Note: This story takes place after 'Professions and Confessions' and 'Dawson's Perspective', however it is still perfectly coherent as a stand-alone.
The Great Mouse Detective: A Biased Judgment
Chapter 1: Anthia Arrives
It had been several months since Basil had refused her, and Miss Anthia Bloom had quickly come to accept his decision with all the grace befitting a mature young lady. Happily, her confession, and understanding in the face of rejection, had a dual-beneficial effect; enabling Basil to permit her his friendship without feeling burdened by unrealistic expectations, and also allowing Miss Bloom to enjoy his company unhindered by the pressing need to reveal her true feelings for him.
The two had reconciled to maintain a platonic relationship on good terms, and Miss Bloom contented herself with making occasional visits to 22 ½ Baker Street to see Basil, and also his good friend and partner in crime-solving; Dawson. These visits were always met with a warm welcome from its residents, who rarely—if ever—received social calls, as detective work—or tirelessly waiting for it—quite thoroughly monopolized their free time.
And it was upon this particularly pleasant summer morning, that Miss Bloom had decided to set out for just such a aforementioned visit, and as it was such a nice day, she had decided to forsake the transportation available to her, and simply walk there. Her father had suggested she have the coachman drop by with the carriage at a set time that would come after she'd completed her visit, but she told him of how she had made an agreement with Basil that his work would always come first, and were a client to arrive, her visits would always come to an abrupt end; in which case the coachman would most certainly have wasted his trip, as she would have already started for home once he got there.
No, she would either walk back, or were it quite late; hail a mouse-hansom, so as to prevent her from having to walk the London streets alone at night. Now were these the only assurances the rather protective Mr. Bloom had of his daughter's safety, he might have forbid her excursions, but it just so happened that Basil had been of great assistance to him in the past, and he trusted the detective would never allow her safety to fall to chance... a trust, which was most assuredly well-placed.
Although usually quite a level-headed young lady, Miss Bloom did have a tendency to make slightly imprudent choices whenever it came to situations wherein she felt she could be inconveniencing someone... And once, when one of her visits had been cut short by the entrance of a client, she had intended to set out for home, alone - despite it being late afternoon, and the possibility of her being unable to hail a mouse-hansom before dark was a valid one. Thankfully, Basil had kept a close eye on clock, and refused to let her leave unless she allowed Dawson to accompany her as far as proved necessary.. much to her embarrassment, as she knew Basil preferred to work cases with his good friend.
The retired surgeon had had to walk her quite far before managing to attain a ride for her, and Miss Bloom feared the event would result in Basil telling her she was no longer permitted to visit him. He surprised her however, by merely suggesting that she alert her father to the possibility of such a situation recurring, and that if need be, she could always stay the night with the widowed landlady; Mrs. Judson - who upon hearing about the difficulty, reportedly 'volunteered' to share a room with Anthia should the need ever arise in the future.
Miss Bloom, quite relieved and grateful, went to thank the kindly woman personally, only to discover—entirely by accident—that Basil had actually promised to provide Mrs. Judson compensation for the possible inconvenience, a gesture of Basil's which both surprised, and delighted Miss Bloom, who hadn't realized that he valued her friendship to that degree... Anthia decided to keep the knowledge of the incident to herself... if only just to find out how long it would take Basil to deduce that she knew it.
Breaking away from her thoughts, Anthia lifted her eyes to see her destination before her... 22 ½ Baker Street... and she smiled at the sight, hoping that she would be fortunate enough to catch the detective duo at home this time.
Basil leveled the two test-tubes with each other, eying them critically... then he very carefully, very slowly tipped them, pouring their liquids into a nearby beaker and...
pffffffffffffffshhhhssssh
...resigned himself to a week's worth of labor wasted... and the secrets of a long extinct race... now truly lost forever.
He sighed deeply, before slumping depressedly into a nearby chair, and was just about to start contemplating the futility of all mortal life when...
"Basil! Miss Bloom is here!" called Dawson, from the living room.
Basil leapt to his feet, his demeanor completely altered, and hurriedly set about changing into something more presentable.
Ahh well! No use crying over a silly little old failed experiment when he had a visitor!
Emerging from his bedroom, Basil passed through the hall before reaching the consultation room where he caught sight of Dawson standing next to the young lady. He noted that Miss Bloom had walked here today, and had taken the longer, more scenic route. She had also had a bite to eat at Edgar's Cafe, changed her hairstyle, was wearing a newly purchased light blue dress... and had obviously found out about his promising to pay Mrs. Judson to permit Anthia emergency lodgings...
Drat! Well he certainly wasn't going to admit to it... that much was certain!
"Hello Basil," she greeted him pleasantly, her eyes shining. "Are you doing well?"
"It was for Dawson's sake as much as it was mine!" he insisted defensively. "And it's not as if you haven't made any efforts on your end to put up with our odd schedule... It was the least I could do!"
Dawson and Anthia glanced confusedly between themselves, and then turned their eyes back to Basil.
"Basil?" the good doctor began, a perplexed expression strown across his features. "Just what is it you're talking about?"
Basil noticed Anthia was smirking, and so he cleared his throat and glanced away. "Nevermind, Dawson," he said quietly, before indicating Miss Bloom to a nearby seat. "Do sit down," he said, avoiding her gaze.
She did as he'd suggested, and Dawson left the room to go and retrieve the tea set, and leave them to sort out... whatever it was they obviously needed to sort out.
Some moments were passed between the two mice in silence, before one of them spoke.
"Aren't you going to sit down?" Anthia asked gently, looking up at a rather stiff and obstinate Basil - who had been staring with some intensity... at nothing in particular.
Basil cleared his throat again and sat down in the red armchair across from Miss Bloom, a brief glance he made to her alerting him to the fact that she was still smirking.
"Basil," she spoke softly. "Thank you for doing that for me."—He turned to look at her—"It was very kind of you and... I really appreciate it." She smiled warmly at him.
He turned his head away from her and cleared his throat again. "You're... welcome," he said briskly.
She elicited a half-suppressed giggle, the release of which readily did away with the awkward tension that had hung in the air, and soon enough Basil and her were both chuckling at the humorous situation. Dawson came in with tea at that moment, clueless as to what had passed between them, but pleased to find things evidently resolved.
"One lump or two?" Dawson asked politely, handing Anthia a teacup.
"Two," she replied, smiling.