Author's Note: Hello all! How's it going? Thanks for all the lovely feedback last chapter. I'm very happy it went down well. As for this chapter… Well, the length should make up for the longer break between chapters. These gaps have really allowed my scatter brain to be able to really focus when I find myself able to. It's a chapter I am certainly pleased with so I hope you all get some form of enjoyment out of it. So without further ado; 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 Jamie Met Magnussen

James and Anthea were meeting Jamie for lunch at the café near Anthea's office. The good thing about Mycroft being away for business was that Anthea could take an extra-long lunch and no one would bat an eyelid. James having no immediate boss in his building could do the same thing, of course he had to worry about a scolding from Carol but she was technically under him now so it would only hurt his ego. So… here they were. The head of the agency and Mycroft Holmes' assistant taking an extremely long lunch with a makeup artist.

It was fun. It was more than fun, it was downright brilliant. Anthea and James dressed up to look professional an intimidating… and throwing food at each other from across the table while a little blonde woman switched between laughing and chiding them. And Anthea cherished any time she got to spend with Jamie, even now. Years of living far away from each other will do that. James and Jamie seemed so happy, too, and that was fantastic to see. The honeymoon period was nowhere near ending. It was just so nice to sit around in a silly group and laugh, and be idiots. On a week day.

One of them was bound to get an important phone call that they just couldn't find an excuse not to answer the phone. This time it was James. He had groaned rather loudly and made a big deal about it before stepping outside to answer it, leaving the girls to their own devices. Lucky for him they chose just to talk rather than to wreak havoc.

Havoc found them, though. Like a moth to a flame, it always did.

It felt like a dark shadow had been cast over them, and Anthea physically shivered. This couldn't be an accident. This couldn't be happenstance. This had to be orchestrated. From almost out of nowhere the icy monster with glasses and a suit came sauntering over to the Anthea and Jamie's table, a man a few steps behind him. Anthea's face went as hard as steel as Charles Magnussen stopped in front of the two women. His beady, icy, shark eyes narrowed and he smirked eerily down at them. Jamie seemed both put off by this man but confused by Anthea's stony demeanour at the same time.

"Miss James." Her name, her fake name, sounded rancid on the man's tongue. "So nice to see you again."

Anthea swallowed.

"Mr. Magnussen." She nodded. His grin spread further showing small white teeth.

"Out on a date with a married couple? Don't you feel like the third wheel?" Anthea's eyes narrowed on the man, but she did not speak. "Of course, you do have a boyfriend now. Though I can't imagine he's been very satisfying for your needs." Anthea clenched her hand into a fist. She said nothing. Jamie's eyes widened.

"Whoa!" She pulled back. "That's rude."

"Jamie." Anthea shook her head. Too late, Magnussen's eyes were firmly set to Jamie now. He adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"Pardon me, where are my manners?" He chuckled, making Anthea's skin crawl. "I am Charles, and you are the new bride of the new top guard dog." He held his hand out. Jamie eyed it for a moment with apprehension shining in her hazel eyes. She went to grab it.

"Jamie." Anthea warned quietly and sharply. There is no way that Anthea would let Magnussen get a single grubby hand on Jamie. Imagine if he tried to sniff her, or lick her. No way. A quick look at her best friend and Jamie dropped her hand.

"Hey…" She mumbled and smiled.

"Miss James." Magnussen chuckled. He lowered his hand, clasping it within the other in front of himself. "I have no interest in harming your friend. I'm a business man. Unlike all of you I don't want to see people hurt." Anthea tilted her head.

"Only manipulated?" Anthea asked. They smirked at each other.

"While I am here, I may as well share some new information with you, Miss James." He adjusted his glasses once more. "While you may not have a past to dig up, you do have a present and a future." There it was, that shiver down her back, that icy feeling that made her stomach churn. "Friends, a boyfriend in name only, all of their families. There is always something or someone who would make you squirm."

"Funny." James came to stand next to the table as he came back inside. He was in full agent mode with a fierce expression and a tall intimidating posture as he stood next to the girls with his hand grasping the top of Anthea's chair. "I can make anyone squirm. Want to see?" Magnussen looked at James up and down and laughed.

