Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 Jim Moriarty had always been an organized man.

He knew how many people were working for him, who he could trust to get the job done well, who he couldn't trust even the slightest bit. 

When his appointments were and when he'd be needed by one of his clients. He had his calendar planned out weeks in advance, and he made sure his workers had theirs planned as well.

 He had his suits all arranged in his closet by color so he could wear whichever one caught his eye that morning. He knew exactly which days to bother his favorite rival Sherlock and which days would be best served in other places.

When people called him, he had his secretary trained to know when it was a code 5 which was interesting and important all the way down to a code 1 which was not very interesting, but he could use it when he was bored for something to do.

He was a genius and as a result he had a plan ready in case anything went wrong at any time. However; he did not have anything planned in the case of falling in love.

Well, love was a term he used lightly. He didn't really love anything. He was interested by things or he wasn't. He enjoyed things or he didn't. Love wasn't a concept he was really familiar with himself. Usually he was messing with everyone else's feelings of love. It was strange messing with his own. What did love even feel like? He wasn’t sure.

When he started his fake relationship with a quiet pathologist, his intent was only to mess with Sherlock Holmes. But he ended up finding this pathologist both enjoyable and interesting. He wasn't just interested in her, but fascinated by her as well. She made him feel things he didn't even know it was possible for him to feel. She was so much more than what Sherlock thought she was. She acted so shy and kind and seemed so unimportant, and not to mention dull. But what kind of dark mind must she possess if cutting up bodies was what she did for not only a living, but seemed to bring her joy as well?

She wasn't just an ordinary girl and Jim wanted her for himself.

Jim was never one to deny himself anything that he wanted.

He'd kept an eye on her since their little breakup and knew something was wrong with him when he felt surges of anger towards any male who tried to date her. He was even angry when Sherlock referred to her as his pathologist. The thought made Jim scoff lightly.

Molly Hooper was his. 

And no one was going to take her away from him. It had been approximately three months since his little encounter with the great Sherlock Holmes. Which meant it had been three months since he'd seen his sweet Molly. It was about time to fix that. He knew she would be expecting him eventually, and that thought made the consulting criminal smirk.

Molly looked over at the flowers on her desk. Every month, on that same day, she would receive flowers. And every time there was a note with them that held only two letters—JM.

She was too scared the first time they came to tell anyone.

It had only been two weeks since she had found out he was a criminal and just using her to get to Sherlock. So she had been depressed and scared for those two weeks.

Lestrade had been keeping an eye on her after explaining that Jim...no Moriarty might try to kill her. She had thought maybe this time he was a normal guy who liked her for her. She thought she'd seen and heard from him for the last time when she had broken it off with him.

She would never be so lucky.

Sherlock had been the one to tell her about Jim. Which probably wasn't the greatest idea because he had just taken the opportunity to insult her taste in men again. What had she ever seen in that consulting detective?

After he was done explaining things to her and bombarding her with questions to get every detail about the man from her as he could she quickly went home and proceeded to jump into bed and cry.

She hated herself for being fooled so easily. She hated Sherlock for being so mean to her about everything. She hated Jim for lying to her. But mostly she hated that she had been used once again.

But back to the flowers that were on her desk. They were black and white roses, like usual, and they were stunning.

She didn't know the purpose behind them since she wasn't sure what this Jim's motives were. If they had been from her Jim, sweet Jim from IT, she would have said they were to apologize and make her feel better until she saw him again. However; these weren't from sweet Jim from IT, they were from was Jim Moriarty, the world's only consulting criminal. 

She had checked the flowers for poison and for chemicals that shouldn't be there, but couldn't find any. There were no signs that they had been tampered with or that there was a camera on them or anything. She was so confused by them.

For the next three months she received flowers. On the same day of the month. Always from the same person.

The sick part was that they made her miss him.

The more she got the more she remembered and the more she remembered the more depressed she felt about him being gone.

Sherlock had tried to explain to her that Jim was an evil man who wasn't capable of feeling, but she didn't really believe him about that. She had been with Jim for a few weeks and was just starting to understand him a little.

Even through his little act. 

Molly Hooper was not an idiot. She was actually quite clever, but not in the traditional sense of the word. Sherlock was clever when it came to riddles and facts. Jim was clever with outsmarting the police and putting together crimes.

Molly was clever when it came to people and what they were feeling and what they needed. There were only two people that ever posed a challenge to that cleverness. Two people that she couldn't see through easily. One was Sherlock Holmes, but she'd learned through time how to see what he was feeling and what he needed.

The other was Jim Moriarty. Maybe Sherlock was right and he was a man incapable of feelings and who didn't need anyone in his life to care about him. But Molly would never truly believe that.

The only thing she’d ever doubted that Sherlock had said, and it had to be about this crazy criminal.

She decided since there wasn't anything wrong with her flowers she didn't need to say anything to anyone. What's the big deal? It'd be her little secret.

She was still angry at Sherlock for being rude to her anyways. Why did it matter that she was getting gifts from Moriarty? What would that help Sherlock do? Knowing what she did about the consulting criminal he would have covered his tracks well, so there really wasn't any point in Sherlock knowing. Plus they made her feel special for once.

The fourth month of getting flowers was the month of her birthday. She wasn’t expecting anything more from him, but he gave her so much more.

Chapter Text

Molly Hooper walked into work on her birthday with a smile, as usual, and a chipper attitude. She was humming to herself as she went to her desk to check what her schedule was for that morning. She had taken the afternoon off for herself so she could relax, and the other pathologist could handle those items. There were only two bodies to be looked at today so she got to work. About halfway through her examination of the first body, everyone's favorite consulting detective came bursting into the room.

Molly jumped as the doors suddenly swung open loudly.

"Sherlock!  What have I told you about doing that?"  She had a hand over her accelerating heart and looked over to Sherlock who seemed to be ignoring her. It always startled her when he burst into the room because she was used to working in a quiet environment. Not much excitement around dead bodies.

"Sherlock, what are you doing here?" she asked him while trying very hard not to think about the fact that he almost made her mess up her examination.

"I need to borrow your microscope." he said simply and walked over to where she had set up the microscope.

"Okay, but let me..." she didn't get a chance to finish before he simply took her slides that she was working with and tossed them over to the side. He was mumbling to himself which meant he was most likely on a case.

"..clean it up first." she sighed and went over to make sure her work wasn't completely ruined.

"Don't you have a microscope?" she asked him as she cleaned up his mess, once again.

"John took it away." He mumbled as he continued to work.

"Why?"

"Because he insisted I needed to get out of the house and do something not case related, now do shut up Molly! I'm trying to solve a murder here."

Molly felt her spirits drop even further. Sherlock was in one of those moods today and that meant she wouldn't be getting any joy from his visit today.

 And on her birthday of all days.

She quietly went back to her space and continued to drown out his presence by working. What had she expected? Sherlock wasn't one to remember things like this anyways, especially not for people he didn't even consider friends.

She was almost finished with her autopsy when someone knocked on the lab door. She quickly took her gloves off and headed over to the door with a slight huff of annoyance at being interrupted yet again.

"Yes?" she asked as she opened the door. She gasped lightly as she saw what was waiting for her.

"Are you Molly Hooper?"

"Um, well, yes I am. Are these for me?" she asked the delivery man and pointed to the elegant display of flowers in front of her. She was slightly in awe.

"Yes they are. Just sign right here please."

She did as she was asked and took the giant bouquet of flowers from him. They were beautiful. Carnations were her favorite and she smiled slightly to herself. Who would be this nice to her on her birthday?

"Excuse me sir! Who are they from?" she asked the man as he started to walk away.

"I'm not sure miss. Sorry, but you have a nice day!"

"It's alright, thank you. And you, too!" she smiled as she walked back into her office to set them in the vase she now kept there regularly. She pulled the note off the flowers and read the message

For a special day, darling. And more surprises to come. -JM

A shiver went down her spine as she read the note.

The excitement was melting away into fear.

This wasn't all? Should she run? Should she tell Sherlock? Should she call the police? Every fiber in her being was screaming at her to tell someone so that if she went missing at least they'd know who did it.

But he was pulling at her heartstrings. No one else had remembered her birthday. Not Sherlock, not Mrs. Hudson, not Greg, not even John. It was almost time for her to leave work and not one of her colleagues remembered either.

Jim had. Jim remembered. Jim sent her flowers.

 She had butterflies in her stomach and was a little frightened at the thought that they weren't there out of fear or terror. No. They were there because she was happy and excited. She felt like a bloody school girl getting a note from her yearlong crush.

She put the note neatly in her pocket and tried to convince herself that it was fine. No one needed to know. She wasn't important anyways, right? It didn't matter what he did to her because in the end no one would really care all that much.

Jim was making her feel special and he wasn't even around anymore! He was a criminal for hell's sake, and he made her feel more important than her friends did. How pathetic.

She decided she'd think about it later and went back to finish her work. After finishing the first body and the report she decided that she was done and would leave the rest for later or for someone else to do.

She packed up her things and went over to where Sherlock was still studying whatever it was that he thought was so interesting.

"I'm leaving for the day Sherlock you're welcome to stay here, but please try not to make a mess alright?"

He didn't give any indication that he'd heard her, and instead just kept working. So she left with a sigh. She walked out the door and to her car.

She was ready to be done with Sherlock for the day and probably the rest of the week.

As she was driving home she thought she saw Jim driving a car next to her, but doing a double take she realized she was wrong.

Maybe some time relaxing at home would help her clear her head. He'd been plaguing her thoughts for months now and this wasn't the first time she thought she'd seen him randomly around her.

She got home and walked into her flat completely ready to lay down and not worry about anything for the next few hours. Walking into the living room she felt her cat rub up against her leg and smiled slightly as she bent down to pick him up and scratch his head.

"You remembered my birthday, right Toby?" She sighed and went to her bedroom. She felt her heart stop as she looked at her bed. There was a package on it wrapped in beautiful black wrapping paper with a perfect white bow on top. She carefully went towards it. 

Who had left this here? How had they even gotten into her home? Her heart was beating quicker as she gently touched the paper and slipped her fingers over to the card. She carefully opened the envelope to reveal a simple white card that read

Happy birthday Molly Hooper. Sorry everyone else forgot, but you'll always have little old me to remember. I'll see you soon, darling. -JM

That familiar thrill of excitement and fear went through her entire body and she visibly shuddered.

He'd see her soon? What did that mean? Nothing he said was ever just a coincidence so did that mean he was coming to see her?

The thought crossed her mind that she should call the police, but as she looked at the phone she frowned. That meant no more flowers, no more cards, and no more secret. That meant no more Jim.

Criminal or not, it wasn't against the law to send someone a birthday present was it? No. She stepped carefully around her bed and slipped her sweater off before gently sitting next to the gift. Her hands were shaking as she pulled the bow off the lid and lifted the top off. Her eyes widened when she looked into the box.

She slowly and carefully pulled it out of the box. It was a white ball gown. It was absolutely lovely. She had never had something so exquisite in her entire life. It looked too expensive for her to ever be able to afford and like she would only be able to wear it to really fancy parties. She lifted it out of the box and found two smaller boxes underneath it. She carefully laid it to the side and took them out of the bottom of the box.

She opened the smaller one first and felt herself smile at what she saw. It was a necklace that would go perfectly with her dress and it looked just like the one she'd lost while dating Jim. She had been so heartbroken over it and Jim had told her that she could always get another one. She hadn't even thought about it for months.

She was touched that he even remembered. The other side of her brain rationalized that it could have just been a coincidence, but that was a very small chance.

The other box held a beautiful black and white mask inside. It looked like he was setting her up for a masquerade ball. She had never seen anything more lovely in her entire life. She felt herself start to tear up and laughed at herself as she wiped a tear away from her eye.

Consulting Criminal or not, he can't be all bad if he's managed to make my birthday amazing without even being here in person. She thought as she looked over her gifts.

She let her fingers run over the material of the gown and decided she wanted to play dress-up. She bit her lip slightly as she was thinking. Maybe she could spare an hour and make herself look pretty. Just for fun.

She was about to go try it on when that shy, self-conscious, self-doubting Molly came out to play and she shook her head as she went to her closet to hang it up so it stayed looking nice.

After setting the mask and her necklace on her dresser she let out a deep breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. All this thinking and keeping secrets was exhausting. She realized how drained she felt and moved the box from her bed as she went to lay down. Her eyes closed and she felt herself drifting off, with thoughts of Jim running through her head as she fell into a deep sleep.

Jim chuckled to himself as he watched his little mouse. He had eyes and cameras everywhere so he could see her reactions to what he was doing. Watching the internal struggle that went on inside her each month as she got the flowers he sent her was almost more entertaining than having Sebastian kill someone from his sniper tower just as they thought they were going to live. Almost.

She obviously knew that accepting these gifts from him was wrong, but at the same time she didn't want to turn him in, because he made her feel special.

It was a vicious thing.

With this last gift he knew she was even more reeled in. The flowers were harmless, but this was something completely different. He had given her this gift with a more devious purpose than the regular flowers. Those were to get her to forgive him for not being who he said he was.

He wasn't sorry, but if they were going to work as a couple he needed her to like him again. She was going to be his and he knew it was only a matter of time, and perhaps a little convincing from him in person, but not quite yet. For now he would have to be content with watching her from afar. He had people looking in on her for him at all times.

Eyes on her always.

People ready in case she was hurt or threatened. She was important and he would make sure she stayed safe. This little game he had going on with Sherlock would be over in a few months and he wanted her wrapped around his fingers by then.

More so than usual that is.

She seemed to be playing this game with him perfectly at the moment. He wished he could hear her inner monologues, but her face gave a lot away just as well. At least when she was alone it did.

She seemed to be a good actress around anyone who would get in the way of their little secret together. His Molly had quite a few things up her sleeves that he hadn't been aware of as Jim from IT.

He did something special for her birthday so that later he could kick up his game a few notches. Next time she got a gift from him he was going to give it to her in person. If all else failed in his ever so carefully laid out plan he would just go to her house and knock on the front door.  

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair as his phone rang.

"What?” He asked in a bored tone.

"Boss, your three o'clock is here, should I start?"

Jim smirked and switched his screen so he could watch as the two almost victims made their way into the abandoned warehouse.  

"Yes Sebastian do begin." he hung up the phone and watched the screen with his head tilted slightly.

Jim couldn't hear the gun, but he saw one of them fall to the ground and the other start to run in a panic.

"Nice try." Jim said and laughed as the two now lay lifeless on the floor. His men immediately ran in to cover up the mess and make it look like a murder-suicide.

"Don't try to trick a professional trickster." he said in a singsong tone and chuckled to himself again as he leaned back in his chair.

"Now back to my favorite channel." he said and switched over to Molly's place. She was just looking at her gift and seemed frozen out of shock.

Jim watched her get up her nerve to try it on and then sighed in frustration as she lost it and hung it up in her closet.

"You'll wear it soon enough, darling." he said to the screen as he watched her climb into bed and curl up like a child to sleep. He was alone so he let his eyes soften slightly. She was just so innocent and pure.

He shook his head and cleared his throat. She was the only one able to make him feel like this. He didn't do feelings, but she made him feel. She evened out his evil with her good.

Opposites attract as they say.

Jim got up and walked, hands in his pockets, to another room to take a phone call from a very important client that was scheduled in a few minutes. He put his game face on and relaxed. He could do this in his sleep. In fact it would probably be better in his sleep because awake he was thinking about his future plans with Molly Hooper and those distracted him slightly from his job. Not that anyone could tell the difference. He was a genius after all and covered up his tracks very nicely. He straightened his tie and stuck his hands in his pockets as he waited for this call to happen.

 He wasn't the most patient man, but he could wait for Molly. Especially since it was his plan that was taking so long to carry out. He would make sure everything was perfect for when it all fell in place.

Chapter Text

It had been a month and Molly hadn't touched the dress. She had worn the necklace every day, but the mask and gown remained in the back of her closet. Every time she saw or felt the necklace on her Jim popped into her head. She felt as if she was carrying a dark secret and if she was caught the entire world would explode.

What was she doing? Why wasn't she turning him in? Did she still feel something for him? Somewhere in her head she realized that this Jim was no longer her Jim, but it was a small secluded area in her brain that she couldn't seem to reach when she really needed to.

It was eating away at her from the inside and she found herself being more cross with people and more impatient.

She wanted to see him. No more of this sending her gifts and never showing his face business. 

She had this longing feeling swelling up in her chest. It got tighter as she thought about him making it seem hard to breathe.

 She felt so alone since he'd left. Sherlock was more focused on his cases than ever and that meant John was more focused on him. Molly didn't have very many colleagues she even talked to. Greg was busy with police work and she didn't really talk to him much as it was.

So she had only the company of the dead.

She was finishing up another autopsy and getting ready to leave for the night when she noticed it was the day she usually received her flowers. They hadn't come at the regular time and she felt her heart sink at the thought that Jim had forgotten her and left her like everyone else.

She went through her office and slipped her coat on. She sat at her desk and let her fingers ghost over the notes she kept in her pocket. The notes from Jim she got on her birthday. She pulled them out to read them again.

What did he mean by these stupid gifts and notes and playing with her emotions?

She let out a groan of frustration and went back to work. She just had to finish this body. It was an old man in his eighties who had died of a heart-attack. She was just stitching his chest up and cleaning her supplies when Sherlock came bounding into the room.

"Oh hello Sherlock!" she smiled at him while continuing to clean up.

"Molly, I need to see one of the reports for the last body you worked on." he said and proceeded to look through her papers on her desk to find the one he was looking for.

"Oh okay, what for?" she tried to ask him but he just started pacing and muttering something about a clever crime.

"Sherlock...?" she tried again but this time she gently touched his arm to get his attention.

He seemed to freeze at the contact and she pulled away with a slight blush.

"Um, what's going on with these two? Is there a problem with my reports? It was a murder-suicide, happened in a warehouse the other side of London. Police said it was a family dispute over..." she stopped talking and tilted her head to the side a bit

"A dispute over inheritance, yes. What is it Molly? Why did you stop talking?" Sherlock stood in front of her and gripped her by her shoulders. He leaned down and looked her straight in the eyes.

"What is it?" he asked again, sounding more impatient than the first time.

"W-Well I was just going over it in my head and it doesn't make a lot of sense. Hang on." She frowned and went over to where the bodies were. She pulled them both out again and got to work.

An hour later she was cursing to herself at not having caught it sooner.

"They were sniper rounds that initially killed them. This wasn't a murder-suicide it was a cover up for two murders. Damn." She leaned against the wall and let out a deep breath. Sherlock was calling Lestrade and cursing as he found that there wasn't anything they could do because everything was so well covered-up.

"This is Moriarty's work I know it." he muttered into the phone and all but threw it across the room when he didn't get his way. There was nothing the police could do.

Sherlock slipped the phone in his pocket and Molly watched him grab his coat and slip it on. She slowly got to work cleaning up and making changes to her reports.

She felt so stupid. It had taken Sherlock coming into the lab and looking at the stupid reports for her to figure it out. She'd been over those bodies twice and this last time made thrice. She was losing her touch.

It hadn't made sense to her. Why kill yourself if you were fighting over inheritance money? Just kill the other person and cover it up, then you get all the money. It was thoughts like this that helped her with her job.

She finished cleaning up the bodies and putting them away again. She didn't realize that Sherlock was standing there the whole time, he was simply watching her. When she was all done she turned around and he was so close to her she jumped in fright.

"Ah! Sherlock I-I thought you'd left." She backed up a few steps, a blush covering her cheeks.

"You figured it out. You solved it without me having to deduce anything. You just knew."

Molly shook her head and tugged nervously at the bottom of her sleeves.

"N-No I just didn't think it made sense...all the facts together. After a while in this job you start thinking like a criminal a bit. And how the criminals think the police think. Because if you don't you'll never know what really happens to these people." Her voice is quiet and her gaze is on the floor by the time she's done. She sounds like a freak, even to herself. She coughs lightly to try and diffuse the tension.

Sherlock simply looked at her for a moment, like he was seeing her for the first time. She awkwardly shuffled her feet and then looked at the clock.

"It's time for me to be going, I'm already leaving late." She looked up at him and he seemed to snap out of it and nod while clearing his throat.

"Quite right. Yes. Let's get going then." He turned around and walked out of the morgue. Molly was right behind him and as they walked out the front door she hesitantly said

"I'll see you later Sherlock."

He nodded, waved his hand in a “yes, yes” gesture and walked the opposite direction to go hail a cab. She walked to the parking garage and went to where her car should have been parked.

"What the.." she spun around a few time to make sure her car wasn't there.

"Bloody fantastic..." she groaned in frustration and stuck her hand in her purse to find her cell phone. 

"Are you Molly Hooper?" a voice from behind her asked, making her jump a few feet.

"...who's asking?" she stayed where she was as she talked to the man. He looked strangely familiar, but she couldn't place where she'd seen him before.

"Your car has been taken home for you and this car has been arranged to take you to your new destination this evening."

She blinked a few times and then took a step back

"Actually I think I'll just walk home then..." she started walking away rather quickly, but the man stopped her with just a few words.

"Jim said you'd be hesitant. Come on he's got a lovely evening planned."

Molly Hooper knew she should have run. She should have called the police and gotten as far away from this situation as possible, but at the mere sound of Jim's name she felt her entire body get excited. She took another hesitant step back before asking.

"Jim...Moriarty?" she asked quietly and the man smirked a little as he stepped forward and opened the door for her. After waiting a second more to make sure this was what she really wanted to do, she went and got into the car. Hopefully Jim was making good on his promise to see her soon.

Jim had been watching Molly at work all day. He was itching to see her reaction for his plans that night and couldn't wait to see her in person. Did Sherlock really have to come in and ruin everything? He had planned on taking Molly out to dinner first before this little show, but now they wouldn't have time.

He had to say he was impressed by Molly after she had figured out what really happened to those people. He never imagined she could figure out one of his cover-up schemes. She was good at what she did that he knew, but he didn’t know she was this good.

He'd have to make sure Sebastian was more careful from now on. Sherlock Holmes seemed to understand now that Molly wasn't just an ordinary girl and Jim didn't like the way he looked at her after she had finished letting him in on some of the darker parts of her mind. Jim knew all along they were there. No matter, he'd deal with Sherlock another day. Right now he was preparing for the rest of the evening.

He hadn't given her that gown and mask for nothing.

A masquerade ball was the perfect place to meet her in person for the first time since she'd found out about his true nature. And he had a thing for dramatic entrances.  He had the perfect black and silver outfit, fit for a king, ready for him and an all-black mask that was sure to leave people guessing as to who he was.

Molly was leaving so he set to work getting all ready and had his driver take him to the party. He would wait until she walked down the stairs and then he'd swoop in and grab her before any other guy could. Perhaps it was better to meet her at the ball first so that the masks and dancing could break the ice that would inevitably be there.

He could not have prepared anymore for this event. He'd been planning it for months, making sure every detail was perfect, and if it wasn't perfect then people were going to die.

Molly didn't need to wonder how they all got in her house to get these things, nor how they got her car home without her keys. She figured this was all child's play for them so she didn't bother to ask any stupid questions. As they arrived to the back of a building she hadn't ever seen before, the driver got out and offered her his hand to help her.

"Where are we?" she asked

He evaded the question and said instead

"There's a masquerade ball going on tonight, and you'll be attending. Now I have your gown and mask here for you to change into. Follow me." He started walking away and she quickly followed.

"W-Wait! A ball? As in there will be dancing, and fancy dresses and masks? But I haven't had any time to get ready and I don't dance!"

"Jim seems to think you'll enjoy it, and everything to get ready with is right over here." he said with a slight smirk. It seemed her driver knew something she didn't.

They walked for a bit and she, eventually, followed him up a flight of stairs and into a hallway.

"Go change in there. I'll wait for you right here and take you to the party when you're done."

"O-Okay. Thank you..um what was your name?" she asked and held her gown in her arms a little tighter. He just laughed a little and turned around

"If this works out in Jim's favor then you'll be seeing a lot more of me. I'll tell you the next time you two have a date."

She felt a shiver of anticipation go up her spine. A date huh.

"Alright." She said and went into the small room to get ready.

She wasn't one for parties. Especially not ones that you had to dress up all fancy for. But if this was the only way for her to see Jim...then she would just have to suck up her shyness and awkwardness and do it.

She felt her hands shake as she undressed and put her gown on. It was a perfect fit and the thought that Jim knew her size made her blush more than she'd like to admit. She put her hair down and suddenly wished she had a straightener to fix it up a bit, and she didn't have to wish long because a little looking around helped her to find exactly that. Quickly fixing her hair up and touching up her make-up a bit she gently slipped the mask on. The small black heels fit perfectly and she walked a little to make sure she wouldn't die in them. Finally she took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. She gasped a little and turned around a few times to make sure it was really her she was seeing. She looked beautiful.

After a few more minutes of touching up and playing dress-up she finally, and shakily, opened the door. The driver was standing there and she swore she saw his eyes pop a little.

"Right this way miss Hooper." He led her up another flight of stairs and then to the top of a grand staircase that went down straight into where the party was in full swing.

"So I'm late and walking down the stairs into the middle of the party. That’s not embarrassing at all." she muttered and saw her driver's mouth twitch up on the sides.

"It'll help Jim find you. Now go have fun." he said and turned around to walk away.

"Wait don't leave me alone!" she tried to call out to him, but he just kept walking.

"O-Okay Molly you can do this. It's just some stairs." She took in a shaky breath and silently cursed Jim and his need for the dramatic before gracefully and slowly making her way down into the room.

Time seemed to stop as she did so and she could feel all eyes on her. She hated that feeling, but continued down the stairs until she reached the bottom. Several men had their eyes on her, just staring right at her. A few women as well and she tried not to fidget uncomfortably. Suddenly a feeling of panic shot through her. What was she doing here? Why was she here meeting a dangerous criminal at a party? She should be at home, not interacting with the most dangerous man alive and certainly not dressing up for him.

Just as she turned to go back upstairs she bumped into someone.

"Where are do you think you’re going?" that voice sent shivers up her spine and she looked up into the eyes of the man who had been plaguing her, mind and soul, for months.

"Jim." she whispered with wide eyes in a small voice.

He was grinning at her, it was almost a smirk. He looked amazingly handsome in his suit and mask and although she knew exactly who it was behind it, no one else would.

"Oh Molly Hooper. It has been a while hasn't it. Come along darling I do believe we're in the middle of the party. Why don't we come over here where it's a little less public?"

He offered her his arm and she hesitantly took it. He smirked as she held onto his arm and he led them to the side of the room and away from the dancing.

"You look absolutely lovely Molly. I'm glad you liked my gift, I picked it out specially, just for you." Jim was being chatty and kind and complimenting her. It was like it wasn't even a big deal that he was the world's biggest criminal and used her in a way that really hurt her feelings. Needless to say, Molly was uncharacteristically quiet as they made their way to a private corner.

"Now Molly what's going on in that head of yours? You're here which means you wanted to see me." He had his hands in his pockets and that smirk seemed permanently etched into his face.

"So this is the real you." She said quietly, giving him a good once over.

"Well I'm not usually wearing these kind of dress-up clothes." He replied with a grin. He let his eyes sweep over her and felt that usual spiral of emotions run through him whenever he looked at her.

Molly nodded slightly and asked him a question

"Why have you been sending me gifts and flowers? I mean what am I to you other than the girl you used to get to Sherlock Holmes?"

He took one hand out of his pocket and ran it through his hair

"I didn't use you to get to Sherlock Holmes. I used you to mess with Sherlock Holmes."

Molly scoffed and folded her arms

"Really? That makes me feel so much better." She looked down and clenched her fist lightly in frustration as she held in her tears. She refused to cry in front of him.

"I don't know why I'm here." She whispered with a sad expression.

Jim chuckled at this and took a step closer to her.

"Now that I do have an answer for. You're here because you miss me. Because you're beautifully clever and for whatever reason, you have feelings for me. I've made you feel special and wanted and that's more than your so called friends." He took another step and she flinched back a bit

"I don't miss..." she started but he cut her off in a cold tone

"Don't lie to me Molly. I am the king of lies and you are as easy to read, when it comes to lying, as a children's book. Now let's try that again shall we?" his voice was calmer at the end but she didn't like how cold he had sounded.

"You don't even know how much you hurt me do you. When you weren't who you said you were and I found out that I had been used for whatever reason, again. I swear I'm not letting that happen again so if it's your end game to hurt my friends through me then it doesn't matter what you make me feel I'm not putting up with it again." She said getting a sudden surge of courage that made Jim raise an eyebrow. She didn't feel any fear towards the man in front of her. She felt like he wouldn't hurt her, and for some odd reason she believed that feeling.

"Why, Molly Hooper, I am offended that you would even think such things.  I don't want to use you for anything. My intentions here are pure,” his lips curved up into a smile, “Well pure selfishness and desire, but pure nonetheless." He gently took her hand and placed a soft kiss on the top of it, staring straight into her eyes while doing so.

She felt her heart start beating faster again, and the blush rising up on her cheeks too. The feeling of him touching her sent an electric current through her entire body. She felt it getting harder to breathe and knew he was smirking because he knew.

It was a thrill being with him. The real Jim. It was like he had slivers of Jim from IT showing through, but she had a whole new side of him to get to know. It was like Romeo and Juliet, and she hoped no one had to die.

"O-Okay." She whispered

She felt a pang of sadness go through her body as he let go of her hand. She looked into his eyes through the mask and couldn't seem to look away.

"Now you don't know a lot about the 'real' me, as you put it, but you should know I'm a man who always gets what he wants."

He was looking her in the eyes again and stepped as close as he could to her without them touching. He leaned in close to her ear and continued softly

"And, Molly Hooper," he twirled a strand of her hair with his index finger as he declared "I want you."

She froze and tried to step back but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him, done with pretending he didn't want to.

"W-why me? I'm nothing special. I'm just a quiet pathologist that has never mattered. I'm not even that smart. Why would you ever want me?" Her voice was small, but it didn't break as much as she thought it would have. She gripped slightly onto his sleeves to keep herself standing straight.

He laughed and kept his arms tight around her so she couldn't escape.

