Mature themes implied... and will continue throughout rest of story.

"Two men travel back from China. Both head straight for the Lucy Cat emporium. What did they see?" John rattled off as we waited for our food in a café across the way from the trinket shop.

"Sounds to me like they didn't see anything." I hummed, sipping at the Chai tea I'd gotten, contently. "They wouldn't have returned here if they did. They would have ran for their lives."

Sherlock nodded, though I caught him watching me curiously once more. "It's not what they saw, it's what they both brought back in those suitcases."

"And you don't mean duty free." John commented as Sherlock scribbled the Chinese symbols and two sets of numbers onto a napkin.

They'd mentioned earlier how it was some sort of warning code or something and I absentmindedly drummed my fingers as my mind ran a mile a minute trying to figure out what kind of code had two numbers that could form a warning. Though why I'm here, I don't quite know. I should have just gone home. My body is more than sore. I looked up when the waitress came by, thanking her politely when she set down a plate for John and myself. Hm, she's a little cute.

"Think about what Sebastian told us." Sherlock said, leaning forward and speaking more to John than I. "About Van Coon. About how he stayed afloat in the market."

"Lost five million…"

"…made it back in a week."

John hummed, taking a bit of his pasta as I connected the dots.

"You think they were smuggling and one of them took something." I concluded and Sherlock glanced at me briefly before nodding as something else caught my attention. "But there's been more than one murdered, so… Oh."

John raised a brow as I grinned.

"They don't know who took it."

"You catch on quick." John mused and I hummed, eating some of my chicken happily.

"Mystery writer." I replied, before Sherlock suddenly stood and I frowned; John and I still having nearly full plates.

"Remind me, when was the last time that it rained?"

John and I begrudgingly left our food and hurried after him across the street where he brushed a thumb over a wet Yellow Pages in front of an apartment door nestled between two homes.

"It's been here since Monday." He muttered, ringing the bell before heading away from the door.

John glanced at me, but I shrugged, not quite sure what was going on either as we trailed after the man. Sherlock had ducked into an alleyway and we were a few feet behind him.

"No one's been in that flat for three days."

"So?" I asked, not sure what some random flat had to do with it.

"Could've gone on holiday." John offered, but Sherlock had stopped and was looking up at an open window to the flat he'd been trying to ring up.

"Do you leave your windows open when you go on holiday?" He asked, before taking a running jump at the fire escape.

He clambered up it, leaving the two of us down below as my eyes widened.

"Sherlock!" John harshly whisper-shouted, before he turned to me. "Do you think you could reach that?"

I took a glance at the ladder and winced. "No, probably not. I may be tall and a bit of an ex-delinquent, but I'm not that tall."

"Right." He grumbled, leading the way back to the front of the building, where he rang the buzzer and called up to Sherlock. "Do you think maybe you could let me in this time?"

"This time?" I questioned and John groaned.

"He did something similar with Van Coon."

"What? You mean breaking and entering?" I said mockingly. "Lawyers must have a field day with you two and the cops."

"Yeah, no kidding." John grumbled, bending over to speak through the letterbox. "Can you not keep doing this please?"

Sherlock called out something from inside, but John missed it, as did I.

"What? What are you saying?" John sighed and looked rather exasperated as he pulled away from the letterbox. "I'm wasting my breath."

"Let me try." I hummed, leaning over as John had. "Oi, Sherlock?! I hope you know, you're breaking more than one law by doing this! I could have you arrested!"

I heard something along the lines of "I'd like to see you try" and rolled my eyes as I mocked him.

"Oh, look at me. I'm Sherlock and I think I'm so above the law." I sassed. "Tell you what, buddy! I'll never represent you in court, so don't come bugging me when you end up in prison!"

I stood up and shook my head, not knowing what to tell John, but it wasn't much longer than the door opened and Sherlock stood there. He looked a little paler than usual, but it was his croaky voice that caught my attention and made me raise a brow.

"The, um, milk's gone and the washing's starting to smell. Somebody left here in a hurry three days ago."

"Somebody?" John asked, though I drummed my fingers on the crook of my elbow.

"I'm still curious as to what some abandoned apartment has to do with this case. Seems a bit random to me."

"Don't be stupid." Sherlock rasped out, glaring at me before turning back to John. "Soo Lin Lao. We have to find her."

He bent down and picked up something off the ground.

