Author's Note: What am I to say to the outpouring of love I have received on both AO3 and FFN? You guys have no idea what it meant to me to see so many familiar usernames (and some previous lurkers) come out and be excited for something I did once upon a time. Sheesh, guys. It could be enough to give someone an ego. Instead, it humbled me and made me feel so much love for everyone who ever stumbled across this. It was meant to be a love letter to you guys and I certainly felt it right back. Anyway, I did say I may be back on my own terms again, didn't I? Well, here I am. And there MIGHT be another chapter in the not-too-distant future because there was supposed to be more to this chapter but I'm more verbose than I used to be and what would have taken me 2500 words 6 years ago takes me almost 5000 now. Is that good or bad? I'll let you decide. More personal thoughts at the end. Thank you all for being wonderful. Please read, review, and enjoy!

P.S. Soundtrack for writing this chapter was the Killer's Wonderful Wonderful album.

The First Time James and Jamie Found Out About the Engagement

If Anthea were, for some reason, in the habit of categorizing firsts then this would have definitely counted as a first for her. She stood in the kitchen, coffee in front of her, and only one hand free to scroll her emails to see if anything needed to be addressed immediately before she got ready for the day. Her left hand had been stollen by the man sitting on the other side of the kitchen bench.

Mycroft Holmes was in a similar situation to Anthea. His coffee to sat on the bench right in front of him while his free hand flicked through newspaper pages as he skimmed through them. Of course, it was his fault they only had one free hand each. They had barely said two words to each other this morning and ended up like this. The moment Anthea put the coffees down for them he had taken hold of her left hand and not let go. Loosely he held her hand in his own – which is well and fine. One could easily take their hand back but why would someone want to when this man was not one to initiate contact on a regular basis? Especially as his thumb and index finger twirled the diamond ring on Anthea's ring finger absentmindedly while his face looked so contented.

No, all of this was extremely novel to Anthea. She couldn't help but smirk to herself as she felt those long fingers playing with her rings and she looked at his relaxed expression. She could say something to him about this, she could tease him to no end, but she chose not to. Why would you ruin such a moment? If she had a Mind Palace this is the type of memory she'd store away for safe keeping. For all those times he froze or pulled away or all the times people at work used her as an outlet to bitch about her cold uncaring boss.

Anthea looked down, her smirk growing. She must have made a soft noise of amusement as she gained herself the steely gaze of the man holding her hand. He said nothing, only raised an eyebrow silently questioning her. She shook her head, wry smile still planted on her lips.

"Nothing." She spoke. "Just you." Her own voice was filled with such deep fondness. Amusement flashed in those stormy eyes as the other eyebrow rose to match the first one.

"Me?" He asked quietly. He sniffed and closed his newspaper. "Something positive, I should hope."

Anthea said nothing, chocolate eyes saying more than her words could express. She put her phone down, picked up her mug, smiled more broadly and crinkled her nose before taking a sip. Mycroft almost laughed.

"Will you be okay without me for an hour or two, sir?" Anthea asked after she put her mug down, switching to work mode. Mycroft made no move to stop playing with her ring. Today they were working from home which made all this positivity and affection absolutely safe and very much their own little secret. Mycroft looked at her quizzically, brows ever so furrowed. Anthea tilted her head to the side. "I have to pick up Margot." She explained.

"Ah." Mycroft hummed, a knowing and amused expression on his expressive face. He finally took his hand back to fold the newspaper in half. Anthea, her hand suddenly feeling cold, fixed the positioning of the stone of her ring. "Yes, her impromptu sleepover." The two shared a look. "We have heard no words of anything disastrous occurring?" Anthea breathed a silent laugh.

"No." She grinned.

Under another circumstance, Margot staying somewhere else for the night would have been nerve-wracking, even if it was last minute such as last night. Between work and the relatives, it was bound to happen eventually and Anthea had been dreading it. Turns out you don't dread it if you'd just gotten engaged to the most enigmatic man on the planet who happened to be somewhere on the asexual spectrum, and you were both overwhelmed with emotions and instinct. Turns out then, the only natural thing is to send a message to your daughter's godmother and ask her if she can keep the little angel for longer. No time to explain, only that nothing is wrong and that there was no possible way to pick up Margot at that moment in time….

Anthea had missed her deeply this morning upon waking up but she had also felt more of that hole in her heart had been blocked up with another couple of bricks and she felt… Well, the closest to blissful she had ever felt. She dared not say that out loud, lest a genius or two tease her for it.

"I don't suppose there's a way you can keep what happened between us for a little while longer?" Mycroft asked. Anthea folded her arms together and leaned against the kitchen counter.

"What do you think?" She asked. She was picking up Margot from Jamie of all people. The pregnant woman with a husband currently doing night operations was owed an explanation for the sudden change in plans and what would Jamie say if she found out that Anthea kept this secret from her after seeing her at least once between the proposal and being told? Why, Anthea would be disowned. Mycroft sighed.

