DISCLAIMER – I forget this all the time but – I own nothing. Please know it applies to the whole story!

Author's note: No apologies for the delay between chapters but after this one, I'm planning two and an epilogue, so the wait is nearly over and hopefully will finish within the month? No promises since the past year has seen me living in two countries and a move may soon be on the horizon again. I have part of the next chapter written, but sort of hate where its going so as soon as I figure out a thing or two… it should write itself. Should be the key word. As always, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for dealing with me and the delays between chapters. This again hasn't be BETA'd so all mistakes are mine and I'm sure there are tons.

Somebody I Used to Know

Chapter 11

The following day was frantically spent looking for a suitable location for John and Mary's reception. While John accompanied us on the location search in the morning, he excused himself to go into work just before lunchtime.

John had found a new job at a hospital on the other side of the city from Barts. With the new job he had also moved out of the Baker Street flat he had shared with Sherlock, simply saying that it no longer felt right to be there.

With John off to work, Mary and I quickly stopped for lunch before moving onto dress shopping. Because of the speed of the engagement, Mary had decided to forgo the traditional wedding dress and instead decided on finding a simple off white dress that feel to just below her knees with matching shoes.

"Are you using Paul's credit cards now?" Mary asked with a smile as I paid for my own dress.

"It's the only card in my wallet. He must have pulled all of mine when I was still asleep this morning," I replied while rolling my eyes. I recognized the card as the same one I had used months ago during our trip to Spain and since then, Sherlock had insisted I keep it for emergencies and in the case of today, when he felt the need for me to use it. After all, he was hardly the type of man to send me flowers, and I accepted that. However he always made certain that if I wanted flowers or anything really, there was a card in my wallet to use. It was yet another odd aspect of our relationship that I had grown use to in the past few months.

It didn't mean he fully understood why I'd want the 'silly plants' as he usually referred to them as but it did show that he was trying to understand me, as much as he could.

"Would you mind if I kept my dress at your flat for the week?" Mary asked as we walked out of the store together. She had gone to stay with John two months previous when her flat had lost hot water and decided not move back once it was fixed.

"Sure, you can just hang it in the closet," I replied as I hailed a cab.

Once we arrived at my flat, I called out for Sherlock, obviously calling him Paul, but received no response.

"Tea?" I asked as we moved further into the flat.

"Of course! Here I'll put these in your closet," She said taking my dress and bag from my hands as I moved into the kitchen to fill the kettle. Once it boiled, I quickly poured the steaming water into the waiting mugs before picking them up and walking in the direction of my room. Mary hadn't come back out and I was curious what could have caught her attention. I quickly ran through the possibilities in my head, hoping that Sherlock or I hadn't left anything odd lying on the floor.

"Mols, how long have you had this?" Mary asked as I walked into the room. I quickly recognized exactly what she was referring to.

"Oh, that, it's just a dress. I bought it in Spain, nothing too special," I replied, oddly hoping she hadn't unzipped it and would take my explanation at face value. While I had told her that Paul and I had gone to Spain at the beginning of the year, I hadn't told her the real reason for our trip and definitely did not tell her about my trip the bridal shop. After all, how would I explain a random wedding dress in my closet? Obviously it was time for me to do so.

"Mols, I recognize this designer. I wanted to try one of their dresses the first time I got married but it was too far out of my budget. They only make wedding dresses, expensive wedding dresses, extremely expensive wedding dresses," She said moving to unzip the bag. I wasn't going to stop her. It was obviously pointless and knowing Mary for as long as I had, I knew I needed to be honest because otherwise she wouldn't believe me. But even then, how could I be honest when it didn't seem it was time yet.

"Oh Molly, this is beautiful!" she said as she pulled it from its bag. The same bag it had stayed in since I had found it at the back of my closet in January.

"They said with the alterations it would fit perfectly," I found myself saying.

"You had it altered even?" Mary asked pulling her eyes from the dress to look at me awkwardly standing in the middle of my room, the two mugs of tea forgotten in my hands.

"It's a sample or an original or something, I think. Although to be honest, I'm not completely certain. I tried it on while in Spain, but it wasn't in my closet until a few weeks after," I said, setting the mugs on my nightstand and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Wedding dresses do not just pop into people's closets, Molly," She said turning back to admire the dress again.

"Obviously," I sighed. "Paul put it there."

"Wait, hold on. You didn't get married in Spain did you?" Mary asked finally setting the dress down gently.

"No, no, of course not," I replied. We hadn't after all. Just faked an engagement.

"Did you get engaged?" She asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't. It… it's complicated. And I promise to explain it all… but can it wait?" I asked. To be far, we didn't even really discuss the fake engagement upon returning to London. Yes our relationship had changed, but that was a Molly and Sherlock situation and not a Molly and Paul situation. And no matter the changes Sherlock's personality had undergone in the past few years, we still didn't focus much on feelings and labels.

Sherlock had said just last night that everything was nearly behind us. He would clear his name within weeks and everyone would no longer be in the dark about what really happened over a year ago. And to be honest, I still didn't fully understand the meaning behind the dress or why Sherlock hadn't canceled the purchase in Spain.

