I'm not especially good at keeping track of dates. This one probably would've slipped by me if L hadn't pointed it out, but it has, as you all know by now, been six months since we met. Plus or minus a day or two. Most of my relationships made it to the three month mark and then fizzled out.
A few made it to five. Those tended to explode spectacularly - maybe the pressure of keeping their mouths shut for those extra two months on the subject of everything I was doing wrong? Of course, mainly what I was doing wrong was being in another country and not at home with them.
So I'm pretty happy it's been six months and Lestrade shows no sign of getting sick of me.
He picked me up for the big date - as in, knocked on the door rather than using his key. He brought me flowers, which hasn't happened to me since the little girl who lived down the road picked all her mum's daffodils for me when we were five. (These weren't daffodils - white tulips and lilacs, in case you were wondering. Most of the flat smells like lilacs now, very nice.)
He took me to a new Thai place which I'm convinced he picked entirely for the name - Thai Me Up. They grade all their curries on a spiciness scale of 1 - 10. Lestrade, of course, asked for a zero, which they were able to provide, so I suspect we'll be seeing a lot of the place. It's nice - tiny and very slick and modern but for the enormous paintings done on black velvet of various scenes from (I think) Thai mythology.
We went for a walk after dinner, found a cupcake shop, and got far too many cupcakes. The best was the chocolate and salted caramel one. Of course, to determine that, it was necessary to try all the ones we got. I may have a slight cupcake hangover today.
Back at his flat (which he'd somehow found time to clean; I was very impressed at the lack of socks on every available surface), we had cupcakes, champagne, and watched Hot Fuzz*. Or, most of Hot Fuzz. Well, definitely bits of Hot Fuzz. Lestrade kept distracting me.
--
* I might have to buy him a Japanese peace lily for his birthday.
A few made it to five. Those tended to explode spectacularly - maybe the pressure of keeping their mouths shut for those extra two months on the subject of everything I was doing wrong? Of course, mainly what I was doing wrong was being in another country and not at home with them.
So I'm pretty happy it's been six months and Lestrade shows no sign of getting sick of me.
He picked me up for the big date - as in, knocked on the door rather than using his key. He brought me flowers, which hasn't happened to me since the little girl who lived down the road picked all her mum's daffodils for me when we were five. (These weren't daffodils - white tulips and lilacs, in case you were wondering. Most of the flat smells like lilacs now, very nice.)
He took me to a new Thai place which I'm convinced he picked entirely for the name - Thai Me Up. They grade all their curries on a spiciness scale of 1 - 10. Lestrade, of course, asked for a zero, which they were able to provide, so I suspect we'll be seeing a lot of the place. It's nice - tiny and very slick and modern but for the enormous paintings done on black velvet of various scenes from (I think) Thai mythology.
We went for a walk after dinner, found a cupcake shop, and got far too many cupcakes. The best was the chocolate and salted caramel one. Of course, to determine that, it was necessary to try all the ones we got. I may have a slight cupcake hangover today.
Back at his flat (which he'd somehow found time to clean; I was very impressed at the lack of socks on every available surface), we had cupcakes, champagne, and watched Hot Fuzz*. Or, most of Hot Fuzz. Well, definitely bits of Hot Fuzz. Lestrade kept distracting me.
--
* I might have to buy him a Japanese peace lily for his birthday.
61 comments:
My flat's been fairly clean since Nicky and co. Given I'm hardly ever there to make a mess.
You can't go on a proper date if you start it by letting yourself in to the other person's flat. Then it just becomes dinner out. And this was definitely a date!
I'm more amazed you're not sick of me, my baggage and my job. There is nothing about you I could even dream of being vaguely sick of.
I freely admit I would be a bit miffed if you left the country though.
You haven't got any more baggage than I have. And don't worry, I think I've actually seen enough war zones for one lifetime. It's nice, if odd, to stay in one place and have all my things here instead of packed away in boxes.
Lestrade, you brought flowers? Awwwwwwwww.
