Chapter 23
It is a normal day at Wisborough Green. Molly wakes up a 6:30 for Thomas' breakfast. He sleeps mostly through his nights now but he is still an early bird. Then she cooks breakfast for herself and keeps a portion for Sherlock who never shows up before 8:00. He is wearing his usual blue dressing gown and Molly places a kiss on his cheek (she likes to do it when is still unshaven). She settles Thomas in his high chair and leaves him in the kitchen with his dad while she goes to take her shower. Sherlock browses through the various newspapers he receives from all other the world and reads out some articles to his son. Molly complains that he is confusing him by using so many different languages, to what Sherlock replies that is on the contrary crucial to get accustomed to various sonorities from the younger age. Thomas doesn't seem to care and answers with an equally passionate monologue in baby talk
Then Molly does a bit of cleaning in the living room while keeping a close look on Thomas who is now an expert crawler and will probably walk soon. He is playing with Luna who is luckily a very patient cat. Toby, on the contrary, disappears every time he sees the little boy coming in his direction.
During this time, Sherlock does his daily sport session. It is vital for his back and he needs his upper muscles to remain strong enough. Then he takes his shower, gets dressed (one of the most difficult tasks for him but Molly knows he will vehemently refuse any help), and starts to prepare today's lunch. It is one of the task Molly has delegated him since Thomas' birth and he is doing surprisingly well, especially with exotic meals. After all, cooking is just another form of chemistry.
In the afternoon, Thomas usually takes a long nap. Molly takes the opportunity to go out in the village for some shopping, leaving Sherlock in charge of the baby monitor. She goes to the grocery store and the pharmacy. She also makes a stop at the bookshop to have a chat with Jeremy. He has hired a new assistant, a handsome guy notices Molly, and she wouldn't be surprised if there was romance in the air. On her way back she greets Mrs Thomson, the butcher's wife who always fancies a little gossip. Everybody in the village likes Molly, even if they don't know much about her except that she moved here two years ago after her husband suffered a terrible car accident. He's an invalid and never gets out. Some people whisper that he might not the father of their little boy, there is probably a lover somewhere. But she is a brave girl, very polite and always cheerful.
When she comes back home, the first thing she hears is a persistent phone ring. She drops her shopping bags in the kitchen and goes to look for the boys. She finds Sherlock and Thomas in the living room, apparently in the middle of a violin lesson. She cannot help smiling at the sight. But this phone that won't stop ringing is really annoying. She quickly localises it on the mantelpiece and hands it to Sherlock.
"Could you answer your phone? It's from your brother."
"Of course it's from my brother, he is the only one to have this number. I can't pick up, I'm busy."
"He has already called 5 times, it's probably important."
"Probably or probably not. We're in the middle ofMendelssohn's Lieder ohne Worte, that is important."
"SHERLOCK!"
"What? I don't want to talk to him now. Turn it off or pick up!"
Molly lets out an irritated sight. She knows it's useless to start a fight about it, so she goes for the second option and picks up the phone herself.
"Hello Mycroft, this is Molly… obviously. Hum… I'm sorry but he is busy for the moment. Well… yes you know him… Do you want me to take a message?"
Even if Sherlock pretends to ignore the whole conversation, he keeps sending glares in his wife's direction. He quickly understands that something isn't right. Molly has turned almost white and her left hand is shaking.
"Oh… Oh my God", she whispers, looking back at him with teary eyes.
"What? Is it about my mother?"
"No..." She shakes her head and is almost smiling now. Sherlock is confused. "It's about Moran, they got him."
He remains completely speechless, for a second it seems that the information cannot make it to his brain. Molly steps forward, and takes the violin from his hands. She reads a bit of apprehension in his eyes but he finally takes the phone and quickly comes back to his senses.
"Mycroft? When did it happen? Why didn't you tell me you had a lead?"
He cradles the phone to his shoulder and rolls away toward his office. It seems that the brothers need to have a long, private conversation. Molly seats on the couch and takes Thomas in her arms.
"Did you hear that Tommy? Daddy is free now. It means we're going to London!"
"On" repeats Thomas after her. A tear of joy runs down her cheek.
^/^
It has been more than two hours since Sherlock is in his office now. She heard him talking with Mycroft for a while but now she doesn't hear noise anymore. She knows that he needs to be alone sometimes, especially in moments like this one, and she respects it. Despite her excitement and her curiosity she will have to wait and anyway, Thomas is here to keep her busy anyway. She takes care of his dinner and his bath, changes him into his pyjamas and puts him to bed.
Then she has a quick dinner herself in front of television. She watches the news hoping to see something about Moran's arrest but it is obviously being kept secret from the public. She wonders what will happen when the truth about Sherlock is going to be revealed. The journalists are going to go crazy for sure. She can already see the titles of the press saying "Sherlock Holmes is alive!" Will they be chased by paparazzi? She realises that the life they have lived for the past three years is going to change drastically. And even if she has been waiting for that moment for so long it feels… almost scary. All this time she had Sherlock for herself and now she will have to share him. With John, for their friends and most of all with his work… is she ready for it?
