Author's Note: Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback last chapter! I am so happy you all liked it as much as I did! I was really proud of it. Now we can move on with some security for both Anthea and the readers. This is an average length chapter which I think you'll enjoy. 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 They Chose Middle Names

"So." Anthea hummed from her seat at the kitchen bench. She was all dressed for work but the car wouldn't be there for another fifteen minutes yet.

"So?" Mycroft repeated in the same light tone, mimicking Anthea from his spot within the kitchen. He placed a cup of tea down in front of her then picked up his own cup of coffee. Anthea picked up the cup and smelt the flavour. As much as she was getting into all these different herbal teas the aroma wasn't the same as coffee.

"As of today we're trying." She said before taking a sip of the tea. Anthea was referring to their latest deal. Mycroft's brows furrowed as he glared at his coffee.

"We were trying before." He defended both of them really as he sounded hurt for dramatic effect.

"I mean," Anthea rolled her eyes while smiling. She put the cup of tea down. "I'm not going to tiptoe around the subject of the baby anymore and you're not going to pull away every time you start to feel involved."

"I wasn't doing that." Mycroft looked down his nose at her like the snob he was, also putting down his mug. Anthea crinkled her nose.

"Yeah, you were." She teased.

"Excuse me." Mycroft pulled a face, leaning forward towards her. "I was the one the take us shopping for a crib, I brought in the rocking chair, and I've done many other responsible jobs despite my reservations, thank you very much!" Anthea rolled her eyes again. Yeah he was always willing to throw his money at things as long as it meant he could stay a safe distance while looking involved – they did it at work all the time. Anthea meant with the real things – the emotional things.

"You've come to one appointment, Myc." She smiled knowingly at her mug as the genius fell silent. "You weren't involved in picking names and when I asked you to pick middle names you refused." He looked very solemn all of a sudden.

"Names are important, Anthea." He said. "They should be picked by someone who cares and someone who will be around often enough to use the name." Two things that could separately apply to Mycroft or both apply to him in this case. It even made Anthea's warm expression falter for a second. Her hand dropped onto her bump. Little Margot or little William.

"You care enough to apply yourself." Anthea's voice came out softer than she expected. "And you're going to be there for at least a month." The couple both caught each other's eyes but quickly looked in different directions. Anthea took a breath then she shrugged. "And it's only a middle name." Or two, given his family tradition of giving two middle names. "Unless they're like your brother and go by it, it'll hardly ever been spoken out loud." She was trying to take the pressure off and make it an easier job for Mycroft to digest. The genius' eyes were back on her, dissecting her words and her body language.

"Why does this feel like a test?" Mycroft hummed cautiously. Anthea laughed silently. It wasn't a test, it was a task. Their first task at being serious. She was trusting him with something real knowing he could do it and he was in fact going to do it without excuses. This pussyfooting around wouldn't last, a few more words and he'd agree.

"I can make it a test if you want, sir." Anthea teased some more. "Grade you on originality, creativity, thoughtfulness, time spent on task…"

"Originality and creativity are redundant don't you think?" He muttered at his girlfriend. Anthea bit her bottom lip.

"No." She said after some thought. "Your name is original and creative. A name like apple is original but it's not creative. My name, my real name, is creative but not original."

"In your mind, maybe." Mycroft said.

"And I'm the grader so what I think is important." She replied. Mycroft scoffed and Anthea crinkled her nose. He almost smiled. Almost. "Look, Myc," Anthea scooted forward. "Choosing names that felt right made me feel so much more connected to the baby. Maybe if you do this it'll help you too." She tilted her head to the side causing hair to fall in her face. She tucked it behind her ear. "It makes it feel more real. This thing is Will or Margot now, it's not a random thing." As Mycroft thought Anthea could see his jaw clench and unclench. He exhaled heavily and shook his head.

"Fine." He said in a breathy voice. "Don't expect a quick answer, however." Good, because she didn't want a quick answer. Anthea wanted real thought put into this. Thoughtful middle names to go with the thoughtful first names picked out for the most important person in her life.

Anthea didn't have much to do at work that day. So naturally, instead of finding jobs that needed to be completed, she spent her time messaging Jamie and filling her in on the latest dramas and revelations. The blonde seemed quite convinced that this would work out well. Of course she thought it was going to work out well anyway. She and Sherlock were on the same wavelength about this issue. One could argue that as the two people who know Anthea and Mycroft the best they knew best of all. It could also be argued that they would be the ones with the most wishful thinking since they would also care the most.

