Sorry for lack of update. I went on vacation- traveled cross-states (From Iowa to Ohio) to visit family that I hadn't seen in a year (parents, brother, etc).

Anyway.

Surprised, there is actually some interest in a relationship between Jim and Anna - and it's actually kind of fun to think about. We shall see what transpires though.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Sherlock or Criminal Minds, but Anna is alllll mine

P.S
I had to find a random lunch-date acceptable place. There will be further places that pop up, say... dinner date? Next chapter I'll list where the lunch-date is. I also do not own it

The next morning, Anna and John stayed to the living room of 221B Baker Street. The youngest Holmes occasionally threw glances to the divider to the kitchen and to the army doctor; John on the other hand kept pacing back and forth, throwing glances at the divider and muttering under his breath. To keep busy, Anna went through her pocketbook, taking out any old business cards or receipts; as she done so, she found a small piece of paper with a phone number and stopped to think—before realizing who the number belonged to.

"Jim from IT…."

"This case—Carl Powers. Any idea?" John asked out of nowhere causing Anna to jump; he stopped pacing and turned his attention to Anna.

"None," she told him with a quick shake of her head, keeping the number hidden from John's view," Back then—it was 1989? I was still in the States—and only three years old, mind you."

"Right," John deadpanned, glancing back towards the kitchen.

"Sherlock seems to know the case fairly well though," Anna noted, with a nonchalant shrug, looking back down at the number. Chewing nervously on her lip, she paused a moment before grabbing her mobile from her back pocket and entered his number into her phone and saved it. After some more pacing, John finally had enough and slid the doors open.

"Can I help?"

It was no surprise to Anna when her brother doesn't answer, but John doesn't give up.

"I want to help. There's only five hours left," John tries again just as his phone sounds a text alert," It's your brother. He's texting me now."

"What's it say?" Anna asked, standing up from Sherlock's chair and walking over to her new friend.

"'Any Developments?'" John quoted, before frowning," How does he know my number?"

"It's Mycroft- it wouldn't do well to question how he knows what he does," Anna told him with a small chuckle.

"Must be a root canal."

"Would make sense," Anna agreed with Sherlock, leaning against the frame that lead to the kitchen, as John slid his mobile back into his pocket and walking into the kitchen.

"Look, he did say 'national importance'."

Sherlock gave a snort, not even looking up from his research as he muttered," How quaint."

"What is?"

"You are. Queen and country."

"You can't just ignore it," John told him, his voice stern.

"I'm not ignoring it. Putting my best man on it right now," Sherlock told him, disinterestedly.

"Right. Good," John nodded, crossing his arms in front of him. Anna gave a playful roll of her eyes as she unfolded her arms and walked over to John as he looked to Sherlock in puzzlement. "Who's that?"

"I'll give you a good guess," Anna smirked, looking at him pointedly.

"Oh," John frowned, glaring over at Sherlock briefly.

"Don't sweat it, John. I'll head on over with you. Sherlock will want some alone time to figure this—" Anna said, gesturing towards the counter,"—all out."

"Much appreciated. Uh… let me get ready real quick."

"Alright, I'll be downstairs when you're ready," Anna told him; John gave her a nod and disappeared upstairs to his room. With one last look to Sherlock, she shook her head and began descending the steps. When she reached the main floor, Mrs. Hudson peeked out from one of her rooms.

"Anna dear! How are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks Mrs Hudson."

"That's good," Mrs Hudson smiled, wringing her hands," You had us all a bit worried dear. I don't think I've ever seen you that way, not in a long while."

"Yeah, this year was… bad… but, I'm in a good spot now."

"Good, good. Sherlock up to something fun?"

"Old case. First one he ever worked apparently. Cold case, too," Anna told her, while looking down to her mobile in thought.

"Sounds fun," Mrs Hudson told her, before asking," Is everything okay?"

"Hmm? Oh…" Anna said, looking back up to the landlady," I just…. I met someone… recently…"

"Oh? Is he a cutie?"

Anna took a moment to think back to when Jim had poked into the room, before nodding with a smile," Very."

"Better get on it then- don't want someone else taking him."

"That's the thing… He and Molly Hooper seem to be dating…"

"You'd be much more fun than Molly. No offense to her, of course, the dear just seems very… bland," Mrs Hudson told Anna.

"Right… Sherlock seems to think he's gay, based on some deductions he done… but I don't think he is. Bisexual, sure. But not completely gay."

"You hung up on him? Cant get him out of your head?"

