*Sherlock* Checking In.

[Molly Hooper]

Molly knew that sitting in her apartment, biting her lip and staring at the ground was not the best idea. In fact, it made her feel nervous and bored for no reason. She'd already watched eight films and had read three books in a row afterwards. She didn't have work at the hospital, so there was no reason to go there. Molly smiled as Toby leaped up onto the sofa and curled up on her lap, purring. She ran her hand over her cat gently, making him purr even more. She stroked him and scratched behind his ears, and it made her feel a little less lonely. Gosh, she was pathetic. A lonely woman with only a cat to keep her company. But in her own defense, she didn't have any friends except for Toby. Well, that wasn't strictly true. She had Sherlock, she supposed, but she didn't think they were good enough friends so that they would spend a lot of time together. The only time they ever really saw each other was at the morgue.

Toby gave an indignant meow and Molly stroked him some more, smiling in a somewhat apologetic way. "Sorry, Toby. Just thinking about...well, I'm sure you can figure it out." she said.

Molly suddenly remembered that John was out of town. She wasn't sure about how long for, but he'd asked her to make sure Sherlock wasn't too distracted to eat, or something like that. Molly hadn't checked up on the detective yet, so she gently moved Toby aside, got up, grabbed her keys, jacket and phone, and headed for the door. She put the jacket on and slipped the phone and keys into her pocket. She left the apartment and headed off towards Baker Street. She didn't mind the walk; it wasn't that far and she liked the atmosphere.

When Molly got up to the apartment, she knocked on the door. She wondered about calling out but she decided not to. She didn't want to seem desperate. She wasn't. Molly's mind changed the subject. It wandered to the events that unfolded a year ago. Sherlock's death that he faked, mainly. All that stuff was still rather...well, Molly didn't like to think about it. John had been so sad, along with everyone else. Molly shook the thoughts away from her. She didn't want to think about this now.

OUTFIT

[Sherlock Holmes]

Finally a case had arrived and it just had to be while John was gone. At least it kept the detective occupied, though. Even if he didn't have his roommate to drag along with him. It seemed that someone had stolen a man's prized homing pigeon which wasn't very interesting. But then there was another case where a prized racing horse had disappeared from its stable. Next a champion grey hound. It was all adding up and there were similarities with the crimes and so Sherlock had decided that he would take up the case (although it the outsider it looked like cases).

So far he had been working on the case for a total of five days, talking to the various owners, finding things out about the competition and following the trails that he had found. So far very little had turned up and this delighted Sherlock. After so long, he had a case on which to focus on. Something to keep his fantastic mind occupied on. At that moment he was doing experiments on the mud from several foot prints that had been found at the scene of the crime. Often Sherlock analysed foot prints and at this moment he was looking to see if it was the same person with each print. If so then as suspected, the crimes were linked. And he could get to the source.

The sound of someone knocking on the door caught Sherlock's attention and he looked up from his experiment. He wasn't expecting anyone. Maybe it was Lestrade with a case for him?
"The door's open."

[/b] Sherlock said, raising his voice. During that time his eyes had not left the experiment and he jotted down a few observations from the reaction that was currently taking place. First of all he was reacting them all to check the acidity of the soil on the foot prints.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Molly Hooper]

When Molly heard Sherlock's voice calling out, she smiled lightly and opened the door. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She walked in the direction Sherlock's voice had come from and she found him; another experiment, Molly noticed. She watched him work for a bit. His concentration never ceased to surprise her; he was probably working on one of the more interesting cases. She knew full well that he could get bored rather easily. At the moment, he seemed to be experimenting on mud. "Hi."

[/color] Molly began, finally, after watching him for a few minutes. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were working on a case. I can leave if you want."[/color]

Molly then remembered the actual reason she was here. After a pause she spoke again. "But, uh, since John's out of town, he asked me to check up on you, to make sure you're eating. We all know that you can get far too distracted."[/color] she explained. You are officially the most awkward girl in history, Molly Hooper! she scolded herself. Why can't you just act naturally around him?

Molly did, of course, know the answer to that, but she wasn't going to bring it up in her mind. She hadn't been thinking about it at all recently and she wanted it to stay that way. "Sorry for disturbing you. What's the case this time?"[/color] Molly asked curiously, leaning back against the doorframe and watching him as he worked again. It would probably come across as a little creepy, but the actual reason was that he fascinated her. Call her silly or strange, but that was just the fact of the matter.

