Disclaimer: I only own the OC's, not anyone else!

Spencer was early to the restaurant, which had some extremely fancy Italian name at which she was not in the mood to pronounce. She was wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and a man's dress shirt and tux jacket, both Ben's. The stares she was receiving on account to her attire brought a small grin to her face. The smile faded soon after when still no one had shown. She dug into the tux's inside pocket and brought out an old pocket watch, one that looked like it had been in fashion during the late 1800's. Holding the delicate timepiece in her gentle hands gave her something to focus on as the buzz of the crowd, clinking of glass and silverware, and the barking of the chefs filled her ears. She removed her clear brown eyes from the face of the miniature clock to the dining people. Details registered in her mind as quickly as she saw them, if not quicker.

Constant patting of pocket signals hidden drugs.

Shifty eyes. He's lying to her.

Running his hand through his hair. Wonder when he shall propose?

Rubbing her ring finger. I'm sorry she lost him so soon.

Holmes closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her long slender tightened slightly on the old timepiece. At that moment, Murdock's broad hand enclosed her shoulder.

"Holmes?"

"Hm?" She grunted, lifting her eyes to those bright sapphires of her roommate.

"I'd like you to meet Anne Jonathon, Tyler Berks, and David Ross."

"A pleasure." She responded, standing and shaking each of the hands of the two boys and girl. Almost immediately, she began to observe them.

She's staring at Ben in such a way as to be perceived as a crush.

And it was true. Anne's hazel eyes watched Murdock's face carefully, analyzing the way he looked at Holmes. At least, she tried to analyze. It was pretty damn obvious she wasn't learning anything, which was the point of analyzing. Holmes hid a scoff as a small cough.

As they sat down, the one called Tyler asked her, "So, Spencer, are you working on a new case?" The boy's grey eyes watched her with open and wide admiration.

"Er… No. Sorry." Why did people insist upon conversation? It was so irksome.

"Well, maybe you'll get one soon." He flashed her a dazzling smile. Or… He thought it was dazzling. It made Holmes want to vomit.

"That's what I've been telling her." Murdock said pointedly. Holmes pointedly ignored him.

"You know, I find all those murder mystery shows fascinating." The other boy, David, piped up. "Although the whole 'details mean everything ' seems a little far fetched for me."

Murdock stiffened beside Anne… Oh, no… He did not say that to her… Oh, my God.

"Really?" Holmes' eyes grew cold, and she thought. That bastard did not just cross that line.

"If details are so insignificant, then how do I know that you are in a feud with your girlfriend, or that you had a restless sleep last night, and you are already cheating on your girlfriend and are looking at other girls, even right now in front of me and your friends?"

David's jaw had dropped and he blinked in astonishment. "Excuse me? How dare you!"

"I already dared, no need to point it out."

David glared steely at her. "Take it back."

"Why take back to truth to replace it with lies? No one seems to want a good lie these days, and unfortunately, I see right through lies. So, there's really no point."

Tyler looked like a child in a candy shop."Can you tell about all of us?"

"Of course, but let me tell our dear Mr. Ross here what gave him away." She looked at the boy whose pride she'd just thrown out the window.

"Your shifty gaze towards the females in the room signals increased interest, but refrained guilt from lack of loyalty. That tells me that you want a new girl, but you are still dating one. The ruffled hair only looks good if styled right, and yours is not, and when you couple that with your dark-rimmed." David really wanted to smack the smug look off her face.

"Now you, Tyler, you have problems with your parents, and you seem to be wanting to leave. You like to paint and you have an intense sexual interest in me. You are young and naïve, and you want to become a detective some day, but people insist upon you being an artist from your amazing talent, and let me tell you, this job is not for someone like you."

Tyler looked like he wanted to give her a standing ovation.

"Bravo! You're spot on!"

"I can tell from the way you longingly glance back at any parents with a small child that that is what you've always craved from your family, but it's never been given. So you want to leave, naturally, and you've got the receipt for a moving truck company in your pocket. Also, you've a smudge on your hand that's been unsuccessfully rubbed off. You've never stopped watching me the entire time, so I can easily assume the other two."

Tyler nodded eagerly. "Thank you, ma'am."

She held up a hand. "Just call me Holmes. Now, Anne, no need to worry about if Murdock likes me or not and if I'm your competition for his affection, because, quite frankly, we couldn't stand each other if we were together, and we already have a mutual loving dislike that bonds us, and has bonded us since we were no less than the ages of seven and nine. Also, Murdock doesn't seem to be able to stand me much now, so if he were to move in with you, he could be rid of me for once and all. But, it'd be terrible to not have my Dr. Murdock in the case with me, making me have to become either a lawyer or hobo, and I'm thinking that the hobo is more appealing."

Anne smiled up at Murdock, and Holmes sighed inwardly. She was going to miss her colleague. No one could stand her like Murdock could, and though they didn't hate each other as much as she implied, they certainly didn't hold love for each other except for the love of best friends, and the fact that they considered each other brother and sister. Of course, Murdock and her wouldn't lose contact. They'd just never work together again. That much was clear.

A little later in the evening, Murdock wondered why Holmes had become so quiet. Before her could give her a questioning look, Anne pulled his coat sleeve and began to tell him a story that involved a lot of high pitched laughter.

In the end, Holmes left the dinner early, leaving her food mostly uneaten. Excusing herself with the excuse of needing to feed the cat, (which brought forth a glare from Ben) she walked away from the restaurant toward the local fight club. There, she could pretend like her opponent was Anne.