"You're smarter than you give yourself credit for Molly. Not many pathologists can see through my cover-up schemes."

Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't bring herself to actually say anything. He seemed to be able to hear the thoughts in her head and Molly swore he was pouting about it. He was just like Sherlock, a man child.

"Ah yes, there's that bit where I'm a criminal. But I think we should save that for a second or third date discussion don't you think? Let's go dance. I want to show off that I've got the most beautiful woman in the room by my side."

And with that he led her to the dance floor where a waltz started to play and he led her in a dance. After a minute into their dance he made the observation that she was quite a good dancer.

"You dance like you've been doing this for years." He says to her after spinning her back in close to his body.

"I took lessons when I was little. My mother wanted me to be a dancer, but I wasn't the most graceful child so it didn't work out." She admitted softly. She didn't know why she felt comfortable sharing things like this with him. He could use it against her when he got bored of her and decided she needed to die. But as crazy as it sounded, and as crazy as it was, she felt safe with him. She felt like for once someone wanted her around, and this time not just to use her for her work or because she was too nice to say no.

They danced in silence for the most part, but it was a comfortable silence. Molly didn't want to ruin a perfectly good date with more deep questions about his motives and his line of work. And Jim wasn't inclined to make her. Everything felt right for once. She was in his arms and they were dancing. The night was going smoothly considering who she was with. No one had been murdered and nothing had been stolen or set on fire. She took that as a good sign.

When the dance was over she was very reluctant to leave his arms and he could sense that, so he pulled her into another dance just to keep her close.

"I'm not kidding you know. I will have you Molly. You'll be mine either of your own choosing or because of some....persuasion of mine." He swung her around and held her tightly as she came back to him. Molly shuddered and refused to think about what that persuasion entailed.

"We could have such grand times together. You and me. The consulting criminal and his dark queen. Just think about it." He spoke into her ear softly and gently placed a kiss on her cheek as the dance ended.

Molly's breathing had quickened and she seemed to be blushing once again. He was so alluring and it scared her how much she wanted to accept his offer.

"I will have to think about it." She replied quietly and bit her lip as she actually did start to think about it.

This was mad.

She was thinking about being involved with the world's most dangerous criminal, the Prince of crime, and she was leaning towards the affirmative.

"You'll have some time to think my sweet Molly. My games with Sherlock are ending soon and that means I won't be seeing you again for a while." He sighed dramatically and held Molly closer.

"Oh..." She felt her face drop and disappointment flow through her.

"Don't miss me too much, darling. I'll be back for you. I'll always be back for you. Remember that my dear." His voice sounded strangely sinister and cold at the end there. Almost as if he was giving a warning or a message. She nodded in response and smiled back at him when he grinned at her.

They danced until the last song and talked about everyday things until the party was basically over. He walked her out to where the car was and they both got in it. As they started to move he took his mask off for the first time that night. He went to run his hand through his hair to fix it, but stopped when Molly's fingers gently beat him to it. He stopped and she saw the lust rise in his eyes as she lingered.

She smiled at him shyly with a blush and removed her hand saying

"This was good, um, yes, I has a lot of fun. Thank you for a lovely evening."

He reached up and took her mask off for her, adding it to the pile where his was and slowly ran his fingers down her cheek.

"Ah yes. A lovely evening with a lovely woman. What more could a man ask for?" He noticed her shudder and that damn smirk was back on his face.

Molly looked into his eyes and for a moment, just a moment, saw a flicker of some emotion she had never seen from him before. She wasn't sure why, but it made her want to get to know him better. She wanted to love him. To be that one person he didn't have to hide from anymore. Everyone needed that one person they could be themselves with and Molly wanted to be that person for Jim.

He was looking into her eyes and repeated what he had said earlier.

"Oh Molly. We really could have..."

She didn't let him finish and instead leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. She pulled away slightly and whispered

"Grand times?"

Her eyes never left his and she bit her lip in anticipation of his reaction to the kiss. He simply grinned and grabbed her face in his hands as he crushed his lips to hers. She squeaked lightly from the force of the kiss and he used that to his advantage and pulled her up against him.

She moved her hands to his hair and the side of his face and kissed him softly and gently. In contrast to his lips that were hard and rough against hers. He'd been waiting for this moment for a very long time and she seemed to want it as well which just fueled his passion.  She felt as if that electric current was back and the more she kissed him the more she wanted to. The longer they touched the less she ever wanted to stop.

When they parted, and only for the need to breathe, they were panting heavily. Jim tightened his grip on her with the one arm around her waist and moved some hair out of her face with the other hand.

"I-I.." she started to say but he stopped her with another kiss. He was snogging the life right out of her again and she was trying hard not to make more noise than necessary. They hadn't even noticed that the car had stopped in front of Molly's flat.

Their driver tapped on the window and while Molly tried to pull away in embarrassment, Jim just held her to him longer and kept kissing her so hard that she soon forgot about getting out and was more concerned about Jim and the things his tongue was currently doing in her mouth. Their driver once again tapped on the window and Jim finally parted from Molly with a slight growl.

"I don't like being interrupted, but in this instance I'll have to allow it."

She felt her face slip into a pout and he chuckled at her.

"I have things I need to get in order. And you, my darling, have work tomorrow. I promise this isn't the end to our little adventures together. Just wait and see." he smirked and Molly's heart skipped a beat.

She nodded even though the last thing she wanted was for him to leave.

Jim got out of the car first and walked around to open her door. She had her mask in her one hand and took his hand with the other. He laced their fingers together as he walked her up to her door.

"Don't miss me too much Molly. You'll see me again." he said as she opened her door.

"I can't make any such promises." she said and smiled at him, but there was a sadness to it that Jim couldn't quite place.

Jim leaned in and kissed her again, this time short and sweet.

"I'll see you soon, darling. Try and stay out of trouble while I'm away."

She laughed at his choice of words and bit her lip as she stepped away from him.

"Goodbye for now, Jim." she whispered and slowly shut the door. She leaned against her now closed door and took a deep breath. She felt like she was going crazy. She was falling in love with the consulting criminal and he wanted her just as much as she wanted him. She felt light and happy as she went to her room and changed into her pajamas. She hung up her dress and mask and went into the bathroom. She still had that goofy smile on her face and every thought of Jim had her blushing.

She was humming as she combed her hair. When she realized she looked just like a love-sick puppy she had to laugh at herself. But then she felt that pang of guilt run through her system. Jim Moriarty was a dangerous man and he had killed so many people. Maybe not personally, but he had them killed. He was a criminal. She should tell someone she's seen him.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She could feel herself splitting in two over this. Why did she always have to fall for the wrong guy? First with Sherlock and now with Jim.

She wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. She'd fallen for not one, but two psychopaths in her life time. How many people could say that?

She took a deep breath and fell back onto her bed. She smiled to herself as she replayed the night in her head. Next time couldn't come soon enough.

Chapter Text

Jim was smirking to himself as he slipped his suit on and prepared to meet with a very important client.  He whistled while he was getting ready and Sebastian couldn't repress his scoff.

"You're looking very cunning and evil today Jim. What with the whistling and being all lovesick. Very bad-ass."

"Sebastian, bite your tongue before I have it ripped out." Jim said casually while combing his hair back and switching from whistling to humming.

"I don't think I've seen you this happy since you figured out Sherlock Holmes existed. Were you this in love with him, too?" 

Jim simply chuckled and straightened his suit again.

"There are only two people in this world that are in love with Sherlock Holmes. And those people would be Sherlock Holmes and John Watson."

Sebastian cracked a smile while walking over to sit at the table. He stopped talking and went to work taking his gun apart and cleaning it.

Jim sighed in a dramatic way that made Sebastian want to roll his eyes. Here came the complaints.

"It's so boring around here. When are we scheduled to bother Sherlock again?"

Sebastian actually did roll his eyes, this time, at Jim's childish behavior. There were very few people that he acted like this with and Sebastian was one of those people. For a genius criminal he could sure whine. He hated when he had nothing to do. It was worse now, because all he wanted to do was Molly. Sebastian chuckled slightly at his own private joke.

"Check your calendar, boss. You've been the one planning this whole thing remember?"

Jim silently went over to the desk and picked up his phone. He hated it when Seb talked to him like he was a child who didn't know what was going on. But at the same time Sebastian had put up with some really horrible things from Jim, himself, so he usually let it slide. His best and most loyal sniper got some slack because Jim had a soft spot for ruthless killers who did what they were told.

"I already know exactly when. I was just seeing if you did, since you'll be in charge of aiming your gun at his best friend's chest."

Sebastian nodded and continued to clean his gun.

"Six weeks, then." He said and inspected where he'd already cleaned for a spec of anything that needed to be gone.

"Of course. And that means I only have until then to make Molly Hooper fall even more in love with me. Have you gotten everything arranged?" He asked the sniper whilst fixing his own tie again. Jim seemed to think that everything with Sherlock was sorted and focused all his energy on Molly Hooper. Sebastian didn't understand him when he got a new obsession like this. He just hoped Molly knows what she's doing. Jim wouldn't spend this much time on her if he wasn't set on her being his for a very long time.

"Yeah, now why am I doing things like delivering flowers and driving people places instead of shooting people and being a bodyguard?" Sebastian shook his head and continued to think, silently to himself, that it would great when all this was over and Molly was with them all the time. Because Jim wouldn't shut up about her and it was starting to get annoying, not that he'd ever say anything to him. In fact it was starting to be really fun for Sebastian to be involved with Molly and he'd hate for Jim to use someone other than him to get the job done.

"It's only until after Sherlock has his little fall. Lots of people needing to be murdered after that Seb." Jim finished speaking and his phone started ringing.

"Speak." He answered his phone with this same command every time.

"I already told you that you wouldn't have to do anything about that." He held the phone away from his ear and groaned in annoyance. But after a second more of listening he straightened up and all but yelled

"EVERYONE DIES." He squeezed one hand into a fist and closed his eyes for a moment before he continued.

"Everyone dies if what you're telling me is a lie."

He listened again and then let out a laugh before being serious again.

"You already have the plans I sent you. OF COURSE IT WILL WORK."

"Any more stupid questions? Really? You don't think this is going to go well? Maybe you should ask another consulting criminal, oh wait. I’M THE ONLY ONE."

Sebastian listened as the talking went on a few more minutes and he grinned when Jim started screaming again. It meant they were dealing with an ignorant client that he could probably get away with killing. If there was one thing Jim hated more than anything else it was his genius being questioned. That and being laughed at.

"Good, because it would be horrible if you were given too much morphine next week after your surgery, now wouldn't it?" Jim said calmly, but the threat was icy. He wasn't happy anymore.

He hung up the phone and Seb looked up at him.

"Next week. However you want to kill them. Get the money first." Jim said in his calm voice. But from the way he was using short sentences Sebastian knew he wasn't going to change his mind this time. 

"Sure thing, Jim." Sebastian said and got back to work. He could tell by Jim's stance that he wasn't in the mood to be playful anymore. He was so annoyed it almost showed through his perfect mask of calm. Sebastian, himself, never had to worry about getting the bad end of that, but it still wasn't something he liked to watch. He decided to get him calmed down again. It only ever took two words to get his full attention anymore. Molly Hooper.

"Want to go watch Molly get even more frustrated with you not being there? She's already snapped at Sherlock twice today." Sebastian said focusing on his guns again and acting like he didn't really care if Jim did or not. He was using this Molly calms him down thing for all it was worth. He could feel the tension leave the room as Jim thought about what he'd just said. Sebastian had to resist the urge to smirk.

"It's barely been two weeks. Maybe I don't need to help her become more in love with me. One date and she's smitten."

Sebastian smirked and shook his head slightly.

"Annoyed is more like it. After months of gifts and then only one actual face to face meeting? A woman has needs Jim. Even one as patient as Molly Hooper. Hopefully she doesn't think you've left her. Otherwise she might try to move on to a different guy."

Jim all but growled and Sebastian looked up to see the consulting criminal glaring at him.

"What? I'm just saying. She has her dear Sherlock around all the time. He's there more than you are."

Jim was silent for a minute and then thought about how Sherlock referred to Molly as his pathologist. That made him angry. Angry to the point that he had to stop and think about why. He didn't think it was jealousy but as he thought more on that particular emotion he decided that it was indeed jealousy and that made him scoff quietly. There was nothing to be jealous of. Sherlock Holmes was beneath him.

Jim rolled his eyes and looked back into his mirror.

"Sherlock Holmes was a problem before I dated Molly Hooper. Now he's just an annoying thing in my way. He's not even a challenge anymore. Ugh so disappointing." Jim was about to go on when someone knocked on his door.

"Sir? Your clients have arrived."

He nodded to Sebastian who clicked his gun back into perfect order and got up from his seat.

"The usual today?" Sebastian asked when they both walked together into the hallway

"I'm feeling extra generous today. I'm going to visit them myself." The consulting criminal said with his cruel smile that said the opposite of generous.

Down the stairs and at the end of the hall sat a door. Jim rarely ever walked through that door. But today he needed a distraction from his usual thoughts. He walked to the door and Sebastian opened it for him, letting the boss walk in first. Jim strolled in with his hands in his pockets. In front of him were three people. Two bound and gagged, sitting on chairs, and the other was standing guard a little ways away. Jim nodded to the guard who took the hint and booked it out of the room.

Smart choice, Jim thought to himself while he waited for Sebastian to take their blindfolds off.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

The moment the two were able to see again Jim smiled at them.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? Two people who thought they could out smart me." He walked around them so they both got to see him.

His grin was wicked.

Their breathing quickened in fear.

Sebastian wisely kept quiet.

"Do you know why you're sitting in those chairs? Why you're about to be in so much pain? Do you know why this isn't the other way around? Because we all know if you'd had the ability to outsmart me and take me captive you'd be the ones in my position right now." Jim was speaking nonchalantly like this wasn't about to become a slaughter house. Like all was right with the world. In his world everything was right. Absolutely right.

"Seb. Let's give them a chance to defend themselves shall we?" he gestured to his sniper who immediately undid the gags on them both.

Neither one spoke for a minute. They were busy trying to find a way out of this and trying to breathe normally.

"Go on then, DEFEND YOURSELVES." Jim shouted as he pulled his hands out of his pockets and slapped the man across the face as hard as he could.

The man looked at Jim with hate and before he could speak the woman behind him spoke up

"We thought we could outsmart you because we can! We did!" She was speaking hastily. Oh, she was trying to protect her lover. How cute.

Jim raised an eyebrow and walked to where she could see him. He bent down in front of her so that their faces were close and she shrank back after a moment.

"And how, pray-tell, did you do that?" he asked with a pleasant smile. This woman acted tough but was still shrinking back in fear. He had to admire her attempt for bravery, but it was in vain.

"As we speak our friend is waiting outside with a sniper, ready to kill you! In three, two, one..." she closed her eyes and expected a shot and there to be blood everywhere. After a moment when nothing happened Jim chuckled darkly. He looked at her as she opened her eyes and he made a face that screamed he was offended. He was such a dramatic actor.

"You'd kill me? We've only just met and here I thought it was going so well."

A door opened and there was a sound of a gun firing. A man fell through the door, a bullet having gone through his heart just moments before. Jim looked over and then moved out of the way for his other guests to see. The man was cursing at Jim and he just chuckled.

"Henry!" the girl shrieked in horror.

"Oh so that's your friend? The one who's supposed to save you?"  Jim rolled his eyes and yawned and then looked at his watch.

"Sebastian I think our guests are ready to see why it was a bad idea to think they could outsmart me. I am the most intelligent person of all time." His arrogance was astounding. He smirked and started to get back to that door.

Jim stopped walking away when he heard the man start to talk.

"Not as intelligent as Sherlock Holmes."

Jim whirled around and stalked back over to the man in the chair who had blood dripping down his face from earlier.

"Say that again." Jim bit out rather harshly.

"Sherlock Holmes is more intelligent than..." the man didn't get the chance to finish because Jim had slipped the knife out of his pocket and shoved it into his chest. Jim felt that familiar rush of adrenaline that came every time he did this. Although he'd become much better at hiding its effects.

"Well we both know he's more intelligent than you, because he's still alive and you are dead. Sebastian!" he yelled over at his sniper who was standing dutifully in the corner as he pulled the knife out of the man's chest and watched him start to bleed out.

"Take care of this." he said referring to the now hysterical girl in the chair and the now two dead bodies in the room.

"And then go pick up Molly Hooper, I'm taking her out to dinner tonight." he said while wiping the blood off his knife and walking back up to the door.

"Are you sure about that last part boss? I thought you wanted to wait until..." Sebastian was cut off before he finished.

"I've changed my mind!" he barked over his shoulder just as the door was swinging closed.

"I need something to calm my nerves and just watching her from a distance isn't going to cut it anymore." Jim proceeded to the upstairs where he began to get ready for that night. He was so changeable in every other aspect of his life. But he couldn't change what his feeling about Molly Hooper were and he wanted to see her. He always wanted to see her. That never changed and he was starting to get annoyed with it, because he couldn't just see her and touch her and kiss her and have her whenever he wanted to. It irritated him. He was going to change that. But it was going to take some time and he was feeling impatient. Molly Hooper was in for the night of her life.

Chapter Text

There was only one more hour left until her shift was over. One more hour of listening to Sherlock talk about his latest case and how amazing he'd been at solving it. One more hour until she could go home, curl up on the couch, and think way too much about Jim until she had to go to sleep.

Usually, she loved to hear Sherlock talk about this kind of stuff, but ever since her little encounter with the world's only consulting criminal she'd become a little more impatient.

She had no idea why she wanted to be with him so much. Something inside her felt so drawn to the man and she couldn't seem to bring herself to resent him like most criminals.

Her heart went            out to him in a way she never thought possible. She sighed quietly and tried to make it look like she was working on a report.

No matter what she did she couldn't stop thinking about Jim, how much she wanted to see him, and how she wanted to see him now.

He wasn't a good influence on her, as she knew her impatience stemmed from his.

She was impatient because she could already see them together.

He wouldn't have to hide from her. She had already proven whatever judgment she had left wasn't the best so he'd be safe. Molly would be the one person he didn't have to pretend or act for.

Was she ready for that? What if he was lying to her? If she was being honest she didn't want to deal with another heart break. This whole situation made her head spin, and all she really knew was that when she was with him she felt home. She felt complete. 

Ugh time to make another pro con list.

"Molly!" a deep baritone voice broke her from her thoughts. Blushing slightly, embarrassed at being caught zoning out, she straightened up and looked at him with a nervous smile.

"O-Oh, um, sorry. What were you saying Sherlock?" she shook her head and tried to focus solely on him.

  He frowned and looked her up and down like he was trying to deduce what she'd been thinking about. She waited patiently for him to finally speak.

"I asked you if you were willing to accompany me to...." he started, but before he could finish Molly's phone went off and she looked at the number.

"Hold that thought." she said and walked away to answer the phone. It was the hospital and she thought perhaps there was an emergency. Not that big of an emergency since she dealt with people that were already dead.

"Hello? Yes this is Dr. Hooper." She listened for another moment and then blinked.

"Of course. I'll be there shortly." she hung up and started grabbing her things.

"Work related?" Sherlock assumed correctly.

"Yeah, sorry Sherlock, they need me at the other lab across London. Um, you were asking me something earlier?" she slung her bag over her coat and was fixing her hair as she looked at him expectantly.

"Never mind." he muttered and went back to his microscope. Now she could never be sure but, it looked like the consulting detective was pouting.

She nervously bit the side of her lip and nodded

"Okay...I'll see you later then." she walked out the door and up the stairs to exit the hospital.

Before she could hail a cab a car pulled up and as the driver moved to open the door for her she instantly recognized him.

"Oh...um...but I..."

"Dr. Hooper, Jim can be very persuasive and getting you off work an hour early is nothing but child's play for him." the man said, immediately knowing why she was stammering.

Molly blushed slightly at being read so easily and cleared her throat

"Right then," she walked closer to the car and chanced a glance up at the driver next to her, "Do I get to know your name now?" she asked shyly.

He chuckled and smirked before guiding her into the car and closing the door.

Molly sighed and sat back against the seat. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment about the butterflies in her stomach. She knew where this was going. She knew who would be there at the end of the drive.

Jim.

She was so excited she could barely breathe. She was smiling to herself like a teenager going on a date with their newly acquired boyfriend.

Jim isn't my boyfriend. She thought to herself and that caused her to sigh again. Whatever was going on she wasn't sure where he was planning it to go.

That was part of his game.

Their game now.

The car stopped in front of her flat and the door on her side of the car was opened.

"Get ready to go. You have about half an hour before I get an impatient call. Anything over forty-five minutes will probably end in the emotional scarring of anyone around the boss at that time. No pressure."

Molly didn't know how to respond, but a slight giggle did slip out of her lips and she had to cover her mouth in embarrassment.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked with a bemused expression

"Because you said that like it was the most normal thing in the whole world. It's just funny because I'm agreeing to go see Jim, who is the kind of person to emotionally scar people, willingly. I must seem crazy to you." She laughed full on this time and when she was done she smiled at the man. He gave her a strange look that slowly turned into a half smile that he tried, in vain, to suppress.

"Not crazy at all. I work for the man, so what must I look like to you." he couldn't help but think that he and Molly Hooper would get along just fine in the future.

Even if he didn't think having this weakness was a good idea, he liked that Jim had at least chosen a girl with a sense of humor.

Walking up to the door, Molly turned to look at him and asked again

"Can I know your name now?"

With a flick of his hand he motioned for her to go inside and get ready.

"Come on, please?" she smiled at him to try and get it out of him and he just rolled his eyes.

"Moran. Sebastian Moran. You'll be seeing me a lot."

Molly smirked slightly in satisfaction and nodded.

"Be back in a few."

Molly Hooper wasn't the type of girl to take a long time getting ready. But she also wasn't usually going on dates with a guy as classy as Jim Moriarty. So she took a few more minutes than usual this time. She showered to get the smell of work off her and had stayed in a few extra minutes, because the hot water felt so good after a long day at work.

The butterflies were back in her stomach and she didn't know if she should go through with this, but she knew she would never forgive herself if she didn't.

She wanted to see him again. She wanted him to hold her again. She wanted to kiss him again.

Finally, she got ready by slipping on one of her nicer blouses and a simple, but fancy looking, skirt.  She put her hair up in a half bun on the side of her head and did just a tiny bit of makeup. She added a little bit of lipstick, just enough so that if she kissed him again it would leave a small dab of color on him. Grabbing her bag, she did one final check to make sure she looked okay before walking out the door.

Sebastian smirked and sent Jim a text as she walked down the stairs.

I'd say she's looking for some action tonight based on what she's wearing- Seb

Stop looking at my girl Sebastian, and wipe that stupid smirk off your face- JM

Sebastian chuckled and opened the car door for Molly who was sporting a confused look.

Just get her here so I can give her that action she's looking for- JM

Again this caused Sebastian to give a slight laugh.

"What's funny? Did I mess up what I'm wearing? Too much makeup? Is my hair not fancy enough?" She jumped to all those conclusions before Sebastian could even try to get an explanation in.

"Hooper you look amazing. Jim is going to be thrilled and probably want to do you the minute he sees you." Sebastian watched in amusement as her cheeks turned pink and she shyly looked down.

The drive was longer than she expected.

Maybe it was just because she wanted to be there immediately. The car slowed to a stop and Molly went to open the door, but before she could it was opening.

Expecting Sebastian to be the one helping her out of the car, she was pleasantly surprised when it was Jim sporting a rather attractive smirk on his face instead. He helped her out of the car and placed a light kiss to her hand.

"Why, Molly Hooper, you look simply ravishing."  He grinned wickedly and she bit her lip, smiled, and blushed.

"Thank you, Jim. I like your suit, although the masquerade ball outfit was nice too." She said playfully, but in a shy way that only Molly could seem to pull off.

Jim pulled her to him and held her close. She blushed again at the feeling of him up against her. He smiled charmingly and looked into her eyes for just a moment before doing what they had both wanted to do for two weeks now, he kissed her.

Molly could feel the impatience behind his rather gentle kiss. It was just a light touch of their lips, but Molly felt like it slowed down the entire world until it was just them. It was an electric current and she was getting swept away.

He pulled away and she had to look down shyly because he made her nervous. He intertwined their fingers and pulled her with him up to a building. She followed without question and smiled at how excited he seemed.

"Come on, love. We're going to get dinner and then Sebastian is going to show off his pyrotechnics skills for us." 

Molly's eyes widened and she couldn't help asking him in a hesitant voice,

"He's not going to blow up a building is he?"

Jim chuckled and looked back to her with a smirk that said no promises. She felt her heart flutter and she couldn't seem to stop blushing especially since he hadn't let go of her hand yet. He was pulling her along like an excited child about to show their friends something fantastic.

"Jim, where are we going?" She finally asked him when they walked into an unfamiliar building and into a lift. She wasn't particularly fond of lifts, and as a result she stood closer to Jim and tightened her hold on his hand.

Jim wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close to him, of course he could read her as easily as Sherlock could so he'd know she needed a little comfort.

"We, my dear, are going to the roof of this building to have a little meal. You like Italian right?" He smiled innocently and she rolled her eyes.

"You know it's my favorite Jim. Playing innocent doesn't work with me, love."

Molly felt the world slow down again when he tilted her head up so he could kiss her again. She melted into the kiss. She didn't want this to end. She didn't want to think about the fact that she was kissing a criminal who was responsible for so much pain and destruction.

For once she felt happy with someone. She was happy with Jim.

When they parted he didn't go that far. He simply rested his forehead on hers and smiled at her.

"You are more observant than certain other people give you credit for."

They both knew he was talking about Sherlock and that thought brought Molly down from her cloud nine and back to reality. Her happiness and joy slowly faded from her eyes and it was replaced with a bit of sadness and a lot of confusion.

"Now none of that, love. We're not having that I'm a criminal discussion until the third date remember?" he kissed her again and all thoughts of Sherlock and reality were gone from her mind once more.

This time when they parted he grinned and tugged her with him outside onto the roof. She gasped at the view in front of her. She could see all of the London lights from where they were and it was lovely.

"Oh Jim... this is beautiful." she turned her gaze back to him, he was looking right at her with a look that made the all too familiar feeling of lust spiral up her entire body. She shuddered involuntarily and his smirk was back.

"Shall we go eat?" he asked in a calm tone. Molly simply nodded, not trusting her voice.

Leisurely he walked them over to the small table that was set out and, like a gentleman, pulled her chair out for her before taking a seat himself.

She found herself smiling and falling even harder for this crazy man. At least he was polite. If it weren't for the criminal empire and anger issues he would be absolutely perfect.

"So how're things at work?" he asked her as he started dishing out food. She smiled when he put all her favorites out in front of her and she started talking softly.

"They're fine. I mean it's been pretty slow lately which, considering my line of work, is good I suppose."

Her statement made Jim chuckle and give her an odd look.

"What?" she asked.

"You suppose?" he asked with an amused expression and chuckled again.

"Oh Molly, you might have a very dull life, but you sure are interesting aren't you. Quite the little enigma."

Molly felt the blush and looked down a little.

Her life was a little dull, but he didn't have to say so out loud. Not very nice.

She ate in silence for a few minutes, not quite sure what to talk to him about. He kept asking her questions and she answered them all as best as she could. It was just like a real date. She had him laughing and she was smiling. They ate and she was so happy that she was with him. He seemed to know exactly what she liked and what she wanted in a date. He was good. It was perfect. And Molly Hooper's life had never been perfect. That's when her brain brought the fact that he was a criminal back into her mind.

The criminal thing was really starting to be an issue and she knew if she brought it up he'd just tell her to leave it to the third date.

But it did really need to be addressed.

"U-Uh Jim I think we should..." before she could finish and ask him about it there was an explosion and she jumped slightly. She looked over just in time to see the fireworks go off and she giggled slightly.

Before she knew what was happening Jim was pulling her out of her seat. He pulled her over to where a blanket was set up on the ground. He tugged her hand until she was right next to him and he had them both sit down to watch the fireworks.

Molly leaned into him as they watched and said quietly

"I never told you that I loved fireworks. How'd you know?"

Jim smirked and looked down slightly to see her face

"I'm good at what I do, Molly." He laced their fingers together once more and she nuzzled closer into him.

She giggled slightly and he quirked an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked

"You did fireworks because you love them. Me liking them too is just a bonus." She smiled and continued watching the show.

Jim just blinked a few times before shaking his head slowly. How could she see so much? He had never been read easily. He was good at hiding what was really going on with him. What was it about her that made her so good at knowing the truth behind him? How was she so good at understanding him?

It was a mystery he was dying to solve.

"How would you know that Miss Hooper?" he asked softly and brought a hand up to play with her hair. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. He wanted her right next to him all the time. Something about her being there helped calm him. Not enough to make him want to give up his life of crime, because he was really good at that, but it helped him clear his head. She helped his buzzing brain calm down enough so he wasn't hasty. He loved and hated that a person had that kind of power over him.

"Once when we were together...I mean before...we walked past that store during our lunch break and there were a bunch of those little fireworks for sale. You kept looking over to them and even though you thought you were only looking when I wasn't paying attention, I saw how excited you got about them." She replied with a yawn.

Jim contemplated further this little pathologist in his arms. She wasn't someone you ran into every day.

She shivered once and he pulled her closer to him to keep her warm. That action made her smile and she looked up to thank him, but the words never made it out because he was kissing her again. And he was kissing her hard.

She gripped onto his arms to keep from falling over or passing out. He was kissing her with such force that she made a small noise of surprise in the back of her throat. Taking that as a sign to continue, Jim moved his hands. One arm went around her waist to pull her firmly against him and keep her there. The other moved up until his hand hit her hair and he undid her bun and let it down. She felt the sparks jumping into her everywhere he touched her.

Breathlessly he pulled back from the kiss and watched as her eyes fluttered open to look at him. He couldn't help but grin at the sight. Her lips were swollen and red and her cheeks were a lovely shade of pink. Her eyes were only half open and the lust was plain to see in them. She was breathing harder than he was and that made him smile.

