My Head Canon for Sherlock and Molly is a mixture of what Sir Doyleâs stories tell us and the Moftiss version :
After Sherrinford, Sherlock returns to crime solving in 221B as a more mature, humbled man, better attuned to his and others emotions. He now understands and acknowledges the power of emotions and does not actively discount them as he used to before, but accepts them and most importantly respects them.
John and Rosie remain a huge presence in Sherlockâs life. John retains his position as Sherlockâs best friend and partner in crime solving. John continues to live in 221B for some time but as Rosie grows up and her safety becomes an issue, he shifts to another more homely location, and balances time between Rosie, his clinic and case solving.
The situation is now brought to the one that was canonically established in the Sherlock Holmes books, where in the later stories Dr. Watson would generally come to visit Baker Street and find Sherlock amidst an interesting case or would get a call from Sherlock for help in a certain case. The original stories mostly start off from this point. However since we have Rosie to consider as well I am guessing Johnâs involvement is lesser. In the original books too there were times when Holmes solved entire cases and only then told Watson how they happened or would mostly do the legwork himself. Adhering to that in this version Rosie and the clinic are the factors for Johnâs lesser involvement, though it is only relatively lesser as John really canât stay away that much.
Sherlockâs relationship with Molly is however not this simple. It is complex on various levels. After Sherrinford, Sherlock does explain everything to Molly, and it is a moment between them that neither can I describe nor can they both themselves as to give complete justification. What words are exchanged, what is said is between them is not known, but there is an assurance that Molly being Molly does forgive him. She has always seen right through him and even now can see his pain, his remorse, his vulnerability which shines through stating the deep emotional trauma that he has suffered. He doesnât tell her whether he meant that I love you or not. Neither does she mention it again. But John, Mrs Hudson and even Lestrade if ever asked about it will certainly tell you that something had started to change around that point of time. No Sherlock and Molly are however not in a relationship. But when Mollyâs other friends and colleagues try to set her up with dates, Mollyâs doesnât really seem interested. They chastise her for not trying and soon give up one by one, though there are some close friends who know the actual reason and donât say anything, merely shake their heads and go away. Once a relative of Mollyâs asks her that doesnât she want to have children of her own? To which she replies that she already does have a child.
Mollyâs description of that relativeâs face on her answer keeps John and Sherlock laughing all night when she tells them. She has come at that time for dinner as she sometimes does with them. Both John and Sherlock look at her fondly as she makes some more bad jokes and plays with Rosie. Eventually though John goes home as its Rosieâs bedtime and Sherlock and Molly are left alone. He suggests a walk and she agrees. They walk around in the quiet of the London night, not saying much, but as hands brush and soft smiles are exchanged a lot more is said then words could express.
Life goes on at 221B, John eventually finds another woman, and proceeds to settle down again. His involvement becomes lesser now though and updates from 221B arenât that regular. However one day he gets a shocking message that Mrs. Hudson is very ill. He rushes to Baker Street along with Rosie and his wife. Sherlock looks a bit haggard, and for the first time Johnâs new wife sees some emotion on Sherlockâs face. Johnâs always told her that he is a deeply emotional man and while she has not doubted his affection for Rosie, she hasnât seen him anything other than stoic and practical in the time she has known him.
Molly comes in moments later, hand in hand with another man, and Mrs. Watson can swear that this time she can feel a palpable change in the air. A tension that was not there before even with the sadness about Mrs. Hudsonâs situation has suddenly seeped in.
She may not be perceptive like Sherlock but she knows in the way that Molly and Sherlock avoid looking at each other and how Molly has not paid much attention to her boyfriend while she has been in the house that there is something here.
Later she asks about this to John who says that he himself doesnât understand it much and that they are not what you could call a couple, nor are they exes and he also doesnât know what exactly does Sherlock feel for her.
âHe doesnât love like us and I canât always understand him or what he is exactly feeling. But know this, that Molly can, she is vital to him and while Sherlock can deduce the whole world to the T, the only person who can deduce him back is Molly. However Sherlock and Molly are an unsolvable case which I gave up ages agoâ. The topic is halted as the Watsons go to sleep too tired and drained to try to make sense of what they saw today.
Mrs. Hudsonâs death follows a few days later from this event and after the funeral the new Mrs. Watson again observes Sherlock and Molly. Again she sees the rare occasion of Sherlock showing emotion and as her heart wrenches a bit for the man who looks like he has lost a long battle, her gaze shifts to Molly who has incidentally come alone and not left Sherlockâs side. Her hand on his arm the whole time, him slightly leaning into her as he addresses the guests that have come.
Mrs. Watson files that image away for later analysis. But the evidence and sources for these two people to clearly define whatever is going on between them is so confusing and so rare that soon, she like her husband comes to discover as to why its an âunsolvable caseâ and gives up as well, eventually just accepting Sherlock and Molly as they are.
Rosie on the other hand suffers no such problem as her parents and when asked quite happily tells them about her Godfather and Godmother and how they are in fact a couple. She is the Watson who sees and observes; perceptive like her Mother she sees what others miss and hence is the only one not surprised when, a few years later as she is going off to college she hears that Uncle Sherlock who had shifted just last year to Sussex Downs, to pursue his passion for beekeeping has now been joined by Aunt Molly, who has given her resignation from Bartâs and sold her flat.
Sherlock and Molly never married. They did not appear to be a couple to anyone and no one apart from Sherlockâs closest and nearest circle of people knew about the relationship that they shared.
As Sherlock Holmes became a legend immortalized through Dr. Watsonâs blogs, now talked about in past tense, no one ever associated the name of Molly Hooper with him. She wasnât ever mentioned in the blogs and not seen with him often enough by the press who came to the conclusion that she was just a colleague. Hence the stories, movies and series that were inspired from it later never acknowledged her.
It only had once come to the attention of Molly, Rosieâs grandchild who had scoffed while watching a movie about the great Holmes and his supposed private life thinking that if only they had observed the subtle hints in her great grandfatherâs old blog and not merely skimmed through, they could have known better about the actual private life of Sherlock Holmes. For though she hadnât ever met Sherlock Holmes, she knew his stories well. Her grandmother had read the blogs to her in her childhood and had filled in a lot of blanks about Holmes life that Dr.John Watson had deliberately left in his writing as a tribute to a certain pathologist. However she had most of all remembered a photo of him which had been in her grandmotherâs old touchscreen cell phone. Seriously who even used touchscreen anymore?! The photo had been of the said detective smiling down with all the love in his eyes at a woman with brown hair tied in a ponytail, flecks of grey here and there, a wrinkled face but sparkly brown eyes that crinkled as she smiled back at him with her arms around him. Molly had wished that someone looked at her as Sherlock Holmes had once looked at her namesake.
Sherlock and Mollyâs tale was one which was forgotten through time, kept away from the world; in the beginning by Mycroft Holmesâ zealous efforts to keep that part of Sherlockâs life well hidden and then eventually through the natural course of fading memory. For Mycroft, the fear of old enemies discovering about Molly and using her in some unscrupulous manner was unacceptable. He had seen how vulnerable a pressure point Molly was to Sherlock and he never wanted to see his brother go through the anguish and pain he had witnessed in the room with the coffin again.
Hence while throughout history Sherlock Holmesâ name was taken with a lot of people, primarily with Doctor Watson, his best friend, confidante and blogger; Irene Adler and James Moriarty his rivals and enemies, both great in their own regard; Mrs. Hudson his landlady and not his housekeeper; Lestrade his first colleague and friend and even with Rosie who never stopped boasting about the fact that he was her Godfather, his name was never ever taken with the one person that mattered the most.
blakekathryn
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