edit posted 2/1/2018
Part Four
Molly stumbled out of the door with a weird haze falling over her thoughts after all of the things that had happened. Sherlock Holmes stood before her with a strange look of conflict on his face. Had he stayed out here the whole time she had been inside talking to certain members of his family? If he had, then why?
There was a huge part of Molly that had been slowly cataloguing the small gestures he did for her since he asked her to come live with him and his family ultimately. She never wanted to forget any of the human things he did when it came to her because she had had been used to seeing the more inhuman part of him for the two years that she had worked to mend him match after match from the damp room of the arenas. Each one slightly different, but it all ended the same.
She would fix him and then go home for a good night's rest until she had to do it again. It was never guaranteed that she would ever have to deal with him outside all of that. However, this was new. The idea that they were interacting a bit more closely with their new living arrangements. In all probability it would have been even closer if she hadn't been sent down to live with the Hudsons but she didn't mind at all. They were a nice family. She rather nice than the alternative.
The first day, when he gave her a brief tour of the place there was a hidden corner of her heart that was smiling at him for being this man that she looked forward to knowing better. He was more than that though. He never asked for anything besides the promise that she wouldn't mind patching him up again. He hadn't even asked for that yet.
Still, here he was standing, book in hand as he stared at her with this odd look in his eyes.
"Hi." She greeted him as she turned to walk down the halls. There was much on her mind but she didn't know if he wanted to know about any of that. It had been come much clear that her place in this grand residence wasn't supposed to be anything but the worker she had become to be. With Sherlock Holmes trailing behind her as she made it down the steps and then slowly turning to face him.
Being up there among the most powerful people in this place and probably in town it didn't feel safe for her to even been speaking with him. There had been a lot said. Not much from her because she was mostly there as witness as she was read a list of things she was expected to do and things she was supposed to not to do. More things she was expected not to do.
Sherlock seemed to have reached a decision on whether not he wanted to say something specific as he tucked his hands into his trousers. "Martha told me you would like to go visit your father at the hospital."
"Oh yes. Sundays are usually my days when I do that. I mean if that's okay. Do you need me here, or..?"
A short smile surfaced on his lips as he shook his head. His curls leaping up and down as he moved. "No, I'll go with you if you want. It's very dull around here. Besides I don't have any plans. I'll go get the keys and we can go." He nodded as if he was just deciding this is what he wanted too in that moment.
"Okay. Wait…you drive?" She gave him a surprised look, her eyes wide and her face glowed a bit in anticipation for her answer.
"Of course. Unless it's for family matters I take my own car. It was a gift. Wait for me outside. I'll be right back."
He left her there at the staircase as he went around the stairs and down one of the hallways that they hadn't been down to. Molly stood there for a second before walking towards the door and opening it. It was a bit windy out but not too cold as Molly was dressed comfortably enough that she could manage. She would be indoors soon enough.
She took the steps a couple at time and looked back up at the door, waiting for her driver to come down. She tried not to laugh at the thought of Sherlock being her chauffeur. It was an odd thought though. She hadn't known minutes before that he even drove or had a car for that matter. She was learning new things about him every minute. She had learned a few that he might not like to know that she had discovered during her meeting with three highly involved individuals. She would have time later to dwell on that however.
Sherlock came down the steps with a suit jacket on his shoulders, the clean dress shirt he had on moments ago and a pair of nice slacks. He was an impeccable dressed man, but she stopped thinking that as he gestured for her to walk with him around the side of the house to a carport where there were four different vehicles parked there. He went towards the second one on the left.
Molly didn't know much about cars but she knew this one was adequately in the taste of its driver. It looked like one she had seen a guy from her high school drive before, but this one was a bit more as she saw once Sherlock opened the door for her and assisted her in getting in. It was higher off the ground than any cab or town car she had ever been in.
Interior was smooth and neutral in color but as Sherlock joined her in the driver's seat she could see how accustomed to it he was. He moved with fast movements as he clicked his seatbelt in place and turned the key in the ignition to start it up. He looked at her for a moment and spotted her observing him. He smirked at her before putting the clutch in gear and beginning their journey out of the gate closed surroundings of his home. He looked comfortable behind the wheel as he navigated through the throngs of traffic that came as they grew closer to the center of London and even closer to where the hospital resided.