"I like your hair down. You should wear it like this more often." he paid her the compliment and then went back to kissing her. He felt addicted to her lips. She was better than any murder or crime plans he could ever be involved with. What was it about her? He should probably kill her...but with the things her mouth were doing to his neck and her hand that had made its way to his cock he reconsidered very quickly.

He turned them slightly and then laid her down on the blanket, him in-between her legs. He was holding himself up with his hands that he'd placed on either side of her head and she had moved her arms around his neck.

 Molly was in heaven when he lowered himself down so he was all the way on top of her and she let out a slight groan, but bit the inside of her cheek to keep from being too loud.

"Now none of that, I want to hear you Molly Hooper. I want to hear exactly what I'm doing to you and your lovely body. If you hold back at all I'm going to punish you severely." Jim growled as he began to trail his kisses down her neck and over her chest.

"P-Punish me?" she asked breathlessly and closed her eyes as her hands went to his hair to keep him where he was. Her legs had moved of their own accord and wrapped around his hips, pulling him closer to her. They both let out a moan at the new places they were now touching, the only barrier being their clothes, which were becoming quite cumbersome.

"Severely." he said with a husky voice that was oh so seductive.

She took in a few gulps of air and then started to see reason once more.

"Maybe we.." she stopped mid-sentence when he bit down gently on a soft spot just below her ear and she let out a moan. Her breathing was labored and she was starting to get rather hot. She was definitely wearing too much clothing. She was flustered and it didn't help that his hands were now sneaking up her shirt and the skin to skin contact felt like all she'd ever wanted was right there in that simple action.

She tried again

"I-I think we..."

He began slowly moving his bottom half against hers and at the same time he kissed back up to her lips and she couldn't help but moan out again, and this time in frustration at the barriers between them. He lifted his head to look into her eyes and smiled at her innocently. He knew exactly what she was trying to say, but he also knew exactly how to get her to stop trying. The bastard. 

 She grabbed his tie and yanked him closer to her, and he seemed a little startled at her sudden change of pace. That's all the encouragement she needed.

She flipped them over and was now straddling him and grinding against him in a way that had him throwing his head back and letting out a string of curses.

Smiling, she quickly got rid of the tie and jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt. He slipped a hand into his pant pocket and pulled out a condom, she took it from him and set it aside for the moment.

"Molly Hooper, are we about to have sex on the top of a building where anyone could see? My my how indecent."

How he could still be sarcastic when she was undressing him and forcing her lower body as close to his as possible was a mystery she was all too eager to put aside until later.

She undid his shirt and threw it over with his other articles of clothing. He scowled slightly, but her hands were now stroking him through his pants and he couldn't bring himself to say anything about his clothes. This wasn't his favorite suit so he'd be forgiving this time.

"Do shut up about indecency Jim, we both know you'd win the battle for most indecent. I happen to know that you have some connections and highly doubt we're going to be interrupted. Besides, you wanted the evening to go like this so I'm not all that worried." She then proceeded to kiss down his chest until she got to the waistband of his pants. He was breathing heavier now and the smirk that had taken ahold of his face from her previous statement was gone. As usual Molly Hooper had been much more observant than he would have thought. 

He cursed again when she teased him by slipping her fingers underneath the waistband and then quickly pulled them away and repeated the gesture a few times. All the while she was kissing his toned stomach muscles and loving every moment they flexed because of her.

She was too busy experimenting to notice Jim moving once again. He had her on her back again before she could even think of retaliating.

He was holding her down and his lips formed that smirk that she melted because of.

"You've completely overdressed for this occasion." he said and began to undo her shirt buttons. He took it off her and she immediately felt self-conscious as her breasts were now open for his gaze. Going back into her shell a bit she blushed and Jim watched as it went all the way down her chest. He'd have to see if he could make that lovely color go further down in the future. He leaned down and kissed her hard to let her know that she shouldn't be self-conscious at all. He undid the clasp on her bra and that was the next thing to be gone.

Jim growled and went to work playing with her breasts. She arched up into him and let out some noises she wasn't quite sure were even coming from her.

Every part of her that was touching him was on fire. She felt the trail from her toes to her head and it was all because of him. They moved in sync, every time she moved so did he. They complemented each other perfectly.

"Oh...Oh...J-Jim.." Molly's eyes were shut closed and her hands were wound into his hair so tightly and she was sure it must be hurting him a bit.

Apparently that was a big turn on because every time she pulled harder he got rougher and his composure slipped further and further away.

Jim's smirk grew with every sound she made. His impatience was starting to show as he practically ripped her skirt off leaving her just in her panties. She had kicked her shoes off long ago and, as he had stopped touching her in ways that made it difficult to think, she had time to loop her fingers around his pants and pull them down. He chuckled and she raised an eyebrow at him that said she wasn't amused.

"Someone's eager." he grinned up at her from his position just below her breasts.

Molly lifted her hips up and ground them against his and he let out a grunt as his pupils seemed to dilate even more, if possible, and his grin was gone in the same instant.

"Shut up and get on with it Moriarty." she had a wicked look in her eyes and her lust was also plain to see. She wasn't usually this confident, but apparently lust made her demanding.

Jim growled and all but ripped her panties right off in one movement making her squeak and then gasp, they had definitely been torn.

She couldn't glare at him about it, because she was suddenly very preoccupied with moaning into his mouth as he kissed her and pulled his own underwear off at the same time. She took the opportunity to slip the condom on him, reveling in the way he groaned when she touched him.

Molly couldn't take the pressure building up in her abdomen, but Jim wasn't in the mood to be merciful. Not after her last comment. He didn't know she had it in her to be that demanding and it just added to the mystery.

He'd have to do further research to see if she was always like this. He teased her just a bit more by grinding against her and loved the way she groaned in frustration.

"Jim..." she breathed out and pulled herself closer to him in an attempt to get him inside her.

He wasn't having it though and chuckled.

"What?" he asked while moving his lips to her neck to nip at her skin.

She groaned again and this time she bucked against him making him bite her hard enough to leave a mark. She just wanted him to give her what she needed. And in that moment she needed to feel some release.

"Cat got your tongue?" he asked and licked down her chest and then further down still.

She was squirming but he held her in place firmly as he moved down until he was right above her core.

Molly whined and Jim smirked.

"J-Jim." she was panting and wanted so much to push him closer to her, but he wasn't having any of that.

"Jim what?" he grinned wickedly at her and she finally understood. He wanted her to beg.

Molly looked at him and let out a sigh of exasperation and then threw her head back in a childish fit sort of way. Jim couldn't hold back his chuckle and dove straight in to lick up and down and plunge his tongue into her.

She was not expecting that and she squeaked whilst simultaneously lifting her hips further up towards him. He kept at it until she was moaning his name so loud she thought the entire city must be able to hear her.

But right as she got to the edge he pulled away.

"N-no don't stop... please I'll do anything just don't s-stop!"

Jim moved up her body once more to capture her lips. He positioned his hips above hers and when she whimpered into his mouth he quickly thrusted all the way inside her.

She groaned and he pulled his head back to say

"I think, love, you'll like this much more than just my mouth." He was losing composure because she was so tight around him and it felt like heaven.

Molly used the moment he started to speak to flip them over once more. She had been taking self-defense classes since she'd gotten involved with Sherlock and they had helped her in these situations more than actual danger situations.

"You're talking too much." she said completely out of breath and started moving her hips up and down. He couldn't seem to say anything else after she began those motions, much to her amusement. But she couldn't bring herself to actually be amused as she was too close to the brink of an amazing orgasm with the man she thought herself to be in love with.

He pulled her down into a desperate kiss with one hand and the other went to her hip to help move things along.

She pulled up from their kiss and moaned out his name breathlessly. He couldn't keep his lips off hers for long it seemed because he pulled her back to him and kissed her hard.

Molly came first, groaning into his mouth and clenching around him. He grunted and flipped them over to keep thrusting into her as she rode out her orgasm. He moved his lips to her neck and started sucking hard enough to leave multiple marks. Marking her as his.  Jim came soon after she finished and sighed out her name.

Molly stopped moving and shuddered as he collapsed against her. He turned them around so she was lying on top of him. She was breathing hard and couldn't seem to feel anything attached to her. Jim was gently running his fingers up and down her back. He waited until she had caught her breath before he smirked. He kissed her on the top of the head and waited a few more moments until she shivered. It was rather cold up on the rooftop.

Being reminded of their location made his smirk grow into a full blown grin and a chuckle which made her lift her head to look at him.

He pecked her nose and then sat them up. She was starting to shiver more and he couldn't have that. He grabbed his jacket and put it over her to keep her from freezing.

She blushed and thanked him. She replayed what just happened in her head.

She had just been so caught up in the moment. So caught up in Jim. He was like a spider, and she was caught in his web.

"I can't believe that just happened." she muttered to herself and pulled his jacket tighter around her body.

"Yes, well in my defense I did try to warn you that it'd be indecent, but you were adamant. Not that I'm complaining." he looked over her freshly acquired marks and smiled to himself about it.

She whacked him playfully on the arm and his smile widened.

"You know you're the only person in the entire world that can get away with things like that."

She shouldn't have taken it as a compliment, but she sort of did. At the same time she didn't like to think about that side of Jim. She knew that he meant if anyone else did that to him they'd end up dead or severely injured. Ugh. That part of this relationship was complicated.

Jim hopped up and started cleaning up and re-dressing himself. He watched as Molly followed his lead and clicked her tongue in a disapproving manner when she had to put on her skirt without any underwear because someone hadn't been very kind about it during their little session.

Jim chuckled and spun her around and back into his arms once she had put his jacket back on to keep her warm.

He destroyed her clothes, it was only fair she got to steal something of his in return.

She looked into his eyes and couldn't stop herself from kissing him again. Jim tucked her hair behind her ear and held her close to him.

"Shall I take you home now, darling?" he asked with a smile.

"I suppose..." she replied, but really she wanted nothing more than to stay right there with him.

"You have a to-do list for tomorrow and I have preparations of my own to tend to." he kissed her nose and then began the long walk down to the car that was waiting for them.

Sebastian was standing there waiting with a smirk on his face.

"Having a good time up there boss?"

"Sebastian knock that smirk off your face before I do it for you." Jim said and opened the door for Molly who scowled at him slightly, even though she was still blushing, and shook her head.

"What?" he asked

"Be nice." she scolded him softly.

"Never." he replied instantly with a grin.

She had the thought go through her mind as he got into the car beside her that he and Sherlock acted very similarly. Sherlock just didn't know how to interact with people as well as Jim.

What if that's all it is? What if it's just an act? She asked herself. She pulled his jacket around her tighter, looked down and at the same time she let her hair fall into her face to hide from Jim who would undoubtedly know what was going on in her head.

"Molly." he said her name like it was both a warning and form of comfort. He'd seen right through her as usual.

She looked up at him shyly and bit her lip nervously.

"Y-Yeah?" she was quieter than usual.

He leaned in close to her until their faces were almost touching. He looked from her eyes down to her mouth and back up again. He studied her face for a minute before he very softly placed his lips to hers. She started shaking slightly. He was being so gentle and soft with her. She knew he was a criminal, so she just assumed he would be rough, so this wasn't something she thought would happen. It confused and thrilled her at the same time. She looked into his eyes. Her deep brown eyes questioning his dark almost black ones.

"Don't go dating other guys Molly. You're mine." his tone of voice was calm, but there was an underlying threat that made Molly nod hesitantly. Was she ready to be so involved in this with someone like him?

"Although I don't prefer the terms boyfriend and girlfriend. They're boring. But until I say so you're not allowed to see anyone else so in average people speak I suppose those will have to do."

Molly cleared her throat and tried to think of something to say to that. She knew that he was possessive, but she didn't know if she wanted him ruling her life like that.

Jim laughed lightly at the look of internal turmoil on her face, but soon was serious once again.

"Unless you still have feelings for your dear Sherlock."

Molly looked up, eyes wide, at him.

"You think that I...!" her voice squeaked and she had to clear her throat again to finish speaking.

"The only feelings I have towards Sherlock now are platonic. He's just...well he probably just thinks of us as colleagues, not even friends really." She didn't know why the look in Jim's eyes changed, but it did and she didn't like it.

"Well Molly. Sherlock," he said it with a certain undertone of disgust, "may not share your opinions on that matter."

She looked ever more confused, but he waved it away.

They were pulling up to her flat and she yawned feeling very tired all of a sudden.

"I didn't tire you out that bad did I?" he looked pretty smug and she stuck her tongue out at him. It was childish, but she was dealing with a child. 

He got out first and helped her out of the car.

"You're much more of a gentleman than I would have thought." she said speaking her thoughts out loud for once. When Molly Hooper was tired sometimes she just started saying everything and anything in her head. It didn't always end well for her.

"I'm offended you would have thought so low of me." he had a look of mock annoyance on his face and she giggled. He grabbed her hand and they walked up to her door in a comfortable silence. He kissed her again when they made it to her door. She was breathless when they parted again and this time she said what was going on in her head.

"Jim?"

"Hm?" he raised an eyebrow at her and watched her unlock the door behind her without looking and hated that he was a little impressed by the act.

"Don't go around sleeping with other girls okay? I am a pathologist and I can make your death look like an accident." she smiled at him innocently. She pecked his lips before he could respond and walked back into her flat.

"Goodnight Jim." she said and closed the door.

Jim suddenly understood a little more why he was attracted to the woman. She had a mind very similar to his own when it came to some things.

He let out a laugh and shook his head.

"Molly Hooper. The enigma I'm just dying to figure out." he was talking to himself as he walked back to the car where Sebastian was waiting.

Chapter Text

Molly went through the next few days with a small smile on her face. It didn't matter what anyone else was doing or what they were saying, because if it was bad or rude all she had to do was think of Jim and that night and all was right with the world again. She wished it was different and she could see him all the time, but she also understood that wasn’t going to happen. She could be patient for him. She would wait and wait and wait if she needed to.

The morgue was quiet as usual that day and she looked up from her paperwork only when there was a loud sound from the end of the hall. She sighed and counted down from four.

Four, three, two, one, and then she smiled when Sherlock came bursting into the room with his long coat swishing behind him. John was following closely behind him.

"Molly!"

"Yes, Sherlock?" she asked pleasantly, giving him her undivided attention. She gave a small wave to John who nodded to her and gave her a smile.

"I need you to get me some tissue samples for my latest experiment."

She was inclined to say no just because he hadn't said please, but she was in too good a mood to do that. 

"Sure. I'll just go get them and be right back." she hopped up and went to grab him what he needed.

When she returned he was staring at her.

Just as she put the samples on the table in front of him he said

"You're seeing someone." it wasn't a question, with Sherlock it rarely was, it was a deduction.

"Sherlock..." John said his name as if it were a warning. He looked like he was bracing himself for a fight.

She smiled slightly and played with the end of her hair a bit shyly.

"Sort of."

"I give it three weeks." he said and then turned to grab the samples.

"H-hey why do you say that?" she knew that the hurt was evident in her eyes and she put her hand on his to stop him from taking the samples until he talked to her. He looked at where their hands touched and then raised an eyebrow at her. She blushed and pulled her hand away.

"Because Molly. You didn't answer in the affirmative and it's obvious from the way you're acting that you've had sex with him. After a long time of waiting, based on how bad of a mood you were in these last few weeks. And since you didn't say yes when I asked if you were seeing someone he hasn't been around a lot and is most likely using you for things that you're not all that opposed to. And you're obviously still attracted to me so I give it three weeks before he leaves or you figure out you don't want that relationship anymore. It's obvious. Not to mention your taste in men hasn't been good at any time."  He had pulled his phone out and was speaking like he was completely bored.

Molly bit her lip and tried very much to keep the tears at bay. Why did he always say such horrible things? She kept her mouth shut and looked to the ground, she hated it when he was like this.

She turned around and walked back to her desk and, while she could feel his eyes on her, she didn't turn around instead she went back to her paperwork.

She heard him whisper to John

"Not good?"

"You bloody well know that was not good.” John hissed back at him before addressing Molly again

“I'm sorry Molly. We'll just be leaving, thank you for your help and I'm happy for you and whoever you're seeing. He's a lucky guy."

She looked up to him and smiled gratefully

"Thanks John. I'll see you later." she looked back at her work and listened to the sounds of their footsteps walking away and the door shutting quietly.

She sniffled and rubbed her eyes gently. She hated when he did that. And she had been in such a good mood earlier.

She started thinking about what he said. What if Jim really was just using her? She always overthought these things when Sherlock deduced stuff.

She wished she could contact him somehow. Just to know he wasn't lying. This was a messed up relationship when she knew for a fact she couldn't trust him. She never knew what he was going to do next.

She just went back to work and tried not to think about it. She had three autopsies to do. Two men and a woman. It looked as if the woman had stabbed her husband after he had shot her lover and then she shot herself. Horrible really.

A few hours later she finished up her second autopsy and was just about to head out for lunch when she heard a voice behind her.

"He wasn't very nice earlier now was he?" 

She spun on her heels and jumped when she saw who it was. She briefly wondered how he had snuck in behind her, but then decided it didn’t matter because she’d probably never figure it out.

"Jim!" She felt her lips turn up into the biggest smile and she all but ran over to hug him. He chuckled and his eyes widened in a little bit of shock at how strong she was when she threw her arms around his neck and all but slammed into him. She had missed him. That was a good sign.

"What're you doing here?" She pulled away slightly, but kissed him sweetly before he could say anything.

When he ended the kiss he intertwined their fingers together and smiled at her. She loved his smile. Even when he was being a criminal and trying to intimidate people his smile would sometimes come out and it was the most adorable thing ever.

"Well it's been a whole three days since I've seen your beautiful face." He was buttering her up. Just like Sherlock did when he wanted something. Sure he had complimented her every time she had seen him, but this was different.

Molly looked into his eyes and tilted her head a bit. Something was off and she knew immediately.

"What is it, Jim?" She asked in that shy way that only she could pull off.

"What makes you think I need anything? Can't a man come see his girlfriend and take her out to lunch every once in a while?" He was playing innocent again and the way he put on the puppy dog eyes told Molly he was angry about something. His accent got thicker and he was much more prone to his most dramatic faces when he was angry.

She was incredibly good at reading him.

"Hmm. Okay well most men, that aren't running the biggest underground criminal empire, can. You're here because of something else...something about Sherlock not being nice earlier. How do you even know about that?" She frowned a little and she watched him quirk an eyebrow.

"Hijacked security cameras, love. Not a hard thing for the man running the biggest underground criminal empire. Now where would you like to go for lunch? There's a great restaurant about fifteen minutes from here. Sebastian has the car out front." He spun her so she was facing the door and placed a hand on her lower back to guide her out of the room.

"Jim, are you spying on me?" She asked while they walked. She wasn’t going to stop and make a big deal about it, but she wanted to know.

"No Molly, I just check up on you sometimes. To keep you safe of course." He replied smoothly. 

She raised an eyebrow and gave him a look that said she wasn't stupid.

"Jim, you're spying on me." She said accusingly.

He simply took her hand in his and led them out the door. He was avoiding the accusation and she took that as conformation. She felt a little violated but…that at least meant he cared so maybe for now she’d let it slide.

"Hey won't someone see you? Recognize you?" She asked, suddenly remembering he wasn't exactly the most loved person in the world. Her voice held a hint of panic in it.

"People won't recognize me because I'm with you. Everyone has it in their heads that I'm gay so they aren't looking for me with this,” he squeezed her hand, “in mind.”

Molly's eyes narrowed to slits and her expression said she didn't believe him for a second.

"People aren't good at remembering things like faces, especially not when they think the person to be unattainable or out of reach. Like moi." He grinned at her and she shook her head a bit, but she was smiling as well.

Jim opened the door of the car for her, like a gentleman, and then got in after her.

"You're done with work today by the way." He said as he pulled the door shut with a grin and she shook her head.

"I'm going to lose my job if I keep bailing halfway through the day, Jim." She looked at him like he was in trouble, but when he started to pout she couldn't keep it up and leaned over to kiss him again.  He pulled her close to him and she forgot all about the doubts that Sherlock had put into her head.

He ran his hand through her hair and as the kiss got more passionate his grip in her hair got tighter.  She moved her hands up his chest and gripped his collar to pull him closer. It had only been three days, but she was desperate to be as close to him as possible before he was gone again.

Jim didn’t know what she was doing to him. He craved her touch every time he thought about her, which was about as often as he took a breath.

Sherlock Holmes was not nice to his girl. That was crossing a line. There was usually only one line that you shouldn’t cross with Jim Moriarty, and that was calling him stupid. But now there was another line and that was doing anything to make Molly Hooper upset in any way shape or form.

She was his and she was to stay happy and content and smiling, because her smile.....her smile got him through the day. Even if it was only from a video on a computer screen.

He didn’t like that she was his sentiment, but after this next trick with Sherlock it shouldn’t matter.

Molly Hooper was going to be his forever, because the enigma never stopped growing and he was never bored with her even when everything said he should be.

Molly pulled back from the kissing session just as the car was slowing down and Jim couldn’t hold back the slightest smirk from how breathless she was. Her usually perfect hair was now messed up from his fingers, and her lips were beautifully swollen.

He quickly got her hair back to normal and she smoothed out his suit. She was blushing intensely when Sebastian opened the door and Jim chuckled a bit.

“Come on, love.” He got out of the car and helped her out right behind him. He helped her out of her lab coat and tossed it back into the car. When she started to protest that it would get all wrinkled he just rolled his eyes and pulled her in front of him.

“Molly, I’m offended that you think I’m so inconsiderate. Especially of your beloved lab coat. Shame on you Dr. Hooper.”

She gave him a look that said she wasn’t amused, but her eyes betrayed her and she muttered a quick “Shut up…” before he got them a table in the back of the very nice restaurant. It was secluded enough that they could talk, but there were enough people that Molly knew he wouldn’t be spotted and that made her a little less on edge. They both ordered their drinks and Jim threatened to buy one of everything on the menu if she said one thing about the prices. She just laughed at him and ordered what she wanted, but she could tell he knew that she wanted to complain about the prices.

“So…um…” she wasn’t sure how to ask him why he’d shown up when he did.

“Sherlock Holmes wasn’t nice to you today.” Jim used one finger to trace the rim of his glass and looked into the drink as the liquid sloshed around a bit. "I don't like it when people aren't nice to things that are mine." He wasn't looking at her but his anger was clear behind his calm tone of voice.

Molly blushed in embarrassment and looked down

“He’s just always like that. It’s…I mean it’s fine.”

“It most certainly is not.”

Her eyes snapped up to his and she blinked a few times at the anger she saw in them. He was fuming underneath his calm exterior.

“J-Jim…r-really I’m used to it by now.” She tried to calm him down but it just seemed to add fuel to the fire.

“NO.” he all but growled and then had to take a calming breath

“Not for much longer you won’t be. I’m going to show you the way he should treat you.” He looked into her eyes as he sipped his drink slowly.

She opened her mouth to say something, but he stopped her with a finger.

“Listen to me Molly Hooper, you are mine and I’m not going to tolerate anyone treating you horribly. Now you’ll have to excuse me for a moment. There’s a…friend… here to see you and if we’re seen together that will raise some unwanted problems. Back in a moment, love.” He then, with a grin and a wink, disappeared to where she assumed the bathrooms were. She scowled and looked back to the table.

“What is he talking about? He’s just…”

A familiar voice stopped her in her tracks and she looked up to where the voice was coming from.

“Sorry to interrupt your date with yourself, but John insisted I had to come apologize.”

Speak of the devil.

Molly blushed and then frowned when he sat down across from her.

"I'm not here by myself, Sherlock.  You can see there are two glasses and I'm not drinking them both."

"Yes, well he seemed to run off fairly quickly from what I saw, break it off so soon Molly?"

She glared at him slightly and folded her arms.

"This is the worst excuse for an apology I've ever heard. Go get back to whatever experiment you were doing before." She rarely spoke up against him in any way, but she was just about done with him being rude.

Sherlock was giving her that face, the one that said he didn't know what he had done wrong, because socially he was about as advanced as a seven year old.

So she shook her head and gave him a smile, the smile that told him it was okay, that smile that she saved for only him.

"It's alright Sherlock, you don't have to apologize. It's fine. I'll tell John you found me so he'll stop bothering you. Go on get back to your experiment." She nodded her head towards the door and he rolled his eyes.

"I was actually hoping to meet your new friend."

Molly panicked inwardly, but on the outside all she did was sigh a bit

"Why? So you can make fun of me again? I think not. You'd better be gone by the time he gets back." She leaned back in her chair and took a sip of her drink. Maybe she should have gotten something alcoholic. Dealing with Jim and Sherlock when they're both being moody was tiring.

"Fine. I didn't want to be here in any matter." He looked bored as he stood up and walked a few steps towards the door.

"I'm not sorry for it Molly. I'm sorry you took offense to it, but I stand by what I said." he spoke over his shoulder and she watched him leave. She felt her good mood completely disappear with him. She called the waiter over and ordered something alcoholic to help her get over this feeling.

She felt those doubts creep back in her head and she let out a sigh of frustration. She rested her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands.

"Don't listen to him, darling."

She looked up and saw Jim taking his seat again a certain look of annoyance about him. It was like a different world with him. She instantly felt better and just wanted to be with him forever.

"Easier said than done." She said quietly and gave him a small smile.

He took her hand in his and kissed it lightly.

"Just focus on me for right now. I'm here with you at lunch and I would rather not think about Sherlock Holmes and his big mouth."

Molly nodded in agreement and they proceeded to have a very nice afternoon. He kept her mind busy with other things. He asked her questions and she laughed when he made faces at the responses. She was careful with what she asked him and he tried to answer as honestly as he could, she was picking up on how to tell if he was lying or not so he had to be very careful.

When they were done he suggested they go back to her place and watch a movie or something nice like that. She agreed and giggled when she thought of what they should watch.

Just like he promised, her lab coat wasn't harmed and he carried it inside her house for her.

He groaned in annoyance when she turned on Glee, but shut up when she said that she just wanted to finish one episode and then he could choose something else.

They ended up on her couch with her sitting and him laying with his head in her lap. He was just watching her reactions and trying to figure out why this was the woman he decided to be with.

What was it that made him feel so possessive and protective? What was it that intrigued him and enticed him? Why was she his weak spot?

He didn't know what love felt like, but he was sure that this was as close as he was going to get to finding out.

Molly just looked innocent and pure. He usually didn't like those attributes in people at all, but the way she acted around him made him stop and think. She listened. Really listened, and not because she was terrified he would kill her. It was a new feeling and he wasn't sure what to do about it. He had tried thinking of a world without Molly Hooper and he had to admit he didn't like that at all. She was important to him.

She was his pressure point.

He didn't like that he had one. It was a threat to him and all he'd worked so hard to build. But when he looked up into Molly's eyes and she looked down with a small lovely smile, he couldn't bring himself to care. He wanted her in his life. He wanted her and he wasn't going to give her a chance to change her mind. She was his now, and he knew this would be the one thing he wouldn't and couldn't change his own mind about. Her punishment for making him have a weak spot was that she was stuck with him. 

When Glee was over he watched as she turned the TV off and then she looked down to him.

"Is there anything you want to watch?" she asked in that quiet shy way of hers. He felt his heart beat differently when she talked like that. It was just so cute and sweet and completely Molly.

He leaned up, as his head was still in her lap, and cupped her cheek as he pulled her down to kiss her. It was tender and slow and Molly bent down a little to make it easier for him. He smiled against her lips and when he pulled away he felt himself get pulled further into this mess as he watched her eyes flitter open and a blush spread beautifully across her face.

She seemed to do that a lot and he hoped that it wouldn't ever go away. It was just so her. 

"I'm alright just watching you blush for me." he teased lightly and chuckled when she blushed yet again with a bite to her lip that he knew she probably didn't even know she was doing, but it drove him crazy.

So he leaned up and kissed her yet again, this time harder and more passionate. He took her bottom lip between his teeth and bit her lightly. Just enough to get a reaction out of her, and that's what he got. She gasped a little and he pulled himself up more so he could kiss her harder. She didn't even know how seductive she was to him.

Every little moan and quiet gasp. Every sweet whisper of his name and slow eyelid flutter. Every gentle caress and timid touch.

It all drove him mad.

He tried his hardest not to think about it during the day, but when something happened and he got frustrated all he could think about was burying his head into her and letting her take away all the inconvenient feelings.

Molly had been the one to break their little make-out session, and she did so because she still had a few questions in her head. It was so hard to think when he was kissing her and touching her anywhere, even in a non-sexual way. Her brain completely shut down around him.

But this was important and she knew it couldn't wait.

"Jim can we talk about the whole...you're a criminal thing now?" she was trying to stop stammering and to be assertive, but it just wasn't working out for her.

Jim sat up reluctantly and smoothed his clothes out. He gave her his best attentive face and leaned forward to listen.

"Sure thing Molls. What's that we need to talk about?" he gave her the innocent face and blinked a few times at her.

She looked down for a minute and then whispered

"It's just...you hurt people for a living. And you enjoy it..."

Jim nodded a little and then said

"You cut open dead people and you enjoy that. Some people would say that's a little worse than what I do."

Molly made a face at him and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Look, Molly. I get it. You're sweet and pure and innocent and wouldn't hurt anyone to save your own life. But really I don't actually do the hurting people...unless they threaten to bring down my empire, then I have my people take care of that. I truly just benefit from the need of others to get what they want at any cost. I promise that I won't involve you in it unless you ask about it." he grinned in that wicked way that made Molly's heart beat faster for a few different reasons.

"Jim you understand that I don't approve of what you do at all...but I understand that this is the way you are for a reason. There are always reasons for what people do and they're always deeper than what we see on the surface." She looked up at him and he found that for the first time in a long time he didn't have anything to say. She had a fierce look in her eyes so he wisely stayed quiet until she finished.

"I want to get to know the real Jim. And not just as an experiment or because I think it'll be fun. I'm not just in it for the sex or anything like that. I want to be with you because from what I've seen and what I've felt around you I don't think that you're exactly what you make yourself out to be. So I can deal with you being a criminal... as long as you keep that promise to not involve me in any of it."

She knew he thought that she'd run after the first incident where he killed someone and she found out about it, and the truth was she probably should run, but she wouldn't.

