Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thanks to the seven of you who reviewed last chapter – It means just the whole world to me and since you guys were the only ones I'm going to call you all out at the end. Look! Another on time chapter! We're doing well! So this was another chapter that I SWORE was going to be about 2000 words. Nope. Not a problem though because it doesn't seem to take me much longer to reach 3000 these days. I just do it without noticing. 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 Hope Got Sick

Most of the time Anthea would much rather work at the government office than spend time in the Diogenes Dungeon. It was dark, cold, everything echoed, and Anthea just hated walking through the club at all. She revelled in annoying those men upstairs but some days that wasn't enough to shake the unacceptance and general off feeling of this place. Right now, however she was enjoying days that she got to work at the club. It was private here and no one would visit without either Mycroft or Anthea knowing far ahead of time or at least a message from the front desk before they let the person down. That meant Anthea could kick her heels off for her aching feet. It also meant most of the day would be spent here unless sent out for specific errands which meant no running around. It wasn't horrible yet but it was starting to get hard for Anthea to get out of these wheelie desk chairs.

The truth was that Anthea had finished her set work for the day twenty minutes ago and had been wasting time on her phone and on the internet in the meanwhile. Normally she would go ask Mycroft if he needed anything, run errands on her own accord, or go do some always needed file sorting. Right now she just wanted to stall standing up for a little while longer and she absolutely loathed putting her shoes back on. She figured she had at least ten more minutes of doing nothing before Mycroft would come out and assign her something to do anyway. Anthea could wait it out. Why get up an extra and unnecessary time when Mycroft, who wasn't carrying a small human-Holmes hybrid, could get up with no problem?

Anthea's phone screen flickered away from the twitter account she was currently reading to reveal an incoming call. As it began to buzz the name came up.

Jamie.

Anthea smiled gently to herself as she hit answer.

"Jamie, you have wonderful timing." Anthea sighed upon answering. "You want to talk at me for ten minutes? I am up for that." Anthea heard Jamie take in a shaky breath.

"Um, maybe." She replied softly. It was so unsure, and that was completely unlike confident Jamie. Anthea frowned.

"You okay?" She asked, tucking a curl behind her ear.

"Uh, yeah." Jamie replied, the same insecure voice. She took a long, deep breath. "It's just… James is away." Anthea knew that. He couldn't tell Jamie any more than he had to go on a business trip but Anthea knew exactly where he was. Carol and James were in Washington right now, they had been asked to come give their opinion on a few matters. "And…"

"Jamie, are you okay?" Anthea asked again.

"Hope is sick." Jamie's voice shook. "I don't know. It could be normal, I don't know. I know new parents are supposed to freak out about colds and stuff and it's like a trope that people laugh at but she's coughing a lot and I don't know what to do." She lost more control the longer she spoke. Anthea felt a heavy weight in her chest. Poor sweet Hope. That little beauty didn't even deserve a cold. Anthea had no words. "If James was home I'd be fine but like… It's scary alone, you know? My baby is coughing all the time and I don't know what to do and what not to do and like I don't trust anyone on the internet. And I know I came crying to you when James was away and Hope couldn't sleep and I should just rely on you every time something goes wrong because you have your own life and I'm a horrible friend for doing that but… I don't know. I just. I don't know." Anthea took a few moments to process the long string of words and thoughts thrown at her. She shook her head and blinked.

"First of all, you're a great friend, Jamie." Anthea said in her firmest voice down the phone. "I'm the closest thing you have to family in London."

"You ARE family." Jamie corrected through her tears.

"Exactly." Anthea shook her head like Jamie could see it. "So I'm glad you called." Anthea looked up to the roof and tried to think of a solution for the scared blonde. She didn't know what to do in this situation either. "I don't if I can help but if you think you can make better decisions when you feel safer and supported you can come over ours for a while." Anthea shrugged. "I'm kind of done here and I can help you decide if you should go to the doctor or not."

A beat.

Anthea thought she heard someone coughing. Was that Hope?

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah!" Anthea assured her best friend.

"Okay." Jamie sobbed. "Thank you."

"I'll see you soon."

Click.

Anthea pressed her hands against her face and rested her elbows on the desk. A sick baby, how frightening. Would that be her life eventually? She doubted she would know any better than Jamie what to do. Poor Hope. Hopefully Anthea could at least help Jamie distract the little girl from her illness.

Anthea slipped her heels back onto her feet begrudgingly. She tried to use the desk as support as she slowly got out of the moving chair. This thing needed breaks. If it just stayed still it wouldn't be such a problem. She knocked on Mycroft's door, waited three seconds and let herself in.

