This is wonderful! I'm always a sucker for stories in which poor Lestrade is feeling lonely and/or pining after Sherlock. Somehow, I'm not surprised that Lestrade would accept John's party invitation, despite the pain and bitterness he feels because of Sherlock and John's relationship. I thought it was great that John cornered Lestrade in the kitchen before he could escape and insisted on hearing the story of how Lestrade met Sherlock. The little embellishments of humour from Lestrade, not to mention Sherlock's discomfort, made the story even more entertaining. I love the idea of Sherlock mentioning the Jane Buttersworth case (a Somerset case to boot) in order to get Lestrade's attention and get him to take him seriously. It's even better that Lestrade had also thought of the Jane Buttersworth case and had drawn similar parallels.

Lestrade's initial confusion and obliviousness when John comes on to him is handled so well. It's so sweet that Lestrade can't seem to believe that Sherlock and John want to include him in their relationship. Thankfully, John seems quite happy to give Lestrade some solid proof by kissing him and asking for the uncensored version of Lestrade's story about Sherlock. *g*

I'm totally saving this story on my hard drive right now. :-)