Chapter 4- Surprises

Disclaimer : I don't own Sherlock or any of its characters. The books belong to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the credit for the wonderful TV series goes to BBC.

Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews and for following/favoriting this story. I am very sorry for the extremely late update but I hope this chapter makes up for it!

Enjoy :)

Molly Hooper was extremely annoyed. She paced around her room restlessly as she replayed the conversation between her and Sherlock over and over in her head. She had fancied Sherlock since she could remember and she hadn't even remotely considered the possibility that Sherlock would get on her nerves and annoy the hell out of her. Since the beginning, she had tried various tactics to impress Sherlock, may it be from her appearance or by letting him access to all sorts of lab information that normally she wouldn't have had it been someone else.

She had tried and tried but each and every time Sherlock had done nothing but hurt her. Humiliate her. Make her feel stupid and worthless. Each and every time except for that one time when he actually needed her. Needed Molly Hooper's-the woman he never glanced at twice despite her best efforts- help. She had helped him commit a fake suicide for god's sake. She had gone through with his insane and highly dangerous plan, probably putting herself in danger as well and she had watched John suffer for two whole years and had been unable to utter a word. She had watched Lestrade mope around without his favorite Consultant Detective and had remained silent and acted as if she was undergoing despair herself. She had lied, acted, and deceived the people she cared about- all for this infuriating man out there who did not give a damn about her feelings.

Now finally, after two years when she had decided to move on and leave Sherlock behind and start a new life with Tom, Sherlock had barged into her life without a prior notice, ordered her around her own house and acted all high and mighty with her like she didn't mean anything. Like she was nothing. To say that Molly Hooper was pissed was an understatement.

As she paced around the room, she slowly came to a decision. Sure, it won't be pleasant but it would save her a whole lot of trouble and honestly, she was tired of being humiliated at every corner. She took a deep breath and readied herself for what surely was going to be an unpleasant conversation and opened the door.

"Sherlock, I don't think this arrangement is working out-" She stopped dead in her tracks. Sherlock was nowhere to be seen. She checked the bedroom where he was staying but he wasn't there. After checking the kitchen and the bathroom, she finally came to the conclusion that Sherlock was not home. He had left.

Despite the fact that she had been about to kick him out herself, it hurt her that he had just upped and left without any sort of warning. It would have been nice to receive some sort of an apology but no, Sherlock always goes for the drastic measures. It must be a normal thing to just vanish for a person who commits fake suicides.

Fine with me. He can do as he pleases. Molly thought as she blinked back unwelcomed tears. Since she had the rest of the day off –thanks to Sherlock- she decided to just stay at home and spend some quality time with her cat. Probably binge watch some telly and pamper herself with lots of desserts.

She made herself a cup of tea and settled down in front of the telly. Her cat Toby purred and nuzzled against her calf before jumping up and settling down beside her on the sofa. She scratched him absently behind the ear as she surfed the telly for something suitable to watch. She finally settled down for a re- run of Doctor Who and tried to concentrate on the show. Forty minutes in and her mind started wandering again. She glanced at her mobile phone as she wondered whether she should text Sherlock or not. Where was he after all? It would be good to know his location at least. And that he was safe and not conducting some dangerous life experiment.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was scrolling through her contacts and instead of Sherlock, she dialed John's number. After three rings he picked up.

"Molly?" his surprised voice came through the other end.

"Oh, John how did you know it was me?" Molly blinked in confusion.

"Erm…Caller id?"

"Oh, right!" She laughed nervously. "Stupid question."

"Yeah. I mean no it's okay…oh god tell me everything is fine. Has Sherlock blown up your apartment or something?" John only half joked.

"Oh, so he is not with you?" Molly let out a disappointed sigh.

"No. Why would he be with me? I want absolutely nothing to do with him." John replied a bit scathingly.

"Oh…um….I just thought…" Molly trailed off. "Well Sherlock and I sort of had an argument and he just left after that so I was a bit worried."

"I wouldn't worry. This is Sherlock we are talking about, if you know what I mean." John voice came in through the static. "Can I ask what the argument was about?"

"Oh no it was something really stupid." Molly replied hastily.

"Right. Okay."

"Well okay then. See you, John."

"Yeah, bye." John hung up, confused. Mary was sitting across him on the sofa with her knees pulled up to her chest and was reading one of the entries of his blog again.

"Huh. Weird."

"Believe me honey; nothing can be weirder than that mustache you just shaved off." Mary replied without looking up as she continued to scroll through his entry.

"Oh shut up." John replied with a roll of eyes. "Molly called me by the way."

Mary's ears almost perked up at Molly's name and she sat up straighter. "Oh?"

