Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thanks for the feedback for last chapter and the Myc POV. I am so lucky to be in this fandom with such awesome people. People had so many different favourite moments from that chapter and that makes me happy too. This is a chapter you were expecting to come, obviously. It had to happen. Also did you guys know I apparently can't write normal length chapters anymore? I still aim for 2000 to 2500 but I consistently reach about 3000 these days. Good for you guys, I guess :P. It also makes up for the change from every 4 days to every 5 days. So 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 She Was Asked To Be A Godmother

"I don't want to go." Mycroft was starting to whine like a child. They'd been having this conversation for a good ten minutes and he'd gone from cold and distant to whiny and defiant. Anthea was feeling tired but as stubborn. She had to get the yes, she had promised Jamie she'd get the yes.

"Come on, Mycroft." Anthea dropped herself into the armchair next to Mycroft's. "Just come. For me, please?" Anthea asked once more. Jamie and James had invited them to dinner on Thursday night and Anthea really couldn't see what Mycroft's problem was. It was going to be the four of them and no one else. James and Jamie were both decent cooks so it didn't matter who was preparing food – it meant they didn't have to worry about finding dinner for themselves. Mycroft's upper lip pulled upwards in an involuntary sneer.

"I haven't had a very good week, Anthea. I am in no mood for goldfish." He sounded exhausted. His week hadn't been that bad so far, not really, but it was just one of those weeks where something wasn't calculated correctly and it set plans for the foreseeable future off a little bit. Mycroft would sulk about the extra work for a few days and then get over it.

"No one else is going – just us." Anthea argued. Mycroft pursed his lips and looked around as if he was trying to work out if Anthea was talking to someone else, like her words didn't make sense as a follow up to his.

"I don't see how that counters my point." He looked back, feigning confusion. Anthea gave him a flat look which only seemed to spark some defiant energy back into the genius.

"Myc…" Anthea huffed.

"Ali." He repeated in the same tone, mocking her.

"Please. I think they've found out the sex of the baby." A pause. Mycroft moved to sit straighter in his chair and frowned.

"And why would I care about that?" He cocked his head to the side.

"Because I care." Anthea pulled a face at him. He sniffed and Anthea resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Because you said you're giving into some of my sentimental behaviours."

"When it comes to you and I, yes." Mycroft gestured between them with a couple of flicks of his index finger. "When it comes to the outside world I'd rather not talk to anyone." Anthea pouted as she looked away. She tapped her fingers on the arm rest of the chair and stared at the wall. She needed a way to get that yes. As an idea came to her mind she turned back to Mycroft. He was still watching her carefully with that sparkling rebellion.

"It's not the outside world, its James." Anthea implored. "James knows what Sherrinford is and I don't." The defiance drifted out of Mycroft's expression and he clenched his jaw. "Doesn't that put James on the inside?" Mycroft's gaze drifted down to the carpet just before crossed ankles. The way his eyes focused hard on every detail of the carpet Anthea knew that his brain was ticking away. He inhaled and looked back up with a flick of his hand.

"Not this." He hummed. "James knows better than to expect this from me."

"Mycroft." Anthea rubbed her forehead. "You can do it for me."

"No." He sung. "I can go to an event like a wedding for you. I can buy gifts for this child for you. I don't have to sit through awkward dinners when the presence of any human being other than you is currently irritating me to the point of wanting to scratch my own skin off." For a second the passion in Mycroft's words made Anthea want to relent. To let him sit quietly in his seclusion until he was no longer sulking about work and could face humans again. She wanted to pat his hair and stroke his face and tell him that she understood, but she'd promised Jamie and Jamie was just as important.

"Normally I'd let you off." Anthea exhaled, leaning further into the chair and sliding down against the plush fabric. "But Jamie made me promise to get you to come. Jamie really wants you there." Brows furrowed and fidgeting stopped as Mycroft looked momentarily perplexed. His tongue ran over his front teeth as he let this sink in.

"Why would she want me there?" He sounded genuinely confused by the idea. Anthea gained a soft smile as she shrugged and shook her head.

