Author's Note: Hey guys, thanks for the awesome feedback last chapter. Your reviews are always very welcomed by me. As for this chapter… The second half is definitely the better half but that isn't a bad thing. The second half was always going to be better. I really hope you all like it. Some scheduling notes at the end. 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 Christmas Was Interrupted

Anthea remembered when Christmas used to be fun. She remembered waking up on Christmas morning when she was seven, and ten and being excited. She remembers her mum waking her up when she was thirteen and though she no longer stayed up in the evening with anticipation it was still fun opening the presents and spending time with the family. When you went to a boarding school too, the Christmas holidays were exciting. Adults complained all the time that Christmas stops being fun when you grow up and just becomes another day. Mycroft hates any forced celebration. She doubted that many of them disliked it as much as she did.

Those same people did say that it became fun again once there were children in your life to celebrate with. Maybe next year would be different. Maybe she'd get to buy a gift for the Watson child, and get to utterly spoil Jamie's baby. Maybe seeing some childlike wonder as those kids got to spend time with their extended families, not all of them blood relatives, it would be fun again. Not this year, though. This year in particular was a chore.

She was trying to put in an effort, and trying to make it enjoyable for those around her. Unlike other people Anthea was very used to putting on a brave face and smiling. She'd gone to Molly's Christmas party the previous night to make the holidays easy on the now single girl. They'd found somewhere quiet to sit with another girl who worked in the morgue and they'd had a pretty decent time. Anthea left at 11pm and listened to music in her bedroom until she fell asleep.

She'd worked tirelessly to get good presents, too. She always did but it felt like the only way Anthea could communicate her appreciation particularly to James and Jamie this year. She'd stumbled across a Sega Megadrive at a second hand store. Since she was constantly telling James he was an overgrown child Anthea snatched it up and then bought some games for it off eBay and had it sent to the office. Jamie was harder because Jamie was always difficult to buy gifts for. She was one of those girls you couldn't pin down to anything. She'd found a book on how make up is art and she'd grabbed that but it wasn't enough. Jamie was more than her job. So Anthea thought of something very special. She got Jamie a little black dress from Armani that she'd wanted for years and years to wear to work but would never waste her money buying. Not even James' decent money. What good was a well paying job if you couldn't look after your loved ones? She could probably wear it for a few good months yet.

Jamie was extremely mad but extremely appreciative. She threw the wrapping paper at Anthea and told her off for spending so much after Anthea had kept telling her she didn't want anything this year. This coming from the blonde woman her used her own salary to buy Anthea a new briefcase. They all will probably be better off in the following year when they have a kid to divert all their love and attention and spoiling towards.

Jamie, Anthea and Poppy were the first ones at James' parents' house. It was a nice house but small. Clearly they'd downsized since they had four children living in the house. This house was cosy, and just the right size for a retired couple who had grandkids come and stay every now and then. It was modern too, with mostly white walls and black surfaces. It was nothing like Jamie's mum's house, or Mycroft's family's house, or even Anthea's uncle's house. That wasn't to say it wasn't without nostalgia. Diplomas and degrees from the four kids greeted you as you entered the house, and that alone was enough to tell you these parents were proud of their kids.

"Hi mum, hi dad!" Poppy waltzed into the kitchen with Jamie behind her and Anthea trailing behind as she made observations. The father was already eating ham, standing at the counter, while the mother was cramming something into the fridge. Poppy kissed her mum on the cheek, hugged her dad by his shoulders, and took her own slice of Christmas ham.

"Merry Christmas, Poppet." The mother sounded a little frazzled as she tried to close the fridge.

"Are Liz and the kids here yet?" She asked as she walked backwards through the door, facing everyone in the kitchen.

"They're out back." Her mum answered.

"Cool." And the second youngest kid left the room leaving just Jamie and Anthea in there with James' parents.

James' dad was quite strange to see. Besides his light brown hair that was greying and thinning, and despite smaller frame, the man was a mirror image of James. If James had gotten anything from his mother it was just his colouring. Elizabeth, the oldest daughter, looked like a mixture of both her parents, and the two middle kids looked a lot like their mothers. It was strange and amazing to see. James' dad turned around and smiled broadly at Jamie and Anthea had to force her brain to process that even his smile was James' smile.

"Morning, Jamie."

"Morning." Jamie giggled. "Merry Christmas."

"And your James' friend without a name." James' dad kept smiling as he looked at Anthea. Anthea sniffed a laugh. "What do we call you today?" Anthea hummed as she looked at Jamie.