There was only one that treated those terminally ill. There may be a few private facilities but Sherlock didn't think they her family could afford those. No mistake about the fact that he did feel a bit bad about that. He hadn't accepted her those few years ago to patch him up because she came from money. He grew annoyed with those who flaunted their own money even if he had been caught doing the same every so often. He wasn't the same as those people. He hated that his family chose to be that way.
The most he enjoyed was a nice suit and at times a glass of scotch.
His ways of rebelling against the things his parents had set out for him was the dangerous sports that he partook in. Boxing being his last. They gave him a sense of adventure that only a young boy would understand. If he could maintain it long enough, he didn't care much to what his family or their friends thought of that. He'd smile (if he felt like) in their faces and pretend not to notice their flaws that they did their damndest to cover up.
That's one of the things that had made him consider having Molly Hooper beside him a bit longer if there was a way he could guarantee it. She didn't hide her flaws. She may stumble over them and try to figure out a way around them but she wasn't trying to hide much of anything. She also seemed to be very kind and guarded which he wouldn't say was a bad thing. If you were a menace and guarded then he would have his work cut out for him. Not that he was exactly trying to do much of anything with Molly. He rather enjoyed her company and she was kind to him.
He had a feeling that his friend, John would like her very much.
As they got out of his car which was a bit of a military styled Jeep, he locked it and followed her inside. He rarely frequented hospitals. Only ever had to do that if his injury was life threatening and more times than not he had someone who would prevent that from ever happening. Molly had done that twice. She was a brilliant at her job even if it wasn't going to be her occupation. He knew that she wanted to be a pathologist. If her drive to make sure that her patient didn't die said much about her now, then later when she ultimately graduated and was offered hundreds of jobs elsewhere he knew that she would be brilliant there as well.
He knew the worth of a person just by glancing and observing them. If he knew anything about Molly Hooper, she was definitely worth much more.
He soon erased all thoughts of sentimentality that he was going through as they entered a room. He seemed to blank out through the journey through the lower floors up to the fourth floor, to the nurse's station and now they were inside a room where an older man a bit younger than his own father lay looking frail but smiling all at the same time. If he was standing Sherlock would say he was a walking paradox.
Molly had walked over to him, leaving Sherlock standing at the entrance suddenly very awkwardly. His hands placed back in his trousers pockets as he watched the exchange for a brief moment before he notice the two others that he hadn't glanced at previously.
A woman and a man who were sitting on different sides of the room. The woman was dressed as if she would be going to one of Mummy's tea parties while the man looked like he had just came from work. He was wearing coveralls with a patch on it of a mechanic's shop he had never heard of.
He had to be Molly's brother. He knew very little of him. Only that they didn't talk all that much and he was her mother – the woman who was staring at him favorite out of the two siblings.
It annoyed him when families chose favorites. However as he avoided the gazes of both and focused back on the one true reason he was standing there. He noticed the way the man in the bed eyes had seemed to brighten as Molly reached down and embraced him and kissed him on the cheek. He loved his daughter that much was clear.
"I don't know if you were coming." He listened to him say.
"I wouldn't miss a visit." Molly giggled as she stood up seeming to turn when she remembered that either she wasn't alone or hadn't come alone. Her mother seemed to speak before Molly could open her mouth to speak. "Who's this, sweetheart?" The term of endearment almost mad Sherlock stiffen a bit. It didn't sound sincere in the slightest but as to not make either of them uncomfortable he came forward and introduced himself.
"Sorry, I'm being quite rude. My name is Sherlock Holmes and Molly is being quite informative and useful at my family's home. We're making sure she is going to King's as well. She told me she comes here on Sundays so I thought I'd come along to make sure she came back safely."
There was a smile on his face and Molly once again was covering her mouth as not to show a smile surfacing in front of him.
She knew exactly what he was doing but turned back to her dad who had requested to see the man who had taken his daughter into his home for a professional purpose. Sherlock stood tall, as always and walked towards the bed to stand beside Molly who looked a bit amused but at the same a bit nervous.