That is absolutely adorable. For a pair of badasses, you really are all kinds of sweet and fluffy :-p
(Also, not sure is this is helpful or terrifying, but my longest relationship before this was three months; currently still going strong after more than twenty years)
Paula - he is startlingly sweet sometimes.
Anon - Definitely helpful. Clearly we just weren't seeing the right people before.
The date sounds lovely. :) I raise a mug of tea to you, with a toast to many more months of happiness for you both.
I have a Japanese peace lily! Its name (because I name my houseplants) is Nicholas.
Paula - I love flowers. I love having someone to buy them for. It's win-win.
Danger - well, I definitely wasn't seeing the right people.
That means I can't go on dates any more. :-( I disagree with that entirely.
It sounds like the two of you had a wonderful time. I must admit to some curiosity as to why the Japanese peace lily is required. (Flowers, yes. That particular one, ? Unless Lestrade has a black thumb and it's really, really hardy.)
@Humantales - In the film the boys sort-of-almost watched, Hot Fuzz, the main character, a police sergeant called Nicholas Angel, keeps a Japanese peace lily (and attempts to buy one for one for his partner in bromance)
humantales - Everyone gets to have their own definition of a date I think. This is L's, and I'm fine with it. The peace lily is a reference to the film we saw, which was hilarious (not quite sure if L enjoyed it as much as I did) and stars a police officer named Nicholas Angel, with a peace lily he loves possibly more than his girlfriend.
Humantales - I suppose I was just trying to make it into a real 'early relationship' type date, seeing as we seemed to miss out on a few of those, what with the boys and everything. I dunno, I just like the romance!
And I'm fairly good at keeping plants alive. Not much of a gardener, but I like flowers and pot plants and things. Think it makes a big difference to a flat if you fill it with a bit of life. I used to have a fair collection - including a beautiful Ficus Ginseng. But when Bryan and I split up...well, a hell of a lot of my possessions didn't make it out alive. Including my plants.
Danger - I just suppose my baggage seems a little more...ongoing. In some ways. I don't know.
I'm currently playing a game of 'hunt the evidence log'. Sometimes I'm amazed this bunch ever get anything to court...
The flowers sound lovely, and I do still have a recipe for caramel brownies if you're still hankering after the taste. After all, as Lestrade said, the two of you are up all night doing stuff . . . you need sustenance!
(not quite sure if L enjoyed it as much as I did) and stars a police officer named Nicholas Angel, with a peace lily he loves possibly more than his girlfriend.
I'm not quite sure I was paying enough attention...I had, errr....other things on my mind. Like distracting you.
And if you buy me one, I promise I won't love it more than you. Although if you think it would survive being at work, it could live in my office and I could have a workplace romance with it, given that you've declined my offer of employment...
Innie - I could eat a caramel brownie right now. Wonder if the canteen has anything to offer that's looks like it's edible, and not an evidence sample.
L - I'm almost afraid to ask, but what happened to your plants? Did he pitch them out the window or something?
Did I decline your offer? It's probably for the best, though I felt I made a pretty good temporary coroner that time.
Yeah, I was...distracted. We could watch it again sometime.
Pretty much, yeah. Over the balcony, along with anything else I hadn't already taken (or that he hadn't smashed up by throwing it at me) - CDs, clothes, books etc. and set fire to them. (thank God I hadn't left my guitars there).
You didn't decline so much as say you didn't believe I was serious, and that I'd only let you do the boring bits. Which is most of the job, to be honest. And you were the best temporary coroner I've ever had.
We should watch it again. I completely missed the end, but I didn't think it was anything the boys couldn't watch? But I might have missed something...
L - On the boys watching - no. I'm not saying they wouldn't necessarily enjoy it, but no. Too much blood, even if it's...completely ridiculous blood. Too much (ridiculous) violence in general. And I don't need Sherlock chasing swans.
My estimation of Bryan just keeps sinking lower, even when I hadn't thought it was possible.
I was the only temporary coroner you've had, wasn't I?
Ah, sorry. Just looked it up and seen it's rated fifteen. Obviously I should have paid slightly more attention...