"Why did she offer to check up on you when we thought Sherlock was going to be gone for good?" Anthea raised her eyebrows. "Why did she ask James to check up on you? Why did she flip out about the Moriarty video and worry what that meant for your brother?" She sat back up in the chair and scratched her nose. "I think you think Jamie still hates you from the NDA thing." Anthea explained. "But I don't think she ever hated you, you've seen how passionate she gets about things." She expected Mycroft to roll his eyes but he didn't. "I think you're ignoring the fact that you don't have to understand something to like it."

A pause.

Mycroft's right index finger traced the pattern in the material of the couch's armrest. He sat there silently tracing in, almost transfixed, for five minutes. Anthea waited patiently, looking around the room absentmindedly.

"If I go for an hour can I leave without you?" Anthea looked over to see Mycroft looking at her with his beautiful blue eyes, searching for a compromise. Anthea laughed under her breath. She nodded. "Fine. I'll go then."

He's coming. He's making a fuss about it and will probably sulk, but he's coming. – A.

Lol! Is he ever not sulking? That's fine. I don't need him to be in a good mood :P. – Jamie x.

You could come over here. That might minimise some sulk and then you don't have to cook. – A.

Don't make me leave the house when I don't have to :(. I hate having to get in and out of the car right now! – Jamie x.

Hahahaha, okay! Your discomfort comes before his moods. – A x.

You bet it does. Stupid selfish genius :P. – Jamie x.

For a woman who didn't want to leave her own house out of fear of having to sit and stand multiple times, Jamie certainly put an exorbitant amount of effort into dinner. She cooked a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings. It was a real family meal, the likes of which Anthea hadn't had since she'd last stayed at Mycroft's parent's house. A variety of vegetables were served as well as homemade Yorkshire puddings. That had been a first for Jamie – she'd never made them from scratch before but wanted to try James' mother's recipe. She'd wanted to do a roast for a long time but it was not the type of meal you cook for two people.

"And I thought who better to cook it for then Alice and Mycroft? They only eat really good homey meals when people cook for them."

Anthea was not enjoying the reputation she and Mycroft were gaining. Between Mycroft forgetting to stock his fridge and Anthea being a mediocre at best cook the two were starting to be known around the group of people close to them as the pair who didn't know how to feed themselves. Though if it came with the benefits of people giving them food and asking them over for meals then Anthea would let this blemish on her reputation slide.

Mycroft was quiet but not rude during dinner and that was at least something. James, Anthea, and Jamie talked enough that there was no absence due to his quiet attitude. Any comment he made was a sarcastic comment at someone's expense or to answer a question directed at him. Like what was the capital of that country again? Those sort of questions. He answer and force a small smile when the person who asked said thank you. On second thoughts, it might have been easy to construe his behaviour as rude if you didn't know him. Luckily he was in the company of people who didn't expect anything but Holmsian behaviour from him.

After dinner Mycroft was told that he wasn't allowed to leave just yet. He had to stay for a little while longer. His annoyance was read all over his body language like a bratty teenager's attitude but he obliged regardless. They moved into the living room where James got teas and coffees. Jamie whined about how much she missed coffee when the scent of it whiffed past her as James handed Anthea her coffee. Once they were settled Jamie got into the reason why she wanted them over for dinner. It was just as Anthea had suspected.

"We found out the sex of the baby last week." Jamie beamed with quite excitement as she rested a hand on her expanding belly.

"And you've been sitting on that secret for this long? Colour me surprised." Mycroft muttered into the rim of his cup of tea. Jamie gave him a mock smile, kind of sneering as she did. James and Anthea ignored it completely.

"And?" Anthea scooted forward in her seat, subconsciously getting closer to Jamie. Jamie and James looked to each other. Jamie nodded, giving James to go ahead to tell them.

"It's a girl." He answered breathlessly with a big grin and an even bigger shrug. He didn't seem to know what to do or how to announce it, just that he was excited about it. The best part about it was knowing that James would have been beside himself with happiness with either result. Jamie and Anthea had been hoping for a girl, though.

"Yes!" Anthea punched the air in front of her. She never did that sort of thing. Why did she do that now? Even Mycroft pulled a face at that particular reaction, staring at her hand like it had suddenly been revealed to be a weapon. Jamie was bouncing up and down in her seat. "Guys, that is so great! You're going to have a little girl!"

"It's so exciting!" Jamie gleefully squealed.

