Molly was on her way out of Tesco, having done a week's worth of shopping. It was her day off, and she'd decided to take the opportunity to restock her pantry. On the way to her car, she noticed a young boy dressed in only a thin shirt and brown shorts that were both dirty and too big for him, shivering in the cold, seated on the curb. Not thinking twice, she approached him, carefully walking towards the boy while making sure that he saw her approach, a small smile on her lips.

"Hello." Molly said, as she stopped a couple of steps away from him. She crouched on the ground, meeting the boy's brown eyes.

The boy looked intently at her, and Molly could see him shaking. "He-hello." He answered timidly, his teeth chattering.

Molly resisted the urge to take rub the boy's shoulders. She didn't want to frighten him. "Why are you out here in the cold? Have you lost your coat?" She asked gently.

To her dismay, tears started running down the boy's face. "I-I've lost m-m-my mum-m-m-my!"

"Oh dear," Molly took her coat and wool scarf off, and offered it to the boy. "I'm Molly. Why don't you take these, it'll help keep you warm a little bit. What's your name?" I wish I'd worn a hat too. Molly thought.

"C-co-l-lin." The boy walked over towards her and stood still as Molly buttoned him up in her coat, leaving the sleeves down so that it covered the boy's hands; which she then stuffed in the coat's pockets to help keep him warm. She then wrapped her scarf so that it covered his head, neck and reddening face, only leaving the boy's eyes visible. "Can you breathe properly?" Molly asked, to which the boy nodded.

Not wanting to stand around in the cold longer than necessary, she led him back into Tesco.

"So you didn't find his mum?" Sergeant Aberforth, a tall, rotund man with a balding head, bushy brown eyebrows and an impressive handlebar moustache asked Molly.

She shook her head in response.

After going back in, she and the boy had gone straight towards the customer service desk, and had asked to page for Colin's mum. An hour passed, during which Molly made sure the boy was keeping warm by purchasing a nice hot cup of chocolate milk. When no one had come forward for the child, she had decided to bring Colin round to the Yard herself, thanking the clerk who had taken it upon himself to stand by the exits and ask every single leaving customer whether they had lost a boy named Colin.

Once they arrived, and all throughout Sergeant Aberforth's questions, Colin had stuck close to Molly, refusing to let go of her arm. He sat, wide-eyed, answering the sergeant with a soft, frightened voice.

"What's your mum's name?"

"Lily."

"And your last name?" At this, Colin looked to Molly.

"He doesn't know, Sergeant. We've tried earlier when we were paging for his mum." She chimed in, reassuring the boy by putting a hand on top of his and gently squeezing it.

"I see. And how old are you?"

At this, Colin lifted a hand, slightly struggling with the sleeves of Molly's coat, before holding up three fingers.

After a few more questions that unfortunately did not glean more useful information, the policeman looked up from his notes. "Well, you can leave him here, Doctor Hooper. Someone from Welfare will come around in about half an hour to take him, have him checked over at hospital, and make sure he's properly warm and fed in the meantime."

Hearing this, Colin became alarmed, looking up at Molly while he wrapped both his arms tightly around the side of Molly he could reach.

"Can't I do that? I mean, look after him while you try and locate his mum?" Molly asked. She couldn't bear the thought of leaving the boy alone, frightened and confused.

Sergeant Aberforth beamed at her. "Of course. He'll still need to have a medical exam, but you can take him home after if that's what you like. We'll let you know how everything goes."

Thanking the sergeant, Molly guided Colin from the seat, following a policeman who was to accompany them to the A&E. They were walking down the hall when a familiar voice sounded behind them.

"Molly?"

Molly turned around and there stood John, who had stopped on his way out of Lestrade's office and caught sight of her. "Oh, John. Hello."

The doctor walked briskly towards her, a worried frown on his features. "Is something wrong? What are you doing here?" He slowed down considerably when he saw the boy hiding behind the pathologist. "Oh, hello. And who is this?" John smiled, trying to reassure the visibly agitated child.

Before she could answer, another set of footsteps sounded, hurrying in their direction. Sherlock appeared and strode up to Molly, stopping only when his face was a hairsbreadth away from hers. He looked worried for a moment, his eyes scanning her features. Apparently determining that there was nothing amiss, he looked down at the boy and took a careful step back.

"John can look at him for you." Sherlock said after a moment, gesturing in his direction. "That way you won't have to wait longer than necessary."

John, puzzled, looked from Sherlock to Molly and back again, silently asking for an explanation. As Sherlock did, Molly turned to the officer who had been waiting patiently for them and asked if it was possible for John to do the assessment himself; to which the man said he'd have to confirm with the sergeant, and took a moment to consult with him. A few minutes later he returned, answering in the affirmative.

