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Ch 4 Girl Talk
"Molly," Mary said heading back into the sitting room, "let's go tidy up John's old room, it's got to be pretty dusty up there."
"Oh, you want some help?" John spoke up.
"No thanks love, us girls can handle it." Mary said winking. "But you could go ask Mrs. Hudson for some cleaning products and bed things."
"Sure." He said as he hurried down stairs.
When Molly and a Mary got to the John's old room they found it much like he had left it, with the addition of a thick layer of dust, more proof of how little time Sherlock had spent at his flat since his return.
"Well this isn't too bad." Molly said looking around the room. "I can live here, if I keep mostly to this room then Sherlock and I won't need to have too many uncomfortable conversations." She started looking through the closet. Mary sat down on the bed and thought about how she was going to go about this.
Just then John poked his head in, "I come bringing sheets and cleaning products. Mrs. H. said she would have come to help but her 'soothers' were setting in, explains why she gave me hairspray instead of window cleaner." He said frowning and looking at the bottle. "Are you sure you don't need any help?"
"No, we're fine." Mary said as she gave John a quick kiss and rushed him out the door.
Molly took out some rags and furniture cleaner and started dusting.
"Okay, Molly there are some things I need to tell you." Mary started, "Understand that I can't tell you everything but I will tell you everything I can that will help clarify Sherlock's recent actions for you."
Molly sat down in the desk chair across from her. "Mary, if Sherlock wants to tell me what's going on, don't you think he should be the one to do it."
Mary smiled, fiercely loyal... Mycroft's right about you Molly Hooper. "Of course, but this has to do with me."
Molly looked at Mary with sudden distrust and Mary realized just how careful she would have to be, there were certain things she would defiantly have to withhold if she would earn Molly's trust enough to pull this off.
"I have a secret Molly, a secret that a very bad and very dangerous man learned about it and was going to use against me in order to get to Sherlock and in turn get to Mycroft."
"Okay, I assume I'm not to know what that secret is?" Molly asked and Mary shook her head.
"It's best that it remain my secret, but the reason you've not seen Sherlock since that slap, or slaps I should say, is that he'd been working on a case, my case basically, since he was well enough. It's a bit convoluted, he was already dealing with the man in question before he realized my secret could be exposed or that I even had one, but when he found out that John and I were in danger he became even more obsessed about exposing this retch of a person. The case is indeed why he shot himself full of heroin and pretended to date my bridesmaid, and you're right she didn't turn out to be a very nice person. But you know what they say, hell hath no fury like an Irishwoman scorned." Mary laughed in a failed attempt to add mirth to the situation.
"So he pretended to be with that poor girl just for a case?" Molly closed her eyes and shook her head. Mary could see personal experience in her expression, being at the arse of Sherlock's manipulations is more like it, Mary thought.
After a moment she collected herself, "But I don't understand, I'm sure you know that I'm the one that help fake Sherlock's death, I'm the one person besides his brother he trusted with his secret... why wouldn't he just tell me what was going on? I could have helped, he wouldn't have had to tell me everything, he knows that."
"I've been thinking about that Molly, here's what I think and please keep an open mind... I think he was afraid of you being used in the same way that we were. This man called us Sherlock's 'pressure points,' things that could be used against him. I think he was trying to keep you off this man's radar." Mary said.
"Mary that just doesn't make any sense, I don't have any secrets... Oh... Sherlock. I faked his death, but Mycroft fixed everything."
"If this man outed your involvement to the papers nothing Mycroft could have done would been able to stop the repercussions Molly. I don't think you realize just how much you mean to Sherlock."
Molly thought for a moment, "Okay, maybe that explains his absence and maybe it doesn't, seems like he had just as much to lose as I did."
Mary smiled sweetly at Molly, "Oh Molly, he cares for you, he does. I know you're confused right now, but let this information sink in and think about his behavior over the last few months... it will start making sense. Now let's make this bed so you have a place to sleep tonight."
They started working to set up the bed when Molly suddenly spoke up, "Mary, why did you tell me all of this?"
"Because you're uncomfortable and hurt, and I'd really like us to be friends Molly. Sherlock's going to need all of us, and that includes you, more than you know. I do hope you can trust me Molly and that you can come to me if you need to talk about anything at all." She said.
Molly nodded her head, "I'd like that." She said.
Sherlock stormed into the sitting room of 221B with a caged Toby in one hand and a suitcase in the other. "John! I need medical attention!" He yelled.
"What the hell happened?" John said running in from the kitchen where he was making a cup of tea.
"This beast! It's always hated me and it took the opportunity to exact it's vengeance today." He said showing John his shredded hands. "Godric!" Greg automatically looked up, "Can you go help fetch the rest of Molly's things, I'm weak from blood loss."
"Have you ever noticed that your name gets weirder the worse his mood gets?" John said to Greg as he started to bandage Sherlock's hands.
"Ya, I've noticed." Then he turned to the detective, "You do realized you got your arse handed to you be a house cat today, don't you Sherlock?"
Sherlock growled, and Greg headed downstairs.
That's when Mycroft approached. Funny, the cat always liked me, he thought. He was smiling and Sherlock didn't like it.
"Yes, Myke, it's hilarious... I was nearly killed twice today, glad you're enjoying yourself."
"Oh don't be dramatic Sherlock, it would have taken months to kill you on that mission and Toby only inflicted minor damage, I'm sure Dr. Watson will have you in fighting form in no time." Mycroft said not noticing his slip.
Both John and Sherlock just stared at him for a moment, then Sherlock finally asked, "How do you know the name of Molly's cat?"
A normal person may have been rattled, a normal person may have stuttered or had to think but Mycroft Holmes is no normal person. "You know I fully vet all of your acquaintances Sherlock, Molly's pet's name is quite prominently displayed on her blog."
"And you felt the need to retain such information?" Sherlock asked.
"My mind is simply larger than yours, Sherlock and I have no need to delete as much as you, for instance I know who our prime minister is, and I have a full working knowledge of our solar system." He said with a smile.
"The prime minister is your boss, that doesn't count!" Sherlock said and pouted like a petulant child.
"Mycroft has a boss?" John said to Sherlock.
"Of course I do John, everyone does."
"I don't." Sherlock said.
You will soon if I have my way, Mycroft thought. Molly Hooper will make an exemplary chief executive in charge of Sherlock Holmes, although I may have to offer her an excellent benefits package.
"Enough of this Sherlock, we tracked the source of the hack, it came from an abandoned warehouse in Wales. Ring any bells?"
Sherlock thought for a moment, "A couple, but I took care of those bells... permanently." He said looking at John for a reaction but got none. "Again, I don't think I missed anyone, but you were feeding me leads. Did you miss any?"
"None that we can find, but I'm not so arrogant as to believe that we couldn't have missed something."
"To Wales then, John with me!" Sherlock started to get up.
"Hold on." Mycroft said putting a hand in the air. "I've got our best forensics team on their way and you will have access to every thing they find, but you are on some kind of tentative pardon or stay of exile...frankly I don't even know what to call it and I'm the one who approved it. So you will stay here... for now."
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