She felt herself falling for him more and more and was intrigued as to why he was the way he was. She wasn't going anywhere.

Jim couldn't believe it. He had thought for sure she'd need some convincing or some persuasion on his side. Once again Molly Hooper had stumped him.

He was moving before he had consciously made decision to do so. He had pulled her onto his lap and was attacking her lips with his. She had squeaked and was now holding onto him for dear life. She melted into him quickly, like he knew she would, and wrapped her arms around him. He hated that she made him feel so vulnerable. He'd have to punish her for it.

He pulled away and looked into her eyes.

"Molly Hooper, you're far too wonderful, far too pure, far too forgiving, and you're all mine." he growled possessively and pulled her back in for another breath taking kiss. She shuddered at his claim and as he stood up with her in his arms she knew that there was no getting out of it now. She belonged to him and he belonged to her.

She brought out his long since buried feelings and while he didn't like it he certainly needed it. She didn't know the real him yet, and he knew she might try to run when she found out, but he would have already pulled her in too deep and she wouldn't be able to escape the web that was Jim Moriarty. She was already stuck to him and he wasn't letting her go.

Everywhere he touched her there was a trail of fire. The electric current from before had increased tenfold and she was drowning in him. She was struggling to breathe and it had nothing to do with her lungs. He was everywhere and she loved it. He wasn't gentle with her and she wasn't sure she wanted him to be. He all but ripped her clothes off her and then got his off faster than she thought possible. He was kissing her over and over and she couldn't think long enough to respond.

Because Jim was everywhere and she didn't have time to make any rational decisions.  There was no rational anything with Jim involved. Her body just responded to what he was doing and she held on for life. Her head was hazy from lust and from him. He looked her in the eyes when he finally thrust into her and she gasped out from the mixed feelings of him filling her and the almost tender look in his usually dark and cold eyes. She pulled him back to her and kissed him this time as she started moving with him.

He moved her leg up and hit a spot inside her that made her squeeze her eyes shut and groan out in pleasure.

"Molly.." He whispered her name into her ear and moved his hands down to hold her hips a little too tight.

She simply couldn't keep up with him this time.

She moaned out his name as he finally brought her over the edge and that alone was enough to drive him to his end. They were panting and he all but collapsed on her. She didn't mind, in fact she kind of liked the feeling of him on top of her. She could feel him breathing and his heart beat. Gently she ran her hands up his arms, one went to his hair to softly run through it and the other stayed on his back just below his shoulder.

She let out a content sigh and then a small sound of protest when he bit her neck.

"Jim!" She tried to protest but he had already sucked at it enough to leave a mark. He pulled up and grinned at her, a mischievously wicked look about him.

"What? Just marking my territory." He pulled away from her, but just as quickly grabbed her and yanked her as close to him as he could.

"Bastard." She whispered with a small smile against his chest. He just laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

They laid like that for a good while before Molly finally let out a yawn and cuddled into him further.

"Are you staying?" She asked in a tired voice that pulled at his heartstrings.

Fuck.

All she had to do was say something and he was falling further into her.

He couldn't say no after that little realization.

"Of course. You're not getting rid of me just yet miss Molly." his arm around her waist tightened possessively. She pressed her face into him and let out a hum of contentment.

She was so comfortable with him. Usually people weren't comfortable with him and they'd avoid him at all costs and have nervous ticks if they were stuck in the same room as him. Yet here was Molly Hooper curled up as close as she could to him and sleeping soundly. Her breathing had evened out in record time and she was out like a light. It was a different experience and Jim thought he might just like it.

He sighed a bit and thought about his newest trick coming up soon. Sherlock Holmes wasn't going to be a problem anymore, but he would also have to be away from Molly for a lot longer than he'd like. The price of being a consulting criminal.

So he was content to just stay in the calm before the storm at least for that moment. He let himself fall asleep next to his Molly and avoided thinking about separating from her the whole rest night.

Chapter Text

Jim walked around the man standing in the middle the room. It was a slow calculated walk like a man stalking his prey, which he was.

They were on the top floor of a fifteen story building. This was what Jim liked to call the last step to your doom. Sebastian always told him that was a dramatic title, but he never listened.

"You know, trying to run away with my money wasn't the smartest move to make." Jim said with a bored tone.

"Also not very original. At least do something entertaining if you're going to be an idiot." Jim was sighing and whining at the same time. The man simply looked at Jim, then to the door for the tenth time and the consulting criminal rolled his eyes. Jim stopped walking and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Oh please, make my day!" His lips twitched up into a smile and he gestured to the door.

"I would love to see you shot through the heart before you could get there." Jim's smile was wicked and his eyes were cruel. The man seemed to shrink back in fear and uncertainty. He didn’t want to risk dying so he stayed where he was.

"Now," Jim started walking around him again and spoke as if the man was a child and he, his teacher, "I need a distraction for my next event, and you're going to help me with that!"

Jim stopped in front of the window and looked down.

"And why would I do that?" the man's voice was shaky and he looked just as frightened as could be.

"Oh, I can think of a few reasons." Jim chuckled and looked down at the crowd below.

"These photos of you making a deal with the CEO of your supposed rival company. I'm sure you'd love it if I gave them to your boss and let him know that you were giving away your company's secrets."

The man paled and opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Jim couldn’t help his laugh. He just looked like he was trying so hard.

“What? You think you have secrets that no one knows about?” Jim tilted his head a bit while looking down below at the people.

“I can know anything,” he paused for dramatic effect, “about anyone,” again a short pause, “whenever I want.”

None of the people in the plaza were a mystery. How boring.

“And the sad part is that for the most part I can get all that information from looking at a person for under a minute.” Jim kept his eyes down at the people until the man started speaking once more.

"I don't care. I won't help you! It's not worth it." he took two steps towards Jim and a red dot appeared on his chest.

Jim turned and smiled at him.

"Even if it meant your wife and daughter would live? Not even then?"

The man started breathing heavily, and his face looked white. He was really scared now.

"Don’t touch my family!”

"Or, WHAT?" Jim yelled, his face going from his usual cool and calm to furious and ferocious.

"You people are all so stupid! I hold all the cards here!” Jim went up to the man slowly and then looked to the door that lead to some stairs.

“Start walking.” He demanded. The man slowly turned and walked where he was told to go. He was trembling, but continued to walk.

Jim let out a deep breath and stopped him when they got to the door.

"When you get up to the very top, you're going to see a little red box. Take the black trigger out of it and count to one hundred. Then push the button. If you fail to follow these instructions your wife dies in front of your daughter. If you try to get away, your daughter gets shipped off to a black market trading event happening tomorrow evening. Who knows what kind of people would try and buy her? Now get going." Jim tapped him on the shoulder and then turned and walked the other direction. He hopped in the elevator and listened to his headset.

"You're a bit impatient today boss." Sebastian's voice came through the ear piece.

"Bite me Seb. Just do your damn job."

"Testy."

"You know that I'm just eager for tomorrow."

"You mean tonight."

Jim rolled his eyes, but smirked a bit. Sebastian had come to know him very well over the years.

He walked out of the building and strode to the car that was waiting for him. He heard the explosion just as he was getting to the car. He didn't look up, he got in the car and chuckled when it started moving.

"What, might I ask, is so funny?" Sebastian asked

"That man. We didn't even have his family hostage or anything. He didn't ask to see them. He just blew up a building for me and died for nothing. It just baffles me that people can be that stupid."

"Yeah whatever. You bank on these people's stupidity."

Jim sat back in his seat and closed his eyes.

"He commits suicide, all evidence I was there is gone. He gets blamed for all these deaths, the person I really wanted dead is dead. It's been a good day so far."

"Jim it's almost five in the afternoon. The day is almost over."

Jim chuckled and let out a content sigh as he heard sirens heading towards the building he just blew up. He wasn’t really as content as he seemed. He could just feel that something wasn’t right, and he didn’t like that feeling.

"You're right and I have some things I need to get done before tomorrow. Ash!" he called to his driver

"Yes, boss?"

"Drop me off at St. Barts and then follow these instructions.” he said handing him a piece of paper.

"Yes sir."

Jim knew Sebastian was scoffing at him, but ignored him. He had a pathologist to go see.

Molly was at the morgue still working even though her shift had technically ended an hour earlier. There had been an explosion, some whack job had decided to commit suicide by blowing himself up on top of his work building. Horrible really. There had only been five deaths in total though which was good.

It was almost six in the evening when Sherlock came bursting through the doors.

“Molly! I need to see the body of the man who set off the explosion.” He seemed more impatient and crazy than usual.

“Sherlock I’m not done with the autopsy yet, you’ll have to wait a minute.” She tried to sound stern, but he simply let out an exasperated sigh and looked at her with those eyes.

His stupid puppy dog eyes always made her cave.

“Fine… but I can’t see anything! Table three.”

He nodded his understanding and waited for a moment.

She quickly walked into her office and shut the door with a sigh. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the now closed door.

It had been over a month since she’d seen Jim. And she missed him.

She had a number for him, and she texted him sometimes just to make sure he was okay. He was in an ugly business and she knew it was dangerous. She wasn’t an idiot.

She always got a response. The same one every single time. It just had a winky face and it was signed JM.

She wished he would call. Or at least text her first and let her know she was on his mind. She didn’t feel like he even wanted her around with all this time he was gone.

Even though those flower deliveries still happened every month. Every month, and it only made the want for him to be physically with her even worse.

The fact that he was a serial killer and a sociopath probably should have made her feel better about the whole situation, because that meant he was being normal, but it just made her feel sick. She felt the tears start to come to her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall.

She knew that Jim and Sherlock were fighting and something big was happening. She could feel it.

Every time she saw Sherlock she thought of Jim. What did he have planned for her friend? Why was this so hard? Why did she have to fall in love with the only person in the world that she shouldn’t have fallen in love with?

Before she could think anything else there was a hand covering her mouth and an arm snaked around her waist. She jumped and tried to scream, but it was muffled enough by the hand that there was no way Sherlock heard her.

“Shh calm down, love. It’s just me.” The familiar Irish accent did little to calm her now racing heart.

She turned in his arms and when she looked into those impossibly dark eyes she lost it. She gripped his suit tightly and pulled him to her, hugging him close. This was about comfort and showing him she cared about him. This was to prove to herself that he still wanted her around. It was the most intimate and loving thing that she had done with him yet. Just a simple hug.  

She buried her face into his shoulder and moved her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her. Jim didn’t respond for a moment, but when he did it was just to hug her closer. His grip was tight and she didn’t want him to ever let go.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him in a whisper that was slightly panicked and slightly relieved.

“I came to see you.” He replied quietly. His eyes were closed and he just relaxed into her embrace.

He hadn’t been hugged like this since he was a child. He let himself fall into it, seeing as he wouldn’t see Molly Hooper again for a very long time. She pulled back to look into his eyes and began talking again. She looked weary

“Sherlock is right outside…if he knew you were here or if he finds out…”

Jim stopped her talking by tilting her chin up and gently capturing her lips with his.

Molly could tell something was different from the way he was acting. His kiss went from gentle and sweet to desperate and hard very quickly. He backed her up to the wall and pressed her into it never once breaking away from the kiss. She felt his desperation and something else as well.

Something was wrong, or something was about to happen and she could tell it wasn’t good. Breathlessly she pulled away from the kiss, only to have him start kissing her face everywhere he could reach. Her nose, her cheeks, her eyes.

“J-Jim?” she sounded as out of breath as she felt. It was like the oxygen was getting in and then not doing its job.

He didn’t say anything. He just kept kissing her face and as soon as he got back to her mouth he was attacking her again. She forgot about Sherlock, she forgot about them getting caught, she forgot about him being a criminal, she forgot her own name. Time seemed to slow and Jim was the only thing that mattered.

How had she fallen so far? Sunk so low as to need him?

And she did need him. Just, as she was finding out, like he needed her.

He pulled away and looked into her eyes. There were questions in them, but he knew she wouldn’t ask.

“Molly,” he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, “Sherlock isn’t going to catch me. And when the time comes that he does find out about this, it’ll be too late. You’re already mine.” His voice was quiet, but absolute and she shivered a bit.

Molly put a hand on either side of his face, gently cradling his face in her hands, and whispered quietly

“I don’t know what’s happening, but I can tell it’s going to be big. The tension is so thick you can feel it.” She ran her thumbs up and down his cheeks and he didn’t say anything. He just reveled in the fact that Molly, his Molly was so much smarter, and observed so much more than anyone else knew. He put one hand over hers on his cheek and shook his head.

“What do you need?” she asked him quietly, concern in her voice.

Jim looked at her, her deep caring brown eyes seemingly staring into his soul, or rather the place his soul would be if he still had one, and he said the first thing that came into his head.

“You.” His voice was so soft it scared her a bit, but there was something else in his voice. She didn’t have time to figure out what else, because he kissed her again and it didn’t matter.

His hands went to her lab coat and he slipped it off of her. She broke the kiss once more to get a good look at his face. His fingers played with the frills on the front of her shirt and he smiled a little at her. A real smile, something she hadn’t seen from him very frequently.

She smiled back shyly and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his jacket before something crashing in the other room jolted her back into reality. She jumped and moved to get out of Jim’s embrace so she could see what on earth Sherlock had broken this time, but Jim pressed up against her so she was sandwiched between him and the wall.

“I-I have to go see what that was…” she protested weakly.

“Stay.” He whispered in a slightly husky voice and moved his lips to her neck. She closed her eyes and tried to even out her breathing. She groaned a little when he bit down on a sensitive spot on her neck.

“J-Jim…Sherlock is going to know what’s going on…he’s really g-good a-ah at figuring this stuff oh…out.” She kept her eyes closed as he slowly moved a hand up her thigh.

“Then let’s see if we can’t outsmart the consulting detective, shall we?” his dark eyes were sparking with mischief and he smiled at her again.

Molly wanted to protest, but there was something else in his eyes. Something that told her if she said no he probably wouldn’t recover. For whatever reason he needed this right now. So instead of pushing him away when he kissed her again, she pulled him closer.

Instead of telling him no and going to check on Sherlock, she slipped her hands up under his shirt and lets one rest over his heart for just a moment as the other slipped under his waistband to tease him a bit. She felt his muscles and loved the way they reacted to her touch.

He unbuttoned her shirt and undid her bra so he could play with her breasts.

She was moaning louder with each touch, and he just kissed her each time to swallow the noise. She undid the clasp on his belt and he grabbed her hands. He forced them above her head and kissed her again when she started to protest.

“Shh, Molly dear. We don’t want anyone to hear us now do we? You’re being very naughty, darling. Sex in your office? Tsk tsk.” He was smiling at her and she just wrapped her legs around him and rocked her hips against his. They both moaned at the same time.

Molly loved the way his eyes seemed to get darker. She loved the way he got more animalistic and rougher in his actions.

Still holding her arms above her head with one hand, he reached down with the other to pull down her pants and underwear in one move. She gasped when her now naked bottom half hit the cold wall as he pressed himself closer to her.

Jim pushed his pants down next, but as slowly as he could, all the while looking into Molly’s eyes. He watched her chest move up and down a little faster as he teased her more. He memorized the places she blushed and how red she got. He leaned forward and kissed from the tip of her blush all the way to the bottom of it. She whimpered when he shifted and his cock pressed just above where she wanted it. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall completely.

“J-Jim…”

He kissed her once gently, then pulled back just enough to whisper

“Say you’re mine.”

Molly opened her eyes and stared into his. His eyes kept flickering from her eyes to her mouth and she said quietly.

“I’m yours. Only yours.”

She moaned when he slipped inside her. He kissed her again, this time harder.

Molly knew he wasn’t usually this soft and gentle with her and while she was a little scared to know why he was being this way, she also thought it was nice. Not the jumping her in her office part, just the being gentle with her part.

She would have to tell him that this wasn’t going to happen again, because she could lose her job if anyone found out. But that was only after she was done with him thrusting inside her and holding her as tightly to him as he physically was able.

His grip on her hands loosened and she moved them to his hair and shoulder to keep herself anchored. She tried to hold on as long as she could, but after so long without seeing him she wasn’t going to last very long. He had one hand cupping her face and the other was holding up her leg on his side so he could get a better angle.

Molly said his name in something a little louder than a whisper and he quickly kissed her again. If Sherlock Holmes heard them and was mean to Molly about it again he was going to shoot him right then and there.

Jim bit her lip to keep from making any noise himself when they finally were pushed over the edge.

They slowed down their movements and stayed linked for what seemed like an eternity. They were both breathing heavily.

Molly could barely feel her legs as she slowly slid them down and stood up on her own. Jim gave her a few more kisses and then reluctantly pulled back to get dressed once again. He watched her re-do the clasp on her bra and then button up her shirt. She pulled her clothes back on and tried to get her hair back to what it was before. Jim moved her hands away from her hair and then did it himself because she was getting nowhere on her own.

He kissed her after she thanked him and then he helped her back into the lab-coat.

“Go see what Sherlock Holmes is doing in your lab. Damn him, he’s such a bother.” Jim kissed her again and she just looked at him with a concerned smile.

“Okay…hey um Jim?” she walked to the door and then looked back to him. He looked to her expectantly.

“Don’t do anything stupid.” She said in a quiet but firm voice.

Jim shook his head

“Never.”

She had the overwhelming feeling to stay with him. She wanted to. She wanted to grab him and take him home and just keep him there with her.

“Off you go now, my Molly Hooper.”

She blushed at that and then nodded

“I’ll see you later then.”

He didn’t respond and instead he just went to her and kissed her again. He whispered

“You’re mine,” and then opened the door for her so she was forced to walk out or it would seem weird. She closed it behind her and felt an ache in her heart for a reason she couldn’t explain. She wanted to know why he kept telling her that she was his. Didn’t he know that she knew that?

She cleared her throat and went to go see what Sherlock was doing.

Jim watched as she walked into the lab and he smoothed his hair back a little. He didn’t know why he felt this ache. What was going on with him? He didn’t usually feel anything at all.

He didn’t like it.

All he knew was that Molly Hooper not being in his life for the next two years was the worst thing in the world he could think of. It was like torturing himself.

He slipped out of the hospital and back into the car that was waiting for him. He put his earpiece back in and listened for a moment to Sebastian’s screaming.

“Jim! What did I tell you about taking out your earpiece?! Sherlock bloody Holmes was right next to you that entire time! You could have been caught and then you and Molly would have had a hell of a time trying to be together after that!”

Jim rolled his eyes and sighed

“Seb I know what I’m doing. I’ve been doing it for a while now.” He heard the sniper let out a frustrated sigh.

“Right. You’re the genius here.”

Jim heard the sarcasm and decided to ignore him. He just stared out the window while he was driven to his base.

Tomorrow his games were over. Tomorrow started a whole new game and he just wished, for once, that Molly Hooper wasn’t on the side of the angels. He wished he could bring her down with him.

Chapter Text

Jim wasn’t in a good mood that next morning. Molly Hooper had looked so sad after their little encounter that he wasn’t sure he was doing the best thing anymore.

He didn't like to think he would, most likely, be breaking her heart soon. No he didn't like that at all. When did someone else start to matter more than his own ambitions? Not allowing that to happen, he was going along with his plans anyway.

He ran a hand over his hair and walked into the other room, trying to clear his head. He needed to focus on the task at hand. He wasn’t going to let these new found…feelings get in his way.

Sebastian was cleaning his gun again, getting ready for the upcoming events. The sniper glanced up at Jim as he silently walked over to the window.

"Thinking about Molly again?" he guessed.

"Shut it Seb. I'm trying to concentrate."

"On what? You've planned this out to the very last detail. Nothing is going to go wrong and you're going to see Molly again soon enough. She's smarter than you give her credit for and won't do anything stupid. Now stop sulking." Sebastian held up the piece he was working on cleaning and held it up to make sure it was perfect.

"I am not sulking." Jim sounded seriously offended, but Sebastian knew better.

"Whatever you say, boss."

There was a silence for a while, but Sebastian finally broke it.

"Are you sure you shouldn't tell her?"

Jim’s head whipped around and looked over at him like he was stupid

"No one can know about this plan other than those on the way deep inside of the operation, you know that. There is no way I'm risking this information. Not even for Molly...as much as I'd like to. She can't know about it Seb."

Jim looked out the window over the city and his eyes drifted over to the direction of the hospital. Molly wasn't going to like it very much, what he was planning. But she would get over it, right?

That's what he made himself believe. If everything worked out the way he planned it to then she would be just fine. She would forgive him he smirked smugly, because she always did.

"Mr. Moriarty?" a timid voice from the doorway broke him out of his thoughts.

"What?" he barked without turning around.

"Mr. Holmes has taken the bait, sir."

Jim felt his mouth turning up into a smirk and he nodded.

"Perfect."

Sebastian watched as he went from thinking, slightly peaceful, calm Jim. To intense, wickedly playful, evil Jim in two seconds flat. He picked up his bag slowly and stood up.

"Time to go then?" Seb asked.

Jim walked out of the room, so he took that as a yes and followed behind him.

Molly couldn't believe it. Sherlock had come to her for help. She knew that Jim was playing this game with him, and had been for a while, but she didn't know how far he was going to go. Killing one of her friends was not the way to go to stay on her good side.

Sherlock said he needed her. That he was going to die. She counted? She’d always counted and he trusted her.

She was so confused about this entire situation. She was in her office, her head in her hands and she was trying not to start crying. The man she was in love with was going to kill one of the only friends she actually had.

He had been using her after all? She didn't even know anymore.

She wanted to talk to him. To yell at him and tell him he was being an idiot. Tell him that he wasn't allowed to kill Sherlock.

She wasn't going to let Sherlock die.

She was going to help him, she already knew that. But that meant she was choosing a side.

Not Jim's side.

So much of her wished she could be on his side, but she was on the side of the angels. The good side, the one that didn’t kill people for fun. Oh dear heavens what had she done getting involved with Jim?

It’s not that she hadn’t tried to contact Jim through the phone number he'd given her.  It’s simply that there was no answer.

She tried it multiple times. And everything told her that he was just using her again. She had given him access to Sherlock and her work space. She told him things that he could use to help him in his games. She had been such an idiot.

It was quiet except her occasional sniffle or shuffle of her feet.

She wanted to curl up in a ball, so she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. She made herself as small as she could but then, after giving herself fifteen minutes to cry about it, got to work preparing what she needed to for Sherlock. She'd deal with Jim later. After her friend was safe.

Nothing was going to be the same now. She was done being the gullible and innocent little mouse. She was going to do something important and stand up to people. No more getting her heart broken because she was too trusting. No way.

Molly wiped her eyes and set to work, she had a friend to save.

Jim was so done with Sherlock Holmes and him interfering in his life. And not just his business life, but his love life. The bastard didn't even know he was doing it. He had gone to Molly Hooper just like Jim thought he would, but he made her think Jim was just using her again.

The stupid detective. Jim had two reasons to carry out this plan. One was to show Sherlock Holmes that he needed Molly Hooper, much like Jim did because, of course, they were the same person.

He needed Sherlock to be nicer to Molly and, sure this was a pretty dramatic way to get that into his head, but Sherlock had a very thick skull. The second reason was so that he could set up a tighter network than he already had.

He had already committed to this plan and he was going to see it through. Sherlock Holmes was going to survive, and so was he. And when they came back, he was going to make Molly his again, and until then she'd better not do anything stupid like date someone else, because she was his. And anyone she tried to date would die or get very injured. He'd make sure of it when he was back.

Molly sat in the police station. She was sitting there with no emotion on her face, completely drained of energy and life and feeling. She was numb. It was possible that she preferred that to the alternative, feeling too much. Although, she knew that would come later. Oh it would come.

Sherlock was safe—she was the only one who knew that.

Jim was dead.

Her Jim.

Sherlock told her this while she was helping him, and then he left.

She didn’t let herself feel anything when she was brought in to talk to the police.

The police had to talk to her, because she was on the scene when Sherlock was found. Everyone just thought she was in shock from seeing a friend die and that she was sad about that.

It was a good cover, and she knew the truth about Sherlock so that wasn’t the problem.

But Jim was dead.

The tears wouldn’t even come to her eyes. She was choked up and could barely talk to Lestrade. He just looked at her with empathy in his eyes. Like he knew what she was going through.

He had no idea.

Jim was dead.

Jim was gone.

It echoed through her head.

The police let her go and some officer took her home. Numbly walking into her apartment she attempted to put her keys where they went on the little hook, but she missed and they fell to the floor. She didn’t pick them up.

She looked into her living room. That stupid chair where Jim insisted on being every time he snuck into her house was just sitting there mocking her.

She went over to it and let her fingers run over the arm softly.

Jim wasn’t going to sit in the chair anymore. No more sneaking into her house. No more late night visits. No more kisses when she was pouting. No more laughs, no more morbidly funny conversations. No more breaking into the morgue and waiting for her shift to be over so he could drive her home.

She felt the tears come all at once. She collapsed to her knees as the sobs escaped her.

Loving that idiot was the best and the worst thing that could have ever happened to her. She didn’t want to believe he was gone.

‘Maybe he faked his death just like Sherlock’ she thought, but ‘Sherlock is never wrong’ she argued with herself.

Her whole body was shaking from the force of her crying. She wasn’t holding back this time and let all the sounds, the pain, come out of her mouth and in her tears.

Why was she crying over him? He had just used her after all.

That didn’t help the ever growing ache in her heart feel any better.  It was like a part of her was missing and she didn’t know how to cope.

Her sobs got louder and her body hurt from the force of them. Her body was trembling and her head hurt already.  

She thought back to the previous night when Jim was with her. Alive and breathing and making her feel loved and special and worth something. He had just kept telling her that she was his.

She realized he knew he’d be doing this. So why did it matter?

Her heart was his and always would be. He’d used and abused it, but it was his. Everything Jim did he did for a reason. What was his reasoning this time?

Why wouldn’t he just tell her what he was planning? Why lead her on this long and make her fall in love with him even more? Because she didn’t really matter to him and he liked playing with emotions.

No. She knew he felt something for her, she saw it in his eyes.

So then why?

She’d wanted to know if the consulting criminal really wanted her or if he was just using her.  Never getting closure was almost as bad as never seeing Jim again. She’d gladly never get an answer if he would just be alive. It just wouldn’t be worth it anymore. To get up and go to work and live in the world where there was no Jim.

How was she supposed to continue now?

Jim was gone.

She continued to cry and sob until all the tears were gone and her throat hurt from the force of it all.

The strength and energy to move or even get comfortable on the floor was gone from her. She was sprawled out in front of that stupid chair on the cold ground and that’s where she fell into a nightmare ridden sleep.

Jim knew he shouldn’t do this, but he couldn’t stand the sight of her like this. When he was sure she was asleep he snuck into her flat and carefully got her into bed.

She was a very deep sleeper, especially after so much crying, and he knew she wouldn’t wake up.

He had just placed her on the bed and was lifting the blankets up to put on her.

“Jim…” she whispered in her sleep and he froze. Her breathing was even and she was still plenty asleep.

He felt something in him burn. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, but at the same time it was new. Or vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

He placed one single kiss to her head and softly pushed her hair back a few times before cursing her for being his breaking point and his weak spot and using all his will power to leave and get into the car that would take him to the beginning of a very long time away from his Molly.

Her heart was broken, but he was sure that whatever was left of his wasn’t whole at the moment either. 

It wouldn’t be right again until he made his return and she was with him permanently. Nothing kept Jim Moriarty from getting what he wanted.

Chapter Text

Time wasn’t passing quickly.

Time wasn’t passing slowly.

It was just passing.

And while it passed Molly Hooper went through the motions of her life.

Day by day she went to work. She took longer and longer shifts to avoid people in general, but more specifically her friends.

She didn’t want to face John and Greg and have to lie to them because she knew Sherlock was alive. Lie to them about why she was upset, or better than that lie to them and tell them she wasn’t upset.

It didn’t matter because she felt closer to Jim in the morgue. It was sick and she knew it wasn’t healthy for her to shut up her emotions like this.

She should be getting out and trying to move on, but…

Move on to what?

What was there now that Jim was gone and her life was back to being ordinary and dull?

Sherlock was gone, which meant no more helping with his cases.

Lestrade stopped in every now and again to check on her and for police work, but she put on that shy smile that no one could see through and he eventually believed, like everyone else, that she was fine.

Days turned into weeks. Weeks to months. And eventually she thought she could move on a bit. Life started returning to her eyes and she let herself feel. Just bits and pieces of emotions, but it was something. The crying was less frequent and less intense.

But then something would happen.

Someone would say something that reminded her of him. Her new neighbor had the same eye color. The man across the street wore the same type of suits. Her boss said one word with the same tone as him.

She’d see the notes he used to send her.

The vase she kept those flowers he used to give her in was still up on the shelf where she couldn’t quite reach, but could see.

It would all make her remember and she’d have to start over.

The ache in her heart wasn’t healing, not really. She was covering it up with a layer of distractions and lies.

‘Oh that doesn’t remind me of anything’ She’d try to tell herself.

‘That doesn’t remind me of anyone in particular,’ she’d repeat in her mind ‘no one at all.’

Molly knew that she wasn’t going to get over him. She would love him until she was dead.

But he was gone and she needed to cope.

She saw John starting to get out and he even found a nice girlfriend, Mary was her name.

John understood probably best out of anyone how she was feeling and if he could move on, if he could get back into the world and be a functioning person…why couldn’t she?

She started going out again.

A little over a year since the fall, she met him. He was tall and dressed an awful lot like someone she knew, but she kept repeating those phrases in her mind so she didn’t really think too much about it.

His name was Tom. He was average at best, and perfectly dull.

But he was a distraction.

And he was tall, had a decent job and was somewhat handsome.

He seemed interested in her.

She’d take what she could, and it looked like he was as good as it was going to get. But every so often she’d think back to Jim, and she’d wish he was back. She’d wish that Tom wasn’t just a fine man with a decent job who lived a plain life. She wanted a little more excitement, a little more danger. She wished he was someone else.

Wishing on stars wasn’t going to bring Jim back—that’s what played in her head when she looked out her window at night wishing that the stars had some power to grant her desire.