"Well if it isn't Mycroft's lap dog." His attention was completely turned to James now. Jamie looked very confused and perhaps a little bit frightened. Anthea didn't blame her. In fact, she wondered if Jamie had ever seen James and Anthea like this, let alone be confronted by someone worse than Mycroft. "From what I hear you failed to make Moriarty squirm."

"Yeah." James shrugged. "But he left bleeding."

Silence.

Magnussen watched James.

James and Anthea glared at Magnussen.

"Tell me, does it ever bother you that you've only gotten as far as you have because Mycroft Holmes decided to manipulate you?" Anthea thought she heard James actually growl.

"No one manipulates me." His voice was dangerously low.

"But you are his little doggie, are you not?" Magnussen cocked his head to the side and grinned. "He tells you to roll over and you do, then he gives you a little treat. Would you like a treat now?" Anthea jumped to her feet, and James stepped forward.

"Nah, it doesn't work like that." James smiled back. "He sends me after his enemies and to reward me he lets me chew on their bones."

"Not before we get our fun, of course." Anthea added. Magnussen laughed a loud chortle. He gestured at Jamie.

"Lovely people you've married into, Miss." Jamie stayed quiet. "Relax your pretty little head, Miss James. I told you already that I'm not here to harm anyone. I'm here to antagonise and have a little bit of fun."

"Well go have your fun somewhere else." Anthea spat, her voice low. Magnussen nodded.

"Do give your boyfriend my love."

He walked, no, sauntered off smugly.

Whatever that was, whatever it was about, it had left everyone frozen feeling dirty. Anthea visibly shivered, while James shut his eyes and looked as if her was about to throw up. Jamie was watching Magnussen go out the door and down the street. She was the one to break the silence.

"Who the hell was that guy?" She asked.

A pause.

"No one." Anthea replied.

"No one who should have anything to do with you." James added.

Another pause.

No one moved.

Ten seconds.

Thirty.

A minute.

James sighed, running his hands through his blonde hair, messing it up. He pulled out his phone and began for the door. Jamie and Anthea turned their heads after him.

"Where are you going?" There was a mild panic in Anthea's tone, and it clearly put Jamie on edge.

"Look into putting a security team on to watch our home and Jamie's salon for the next month." He spat out. "Maybe talk to Holmes' team about watching you guys better." He looked back at Anthea. "Can you report it?" Anthea sighed. She nodded and sat back down next to Jamie.

"I'll send Mr. Holmes an email now." The professional tones only made Jamie more concerned as her brows knitted together and her eyes widened.

"No seriously, A… Thea." Jamie pulled her chair closer to Anthea. "I need something or I'll explode."

Anthea sighed again. What could she tell Jamie without endangering her? About a man Mycroft never even wanted Anthea to meet?

"Remember when I said a guy licked me?"

"That guy?" Anthea nodded.

"He's the only person I've ever seen make Mycroft visibly furious." Jamie swallowed her breath. She looked back to the door of the café.

"So, bad news then?" She asked in an oddly quiet tone.

What was Anthea to say now? Yes? The worst?

"He won't kill anyone, it's not his M.O." Anthea bit her lip. "But yeah, bad news."

"Hello." Anthea realised how affectionate her voice sounded as she lay back on her bed and answered her mobile. She'd never been that type of girlfriend before… She wasn't even that type of friend.

"Hello, my dear." He sounded like it too, and that was very odd. Maybe they just missed each other. They sent emails about work and spoke on the phone once a day, but even before the relationship Anthea had missed Mycroft's actual presence when he was away. Maybe it was just the absence of that person that made them sound so caring.

"All going well?" She asked, staring up at her ceiling light.

"Thankfully." She could just picture the genius rolling his eyes and sneering. "If I had to extend the time I was to stay here with these… goldfish I'd go insane." Anthea pursed her lips and hummed.

"That's a dangerous thought." He joked. "I think if you lost your mind you'd take down the world with you."

"Mmm." Mycroft hummed in a low tone. "It's tempting."

Speaking of things that were dangerous thoughts…

Anthea sat up on her bed, crossing her legs on the mattress.

"Did you get my report today?" She asked.

"Yes, I did." Short and sharp. Anthea tucked a curl behind her ear, worry starting to take over her face.

"Do… you want to talk about it?"

A pause.

