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The day after they moved back into their flat Molly started to feel sick. She hadn't wanted to ruin the plans that she and her friends had made for Christmas, so she stayed quiet about it. But Sherlock noticed and brought it up the next day when they were sitting next to each other on the sofa. She was not close to him like she usually was; in fact, the night before she'd not slept in bed with him just because she didn't want to run the risk of passing on her illness to him. “Are you all right?” he asked, looking at her.
She was quiet, and then she sighed. “I think I'm coming down with the flu,” she said. “I feel achy and sweaty and then cold and clammy, and I don't have any energy.”
“Then you should rest,” he said.
“But there's all sorts of stuff we need to do. And I don't want to be sick on Christmas.”
“I can take care of all of that,” he said. “And if you rest you'll get better. There is medication to take within the first few days of getting sick, correct?” She nodded. “Then let's take you to the doctor and get some.”
“I'm going to get you sick,” she said, giving him a sad smile.
“I had a flu shot already,” he said with a shrug. “I'm not worried.”
“I guess mine didn't work.” He stood up and offered her his hand, and she got up as well. She bundled up as much as she could as he put on his coat and then the two of them left. She didn't have an appointment so she wasn't sure how long it would be taken to be seen but Sherlock said something to the nurse and she was seen within a half hour of their arrival. She got confirmation that she did, in fact, have the flu, and she got the prescription to hopefully stop it in its tracks. She went back out to Sherlock. “It's the flu,” she said, clutching her prescription.
He nodded. “Let's get you home and in bed. I can imagine sleeping on the sofa last night wasn't comfortable.”
“No, it wasn't,” she said with a slight smile.
“I'll pick up the prescription and a few other things once you're settled,” he said. He reached over for her free hand and the two of them left the office, going out into the cold afternoon.
“What did you say to the nurse to get her to let me be seen so quickly?” she asked as he hailed them a cab.
“I gave her an autograph,” he said with a grin. “And I promised I would get her one from John. Apparently she's a fan of his blog.”
“I love it when you use that to your advantage,” she said with a slight chuckle as a cab stopped in front of them. They got inside and she leaned against him. “I don't think I would have done well having to wait for hours.”
“I didn't think you would have either,” he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. “I'm glad you were seen so quickly. Now you can go home and rest.”
“I just feel bad that you're going to have to do all the errands we planned on doing today,” she said with a sigh. “Christmas is so close and there's so much to do. I should be helping.”
“No, you should be getting better,” he said. “You'll be even more miserable if you're sick on Christmas Day. John can help me today, if I ask him to. And Mrs. Hudson as well. You concentrate on getting rest and feeling well.”
She shut her eyes, already feeling drowsy. He pressed a kiss in her hair as they headed back home, and once they arrived he helped her out. She didn't even bother to change into her pyjamas when she got home, nor did she pull back the blanket and sheet on the bed. She laid down on top of everything and shut her eyes. She could feel Sherlock pull her quilt over her, but she was nearly asleep when he did that.
She didn't know how long she had been asleep when she felt a weight next to her on the bed. She still wanted to sleep, but she heard something lovely. It took her a moment to realize Sherlock was next to her, stroking her hair back and humming slightly. She relaxed a bit more and listened to him hum. She didn't recognize the song, but as their musical tastes were very different she wasn't surprised. For all she knew it could be an original song rattling around in his head. After a few minutes she felt his hand move away and the weight move away from the bed as the humming stopped. “Wait,” she said quietly, a smile on her face. “That was nice.”
“You're awake,” he said, and after a moment he sat back down on the bed. “I have your prescription filled and a glass of water for you on the nightstand.”
“Thank you,” she said, reaching over slightly to touch his hand that was on the bed. He grasped it firmly. “How long was I asleep?”
“Four hours. I just got home myself,” he said. She sat up more, and he picked up the water and handed it to her. Then he opened the lid of the prescription bottle as she held out her hand. He tapped a pill into her hand and she popped it into her mouth, drinking some of the water right afterward and swallowing the pill. She drank some more of the water because her throat felt incredibly dry. “I can make you some tea if you're going to be up for a while.”
“I'm probably going to go back to sleep soon,” she said. “I still feel so tired.”
“Do you want me to stay here until you fall asleep?” he asked as she lay back down.
“I would like that a lot.” She settled in again. “You always end up taking care of me,” she said quietly.
“I imagine when the time comes when I need to be taken care of you'll do the same for me,” he said with a smile, going back to smoothing her hair back. “I never thought I would be the type of man who acted like this. It's surprising, but nice.”
“You're a good man,” she said with a smile. “You have been for a long time, even before we started dating.”
“I used to not be one,” he said.
“Trust me, I remember,” she said with a slight chuckle before she yawned. “I'm glad you're this way now. I like you a lot more like this.”
“You agreed to marry me. I would assume you like this version of me enough,” he said with a grin.
“After Christmas we should probably start talking about that,” she said as she shut her eyes. “I mean, we can have a long engagement, but there's something to be said for doing it sooner.”
“There is, I suppose.” He continued to stroke her hair gently. “I would be happy either way, as long as you actually do marry me.”
“I'm not going to leave you at the altar or something,” she said sleepily. “Love you too much for that.” She yawned again. “I think I'm going to try and go back to sleep now.”
“All right.” She settled in more and he began to hum again once she said nothing for a few moments, still repeating his gentle movements. She would ask him later what song he was humming, but right now the weight by her side and the stroking of her hair and the humming were all making her content and she found herself drifting back to sleep, happy that he was there to take care of her.