Céline woke up in Mycroft's arms. They had not done anything intimate the previous night, rather, he just spent the night with her so she didn't feel so alone. She stared at the ceiling for a long point, taking in the rare moment of peace that filled the room as she was half awake. She looked over at Mycroft and studied his sleeping face. Whenever he slept he had a permanent look of concern etched onto his face. Sherlock was the opposite. When he slept he looked at ease. She wondered why Mycroft was so worried. As if he could sense her eyes Mycroft began to stir and woke up. In his moment of peace while half asleep he pulled her closer, careful of her arm injury.
"Good morning." Mycroft softly spoke. The two sat in silence for a long moment before Céline reached over to the side table and checked her phone. She had 12 missed calls from an unmarked number, Sherlock most likely. She sat up, much to Mycroft's dismay.
"I have some meetings with students today before class, I should get ready." Céline softly spoke. Mycroft nodded and sat up on one arm as Céline got up from bed. He watched her with a look of admiration before getting up. He was in the same clothes he was wearing the night before, his suite jacket was sitting on the kitchen island.
"Céline, will you be ok?" Mycroft asked, gently turning her toward him from where she looked at her clothing rack. Céline lowered her eyes and thought for a second.
"I'll be ok." She replied, trying to stay strong. Mycroft took her hand in his.
"Céline, I'm sorry. I should have told you." Mycroft spoke, honestly. His gaze was on the floor, he was too afraid to look up and meet her eyes. Céline watched him, judging how honest he was being. She let the statement hang in the air for a long moment before taking his face into her hands and kissing him on the forehead.
"I accept your apology." Céline softly spoke. "I'll see you later. Why don't you come by tonight?" Mycroft quickly looked up to meet her eyes and nodded, she could feel how nervous he was. Without another second to spare Mycroft agreed to come back over and he left her to the rest of her day. Céline took a shower and then went to school. As she walked over to campus she called her therapist and set up a home appointment for after her class. She wanted to talk to someone about her current circumstances.
When Mycroft got to his office he was so relieved and was finally able to put worries to the side. He spent the rest of the day in meetings.
Back at 221b Baker Street Sherlock was in his room, it was full of thick smoke and he hadn't slept. Seven packs of cigarettes littered the ground. He was pacing back and forth in the small space. The smoking was all he could do to keep his thoughts under his control. He started smoking back to back when Céline didn't answer his calls from his unmarked number. Sherlock's hands shook badly and he was trying to focus on the plot he and Watson had uncovered.
Céline had gotten through her office time quickly. It was basic meetings with students to help them along with homework questions and lecture questions. That afternoon when she was teaching she saw a man sneak in the back. It confused her. He was a thin man with a thick goatee. She thought that he might have been a higher up in the university or a donor that came to watch the class. That was not unusual. When he sat in the back he focused his gaze on her and didn't break it for anything. The weirdest thing about this focus to Céline was the way his eyes were glazed over, yet highly focused behind his tiny glasses.
Céline didn't know but it was Charles Magnussen. He had come to watch her again. He was reading through her information.
Céline Josephine Brown
University Professor
Alone
Former Scotland Yard Detective
Status: Of Intrest
Family: Mother, Deceased. Father, Locked in Sherrinford.
Pressure Points:
PTSD
Mother, Josephine Brown's, Murder
Father, Hugh Brown, Locked in Sherrinford
Sherlock Holmes, Former Lover, Recently Cut Off
Mycroft Holmes, New Lover?
John and Mary Watson (See File)
Miss. Hudson (See File)
Jim Moriarty Kidnapping
Molly (See File)
Irene Adler (See File)
Damsel in Distress Complex
Abandonment Complex, Scared of Being Alone
Guilt Around Leaving Scotland Yard
Magnussen smirked at the list and when he had felt like he studied enough he stood and left class. Céline took notice of this. He had come in, sat and watched class for an hour and left. It made her uncomfortable.
When Magnussen got to the hallway he took a stick of gum from his pocket and began to chew it as he dialed a number. The phone rang for a moment before a woman picked up.
"Hello, this is Faith…" She began.
"Faith." Magnussen flippantly spoke, cutting her off. He could hear her breath catch in her chest on the other line.
"Oh…" Faith spoke.
"My people talked with you already regarding a new patient of yours, yes?" Magnussen asked as he walked through campus to where his driver had been ordered to wait for him.
"I have a lot of new patients." Faith began, trying to play innocent before Magnussen cut her off again.
"Céline Brown. That's who my people talked to you about." Magnussen replied.
"Oh, yes." Faith spoke with a defeated tone.
"I hear that you have a house appointment this afternoon with Céline Brown?" Magnussen inquired as he got into his car. He waved at the driver and the driver began the trip back.
"I do…" Faith replied. A smirk crossed Magnussen's face.
"Excellent. I called to emphasize the importance of pushing her toward a man named Mycroft. I know my men discussed this with you when they spoke with you recently. But I just want to emphasize how important it will be for your family's reputation." Magnussen spoke, his tone cold and calculated.
"Yes…I'll make sure to." Faith replied. Faith was the daughter of Culverton Smith, a prominent businessman in England. She had been in a bad relationship through college and had numerous inappropriate photos and videos taken of her. Faith thought she had gotten ahold of all of them and destroyed them but Magnussen had gotten ahold of some of the deleted videos and photos from her past and was holding it over her head.
