Chapter 15

"You should go without me! I'm too tired anyway", shouted Molly from her bedroom.

John sighed heavily. Waiting for a woman to get ready was always a nerve-wracking experience. But when the woman in question was 8 ½ months pregnant, it could turn into an absolute nightmare. He had been waiting for the past forty five minutes, while all he wanted was get into the pub and order a pint.

"Come on! We won't stay long. Just the time to say hello to the crew."

Lestrade and his team usually met every Friday night at a pub near the Yard, and John had picked up the habit of joining them. This time, he had invited Molly to come along with him. She had accepted because she realised it might be her last to occasion to go out and have some fun. Once the baby was born, her already scarce social life would be reduced to feeds, nappies, and the other joys of motherhood. But now that the time to get ready had come, she wasn't so sure about it. She could feel a bad headache coming on, and couldn't find anything decent to wear.

"I look like a whale, literally", she said finally coming into the living room. She had decided on a simple black sweater and a pair of leggings.

"It's perfect" said John.

"Oh please, you don't have to lie."

"I'm not lying. You look… lovely." He was actually about to say "sexy" but it would have been slightly inappropriate. He had never really paid attention to Molly's looks in the past. She would generally wear the not very flattering white blouse from Bart's. But as they spent more and more time together, he realised she was actually a very pretty girl. And he certainly didn't dislike the extra pregnancy curses. However, he immediately deleted the thought from his head. It was just a night out between friends. Not that he hadn't considered the idea of asking her out. He had broken up with Sarah a while ago now. But dating a woman pregnant with the child of his dead best friend didn't sound like the best idea in the world.

"Ok let's go we're late!"

^/^

The others were already there and had ordered the first round of beers.

"Hey, John, over here!" called Lestrade.

"Hello, Greg, how're you doing?"

"Good, good. So, I recognise Miss Hooper. Welcome, and congratulations!"

"Thank you" answered Molly hesitantly. She wasn't very comfortable around the DI. The last time they had met, he had questioned her about her relationship with James Moriarty. She knew he didn't suspect her of anything, but it was still embarrassing. She ordered an orange juice and sat next to the only other woman of the group, Sergeant Sally Donovan.

John was already engrossed in a conversation with Lestrade and Anderson. He always enjoyed hearing about the latest cases they were working on. Life as a doctor was good, but he missed the criminal hunt more than he would admit.

Molly was definitely not feeling well. But John was having fun and she didn't want to spoil it. Also, perhaps she was exaggerating to herself, as she was never at ease among strangers. Thankfully, Sergeant Donovan broke the ice:

"So this is… Holmes' baby, right?" She hadn't used once the word "Freak" since the funeral.

"Yes. You knew him, didn't you? You worked together on some cases?"

"Yeah. I'll be honest with you; he wasn't my favourite person in the world. And I'm not the kind of hypocrite who suddenly starts praising people once they're dead. But… he was damn good at his job and as much as I hate saying it, we do miss him."

Molly tried to smile, but a wave of pain suddenly hit her. The sergeant looked concerned.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Contraction. Braxton Hicks, I suppose. It happens once in a while."

"When are you due?"

"Two weeks from now."

"Wow, properly soon. Have you chosen a name yet?"

"Not yet. I mean… I have a few ideas but I prefer to wait. When I see her, see what she looks like, I hope I'll just know. Do you have children?"

"Oh no... I mean, maybe one day - but I have to find the man first. And with my job it's not going to happen anytime soon." Molly caught the slightly pointed tone with which this was said, and the involuntary glance towards Anderson. Definitely spent too much time around Sherlock. She continued the conversation as if she hadn't noticed.

"Well, you never know. Look at me!"

Sally smiled. "You're right. By the way… um... are you and John…?"

"What?"

"Are you together?"

"Oh, god, no! We're just friends, really."

"Oh, right, sorry. It's just - I don't know, but for a friend he talks a lot about you. And he brought you with him tonight."

Molly was confused. John had been talking about her? Did he actually ask her out? No, this was stupid, not in her condition. It was true they had become quite close during the past months, but there was no way he could be interested. And her life was already too complicated to add a boyfriend into the mix.

^/^

After an hour, and a second round of drinks, Molly decided it really was time for her to go home. She took her coat and went to tell John.

"John, I'm heading off. I'll take a cab. You stay if you want."

"No, no, I'll come back with you."

"You should stay. I'm fine."

"You don't look so good. Listen, I'll take you back to your place and if I really want to, I can come back later. Deal?"

"Fine", she said, but he noticed she was wincing in pain.

"OK. We're definitely going. G'night everyone, see you next week!"