She heard him clear his throat.

"Anthea, this is not a work call."

"I know." Anthea played with her duvet cover in her free hand, trying to pull off a pill or two. "But I thought you might have a few choice opinions on the subject."

"Believe me, I do." There was a sharp edge to his voice now. "But considering there is an ocean between me and him, there is nothing I can do right now." He heaved a heavy breath. "James has made all the right moves. I'll deal with it when I get home." Anthea's brows knitted together.

"Deal with it?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. "It's been dealt with, sir. I wanted to know your opinion." The sir just slipped out. Habit? Work talk? Either way, Mycroft didn't comment on it.

"Don't worry." He dismissed her. But Anthea did worry, she really worried, especially when he told her not to.

"Mycroft."

"Subject over, Miss James."

"Myc."

"So how was lunch with your friends?" Anthea rolled her eyes and sighed to herself. Such stubbornness in that family. How did anything ever get solved in that house when the brothers were kids? There was no use trying to keep that line of conversation going, not over the phone. She'd have to deal with it herself when he got back.

"It was nice." She relented, shrugging to no one. "We had fun."

"What a shame I had to miss out." Ah, the sarcasm. She actually missed that when Mycroft wasn't here.

Anthea waited in the car with Walter at the airstrip. It was raining and neither of them were in the habit of carrying an umbrella. When someone you spent all day with clung to an umbrella like it was an emotional crutch – and it still might be, Anthea hadn't ruled it out – you tended to not need one. She answered emails on her phone and chatted with Walter as they waited for Mycroft to come to the car.

Soon enough they saw the black umbrella open above the well-dressed approaching figure. Walter pulled on a leaver to open the boot. He got out of the car to help Mycroft with his luggage. Anthea waited in the car. She'd much rather keep her hair neat and dry for the rest of the work day.

Mycroft got half into the car. He shook the umbrella out before bringing it into the car. As he got in properly and closed the door her smiled at Anthea, but it didn't seem right. Even for his fake smile it seemed cold and harsh. He turned to the front and gave Walter an address. One that Anthea didn't have memorised and one that certainly wasn't in the schedule for today.

"Mycroft?" Anthea asked. "Excuse me, but that isn't in my schedule."

"No." Mycroft nodded, mouth tight, face stony. "But it is in mine, my dear." He was speaking in puzzles and cryptically. Anthea bit the inside of her cheek and looked over the icy demeanour. She had a feeling… a bad feeling.

"Myc…"

"Alice…" He teased her, mocking her tone.

"I know your entire schedule."

"No. You know what I want you to know." His lips pulled upwards into a sly smile but it was still fake with cold hard eyes rather than the twinkle that made her stomach flip. Anthea swallowed.

"Even so…" She sighed. "Now we are on our way would you care to tell me? As your faithful assistant?" She watched carefully enough that she noticed how Mycroft' jaw clenched and unclenched. Hesitant at first, Mycroft reached over and patted Anthea on her knee.

"Some business I need to attend to sweetheart. Nothing more."

She wonder if he knew how nervous that made her. Of course he knew.

The town car pulled up in front of a building. Before Anthea could peer out the window and get a good look at it Mycroft had already gotten out of the car and slammed the door. Anthea quickly jumped out of the car and practically skipped as she tried to catch up with him. His strides were firm and fast, and in her heels she was always a few steps behind him. He kept pace up the stairs and Anthea had to focus not to trip up them in her speed.

They reached an elevator and Mycroft pulled out a key card and swiped it. Anthea had never seen that key card before. To be fair she'd never been here before, but that didn't make her feel any more at ease. A face popped up on the scene. That of a young woman.

"Mr. Holmes," She spoke in an accent. "We're not expecting you today." Mycroft smiled venomously at the feed.

"Yes well, I wasn't expecting to hear about an impromptu visit myself. Let me in, this won't take long." The woman sighed and the footage went black.

A minute passed.

The elevator door open.

Mycroft got in and Anthea quickly popped in behind him.

All the way up the ride was tense. Mycroft held firmly to the umbrella in front of him with both hands. It was so tight his knuckles were white. Anthea didn't realise she was holding her breath until she needed to take a breath to survive.

