Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks so much for your wonderful words last chapter. Tim always stirs the pot for these two. I was so pleased you liked it. So this chapter… Sorry guys, I've come down with a cold and I was working all day yesterday and this afternoon so I couldn't write until tonight therefore it's not edited as much as I would like. I want to post it now, but I'll probably go over it and repost an edited version tomorrow or the next day. Not drastically different, just with errors that slipped through taken out. I wasn't initially going to do this as a chapter but a lot of you asked for it… so here it is. Please 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.

The First Time They Went Out With James²

"Hey!" James beamed a great big smile, standing in the doorway of his house. He pulled Anthea into a bear hug, pushing her inside. Mycroft received a very respectable nod of the head rather than being attacked like Anthea was. Jamie was sitting in the living room. She stood up to give Anthea a hug and to force the girl to sit next to her – Anthea was being forced to do a lot tonight, it seemed. Mycroft took a seat in the armchair farthest away from Jamie, of course.

"I'm going to get us some drinks." James gestured towards the kitchen. "Two scotches, a beer, and a glass of white wine?" He asked as he began walking.

"Why do you ask when you know it's the answer?" Anthea rolled her dark eyes. James' answer was yelled from the kitchen.

"Because last time I forgot to double check something, I almost shot Carol in the foot." Anthea laughed, Jamie blinked in surprise, and Mycroft sighed.

"I remember that." He mumbled. Jamie frowned and Anthea could only imagine the image forming in the blonde's head. Eventually the makeup artist shook her head, clearing away images of guns and almost shooting off a very dangerous woman's foot.

"So, I got to say." She sat forward on the couch. "I was surprised when Einstein called me to make the bookings." Anthea and Mycroft exchanged a fleeting look at one another as James entered, juggling all four drinks. He placed them all down on the coffee table.

"I just asked him if he wanted to come." Anthea shrugged, picking up her glass. James sat down on the couch next to Jamie, leaning back and resting his arm on the back of the couch. Jamie's hazel eyes flickered over to Mycroft.

"Yeah, but what were the chances of him saying yes? And then taking over?" Anthea winced, tucking a curl behind her ear. Recognising this common action in her best friend, Jamie's face fell more serious.

"Well…" Anthea breathed. She looked over at Mycroft again. "It's the least he can do now that we're… Mycroft hates the word but we're dating now." James' eye lit up and the big lug gained his large grin once more as he leaned forward.

"No kidding!" He laughed.

"What!?" Jamie spat. Anthea jumped, and Mycroft closed his eyes.

"Jamie." James ran his hand through his natural blond hair. "Don't cause a scene."

"I'm not causing a scene." Jamie widened her eyes, almost whispering. "I'm asking a question." She picked up her glass. Mycroft leaned forward and took a swig of his scotch.

"James." Mycroft's melodic voice rang out. Immediately, used to it from work, James' focus was on Mycroft. "Better go get the bottles." The agent nodded, getting to his feet and wandering back into the kitchen.

"Is this brand new?" Jamie asked, he focus flickering between the genius and the personal assistant. Mycroft chose to stay silent. Anthea bit her bottom lip and shrugged.

"We've been on a few dates, actually." Jamie looked like she might have an aneurism any second. She downed her drink and placed the empty wine glass on the table. As James re-entered he placed the scotch bottle on the table and filled up Jamie's wine. Mycroft took the scotch and filled up his own glass, also adding some more to Anthea's. Jamie folded he arms across her chest and faced forward. Anthea sighed.

"Jamie." She breathed. The blonde shook her head.

Ten seconds of silence past.

"How is being silent supposed to help the situation, Miss Thompson?" Mycroft asked, staring down his scotch glass.

"I'm not being silent." Jamie was pouting like a six year old girl. "James asked me not to make a scene so I'm not."

"Baby, just talk to A." James rubbed his eyes, looking tired already. Jamie readjusted herself to face Anthea once more. Arms still folded tight across her chest, the blonde looked her best friend up and down. She pointed to Mycroft.

"I bet keeping it a secret was his idea wasn't it?" She accused. Anthea pulled back as Mycroft scoffed.

"Please, I couldn't care less if you knew."

"No." Anthea admitted, running her hands through her hair. "I didn't tell you because I didn't know if it would last."

"And you know it's going to last now?"

"Holmes, you were right." James muttered as he closed one eye to look down his bottle of beer. "I already need another drink." Mycroft raised his eyebrows and nodded once at his agent. James got to his feet and left the room again.

"It's going to last longer than a couple of dates that's something." Anthea admitted, looking her best friend deep in her hazel eyes. The makeup artist was silent for thirty seconds as she looked between the pair. She released a loud huff as she took another sip of her wine.

