#darnedchild

For @darnedchild for her birthday :)

This is an excerpt from the middle (that’s important, this isn’t the beginning of the fic!) of my new story. It is rated M but my little excerpt is not. Sorry I’ve been so absent. RealLife is being a nuisance at the mo. Huge thanks to @mizjoely for her extraordinary betaing talent. I’m gifting the fic to @darnedchild - ‘cause! You can find the full fic here on ff.net and here on AO3. Enjoy ~Lil~

"Are you attempting to say that she's not on the schedule?" he asked the dolt, who had gone back to staring blankly into the autoclave (what the hell was he watching?).

"Yep. Haven't seen her all week."

That made no sense whatsoever! Sherlock knew Molly's schedule better than the periodic table. Hmm…

Leaving the lab, he pulled out his mobile and started sending a text. As he hurried up the stairs two at a time, he typed: At Barts. You're not. Where are you?

He was in a cab on his way to Baker St. before he received a response.

I told you I was going to be using the University of London's entomology labs this week. Have you forgotten about my side project already?

Project… Project... Ahh, shit! He had. His mind raced trying to remember anything Molly had mentioned about bugs. By the time the cab had pulled up in front of their building, he still had nothing. To his defense, it had been a rather busy week; a double murder, a minor drug ring and thwarting of a bombing plot all in the span of eight days. The Wife had been a demanding shrew as of late.

After changing into lounge clothes and a dressing gown (mostly because he felt like skulking), Sherlock sat in his chair and pulled out his mobile. This week's been a killer, Molly. He knew she'd love the awful pun. Remind me. Best to be honest with her; she could smell a lie, from him at least, from a mile away.

Just received this in the mail! And I wanted to say thank you to all the sherlolly writers out there for helping me thru a very difficult time. You don’t know me. I never had the nerve to speak to any of you. But each and every one of you helped save my life. I was in a dark place. The show “Sherlock” sparked a tiny flame that reminded me it wasn’t all darkness. But this fandom was a constant light helping guide me back by giving me something to look forward to all the time. A new story. The next chapter. A new writer. Constant reminders that the story isn’t over! So THANK YOU ALL!!! And I hope you all know that when I look at this mug (which is going on my desk for everyday use) I will be seeing all of you as much as the characters that we all love. (And lilsherlockian1975? This came from the place where your husband directed me for the t-shirt. Expecting that soon. This turned out so cool! Please thank him for me). I know there are plenty of writers I didn’t tag...how does one basically tag an entire fandom? Actually, I’m not sure I tagged this at all correctly. I’ve never tagged anything before. Well, I’ve never posted anything before so here goes nothing...

And here it is, my 1,700th fic on AO3! This is a birthday present for @darnedchild (whose birthday is today). Hope it’s a good one, hun!

Family Is Good For Moral Support - When Sherlock's cousin Martin comes to Barts to look for Molly, Sherlock does his best to help.

Read @ AO3 | Help Me Survive? | Commission Me?

“Is there a Dr. Hooper here? Or Ms. Hooper, I suppose, her being a surgeon. But wouldn’t that make her a doctor?”

Sherlock’s ears perked up at the sound of a frighteningly familiar sounding voice asking for Molly. Not that it was someone he knew, it was just so similar to his own. And that could only mean one thing…

“Martin, she’s in the basement,” he said, moving towards his cousin to steer him away from the receptionist at Barts before he made a fool of himself. “And yes, she is a doctor, but she is usually referred to by Ms. It’s a courtesy. But how do you know her?”

“Flew her to New York,” Martin replied, relaxing. He knew all about the dance his cousin and his pathologist had done...or were doing, but it didn’t appear he was going to let that deter him from seeing Molly. Good, Sherlock thought to himself; this particular dance was done, settled at the fact they loved each other but were not in love, and yet…

“I thought there was the Princess,” Sherlock said with a frown.

“It...didn’t quite work out,” Martin admitted, turning nearly as red as his hair. “I got some good advice from Molly on the flight and I talked to Theresa and we just decided, perhaps, it wasn’t the right time.”

“Seems to be quite a bit of that in our family as of late,” he said. “But you made a go. Mum will be proud. And...if you get over your embarrassment and ask Molly to dinner like I know you want to, Mum will be even happier because she’s disappointed I went with the ex-dominatrix and not the lovely pathologist who’s loved me for years.”

“You’re with a dominatrix?” Martin asked.

“Yes, your busy schedule does tend to keep you out of the family gossip,” Sherlock said. “Irene Adler. The Woman. Now off the market and currently awaiting her first child. Mine, by the way, don’t get any other ideas.”

“So Molly is...”

“Completely free to ask out, you’ll have no objections from me, you could certainly do worse. You already did better and while it didn’t work out, it’s a start.”

“Now hang on, are you saying--”

“I’m saying, you were engaged to royalty. You don’t get much better than that. And it was an amicable break-up, wasn’t it?” Martin nodded. “So there you go. We’re at least both in a better state than Mycroft. He can’t say two words to Geoffrey without it turning into a ‘please date me because I’m pathetic’ request.”

“Geoffrey...” Martin said as they got to the lift to the basement.

“Gregory,” Sherlock said with a sigh. “Also known as Lestrade. But it’s a game we’ve played for so long I find it hard to use his correct given name.” He jabbed the button to go to the basement and looked at his cousin. “Do you want me there for moral support?”

“You won’t embarrass me, will you?” Martin asked, a tad nervous as he looked up at Sherlock.

Sherlock shook his head. “That privilege is only for Mycroft. You did me a great deal of good with flights as needed when I needed help taking down Moriarty’s organization, so the least I can do is not embarrass you in front of a friend of mine who you fancy.” The lift doors opened and they got in. “And Molly deserves to be happy. I think you can. She’s busy enough she won’t mind a long distance relationship.”

“Er...I’ve left MJN, Sherlock. I’m with a bigger airline based out of London.”

“Then we’ll have to spend more time together,” Sherlock said before pulling his phone out of his coat. “I may have to dash before you get around to it. Lestrade needs me.”

“Oh.”

They lapsed into silence until the doors opened and Sherlock led him towards Molly’s office. He knocked briskly on the door, catching Molly’s attention. “My cousin has a question he’d like to ask. I suggest you say yes for your future happiness. And dinner’s on me, just go to Angelo’s.” Sherlock nodded to Martin. “Good luck.”

Martin went into the office, not closing the door entirely, and Sherlock stood outside, listening, just to be sure.

“So um...er, would you like to grab a bite? For thanks for the advice.”

“Absolutely! I know Sherlock mentioned dinner but I have lunch in thirty minutes, or whenever I happen to finish this paperwork. Would you like to keep me company?”

“Yes, I would. So...what exactly do you do, paperwork wise? Record results of autopsies?”

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Sherlock (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, Mary Morstan/John Watson Characters: Sherlock Holmes, Molly Hooper, Mary Morstan, John Watson Additional Tags: Don't Examine This Too Closely, Don't Try This at Home, Fanfiction of Fanfiction, Characters Reading Fanfiction, Exactly What It Says on the Tin, Awkward Conversations, Crack Treated Seriously Summary:

Awww thank you!! Sending you lots of love!