Sherlock advent drabbles :D

Today's word is: Mouseburger

Molly is having the day from hell. First, her colleague calls in sick so she has to stay on for the night-shift, then her computer breaks down for two hours, and now she's just had one of the doctors ring down with an urgent query that's going to take loads of work and of course she's got to do it all on her bloody own.

More than once Molly feels like she's running around like a headless chicken; and after all this, it's quite possible that she looks like one too.

She sends off two emails and annoyingly receives three more. Then, she goes to print them and the paper gets stuck in the printer in what must be a very cruel joke on a very bad day.

Sherlock walks in the door, just as she's having a minor tug-of-war with the jammed piece of paper.

"I need the file for Laurence Carter," he says.

Molly's skin prickles at the sound of his voice but she's determined to rise above it. Things are busy enough as they are without Sherlock's demands on top of everything else.

"Now's not a good time, Sherlock," she says defiantly, not looking him in the eye. He's like Medusa; one look and she's done for.

He sniffs, clearly not happy with that answer, but Molly's not looking, not looking, and she's not going to fall for it, whatever he does. Triumphantly, she succeeds in wrenching the offending piece of paper free of the printer, slams the cover shut and listens as the machine whirs back into life.

"Molly," he begins.

She looks up on instinct and, dammit, Sherlock's clearly been working hard upstairs because his sleeves are rolled up and his hair is dishevelled and he looks so rumpled that it's adorable. Molly despairs but is gratefully saved at the last moment by the sound of the phone ringing.

Thanking her lucky stars, Molly sits down at her desk, grabs the receiver and turns her back to Sherlock as she takes the call. Hopefully, if she ignores him for long enough, he'll get bored and go away.

Fifteen minutes and a rather complex conversation later and Molly's almost forgotten about Sherlock, so she's both elated and disappointed when she hangs up to find that he's still there. But her determination has not waned; he needs to learn that his requests can't take priority when there's more important work to be done.

Molly turns to him, just about ready to tell him to leave. "Sherlock..."

"I'm sorry," he says, before she gets a chance, and he appears to be genuinely apologetic. "I didn't realise you were so busy today." He runs a hand through his hair. "I just... I get so caught up in my work sometimes that I forget there are other demands on your time. Ignore my request; I'll come back tomorrow." He smiles. "I don't want to stress you out any further; it looks like you've got enough of that as it is."

"Oh," says Molly. "Right." And she watches as Sherlock turns and heads back out into the corridor.

That... That's... She did it! Molly was finally able to stand up for herself! She's so pleased with herself that she does a little dance, right there in her chair. Hopefully now Sherlock will learn that he can't just come barging in and demanding things whenever he likes.

Molly turns back to her desk, satisfied.

Sherlock did look so guilty though, bless him. She knows he's a little on the slow side when it comes to all things social, so to hear him say 'sorry' is genuinely impressive.

Molly smiles to herself. She's glad to see him trying to be nice. Maybe, as a reward for his consideration, she'll take that file up to him after all.