"Ali, you know I want to be so happy for you, right? Because I know how amazing this is." Anthea's mouth twitched into a small smile at her best friend's words. "But I'm worried he's-" Jamie stopped. She looked over to Mycroft again. She held up a hand close to her face, blocking Mycroft from her vision. Realising what she was doing, Mycroft clicked his tongue and shook his head, downing another scotch. "He's just going to hurt you again. I don't want to see that." James re-entered the room as quiet as a mouse. Carefully he sat back down in his armchair. Anthea placed her hand on top of Jamie's, pulling it down onto her lap, and smiled warmly.

"I'll be okay Jamie, I promise you. No matter what happens, I'll be okay." Jamie pursed her lips. She glanced over to Mycroft.

"What about you, frosty?" She asked. "Got anything you want to add?" Mycroft, staring into his scotch, shrugged.

"I have a very small list of names." He begun in his bored tone. "They're the names of people I'd never want to see hurt. Alice's is second from the top." He looked up from his glass to meet Jamie's gaze. "If I fail to keep her safe from my harm I expect you of all people to call me out on it." Jamie's eyes narrowed on the genius as she chewed her lip, thinking. She turned back to Anthea and huffed with a large shrug.

"Stupid genius. That was a good answer." Anthea couldn't help but chuckle at Jamie's annoyance. "Fine. Fine. I love you Ali, and Frosty is okay I guess. Just look after yourself, okay?" Anthea nodded silently.

"Personally, I'm totally thrilled." James piped up from his armchair. He was lounging back, picking at the label on his bottle, not looking up. "This means I won the bet against Walter and Carol. Means I get the easy job next time we have to guard you two together."

James had managed to defuse the negative energy in the room a little bit, and after that the group had tried to move onto more light conversation. They weren't at James and Jamie's house long before they needed to leave for dinner. Mycroft had made reservations at a decent place close to the theatre.

When they arrived the waitress had seated them, gave them some time, and took their drink orders. It wasn't long after that, that she returned to take their food orders. She'd collected the menus with a forced smile on her young face, but when she got to Jamie, the smile dropped faintly and the menu was taken with added force. As she walked of Jamie quirked an eyebrow and watched the little waitress disappear

"Did you see the attitude that girl gave me? She's been rude to me from the beginning." Jamie sneered as she turned back to the table.

"Yeah." Anthea scoffed into her scotch. "It's like the look Charlotte Cunningham gives me every time I see that stupid woman with her stupid perfect legs." This earned Anthea a raised eyebrow from Mycroft sitting next to her. Anthea pursed her lips and shrugged at him.

"I don't know, girl." James heaved. "It might just be your imagination."

"Not it isn't." Mycroft added quietly, playing with the rim of his glass, looking as bored as ever. "The waitress hasn't liked Jamie since she made a comment about the prices of the wines. She believes Miss Thompson is ill-suited for an establishment like this." James' face fell.

"I knew it!" Jamie hissed quietly, firmly placing a closed fist on the table with a thud. James turned to look at the genius of the table.

"Holmes, I was trying to calm the girls down." Mycroft's brow knotted as he looked up at James.

"By lying to them?" He asked. The brunette turned his attention back to the half empty crystal glass. "They wouldn't have believed you anyway."

"That girl thinks she's better than me?" Jamie licked her lips as she turned to Anthea. "Did you see her shoes?"

"I know." Anthea and Mycroft answered almost in unison. James blinked.

"What?" He asked.

"Her shoes are disgusting." Jamie clarified.

"They've got to be at least five years old." Anthea added.

"They're second hand, she's had them for at least two." Mycroft further clarified. James tilted his head to the side and stared for a good twenty seconds before he shook his head, giving up on trying to understand.

Silence.

"You need to get back at her." Anthea gestured towards Jamie with the scotch glass in her hand as she spoke.

"I do!" Jamie slammed her first again. James sighed. He leaned closer to Mycroft.

"Sorry about this, sir." He sincerely apologised to Mycroft quietly so the girls couldn't hear. Mycroft simply waved him off.

"Hey Einstein." Mycroft raised his eyebrows at Jamie. "Give me some ammo, yeah?"

"Come on, guys!" James moaned as he ran his hand through his blonde hair yet again. "Don't bring our boss kicking and screaming into this."

"Her tie." Mycroft announced. James rolled his eyes.

"Okay, never mind. I forgot what he's like." The agent spoke only to himself.

"How so?" Anthea asked, placing her scotch down and leaning forward. As she did, Jamie also leaned forward.

"It's old." The minor government official began his explanation. "It's the same colours as the ones worn by the other staff, but the spacing between the stripes is different. The wear and tear match the shoes, but she hasn't worked here long enough to warrant that amount of damage. Therefore she got it second hand along with the shoes." Anthea pursed her lips and nodded, impressed. It might be the slight tipsy state she was in, but those type of genius deductions coming out in such a beautiful voice was very attractive. Mycroft caught her staring and cocked his head to the side. Anthea gained a bashful smile and looked away.

