Author's Note: Guys, the feedback for last chapter was absolutely stunning! It was supurb and I am so very happy you all seemed to like it. Jamie and Mycroft playing tag team seemed to be a very welcomed surprise. As for what surprised me; we not only reached 500 reviews but we went decently past it! You guys are absolutely to best! That's why I have the special thank you all ready (read the A/N at the end). Also thank you so much for the well wishes. My symptoms are still playing up but the last panic attack was Tuesday night so there is improvement. Anyway, I was going to do a different chapter but quite a number of you wanted to see the Holmes parents again so I thought I'd do that as an extra thank you for being awesome. 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 She Spent the Day with Mummy

Anthea was lying on her couch reading when her phone started ringing. Considering the fact that she was never usually home this early, Anthea seriously considered ignoring her phone. Whoever it was could wait until she was supposed to be done with work – she needed some breathing time. Somewhere along the lines, however, work had become extremely important and the idea of missing an essential phone call was enough to make Anthea groan and lean over to her coffee table to pick up her blackberry.

She looked at the number.

Mycroft – Home .

That was slightly interesting. Theoretically, if it was Mycroft's home number it couldn't be anything important, he never called from his home phone if it was an immediate issue. So that meant that technically Anthea could ignore this phone call and not get into trouble. She bit her lip as she stared at her phone. But really, who was she to ignore his phone call, especially since Jamie and he had gotten on her case lately about being lonely. Might as well accept the call then.

"Hello, sir." Her tone was light and friendly.

"Hello, my dear." Mycroft tried to mirror her tone but the breathiness to his voice indicated some level of exasperation. Anthea had to pause to wonder how should could tell that.

"Can I help you?" She asked as she placed the bookmark in her book and placed it just to the side. She heard him sigh. Yup, definitely exasperation.

"As you know, my parents are in town." Anthea rolled her eyes. She sat up into a normal sitting position.

"You don't say, sir. Here I was, under the impression that these 5pm finishing times were going to be a normal thing." Anthea mocked playfully, smiling to herself. She could just see the look of disdain on Mycroft's face in her mind.

"Yes, very funny, Anthea." And there was the bored tone to go with the look she was picturing. Anthea laughed lightly. "My point, if you had let me finish, is that-" A pause. "My mother wishes to spend tomorrow afternoon with you." If she wasn't so confused, Anthea might have laughed some more at the pain present in Mycroft's tone.

"Sir, tomorrow is a Thursday."

"Oh, look whose stating the obvious now, my dear." Sarcasm oozed through the receiver and once again Anthea rolled her dark eyes.

"No, sir. It's a work day."

"I'm well aware of that, my dear. There is no arguing with my mother when she gets an idea in her head. You'll just have to do as much work as possible before Mummy comes to the office at noon." Yeah, okay that was perfectly fine. But why?

"Sir, why does your mum want to spend time with me?" Anthea asked. She heard Mycroft click his tongue.

"I don't know." He huffed. "The same reason she tricked you into coming for Mother's Day, I suppose. It seems she likes you." Well, Anthea knew that. It still didn't stop her from looking to the ground and smiling. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes were warm and welcoming people and their loving attitude felt infectious. "Look, if you want to say no I'd be more than happy to try and burden someone else with the task. Sherlock, maybe."

"No!" Anthea interrupted with a little too much urgency. "I love you Mum, I'd like to spend some time with her."

"Fine, I suppose. See you tomorrow." He honestly sounded disappointed that Anthea hadn't turned down the offer. Mycroft's family were the only people who could actually cause him this much distress.

"Bye." Anthea laughed.

And so the following day at work Mrs. Holmes turned up to the main office at twelve on the dot. She greeted Anthea with a large hug, gushed over how beautiful she was looking, and went to bother Mycroft in his office for a few minutes. Her very energy brought light into the office. She insisted that she and Anthea go to lunch before going shopping. Anthea thought what better place to go than the café close to the office that she and Mycroft often went to. The one with an amazing chicken Caesar salad. After being told that, Mrs. Holmes suggested that they both get one. Anthea was perfectly fine with that, she ordered it every second or third time anyway.

