Author's Note: Happy Valentines Day to all of my lover reviewers, followers and passer-bys. I hope you all, singles and couples alike, had a nice day. I spent most of Friday and today fighting writers block. As far as this chapter goes, I almost skipped it as it didn't come out quite how I wanted but its important for a couple of reasons so I decided to keep it. So hopefully all you lovely people giving me such lovely reviews will like it. Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Clearly I don't own Sherlock. The show is the baby of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, while Sherlock Holmes itself is the creation of Arthur Conan Doyle.

Their First Argument

It was a particularly slow Tuesday and Mr. Holmes was having lunch with some dignitary and his wife – he'd been avoiding it for months but had found himself without an excuse. He had to do the unthinkable and socialise for no political gain. If he didn't then he risked losing a hand he may need a favour from one day and that was absolutely unthinkable.

Anthea was walking in the underground car park, answering some text messages from Jamie, as she walked towards one of Mycroft's town cars where his driver would be waiting. Most of the time, if Mr. Holmes was at some event that Anthea couldn't attend, she would accompany the driver to pick him up in order to fill him in on the details of anything that he had missed. That is of course if Anthea wasn't doing something more important – which today she was not.

As she approached the car she looked up to see the driver smile and nod at her. She returned it as he opened the door for her and she climbed in the back. Once the car left the parking lot Anthea leaned forward to speak to the driver, her blackberry still in her hand.

"Aren't you always Mr. Holmes' driver?" She asked him. The older gentleman, greying around the edges of his otherwise black hair, smiled at her through the rear view mirror.

"That I am, miss. I'm Walter, Mr Holmes' business hours driver." Anthea smiled politely. She should probably make nice with the driver, if she were to stick around and spend indefinite amounts of time with him.

"I'm uh-" She stopped, trying to think of what specific name to give the driver. She could give him any name she wanted but then Mycroft would have to remember to call her that in the car and it could cause an issue for the different guests they'd pick up. "Well, Mr. Holmes calls me Anthea James." The driver, Walter, smiled with warm hazel eyes.

"I don't seem to see you on Wednesday afternoons, Anthea." He was concentrating on turning, looking through the mirrors. Anthea leaned back into her seat.

"Yeah, Wednesdays are currently my training day for the more intricate details of the job." Anthea kept her tone light, joking around as to not give away any deep details. She didn't know what she was allowed to say around who yet.

"Oh yeah, and what are you doing right now?" The older man asked. Anthea laughed to herself.

"Basically physical training with all those buff men and women you picture in sunglasses with ear pieces in that push people away from limos. It's all very "The Bodyguard'." Walter chuckled. "And then there's me who's just itching to get back to the office and sit back down with my computer and my phone." Walter then laughed a heartier laugh and it made Anthea want to grin.

"I know what you mean. I did similar training back in the day." Anthea frowned to herself at this statement. She leaned forward slightly as she considered asking what he meant but decided best not to question it right now and sat back in her seat. Best not to question why the people around Mycroft Holmes did what they did, not until she was more secure in her job at least.

A lull lapsed and Anthea went back to her blackberry to scan for any important emails that may have arrived. Once done with this she decided to do what she was being partly trained to do and probe for information. "So, Walter?"

"Yes, Miss James?" He asked and she felt slightly embarrassed by being called this by someone who wasn't her superior.

"I hear my job seems to have a revolving door of sorts." She heard a deep chuckle from the back of the head rest.

"I guess you could say that." There was humour in his voice. It was nice to speak to someone who actually expressed emotion. Anthea leaned forward and flashed the most charming smile she could manage.

"Can you tell me about some?" She said in her cheekiest voice and crinkled her nose. She could see Walter looking at her through the rear view mirror.

"Well, the man before you told another government worker something confidential that wasn't supposed to be known by anyone. He sort of disappeared – I don't know what happened there." Anthea whistled in response. "The young man before that just cracked under the pressure and couldn't handle the high stakes and secrecy of it. But he was a good lad and Mr. Holmes found him a job in a department that was more his pace." Anthea tilted her head to the side as she pictured this.

"Oh well, that's nice." She hummed more to herself than anything.

"And the woman before that." Walter made a single laugh. "Well she was hired as a favour to another fellow and she made the mistake of hitting on Mr. Holmes. It wasn't subtle, either." Anthea gasped before it quickly turned into a fit of laughter.

"Oh no, she didn't!?" Anthea chuckled. "What happened to her?"

"Not sure, actually. Drove her to the airport and never had to pick her up again." He didn't sound surprised on upset, he sounded light.

"Timbuctoo or Sri Lanka?" She joked and crinkled her nose again. "What about you, what type of turnover is there in your job." Walter hummed in thought.

"None actually." Anthea raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.

"Really?" Her voice came out higher than she intended as she probed for more information.

