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"I'm so happy for you two, I don't even have the words to express it!", Greg grins broadly, clapping Sherlock's shoulder as Molly shyly cuddles his side, holding out her left hand so Greg can take a peek at her engagement ring. "And damn, that's what I call a rock!", he muses, looking at the ring.
"Thanks, Greg. Of course you'll be invited to the wedding", Molly smiles cutely.
"Oh, a Holmes wedding. Shall I be prepared, because I wasn't exactly prepared for the first Watson wedding, and we all know how /that/ turned out."
Sherlock smirks and Molly nudges him in the ribs. "We vehemently hope that nothing crime-related goes down at our wedding, so be as prepared as you like but don't count on it. I'd have his head!"
"Ooh, I wouldn't mess with this one Sherlock, she actually knows how to remove organs and make it look fun."
Sherlock laughs heartily and nods. "Oh, believe me, I know. I will never be underestimating Molly ever again. You have my word, Molly. Greg is my witness."
"Alright, you two get outta here, spend some time together. Sherlock, you've been running yourself ragged with cases all week. Both of you enjoy, eh?", he winks.
"Thanks, Greg" Sherlock nods politely as he places a soft kiss on Molly's cheek, and they leave New Scotland Yard.
Lestrade returns to his office and settles down in his chair, letting out a small sigh as he picks up a file that was left for him to go over for one of his smaller cases. Within moments there is a knock at his door.
"Come in", he says gruffly, a bit grumpy without having a coffee yet that day.
His door opens and a lovely woman, just a bit younger than him steps into the room. "I apologize, Detective Inspector. I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Katrina Knowles. I'm the new record coordinator for NSY. I was updating the files and it seems that there is a slight discrepancy in some of them. I was wondering if we could schedule a time later or this week to go over some of the case files so everything will be in order."
Greg catches himself staring a bit and then smiles, clearing his throat and holding out his hand, shaking hers. "Pleasure to meet you, Mrs...Knowles? Yes, we can coordinate a time to go over those files for you."
"Ms. Knowles, but you can call me Katrina or Katie", she smiles beautifully. "And thank you, I look forward to going over your cases. You're one of the most successful detectives in the NSY, pretty impressive."
He blushes slightly, nodding with a grin, guilt tugging at his heart knowing that a lot of them were Sherlock's cases he had taken credit for. "Thank you...Katie."
His heart thumps wildly in his chest. Her dark, wavy hair shines in the dim light of his office and her lip gloss glistens on her shapely lips. Her eyeshadow highlights the beautiful blue of her eyes and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes are endearing, a sign of happiness within her past.
She smiles softly and leaves him be for the rest of the day.
.
.
A few days later, Katie walks into his office, smiling. "Good day, Detective Inspector."
"Oh, uh, Greg, please", he grins.
Katrina nods and sets the files down on the desk, taking a seat. They go over the individual files and Lestrade assists her in ironing out some of the details as best as he can remember. Notes of light, florally perfume waft through the air to his nose, intoxicating him. Katie looks beautiful, wearing a purple blouse and long black skirt today. He can feel his pulse speed up again and he swallows thickly.
"Greg?"
"Hmm? Oh! Oh, sorry, just...lost in thought apparently. This uh...this case was a good one", he holds up a file awkwardly.
She chuckles softly, blushing a bit. "Alright, well we have a handful left and then I'll get out of your hair so you can do your paperwork or whatever else you've got to do today."
"Of course, but I don't mind you being around. Plus, you seem very organized, and you'll work so well in the record department. This was a great idea and I commend you for it."
"Ooh my first commendation from the D.I, I'm honored", she muses, grinning.
Greg smirks and chuckles. "I'm not too difficult to win over I think you'll find."
"Is that so?"
"It is so, most days at least. Some days I can get pretty grumpy", he laughs softly.
"We all have those days, no worries."
He smiles at her and runs a hand through his hair.
About a half hour later he piles up the folders and hands them to her. "Right, so it looks like we've finished this lot."
"This was actually all of the files that had a few details missing. The last records clerk maintained them well, it's a shame she had to retire, but I hear she deserved it."
"Patty? Yes, she was good. Hardworking. Spent nearly her entire life here. Hell, she was here before I was. I'd say she deserved her retirement. Plus, I'm glad you're here now. You seem very dedicated as well. Say, have you worked for a law enforcement agency before?"
"It's a bit complicated, I started out as a lawyer, and then when I got older, I was mostly a law clerk, but sometimes I would step in for the police department when they needed an extra hand."
"That's impressive. Where was that?"
"Camden", she smiles. "I decided it was time to move on when my boss at the law agency retired. I could have retired myself, but I still think I'm too young for that", she laughs. "Plus, I enjoy working. Gives me something to do. I don't have a family as I was a very busy and dedicated career woman when I was younger. Looking back, I shouldn't have been so rigid. But bygones are bygones."
Greg nods softly. "I'm divorced, unfortunately. But I have four kids. Three girls and a boy. They're my world. Granted, my older two are teens now, but they're good eggs. They still like coming to visit me when I have them for the week. I have split custody with my ex-wife. I'm civil but...it didn't end very well. A lot of lies and cheating on her end and finally I just couldn’t handle the empty promises anymore. At least my older kids understood. The younger two are twins, and they were a bit of a surprise about eight years ago. But I wouldn't trade them for the world. They are the best thing that came from that marriage."
"I'm so sorry that happened to you, but you seem like an incredible father. Those kids are lucky."
"Thank you", he smiles, trying to ignore his pounding pulse. He wants to ask her out to dinner very badly, but he knows it's probably not the best ethics while on the job.
"You're welcome. Thank you again for going over these files with me. If I find any more, I'll let you know."
"Any time", he grins brightly. A bit too brightly, he internally scolds himself as she leaves his office.
He lets out a breath and runs his hand through his hair again. "I need to get a date with that extraordinary woman", he murmurs to himself.
As Katrina walks back upstairs to her office, she can't help but smile. "I must get a date with that amazing man", she mutters under her breath.