"So, dear, how have you been?" Mrs. Holmes folded her hands together and placed them under her chin, bright eyes glittering at Anthea. Anthea smiled, tucking a loose curl behind her ear.

"I've been pretty good, thank you." She nodded shyly. "How are you? How's Mr. Holmes doing?" Mrs. Holmes waved Anthea off.

"Oh, he's doing wonderful, dear. A few changes in lifestyle and now you couldn't even tell that he had to go to the hospital." Anthea tilted her head, her smile turning very soft and honest.

"That's great to hear."

"Enough about us." Mrs Holmes pulled her seat in closer to the table. "How is single life treating you?" She raised her eyebrows once and grinned. Anthea laughed and scratched the bridge of her nose. This was never her favourite subject, particularly with parental figures.

"Um, yeah, good." Anthea winced. "Exploring options, you know." Mrs. Holmes pursed her lips and hummed as she nodded, listening intently.

"Go out with any boys that swept you off your feet?" She asked as she picked up her glass of water to have a sip. Anthea accidentally laughed out loud. The French boy, and Tim again.

"No!' She laughed. "No. Just having some fun."

"There are no boys you like right now, dear?" Mrs. Holmes placed her glass back down. Anthea blinked.

"No." She'd heard the edge on her voice as it slipped out. It made her want to wince, she hadn't meant to do that. Mrs. Holmes' eyes narrowed as she tilted her head.

"What was that?" She asked with a small smile on her lips. Anthea blanched a little but shook her head.

"Nothing. What was what?"

"You, dear." Mrs. Holmes spoke with a gentle laugh.

"Me?" Anthea frowned. "I didn't do anything." Mrs. Holmes leaned forward and placed her hand on top of Anthea's.

"Anthea, dear. Where do you think the boys get their brains from?" She levelled with Anthea. "That no wasn't very convincing, love." Holmes', they were so annoying at times. Anthea rubbed the back of her neck and looked across the room.

"I wasn't lying, Mrs. Holmes. I can honestly say that there hasn't been one person I've seen on a date or in some intimate way that I have any type of feelings for or any spark for." Anthea looked back to Mrs. Holmes and leaned back in her chair. "Mycroft can confirm that." Mrs. Holmes, seeming very amused, tilted her head as she watched Anthea.

"Then who was your reaction about?" She smiled widened. "Oh dear, do you have a crush on someone?" She sung, very reminiscent of Mycroft. "How darling! This is why I needed a daughter." Anthea felt her face warm as she visibly blushed at the sentiment.

This was all too much. Were all mother's this pushy? She'd still been at an age where she'd wanted to tell her mum everything when her parents died. Anthea wondered what it would have been like coming home from school for the holidays at sixteen and her mum asking about boys or what she and Jamie got up to in their free time. While those were her type of secrets growing up what did Mycroft and Sherlock try to hide from their parents? Almost blowing something up? Getting caught trying to discover secrets? Getting into fights due to accidentally – or on purpose – belittling someone. It was funny picturing Mycroft at about sixteen talking down to a bully from one of the sports team.

"Ah, yeah, kind of." Anthea was somewhat honest, looking away, pretending to look for the waiter with their food. "But it's not important. It's just a silly little school girl's crush." Anthea turned back to Mrs. Holmes, determined to change the subject. "Oh thank you for the tickets to 'Phantom of the Opera', by the way. It was absolutely incredible." She gushed.

"It was my pleasure. I'm glad you had a wonderful time." A pause as she cocked her head and half shrugged. "Well, Mycie thought it was torturous but he said you loved it." Anthea laughed and nodded. "So about this crush, dear." Ah, great. So much for changing the subject.

"Mrs. Holmes, it's no one, really." Anthea tried to keep the look of pain off of her features as she shook her head. Now she really was looking for the waiter to interrupt them.

"Then what's the harm in talking to me about it like you'd talk to a mother?" She reached out and placed her hand on top of Anthea's once more. It was such a gentle, affirming gesture. "Unless it's someone I know…" Anthea wavered, something flashing in her eyes. Mrs. Holmes hummed knowingly.

