Lo Stesso Tempo (Sherlolly)

Chapter Four

Present

Molly jumped as a knock sounded at the door. She looked around with a blush. The day had given way to night and she had been sitting on her couch all this time, thinking of Sherlock. She stood and looked through the peephole.

Speak of the devil...

Opening the door, she let him in. "Mr. Holmes?"

He pulled his coat off and folded it over the back of her armchair. "Are we going to be professional?"

"You seemed to want that." She looked away.

He sighed. "I do. I think it's best if we put the past behind us and keep it there. But I did hope we could remain on a first name basis."

She nodded but still wouldn't look at him. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. "Wait, how did you find my house?"

He smirked but didn't reply. "I'll be working with Lestrade more in the future. So I'll be at Bart's often."

"I'll stay out of your way."

"I'll need a good pathologist."

"Mike's not bad."

"Mmm..." Sherlock raised and dropped a brow in an unbelieving manner. "There is one... Doctor Hooper. Do you think I could get her to work the way I need her to?"

Molly smiled and nodded. "Yeah... Yeah you could." He nodded curtly and pulled his coat back on. She rocked back on her heels, hesitating for a moment. "Do you... D'you want some coffee?"

He paused with one arm in a sleeve. There was a long moment during which she was sure he would refuse. "You know how I take it."

She nodded and hurried to the kitchen. When she returned, she found him sitting in the arm chair and rubbing Toby's back gently. He held one hand out and she set the cup in it.

"You dress like a child." He muttered, giving her a critical look as she went to sit on the sofa.

She looked down at the fuzzy blue jumper with little yellow stars on it. It wasn't even one of her worst. "It's comfy."

"It's immature."

She sipped her coffee and decided to change the subject. "So you're clean then?"

"Obviously."

She looked into her coffee. It was better to play it safe and remain silent. He seemed more irritable than ever. But after a few moments the silence grated on her nerves. She never minded silence, she rather liked it. But he was studying her with narrowed eyes and it took all she had to keep still under his gaze.

"I'm sorry. For leaving."

He seemed surprised by this. "You wanted to protect yourself. You already watched your father die, the last you needed was to watch it happen to me. I don't blame you. There's nothing to apologize for."

"But you needed support! They said support is critical and no one else was willing to give it."

"I've never needed support for anything. Obviously, I came out just fine without it."

She nodded sadly and looked back down at her coffee. "I thought you'd hate me."

"You're not worth the time or energy it takes to hate someone."

She winced at that. He was only saying he wouldn't hate her but it sounded more like she wasn't worth any time or energy at all. Sherlock sighed after a moment and set his cup down.

He stood and tugged his coat on. She looked up and studied the coat. It was perfect for him. The length and color made him appear even more mysterious and brooding. The little red dash on the lapel stood out in odd relief. He pulled the collar up and she smiled at the familiar action. His old coat had been so ratty. Now though, he wore perfectly tailored suits and shirts just a bit too tight for him. All under that coat she was beginning to love more by the second.

"Goodnight."

She jumped at the sound of his voice and her eyes rose to meet his. He gave her a knowing glance and left. Molly blushed and looked back at her coffee. She couldn't even admire him without him knowing.