The Woman Who Counted (A Sherlolly Tale)

Chapter 49

 Molly's breath caught in her throat and she held it as if she feared that a single move could set off some sort of ticking bomb. Were that the case, though, she would be doomed. Her heart seemed to beat like that of a hummingbird and honestly she did feel like a bomb had gone off. Her whole body seemed to burst into flames and her vision flickered for a moment.

"Oh, darling, don't stress yourself. It's just me. Jim." He stepped forward slowly, one foot in front of the other, and stopped again as he continued to stroke the struggling cat. "Just your lovely pal Jim."

Molly nearly choked on the breath she'd been holding as she spoke. "You let go of him." Her voice squeaked. "You let go of him now."

He shrugged. "Have it your way." He dropped the cat and in its surprise it smacked its head against the floor. Molly gasped rushing to him.

"Shit." She kneeled down, choosing to ignore the criminal in her sitting room. Toby blinked, attempting to lift his head, but wobbling and laying it down again. "Shit shit shit."

Moriarty scoffed. "Language, Mollipop, please." He laid his hand on her head and grabbed a fistful of hair, yanking her head back so she looked up at him. She cried out, her hands flying up to try and pry his off, but he only gripped tighter. "Oh, Molly, Molly, Molly. I have a message I'd like you to pass on for me."

He kneeled down, locking eyes with her, hand still gripping her hair, causing her knees to lift off the floor. "Tell our darling Sherlock something for me...." He smirked. "Tell him that an east wind is coming. Tell him it's coming for him."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She choked on the words.

He let go of her hair, causing her to fall, smacking her head against the floor as well. Stars danced in front of her eyes and she looked up, seeing Moriarty through blurs. As he stood, his hands brushed off his knees and he straightened his navy blue suit. "He'll soon find out, my dear. Until then...." He looked over at Toby. "There's an emergency vet on Belsize Terrace." He backed up and Molly watched as he left her flat.

Once the door shut, Molly crawled across the floor, the room seeming to move in circles as she did so. When she reached the kitchen she reached for her phone on the counter, pulling it so hard that the charger came out of the wall and smacked her in the eye. She cursed and called on Siri to phone Sherlock.

"Molly? What's the matter."

She let out a breath, a shaky, sobby breath. "Toby i-is hurt. N-need to take him t-to the vet. And I'm n-not great. H-head. Hurts."

"I'm on my way."

Molly could hear his footsteps as he ran throughout the flat. She heard the doors slam shut and the late night traffic outside as he hailed a cab. Breaths began to come quickly and she crawled back to Toby, whose breaths were slow. He lifted his head again, and as her vision cleared Molly could see a couple of drops of drool leave his lips. His head dropped again, but she threw herself down, reaching her hand out to catch his head, softening its fall.

"Molly. What happened?"

"He - he was here, Sherlock. Moriarty was here. H-he hurt Toby. And t-then he hurt me and-"

"Shh," he cut her off, "Drive faster.... Now! Go! I'll pay you triple just drive dammit!"

"My head..."

"Darling, I'll be there soon. And we'll take care of Toby and I'll take care of you. Just hold on, okay? And tell Toby to hold on too."

The next hour was a blur. It was in some ways the longest hour of Molly's life and in other ways it was the fastest. But no matter which it was, she ended up in the lobby of the emergency vet at Belsize Terrace as John Watson kneeled in front of her, shining a tiny flashlight into her eyes.