Molly began wondering to herself, as she awaited Sherlock's answer, what the case was about. Since he was experimenting on mud, of all things, it was probably because there were footprints. So that would mean that he was probably checking if a certain set of footprints matched another set. But for what? That Molly couldn't guess. She didn't try much, though. She wasn't as smart as he was at...what was the word he used? Well, whatever. She wasn't as good at guessing things as he was. Sherlock was unique. Very unique.[/blockquote]

[Sherlock Holmes]

Fixated only on his work, Sherlock's gaze only briefly left the experiment to look at the person who entered. Much to his disappointment it was not Lestrade but instead Molly. While she was useful to have around, he was not too keen on her company and it didn't mean extra information to use to solve for this crime. Or even an extra crime for him to work on. So instead he continued to work on the case he currently had at hand, blue eyes looking over the experiment with expert precision.
"Hi." Until that moment, Molly had been blissfully quiet but it seemed that she had to break that.
"Evening."

[/b] Sherlock said, not aware that he had spent the entire evening and night working on the case.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were working on a case. I can leave if you want."
"That would be a good idea."[/b] He said, his voice almost a whisper and very slow as he looked through the microscope and at a soil sample.
"But, uh, since John's out of town, he asked me to check up on you, to make sure you're eating. We all know that you can get far too distracted." Sherlock frowned, looking up from his work finally to take in Molly.
"I don't need to eat. I should be good for another few days. John worries too much."[/b] Sherlock said, turning back to start another experiment.

Sorry for disturbing you. What's the case this time?" Looking once more back up at Molly, Sherlock placed the beaker down. Thankfully it wasn't reacting with anything at that moment.
"A range of prize animals have gone missing in the past few days. The total is three and I do bot believe it to be a coincidence."[/b] He replied, shortly, before once more returning to his work. He loved the chance to show off but he needed the data.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Molly Hooper]

Molly realized that, since Sherlock was working on a case, he probably wasn't happy to see her at all. But then, when was he? Sherlock wasn't too fond of Molly unless he wanted her help. It was unfair that she let him walk all over her but really she didn't want it to stop. Well, she did, but she didn't want to risk what little friendship they had by standing up for herself. Often the words rose inside her but she never dared say them, despite how much she wanted to. She got the feeling he knew how much it hurt her but it either amused him or he didn't care. At least that was Molly's theory.
"Evening."

It wasn't exactly evening...but Molly didn't point this out. He'd figure it out for himself when he wasn't more distracted by that project of his. Case, project, experiment...whatever he wanted to call it. She gave him a small smile. Yep, she was still nervous around him. There was no point in trying to be otherwise. It was Molly's nature, after all. Socially awkward and falling harder and harder for the best detective in the world. She knew by now that these feelings weren't going to be reciprocated. But moving on was far more difficult than Molly had originally thought.
"That would be a good idea."

Hurt crossed Molly's features and feelings at that, but she quickly hid it. Why was he so dismissive of her? She wasn't trying to be a nuisance. It was at times like this that Molly doubted that she and Sherlock were even friends. But she still clung to the friendship, foolishly, because truthfully Molly didn't want to end up being alone again. So she just smiled her usual smile, a very sad smile considering, and said nothing, although an anger that Kaz had inspired and words that Molly would probably never use rose up inside her like fire. she desperately tried to ignore them.

"I don't need to eat. I should be good for another few days. John worries too much."

"Sherlock, you have to eat. It's a normal thing that humans do. And despite the fact that you think you're far more special than anybody else, you have to eat too. I'm not going to beg, but if you end up dying of starvation one day it's nobody's fault but yours. John was sad enough the first time you 'died', let's not do a repeat of last year, okay?"

[/color] the words and tone shocked Molly as they poured smoothly out of her mouth. She looked up at him and then down at her hands. She hadn't intended to say that.

"A range of prize animals have gone missing in the past few days. The total is three and I do not believe it to be a coincidence."


"Oh, right. So you think it's the same person...even if it is, though, why would he or she be stealing animals, of all the things? It seems a bit...weird."[/color] Molly's words were even and calmer, to try and act like the words she had said before hadn't been there at all. The fire inside her hadn't gone away and Molly prayed that he didn't insult her again. If he did, she'd be mean right back to him.[/blockquote]

[Sherlock Holmes]

When Sherlock had a case, it was easy to become absorbed in it. So little of the rest of the world appealed to him. Nothing else could capture his attention and the detective felt like nothing else was worth his patience. That extended to other people as well. Getting a new sample, Sherlock began to look at the vegetation, making notes as he worked on the samples. His notes were clear and precise, detailing every piece of information that he could glean from the samples. Unlocking the passport took time but the detective was a master at it and so he moved with surprising efficiency.

