Chapter 1

Mycroft glanced at the button on his desk and then up at the door. Generally whenever he buzzed Anthea she would be through his door in less than 15 seconds. He glared at the button again and now thirty seconds had past and still no Anthea. He huffed a little and hit the button again, but still no Anthea. Slamming his pen down on his desk he stood, straightened his waistcoat and proceeded to his office door. Opening it he intended on giving Anthea a piece of his mind for her lack of efficiency, but he stopped cold at what he saw. She was bent over her desk, one hand gripping the side of her desk to steady herself and the other gripping her stomach. She was alarmingly pale and he could tell she was only several seconds from passing out. He quickly made his way to her and put his hands under her arms and helped her to lie on the floor. Without a second thought he grabbed his phone from his pocket, pushed a few buttons and knelt down beside her. She grabbed his hand and he saw the tears streaming out of her eyes.

"Mycroft, please help me. I don't want to lose the baby!" She barely whispered the plea out before she passed out.

"Yes, this is Mycroft Holmes, passcode 9H1057AZ. I need medical staff in my office ASAP." He tossed the phone down next to him and held Anthea's hand between his.

"Anthea, my dear they are on their way. Just hold on." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze hoping she could feel his reassurance. Less than three minutes later a medical team bound through the door. He grabbed his phone and stepped back to allow them access to her.

"She is 9 weeks pregnant." He told one of the medics. He watched as they stabilized her and placed her on the gurney. As they were proceeding to the door, her eyes fluttered open and she reached out for Mycroft. He took her out stretched hand.

"Please, please call Bryan." She pleaded from behind the oxygen mask.

"I will my dear." He stood and watched as she was wheeled away. Mycroft leaned against her desk and took a long, deep breath. She had only told him of the pregnancy two weeks earlier. He couldn't say he had been happy about it, but he understood human's needs to pro-create. He had wished her and Bryan well and figured he had at least 7 months to find a temporary replacement. Taking another deep breath he dialed Anthea's boyfriend Bryan to inform him of the news with the promise to stop by later that evening to check on her.

It was close to 6:30 when Mycroft arrived at the hospital. He entered her room quietly and met Bryan sitting next to her bedside. Bryan got up and came over to Mycroft and shook his hand.

"How is she?" Mycroft asked nodding towards Anthea.

"Ah, well she is stabilized but bit of bad news. The pregnancy is ectopic. She is a strong woman Mycroft, but this broke her. She wants this baby and is demanding to be allowed to continue carrying. The doctors say it's too great of a risk to both her and the baby."

"Bryan, surely you can convince her to not to take such a risk. I'm sure they have informed her of the odds against her." Mycroft observed her lying still in the bed.

"Yes, I know," a week voice from the bed interrupted their conversation. "My odds are one in three million, but I'm willing to risk it to have this baby! So there will be no talking me out of it. You two have known me longer than any other man in the world. You should know that once I've made my mind up I won't back down. Now keep quiet you two and let me sleep!"

Both men looked at the other and Bryan simply shrugged, gave a deep sigh and went back to his spot next to her.

"I will check on you both again tomorrow." Mycroft said as he walked towards the door. Bryan simply nodded and took Anthea's hand back into his.

Several weeks went by and each day he kept tabs on Anthea and her baby. Work was pressing as usual and he began to realize how much he had depended on Anthea. To say things were difficult was an understatement. Granted Mycroft was one of the most intelligent men in the world, but keeping his calendar flowing was not his strong point. A month in without Anthea he finally conceded defeat. He realized he would have to find a temporary replacement for Anthea. Knowing she would be out for the next 10-12 months he would have no choice but to put up with a temporary replacement. He picked up his phone and asked Anthea if she had a list of possible replacements.

File MHTemp on my desktop. AS

Thank you my dear! MH

I can personally vouch for her. I've known her since she began at the agency 7 years ago. AS

All will be well; you worry about you and your child. I will manage. MH

Thank you Mycroft! AS

He found the file and forwarded it to his email. He proceeded back into his office and opened the secure file. He sipped his tea as he read through the agents file.

Elizabeth Sophia Williamson, age 34. She had started working for the agency a little over 7 years ago. She had started out as a field agent and then had moved to office agent status four years after starting with the agency. The reason for her sudden transition was classified. Mycroft opened another file, typed in several ids and passwords and brought up the classified document. He read through the pages and took a deep breath. So she was agent EW79. He had heard of her and the two other agents that had stopped a terrorist bombing against the current PM. To say Mycroft was impressed would have been an understatement. In the incident she had taken a bullet for the PM and was taken off field duty and given a very well deserved office assignment that she had flourished in over the last three years. He opened her file back up and continued reading. She had an English mother, but her father had been a US military Captain stationed at RAF Croughton on a joint military assignment in the UK. Her father had been killed during a training accident when she was 8 and her mother had been marked unfit and the child was shipped back to her American grandparents. She resurfaced when she returned to London to attend Uni. Her record was spotless and she was considered a hero at the agency, although no one really knew who EW79 was. He glanced over her picture, she had an honest face and if he were to allow himself he would say it was a very pretty face, but he was above such observations. He cleared his throat and reached for his phone.

He sent a message to woman in the picture and told her to be at his office at 8am the next morning. He closed his laptop, finished his tea, grabbed his coat and left for the evening. Little did he know his life would never be the same starting the next morning at 8am.