Still, it was nice to hear some enthusiasm from Jamie. If she expected Mycroft to do something wrong she'd outright say it. Jamie didn't have much of a filter. Not the same way as the Holmes, they were oblivious to people's feelings at times, Jamie just thought that sometimes it was best for people to hear the truth. Anthea was pretty sure that was one of the few things Mycroft respected about her.

Anthea and Jamie were past all the really serious talk and onto the lighter stuff now.

So I finally got him to agree to pick middle names. It's his first serious task. – A.

:o OMG! Do you think he's going to take it seriously? – Jamie x.

Anthea always got a smile whenever Jamie sent her emojis. She was probably the only person Anthea texted that actually did. Well James did when it wasn't work related. Even then once in a while he would. Molly would do a heart occasionally but that was about it.

Don't know. – A.

Hope so. – A.

I think he will! He'll be all serious and broody about it. Like it's the biggest choice he's ever had to make. – Jamie x.

Anthea almost laughed out loud. She quickly turned it into a snicker. She'd rather Mycroft not know she'd been spending the last half an hour texting Jamie.

Naming something means growing attached to it, after all. – A.

Lol. I totally bet he never named any of his toys or teddies as a kid! Can't love something! – Jamie x.

He'd have a number system but that would imply that there's some sort of ranking and people would assume the higher the rank the more affection. That can't be allowed. – A.

They must be assigned with a random number generator. Use one of those twenty sided dice :'D. – Jamie x.

Anthea rubbed at her eyes and bit her bottom lip to stop from laughing out loud.

Sherlock is sibling 1. Eurus is sibling 2. It makes sense in this case to go in chronological order. – A.

The sister doesn't even have labels. They're just all lumped under 'relatives'. – Jamie x.

Anthea buried her head in her hands and laughed softly. This really felt like how they used to talk about people at school. It was brilliant.

Ping.

She had got another message before she could answer Jamie again.

Seriously though, they'll be good names. – Jamie x.

Just like that they were serious again.

You sure he's not going to cop out and pick his grandparents names or something? – A.

Anthea was half joking, not being about to jump back into fully serious.

Idk, maybe but he'd have a reason for it. – Jamie x.

I know that. I'm just saying it'll be a cop out. – A.

What? Like you picked William? ;). – Jamie x.

Shut up! Hope is a common noun. – A.

:'D. – Jamie x.

There was a serious conversation somewhere underneath all this mucking around.

Anthea did not bring the topic up with Mycroft one single time after that first conversation. He wasn't someone who needed reminding and doing so might just annoy him. Someone like Mycroft needed radio silence on something like this so he could focus on it and make a meaningful choice in his own time. Anthea knew Mycroft was thinking about it and Mycroft knew Anthea was waiting, there was no point in a Holmes mind to talk about it and Anthea was used to that way of thinking.

It was only four days later when Mycroft brought it up on his own. Anthea received a text message from Mycroft.

Margot Audrey Grace.
William Mayson Siger.

- M.H.

Anthea felt her heart burst with warmth. She could see at least two 'cop out' answers in those names but like she and Jamie said, they had their reasons. Especially one of the girl's names. For Anthea at least. He'd gone for the family tradition of two names it seemed. That made her a little happy too.

Margot Audrey Grace Clarke or Holmes. William Mayson Siger Clarke or Holmes. They both sounded perfect. At least temporarily. If they held as more that random names out of a hat then they would remain perfect.

Anthea didn't bring it up during the day, not in work mode and not when he'd so quietly sent it in a text. She'd wait until the genius felt more comfortable.

It was a nice quiet evening, even the skies were still. Tonight the pair had decided the best use of their time was to read in bed. Still in their clothes from the day but entirely shoeless and sockless they lay on top of the duvet on either side of the bed reading their books. Anthea had her head rested against Mycroft's shoulder.

After quite some time here in this sweet silent comfort Anthea decided it was time to discuss the names. She put the book down on her lap.

"I got your text today." She said.

"I should hope so." Mycroft replied as he turned a page.

"I liked it."

"Once more, I should hope so." Mycroft said. Anthea rolled her eyes and tapped him lightly on the arm for the sass. She heard him chuckle.

