A Consulting Detective, Ex Army Doctor, and Child Mercenary Walk Into A Room

Chapter 5: The Reichenbach Fall

...

Molly Hooper was just about to leave for lunch when we just conveniently bumped into her. "Hello, Molly," Sherlock greeted. The poor coroner blushed profusely at this sudden meet up. "Sh-Sherlock! What are you doing here? I was just h-heading out for lunch." He easily put his arm around his blushing colleague and pulled her back to the morgue. John and I were tailing behind the two. "Why not have lunch with me?" Sherlock suggested. He nodded his head toward me and raising my head, I threw him some crisps which Sherlock caught effortlessly. "So how's it going with Jim?" Sherlock asked. John and I whipped our heads toward that man. What?! "Errr ... we broke up ..." "Well that's good, Jim is a sociopathic murderer anyway." Molly was now more flustered than she was in before. And a bit confused as well.

I sat with Molly who was helping Sherlock with his experiment and research. The both of us were watching Sherlock solve his latest mystery. John was out and about getting lunch for me and him. The both of us couldn't survive on crisps alone. Sherlock scraped a tiny pinch of powder onto a slide. "Molly," I said. "Would you like some lunch? All I have to do is phone John." Ms. Hooper was looking at a microscope herself. "No thank you, Lune. I'm fine." "Alright then I'm going to go see what Sherlock is doing. Holler if you need anything." I liked Molly a lot. And I know that Molly liked Sherlock a lot. But Sherlock felt indifferent about Molly. Just another human. Pity, I think they looked good together but it was best not to dwell on it.

"Myriad colored grains," Sherlock said to me. He pointed under the microscope. "Multiple compounds, Lune. Came off the bottom of his shoe." He wrote something on a list before I took a look, myself.

Chalk (cretaceous)

Asphalt

Brick dust (50's)

Vegetation (2 types) - Rhododendron flower

???

The last item was completely unknown. Adds more and more question marks all the time. Just then, John burst into the room. "God the line was long! Lune, why did I have to go to a specific restaurant?" "There's only one good dim sum around here!" "Well, if you want any you better come over here where apparently none of the food will spoil the 'experiments'." Sherlock waved hello at John. I moved to John who was on the other side of the lab. "Could you get me some more samples, Molly?" Sherlock asked. I took a glimpse one last time at the two before I ate some lunch. "I. Owe. You," Sherlock whispered as he tapped something onto his laptop. Molly's eyes sharpened. "You said I owe you. You were muttering it while working." "Nothing. Mental note," Sherlock said. "You're a bit like my dad. He's dead ... no sorry." Molly closed and scrunched her eyes in embarrassment. Sherlock raised an eyebrow. Molly always tried to make conversation with him but this was a little weird. Even by Sherlock's own standards which was quite shocking to me.

Sherlock looked at Molly as kindly as he could. Which wasn't much he could muster. In fact, it looked quite awkward. "Molly, please don't feel as if you need to make conversation. It's really not my area." Molly stammered on, not seeming to be able to stop. "When he was ... dying. He was always so cheerful and he was lovely." Molly seemed to want to stop. As if she wanted to remember her father that way. Cheerful and lovely. "Except when he thought no one could see. I saw him once when he looked sad. You look sad when you think they can't see you." Sherlock and I caught each other's eyes. He knew that I was listening. I gave him a small smile. I see you, I thought. Or at least I hoped I did. I just knew that Sherlock was planning something. Something big ever since Dad got out of prison. And he wouldn't tell me. I was hurt a bit at first but I got over it eventually. Sherlock was smart. Mycroft was smart. I wasn't smart enough but I could see what I needed to.

He looks away from me and John and turns toward Molly. "Are you okay?" Molly asks Sherlock. "And don't say you are, because I know what that means, looking sad when no one can see you," she says before Sherlock can answer. "But you can see me." "I don't count." Sherlock looked at Molly and I could've sworn I saw pity. But it was gone in an instant. Molly let out the breath she had been holding. "What I'm trying to say is that, if there's anything I can do, anything you need, you can have me." I nearly snorted my drink out of my nose. Molly immediately covered her mouth with her hand and squeaked. "No! I just mean ... I mean if there's anything you need ... it's fine." Molly blushes and shakes her head. "What-what-what could I need from you?" Sherlock asked her. "Nothing. I dunno. You could probably say thank you, actually," Molly said. "Thank you?" Sherlock frowns and turns his head away and Molly starts to walk towards the door. I look at Sherlock and smirk at him. Giving him a slight thumbs up for holding up a conversation. Sherlock still has his frown on. He flicked a hand my way telling me to mind my own business.