Another Fifteen Things

1. She usually does her best to avoid conflict. She doesn't enjoy arguing and really, really hates fighting. But she does on occasion. The most memorable was when she got into a fight when she was fifteen. She was in the hallway getting books from her locker when she heard a couple of rugby jocks hurling gay slurs at a friendly boy who sat behind her in history, Evan. She shouted at them to leave him alone, which they ignored, of course. Then they shoved him against the locker. Furious, she chucked her literature textbook across the hall at them without a thought and hit one of them on the head. It wasn't a well thought out attack and she probably would've gotten the crap beaten out of her if it hadn't been for Al. He was tall for his age and known around the school as being someone you didn't mess with. They tackled her to the ground and landed her a black-eye before Al threw them off. He insisted on taking pictures of her with that black-eye because he was "So damn proud."


2. Her mother is a very meek woman. She's kind, not overly intelligent, and works part-time as a secretary. Same thing she's always done. Her father is a different story. He's a lawyer and ruled the family with an iron fist. He wasn't cruel or overly controlling. He just had very specific ideas and rules and demanded they be followed. He wanted Molly to become a teacher and marry young and for Al to come work for his firm. Neither of them followed his orders and they rarely see their parents because of it. Molly doesn't mind too much though, because whenever they do see them her mother always nags at her about finding a husband.


3. Al has always been a rebel rouser. When they were seventeen he came out as gay. It was a lie actually, meant to rile up her father, but he was very convincing. He even went out with a guy, Rick, a few times to make his story float. Molly knew from the beginning that it was an act and enjoyed every minute. When he brought home a pretty brunette girl a few months later their mom cried she was so relieved. Their father on the other hand thought it meant he was bisexual and refused to speak to him for nearly a year. Al didn't mind much.


4. Dating Jim is one of the best things that ever happened to her. Yes, it turned out he was a psychopath but it gave her a major confidence boost. Because she dated a mad killer. She broke up with a murderous lunatic. And she survived. Not only that, but it turned out that for once she was right and Sherlock was wrong. He wasn't gay. It was just an act. So, ha!


5. She loves coffee. Really, really loves coffee. It's almost an addiction. Seriously there are weeks that she lives off of it. She never thought she would drink it, because up until the time she was in Uni she'd always found it too bitter. But one night she had to pull an all night study session and she decided to give it another shot. She walked to the Starbucks on campus and got herself an espresso. She was hooked from then on. Of course she couldn't afford a Starbucks espresso very often, so she had to settle for the coffee at the cafeteria, but she made do. She takes it with a little cream and absolutely no sugar. Under any circumstances. Coffee isn't meant to be sweet in her mind. You take it as the bitter earthy drink it is or not at all. Though she will never tell Sherlock this.


6. She is first born. Yes, she and Al are twins, but she was born five minutes and twenty seconds before him. Which is kind of bizarre, because Al has always acted like the older sibling. But I guess that's just how things go. Anyway, the year they were set to turn eleven they decided that they were tired of sharing a birthday. They bickered for two days as to who should keep the original birthday and who should have to choose a new one. Finally they took it up with their father. He determined that since Molly is technically older she should get "first dibs" on her birth-date. She chose to keep her actual birthday and Al got stuck with celebrating his the weekend after.


7. When she was younger, like seven, she had a totally irrational fear of mummies. It just started one day. They terrified her and she even had a few nightmares about being chased by them. She couldn't even be in the same room if her parents were watching a documentary on ancient Egypt. It disappeared as suddenly as it arrived and now she spends her days surrounded by dead bodies. Funny how things work.


8. She has a thing for guys who wear glasses. She's not usually the sort who has specific physical criteria and she certainly doesn't have a "type". Daniel had curly blonde hair and hazel eyes. Ryan had short brown hair and green eyes. But she really loves guy in glasses. Especially if he has blue eyes. There is just something about dark glasses and blue eyes that get her. After all brainy is the new sexy.


9. Once she went on a shopping trip with her friend, Linda, and she bought a rose colored miniskirt. It was impulsive and ridiculous because she will probably never wear it. But Linda insisted she try it on and she loved how she looked in it and how she felt. She felt fun, flirty and sexy. That was a foreign feeling for her. Yet she has yet to muster up the courage to actually wear it out and it sits in her closet, still in the bag, collecting dust. Yet she's hesitant to get rid of it, because she thinks maybe one day she'll get up the nerve to wear it. At least, she hopes she will.


10. She likes graveyards. It's completely morbid, I know. But they're interesting to her. She likes to wander and read the tombstones, trying to conjure up stories in her mind about the departed resting beneath them. She sometimes even brings flowers for the graves in the older section of the cemetery, the ones that know one bothers with anymore because the family and friends have passed on as well.


11. The first time she met Sherlock he was high as a kite. His drug-addled judgment determined that it would be a good idea to sneak into the morgue to examine bodies from the latest murder. She found out later that he had been banned from the case because he'd relapsed. She found him mumbling nonsensical rubbish. She's not sure why she didn't call the police. Something just told her not to, and she's always been one to follow her instincts. So instead she managed to get a hold of his phone and checked the speed-dial. Lestrade was number one. She dialed and explained the situation; Lestrade said he'd be there in fifteen minutes. So she sat with him on the floor and listened to his ramblings about the case until Lestrade arrived. He thanked her for watching after him and practically carried Sherlock into his police car. One week later she read in the newspaper that the man Sherlock has been rambling about, Dr. Nelson, was arrested for murder. She wasn't sure what to make of this and put the incident from her mind. She didn't see him for another two months and had nearly forgotten about him, when he showed up one afternoon. He was clean and entirely coherent and had her a stuttering mess within a few moments. She let him in to look at the bodies for an investigation. Two days later he texted her (she still isn't sure how he got her number) and asked if she had a spare body parts that he could use for experimenting. She responded with a fair size list and an odd sort of friendship was formed.


12. The night after Sherlock texted her she was visited by Mycroft's assistant, Melody. At least that's what she said her name was. She was waiting in Molly's flat when she arrived home and took her to an abandoned parking garage. There she met Mycroft, who she realized was his brother after she got back home, hours later. Once she calmed down it became obvious to her, because of his deductive reasoning abilities and his obvious concern for Sherlock. He drilled her, in his own dignified manner, about her connection to him, what sort of relationship she had with him and whether or not she intended to take it to another level. Once he determined she was not a threat he let her go, with a promise to "Keep in touch." Which he does, calling her periodically to check in on Sherlock.


13. She and Mike are buddies. They got out for lunch once a week for lunch and chat. He's friendly and funny and she loves hanging out with him. They swap gossip amongst the departments and share news and complain about co-workers. And Sherlock. They were supposed to go out for Italian the day he brought John in. But she cancelled because Sherlock was there working and she wasn't going to pass up a chance to be around him. She smiles whenever she thinks of it because if she had kept with the plan and gone out with Mike then he never would've run into John and Sherlock would never have met him. And the irony of it all is that she thinks Sherlock and John might be falling for each other and it's because of her.


14. She has always wanted to play the piano. Ever since she was little. But her father thought music lessons were frivolous and refused to let her take them. When she grew up and moved into a flat she considered it, but would be embarrassed to be an adult just starting out, when there are kids who can play complex sonatas. Plus there isn't room in her flat for a piano or keyboard.


15. She loves writing letters. Yes, it is horribly old fashioned and emails are much quicker and more efficient. Even phone calls are preferable. But there is an old-world elegance to letters that she adores. Of course most people complain when the receive letters from her because they're outdated. So she settles for sending out holiday cards with letters every Christmas. Oddly enough, no one complains about that.