"Perfect!" Jamie hissed. "Little Miss Pretentious thinks she's better than me, huh? Yeah, we'll see."

"Oh, A." James groaned, dragging his hand down his face. "I think you've created a monster." Mycroft's intelligence with Jamie's fierceness was a pretty formidable foe. Anthea crinkled her nose as she smiled cheekily at James.

"I like it." She admitted. "I'd take evil plans over stupid bickering any day."

"That's because you're evil too." James mumbled as he picked up his beer.

When the waitress returned with their entrees, Jamie was quite strategic. The girl waited for all of the food to be placed before she went in for the attack, just in case any of it was to be used as a weapon and flung in her face. She'd scream if she got food in her hair. The young woman was just about to walk away, acting all snooty.

"Um, excuse me just a sec." Jamie's voice was already filled with attitude as she held up her index finger close to her chest. The waitress tried desperately not to roll her eyes as she turned to look at Jamie with the fakest of smiles.

"Can I help you?" She asked sounding almost as flat as Mycroft and Sherlock could at times.

"Yeah, you've been giving me attitude all night and I would like you to stop." Jamie gave her a sickeningly sweet smile and paused for dramatic effect. You could hear James take a deep breath. "Don't think you're better than me because I don't like overpriced stuff, okay? Because I don't think you'd like to pay this much for wine that tastes just as good as the cheap stuff, either." Mycroft rolled his eyes and Anthea cracked a smile, knowing he wanted desperately to argue about that wine comment. "Just look at you. Your tie is so old and filthy it's about time you threw it out. Same with your shoes. What second hand store did you pick them up from? If you're buying your uniform second hand you wouldn't want to pay this much either. And judging by the fact that your boyfriend tied that tie for you, and badly, I think you really shouldn't judge someone like me. I might not be rich and snooty, but my fiancé and our friends risk their lives every day for you and me so if they want snooty wine from a snooty place, we're going to let them and you're not going to give me any problems. 'Kay? Thanks." Jamie flicked her hand in a sweeping motion, gesturing for the girl to go away.

As soon as the waitress had disappeared into the kitchen, Anthea cracked up laughing. That was horrible and incredible at the same time. Jamie, hazel eyes bright with amusement, turned to Mycroft.

"How did I go?" Mycroft stuck out his bottom lip, raised his eyebrows, and nodded.

"Quite competently, I'm impressed." He admitted. "Although, she has a girlfriend, not a boyfriend." First Jamie scrunch up her face, looking somewhat disappointed, but then she perked back up and waved Mycroft off.

"Ah well, close enough."

"I just want to leave her a good tip…" James sighed quietly. Anthea gave him a small pity smile. She felt similarly to him, she imagined. She agreed that the waitress had been rude, but she'd never be able to tear into them like Mycroft and Jamie might. The best she could do the Diogenes staff was just be a little sassy. Though, the part of her that wanted Mycroft and Jamie to get along won out in this situation and she was happy to see them working together.

"We make a good team." Jamie beamed proudly.

"Mycroft doesn't need any help to criticise people." Anthea chuckled to herself, looking next to her at Mycroft. "He's an expert at it."

"Really?" He sung, tilting his head and looking his date up and down. "Well then, where should I start on you?" Anthea crinkled up her nose.

"Start with my jokes. That's an easy target."

"No one thinks you're funny." Mycroft's eyes glittered with humour. "You think you're naughty and hilarious, when really you're just naughty." Anthea sniffed a laugh as she found Mycroft's hand and held it in her own.

"Everyone gets sick of your sarcasm. It's just mean." She whispered jokingly.

"Even now, you think you're being cute." Mycroft teased. "I can tell you think you're flirting but it's not working."

"Okay." Jamie interrupted, her face scrunched up. "You ruined it." The blonde picked up her knife and fork and began on her food. "They're being weird and I don't want to be on his team anymore." James cracked up laughing.

"That's more like it." He honestly sounded relieved.

"But." Jamie pointed at Mycroft using her knife. "I guess if this is your behaviour around Ali, it's not bad." She shrugged. "She deserved better than someone made of ice and prickles, but it's a start."

Author's Note: I'm James in this situation, I'd rather not say anything. Which is weird because I'm generally quite outspoken, it's the OCD not liking confrontation. Fighting is one of my triggers. But you REALLY don't need to know that. All you need to know was this happened! I hope it was worthy of your expectations for Jamie's reaction. I'm going to go lie down and play videogames in bed or just pass out. But first! Thanks to the following guest reviewers; Corrine, Guests x4, MinaCarlyle, Singing Ferret, Tadaa, Wheezzy8, Wink, B, and ovejalucifer. Thank so much to all my readers! Let me know what you think!