"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Sophia Cartwright and Mycroft Holmes in matrimony, which is commended to be honorable by all; and therefore is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and solemnly. Into this holy estate these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

Sherlock started to open his mouth from behind Mycroft and John cleared his throat from the front row where he sat. "Not today," he warned under his breath, leading the others present to chuckle quietly. Sophia giggled, Mycroft did his best to hide his eye roll, and Anthea—who'd been shocked and honored to be asked to be Sophia's maid of honor, just shook her head from where she stood behind and to the side of Sophia.

The officiant cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow at Sherlock before turning back and continuing. "To truly love, you must both enter your life together with vulnerability. To truly trust, you must, in good faith, allow for freedom and autonomy. To truly respect, you must consciously treat your partner with reverence.

Sophia and Mycroft, cherish one another. Never stop doing the small things that convey respect and trust. Hold doors, write notes, listen and strive to understand. Let kindness and tenderness be the rule, not the exception. Remember that you're both on the same team. Together you will fight demons, defeat enemies, build a life, and forge a bond that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Now, Mycroft, do you, of your own free will, take Sophia, as your lawful, wedded wife, to love, protect, and defend—as long as you both shall live?"

Mycroft, holding Sophia's hands tight, smiled, eyes glassy with tears. "I most certainly do."

"And Sophia, do you, of your own free will, take Mycroft, as your lawful, wedded husband, to love, protect, and defend—as long as you both shall live?"

Sophia smiled and gazed into Mycroft's eyes. "With my whole heart, I do."

"And now the couple will recite their vows," the registrar said.

Mycroft smiled at his soon-to-be-wife. "My dearest Sophia, I promise to respect, admire, and appreciate you for who you are and for the person you wish to become. I promise to support and protect your freedom; because although our lives are intertwined, your choices are still yours. I promise to seek a deeper understanding of your wishes, your desires, your fears, and your dreams. I promise to always strive to meet your needs—not out of obligation, but because it delights me to see you happy. I promise to be there for you whenever and wherever you need me. I will support you through misfortune and celebrate your triumphs. I promise to persevere when times get tough, knowing that any challenges we might face, we will conquer them together. I promise to treat you with compassion over fairness, because we are a team, now and for always. I promise to show you, every day, that I know exactly how lucky I am to have you in my life." He then took the ring the officiant handed him and slipped it onto Sophia's finger. "With this ring, I give myself to you, now and forever."

Sophia then took a deep breath, and through slightly tear stained eyes, smiled with all her heart to her soon-to-be-husband. "Mycroft, my love, I promise to respect, admire, and appreciate you for who you are and for the person you wish to become. I promise to support and protect your freedom; because although our lives are intertwined, your choices are still yours. I promise to seek a deeper understanding of your wishes, your desires, your fears, and your dreams. I promise to always strive to meet your needs—not out of obligation, but because it delights me to see you happy. I promise to be there for you whenever and wherever you need me. I will support you through misfortune and celebrate your triumphs. I promise to persevere when times get tough, knowing that any challenges we might face, we will conquer them together. I promise to treat you with compassion over fairness, because we are a team, now and for always. I promise to show you, every day, that I know exactly how lucky I am to have you in my life." Sophia took the ring from the officiant and slipped it onto Mycroft's finger. "With this ring, I give myself to you, now and forever."

The officiant continued, "To close our ceremony, I would like read a poem by James Kavanaugh, as a charge to the couple, and to us all: 'To love is not to possess, to own or imprison, nor to lose one's self in another. Love is to join and separate, to walk alone and together, to find a laughing freedom that lonely isolation does not permit. It is finally to be able to be who we really are no longer clinging in childish dependency nor docilely living separate lives in silence, it is to be perfectly one's self and perfectly joined in permanent commitment to another–and to one's inner self. Love only endures when it moves like waves, receding and returning gently or passionately, or moving lovingly like the tide In the moon's own predictable harmony, because finally, despite a child's scars or an adult's deepest wounds, they are openly free to be who they really are–and always secretly were, in the very core of their being where true and lasting love can alone abide.'