"Kind of… plus, he gave Sherlock his number, so I'm not sure how into Molly he actually is…"

"Then I say go for it dear! Maybe this cutie and Molly aren't an official thing just yet. Maybe he's testing other waters."

"Right…" Anna trailed off, looking down to her phone once more.

"Take it from this old lady- go for it. You only live once after all." With that, Mrs Hudson disappeared back into the room she came out of earlier, leaving Anna there alone waiting for John.

"Only live once…. I know that all too well…" Anna thought, before taking a deep breath and pulling up a messaging app on her mobile.

"Uh… hey… This is Anna Holmes… I know you gave my brother your uh… number… but he's not interested… perhaps we can chat?"

Anna typed out and re-read it, pursing her lips and frowning in annoyance.

"No, no. Definitely not. Come on Annalise Marie. Try that again."

"Hey, its Anna—Sherlock's sister. We met the other day? Perhaps we can chat- if you'd like."

Steeling herself, Anna hit the send button, just as John descended the steps," Ready?"

"Yeah- let's go. Better to not keep Mycroft waiting."

"Now… I wait… He might not even answer. Might not even remember meeting me…."

0o0o

As they sat in the elder Holmes' sibling's office, Anna could help but shake her head softly in Johns expense.

"Really? A jacket and tie?"

"Err.. Yeah?" John nodded, uncertainly, as he checked his watch another time. Anna gave a small chuckle, leaning back to rest comfortably in her chair. The door behind them opened and Mycroft walked in, reading a report.

"John. How nice. I was hoping you wouldn't be long," Mycroft acknowledged, as John politely stood from his chair, then noticing his sister he added," Annalise." She gave him a brief nod accompanied by a smile as Mycroft walked around his desk and sat down.

"How can I help you?" Mycroft asked John, imperiously waving a hand at John to wordlessly tell him he could sit down.

"Thank you," John told him, as he resumed his seat," Um, well, I was wanting to…um, your brother sent me to collect more facts about the stolen plans, the missile plans."

Anna watched in mild amusement as Mycroft looked over his shoulder and smiled at the army doctor," Did he?"

"Yes," John smiled back, a bit nervously, as Mycroft fully turned towards him and leaned back in his chair," He's investigating now." Her older brother gave a sudden wince, barely noticeable, as a hand came the right side of his mouth.

"Yepp. Root canal," Anna thought to herself, and before she could help herself, asked her brother," Something… wrong? Brother-mine?" He gave her a small glare before John continued.

"He's er… investigating away."

Anna couldn't help the smirk that came to her face, as she tried to stifle any giggles. Mycroft lowered his hand, giving another smile obviously not believing a word John was saying.

"Is there anything you can tell us—them—whoever—about the deceased?" Anna asked, before John could embarrass himself further.

"Hmm… twenty-seven; a clerk at Vauxhall Cross – er, MI6. He was involved in the Bruce-Partington Programme in a minor capacity. Security check A-OK; no known terrorist affiliations or sympathies… Last seen by his fiancée at ten thirty yesterday evening."

"Right. He was found at Battersea, yes? So, he got on the train."

"No."

"What?"

"He had an Oyster card—" Again, Mycroft rose his hand to his face and grimace, before continuing,"—But it hadn't been used."

"Must've bought a ticket," John surmised.

Mycroft lowered his hand as he answered," There was no ticket on the body."

"Then…" John trailed off.

"Then how did he end up with a bashed-in brain on the tracks at Battersea? That is the question – the one I was rather hoping Sherlock would provide an answer to. How's he getting on?"

Anna glanced over to John, waiting to hear his response, as she tried to keep a straight face.

"He- he's fine, yes. Oh, and- and it is going… very well. It's um, you know – he's completely focused on it," John grinned unconvincingly.

"Very well. Keep in touch," Mycroft said, with obvious dismissal.

"Right," John nodded, standing up from his seat and looking over to Anna," Shall we?"

"You go ahead," the youngest Holmes smiled," There's something I must discuss with brother mine."

"Right. See you later then," John told her, walking out of the office.

"Well that was just difficult to watch," Anna giggled, as soon as she knew John was gone," It was almost like you're intimidating or something."

Mycroft rose an eyebrow at her playfully, before slightly moving his jaw with a small grimace.

"Root canal?" Anna guessed, only to earn a glare from her brother as he changed the subject.

"Now, what was it you needed to discuss?"

"Ah, yes. Case I've been working— the Northrop one. I want to ask of you a favor."

