Author's Note: Hey guys! The reviews for last chapter were all so cute. Thank you for that, and thanks for any and all feedback. Now… 200. Wow! That is CRAZY! Insane. When I started this I never envisioned that this would go on for this long and have such a supportive and fantastic readership. Thanks so much for being so great, guys! I love this story and I love you all. This chapter was designed based on suggestions for 200 and talking to my friend Camila about it. It's nothing really special like 100 was but it should be an okay chapter never-the-less. 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 He Took Some Ownership over the Baby

After leaving Violet and Siger's house Mycroft had booked Anthea and he time away from London. So the family holiday was followed by more holiday. Either Mycroft was trying to fill up as much time as possible so he wouldn't miss work or he was trying to get in as much one on one time with Anthea as he could before one thing or another happened. Knowing him it could be both.

It probably didn't end up how Mycroft intended however. He was a little agitated, Anthea noticed, and she suspected it came from purposely ignoring work. The only ones he was spending any time on were private deals he had already committed his time and word to and that was not enough to keep a mind like Mycroft Holmes' busy. Boredom did not sit well with him. He was constantly looking for something to do or think about. That wasn't the only issue.

The smaller quarters of their small little town house rental meant there was no running away from pregnancy symptoms from Mycroft. There was no hiding downstairs when Anthea threw up. There was nothing to preoccupy himself with as Anthea searched for which clothes still fitted comfortably without showing off the tiny bump. He was there for every sudden feelings of exhaustion and every craving. He wasn't in the office while she made a weird concoction to eat as a snack. There was no Diogenes Club to escape to for a few hours of fresh air either. Here he was, stuck with Anthea and his unwanted pregnancy. The tension that was aerating off of him was getting to Anthea too. She didn't want this holiday, she was a tag-along, yet here she was feeling like she was ruining his time. He knew she was pregnant and that if he wanted to spend all day every day with her it meant spending all day every day with the little one and the problems it was causing Anthea too. Sometimes she just felt like snapping at him for his attitude. She'd made a comment when he had said something about her taking too long to get changed. She asked him what he thought she felt like and if he thought she enjoyed it. He had apologised immediately and offered her one of his shirts. She'd accepted the apology but not the clothing.

When they got along they got along incredibly. It was like it always was – they completed each other. They were the other's missing puzzle pieces. They could be in complete silence and Anthea would have a better time than she would with anyone else doing something incredible.

They both loved working, though. Mycroft loved having a puzzle to solve and Anthea loved having tasks to complete and get better at. They should have at least gone back to London where they could find tasks to do, languages to learn, anything to entertain themselves. This was a sweet idea but this was a horrible idea. Maybe a few months ago it would have been no problem, but the baby was getting to them both.

It was a nice quiet evening for Mycroft and Anthea. They sat on the double sized bed, their arms and shoulders touching as they did their separate activities. Anthea was reading the copy of Wind and the Willows Mycroft had gifted her when they got back together – or to get her back more like it – and Mycroft was working on a document for a Canadian client who needed help cleaning up a mess he made of managing a private agency. They were content to sit next to each other in such a silence. It was some of their favourite times together.

As they sat there, warm and cosy Anthea's phone went off. She didn't expect to hear from many people while on holiday. Maybe just Jamie since the two best friends struggled to not talk to each other for more than a day. Living in London together had really spoiled them,

Hey. – Tim.

The message surprised Anthea. Even when they were dating Tim never sent her one of those annoying messages that said nothing but a greeting. She ignored it until the second one came in. Tim must have realised his mistake.

I haven't heard from you in a while. Just wanted to make sure you're okay. Legally, of course. House plans working out? - Tim.

Anthea rolled her eyes and smirked at the screen. Tim, Tim, Tim. He was a fantastic lawyer, he really should be a better liar in text form. She would answer him anyway.

The house is fine so far. I'll let you know if anything comes up. – A.

She put her phone down and picked up her book. Almost instantly her phone went off again and she had to put down her book down again. Mycroft pursed his lips and glanced over at Anthea's blinking phone. Anthea agreed with his annoyance with a small nod.

So how are you anyway? – Tim.

How to answer this without giving anything away. She didn't want to tell Tim about the baby. She knew what would happen if she did. He'd be upset and then he'd demand to know how Mycroft was reacting. She'd be both pushing him away, shutting him out, and bringing him closer. She really didn't want that. Anthea didn't want Tim pushing himself onto her, she liked having him at a close distance. Safely not trying to get her back.

Spent some time with the Holmes family. Now on holiday with Myc. We're working through all the family issues since E. – A.

It was the truth.

Glad to hear it. – Tim.

And he was. Anthea knew enough about Tim to know he was one of those lawyers who hated dealing with family members on opposite sides. He also knew what the Holmes' meant to Anthea.

