Disclaimer: It does not surprise me, in the slightest, that I still own nothing.

Summary: He's honestly way too good for these people. Christ, he needs to get new friends. A Sherlolly story told through Greg Lestrade's eyes, before, during and after the Fall.

Pairings: Sherlock/Molly, (friendship) Greg/Molly, (mentions) Greg/OFC, (eventual) John/Mary

AN down at the bottom

Friends like These

Part 1: Before the Fall

He needs a drink. Scratch that he needs a barrel of Britain's finest because Detective Inspector Gregory Lestrade knows if he doesn't drink copious amounts of alcohol, he's going to kill Sherlock Holmes. (A decision that would undoubtedly have the help and cover-up of many of Scotland Yard's finest.) He's always known the man to be insufferable (bloody freaking genius half the time, but if he's honest with himself, the self-proclaimed Consulting Detective can be a bit of a twat the other half) and he's managed to cope with that for years. Homicidal thoughts aside, he genuinely likes the man. He sometimes (in a fit of insanity, obviously) believes that the world needs more men like Sherlock Holmes. Then the man opens his mouth and no, just no.

He's always been hard to deal with on his good days and on his bad days (well, Greg tends to reach for his gun a little more often than not) but he's never seen him like this. He's never seen him so riled up and…vicious. Really, truly vicious. (His shoulder became the unofficial headrest of the now widowed-but-really-truly-guilty Mrs. Linda Shilton as she wept while Sherlock carried on with cutting remarks that made even Greg and John wince.)

He doesn't know what's got him so riled up. If anything, he should be happy. John's told him about the number scale (the bloody bastard has a number scale) the Shilton case is, in John's words, an eight, so why is Sherlock so…agitated. Is that the word he's looking for? Agitated? Frustrated, maybe? Irritated. He doesn't know, doesn't even bother asking because he knows he won't get a straight answer from him.

He lets Sally arrest Mrs. Shilton and Greg sighs, knowing that he has to make one more stop before he can actually rest. Then he glances back as he hears Sherlock raise his voice and somehow, he's not surprised to find him yelling something at Anderson (Greg doesn't even bother trying to defend him, he's told Anderson time and time again to shut his mouth in front of Sherlock. Oddly, Anderson never listens to him) and decides to forgo the prospect of rest and instead decides that he'd prefer alcohol.

After throwing his hissy fit (he'd never say the words aloud, he doesn't have a death wish), Sherlock strides to where Greg is standing next to John. Greg likes John. John is reasonable. John is nice. John tends to keep Sherlock somewhat sane. Somewhat. Greg claps his hands and rubs them for some warmth, blimey, it's getting fucking cold out, he thinks. "I've got to head to Bart's, interested in joining?" He needs to see Molly so she can go over the autopsy with him. He usually does this after every case and Molly Hooper has the patience of a saint and he likes her. She nice and polite and she's sarcastic in a way that he's sure not many people notice. And she's really bloody brilliant. It's become a routine for them.

He sees Sherlock tense for a moment and then he relaxes and blatantly ignores the question. John covers up a smirk by pretending to cough. Sherlock frowns and rolls his eyes. "You are not fooling anyone, John."

"I'm not trying to fool anyone. Are you sure you don't want to go to Bart's?" There's definitely a smirk on John's face. What am I missing? Greg wonders.

Sherlock bristles, "I find myself very exhausted."

"But you're never exhausted." Greg blurts out. "You don't even sleep. You're like a vampire."

Sherlock looks annoyed. "I do require some rest and since the entirety of Scotland Yard is incompetent-" Oh splendid, another tirade. Christ, he's on a roll today.

John sighs wearily, "enough, Sherlock. We won't go to the morgue."

Sherlock nods and turns his head to the side, his eyes narrowing in slits when he sees Anderson handling evidence. "Oh, that insipid moron, Lestrade, honestly, where do you find these people? Anderson, you utter and great baboon-"

"He always goes to the morgue after a case." This is true. While Molly is running through the autopsy with him, he has to deal with Sherlock's running commentary from the other side of the room, while he tends to his experiments. Molly always bites her lip and tries to hide the blush on her cheeks. Greg just rolls his eyes and thinks they need to shag and get whatever this is over with.

John clears his throat and shoves his hands in his pockets. "Yeah…well, he got in a row today."

