DISCLAIMER: I do Not own Sherlock Holmes I own my OC Ariana Dale and parts of the plot

The client was at the door and I was momentarily frozen in place. After a few seconds I snapped out of it and hurried to the door, opening it slowly. There stood a very tall man with tan skin and dark eyes. His hair was well combed and a black hat rested on his head. He was dressed in black head to toe and a sad nearly desperate look bore into his eyes. I smiled and invited him in and analyzed him better he was maybe in his late forties. When he was young he had a sort of accident because he had a slight limp, from his stiff posture I deduced that he was a former soldier and from the grief in his eyes I knew that he cared for his late wife more than anything. My train of thought was broken by the rough and booming voice of the man.

"I am sorry Madam! Let me introduce myself I am Gerald Stronghold, I suppose Mr. Holmes is waiting for me.", his voice had a thick American accent that sounded very strange to my ears but also interesting as I had never heard an accent like that one.

" My name is Ariana Dale, I am the assistant of Mr. Holmes . Let me show you upstairs. Mr. Holmes is waiting."

" But Miss Dale you are a woman! How come Mr. Holmes accepted a woman as an assistant?", he said with a frown upon his face. At this moment I was trying hard not to raise my voice at the rude man but as I started to open my mouth to retort, a pair of legs were descending the stairs and Sherlock emerged from the shadows looking as breath taking as ever even more so as he was shaved and well dressed.

" Good evening Mr. Stronghold! I do hope that you are here with a case for me and Miss Dale to solve and not to criticize my partner."

" Y-yes, Mr. Holmes! I am here to ask you to solve my wife's death for I belive it was murder and not a silly accident."

" Now let's go upstairs, sit down and talk about this case in front of a cup of tea."

So we went upstairs had a seat and slowly drunk our tea. When he finished his first cup of tea, Sherlock started asking Mr. Stronghold routine questions like when it happened, where and where he was at the time of the murder.

" Excuse me, sir but can you please tell me how she died? You didn't give us many detailes on the way she died.", I asked a little bit shy about asking questions. I looked at Sherlock for a confirmation that my interrogation was well placed and when he nodded my confidence came back to me.

" Yes, well she died because her neck was slit. She was dismembered, the police said that it was a clean cut that only a person familiar with anatomy could do." When he said that he was looking down, avoiding eye contact and looking extremely guilty and not even thinking I asked him somehow rudely:

" Mr. Stronghold why are you looking so guilty when you are talking about your wife's death? "

His face was one of deep shock and his answer shocked me and left Sherlock with a I knew it look on his handsome face. God! Did I just think that he is handsome? What is happening to me?, came the confused thought, but I knew what was happening but I was not going to accept the fact that I fell in love with the famous detective.

" I am sorry Mrs. Dale, Mr. Holmes I haven't been completely truthful about my relationship with my wife. I was having an affair with our maid Jannet Spencer. She is also married to the butcher Jerry Spencer, an awful man, he always manhandles her, a true brute."

" Thank you Mr. Stronghold we will take your case without much fuss that will stain your reputation. Of course we will need to talk with your maid and her husband about the case."

" Of course! You can come tomorrow at any hour and talk to her. You will find the beast at the butcher shop near my house."

After he left, me and Sherlock started thinking about the case. I was sure he already solved it all and that this was a test for me, to prove myself as his assistant and I was going to give my best and make him proud of me.

" So sherlock what would you like to eat tonight?" I asked blushing lightly as he approached me until our bodies were so close that I could feel the heat radiating from him.

" I am so proud of you and your deductive skills, you noticed he was guilty of something immediately and you acted on it. You are amazing, an amazing and beautiful woman. I have never met one like you." I froze, my knees going weak as he held my waist, pulling me towards him, his cologne filling nostrils. When his lips fell on mine my eyes fluttered closed and I was amazed by the feeling. I tangled my fingers in his hair and pulled him closer, his hands grabbed my face as his tongue brushed against my lips inviting me to open them. He invaded my mouth, kissing me fiercely. We suddenly heard a cough and we broke up fast. Watson was standing at the door flushed and somewhat shocked.

" So I guess you like our new landlady and assistant Holmes. You have gotten quite close haven't you?"

" Yes Watson I find her quite fascinating and a mystery to me as she kept most of her past hidden. I do enjoy her company and her intelligence. Oh and by the way she fights extremely well and handles a gun even better than you my dear Watson."

" Do I want to know how you know all that Holmes or should I find comfort in ignorance? Or maybe I will guess. You lost her when you went to buy the gun and she had to protect herself against some rapists of sort am I right?"

" Yes you are quite right, isn't he darling?"

DARLING? He called me darling...does that mean we are in a sort of relationship now? Or is it just a way to fool Watson about something?

" Yes John you are right but it wasn't Sherlocks fault it was mine I was looking around and lost sight of him in the crowd. Though I must say I handled myself quite well in that fight."

" Okay , if you say so Miss. Ariana I have to trust you. So I heard you have a new case."

" Don't you mean we John?"

" I cannot participate in this case Miss. Ariana as I am preparing for my wedding with Mary. I came here just so I could ask Holmes to be my best man."

" I am quite honored Watson thank you for that decision. And yes, we do have a new case, a woman was killed, butchered better said. Her husband asked me to find her killer. He told us about his affair and tomorrow we are going to talk with the maid and her husband."

" Quite interesting, what do you think Miss. Ariana? Who do you think is the killer?"

" Well I have two suspects in my mind. The maid and her husband. Mr. Stronghold told us her husband is a butcher and that the way she was cut was clean cut, that makes him a suspect, that and also the fact that he is a violent man. But at the sam time, his wife could have learned the trade from her husband and in a jealousy rage she could have killed the poor woman."

" An interesting theory darling, isn't it Watson?" said Holmes while looking as proud as he could be.

" Yes and awfully rational, Miss. Ariana you are one of the most intelligent person I ever met. Of course the first place is occupied by Holmes but now you own the second place."

At that I blushed and hid a bit behind Sherlock while holding his hand. He looked at me deep in the eyes and I saw an emotion that I had never seen before in my life but I was keen on discovering what it was.