Molly and John looked, and there it was; a smallish dog, slightly scruffy black and tan fur and floppy ears, standing underneath the café's awning. When Molly walked towards it, it didn't budge. No collar, no leash. She knelt and made kissy noises. "Hey, there. Hey now, hello?"

The dog-a terrier now, she thought-cocked it's head and seemed to examine her thoughtfully before looking up and darting from the awning to Molly, standing where she leaned so the rain didn't hit him. Oh. My. God.

"Is that a border terrier?" John sounded at a loss.

Molly began petting him, he was hardly damp. She got the feeling he'd been darting between awnings and such, knew how to keep dry-wait, should check that-yep, he. "Is that what he'd be called?" She decided to try picking him up, and he didn't protest in the least. His tongue lolled out and he gained a friendly smile and wagged his tail. She carried him inside quickly, Rosie jumping after like a rabbit and John bringing up the rear. When Molly set him down he sniffed excitedly and didn't shake until he stood on the welcome mat in front of Mrs. Hudson's flat.

"Yep, border terrier, least enough to look it." John showed Molly a picture on his phone. "Don't suppose he belongs to someone, do you?"

Molly looked at the little dog, a darling little thing just sitting on the welcome mat. Rosie slipped away from John to pet him before he could stop her, and while he jumped and sniffed her at first, he sat and let her pet and giggle. "No tags or anything. The poor things a bit skinny, isn't too young."

"Or too old." John added, watching Rosie with the dog. They must have stood there a good while because Molly got another text.

? Chips? - SH

She laughed lightly. Long line. Ran into John. Be there soon. That ought to hold him off. She felt so, so much better, magically better. "John, I think you know what I'm thinking."

John nodded easily, going over and giving the dog a good back scratch that turned into a belly rub. "Who better for a dramatic detective than a smart dog with such brilliant timing?"

Molly went over, petting him as well. "Listen, why don't you go get chips, said I'd bring some, and I'll get him cleaned up a bit."

"Alright." John went and put on his coat again, musing. "Funny, certainly not the craziest thing I've ever done, but sort of feels like I'm going with it a bit too easily."

"Eh."

He went off, carting Rosie with to keep her from blabbing. Molly in turn knocked on Mrs. Hudson's door and managed to keep her from getting too excited when she explained what was going on. Soon enough he was washed and dried and fed some chicken. Mrs. Hudson found an old satin ribbon and tied it in a bow around his neck, and Molly found an absolutely huge Amazon box that was simply too hilarious to pass up. They sat it on the end so it was tall, about to Molly's hip, and placed the dog in with a slice of lunchmeat that he was all too happy to have.

John was back in record time with steaming chips and a little bag of dog food. "Figured the lad would appreciate it." He said while Mrs. Hudson put it in a birthday bag – what was it with little old ladies and always having birthday bags? Molly didn't question too much, just put the bag over her arm and folded the box closed, whispering to the dog that all was alright.

John went ahead while she carefully carried the box upright behind him, flanked by Mrs. Hudson, full the brim with nerves and grinning like an absolute idiot. Her heart was thudding far too much as they approached the door. John set Rosie down and let her open the door and wander in.

"Oh come on you fuc-Rosie?" Molly had to bite her lip to avoid laughing at the absolute bafflement in his voice, soon followed by an even more baffled, like he half expected Rosie to have just found her way there on her own, exclamation of "John?" When he entered.

"Hey mate, Molly told you I was coming, didn't she?" Crinkling of plates of chips.

"She said she ran into you, not that you were coming to the flat," he said. She could hear him digging into the chips and came up a few more steps, just out of the doorway but far enough she could rest the box on the landing. "Where is she, anyway?"

Mrs. Hudson managed to slip ahead of her and she quickly followed so they both burst in at once. "Happy Birthday Sherlock!"

Sherlock stopped mid chew, another chip halfway to his mouth with total surprise on his face. Real, genuine surprise! They'd got him, they'd actually surprised him! Molly was beaming so widely her face hurt because damn it she'd surprised Sherlock Goddamn Holmes!

He started chewing again after a moment and seemed to take everything in for a moment, analyzing and comparing and contrasting or whatever you'd call it. "Bloody hell, Molly, how long did it take you to plan this?"

She grinned and she might have bounced. Just a little. "Oh, twenty minutes! John helped. And Mrs. Hudson."

"But it was her idea," John added, passing a chip down to Rosie, who had started getting to close to the box.

"Oh my god, I can't believe I didn't-I can't believe you-you know I don't-what's in the-" He gestured around with his chips and then sighed, shaking his head, and just when Molly was starting to worry he looked at her, and he was smiling, and then he was laughing with a hand on his head and running through his hair. "God, Molly, I'm so proud of you. You fooled me completely."

She was blushing so hard she covered her cheeks while Mrs. Hudson and John laughed and clapped and all that. Sherlock came over and hugged her, a real, proper, lingering hug that he usually only gave when they were alone because he hated seeing couples all over themselves in the streets and had no intention of being like that, which was true, but Molly also knew it was because he was so terribly new to everything and awkward and a little worried someone would get the idea to try and kidnap her. A fair worry, considering history, but Molly didn't think about all the reasons and logistics or what-have-you, she just hugged him back with her cheek pressed to his chest and enjoyed it.

