AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm just getting started with this one, and I sort of know how I want the story to develop, but I'll probably change tons of things along the way. So if you have any questions or suggestions, please review or PM! :)

Beep beep.

John checked his phone to see who texted him. Sherlock was right beside him, playing the violin, so it can't be him.

"Anderson's throwing Donovan a surprise party tonight." he announced to Sherlock. He waited a moment for Sherlock's response, but when it didn't come, he kept reading the text. "At 8 pm. We're invited."

"I'm sure she'll be very happy not to have me there." his flat mate answered as he continued playing.

He sighed. "Come on, Sherlock. Be nice. Lestrade asked us personally to come. We'll just wish her a happy birthday, talk to people –"

"Boring." Sherlock muttered, and he rolled his eyes at him.

"We'll be out in an hour."

Sherlock stopped playing and groaned dramatically. "Fine. But we're not buying her a present."

"Sherlock, it's her birthday –"

His flat mate started playing the violin again. This conversation was over. He sighed. He'll just ask Mary to help him.

When Sherlock and John entered the room, Donovan was already there. They've missed the surprise. A couple of seconds John shut the door behind them, Lestrade found them.

"Thanks for coming." he said with a smile as he shook John's hand. The detective could smell alcohol in his breath – he must've been bored, so he drank and waited for them to come.

"We got something for her." John said and showed Lestrade the small black bag that contained the earrings Mary thought that were 'absolutely lovely'. Sherlock rolled his eyes when he saw them.

"Oh, great. She's right there; go and give it to her." he said and gestured to a crowd of people at the center of the room, all laughing. Donovan stood in the middle of the crowd, in a short black dress that flattered her figure.

Sherlock and Lestrade stared at John for a moment, until he realize neither of them was going to come with him. "Right." he muttered and headed to the crowd. The two watched him from a distance. After he managed to get to her, they could see how surprised she was to see him there. She peeked to where Sherlock was standing as John spoke, so he smiled sarcastically in return to her disgusted look. Then, she realized she wasn't paying attention to John, so she looked at him again. She smiled at the present, thanked him, and he hurried away from her.

"I told you we shouldn't get her anything." the detective murmured when he came back. The shorter man stared at him angrily. "Let's just get a drink."

The three of them walked to the bar, which was surprisingly empty. They were the only ones there, except for a blonde woman in a purple dress.

"Hello, Kate." Lestrade greeted the woman. She half smiled back, and then looked away again. She seemed to simply stare at the people around her.

John sat down next to her. Sherlock chuckled behind him – must be an old habit of his, he thought, to talk women that seem lonely.

"So what is your connection to Sally?" he asked her friendly.

"We're friends." she answered shortly.

"How did you two meet?" he asked again, trying to start a conversation. Unlike his friend, the detective wasn't as excited to learn about that woman's life story. He sat down heavily next to John and mumbled something about being bored.

"My boyfriend killed someone. I helped him hide the body and I got caught. Sally interrogated me for 37 hours, and after I didn't

tell her anything the whole time, she let me go. One year later, after I got out of prison, we sort of became friends." she spoke monotonically, as if talking to him made her bored. She didn't make eye contact during the whole story.

Sherlock started paying attention when he heard the word 'body'. He leaned forward to look at Kate. He generally didn't find any special interest in women – the ones John found attractive weren't even pretty. Except for Mary, of course. But this time, he thought Kate was beautiful. Her long blonde hair gently rested on her shoulders, and the dress she was wearing was perfect for her figure. Usually, her looks wouldn't matter to the detective. But she spoke of murder as if it was as ordinary as visiting the cinemas, so there was something different about her.

John was stunned as well. "So your boyfriend killed a man, and you just helped him get away with it?"

"Well, I broke up with him afterwards of course." she said casually.

Both men stared at her for a moment. Both of them wanted her to tell them more about the murder, but neither of them knew what to ask. Suddenly, she became aware of their gazes. She stared back.

"Why are you staring at me?"

John mumbled an apology and looked away, but Sherlock kept his eyes on hers.

"So how did you meet him?" Sherlock asked without breaking the eye contact.

"You tell me how you two met first, and then I'll tell you."

John sighed. Why does it keep happening? "We're not a couple. In fact, I'm married." he said the usual answer. "To a woman." he added quickly.

Kate looked back to the crowd, suddenly losing interest in the intense eye contact she made with Sherlock.

"So how do you know Sally?" she asked in a bored tone.

"We work with her. She doesn't like us very much, though."

She suddenly turned to look at them, her eyes widened. "You're the freak?"

"The one and only." he muttered back.

Kate laughed loudly, and John started giggling. Her laughter was catchy, so after a couple of seconds Sherlock giggled as well. "You've heard about me?" he finally asked.

"You're pretty much everything she talks about. Is it true that by simply looking at someone for five seconds you can tell everything about him?"

Sherlock smiled smugly. Finally a good reputation.

"Not everything. But almost everything."

She leaned backwards in her seat. "Go ahead, then. Tell me everything you can about me."

Sherlock scanned her, ignoring her eager expression. He thought of everything he could deduce about her and told her everything rapidly, as if he was talking to himself. John could barely understand his words since he was talking so quickly and quietly, but it seemed that Kate understood everything he said about her. Her enthusiastic smile grew slightly bigger every time Sherlock deduce something correctly about her, like a child watching a magician. After he finished talking, she leaned back in her chair again and looked at the crowd.

"You're not that bad." the blonde said, as if allowing him to sit next to her.

"You're not that bad either." the detective murmured back, not sure if it's a compliment or an insult.

"What time is it?" John asked. As much as he admired Sherlock's skills, he felt a little invisible. He made a deal with him – one hour, and then they'll leave.

Sherlock glanced at his watch and turned to John. "Half past eight."

He turned back to Kate, but she was already gone.