"I'm feeling like an Audrey today." Jamie barked a laugh. Anthea turned back to James' parents and tucked a curl behind her ear.

"I really hope you don't mind me being here today." She spoke from the heart. "I don't want to be any trouble." James' dad waved it off with a large shrug but it was James' mum who spoke.

"Not at all." She called out from over the sink which she now had running. "James filled us in on your troubling history and I can't imagine how horrible it is." Jamie and James' dad winced together. Surprisingly Anthea was the one to pull a smile about it.

"Umm…" Jamie interrupted. "I think we should go check on Elizabeth and Poppy." She took hold of Anthea's hand. Anthea squeezed it and shook her head with a smile, trying to indicate to Jamie that it was okay.

"I've never really thought about it as troubling." Anthea put on a friendly and playful tone. "I just thought it makes me mysterious. Like someone could hire me for subterfuge because I have no links." Jamie rolled her eyes.

When James got there he was not happy to hear what his mum had said. Apparently he had told her not to mention it. He really liked Anthea's answer.

When Anthea's mobile began ringing during coffee she honestly expected to be her Aunt. As if her attempts to forge a relationship with her husband's sister's daughter would lead to a Christmas phone call instead of just the usual card. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the number.

Mycroft – Mobile.

Anthea didn't quite know how she felt about that. She was a little disappointed to see it wasn't her Aunt for whatever deep seeded reason there was for that. She was also a little relieved to see it was Mycroft but slightly annoyed too. Christmas was never a straight for day as far as Anthea and emotions went. Mycroft was the epitome of that right now. She wondered what the call would be about. He would normally send a text on Christmas if they were on good terms, he didn't even call his brother. If that was the case it was probably work then. It was the only reason he'd be calling now. Anthea excused herself from the lounge room and walked outside where it was quiet to answer the call.

"Hello?" She asked, suspicion on her tongue.

"Oh, Anthea." Mycroft moaned. "It's so lovely to hear your voice." Anthea quirked an eyebrow. That was strange, very strange. She folded her free hand across her chest.

"Is everything alright, sir?"

"Yes, fine. Well, no, no. It's not. You're not here, but yes, it's fine. Peachy." His words were fast as if he was just verbalising his rapid-fire thoughts as they came to his mind. No filter in place. Anthea tried to ignore the part about herself and focus on how unlike Mycroft that was. His brain worked fast but he chose which thoughts he expressed out loud.

"Myc," She spoke more firmly. "Are you okay?"

"Of course." There was a pause. She could hear the sound of pots and pans behind her. "Well, no again. I suspect my little brother's little junkie assistant of drugging me, but that's Christmas." Anthea widened her eyes.

"What?" She spat down the phone.

"I'm fine. I just want to talk to you."

"Do you know what it is?"

"Shh, sh, I need to talk to you and I need to make it quick."

"Mycroft," Anthea began to panic. "This is important, yo-"

"No, my dear, this is important. I need you to be quiet." He sounded not quite there but he sounded firm. Every part of her training that told her to listen to that tone of voice stopped her and calmed her very senses. She took a deep breath and nodded to herself.

"Okay." She nodded again despite knowing fully well he couldn't see. "Go."

"I love you." Anthea rolled her eyes, sick of the same song and dance.

"Mycroft."

"No. I do." He insisted, sounding firm once more. "More than the way you think I do. I love you and I miss you so much." She heard him sigh as she held onto her arm like hugging herself. "Every day I see you and I still miss you. All I want to do is be with you and look after you but I'm not very good at looking after the ones I love so I'd settle for bugging you like I bug my family." Anthea sniffed a laugh, her lips pulling up. "You are the sunshine to my eternal darkness and you're the wind at my back that keeps me strong. I knew that and I still tried to do it on my own and it was so very incredibly stupid. It was dark, cold, and claustrophobic in my own thoughts." Anthea had to blink her eyes to stop cold tears from traveling down her cheeks. Her heart felt tight and for the first time in a long time there was a heat radiating from it. So much of her body was forgiving him even if her mind was still hesitant. "And I know I don't normally bother with this ridiculously flowery language but this is what you do to me. You take a scientist and turn him into a poet. And…" He trailed off… Five seconds passed.

"Mycroft?" Anthea asked. No response. "MYC?" She yelled down the phone and finally heard sniff and some movement.

"Sorry… Starting to drift off. Where was I..?" His speech was really starting to slur now.

"You don't do poetry."