"Doctor Saunier?" That man hates Sherlock with every bone and fiber in his body, which is why, nearly three years ago, the man practically wept with joy and requested six months stress leave when Molly said that she'd deal with Sherlock. Doctor Saunier has been singing her praises ever since. It's rare they cross each other's paths, but when they do, well, Doctor Saunier doesn't hold back his distaste and Sherlock doesn't hold back his mouth.

"Um…no."

"Doctor Andrews?" Doctor Andrews is Bart's other pathologist, one that Sherlock hates dealing with because she is "a disgusting human being who has absolutely no regard for science and decorum and instead tries to shove her tongue down my throat. It's all very…disgusting." Greg certainly wouldn't mind having Doctor Andrews shove her tongue down his throat (and he can officially say that now, he signed the divorce papers two weeks ago. He got a congratulations from Sherlock), the woman is strikingly beautiful in her own right. Tall, black hair, bright green eyes, tan skin (Sherlock wrinkled his nose "you spend an obscene amount of money and an unhealthy obsession with wanting to be tan even though you live in England, skin cancer will be an issue in the future.") nearly all the men Greg knows would fall over their feet for her. Not Sherlock though. Never Sherlock.

"No." At this, John sighs and shrugs, "Molly."

Greg chokes on air. "Molly. Molly Hooper? You having me on, John? There's no way Molly would row with Sherlock. She's in love with him." Lord knows why, he thinks idly. He personally thinks Molly could do better than getting her heart broken at every turn but she loves him. He doesn't even have to be a detective to see that. Anyone who comes in contact with the two of them will be able to tell that Molly Hooper is head-over-heels in love with a man who will not love her back.

John inclines his head, "well, yes, but even Molly has her limits with him."

"What happened?" Greg asks. Jesus, they're like two old women. His mum would probably cuff him over the head.

"He brought up Moriarty and then made a pretty devastating remark about her. It was…horrible. And I don't just mean the remark, I mean Molly. She was devastated and well…she snapped and then Sherlock snapped and then Doctor Saunier-did you know he's retiring, by the way-kicked us both out and threatened Sherlock."

Greg winces and looks over to where Sherlock is standing, mouth moving at a fast pace, Anderson's face is growing redder by the minute and Sally's arms are flailing about while yelling at Sherlock. "He just had to bring up Moriarty, huh?" He already knows how guilty and shamed Molly feels about the entire Moriarty incident, even though everyone tells her otherwise. Even though he has told her otherwise. Nothing works and she's left to stew in her own self-regret and stupidity (her words, never his.)

"It was a low-blow." John agrees. His eyes take on a worried glaze, "listen, just…check on her, yeah. Make sure she's okay, she was…she was sobbing and it was wretched to hear, really."

Greg tilts his head in Sherlock's direction. "He hear her then?"

John nodded. "Saw her too. It was…odd. His reaction, I mean. Just…look after her, yeah?"

He might as well add baby-sitter to his business card.

The morgue is quiet as he makes his way down the hall and it really creeps him out. So, he whistles a pop tune that Sally got stuck in his head as he makes his way towards Molly. He's already messaged her beforehand, to let her know he was coming down, so it doesn't surprise him to push open the doors and see her at the bench, with a folder beside her and two cups of coffee waiting. She's already sipping hers.

"Nice night, innit, Molly?" He asks cheerfully.

She turns her head to look at him and Greg winces. She looks awful. Her eyes are red, her face blotchy and she's slouching, as if she's trying to dig a hole inside herself and crawl in. God, he'd give anything to punch Sherlock Holmes now and finds himself (not for the first time) wondering what he said that made her snap and cry. She deflates even more, "John told you, then?"

Greg gapes.

She gives him a little smile. "It's not rocket science, Greg. Just observation." She says the word bitterly and Greg knows then and there that this is a big deal.

"Right. Well, the autopsy can wait. However, I need a drink, quite possibly seven, so get up. Let's go. We're going to a pub and you're going to tell me exactly what he did." He doesn't let her speak and instead grabs the sleeve of her lab coat and drags her out the door.

He's honestly way too good for these people. Christ, he needs to get new friends.

Molly spills the entire story out to him. Needless to say he's angry.

"It shouldn't even be that big of deal." She says over the crowd. They're sitting close together in the corner, both of them nursing their beers. "It's not the worst thing he's ever said to me but it's just…it's all a bit too much and then there was Christmas. God. Christmas and that Adler woman and I just…snapped."

