And here we are, the end of an era...

Thanks to lilyofthevalley2, Henr233e, AdamPascalRocks12, eccentricpetal, Meg-the-cat, Clockwork Mockingbird, coloradoandcolorado1, MuteBanana, Mrs Dizzy, ProwlingLeo, casper22, ariadnekb, Amelia, magicstrikes, spinner12, Cinnamon Pink, Mione W.G, SecretAgent99, aye2skeye, Way Worse Than Scottish, Morceau de Lune, Calicar, PrettyLittleScars, musicchica10, Maddi, Adi Who is Also Mou, ObviouslyMadonna, GeeGeeGiGiGrace, Sharpietattoo, kitkat, franythesupernov, Consulting Nargles, elfigreen14, celeryy, Sydney, The Prettiest Banana and Tinfoil2010 for their reviews of the last chapter.

And thank you to Lexie and Pablo for the betawork. I would also like to thank my dear friends Nocturnias and PetraTodd for their support throughout the writing of this story.

PART FIFTY

Molly sighed as she walked through the silent flat. She was still getting used to 221B being so quiet. She had just gotten in from work and only she and Toby were in. Sherlock had not returned yet from his case. Molly had gotten home from Barts so late that Mrs Hudson had already gone to bed.

It had only been a week since John and Mary had moved out. The pair had been very happy with the place Sherlock had found for them and within two days they had moved from 221B.

It was odd to suddenly not have any flatmates. The house, which had once been so lively with activity, was now quiet. Well, it was never truly quiet, not with Sherlock Holmes as a resident. But everything had changed now. It was the first time Sherlock and Molly had lived together alone without some huge case hanging over their heads or some psychopath trying to kill them both.

It was... Fun. With the newly acquired privacy, Sherlock had made it his mission to shag Molly in every room of the flat, starting with John's former bedroom. At Molly's insistence, the bedroom was being converted into a laboratory. Sherlock had been reluctant about the idea at first. He liked being able to work in the kitchen. However, Molly also liked to be able to cook once and a while.

Sherlock's things had been shunted up to the bedroom and Molly insisted Sherlock buy Mrs Hudson a new kitchen table that was not covered in stains from various chemicals and marks Molly was nearly certain had come from some sort of sword. A refrigerator was on order and expected to arrive any day now. Molly took full responsibility for providing Sherlock with body parts. She was not going to hypocritically cease the practice just because she was living with him. But now that they had the extra space, she wanted to make certain she didn't accidentally grab a bag of toes instead of the bangers.

Molly went into the newly cleaned kitchen and retrieved a wine glass and a half-empty bottle of wine. She recalled Sherlock pointing out her habit of having a glass of wine after a long day at work. It seemed like a lifetime ago that Sherlock had invaded her flat and announced he was moving in. It was amazing how much could change in a year.

Molly poured herself a glass and walked into the living room, curling up on the sofa with the television remote. Toby mewed and jumped up next to her, kneading at her thigh before settling down with his head against her leg.v Alan Carr was about to introduce his next guest when the door opened and Sherlock strode in. He shucked his coat and scarf, throwing them down onto the back of his easy chair.

Molly turned off the television and beamed up at him. "How did it go?"

"I suspect John will have a blog entry up about it by tomorrow morning," Sherlock replied.

"What if I want to hear it from you?" Molly countered, shooing Toby off the sofa and patting the now vacant spot beside her.

Sherlock slipped onto the sofa and leaned in, kissing Molly gently. "Honestly, it wasn't all that interesting. Lestrade seemed very happy to have him in custody." He gave Molly a light nip on the ear. "Burglaries are quite boring compared to murder."

Molly frowned down at Sherlock as he repositioned himself so his head was in Molly's lap. She reached down and began to stroke his hair obligingly. "It sounds to me like you are encouraging people to murder."

"I am not!" Sherlock protested. "But given that the human race is predisposed to committing violent acts, I would like to benefit from a good mystery involving the demise of a person. I would think you would support me on this. Having a case involving an autopsy invariably means you will be involved, as your colleagues leave murder cases in your very capable hands due to their unwillingness to work with me. That is beneficial to both of us, as I know you get a thrill from being exposed to my work and I am sexually aroused when you display your extensive knowledge on pathology. Well, I suppose that final point really is not an advantage when it comes to working on a case. I do need to keep myself focused. But it does make my homecomings all the better. What is it that John said when we were investigating Rucastle? 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'? Even if it is just a matter of a couple of hours, the pent up desire I feel for you paired with the adrenaline of a good case..."

"Marry me," Molly blurted out, interrupting Sherlock. Her eyes went wide even as the words left her mouth. She hadn't meant to say it. She'd only meant to think it. She took her hands out of Sherlock's hair and clapped them over her mouth. She couldn't believe she had said it out loud.

Sherlock's brow furrowed and he sat up. He turned slowly to face Molly. "You just asked me to marry you." He pursed his lips. "Well, actually you rather demanded I marry you. There was not much of a question to it."

Molly remained perfectly still, her hands still clasped over her mouth.

Sherlock tilted his head in question. "Molly Hooper, did you mean to say that?"

Molly shook her head slowly.

Sherlock's narrowed his gaze, clearly trying to read her mood. "Do you wish to take back what you said?"

Molly neither nodded nor shook her head. She just remained staring at Sherlock in abject horror.

Sherlock took a hold of her wrists and pulled her hands away from her mouth. "How about you use your words, Molly. Do you want to take it back?"

Molly bit her lower lip as she continued to stare at Sherlock. "Yes. No. I don't know." She grimaced. "It depends. What do you say?"

Sherlock leaned in, his lips moulding to Molly's smoothly. He then nuzzled his nose against hers. "I say you rather ruined my plans, Molly Hooper."

Molly withdrew from Sherlock and eyed him curiously. "Your plans?"

"I have been concocting a proposal for you for a while now. I wanted to wait until I was sure you were over the shock of what happened with Moran. John has also been offering quite a bit of unsolicited advice on the matter. He believed you would appreciate some sort of romantic spectacle. I'm not sure I agree with him entirely, but I was at least going to take you out to dinner. I also had not decided whether or not to buy you an engagement ring and if so, what kind you would like."

Molly clapped her hands over her mouth once again, this time to try and hide her smile. She could not believe what she was hearing, her stomach filled with butterflies at the notion. "I don't want a ring. I just want you," she murmured behind her hands. She could feel the tears stinging her eyes. "Ask me now."

Sherlock took a hold of her wrists once again, moving them away from her mouth. He smoothed his hands down to take a hold of hers. "Molly Hooper, will you be my wife?"

The tears began to fall freely as Molly nodded. "Yes, Sherlock."

Sherlock broke into a boyish grin. He pulled Molly to him, kissing her fiercely before enfolding her in his arms. As she clutched to him- her fiancé- she realized that of all of the things she had never expected to happen, this one was the best.

THE END

Post-Notes: And thus comes to an end the longest fanfic I've even written. I just want to thank every single person who has commented on the story. I wish I could list you all, but there are so many of you. You are all lovely! You have kept me on-point and never let me give up on this story.

For those of you who are sad to see the end of "The Full House", there is a sequel. Please check out "The Party of Four" to see the continuing adventures of Sherlock, Molly, John and Mary!