"I've been Mr. Holmes' chief driver since he was a kid that a lot of people were upset about calling 'sir'." Anthea couldn't help but smile, managing a 22 year old Mycroft Holmes – fresh out of university – having power over many senior staff. She actually enjoyed the image of all these men either being impressed, put off by, or terrified of this young genius who could tell you your life story just by glancing at you. These days he had too much of a reputation for Anthea to see anyone's initial reaction to him.

"Climbed up the ladder quickly, did her?" She could see a warm smile through the mirror.

"With that skill set, you bet." Anthea leaned back in her seat and checked her messages. Jamie was forwarding Anthea the text argument she and her boyfriend had, and an agent was informing Anthea that they needed more funding to complete a surveillance mission. Answer work first and wait for the incoming flood of texts from Jamie to stop before reading them all.

"If you know him well enough, how much do you want to bet he had a horrible time this afternoon?" she joked without looking up from her phone.

"You bet he did." Anthea didn't need to look up to know that Walter was smiling.

The car wasn't parked outside the residence long when Mr. Holmes got into the car in a huff. Anthea gave him a side glance then looked back at her phone. He looked as prim and proper as he always did, in his tweed suit, but his grip on his umbrella was tighter than usual and his face was in a straight line.

"Take me to the club and then return Miss James to the office." He spoke with a breathy sigh. Walter started the car without a word. He wanted to go to that club – the Diogenes – where no one would speak. He craved silence. Anthea looked over at her boss and gave him a small, sympathetic smile.

"That bad, huh sir?" She asked. He let out a breath, looking over to Anthea, critically observing her. He looked out the window with a click of his tongue and then looked back at Anthea.

"Tell me," He begun, "Feel free to answer also, Walter. Is there anything about the way I present myself" He gestured with a lazy head to himself – top to bottom "Or anything about my persona that says 'Let me hold your newborn offspring'?" Anthea's face cracked with a small smile and she tried not to laugh. "Because that is precisely what I was forced to do, twice, regardless of how many times I tried to graciously decline to the ghastly offer." Anthea could picture it perfectly in her head – this dignitary and his wife completely proud of their first born child thinking that it was a privilege for anyone to hold it and Mycroft fiercely trying to decline without appearing rude.

"I understand, sir." She spoke as she rescheduled the rest of her day into her planner to accommodate for Mr. Holmes being at the club rather than the office. "I have no clue what to do with babies. I hate it when people try to make me hold them." Mycroft scoffed and looked out the window. Anthea looked into the rear view mirror to make eye-contact with Walter and give him a crooked smile. After a moment of silence Mr. Holmes turned to face forward again.

"I just don't understand how incontrovertibly stupid people are. The useless questions are unbelievable." Anthea kept her smiled but frowned slightly. "How does society even function when no one can make simple observations?"

"Sir?" Anthea asked. A pause.

"Let me put this in a way that even you can understand. You're what most people would consider a reasonably intelligent girl." Anthea felt the smile fall off her face slightly but kept herself from raising an eyebrow as she kept her eyes on the screen of her blackberry. "When you were attending university I'm certain you were quite the listener and you understood concepts quite well. Do you remember when a lecturer explained a concept quite clearly but then there would be at least one person who asked the most ridiculous and mundane questions, most of which could be inferred from what you've already heard?"

"Sure." Anthea spoke slowly and clearly.

"Well that is what everyone and every day feels like to me." He said with an audible sigh. "Nothing but mundane and unnecessary questions from people who should not be given as much power and influence as they have somehow managed to fall into."

"I get it, sir, but that's why I just mind my own business and ignore them." Mr. Holmes scoffed.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand." He said as his eyes quickly looked over the interior of the car. "There are very few people who could possibly understand." She watched as he twirled the umbrella side to side. Anthea took a deep breath. "The next time I have to explain the difference between a simile and a metaphor I may just fire the director of education for failing the kingdom bitterly." And must have let a noise escape her lips, or perhaps it was just the look on her face, because next thing she knew Mycroft was tilting his head at her. "Do you have something to say, Miss James?"

"No, sir." She spoke carefully.

"Now, now, don't censor yourself." He gestured forward for her to speak but the condescension in his voice told her otherwise,

"I like my job sir, I don't want to risk it by speaking out of line." She heard him let out a single laugh.

"By all means, Anthea dear, don't censor yourself out of fear or sounding stupid or risking your employment. Consider this your immunity." A few seconds passed by as Anthea weighed up her options.

"Sir, some people have to work hard to gain their education – not everyone has a natural ability to just get things, especially not like you." Anthea was cursing herself for not biting her tongue. It wasn't a horrible comment but it was speaking out of line – something she had yet to test her limits with. He looked over to her, raising an eyebrow and looking her up and down once more.