"Thank you, we will be in touch," Magnussen spoke before hanging up.
When Céline got done with teaching her class she tried to push the strange man out of her mind. She hurried home and made a pot of tea for when Faith arrived. She wasn't sure what to do about Mycroft and wanted to talk about it. As the kettle began to boil Céline heard a small knock. She hurried to the door and let Faith in.
"Hello! Thank you for meeting me at home, I hope it's not to strange a request." Céline nervously spoke. She took Faith's jacket and hung it from a hook near the front door. Faith shook her head.
"Not at all." Faith smiled. Céline could sense Faith's nervousness but she didn't realize it was because of Magnussen. She assumed it was something she did.
"Make yourself comfortable," Céline spoke, leading Faith to the living space where all the couches where. "Let me go get the tea." Faith thanked her and sat on Céline's armchair before Céline went to the kitchen and brought back tea. Once they settled they began the session. After they had talked about Sherlock's actions and how he slept with Molly Céline began to open up about Mycroft.
"I'm just not sure. I know my feelings for Mycroft are real. They're honest. It's not, a rebound or anything like that. But I just feel so guilty. Sherlock is the first man I've ever loved and I don't know how I could forgive him. But I still feel so guilty." Céline spoke. "I want to throw myself into Mycroft's arms but I still don't want to hurt Sherlock and I know it would hurt him." Faith took some notes.
"Well, Céline. You blocked Sherlock correct?" Faith asked. Céline nodded. "So you've cut contact with him?"
"Yes…I don't know if I could look him in the eye ever again." Céline softly spoke, tears pricking up in her eyes. "I can't understand…"
"Well, Céline, he doesn't have a right to know about your new relationship. If you choose to have one." Faith spoke. "Céline, I think you should throw yourself into Mycroft's arms. Sherlock doesn't need to know." Céline watched her for a moment before her gaze went to the floor, considering her words.
"But what if he finds out?" Céline asked. "Molly hurt me, but I'm afraid that…" Céline trailed off and shook her head. "His brother…that's a different kind of betrayal."
"Céline, you can't live your life wondering how Sherlock will react to your decisions." Faith spoke. Céline nodded. The session continued for the next half hour and when it was finished Faith said goodbye and they rescheduled for the following week. Céline checked her phone when she was finished and saw a text from Mycroft.
Can I come over now?
She looked at the text for a long moment before replying.
Yes.
In another place, Sherlock and Watson were sitting in a Tube Car. The stress of the moment filled the air. A bomb had been about to go off and Sherlock acted as if he couldn't shut it off. The two men were seemingly prepared for death as the counter went down. Sherlock wanted to play a prank on Watson to take his mind off of things. In actuality, Sherlock had shut off the bomb and called the police. Watson closed his eyes tight but no explosion came when the counter finished. Sherlock sounded as if he was crying however he was laughing. Watson opened his eyes and checked his body before turning and realizing that Sherlock was laughing. His face curled in confusion and he turned to look at the countdown clock. It kept switching back and forth between 1:28 to 1:29.
"You…" Watson frowned, pointing a finger at him. Sherlock stood, he was laughing so hard he was crying. It was a catharsis he needed and for the moment it helped.
"Oh! Your face!" Sherlock continued to laugh. "I totally had you."
"You… I knew it! I knew it! You f…" Watson snapped, embarrassed because he had gotten real with Sherlock about how upset he was.
"Oh, those things you said, such sweet things! I never knew you cared!" Sherlock spoke, it made him feel better.
"I will kill you if you ever breathe a word of this!" Watson snapped. Sherlock giggled and raised his hand in a salute.
"Scout's honour," Sherlock smirked.
"You knew!?" Watson suddenly continued. "You knew how to turn it off!" Sherlock smirked.
"There's always an off switch," Sherlock smirked, Watson bent down to study the bomb. "Terrorists can get into all sorts of problems unless there's an Off switch." Suddenly the sound of footsteps broke their concentration.
"And you did call the police?" Watson snapped. Sherlock nodded. "I'm definitely going to kill you," Sherlock smirked.
"Oh please, kill me? That's so two years ago." Sherlock spoke.
Mycroft had arrived at Céline's home. They were having tea and wrapping up a game of chess. He had been over for a few hours and when Céline won the game he nervously stood.
"Well, perhaps I should go home," Mycroft spoke, taking a final sip of tea. He went to stand but as he did Céline took his arm.
"Mycroft…" She began, trailing off nervously. Mycroft watched her for a second taking in how she was feeling. He sat back down.
"Yes?" Mycroft asked, his breath halting in his throat. She kept her gaze on the chessboard for a long time. Before looking over her shoulder out the window. When she felt safe to she leaned over and kissed him on the lips. Mycroft quickly returned it. When they pulled away their foreheads were pressed together and they stayed close.
"Stay," Céline spoke. It wasn't a question, it was an order. Mycroft nodded and kissed her again, taking her into his arms.
The next morning Céline and Mycroft were both fast asleep. Their clothes were all over the floor. Mycroft woke before Céline. He took great care to slowly sit up and check his phone. He was about to text his assistant to move his meetings so he could spend more time with Céline that morning but he was taken aback to see eight missed calls from her and four messages. He frowned and quickly checked them. His face curled in confusion.
Mycroft please pick up it's important.
I hate to keep reaching out like this but it's important.
An important client is asking for a meeting this afternoon.
Magnussen wants to talk. Call back.
