It was a normal day at work. Tara was still struggling with her feelings but she was happy that Mycroft was giving her a second chance. Grace was very confused because of the way her boss was acting the whole day. She was nervous and cheerful at the same time.

Tara knew she had to leave early so she could get ready for her date with Mycroft, so she decided to call Grace and let her know.

'Grace, I have to leave early this evening. So, can you close up today? And feel to close early if you want.' Tara told her as she placed a fresh cheesecake in the display case.

Grace could have guessed but she liked seeing her boss get flustered. 'Why?'

'I have plans' Tara's voice getting a little pitchy.

'Plans with the gentleman who made you late the other day' Grace smirked.

'None of your business' Tara turned away blushing slightly.

'Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. But just don't be too late tomorrow' Grace teased and got back to her work.

Tara went back to her apartment at 6. She took a nice warm shower and got dressed. She wore a simple yet elegant dress. She never was a fan of makeup so she just stuck to her usual look with a little bit of lipstick and left her hair open. When she reached downstairs the black car was already there. Thomas greeted her with a warm smile and opened the door for her. She thanked him and when she got into the car, she noticed Anthea sitting next to her typing away on her phone as usual.

'Hi!' Tara said, trying to make conversation.

'Hi!' she replied, barely looking up from her phone.

'I am Tara Matthews'

'Anthea' she said without looking up from her phone and pretended to not recognize her.

'We've met before. You came to my bakery to pick up the Belgian chocolate cake for Mycroft' Tara tried to remind her.

'Oh, Yeah!' Anthea smiled

How Mycroft got any work done with Anthea as his assistant was a mystery to Tara.

'We're here, he is waiting inside' Anthea said when the car stopped in front of a huge mansion.

'Okay. Good Night Anthea, Thomas' Tara said as she started getting out of the car.

'Good Night' Anthea said without even looking up from her phone.

'Have a nice evening ma'am' Thomas said while opening the door for her.

'Thank you, Thomas' she smiled at the older man and went to the door.

She walked to the door and rang the doorbell. She was greeted by Mycroft. He wasn't in his three-piece suit look. Instead, he wore a simple white shirt, sleeves folded up to his elbows, and an apron on top. She figured he loosened up because he was cooking.

'Hey!' she smiled and kissed him.

'Hey!' he said, taking in every inch of her. She let her hair out of her usual messy bun and it looked beautiful. She looked beautiful. He took her coat, hanging it on the coat stand. He placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her into his house.

'You live here alone? Why?' His house was huge and it made her curious.

'I do and as a part of my job, I have to entertain a lot of high-profile guests. A place like this leaves a good impression' he smiled at her curiosity

'Hmmm. For what it's worth you've got a beautiful place.' She said as she looked at the extravagance of his house. It brought back fond memories. Though she didn't particularly care for extravagance and the display of luxury, the memories the house brought back were oddly comforting.

'Thank you, Tara. Dinner is ready. Since dessert is your area of expertise, I didn't want to risk it' he mused

'Maybe we could make one together' she said, throwing her arms around his neck and teased.

'I might not have all the ingredients' he said, thinking about how understocked his fridge always was.

'I'm sure I can whip something with whatever you've got in your refrigerator'...'Let's see what you've got in here' Tara said opening his refrigerator. She browsed through his fridge, getting excited seeing familiar ingredients and listing them to Mycroft 'Oh God! What kind of diet is this? Cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, butter, lemon,...ohhhhhh raspberries' she popped a raspberry in her mouth. No wonder he was so lean. Nothing in his fridge was actual food.

'You like raspberries?' he asked curiously

'Love them' she exaggerated.

He chuckled at her excitement.

'Jell-o?' Tara raised her eyebrows at him. A grown man like Mycroft having Jell-o in his fridge was a little unusual for her.

'It is a low-calorie dessert for when I am on a diet' he explained looking a little embarrassed.

She just smiled and shook her head. 'Do you have any crackers, biscuits, anything of that sort?' She changed the topic.

