Molly Hooper's December had been terribly busy. The festive month, one that she normally celebrated with a reverent cheer and an endless jolly mood, had instead been filled with calamity after calamity. From the minor flooding in her flat, to Toby's upper respiratory infection that had required more than a few trips to the vet, along with an ill-timed maternity leave for one of Molly's colleagues, Erica, which filled Molly's work load to the brink, the end of the year had been pure madness.

This unexpected turn of events completely flipped how Molly normally celebrated Christmas. She had fallen under the spell of the holidays at a young age, meaning she was the type to start hanging decorations nearly at the same time the shops did. Usually, every December 1st, her flat was ready with a gorgeous wreath on the door, along with candles to match every Christmas scent from sugar cookies to freshly fallen snow.

Of course, with more hours at work and time to devoted to her flat or Toby, celebrating had taken a back seat. Her decorations had barely made it up by December 15th, and on December 20th, a mere five days before Christmas, a startling thought crossed Molly's mind. She was lounging on her couch, finally enjoying a day off and a good Christmas classic like Love, Actually, sipping on hot chocolate, when she realized the dreaded truth.

She had yet to purchase Christmas presents for everyone.

No, not even everyone.

She had purchased gifts for no one.

Christmas as a deadline was bad enough as it was, but in order to get her gifts to her mother and brother's family in Bristol, she'd need to post them out like…

Today.

Her necessary parcels aside, she also had a gift exchange planned with Meena and a few other girlfriends on the 21st, St. Bart's Secret Santa on the 22nd, along with John's holiday party on the 23rd. With the endless list of people to buy gifts for, she let out a frustrated cry and grabbed her purse, before hurrying out the door.

So much for relaxing and enjoying the season.

-x-x-x-

Well, thankfully in the age of big box stories, Molly had managed to finish all her Christmas shopping with visits to just three shops. But even as she hopped off the tube at her stop, her hands filled to the brim with shopping bags, she felt dead inside.

Molly hated easy gift-giving. In fact, if there was anything she prided herself on, it was spending hours upon hours, figuring out the perfect gift to give to the people she loved. And seeing their faces when they opened the gift never stopped her from smiling. For instance, last year, she had absolutely nailed it. She gifted her brother tickets to see Bristol City, given her mum a signed copy of Outlander, the first book in one of her favorite series, and found a vintage dress for Meena that fit her current bohemian style.

In fact, usually the only person she struggled to find a gift for was Sherlock. And as she entered her flat and dropped her bags, she knew this year was potentially the worst of them yet.

Of course, when it came to Christmas, Molly wasn't exactly filled with fond memories for the man. As much as she loved him (even if she desperately had convinced herself she hadn't), she would never forget the hurtful words he spewed at her, even now, so many years later.

But, with a shake of her head, she turned on some Christmas music and began to empty the shopping bags, eying her purchases with dissatisfaction.

Her bags were filled with impersonal oddities—candles, plain jumpers, calendars for 2019, tins of gourmet biscuits, scarves—the sort of things Molly loathed gifting and receiving. But with so many gifts to purchase, wrap, and post out, she had no choice but to take the easy way out.

So that's exactly what she did.

-x-x-x-

On the morning of the 23rd, thankfully this year a Sunday, Molly was thrown against her sofa, nursing a slight hangover. She was thrilled that she had posted out her family's gifts in time for a Christmas delivery, as well as survived her gift exchange with her mates and St. Bart's dreaded Secret Santa. The girls seemed happy with their gifts, even if she had only wrapped some fancy candles and scarves, and Nicholas from IT seemed none too displeased with the portable mobile charger he had received.

Molly was equally satisfied—she had received a lovely batch of gifts from her friends, including a nice jumper, some caramel popcorn, a new handbag, and a cute lipstick—as well ticket vouchers for the cinema that her Secret Santa at work had gifted her.

So, she was two-thirds of the way through her Christmas nightmare. All that was left was her party at John's this evening.

With a groan, she sat up and stared at the five, perfectly wrapped Christmas gifts sitting under the tree. The first, a candle, was for Mrs. Hudson. Then, she had a pair of gloves for Lestrade, a jumper for John, a doll for Rosie, and scarf for Sherlock.

She whimpered.

Yeah, she was displeased with her choices. What was more impersonal than a bloody navy jumper from M&S?

Jumping to her feet, she knew she had to add something. There had to be a way to spice up her choices.