Thanks. – A.

Her face softened to a gentle smile as she pressed send.

If you want to talk, let me know. – Tim.

Anthea quirked an eyebrow.

Don't you have a girlfriend, Mr. Burgess? – A.

It was her playful way of telling him to leave her alone.

We're on again, yeah, but we're also "seeing other people" ;). – Tim.

Anthea chuckled to herself. Dear boy must know he didn't have a chance. Mycroft sighed loudly. He pulled himself up on the bed and adjusted his laptop on his lap.

Well I'm vvveerryyy exclusive, thank you. – A.

I know. Can't blame a guy for trying :P. – Tim.

Anthea laughed out loud.

I can and I do ;). – A.

Ouch! Oh well. Don't be a stranger, please. – Tim.

I'm paid to be a stranger, Tim. – A.

Anthea laughed once more to herself as she put her phone down beside her. She sighed when she finished. Mycroft's lip twitched as he read something on his screen.

"Someone you enjoy based on those reactions." Mycroft muttered. It took a moment for Anthea to even realise he was talking to her as it sounded more like it was to himself. Pushing out her bottom lip, Anthea shook her head.

"Only Tim." She said. Mycroft scoffed.

"Oh, of course." He closed the lid of his laptop. The way he held his mouth and his eyebrows suggested a mild level of disgruntled which meant he was probably more than that. "Naturally he'd take this opportunity to manipulate your hormones and hit on you." Mycroft smugness always came out when he couldn't quite control his emotions. Anthea frowned. She looked at Mycroft confounded.

"What?" She asked him, shaking her head lightly as she spoke. What was he getting at? Did he really think Anthea was so easily swayed? When was he so defensive over Tim?

"I'm sure he'd love to feed your insecurities over me." Mycroft continued. What insecurities? And if she had any, then what would she share with Tim?

"We didn't even talk about you." The pitch of Anthea's voice rose higher as she got a bit defensive. Her book now lay discarded by the outside of her thigh.

"No, no. That would be too obvious, and he's better than that." Mycroft sneered. "He's good lawyer. He knows the best thing to do right now is to make himself look good."

"Are you mad at me?" Anthea crossed her arms against her chest. Mycroft looked at her and exhaled a breath.

"No." He huffed. "I'm not mad at you."

"I'm getting mad at you right about now." Anthea cocked her head to the side.

"I'm irritated by the opportunistic lawyer." Mycroft widened his eyes sarcastically. Suddenly the pieces clicked in Anthea's head. She felt like an idiot for not working it out sooner. She laughed bitterly. She lowered her feet to the ground and stood up, facing Mycroft on the bed.

"This about the baby, isn't it?" She levelled with the genius. "You think Tim is trying to use the issues with the pregnancy to get him in and you out."

"It wouldn't be out of character for a lawyer." Mycroft replied, not looking at Anthea. She walked around the bed to catch his eyes.

"Why would I have told him about my baby already?" She asked.

"Why wouldn't you have? Why do you wish to keep it a secret from him?" Mycroft questioned her right back with the same zealous. She chose to ignore it.

"And I thought you were all for me creating my own stable life if you choose to walk out." Her eyes pierced his as she spoke. "I thought you wanted me to be happy."

"I do." Mycroft spoke forcefully. "As much as I want anything, I want that." Anthea held her arms out, gesturing wildly.

"Then why do you care if Tim wants 'in'?" She used his own term mockingly. "Why would you care who I choose to stabilize my child's life with?" That's when Mycroft stood up.

"Because I do not want my child being raised by a man who despises me." He yelled. Anthea stepped back and swallowed a breath as she held Mycroft's gaze. His cold steel eyes were full of fight. "Because I would sooner lock myself in Sherrinford than live knowing that the only words my child ever hears about me are nothing but slander or the rumours that have sprung up around me." Anthea felt her own heat dissipating as Mycroft spoke. She was engrossed by how much ownership he was putting on the 'my' part of 'my child'. "They will hear enough of that from Sherlock and Jamie. I don't need people outside of the family adding to it." Anthea looked to the floor. She tucked a curl behind her ear and took a moment to breath.

His child, huh? That was something. It wasn't just technically his or genetically his. It was his. Yet he still wasn't ready to accept it and love it. It was an improvement, and it was lovely, but would that be all? Anthea couldn't cherish the moment. She needed to question.

"If you're so worried about what others will say about you," She put her hand on her abdomen and looked back up at Mycroft. "Then why don't you stick around to tell them the stories yourself?" It was Mycroft's turn to look away as he clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"Alice." He said.

"No." Anthea stepped forward once more. "It seems like the best way to solve that problem." She pouted. Mycroft said nothing. "If you don't want Tim around then don't give him a chance to be around."

"It's not that simple." Mycroft hissed.