Tom wasn’t averse to them moving slowly. She told him that she was recovering from a past relationship where it hadn’t ended well, so he said they could go as slow as she needed. In the future when she looked back on the fact that he was alright with taking it that slowly she would realize her mistake.

Truthfully, she wanted time to move so slowly that it was moving backwards. Truthfully she wanted to stop Jim from pulling that trigger and to have been there for him, like she was for Sherlock. 

Wishing on stars, again, that it was in some way possible.

Instead she kept going on with Tom, and they did move slowly. She put on a happy face and smiled and boasted about how good they were in certain departments when in all reality, she hadn’t even really touched him at all.

Acting was something that came naturally to her when it came to protecting Jim. Even his memory and her loyalty to him.

Even after his death her life was still being ruined by him. No happiness could be found, not truly, for her without him. She hated herself for feeling like this. She thought herself pathetic. Perhaps that’s why when Tom asked her to marry him, she said yes and acted excited.

She seemed pathetic to herself, but if she married him she was a little less pathetic to the rest of the world.

So she said yes, and went on as if that’s the only thing in the world she wanted to do.

Sebastian had been assigned with the task of monitoring Molly Hooper while they were gone. Jim said it was because he was too busy but his best and most loyal friend knew better. He knew that it would hurt him to do it himself and Seb didn’t question it.

He simply told him he’d do it and every day or so when Jim would ask him about his mission and his progress he would add in a little

‘Oh and that secret mission? That’s going to fine as well.’ Letting him know that Molly was okay and that he shouldn’t worry too much.

Nodding was the only indication Seb had that Jim even acknowledged him.

When Molly started dating again Seb didn’t think anything about it. She was bound to do that sometime, he thought she’d start a little earlier, but he could see that it still hurt just as bad as the day they left for her. She’d stop and hold a hand over her heart at the sight of certain things.

And anytime there was a fireworks display she’d always put her headphones in and turn the volume up as loud as it’d go to avoid hearing them. She said no to going to dances with her colleagues and they never knew it was because any dancing at all reminded her of Jim.

Sebastian wasn’t even worried when she started seeing one guy a little more frequently.

He didn’t tell Jim because that would just upset him, and Molly needed the distraction.

Too late Seb realized that he should have said something to Jim, because Molly said yes to the idiot’s proposal. He was too busy worrying about how Jim would react and too worried about Molly to recognize Tom.

 Sebastian felt a little swell of panic run through him. How was he supposed to deal with this? Jim would be furious.

It didn’t matter that he worked all day every day to get his new network up and going, Seb could see he was anxious as ever to get back to Molly. He wasn’t bored of her and he wasn’t going to get over it. He wasn’t changing his mind or his feelings any time soon. They were locked in him and no way was he letting them go.

Jim was going to kill Seb first for not saying anything, and then Tom for touching his woman.

How to go about it?

Sebastian was playing over the recording again, watching Molly’s every reaction to Tom. He knelt down to ask her to marry him and she got a look in her eyes. He couldn’t quite pin point what it was. It wasn’t happiness, he knew her happy face and that was not it. He watched her and then his face.

He knew he recognized Tom from somewhere, but he couldn’t remember where. Every time he got close to remembering something came up. This was the third attempt at watching it and he lost track of time, because the next thing he knew was Jim yelling for him and walking into the room.

Seb jumped up to stand in front of the monitor, but it was too late because Jim had seen the screen.

“What.” He started talking as he walked over to the screen to watch what was happening.

“The fuck.” His hands clenched into fists

“Is going on here.” He hissed through his teeth.

“Boss! I didn’t want you to…”

“Who is he.” Jim interrupted.

“What’s his name. How long.” Jim was shaking in anger and Sebastian fought the urge to gulp and gave him the information he knew.

“A nobody named Tom. And…” he hesitated to keep going. After a split second too long of a hesitation Jim screamed at him.

“Sebastian I’m not going to ask you again. HOW LONG?” Jim was looking at the video and he seemed to be getting angrier with each passing second.

“Almost five months sir…” he said quietly.

“So it only took her a year and a half to get over my death.” Jim glared at the screen, not at Molly however. He seemed to be trying to read her face. He was glaring at Tom.

“She’s not over your death Jim.” Sebastian said in a very quiet voice.

“And she’s only marrying him because he’s her distraction from wanting you to be back. You’re dead remember? At least she thinks so.”

Jim growled lightly and when Tom stood up to hug Molly, he punched the screen and Sebastian let out a sigh.

His fist had a few cuts in it now and a small trail of blood was going down the monitor.

“Clean this up. And then call up the boys. We have work to finish.” Jim spoke in a slightly angry voice that stayed steady.

Sebastian nodded, knowing better than to argue with him and he watched him stalk out the door and heard as he deliberately knocked over a few things on his way to his bedroom where he proceeded to slam his door. Seb winced as he heard the door slam knowing that meant he was in so much trouble. Sebastian looked at the broken glass and cursed.

“Dammit.”

Sherlock Holmes thought he was so close to dismantling their network and now Jim was going to speed things up by making him believe he’d succeeded.

It’d only take half a week to pull that off, then all they had to do was wait a little while for Sherlock to do something stupid. Then they could come back full force.

Sebastian just hoped it happened sooner rather than later, because Jim wasn’t going to be happy if Molly got married to another guy.

No he’d probably kill him and make her watch as punishment.

This wouldn’t have happened if he had just told her he wasn’t really dead. She hadn’t told anyone about Sherlock so far, obviously she could keep a secret.

Sebastian grabbed the first cleaning guy he spotted and had him go clean up Jim’s mess. He then made three phone calls and prayed to whatever God was listening that he wasn’t too late to make sure Jim and Molly happened without anything horrible happening to either of them.

Not until much later would he wish he hadn’t prayed that at all. It just jinxed everything.

The next two months happened slowly for everyone.

For Molly it felt like her engagement was eating at her. She was lying to Tom about how she felt and she knew that wasn’t right. But at the same time she knew she wouldn’t try again with anyone else so it was either this or be alone forever. She felt sick thinking about either option.

She was waiting for the right moment to call it off with him.

Because after thinking about it for these long two months she knew she wouldn’t be happy for the rest of her life if she went through with this. She realized the night of John’s wedding that she wished Jim was right there with her.

That thought made her freeze in her seat as Tom drove them home that night.

He was supposed to stay over at her place that night, and she knew now that they were engaged he’d want to actually move forward with their physical relationship. She had been avoiding it until now, but tonight was the perfect opportunity for him.

She was quieter than usual as they walked up the stairs. Tom seemed to notice.

“Molls are you okay?” he asked when they reached her front door and she struggled to open it. She fumbled with the keys but eventually got the door open.

“No…Tom we need to talk.” She said with a sigh.

Tom followed her inside and watched as she struggled to get her thoughts in order.

“What’s this about Mol? Is this about the meat dagger thing because I think it’s a really valid method?!”

Molly groaned and put her head in her hands.

“No Tom. This is about us.”

“Oh…” he stopped and frowned just a little bit. “What about us?”                   

Molly looked up at him through her fingers and tried to compose herself enough to do this.

“I…don’t…I mean I can’t see…”

She groaned in frustration and then stood up straight and looked him right in the eyes.

“I can’t lie to you anymore about how I feel. It’s not fair when you’ve been so good to me…”

Tom looked at her and didn’t say anything just got a weird expression on his face. She thought it was anger and hurt, but she wasn’t sure. Something was off with it.

“John’s wedding just made me realize…he was so happy with Mary. And she was so happy with him. And I want that same happiness if I ever get married. And you’re a great guy but…”

“You wouldn’t be that happy?” he asked quietly.

She felt the tears gather in her eyes and she shook her head

“I’m s-so sorry…” she whispered. She actually did feel sorry. She’d come to care for him, she just couldn’t love him.

“Is this because of someone else? What can I do to change your mind?”

Molly simply walked over and handed him the ring back.

“I’m just…still in love with someone else. And it’s not fair for me to lead you on like this. I’m so sorry Tom.” She was whispering

“I’ll let Sherlock know…he’s a lucky guy to still have your heart.” Tom smiled sadly at her and she had to hold back her laugh at the accusation.

If only he knew how far off he was in that statement. She was in love with the consulting criminal…not detective.

She watched him walk out of her flat and leaned against the door. She let her eyes close and then locked up before going to the bedroom and changing her clothes. She accidentally opened the wrong side of her closet and she saw that dress.

She paused for a moment and bit her lip. She wanted Jim back.

Letting herself feel again in that moment was the worst possible decision. She felt all the pain from before plus all the pain that was building up over the last two years and she was overwhelmed. Closing her eyes she let herself slip to the floor and she prepared herself for a very long night.

Jim took over watching Molly and Sebastian thanked the stars that Molly hadn’t slept with Tom and that she most likely wouldn’t until they were married….that is if they got married. Because if they had Jim would have shot the guy in the genitals, then in the chest, and then in the head. He would have made Molly watch as he killed the guy and then he would have basically kidnapped her and never let her out of his sight again.

Sherlock Holmes had made his return and Jim noted that it made Molly a little happier that he was back. She really did have a soft spot for them both. She didn’t seem to really care about this guy she was engaged to, which made Jim extremely relieved. But he was still furious beyond all belief. He hadn’t slept in three days to try and get his work done so he could be back with her.

He had the feeling that this Tom character was a bigger player in this game than anyone really thought. He had Sebastian do his research on the guy and even when nothing came up he told him to keep an eye on him at all times.

Jim hated being patient, but he couldn’t risk his work to be back with Molly any sooner. She had pushed off the wedding as far as she could because she told him she wanted a winter wedding and that was almost a year away.

At the wedding of John Watson Jim watched as Molly broke it off with Tom.

So Jim started breathing a little easier. He had a feeling it wasn’t going to last very long and a few weeks later that feeling was proven right.

Molly was walking home from work at a slow pace. It had been almost a month since John and Mary had tied the knot and she broke it off with Tom. A little bit longer since Sherlock had made his reappearance in their lives. The duo was back to solving crimes, and were currently with the police to finish some last things up. When she finally made it home, she realized her door was unlocked. She frowned thinking that she must have forgotten to lock it that morning before work. She walked in and stopped short when she saw who was in her house.

“Tom?” she asked in a soft voice.

She hadn’t given him a key to the place, she didn’t want him to be there is what it really came down to.

“Molly.” He gave her that innocent smile

“H-How did you get in here?” she asked with a forced sort of grin. She hadn’t expected to see him ever again if she was being honest with herself.

“Oh I picked the lock.” He said still with that innocent smile on his face. She felt her blood run cold and a chill went up her spine.

“How do you even know how?” she kept her voice steady and slowly moved to put her bag on the table near the entry way.

“Well I learned how in my job. And I needed to find some information.” He was sighing like he figured she was smarter than this. She hadn’t seen him act like this before. What was going on?

“Tom you’re not sounding like yourself…” she was looking at him, but moving backwards slowly. She had a feeling of dread wash over her as he started laughing.

“Sounding like myself? Molly dear I haven’t been sounding like myself at all. You don’t even know who I really am, so how would you know what I really sounded like.” The grin on his face made Molly pale slightly.

“What are you…?”

“Listen, you’re really nothing special, but I knew that you had dating Jim Moriarty and apparently you were special to him. I used to word for the guy. I needed to find out if you had any information on him, just in case he wasn’t actually dead. I needed to know if you still had feelings for him as well.”

Molly’s heart fell to her stomach and she felt sick.

“Y-You what?” she felt winded and she felt her hands close into fists.

“So you were lying to me. That whole time?” she heard him laugh and looked up at him with a glare. She walked forward as he spoke so she was close to him. She was trying to be intimidating.

“You should be used to that Molly. Every guy you have ever dated or wanted to date turns out to be using you and lying to you. Sherlock, Jim, and now me.” He grinned at her and she felt her heart breaking all over again. She thought she was past being used and lied to.

“Why are you telling me all this? What the hell could this possibly accomplish except get you a really angry slap to the face?” she smacked him before he had the chance to respond and she glared at him. He gave her an evil look and took a step towards her.

She took a step back.

“I was going to play nice, but apparently you like it rough.” The look in his eyes made her shudder, but she stood her ground.

“What do you want Tom? If that even is your name.” she muttered bitterly at the end. She wasn’t afraid of him, nothing he could do to her would hurt any more than Jim killing himself.

She reached into her back pocket for her phone so she could call Sherlock and Tom walked right up to her. He grabbed the phone from her and glared at her again.

“Calling the police isn’t going to help you. You’ll be so far dead when they get here.” He threw the phone to the other side of the room.

Her eyes widened, and she backed all the way up to the door.

“Why are you going to kill me? I’m not important! I never have been! To Sherlock or Jim. And Jim’s dead so why do you even care!”

“Oh so you still think he’s dead…well that’s to be expected from someone as utterly stupid as yourself. Seriously I can’t believe a genius like Jim Moriarty would be into such an idiot. I’ve been slowly getting more information and finally I have the proof I need that Jim is alive.”

Molly’s eyes widened and her heart started beating quickly. Jim was alive? She didn’t even care that she was just called stupid and an idiot. She’d been called worse. And she let herself think it was true. It was like the world had been black and white and now there was color again. She wanted to feel again, she wanted Jim back with her again.

“H-how do you know?” she asked, gathering her courage.

Tom rolled his eyes and pulled a little camera out of his pocket.

“This was hidden in your room. It’s a camera used by Jim Moriarty to spy on people.”

Molly’s heart dropped again.

“It was probably there from when we dated before…that doesn’t give you any proof.” She felt the world slip back into the black and white mess it was when she realized Jim was gone.

It didn’t matter. It was a fool’s hope, Sherlock was always right.

“Except it was put here recently…six to eight weeks ago.” His smug grin told her that he knew what he was talking about.

“…” did she dare to hope again?

“Not that it matters.” Tom said in a bored tone. His hand went into his pocket and he pulled out a small handgun. He walked up to her and put it to her head.

Molly squeaked in fear and tried to hide into the door.

“Why are you going to kill me?! Just leave! You have the proof you need so just leave and I won’t say anything to anyone!” she all but screamed at him, her whole body shaking a tiny bit. He smacked her head with the gun hard. She almost fell down from the pain but he held her up by her hair. She felt some blood drip down the side of her head and she took a few deep breaths.

“That’s not the point of this at all! I proved Jim’s alive and that he’s still watching out for you. He’ll be back! And I’m not letting him get what he wants. He didn’t let me get what I wanted!” Tom’s voice was rough with some emotion Molly couldn’t quite place. She heard a gunshot and yelled out thinking it was her who had been shot. Instead she watched as Tom yelled out in pain and grabbed his now bleeding arm before dropping her. She moved away from the door just in time for him to open it in a hurry and run out.

She was still shaking as she looked out the window where she saw what looked like a man on top of the roof taking his gun apart and getting out of the way.

She knew that silhouette. She ran out onto her balcony and yelled his name

“Sebastian!”

She watched as the man faltered for a moment and then kept going. Sebastian had saved her. Her heart gave a little flutter and she couldn’t help but be hopeful for just a few minutes. Just because Sebastian was still alive didn’t mean Jim was.

She knew the police would be coming over to investigate. So she got to work forming a story. They didn’t need to go looking for Seb, and she wanted Tom found and locked up. She felt the side of her head and immediately felt like throwing up.

She slipped down to the middle of the floor and held her head in her hands. She heard sirens only five minutes later.

Ten minutes after Tom had run out the police were entering her flat. She was laying in the middle of the floor, barely conscious.

“Molly!” she recognized the voice as that of a one Sherlock Holmes and was surprised when he turned her onto her back. She groaned and whimpered a little. The light did not help her head feel better, and as a result she didn’t open her eyes.

“Molly what happened!”

“Sherlock back up! She’s got a head injury. Let me look at her.” John was at her side in a moment. She felt him take a look at her head and he started reporting to Sherlock.

“Hit in the head with a gun…possible concussion, some blood loss. A few cuts and scrapes from the glass that’s shattered…Molly, love can you sit up?”

She took a few deep breaths, keeping her eyes shut the entire time. It was getting harder to stay awake.

“I-I…J-John I don’t think that I c-can…”

“That’s alright, just rest a minute while we get the ambulance here.”

“Molly who did this to you.” Sherlock’s voice sounded so far away.

She felt tears come to her eyes and she thanked her body for helping her be a good actress in these sorts of situations.

“T-Tom…” she whispered and moved her hands to her face.

“Oh Molly…I’m so sorry. But hey we’re going to get you better and then he’s going to get caught and put away for a while. Sherlock will make sure of it.”

“Oh be certain.” There was some anger in his voice.

Molly attempted to open her eyes and immediately regretted it.

“H-he attacked me…” she got out in barely a whisper and then started crying full force. She wanted to curl up in a ball to make it more believable but John’s hands stopped her.

“Molly they’re going to take you now alright, we’ll see you at the hospital.”

She felt a slight jolt of panic run through her when they started to get her on the stretcher.

“Don’t leave me all alone!”

“Sherlock go with her. In the ambulance.”

“Why do I have to…?”

Molly didn’t have to see them to know that John was giving Sherlock that look that told him he was saying something “not good”.

The consulting detective cleared his throat and agreed.

“I’m going to go home to my wife I haven’t seen in a few days because of this case. You go take care of our pathologist.”

Molly smiled a little at John’s words, but on the inside she knew that he was only saying them because Sherlock wouldn’t agree to it otherwise. Even after all this time and help she’d given him she still wasn’t important to them. Not really. At least that’s what she thought.

The next few minutes were a blur and she knew she was going to pass out soon.

“Sherlock…” she said in a sleepy voice.

“Yes?”

“When you find Tom…punch him in the face for me.” She said and heard him chuckle lightly before responding in the affirmative. She smiled a little before sleep took over her completely.

“YOU FIGURED OUT WHO HE WAS AND YOU DIDN’T TELL ME? HE FUCKING TRIED TO KILL MY GIRL.” Jim knocked over another table in his anger and Sebastian winced slightly.

“But he didn’t…”

“BECAUSE YOU FIGURED IT OUT ON TIME DOOFUS.” He took two deep breaths and turned to glare at the three men in the room.

“How much longer.”

“A-about five weeks sir.”

“You have FOUR and if you fail to get it done in that time I will cut off your arms and legs and toss you into a lake! Now get out of my sight.”  He listened as they all hurried and got out of the room.

Sebastian stayed quiet until Jim was ready to talk again.

“How bad was it?” Jim asked with a hand over his eyes. To anyone else it would look like he was stressed out. But Sebastian knew this was what he did when he was trying to reign in his anger.

“Mild concussion and a few scrapes…She’ll be alright Jim.”

“She damn well better be. Or I’ll have your head!” he growled and turned to glare at his best friend.

“When did you figure out who this guy really was and why didn’t you fucking tell me?”

“Jim, you would have run right in there and killed the guy in front of her! I did you a fucking favor by just injuring him and making it possibly for you to get him later. Molly, as mad as she is about him lying and using her, wouldn’t like it if you killed someone in her flat!” Sebastian was scowling and slightly irritated that this was how Jim was going to thank him for saving his girlfriend.

“Dammit. She’s not safe because of me now. I’m supposed to be dead, so she should be fine!” Jim went and sat down in his favorite chair, the only one that was not currently knocked over.

“I know. The police will look after her for the next little while, so don’t worry all that much. Plus I have a team of guys watching her.”

“Which guys? If any of these guys are like this Tom then we’ll have another problem.”

“It’s Clint and Talia.” He said

Jim let out a breath. Only the best protecting her. Only the best and those who wouldn’t ever oppose him. They all owed him so much.

“….fine.”

Sebastian went over to Jim and stood next to him, while looking out the window.

“You need to sleep, boss. It’s been four days since you have.”

“I don’t need you telling me what to do Seb.” He snapped at him and the sniper just scoffed.

“No, you need to be able to know you need sleep yourself, I’m just your damn alarm clock. You can’t run a criminal empire, get back to your girlfriend, and look your best without sleep.”

Jim growled again.

“Watch it Moran. I could have you killed.”

Sebastian just smirked and scoffed.

“By who? No one has the balls to try. Plus you like having me around.”

Jim rolled his eyes and got up to go to his room for the night.

“Anything changes with Molly’s condition I want you to call me immediately. Understood?”

“Yes sir.”

“Oh and Sebastian…”

“Yes?”

“Do have Deana and Samuel go after Tom for me. They are the best at getting people back to me alive.” Jim didn’t wait for an answer and instead walked down the hall and took a left. He went straight to the room with all his recorded videos and re-watched what had happened with Molly.

No mercy.

That’s what this bastard was getting for hurting his girl.

Chapter Text

The whirling sounds of the jet engine was all that could be heard as Jim stepped onto the aircraft. He was looking as amazing as ever in his Westwood with his hair all slicked back for the occasion. The consulting criminal was back for good. Sherlock Holmes had finally screwed up enough for Jim to need to intervene.

His thoughts had been plagued for the last few months and he was itching to get them back to their normal chaotic brilliance. Because for far too long had he been plagued with thoughts and feelings surrounding her. Her eyes that seemed to stare right into his soul. Her hands that could either be instruments in calming him, or riling him up. He could still feel her body pressed up against his and her mouth moving across his skin.

What he wouldn’t give to have her right there with him scared him just a little.

Jim didn’t do attachments. Usually he killed someone as soon as he saw the attachment coming.

But the thought of a world without Molly Hooper. Of his world without Molly Hooper. Well, he didn’t like that feeling more than he didn’t like his attachment to her. Giving in to the attachment was hiring people to help him get back to her.

The anger he had felt over her engagement to what's-his-name had been a little more than upsetting to him. He knew anger, but not like this. Not anger mixed with hurt and jealousy. It took over his entire body and every part of him wanted that other man dead.

But Molly had called it off and Jim looked the other way, knowing she wouldn’t like it if he killed the guy. He was trying to be good enough that she wouldn’t be angry with him when he returned.

Until the idiot tried to kill her.

Now Molly had guards on her all the time and if anything bad happened to her they had to pay for it. And he was using any resource available to try and find that bastard.

But that was a few months ago. He had been into a very interesting case with Sherlock Holmes and while Molly was always in his mind, so was the detective.

This Magnussen character had been interesting enough —Jim may or may not have helped him get the information he needed—but for a man that had that much information in his brain he wasn’t very competent. Also his lack of class made Jim want to kill him himself.

 It didn’t matter now, Sherlock had taken care of that.

That thought made Jim smirk just a little bit. The consulting detective hadn’t even hesitated when he killed that man. Oh yes, Jim had seen the videos that Mycroft Holmes had tried to hide.

Jim couldn’t kill Sherlock, not when he knew exactly what the detective was willing to do for those he cared about. Killing himself was one thing, but killing other people? The possibilities were endless now.

It was fortunate that Molly had helped him fake his death like Jim had predicted, because a dead Sherlock Holmes was even more boring than the alive one.

He made himself comfortable in his seat and settled in for the long ride. 

When this plane landed he would finally get to see Molly Hooper again and he was even more impatient than usual about it. Was he worried about how she would react? Not really.

She still loved him after all.

"Sebastian!" he called over his shoulder

After a moment the sniper appeared and took his place at Jim's side.

"Boss?"

"How long until we arrive?"

"About four hours, sir."

"Make it three."  Jim said nonchalantly and Sebastian thanked everything good that he had added forty minutes onto the actual arrival time. He knew Jim would be ridiculous like this and had been prepared for it.

"Of course, sir." Sebastian went to the cock pit to let the pilot know to go as fast as safely possible or he may die.

When Sebastian made his way back to Jim he took his seat next to the man and let out a silent sigh.

"Whatever is the matter Seb? We'll be back to London and bothering Sherlock Holmes again very shortly." he seemed to be in a good mood, so Sebastian knew better than to ask him anything stupid. Like how he was planning on going about getting Molly Hooper to forgive him.

"Nothing sir. You know my opinion on flying."

Jim let out a short laugh and examined the back of his hand like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"The feared sniper, who has to be on top of tall buildings all the time, is afraid of flying and heights. Ironic really."

"It's not the height...it's the fact that we're in a machine that could kill us so far up in the air with little to no way of survival that doesn't make me happy to be here."  Sebastian frowned and then grabbed his small handgun to take apart and put back together, as he did whenever he was freaked out about things like this.

Jim just had a little smug smirk on his face the rest of the flight which only took three hours and ten minutes.

Jim watched the screen of the television right as they were landing and a shudder of excitement went thought him. In little less than an hour his face would be up on that screen and he would be back in Molly Hooper's life.

Molly hadn't been in on the Magnussen case, as there weren't any bodies to look at, but Sherlock had been fake engaged and back on drugs so she'd been involved with the idiot of a consulting detective enough to know that it was going on.

 She paid attention to any details about him that she could. His methods seemed familiar and she wanted to believe that maybe Jim was involved with this. At first she had hoped that she was closer to finding Sebastian, but the only way to get his attention was to have someone else try and kill her. She didn't really fancy a repeat of Tom.

She had moved since then. A friend had told her about these pretty nice flats closer to her work and after she checked them out she fell in love.

This flat was much bigger than the last one, and Tom didn't know where it was. Two positive things that she needed in her life.

It was the end of her shift and she was getting the last of the project she was working on cleaned up when she heard it. The radio had been switched on and there was static playing.

Quickly she went over and turned it off, confused as to how it was on in the first place. That uneasy feeling of being watched came over her and she wanted to get home as fast as she could.

The television was the next thing to turn on and when she looked up her eyes went wide. She felt like she’d just been hit by a truck.

She couldn't breathe for a moment and when she finally took one it was a gasp. She let herself think about what was happening.

It was like life was returning to her with just the thought of him.

It was just a picture of him and in big letters it just said...

"So, did you miss me?"

His actual voice came out from behind her and she jumped before whipping around to face the corner, just as he was stepping out of the dark. The things in her now shaking hands fell to the floor and she couldn't find it in her to care or even notice completely.  She gasped out and her hands went to cover her mouth.

"Jim?" she breathed out her question and then took a step forward, only to step back again.

"But..you were dead...Sherlock said he saw you s-shoot yourself." she had a harder time saying that than she would have liked to admit.

"You can't be...how can you be here?" she took small steps towards him, but she stopped a few steps away and looked hesitant. Even if he was there, where was the guarantee that after such a long time he still thought and felt the same about her?

Jim was smirking at her when she came out of her thoughts.

"Sherlock Holmes isn't the only one who can fake his own death, love. I'm sure you're very aware of how well our dear detective did that." His knowing look sent a shiver down her spine and she couldn't look at him anymore.

"Are you here to kill me?" she asked quietly, her head down, afraid of the answer. She had her hands clasped together in front of her fiddling away her nervous feelings.

The next thing she knew he was right there in front of her, a finger lifting her chin so that she was looking at him.

Once he came in contact with her she gasped when she felt that familiar current run through her body at his touch. She couldn't help it as her eyes filled with tears and she clenched her hands into fists.

"Molly, I'm not going to hurt you. Never again." he sounded so sincere she couldn't help her sob that came out next.

"You are the absolute worst!" she exclaimed and shoved him away from her. If he was surprised he sure didn't show it.

"You were dead! You let me...” she had to swallow down the sob that threatened to leave her mouth “You let me think you were dead for TWO WHOLE YEARS James Moriarty!" she was shaking with anger, but he stepped towards her again and pulled her into his arms. He was done with not having her there.

"You have to understand Molly, I couldn't risk telling you. I needed to disappear for a while. No one could know."

She struggled against his hold, tears still streaming down her cheeks, but he was stronger than she was, so she settled with lightly pounding her fists against his chest.

"You're the most selfish," another fist against his chest "idiotic," another "horrible," her hands slowed down and she just buried her face into him, gripping onto his suit like her life depended on it, "most evil man in the history of everything."

He rolled his eyes at her dramatics, but let her get it all out of her system. When she finally collapsed into a fit of crying against his shoulder he felt himself soften under her touch. His arms wrapped around her and he let out a content sigh, his head was resting against the top of hers and he had never felt so complete or at home.

 "I had to Molly. Just like your friend Sherlock did."

Molly slowly pulled back and then looked him straight in the eyes. She wiped some tears off her cheeks and then off his suit jacket, her hands still shaking like she couldn't be sure he was really there. It took a few moments for her to gather her thoughts and Jim was fine to wait for as long as she needed, she was back in his arms and he didn’t care about anything else in the moment.

"If you think you're off the hook this easily you are sorely mistaken James Moriarty! You used me to get to Sherlock twice now. Tried to kill him, even though he's my friend. And to top it all off you made me think you were dead." Her voice wavered and she looked at him with those big warm eyes that held so much pain and hurt in them that he felt his heart start to hurt slightly for her. Damn Sentiment.

"When Sherlock told me that you were gone I..." She took a deep breath and then said quietly,

"I died a little too. The day you died, you killed me too," she turned her face away from him. But he wasn't having any of that and used one hand to force her to look at him.

"Molly, I didn't use you," he was speaking quietly and calmly. Just like he used to when he was Jim from IT. He knew it would calm her down enough so they could actually talk.

"Then why?" she sounded so small and fragile, but firm in her concerns as well.

"Why did you try to kill Sherlock and then make me think you were gone forever?! It was the most cruel thing anyone has ever put me through." she was forcing back tears again.

"The cruelest thing I've ever been put through was having to watch you be in a relationship with someone else when I distinctly remember telling you that you are mine." Jim was gazing at her so intensely she couldn't help her shiver.

"I thought you were gone." she stated quietly and moved a hand hesitantly to his cheek. He leaned into her touch, so subtly she couldn’t be sure he actually had, and she swallowed hard.

"I-If I had known you were alive...even thought you were I wouldn't have..." she closed her eyes as he leaned down to put his forehead against hers. His arms pulled her all the way against him and she moved both of her hands to his face, cupping his cheeks gently.

She was shaking.

He wasn’t.

Opposite in outward appearance of emotion but both feeling the same underneath it all.

They stood there for what felt like a very short amount time, but they were interrupted when Sebastian started talking into Jim's earpiece.

"Sherlock Holmes is coming to check on you." Jim said in a bitter tone.

Molly opened her eyes finally, and looked up into his.