I knew in some ways I was being naïve about the whole situation. Sherlock rarely told me what he did when he disappeared for days, weeks at a time and I didn't ask. The things I imagined in my mind, of him risking his life, were bad enough. I didn't need him to confirm my worries or make them worse. If Sherlock wanted to tell me, then he would, but I wouldn't press him, not while he was still actively in danger each time him left. And if he held a little closer and came home with scratches and cuts he didn't have before, I simply helped him patch himself up and held him closer.

"Molly, It's just a wedding dress, how complicated can it truly be?" She asked. "You didn't turn him down did you?"

"No, of course I didn't," I replied quickly. "I saw the dress while we were in Spain. And from the moment I saw it, I knew, if I ever got married that was it, it was the dress. And you know how Paul can be, he isn't a man of very many words or grand romantic gestures. But even he could tell I was in love with the dress. He made the appointment and sent me there to try it on. A few weeks later, there it was, hanging in my closet."

"But can we focus on your own wedding and not what this dress means?"

Maybe by the time the subject came up again, I'd have a better story to tell. Or least know how it ended.

"You look uncomfortable about the subject, but I suppose if you try it on, I'll let it rest, but not forever!" she replied shaking her head.

I smiled and stood up, taking the dress into my hands before walking into the bathroom. I quickly shed my clothes from the day and slipped into the dress. As promised, it now fit perfectly.

The morning of the wedding of Mary Morstan to John Watson found me alone in bed. After the first night after Sherlock returned from his three-week absence, he hadn't slept at the same time as me since. In fact, in the past week I had only seen him twice even though there were obvious signs of him coming and going from the flat.

One of the times I had seen him had been in the late afternoon when I returned home for work. I had gone into the bedroom to shower and change and found him lying in the middle of the bed fast asleep. After quickly showering I decided to lay down with him for a short nap. When I woke up, he was gone again.

The second time I had seen him that week was the day before. He was preparing to leave the flat as I returned from a late shift at work. With a quick kiss and my urging for him to be carful, he was out the door.

I was beginning to worry even Paul wouldn't be able to make it to the wedding. Relief for that worry came a few moments later when the bedroom door slowly opened. Sadly, I could smell him as soon as the door began to open as well.

"Have you been rolling in trash again?" I asked, sitting up in bed. "No- shower. Do not take one step closer until you smell better," I quickly added as he moved further into the room.

"No good morning?" he asked, repeating my question from a week earlier.

"Not until you smell better," I replied as I watched him move to the bathroom.

As I heard the shower turn on, my phone's text message tone went off.

Morning! Headed to the hairdresser's. See you (with coffee?) in half an hour!

-Mary

Glancing at the time I realized I had definitely over slept and the sound of the shower turning on solidified my suspicion I'd be late to meet Mary.

"This is excruciating," Sherlock said softly from beside me.

I turned and smiled softly at him. In my opinion, the day had been lovely.

"Any chance on reconsidering the wedding present?" I asked.

"No, I'm close, but not there yet. Soon," he said, analyzing the crowd yet again. "It's still not safe for Sherlock Holmes to make a reappearance and John isn't a very good actor. His reaction will leave a mark and afterwards, he won't be able to continue on as if nothing had been revealed to him."

We hadn't had the chance to talk that morning. I quickly jumped into the shower as he exited, the pile of smelly clothes he had been formally wearing were put into a sealed bag and pushed to the corner of room.

The reception had been going on for over two hours and at this point we were sitting off to one side, opposite of the bar.

John and Mary had decided on a nicer bar in the area and had reserved the back room for their reception. It wasn't completely a conventional choice, but it was fitting for their quickly pulled together wedding but still nice enough that it didn't seem too under done. Due to the short notice and that Mary and John both came form small families, the room held less than forty people total with friends of the couple included.

"You want this one day," Sherlock said breaking into my thoughts.

"Hopefully," I replied not wanting to push this subject too far and risk making him uncomfortable.

"We'll want the shock of my return to settle first," he replied. "Maybe I'll be able to go back to solving cases without media attention surrounding us."

"I doubt that, everyone loves a good story," I replied. It was, after all, how all of this had happened in the first place. People love a good story, and when printed in a semi-reliable paper, they believe it.

"I suppose we'll just have to plan it outside of London," he replied.

"This… um… this isn't you trying to propose is it?" I asked worried if my question would ruin the moment.

"No, in the words of John it would be 'not good'. Besides, its not Paul you want to marry one day," he replied. Throughout the conversation we had both been looked forward from our seats at a table in the corner.

"No, I don't think I do," I reassured him as I reached for his hand.

"But first, I need to go away again. Well, not far but I wont be in the flat for a few days, maybe a week or two. I'll also be out of contact. Mycroft will know if something happens and keep you informed," he said finally turning to look at me.

"Whatever your doing, its dangerous," I said narrowing my eyes at him. It was rare that he told me about his trip but even rarer that he didn't keep in direct contact with me.

"It will be," he said leaning in closer.

"I hate that you're telling me now so I don't over react," I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. "Be careful."

"I can't promise that, not this time." He said with regret in his voice. "But you know that I wont do anything unneeded." He paused briefly before nudging my head with his shoulder so I would look at him directly. "Just know that, this is real and what I plan to come back to."

And it was of course at this tender moment, Mary decided to come stumbling over to our table.

"It's about time to leave and you two have been in this corner for far too long!" She said with a tiny slur in her voice.