As Molly brought up the subject of food, Sherlock sighed, turning around too look at her. His eyes scanned over Molly very briefly. She was calm although Sherlock suspected that was just an exterior.
"I've gone for longer without food. It slows my brain down and that I do not need when I am on a case. I know my limits and I have never gone passed them. The case will be solved before I need to eat and then I will consider it."

[/b] Sherlock said, his tone matter of fact.

Turning back to his work, Molly once more interrupted him and Sherlock with a sigh turned back to look at her.
"The animals can be used for money. Prized homing pigeon, champion greyhound, winning race horse. Either in betting or selling, there will be a monetary gain."[/b] Sherlock explained, turning back and reacting the sample with dilute sulfuric acid to test for halide. Jotting down his findings once again, the great man turned to get another beaker to continue to experiments so as to solve the crime.

Then something occurred to him. While Molly was not as praise showering as John, she did appreciate his work and having someone to drag around London did come in useful. Or someone to investigate something while he went off to look at the more important parts of the case.
"If you must stay or keep an eye on me because your concerned then you can try and be of some help in the case. If these samples suggest one location then I'll be going out soon to investigate."[/b] The detective offered, putting a sample under the microscope.[/blockquote]

[Molly Hooper]

Molly watched him again, quiet as usual. He was extraordinary, he really was. She hadn't ever told him this, not that she could remember at least, but he really was. He got absorbed in things easily, and that could be good or bad (it varied) but he was just...brilliant. Molly was far too shy to tell him, though. If she ever did she'd probably blush. Why? Well, because she was the most awkward girl ever.
"I've gone for longer without food. It slows my brain down and that I do not need when I am on a case. I know my limits and I have never gone passed them. The case will be solved before I need to eat and then I will consider it."

"Yeah, well, you better. It'd be a lot easier on everyone if you weren't found starved to death in this apartment because of a st---a distracting case."

[/color] Molly had been quick to not say 'stupid' or 'silly' because she'd lose what respect/tolerance she had from him. She really didn't want that, despite her tone saying otherwise. But hey, it was only because she'd been bottling up all her words and feelings for so long. Everyone had their limits...in everything. Even Molly Hooper, which would probably come as a surprise to some people, because she seemed so calm and shy and...well, innocent. She was, quite a bit, but not always. Just mostly.

"The animals can be used for money. Prized homing pigeon, champion greyhound, winning race horse. Either in betting or selling, there will be a monetary gain."
"Yeah...that's a good point."[/color] she replied, but she said nothing else after that, letting him work. Because, well, Molly could tell he was getting tired of her. It was given away from the sighs that kept leaving his lips when he turned to answer her questions/statements. This hurt her, but she covered it up. She had become good at that recently. It was a skill that Molly had to have for situations like these, along with many other ones. Sherlock wasn't the only person she tried to hide her feelings from, despite the fact he was probably the first person she had to hide them from.

"If you must stay or keep an eye on me because your concerned then you can try and be of some help in the case. If these samples suggest one location then I'll be going out soon to investigate."
He was definitely offering. Molly thought about it, actually thought about it. Usually she wouldn't think twice, but still. She didn't have anything else to do today...and she was very concerned...sure, it was kind of clear that he got bored of her company easily, but he had just offered...so, Molly nodded.

"Okay. I'll come with you."[/color] she agreed, a little smile appearing on her features as she spoke.[/blockquote]

[Sherlock Holmes]

Nimble fingers moved through the process of the experiment, old routines that the detective was well used to although his attention barely wavered from his work only flickering to Molly every now and again. The chemical experiments were coming to an end and they were providing results that he had expected. His predictions had been that out of the various footprints collected at the different scenes, there would be one set that held many similarities. Both in size and the chemicals found on the footprints. The pattern had appeared and now he just needed to find the location.

As Molly spoke, Sherlock simply 'mhm'ed in response, blue eyes focused on the chemicals as they reacted in the test tube before once more putting down a few notes.
"Be quiet, I need to think." The detective instructed, hands raising as he entered his mind palace, sorting through the various bits of data that he had gathered. Many locations in London popped up in his mind. There were many places to consider but thankfully he also had a wide range of data as well and this allowed him to pin point three possible locations, which he could narrow down based on the predictions of what the cause was.

Withdrawing from his mind palace, Sherlock looked at Molly as she agreed, before he nodded and stood up, leaving the finished experiment safely on the table and grabbing his coat. Pulling it on, he checked his phone.
"Then its time to go."

[/b] He said, simply, heading down the stairs with no more words. It was not easy to get on with Sherlock and although John managed it, Sherlock doubted that many people would have the skill of his blogger. Besides most other people were boring.[/blockquote]