Molly's flat was plain but cozy, full of comfortable cushions, throws and pine wood furnishings. Molly entered her kitchen, absentmindedly putting her bag on the counter before reaching for the kettle to fill it up from the tap and set out two mugs. As the kettle boiled Molly turned to see Mycroft stood in the doorway unsure of whether to enter or not.
"You can come inside Mycroft, put your things down. I'm afraid it's not quite afternoon tea but on my wage I'm not exactly rich enough to have a proper tea set so kettle will have to do." Molly smiled at the man and how awkward he seemed in a home that was on the cheap side "How do you take your tea? Do you want any milk or sugar? I rather drown mine in sugar I'm afraid, I've always been picky about what I'll drink, my taste palate never quite developed properly."
Mycroft came and sat himself down at the small pine dining table, settling his coat around the back of the chair. Molly fussed about with tea bags and getting teaspoons out as she waited for Mycroft's reply.
"Just one sugar please, I always found I liked the raw taste of tea." Mycroft nodded his head in thanks as Molly placed the mug in front of him once she had fixed it for him and came to sit opposite him in the other chair. The pair hadn't taken two sips before Toby came slinking into the kitchen towards his mistress to meet the new guest in his home. The first inkling Mycroft had of Toby's presence was when something brushed itself against his leg. Mycroft leant down to scratch Toby behind the ears, smiling slightly as Toby began to purr loudly and swish his tail about.
"Well somebody obviously approves of the company I'm keeping, you must be a good guy if Toby approves. He's always been rather good with judging people, better than I ever was anyway." Molly sipped at her tea, watching as Toby preened under Mycroft's attentions.
"We had a dog when we were children, Sherlock and I, but he was mostly Sherlock's. They went everywhere together those two, he was a lovely Red Setter called Redbeard. Sherlock was devastated when he had to be put down, I think we all were but it never seemed right to get a new one because no other dog would replace him. I would have liked a dog myself but it wouldn't be fair with how erratic my work hours are. Our mother always adored cats though so there was always one of those running around the house, I always got along with them too but they used to hiss at Sherlock, they still do I think." Mycroft leant up as he finished his story and drank his tea.
"That's sad, I always wanted a dog but I can only afford my apartment and they don't allow dogs here. My father used to take me to my uncle's farm though in the spring when all of the babies were being born. I used to love feeding the lambs and the calves, they were always so strong to say that they were only little. They often sucked the teat off the bottle you were feeding them with if you weren't careful enough to hold on to it." Molly smiled at the memory, a small wrinkle appearing in her forehead when Toby jumped up into Mycroft's lap and curling up there. "Well it looks like he has a new favorite person. I knew cats weren't faithful." joked Molly.
"I must admit I didn't admit to make a new feline friend when I decided to come here today but it isn't unwelcome. You had a good day I understand? Lunch with Mrs. Watson?" Mycroft enquired from behind his mug. Molly looked startled.
"How do you know about that? I only organised that this morning." Mycroft chuckled at her expression before replying.
"I can't reveal too much but it is in my job description that I know where people are and when they are there. The CCTV network is very handy in this way. How id Mrs. Watson? I understand she is expecting a baby?" Molly's eyes lit up as she placed her now-empty mug back down on the table in front of her.
" I see. Yes she's five months gone now with a little girl and complaining about her size all the time. I tell her she'll only get bigger but I think she's in denial about it, she' much more vain than she seems. It often makes me wonder why she chose to go into nursing if she cares about her appearance so much with all of the mess you can get into on the job," Molly's hands were animated as she spoke enthusiastically of her friends' pregnancy "but she really will be a good mum, she's had enough practice on paediatrics to set her off at least."
"I'm sure that it will be an adventure for the Watson's whether she is prepared or not, with two medical professionals as parents their child can't come to much harm can it?" Mycroft had now also finished his mug of tea, placing it on the table alongside Molly's.
She quickly stood and rinsed the mugs out before balancing them on her draining board. She returned to see that Toby hadn't move a millimeter, in fact he was so comfortable that he had fallen asleep on the strangers' lap.
"Can I ask a personal question or is it too soon for that?" Molly picked at her nail bed while she asked.
"You can ask but I can't promise an answer depending on the topic." Mycroft gestured for her to ask anyway.
"Well I know how Sherlock says he is married to his work with no time for anyone or anything else and you obviously have a very important and busy job but is there a reason that the two of you are so against marriage or settling down?" Molly bit her lip at Mycroft's blank expression "I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked, forget I said anything."
