It was on the third anniversary of Sherlock's death when Molly thought about having her hair cut. Everyone around had moved on with their lives, never forgetting Sherlock but learning to live with the pain. Molly however was unable to move on; she knew that he was potentially out there somewhere, if not dead. She had had no contact with him in the whole time that he had been gone and even Mycroft had stopped answering her calls.
They were all stood around Sherlock's grave when Molly really took notice of how things had changed. John was now engaged to Mary Morstan and was expecting their first child together. Lestrade had finely left his wife and was currently seeing someone else, even Mrs Hudson had a new fancy man for god sake. But she was still alone and still pining over Sherlock. Molly had tried to date other men but after a long string of unsuccessful dates she had pretty much given up. It was right at that moment, stood around Sherlock's empty grave that she decided to change herself and begin living her life without the burden of Sherlock. He had told her that he may never come back; it was only now that she was beginning to believe it.
With this new attitude she decided to trial a whole new look and finally she would find someone else and move on with her life like the others. After the party had broken up and each gone their separate ways Molly called up her hairdresser and booked in for the nearest appointment she could get, which happened to be the next week.
On her way home Molly grabbed a couple of bottles of wine to help her through the night. Yes she wanted to move on and stop pining over Sherlock but even she could not turn off her feelings in one moment especially on the night of his 'death'.
Once Molly woke up she felt the full force of her migraine. Unfortunately it had taken quite a bit of alcohol for her to forget all her troubles and pass out from a mixture of exhaustion and intoxication. With her next shift not scheduled until tomorrow Molly felt it was ok to spend the day in bed recovering.
By the time the next week came around Molly had all but forgot about her hair appointment and the whole reasoning behind it. It wasn't until she got a message on her phone from her hairdresser informing her of her upcoming appointment. Once she realised this her whole motives were strengthened and Molly went to her appointment full of ideas of how to have her haircut.
"So how would you like your hair done, the usual?" questioned Molly's hairdresser, Becky.
"No thank you. I want something new" stated Molly with conviction.
After a lengthy discussion with Becky they decided to go for a shoulder length pixie cut with layers added. This way it would still be long enough to tie up when she was at work, mixing practical with style for a change. After getting it cut Molly left the salon and made a beeline to the centre of town. She could not stray too far from her comfort zone, so yes she did end up buying a couple of cardigans. But mostly some fitted blouses in various colours for work as well as some slim fit trousers that actually fit her instead of falling down when she forgot her belt. After racking up a fair few hours shopping time and a huge cost on her card she finally set off home.
When Molly got ready for work the next morning she looked at herself a little longer in the mirror, she spent a little longer on her make up yet still kept it subtle. Molly was very happy with her new haircut, it gave her the confidence that she needed. Normally she would fade into the background and try to hide from the world, but now she held her head high and walked through the crowds. Of course she still had the same old insecurities as always but with her new cut and clothes she did feel just that little more confident.
After her double shift in the morgue was done Molly was all ready to go home. Her feat ached and she was exhausted. She had however received many compliments on her hair and clothes over the course of the day and when she went to the canteen she had even earned a wolf whistle from someone. As Molly stood by her locker pulling out her bags and hanging up her lab coat she heard footsteps coming into the locker room.
Molly looked up into the mirror in her locker and saw the face that she thought that she was never going to see again. His dark curls were back replacing the ginger tufts that Molly had last seen. He wore a weary expression on his face, had bags under his eyes and looked like he was in need of a good meal and a sleep. Molly's heart couldn't help but break a little at the site of him, as he drew closer she felt more and more scared. It had been three years since she saw him and now he was here just as she had decided to give him up and move on.
Sherlock had planned to go and visit John as soon she go back but as he walked passed St Bart's he couldn't help but go in. He longed to see her, since the last time they had parted he had done so much and changed so much. He needed to get back to his old life and what better person could help him with that than Molly. She was a constant in his life, a fixed point if you will, never changing or going she was always there for him. As he waked down the dreary halls of the hospital he couldn't help but wonder what he would say when she saw him, would she faint or scream and shout.
As Sherlock stepped into the morgue it took him mere seconds to deduce that Molly had been here and was in fact in the locker room most probably preparing to go home. He decided to go and see her, for some reason it felt right for him to see her first John could wait a bit longer.
When Sherlock stepped into the locker room he could see Molly look up at him in her mirror, she didn't do anything she didn't faint or shout she just stood there looking shocked with her mouth slightly open. When she eventually turned around he couldn't help but notice how beautiful Molly looked, he could see her hair was cut and her clothes were changed.
Sherlock realised just how wrong he had been, he had counted on Molly to stay the same. She was his link back to his old life, the life he needed. But here she was different she hadn't acted how he had expected or even kept the look he had begun to associate with Molly (frumpy cardigans and shapeless trousers). Here she was in slim fitted black trousers and a blazer, the only thing that looked distinctly 'Molly' was the flowery blouse. Her hair was different, no longer the long pony tail but it was cut shorter and was styled.
After a few minutes silence Sherlock finally spoke, breaking the tension in the room. "Your hair is different."
First Molly giggled and then responded.
"Yes, yours is back to how it was I see." She said in a whisper, then even quitter she continued. "Does this mean you're coming back to us, is it over?"
With that sentence all of Sherlock's fear had left him, Molly was still the same. She had lost the stammer that would plague her whenever he was around but she was still undeniably Molly. Her voice soft and full of caring. With this Sherlock felt warmth spread through him, all thoughts of the others and of what had led him to be here now had vanished and all he could think about was this beautiful woman in front of him.
"Yes Molly its over" Sherlock stated.
Then he was suddenly enveloped by Molly as she hugged him. Sherlock just thought to himself definitely the same Molly; it was him that had changed.
Sorry, sorry, sorry, you don't realise how much time life takes up. With work and everything, but the chapters here now. Its not my best but I wanted to update and stop keeping you waiting.
Again a huge thanks to the reviewers and everyone, you are simply GREAT!