"Finally got bored?" Mycroft asked as Anthea approached his desk. He had his hands folded in front of him and a wry smile on his face.

"No." Anthea answered solemnly. "Jamie called and she's all over the place because Hope is sick." Mycroft's expression dropped.

"And James is in Washington." He finished Anthea's trail of thought as he looked off into the corner of the room pensively.

"I told her to come to the house." Anthea informed him. "I don't think I'll be much help but…" Anthea shrugged her shoulders. Mycroft nodded, knowing what Anthea meant even if she didn't have the words to verbalise it.

"To be frank, I have nothing else to do today that can't be completed from home." Mycroft sighed, looking around his desk. "I'll take you home and inform security to let Mrs. Baker in without hesitation." Anthea's heart swelled.

"You don't have to, but thank you." She whispered.

Mycroft had long disappeared into the safety of his home study when Jamie arrive at his and Anthea's house. Anthea on the other hand had been waiting not so patiently for her best friend and niece to arrive.

Considering the phone call Jamie looked well put together when Anthea had opened the door. By her eyeliner it was obvious that she had cried but the blonde had her hair tied back in a neat ponytail and she'd obviously only recently gotten changed as her clothes were neat and crisp. Jamie had dressed Hope in warm clothing and she had Hope's blanket wrapped around her. That was always Anthea's mother's instinct too – make a sick kid warm and toasty so they feel safe and loved.

"Hey baby girl." Anthea cooed at little Hope. "I hear you don't feel well but its okay, I'll help Mummy make you feel better." And with those words Jamie hugged Anthea with the arm not supporting her daughter. Anthea squeezed her friend back.

"I love that I believe you." Jamie said, trying to laugh. Anthea smiled at her.

"It can't be that bad." Anthea replied as she gestured for Jamie to enter the house. As she did Anthea closed the door behind her. "You're such a great mum." Anthea followed Jamie into the living room. Before the blonde could respond her daughter coughed three harsh coughs. It was enough to make stoic Anthea flinch.

"See?" Jamie's voice was a high pitched whine. "That can't be good." She stroked her daughter's head lovingly. Anthea wanted to say something assuring but she couldn't.

"It doesn't sound great." She admitted through a stoic expression. Jamie's whole body shrunk as she released a shaky sigh. "But any illness on a baby would be scary to me." She offered as a way to make it sound better.

"Me too." She whined. She looked around the room frantically, at a loss. Anthea rubbed at her neck, trying to think of a way to help. Eventually she pointed to the kitchen.

"Want a warm drink?" She asked. It would certainly help Anthea so it might help calm Jamie.

"What about Myc?" Jamie asked, ignoring Anthea's question and looking at her with sharp eyes. Anthea cocked her head to the side questioning. "He's not going to be scared by a sick baby. He'll tell us honestly what he thinks!" She was talking fast again but this time it was because she was a spark of hope and not out of fear. "He's super smart, he'll probably know exactly what to do and I don't care if he makes me look like an idiot, it'll be worth it." She stepped closer to Anthea as Hope coughed again. "Is he home?" Anthea bit the inside of her lip apprehensively as she nodded.

"We can ask him." Anthea hummed thoughtfully. "But… It's Mycroft, you know?"

"I know." Jamie nodded. "But what good is having a genius for your daughter's uncle if you can't ask for his help from time to time?" She had a point, Anthea supposed.

Anthea went up to the study by herself to ask Mycroft. She thought this way if he turned them down there would be no tears or no argument. Mycroft sighed and huffed but almost immediately agreed to come down. Maybe because he secretly cared for Hope. Or more likely he wanted to put Jamie at ease so then she'd leave his house.

Mycroft stood in front of Jamie and Hope with the posture of a teenager. Anthea could just picture him shoving his hands into his pockets or folding them across his chest. For someone brilliant at hiding their emotions, when he wasn't hiding them he could be extremely expressive.

"You understand that by no means am I an expert on babies or even children?" Mycroft asked Jamie with apprehension in his voice. Jamie nodded. "And even if I am very likely correct with what I tell you, I won't know anything to help soothe your daughter."

"I know." Jamie nodded again.

"Then why am I here?" Mycroft asked seriously.

"Because James and Ali trust you." Jamie said sternly. "Hope trusts you, and I trust you." Mycroft quirked an eyebrow. Jamie managed a smile. "My three favourite people can't all be wrong about someone." Mycroft rolled his eyes. He exhaled his breath heavily again. Careful, weary of germs and common baby germs alike, Mycroft stepped closer to Hope. He leaned in to look over her. She coughed a few times and he pulled back and grimaced.