"I was wondering if you could explain you choices to me."

A pause. Mycroft lowered his book.

"For grading purposes I assume?" He asked sarcastically.

"Of course." Anthea replied.

"Very well." The genius sighed. Anthea leaned forward to move. "No, no, stay there." He said making Anthea stop mid movement. "I'd rather not have you staring at me and emoting while I explain." Anthea sniffed a single laugh of surprise through her nose. It was entirely silly of him but she went along with it anyway, returning to her spot leaning on her boyfriend's arm.

"Go on." She said after the room remained silent for a few minutes. Mycroft cleared his throat. Anthea felt him shift under her.

"Mayson is nothing particularly special." He explained in a bored expression. "I chose a name beginning with 'M' because I chose a name beginning with 'A' for the girl's name. I allowed myself some whimsy if you will." Anthea didn't have to see his face to know Mycroft rolled his eyes at himself. She thought it was adorable. "I chose a unique spelling to appease Mummy and her obsession with odd names." Anthea laughed.

"I like it." She said through her laughter.

"Scott, which both Sherlock and I have for our second middle name, was my grandfather's name. My father's middle name is his grandfather's middle name. Hence Siger." See, it was less of a cop out than it looked. It was a family tradition, A Holmes tradition for a child that might not be a Holmes in name.

"Yeah, I get it." Anthea nodded.

A pause.

"Keep going." She prompted.

"Audrey was initially chosen as an A name I enjoyed…" Mycroft trailed off. Anthea quirked an eyebrow.

"But…" She sensed the unspoken word. Mycroft took a breath.

"Hours later I was reminded why the name was so close at hand." He stopped to take a breath, scratching his eyebrow with his ring finger. "As it so happens it was the normal middle name Mummy gave Eurus should she not want to be called Eurus later in life." Ah. Anthea blinked. That put a small dampener on things, but only for a moment.

"Well, you didn't think of that at first," She began reasoning to both herself and Mycroft. "You were actually trying to honour my first names. Now it's kind of an accidental family homage." She shrugged. "So it's fine." Mycroft hummed.

"Grace is self-explanatory. It was chosen to match my father's name." Mycroft finished. Grace. That was Anthea's mother's name. Anthea absolutely loved it. It made it feel like her mum was close by, connected to this baby. The whimsical part of Anthea that liked to believe that something of people remained humoured for a moment that it was like having her mum look out for the baby.

"I love it." Anthea replied softly. "I love all of it." Mycroft shifted uncomfortable.

"So what is my mark then?" He said awkwardly. Anthea sat up and turned to look at him. Apparently she was allowed to look at him now. She narrowed her eyes and took a deep breathe. She exhaled in a thoughtful hum.

"You get a B." She said. Mycroft raised an eyebrow quizzically. "The whole names are elegant and extravagant, and I love them." She began with the positives. "But you lose originality points because I know you chose Audrey and my mum's names because they're old movie stars." She finished with a cheeky smile. She knew him too well. She knew Mycroft's secret passion for old films, particularly noir films, and they had watched way too much Hitchcock together – Anthea's love of horror and thriller slightly to blame – for Anthea not to notice something in particular. Mycroft scoffed and pretended to be horribly offended.

"I beg your pardon?" He scoffed. "I did no such thing." Anthea tilted her head to the side.

"You didn't think of Grace Kelly and then go with an A name like Audrey Hepburn's?" She teased.

"Never." Mycroft sniffed, looking down his nose at her. "You know as well as I do that I prefer Katherine over Audrey." He pulled on his sleeve, neatening his clothes, trying to look nonchalant.

"So do I." Anthea laughed. She collapsed back onto Mycroft's arm and rested her hand on his chest. "But Audrey is a prettier name for a little girl." She breathed wistfully.

"And that is why I am contesting this B." Mycroft said. He was speaking softer now that Anthea was resting on him.

"Maybe a B plus." Anthea replied. Mycroft made a noise in his throat.

"I suppose I can live with that."

Author's Note: There we go! Now we can do stuff like this without Mycroft entirely freaking out! Hahaha. What did you think? Please let me know! Speaking of which, thanks to last chapter's guest reviewers; Guests x4, and Othelia. Thanks to all my reviewers and readers, you all mean so much to me! I will see you all again in five days!