Could she buy more? She snorted at the thought. As if she was stepping foot in a shop with only two days until Christmas. She could always claim additional gifts were lost in the mail but…

Then a brilliant idea crossed her mind. She hurried over to her desk and ripped open a drawer, immediately digging through the clutter until she encountered a stack of beautifully blank card stock.

She had just the thing to personalize her gifts. She had made loads of them when she was little, always handing them out to her parents, grandparents, and brother. Surely she could do the same with her closest friends.

With a smile, she dropped to her seat, immediately digging into a container of colorful pens, humming along to the tune of All I Want for Christmas is You.

-x-x-x-

Molly was glad the party was at John's new home. While it would make getting home after a few drinks more difficult than if it were at, say, Baker Street, she always hated repeating the walk up to 221b, wearing heels with presents in her hands.

Too many bad memories.

Thankfully, however, John's party had been loads of fun so far. He had introduced his new girlfriend, Hannah, who was just lovely, and had been quite the host. Molly enjoyed animated conversations with Mrs. Hudson, who appeared to have overindulged on the spiked eggnog, as well as Lestrade, who filled her in on a rather exciting case from the previous week.

Even Rosie had made an appearance before being whisked away by a babysitter, allowing Molly to press a wet kiss to her goddaughter's cheek.

And then there had been Sherlock.

As expected, he looked dashingly handsome in black trousers and a button-down shirt, although instead of his usual blue, white, or purple, he was wearing a stark red. Perhaps John had nagged him into enjoying the Christmas spirit.

She had spoken to Sherlock briefly, as the man had preferred to stew in the corner, glaring at most of the party goers. After a while, she much preferred to chat with a willing participant over Sherlock, who seemed to have been sending her menacing glances since the moment she walked in.

But, eventually, after guests started filtering out, Molly insisted on having her friends open their gifts before their departures.

Lestrade was up first. He ripped into his beautifully wrapped box with little abandon. After tossing the lid, he examined the gloves with a smile.

"Oh, thanks Molly! These are perfect. Even have the special fingers to use on tech." He laughed and set the box by his feet, before noticing the golden envelope attached to it. After a quick glance at her, he pulled the piece of cardstock out and read the words quickly, "One Christmas Coupon valid for a round of drinks on Molly Hooper."

Lestrade chuckled and grinned. "A Christmas Coupon?"

Molly bit her lip. "Yes. So, whenever you're feeling a bit lonely or could use a drink, just call me up and you can redeem your coupon."

"I see! Well, I'll certainly hold onto this." He joked before tucking the slip of paper into his wallet.

Molly grinned. She was off to a good start.

Next was Mrs. Hudson, who cooed over the lavender scented candle Molly purchased, before reading her own coupon. "One trip to the spa for a girl's day? Oh, Molly, why you shouldn't have!"

"But I wanted to," Molly interjected quickly, smiling at the older woman, "You deserve a chance to relax and be rejuvenated. So, whenever you're free, call me and we'll go together."

Mrs. Hudson practically beamed. "As soon as I get back to London after visiting my sister, I'll be using this!"

Molly laughed and nodded, before turning to John. "Now you, John."

The shorter man smiled and grabbed his box, quickly opening the present. He held up the navy jumper and looked it over. "I love it, Molly. Hannah says I look great in blue." He glanced at his girlfriend and offered her a wink.

Quickly setting the box aside, he grabbed his golden envelope and pulled out his coupon. He cleared his throat and proceeded to read the message aloud. "One Christmas Coupon valid for an evening of Molly Hooper's babysitting services."

John grinned at Molly. "Oh, now this is perfect. Hannah and I always need another date night. You're incredible, Molly."

She blushed and waved her hand. "It's nothing, John. Just try to let me know as soon as possible and I'm all yours."

Finally, as John fiddled with his gift, Molly looked to Sherlock. The man had been settled into one of John's armchairs, watching the gift exchange with little interest. But as all attention shifted to him, he sighed.

"Molly, you really didn't need to give me anything," He explained, before accepting the box from John, "It really wasn't necessary."

Molly bit her lip. "Yes, well, I also didn't need that second glass of wine but here we are. You're my friend and I like getting my friends gifts."

He simply nodded and began to open the gift, although frustratingly slicing the tape and pulling the paper slowly, finally sliding the box through the folded paper instead of just ripping the wrapping off like a normal human being.

