Reconciliation — Chapter 8: How did it end up like this?

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!

There was nothing to be done. She had told Dr. Drew to let no one else other than her, the nurse and himself enter Jim's room. It was at moments like these that she desperately wished she had some means to communicate with either Sherlock or Mycroft. Sebastian Moran.. she had heard of the name before. Jim had mentioned him once or twice when they were still dating, referring to him as his closest friend. The desire to protect Jim from a past that would haunt him forever was overwhelming but her hands were tied. She was as helpless as Jim himself and there really was nothing she could do. The parcel couldn't be tracked sice it had not arrived by post. The surveillance footage showed one of the staaff members carrying a large number of parcels from the box where the patients' relatives were supposed to leave their christmas presents. Someone had delivered it with another parcel, she couldn't make out who. So it was a dead end of sorts. There was nothing to be done but be ready for Moran if he tried to contact Jim. The week flew by real quick and before she knew it, it was the 31st of December. She was sitting in her usual armchair in Jim's room when he called out, 'Ella?' 'Yes?' 'Have a look at this' said he. What she saw made her face light up into a smile. The page he was pointing to ahd a full length photo of her favourite band, Bullet For My Valentine with the words BFMV in concert The Sullivan Hall Vander Street Dublin -04 Tickets available at the venue She all but squealed in delight. Bullet for my Valentine! She loved their music! Her taste in Heavy metal music had been frowned upon by many of her batchmates at the University but she had never cared. She was a hard core fan of metal, and now there was going to be a concert in the very city she was in! Oh this was wonderful! 'Seems like you really want to go' said Jim with a smirk. 'Oh yes, I really do! I adore them, they're the best!' she squealed. 'Well, you should go then! The concert is this evening isn't it?' he said. At his words however, she felt herself deflating. She was on duty till Jim fell asleep and the concert was from 7 pm onwards. There was no way she could attend it unless he fell asleep before 7, which was highly improbable. She sat down on the armchair again, shaking her head slightly. 'I can't go at all, I have to stay with you remember?' she said, disappointed that her plans had dissolved even before they had been formed. She looked at Jim once again, not understanding the reason behind the naughty grin that was adorning his features. 'What d'you say to getting a bit sneaky tonight, Dr. Eleanor Patrick?' he smirked and winked at her and she felt herself grinning in response. She had looked through every nook and crammy of her closet but still couldn't fine them. Where on earth could they be? After another fifteen minutes of futile searching later, she gave up and settled on the sofa, resigning herself to pick out something else from her wardrobe, maybe the dress she had worn for Christmas at 221B which was currently in a box of clothes to be given away for charity... She sat bolt upright. The charity box. She hadn't checked there. Of course! They had to be in there! Sure enough, she found the clothes she was looking for, a pleated leather miniskirt and a black tank top with a fluorescent printed design that glowed in the dark. She hadn't worn them since she that last farewell party before she had graduated. She quickly pulled them on and heaved a sigh of relief when she found that they still fit, though that was more than likely because of the pitiful quantities of food she ate nowadays, just enough to keep her alive. She dug around a little more and found a pair of thick black stockings and her brother's old jacket that she was insanely fond of. A bit of makeup followed and she turned her attention to her eyes, outlining them in black, black and more black. A glance into the full length mirror in her living room made her nod in approval. She smiled at her reflection. She had missed this a lot and her job at the high profile hospital of Bart's had left her with no chance to dress like she wanted. Now, she looked like a true BFMV fan. Finally she put on a pair of ankle length boots and gathered her stuff. She was ready to go and enjoy what would hopefully turn out to be one of the best evenings in a long time. Jim was waiting for her in the alleyway next to the vegetarian restaurant opposite the hospital. It still amazed her how easy it had been to sneak him out, under disguise of course. He now sported a french beard and wore a baseball cap with a pair of thick rimmed glasses. It was hard to recognise him right away. His eyes widened slightly as he took in her appearance. 'Wow Ella, you look... different' he said in amazement. 'Is that a good difference or a bad one?' she asked, winking at him before taking his arm and walking down to the bus stop. It felt so weirdly familiar, walking with him like this and she almost felt like the past year had never happened, she had never broken up with Jim and he had never been a consulting criminal. His fingers intertwined with her own and she looked at him to see him gazing back at her. She grinned at him and soon they got off at Vander street. Fifteen minutes later, they found themselves in a very overcrowded Sullivan Hall. The crowd yelled themselves hoarse when the band finally arrived on stage and she yelled with them, truly excited. The first song they played was Tears don't Fall and she lost herself in the music as she swayed from side to side, joining in the chorus along with the others. The lyrics were pretty much the story of her life and she was glad to let go of it, let go of the twisted situation she was in and just forget about everything if only for a couple of hours. She had looked over at Jim once or twice and he was merely observing the people around him rather than listening to the music. After all, he had stepped out of his room after a really long time and was seeing so many people at once for the first time. Almost all of the staff had taken an early day off and it was easy to smuggle him outside the hospital. She expected she'd get into trouble for it later but at the moment she simply didn't care. The next song was All these things I hate revolve around me , one of her favourites. The crowd cheered madly once again and she