A/N: For the March 9th prompt - "Write about a secret revealed." Rated T. The day after Theories.

The next morning, Molly wondered what she was going to do with her day. Sherlock had told her that he'd be in an all-day staff meeting but he'd take her out to dinner that night.

I just need to find something to do until then. She talked to the concierge and he suggested going on a hike. Molly decided to hike in the hills near the castle. She packed a bag with bottled water, trail mix, and a map she got from the concierge then drove to the castle. After parking her car, she took a deep breath of the clean, fresh air then started along the hiking trail.

She was deep in one of the wooded parts of the path when she noticed how silent it was. No birds, no animals, not even leaves rustling. It's … eerie. The trees cleared as she made her way up a large hill. At the top of the hill, Molly looked around, amazed at the view. She could see the castle off in the distance but other than that, there wasn't a single sign of human habitation anywhere – just trees, hills, and a winding river.

Molly was about to sit down and have a snack when she heard a loud flap, like a ship's sails flapping in the breeze. Or like gigantic wings… She stared in wonder, her jaw dropping as a huge gold dragon rose from beyond the trees and took to the sky, circling high above her before heading towards the distant mountains.

"Wait!" she shouted, suddenly desperate not to lose sight of it. "Don't go!"

The dragon suddenly turned and came back, landing gracefully on the hill, just yards from her. It was the largest animal she had ever seen, about the length of a city bus from its nose to the tip of its tail. It sat on its haunches, like the world's largest housecat, its wings folded against its back and the long tail curling around its feet.

She stood frozen for several minutes, just staring at it, then finally her curiosity overrode her fear. She approached it slowly, both hands out, palms-up, like she was approaching an unfamiliar dog. The dragon looked at her with large blue-green-gold eyes, the pupils vertical slits like a cat's. It assessed her for a moment and Molly couldn't help noticing the intelligence in its gaze. Those eyes are so familiar, they're almost exactly like-

"Don't you have something to ask me, Molly?" the dragon asked, his lip curled in a smirk.

That voice! It's just like… No, it can't… But the voice plus the eyes… Oh my God… "Sherlock?!"

He chuckled. "The same."

That was all Molly heard before the world went black.

Molly woke in an unfamiliar bed. Unfamiliar, but not uncomfortable. By her estimation, the thread count on the sinfully soft white cotton sheets was over five thousand. The black velvet spread added another layer of softness. She sat up and looked around. Stone, no corners. Right, I'm in Sherlock's bed. She pulled off the bedclothes, happy to see she was still dressed except for her hiking boots, which were on the floor beside the bed.

It took a Herculean effort but she managed to stand. Unfortunately, she started to sway as soon as her feet hit the floor. Just as she was about to pitch forward, strong arms wrapped around her and helped her lay down again.

"It's alright," Sherlock murmured. "Just rest. You had a shock, it'll take time for you to find your equilibrium again."

She stared up at his human-seeming face. "Are you going to eat me?" she asked in a small voice that she barely recognized as her own.

He sat down on the bed, smiling down at her gently. "No, Molly." Sherlock smirked. "At least, not the way you're thinking."

"What other way-" She cut herself off, her eyes widening and her cheeks flaming. "Sherlock!"

He chuckled. "You are a beautiful woman, after all."

"I cannot believe you said that," she muttered, looking away, then she looked back at him, confused. "You're attracted to humans?"

"Of course. I've lived alongside humans my entire life."

"How long is that?"

"Eleven centuries. I was a stripling when William the Conqueror came to England. I still say it was a bad idea to let him."

She raised an eyebrow. "How can you look human if you're a dragon?"

He shrugged. "Every dragon has their own theory as to how we can blend in. Most think it's magic, I think it's a natural camouflage."

"Can you … that is, could we … er…"

Sherlock chuckled. "You're wondering if it's possible for us to have intercourse."

"Um, yeah." Molly's felt her cheeks flame anew.

He lowered his head close to hers, gazing into her eyes as he murmured, "Why don't we find out?"

"Sherlock…" She put as much warning into her tone as she could, but she feared it wasn't coming across that way.

He kissed the tip of her nose then sat back, smiling a bit. "Alright, I'll behave. And in answer to your question, yes."

"What about-"

"Children? Yes, though it's been centuries since there was a half-human, half-dragon."

"Why?"

"Most of my kind avoids humans these days. We have our own social order. We'd have our own towns if dragons weren't normally solitary creatures. When we do come together, whether to mate or fight, we are sure to do it far from human populations."

"Then what are you doing here, surrounded by people?"

He smiled a bit. "I'm the exception."

I'll say you are. "How did a millennium-old dragon end up in a country that's not even three hundred years old yet?"

Sherlock chuckled. "You haven't guessed? I came with the castle."

"Okay, that's a story I need to hear."