Molly, my sweetheart,

The first thing I must address is the wording you chose in your reply about moving in together. Of course I am sure of wanting you here with me. You were never imposing. 221B is our home. I want you here always. When I began noticing the little changes you made, it did not frighten me. I was happy and my heart ached in the best way. I love you so much, my darling, it physically hurts. It is a good pain and I welcome it with my newly open heart. You are my home. My comfort. My safety. My love.

I do not want you to fear this, Molly. Of course, if you aren't ready, I understand. I will wait for you. You talk of my own bravery but I think it was much braver of you to love me all these years without expecting anything in return. You have been committed to me from the beginning. You chose me every single time despite my behaviour. I should have known from the moment you first took interest in me that I felt different. Anyone who took that sort of interest was told that I was married to my work. I never told you that but simply accepted your distanced affection without complaint. It seems my heart wanted you long before my mind had caught up to that fact. It has always been you.

What happened on Halloween, you do not need to apologize. You are right. I never indicated an interest before, why should that change now? I knew about the party two weeks in advance when you first mentioned it and I had waited for an invitation to be your date. So, I am sorry. I should have voiced it. I am not one for social events, but I do love spending time with you no matter what we're doing. I was happy to see your face light up when you noticed me there. You are also correct that I did love your costume. You looked breathtaking; ironic since you were supposed to be a corpse.

We will work on the weak spots in our relationship. As you so often say, we're not perfect and that's okay. The imperfections keep things interesting. There is nothing to make up for, but if you are insisting, maybe you'd like to come on a case with me outside of London? We'll need to go undercover as a married couple. That shouldn't be difficult. I think you'd enjoy it, especially if I solve it earlier than the given week we have; we could enjoy a bit of vacation time if we are lucky. Once we return, we could work on moving you in if you'd like. Please think about it?

If I truly am, as you say, the best boyfriend you've ever had, then I must say I'm happy that you're happy with me. I feel proud of myself; not in my typical way either, but in a way that I am succeeding in something I never thought possible. And speaking of pride, you will be glad to know that my rehabilitation is going extremely well. Apparently, I have already shown improvement in that I feel no desire to relapse even with the stress I've had lately.

I spent some time with Mycroft the other day. No, we did not talk about cases or anything superficial. We truly conversed. He repeated to me what he told you. It was one thing to hear about it in your letter, but entirely different in a good way to hear him say it. He fancies someone, though he won't completely admit it. It is in the way he acts with her regardless of who else is around. I had a suspicion Anthea was more than a personal assistant to him. I hope he acts upon whatever he is feeling. He deserves to be happy too.

You, Molly Hooper, are my favourite person in the entirety of the world. I fall deeper in love with you each and every day. I am convinced that nothing could tear us apart. It is you and I against the world. Always.

With all my love,

William xxx

p.s. you haven't the slightest idea how much I want to snog you right now.