"Oh well." He exhaled a deep breath. "It was fun while it was lasted." He extended out his hand, asking for Anthea's. She gave it back to him and once again he was thumbing her ring. Oh, it appears Mycroft has found a new busy task for his brain… Anthea certainly liked this new tick. It was a shame the ring would have to come off during work at the offices and meetings.

"To be fair," Anthea spoke softly. "It hardly seems fair to keep it a secret from the person who picked out the ring for you." She tilted her head to the side as she teased him. Mycroft scoffed, pulling a face as he rolled his eyes. He still played with her ring.

"Please." He scoffed. "I could have come to this choice by myself." Steel blue eyes examined the sparkling diamond. "It was simply best practice to have a second judgement on such an essential decision." As Anthea laughed, she squeezed Mycroft's hand. He was such a strange man.

"Do you know how much I love you?" She asked.

"Of course I do, dear." If someone could use a belittling tone at you in a loving way, then it was Mycroft. "If it weren't for love, a woman with as much sense of you would have been long gone by now."

"And a man as singular and determined to be alone as you would not have a fiancé." She jested back. He smiled devilishly. Fiancé. What a word.

"Now you're getting it." He hummed.

"And then there's the fact you have a child." Anthea raised her eyebrows, looking at him poignantly.

"I know." He sneered in disgust.

"And you love her." Anthea teased.

"Lord knows how I let that happen." Mycroft shook his head, eyes on the ring. Anthea chuckled. She squeezed his hand again and watched as his lips pulled into a small smirk.

Anthea had texted ahead of leaving which meant that as soon as she got to James and Jamie's house she could use her own key to let herself in. James and Jamie's home always felt warm and it smelt of citrus and a hint of gunpowder. A second home to Anthea in many ways, it was already becoming a second home to Margot. The question the became what would Baker Street be to her one day? A place of fun or refuge? Or would she view it with similar mixed memories as Mycroft does?

The living room was empty as Anthea looked around. She could hear a shower on upstairs and noise from the kitchen.

"Hey." She called out.

"In here!" Jamie's soprano voice called out from the kitchen, confirming Anthea's theory. Anthea walked through the living room, putting her handbag down on the couch as she did, and went into the kitchen. Hope was sitting at the kitchen table with a plastic plate in front of her while Jamie held Margot on her hip, throwing something into the sink. If Anthea was a more expressive person, she'd be grinning ear to ear at the sight. As it were she held her trademark small smile and took in the view.

Hope's big eyes landed on the intruder in the space and lit up. She looked so much like her father in his puppy mode.

"Ali!" She called out, gaining Jamie's attention. Anthea laughed under her breath.

"Hey Hope." Anthea replied. She went over to the little girl and rubbed her head, ruffling that flaxen hair. Anthea turned around, her heart begging her to get a hug from her own little girl. Jamie already had a knowing smile on her face, preparing to hand her over. "And there's Little Miss Holmes." Anthea cooed, taking her child in her arms. "I missed you!" Anthea held her to her chest and smelt her hair. Stupid, perfect child.

"You gonna say hi to Mama, 'Got?" Jamie asked, hands folded across her chest.

"Hi Mama?" Anthea asked, looking into her daughter's brilliant blue eyes.

"Mama." Margot parroted. Anthea laughed and hugged her daughter tightly again.

"Thanks for looking after her, Jay." Anthea breathed. She placed Margot in the highchair Jamie had out for her. The pregnant blonde blew air through her lips and waved Anthea off.

"Ah, she's an angel." Jamie said. Anthea quirked an eyebrow at her. A Holmes, an angel? She doubted that. Jamie giggled. "No, really." She spoke through laughter. "And it's good practice." She stroked her bump for emphasis. Anthea bit her bottom lip and hummed.

"Even so." She uttered more to herself than anything. Anthea stroked Margot's head. She heard Jamie gasp.

"Is that my ring you're wearing?" Jamie asked with both an accusatory tone and excitement. Anthea crinkled her nose as she turned to look at her best friend.

"Maybe." Anthea answered. Jamie held back her squeal for the sake of the two girls in the echoey kitchen. Instead, she took hold of Anthea's hand and yanked her close to her. Jamie held Anthea's hand in both of hers and held it close to her face as she looked at the ring.

"Aw, it's as beautiful as I remembered." Jamie clucked. "I thought I'd never see it again." Anthea sniffed.

"To be honest," She expressed her thoughts out loud. "I didn't think I would either." Before Anthea could pull a wry expression to go with her thoughts Jamie pulled her into a hug. As she squeezed Anthea tight Anthea patted her on the back. Anthea secretly revelled in her friend's excitement. Anthea James did not care so much about lovey-dovey stuff, and even Alice Clarke only had a little bit of romance in her entire being. Jamie had enough in her little finger to draw it out of both of Anthea's personas and get her buzz going just a little stronger. When Anthea turned Mycroft down that first time, he had promised he was ok but with Anthea's vast knowledge of the inner workings of that mind she was pretty certain she'd shut that door forever. She hadn't minded, though. She was perfectly content. Now she was… What was that word she had thought before? Almost blissful.