After a long ride the doors finally opened to a sophisticated looking office. It was lovely, stunning even. Why couldn't Anthea work in this space instead of the Diogenes Dungeon? But there was no time to admire it properly as Mycroft stepped out of the elevator, strode right passed the receptionist and into the room beyond. Anthea offered the woman an apologetic smile before speed walking to catch up to Mycroft.

She walked in the doors just as they were closing behind him and found herself in the office of Charles Magnussen. She wasn't surprised, she'd known it. She'd known from the moment Mycroft had avoided telling her anything. Mycroft strode up to the man's desk leaving everything frozen in his wake. Magnussen met the Ice Man with his shark like smile.

"Mycroft." He said in that sickening confidence. Anthea quietly stepped forward until she was only a few steps behind Mycroft. "I was surprised when Janine told me you were here." He folded his hands together on his desk and chuckled. "We really must stop surprising each other."

"You mean to say you really need to stop trying to surprise me." Anthea kept the frown off her face but her eyes fell to Mycroft's face anyway. That was an odd choice of wording. That made it sound like Anthea's little incident with him wasn't the first. There were the few times he'd played with Anthea recently but that was quite a while ago. That made it sound as if it were more recent. Magnussen opened his hands and outstretched his palms as if shrugging.

"What do you want me to say, Mycroft?" He smiled. "I like to try to catch you off-guard. It's like catching the illusive mosquito." Mycroft half sneered and half smiled at Magnussen.

"James' wife is no bloodsucker for you to toy with, Charles." Mycroft sneered. "She's a chirpy bird minding her own business unaware of the actions of her husband-"

"And apparently her best friend." Magnussen interrupted. He cocked his head at Mycroft almost like an innocent child. "They seem awfully close for people who have met through James, don't you think?" Mycroft's grip on his umbrella went so strong and so tight. His face was intimidating and completely frozen over as he took another step forward, looking down his long nose at Magnussen.

"You come near anyone in my immediate circle, Charles, and I'll have James pull out every single one of your teeth while I sit in a chair and watch." Magnussen looked over Mycroft's face. He then leaned back in his chair and laughed.

"That's what I like about you, Mycroft. You aren't afraid to use hyperbole. You would have done well as a journalist." He stood up but stayed on his side of the desk. "I wouldn't be making threats Mycroft. Not when I'm doing this as retaliation for your annoying little brother." Mycroft stiffened visibly. Charles smiled and hummed. "I'll stop the moment you can get that Lazarus of a brother to stop trying to snoop around me." Mycroft leaned forward to pear at Magnussen, his own demeaning smile on his face.

"Why should I?" Mycroft shrugged. "It won't hurt for him to discover you dirty little secrets and let the world learn a thing or two about you." Magnussen raised his eyebrows as he looked the other genius up and down.

"If that is how you feel Mycroft, then maybe you wouldn't mind me sharing a few pieces of information about you?" He paused. Mycroft's jaw clenched and his posture straightened. Anthea felt a small protective feeling wash away some of her internal fear and concern. "It's about time England learns of their shadow government and what type of man has the most control." He took off his glasses and cleaned them before placing them back on his face carefully. "Tell me, does your brother know how much blood is on your hands?" He grinned. Anthea felt more protectiveness taking over as Mycroft closed his eyes and moved his head to the side. "What about your dearest mother? Does she know that her son has killed people? Does your father know you've sent people away to be tortured?" Mycroft tapped the umbrella on the ground twice. "Does your girlfriend know how many innocent people you let die just to save your own life in that hostage situation when you were so young?"

"Six." Anthea interrupted, stepping forward. Her posture tall, her chest out, the protective instincts all out now. "He was caught on a mission. Upon analysis he realised that the value of his life and that of an American woman's outweighed the total value of the other six. He therefore planned an escape to ensure that he and the woman got out alive. Once rescued his sent his driver and body guard with a team of agents to take down the group and check for survivors. There were none." Mycroft didn't shift to look at her but Magnussen certainly was. Anthea smirked at him condescendingly. "I'm his assistant and my one of my best friends is the head of the agency. I've read all of Mycroft's files that aren't confidential and sealed away in a vault somewhere." She took another step forward. "I know exactly what type of person he is. So does Sherlock. We're still here. You're not scaring anyone."

