John stood nervously at Mia's front door. He'd buzzed up to tell her he was there and was now waiting for her to come down. She appeared in the doorway wearing a pair of quite classy black-leather, knee-high, heeled boots, tight-fitting black pants and a layered outfit consisting of a long, green, shirt (visible below her jacket), a short – though warm – grey flannel jacket with large black buttons and layered grey and green scarves. The evening was bitter cold and it was already quite dark. Mia's dark curls were down loose around her face, her cheeks were pink with the cold and John could see her breath each time she exhaled. Her large eyes glittered and a smile graced her face. She was the picture of lovely, but it only made John more terrified to lose her.

"Sorry I made you wait," she said while closing the door behind her, "I had trouble picking out an outfit... You could have come up you know, it's freezing out here!" she slipped on a think pair of black leather gloves and then slipped her arm through John's.

"No I'm fine, I can actually wear my jacket properly now, so I'm quite warm."

"Oh that's right! It must feel good to be out of that sling," she said and rubbed the arm that she was wrapped around with her free hand. She then spontaneously leaned in and kissed John on the cheek. He turned to look at her with a surprised smile that made her heart melt.

"What was that for?" he asked softly.

"Oh just because," she replied, unable to explain the light-headed giddy feeling she was experiencing. Was this what love felt like? She leaned in again and this time kissed his cold lips. She could smell a mixture of minty toothpaste and aftershave. "You're freezing."

"No, I'm fine. Honestly," he added when she looked at him skeptically, "And you look lovely by the way."

"Thank you."

"Shall we get a cab?"

"Can we walk for a bit first?" Mia had been waiting all day – and for much longer than that – to finally meet the mysterious Sherlock Holmes, but now that it came right down to it, she was nervous. She wanted more than anything for this strange man to like her. He was, after all, John's best friend, no matter how unfriendly or annoying John said he was, John still cared enough about him to put up with him for this long. It would be like meeting John's parents – if he still had any – and she really wanted tonight to be perfect.

"Sure, if you'd like," John was quite relieved to have a few more minutes alone with her.

They walked in silence for a while. Mia couldn't stop looking at him. She was so happy she felt as though her heart was going to burst. This didn't make any sense... she's only known John for a month! She couldn't be in love with him already... could she? Though, she knew the answer to that question already. She was in love whether she liked it or not. Everything about John made her happy; just being near him, seeing his face, listening to his voice, kissing his lips... she was completely and totally in love. However, at the moment she felt that she couldn't have picked a worse time to come to that realization; tonight was a big deal, even bigger now that she realized how hard she was going to have to try to make this work.

The man on her arm was a soldier. He was also a doctor – a man who had experienced the worse of the worst when it comes to the trials of war. He was a man who had been through many battles and seen many horrors – only some of which she was aware of. By all rights he should be broken, damaged, miserable or at least pessimistic... he had the right to hate the world but he'd chosen not to. Instead, he was cheerful, pleasant, unfailingly kind and loyal. John was a gentle soul and a fantastic boyfriend. He'd been patient, supportive, respectful... a true gentleman... and what's more, he trusted her and she felt that she could trust him. She was determined that, no matter what Sherlock did or said tonight, she would not be scared off. She would be amiable and friendly... she would tolerate him – it was worth it for John.

"You ready to go?" John asked after they'd walked about three blocks in silence. He wasn't sure why he was suddenly the one pushing the issue. Maybe it was because he was actually beginning to feel cold.

"Yah," she said with confidence and John hailed a cab.

...

"Sherlock?" John called peeking around into the kitchen. He and Mia had just arrived at the flat. John had hung up their coats and glanced around their messy apartment – no Sherlock. to his pleasant surprise, Sherlock had taken it upon himself to get rid of some of the experiments from the living room. John wondered where he had stashed them... his room? the closet?

"That's funny, he said he'd be home," John said almost more to himself than to Mia. Secretly he wasn't sure whether to be furious at having been stood up and made a fool of in front of his girlfriend, or whether to be utterly relieved that he had managed to dodge the bullet for some time yet.

"Well maybe he's just running errands," Mia suggested thoughtfully.

"Sherlock?" John asked in disbelief, "No. I don't think so."

He was about to knock on Sherlock's bedroom door when the man appeared, suddenly swinging said door open and standing there looking well-groomed and nonchalant. He was wearing his dark, tailored, suit with the dark purple shirt – the one he knew made him look incredibly attractive.

"Good evening, John," he said flatly.

"Evening," John said a little taken-aback. He couldn't read the tall, dark and handsome detective's mood, but he could definitely see the impression he had made on Mia. John had glanced over his shoulder just in time catch her giving Sherlock an appreciative once-over.

"And you've brought your new girlfriend I take it?" Sherlock said, stepping aside and taking two measured steps closer to the center of the room. He could smell her perfume, but had no idea how close he really was to her.

"Mia Rivers, it's so nice to finally meet you," she said while taking a step closer to him and extending her hand kindly.

It hit John then that Mia must have forgotten that Sherlock was blind, "She wants to shake hands Sherlock," he prompted.

"Oh I'm sorry," Mia said – ashamed of her clumsy error. She was about to pull back her hand when Sherlock grasped it.

A brief look of annoyance had flitted across Sherlock's features – far too quickly for a stranger like Mia to notice. He had cordially grasped her hand and then released it unceremoniously. It wasn't even a real hand-shake and was just long enough for Sherlock to be able to say that he did his duty and was 'civil', but John knew that it was a big step for Sherlock who disliked touching anyone he didn't know well.

As John watched the two of them approach it was as if a lightning bolt had struck him – he felt completely paralyzed. Oh my God. His mind went blank as he stared from one to the other and the realization sunk in... I'm dating Sherlock.