Chapter Text
Molly woke up feeling warm and safe, and for once it wasn't just because the early morning sun was shining on her face. No, it was because she was lying right in the middle of several pairs of tangled arms, legs and torsos. She opened her eyes slowly, squinting in the bright light. The sky was a clear blue, indicating that it was going to be a beautiful day, and the sun was about halfway up. There was a little bit of a fog and a slight chill in the air, but once it burned off the temperature was going to rise quickly.
She blinked a couple of times and then lifted her head a bit, taking stock of the situation. Sherlock was lying on his back and Molly had her head pillowed on his thigh. John was right beside her, so close that Molly's shoulder and hip were pressed to his back, buttocks and thighs, only he was on his side facing Sherlock and his head was resting on Sherlock's belly. Jane was lying beside Molly but further down, so that she wasn't touching Sherlock and her face was tucked into Molly's hip, one arm slung across Molly's thighs.
On the other side of Sherlock, Greg had taken possession of the other side of Sherlock's thighs to use as a pillow. If Molly tilted her head to the left, she would've been kissing his forehead. She did so now, carefully so as not to wake him, propping herself up just enough so that she could see Mycroft was also lying on his back beside his brother. Greg's legs were tossed carelessly across Mycroft's belly, and Mycroft had one hand cupped tenderly around Greg's right ankle.
All six of them were stark naked.
In spite of her best efforts to keep from waking anyone else up, Sherlock opened a green-grey eye and looked at her. The sheer exasperation in his face made her want to giggle. If she had to wager a guess, she would've said that he'd probably been awake for a couple of hours now. Possibly he had even made an attempt to extract himself once or twice, although if that was the case he'd clearly been foiled. Molly grinned back at him and snuggled in closer to John just because she could.
Sherlock rolled his eyes and huffed, though he didn't move. It still seemed to be enough to wake John though, who stirred sluggishly. Like that was a sign, Greg mumbled something and opened his eyes, blinking confusedly at Molly. Jane's hand around her hips tightened, though that was the only indicator she had awoken. Molly just laid there and smiled, because it had been years since she'd had a moment like this and there was nothing quite like the comfort and belonging of your pack.
It was John who spoke first, disrupting the peace with a hoarsely spoken, "Sherlock?"
"Yes," Sherlock said. "Now if you don't mind, get off."
"But you're comfortable," Molly objected.
John started and glanced over his shoulder, like he was only just realizing that he and Sherlock weren't actually alone. His eyes went wide and his whole face went pink when it occurred to him that they were both naked and that they were pressed together fairly intimately. As in, his buttocks was in close contact with her hip and Jane's hand. Molly was then witness to a very amusing couple of seconds wherein John tried to decide whether it was better to scramble away from the contact or remain where he was so that they couldn't see him from the front.
"Some of us are still trying to sleep," Greg pointed out finally.
"Do it somewhere else," Sherlock said, though he still didn't try to squirm out from under them.
Jane chuckled, her lips soft against the curve of Molly's hip, and finally sat up. In the morning late she was even more gorgeous than normal, her perfect hair rumpled into damp curls. "We should be getting back anyway, I'm afraid. There's still a couple of things we have to do."
"Like what?" John said.
"Like catching the people who killed Violet Holmes."
That got his attention, and modesty took a back seat as he sat up. "What?"
"Greg and I told them about the Black Lotus gang while you and Sherlock were in the hospital," Molly told him sheepishly. She was a little worried that John might feel slighted that he hadn't been there for big reveal, though in the end it hadn't been very dramatic at all. Greg had actually been the one who mentioned it first, and she was positive he'd only done so in an effort to distract Mycroft from pretending that he wasn’t worrying about his brother.
"I had the opportunity to do a little more research before the moon rose," Jane added. "Violet's murder was very characteristic of one of their top assassins, Zhi Zhu. The Spider. He's a dangerous man. Molly told us about your theory, John." She smiled at him. "That was very smart."
John flushed, but it was Sherlock who spoke first. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, sounding very annoyed.
"It's simple, dear brother." Mycroft sat up finally, somehow managing to look dignified even though he was stark naked in the middle of a field with blades of his grass caught in his hair. "On the side of her little blackmail business, Mother stumbled onto some key information concerning an international group of smugglers: the Black Lotus gang. It's possible that this entire situation has been a coincidence, but I think it far more likely that, in a desperate bid for notoriety, she purchased a few of their smuggled items hoping to find some evidence against them. Instead, she found something else."
"The Black Pearl of the Borgias," Jane said softly, her tone approaching reverence. "John was correct. They were using silly little statues to smuggle items of far greater value into the country and Violet discovered one. And then the Black Lotus gang found her. We're not sure yet whether she approached them or they tracked her down."
"When she wouldn't hand it over, they killed her," Greg finished, rubbing his eyes and blinking sleepily. "Just like a stubborn Holmes."
"So it wasn't Irene," John said, and much to Molly's surprise he sounded relieved.
"No, but you already knew that," Jane said, fixing him with a look. John met her stare squarely, refusing to back down, and she added, "That was very foolish of you, John. Irene could have killed you."
There was a hard look in John's eyes. "She had the antidote."
"Which she could have easily been lying about -"
"That doesn't matter," Molly said, placing a calming hand on Jane's thigh when it seemed as though she might continue to argue. "The important thing is that Sherlock is okay. If he and Mycroft decide to track Irene down later for punishment that's one thing, but for now I think we should focus on the Black Lotus gang. Aren't they based out of China? If they realize you know this Spider guy killed Mrs Holmes, they could flee."
"You're right," said Greg, flashing Molly a thankful smile. Clearly she wasn't the only one who'd had misgivings about the brewing fight.
Sherlock had been listening to this in silence. Now, he said, "You haven't caught them yet?"
"They're an international smuggling ring, Sherlock. That’s a little outside of Scotland Yard’s jurisdiction."
"An international smuggling ring that is searching for something valuable that is in our possession," Sherlock snapped back. "Mummy never would have left the Pearl out in the open for anyone to find, but she wouldn't have stopped at just that." He smiled humourlessly. "She likely had a copy made, which the Spider no doubt stole after he killed her to keep her silence on the matter."
"I've sent someone to collect the real Pearl," Mycroft said into the ensuing silence.
"You didn't tell me that," Greg said.
"I was waiting until I could be certain that we wouldn't be overheard." Mycroft glanced around pointedly and Molly automatically followed his gaze. The fog had started to burn off and it was blatantly obvious that the six of them were probably half a mile or so from the mansion. There was no way anyone was monitoring them all the way out here.
"So we set a trap," Sherlock said.
"You make it sound so easy," Molly muttered.
"Technically, he does have a point. Frankly I'm surprised that the Spider hasn't been back already," Jane said thoughtfully. "They must know by now that the Pearl he retrieved was a fake."
"Maybe they're waiting for something," Molly suggested.
Jane looked at her. "Like word from someone on the inside?"
"No," Molly said immediately, already knowing what Jane was thinking. She shook her head in denial. "No, I know my cousin. Mary wouldn't -"
"She worked for Moriarty, Molly," Greg said gently, ignoring Sherlock's sputter. "She said it herself, she's a criminal for hire. Typically, if you're willing to work for one you'll work for them all. It's not much of a stretch to think she'd be willing to work for the Black Lotus." He flicked his eyes towards Mycroft. "We were all under a lot of stress. It's possible she was lying about how much she really knows."
Molly felt sick to her stomach. If that was true, then she really didn't know Mary at all. Jane placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently in comfort before looking to the others. "We need to make a plan before we go back."