"Oh. Well… Umm…" He hummed in thought. It seemed his thoughts were slowing down now. "I'm stupid. Very, very stupid. You're not supposed to toss precious… um… diamonds into the ocean but I did that and I can't get it back but I want it back and… I don't know. This is getting very hard." His words were so beautiful and moving, and they felt like they came from the heart but… He was right, he didn't do pretty words and he was finding it hard to talk. This was starting to get serious.

"Myc, are you at your parents place?" She asked, panic rising again. No answer. "Are you at home?"

"I'm not done." He hissed lazily. "I'm trying to be worthy of your stupid romantic books right now. It's bad enough I told Sherlock and Mummy I love them. They know that. I need to convince you I love you." Anthea laughed breathlessly, a tear finally falling. Such stubbornness, even on the verge of passing out. And for once, for once that stubbornness was directed at actually caring for Anthea.

"I get it, Myc. You've convinced me."

"I did?"

"Yup. You have a special way with words."

"That implies I tricked you into… thinking I love you. I didn't… I do. I really…"

Silence.

"Myc?"

Thud.

Anthea's heart began racing in her chest.

"Mycroft?" Anthea hissed down the phone.

She heard someone else in the kitchen collapse.

"Violet? Siger?"

No response. Anthea rolled her eyes as she hung up her phone. Damn Sherlock, drugging his own family for apparently the millionth time. It might have led to this revelational speech on Mycroft's part but it was also the reason it was cut so short. The man she loved, really truly loved, but still had hesitations about was now passed out in his parent's kitchen. The most powerful man in Britain hadn't managed to hang up a phone call. Now Anthea would have to go clean this mess. She began compiling an emergency text message to Walter and Carol and walked back into the house. She was out of nice Alice mode, even her footsteps sounded like Anthea the assistant.

"James, we need to go. It might be an emergency." Anthea didn't look up from her phone as she strolled into the lounge room. James looked up from his plate of pudding and blink.

"Okay…" He answered, sounding confused but already listening to orders from a woman who technically outranks him when given authority.

"What? You're leaving?" James' mum asked with that disappointed tone only mothers could muster.

"Who was that on the phone?" Jamie asked, standing up off the couch as James got up from the floor.

"Mycroft." Anthea quirked an eyebrow. Jamie groaned and rolled her eyes. "He's been drugged and we need to go check out the house."

"Drugged? By who?" James' oldest sister Elizabeth asked.

"Are you sure he's not just drunk?" Liz's husband cracked a joke. Anthea pursed her lips and shook her head.

"He told me he loved me." Jamie winced and shrugged.

"He might just be drunk. Remember the coffee table thing?"

"He told me I was the sunshine to his eternal darkness." Anthea added. Jamie's face fell flat as she looked over to James. She leaned over the couch and patted James on the arm.

"Go." It seemed that had convinced her. James went into the kitchen and came back with his and Anthea's coats and already had his own phone out.

"We could drive but it'll take a long time." He handed Anthea her coat. His parents and sisters were watching looking quiet perplexed. "I could drive us to the nearest airstrip and commandeer whatever they have there. I only technically have a helicopter's licence but I've had to land a jet before. Taking off is just the opposite of landing."

"You have a helicopter's licence?" Poppy scoffed. Jamie smirked, for once feeling in the know compared to everyone else. Anthea hummed and lightly shook her head.

"Walter is still in London. He lives close to a base so he'll get to a copter quicker than we could."

"Good thinking, beautiful." James nodded. "Need back up?"

"I have Carol on standby."

"You're doing my job for me."

"James…" Emily stared right into her little brother's skull. "You said you were in the military and you just keep track of units." James moved his head from left to right.

"In a way, yeah. I do." He gestured to Anthea with his thumb. "In the same way she's a personal assistant."

"You mean the girls don't know?" James' dad asked.

"You mean dad and I are the only ones who know?" Elizabeth asked.

Ting.

We have lift off – W.

"James, we need to wait out front." Anthea interrupted the little family thing. The blonde man looked down at her and nodded. He leaned forward over the couch to kiss Jamie on the forehead.

"Let's go." And with that he and Anthea ran for the front door leaving everyone but Jamie confused in their wake.

Author's Note: There we go! I can't wait to hear what you think! Come on! With exams around the corner and my work schedule increased did you really expect this all to be covered in one chapter? Where would be the fun in that? :P. Though like I said, with exams around the corner the next chapter won't be up for a whole week. So this time next week. I'm sorry but I need to focus on this first exam. I'm sorry about the timing but please understand; both the exams and this next chapter are important. Thanks to our guest reviewers; Guests x2, CoffeeRanger, Christie, PinkFriday28 and Francesca Abott. Thanks to everyone because I love you all. See you in a week and please tell me what you thought of this chapter!