"Exciting? It's amazing!" James was still talking like he was out of breath. He gestured to the stairs. "My daughter is going to grow up in a room up there." He patted the couch he and Anthea were sitting on. "She's going to open her Christmas and birthday presents on this couch." His face was as bright as the sun and Anthea had previously thought he couldn't get happier. "I'll probably get to threaten her dates at that door." He pointed at the front door. Jamie burst into loving giggles. Anthea placed her palms together against her lips, trapping her nose between them, as she smiled. She felt like this action was the only thing stopping her from falling to pieces.

"Even Carol is going to love her." Anthea shook her head. "You know that, right, James? You've finally got your trump card for Carol."

"I know!" James laughed and nodded rapidly.

"That is all well and good," Mycroft interrupted the merriment and the others looked over to him sitting in the other armchair that Jamie wasn't currently occupying. The man was watching his umbrella carefully. He stretched out his finger before closing them methodically one by one around the handle of the finely crafted umbrella. "But did I really have to be here for this?" Jamie scrunched up her features, pulling a face at the genius. Her hazel eyes were regarding him like he'd just asked the most moronic question she'd ever said.

"Well if Ali is going to be Auntie Alice," She scoffed. "Then you're going to be Uncle Mycroft and we wanted you guys to know, you idiot." She dropped the expression and quietly laughed at the end of her sentence. Mycroft swallowed the air. He pursed his lips and dug the tip of the umbrella further into the carpet.

"Oh…" He raised his eyebrows as he looked back down at the handle of his umbrella. James and Anthea exchanged a knowing look while Jamie just watched him like it was free entertainment. "I had expected the name, but…" He trailed off. He had not expected everything that came with it? Anthea couldn't read his reaction to this, not completely. It seemed he was hiding a myriad of mixed emotions from all ends of the emotion spectrum. "I'll tell you right now," He looked back up and all the pompous self-serving attitude of the Holmes boys had returned to his voice. "I am not attending any recitals, performances, or parties. Nor do I want any school photos or handmade artwork." His lip pulled up in disgust at the thought. Both Anthea and Jamie laughed.

"James already gave me this speech." Jamie assured the genius with a roll of her sunny eyes.

"Good." He answered stubbornly, once again looking back at his umbrella.

"Anyway." James whistled. He leaned over from his pot on the couch so he could nudge Jamie on the knee. They met eyes and Jamie realised it was a signal to move on and continue.

"Yeah." She agreed with the silent request, twirling her blonde hair around her fingers. "James and I and have been talking a lot about godparents. If we want our daughter to stay in the family we have only my brother as an option for godfather but like a billion choices for godmothers."

"Liz, Poppy, Carol, You." James listed the options, leaving out his middle sister for whatever reason. "There are a lot of good women in my life." James smile and Mycroft scoffed.

"Poppy would be good because she's closest with James, she has no kids, and her work isn't demanding." Jamie was looking at James the whole time.

"But then Carol only had one kid and she raised her really well and Carol's household would probably be the most similar to ours." James widened his eyes and shrugged. They seemed to be reiterating points they had previously discussed.

"In the end though, we realised we were only thinking about other options to be polite and say we considered them." Jamie patted her stomach. "And both of us had decided before we'd even started trying for a baby that we wanted you to be the godmother." Jamie looked at Anthea. Anthea wasn't shocked, she had expected it from the very beginning. In fact, she would have been offended if she wasn't asked. Yet it was still an amazing feeling to be asked. She had no blood ties to this child and when it came down to it she was nothing more than Jamie and James' friend. This cemented her in their lives somehow. This gave her an extended family set in stone. That empty hole that had existed for so long in her heart, the same one that Mycroft filled a little part of, being the godmother to Jamie's daughter was just another brick cemented to fix it up. Her insides felt less raw and exposed.

"Oh, Jay!" Anthea cooed. She got off the couch and walked over to Jamie. She leant over and gave the sat figure a hug. As Jamie returned the hug and rubbed Anthea's back Anthea added "If you had chosen Poppy I would have had to kill her anyway." Jamie made a noise that was between a snort and a scoff as she let Anthea go.