"Well I should tell him he has nothing to worry about then...unless you're planning to kidnap and or murder me?" she still had that hurt look in her eyes and Jim knew it would be a while before she fully forgave him.

It would be a while before she smiled fully at him and before those eyes were back to being warm and inviting. There was an edge of hesitance and hurt in them now that he was willing to do whatever he could to get rid of.

"Kidnap, quite possibly. Murder no." he said nonchalantly. She smiled at his attempt to play along, but got a wary look in her eyes quickly after.

Molly started talking again quietly

"I'm still angry with you Jim. And hurt. I'm not the same girl I was before you left so don't expect things to just go back to how they were. I need time..." she swallowed and whispered to herself

“Why is this so hard…” she took a deep breath and continued

“I need time to trust you again.” She finished quietly but firmly.

Jim was just looking at her intensely and then listened to his best friend before replying to him.

"I heard you,” he snapped at him, “I'll be down in a minute. Sebastian I will kill you if you say that again."  Jim pulled Molly into another hug and sighed a bit.

“I’ll see you later. Mostly likely the police will escort you home and Sherlock Holmes will insist to stay with you."

Molly smiled a little and stepped onto her tip toes to peck his cheek softly and sweetly.

"I'll get rid of him. I'm the only one who successfully knows how." The shy smile she gave him as she attempted to make a joke was what he needed to keep him going. An idea formed in his head and later he would blame her for it, because it was all her fault.

Jim stared into her eyes, he was doing a lot of staring like he hadn't ever seen something like this…like her ever before.

His lips crashed onto hers before she could even process what was happening. Her quiet whimper at being touched by him again did not go unnoticed by either party. Moving of their own accord, her arms made their way to his neck and hair and she anchored herself to him.

She felt more alive in that moment, finally back with Jim, than she had in months. Was she still angry? Absolutely. Was he off the hook? Not for a long time. Was she going to abuse this opportunity for angry reunion sex? Oh maliciously.

He was the one to pull away, if only for the need to breathe.

"I'll be by to grab you later. I expect that bothersome detective to be nowhere near you or your flat."

Molly nodded, breathing heavily as he turned to walk away. She reached out to take his hand, just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

"Jim...!"

At the touch of her hand he stopped and looked at her expectantly. Taking a deep breath she smiled at him and spoke quietly.

"I'll see you later then…"

He nodded curtly and then smoothed his suit and walked out of the office like he owned the place.

Molly touched her lips as he left to make sure that he had actually been there and had actually kissed her.

"What am I going to do..." she whispered to herself, feeling the internal conflict bubbling up inside her again.

Why wasn’t she happier? He was alive.

Her Jim was alive.

She could almost not believe it. Closing her eyes she let herself regain her calm train of thought and got to work cleaning up the rest of the supplies and shakily attempting to turn the television off.

When Sherlock and John and the police got to her she was standing in front of the screen shaking slightly and gripping her coat tightly to herself. It wasn’t even an act.

She was terrified.

The pathologist didn’t look up as Sherlock came over to her, breathing heavily.

“Molly? Are you alright?” his voice was firm and almost demanding.

She nodded, not trusting her own voice and glanced over at them before looking back to the screen.

“He…He knows I helped you.” She stated quietly. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

Hoping she didn’t sound as small as she felt, she looked up at him.

Sherlock stared into her eyes a moment, and then started talking.

“Graham, I need you to escort Miss Hooper to Baker Street. She will be staying with me until we catch him.”

Molly immediately shook her head, but before she could speak coherently Lestrade started to talk.

“It’s Greg, you git. And it’s not up to you to decide that. Although I think it’s possibly a good idea.”

“Um...” Molly tried unsuccessfully to talk over them.

John interrupted before Sherlock could get cocky about being right again.

“Yeah Greg, we’ll need to stop by Molly’s flat before regrouping and getting ready for whatever game he had planned this time.”

“Excuse me!” she tried again.

“We can stop by her flat later, she needs to be moved before she can get hurt.”

“HEY!” she all but screamed at them.

All three men stopped speaking and looked at her in surprise. She huffed in annoyance

“First of all, I’m not staying at Baker Street. I am a grown woman and if I don’t want to take your protection I don’t have to. Second if you so much as touch my things to try and get me to Baker Street I will personally see to it that you can’t see any of the bodies that come in here when Moriarty starts this little game. Are we clear Sherlock?”

He scowled and started arguing with her

“Be reasonable Molly! You are in danger!”

“No I’m not.”

“Why are you so sure? Has something happened?” He asked her a little suspiciously.

The little voice in the back of her head told her to tell them what had happened. Moriarty had been there with her, in that very room.

But that wasn’t going to happen, Sherlock would force her into protective custody and then where would she be?

 Warily she looked at John and gave him a small, but sad smile.

“If Jim wants to get to me he will. It doesn’t matter where I am or where I will be. I’d rather just go home. Besides…” she started playing with her lab coat in that little nervous way of hers

“I wasn’t important to him before and I won’t be again. He doesn’t know to what extent I helped Sherlock or I’d be dead already, I’m sure.”

Sherlock then did something very out of character and grabbed her by the arms and she looked up at him in surprise.

“Molly. Did you not listen to me when I said you counted? Now that Moriarty knows that he isn’t ever going to let up! You’ll be on his target list just as John and Grant are!”

“Greg.” Molly corrected him gently before continuing.

“It doesn’t matter Sherlock. You can’t be with me at all times so what do you want to do? I can take care of myself I promise. I’ll let the police escort me home if it’ll make you feel better and text you as soon as I get there so you know I’m fine. Now…I’ve been working for almost twelve hours and been on my feet for longer than that and I’d really like to go home so…”

Gently shrugging Sherlock’s hands off her arms she bent down and grabbed her bag that had fallen from her shoulder earlier.

“I’ll see you home then Molly.” Greg piped in after Sherlock put his hands back at his sides, this time in fists.

“Thank you Greg.” She smiled at him and led the way out of the morgue, Sherlock and John right behind them.

“Molly please reconsider.” John attempted to get her to change her mind.

“Sorry John. I’ll be fine, I promise. I’m really…not important to Jim Moriarty.” Stating once again what she knew they needed to hear to leave her alone.

It took forty minutes, three threats, two gentle smacks, and a heated glaring contest before she finally got into the car and with Greg who drove her home.

Leaning her head back against the seat rest, she let out a sigh and the rest of the drive was in silence.

When they arrived at her flat Greg walked her to the door.

“They just care about you Molly.” He said, standing up for Sherlock and John.

“I know they do. But I’ll be fine.” She mumbled and then thanked him for the ride home with a small smile.

“No problem. If you hear or see or even feel anything off please don’t hesitate to call me. We want to keep you safe.”

She nodded and he pulled her into a hug.

“Seriously Molly. Don’t do the bravery card. Call me if anything isn’t right.”

“I will.” She muttered against his shoulder.

“I’ll see you later then.” He said as he pulled away from the hug and watched her unlock the door to her home.

“Yeah…bye Greg.”

She closed the door and let out a breath. That was exhausting. She just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep for a month straight. The butterflies in her stomach came back when she thought Jim could be there waiting for her. A little too quickly, she walked into the living room.

The flat was still dark so she walked over to turn the lights on, but before she could there was a pair of arms around her, one hand covering her mouth.

She started to struggle in the unfamiliar hold, but quieted when she heard him speak.

“Sorry Molly, this has to look authentic. Just be quiet and let me kidnap you alright?”

Before she could even think of how to protest, the smell of chemicals entered her nose and all she could think before she passed out completely was how much trouble Jim and Sebastian were in for actually kidnapping her.

Chapter Text

When Sherlock Holmes didn’t get a text from Molly after twenty minutes he told Greg and John—who both were hiding out with him about a block away from the flat—that he was going in.

“Sherlock I saw her inside myself, and she probably hasn’t texted you because you were an utter git to her before she went home!” Greg was a little irritated that he was basically on a stake out with these idiots when Molly was perfectly safe.

“Come on John, let’s go.” Sherlock said absentmindedly as he began to walk toward her flat.

“Sorry Greg. He won’t shut up about this until we go and check on her.” John shrugged before going after his best friend.

“Sherlock, mate, are you sure you’re not just worried because you have feelings for Molly? Maybe you should just tell her and then have her move in with you. It’d make this a lot easier.”

“John I can’t ever tell her that she’s more important than just a friend to me. It’ll make her a target forever. I’m not doing it.” He knocked on the door to her flat and waited a few seconds.

“Molly?” he called out rather loudly.

They waited a moment, but there was no answer.

“Molly, its Sherlock and John!” John tried and they listened for another few seconds.

Sherlock felt the wave of panic run through him and before he could even think about his actions he was trying to open the door. He found it wasn’t locked, which was a very un-Molly thing to do, and he walked in.

His blood ran cold and he felt a chill go through him. He entered and looked around the dark flat. There were no lights on and he felt like something had just stabbed him through the heart.

“Molly?” John called into the flat tentatively.

Sherlock cursed under his breath

“She’s not here John.”  He flipped the lights on and they both winced at what they saw.

On the wall in red writing it said

“I. O. U.” surrounded by an apple shape.

Sherlock looked around the flat for any useful information.

Keys dropped on the floor, she must have been startled. Just barely taken when she got inside. Things fallen off the now askew table. She had fought back then.

Sherlock closed his eyes and clenched his fists. She must have been terrified.

“Moriarty was here before she was. He was waiting.”

Sherlock whirled around and punched the wall.

“He took my pathologist.” He was all but growling.

John walked into the living room and stopped when he saw the envelope

“Sherlock? You might want to see this.”

The consulting detective was at the doctor’s side quickly. He opened the package once determining that it wasn’t going to harm anyone.

There was a note inside of it.

Every good old fashioned story needs a damsel in distress

Will the hero get to her in time or is she already too far gone?

-JM

Sherlock read the note twice in case he missed something.

“Damn!” he whirled around and all but ran back to where Greg was still waiting.

“She’s gone.”

“What?! But we’ve been here since I dropped her off. No one reported anything from behind the building. How did they get out without us seeing them?”

Sherlock shook his head

“It doesn’t matter! Moriarty is already starting a new game and if we don’t play Molly could very well die. Get your best officers together. We’re going to need to utilize everyone. Even Anderson and Donovan.” He pulled his phone out and made quick work of dialing a number he loathed using.

Sherlock took a deep breath and spoke quietly when the other person answered the phone.

“He took Molly.”

John and Greg’s eye both went wide as Sherlock spoke once more

“I need you to help me get her back. Yes. Thank you…Mycroft.” He hung up the phone and John had an almost surprised look about him.

“You’re asking for his help?”

“They have Molly, John.” He stated simply and rubbed his temples.

“We’re going back to Baker Street. I need to think. Call us if anything turns up Lestrade.” He turned and started walking to the street to hail a cab.

John followed quickly after him, knowing that he should definitely not be alone right now.

“Sherlock,” the doctor paused for a moment, “are you going to be alright?”

The detective didn’t answer right away and when he did it wasn’t his usual arrogant-self talking

“I don’t know John. I’m not sure what game Moriarty is playing. What if he’s already killed her?”

“Don’t say that. She’s a strong and clever girl I’m sure she’ll be helping us find her as soon as Moriarty makes his first move. We will find her.” John sounded about as confident as Sherlock felt at that moment.

The ride to Baker Street was silent.

When Molly opened her eyes the first thing she noticed was that her head was killing her. She immediately shut her eyes once more and groaned.

Chemicals had never mixed well with her. Quite frankly, she hated all forms of sedatives because they made her feel like this.

After a few moments of gathering her strength she opened her eyes again. The room wasn’t too bright which helped her recover a little faster. It was a rather spacious room, she was in a king size bed that had black silky feeling sheets on it. Her body felt heavy like she’d been on a little too much morphine after a surgery and she could barely remember how to move.

Her brain reminded her of what had transpired before she was forced unconscious. Big, unfamiliar hands had covered her mouth and strong arms had grabbed her. Sebastian had been the one to speak to her, she knew that much, and he was in so much trouble.

Pushing up with her arms, she slid up into a sitting position. She whimpered slightly at the aching that it caused her head and then froze when she heard a small chuckle. She was in full panic mode, even though the one who kidnapped her was Jim. Instinctively she recoiled away from the sound.

“W-Who’s there?” she croaked out in a shaky voice, not realizing how hoarse her voice would be. She sounded scared and she didn’t want to.

She turned towards the voice and immediately glared when he stepped out of the shadows.

“You don’t react well to chloroform. Or morphine.” The criminal said with a slightly amused smile. His hands were in his pockets and he looked completely relaxed like everything was going right in his world.

“You complete and utter bastard.” She muttered under her breath. He got an offended look on his face and put a hand over his heart in mock offense

“I’m sorry that you’re not feeling well because of it, but there is no need to get upset with me. I wasn’t the one who drugged you.”

“No but I’m willing to bet you were the one who ordered the other people to do it. Get Sebastian in here after I’m done kicking your ass and I’ll kick his!” she rubbed her temples lightly and heard another chuckle from Jim which was really starting to irritate her.

“You’re cranky when you’ve been drugged. It’s a little adorable.”

Molly’s eyes snapped open and she took a deep breath. She looked to Jim who was giving her that smile that she could almost never resist.

“What did you do to Sherlock?” her voice was firm but quiet as she addressed him.

“Nothing yet. I’m actually sending him on a little adventure as we speak.” He walked over to her side of the bed and gently moved her hair from her face before looking into her eyes, his own eyes flickering to her lips for a split second.

“Well you seem to be recovering from the drugs better now that you’re awake.”

She was struggling not to just forgive him, lean up and kiss him. He was so close to her she felt his body heat. She had to swallow before speaking again.

“How long was I asleep?”

“About seven hours.” Jim replied smoothly and took a seat next to her on the bed.

“Do you like the room? I picked the biggest one for us.” He was making conversation with her like he hadn’t just drugged and kidnapped her.

“Are you kidding me right now Jim? You kidnapped me and expect me to just be okay with it?” she moved around him and stood up. Her hands were in fists and she placed them on her hips as she turned to glare at him. Her head was hurting, and she had to take a deep breath to keep from laying right back down. He was smirking just a little and it only fueled her anger.

“Take me home.” She demanded.

“Oh. You’ve gotten a lot more demanding since I left. There’s a nice aggressive edge to your sweetness now. I like it.” He clasped his hands together while he spoke like a child getting a present on Christmas. Molly couldn’t help but think it was the most adorable, and most annoying, thing she’d ever seen him do.

“Jim! Take me home! John and Greg are probably all freaking out and worried to death! You need to get me back to…”

Jim was standing right in front of her before she could finish her thought and she stumbled back a step with a gasp, almost falling, but he grabbed her and forced her body against his.

“No can do Molly. You’re staying right here with me. I’ve been gone for two years and I’m not about to give you back to Sherlock Holmes when that’s exactly what he wants. He wants something of mine, and he can’t have it.”  His eyes were colder than she’d ever remembered them and she didn’t like it.

“Jim you have to take me home.” She was starting to be just slightly scared of what he was going to do with her.

“Molly I can’t just take you home,” He put a hand on her cheek and rolled his eyes at her, his tone of voice told her that he thought she was being stupid which wasn’t helping her want to forgive him, “you’ve been kidnapped and I’d be the worst kidnapper in the world if I just let you go. We have a reputation to uphold my dear. I wanted to have a pleasant experience and to enjoy being together, but you’re being so very difficult.”

He picked her up and took her back to the bed.

Molly tried her hardest to stay angry, but he was still holding her close to him and those side effects still hadn’t completely worn off.

Jim sat her down and then grabbed a bottle of water from the side table. With a smile he unscrewed the lid and handed it to her.

“It’ll make you feel better, my dear.” He said and stuck his hands in his pockets.

She didn’t have to be a doctor to know that was true, but this was Jim Moriarty she was sort of involved with so she could never be too careful.

“You take a sip first…”

Jim looked at her and suddenly a very impressed smile graced his face.

“My dear sweet Molly Hooper, do you not trust me to want to take care of you? That’s a bit harsh. Although I have to say your new boldness and attention to details has me curious as to what happened while I was away. You’d have just eaten out of my hand before I died.”

Molly cocked her head to the side and stared into his eyes.

“You were gone. Sherlock was gone. The two people I care about most in the whole world abandoned me. So yeah, I’m not as trusting as I once was. Plus you kidnapped me!” she added with a huff. She handed it back to him and clasped her hands together on her lap.

“Go on then. Take a drink of the water, please.”

Noting that she said please and that the old Molly…his Molly was showing through, he did as she asked and took a small sip from the bottle.

“Happy? Now drink.”

Molly took the bottle back and once she started she realized how thirsty she was. She let out a small sigh when she was done with the entire bottle and looked up to see Jim staring at her again.

It wasn’t as intense as before, but he kept looking at her.

“I really need you to take me home, please.”  She tried again in a small voice.

Rolling his eyes, the consulting criminal held out a hand for her to take. Almost instantly she took his hand and he yanked her up and into his body.

“I’m not taking you home. So either come to terms with it and enjoy this, or I’ll have to tie you up.” His eyes travelled down and he looked over her, checking her out in a not so subtle way.

“Not that I’d object to that.”

Molly’s eyes widened slightly and the blush that came to her cheeks, while small, was noticed by the criminal. Before he could say anything else, however; Sebastian was knocking on the slightly ajar door.

“Boss? That call you wanted is set up in the other room.”

“Perfect timing Sebastian. Keep an eye on Molly so I can take that.” He pecked Molly’s lips before she could respond, let her go, spun around and was across the room and out the door before anyone could protest.

“Careful,” he called over his shoulder, “she bites now.” They both heard the smirk in his voice.

Molly looked at Sebastian and then folded her arms.

“I don’t know whether to be furious with you for kidnapping me, or thank you for saving my life when Tom tried to kill me.” She looked down slightly and rubbed her arm with one hand before looking back up at him

“I’m more upset at the moment, because you actually kidnapped me, drugged me and all.”

“I’d apologize, but I’m not sorry.” He said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He walked closer to her and continued talking.

“If we’d asked you to come with us to make Sherlock Holmes think you were kidnapped, just so Jim could make him suffer you’d have said no and this kidnapping would have happened anyway.”

Molly opened her mouth to reply, but she couldn’t find the words because she just found out what Jim was doing. If she was being honest with herself it wasn’t that out of character, but she didn’t like it at all. There was a burst of anger and frustration that made its way through her normally calm and sweet exterior.

“No he’s not!” Molly stormed over to the door, but Seb blocked her path.

“He’s just playing another game Molly. It’s what he does.”

“Move! I’m not being part of his game! No way in hell are people going to suffer and die because of me!”

He moved and intercepted her again as she moved to get out of the room. His mouth was set in a firm line that told Molly she was going to have to try harder.

“You can’t leave Moll. And until you are calm enough to not scream or try and run away, you have to stay in here.”

“Out of the way Sebastian. My anger isn’t directed towards you at the moment but it will be if you don’t bugger off!” she was shaking from frustration. She never used to get this angry, it was a new experience for her. Sebastian rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

“Molly, no offense, but I think I can take you. You might be angry, but not enough to actually cause any damage.”

Molly looked at him for a moment, turned around like she was going to walk away, only to then reel back around and punch him in the face. Seb yelped in surprise and took one step back. Molly booked it out the door as soon as he was out of the way.

Not knowing where to go she started to call out to Jim

“You are not using me to get to Sherlock again Jim Moriarty or so help me you’re going to wish you’d actually died on that rooftop!” she yelled. As she came to the end of a hall and had to choose left or right she stopped for just a second.

Before she got too far down the left hall, Sebastian was grabbing her from behind and dragging her back into the room.

“That wasn’t cool, Hooper!” he growled at her angrily as he fastened her to the chair he was pinning her to.

“Let me go!” she struggled against his hold to no avail.

“I didn’t want to tie you up, but you’re being difficult! Where did all this anger and passion come from? You used to be so complacent. Punching people in the face? That’s not you Molly.”

He finished tying her hands behind her back and her feet just in case and looked at her face. She was glaring at him, but he could see tears in her eyes.

Jim was going to kill him for making Molly cry, even if he was just following orders.

“Molly, please don’t!”

“Y-You kidnapped me…” she didn’t want to cry, but everything that had been happening was just too much. Jim comes back and her world becomes chaotic again.

But she’d also never felt so alive.

It wasn’t the easiest thing to deal with.

“J-Jim had me kidnapped. He’s u-using me to get to S-Sherlock…he keeps saying that I’m h-his. But he’s b-been gone…I don’t even know if we’re…t-together or if I’m just a toy for him. He’s never kidnapped me before. He made me think he was d-dead for t-two years. He’s never been s-so cold. I just…want to go home.” She was taking in breaths between each sentence trying to control her emotions. Heaven knew she just wanted to break down and cry and she probably couldn’t stop it this time.

Molly closed her eyes tightly and felt as a few tears escaped down her cheeks. All that could be heard in the room was a few sniffles and sighs. She was close to sobs and Sebastian knew he needed to do something before Jim came back and he got in trouble. A small wave of panic shot through him as her body started shaking almost violently. He went to her and knelt down beside her.

“Molly you have to stop crying. Jim won’t be happy if you’re upset. He’s completely…”

“I’m completely what Sebastian?”

Seb cursed under his breath and let out a breath as Jim walked over and surveyed the scene. The sniper stood up and quickly moved back.

“Completely going to kill me because your girlfriend is upset and crying on my watch.” He muttered and took five steps back. He ran a hand over his face and tried to think of the worst thing that Jim would do to him. He didn’t like what his brain came up with.

“I’m guessing she’s been holding this in and you restraining her didn’t help with that.” Jim said calmly and walked over to them.

“I knew I’d have to deal with tears eventually.”

Jim went to Molly’s side and gently undid the restraints on her feet and then around her arms. He pulled her into his arms and Sebastian took the hint. He walked out of the room and shut the door tightly behind him. He didn’t want to be around for what happened next.

Molly buried her head into his shoulder and silently cried into him. Jim picked her up like she didn’t weigh a thing and walked over to the bed and sat down with her on his lap.

“You know I’m not used to this.” He said nonchalantly. He had expected her tears and was prepared to deal with them. One of his hands was on the back of her head, holding her to him and stroking her hair lightly.

“Having someone that cares about me. And someone I feel like I have to protect from others. I can’t say that I like it. These feelings. I considered getting rid of you, because I thought maybe it would get rid of the feelings. But…I was away for two years and all I could think about was you. You’re quite the distraction.”

Molly felt the crying stop and the exhaustion set in. After sniffling a few times she nuzzled into his shoulder and started talking.

“Then get rid of me.” She whispered and took in a deep breath. This was always what he smelled like. She’d missed it so much.

“I’m not helping you focus on work. And you said Sherlock wants to take me from you. So why not make it easy on yourself.”

Jim’s arms tightened around her to the point that she was almost in pain hand he spoke harshly.

“You are never to speak like that around me again, do you understand? You are mine. I didn’t spend the last few years away from you, to get my criminal empire tighter and less likely to be taken down by a detective in a stupid hat, just to come back and get rid of you. You are never getting away from me ever again. Sherlock Holmes thinks he can have you, but he is mistaken.” His voice was angry and firm. He held her to him for a few minutes in silence. His grip loosened a bit and his voice calmed down and was back to his normal cool and collected tone as he spoke again.

“I’m very protective of my property.”

Molly’s breathing hitched and she pulled back slightly to look at him.

“J-Jim I….”

“It’s my turn to speak now.” He may have been speaking softly, but she knew if she interrupted him she’d be in trouble.

“I heard you with Seb, you know.” He said with a humorless chuckle.

“When I say that you are mine, it’s my way of saying that we’re together. And until further notice we’re to be together indefinitely. I am not sharing you with Sherlock Holmes, or Tom, or anyone.” Molly felt his anger grow with every word he said. The way his voice tightened made her think that anyone who got in the way of her and him would get killed. She shuddered a little at that thought.

Pulling slightly on his lapels, she pulled herself closer to him and closed her eyes.

“I haven’t been using you to get to Sherlock Holmes. You are not just a toy to me. For whatever reason you’re my sentiment. You’re my heart. Since whatever is left of the actual thing isn’t much use in the sense of feeling.” He used one hand and tipped her chin up until she opened her eyes and looked at him. He stared into those caring brown eyes and a feeling of….something he didn’t recognize came washing through him.

When he spoke again it was in a whisper and it was more vulnerable than anything she had ever heard from him before.

“I’m going to give you one chance to leave Molly Hooper, one chance to get out of this. And if you take it I promise you’ll never see me again. I’ll disappear from your life.” He gave her a small smile and she looked deep into his eyes. He had basically just told her she was the most important person in the world to him. Her heart had never been so full or broken for someone.

She remembered before, when she wanted to love him. When she wanted to be that person he could learn to love.

“If not then you’re signing up to be with me until we die. And I’m not giving up what I do, so you’ll be signing up to be with a very powerful criminal.” he softly moved her hair away from her face with his hand. She felt the electricity move from his fingertips to her cheek and her entire body warmed up at this small touch.

A small gasp left her lips as those feelings overwhelmed her.

She leaned up hesitantly and kissed him gently. He pulled her tighter against him and let out a small growl of approval. She gripped onto him and moved so she was straddling him and had better access to his mouth.

His arm around her waist pulled her as close as he could. His mouth moved with hers.

She had one hand in his hair and the other went to his jacket buttons to undo them.

When they broke apart, and only to breathe, Jim moved his lips to her neck and latched on to that one sensitive spot on her neck he knew would drive her crazy.

Her breathing was heavy as she whispered

“I’m not going anywhere. You have a reputation to uphold and letting me go would not be the best course of action to keep that up.” She groaned when he bit down on her neck and sucked hard enough to leave a mark.

“Jim...” the breathy way she said his name just urged him to kick it up a notch.

Jim’s hand made its way to her hair and pulled out the hairband. His other hand helped push off her jacket.

“You mean we have a reputation to uphold. You’re my queen now and you’re in this with me.” His mouth formed a smirk against her neck.

“You’d better be up to the challenge Molly Hooper.” His voice said all fun and games but she could feel how happy he was that she was staying.

“I’ve always wanted to wear a crown.” She said in a slight daze. His hands were still moving and she couldn’t think straight. He laughed against her skin at her response and she felt her heart soar. She almost never heard his genuine laugh, and she savored every time she got to hear it.

How did she come to be the one exception to Jim Moriarty? Why wasn’t he changing his mind about her?

She didn’t get to think much about it because he was kissing her again.

He pulled her lips back to his and instead of unbuttoning her shirt he ripped the piece of clothing open and pulled it off her. She gasped and broke away from the kiss. She didn’t remember him being this strong and, though she didn’t want to admit it, it was turning her on a bit.

“Jim…!”

He pulled her body against his and stood up with her in his arms. Turning them around, he all but threw her on the bed and settled himself between her legs.

“Don’t worry, love. I have a whole wardrobe for you here that I picked out myself.” His eyes told her he was very proud of himself.

She pulled a face that was half pout-half scowl, but he kissed it right off of her.

Their hands were moving again. Jim swiftly pulled her pants down and off her, and then threw them across the room. He took his time admiring and teasing her breasts before he removed her bra slowly. She groaned in frustration when he did little more than tease her and didn’t give her what she really wanted. 

Molly took her time unbuttoning every last button on his suit and peeling each article off him slowly. She seemed to be trying to make him pay for ripping her shirt off her. While he admired her attempt, he was the master at this game.

He took hold of her underwear and ripped those off her as well. The gasp that followed made his already hard cock even harder.

Molly had her eyes shut and was breathing heavily as his mouth worked against her skin.

“That should not be a-as attractive as it… nnng is. Stop ripping my clothes!” she panted out around her moans of pleasure.

Jim’s chuckle in response was right by her breast and it did wonders to her entire body.

Once she’d recovered enough from that to actually reciprocate she got to work taking his pants off him.

It wasn’t difficult, as he helped her with this task and soon they were both naked and wanting more.

Molly pulled his face back to hers and kissed him with all the admiration and anger, love and lust, passion and patience that she had for him. She felt the tears escape before she could do anything about it. But Jim gently moved his lips to her eyes and kissed away the tears

“No more of that, darling. You’re with me now and I’m not letting you go again.”

Pulling his mouth back to hers, she kissed him and felt him smile against her.

She couldn’t respond to him because he was thrusting inside her and she was moaning his name. The tears all but forgotten.

Jim took his time building up her pleasure and set a steady pace that was driving Molly crazy.

“Go f-faster!” she pleaded and he complied.

Only after hearing her ask him to go faster and harder with her did he do it. She had been demanding things all day and he was enjoying listening to her borderline beg.

Neither of them lasted long, the years apart and tension from being together again far was too much to handle.

Molly came first with Jim shortly after her. He gently rested his whole weight on her, but soon shifted so they were both laying on their sides.

She was panting.

He was letting out a sigh.

They were both placing soft kisses wherever they could reach on the other party.

“I’ve missed you so much.” Molly whispered and nuzzled into him.

“Not usually the response I get from people.” His expression was almost soft when she looked up at him.

“And what is?”

“Oh they are usually speechless because if I’m back that means they did something wrong or I’m going to kill them.”

Molly’s face scrunched up into a disapproving expression and he held her closer to him.

“Don’t start disapproving of my line of work now. It’s far too late to change my mind about it.”

Molly shook her head, but yawned before she could actually make a response.

“Can we not do the drugging me thing again? It’s thrown my whole body off.” She asked with a sigh.

Jim placed a kiss on her neck, above a fresh mark that she now had that showed everyone she was his.

“Of course. Assuming I don’t need to use them on you again.”

She was far too gone to make a witty remark, and she felt herself falling asleep much quicker than normal.

“I-I still want to go home Jim.” She mumbled into his skin.

“And you will. It’ll only be a week. Possibly two depending on how good Sherlock is at following my directions.”

Molly’s eyes were closed but she could hear the amusement in his voice.

“I don’t like this.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just think of this as a vacation for us. I mean I’ll be working, but I have time built into my schedule to show you around and such.”

“Show me around where?” she wondered sleepily.