"Anthea." Mycroft finally turned to look at her. There was something odd in his expression. "Enough." She fell silent as she looked over the tall genius' face. She wanted to know what that little something there was but she just couldn't place it. She licked her lips and nodded.

"Yes, sir." Magnussen chuckled again, looking at her. It made Anthea's skin crawl.

"You really do have your puppies well trained, don't you?" He turned back to Mycroft. Mycroft sneered. He took a deep breath and removed all expression from his face. The bored Mycroft was back.

"Sherlock is most likely between cases. He'll get bored and give up eventually. He won't find anything he can use, regardless." Magnussen sniffed a silent laugh. He turned to his chair, pulled it out, and sat back down.

"Apologise to James and his wife if I at all scared her. It won't happen again."

"No. It won't." Mycroft glared at the shark for a solid ten second. He turned on his heels and as quickly as he came in he left. Anthea, feeling all her emotions disappear and be replaced with absolute exhaustion, sigh and made to follow after him.

The elevator doors shut and the pair were alone in the enclosed space. Both stared at the door, Anthea not sure what to say, Mycroft was no doubt thinking. Without turning to her he spoke.

"James should not have let you look at the agency files." It was his work voice. Anthea looked up at him but he did not turn to her. She turned back to the door.

"I already knew half of the stuff, and the rest wasn't that surprising." She shrugged. "It was missions and dangerous work. I didn't think you sat around petting puppies in different countries." She wanted to make him sniff a laugh or crack a smile. Nothing. He twisted his umbrella into the floor. Anthea raised her eyebrows and bit her lip. She didn't know what to say… "I dealt with all this a long time ago. When I saw all of you torturing Moriarty. We're not nice people, but we're good people." A pause. "For the most part." Still not a crack in the façade. She really didn't know what to do. She heard the umbrella being tapped on the ground.

"It's about the principle."

"What principle?" Anthea laughed. "You've had me researched." She folded her arms and turned to face Mycroft. "I was doing what I'm trained to do." He rolled his eyes. At least that was some kind of reaction. "I don't know what you think Magnussen knows about you, but none of it is going to be at all surprising to anyone who knows you." She paused. "Except the shadow government thing, we should keep that under wraps." Mycroft sniffed.

"He would never act upon that specific threat. It would unravel too many systems that he himself relies on."

"Good." Anthea widened her eyes. "That one was a little worrisome."

The elevator opened. Mycroft gestured for Anthea to step out first, and she did. As they made their way down the stairs Anthea stopped Mycroft on a landing by touching his hand. He stopped and looked down at her.

"I just wanted to say, thank you." She sniffed a laugh and gave him a lopsided grin. "For getting angry enough to defend my best friends and I. For putting me on the list of people who matter." Mycroft's face softened as he held Anthea's gaze.

"Oh, my love." He sighed. There it was. Anthea's heart did front flips in her chest. "You and I both know you've been on that list for a very long time." They began to make their way down the stairs once more.

"Yeah, but Jamie?" Anthea added. Mycroft sniffed a laugh.

"She's on your list. She got on due to a technicality." Anthea burst into laughter. All she wanted to do was take hold of Mycroft's hand but she knew she couldn't, not in such a public place. She'd have to wait until they were in the town car again.

"Is that why John is on this list?" She asked.

"No…" Mycroft hummed. "I actually like John." Anthea laughed again.

"I missed you, sir."

"I missed you too, Miss James."

Author's Note: So there we have it. The long asked for return of Magnussen… God, I hate him. I love Moriarty, I DESPISE Magnussen. But I digress… What did you think of the chapter? What did you think off all the characters? I'm dying to hear your opinions on this one as it's certainly one of those chapters that's exciting to write and hopefully entertaining to read. Thanks to our guest reviewers; enola, Tadaa, Guests x2, Bibliophiler, ovejalucifer, and Louise Pond. Thanks to all my reviews! I can't wait to read all the reactions and opinions to this chapter.

Regarding Next Chapter: Everything is still very hard right now. We got some bad news regarding the family issue so that's not great. BUT… I am planning to have the chapter schedule be every 5 days from now on until my exams where I might need a bit more time. Therefore next chapter should go up on Monday night my time. I'm not really in the mood to leave the house over the weekend so that should give me plenty of time to write. Haha.