"Because you don't want to be a father?" She asked. He scowled. "Because you still don't think you'd be a good father?"

"That child deserves more than me." He turned back to her. "It deserves people like Mummy and Jamie. People who love unconditionally, and people who put their loved ones first, people who know how to behave like humans."

"The little one deserves better than me, too, but I'm all it has and I'll make myself worthy of it." Anthea shrugged like she saw no merit in Mycroft's words.

"Don't try to placate me." Mycroft muttered.

"You're scared. You're always scared of changes." Anthea folded her arms against her chest again like a protective blanket and shrugged.

"Me?" Mycroft laughed. "You're one to talk, dear."

"You're afraid of losing me and it's starting to get annoying because when you're afraid you turn all Ice Man and I didn't sign up to live with that version of you."

"I didn't sign up for a baby." Mycroft retorted.

"And you don't need to stick around for it. Just like I don't need this attitude." Anthea replied coldly. The genius stopped responding on instinct. She could see him mentally step back and retrace his steps to how the conversation reached this point.

"If you're asking me to make a decision here and now, I won't do it." Mycroft replied. "I'm taking this very seriously and I will not make the choice on a whim. I will not leave the two of you without complete certainty that it is the correct thing to do." Such a Mycroft way to put it. Anthea looked at the ground again and laughed sombrely to herself.

"No, Myc. I know." She replied softly. "I want you to go get some air. I want you to find a way to be okay when I or others talk about my baby." My, because even though he had been saying his today she didn't want to freak him out with words like ours and yours coming from her mouth and him having to hear it. "Because I want to be able to talk about it and I don't want this to happen every month or so because you have built up irritations."

"It wasn't that. It was your lawyer."

"It wasn't just Tim. You're using him as an excuse." She said. He didn't deny it. "I'm going to have a bath and do some thinking too while you head out. Okay?'

Silence.

Finally Mycroft spoke.

"I don't appreciate people telling me what to do." He said, some of his teenager like attitude making a last stand. Anthea was feeling tired.

"I'm not telling you, I'm asking you to." She said calmly. "Please."

Mycroft's lip twitched.

He nodded.

Mycroft picked up his coat from its place on a small chair in the corner of the room and walked out silently. Anthea lay back on the bed to catch her breath.

Tim. Even causing trouble indirectly. She knew there was a reason she usually only talked to him for legal matters.

Anthea wasn't mad at Mycroft, not really. She was annoyed that he got so snippy over Tim and dared to treat her lower than she felt she deserved intellectually, but she wasn't mad. At least he was reacting out of some sort of ownership and feeling threatened over the baby. He may not love it the way Anthea did but at least he felt something towards it. She didn't have a word for what he was feeling, partially because he wouldn't explain it properly.

Just because she understood and wasn't angry didn't mean she'd let it continue. If she learnt anything from her time around the Holmes' it was that she shouldn't have to pussyfoot around Mycroft. These people who knew him as well as she did talked about the baby as much as they wanted and didn't care about Mycroft's tenseness and sensitivity to the subject. They were right. Anthea should be able to talk about the baby as much as she wanted. She was getting excited and scared, and she should be able to express that. Mycroft would have to learn to deal with it or commit to leaving.

She could make it easier for him in different ways. She wasn't going to stop talking and expressing herself but maybe she could just find a way to ease Mycroft's concerns just a little. He didn't speak of his emotions easily – it took big things to bring them out or high stakes. He did speak contracts and documents, though. He could talk about deals and negotiations at the best and worst of times.

Anthea searched around the rental property for a piece of paper. She dug a pen out of her laptop bag, sat down at the small kitchen bench and began writing.

Mycroft was only gone an hour and a half when he game back to the holiday house. Anthea was back in the bedroom reading. He entered the room, a book of his own in his hands, with a solemn face. Anthea immediately smiled at him, letting him know nonverbally that all was forgiven.

"Hey." She peeped happily. She patted the bed next to her, leaned over to her bedside table, and picked up the piece of paper. "I have something for you." She said. Mycroft eyed the empty spot on the bed.

"I have something also." His velvet voice was soft. He walked over and lowered himself onto the edge of the bed. "It's not for you directly, but it is a gift for you." He looked mildly perplexed by his own phrasing, looking in his own mind for a better way he could have worded that. Anthea looked at the back cover of the book she could see him holding.

"You went to that second hand bookstore without me?" Anthea asked. "You didn't even want to go in. I did." It was a shame. It was one of those stores with books that went up to the roof, books of different quality. Some had been loved and read a million times while some had been kept in pristine condition. She could have spent hours in there and that's what Mycroft had wanted to avoid. Mycroft pursed his lips and shrugged so lightly you'd blink and miss it. He wasn't apologising. Instead he held the book out lazily in one hand. Anthea took it from him and looked at the cover. It was a well-loved copy of A Wrinkle in Time. An odd choice. Anthea never read science fiction unless it was recommended to her – usually by Robbie or sometimes Jamie. It was often surprising the things Jamie got into.

