HELLO EVERYBODY! This is the 1st time I'm writing fanfiction. English is not my 1st language- so please pardon my mistakes. Kindly review! Constructive criticism is always welcome!

NOTE: I do not own Sherlock Holmes, or any part of the show Sherlock. I'm simply a fan writing fiction.

Molly Hooper was done. She was done with her life's monotony, regrets over her past decisions, spending the majority of her life worrying over a man that could never love her like she needed. She was done with the mediocre coffee Bart's had to offer to its doctors, and looking for Sherlock Holmes in her dates- knowing she couldn't have the man himself. She was done with their awkward greetings that had ensued after Eurus had forced both of them in an exceedingly awkward predicament. Molly Hooper was done. She didn't want to live her life so... pathetically. She wanted to travel. She wanted to meet new people. She wanted someone that loved her, and held her, and laughed with her, and made jokes with her- not of her. And none of that could happen in London. None of that could be achieved when she was still in close proximity with Sherlock Holmes. He was toxic to her. She had accepted it. Slowly and gradually, she began noticing that the majority of her tears were because of him. Most disappointing romances she had were because of him. Her insecurities had stemmed because of him. And while he wasn't a toxic person himself, he was certainly a toxic influence to her. Then one night, after contemplating for a very long time, she finally decided.

Dr. Molly Hooper was leaving London. Forever.

The first thing that needed to be decided wasn't the destination- it was whether or not this should be a decision her friends and family knew about, or whether she should leave quietly, in the dead of the night. If she chose the former, her family and friends would certainly try to pull her out of the decision, and she might even acquiesce. God knew Molly was easily persuaded. And if they did manage to persuade her, the monotony would continue. So would the awkward conversations with Sherlock, and telling herself over and over that he would never love her like she wants to be loved.

Silent departure it was.

Now, it was obviously impossible to leave without a trace so perfectly that even Sherlock couldn't find her. She would need help for that. After some more thinking, she knew that the only person she could turn to for help was Mycroft Holmes. Molly knew that Mycroft owed her. She put up with Sherlock for years. She knew that Mycroft would help her disappear. It would be like cashing in all the favors he and his brother owe me.Molly thought.

Disappear. What a strange word. For Molly Hooper, it meant to vanish. To leave. To be free. To be someone new. Someone she could actually love. To restart her life from level 1, and make better decisions. Decisions that wouldn't make her regret the past years. Decisions that actually made her happy, and not others. She loved her friends, she loved her family- and she would happily die for them. She loved them all so much. Maybe that was why she couldn't love herself. She loved them all so much that she had none left for herself. Would it be so inhuman to be selfish for once? To put herself first? To care about her peace of mind before anyone else's? Maybe. But she was just so tired. And thus Molly Hooper took a deep breath, and declared to her beloved cat- "I am moving away for good. I am going to a different city, and perhaps a different continent, and I'll get a different job, and I'll be a different person." After some thought, she adds- "I will keep my name- no point changing it, and I'll leave after exactly 1 month. That would be 4th of January." Saying those words, even to no one but her cat, strengthened her resolve. Toby was completely unfazed by this announcement. He merely looked up at his owner, unimpressed, and stalked out of the room. She glanced up at her clock- which read 11:00 p.m. and decided she would worry about the city she'll move to tomorrow. Molly Hooper pulled up her blankets, tucked her hands under her face, and closed her eyes. "I'm leaving." She mumbled once more for good measure, and then fell asleep.

The next morning, Molly woke up particularly excited. She made herself a cup of tea, took a bath, and dressed for work. Then, she dutifully worked throughout the day at Bart's, smiling at her colleagues. She felt a bit like a fraud about to dupe the people she cared about. She pushed that feeling down. Except for a text from John (which was a particularly cute photo of Rosie in pigtails, to which she replied with a heart emoji), she had no contact with either John or Sherlock in person. After she was done with her day's work, and realized it was late, she hailed a taxi to her home. She got in, locked the doors behind her, and ran a warm bath. When it was 10:30 on the clock, she sat in her bed with her laptop in front of her, her mind made up that she had to decide on a destination before going to sleep. Before she typed in anything, however, a thought struck her. The first thing he'll do would be checking my search history. Molly thought. She knew that Sherlock would look for her. He cared for her, but it wasn't enough. He would look for her because her disappearance would be like a puzzle to him. He just cannot let a puzzle go unsolved, can he? Molly thought, smiling ruefully. Earlier, she used to like this habit of his. But now, after all this time, she felt that he had to accept that some puzzles didn't want to be solved. Molly Hooper never wanted to see Sherlock Holmes again. So, without typing in anything, she closed her laptop. Without the internet, it would be very difficult to decide on a place. Molly sighed, and got up. Her Atlas had to be in her bookshelf. After a few minutes of searching, she finally found it. She flipped straight to the political world map. While she wasn't very fond of her atlas, it would help her make something of a starting list. She thought about where she should go, and decided that certain factors had to be considered to narrow down possible places. First would definitely be safety and racism. She just couldn't imagine living in a place where her neighbors hated her- and as for the safety part, that was obvious. Second would be cost of living. Molly knew that expecting to get a job as soon as her plane landed was extremely unreasonable, and since the majority of her savings would be utilized in renting a new place and buying furniture, the cost of living must be accommodating to her leftover budget for at least 4 months. Then, after thinking for a while, and also factoring in language barriers, cultural aspects, eating habits, and the weather, Molly Hooper had narrowed it down to 4 possible places. 2 of these were in the UK. One was a little country in Europe, and the last one was a state in the subcontinent of India. Molly just didn't want to be in the UK anymore. So that left her with 2 possible places.

The next morning, Molly dials a number she had never used before. One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Somebody picked up. "Good morning, Ms. Hooper, to what do I owe this pleasure?" the voice on the other end questioned curiously. Molly Hooper took a deep breath, and said- "Good morning, Mycroft. I was wondering whether we could meet today. I have to talk to you about something." Mycroft Holmes was a bit surprised, but answered, "Of course, is 2 p.m. a good time for you?" Molly smiled, and said yes. Before disconnecting, Mycroft Holmes asked "What is this meeting about, Ms. Hooper? Did my brother do something?" After some hesitation, Molly said- "It isn't regarding Sherlock, but I would much rather tell you in person. See you in the afternoon, Mr. Holmes."

As Molly walked into Mycroft's office, she took a deep breath, calming herself. The receptionist confirmed her appointment. Soon, she is asked to go to a room. M. Holmes, the plate on the door read. Molly pushed open the door. She greeted the man himself, and sat down. Before he could say anything, she said- "I want to go to India, and I want no one to know about it. Especially not your brother."

EDIT: 1st chapter done. please review the story! also, what are your views on the chapter length?