A/N: Another Tumblr prompt, this one from juldooz.

"Can I sit here? The other tables are full."

I was happy to get the chance at a First Meeting fic, so this is dedicated to juldooz.


Sherlock sat at a table by himself in the back of Bart's canteen, giving thunderous looks to anyone who dared to come close. Mike had banned him from both the morgue and the path lab for the day, saying he needed to show the new pathologist around, "and having you there before I tell her about you will just scare her off."

He mentally rolled his eyes. If she scares that easily, she'll be impossible to work with, like most of the people in this hospital.

"Can I sit here? The other tables are full."

Sherlock looked up at the woman in front of him. 5'3" – petite. Brown hair. Big brown eyes. Twenty-seven. First day. Pathologist. Oh. This is the one Mike doesn't want me to scare off. He glanced at the other tables. Sure enough, every other seat in the canteen was taken. He turned back to her. "If you want."

She beamed at him as she set her tray on the table. "Thanks. It's my first day and I suddenly felt like I was back in school, not having anyone to sit with at lunch." She sat down across from him then held out her right hand. "Molly Hooper."

He eyed her hand for a moment and just as she was going to pull it back, he shook it. "Holmes."

"Is there a first name to go with that, or do I just call you Mr. Holmes?"

Let's see how much Mike has told her. "Sherlock."

He expected to see recognition on her face, all he got was a pleasant smile. "Sherlock Holmes. That's a nice name, like a character in a book." She started eating her pasta salad. "So, what do you do?"

Sherlock smiled a bit. "I haunt the morgue."

Molly giggled. "If I find out later that I had lunch with the hospital's resident ghost, I'm going to be very put out."

He raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Ghosts don't drink coffee, and I was hoping to ask you out after my shift."

It was on the tip of his tongue to decline, to say that he didn't do relationships, but instead he heard himself say, "I'm definitely not a ghost."