My Father's Daughter: The Story of Alexis Moriarty

Chapter 2

(This chapter is dedicated to Wattpad user Jeannessa56 and @emptyhearseshe on twitter for encouraging me to carry on this story. xx )

Alexis swung her feet nervously as she looked out the window. Her fingers tapped on her bag lightly as she held it close in her lap. "I still don't understand why I have to leave my home..."

"People know about you, Alexis. The government. They know who you are and they know who your father was, but they're not as nice as I am." Sherlock kept his gaze forward as he drove the small rental car into town. "They want you out and about, somewhere they can keep an eye on you."

Alexis glanced over at the tall man. He seemed different from all the things she'd seen and read about him. Very different. When her father would study up and read about him, he would share all of his findings with Alexis. She knew just as much about this man as her father did. She smirked a bit and turned to face forward. "Back on the drugs, are we, Mr. Holmes?"

Sherlock gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white. "Is it really that big of a deal?"

"You've lost a substantial amount of weight, specifically in your face. It's very obvious." She shrugged and turned back to look out the window.

Sherlock took a deep breath and loosened his grip on the wheel. After a few moments of silence, he cleared his throat. "I'm taking you to a good friend of mine. You'll be staying with her until we can find you your own flat."

"What?!" Alexis turned to look at Sherlock, digging her fingers into the sides of her bag. "You're just going to drop me off with a total stranger?!"

"Stranger to you, not to me. She's a very nice woman."

Alexis settled down a bit. "What's her name?"

"Molly. Molly Hooper." Sherlock turned down a few streets and stopped the car in front of Molly's flat.

"What if she doesn't like me...?" Alexis muttered softly. She stared down at her shoes, not daring to look up.

Sherlock was taken aback by the question. He stepped out of the car without answering. "Come on, she's waiting for you."

Alexis hopped out of the car and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Single, judging by all the flowers everywhere.. She has just enough free time to where she could go on dates, but she doesn't. And she knows it. So she keeps herself occupied with gardening, and probably knitting." Alexis' eyes widened when she noticed Sherlock staring at her. "I said that out loud, didn't I...?"

Sherlock chuckled a bit and knocked on Molly's door exactly twice before walking in.

"Sherlock!" Molly exclaimed. She ran over and slapped him before giving him a big hug. "Where the hell have you been?! You said you were going to bring the girl in two weeks ago!"

"I got a little tied up." Sherlock replied flatly. He motioned to Alexis, who was still just outside the door. "Molly, this is Alexis. Alexis, Molly."

"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Hooper." Alexis replied sweetly. She took a few steps into the house and shook her hand.

"How lovely! I'm very glad to have you here, Alexis. Oh! I'll make tea. We can all sit down and chat. Be right back." Moly flit into the kitchen and put the kettle on.

"Told you she's single." Alexis bragged with a small smirk toward Sherlock.

"She's not single. She's engaged to some fellow." Sherlock looked down at Alexis and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really?" Alexis asked sarcastically. She turned her gaze back toward Molly in the kitchen. "No ring."

Sherlock's eyes widened a bit. How could he have missed that?! "Anyway, I have to go. Tell Molly I'm... Having lunch with the Watson's." Sherlock turned to head out the door, shaking his head a bit at the awful excuse.

"Wait." Alexis grabbed Sherlock's sleeve and looked up at him. "You're not just going to leave me here, right? You're coming back?"

Sherlock looked into her big brown eyes. The same eyes he watched fall dead on the rooftop. Those eyes have seen a lot of things. "Yes, Alexis. I'll be back. I promise."

Alexis reluctantly let go of his sleeve and nodded. She gave him a small smile before waving goodbye and closing the door softly.

"I have tea ready-.... Where's Sherlock?" Molly asked almost sadly as she set the tray down on the coffee table.

Alexis turned to face Molly and put on a fake face. "Oh, he said he was running late. Something about having lunch with the Watson's.."

Molly sighed a bit and plopped down on the sofa. "He never stays for long..." She muttered to herself. "Anyway, have some tea."

Alexis sat lightly beside her and poured herself a cup. She dropped two sugar cubes into it and looked over at Molly. "So... Where do you work? What do you do?"

"St. Bart's hospital. In the morgue. I'm a pathologist." Molly replied flatly, staring straight ahead.

Alexis took a small sip of her tea. "This bag is sort of heavy... Do you mind showing me my room?"

Molly pointed weakly down the hall. "Second door on the left." She slumpped a little more into the couch and closed her eyes.

Alexis stood and walked down the hall, taking her tea with her. She walked in the room and closed the door behind her. It wasn't very big, but not too small either. A bed sat against the right wall with a small side table beside it, a dresser with a mirror on the left, and a big window with flowing drapes directly in front of her.

She smiled and unpacked her things a bit. Clothes in the dresser, shoes lined up against the wall, books on the side table. She pulled out a beautiful music box and set it on top of the dresser. The last thing in her bag is a small, black teddy bear. She set it on her bed and smiled again.

She lied on her bed and kicked off her shoes. Maybe life here won't be so bad.