Chapter 2

"Good enough to invite you to have dinner with me," he says having only had to remove his mask to look normally dressed, "and I know just the place. Do you like Italian?"

"I love Italian." I say linking arms with him and leading him around where I know the guards will be looking and right out the front door smiling as he hails a cab and holds the door open for me climbing in after me as we head from boring royalty to normal fun.

Minutes later Sherlock and I are standing at the front of Angelo's, a charming Italian restaurant. As soon as we walk in a tall slender young man who seemed to be in his mid twenties motions to a table near the back.

"Thank you Billy," he says as we walk back and sit down just as a older more stout man walks up.

"Sherlock," he says "Whatever you and your date order is on the house!"

"Grazie Signore si รจ molto gentile," I say smiling at Sherlock's surprise.

"Ah the lady knows her languages," Angelo says chuckling as he walks away.

"He's only part Italian you know." Sherlock asks me.

"Yes, just proving a point." I reply smiling at him

"What's that?" he asks grinning at my choice of words.

"That there is a person in this world who can surprise Sherlock Holmes, and said person is me."

"Well then, shall I surprise you?" he says sitting up a bit.

"Observe away detective." I say leaning back.

"Well just at a glance I could guess your age is around twenty and you live by your own rules with self earned money."

"Jeans and a t-shirt are only worn by young people without much money, that is obvious enough, but is there anything else that even I wouldn't notice?" I say glancing around.

He shrugs, "Just that you're terrible at laundry, you wear tees the most of all your shirts, you've been recently depressed, and you like classical music."

I smile not looking at him, "Oh really? How so?"

"The bottom hem of your shirt is wrinkled, there are slight bleach stains on your jeans, the design of the lone white bird surrounded by blue ones on your dark black shirt, and in the cab to the restaurant you subconsciously started humming Fur Elise."

I turn my head, looking at him in surprise, "No one really listens to my humming well enough to realize what the song is...well done Mr. Holmes, well done indeed."

He smiles standing up, "Shall we go then since neither of us are hungry?"

I giggle and stand up linking arms with him "We shall."

Next thing I know we're walking towards 21b Baker Street.

"You're right on all points but one...those stains are actually from a hair dye I used once." I tell him as we walk.

"Hair dye! There's always something." he chuckles as we reach the flat and walk inside.

"Sherlock dear, where's Dr. Watson, and who's this lovely young girl?" a woman around her late fifties says walking in from a room behind the stairs.

"Mrs. Hudson this is Miss Ventham," he says stepping to the side.

"Oh, so this is the President's daughter," she says stepping forward to shake my hand smiling kindly.

"Please, call me Sheridan I'm not really one for formalities," I say shaking her hand and smiling back.

"My what a lovely name, did he take you to Angelo's?" she asks glancing at Sherlock.

"Yes, and it was a lovely date." I say as he chuckles, "What?"

"Nothing," he says shaking his head, "it's just you're the first one to confirm being my date."

"Oh, really?" I say blushing when he nods.

"Well I'll just leave you two alone now, I'll bring up a few sweets for you two later, but only just this once."

"Yes, I know, Landlady not housekeeper." he says playfully leading me up the stairs and into his flat.