'I might' he began browsing through the cabinets. He handed her a packet of crackers 'here'. He looked at everything she had gathered and deduced what she was planning to make 'Are you planning on making a no-bake cheesecake?'

'Yes!' her face lit up when he figured it out.

'It's going to take time to set' he said, amused by her excitement.

'We have a lot of time' she winked and kissed him. 'Ohhh... Do you have any booze?'

'Getting drunk already?' he teased

'No. We're already experimenting, might as well go all the way.' She told him.

He led her to his bar. She browsed through all the bottles.

'Grand Marnier' she asked pointing at the bottle.

'Someone gifted that to me. You want to use that?'

'No. It's orange cognac, I don't think it'll pair well with what I'm trying to make. I'll just go with whiskey. Never goes wrong' she took the bottle of whiskey and went back to the kitchen.

He smiled at her knowledge of hard liquors. Now he really liked her. A woman who knew her liquor; was good at baking and was mysterious. He followed her to the kitchen. Since he wasn't doing any of the baking, he gave her his apron and sat at the counter watching her experiment.

'Here. Tell me how it tastes?' she took some batter on her finger and held it out to his mouth. He smirked and licked it.

'It's delicious. What's the whiskey for?' it looked like she was done but she hadn't used the whiskey yet.

'It's for the raspberry sauce' she answered as she put the cheesecake batter in the fridge to set, and started on the sauce.

It was quiet while she cooked but it wasn't awkward. She hummed a song and looked so happy, Mycroft couldn't help but admire her.

'I'm done.' she said as she started cleaning up.

'You don't have to clean up. I can get to that later, or have my housekeeping staff do it' he told her.

'No. I make the mess, I clean it' she was very particular about leaving things neat and tidy, in that aspect she was like him.

'Dinner?' he asked. She smiled and nodded.

They both set the table and sat to eat.

'Mycroft, this food is delicious.' Tara told Mycroft as she took another bite.

'Thank you... Tara, there is something I need to tell' Mycroft said hesitantly.

'Oh yeah. What?'

He breathed visibly and began 'This is new territory for me. While I have had female companions, I have never felt so deeply about any of them, or rather I haven't allowed myself to have any feelings. With you it is different. I care very deeply about you and that has never happened before.' he confessed.

Tara was taken aback by his honesty. She blinked and she replied. 'Mycroft, this isn't exactly usual for me. It's new for me too. I have never felt so deeply about someone other than my husband, he was the only one... I never thought I could feel that way for anyone other than him,... but I do for you. I care very deeply about you. Scares me a little too.' She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and gave him a sad smile.

Mycroft took her hand in his, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.

They ate in silence, yet feeling so close to each other.

'Let me get that' Mycroft offered after they were finished eating

'No' she took her plate away 'I'll help.'

They cleaned up and did the dishes.

'It's lovely outside. We could take a walk on the lawn?' Tara asked breaking the silence

Mycroft smiled and nodded 'I'll get our coats'

They helped each other with their coats and stepped outside. Tara linked her arm with his and rested her head on his shoulder. Mycroft smiled at the gesture and kissed the crown of her head.

'Let's talk.' he said

'About?'

'Tell me something, I wouldn't know from your file' he asked.

She hummed as she thought about what she could tell that he didn't already know. 'I have three brothers and I was the youngest' she said finally.

'I already knew that.' he said flatly.

'Well! Ummm. My brothers were one of my best friends. You didn't know that, did you?' she asked cockily.

He rolled his eyes 'No'

'I wasn't like all the other girls in my class. Could never fit in with them. My brothers were all I had, and they were good brothers, like you.' she explained.

'You think I am a good brother?' he asked in surprise.

'Of course, you are! You care about Sherlock. You protect him. You look out for him. You're always there for him. That's what good brothers do.' She explained.

He was stunned. He stopped in his tracks and stared at her. No one had ever said that to him. No one was ever able to see beyond his cold exterior but she could see right through it.

She saw his reaction and placed her hands on his cheeks, bringing him closer. 'I see you Mycroft Holmes' He wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her up into a soft kiss. He picked her up bridal style, taking her to his bedroom.