At the bequest if lilsherlokian1975 I've dropped everything in a bid to get this chapter up today. For those in the UK hope you're enjoying the bank holiday weekend, I only wish the weather were better.

Chapter 5

Sherlock had had a similarly restless night but had reached a totally different conclusion. After Molly had left he had thrown himself onto the settee in a fit of irritation. He inwardly raged to himself about the futility of relationships and how they interfered with the brain, with logic, with everything.

He rolled onto his side facing the wall and sighed. He closed his eyes and the first thing he saw was Molly. He needed to resolve this situation before it got out of hand. In the end he rolled back onto his back and went into his mind palace. He made his way to Molly's room and sat on his favourite lab stool. He needed to think through his options and decide which was the most judicious to take.

The first path didn't take long to be discounted as unworkable. He had no intention of never seeing Molly again if for no other reason than her expertise was invaluable to his life's work.

He tried out two similar paths whereby he only saw Molly at Bart's and dealt with her on either a purely professional basis or as he had been doing as a friend. Even he could see that she deserved more from him than just professional curtesy, she had saved his life, he trusted her she could never be less than a friend. The option of friendship left him strangely unsatisfied though. It felt like flipping a coin to make a decision and getting the wrong answer. Plus that was what they were at the moment and it was most decidedly not working.

So that left what, a one night stand to get this, whatever this was out of his system. No, he would surely lose Molly as both a friend and a colleague if he tried that.

It seemed there was only one option then, explore a relationship with her. He thought it through in his mind and surprised himself by being unable to find any great drawbacks, any reason why he shouldn't. His argument had always been that it would interfere with his work but Molly helped him, having her around more often would be beneficial, she would not only fill John's role of listener but she would help relieve the sexual frustration which seemed to constantly bother him at the moment.

He acknowledged that his reasoning so far had been very cold and logical so what of love. He rolled the word around in his head. He loved his parents, he loved John, he even, though he would never admit it aloud, loved Mycroft. Did he love Molly Hooper? And more importantly did he think he could ever love her? He didn't know, he needed more information. It occurred to him then that that was probably what the whole 'explore a relationship' meant.

He opened his eyes feeling better now he had made a decision. He sent off a quick text before making his way to bed.

MHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMHMH

When Molly got up the next day she found a text on her phone sent at 3.17am. She rolled her eyes, only Sherlock would think nothing of texting at that time in the morning.

Meet me 2.00pm in Regents Park by the Garden Cafe. SH

Molly looked at the text and bit her lip having second thoughts about her earlier decision to call a halt to the dance lessons. It didn't look like Sherlock wanted to quit. Maybe, she should give it one more chance; see if today was any easier.

She spent the rest of the morning stressing about what to wear. It was already a hot Sunday and it felt muggy and heavy. In the end she chose a lacy, cream summer dress with flat sandals. As she walked through the park if seemed as though everyone else had had the same idea about getting outside in the sunshine.

She glanced at the cafe up ahead looking out for Sherlock but there didn't seem to be any sign of him yet. There were plenty of couples and families sitting outside the cafe and on the grass, eating ice cream and playing football, a guy in jeans, barefoot, lounging on the grass with sunglasses on probably waiting for a date, plenty of kids, skating, running and making lots of noise. It seemed a strange place for her to meet Sherlock; she wondered why they weren't just meeting in Baker St.

It was only as she got closer and the guy in jeans and t shirt unfurled himself from the grass, picked up some kind of basket and walked towards her that she realised, with shock, that it was Sherlock.

He took off his sunglasses and looked down at her, 'Molly. The plan was to find somewhere with a bit more space for us to practice, I didn't realise the park would be so crowded.' He looked around frowning whilst Molly continued to stare open mouth at him checking out his outfit. He looked back and seemed to notice. 'Are you quite alright Molly? You seem to have been struck dumb.'

'I...um, it's just I've never seen you look so...erm...'

'So what Molly?'

'Casual, I suppose. You're always so dressy.'

