had personally insulted Molly by making unflattering references to her body and appearance. It had been a very rare moment as Sherlock had apologised to her and that had to mean something. He never said sorry to anybody, not even John. He couldn't believe he had overlooked the significance of that moment, but other things had been on his mind since then, first The Woman and then Moriarty.

"Yes, I remember it," he replied looking at her with sad eyes. "What about it?"

"You... always saying horrible things to me..." She had a pained expression on her face as she spoke.

"Molly... I never meant to..."

"I know, it's just the way you..." she paused as she chose her words carefully, "it was just your way."

"Yes... I know…"

"And then in the lab, you said why would you need anything from me... That is why I thought I didn't count..."

"But it turned out that I did need you, and therefore you did count. I just had to figure it out."

"So you really did mean it, that you needed me and you really do care? I was afraid it was just because I was convenient."

"No Molly," he said softly as he turned to face her on the couch, an intense gleam in his eyes. He swallowed before continuing. "When I came to you that night it wasn't because you were convenient. It's because I realised that I had been so stupid that I didn't see how important you were. You would never believe that I was a fake. Even after all the things I had said, all the times I had upset you, you never really hated me. Yes, you may have been angry with me, but you understood that it was just me being me. Most people would have detested me, the way I treated you but you're not most people. You were willing to help me when I had nobody else I could turn to. I trust you Molly Hooper and as a friend I would do anything for you."

Molly was on the verge of tears, but she fought them back as she didn't want to cry in front of Sherlock. She could not believe that he could actually be so tender. There had been a glimpse of it on the night before his 'death' when he had found her at the lab, but at that time he was under a great deal of pressure, he was sad back then. Now he was calm and speaking to her in a way that she had always dreamt of. She loved it when he talked, his deep voice cut right through her, especially when he was directing perfectly pronounced words to her personally.

The moment was broken by a knocking at the door and Mrs Hudson's voice.

"Cooee! Sherlock? I've got Molly's skirt!"

Sherlock got up and opened the door to Mrs Hudson holding Molly's freshly washed skirt.

"I gave it a bit of an iron too. Good as new!"

She walked around Sherlock into the flat and made her way towards Molly.

"You OK Molly dear?" she said with a smile.

"Yes Mrs Hudson, I'm fine."

"You just look a bit... out-of-sorts, that's all."

"I'm fine, really."

"She'll feel much better when she can get dressed again Mrs Hudson." Sherlock stated curtly. He moved towards her and made a gesture towards the skirt she was holding. She realised that he wanted her to hand over the skirt and did so before promptly darting back down the stairs to her own flat.

Sherlock stood beside the coffee table and held up the skirt to inspect it.

"Hmmm... no stain. It looks all right."

"Good. Do you think I could put it back on now?"

"Of course," Sherlock replied as Molly rose from the couch. He handed her the skirt, and as the exchange took place their fingers touched. Molly immediately withdrew her hands along with the skirt.

"I'm sorry Sherlock," she said, blushing with embarrassment.

"It's fine Molly. Now go and use the bedroom again. You can leave my robe on the bed."

Molly moved towards the bedroom, but as she did so, she tripped on the edge of the rug and almost ended up on the floor. But Sherlock stepped in to catch her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Oh Sherlock, I'm so sorry! I don't know what it is today, I'm so clumsy!"

"Yet again Molly, it's fine. John used to do that all the time, only he would swear at the rug and say he was going to buy a new one, but he never did..."

Sherlock's reference to John seemed to calm the situation, although they lingered for a moment in a half-embrace. Molly looked up at Sherlock as he peered down at her. The belt of the robe had come loose and Sherlock spied a glimpse of something black and lacy showing below Molly's pink blouse. He was surprised as he thought she would have worn pink knickers...

"Sherlock? Do you think you could let me go now?"

"Oh!" he exclaimed, as he realised he had been standing there holding her and checking out her underwear for more than a few seconds. "Of course!" he added as he withdrew from the embrace and went back to his favourite chair. Molly hurried into the bedroom to get changed while Sherlock began to analyse all that had just happened, especially the underwear incident. He was especially worried and surprised about that.

Molly went into the bedroom and took off the robe. As she put on her skirt, she too was thinking through what had just happened. "Why did she have to be so clumsy?" she asked herself. Things like that only happened when she was around Sherlock. It was like fate was conspiring to embarrass her every time she was with him. She had managed to stop stuttering around him and now it had been replaced with spills and falls! But, she smiled to herself as she remembered all the lovely things he had said. He cared about her, he really cared! And he had put his arms around her, she had liked that a lot. She loved him even more than she did before and she felt so happy.