Mr Holmes and Miss Hooper - a Sherlolly Story

Chapter 8

After a few weeks, they'd slipped into a routine. Sherlock would come and meet Molly at her classroom and they would walk, hand in hand, to their clearing and sit beneath their tree. Or at least that's what both of them had come to call it inside their heads. Sherlock grew more and more comfortable around Molly and she began to sneak a place deep inside not only his mind palace but his heart as well. She was up there with Mary and John and little Rosamund. He knew he cared for her more than he cared for Greg and Mrs Hudson - and she was like a mother to him. Sherlock knew this may endanger Molly, but no matter how hard he tried he just could not get her out of his head. She was there to stay and happy to freely roam his mind palace in what he now recognised as her favourite cherry printed cardigan and a sailor necked red blouse, along with her black trousers and boots.

He had liked this outfit on her. She was a woman who wore a lot of happy colours such as yellow or pink, so seeing her that one day at the start of May in such a dangerous and flirty colour it- as much as he hated to admit it- it made him feel. More than that, it turned him on. He had told her he had a private tutor at lunchtime that day so he couldn't make it to the clearing with her and she took his excuse as gospel considering it was so close to exam season for the year elevens now. He hated the fact that he had lied to her, but he just didn't think he'd have been able to control himself if he sat with her in what he considered their place while she looked like that. Although she always looked so beautiful there, with just him. No walls and no barriers surrounding her. Where they simply saw each other. They understood each other. But that natural beauty coupled with the sight of her in that red blouse and cardigan might have been too much for him.

As he thought about her, he realised he hadn't seen Molly yet today. She hadn't come into the staffroom that morning, nor had she popped her head into his classroom just to say hello, as she often did. He schooled away the concerned look that had crept onto his face as the bell went and his next class let themselves into his room. Sherlock couldn't help but notice that Loo seemed down, far from her usual perky self. He had tried to catch her attention - he had gotten quite adept at communicating with the Hooper girls with looks alone - but she wouldn't look at him, she kept her eyes glued to her work the full lesson. Not even speaking to Amanda at her side. He was sure he could find out what was wrong if he tried, even if Loo didn't tell him outright but Sherlock didn't want to go snooping around in her personal life. He'd been told off for snooping enough times by John for him to realise it's a bit not good. However, he did care about Loo's wellbeing, and Molly's. He wanted them to come to him if they were ever upset, he wanted to comfort them and protect them. This was no longer a new feeling for Sherlock, but the intensity of it still shocked him sometimes. As Loo had made to leave his classroom, the last one as always, Sherlock gently stepped into her path.

"Are you okay, Loo?"

"I'll be fine. Thank you, Sir."

"Well, if you ever need anything, anything at all, I'm always available to talk." She finally looked at him and gave a weak smile. He had to admit to himself that he liked Louise a lot. She was a very smart girl, and he would have no trouble letting her into his life more fully if the opportunity arose. He knew he was probably getting his hopes up too high, that he was being presumptuous inserting himself into the Hooper girls' lives, but he found he could not stop himself. He reckoned he could even get Loo to help him on some of his cases. He smiled at the thought, and at her, as she left the classroom with a nod and a nervous tug at her sleeve.

Sherlock tried to push his worries to the back of his mind and thought only of displacement reactions for the next two hours. He found his heart racing at the dinging of the lunch bell. He felt a wave of butterflies in his stomach at the thought of finally seeing his Molly! An entire morning of knowing she was just next door, so close but yet out of reach, had driven him up the metaphorical wall. He dismissed his last class and grabbed his lunch, shooting out the door and heading for Molly's room.