'Molly it's over 80 degrees I'm hardly going to dance in the park in dress pants and a shirt, now come on let's try and find somewhere a bit quieter.' With this he grabbed her hand and towed her across the grass towards some trees in the distance.

The further they got from the cafe and tennis courts the quieter it seemed to get. Eventually they skirted around a clump of trees and found a circle of grass almost completely surrounded by the trees and quite private.

'This looks good,' Sherlock dropped Molly's hand and placed the basket on the ground. Molly noticed his shoes and socks were wedged in at the top. He bent down and unpacked a couple of bottles of water an iPod and two sets of headphones.

'Mrs Hudson put together some sandwiches and cake if you want anything,' he said over his shoulder as he plugged a splitter into the headphone jack of the iPod and attached the two sets of headphones.

Molly knelt next to him and opened one of the bottles of water taking a welcome draft. The heat was starting to feel a bit oppressive. She had to admit she was a little bit unsure of this new style Sherlock, this was feeling more and more like a date but she didn't want to read more into it than was actually there. She knew better than to ask him, she could only imagine the put down if she'd got it wrong.

Sherlock nodded to himself as he listened to the music and handing Molly her headphones he stood placing the iPod in his jeans pocket.

They stepped into the centre of the clearing and when Sherlock held up him arms Molly naturally moved into them placing one hand in his and the other on his shoulder. She tried not to watch the lean muscles moving on his upper arm or through the thin material over his chest. Instead she smiled nervously at him and when the music kicked in he counted to three and they started to move around the circle of grass.

Molly had to admit it was much easier when they had proper space to move in. Sherlock started to move them in more intricate circles as Molly's confidence grew. She was actually starting to feel like she knew what she was doing, at least she did, right up until she stepped the wrong way bumping into his chest and standing on his foot.

'Oops sorry.' He waved away her apology, restarted the track and away they went again. The next time they stopped Molly realised she was sweating. She wiped her forehead, 'can we stop for some water?'

'Yes I suppose so. I think you're getting reasonably proficient at the basic waltz. We can mix things up next and try a foxtrot.' As they sat down to drink some water Sherlock drank half his water bottle and poured the rest over his head and body, drenching his t shirt which stuck to his chest and became ever so slightly see through. Molly gulped and tried not to stare too much. When he saw her openly gawking he said, 'don't worry there's plenty more water, I brought four bottles in total. Shall we begin again?'

This time Molly was placing her hand onto his wet skin. She could feel the heat radiating off him as they moved in sync together.

She wasn't the only one finding the whole situation both diverting and slightly overwhelming. Sherlock was finding it increasingly difficult to not just push Molly against the nearest tree and...well..the imagery in his head did not seem appropriate in a public park and was doing nothing to calm him down. He kept glancing at her lips, her neck, the curve of her hips. The heat, the dancing and the music were proving a heady combination. He hardly noticed as large heavy raindrops started to fall as they danced.

The weather had finally broken, summer storm clouds taking hold with a flash of lightening. They carried on dancing for a few more minutes as the rain fell enjoying its cool touch on their heated skin. Eventually though Sherlock stood back looking down at Molly whose hair was beginning to drip and whose dress was plastered to her body. It was the final straw, he couldn't stand it any longer and he stepped forward one hand cupping her face, the other at her waist as he bent and kissed her.

This was no chaste first kiss, he surprised himself with the passion it contained. She clung to him, her small hands sliding across his shoulders looking for purchase. He did actually back her against a tree just as he had imagined himself doing and they pressed themselves against each other.

Molly wasn't quite sure how they had gone from dancing to kissing and she couldn't say that she cared much how it had happened she was just enjoying the fact that it had. Sherlock's skin was wet with rain now, she could feel every inch of him pressed against her and she felt as though she were melting into him. The kiss was leaving her dizzy and breathless but she didn't want it to end. He tasted and felt amazing; she'd wanted this for so long and could hardly believe it was real.

When he finally pulled back from her he stared into her eyes with pupils so dark she could only see a rim of blue. They were both breathing heavily, neither saying anything. Instead he stepped closer and kissed her again.

Finally, they're getting it on. Hope you enjoyed, let me know.