I imagine it's still possible, if I'm honest. Anyway, court sent me the notification that the dissolution papers have been sent to him yesterday. He's got eight days to respond, once he gets them. And then (hopefully, if he does respond) we'll know if he intends to fight it in any way.
You may have been, yes. But I'm sure no others will ever eclipse your brilliance.
I think the amount of attention you paid was entirely appropriate to the situation.
Yeah, pretty sure that's true. I suppose all we can do right now is keep hoping for a trouble free resolution.
I'm sure your future temp coroners will be intimidated.
Good.
Yes. Makes me a feel a bit sick thinking about the alternatives.
Sorry, got a call in, so I'm off out to see a body in a kebab shop in a rough area of London...the only bright side I can see is that if I hadn't been on nights anyway, I would have been called out, probably.
I'll still be on my phone, and probably won't have much to do until forensics have done their thing. Well, apart from try to exude a bit of calm toward the baying crowds...
the baying crowds...
Baying for kebabs, no doubt. No one likes to be thwarted in kebab acquisition, especially by an inconvenient dead body.
Hey, Doctor Danger, if you decide that your part-time job isn't going to be author or personal shopper or anything else, maybe it could be baker of sweet treats?
CARAMEL BROWNIES:
1 package german chocolate cake mix [any chocolate cake mix will do]
1 stick of butter
2/3 c evaporated milk [I use skim and then pretend that this is slightly healthy]
1 small bag of soft/chewy caramels
1 c milk chocolate chips
Melt the stick of butter. Mix melted butter, 1/3 c evaporated milk, and dry cake mix. Use half of that mixture to cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan (use your fingers and make sure the bottom is completely covered).
Bake for 15 minutes at 350 F.
While it's baking, unwrap the caramels and put them in a microwave-safe bowl. Add 1/3 c evaporated milk. Melt the mixture in the microwave (2 minutes, stir, one minute, stir, etc.).
Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the baked cake batter, then pour the melted caramel mixture over that, covering evenly. Drop the rest of the unbaked cake batter in spoonsful across the pan (they will expand and spread when baked to cover the entire pan).
Bake for another 15-18 minutes - they should still be moist, not dry. Do not overbake.
Cool and enjoy!
There's no shortage of corpse-free kebab shops nearby.
It's gangs again. Last time this happened they killed one boy, waited for the shrine to be set up later that night, and when some of his friends came to pay their respects there was a drive by, killing another. So everyone's a bit jumpy. And the commander's flooded the area with uniforms. Messy.
L - well, that's a particularly horrible way to behave, though I suppose I'm not really surprised by it. Be careful.
Innie - I don't think anyone will ever pay to cook anything. They might conceivably pay me not to cook anything. Maybe L could try making the brownies though; they do sound good.
I am. You (and anyone else stumbling around reading these comments) mustn't worry if I go quiet. You can always call me. It's just ten kinds of chaos here, with various fights breaking out all over the estate. Going to be a busy one. And yes, I've got my stab vest on.
You could cook those for me tomorrow. I can have a kip when we get back from taking the boys to school/classes (if I get back in time), you can bake. Lovely.
I'll try if you like, but I'm 90% certain you'll be sorry...
10% chance I'll be gloriously happy then.
Just don't set the smoke alarm off while I sleep.
The guy here is arguing that we should just move the body so he can keep selling kebabs. I know it's his livelihood, but still...I wouldn't want to face a kebab after seeing the way this kid's been cut up.
This post made me go "awwwwwww" in real life. So, congratulations on your (half) anniversary! I'm glad you had such a nice date. Also, I watched this and I thought you might like it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDbAxhV2ofM
You've mentioned that you like this song, right? :D
Lestrade - on the subject of whether a peace lily would survive at your work, I suspect it would. They don't like direct sunlight - mine is hidden in a dimly-lit corner of my kitchen - and some varieties will thrive on nothing but fluorescent lighting. Plus they really are very good at filtering toxins out of the air.
Congratulations on the anniversary!
My targets for a boyfriend have just been raised though - but then my Dad has spent all of my parents marriage bringing my Mum flowers just because he loves her so I expect nothing less!!!
Stay safe - kebab shops are risky at the best of times. If the heat doesn't get you then the e-coli will!!