And now, Mycroft, sir, you may kiss your bride."

To the applause of all around them, Mycroft and Sophia leaned into each other and kissed, the final seal on their marriage vows. Once they'd separated, the officiant spoke one last time.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor and privilege to present Mr. And Mrs. Mycroft & Sophia Holmes."

The couple turned and smiled to their friends and family whom all stood and applauded them. As the music started, they exited through the center aisle hand in hand, exiting through the back door to be escorted from there to a private sitting room where they'd rest for a bit before returning. By then their guests would have moved to the opposite side of the room for drinks and appetizers while the ceremony area was transformed into a seated dining area with room for dancing in the middle.

As soon as they entered the sitting room and the door shut, Mycroft pulled at Sophia's hand which he'd been holding the entire time, bringing her into his arms.

"Sophia," he said gently and looked at her in awe, "Sophia Holmes. My wife."

Her smile beamed with the joy she felt in her heart. "Mycroft Holmes, my husband."

"My dear, you look stunning. You are breathtaking in that dress and your face is positively glowing."

"That is because I am positively happy, my love." She then ran her hands down the black satin lapels of his tuxedo. "And you, Mr. Holmes, are looking rather dashing today." Her hands moved to his shoulders which were the deep, dark blue that made up the rest of the jacket before moving to tug gently at his bow tie. She grinned. "Rather James Bond of you, my dear."

"You approve?"

Her eyes twinkled. "Oh, I approve wholeheartedly." She then took in and released a deep breath. "I can't believe it's finally here—we've finally done it. We're married, Mycroft. I'm so happy."

"As am I, love."

As her hands went over his jacket one more time, she noticed something, and her head quirked to the side. "Where's your phone?"

"My phone?"

"I usually feel it in your inside jacket pocket, just over your chest. Or your outer pocket. It's in neither place."

He smirked. "As observant as ever. As it so happens, I chose not to carry it on my wedding day. No interruptions."

She smiled wide again. "Really? What if there was a national emergency?"

"Well, I suppose James Bond will have to handle it. I've borrowed his tuxedo and he borrowed mine. In two weeks, we'll exchange rolls and I'll be back to business," he said jokingly.

She smiled back but looked at him curiously again. "Really, Mycroft. Where's your phone?"

He gave her a soft smile. "Anthea has it, dear. Should there be something that absolutely required my attention, which by all rights on my wedding day would have to be the death of the Queen herself, she would alert me. But she won't. The Queen ensured me she would take all necessary precautions to remain alive through my wedding and honeymoon. Upon my return she has permission to die."

Sophia swatted at her new husband and shook her head in disbelief. "Don't even joke about such a thing, Mycroft. That's terrible."

"It's true though. I will take my phone back before we leave for our honeymoon, but nothing is going to keep me from two weeks dedicated to solely to you, love. Anthea will be screening all my calls and only those of vital importance will come through."

"So, do I finally get to learn of where we are going on our honeymoon," she asked as patiently as possible. Mycroft had practically begged her to allow him to keep it a surprise—and Mycroft Holmes never begged. So, she couldn't help but relent. She'd even given him permission to have Anthea pack her bags so that the surprise could begin as soon as they left the wedding reception.

"Very well. Tonight, we will be staying in the Terrace Suite at The Langham. In the morning, we fly to Singapore and stay over one night at the Fullerton Hotel, in their finest suite. We will leave after breakfast the next morning for our final flight—to New Zealand."

Her eyes lit up. "New Zealand!"

He smiled. "Yes, love. We will spend two luxurious weeks at a resort in New Zealand. We will relax, enjoy ourselves, and I will ensure you are thoroughly spoiled, pampered," he reached up to stroke her cheek and finished gently, "and loved." After a moment of gazing into each other's eyes, he asked, "How does that sound?"

"Incredible," she whispered.

"Good. I was fairly certain I'd planned well. Your mother and sister-in-law seemed to think it would please you."

Her smile grew wider. "You asked my mother and sister-in-law for advice?"

"There was no room for error, I needed to seek the opinion of others who knew you well, and other women seemed the smartest choice in this instance."

