Sherlock arrived at the lab to find Molly sitting at his usual spot, a takeaway box of fish and chips on the table.

"You're in my spot," he playfully complained.

"Yep," Molly smirked.

"Can I have it back?" he asked.

"Nope," she told him. Sherlock popped a couple of her chips in his mouth. "Hey! I was eating that, you git!" Molly was laughing no matter how much she tried to sound upset. He took another one with a roll of his eyes.

"I'll buy dinner tonight," Sherlock offered.

"Thank you; now, stop eating my chips," Molly giggled.

"After I close this case, I'm going to be gone for a while," he informed her. "Something Mycroft has assigned me to."

"Classified?" she asked. He nodded. "For how long?"

"A couple of weeks at most," Sherlock replied.

"You'll come home to me?" Molly questioned softly.

"Always," he told her.

John and Molly took Rosie for ice cream a week later. She was thankful for the distraction and happy to spend more time with her goddaughter.

"So, uh, how are you and Sherlock doing?" John asked.

"Pretty well," Molly smiled, scooping a spoonful of mint chocolate chip ice cream in her mouth.

"You and Sherlock both with that ice cream," he remarked making a look of disgust.

"You don't like mint chocolate chip?" she asked in disbelief.

"No, not at all," he replied. "Mary loved it though." Molly scooped a little onto her spoon and fed it to Rosie who took to it like a fish takes to water.

"Mmmm," Rosie sounded.

"Yep, definitely her mother's daughter," John chuckled.

I miss you. SH

Molly woke up at two in the morning to his message.

I miss you too, Sherlock. xxx MH

How's the case? MH

Great, actually. Might be home sooner than I thought. SH

I know who did it; just need to catch them. SH

Just please be safe. MH

I will, I promise. SH

How was your day? SH

Good. Went out for ice cream with John and Rosie earlier. MH

Rosie loves mint chocolate chip :p MH

John must be so thrilled. SH

Oh, he's fine lol! I've got a double shift starting in the morning. MH

You should get some sleep. SH

I'll try. Goodnight, Sherlock. MH

I love you. MH

I love you too. Sleep well. x SH

The last two days had been exhausting for Molly. Thankful that Stamford had told her to take off her night shift early, she went to the locker room to retrieve her ring and put away her lab coat. She hadn't heard from Sherlock since two nights ago when he texted her. The awful feeling in the pit of her stomach wasn't wrong, she learned, when Mike came to find her again.

"Hey, Mike, what's wrong?" she asked, closing her locker.

"It's Sherlock," he told her. "I'm sorry, Molly, he's been stabbed. They're patching him up right now; he'll be fine though."

"Take me to him, please," she pleaded.

Molly sat by his bedside, holding his hand. The wound was made in his pectoralis minor. Sherlock hadn't woken yet and though she had been assured he would be fine, she was still worried. She didn't cry…at least, not until he woke up hours later.

"Molly," he spoke hoarsely. Her tears fell immediately, streaming down her face.

"You promised!" Molly cried. "You said you would be safe and—"

"I know," Sherlock told her solemnly. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm glad you're gonna be okay," she replied. "I just knew something awful had happened. I felt it."

"I came home to you though," he said, trying to look on the bright side.

"Barely," Molly remarked. "God, Sherlock, what happened? You've never been so careless."

"I—" he began. "Molly, I honestly don't know. I miscalculated. I shouldn't have let myself slip."

"Sherlock, as much as you like to think otherwise, you're only human. You're not invincible, though there are times where even I thought you were," Molly told him. "Don't blame yourself. I'm sorry for raising my voice, it was wrong. I've just been so worried."

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" he asked.

"Oh, Sherlock," she laughed lightly. She carefully bent over him to press a kiss to his lips. "I love you." He smiled at her, moving his hand to trail his knuckles over her cheek gently.

"You should go home and get some sleep," Sherlock told her.

"If you think I'm going anywhere, you must be delusional," she replied.

"Always so stubborn," he chuckled, making room for her on the bed. "It's a good thing you're so small." Carefully, Molly adjusted herself beside him until she was as comfortable as she could get. Sherlock intertwined their fingers and gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. With Molly on her side and him on his back, head turned towards her, their noses were just barely touching. Their exhaustion caught up to them quickly as they were soon sleeping soundly.

Author's Note: Just an FYI...I love mint chocolate chip ice cream. Where do y'all stand?