Sherlolly One Shots

Words To Explain

The third and final instalment of the 'A Word For It' series, enjoy :)
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That's how Sherlock found her. On her knees in her living room, crying and holding a letter he never knew she had. It took him a minute to register what it was. His brain was running haywire after the events of these past couple of days. But he knew what it was after a moment. He could remember exactly what he had written that day on the plane, which was surprising considering the near-lethal dose of drugs and the subsequent Victorian fever dream. For the same reason, he was sure some of it was gibberish. He remembered talking about pancakes (?) and drowning and plenty of overdramatic analogies that were still true.

He thought about how it could have come into her possession, how it got off that plane. He could see no stamp on the envelope that was discarded on the floor, so no standard mailing system. A person then. Someone who had been there that day, someone not just focused on his drug-addled body. He felt an excruciating sting in his chest when he realised it could only have been one person. Mary Watson, surprising him still, even from beyond her untimely grave. That was a whole other bag of guilt to the one he should be focusing on right now though.

He removed his coat and jacket before dropping to his knees gracefully in front of Molly. She still hadn't lifted her eyes from the paper, he could practically see the thoughts swimming around in her brain. Even he could recognise that this was a lot to take in. He waited and when she let out a resounding breath, he whispered her name.

"Molly?"

Brown eyes shot up to meet his. They were glassy with tears and riddled with emotion. He felt the corner of his mouth quirk up in a small smile and his brow soften. He couldn't care less about hiding those micro-emotions from her now, after all, she'd read it all in his own hand. Molly lowered the piece of paper to her lap, hands shaking. A thousand emotions flickered across her face; she couldn't decide how to feel. She didn't know how to feel. But of course she didn't. Not only had he dropped that written bombshell in her hands, but also that verbal one on the phone. Tonight had not been easy for Molly Hooper. He knew she would be running through all sorts in her head – the date of the letter, the time that had passed before and since, his behaviour towards her, his words, his actions. It would be playing like a picture show in her head. Because she was brilliant like that.

Her eyes focused again after a moment, and they were so close that he could almost taste her confusion on his tongue. He had some explaining to do.

"Molly, I want to explain what happened earlier, with that phone call. Would that be okay?"

He didn't reach for her, didn't throw some crazy confession at her when she wasn't ready to hear one. He recognised both cognitive and emotional overload, and Molly Hooper needed time to recentre. And from her appearance, she had completed the last 48 hours on a mere 6 hours of sleep. This had to go at her speed. She swallowed and blinked, coming back into the room that little bit more. Then she nodded, giving him the permission he needed. He felt his shoulders sag in relief.

"It's a very long story, Molly. Too much for right now. But I will explain how you got caught up in all of this, okay?" Another nod. "Okay. I have a sister, Molly. I ... forgot about her. She did dreadful things as a child and has continued on that path into adulthood. She's quite psychopathic, toys with emotions as scientific experiments. I think she wishes to understand what she cannot perceive, what she cannot feel in herself." He kept going as Molly's expressions changed, following his speech and processing what he was saying. "She set up some of these experiments for John, Mycroft, and me. Don't worry, we are all mostly fine. But she set us tasks, Molly. Well, me. Apparently, she's had quite the fixation on me since we were children. There are multiple things to tell you. And I will because you deserve the full picture. But for now, I want you to focus on the fact that are in no danger. You never were in danger. I just didn't know. You are safe, Molly. Do you believe me?"