The Devil Was Never Here

The Perfect Preliminary Plan

            It took another two hours for Molly to finally win the game, Sherlock had been illuminated not thirty minutes after because he successfully landed on Molly's properties two rolls in a row, and once he had sold all of his properties to the bank to try to pay her back, he was left sitting in his chair and watching Molly and John duel it out. In the end Molly had hotels on a good half of the board, and John ended up losing all of his properties as well before Molly finally announced herself the winner. It was a dreadful game, probably a lot more dreadful when you weren't even playing. Their night got a little bit more interesting, however, when Mary invited them both over for dinner. She was making chicken Parmesan, and thought that it would be a good way to say thank you, at least for now. So they all loaded into Molly's ridiculously small car and made their way over to John's house, bored beyond belief, bored to the point that they didn't even want to talk to each other. When they got out the first thing they saw was Rosie in the front yard, seemingly playing with her dolls. When they looked closer, however, they noticed that she had filled up a plastic sand bucket and was submerging her toys happily.
"What on Earth are you doing Rosie?" John wondered, running up to her and scooping her up in his arms. She gave a shriek of excitement, not seeming to be scared of her father like she probably ought to be by now.
"They're swimming!" she said happily, looking down at the dolls who now lay fully submerged on the bottom of the bucket.
"More like drowning." Sherlock muttered, and Molly just slapped him disapprovingly.
"I used to do that too Rosie, I always liked to see their hair under the water." Molly admitted with a smile.
"Should I get them out of there? They've got to breathe sometimes." Sherlock suggested. Rosie shook her head, wiggling her way out of her father's arms and grabbing the bucket from where Sherlock stood.
"They need to stay in here!" she exclaimed, almost desperately.
"Why do they need to stay in the bucket?" Molly wondered with a little laugh, looking up at John with a smile. Obviously she was finding this amusing, while Sherlock was rather disturbed by Rosie's seriousness.
"The water will protect them from the fire." Rosie insisted, looking into the bucket fearfully. "They don't like the fire." There was a silence, and slowly Molly's smile faded away, glancing at Sherlock to make sure he heard that correctly.
"And where is that fire now?" Sherlock wondered, leaning down so that he could be at eye level with the little girl. Rosie's eyes widened in fear, but slowly she looked over at John, who was standing very cautiously near the car.
"It's in daddy." She muttered. And with that she scampered off back into the house, the bucket sloshing hose water all over the hardwood floors. Somehow though, they didn't seem to mind.
"Is she a seer as well?" John wondered nervously, walking up closer to the now astonished Sherlock.
"I have no idea, I don't know how she knows all of this, it's almost like people are telling her things." Sherlock admitted.
"She probably hears a lot more than we realize, I mean we all kind of talk freely around the house, maybe she's listening." Molly guessed hopefully.
"That would be the obvious explanation." Sherlock agreed. Molly nodded, looking proud of herself for figuring that out so quickly.
"But then again, what's obvious about any of this?" Sherlock added, and Molly's smile faded slightly.
"Let's just go inside, and try to keep the conversation rather...normal." John suggested, looking around at everyone as if trying to make sure they were okay with that. Sherlock nodded, getting to his feet once more and walking up the damp sidewalk, following in Rosie's footprints up to the house.
"Hello dear!" Mary said happily, walking through the hallway and greeting her husband with a kiss. Sherlock edged his way very awkwardly towards the steps, averting his eyes as if trying to be polite. John just smiled, but he looked rather disturbed, as if he didn't really like the idea of Mary kissing him in front of his new friends.
"Hello Mary, how was your day?" John wondered, hanging up his coat on the coat rack and venturing into the kitchen, where the smell of garlic was wafting out of.
"Oh you know, it was work. Lots of patients in today, wondering where you've been." She admitted.
"Well don't tell them the truth, whatever you do." John warned.
"Of course not, I'm not stupid!" Mary assured with a laugh. Sherlock and Molly followed John into the kitchen rather awkwardly, not quite sure what to do with themselves.
"And how about you, how was your day?" Mary asked. John just laughed, looking over to where Sherlock stood and just shaking his head.
"Oh you know, it was just a day. I did a lot of buying." John admitted heavily.
"Online shopping then?" Mary guessed, stirring the contents of a sauce pan with a large wooden spoon.
"Monopoly." Sherlock corrected immediately. Mary glanced at him quickly, as if asking him why he felt he was allowed to speak.
"I wouldn't have guessed that." she admitted heavily.
"It wasn't very eventful." John assured, leaning against the counter and looking over at where Molly and Sherlock stood.
"Shall I open a bottle of wine?" he wondered. Sherlock couldn't help but smile; now it was a party. John opened a very nice bottle, some sort of imported wine; Sherlock wasn't going to bother asking. He poured four glasses of it and passed them around, and they bided their time talking about how their days were and the local sports teams and all of that rubbish. It really wasn't interesting, but Sherlock remained attentive, just because whatever they were talking about was probably a lot more interesting than Monopoly. When finally dinner was ready they called Rosie down to join them, and she was looking a lot dryer than when they had last seen her. She was smiling, however, and didn't look at all like she was disturbed by either John or Sherlock's presence. Sherlock wondered about her, however. She could be just like him, she might be able to see the dead, or possibly she had an Aspiration inside of her as well, maybe another member of the satanic Adler family. Either way she seemed perfectly normal now, thanking her mother in a small little voice for cutting up her chicken parm into smaller pieces.
