Chapter One

'Because Falling in Love wasn't a choice'

Sherlock Holmes.

An utterly infuriating mad man.

She'd loved him for so long now, long enough that sometimes it seemed as if she had loved him all her life.

But she hadn't…had she?

It was almost funny, many dismissed her feelings as a silly crush. Born of infatuation and fascination. Besotted by the mystery more than the actuality. And they'd have been right, in the beginning at least. It had started as something silly, an all-consuming desire to notice and be noticed, to escape the confining label of lab assistant that he'd placed her in. In those days he could do no wrong, even when he was terribly cruel.

Such foolish puppy love fades.

She's grown up a little now. The fog of mystery has been lifted, the hormonal rush of fascination fading. But in its place she found something else. An implacable, immovable fondness. Of course she still wanted him to notice her. But it became so much more than that. She understood, far more than people thought she did. His propensity to flatter her, but only as much as it would take to get what he wanted. She'd never outright asked for him to stop, but she was always aware of it. His manipulation was rather obvious after all. She was, contrary to popular belief, quite adept at distinguishing genuine compliments from fake ones.

Jim from IT had been a mistake, a blinding rush of emotion that had smothered her doubts and laughed off her suspicions. But in the end, she'd known. His words, while flattering, didn't have the same kind of ring to them.

Sherlock's compliments were better, but not perfect. Awkward and stilted, but he thought they were perfectly crafted. Surprisingly the fact he was only saying nice things to get what he wanted from her didn't bother her as much as it should have. It was just a way for him to communicate, a way to let him believe that he had the upper hand. A necessity in all of his relationships if he wanted to be comfortable in them.

It didn't make her happy.

No, she wasn't a masochist and his sometimes casual comments could be sharper than any blade. But there were moments that redeemed him, moments that made her smile even though she was on the outside looking in. Brilliance unfolding before her in a grand display of intelligence. He was amazing. Facts that escaped everyone else, meaningless chatter to all except him, suddenly lined up in his mind.

Though he wounded her deeply on occasion, she still found herself fond of him. Not excusing away his behaviour, she'd grown past that. But rather accepting him despite it. She noticed things about him, silly tiny things that imprinted themselves on her memory without her trying to.

Such as the way his upper lip would curl ever so slightly when he stared into the microscope and found mundane boring data staring back. The faint flicker of his tongue as it darted across his pale pink lips, which only ever happened when he was hungry.

Such things shouldn't have been so damn adorable. But they were.

But the thing that called to her most? The thing that damn near broke her heart?

Was how lonely he was.

He was brilliant, like a blazing bonfire on a dark night. Unfortunately, like fire, he kept away everyone and anyone who wanted to get close. He hurt them, struck out at them, because deep down he believed that no one could ever truly like him. That no one could love such a man.

As he was so very fond of saying, he didn't have friends.

And that broke her heart. Because of all the people in all the world, he deserved to be loved.

Molly Hooper loved Sherlock Holmes.

That was a fact. It was a part of her, as vital as her lungs. As much as she would like it if he were to ever reciprocate those feelings, she was okay that he didn't.

Because falling in love with Sherlock Holmes hadn't been a choice. Perhaps if it had been, she might have chosen friendship instead of love that she'd fallen into. He saw her, but didn't see her in the same instant. She was a puzzle solved and tucked away on the top shelf, gathering dust and watching on as he continued his daily life.

Now that she stands there though, stands in the dim shadows of the morgue, watching him hover over a cadaver with a focus that was slightly creepy, she's almost glad she did.

Because he needs her.

Not in the way that he'd ever say. Never outright, never in shining shimmering words between them. But she's noticed he only comes to the morgue when she's on. None of her colleagues have mentioned dealing with the sometimes irate detective.

He tolerates her to be in the same room when he's working.

He trusts her to be accurate in her results, to correctly report what she sees.

And when the boredom clutches at him. When that beautiful brilliant mind turns against him. Between cases when he has no focus, no filter through which to observe the world, when he has no choice but to see everything. When his mind is tearing itself apart, he'll turn to her.

He'll look at her, sometimes bringing her to a stop with a somewhat painful grip on her arm. He'll disassemble her down to fragments. Everything about her, every wrinkle in her clothes, every slight smudge from the faint makeup she applied with a semi experienced hand, the slightest fading in her casual business slacks. He sees everything, except what matters, and he pulls those facts apart. Reassembling them to tell a story about her day.

She knows, by now, to wait patiently until he finishes. Not that it bothers her to wait. But as soon as he's finished he turns back to whatever he was doing, focus restored at least for the moment.

He never says thank you. But by this point she never expects it.

That isn't who he is.

It's not the happiness she expected to find in her life. But this…this matters. He matters.

Because Molly Hooper loves Sherlock Holmes.

Authors Notes: Hello out there :D

I hope you enjoy my newest story, and if you do, please feel free to leave me a review (in fact i would absolutely adore it if you did).

I'm starting my Masters this week, (and i've already got homework, which is kind of funny considering it's just orientation week, not that i'm complaining too much) so i really should be studying, but this damn plot bunny wont leave me alone and i am a hopeless procrastinator :D

Anyway, i hope you all have an absolutely fantastic day,

Ta Ta for now,

MadamRed