Author's Note: Oh, I'm so pleased you all liked last chapter! I thought it was cute :). You'll have to excuse the briefness of this chapter and A/N, I'm in a lot of pain tonight so couldn't type long. Seriously, my meds aren't helping at the moment, I think I need sleep. Thanks for the birthday wishes last chapter. 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 Fell

The problem with asking friends to help you move is you eventually have to return the favour. It's even worse considering Anthea had merely moved from a small flat to another, larger one within the same city. Jamie had to pack up the entirety of her rental house and move it all the way to London and store it in Anthea's guest bedroom and dining area. With all the packing that had to be done, and the long trips back and forth to London, this required Anthea to take a whole week off work.

To say the girls were excited was an understatement. After all, they'd never in the history of their friendship lived in the same place. Even during boarding school – at the end of term they'd go home to different towns. Jamie went home to her mum and stepfather, and to begin with Anthea would go wither her parents, then her uncle. Now, while she found a reasonably priced flat of her own or negotiated with James about living together, Jamie was going to be living with Anthea. Even with all the time Anthea spent at work, it was horrible exciting to know Jamie would be at her flat.

"It just makes sense, you know? You and James are there, and I'll probably get heaps more work at a London salon than I do now."

That was the fun part, though. That was to come. Now they were packing. This was the fourth day surrounded by boxes and garbage bags full of junk, and Anthea was starting to go insane. She'd shut her eyes and imagine she was in Mycroft's large, empty house in order to just be able to breathe. At the very least they were starting to load up their cars for the trips to London. They should have gotten James to come too, but Mycroft had told Jamie explicitly she could have one or the other – not both. She'd chosen Anthea. She should have gone for the strong, athletic agent with a licence for heavy duty vehicles, and not the PA best friend. Whatever.

Mycroft would be missing Anthea by now. James would be driving him insane, and he'd be spending more time than usual at the club for peace and quiet. Anthea could just imagine the brunette rolling his eyes at everything James was saying, and it made her smirk. The poor man… men.

Anthea groaned as she taped up yet another box. This one was full of purely makeup brushes.

"God, Jamie." Anthea huffed, kicking the box out of her way and pulling up the next one. "Why do you need so many brushes?" She used her teeth to cut the tape.

"You can't re use brushes on people before you wash them, and I do a lot of large weddings." Jamie stuck her head out of her closet. "It's practical."

"It's stupid." Anthea kicked the freshly taped up box towards her other completed ones. Suddenly her face was assaulted with a soft pink sweater. Anthea pulled it off her head and crumpled it up before tossing it back at Jamie. "What was that for?" Jamie emerged to stand in the doorway of the closet.

"Because you're being grumpy." Anthea scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I am not grumpy…"

"You so are!" Jamie laughed. "You were irritable yesterday and today you're Miss Grumpy Pants." Anthea stuck her tongue out at her best friend. She flopped back to lounge on the bed behind her. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" Anthea moaned. "Maybe that I'm missing a full week of work to pack your makeup brushes." Jamie smirked as she looked the brunette over.

"So you'd rather be on a computer and in meetings all week then spend time with your beautiful best friend?"

"No!" Anthea defended, feeling faintly guilty. "I just…" She trailed off, not quite knowing where she was heading with this. What was her problem?

"What?" The blonde was resting her head on the doorframe.

"I don't miss work. I miss my average day." Jamie gained a soft smile.

"So what you're saying, is that you miss Mycroft again?" Anthea sat up straight to look into Jamie's hazel eyes full of levity. Anthea shrugged.

"It's weird when I don't see him every day." Jamie began giggling before the giggling turned into a full burst of laughter. The girl almost toppled over in the doorway.

"I get it!" She gasped as the laughter subsided. "You don't just have a crush on your boss, you're totally in love with him."

…

What?

I…

What?

"What?" Anthea spat, jumping out of her seat. "No, I'm not in love with Mycroft Holmes!" She scratched the back of her head. "It's Mycroft Holmes!" Her voice was higher than she'd ever heard it before. What a ridiculous notion! How stupid. That's… just not supposed to happen.

He said it was a crush.

It's supposed to go.

"Yes you are." Jamie sung, smiling up to her roof. She was clearly enjoying this way too much.

"No, I'm not."

"You totally are."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Alice and Mycroft sitting in a tree."

"Jamie!" Anthea rose her voice and it echoed on the walls of the emptied room.

"Ali, sweetie, you are." Jamie was looking at her with the sympathy one gave a child who had just learnt their goldfish died.

"I'm not." Anthea stomped her foot on the floorboards like said child.

"Ali, it's not a little crush. It's not going away." Jamie stepped forward. "What would you call it then?"

"I don't know! I just… miss him." Anthea shrugged. Jamie bit her bottom lip.

"How?" She tilted her head to the side. Anthea sighed, sitting down on Jamie's mattress once more.

"I don't know. I feel his absence when he's not around." Jamie came to sit next to her best friend. "I miss his sarcasm and his sass, I miss those small reactions that only I can pick up on, the smiles. I miss his voice, I feel like I've already forgotten what it sounds like. I miss that stupid umbrella, I…" Anthea trailed off as her heart fell into her stomach. She shat straight, staring forward but seeing nothing. It felt like time had frozen and refused to begin flowing once more. The proverbial lightbulb had been switched on above Anthea's head and she wished it hadn't. She wished for the bliss of darkness. Jamie leaned in close and began stroking Anthea's back in soft, gentle circular motions.

"Ali, my dear, dear friend." She heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry, but you've fallen in love with the Ice Man."

Silence.

"My God, Jamie." Anthea breathed. "You're right." Jamie pulled Anthea in for a squeeze and rested her chin on Anthea's shoulder. "How am I supposed to go to work next week?" Anthea asked. Jamie looked down to the ground and stifled a laugh, coming out as a single sniff.

"What do mean?" She asked. "Ali, nothing's changed. You were in love with him long before you kissed him."

…

"You can't just leave me ignorant but happy, can you?"

"What are best friends for?"

Author's Note: Well? Did you like it? Let me know. Sorry for the length, but I can't help it this time. Thanks to the guest reviewers; Corrine, Loyal Elf, Cumberkale, Enomisje, Anon, Guests x2, Wheezzy8, Wink, and ovejalucifer. I love everyone who reads this story and the reviewers are just awesome.