joined in... They stumbled into the psychiatry ward at 11:30 pm, the heavy metal music still buzzing in their ears. Molly decided that this had, without a doubt, been one of the best evenings of her life. She sank into her armchair while he settled on his bed and stretched himself with his hands behind his head. She remembered fondly that he used to do that when they used to watch Glee together. Those times now seemed too distant, like moments from someone else's life that she had stolen, a time when everything had seemed perfect... Jim had made it perfect. She had been dangerously close to falling in love with him before Sherlock had intervened and burst her happy bubble. She had sworn not to forgive him but ended up doing it anyway, because everything was forgiven where Sherlock was concerned. The break up with Jim had been one of her worst and it had taken her weeks to get over him. Sometimes she even wondered if she had fallen in love with him back then. Jim was everything she had wanted, everything she had hoped for. It would've been the easiest thing to fall in love with him, except for the fact that he'd turned out to be a consulting criminal and a complete psychopath. But what about now? She didn't have to worry about the consullting criminal bit anymore and Jim was more or less the same as he was when they were dating. Lovable, funny, charming.. Wouldn't it be just as easy to fall for him once again? She knew he adored her and trusted her completely and over the months she had come to care for him just as deeply. Was it possible, then, that she could be falling in love with him all over again? As a child, she'd always dreamt of the perfect guy, having a happy ending and all sorts of such stuff. But was this suppposed to be her happy ending then, as happy as it could get? As twisted and complicated it was, she found that she could live with it. Living in Dublin would be a welcome change after Bart's, being ordered around by a man who would never reciprocate her feelings. She could easily continue her existence here even after Sherlock had wrapped up all of Jim's network. They knew he was still alive, but very soon, all of them would be behind bars. As for Sebastian Moran, she was sure that he would try his best to get to Jim. But she would have to deal with it and be ready for him when he finally arrived on the scene. There was nothing else to be done. If only she could contact Sherlock or Mycroft... 'Penny for your thoughts?' his voice interrupted her train of thoughts and she looked up to see him smiling at her. She smiled back, before noticing the time. 'Oh, it's almost midnight! I really should get going!' she exclaimed. The staff quarters were thankfully in the campus itself so she didn't have to worry about reaching home safely. She grabbed her things, wished him good night and was about to leave when he suddenly grabbed her by the elbow and spun her around so that she was now facing him. He was looking at her, his eyes blazing and she realised what was going at happen just a moment before it did. He leant in and she felt her eyes flutter shut as his lips touched hers lightly before he drew back. 'Happy New Year, Ella' he said, smiling. As for her, she said nothing. Nothing at all. Maybe it was just the shock of what had happened. 'Ella?' he said, raising an eyebrow and shaking her slightly. She snapped back and looked at him. He looked so innocent, so full of life. There was no trace of the anger that had been boiling inside him when she had first seen him. It was as if he was a completely different person now. Without really considering what she was doing, she stood on tiptoes and kissed him. It wasn't light and it was definitely not gentle. Abstaining from human touch for more than five months had done nothing to help her and now she felt herself break free, lose control and get lost in what could only be described as pure bliss, his arms around her waist, hers around his neck, their lips moving in synchrony, breaths mingling and everything that she had thought and yet so much more. She felt herself being pressed against the wall and his body flush against hers. She could tell that he was acting on pure instinct, the way his hands hesitated before moving down her sides and settling at her hips. She didn't even realise when they had moved to the bed. His arms wound around her protectively as he broke the kiss, burying his face in the crook of her neck, his lips caressing her pulse point. Her hands moved to his collar, ripping off the buttons and tracing the planes of his chest. His hand was at her waist, slipping under her tshirt, the feel of his cold hands on her hot skin, ice and fire, she had yearned for this for so long and now it was finally happening, what was supposed to happen ages ago, everything had been perfect but it had all shattered when Sherlock had come barging into their relationship... Sherlock. The one reminder was enogh to bring her back to her senses, to slap her awake. What the hell had she done? One moment of weakness and she had almost slept with Sherlock's arch enemy, the man because of whom she had lost her existence and Sherlock had lost his life, his friends, his everything. She broke free with a gasp and Jim looked at her, confused and almost hurt. Trembling from head to toe, she planted a shaky kiss on his lips, begging him to understand. She smiled when he kissed her back, gently, his hands cradling her face. Despite what she had just thought, in the heart of hearts she knew that this was not the same person. This was not Jim Moriarty. That person had died the day Sherlock had jumped off the roof. This was a different person altogether. A person who deserved to be loved just like everyone else. This was someone who wasn't responsible for what had happened before the Fall. This was Jim, her Jim. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart beating rapidly, in sync with her own. He stroked her hair idly and she wondered what he was thinking. His arms tightened around her and he pulled her closer to himself as if protecting her and she smiled sleepily at the unconscious gesture. He pulled back to look into her eyes once more and she felt like she was being X-rayed, like he could see right through her soul. He said nothing, simply leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forhead and she realised she loved him.

Enable JavaScript for reading preferences, chapter memory and the full reader.

Browse the archive