Kira
xoxo
Sounds like a perfect excuse for flowers, Kira. I may follow his example.
Don't mention e coli though. I have no idea what bug i had the other week, but just thinking about it makes me shudder.
We've just arrested two boys for carrying knives. Which has done nothing to the levels of tension here, but possibly reduced the chance of a revenge hit.
Lupe - that video made me go awww in real life. Ha. He must've listened to that song about a million times.
Kira - thanks. Apparently you just need to find an incurable romantic and you're set. :)
L - remind me what time you're done again?
I love Hot Fuzz. Nick and Danny are absolutely adorable together, but I confess I have a secret crush on one of Nick's supervisors (not Bill Nighy, one of the others). He's only got a teeny role in the movie, if you blink you might miss him, but I'm really quite fond of him.
Aww. That's sweet (the date, That is). I love that he bought you flowers (lilacs are one of my favorites) and found a good Thai place.
I must say that your date sounded lovely. And I'm strongly in favor of romantic boyfriends who like giving flowers. (I got them once for getting in an accident, because I was OK.) I just also like dates, even if we only get a couple a year.
L - I hope your night stays safe, even if it isn't quiet.
I bought myself a peace lily after I saw Hot Fuzz. I've even managed to keep it alive thus far, despite almost killing it early on by leaving it in direct sunlight. So I think you stand a fairly good chance at taking care of one.
I'm sorry you lost so many of your old things because of that asshole. I'm glad you have John now, and I'm glad you guys are doing well and that you had a nice anniversary. Hope we'll be seeing similar adorableness in another six months. :)
Sorry, Danger. Got a bit busy. Scheduled to finish at 7am. I'll let you know if that's not going to happen
He came for the Dogs of War and stayed for the Danger?
Congrats on the anniversary, you two! It sounds like a wonderful date, and I am officially jealous of your flowers, Danger.
Terra, I wonder if we're thinking of the same police officer...possibly so. I just love watching movies like Hot Fuzz where the cameos are almost as good as the actual movie.
Iamshadow - it's just the Danger i come for....
John, I need to hand over to the team on days, then i'll be on the way. If i'm not back by the time you need to get going with the boys, just go. Or call me.
Polaris - losing a bunch of possessions seemed like a small price to pay for getting out of that relationship, in the end.
I don't think there's enough romance in the world. And definitely not enough flowers. I happily buy them for myself, if there's no one to buy them for. If I went back and did my life again I could probably have been pretty happy being a florist, I reckon. Peaceful life, surrounded by beautiful things...sounds all right to me.
Innie - Danger is currently refusing to bake for me...n the grounds I should be sleeping. Wich I think is a poor excuse. But I will shortly go and sleep.
John, if you start baking now, the brownies will be cool enough to devour once Lestrade wakes up. And it's hard to beat waking up to the smell of something delicious made for you (especially if it was made by someone equally delicious).
Please? We'll all cheer you on!
I'm awake...maybe he'd agree if we made them together (could we get any more domesticated??)
God, I'm so late in saying, but happy six months!
And come on, John. You made it through organic chemistry, right? Making brownies is a piece of cake (ha!) comparatively speaking.
(And I'm with you, L, on the flowers. I buy them for myself all of the time, because my hubs doesn't. My ideal 50th wedding anniversary gift would be if he gave me a recreation of my bouquet - 25 Raphaela roses. Only 40 years to get the hint across!)
...All right, look. You, L, go at least pretend you're napping and I'll try. I'll even make a double batch and either ruin twice as many ingredients or have extra brownies to appease Sherlock's class tomorrow. Then they'll love you no matter what you say and you can stop looking so nervous about it.
It's not nerves, it's unadulterated terror. They're all so bloody clever!
They're very nice kids!
Didn't say they weren't. But they're all terrifyingly clever. They'll probably be teaching me things.
Hey, this is my last journey to work on public transport.
And call me suspicious, but we seem to suddenly have a brand new bike parking bay - complete with security bars to lock to - near the end of the road. Dare I wonder if this is Mrs Holmes at work? Or just massive coincidence?