She watched, her stomach flipping nervously. She knew he'd receive the scarf with little excitement and probably offer her short thanks, then proceed to never wear the gift. She was more worried about the coupon.

Her brainstorming process for everyone else had been rather easy, most of the coupons featuring something she'd enjoy also—drinks with Greg, a spa trip with Mrs. Hudson, and an evening babysitting Rosie were all events she'd have a grand time at.

So, for Sherlock, she followed a similar thought process. But she also knew he'd never use the coupon, no matter the redeemable value.

Maybe that's why her final choice had been so…

Ridiculous.

She glanced back to Sherlock as he pushed through the tissue paper, eventually grabbing the scarf. He looked over the cream-colored accessory and back to Molly.

"Thank you. It's very nice." He explained, before setting the box aside, the golden envelope sitting on his lap. With the same frustrating style as before, he carefully opened the envelope.

With the card in his hands, he studied it for what must have been at least thirty seconds. Molly felt her face go hot. Finally, he glanced back at Molly, his face unreadable.

John rolled his eyes. "Well? What's your coupon for, Sherlock?"

The detective cleared his throat. "It's my Christmas present, John. I didn't ask what size your jumper was."

With a nasty glare, John grabbed the card stock from Sherlock's hands. He glanced at it and read it aloud.

"One Christmas Coupon valid for a shag with Molly Hooper."

Silence filled the room, followed by intense laughter. Molly swallowed and started laughing along, her eyes still focused on Sherlock, who looked anything but entertained.

John slid the card back to Sherlock and patted his back. With another laugh, he wiped away tears from his eyes. "Wow, mate, that's a bloody good gift! You should thank Molly."

Sherlock narrowed his eyes at John and looked back to Molly. She bit her lip and forced a laugh.

"Oh, lighten up! It was a joke," She squeaked out, her cheeks hot, "I knew you'd never use anything I'd give you, so I figured I'd give you something especially outlandish."

He blinked. "I see. And what makes you assume I'd never want, say, a round of drinks on you?"

Mrs. Hudson rolled her eyes. "Oh, Sherlock, please! As if you've used anything any of us have ever gifted you for Christmas. Molly's right, dear. No matter what she gave you, it would simply go over your head."

"What a shame too!" John pipped in, his body still shaking with aftershocks from his laughter, "You could really use a shag too!"

Sherlock growled. "John, stop it."

Eventually, the remaining guests soon moved to leave, and Molly was kind enough to help John and Hannah clean up a bit. Eventually, however, it was her time to go, and Mrs. Hudson insisted on Molly sharing a cab with her and Sherlock.

So, with an exchange of goodbyes, she was following Mrs. Hudson outside, Sherlock by her side. As they moved along John's perfectly manicured front lawn, she glanced over at the man.

"Sorry about earlier," She explained, her cheeks reddened by embarrassment and wine, "I hope I didn't embarrass you. I just thought it'd be a silly joke of a gift."

He cleared his throat. "No offense taken, Molly. It was a thoughtful gift, no matter your reasoning."

She simply nodded and climbed into the car. As soon as he was settled beside her, she couldn't help but continue their conversation, "Besides," She started, before clearing her throat, "It was kind of nice mortifying you for once."

His face remained unreadable. He simply glanced out the window and nodded. "Then perhaps it was the perfect Christmas gift, Molly. An eye for an eye."

Molly frowned. "That wasn't my intention. Look, I…" She bit her lip and rubbed at her face, suddenly wishing she hadn't written any bloody cards, and especially that Mrs. Hudson wasn't sitting in the front of the cab, "I gifted my friends what I thought they needed. Mrs. Hudson needs pampering. Lestrade needs to have some fun. John needs a break."

Sherlock turned away from the window and watched Molly, his eyes curious. "I see. And what exactly do I need, Molly Hooper?"

She blushed and looked away, suddenly unhinged under his intense gaze. "Relief from that ginormous brain of yours. Sex is certainly one of the best forms of relief there is."

He remained silent and turned back to the window. Molly sighed.

"Right. I should have just bought you a pack of cigarettes. Maybe then you'd actually use a gift I gave you."

The rest of the ride was finished in silence. By the time Molly was back at her flat, she tossed the rest of her cardstock in the bin, deciding homemade gifts were stupid.

Next year she'd buy everyone popcorn tins.

To be continued…