"But how, exactly?" John asked as Sherlock unfolded the envelope and showed it to John. "Maybe we could start with this?"

We headed off and John made a face as Sherlock coughed.

"You're getting all croaky, are you getting a cold?"

"I'm fine." Sherlock said, though I watched him for a moment longer before brushing his odd behavior off. Who was I to question the great Sherlock Holmes?

When they hailed a cab though, we went our separate ways. I was bored, honestly. Having never really been into the more boring side of the 'searching for clues' part of a mystery, and instead headed back to the flat to get some sleep. I was still on designated bed rest, and a nap would feel good. After all, I was planning on hitting the bar later, and either I'd find someone new to possibly care for, or I'd at least find someone who wanted a good time. Either way, I had plans and now even Sherlock and his constant nagging would pull me away from them.

"Whiskey on the rocks, Jackie."

The woman turned, spotting me with a wide grin as I strolled into the bar.

"Jess! I haven't seen you in a while. Well, other than my assistant seeing you this morning. When he told me it was you who wanted the job, how could I say no?" She came over, making my drink before cringing when she saw my, still dark, black eye. "Your girlfriend do that to you?! I told you she wasn't good for you."

"No kidding." I grumbled, quickly draining a good amount of my drink, feeling the burning sensation making its way down the back of my throat. "Can you believe she kicked me out?"

"No!"

I nodded, frown still etched in place. "Yeah. Here I am, paying the bills and she kicks me out because I punched her new catch after he made a comment about women not being able to satisfy other women."

"I can't believe her!" Jackie shouted, moving to lean against the counter.

Now, Jackie was actually short for Jackson and he was a drag who ran the bar I was currently seated at. We'd been good friends ever since I came to England in the first place in the search for someone and he'd help me pick out a few on occasion. Which is why I was here now, in the hopes of finding a new catch since my last didn't turn out, though it was nice of him to give me a job earlier.

"Right? Ugh, and I walked in on them going at each other in my bed." I drank some more. "Then I got arrested because I got into a brawl with her boyfriend thanks to her throwing a fit about the furniture I bought!"

"Now that's just not right!" Jackie said, pouring me more. "That's the problem with people nowadays. You can never know what they're really after… So are you here to find a new one?"

"Maybe. Depends. I might just end up looking for a good time at this point." I sighed softly, drinking some more. "With my luck, I'll be lucky to get even that."

"Oh, don't be too hard on yourself, Jess! Any man or woman would be lucky to have someone as great as you."

I smiled a little. "Thanks, Jackie."

I'm pretty desperate… though not desperate enough to spy on Sherlock. I frowned at the thought, having gone on to another drink, deciding to let myself go while I was here since I wouldn't be drinking for a while now that I got the job. Jackie could see though that I was getting more and more drunk as time went on and I hardly noticed when a woman sat down next to me, watching me.

"Oh, you're a cute one, aren't you?"

That caught my attention and I turned my head, blinking my blurry vision away as I got a good look at her and she, me. Whoa… I thought. She's… beautiful… I wasn't exaggerating either. Everyone in the bar had their eyes on her and I could see why. She was wearing a tight fitting red dress that showed off her near perfect figure and the dark red lipstick she was wearing kept drawing my attention back to her face as her eyes bore into mine. She reached a hand up, brushing her fingers across my black eye, causing me to wince.

"It's a shame someone would mark a pretty face like yours." She commented, making me swallow nervously, though my drunkenness made it easy to hide.

"And it's a shame you're here… no woman stands a chance against you." I murmured.

"Oh, and charming as well." She said, giving me a smile that made my heart clench. "How would you like a drink?"

I shook my head, feeling my mind and body sway dangerously. "No, no. Nope." I said, popping the 'p'. "Too much to drink."

"I wouldn't say that." She cooed. "There's no such thing as too much."

I brought a hand to my face sloppily, trying to hide a darkening blush, and she chuckled as Jackie headed our way.

"Now, now, Irene. Jess here's had a rough week. Try to play nice."

Irene smiled up at Jackie as I peeked out from over my hand. "I don't play nice, Jackie. You know that."

"Nope, nope." I muttered, moving to stand, though my legs felt like jelly and I had to hang onto the bar counter just to make sure I was standing upright. "Can't stay. Too much to drink. John'll get mad again."

"John?" Irene said, questioningly. "You're already taken then?"