"See, that's why it had to be you." She said. Anthea's chest swelled with pride. Jamie looked over at James expectantly. The agent pulled out his phone and checked his notifications. Jamie began tapping her foot as James opened up Facebook. When he finished checking his notifications on Facebook he looked up bashfully at Jamie. "Well?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"What?" He asked, locking his phone.

"Are you going to ask what you want to ask?" She asked. James licked his lips and slid down in the couch.

"I'm not sure now is the right time, considering…" He dismissed her.

"It's never going to be the right time, James. If I know that you should know that." That's all Jamie had to say for Mycroft and Anthea to know they were somehow discussing something to do with Mycroft. The two brunettes looked at each other with guarded expressions. James scruffed up his hair. He sat back straight.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

"Then do it." Jamie spoke very kindly for who she was. "It's not going to kill you."

"Spit it out, James." Mycroft scoffed. "We're not getting any younger and I'm not growing any more patience." Jamie smiled at Mycroft's words like they proved her point. She nodded at the genius while looking at James, encouraging whatever it was. The agent cleared his throat. He turned in the couch so he was looking at Mycroft with his hands folded together in his lap.

"Alright, Holmes, sir." James' brown eyes flickered down to the coffee table as he gathered his thoughts but when they next rose they were full of the determination and strength of the agent he was. "Like you always say; people like us we don't always reach retirement age." A breathless laugh escaped James' mouth. Anthea gritted her teeth and Mycroft's grasped tighter on his umbrella. Anthea wondered if Jamie could sense the loss and preparedness they all had for that to happen to any of them. "If, or when something happens to me, sir, I want to know that my girls are taken care of." He rub his chin and sniffed. "I know Jamie will have A, but I want to make sure she has more than that. I want to make sure my daughter gets whatever she deserves and that she's always safe." James winced, finding it hard to communicate. He shook his head and tried again. "Basically, sir, I would owe you a great service if you promised to keep an eye on my daughter if something happened to me. Just one security person tailing her is fine, just make sure my enemies never touch her."

"Come now, James." Mycroft scoffed, looking the agent dead in the eyes. "Was it even necessary to ask that?" The sarcasm was present in his tone but it lacked to piercing sting. Instead there was a softness usually saved for Anthea and occasionally Sherlock. The relief that washed over James' face revealed that yes, he did have to ask that.

"Just needed to hear it out loud, sir." James said gratefully. Jamie pulled a face at Anthea though her eyes were full of love and comfort. Anthea sniffed, she thought it was supposed to be a laugh. Mycroft cleared his throat. He looked down at his umbrella and tapped it into the carpet again.

"Am I free to leave, now?" He asked bitterly, looking at Anthea. Anthea reached out and placed a hand on top of his reassuringly. She then turned to Jamie the blonde nodded and wave.

"Go." She said. Mycroft instantly got out of his armchair.

"See you in a few hours." Anthea said to him. He stopped before he walked past her, took her hand in his and stroked her fingers with his thumb.

"Call me and I'll send a car to come get you." He said gently. Anthea squeezed his hand.

"Don't worry about me," Anthea said. "Go get the people germs off you. Have a shower and wash away those feelings." She said, earning a quiet giggle from Jamie.

"You jest, my dear," Mycroft chuckled. "But that is precisely what I'm going to do."

From what I know of you I'm surprised you haven't noticed yet. – E.

What? – A.

My name. – E.

Emily? – A.

It's the name of your favourite author. – E.

Wuthering Heights is my favourite book but since I haven't read much by her I can't call Emily Bronte my favourite author. – A.

That's a very relevant point. Oh well. Maybe if I were Charlotte. – E.

Who? Charlotte Bronte? – A.

Yes. The sister. – E.

Why does everyone forget Anne? – A.

That was a strange reaction to the name Charlotte. Strong for someone as apathetic in text as you are. Who else could I mean? – E.

You don't want know. – A.

Dropping it. Does your name come from anything? – E.

I'm going to pretend that this conversation was light and funny and get back to work. – A.

You really are funny. I like you. – E.

Author's Note: So? What did we think? What did you think of how all the characters acted this chapter? I tried to convey some development and I hope you can see it. Thanks to our guest reviewers; Madalina, B, Chloeness, and Guest. All the rest of you have accounts and already know how much I love your support and opinions. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and I'll see you in five days for the next chapter!