Sherlock pressed his face into her hair and kissed the top of her head. "Clever, clever woman, you. Should have known soon as you asked about Maury."

Her laugh was muffled by his dressing gown. "I'll have to be even more clever next year."

A soft chuckle into her hair and another kiss on her head. He pulled back, casually tucking her hair behind her ear and smiling just slightly. She loved when he did that. He'd gotten to smiling more and more as time passed after the whole Euros debaucle. It was…wonderful. He turned towards the others, arm resting around Molly's shoulder's as he held her to his side. "Alright then, is it a science kit?"

"No." John said. "How many guesses have you got?"

Sherlock paused. "37-no, it's not on fire so far, so 36. Does it have anything to do with science?"

"No" John said.

"Murder?"

"No."

"Magazines, drug paraphernalia, or Madonna?"

"Wha-no. Madonna?"

"Hm, only 12 possibilities then." John looked like he was going to pursue the Madonna question when the box began shaking. Sherlock stopped and stared. It shook again. "Alright…three possibilities. Molly, are you still mad at me about the teagown incident?"

She shook her head. He furrowed his brow and walked to the box. "Hm. Two, then."

"Oh for Gods sake, Sherlock, open it!" Mrs. Hudson insisted, grinning.

Sherlock looked around the room again, staring a particularly long moment at the bag still around Molly's arm, but he only looked frustrated. Mrs. Hudson, bless her, had taped it shut on the inside. He had no hope of seeing the contents. Finally with a relinquished sigh Sherlock pulled open the top of the box and looked it.

And he was quiet.

Molly thought he might do the stare thing, but it was only a second later and he had snatched the little dog from the box with a loud yell of surprise and the grin of a child on Christmas. "OHMYGODYOUGOTMEADOG?!" His voice might have rattled the windows if his jump didn't. She might as well have given him a triple homicide and a serial murderr he was so excited and it was simply infectious, making every person in the room grin from ear to ear and Rosie dance around as the dog did it's best to clean Sherlock's face while Sherlock tried, but not really very hard, to stop him from doing that. He hugged the dog, petting his head and looking him over. She'd surprised him again, genuinely. Fuck I am never going to top this.

"Believe it or not, he found us." John said while coming over and offering a chip to the dog, who was very appreciative.

"You plucked him off the street?" Sherlock grinned and looked down. "You're hardly damp and not nearly as skinny as you should be. You're a smart little dog, aren't you?" The dog licked him again and wagged his tail. "Oh, yes you are. You are quite a smart dog. Never much cared for terriers but I do think he's an exception."

Mrs. Hudson clasped her hands together. "Oh, this is so good. I must get my camera." She left quickly.

John said something to Sherlock that Molly couldn't hear and Sherlock nodded, setting down the dog, who immediately went to sniffing out his new home. Sherlock paused to watch him before rushing to Molly, picking her up and swinging her around. When he put her down, she would say she looked quite baffled. "See there, Molly Hooper, you're turn to be surprised!"

She laughed out of astonishment and Sherlock kissed her on the lips once, then twice and then again a little longer, and sweeter, pulling her close with his hand gently on the back of her head. He broke when Mrs. Hudson was coming up the stairs again, standing as if he hadn't just been taking Molly's breath away, and went off to find the dog.

"Oh, Molly, you look flushed." Mrs. Hudson put the back of her hand to her forehead. "Oh, and you feel warm. Shouldn't have been out in that rain, no, no," she tsked while readying the camera.

"Oh no, Mrs. Hudson, it's just all the excitement." Molly told herself her voice didn't crack, but the look from Mrs. Hudson said otherwise. Sherlock came back with the dog and stood beside Molly while Mrs. Hudson tried to set up the camera on a timer.

"This is our son, by the way." Sherlock said matter of factly.

Molly grinned. "Does that mean I get to help name him?"

"Absolutely not."

"How rude."

Sherlock looked at her and pouted. "It's my birthday. I get to name him. I already have."

Molly chuckled quietly while John tried to help Mrs. Hudson, who insisted she didn't need help at all though she really, really did. "Well, what is his name, then?"

"Jack." The animal in question perked his ears. "See, he's already learned it. Smart boy, good boy," he started scratching behind Jack's ears.

Molly paused, then smirked. "Ah, Calico Jack."

The faintest red tint colored Sherlock's cheeks. "How did you-"

Molly turned to face him as Mrs. Hudson gestured for them to join John and Rosie and tapped his nose. "Oh really now, if I can fool the great Sherlock Holmes with only 20 minutes planning what makes you believe for a second I wouldn't connect "Jack" to his ever present pirate obsession? Come on, dear, I thought you knew I was clever."

He laughed. "Oh, I do."

Sherlock normally didn't favor pictures, but he also normally didn't like birthdays or the fuss that comes with them, so continuing the unconventional mood of his by willingly posing with his family on his birthday for a picture with his slightly damp, scruffy present held securely in one arm was not entirely surprising by this point. What was surprising was when he looked straight at the camera, put his other arm around Molly, and smiled.