March 25

I prop my feet on the desk and lean back in my chair, fiddling around on my laptop. The white walls of the basement make the room seem larger and colder than it really is. The phone on the desk rings unexpectedly, causing me to jump. I remove my feet from the desk and grab the phone,

"Hello, IT." A woman's voice comes from the other end of the line.

"Um yes, Hello. My computer seems to be having troubles…"

"What operating system is it?" I ask, knowing it's going to be

"Um, Windows I think." I offer the empty room a fake smile,

"Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

"Um… No…" I roll my eyes,

"Give that a try and if that doesn't work, give me another call and I'll try to see what's wrong with it."

"Thank you!" I smile.

"No problem." I lean back in my chair again. This has got to be one of the most boring jobs in my entire life. 'Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again? Oh? Are you sure it's plugged in? That might be the problem then.' Tch. People are so dull, and stupid. Why can't they figure out their own problems. Most of the computers run on Windows. Any problem with Windows can be fixed by restarting it. Now if it was Vista… That would be another problem all together and I would just have to quit right then and there.

The only reason I applied for this job is because of Molly Hooper. I can make her a pawn and use her to introduce myself to Sherlock. And then I'll use Sherlock, and… Well. I haven't really gotten there yet. I have put a lot into this job though. Quite a bit. Possibly too much, and I am putting myself in firing range if I'm not good enough. If I can't convince him that I'm harmless. That's why I've gone with being gay. It's easier to be charming and harmless when you're pretending that you're gay.

I lean back in my chair again, just as the phone rings.

"Hello, IT."

"Yes, I called earlier."

"I see. What appears to be the problem?"

"Well… It wasn't on when I called you, and I can't turn it on." I let out a silent sigh of exasperation.

"Are you sure it's plugged in?" There is a huff on the other end of the line as the woman bends down to check her cords,

"I'm not a complete fool, of course the- Um… No." I blink for a long second,

"Yup. That- uh. That might be the problem." She doesn't say anything and just hangs up. The IT crowd are treated like shit. I rub my face. Stupid night shift. I lean back in my chair and pull my laptop onto my thighs. March 25th. Oh look. Molly's updated her blog again. I scroll down to read,

'Sorry, I've been really busy recently. Work is the same old. Caroline's left. Which we're all quite happy about because we were sick of hearing about that flipping hedge.

Toby's still brilliant. He sleeps on my bed now which is really nice. Toasty!

Oh, and Sherlock came in again tonight. And he was his usual arrogant self! And he was blatantly flirting with me and I know he's doing it and I should tell him to stop but I don't! And, of course, he was only doing it so I'd help him with something. As soon as he got what he wanted, he was off.'

I smile. So like Sherlock. And that just proves my theory that Molly is useable. Very useable. Oh, and there's more,

'OMG! I nearly just wrote 'At least Toby will never leave me'. I am becoming a Mad Spinster!'

And the first comment on this post is from Molly herself. This is shaping up nicely. I don't even have to do any planning. At least not much. Molly says,

'Oh! How can I delete this? I meant to say 'you-know-who' not his name!

Don't read this! Nobody read this!'

I smile. This shall be very easy. I've been handed a window of opportunity and I shall take it. I am from IT so that is one way in. I quickly type a comment. 'Hi, sorry, are you the lady who works in the morgue? The one with the nose?' The nose. Hah. That will get her. To be honest, it's not a bad looking nose.

'Who are you?'

And now, now I can weasel my way in. 'Sorry! I work in the IT dept. Stupid night shift.' She doesn't post anything for the next few minutes. Hm. 'Are you alright? You've gone quiet…' Maybe that's what'll bring her back. I need this to work. She doesn't say anything for several more minutes and then finally,

'Sorry. I'm just feeling a bit silly. I didn't know anyone read my blog.

What's wrong with my nose?'

Molly, you gullible thing. You poor thing. 'Nothing. It's a cute nose. I hope you don't mind me saying. I'm here all night so I'll need more coffee.' And here enters the part of the plan where I have a coffee with her in the canteen.

'Okay'

It sounds awkward, even over the internet. 'Do you like coffee?' I suppose I have to coax her out. Point one for Molly, zero for me. Note, don't be so….. I guess she would call it creepy.

'Yes'

Now she's being difficult. Shit. 'Do you want to meet for coffee? In the canteen?' Straight forward.

'Erm... okay. 5 minutes?'

Good. 'See you there!' I close my laptop and check the phone. It doesn't look like anyone will be phoning for assistance soon. At least I hope not. I rub my eyes with my fingertips and straighten my t-shirt out. I push the chair back and exit the basement, casually walking up the stairs. I'll meet her in the canteen, strike up a conversation, weasel my way into her life, and then? Well then something will happen. I just make it up as I go along. And It's good that way.


Author's note: Will be away a while. This will hopefully be continued, because I want to do another part where he actually MEETS Molly in the canteen. In case you were wondering, or you haven't read the blogs, those excerpts in italics and Jim's response are from Molly's blog as kept by the BBC. You can find a link on Sherlock's BBC homepage and take a look. Go. Have fun. And when I get back, expect more.

Mischief Managed

-P