I immediately shook my head, the movement making me almost fall, though I caught myself. "He's my neighbor! Neighbor, neighbor. Army man, doctor in a jumper. Nice John. Bailed me out of jail."

"You were in jail?"

I nodded, bar stool behind me, threatening to topple over. "Angel broke up with me. kicked me out and stole my couch. I liked that couch." I pouted childishly, before catching myself and placing a hand to my head. "No, no. Bad Jess. No distractions. Need to go home."

I turned to go, but Irene had stood up, pressing a hand to my face and another to my shoulder, pushing me against the counter.

"Now, I think you might need a distraction, Jess."

I looked down slightly at her, her being just a bit shorter than myself and my eyes scanned her over quickly, the alcohol having reached my head and destroying my filter that kept me from blurting whatever I wanted.

"Distraction. Okay… Young, but not as young as you want. Early 30s. Born in the '80s. Calluses on hand from holding something and muscles in arms showing that something is something you swing. Dominating. Power-hungry. Not press related job. Something else."

She pressed closer to me, using her hand to bring my eyes back to her level. "Intelligent too. Brainy's the new sexy, you know."

The room seemed to spin a moment as her lips pressed to mine and when she pulled away, I nearly collapsed right there. It was like something hit me, but it made something click in my head as well.

"Dominatrix." I muttered, eyes scanning hers as a smirk appeared on her face and she turned towards the bar counter.

"I'm going to be borrowing this one, Jackie. That alright?"

I could practically sense Jackie rolling her eyes.

"Do what you want. Just be sure to leave her in one piece. She'll be working here in a few days."

Next thing I know, I'm being pulled out of the bar and into a car, Irene dragging a hand through my hair and yanking on the sensitive follicles at the base of my skull as she whispered in my ear.

"I hope you're prepared, Jess. Distractions are what I'm best at."

I laid in the bed, slightly out of breath and staring up at the ceiling in a daze, covered in nothing more than the sheets around me.

"W-Wow." I breathed out. "Why is it I get the feeling I've been missing out on something for the longest time?"

"Because you have, sweetie." Irene hummed with a smirk, coming over and placing a chaste kiss on my lips and making me groan as I followed her slightly when she pulled away. "You're welcome to stay. Kate will fetch anything you might need."

She started to move towards the walk-in closet, but I sat up and stopped her.

"Wait, Irene." I called out, making her paused and glance at me from over her shoulder, and I hesitated before shaking my head. "N-Never mind. It's not important."

Instead of coming over and asking what was wrong like some women might, she shrugged and turned back to the closet. After all, Irene Adler was no ordinary woman. And as much as her job might seem odd or disturbing to some people, I wasn't bothered by it and found the woman rather passionate when she wanted to be; not always being the harsh whip-hand that her website described her as. I sighed softly and got up myself, stretching my lanky limbs and moving around the bed to pick up my clothes; which Kate must have had washed sometime last night or early this morning. I was only half dressed when my phone buzzed in the pockets of my pants and I frowned in contemplation as I held my shirt and bra in my one hand and fished out my phone with the other. I grew even more confused at the text from Sherlock.

What to help catch a murderer?

-S

I rolled my eyes and locked my phone once more as a pair of silky smooth hands suddenly found their way around my torso and lightly clawed at my stomach, making me close my eyes with a soft sigh of pleasure.

"Work?" Irene whispered into my ear and I hummed deep in my throat.

"Not quite. Pesky neighbor trying to show off and drag me into his messes." I replied, allowing Irene to help me with my clothes as she trailed kisses up my neck.

"Sounds fun." She smirked against the crook of my neck and finishing up the buttons on my shirt. "Are you planning on indulging in his wishes?"

I scoffed as we pulled apart. "Hardly. I still have a flat to finish remodeling."

"Oh, but that's rather dull, don't you think?" She smirked and I rolled my eyes as I trailed after her figure, which was tightly wrapped in a black dress and flashy red heels.

"And who say's I'm not fine with a bit of boring?" I argued, and she turned with a raised brow.

"After last night, I'd say just about anyone." She answered me and I rolled my shoulders with a slight wince, grunting in begrudging acknowledgement.

"Yes, well, I was rather desperate last night." I turned back to her with a smirk. "And how could I resist you?"

She chuckled, a sound that echoed in my ears pleasantly as we headed for the door. "Yes, well I think you could do with some adventure in your life, Jess. Go have some fun and maybe afterwards you and I could arrange something a little more your style."