"'Bye", answered Lestrade. "Molly, don't forget to send a picture of the baby to the team, OK?"

It was a busy Friday night in London, with the usual crowd of drunks and girls wearing too-short dresses.

"There's a taxi rank a few streets away, can you manage to walk that far?"

"Yes, I think the fresh air will do me some good."

"The last few weeks are bit hard, hey?"

"Yes. My back hurts and my feet are swollen. And I…"... This time, she couldn't help moaning in pain.

"Molly, what's up?" asked John with a concerned voice. "Do you want us to call your midwife?"

"No I… I really want to go home and rest." She was unsure why she was insisting she was alright, but somehow, it seemed to help her stay in control.

"Alright. Look, stay here, I'm coming back with the taxi."

John was as fast as he could be, but he was not the only one looking for a cab that night. Once he found a car, he asked the driver to come and pick them up where he had left Molly. He got slightly worried when he didn't see her. Actually, she had moved and was now leaning against a building. As the driver went to turn around, he wandered over to her.

"OK, he's just going around the corner, won't be long. Molly?"

Something was wrong: she was crying. Presuming hormones and over-tiredness, he took her cold hand, and chafed it to bring the circulation back.

"Molly, look at me, it's fine. I'm taking you home."

"John I…. I think my waters broke."

"What?" he echoed, dumbly.

"The baby… it's coming. Now!"

John had the nerves of steel of an ex-soldier, but the news caused him real shock, despite him knowing that to be a ridiculous reaction. However, he tried to keep as calm as possible and rationalise the situation.

"OK, OK… Well, we'll just have to take the cab, and go to the hospital instead. And everything will be fine, just fine."

He was aware he was gabbling. Honestly, give him a shattered femur bleeding out and he was in his element; give him something as normal as a woman going into labour at term, and he had to fight the impulse to run in circles shouting. Molly nodded but he could see she was clearly distressed. The taxi parked in front of them. John opened the door.

"Sir, we have a slight change of plan. The lady is… going have her baby... er, pretty damn soon... so we're heading to the nearest hospital. Please go as quickly as possible!"

Molly was trying to stay calm, but she was increasingly panicking. It was too sudden. The baby was breach, and she'd planned for an elective c-section - next week. It couldn't be happening now. Not in this car. What if something went wrong with the baby?

"John, I'm scared. What are we going to do?"

"Molly, we're two doctors, and the baby's not premature, just a bit... overly punctual. I swear this is going to be OK."

Really? His hysterical inner voice squawked. He wasn't so sure a forensic scientist and an army doctor were the most qualified for this situation. He had attended and helped out in a few deliveries as a student, but that was a long time ago. He tried to remember... Breathing, yes! Breathing was important.

"You need to breathe, alright? Breathe regularly and through the nose. We still have plenty of time."

"I don't know, it really hurts. I think it's going quickly."

Damn it, though, thought John. It's Sherlock's baby - of course it can't wait!

"Take my hand; you can squeeze it as much as you like."

They were stuck in traffic and the sound of horns blaring was driving John mad. They had been in the car for twenty minutes and almost hadn't moved at all. He asked the driver, "Can you really not go any faster?"

"Sorry, but it's Friday night, Sir. Can't do anything about the traffic. Now if you have a magic wand…"

His words struck John. He might actually have one… He took out his phone and dialled the number.

"Who are you calling?", asked Molly.

"The Wizard of Oz", replied John with a grin. Molly listened to the one-sided conversation that followed.

"Hi, Mycroft, it's John. Um… we have a bit of a situation here. Molly's in labour…. Actually, we're in a taxi, heading to St Thomas'…. I know, but it's the closest. Listen we're stuck, can you help ?... No, no, no… I just need you give us a hand with the traffic lights. We're on Victoria St, behind a double decker, the plate number is…"

"MA57ERP. Who're you talking to? I don't want no trouble", interrupted the driver, already clearly nervous enough at the prospect of a baby being delivered on his faux-leather back seats.

John ignored the question. "Did you hear that?… good, can you get us on CCTV? Great. We need it all green until St Thomas'. I'll see you there. Bye."

^/^

Thank you so much for your reviews. It means a lot since this is my first fic. So the baby is almost there, actually I never thought it would take so many chapters. But I really wanted to include some other characters like Mycroft, Mummy Holmes, the Yarders, Angelo (btw my head canon Angelo is the one from the pilot, I love him !).

Glad you enjoyed it, there is more to come. We will probably make a skip in time soon. Of you course you can imagine Molly and John are going to get quite a surprise in the future!

Extra thanks to Eyebrows2 for her fantastic editing and great additions.

And please review ;-)