Oh. Christmas. Yeah. He remembers that too. He almost regretted not taking his gun with him that night. He wouldn't have killed him. Maybe a shoulder shot, through and through. Either way, he would have deserved it.

"Adler? Who?"

Molly's eyes dim and her shoulders hunch. "A dead dominatrix whom Sherlock identified by not her face."

Oh. Oh. He cursed. "Jesus Molly."

Molly nods and leans closer to him. "Am I pathetic? I think I'm pathetic. My best friend Mary, tells me I'm being pathetic and that I should get over him. I've tried and when I tried I dated a criminal mastermind whose main goal in life is to kill people and the man I love. Oh dear Lord, I love him."

Greg nods understandingly. The woman he loves (and really, let's not pretend, he still loves his ex-wife, God, he's an idiot) loves to have sex with other men. He gestures to their cups. "We haven't had nearly enough to drink."

After he gets them another round, Molly shakes her head. "Enough about me, what about you?"

"I'm officially divorced." He tells her.

Her eyes soften and she places her head on his shoulder. "Sorry, Greg." She pauses. "So, it was true then. The P.E. teacher?"

"And the History teacher. And the Math teacher. But really, I can't fault her for that one. I've seen the Math teacher and if I weren't straight, I'd do him too."

Then she laughs.

He figures if he can make Molly laugh more tonight than that's good enough for him.

He gets a message as soon as he's made sure Molly has made it into her flat all right from Sherlock telling him to come to 221b at once.

Despite his body protesting and his head starting to feel like an elephant has decided to make a home there, he slips back into the taxi and tells him to take him to 221b Baker Street. He's paid the cabbie and hasn't even knocked yet when the door flies open and John and Sherlock greet him.

"No time to talk. Time to solve a murder." Sherlock says as he hails another cab.

"What murder?" He glances at his phones and wonders if he missed a call. He didn't.

"Shilton." John supplies.

"We solved it."

Sherlock shakes his head and slides into the cab, Greg following and John taking the other side. "She had an accomplice."

"Of course she did." Greg rolls his eyes and tells the cabbie to take them to Scotland Yard. "How'd you figure?"

Sherlock opens his mouth and then stops. Greg would have laughed at the way his head turned but his icy cold blue eyes are trained onto him and then the strangest thing happens. Sherlock Holmes sniffs him.

"Oh, Christ, Sherlock!" John snaps.

Sherlock frowns. "You smell like alcohol and grease. Obviously you were at a pub. It didn't take you long to get here so somewhere central, somewhere close. You were obviously indulging in Guinness beer, even though you prefer scotch, so you were with someone who either doesn't normally drink or prefers Guinness. Not your ex-wife, since she prefers other men but the oddest smell…you smell like dead bodies-"

"What?" The cabbie blurts out, his head spinning to face them.

"OI!" John yells, "watch the road!"

"With a hint of cherry." He continues. Greg can see the way his jaw clenches and a glance down at his hands and Greg can see Sherlock fisting his pants. "Detective Inspector," he says, his words coming out through his teeth, "what were you doing with Molly Hooper?"

Greg huffs and rolls his eyes. "Having a couple pints since someone-" he pokes him in the shoulder rather roughly, "decided to take her heart and positively smash it. She told me everything you fucking prick."

"I didn't realize you two were friends." Sherlock responds his eyes flaring.

Greg smirks. "Guess there's always something you miss then."

John coughs to cover a laugh and Sherlock sulks.

(He wonders if John would be up for the idea of locking Molly and Sherlock in a closet and have them just shag and get whatever this is over with already. Greg doesn't even need to be a detective to know that Sherlock Holmes is jealous. Hm…Sherlock Holmes is jealous of him. Detective Inspector Gregory Lestrade.)

Christ, he really needs to get new friends.

So, there is a reason for me to put this under Sherlock/Molly, because even though it's through Lestrade's eyes, it's a Sherlolly story. But if you guys are opposed to it, I can easily switch it. Reviews are great appreciated and I hope you guys liked it! Any mistakes are mine and mine alone.

Also, OMG YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. SERIOUSLY AWESOME. YOUR SUPPORT MEANS A LOT.

Also, on Youtube: Dear HookedOnaFeeling89: whoever you are, wherever you are, I don't know if you'll ever read this but I love you. Your videos are amazing and awesome. Check out the youtube channel and the Sherlolly vids. I'm in LOVE. Their amazing.

Okay, that is it, that is all!

Thanks again and much love!