Why was she nervous? Sherlock ignored it for the moment to greet her father. "Sir." He greeted as he took the man's outstretched hand and gave it a small squeeze. He didn't know much about the condition of his health but didn't want to break too many bones if he gave him too firm of a handshake.
"Do I look like a wimp to you, son? Shake my hand like a man." His voice might have wavered the slightest bit, Sherlock chuckled as he shook it again as he asked before moving back as to not be brushing up Molly too much in the face of her own father. That was bit uncomfortable more so because of all the eyes that were peering at him. They were watching him like a hawk. He felt it on his back but didn't falter in the slightest.
"Are you taking care of my Molly, Sherlock? I suppose you would be with you being a Holmes boy after all."
Sherlock continued smiling and Molly couldn't help but notice that he was faking as he was when he was greeting her mother a couple moments ago. He was genuinely content with talking to her father about her and himself. Molly stopped herself from going anywhere else with that train of thought.
Sherlock just happened to be the one to bring her here. It would be much worse if it was someone like Mycroft Holmes who had accompanied her. Molly couldn't stomach the thought of that. She was content in the company of the younger Holmes brother.
"Yes, sir." She listened as Sherlock talked with her dad. He had a sureness about him that Molly had seen before. Everything he said he was sure was fact and that was interesting to see on display in front of those who may not see her as someone special. "Molly is in good hands. I am making sure she has everything she needs. She rarely wants anything though."
"Oh, that's Molly. She doesn't ask for anything even if she might need anything."
"She's too quiet." Her mother interjected suddenly causing Sherlock to turn for a fraction to look at the woman. Her face was blank and it unnerved him. He turned back to Molly and saw the way her face looked crestfallen and vulnerable. It was clear that their relationship wasn't as strong as the one she had with her father.
That's why Sherlock spoke up. "I like the quiet. It doesn't bother me. Gives me space to think or read."
"You read?" Her dad asked looking excited.
"Oh, yes. My family has a massive library. I showed it to Molly just yesterday. I think she enjoyed it a lot."
"She loves to read. Especially medical jargon. We could never get her to put a book down when she was little. I'm a reader myself too. Well, not these days but usually I'm reading something when I'm able."
Sherlock nodded. They stood there talking with her family for a little while before it turned late and that's when Sherlock apologized and told them they'd best be off but they'd come back next week, definitely. Molly was in a bit of a hazy state of awe for this man who she had barely known who was promising things like that.
That's why when she walked alongside him towards the elevator she called out to him only to surprise him with a peck on his cheek. Her only explanation was a thank you. "Thanks for what you did back there. You didn't have to stay. You didn't have to defend me either. I'm fine with dealing with things like that on my own."
Sherlock was about to comment about the look on her face after her mother's comment when a shrill voice yelled his name. He turned in the direction it came from as he pressed the down button on the elevator and hoped the elevator would get there before he would have to deal with this. He didn't need Molly around when that happened.
He sighed in relief when it arrived and Molly began to ask him about the woman who was calling after him when he pushed her in. "Wait for me by the car. I'll be right there."
"Sherlock?" She asked him in confusion. The door closed before she could actually see what was going on. She pressed the key for the lobby and hoped she wouldn't have to do much waiting. It had gotten dark out and it was a bit chilly.
Upstairs Sherlock was trying his best to dodge every advance coming his way by the woman with the voice that irritated him more than anything. When he finally was able to bow out gracefully from her he made his way down to the car and to Molly who was beginning to get worried.
"What was that all about?"
"Nothing." He sighed, as he got her in the car. Then he started the car, there was no use bringing her into an uncomfortable situation. They had a good time, right? He liked her dad after all. "She's a friend of my mother's. I don't really like her. Didn't want you to see that catastrophe. That's all."
Molly understood better than he probably thought she did. All she did was nod as they headed back to the mansion. There were a great many things on her mind now. It was all starting to make sense. The meeting and now that woman with the shrill voice.
Oh, it made sense alright but Molly wouldn't say anything. She did have a relative good day. That's what she needed to focus on right now.