She smirked back, adjusting my shirt collar before brushing her lips across mine once more as I hummed. We pulled apart and I held the door open for her, hailing a cab and letting her go before me with a smile.

"Thanks, Irene."

"Dear, you've provided me with more entertainment than I could have imagined." She answered me. "Keep this up, and I might just have to charge you."

I quirked another grin at her and allowed her to head off before hailing my own cab and heading back to Baker Street in a much better mood. And what a woman. I thought idly. She's definitely more than she appears. And damn, is that hot.

Sherlock scowled, none too pleased with the image he had before him. Jess hadn't returned all night, according to Mrs. Hudson, who was more than ready to share that bit of gossip along with whatever she believed to have happened to the woman. John looked a little disappointed at her yapping about Jess possibly having found another lover, but Sherlock was near volatile with annoyance at the loud music coming from the radio at Jess's side as she hummed with a smile and continued to work on the walls of her new flat.

He could see the signs of her night out. She moved a little stiffly, but not in the ways her previous nights of injury would cause. The grin on her face was unmistakable as well, and while it was an improvement on her sour mood the past few days, the hickeys on her neck Sherlock could deal without. He was supposed to be the one to fix her mood. He was supposed to show her just how great he was and she was supposed to be stunned and amazed. Or at least give some motion as to her feelings about his deductions. But even now, she continued to ignore his presence as she worked on the wall before her, so he stormed over and turned off the radio, finally drawing her eyes to him and making her grin falter.

"What'd you do that for?" She questioned him with a frown and he scowled back.

"I texted you."

She turned back to the wall. "Yeah, and? I have a flat to fix."

"And you could have done that last night instead of wasting your time with some harlot." Sherlock snapped and she stood, immediately furious with him.

"You call her that again, and you'll wish I'd have ignored your text and stayed out today." She growled and Sherlock grit his teeth and forced himself to bite back the comment on his lips.

He wanted her to join him, not anger her to the point of storming out to be with some woman again. At his begrudging silence, Jess relaxed slightly and moved back, bending down to begin packing up the plaster and tools at her feet. Sherlock watched for a moment, trying to decipher on whether she was planning on joining him or running from his comment, but she informed him before he could question.

"Now what is it that you're trying to drag me into?" She grumbled, not sounding pleased by her own decision, but willing enough to join him that he felt his previous excitement return.

"Soo Lin Yao, the woman who owns the flat we visited the other day. John and I have discovered that she is still sneaking into the museum where she works to take care of some antique tea pots. We were hoping to meet with her tonight and get her to safety, if not catch the murderer before he kills another." He rattled off quickly and Jess hummed.

"And you need me for…?"

"An extra set of eyes." He answered swiftly. "And your relative skills in self-defense make you a better applicant than, say, her stick of a co-worker or one of my irregulars."

She raised a brow at that. "Irregulars?"

"My homeless network." Sherlock corrected, realizing he'd not had a chance to explain this to her and feeling excited to have grabbed her attention with it. "A number of people I can pay to do various tasks that are—"

"Too mundane and boring for someone of your stature?" Jess finished, snorting as she put the cans of plaster away in the closet full of tools in the hall.

"Yes." Sherlock replied bluntly, and Jess couldn't help the bubble of laughter that came from her mouth as she gave him a grin.

"Alright, alright. I'll come with you on your little expedition. Just let me change into something less covered in plaster, yeah?"

She waved him off and he too, couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face as he bounded upstairs and gathered up John into his coat and went to wait for Jess so they could head to the museum. John noticed Sherlock's good mood and questioned it for a second, up until Jess reappeared and headed out with them. He shook his head and silently questioned how Sherlock could continue to say he didn't care much for this woman, when it seemed he was constantly begging for her attention and grew as excited as a five year old chalked up on sugar when she actually went with them. Though, he did wish it was under slightly better circumstances. Attempting to catch a murderer and save a woman in the process wasn't exactly his idea of a date, but hey. Sherlock wasn't exactly a normal guy and who knows? Maybe Jess would be into a little bit of action. Either that, or I'm surrounded by psychopaths. Shame it seems I'm beginning to lean towards them.