“Paris of course. You didn’t think we’d stay in London did you? Sherlock Holmes might think that’s where you are, but it is not.” His voice was slightly sing-song at the end and she had to say that it wasn’t her favorite sound. Because he was doing something she deemed stupid every single time she’d heard him using it.

She wished she had a taste for less high maintenance guys—was her last thought as she slipped into a deep sleep.  

Chapter Text

The morning light shone through the window, but Molly had been awake for almost an hour now so it didn’t bother her. It was only five-thirty in the morning, and her internal alarm clock wouldn’t let her sleep in.

That plus she’d slept most of the day before, after being kidnapped by her boyfriend and his best friend.

She was surprised to find Jim still with her when she woke up. Hating to admit it, she thought he’d leave the minute she was asleep. But he’d stayed with her all night and was still holding her close to him, almost protectively. Like she wasn’t allowed to get away from him ever again.

Earlier she had attempted to move and he had pulled her tighter to him in his sleep, and let out such a content sigh she didn’t dare try to move again.

Looking down, she bit at her lip and blushed a little.

She wanted to get dressed, but how to go about getting out of bed so that Jim wouldn’t wake up?

Carefully, she lifted one arm that was around her waist and moved it away from her. He wasn’t stirring.

Sitting up, she watched his face and couldn’t help her gentle smile. She’d never woken up before him.

This was a new experience.

He looked small and peaceful. His hair was disheveled and even though he wasn’t awake he still had that authoritarian aura about him. Even in his sleep no one would want to mess with him. A small shiver went down her spine at the reminder that he wasn’t someone to screw around with. This was a serious thing.

But Molly wasn’t scared of him and so far all he’d done to upset her was kill a lot of people, fake his death, and kidnap her. She probably should be scared of him.

She let out a sigh as she realized the list would most likely grow with more time and that it wasn’t a list of small things. No he had basically done every bad thing in the book and she still loved him.

Gently, she brushed his hair back from his face and let her hand linger on his cheek. He let out a sleepy hum and she knew he was going to wake if she didn’t cut it out.

So she stopped, stood up and then stretched. She walked over to the oversized dresser and opened some of the drawers to find what she knew he had brought for her. Sure enough she found her favorite T-shirt and underwear in the top drawers. She slipped them both on and went in search of some pants.

She stopped looking when she opened a drawer and a wallet was in it. It was Jim’s from before, when he was just Jim from IT.

She opened it up and found a picture inside. Just one picture.

Hesitantly she picked it up and saw that it was her from back when they were dating before. When he was just Jim from IT. He had said he liked photography and she let him use her as a model.

Putting it back where she’d found it, she continued her search, her heart racing as she thought about how he’d kept that all these years.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a gruff voice stopped her. She straightened up and looked over to see Jim leaning up on his elbows, an eyebrow raised as if asking her why the hell she was up already.

“Um. Getting dressed?” she tried with an innocent smile.

She didn’t know why his tone of voice made her feel so guilty. The blush on her face didn’t go unnoticed by him and he figured out it was because he was naked and the sheet was not covering up anything.

“No you’re not. Get back over here.” He nodded over to her side of the bed and she pouted.

“But I…”

“Listen here Molly Hooper, I haven’t been able to touch you, sleep with you—in both senses of that phrase—or keep you all to myself, for a very long time. So get. Back. Over here.” He said with a fake sort of smile that told her she’d better listen because making him angry was always a bad idea.

She was blushing anyway and needed to hide into something. Might as well be him.

She made her way back to the bed and half jumped back onto the bed, back onto her side. Jim grabbed her and pulled her against him, holding her against him firmly. He kissed her lips for a moment and then moved her hair back behind her ear as he pulled away.

“You aren’t going to try and run away again today are you?” he asked with a very dramatic pout.

She shook her head with a shy smile and he smiled back.

“That’s good, Sebastian would have hated to restrain you again. I think you gave him a black eye yesterday.” His smile made her blush in embarrassment.  

“I have to apologize to him…” she muttered mostly to herself.

“You don’t have to. But you’re going to because you’re you.”

He rolled them so he was looming over her and looked over her face for a few moments. She looked into his eyes and felt her expression soften, she smiled lightly at him.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” She whispered and moved her hands to his face to softly.

“Well I can. I kidnapped you if you’ll recall. So this was really the plan all along.” He said with a cheeky sort of smile.

“I meant I can’t believe you’re alive and with me.” She whispered. One hand was playing with the hair on the back of his neck and her eyes slowly shifted away from his.

The mood slipped from playful to tangibly serious.

“Oh dear.” She muttered as her mind went back to a few days ago when he was dead and she was afraid Tom was coming back for her.

Her eyes closed and she had to take a deep breath.

She thought back to the two plus years that she was without him. She thought back to the day before he was gone forever. That day when he had visited her in the morgue right before he was gone.  

Her mind went back to that day when she found out he had shot himself. Her eyes snapped opened and her grip on him tightened.

The need to see him, to feel him, to know he was actually there flooded her body and she only thought about it for a second. Thought about how she was so in love with this crazy man and he was probably going to kill her at some point.  

She didn’t know how to handle the emotions so she gasped slightly.

“I’m here Molly.” He said and smiled at her.

“You’re really here…I’m not hallucinating? Please tell me I’m not in a coma and this isn’t real.” She was on her way to being in a panic.

He leaned down and captured her lips with his in a sweet kiss. He leaned his whole body weight against her slowly. She could feel every part of him against her and she whimpered into his mouth as her arms tightened around him.

“I’m here. And flattered you’d be hallucinating me and thinking about me while in a coma.” He spoke against her mouth and felt her lips move up into a half smile.

“Not the time to be funny Jim... You really hurt me…again.”

Jim kissed her again, this time rougher than before, and he pressed her to the bed with his body hard against her. She gasped as she felt him against her and moved her arms to hold him closer.

“Never again Molly Hooper. You’re going to be nothing but content now that you’re back with me. And if anyone hurts you now, they’re going to have to answer to me. Plus they’ll get their asses kicked by Sebastian.”

She laughed quietly at that and he kissed her a few more times on the mouth before moving down to her neck and growling when he reached a small mark he left on her neck the night before. He sucked hard on it and left not only his teeth marks and a dark spot on her neck.

“Jim s-stop I don’t want a mark on my neck.”

“Hmm too late, love. And it’s just to prove to you that I’m here and you’re not in a coma. I’m being considerate and helpful.” He grinned against her neck and she ran her hands from his shoulders to his chest slowly.

He pulled back and looked into her eyes. They still held a hint of apprehension in them.

“Molly, I’m not leaving you again. Weren’t you listening last night? Or were you too busy moaning my name?”

Molly blushed a whole three shades redder than usual and he grinned mischievously.

“I um. I don’t remember you joking with me and making me blush so hard I felt like I was about to explode the uh, the last time we were together.” She choked out over her embarrassment.

His eyes got darker and his grin was suddenly ten times more mischievous.

“I can make that exploding happen…and much more blushing.”

“Jim!” she squeaked out as he started moving down her body.

“We have some time, darling. You woke up far too early and I have to punish you for that. I think you have a few places on you that aren’t quite….marked well enough yet.”

They spent the rest of the morning in bed together, making up for lost time and making sure Molly was comfortable with him being back in her life.

Sherlock had been in his mind palace for a while. In fact this was the fifth hour in a row that he had been sitting there thinking.

John was starting to get worried about him, so he started talking to him. Usually he could get him out of his trance.

“Sherlock you need to eat something and move around a bit.” The doctor said and shoved the detective a bit so that he almost fell over. That worked too, as he quickly sat back up and righted himself.

“Hm. No. You know digestion slows me down and what’s the point of moving around when there isn’t anything going on. Lestrade and Mycroft haven’t come up with anything.” He let out some frustrated sighs and then closed his eyes, about to go into his mind palace again. The ring at the door stopped him.

Thinking it might be a sign from Moriarty he shot up and ran to get the door.

It was just Mycroft and Sherlock let out a sigh at the sight of him. He tried to sound as un-irritated as possible.

“What? Why didn’t you just call me?”

“Yes, brother mine it is good to see you as well.” Mycroft rolled his eyes and followed his younger brother inside and back up the stairs.

“We have a lead on where Moriarty is.” He said as soon as they were inside the flat.

“What?” Sherlock whirled around to face him

“There’s no way, he’s too good for you to find him.” Sherlock was in his older brother’s personal space and Mycroft let show a small smile of annoyance

“Yes, well either he isn’t as good as he thinks or I was working a different angle.” The elder Holmes brother pulled out a folder and Sherlock yanked it from his hands, immediately opening it and looking through it.

“No. This can’t be right.”

“I’m afraid it is. He was last seen heading out of her flat yesterday morning.”

Sherlock closed his eyes for a moment, but they shot back open after a moment.

“Oh. John we need to go. I can’t believe I didn’t get this sooner!” He ran to the door and grabbed his coat and scarf.

“Sherlock!” Mycroft and John both called after him as he started running down the stairs.

“Don’t you see? John grab the note he left at her flat and let’s go!” he called from down stairs.

John grabbed the envelope and went after him.

“Mycroft.” He nodded at him before bounding down the stairs.

Sherlock hailed a cab and both he and John got into it.

“Where are we…?”

“St. Bart’s hospital.” Sherlock answered him and told the cabbie.

“Why?”

“In his note…Moriarty’s note it’s a question. Like his question ‘did you miss me?’ on the screens when he came back. Before I went to that roof, Molly asked me a question. If I know Moriarty, and I do, he knows all about that conversation. All these questions started back there. There’s a clue there I’m sure of it.”

John nodded a few timed before asking him

“What did she ask you?”

This caused the detective to take a deep breath and hesitate.

“She asked me what I needed.” He stated simply and thought back to when Molly was with him and safe. He wanted her to be with him and safe again and he was willing to do whatever necessary to get it done.

John looked at him, waiting for him to continue

“And? What did you tell her you needed?”

Sherlock shook his head and clasped his hands together and then put them under his chin. John pressed him further.

“Oh come on! I know how you survived it can’t be something worse than that.”

Sherlock looked at the doctor and then back to the front of the cab.

“I told her…I needed her.”

John’s eyes widened and he blinked a few times.

“Wow.”

“It was a mistake John, look where it’s gotten her. She’s in danger because I gave into sentiment for a moment.”

John shook his head and folded his arms.

“Actually, you git, you’re alive and you’re going to save her because you gave into sentiment. Which is just a natural thing to give into. She saved all of us by saving you. So I don’t think that it’s a bad thing that you need her.”

“What I need, John, is to find her.” He said and glared out the window.

The cab came to a stop and Sherlock jumped out, leaving John to pay, and ran straight to the morgue.

He looked around for anything that would be out of place, and his feet got him to her office where the door was slightly opened.

She had locked it before she had left, he was sure of it.

It was pitch black, but the minute he stepped into the room the computer screen switched on.

He was in front of it immediately, looking for things to help him find her. His heart stopped when he saw the file beeping at him, ready to be opened.

John walked in a moment later and Sherlock stopped him with a hand

“Go call Lestrade.” He ordered and John did as he was told.

Sherlock knew this game was meant for him so he took a breath and then clicked on the video file.

His heart stopped for just a second when it was black and all he heard was the quiet cries of his pathologist. When a picture finally appeared it was Jim Moriarty himself, sitting there like he was king of the world.

“Well now…” Jim started, slow and calculated, “I didn’t think it’d take you this long to figure it out Sherlock. Our dear Molly put up quite a fight when my men took her.” His smile was unnerving.

“Our lovely damsel in distress is currently unavailable to talk as she’s a little preoccupied.” He stopped and tilted his head in a way that said “listen” and Sherlock heard a woman screaming something unintelligible in the background.

Sherlock’s hands clenched into fists as he heard the criminal laugh.

“You want to find her? The hero wants to rescue the damsel? You have six hours to solve my next riddle or our dearest Molly Hooper….” The criminal flashed another smile and pointed straight at the camera.

“Will end up there with you, in one of the body bins.”

Sherlock waited until the video stopped and he stared at the screen, it was just Moriarty smirking into the camera.

He thought for a few moments, going through everything he had said over and over until finally he jumped up and ran into the other room. He made for where all the bodies were held and started opening and pulling them out one by one.

“Sherlock what’s going on?” John and Lestrade came running up to him, both looking over him and what he was doing like he was crazy.

“The next riddle is in one of these.” He explained impatiently and kept looking.

John and Lestrade started helping too and after searching frantically for another minute Lestrade called out to the others.

“This might be it.”

Sherlock stopped what he was doing and all but shoved them out of the way to get to the body. Their heart was cut out and carved into the rest of their chest was a picture of Big Ben.

Sherlock looked around a little more and then started giving orders.

“I need the file for this man. We have six hours to figure this out and if we don’t…” he trailed off and looked at John whose mouth set into a grim line.

“I’ll get it to you.” Lestrade said and got on his phone.

“We’ll figure it out Sherlock. We will find her.” John said and patted his best friend’s shoulder.

“I just hope we aren’t too late John.” The consulting detective would be killing another large criminal if anything happened to Molly Hooper.

“Jim I think this is a little much.” Molly said as she looked around. There was so much food around her she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to eat it all if she tried.

“Good thing Sebastian has a healthy appetite. This can be your apology for punching him. Plus he’s babysitting until I’m done with a little project.”

Molly sighed and leaned her head in her hand.

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Yes you do. Because you’ll try and run the minute you remember that Sherlock and John are running around looking for you, worried sick about their little damsel in distress.”

Molly blinked a few times and then frowned.

“Except I’m not a damsel in distress. At least not anymore. I’m in a relationship with the bad guy!” she muttered something along the lines of ‘I’m in so much trouble’ under her breath while putting her head in her hands and Jim couldn’t help his smile and chuckle.

“True. You are with the bad guy, but isn’t it so much more fun? Being in trouble is only the half of it. You’ll see.”

Opening one eye she looked up at him for a moment before sighing and uncovering her face.

“But you’re right about me wanting to let them know I’m not dead, so why help me remember? Now all I want to do is call Lestrade or Sherlock and tell them I’m okay.”

Jim slid his hands in his pockets and his expression became villainous

“You’d remember on your own, and this way I don’t have to have an excuse when I tell you that we may or may not have hacked your phone to mess with our favorite consulting detective.”

“What?! Jim no!” she started to argue, but he just grabbed her around the waist and kissed her to shut him up.

Much to his amusement she stopped struggling very quickly and melted into the kiss, seeming to forget once again that he was the criminal mastermind who was currently emotionally scarring all of her friends.

He was the one to break the kiss and he tucked her hair behind her ear to get it out of her face.

“You’re not very good at keeping your head on straight around me. Slightly endearing.” He watched her blush and then open her mouth to argue with him some more.

“Boss.” Sebastian announced himself as he walked in the room. He set down his gun against the counter and Molly flinched slightly at the sight of it. The last time she’d seen a gun was when Tom had almost killed her with it.

Jim noticed her flinch and his eyes got dangerously darker.

“I’ll grab you when I’m done and we’ll go sightseeing. How does that sound?” Jim asked as Molly hesitantly put her arms around him and hugged him.

“Okay.” She said quietly and closed her eyes. She didn’t want him to leave.

“Sebastian will take good care of you until I get back.” He hugged her for a minute, but then kissed her head and got out of the embrace.

“Eat something.” He commanded her before sticking his hands back in his pockets and gracefully walking off in the direction of his office.

She sat down and sighed. House arrest wasn’t her idea of a fun morning and afternoon.

“So we’ve moved on from insane punching people Molly to pouty and sad Molly. At least I won’t get another black eye today.”

She winced a little remembering the day before and looked up at him.

“Sorry about that.” The apology was quiet and Molly gave him her most innocent and apologetic smile.

Sebastian smirked a little in her direction before he went to grab something to eat for himself.

“It was a little bit of a turn on for me. Not gonna lie. Most people can’t land a punch on me.”

Molly’s cheeks turned pink at his declaration and she put her face in her hands to try and stop the embarrassment from spreading.

Sebastian laughed at her.

She looked up and saw he had a soft purple ring by his eye. Her guilt immediately set in and she hopped up to get some ice for him.

Once Sebastian figured out what she was doing he started to lecture her.

“I am a grown man who gets punched all the time. It is not a big deal. I don’t need you to baby me.”

“I’m not babying you Sebastian. I’m a doctor and seeing to my patient is my job. True my patients are usually dead, but just shut up and let me do it.” She glared at him as she put some ice in a bag and looked for a paper towel to wrap around it.

Seb blinked a few times at her words before he laughed

“You are never quite what people think you are Molly Hooper.”

“What do people think I am? A quiet mousy pathologist with a slightly morbid sense of humor? Hate to break it to you but, that’s exactly what I am.” She went over to him and gestured for him to sit down.

“Seriously? I’m fine.”

“I wasn’t asking. Sit.” She ordered him with those wide caring eyes that told him she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

After a staring contest he finally conceded with a huff. She looked at his injury and made a face.

“I’m so so sorry Sebastian. I wasn’t really thinking last night.” She admitted as she placed the ice on his face. He didn’t even flinch as the cold hit his skin.

She held it there for a few seconds, making sure he was alright, when she caught him staring at her and she took a step back.

“U-um you can hold it. Keep it on for five minutes and then you can take it off for ten, then repeat.”

He held it to his face and she made her way back to her seat.

She wasn’t really hungry but there was so much food in front of her.

“Jim won’t be happy if you don’t eat something. And he’ll probably be in a bad mood when he’s done in there. Another client screwed up.”

Molly didn’t even want to think about what that meant.

“I’m not all that hungry.” She admitted

“I wasn’t asking.” He repeated her earlier words and she huffed slightly before picking up an apple and bringing it to her lips.

Sebastian smirked as he watched her. She was eating an apple.

How fairy tale was that. She was in love with Jim who was like poison and here she was eating an apple that he gave her.

“Am I really this important to him or is he going to get bored with me and kill me?” She wondered quietly out loud after swallowing her bite of apple.

“Better not let him hear you saying things like that. I’ve never seen Jim so in love before, and I’m sure he’d be pretty angry with you if you were doubting his intentions. Even someone like Jim needs someone to hold onto.”

“…” Molly thought about what Sebastian had said. Was Jim in love with her? Maybe when he told her she was “his”, he was really saying “I love you”.

“Really.” She wondered out loud and continued to eat her apple. She didn’t finish it all, in fact she only ate a few bites and then turned to Sebastian who was watching her with a strange look in his eyes.

“Want to show me around so I know where I can go and can’t go? I just have a feeling if I walk around by myself I’ll get in trouble.” She smiled at him and he shook his head

“You need to eat some food, and no offense but I don’t have to do anything for you, you gave me a black eye.”

Molly made a sound of frustration, grabbed a small muffin and popped it in her mouth.

“I said I was sorry, and I’m still not hungry.” She got up and walked around to the other side of the extremely large counter top.

“Well I am. And you can wait as an apology to me.” Sebastian said with a grin and started putting food on a plate for himself.

Molly shook her head and sat back in her seat.

Sebastian was going to make this a very long morning.

Jim was done with his meeting about an hour after he thought he’d be. Some client had screwed up and he was not happy.

He had his phone at his ear and he was speaking with an angry tone of voice.

“I don’t care how you do it just make sure you cover it up and don’t bother me again unless you want me covering up your death!” he hung up the phone and rounded the corner, almost running into someone while he was doing so.

He didn’t move at all—he didn’t even slow down—but the man quickly got out of the way and was apologizing incessantly as he walked away.

“I’m so sorry sir! I didn’t mean to…”

“Shut up!” he said in a sing-song voice as he reached into his jacket, pulled a pen out from his suit pocket and tossed it backwards towards the man who had bumped into him.

It was a little childish, but at this point the guy should have been thankful it wasn’t the knife he usually carried with him.

“Deana and Samuel are here to talk to you…”

“There are too maNY STUPID PEOPLE TALKING TO ME. I’m pretty sure I asked you to SHUT UP.” Jim yelled out as he walked past the room where his four best employees were waiting to talk to him.

They wisely kept quiet until he backed up and came into the room so he could talk to them all.

“Deana, Samuel tell me how that hunt for our dear friend Tom is going.”

They both looked to each other and then to him.

“We…lost him sir.”

Jim had to take a deep breath to steady himself.

“Say. Again?” he demanded in a calm voice. There was an undertone of anger that made everyone in the room fearful.

“He was last seen in London, but we lost him when he jumped trains in…”

“THEN WHY ARE YOU ALL STANDING HERE?” he yelled suddenly and while they didn’t jump, he saw the fear in their eyes.

“W-We needed to regroup and…”

“And why am I involved?” Jim asked with a small smile that didn’t look angry, but they could all see he was furious.

“It’s just…he disappeared and we found this.” Samuel said as Deana walked over to Jim and handed him a piece of paper.

“He knew we were following him, he used to be one of us and he knows how we work.” She sounded annoyed, but Jim looked more annoyed so she didn’t say more about it.

On the paper it said

“I didn’t get what I want, are you ready to know what it feels like to have your heart ripped away?”

Jim glared at the paper and then at his people.

“Find him. Now. No more excuses.” He turned and stalked out of the room to go and find Molly and Seb.

“Yes sir.” They all said behind him in unison. Tension followed behind him.

This man wasn’t going to ruin his business or touch his Molly. No way in hell was he going to let that happen.

Jim was furious, but as he walked into the big living room area on the top floor of the building he heard laughter. It was Molly’s laughter and he felt some of that anger slip off his shoulders.

What the fuck was this woman doing to him.

He walked into the room and saw Molly and Sebastian sitting on the floor, playing poker.

“It’s not fair that your poker face is so good. I’m demanding a rematch.” Molly said and giggled when he made a face at her.

You’d think being under house arrest would be a bad thing. Apparently Molly Hooper was the exception to that as well.

“You’re on Hooper.” Sebastian said and she laughed again.

“Later.” Jim spoke up behind Molly who jumped slightly.

“Jim! You scared me.” She said, but quickly smiled up at him with those eyes. Those deep, caring eyes that he couldn’t resist.

Curse this woman.

“Sebastian, a word.” Jim nodded his head over and Seb followed him over to the side of the room.

“Our trackers lost the target.” Jim said nonchalantly and handed Sebastian the paper with the note on it.

He read it and frowned. Sebastian looked at Jim and asked him in a low voice

“Do you need me to…”

“Let them try and fix it first, then if I need you I’ll call. I need you watching her in case the others fail.” Jim said nonchalantly as he watched Molly pick up the cards from the game and stick them back into the case.

Sebastian nodded and then went over to get his gun that he had set down earlier.

Molly stood up, stretched out her back a little and Jim started walking over to her. He stopped when she looked at him and got a curious look in her eyes.

“Is everything alright?” she asked

“Of course. Why would you think anything was wrong?”

She smiled a little with a knowing look in her eyes and Jim cursed the day he met this woman who could actually read him like a book.

“You don’t have to tell me. But I’m here if you’d like to.” She said, reached out, and gently laced her fingers with his.

He felt even more of his anger disappear and he sighed in slight frustration.

“Molly Hooper, you are something else.”

She shook her head and he knew what she was thinking. That she wasn’t important.

He made a snap decision and pulled her to him, to kiss her, and then he started to pull her with him down the hall.

“Sebastian have Clint and Tasha get a car and set up across from the main event. I’ve just made plans.”

“Sure thing boss. Where would you like…”

“With me.” He said and Molly’s face scrunched up into confusion.

“I thought we were going sightseeing?” she asked, following him without question.

“We are. Ever wanted to visit the Eiffel tower?” he grinned at her over his shoulder

Sherlock solved the case in barely four hours. The man had worked in a phone shop right next to Molly’s apartment. His heart was missing just like Sherlock’s heart was missing right now as well. Damn Moriarty and his symbols.

Sherlock knew their next message was going to come from a phone. And he knew just where to find it.

Big Ben was where the next message was, and they raced to get there before someone else died.

He and John ran to the top of the tower to find, not a person, but Molly’s phone on a chair.

“What…?” John tried to ask but before anyone could say something more the phone started ringing.

“Should we answer it?” John asked as Sherlock looked at the phone.

John could see his mind working. He was trying so hard to do this right so he could save Molly.

Sherlock picked the phone up and put it to his ear.

He didn’t say anything, but the person on the other end started talking first so it didn’t matter.

“Impressive timing Mr. Holmes. You’ve successfully saved someone very dear. Right Molly?”

Sherlock heard a mumbled response and his blood ran cold as he deduced that she was gagged and struggling to breathe which meant she was most likely crying. His hands clenched into fists and he felt the anger surge through him.

“Now you’re going to carry this phone with you and await further instructions. Don’t dig too deep on this one Mr. Holmes. You may not like what you find if you do.”

Sherlock didn’t have time to say anything before the other line went dead and he cursed.

“He’s making us WAIT.” He almost growled out and started making his way back down the tower with John following right behind him. He was seething with anger and John could sense his worry as well.

“Sherlock where are we going?”

Sherlock hadn’t slept or eaten in almost two days and John needed to find a way to get him to. Mycroft might have to be called this time.

John had never seen Sherlock like this. And it was starting to scare him a bit.

All he knew was that they’d better find Molly alive and well or Sherlock wasn’t ever going to be the same again.

Chapter Text

Clint and Tasha were Jim Moriarty’s best team. They could find anyone or anything. Both were trained assassins and knew how to handle close range and long range attacks. The problem with their current mission was that the man they were trying to find used to be on their team. He knew every move, every trick, and every step of the process. He was ten steps ahead of them and they were using all their resources to get this task done.

Deana and Samuel had called in their help because they couldn’t afford to fail again, and they knew that these two would help them greatly.

Their boss was the scariest man alive and it would be better to die in the field than fail him and make him angry. Tasha and Clint were assigned to helping Deana and Samuel and had basically taken over the entire mission.

Jim knew they wouldn’t fail, and he wouldn’t actually get rid of them unless Molly got hurt or he was uncovered.

They were busy trying to catch up with Tom.

Clint was checking all his connections and, using what Tasha liked to call his “bird’s eye view”, he finally managed to track him down.

Tasha would intercept him while Clint backed her up from afar. She had a very specific torture skill set that she would use on this bastard when she caught him.

He was last seen in Germany and they both guessed where he’d be heading next.

They both knew his target and his goal and they decided to meet up with him first to try and talk him out of it.

So when he was stepping off the train, with the fifty other people who were getting off with him, Tasha followed slowly and secretly behind him. She had always been the best on the team at blending in.

When they were close enough to the meeting point she quickly got up behind him and grabbed him. She pulled him with her to the far side of the building away from people.

“You bastard.” She said and spun him around to face her.

“Tasha.” He said with a slight smirk. “Knew you’d catch up to me eventually.”

She stood with her arms folded, glaring at him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him in a monotone voice. She refused to give away one emotion to him.

“Now Tasha.” He clicked his tongue in a disapproving manner.

“We both know why I’m here. And it’s not just for the lovely French people.” He raised an eyebrow at her and she shook her head.

“Tom you can’t. He’ll kill you. I’ve never seen him so…I don’t know. Involved before. Usually he’s with a girl one night and she’s gone before we can even learn a name.” she notes how his hands ball into fists and his jaw sets.

“He seems…better at his job now actually. He has something worth killing for this time. So he sympathizes more with his clients. She’s good for him and if you take that away, he’ll kill you and everyone else. Just leave him alone.”

“Hm how about…no.” Tom said with an angry smile.

Tasha unfolded her arms slowly and put them to her sides.

“If you try anything.” She took a step closer to him. “I will have to kill you myself.” Another step. “Because I owe him my life and my brother’s. You know how he saw my talents and took care of our abusive parents so I’d come work for him. I don’t see my brother often, but hey, he’s safe and Jim knows I won’t do anything to betray him because of that fact.”

She subtly pressed a button on her phone through her jacket.

“So back off, before you get hurt.” Her voice was completely calm and collected.

Tom let out a laugh and she waited for a minute for him to calm down.

“Do you honestly think I’m afraid of you? You’re all alone. I called in some favors and Clint is being tied up and left at his post as we speak…”

Tasha’s eyes grow wide at that and she quickly grabbed her phone and called his number. No one answered. She grabbed Tom’s lapels and shoved him against the wall, holding him up.

“I swear if you hurt him or try and get to Molly Hooper I will rip out your heart with my bare hands!”

Tom smiled and then let out an amused sigh.

“I won’t kill Clint. We used to be like brothers you know. And as for Molly Hooper…” Tom grabbed a piece of cloth out of his pocket and shoved it under Tasha’s nose. She reacted too slowly and found herself going limp. He caught her, picked her up gently and cradled her in his arms. Walking over to the other side of the building he spoke to her as she slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

“She’s nothing. Once I get rid of her, Jim will see what it’s like to not have what he wants most. He’ll know what I felt like that night, and you aren’t going to be able to do a thing about it.” 

Tom handed her off to one of his little helpers before turning and walking off in the direction of the Eiffel Tower, his hands in his pockets like nothings had just happened.

When Tasha woke up a half hour later, she was in a different place. She was tied up right next to Clint who was asleep and she cursed loudly.

Using every ounce of strength she had, she broke the bonds that were keeping her there and she winced at the pain felt when she rubbed her wrists.

She undid the ones around her feet and went over to Clint, she undid his and then smacked him a few times.

“Wake up you idiot!”

He stirred and groaned before opening his eyes and looking up at her.

“Not cool Tasha…I was just beaten unconscious.”

“Yeah well so was I! We need to get to Jim and Molly before Tom does.”  She dug into her pocket and found her phone was still there.

Hoping she’d still be alive after this was over she dialed the number and held the phone to her ear.

Molly was regretting not having worn a heavier jacket, because it was very windy and she was very small. Jim had her hand in his and was pulling her quickly with him up to the top of the tower.

“Jim where’s the fire?” she asked with a giggle

“Possibly in the building across from us.” He responded cheekily and her eyes went wide.

“Jim!!” she exclaimed and he laughed at her reaction.

“I’m kidding, love. Come on we’re almost there.”

She let him pull her faster and when they got to the top, finally, she let out a slight gasp.

“Oh...”

She walked closer to the edge and turned around to look all around.