She turns off the TV and walks towards Sherlock's office. She cracks the door open and has a glimpse inside. He is there, eyes closed, hands in a prayer position beneath his chin, probably lost in his mind palace. She doesn't say a word and closes the door behind her.
She goes to bed but cannot find sleep so she takes up reading the last issue of the Journal of Clinical Pathology. She kept her membership all this time to stay updated with the profession. And now it may prove very useful. She is trying to focus on an article about cardiac autopsies when she finally hears some noise coming from the living room. She recognizes the familiar noises of her husband getting into the bathroom and brushing his teeth. Then he enters the room, and gets into bed with a transfer board. Molly always leaves his pyjamas on his pillow so that he can change more easily. Once he is done, she takes his clothes and puts them carefully on a chair (she knows he is quite obsessive about it being folded properly).
Then, she gets back into bed, lying on her stomach with her hands under her head on the pillow. She leaves the lights on because it's time they finally have a talk about what happened earlier. She wonders how to start it. Well… the simpler, the better.
"So, how did they catch him?", she inquires.
"The infiltration finally gave some results. They knew that Moran was back in London since a few months. He was getting short on money and was frequently seen at a poker club called the Bagatelle. One of his fellow players, called Ronald Adair, discovered he was cheating and threatened to turn him in. The poor guy didn't know who he was talking to… He was found dead two days later. But Moran got sloppy, he left clues. Mycroft gave the tip to Lestrade and his team who were able to catch him yesterday night. And they arrested the last members of the gang thanks to the information they found at his flat."
"So… does Lestrade know you're alive?"
"Yes, my brother told him. He nearly fell from his chair."
"I bet! What else did Mycroft say? Is it really over? Does it mean we can go back to London?"
"Technically yes. But there is some paperwork necessary to bring me back from the dead. Mycroft will speed it up of course but the procedure is a bit unusual so it can take some time. And there is the matter of accommodation. Both your flat and Baker Street have stairs so we need to find something else. Anthea is looking at houses in central London with a ground floor large enough or maybe an elevator, and then it will need to be adapted…"
"Wait, who's paying for this?"
"Me. I will soon get access to my money again and… we're actually quite rich. Anyway, it might take at least one month. But yes, we can go back."
He had spoken quickly but without passion, his eyes remaining fixed on the ceiling.
Molly extended an arm in his direction and squeezed his arm gently. His looked at her and she saw some doubt in his eyes.
"How do you feel about it? About coming back?", she asked.
"I'm not sure… I mean I have been waiting for it for such a long time, and now that it is here. I feel nervous."
"You know, I was thinking exactly the same earlier today. It's weird isn't it?"
"Do you want to stay here? I know you like it."
"It's true I like it. But I want to go back to London. It's where your work is, and mine, and all our friends… We can keep this house for vacation. And we could settle here when we're older and you could even have hives like you wanted."
Sherlock pictured Molly and himself, raising bees in Sussex in their old age. It was a pleasant image. Molly noticed that he seemed to be drifting in his thoughts.
"What are you thinking about?", she said asked, moving closer to him to rest her head against his shoulder.
"You know… I often wonder what would have happened if the plan had worked."
"What do you mean?"
"What would have happened if I didn't get injured? I would have hidden at your flat for a few days and then I would have left to chase Moriarty's network. I probably would have come back to London long ago, but nothing would have changed. I wouldn't have you and we wouldn't have Thomas."
"You don't know maybe I would have taken advantage that you were at my flat to… seduce you."
"I doubt it. I was way too self-centred to see anything. So… in a way I am glad the plan didn't work."
"Don't say that."
"But it's the truth. I've never been so alive than for the past three years. I've never been so alive than since I'm dead. And I remember that day at the hospital when you told me to hold on because things would get better. I'm not sure I believed you at that time but you were right. I'm a better man now and a happy one. And I don't want to lose it when we come back to London. I won't take too many cases. I don't need to be married to my work anymore because I have a real wife now."
"I'm not jealous, you can take cases. Just nothing involving call girls or dominatrix."
They laughed in unison. Sherlock took Molly's hand, kissed it tenderly and entangled his fingers with hers.
"I promise", he replied.
"So how do you plan to make your come back? What about Mrs Hudson?"
"I will probably just pop up into her kitchen and ask for tea. She will just wonder where I had been all this time."
"And for John?"
"Ah for John… I need to find something special. I was thinking I could wear a disguise, maybe knock at his door as an old crippled bookseller and when he would turn around I would remove the makeup and appear as myself."
"That sounds terrifying! No, no, no. Why do you always want to be so dramatic? He is going to be upset anyway, so just do something simple."
"Hmpff… Maybe I could invite him here?
"How? You are going to call him, say hey I'm alive come and see me in Sussex?"
"No, I will send him an invitation card, with the address and nothing else."
"And you think he will come?"
"Yes, I know my John."
Molly smiled. "What do you think he will be most surprised about? You being alive or us being married?"
"I think you should practice your CPR technique, he might need it."
"We can write him tomorrow if you want."
"Yes, tomorrow."
THE END
Except… wait is that an epilogue?