Did I regret going with John and Sherlock to save Soo Lin Yao? At the end of the night? Yeah, I kind of did. I mean, we spent hours just sitting in the dark and waiting for the woman and when she did appear, we spent the next twenty minutes listening to her talk about her past. Sad as it was that she had been brought into smuggling at a young age and lost her brother to it, I was rather lost as to what her significance in this case of Sherlock's was; much less why I was here. Then, after finally discovering that she was the killer's brother and a part of the smuggling ring, things started to make a bit more sense. But how hard could it be to just sneak her out now and send her into police protection? Two people should have been plenty. But then I remembered Sherlock's whole thing about showing off and attempting to stun me with his 'amazing skills', and I couldn't help the roll of my eyes as I drummed my fingers on my elbow in slight boredom. I'd rather be with Irene, honestly. I've only got until the end of the week, and then I'll be working until two in the morning. And with her… business, relaxing during the days will be impossible. I frowned then, remembering what I'd been about to ask her earlier that morning. Are we together? Or am I just another client? She seemed honest enough last night, but… it's like there's something I'm missing about her and it makes me wonder what I am to her. It's only been a day though, so I didn't question her, but should I wait? I… I don't want this to be another Angel scenario. I don't want to be… used like that again.

The lights went out suddenly and I was startled out of my thoughts as Soo Lin Yao spoke in a scared, breathy whisper.

"He's here. Zhi Zhu. He has found me."

Spider? That's suiting. I mentally muttered, still trying to adjust my eyes to the dark as I heard—more than saw—Sherlock run off. John then got my attention and pressed Soo Lin Yao into a small crawl space.

"Jess, keep an eye on her. I've got to go help Sherlock." John told me as gun shots went off and he cursed under his breath before leaving the room.

The gunshots continued for a while, but then it got quiet and I waited with Soo Lin for a moment, until a breeze brushed across my face. I frowned, not knowing when the window had been opened, but then remembering that this Zhi Zhu person had apparently climbed like a spider up into Soo Lin's flat and a number of other places that Sherlock had mentioned in this case of his. I moved slowly, attempting to use what little night vision I had to keep an eye out, though I didn't know what use I could be if the man had a gun, like the shots said he did.

"Soo Lin, we need to get out of here." I whispered softly, keeping a hand behind me to make sure she stayed there as we slowly stood. "There's a door behind us. We just need to make it that far and then find Sherlock and we'll be—"

I was cut off when I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye and I shoved Soo Lin towards the door as a gunshot went off and a sharp pain went across my arm. The bullet had only skimmed me, but I wasn't about to take the risk of the man actually getting a good shot and I ducked behind a desk as I shouted for Soo Lin to run for it. I didn't hear her run though and only heard the soft mutterings of something in Chinese before another gunshot rang out and I felt ice run through my veins.

"Soo Lin!" I called out, making the mistake of getting up from my hiding place and spotting her body on the ground just moments before the butt of a gun bashed across my temple and sent me sprawling to the ground.

I groaned, vision spinning and head aching from the hit as I tried to push myself up, but I knew it was too late. Soo Lin was dead and the killer had escaped. I heard footsteps hurrying up the stairs and John made a choking noise at the sight of Soo Lin's body, before he spotted me and rushed to my side.

"Oh, God, Jess. Jess, are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah. Just fine, John." I bit out sarcastically as he helped me sit up. "You know me. Shot in the arm, bashed upside the head. Yeah, I'll be just fine."

"God, you were hit?"

"Clipped, really. Still hurts though, so would you mind letting it go?"

"Oh, sorry." He apologized, releasing my injured arm as Sherlock hurried in.

"Soo Lin, where is she?" He asked, soon spotting the body and turning to John and me with a frown. "And you two left her here alone?"

Now it was my turn to scowl at the man.

"I'll have you know, I was right here, but like there's a damn thing I can do against a man with a gun. You're lucky I didn't join her." I snapped at him, holding my head as John helped me to stand, and offered to call the police since it seemed Sherlock wouldn't.

The police and a paramedic soon arrived, myself insisting that I didn't need to go to the hospital and eventually convincing them that I was coherent enough to simply return home without the extra trip; so long as John made sure I didn't have a concussion and kept me awake for the next few hours to prove so. I wasn't pleased to have to join them—my good day having now been ruined—and I waited in the cab as they spoke with some detective; them returning to the cab looking less than pleased. I was dropped off at Baker Street though, before they went off to somewhere else; John having decided I needed rest and another trip would probably push me over the edge. Couldn't say I didn't agree. Sherlock's attitude was beginning to annoy me greatly and if I was stuck in the cab with him for much longer I probably would have snapped at him.