"Your daughter has croup." He hummed. He rubbed under his nose like wiping away invisible germs but as discretely as he could. Jamie and Anthea looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Croup?" Jamie repeated while still looking at Anthea. She turned to Mycroft. "Is it serious?"

"Oh it most certainly can be." Mycroft replied in a high sing song voice. He must have seen the panic arise in the two women's faces because he suddenly looked alert and added a further statement. "But in this case I don't think it's at all serious."

"Should we go to the doctor?" Anthea asked. "Get a prescription?" Mycroft smirked.

"No, my dear." He replied. "Croup is a virus. Antibiotics do nothing to them. Hope does not appear to be sweating and her breathing doesn't look at all strained. A doctor would suggest paracetamol and keeping fluids up. You can do easily without wasting anyone's time." Jamie looked less panicked. Once you name something you can often relax a little. However, she still looked very unsure of herself. She scrunched up her face while she debated the options. She looked at her brunette best friend.

"Ali?" She asked for her opinion.

"I can send out for baby paracetamol." Anthea said. "And we can keep an eye on her for a few hours." Jamie looked at Hope with warmth, tenderness, and worry. She stroked her head.

"Sound like a plan, sunshine?" She asked Hope, giving her answer. Anthea relaxed. Mycroft's posture improved. He turned around and walked away.

The plan worked for four hours. All the while Mycroft lurked around hiding in the study or the longue room, out of sight but always aware of important information. It started off well enough. Jamie and Anthea played with Hope and cuddled her to distract her and then put her down for a sleep once she seemed calmed and not fretting over her coughs. When she managed to get to sleep Jamie calmed down too and Anthea made her lay on the couch where she napped for half an hour.

Then the two best friends watched some telly together and played around the way they do whenever they live together. Then Hope woke up crying. Jamie's face fell flat, not out of annoyance but purely out of worry. She disappeared off to try and soothe the bub. When it failed she brought her out back into the living room with Anthea where together the pair tried once again to play with her and distract her.

The distractions worked on Hope. She still coughed but she was enraptured by the show Anthea was putting on between two of her stuffed teddies. Mr. Woof had brought confidential hugging techniques from his brother's files to Fluffy. But Fluffy didn't want the files, he just wanted to play with Mr. Woof and make him dance. Jamie was too distracted to even follow the complex storyline or what Anthea might be revealing. She was worried about that cough. She did not like the sound of it. To Anthea it sounded the same as before but to Jamie it sounded worse and a bit hoarse. So out came Google with people suggesting vaporisers. Like Anthea and Mycroft had one of those. Anthea took Jamie to one of the bathrooms. Jamie turned the shower on to let steam fill the air. She stayed in there with Hope for a while. Then they went back to playing with her and comforting her.

Eventually Jamie lost her nerve again like she must have when she called Anthea in the first place. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair and tugged at the ends.

"I need to help her." Jamie said breathlessly.

"You are helping her." Anthea pouted. As far as she could see Jamie was doing everything right. Jamie shook her head vigorously. "She'd be completely calm if James was here." Anthea continued. "We all know she's his sidekick. Some of this has to be about missing her Dad." Jamie stopped and considered this for a moment. She might have been convinced if Hope hadn't coughed four times in succession. Her hazel eyes shut tight.

"Nope." She sung. "I need to make sure of it." She said. "I need to make sure she's entirely okay." Anthea nodded silently for a few seconds.

"Okay." She said. She got it. Or at least she thought she got it. Jamie was still a new mother who needed help. She just wanted to make sure her daughter was okay.

"I'm going to the hospital." Jamie said. She scooped Hope up off the floor and stood up. Anthea, slowly of course and struggling with her change of centre of gravity, got up too.

"Let me drive." The brunette said. They'd take Jamie's car because it was safer than Anthea's car and the only car within the grounds that currently had a car seat installed, but Jamie's nerves were shot. She'd be a terrible driver right now. Jamie said nothing but nodded graciously.

As Anthea gathered her stuff to leave she saw Mycroft loitering in a doorway. He was looking at his pocket watch with a bored expression. She held her hand up in a wave. He nodded.

After an eternity of waiting in the emergency room and only fleeting time with the actual doctor, Anthea and Jamie returned back to the big empty house. They were both tired as they walked through the door and Hope who had fallen asleep in the car slept in her mother's arms. Anthea carried the plastic bag that contained the vaporiser they had bought at the 24 hour pharmacy before heading home.