“It’s beautiful.” She muttered mostly to herself.

Jim wasn’t looking out at the city, he’d seen it before and he could see it again. He was watching her. Her every reaction.

She was so sincere and feeling. She wore her emotions on her sleeve, for the most part, and he certainly lacked the ability to do that. She made him think, made him feel. And that’s why he wasn’t going to let her go.

His hold on her hand tightened and she looked back at him with a smile. She tugged him forward to stand with her and he complied.

He let go of her hand in favor of wrapping an arm around her waist. She stepped closer to him and rested her head on his chest.

“Thank you for bringing me up here.” She said with a content sigh.

“Hmm.” He placed his chin on top of her head in response and let himself feel content for a moment.

After a few blissful seconds Jim’s phone started vibrating.

Molly backed up a bit so he could get into his suit pocket and grab it.

His arm didn’t move from around her, and his eyes were on her face as he answered the call.

“Speak.” He said and listened for a few moments.

“You’re sure?” he asked and Molly could see his emotions in his eyes. From anger, to confusion, to hatred, to pure unadulterated fury.

“Get to where we discussed and I’ll deal with you later.” He said and ended the call.

“Jim…is everything alright?” she asked him gently, a worried look in her eyes. He realized she was worried for him and whoever he had been talking to and not for herself like she should be.

This woman.

He just smiled at her, a genuine smile, and kissed her forehead.

“Of course, love. I need to go talk to Sebastian about something. Wait right here for me alright?”

She nodded, and then shivered slightly and he took his jacket off to drape over her.

He had put his phone back in it, just in case.

She watched him walk over to Sebastian, whom she hadn’t realized was following them up until just now.

Molly continued to look over the city and she smiled a little bit, tugging Jim’s jacket closed in front of her. Sure she’d been kidnapped, but at least it was by the guy she wanted to be dating.

After a few minutes looking at the same view she took a few steps over to the other side so she could see the other side of the city.

Molly waited for another few minutes before looking over to see what was taking Jim so long. Sebastian was no longer standing next to him and he had his eyes locked on her.

She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and she turned to make her way over to him.

“Jim what’s wrong?”

She reached out to take his hand, but pulled it back at the last second because of the anger in his eyes. It scared her a little.

Jim took a step forward, pulled her into his body, and kissed her softly.

“Nothing. Are you done up here? We can go if you’d like.”

She nodded a little and tugged on his collar to kiss him again before looking into his eyes.

“There is something wrong, but if you don’t want to tell me about it then fine.” Her lips quirked up into a small smile.

He couldn’t help his smirk as she took his hand and started down the many stairs to the bottom. She could read him very well and he was learning to appreciate that.

As they arrived to the bottom of the tower Molly let go of Jim’s hand to tighten her hold on his jacket around her and shivered once more. He went to wrap his arm around her, but Sebastian called out to talk to him before he could.

Molly smiled at him, he quickly kissed her, and waited while he went over to talk to Seb before she turned to look around her some more.

Thirty seconds later she felt someone grabbing her and before she blacked out she called out for Jim.

Jim had taken two steps away from her.

Two steps.

He’d warned Sebastian that Tom was coming, and in that moment she was taken. He whirled around as he heard her scream his name and his anger melted away into concern and absolute fury that anyone would try and take away what was his.

“Sebastian!” Jim hollered as his best friend and most trusted employee took off after them. Jim ran behind him, and saw Molly behind held from behind by the man who had just tried to kill her a few weeks before. He was seeing red and he was screaming at Sebastian to keep going after them. He slowed and reached for his cell phone, only to realize it was in his jacket pocket.

Sebastian was still running after them, but Jim could see Tom shove Molly into a car with who he assumed to be a friend of Tom’s.

He could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins and the concern for Molly. He didn’t like these feelings and the person making him feel them was going to pay.

Sebastian pulled out his gun and started shooting at the wheels of the car, he didn’t want to hit a person because that could get Molly hurt. There was a fifteen second period where everything was silent and then Sebastian turned and looked at Jim who he knew was furious.

Five seconds later everything exploded. Jim turned around and punched the nearest thing which luckily was a building and not a person.

Sebastian ran back to his boss, his breathing slightly heavier than usual and he waited for his orders. He knew Jim was thinking and getting to the point where he’d know what he was going to do.

Jim seemed completely calm, completely collected, but Sebastian knew him well enough to know that he was furious.

“Clint and Tasha need to be picked up. Deana and Samuel are back at the office. Get everyone to the conference room. Tell them that they have fifteen minutes before I start shooting them all. Molly Hooper is not going to be gone for long. Tom is now a priority target.” Jim turned and started walking to the car where he proceeded to open his door, get in and turn to Sebastian.

“If anything happens to Molly Hooper before we can get to her…” he didn’t finish, but Sebastian knew what would happen. Everyone would die and nothing would be safe ever again.

Sebastian nodded and opened his phone to get things moving.

He closed Jim’s door for him, barked a few things at the driver, and stalked off in the other direction to get to work.

Everyone was looking for Molly Hooper.

Sherlock Holmes and his sources including Mycroft and all his connections, Jim Moriarty and everyone at his disposal, and she was going to be found alive and well or there would be hell to pay.

Chapter Text

Jim knew why Tom had taken Molly.

He knew that Tom was going to try and play his game better than he did. But no one was as good at these games as Jim was. Sherlock Holmes came close but fell short.

Thought after thought of Molly dying in some horrible way kept coming to his mind, and it made his chest hurt in a way he didn't know possible.

Death was a part of his life, a part of Molly's daily life as a pathologist.

Those deaths were always people they didn't know or didn't care about.

Never anyone he cared about. Jim Moriarty took care of the few people that mattered to him.

Molly was someone he knew and cared about.

Having someone to care about, and someone who cared about you was a weakness Jim considered getting rid of. If he left Molly with Tom long enough he'd eventually succeed and she'd be gone. No more Molly, means no more weakness.

The very thoughts left him wanting to throw up.

He couldn't think about it for too long or he started getting sick.

Molly was his heart, his sentiment, his pure and good half, the yin to his yang, and he was going to get her back.

He just had to stop thinking about the worst case scenarios and focus on actually playing this game.

There was another note left for him when they arrived back at their headquarters. After barking orders at his people, watching them all cower in fear and then run off to finish their tasks he made his way to the room he and Molly had been occupying, which is where he found the next clue.

It was underneath his pillow and the thought that Tom had been in the room made his entire body shake with anger.

Bet you had good times in here. Almost as good as the times you and Sherlock Holmes played your little games. Think back Jim. Way back. It doesn't matter if you figure it out, because by the time you get here she'll already be dead. See you soon –Tom x

Jim read it over and over again until his eyes hurt from going back and forth so quickly in a short period of time.

"Boss?" Sebastian was standing in the doorway, waiting for Jim to start yelling or freaking out and all he got was Jim looking up at him with an expression he had never seen on him before.

Sebastian couldn't be sure, but it looked like Jim was worried.

"Jim?" he tried again.

"He has her. He's going to kill her. Probably already has. We need to get moving. It has something to do with Sherlock and me. Our previous games." He was talking out loud. His words were slow and monotone like he didn't really care about what was happening.

Sebastian didn't like the monotone way he was stating these facts.

"We're going to get her back Jim. You need to calm down and remember that she's the only person in the whole world that managed to get you and Sherlock Holmes wrapped around her fingers so to speak. She's smarter than people give her credit for and she'll find a way to stall until we get to her."

Jim stared at the wall and spoke again.

"Unless he's already killed her."

"Oi, no thinking like that!" Sebastian barked at him, it was out of character for him to speak like that to the boss, so much so that Jim snapped out of his own thoughts. He glared at Sebastian.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" he asked

"Jim 'evil genius, consulting criminal, smug ass jerk' Moriarty. And I think you need to remember that's who you are too. Even with Molly Hooper making you softer in the romance department, you're still all those things. Now get your brain working and figure out where she is." Sebastian stood straight up and looked Jim in the eyes as he spoke. He knew exactly what to say to snap Jim out of his funk.

The consulting criminal read the note again, when he looked up and out the window he paused for a minute. Seb knew that look. It was one of his faces he had when he was thinking.

A small smirk came to his face and he turned towards Sebastian.

"I know where he's got her."

Sebastian nodded and waited for him to talk more.

"We might not get there in time, so I have one more phone call to make. We'll either get to them first, or Sherlock Holmes will." Jim grabbed Molly's phone that was in the side drawer of the dresser and after holding it for a moment, he dialed the number and walked towards the door. Sebastian heard him chuckle and start to talk to the detective.

The sniper took three steps closer to the window and looked outside, across the street was a hotel and he could see a bunch of people through the window playing in the indoor pool. If he was going to kill someone, this would be a good spot to get them from.

Sebastian frowned, wondering what it was that Jim had seen out the window that helped him figure it all out.

"Sebastian!"

He ran to where Jim was standing in the hallway, the phone call now ended.

"Boss?"

"Gather up anyone who is close. We're leaving in ten minutes with or without back-up. I'll get the plane ready."

"Yes sir." Sebastian turned and starting walking away when he heard Jim continue

"And Sebastian? Speak to me like that again, and I'll cut your head off."

Sebastian smirked and kept walking, not even turning to look over his shoulder.

"Sure you will, Jim."

Jim couldn't help his own small smirk from forming. Sebastian really was his best friend.

And he was much better than John Watson.

He'd think about how superior he was to Sherlock Holmes and how much better than John, Sebastian was later. He had a damsel to go save. His steps were quick as he made his next call and headed down to the car to await his sniper and anyone else who might be coming along.

Sherlock was growing impatient with how much time it was taking Jim Moriarty to get the next set of clues to him.

Molly was missing and she was one of the most important people in the world to him. He trusted her and she counted, so much more than she thought she did.

He wanted her back and he wanted her safe.

After what seemed like forever, he stopped pacing back and forth to complain out loud.

"He can't be this patient. Watching someone pace back and forth is only interesting for so long!" Sherlock hadn't slept in almost three days. John was worried about his health, physical and mental.

"Maybe we missed something?" John suggested

Sherlock scoffed and then all but growled at him

"I don't miss things John. You might, but I do not!" He was pacing again and talking with his hands, something he did more when he was angry.

John didn't let the anger get to him.

"You can't do anything until he calls again. Go get some sleep. Eat something. You're no use to Molly if you're dead."

Sherlock wasn't listening to him and instead sat down to go into his mind palace.

John watched him and then let out an exasperated sigh. He knew there was no way he could get Sherlock when he was in this state.

Mary had been there earlier to bring John food, and she brought their daughter Chloe to see him as she hadn't seen him in a few days.

Every time he'd gone home to get a change of clothes the baby was asleep and Mary said she had been asking for him.

Sherlock, who usually loved to see his Goddaughter, was distraught and trying not to panic so he didn't even look at her.

Before Mary left she had talked to Sherlock and all but demanded he tell Molly how he felt once they got her back.

She hadn't helped very much.

John looked at the clock, it was a little after 10pm and he wasn't sure how much longer he could wait without sleeping at least a little.

"Sherlock? I'm going to rest for a bit… I'll just be on the couch so don't wander over and sit on me while you're in your mind palace." He knew he was being a sarcastic arse, but he was tired and Sherlock wasn't listening.

John closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Just as he felt calm enough to actually sleep, and felt the craziness of the last few days slip away he heard a ringing.

His eyes shot back open and there was a blur as Sherlock was jumping up to answer the phone.

Sherlock put the phone to his ear and answered the call.

"Took you long enough."

There was a chuckle and then a response.

"Have you learned your lesson Sherlock? Do you know how much Molly means to you yet?"

Sherlock's eyes narrowed into a glare and he scoffed.

"You already know that I figured that out a long time ago. What do you want Moriarty?"

There was a pause and then a shuffling sound on the other end.

"The same thing that you do." Came his reply.

The consulting detective's brain starting turning and he couldn't help but wonder what exactly he meant by that.

"It all ends back at the beginning Sherlock. The beginning of everything." There was another pause and then Sherlock heard something he wasn't expecting.

"You should hurry."

The phone went dead and Sherlock blinked twice.

"Well?" John asked, ready to get going now that the adrenaline was flowing through his system.

The sound of his best friend's voice broke him out of his daze.

"We're going back to that bloody pool. And we need to hurry. Call Lestrade." Sherlock hurried to where his coat was hanging up and typed something on his phone at the same time.

John did as he was asked and they both got out of the flat as quickly as they could.

"Greg said they'd be here to get us in five minutes."

Sherlock shook his head and raised his hand to get a cab.

"Stay here and wait for him. I'm going ahead." Sherlock hopped into the cab, but John stopped him from closing the door by getting in after him.

"No way are you going alone. I'll tell the police to meet us there." He was already sending a text.

Sherlock gave the directions to the driver and told him he'd pay him a lot extra if he got them there quickly.

He was thinking over everything Moriarty had said and what it all meant for him and for Molly Hooper. But he couldn't understand why Moriarty would tell him to hurry. It almost sounded like he was worried.

Could it be that they really did want the same thing?

It didn't make sense, and it most definitely didn't make him feel any better about what was happening.

Chapter Text

Molly felt more blood sliding down her left temple. She couldn’t hold back a whimper as the cold metal of the knife was traced gently along her jaw.  Moving away at this point was impossible, she was too damn exhausted.

She didn’t know what he had done to the side of her head but she knew she needed to stop the bleeding before she had serious problems. Her whole world was spinning and she was close to passing out.

“Don’t worry Molly.” Tom was smiling as he spoke. “This will be a very nice present for Jimmy when he gets here. He’ll appreciate it much more than you ever could.”

Molly didn’t even have the energy to fight with him. Didn’t even have enough in her to glare at him.

After he had dragged her into that car one of the big guys injected her with something. She thought it was morphine. It felt like morphine.

When she woke up, she didn’t know how many hours later, she was tied up to a chair. The room was dark except for a small window that had bars across it and a black curtain covering the whole thing.

The first attempt to open her eyes ended badly, it made her headache worse and nothing was in focus so she settled for keeping them closed and trying to stop the pounding in her ears.

She wasn’t sure how long it took for Tom to come into the room, but it was long enough that the loud pounding simmered down to a light tapping in her head.

The lights flickered when he flipped them on and it was suddenly too bright and she flinched away from them.

She wished she was back to the beginning of this kidnapping. When bright lights were the only thing she needed to worry about.

“Welcome to actually being kidnapped Molly Hooper.” He had said.

She wished she was back with Jim.

Oh.

More tears filled her eyes.

Jim.

He was probably freaking out right now. And she couldn’t do anything to ease his worry or pain.

She had fought Tom at first, asking him why he was doing this and what had she ever done to him. Tom just shook his head and told her that he’d tell her after he’d broken her.

She tried to be bold and tell him that Jim would find her. Jim would save her. Or Sherlock. Someone would get to her in time.

That had made the man laugh so hard he had to sit down. Molly hated his laugh, she always had.

Tom assured her that before anyone could find her that she would be dead.

Fear rippled through her body, but he promised he’d wait and kill her just before they got there so they still had hope up until the last moments.

In the course of six hours he had taken her apart. Emotionally abused her. Physically abused her.  He hit every single one of her weaknesses, because he was just the person to know them.

She had given him everything he needed to hurt her when they had been together—back when she didn’t know any better and she thought she could still be happy. And because she had given him all this information she now had multiple broken bones, three bruised ribs, and a probable concussion. Not to mention a lot of blood loss.

He knew about her abusive father, her broken relationship with her mother, most of her fears and things she had always wanted to do. He knew what bothered her and he knew exactly how to make her squirm and scream and cry and beg.

Tom knew more about her than Sherlock or Jim did and that was sad. Not just because he ended up being the sickest of the three of them, but because she had wanted both Sherlock and Jim in her life so much more than she had ever wanted Tom.

Using everything he knew, every little detail, he had broken her spirit, her hope.

“Now Molly where’s that new fighting spirit I’ve heard so much about?” his eyes held nothing but mocking and her eyes fell to the floor. She felt like there was a hole in her chest, and she didn’t know how to filter through the emotions so she was closing down, her body wasn’t letting her feel anything except the physical pain she had no control over.

She looked as broken as she felt. The only place he hadn’t abused her so far was her face. He said he wanted that to be the only thing Jim saw as perfect when he found her body.

There weren’t any tears left to cry at this point. She didn’t know how it could get any worse, she could feel it, no one was coming to get her, she was all alone and she was going to die today.

She had only one question for him now.

“Why…why are you so mad at Jim?”

He had her bound so tightly around the chest that she could barely breathe let alone speak.

Tom looked her up and down for a moment before he tossed the knife to the side and she flinched as she heard it clank against the floor.

He sighed dramatically.

“Well Molly. Not that it’s any of your business. I mean why do you even care? You broke up with me so why should I have to tell you anything about my life.”

Molly would have groaned, but it hurt too much.

“Cut the bullshit Tom. You’re going to kill me, you’ve already tortured me. I think the least you can do is tell me why.”

He smacked the side of her arm, in what would have been a friendly manner if he hadn’t already broken it.

She let out a pained yell and Tom chuckled, like it was a funny inside joke that she was in pain.

“Well Molly.”  He looked at his fingernails like this was a casual conversation.

“You see when Jim fell in love with you, there were other people who were already in love with him. Sebastian loves him. Not like you do, but in a best friend occasional fuck kind of a way.”

Molly felt herself cringe away at that word.

Tom knew her father was an alcoholic and he used to swear at her all the time. Just add some more salt to her wounds.

It took Molly a moment to understand what he was telling her. Her breathing sped up a bit as she thought about it.

“S-So you’re in love with him?” she asked quietly, looking up to see his face.

Being able to tell that someone was lying was one thing Molly Hooper could do well.

Tom looked at her for a moment and then let out a quiet scoff.

“He picked you over me. I gave the man everything he ever wanted. My mind adapted so I knew how to keep him entertained, and he chooses you.”

Molly attempted to swallow. Her heart seemed to skip a beat and suddenly so much made sense, puzzle pieces started to come together in her mind.

“You’re killing me because Jim isn’t in love with you? You’re killing me because he’s in love with me?”

Tom’s expression went blank.

“See that’s what I’m talking about.”

He walked over to where the knife had fallen and picked it up. He looked over at her, his eyes showing just how livid he was.

“You’re so boring. So ordinary. Nothing special, nothing anyone else would even consider important. So why did he choose you over me?” he seemed to be thinking out loud to himself.

Molly looked at him and couldn’t help the soft chuckle that came out of her, a cough followed the attempt at laughter and she tasted the blood as it trickled out of her mouth, it made her stomach turn.

His eyes snapped up to look at her and his expression became furious.

“What’s so damn funny?” his hand connected with her cheek and she felt the sting moments after. Her head was spinning and the pain seemed to be phantom, like she was outside her body not really feeling it anymore.

She didn’t even have energy to groan.

 “You tried too hard.” She said simply and then coughed a few times. Her eyes stayed closed, but she could all but hear Tom’s brain working, contemplating what to do next.

Whatever his plan was, he wasn’t expecting her to make him so angry. Molly smiled internally. Jim would have been proud of how she’d gotten in his head.

The thought she she’d never see Jim again made a wave of sadness and regret flow through her.

She never got to tell him that she’d forgiven him. That she cared about him more than she thought she ever would.

He’d never get to hear her say I love you and make fun of her for it. As the tears started to gather in her eyes again she cursed herself for being able to cry more.

Molly stifled a sob.

Tom was looking at this small woman and his eyes narrowed into a glare. She was crying again.

She was going to look like she’d been tortured when Jim got there and he needed more time to fix her up so she looked perfect for when Jim arrived.

“Alright now Molly. Let’s get to the fun part shall we?” he used the knife to cut her binding and she felt a rush of air flow into her lungs. She fell forward, out of the chair, onto the floor and caught herself on the one arm that wasn’t broken.

Tom kicked her side and she fell flat onto her stomach.

She groaned and stayed still. If she didn’t move too much it didn’t hurt as badly.

Too soon, someone was roughly pulling her up and she let out a yelp of pain. It all flowed into her body again and she blacked out for a split second, she gasped as he forced her to stay on her feet. Her whole body was shaking and it was getting harder to stay up but they weren’t giving her time to think about it.

She was forced to walk towards what she assumed to be the place she was going to be killed.

As they walked into the room Molly noticed a few things. One was that they were by a pool. Second was that she was an idiot. Back to that stupid pool.

“Back to where it all started…if Jim had never messed with Sherlock he wouldn’t have met me…You’re punishing them both.” She mumbled out loud.

Tom looked back to her and realized maybe she wasn’t as stupid as he thought she was. It didn’t matter much, she was about to be dead.

“J-Jim will figure it out. He’ll save me.” She whispered, and it sounded as pathetic to her as it did to the rest of them. A last ditch effort to make herself believe it.

Tom shook his head and took the gun from his henchman.

“It’s too late for that Molly Hooper.”

He took her from the one henchman and sent him away. He didn’t have time for the hired muscle to screw it all up for him.

“Now walk.” He hissed into her ear and shoved her along.

She whimpered in pain every step of the way, but he kept pushing her until they got to the deep end and he shoved her to the floor.

When he got to the edge of the pool he sat down next to it, his feet dangling in the water.

“Don’t you ever wish you’d never met Sherlock Holmes? Or Jim from IT? Then maybe you wouldn’t be here. Beaten and tortured. About to drown in the place that started it all. And they wouldn’t have to be upset to find your body.” Tom went on talking as if he were explaining his family reunion to someone. He sighed and sounded bored the whole time.

“They’ll both blame themselves for not getting here quicker. They’re both going to be angry. At each other. At themselves. Jim most of all for not seeing it coming or doing something to stop me.”

Molly felt herself start to panic. She knew he was almost done and she didn’t have a lot of time left. Her fight or flight responses were spiking up again, she wanted to run she wanted to fight. She could do neither.

“But after I kill you, it doesn’t really matter anymore.” Tom said with finality in his voice. 

“What doesn’t?” She asked him, managing to look up just enough to see his eyes. Those eyes that were so cold, she realized now they had always been that cold. He wasn’t that good of an actor.

“Sherlock Holmes. Jim Moriarty. Their stupid games.” Tom said.

He looked into the water and said

“Because I’ll have taken the one thing that matters most to both of them, and they did nothing to stop me.” It was almost like she wasn’t there and he was talking to himself, trying to remind himself that that was true.

His expression became almost determined and she knew what that meant.

“That means I win.”

He yanked her over to him and she let out a yelp and, with her new found adrenaline, she started to fight back once more.

Tom all but threw her into the water and she struggled with a broken arm and bruised ribs, but she fought to stay above the surface.

But then he was in the water with her, dragging her down and holding her under and there was nothing she could do to stop him.

She needed air, but couldn’t get to it and her body was screaming for release from under the water.

Somehow she managed to punch him with her broken arm and it caused a ripple of pain through her whole body, but it got him away from her enough that she could get above water. She took in gasps full of air and tried to get to the other side of the pool. He was right back on her, holding her down and she knew she couldn’t fight him anymore.

Her lungs were on fire and she struggled against his hold but he just pushed her deeper into the water, she gagged as she gasped and water filled her mouth, her nose, and her lungs. Everything on her hurt and she knew she wasn’t going to win, she let her eyes close and she thought about Jim, thought about their time together and how she wished they had so much more. She was just glad he had come back to her after so long thinking he was dead.

There was a muffled sound above water just as she felt consciousness slipping from her. Tom suddenly stopped holding her down, but she was already too far gone and sunk deeper into the pool, thinking only of Jim and how much she wished she could have seen him one more time.

Chapter Text

The steady thumping of her heart still beating was the loudest thing in the room. Three broken ribs, a broken wrist and several fractures along the same arm, massive blood loss from multiple cuts on her head and across her back, there were bruises on nearly half of her body, and she was being kept asleep. They kept the morphine going so she wouldn’t be conscious while they reset bones and patched every part of her. The hospital room she was in now was heaven compared to just a few hours earlier.

John had been the first one to get to her. He had his gun in his hand and was ready to shoot to kill. Sherlock hadn’t even hesitated, he had jumped right into the water after John shot Tom and he grabbed her. His coat barely slipped off before he was soaked completely. He knew she was most likely going to be injured, but he also knew if she wasn’t breathing it wouldn’t matter how gentle he was with her.

He all but threw her out of the water and up onto the pool deck. Sherlock brushed her hair away from her face and bent to listen to her chest for a heartbeat.

“Molly…Molly come on. No, no no this isn’t happening. JOHN GET OVER HERE.” Sherlock screamed at him, more emotional now than John had ever seen him.

John shoved Sherlock away from her and got started with CPR. It took a few moments but Molly finally started spluttering and water came out of her mouth as she coughed. Her eyes fluttered and it took a few more moments before her breathing started to get even. She wasn’t even close to being one hundred percent, but she was breathing and alive and that’s all they could have hoped for. She was groaning and then crying, and then she passed out again, unconscious.

Sherlock was brought out of his mind palace, where he was replaying the whole incident over and over, by John who was sticking a cup of coffee into his face.

“She’s going to pull through Sherlock. The bleeding was stopped rather quickly and it’ll take a bit for everything to heal up properly but she’s going to be alright.” John said, for what felt like the millionth time as Sherlock took the cup from him and set it aside.

“She almost wasn’t John. She was so close to death if we hadn’t gotten there when we did she would have died.” Sherlock responded, monotone and emotionless. He had retreated somewhat emotionally from the situation as he realized how close he had come to losing Molly.

Someone had almost taken Molly from him. A person he could have, a person that he should have, been able to see through. It made him absolutely livid.

There was always something he was missing. Still, there were things he was missing.

He knew for sure he hadn’t finished with Moriarty or his games because Moriarty wasn’t the one at that pool. His flair for the dramatic and need to see his work get done were two of his biggest tells.

Sherlock chanced a glance over at Molly’s badly damaged body and winced. He was lucky Moriarty had made the last clue so obvious, otherwise, Molly would have been dead.

That was another thing he was missing. Why had Moriarty asked him to hurry?

The answer was there, looming just outside his view and it was driving him mad.

“I’ve got to get home to Mary.” John broke his thinking once again and Sherlock just nodded and waved him off.

“Go on then. I know you’ll both be back to check on me tomorrow. Molly as well.” He muttered and went back to thinking, hardly even noticing as John grabbed his things and left.

Molly wasn’t going to wake up anytime soon, the doctors had said that such a trauma and the number of injuries she acquired meant she could be out for a long time. The pain was sure to be too much, so they were keeping her under until the next morning when they would slowly lower the dosages until she woke up.

Sherlock sighed and shifted to get comfortable before taking his usual mind palace pose, hands under his chin, resting back in his chair, and made himself focus on Moriarty and the case instead of the injured woman beside him.

It was going to be a long night.

Jim slowly wiped the knife off on the once white handkerchief. Every single person that had been involved with Tom in any way had been killed.

 Their bodies were being taken care of by his teams. Jim stared at the knife in his hand. He had done it all. He had slit their throats, and sliced arms and legs to slowly drain them and watch as their life slowly faded away.

He hadn’t even felt any joy from it. Instead, he just felt angrier.  

Sebastian had kept him up to date on Molly’s condition. She was so hurt. His Molly was hurt and he couldn’t even be there for her. Not that she would have been awake, he knew they were keeping her sedated. He had eyes and ears and spies in that hospital the moment he found out where she’d been taken.

Where Sherlock Holmes had taken her after he had rescued her.

It made his blood boil. He himself hadn’t gotten there in time. His lifelong rival, the good to his evil, and the detective to his criminal had saved their pathologist.

Jim hadn’t even been able to kill Tom, no that honor had gone to the great Doctor Watson. Tom, at least, Jim would have enjoyed killing. He would have slowly broken every piece of him, body and spirit before making him beg for death. And even then it wouldn’t have been granted him. Who knows how long Jim would have made him suffer.

Jim gripped the knife so tightly he felt it slice his hand, he let it fall to the floor and watched as blood started to slide down his wrist.

He closed his eyes and clenched his fist.

“Sebastian.” He commanded, a quiet but firm tone to his voice.

“Yeah, boss.” Sebastian was already there, he hadn’t left his side in hours. He was afraid of what leaving him alone would do. He had never seen Jim so shattered, so breakable, or so upset before.

“Is everything set up for the new safe house network?” Jim asked before finally opening his eyes and turning to look at his friend.

Sebastian had to swallow hard before answering

“Yeah, Jim it’s all set up and ready for you whenever you’re ready to get back to it. All the changes and additions to it were put in place too.” He affirmed quietly, watching as Jim took a few steps towards the bathroom to clean and bandage his hand.

“Good. I want everyone moved there. We have things to be doing.” Jim’s voice was steady where his hand was not.

“Boss are you sure you want to get back to work? Wouldn’t you rather be with Molly?” Sebastian asked and Jim turned to give him an icy stare

“She’s going to be coming with us as soon as she’s well enough to be out of the hospital.” There was no room for argument in his voice and Sebastian just nodded and went to do as he was asked. No way was anyone arguing with that man right now. He had just killed so many people in the span of a few hours it was enough to make Sebastian feel a little sick.

Jim stared at himself in the mirror, he tried to keep his mind numb and closed as he bandaged his hand, but there was still so much anger built up inside of him.

Tom had been one step ahead of him. Every single moment was planned out almost perfectly. The only thing Tom hadn’t counted on was Jim being willing to let Sherlock Holmes save Molly.

He hadn’t counted on Jim letting anyone but himself be the hero for this story.

Just one more line to add to the list of things Molly Hooper made him do without even realizing she was doing it.

No one could have seen that coming. Jim letting Sherlock Holmes outshine him and save the day? Only to save Molly. She was his permanent exception.

Her smile kept him going. Jim hated feeling so vulnerable and weak. No one was going to touch her ever again.

The thought occurred to Jim that maybe he, himself, shouldn’t touch her ever again. Maybe it was his fault that she kept being targeted. If he stepped back and let someone else have her he would go insane for sure. So that wasn’t an option. Keeping her with him at all times was the only solution.

Jim had set up the ultimate safe house and once Molly was better there would be no more people getting in his way of being with her.