Jim glanced at Molly, who had fallen asleep against the window, slumped over in her seat. Her mouth was agape, her face slightly scrunched up, and yet he thought she looked perfect. At peace, even, escaping from the toll of her job and the stress of being caught with him by Mycroft. Yes, Jim knew all about Mycroft's monitoring skills, and made sure that he only spent time with Molly when she wasn't being observed like a slide under a microscope.

Northamptonshire, that's where they were going. He had never visited before, but Molly had reassured him that Kettering was a very nice place and that her mother lived near an Arts College she taught at part-time. Of course Jim had looked all of this up previously. He had even sent people up there as soon as he accepted her invitation.

He was surprised he had accepted, but he genuinely wanted to know more about Molly. Okay, so the big, overarching plan was to kill Sherlock, now that he had been burned, but for some reason Molly intrigued him. She had a source of inner strength he was unaware of, and Jim wanted to know every crevice and corner of her thoughts.

Molly stirred as her breathing caught and he recognized the signs of someone waking up, glancing away as to not "creep her out." Jim heard her stretch, yawn, and rummage through her bag.

"Have you really been awake this whole time?" Molly asked, her voice husky. Jim nodded.

"I don't sleep much," he said. That was truth, too. Jim lived on the bare minimum, with his occasional full meal, three to four hours of sleep a night, and drinking water only when he got dehydrated. Planning and executing said plans took too much time. He had a plan that would be executed soon.

"That's not healthy."

"Since when did you care about my health?" Molly's face flushed the tiniest bit and she stared out the window at the rapidly passing landscape.

"My mum is going to be a bit… enthusiastic. She means well, she really does, I just haven't had a boyfriend in a while. So she's going to assume that we're dating, but she'll pipe down after a bit."

"What, we aren't dating?" Molly flushed again.

"We haven't gone on any dates, Jim."

"You just called me Jim. You liiiike me," he teased, and she tried not to show her smile, biting her lip.

"Maybe," she all but whispered, not meeting Jim's eyes. He leaned over the little armrest in between them closer to Molly, getting in her face.

"Really?" Molly nodded.

He leaned forward and softly pressed his lips to hers, and Molly tilted her head so their noses weren't bumping against each other. She felt a warmth grow in her stomach, and butterflies, too, but the good kind. Molly smiled and leaned against Jim more, hooking her arm around his neck. He pulled away a second later, leaving Molly with a giddy smile on her face.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"So my sister Lizzy should be here somewhere," Molly said as they made their way through the crowd in the tiny station, their fingers intertwined. Perfect, Jim thought, slipping his mobile out of his pocket and sending a message to someone.

"Do you have more than one sister?"

"No, but I have a brother," she said distantly, still searching for a familiar face among the crowd. "Wow, I was not expecting this many people here today,"

There was a loud popping sound and a few people screamed, Molly whipping around towards the sound. Jim could sense her fear now; he could make it out on her face, on everyone's face. What was going on? The popping went off again and the crowd surged past them, towards the exit doors.

"What is it?" Molly frantically asked, turning to Jim, who immediately put a concerned expression on his face.

"Gunshots," he said, reaching for the gun in his backpack. Molly grabbed his arm, stopping him, and pulled him along with the crowd.

"Not here!" she shouted over the screams, almost tripping over a little boy who was standing by himself. Ripping her hand from Jim's, Molly scooped the boy up and continued, speeding up as the gunshots sounded at a more rapid pace. As soon as they were outside, she turned to face him, glaring and clutching the toddler to herself.

"Did you know about this?" Molly shrieked, almost being shoved into Jim by a police officer with a brandished gun in one hand and a walkie-talkie in the other, shouting into it.

"I'm a consulting criminal, but I don't-"

"Answer me!" she shouted, becoming hysterical. The toddler began to cry, asking for his mummy. Molly tried to soothe him by rubbing his back, but he wailed even louder.

"NO, I DIDN'T!" Jim screamed back, his features showing how furious he had become in two seconds. Taken aback, Molly stepped away from him and shook her head.

"But who were you texting earlier?"

"Why do you need to know?" stepping closer, Jim grabbed Molly's upper arm, like a past time, and squeezed it hard until she winced. "Don't ask me about my business," he hissed in her ear, turning around to glance at the station.

"Molly?" someone shouted. Molly turned around to see Lizzy and rushed forward, being embraced by her older sister. "Who's this boy?"

"I dunno, we were inside when the gunshots went off, and this little guy was just standing there, so I picked him up, I don't even know him but he keeps crying for his Mummy and-"

"Shh, Molls, it's okay. We'll find his Mum. Where's your boyfriend?" Lizzy asked, taking the toddler from Molly and setting him on the ground. She handed her baby, Robby, to Molly and started asking the little boy questions.

"I'm right here," Jim said, and Molly turned to see him standing right behind her. He was so different; it was like he hadn't been angry at her at all. "I talked to a police officer- some kid didn't want his family to come visit, so he shot them. A few other people injured,"

"Well, that's not good," Molly murmured, looking down at Robby, who was babbling and smiling up at her. "Hi, baby," she cooed. Jim reached over her shoulder, pointing his finger, which Robby grabbed.

"He's cute," he said, and Molly nodded. She felt the knot in her stomach growing again.

I watched The Sign of Three last night! Oh man! It was a lot more goofy than S1+S2, but I didn't mind, since everything seemed to tie together in the end, and the whole part where he's walking between everyone (I'm trying not to give spoilers) was great. Benedict Cumberbatch is a quality actor, that's all I have to say. Hope you enjoyed! (By the way, I know the spoiler pertaining to someone in this story that happens in His Last Vow, thanks to tumblr.)