"No it's alright Molly, its just nobody has ever asked me that before. What makes you think I'm against those things?" Mycroft enquired
"Well you and your brother are so similar I just assumed that since neither of you have settled then it must be something the two of you are against for some reason," rambled Molly as she tried to explain her jumbled thoughts.
"On the contrary I think I would be rather too comfortable with a settled life, I find myself very attached to home comforts but alas there has never been the right woman who could deal with my job until that point. I myself have quite an affinity with children, for some strange reason they seem to like me. Sherlock however is my opposite, he is too easily bored and couldn't stay in one place long enough to have a meaningful relationship that would lead to a marriage and children. I am however curious why that was the one question you had for me out of everything you could have asked?" Mycroft explained himself before prompting Molly to do the same.
"It's just, everybody around me seems to be getting married or having babies or at least like myself wants to and then there is Sherlock the anomaly and you his brother so I assumed he couldn't be one on his own, there must be some reason that means more than one person feels the way he does about those things. I know what I desire out of life and I know what my friends have for themselves, it just makes me wonder if there is something… Well something wrong with Sherlock to lack the desire to belong to a family, something that didn't quite fuse properly in his brain or a bad experience that has completely put him off." explained Molly quietly, staring at the grain of her dining table as she spoke, worried for the reaction she would get from Mycroft.
"Sherlock always was one to be left alone, he never relished company from anybody apart from Redbeard. I did wonder for a while if Redbeard's death stunted his ability to love somehow. Although that was probably my fault, misguided attempts to comfort my grieving little brother." Mycroft's face remained blank as Molly looked up to see his face as he replied.
"I'm sure it wasn't your fault, it doesn't take one person to change someone's opinion on things, especially not something like love when we are constantly surrounded by it in our everyday life from our pets to strangers on the street to the adverts you see on television about jewelry or flowers." Molly patted Mycroft's hand that lay on the table and smiled encouragingly before removing her hand and allowing Mycroft to think it over.
The silence after this was comfortable, only the ticking of the clock on the wall disturbed the silence of the room, its inhabitants happy to sit quietly and think their own thoughts. Mycroft's mobile vibrated with a text in his suit pocket, which he read with a small frown before shooting off a quick reply, and pocketing it again.
"I'm afraid I'm needed to attend to something at work, breaks are so rare to come across in my job." Mycroft sighed, gently moving Toby to lie on the floor "This was nice, a good chance to take some time out with perfectly adequate tea. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon Molly and if not here is my business card, that is my personal number so I will always answer unless by some miracle I'm having a full nights' sleep then it may take a while. Feel free to contact me to organise having tea again sometime, I find your home to be very relaxing." Mycroft placed the business card on the table in front of Molly who blushed lightly before rising to show him out.
"It was nice to talk to somebody new this evening Mycroft, I hope we can do it again sometime soon." Molly opened her front door for Mycroft, glad to see that the weather was holding up and there was no rain this evening as opposed to the downpour the previous night.
"As do I, goodnight Molly." Mycroft place a swift kiss against her cheek before walking down the steps to get into the waiting Sedan that would take him to work wherever he was needed.
That evening Molly made herself some pasta with arrabiata sauce for her tea, sharing the chicken in it with a disgruntled Toby who was upset about Mycroft's absence as a comfortable place to sleep. That evening while watching her Call The Midwife DVD Molly realised that she really did want a family of her own more than anything but for now little Zuri Watson would have to do to soothe her craving for a baby. Baby Watson was going to be a very spoilt little girl with how many people already doted on her four months before her birth, a number that was sure to grow over the coming months. Toby had obviously warmed back up to Molly that evening after the chicken since he came to lie on her feet once again while she watched television and promptly followed her to the bedroom when she went to change for bed, jumping up and curling up on the pillow adjacent to where Molly slept. After making sure her house was properly locked up and turning the television off Molly was ready to curl up in her bed with Toby when her phone chimed a text alert. Blearily Molly read the text and could barely keep the smile off her face when she read what Mary had written: 'Sherlock is here again whining that you and his brother get along far too well and that he doesn't like it. He's now sulking on my sofa... He is a pain in the bum, no wonder you sliced at him yesterday! I think we need a proper chat soon, not just lunch, how about we go shopping at weekend? I concede defeat I finally need maternity clothes, I just about ripped the seam on one of my t-shirts today.' Molly sent off a quick reply agreeing to go shopping with her at weekend before falling asleep with a smile on her face, if her friendship with Mycroft was irritating Sherlock then there was all the more reason to enjoy it as revenge for his lack of thanks for all the work she does for him.
A/N: Alright guys I know there aren't many of you reading this yet but three chapters in six hours must be worth a review? *hinthint* Thanks for reading