0o0o

The next morning came and with it, little progress on the Baker Street bombing. Anna sat in Lestrade's office, John and Sherlock there attempting to piece the puzzle together. Through out the entire night, she had kept check on her mobile- anticipating a response from Jim- only to be thoroughly disappointed.

"Of course he wouldn't answer," she thought once more, with a dejected sigh. Lestrade noticed her sadness and took note to ask her about it later before he continued with the case at hand.

"She lives in Cornwall. Two men broke in wearing masks, forced her to drive the car and park and decked her out in enough explosives to take down a house." Lestrade looked over at Sherlock, who was standing- staring out the window. "Told her to phone you. She had to read out from this pager."

He tossed the pager onto his desk in front of where John sat, who picked it up and looked at it.

"And if she deviated by one word, the sniper would set her off," Sherlock finished for Lestrade.

"Or if you hadn't solved the case," John added, causing Anna to give him a 'Really?' look, to which the doctor frowned slightly with a shrug.

"Oh. Elegant," Sherlock muttered, mostly to himself.

"Elegant?" John questioned, frowning in disappointment at his friend.

"But what was the point? Why would anyone do this?"

"Oh – I cant be the only person in the world that gets bored," Sherlock replied, causing Anna to quip in response," Sherlock—normal people here."

"Tch," Sherlock rolled his eyes, just as the pink phone beeps a message alert.

"You have. One. New Message."

As Sherlock walks towards Lestrade's desk, the phone sounds the Greenwich pips again, but this time there are three short pips and one long one.

"Four pips," John notes.

"First test passed, it would seem. Here's the second," Sherlock says, showing the photograph to the others. As Anna looked at it, she saw a close-up of a car with it's drivers door open and the number plate obviously visible.

"I don't recall any crime scenes like that," Anna frowned, just as a phone outside Lestrade's office starts ringing.

"It's abandon, wouldn't you say?"

"I'll see if it's been reported," Lestrade nods, picking up the phone at his desk, just as Donovan comes into the office holding another phone.

"Freak, it's for you."

Anna instantly stiffened, shooting a glare over at the Sergeant, as Sherlock wordlessly took the phone from her and stood outside the office. As John and Anna watched Sherlock and waited for Lestrade to get an answer about a potential abandon car, Sherlock spoke to someone on the phone. Frowning, Anna was getting a bad feeling about Sherlock's demeanor, so she quietly walked out into the bullpin and picked up a nearby phone, tapping into the same line Sherlock was using. Placing a hand over the receiver, Anna listened in on the conversation.

"—never liked him. Carl laughed at me, so I stopped him laughing." John walked out of the office and stood beside Sherlock, looking at him in concern- and glanced over to Anna, who sent him a grim nod as she continued to listen.

"And you've stolen another voice, I presume."

"This is about you and me."

Anna listened closely and heard the background noises of traffic, which only worried her further.

"Someone's in a busy spot of town, strapped with a bomb ready to go off- and a sniper trained on them. The slightly misstep could spell disaster."

"—that noise?"

"The sounds of life, Sherlock. But don't worry… I can soon fix that."

Anna heard the fear in the man's voice intensify and could only imagine what he was going through. The man on the phone cried briefly, before he continued with the message.

"You solved my last puzzle in nine hours. This time you have eight."

With that, Sherlock's phone goes dead, just as Lestrade walks out of his office saying," We've found it."

"Go get him Sher. Show this… person… who's best at solving," Anna told him, as he gave her a nod.

"You coming?" John asked.

"Hm? Oh, no- I've got my own cases I need to work, unfortunately. Good luck."

"Thanks." John gave a nod, then followed after Lestrade and Sherlock. Just as they disappeared from sight, Anna heard her mobile give a small ping. Glancing at the screen, she felt her heart skip a beat from the message that she saw.

Jim from IT:
Oh hi there. I'd love to chat. Maybe we can meet up sometime? -JM

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Anna responded.

What about Molly Hooper? Thought you two were a thing?

Glancing around her, Anna decided to head down to her lab and keep busy. The last thing she expected was a quick response.

Ping.

Jim from IT:
Oh, her. Honestly she's not my type. Don't see if going anywhere. Lunch tomorrow? I know a decent bakery. Floral Street. Say one-thirty? -JM

"He's very… forward," Anna thought to herself, as she leaned back in the lift, smiling slightly.

You only live once.

Mrs Hudsons words kept coming to mind, so before she could change her mind- she typed out a simple reply.

I'll see you at one-thirty tomorrow.

The lift opened and Anna walked down the hall to the door to the lab she worked in, and just as she sat down at her desk, her phone pinged once more.

Jim from IT:
Can't wait. -JM