Just then, there was a knock at the door and a voice called out. "Mr. and Mrs. Holmes, we're ready to get a few pictures before we head in for the reception."

Mycroft leaned in and gave a gentle, yet passionate, kiss. When finished, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment. "I can't wait to begin the next two weeks with you, and the rest of our lives. How incredibly lucky I am to have you by my side for the rest of mine."

She gave him one more peck on the lips before taking his hand and walking to the door. "And now, we celebrate."

After pictures of them alone and with their families, everyone moved to the dining area and was seated. After everyone was settled in, Sherlock stood and tapped his fork to his glass.

"I've been told by my brother to keep my speech short. Which means," he said with a smile forming, "that I shall do my very best… to go as long as possible." Everyone chuckled and he continued. "Seriously though, the last time I gave a best man's speech," he smiled and nodded to his best friend who sat nearby at the Holmes family table, "To my credit, I was solving a crime in my head while also formulating an extended speech on the fly. Since Mycroft has declared that no crimes can be committed in a 10-mile vicinity of tonight's wedding venue, I should be able to shave at least five minutes off my speech. I was quite perplexed when deciding what to share this evening. By virtue of being brothers, we have shared a lifetime of experiences together. I've plenty stories I could share, plenty of embarrassing moments I could elaborate on. But," he said, pausing and looking around the room, eyes finally landing upon his brothers, "I won't. Consider it my gift to you, brother."

There was a moment's pause in which Mycroft was left in absolute shock. But then, Sherlock turned back to the audience and continued. "What I will say is this. The man whose marriage we celebrate today has quietly gone about his life saving this country, nay, I say, this world, more times than any of us could ever possibly comprehend. But even more remarkably," Sherlock paused and swallowed, "He has saved me. While John Watson, my best friend, and the first to call me best man, has saved my life time and time again over the past several years, he has nothing on the man sitting beside me today who has been saving my life quite literally for my whole life. My brother," Sherlock started to speak quickly, but paused and continued slower. "My brother," he repeated and swallowed as he kept his composure, "has rescued me more times than I can count, from others, and even more, from myself. None of us know exactly the nature or extent of his position, but perhaps we've been given a clue," Sherlock said as he reached into his inside jacket pocket, "By the way—Mycroft, Sophia—Her Majesty, the Queen, sends her best wishes," he finished as he handed over a rather elegant looking envelope to his brother.

"As I was saying, none of us are quite fully aware of his position—but we can be assured that when one does the things he's done, and carried the weight that he does—not just of the Holmes family, but of the nation—on his shoulders… one might tend to grow a bit jaded and cynical, cold as ice, you might even say. He's seen the ugliest of the ugly, the most vile and evil of all, and with every battle won, he grew a bit more jaded, a bit more cynical, and… a bit colder. My brother and I both, not really that long ago, were both utterly convinced that to care was a disadvantage." Sherlock then turned and looked at Sophia. "But then, Mycroft Holmes was faced with perhaps the greatest threat to the fortress he'd built around himself. The great American inferno of emotion, care, and kindness that is Sophia Cartwright." A slight gasp escaped from Sophia, and Mycroft took hold of her hand atop the table and squeezed it.

Sherlock paused, for effect, and to let his words sink in. "If you're unaware—which I can't believe any of you could be daft enough to be if you are present at this event—Sophia Cartwright is brilliant. And it might have been that brilliance that first garnered by brother's attention. She is a genius at the keyboard, and has spent most of her career as an unsung hero—having solved more crimes from behind the scenes than perhaps I, or my good friend Greg Lestrade, would care to admit." Sherlock said with a kind nod to Greg, who sat with Molly, Mrs. Hudson, and several others from the Metropolitan Police Department.

"But while it may have been her brilliance that first garnered my brother's attention—it was her wit, her charm, and her incessant—and if I might say, sometimes utterly bewildering—determination to be kind, considerate, and compassionate—that melted the Ice Man's heart. And so," he said, raising his glass, "we come together today to celebrate the union of the man who has saved us all, and the woman who saved him."