"So Sherlock, where do you live now?" Mary wondered, just making polite conversation over the table.
"Only about two hours away, I've got an apartment in a small little town." Sherlock admitted.
"But you grew up here?" Mary asked. Sherlock nodded, twirling some pasta onto his fork innocently.
"This town didn't really agree with me I suppose." Sherlock admitted.
"Do you have any family here?" Mary asked. Molly looked up at Sherlock nervously, wondering what his reaction might be as Mary dug deeper and deeper into the restricted sections of his past.
"Yes, my parents are up here somewhere." Sherlock agreed, keeping his head lower so that they couldn't see his nervous eyes.
"Oh that's great, have you seen them yet?" Mary asked.
"I don't um...I don't really talk to them much." Sherlock admitted.
"Could you pass the breadsticks please?" Molly asked as soon as Mary was about to open her mouth to ask another unneeded question. Sherlock sighed in relief, and thankfully that was the end of that conversation. Once their dinners were finished Sherlock and Molly helped them load the dishwasher, sipping at the last couple of drops of wine in their glasses. Sherlock was really starting to feel tired, and that really shouldn't have been an issue except he had promised John that he would stay up with him all night, to keep the ghost from getting the upper hand on his consciousness. He didn't quite know what they were planning on doing, but whatever it was he knew it was going to be just as miserable as the rest of the day they had spent together.
"Well I think I best be going, leave you guys to do whatever your nightly plan is I suppose." Molly decided with a yawn, getting up from her chair and stretching her arms a little bit.
"What do you mean, nightly plan?" Mary wondered curiously, looking at her husband as if she were a little offended that he hadn't filled her in on everything.
"Oh, well, you know how Father Franklin told me that I should try to stay awake as much as possible, to make sure this Aspiration doesn't take control?" John wondered.
"No, I don't remember...what on earth is an Aspiration?" Mary asked, looking from John to Sherlock to Molly as if wondering who was going to start talking sense first. Sherlock just looked down at the table rather awkwardly; obviously they had forgotten to fill Mary in on about everything.
"Well um, an Aspiration is the thing inside of me, the human soul that wants to become a demon." John pointed out.
"Well you told me that much, but what's this about not sleeping? Sounds like a horrible idea to me." Mary admitted.
"The Father said that the Aspiration can gain control easily if the human soul is unconscious, or asleep, that's why it always takes control of John's body at night. It's easier. Our theory is that if we keep him awake we'll be suppressing the Aspiration more and more, until either it leaves or it tries to take complete control, that's when we'll perform the ritual." Sherlock explained with a smile.
"So your master plan is to sleep deprive yourselves? Genius." Mary muttered sarcastically.
"Well, it's still in the process of becoming a good plan, this is all just preliminary...I guess." John said with a shrug. Mary still didn't look impressed, but then again, it really wasn't up to her, was it?
"Well then, you do whatever it is you think it necessary, I'll make sure to have coffee on tomorrow morning." Mary decided, seemingly uncaring at the moment. Sherlock nodded, looking over at John with a rather protective look.
"I was actually hoping to remove John from the house, just to see if it affects the spirit's control over him." Sherlock decided.
"Remove him, to where?" Mary asked, glaring at Sherlock from the kitchen.
"Molly's house, preferably. If Irene's spirt is latched onto this house then maybe if we take him away from here she might have less control." Sherlock decided.
"That's a good idea." John agreed, looking over at Sherlock as if he were impressed by his ability to think. Sherlock smiled proudly, happy to get some recognition for his genius.
"Well I'd be fine with John staying over, as long as you boys aren't too loud." Molly decided.
"We'll be fine, maybe you can even stay up with us, we could start another game of Monopoly." Sherlock suggested sarcastically.
"I think I'd rather get possessed by this Aspiration myself." Molly decided with a scowl.
"Be careful what you wish for." John warned, and Molly shrugged innocently.
"Well then, I guess this is goodnight to all of you then." Mary decided, looking as though she felt a little bit left out. She should be thankful, however, that they weren't dragging her into all of this. As much as Sherlock liked spending time with John he didn't necessarily like the idea of sitting up the entire night with him.
"Goodnight Mary, we'll tell you how it goes in the morning." John assured, kissing her quickly before grabbing his coat once more from the coat rack.
"Good night John, you be good." Mary demanded with a little smile.
"Thank you again for dinner Mary, it was lovely." Molly said with a smile, giving Mary a quick hug goodbye.
"Any time Molly, you're a lovely guest." Mary assured.
