Reconciliation — Chapter 19: Room no 24 : The third patient

When Sherlock left London, John and his identity behind, so did Molly. But destiny can be cruel at times, throwing things from your past at you when you'd rather make a fresh start. Eventual Sherlolly, Post Reichenbach. Please read and review!

He watched in horror as she laughed and laughed with no intention of stopping. It wasn't even her usual laugh, instead it was the laugh of a maniac, cold and emotionless. He tried to hug her, hoping it would calm her down but she squirmed violently in his arms, hands flailing with the effort to break free. All the same, her laughter dd diminish in a while, only to be replaced by gut wrenching sobs. It broke him to see her like this, but for once, he was at a loss of what to do. He didn't want to drag her to the department when she was so distressed and it was raining so heavily. So he settled for what he could do best and what she had done for him several times when he suffered from a panic attack. Stroking her hair, he muttered soothing words to her, pulling her close to himself, rocking her slightly. It was as if his efforts had been for nothing, as she continued to sob, her body shaking violently till she pushed him away and sank to the floor, curling up into a ball. The rain continued to pour incessantly and another couple came running to seek shelter under the roof, whom he ignored. Their giggling whispers and happy chuckles meant nothing at the moment, when his attention was focused on the woman in front of him. Her sobs finally died down and her limbs unfurled out. The shaking of her body however, did not stop. He realised what was happening a minute too late. 'Molly!' he yelled, scooping her into his arms, as her body convulsed, eyes rolling to the back of her head. 'Oh my gosh, Ella!' said a high pitched female voice as the woman ran towards him, her hands roaming over Molly's face, checking for the temperature, feeling for the carotid pulse... What happened next was such a blur that he didn't even remember most of it later. He saw a phone being pulled out of the woman's bag, he heard her barking orders on the phone, he saw as a group of paramedics arrived and hurriedly took Molly away, he watched as the woman left with them, trying to hold back tears. He was left alone, still trying to figure out what on earth had happened in the past ten minutes. He buried his face in his hands, not knowing what to make of the whole situation. A loud huff of air told him he was not alone and he turned, only to find himself face to face with a bewildered John Watson. A wave of apprehension swept over him as he saw John's expression go from bewildered to worried to astounded. Bracing himself for the punch that would undoubtedly follow, he closed his eyes. But it never came. Instead came a long stream of swear words, followed by 'Sherlock, what the hell?' Begging him to understand, he silently said 'This isn't the time John, I promise, everything will be explained. Not right now, please' 'I watched you die, I buried you' He closed his eyes in annoyance. John wasn't going to understand. So without wasting any more time, he stormed off into he showers, John running behind him, yelling things that weren't even audible to him because of the rain. It took him only seven minutes to reach the casualty where he found no sign of Molly or the woman who had rushed her to the hospital. Deciding that they must have gone to the psychiatry department, he rushed up the stairs, only to find the woman and an elderly doctor leading an exhausted looking, hospital clothes clad Molly into the very room he had got discharged from that morning. Room no. 24. Realisation stuck him like a slap to the face and he watched flabbergasted as the woman brushed at her cheek wiping away a stray tear. The older man, obviously her father and the head of the department, Dr. Drew looked equally distressed, his hands trembling slightly as he pulled open the door of that wretched room, waiting for his daughter to take his patient inside. 'I asked her to feign it, to merely pretend to care..' he said weakly as Sherlock drew up beside him. 'I never realised the effect it would have on her. It wasn't supposed to be real, she was just supposed to act the part. And she did it so well, just..' At these words, Molly suddenly gasped, wrenched herself away from the woman's arms and ran to the doctor, hugging him tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks, as she choked out the words 'I never acted, Doctor! Never! I couldn't, I just couldn't!' she sobbed as she was taken away to the room. Sherlock followed, running as the door to the room was about to shut, only in time to shout 'I'll wait for you, Molly! No matter what it takes, no matter how long, I'll wait for you!' THE END

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