Story No. 4
Molly Hooper lay stretched out on her couch, watching her favorite television show, Doctor Who. It was late Saturday night, and she was enjoying her free time with some ice cream and relaxation. She didn't get much time off, so when she did, she took advantage of it. She snuggled up under her gigantic quilt with her small brown cat, watching the Doctor save humanity with sleepy eyes. Molly had just begun to doze off when her cell phone buzzed. Her eyes snapped open. She fumbled around for her phone and knocked her ice cream onto the floor in her attempt to reach it. She sighed as she watched it melt into her carpet. Finally taking her phone, Molly stared angrily at the message that ruined her night:
EMERGENCY.
BAKER STREET.
NOW.
-SH
Molly stood up and reluctantly turned off her show. She looked around for anything she might need and decided on her quilt and her phone. She walked out into the night bundled up in her quilt, caught a cab, and set off to see what emergency the great Sherlock Holmes could possibly need her help to handle.
Molly entered Baker Street, wrapped in her quilt. She heard very loud crying and shouting coming from the kitchen. "Sherlock?" she said timidly. There was a rush of footsteps and suddenly a very frazzled Sherlock appeared in front of her. He grabbed her shoulders and violently shook her.
"MAKE IT STOP! OH GOD, PLEASE, MAKE IT STOP!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. His eyes were wide, and his hair was a mess of curls. The crying from the kitchen intensified, and Sherlock whimpered and fell to the floor. Molly stood still, completely shocked, as she watched Sherlock curl into the fetal position and cover his ears, moaning. What on Earth could drive a psychopath mad? Molly thought, beginning to get quite scared. Slowly, she walked into the kitchen to see Ella Watson, John and Mary's six-month-old baby girl sitting in her high chair and wailing as loud as she could. Molly stared and the little girl with disbelief, then began to laugh hysterically. She laughed even harder when she saw Sherlock grab a pillow and begin screaming into it. Still laughing, she walked over and picked up Ella, gently rocking her until she quieted down a bit. Then she sat her in Sherlock's chair, giggling madly. Sherlock slowly looked up from his pillow.
"You - you are - you are a godsend." Sherlock said, wiping his eyes. He was in his pajamas and striped blue robe. Molly blushed.
"Well, um, uh, thank you, I, um, I try." She pulled her quilt up onto her shoulders. Sherlock stood up.
"Mary and John went on a 'date'. Don't know why, they're already married and everything, but whatever. Needed a babysitter. I thought – I thought it would be easy. Evidently not." Sherlock rubbed his head and sat down on the couch. "It didn't shut up for two hours." Molly turned and looked at Ella's sweet innocent face. Suddenly, her features twisted and she began to cry again.
"NO! Not again! I can't handle this anymore!" Sherlock howled. He repeatedly banged his head on the couch's armrest.
"Have you fed her yet?" Molly shouted over the crying. Sherlock shook his head. "What are you thinking?! She needs to eat, that's why she's crying!" Molly cried in disbelief.
"I thought they would've already fed it, like good parents!" Sherlock shouted back. Molly rolled her eyes. Quickly she rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a jar of applesauce from the bag Mary had left. She walked over to Ella and began to feed her the applesauce. The poor girl devoured the entire jar, and the wailing ceased. Molly smiled and turned towards Sherlock. He stared at her, amazement and gratitude written across his face. He opened his mouth, possibly about to say thank you, but instead out came: "Why are you wearing a quilt?" Molly sighed, adjusting it around her.
"I was in the middle of a Doctor Who! Doctor Who, Sherlock! But you had to interrupt me." she complained. Sherlock nodded apologetically. He knew from all the times she talked about it (and all the times he barely listened) how important that show was to her. They stood in silence for a moment, then both turned to look at Ella, who was dozing peacefully in the chair.
"Ella's so beautiful," Molly said blissfully. "I want to have a baby just like her someday." Sherlock scoffed and slumped down on the couch.
"Why would you want to have something that only eats, sleeps, poops, and cries? It's an unnecessary and avoidable headache. And if you did, why would you name it something as generic as Ella?" It became clear he was ranting about something else now, and Molly watched him, slightly amused, as he became more and more animated. "Honestly. John and Mary have a daughter named Ella. Could they be any more typical? There are so many different, unique names out there, and the couple with the single most ordinary names picked the next most ordinary name they could find –"
"They were not going to name her Sherlock, get over it!" Molly interrupted, laughing. Sherlock looked up at her, a half-smile on his face. Molly wrapped her quilt tighter around her and sat next to Sherlock. Now that Ella was all settled and it was quiet, Molly was beginning to feel the tendrils of sleep ensnare her. Her eyes drooped closed, and soon enough she was snoring. Sherlock sat still, observing her. They stayed like this until Ella woke and began to cry again. Sherlock groaned and gently got up from the couch, so not to wake Molly. He walked over and picked up Ella.
"What's wrong this time? Are you hungry again? God, I wish you could just tell me." Sherlock said to Ella's crying face. Suddenly, he picked up an extremely strong odor radiating from the little girl. His face scrunched up in disgust. Not knowing what to do, he went to the one person he thought might.
"Molly." Sherlock shook her. "Molly!" She moaned and rolled over. "Molly! The baby has an oddly sulfuric smell leaking from it." Molly shooed him away and grumbled,
"Diaper…change…sleep…now." Sherlock groaned. He looked at Ella. He could figure this out.
Forty-five minutes later, Sherlock flopped down breathless next to Molly's sleeping form on the couch. He had managed to wrestle a new diaper onto Ella and get her to sleep, and had garnered some bruises in the process: that girl could kick. He looked over at Molly. I could not have… survived this without her, he thought sleepily. I love…I love… hmmph. His eyelids began to droop, and soon enough, he was fast asleep as well.
John and Mary Watson slowly entered Baker Street very late that night (or early that morning, depending on your perspective). They tiptoed up the stairs giggling, their somewhat drunken states inferring that the lack of noise meant Ella was asleep, and they were unwilling to wake her. They entered the sitting room to find Ella bundled up and sleeping in Sherlock's chair: but that wasn't the most interesting sight. What the pair was most astounded to see was the sleeping forms of Sherlock and Molly lying together on the sofa. Molly was curled up under a giant quilt with her head resting on Sherlock's chest. Sherlock's arm was wrapped around Molly's waist, and his head was turned so that he faced her.
Mary grinned enormously, and turned towards John to see that he was doing the same. As quietly as they could, they collected Ella and her diaper bag. The two silently walked out of Baker Street and caught a cab home. The lock clicked loudly, and Molly Hooper's eyes fluttered open. As she looked up and saw Sherlock Holmes' sleeping face peering down at her, the only thought she could formulate before she slipped back into her blissful slumber was; This is so much better than Doctor Who.
Hey my fellow Sherlockians/Holmies! How did you like it? I've been sitting on this idea for a while now, and I've been dying to get it done. Did I rush it? I always feel like I've rushed it. I have never seen Doctor Who before, but my best friend absolutely adores the show, so I just picked it. I hope Molly Hooper would like it, too. I thought it was kind of a funny irony too because, you know, Moffat. Anyways, please review! (and thanks to all those who reviewed the previous stories!) I'm fresh out of ideas, so it may be a while before I update. If you can help obliterate my writer's block with some fabulous prompts, please PM me!
See ya later!