"So it is someone I know." She sung again, her sky blue eyes narrowed. "But who do I know that you know?"

Oh please, no.

Mrs. Holmes broke out in a grin before leaning back in her chair, raising both hands to cover her face. Anthea watched in horror as Mrs. Holmes connected the dots. Violet's sky blue eyes searched Anthea's face for a good few minutes before she lowered her hands and just smiled. It was now that the food finally arrive. If only it had arrive five minutes earlier. Anthea muttered a thanks and turned to her food, not wanting to look at Mrs. Holmes. After another few minutes of silence Mrs. Holmes shifted. She picked up her form and began on her own food.

"All I can say is it's about time one of you noticed the other." She sounded so much like Sherlock in that statement. Anthea's eyes shot up from her plate.

"I knew it!" She said. "I knew you we're trying to push us together." Mrs. Holmes met Anthea's gaze, her own eyes glittering with mischief and joy.

"You're a beautiful, smart girl who my son actually cares about. Of course I didn't want you to slip away." Mrs Holmes looked back down to her food. "If you had married that lawyer, I was going to have some stern words for the son of mine." She shook her head. Anthea sniffed a laugh.

"Don't get your hopes up. It's just a silly little thing that won't last long." A pause. "Plus, Mycroft's Mycroft. You'd be lucky if he ever gets a pet." Mrs. Holmes chuckled.

"We joke about that but I know my children better than they know themselves." Anthea's heart missed a beat.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, dear." Mrs. Holmes hummed. "I say we go clothes shopping after, this. Let's get you a nice new dress to wear to work."

Did she-

Did she just change the subject?

Holmes'!

While looking in the dress stores Anthea came across the most stunning evening dress on a mannequin. She had to stop in front of it just to admire it. Mrs Holmes, who'd been looking on the racks, came to stand next to Anthea.

"Ooh," She awed. "That is a beautiful dress."

"Mmm." Anthea agreed, not taking her eyes off of it. The dress was a deep candy apple red colour with a black lace overlay. It was beautiful. Far better than any of the evening gowns she'd worn, far nicer than that one a certain blonde university lecturer had work. That thought alone pulled up one side of Anthea's mouth into a sly half smile. "I've seen similar dresses but none in that colour."

"That would look positively stunning on you, dear." Mrs. Holmes mused. Anthea merely nodded. Thirty seconds of the two taking in the details of the dress silently past before Mrs. Holmes playfully nudged Anthea in the arm. "Let me get it for you." Anthea blinked and frowned.

"No." She turned to Mrs. Holmes. "I can't let you do that. You know the items on display always cost more than the items on the racks." She gestured to the dress.

"Oh, so what." Mrs. Holmes waved her off with a click of her tongue and a flick of the wrist. "When are you going to see a dress you love like this again?" She took Anthea by the shoulder and turned her to face the dress again, keeping her arm gently on Anthea's shoulders. "Come on dear, can you imagine wearing that to one of your work do's? With your hair curled and a matching lipstick. You'd be the prettiest thing there." Anthea quirked an eyebrow.

"With Mycroft's colleagues, I'm already the prettiest thing there." She mumbled. Mrs. Holmes chuckled and rubbed her on the arm.

"Come on dear, I never had a daughter to buy pretty things for. Let me get you this." She gaze Anthea's arm a soft squeeze. Anthea studied the dress. She looked at the deep colour and the beautiful lace. She let out a heavy sigh.

"If you have to. Thank you."

"It's my pleasure, dear!" Mrs Holmes exclaimed, letting Anthea lose. "Now, after we get this we should look for shoes that match!"

When dropping off Mrs. Holmes back at Mycroft's house, Anthea insisted on helping her carry the bags. Mrs. Holmes had argued and said she could handle it but Anthea stated it was the least she could do. Anthea's plan was to drop them off within the front door but Mrs. Holmes had told her to bring them into the lounge room where her husband and son were.