Mycroft was sitting on the couch in the living room. He had his laptop open on his lap and appeared to be working. He stopped when he saw the girls enter. Anthea offered him a tired smile as she walked over to the kitchen bench and put down both her handbag and Jamie's vaporiser.

"You were right, Frosty." Jamie admitted disappointedly. "It's not that bad and unless it gets worse they're not going to give Hope anything." She sighed. "Just paracetamol and monitoring." Mycroft looked at Anthea and the two shared a look.

"There was no harm in receiving a second opinion." The genius quietly. "One does not read a single research paper when forming an opinion on a theory." Jamie and Anthea both frowned at him but Anthea smirked as she did.

"That's Mycroft for erasing doubts." Anthea laughed.

"I got that." Jamie pouted as she continued to frown. "I just don't get why that whole second sentence was needed."

"Because exercising one's vocabulary is one way to maintain it. You should try it sometime." Mycroft muttered sarcastically. Jamie sniffed. She pulled a face at the sleeping Hope. Anthea walked over to Mycroft and stroked his arm.

"But yeah," Jamie said. "I guess it did help to go." Anthea hummed a noise to show her best friend that she agreed with her.

After a moment Jamie stretched her back out the best she could without disturbing Hope. Anthea was waiting for her to say something but Mycroft had already returned to typing.

"I better go." Jamie muttered.

"You sure?" Anthea asked, raising her eyebrows. Mycroft continued to type but Anthea could tell that he was listening. Jamie scrunched up her nose and nodded.

"I don't want to get in your way." Jamie said. Anthea cocked her head to the side, questioning the statement. Jamie nodded to the broody genius typing away. Anthea looked at her flatly.

"You sure you'll be okay without James?" Anthea asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine without him all the time…" Jamie paused and pulled the face. "After that first time." She smiled. It wasn't that big grin of hers. Sure she was fine all the time but her daughter was sick.

"What if you need more help?" Anthea asked.

"I don't know… I'll call you again." Jamie played it off.

"Only if you're sure." Anthea tried again.

"Yeah it's cool. Really." Jamie said. Anthea held her hands out at her side in defeat. She picked up the vaporiser again and gestured to the entrance hall door. She began walking the mother and daughter out.

"Oh, for heaven's sake." Anthea heard Mycroft exclaim in a sigh. "Jamie." He said a few seconds later. He was standing at the door between the living room and the entrance hall with both annoyance and strain on his face. "It's late," He sighed. "Anthea is worried about you leaving and you clearly can't handle tonight alone or else you wouldn't have disrupted us during the daylight hours." He rolled his eyes dramatically for effect. "Why don't you just stay until James returns, or until Hope is showing signs of recovery?" He stopped for a second. "Whichever comes first."

"You don't want me here for a few days, Mycroft." Jamie said critically.

"Maybe so." Mycroft smirked, leaning against the doorway. "But you and your husband have assisted Anthea multiple times. Although I am trying to take a cue from my brother I am still rather new to this expressing your feelings deal." He pulled a small scowl. "I have, however, understood for a long time that the best way to express gratitude is by returning a favour without being prompted to." Jamie blinked.

"Seriously," She said to Anthea. "He could have said that in like a third of the words." Anthea laughed quietly and Mycroft clicked his tongue and rolled those steel eyes once more. Jamie looked back at the genius. "Are you serious? Like really serious."

"You didn't need that second sentence." Mycroft muttered in revenge.

"Myc." Anthea tried to chide him but she was smiling.

"When am I not serious?" Mycroft answered properly this time. "You can have Anthea's old room again." Jamie blinked. Then she blinked again, and again. Was she trying to stop herself from crying?

"You guys are the best." Jamie whimpered. Like earlier in the day she pulled Anthea into a one arm hugged. She woke Hope up in the process but the girl didn't cry, she just made little surprised and confused noises.

"Oh, we know." Anthea answered, scrunching up her nose at Mycroft as she teased him about what he said when they went crib shopping together. Mycroft sneered and walked back into the living room to enjoy his solitude.

Author's Note: Let me know what you thought! This one, I feel, has a lot to it so I'm dying to know your thoughts. Thanks to our seven reviewers (1 guest and 6 accounts) last chapter: Hazel, Miss Corrine, Crouching SunRose, Maddy Love Castiel, MaterinaRedbird, thisisnotarealaccount, and Analena. Thanks for the loveliness that is your thoughts and feelings. I hope to see you in five days but I have one last assignment due before the exam study week so it MIGHT take six. Check in five.