Sherlock put a hand on Molly's back and led them down the hall. "We'll take your car."

When they arrived at the A&E, and while John was conducting his medical assessment, - Colin had agreed to let go of Molly, having warmed up to John on the short ride over –- Molly seated herself in the small, thankfully empty waiting room. Sherlock rushed off without a word. He returned a few minutes later with a cup of coffee, and stood before her, gesturing for her to take it.

"Thanks." She said, wrapping her fingers around the cup. "I hope I'm not interrupting one of your cases."

"We'd just been in to see Lestrade about the last one. It's done. This is my new case."

Sherlock sat on the chair immediately next to her, took off his scarf, and proceeded to wrap it around her neck. Perhaps testament to her weariness, Molly didn't even flinch at the action, although a slight blush coloured her cheeks. She nodded her thanks, taking small sips of her coffee.

"This is hardly a seven." she said instead, smiling up at him. He merely shrugged in response.

Apparently not yet done, Sherlock opened his coat and carefully spread one side to cover Molly, drawing her closer to him. Sighing, Molly didn't say a word, and instead leaned against him, grateful for the added warmth. Her coat and scarf were still with Colin, and she had frankly forgotten about the cold in all the excitement.

"I've sent Wiggins to look around. He'll give me a report tonight." Molly felt rather than heard Sherlock's voice, they were seated so close together. She had learned about the Homeless Network after the Fall, and had met Wiggins a few times. She knew that they can help make the search for Colin's mum much faster.

She yawned, and felt Sherlock's arm tighten around her. "I'm okay," she said with another yawn, "just a bit tired."

Sherlock tilted his head to look at her. "You're being very kind to the boy. But you have work again tomorrow."

"Mike's already agreed to cover for me. I'm taking tomorrow off to take him clothes shopping. I don't have anything he can wear."

He lifted an eyebrow. "And what if it takes longer?"

"Gosh, I hope not! But if that happens, I thought I'd take him with me to Bart's. There's a creche there, at the third floor, I think, so he can keep preoccupied. I'll just look in during my breaks, make sure he's doing okay." She stifled another yawn.

Sherlock shook his head in amusement. "I see you've made a habit of taking in 'refugees'."

Molly had to laugh at that. "I wonder whose fault it was that I got started in the first place?" It was her turn to shake her head. "But seriously, I can't let poor Colin be taken into welfare. He's so little! Besides, he reminds me of my little brother a bit. If you'd seen those big brown eyes of his up close you'd want to take him in too." She continued wistfully.

When she finished speaking, Sherlock's free hand abruptly took the coffee cup from her hand, set it down on a seat a safe distance away, and surprised her by lifting her chin up and meeting her lips with his in a gentle kiss.

Startled, Molly froze, eyes wide, unsure of what was happening. Sherlock had closed his eyes, his arm around her shoulders carefully pulling her closer, while the hand that had lifted her chin was now lightly cupping her cheek, the pad of his thumb brushing her cheekbone gently. Molly closed her eyes at the sensation, heart racing, mind forgetting everything else that was not Sherlock. Sighing into the kiss, she reveled in the warm feel of his lips against hers. She found herself lifting a hand to clutch at his shoulder. All she knew was that she wanted him closer.

The kiss remained chaste, tender in a way that both calmed Molly down and made her head spin. Sherlock, for his part, struggled to rein himself in, not sure if this was happening at the right place and time, only knowing for certain that it was happening with the right woman.

After letting it linger, Sherlock reluctantly broke their kiss. He leaned his forehead on hers, opened his eyes and stared straight at her, his blue eyes piercing. Molly was surprised to see the consulting detective's alabaster skin flushed. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself." he said, gasping for air, his baritone noticeably lower.

Shaking her head slightly, Molly smiled up at him, taking his hand from her cheek in both of hers and looking down them, suddenly bashful, the rush at their kiss warming her more effectively than the coffee. "There's...there's no need to apologize."

Hearing no response, she looked back up at Sherlock, and found him with his eyes closed, a look of concentration on his features.

"Is-is something wrong?" Molly asked, wondering at his reaction.

Sherlock didn't open his eyes. "Shh. Be quiet, Molly. I'm recording this in my mind palace." He said, his hand in hers turning to envelop them tightly.

Author's Note: Chapter six: done! Whew!

While trying to find the best way to go about that particular segment (I think we know what I'm referring to. :-P.), I took MizJoely's advice and went back over the previous chapters, checking them over and applying a few edits. I'm not sure whether I got them all, but I've whittled down the errors so that I won't be too embarrassed if anyone decides to go read them again. :)

Thirty reviews. THIRTY! I won't be able to send all of you PMs or mention all your names here but please accept my sincerest thanks. Virtual hugs for everyone!

Ta!

~Liberi Ad Somnia