"I'm not entirely sure what one stocks a child's bookshelf with," Mycroft's lip's twisted into an unreadable expression as he looked at the book without seeing it. "But Sherlock read my copy so many times when he was small I ended up letting him keep the series." And that's why it wasn't a gift directly for Anthea. Anthea bit her lip to stop from grinning. "I understand it won't be appreciated for a few years but I'm afraid I know less about babies and toddlers than I do about people and I can only make assumptions on what our progeny might like based off family history." Anthea laughed breathlessly, causing Mycroft to almost smile. She made a note of the word our again and how this time it wasn't said in the heat of the moment. Though she suspected that this was like one of the times prior to today where he was talking about DNA alone.

"I plan to read anything and everything to it, so this is great." Anthea said as she flicked the book open. It smelt like an old library book. "Apology accepted."

"It wasn't an apology." Mycroft blinked at Anthea as he spoke. Anthea looked him over, amusement dancing on her face.

"Of course not, sir." She whispered. "And neither is this." She handed him her piece of paper. Mycroft took the document written in Anthea's hand writing and frowned.

"What's this?" He asked her.

"An NDA." Anthea teased, whispered in his ear. Mycroft read the really small document.

I, Alice Clarke, promise to never perpetuate the Ice Man myth to this or any other child I may create. Consequentially I shall not let those close to me perpetuate it either, promising to shut down any such suggestions unless approved by Mycroft Holmes.

Alice Clarke.

Above her name was a quickly scribbled signature.

Mycroft's expression went from confused, to perplexed, and finally to entertained. He was smiling that wry smile when something got to him. He looked up at Anthea and sighed dramatically like she was a handful he had to deal with. She crinkled her nose at him.

"Tim can't say anything. I'd shoot it down even without this." She tapped on the paper. "Because I know the real you and I'm not letting anyone close to me ever believe the lies." She wrapped her hand in Mycroft's, tangling their fingers together. "Why do you think Jamie isn't afraid of you? She knows you're all smoke and mirrors."

"You didn't need a document for me to believe you." Mycroft uttered sweetly. He leaned forward and chastely kissed Anthea on the forehead. She closed her eyes against the touch of his lips on her skin. He then looked over the scribbled document again. "Although I will keep this." He mused as he flipped it over to see if anything on the back. "Have it framed as our first successful NDA." He said. Anthea laughed as she took her hand back. "Although you know this isn't an official non-disclosure agreement, correct?" He toyed with her, looking down at her. Anthea rolled her eyes. "It's nothing more than a promissory note. I could have a lawyer write up a more official document if you wish." Anthea tried to take the document away but Mycroft with his taller stature and longer limbs held it out behind him and away from her direction. "Do you have a lawyer in mind?"

"Stop being mean." Anthea laughed as she spoke. She moved closer to try and take the paper again. Mycroft stood up out of reach.

"Mean?" Mycroft pretended to be shocked and hurt. "Mean would taking work away from Mr. Burgess. I'm bringing him more billable hours. He should be thanking me."

"Oh yeah, you're such an angel." Anthea rolled her eyes. She too got off the bed. She reached for the document again only to have her hand grabbed by Mycroft. He pulled her close and she yelled in surprise.

"An angel wouldn't be caught in a predicament such as ours, would they?" He had that dangerous grin of his and Anthea loved it.

"You talking the baby, or having to make up a document so that baby doesn't hear about all the bad things you may or may not have done?" Anthea raised her eyebrows. Mycroft pouted.

"You decide." He said. Anthea stood up on her toes and kissed Mycroft fiercely, catching the genius off guard. He stumbled back a step. When she finished she placed her hand not caught on the side of his face.

"Stop teasing me, it's not fair." She said. If he kept going he'd only get her worked up and she knew him well enough to know he was playful but not in that kind of mood. Recovered from the kiss, Mycroft chuckled and let go of Anthea's wrist. He tucked her hair behind her ear sweetly.

"This time I do apologise." He said. Anthea rolled her eyes.

"Of course you do, sir." She replied.

Author's Note: I hope that was okay. It was fun to write but it might not be 200 worthy. What did you think of it? Let me know, please. I do have more for 200 but not yet. I will write the POV to celebrate as soon as I can find some extra time. Maybe if I take an extra day with next chapter I can at least get it started. They take ages to write even once I start. There's a whole process that isn't done for normal chapters. Thanks to our guest reviewers; Hazel, Christie, and B. Thanks to all my reviewers, I love you so much. Thanks to everyone who has ever read a chapter for making this what it is. I'll see you in six days so I can have an extra day to start that stupid POV process.