"I like her." Mycroft looked up from his newspaper. As always, Anthea did not meet his gaze, she kept on looking at the screen of her BlackBerry, tapping away.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I like her."

Finally she looked up, just for a moment, dark eyes meeting his, and the corner of her mouth quirked up into a smile.

"She's a pushover."

"No, she's shy," she never stopped texting. "But she's not afraid of Sherlock."

A long pause.

"Neither are you."

"That's because I work for you," she replied evenly. "There isn't much to frighten me, now that I've seen you in your swim trunks." He colored modestly, shaking out his newspaper.

"Still. I think there must be a better pathologist to assist my baby brother and look after him."

"Mm," he lowered the corner of the newspaper.

"You think not?"

"I didn't say that."

"You were thinking it."

"Mm."

"Anthea," his tone was warning. She set the BlackBerry on her lap, sighing as she looked up.

"She's quiet, shy, and probably more than a little bit in love with him, but she's honest, she's clean as a whistle, and she was the one who called the last three times he was in the hospital. She didn't call the police, she called you."

"Probably because it was my identification in his pocket," he sniffed.

"She's let him take parts from the morgue without question, and doctors the paperwork so he can continue his experiments, despite the risk to herself, because she knows he'll be better off keeping busy rather than shooting up." Mycroft quirked an eyebrow.

"She told you this?" Anthea leaned back, crossing her arms under her chest.

"She's not stupid, she just thinks she is."

"You seem to have a good opinion of her," Mycroft replied after a moment. He was quiet, thinking.

"Have I ever steered you wrong?" now it was his turn to smile, and there was a glint in his eyes as he regarded her.

"Never."

"Well then?"

"Then I suppose Molly Hooper will remain at St. Barts," he thought a moment. "Arrange a meeting with her for me; I ought to fill her in."

"She won't be bribed," Anthea warned, picking up the BlackBerry again.

"You couldn't either," he retorted, turning the newspaper over.

"I thought working for you was bribe enough," he looked over the newspaper, she was looking down, but her eyes glanced up for just a moment, her cheeks flushing slightly. He was glad the newspaper hid his smile, his eyes warmly regarding her.