Chapter 4: Don't Go
Sherlock and John caught a lift from a truck driver making a delivery from Scotland,
"Could I use your phone?, mine has ran out of battery" Sherlock explained and the driver nodded,
"Sure thing. Help yourself" he said and the detective retrieved the phone and dialled Molly's number and listened to the sound of it ringing with anticipation.
Molly was in the lap when she heard a bing, alerting her that she had a text but before she could go to read it, her phone started ringing, displaying an unknown number and she picked it up curiously,
"Hello?" she greeted gently,
"Molly! Thank goodness, Listen... I need you to do me a favour. I know you've just received a text" Sherlock told her and she looked confused,
"Do I even want to know how you know that?" she asked and Sherlock looked at John who was shaking his head firmly, having kept his head close to the phone where it was pressed to Sherlock's ear,
"I... It's hard to explain but Mycroft has informed me that the text is a virus that will give scammers access to all your bank details and so on" Sherlock fibbed and Molly's eyes widened in shock on the other end of the phone,
"Oh dear, that would be disastrous. Thank you for letting me know, Sherlock" she told him and Sherlock couldn't help but give a half smile,
"You're welcome, Molly. Listen... I need you to meet me at the cafe down the street from the Hospital, right now" he told her and Molly looked unsure,
"I just started my shift, Sherlock. I can't just leave" Molly said,
"Please, Molly. I... I need you" he told her and heard her sigh,
"Fine. I'm leaving now. You're buying" she told him and Sherlock chuckled,
"You got it." he assured before hanging up and gestured to phone, looking at the driver,
"Could I just make one more call?" he asked and the driver nodded, uncaring and Sherlock quickly dialled another number,
"Mycroft. No time for pleasantries. We have a code green" Sherlock said into the phone firmly,
"That is a very serious code colour, brother mine" Mycroft responded,
"Yes, well this is me being serious, Mycroft. Code Green, St Bart's Hospital. Now" he said firmly before hanging up and handed the phone to John,
"My friend just needs to call his room mate" he explained to the driver who simply shrugged and John looked nervous,
"What?... Why?" John asked,
"I thought you said you needed to call your room mate to ask him to check if you locked the front door" Sherlock said firmly and John had a look of realisation,
"Ohhhhhhhh... Right" he said before dialling the number and felt very nervous as the other Sherlock answered,
"Sherlock Holmes. Who is this? I'm busy" The voice answered firmly and John took a deep breath,
"Hey mate, it's John" he told him,
"I thought you and Mary had taken a trip to Manchester to see your sister?" the detective asked,
"Yeah... I need you to do me a favour. I think I forgot to lock the door. Would you mind stopping by the house and checking for me?" John asked,
"I'll get Mrs Hudson to do it. I'm on my way to St Bart's to see, Molly" The detective explained simply and John looked at the Sherlock sitting next to him with a worried expression who gave him a firm look as if to encourage him,
"Mate for god's sake don't go bothering Mrs Hudson. I'm only asking that you head to the house and check the door for me" John said firmly and listened in anticipation and heard the detective sigh,
"Very well, if it will make you stop brooding. I swear you always get in a mood when you go and see your sister" the detective replied and John gave a silent sigh of relief,
"Thanks, mate. See ye later" he said before hanging up.
After the driver dropped Sherlock and John off at some random street, Sherlock handed John a key,
"This is the key to 221C. The flat below, mine. Go and wait there. I'm going to meet, Molly" he said and John nodded, accepting the key,
"Sherlock, if we've changed things then surely this version of us should have just vanished" John said worriedly but Sherlock gave him a look of reassurance,
"Have no fear John, since we changes things we became something I'm going to refer to as time, echoes. When the five hours are up we simply need to be back at the warehouse and this version of us should simply vanish" Sherlock explained and John nodded,
"Fine. Be careful and don't let on to Molly that you're the later Sherlock rather than the earlier" he said rather awkwardly and the detective nodded before making his way to the cafe.
Sherlock was nervous as he approached the cafe and found himself pausing before entering and he saw Molly ordering a black coffee and a hot chocolate and she turned to see him and smiled softly,
"Hey, Sherlock. I ordered your usual. I hope you don't mind. Let's face it I was always going to pay" she said amused with a giggle and was stunned when Sherlock strode over and hugged her tightly,
"Oh... Sherlock, what's the matter?" she asked gently, pulling away slightly to look up at him,
"Are you ok?" she asked concerned and watched as he smiled brightly,
"Yes... Yes, i'm fine I just... I am so glad to see you" he expressed and Molly gave a confused expression before placing her hand on his cheek gently,
"Sherlock, you're crying" she pointed out, brushing her thumb against his cheek bone, wiping a fallen tear away and Sherlock took a deep breath and pulled away gently,
"I... I'm fine. Thank you, Molly I just... I find myself vulnerable today and... I guess I needed a friend" he said and watched her smile softly and paid the shop keeper before handing Sherlock his take away cup,
"You're secret's safe with me" she assured gently as they took a seat,
"Can, I borrow your phone? I know how to successfully delete that virus from your phone" Sherlock explained and she nodded, taking a sip of her hot chocolate and handed him her phone and Sherlock quickly deleted the text he had sent her, deliberately making it look as if it took some time so she wouldn't ask any awkward questions before handing her phone back to her and Sherlock kept a close eye on his watch, reminding himself that he didn't have much time left in the past.
Will Sherlock get back to the warehouse in time to return to the present? Has Sherlock and John's actions been enough to save Molly's life? You'll have to review in order to unlock the next chapter :)
Kind Regards,
TheAuthor1996