"Yeah and she said that she and Sherlock had some sort of an argument and he just left." John shook his head as he thought about Sherlock. It had been two whole days since Sherlock showed up unannounced at that god forsaken restaurant and John was nowhere near in talking terms with him. He still couldn't wrap his head around the idea that he had been alive all along.

"I know." Mary mumbled.

"You know?" John asked her, puzzled.

"I mean-" Mary hasted to explain "From what you have told me about Sherlock, this kind of behavior is normal for him, really."

"Yeah. Poor Molly. I think she still fancies him."

Mary smirked to herself as she took out her phone and texted Sherlock. Things were going to change very soon.

X.X.X.X

Molly's telly binge watching was not going how she had expected it to go. She wasn't able to focus on the show and the house seemed strangely empty without the lean, tall figure with curly black hair and a razor sharp mind sulking around. It also worried her that he was not with John. Where could he have possibly gone? To Lestrade? Mrs. Hudson? Where?

She checked the clock as saw that it was 1 pm. The day was going by abnormally slow.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and Molly hopped up, breaking her china tea cup in her exciement. She rushed to the door and flung it open but was disappointed to see that it wasn't Sherlock. In fact, it was a delivery guy.

"Yes?" She asked him, wondering if he had the wrong address.

"Mr. Hooper?" He asked her.

"That would be me." She said, more confused than ever.

"Delivery for you from Mister Sherlock Holmes."

Molly's heart paced up at the mere mention of Sherlock's name. The delivery guy handed her a long rectangular box and left. She shut the door behind her with her foot as she carried the box to the kitchen table and ripped the wrapping apart in her excitement. As she lifted the cover, her mouth dropped open.

Inside the box was a beautiful black halter dress. She held it up and immediately fell in love with it. Inside was a note bearing Sherlock's immaculate script. It read:

Wear it for our date tonight. 6 pm sharp.

Only one word registered in Molly's mind as she zeroed down to it. Wear it for our date tonight. Our date tonight. Our date. Date.

"What?" She whispered to herself. Sure they had made plans for dinner before their argument but calling it a date? Molly's heart was wildly thudding in her chest and she buried her face into the fine cloth of the black dress. What was she supposed to do? She was engaged to Tom for god's sake!

A small date wouldn't hurt. It's not like Tom has to know. A small, excited voice said in her head.

No! That's just…wrong She tried to reason.

It's Sherlock for god's sake. It's not like anything is going to happen. The voice whispered.

Exactly. It's Sherlock.

After an hour of contemplation and nervous pacing around, she finally made up her mind. She would go.

X.X.X.X

Oh. My. God.

This is the first thing Molly thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. The dress clung to her body and accentuated her curves in such enticing ways that she never thought was possible. The halter neck dipped low and showed a bit of cleavage as well. The dress ended up a few inches above her knees and left half of her back bare. It fit her like it was tailored precisely for her.

She felt nervous about wearing it to their…um…date. She cringed even while thinking about it. The dress was a bit provocative and she felt downright nervous in wearing it in front of Sherlock. But then again, Sherlock was the one who had sent it for her and he was very clear that he wanted her to wear it.

"Okay. Nothing to be afraid of. It's just two people going out to have some dinner." Molly thought as she adjusted her newly curled hair over her shoulder. She had been apprehensive about using too much makeup lest it put Sherlock off…the same man she had been pissed at just a few hours ago. Finally she had gone with a natural look with just a hint of blush and a tint of rose for her lips.

She still remembered his comment from a few years back…

"Ah, Molly, coffee, thank you. What happened to the lipstick?"

"It wasn't working for me." She had replied a bit self consciously.

"Really?" Sherlock drawled. " I thought it was a big improvement. Your mouth's too small now." He had said, making her feel dejected probably without meaning to.

"...Okay." was all she had been able to say as she broke eye contact.

She shook her head as she saw herself in the mirror. Really saw herself. Gone was the meek, hesitant Molly Hooper who acted on Sherlock's whims and cried herself to sleep whenever Sherlock unknowingly humiliated her. Christmas at Sherlock's had been one of the most humiliating experiences of her life and she still cringed when she remembered it. But at the same time, it was the same night when Sherlock had kissed her cheek for the first time as an apology. The memory had been forever engraved in her mind.

She smiled at her own reflection and it smiled back at her. Today she would march with her head held high.