"Yes, thank you Mary; you really are an excellent cook." Sherlock agreed as his sort of farewell. Mary didn't respond, she just crossed her arms and hummed in agreement. Sherlock was seemingly the only one that noticed her cold attitude, because not a moment later he was being dragged out of the door by Molly. Mary was left behind, scowling in her dining room as she watched her husband get dragged away.
"You ever get the feeling that she doesn't like me?" Sherlock wondered as he got into the car.
"Who, Mary?" Molly wondered, looking as though that were a preposterous idea.
"Ya." Sherlock agreed, climbing into the passenger seat while Molly got into the driver's seat. John was pushed to the back, as usual, but it was appropriate since he had the shortest legs.
"I think she's just feeling a little bit left out." John decided. "She'll get over it though."
"I hope I'm not being rude." Sherlock muttered nervously.
"You're fine Sherlock, you're fine." John assured, not bothering to buckle up as Molly started down the road.
"So what are your plans for tonight? Hopefully nothing too loud." Molly wondered.
"Well I was thinking of throwing a dance party in your living room, and John was going to demonstrate his heavy metal skills with his electric guitar." Sherlock said with a shrug. It was rather sad that Molly looked over nervously, as if to clarify Sherlock's lies by the smile on his face.
"Well I would offer to stay up as well, but I'm just exhausted! Nothing like a good dinner and a couple of glasses of wine to knock me right out." Molly admitted with a laugh.
"Well you weren't invited, so that works." Sherlock agreed with a teasing little smile.
"You were most certainly invited, Sherlock don't be rude." John snapped.
"Since when did you feel the need to be the boss of me?" Sherlock wondered, looking back at John with an accusing glare.
"Since I'm the one paying you." John defended. Sherlock sighed heavily, but nodded in the end.
"Oh ya, I forgot about that. Just how much are we talking, for all of my sacrifice?" Sherlock asked, turning in his seat with a hopeful little smile. John just laughed, shaking his head and shrugging.
"I don't know Sherlock; I guess we'll see how long this takes. I'll only pay you once I'm completely Irene Adler free." John assured. Sherlock nodded, even though that sounded like a bit too far off. If it ever happened at all. They pulled up to Molly's house not long after, pulling themselves out of the tiny car and finally stretching out their legs. Molly didn't seem to realize how horrible riding in her car really was.
"Alright then, I guess you two can just do whatever you want, just keep it down, and remember I'm trying to sleep up there." Molly insisted, unlocking the door and walking into the darkened apartment.
"We'll be alright. But we have to keep ourselves awake, so that might be a process." John agreed.
"I just hope this is all worth it. I'm not going to stay up all night just to be faced with an Aspiration around two." Sherlock muttered bitterly.
"I'll be fine; I'll tell you if I feel it taking control." John assured.
"You can feel that?" Sherlock wondered curiously.
"Well, I think so." John agreed. "Like in the basement, I kind of felt like I was trying to throw something up."
"That's interesting...disgusting, of course, but interesting." Sherlock decided. John just shrugged, throwing his coat next o the stairs and walking into the living room once more.
"Alright you two, I'm off to bed. You be good, alright Sherlock?" she insisted, watching as John disappeared around the corner.
"Of course I'll be good, is that even a question?" Sherlock assured with a smile. Molly just sighed heavily, as if it was rather awkward to be having this conversation.
"Just remember Sherlock, he's married." She whispered. Sherlock didn't even try to hide his surprise, taking a little bit of offense when she said that.
"Molly, come on I wouldn't dare." Sherlock insisted. Molly just shrugged, her cheeks getting a little bit red nevertheless.
"It was worth a mention." She admitted.
"What's worth a mention?" John wondered, walking back into the entry way from the living room at the worst possible time.
"Oh nothing, just talking to Molly about...um..." Sherlock muttered, obviously not knowing how to end that sentence.
"Where the coffee was. It's in the cabinet right above the coffee maker, if you need a little bit of a caffeine boost." Molly said with a smile, not even stuttering as she blurted out that obvious lie.
"Oh, excellent." John agreed. "Might need that, won't we?"
"Maybe." Sherlock agreed rather awkwardly. He couldn't help but feel a little bit insulted that Molly would even consider him having a relationship with a married man. That was just so unlike him, ya he might be quick to fall in love but he wasn't that desperate.
"Anyway, have a nice night you two, I'll see you in the morning." Molly said with a smile, giving Sherlock a kick kiss on the forehead before scampering up to bed. John looked at Sherlock in confusion for a moment once Molly had disappeared, as though he didn't recognize him.
"What?" Sherlock wondered.
"Why'd she kiss you on the forehead, I thought she knew you were gay?" John asked. Sherlock couldn't help but laugh, almost feeling bad for poor, idiotic John.
"Well of course she knows, doesn't mean she can't go near me. It's a motherly thing John, nothing more, I assure you." Sherlock insisted, rolling his eyes and pushing past John to go into the living room. He turned on one of the lamps and sat down on the couch, scowling at the Monopoly game that was still strewn across the coffee table. It was a little bit awkward, now that it was just the two of them.