Unfortunately, due to my injury I had to inform Irene that our fun would have to wait until my head wasn't attempting to murder me with a furious headache. She was kind enough about it, wishing me well and sending me a rather… nice picture to make up for it. And after the recommended hours of needing to stay awake, I attempted to sleep for the first time in nearly a day, only to be awoken a moment later with the pounding of feet on steps. It continued for what seemed like hours before it finally went quiet and just as I'd closed my eyes again, another pair descended and a loud knock sounded on my door. I groaned and begrudgingly got up, only to try and shut the door again at the sight of Sherlock's face. He, of course, stopped the door closing with his foot and I scowled as I headed back to my couch with a complaint.

"Whatever it is, no."

"That's not very nice. I would think a neighbor as helpful as yourself would be eager to do some book reading to assist in the possible capture of a murder among a league of smugglers." He rattled off, inviting himself in as I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

"Just because I'm an author doesn't mean I enjoy reading every book in the universe. And don't you think you've dragged me into enough of this case? Or was my being hit upside the head and shot in the arm not good enough for you?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. You're perfectly capable of skimming some books to assist with our mysterious book code. Headache or no. Now hurry on upstairs. The sooner you assist with this, the sooner it will be over with."

And as much as I wanted to say no, I knew that if I did, he wouldn't cease to bother and pester me, so I'd be better off heading upstairs as he said. And if I fall asleep part way through, then it's his own fault. I mentally complained as I trudged my way up the stairs after him and glared John into silence before plopping down with some of the books; opening them to page fifteen and checking the first word for something that might make sense. And as thrilling as that was, I did end up passing out a few hours after I started; not waking up until midafternoon the next morning.

"A book that everybody would own." Sherlock said out loud, waking me with the first words he'd said in hours.

"Hm?" I sat up, startled, before looking at the scattered boxes of books and groaning as I leaned back on the couch and draped an arm over my tired eyes. "Dear, god. You're still doing this."

He ignored me and pulled down some books, myself pulling out my phone and wincing upon seeing the time. I need to make it up to Irene for canceling earlier. Maybe she'd like some dinner… I began sending a text as Sherlock flipped through some books.

"I hope you're not looking at a bible or dictionary or something of that sort. There's too many different types printed to get the same word on the fifteenth page every time." I commented, making him growl and toss the books harshly into the box before him and ruffle his hair in annoyance.

When footsteps sounded on the stairs though, I didn't even look up, having been distracted by a response from Irene. One that made me grin, even as Sherlock spoke with John now in the room.

"I need to get some air. We're going out tonight.

"Actually, I've… uh, got a date." John said, looking giddy as I waved my phone.

"As do I."

Sherlock looked between us both, though I felt his eyes linger on me more as I got up and stretched with a cringe at my injured arm. "What?"

"It's where two people who like each other go out and have fun." John explained.

"That's what I was suggesting." Sherlock replied with a frown that made me snort.

"Yeah, I doubt it. He means two people with intimate feelings towards each other, Sherlock. Not two mates sneaking out for a pint."

Sherlock frowned, pouting almost. "Where are you taking her?" He asked John before turning and frowning at me. "And her?"

"Dinner." I said with a twitch of my lips. "Then maybe, not dinner."

John caught on and let out a short cough before he answered. "Uh, cinema."

"Oh, dull, boring, predictable." Sherlock drawled, pulling something from his pocket and passing it to John. "Why don't you try this? In London for one night only."

It was a ticket for some Chinese circus thing that rang an alarm bell in my head, though I wasn't sure why. John was quick to say no, though, so I didn't feel the need to worry about it and Sherlock turned to me with a scowl.

"And what do you mean by not dinner."

"Hm." I hummed with an amused smirk. "I was being delicate, but if you want a blunt answer then I suppose I can give you one. You ruined my night last night by dragging me to that museum and I had to cancel, but I plan on taking her out for dinner and then staying overnight at her place for a shag."

John choked on air at my bluntness and Sherlock made a face of disgust, quickly returning to his chair and pointing at the door.

"Get out."

"Gladly." I chirped, glad I unnerved him with my response and heading downstairs to change into something a bit nicer for Irene.

And since I happened to annoy Sherlock this much, perhaps he'll leave me alone while I'm out this time.