"And I should be persecuted for their natural stupidity?" He spoke in such a condescending term that Anthea felt herself not being able to hold back. Still, she kept her eyes on the screen of her phone.

"No, sir." She spoke. "But a certain level of understanding should be given when dealing with people. Just because someone doesn't understand how to cc properly in an email doesn't mean I should get angry at them, and just because I or any other person can't tell the make of a gun from the bullet hole doesn't mean you have the right to look down your nose at us." She heard a sniff and looked over to see Mr. Holmes looking out the window. "I don't mean to speak out of term sir, but you seem to forget that you're an exception, not the rule." A pause. "And that was a metaphor." There was that sarcasm issue again.

The rest of the car ride was silent. When they arrived at the club Mycroft muttered a thank you to Walter and opened the door to leave.

"I'll text you if anything imperative comes up, sir." Anthea said, keeping professional.

"Yes, thank you." Hs voice was quiet and bored sounding as he got out and closed the door. Anthea let out a deep breath and leaned forward to Walter.

"So, Walter, what happened to the last PA?" She joked. "'Oh, she told Mr. Holmes off. They never found her body'." Walter chuckled but did not respond.

Men, Jamie. Who needs them? Boyfriends, bosses, they're all the same. – A.

Tell me about it! We should run away together to a private island where no one would ever find us – Jamie xx

Give me half an hour at work and I can probably find the perfect location. – A.

Hahahah! Great – Jamie xx

Wait, you were joking right? – Jamie xx

What do you DO again? – Jamie xx

Alice? – Jamie xx

I work for a minor government official, Jamie. Of course I was joking. – A.

Wednesday proceeded without any major complications – the duo acted on business as usual. There seemed to be more of an air of formality between them that had slipped slightly in the few months Anthea had been working for Mr. Holmes so far but perhaps that needed to be built back up. Perhaps if she did not mention anything and he didn't then her job could be safe. They could forget that he was having a bad day and that she had been foolish enough to open her mouth and express her own opinion.

Thursday morning Anthea went straight to work once again as if nothing had happened, ready with every professional layer up in place. She stood in the kitchenette, stretching and cracking her exhausted bones while she waited for the tea to brew. After the tea was ready Anthea made it the way Mycroft liked it. She walked into his private office and placed it on his desk in the usual position.

"Thank you." He spoke, not looking up from the file. Anthea turned to leave the room silently as she more often than not did until she saw him reach his hand out to gesture for her to stop moving. "Anthea, stay for a moment." He nodded to the two seats in his office. "Take a seat." Apprehensively Anthea walked over to the same chair she sat in the first time she was ever in this office and sat down. Mycroft closed the file he was working on, folded his hands and placed them on top of the file on his desk. "Regarding Tuesday afternoon-" He began, Anthea raised a hand and interrupted him.

"Yes, sorry about that, sir." She said. "You're my employer and I spoke out of line. I'm sorry." She watched as a small smile was placed on his face and he shook his head.

"No, thank you, I appreciate your apology, but that is not what I wished to speak about." A brief silence as they looked each other up and down. "We've never discussed it, but I assume it's quite obvious that I am different to most people." Anthea rolled her eyes and half smiled.

"You mean that you're a genius? You don't exactly hide it, sir." His fake smile widened ever so slightly.

"Quite." He hummed. Taking a breath, Mr. Holmes continued with his original point. "But with the benefits of such a thing comes the detriments." A pause as silver concerned eyes looked into her brown eyes. "You do understand that I don't consider you an idiot?" Anthea let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. She shut her eyes and shook her head.

"Before Tuesday you've never made me feel like an idiot, sir." She spoke lightly. Mr. Holmes eyes knotted together.

"Even so." He took a breath and pulled the tea closer to him, taking a sip. He was having trouble wording what he wanted to say. "Most days I can easily manoeuvre safely around the general public. Other days…" He winced visibly. "Other days I find dealing with people overwhelming. This is going to happen from time to time and I want you to understand that it is nothing against you, personally." Anthea smiled.

"I know that sir, I'll try not to take it as an attack."

"You're proving yourself to be quite the valuable asset – I wouldn't want the reason for your departure to be due to one of my own actions."

"Like I said, sir." Anthea stood up. "I don't plan to go anywhere." Anthea turned to leave.

"Wait." Mycroft's calm voice reached her ears and she turned back around.

"During lunch break perhaps you'd like to go pick up some food and bring it into my office to discuss yesterday's training." Anthea raised an eyebrow and placed a cheeky smile on her lips.

"Mr. Holmes, I would not like to burden you with my boring and mundane complaints." He mirrored her smile.

"Ah but Miss James, we are to discuss something that I, myself, despise;" He raised his eyebrows. "Legwork." He said with a sigh.

Author's Note: Inspired by those days everyone has where your thoughts can be summed up as "I hate everything". Still, I hope it fits in nicely. Thanks for reading :).