"Good afternoon, boys." Mrs. Holmes spoke cheerfully as they entered the room. Both Mycroft and his father had a book in their hands. They sat on either side of the couch reading, two cups of coffee sat on the coffee table, on coasters of course. Mycroft made no sign of acknowledgement. Siger on the other hand, got up, smiling at his wife, and moved over to her. They hugged and kissed. Anthea placed the bags on the coffee table.

"Hello love, have a good day?" Siger asked.

"It was lovely." She patted her husband on the chest, still in his arms. It was adorable. Once he let go of his wife Siger smiled at Anthea.

"Hello Anthea." He greeted with a nod of his head. Mycroft peered up from his book.

"Hi, Mr. Holmes." Anthea answered. "I heard you're doing much better. That's great to hear."

"I'm much better, thank you." He sat back down on his spot on the couch, not too close to his son. "It looks like you girls did a lot of shopping today."

"I got a whole new wardrobe." Mrs. Holmes clasped her hands together.

"Of course you did." Mycroft mumbled as he turned a page of his book.

"When in London." Siger shrugged, dismissing his son and encouraging his wife. She smiled at him before giving Mycroft a slightly stern look.

"Well, Mycie. We don't all have the luxury of tailors." Another page was turned, his mother's dig completely ignore. Mrs. Holmes picked up one of the bags and handed it to her husband.

"Siger, love, I got you some new shirts. I also saw a scarf that Sherly would like and if we don't see him again before we leave I'd like you to give it to him, Mycroft."

"Mm-hmm."

"And, oh!" Mrs. Holmes clutched her hands to her chest. "We found 'Thea the most beautiful dress. It was made for her."

"Oh, that's nice." Siger smiled. Mycroft peered up from his book.

"The next ball these two have to attend, oh, the men are just going to flock to her, aren't they dear."

"It is a stunning dress." Anthea nodded with a smile. Mycroft lowered his book.

"Now, I'm concerned about how appropriate this dress may be." His steel eyes flickering between his mother and his personal assistant.

"It's an evening dress, Mycie. Don't you worry about appropriateness." Mrs. Holmes spoke in defence, pulling Anthea in for a side hug as if protecting her. Anthea threw Mycroft an apologetic look. She felt like she had stolen his mother.

A pause.

"… May I see it?" Anthea leant over to pick up the bag but before she could Mrs. Holmes pulled her back into the side hug.

"No, you cannot see it, Mycroft. You'll see it when 'Thea wears it." She turned back to her husband. "We already know how she's going to wear her hair and we got some beautiful black heels that have the same kind of texture to them." Mycroft still looked between his mother and his assistant, not saying anything while his father listened to his mother talk.

"I should go." Anthea sighed, shrugging to no one in particular. Mrs. Holmes turned around and gave Anthea a disappointed look. Ouch, no wonder children hate it when their parents are disappointed in them. That look had hurt down to the core.

"Oh, no, dear. Stay for dinner." Anthea shook her head.

"No, I couldn't. It's Mycroft's house and he has you two here, that's too many people already."

"Nonsense." Mrs. Holmes waved her off.

"If you're worried about Mycroft, he'll be fine. What's one more person?" Siger smiled.

"Mycie, make her stay." Violet turned to her son. Steel fell onto sky blue.

Silence.

"Miss James is fully aware that she's never a nuisance in my house. If she wishes to stay for dinner I'm not going to prevent her from doing so." Anthea threw Mycroft another apologetic look. He shut his eyes and shook his head.

Don't worry about it.

Author's Note: So what do we all think? Mummy is such a delight to write for, really. I look forward to hearing about what you think of her escapades this chapter. Guest review thanking time! Thanks to the following guest reviewers; Corrine, Guest, Ash, purplestar, Wheezzy8, Wink, ovejalucifer, and Anon. Thank you to everyone who reviews, like I said earlier; you're all awesome.

500 Review Thank you special! Since I never dreamed of having a fic reach this many reviews I thought I'd give you guys the chapter… well, chapters… I've been avoiding because I didn't think I could possibly do them justice. If you guys go to my profile right now there will be a two chapter story which is the kidnapping and rescue in Mycroft's POV. I hope you guys like it!