X.X.X.X

Just when Molly was deciding whether or not to let a hint of cleavage show, there was a sharp knock on the door. With flustered hands, she hefted the neckline of her dress up and checked the clock. It was six o' clock sharp. Molly adjusted her dress one last time and made her way over to the door, her high heels clicking against the floor. Anticipation was bubbling in her stomach and was making her feel queasy. With a deep breath, she schooled her features into a smile and flung the door open. Once again, she was disappointed to see that it wasn't Sherlock. It was a scruffy looking guy wearing a lopsided cap.

"Uh…" He read her name off a sheet of paper "Molly Hooper?"

"Yes?"

"Mr. Holmes sent me to escort you, ma'am. I will be your cabbie tonight."

"Oh." Molly replied "Um…okay uh let me just get my purse." She rushed to her room and grabbed her black purse and put on a warm black coat on top of her dress which fell past her knees. After a deep breath, Molly locked the door of her house behind her and stepped into the black cab. Without a word, the cabbie started driving.

Molly fidgeted nervously in the back seat as she peered out into the dark streets which were zooming past her. It was barely 6:15 and it was already pitch dark as days were becoming short due to winter. After a while, the silence in the cab became ominous and she tried to start a conversation with the cabbie.

"So." Her voice sounded extremely high pitched and squeaky so she cleared her throat before continuing. "So, where are we going?"

"I am not allowed to say, ma'am." The driver glanced at her through the rear view mirror and his gaze made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh. Okay." She mumbled. Why was Sherlock being so mysterious?

"You know Sherlock?" Molly asked the cab driver in an attempt to get more information.

"Oh yes." The cabbie smiled slightly "He helped me out of a tight spot once, I owe him."

Molly laughed nervously "One would think he'd be afraid of cabbies by now."

She instantly regretted saying it as she glanced at the driver's confused and slightly offended expression through the front mirror. "And I'll shut up now."

The rest of the car ride took place in complete silence. Molly gave up on finding out where they were going and fidgeted with her slightly out of date flip phone. She glanced down at her hand and her engagement ring immediately caught her eye. It was shining dimly due to the light cast by the streetlights and just thinking about Tom made the ring feel like it weighed 100 pounds on her hand. She sighed in frustration as she debated with herself about calling Tom and leaving him a message because all of a sudden, she was feeling extremely guilty.

I shouldn't feel like this. It's not like I am cheating on Tom or anything…it's just a friendly dinner with a …um…

She didn't know what to call Sherlock. Colleague? Acquaintance? Friend?

Somehow, none of these terms fit Sherlock. He seemed above all these social tags although the term "friend" was as close as it could get.

She steeled herself as she dialed Tom's number from memory and bit her lower lip as the phone started ringing.

Ring Ring Ring

When she was about to give up and disconnect, Tom picked up the phone.

"Hi Honey. Sorry about that day, I was a bit pissed and things got out of hand." His voice came in through the other end. He sounded cheerful enough and Molly let out a sigh of relief.

"It's quite alright, Tom. It was my fault really…"

"Forget all that, what are you doing now?" He sounded a bit distant and the muffled voice of television drowned out the rest of his words. He was probably watching the cricket world cup.

"I am going out for dinner with um…a friend?" It came out sounding more like a question than a statement.

"That's nice honey." Molly wasn't even sure if Tom was listening because from his reply he sounded a bit distracted. "Well, have fun and I'll catch you later yeah?"

"Oh…okay. Bye." Tom hung up even before the last word was out of her mouth. She started at the phone in disbelief as anger bubbled in the pit of her stomach. Her fiancé hadn't even bothered to ask where she was going or with whom she was having dinner. Before she couldn't ponder over it in excess and spoil her mood, the cab stopped.

"There you go, miss." The cabbie said as Molly got out of the cab and looked around. She sucked in a sharp breath and her eyes widened as she appraised the very familiar surroundings.

"How much?" She rustled into the depths of her purse for change.

"No charge. It's all on Mr. Holmes." And with that, the cabbie drove off into the night. Molly felt as if fiery dragons were prancing around in her stomach as she turned around to face her destination. She was standing outside none other than the very familiar 221-B, Baker Street.

Unknown to Molly, someone was watching her through the slightly parted curtains. He smirked slightly as he took in Molly's nervous expression and took out his cell phone to type a quick text.

She's here.-SH

His phone beeped almost immediately and he rolled his eyes.

Show her what you got, Sherl. –Mary

Sherlock narrowed his eyes as he slid the phone back into his pocket. He detested nicknames but he refrained himself from saying anything. He slid down gracefully into his armchair and waited for Molly to come up.

Sooo *nervous laugh* this chapter didn't have much of Sherlock but believe me, the next chapter will more than make up for it ;)

Please review! They make me sooooo happy :D

P.s- Ignore any spelling or grammatical errors. I didn't have time to proof read this one.