So how did the brownies turn out?
Lestrade - I'm guessing that around Mrs H, there's no such thing as a coincidence, especially not a massive one. So to speak.
Also, those kids might be terrifying clever, but remember that on this subject, you know more than them, that's what counts. OTOH, I find children en masse to be terrifying regardless of intelligence, so what do I know?
L - well, she did want a way to thank you for saving Mycroft. Maybe she was just waiting to see what you wanted?
Anon - the brownies are actually pretty good! I followed the instructions very carefully, and L slept through the whole thing. No smoke alarm.
She could have asked...but I can't say I would ever have thought of this as a gift. And it will make me feel better, if I can lock the bike up nice and safe outside your place.
Anon - they were better than 'pretty good', and he shouldn't seem so surprised about it. I've got a couple packed in foil for a snack later on.
She did ask - you said you wanted all the evidence her people took away so you could close the case, and she said not a chance. Anyway, it might be just coincidence. You never know with her.
Yeah, well that was when I was just a copper. She could have asked again...
But I still wouldn't have thought of anything so useful. Or something that I couldn't get myself. Which this is. SO thank you, Mrs Holmes, if it was you. Much appreciated, Ma'am.
When you didn't respond to my comment in the last post I was concerned I might have touched on a tender subject, without meaning to. If so, I am sorry. Or it could be that not everything is about me and you guys had other things on your minds yesterday;) Either way, I'm glad to hear you had such a good time, with sweet things of all sorts.
In Washington State we just had a tulip festival a few weeks ago. They're in all the stores and blooming in everyone's yards. It's gorgeous and I never really appreciated them until I moved here. I can picture the pale tulips combined with the lilac. Lestrade has great taste.
And even though I think the world could always use more doctors, if you wrote a book, or even a short story, I would definitely read it. I'm a big fan of literary doctors:)
~one_traveller
I was concerned I might have touched on a tender subject
No, no. I just forgot, sorry. I did think about it quite a bit - although less the volunteering (though I should do that too) than the shocking fact that Sherlock will most likely be going off to school in seven or eight years as well, which suddenly seems very soon indeed. But yeah, you're right, this won't last forever, and I had better keep current on what I was actually trained for.
Congratulations on your success in the kitchen, John! Did you manage to save any for the kids, or did you and Lestrade need an energy boost of epic proportions?
J-if a gorgeous guy showed up at my front door with a big bouquet of flowers, ready to take me for a night on the town, some chick on the internet talking about part-time jobs wouldn't be the first thing on my mind, either:)
I imagine you'll always be in the boy's lives. I'm still in contact with kids I took care of years ago, and those were more of the 'usual' nanny situations. You're essentially fostering the boys. I would think you'll always be close to them, both you and Lestrade.
But, yeah, time does fly by. It sometimes feels as if there must be some big cosmic mistake-I just changed his diaper, he has no business dating.
If being a doctor still calls to you, then yes, by all means. I'd been thinking about how you'd said you weren't a doctor or a soldier anymore-and it sounded like you missed them. But it seems to me that even if you're not practicing right now you *are* still a doctor, and if not an active soldier, you are a veteran. Or, if that's a time in your life that will always be important to you but you feel like you're heading in a different direction, this could be a good time to check out other things. Start writing, take some classes or something.
~one_traveller
@innie-When I told my husband there was a recipe for caramel brownies on the blog his response was, "Ooooooo..." and to ask me to print it off. They sound delicious and I hope J&L saved at least one or two for the boys, though I couldn't blame them for eating most of them, just to keep their strength up.
~one_traveller
You two spoil each other so beautifully. Glad the brownies turned out well.
They were lovely. I'm trying to persuade Danger that I need the rest more than Sherlock's classmates do.
And now I've got to sleep, because in a few hours....we pick up the new bike!
I may actually be too excited to sleep.
one_traveller, enjoy!
And L, you need fuel as surely as your new bike does!
Mrs. Holmes, you're deeply creepy and for some reason it just makes me like you. That's probably not surprising to anyone.
TTFN,
Bronwyn
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