"I'm so proud of that weirdo." Jamie spoke in almost a whisper, still hugging Anthea. She let go and looked at Anthea in the eyes, dark chocolate and hazel holding each other. "I'm proud of you, too." She nodded. "How the hell did you two get your acts together long enough for this to happen?" Anthea scoffed. She tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Me? Get my act together?" She questioned. "You forget whose known you through school." The pair smiled fondly at each other. Jamie opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by her big lug of a husband.

"Who needs to get it together now?" He asked from the kitchen doorway. Freshly showered, wet hair and in his pyjamas. James looked awfully alert for someone who was working nights right now.

"What are you doing up?" Anthea asked.

"Hello to you too, hot stuff." He replied with a wink. Anthea and Jamie rolled their eyes almost in unison.

"He's still high on caffeine." Jamie explained. James nodded.

"I've had so much I think my heart might stop." James replied. Anthea laughed and shook her head. Jamie made a noise in her throat.

"Still should be asleep already, though." She pointed out to her husband. The agent shrugged.

"After I find out who we need to sort out." He gave a lopsided grin. Anthea and Jamie shared a look and Anthea rolled her eyes playfully.

"No one." Anthea teased.

"Your boyfriend sorted this out himself." Jamie added. James, the agent curiosity shining in his brown eyes, looked between the pair carefully. Anthea was enjoying him trying to work it out but after a moment Jamie grabbed Anthea's hand and held it up so the agent could see the engagement ring on her finger.

James' eyes went wide with shock. For someone who had seen almost everything and done even more, it looked like he'd never considered this a possibility.

"No bloody way!" He exclaimed in his confusion. Anthea and Jamie nodded together – Jamie's nods fast, Anthea's slow.

James looked away from them and laughed. He folded his arms against his chest, looked back in the room and shook his head at Anthea. Then he held his hands up to face the ceiling, theatrically shrugging. The tall man came into the room and pulled Anthea into a hug. She yelped when she felt him lift her feet off the ground and squeeze her harder than his wife had. What was with this pair and manhandling people?

Once James put Anthea down, Anthea straightened her clothes and pulled a face at Jamie. Jamie looked so full of affection and love she ignored the chance to take shots at her husband.

"You did it, A." James patted Anthea's shoulder. She gave him a fleeting glare as she finished fixing her clothes. "You're the first person to get a proposal from a Holmes." A pause. "A serious proposal." James corrected.

"I forgot about that." Anthea scoffed at the memory of Sherlock's fake proposal.

"Huh?" Jamie cocked her head to the side.

"Long story." Anthea dismissed.

"Sherlock." James spoke at the same time as the assistant. Jamie looked at her daughter and shook her head. She covered Margot's ears and muttered something to Hope about how crazy the Holmes siblings were.

"But thanks." Anthea smiled up to James. The gentle giant patted her on the shoulder again.

"Does this mean we can drop the act?" James asked, looking between the two old friends. Anthea's brows furrowed. Jamie clicked and rolled her green-brown eyes.

"James." She uttered.

"What act?" Anthea asked, ignoring Jamie. James briefly glanced at his wife but quickly went back to Anthea.

"You know, pretending we don't know who Margot's father is now you're engage." He explained. Anthea gave a half frown in confusion.

"James!" Jamie warned louder, tapping on the table. James looked over at her with wide eyes almost like a deer in headlights but more like a deer who know what headlights were and yet found himself stuck anyway.

"I'm not going to wear the ring to work." Anthea interrupted the silent conversation between the married couple. James' expression pulled down. He looked to the back wall.

"Come on, A." He moaned.

"Stop it." Jamie hissed. James held up a hand defensively. Anthea looked over to her best friend and shook her head, telling her to let him explain.

"A, it's the worst kept secret in the government." He said. Jamie sat down between the two girls with a grunt. She looked at Hope, silently communicating that she wanted to kill her father. The little girl was oblivious. Anthea folded her arms across her chest.

"In the whole government?" Anthea jeered. "Really?" James' shoulders raised a little as he acknowledged his hyperbole.

"My team knows." James continued anyway. His team referring to all the agents and operatives. "Well," He winced. "They don't know but they know, you know?" Anthea knew he expected her to respond but she watched him with a measured expression. "When they found out you were pregnant the rumours were everywhere." He rubbed at his nose then folded his arms across his chest, mirror Anthea's body language. "Every time they asked me, I had to pretend like I had no clue or make some joke. Eventually I just started saying if it comes out in a suit, we'd have our answer." Behind James, Jamie snickered at that comment as quietly as she could. Anthea shot her a look. She turned back to James.

"It's for-"

"Protection, yeah I know." He waved her off. "'Cept that only worked when it was only you, right?" He explained.

"Get out of agent mode James," Jamie warned. "Or I will throw out all our coffee and energy drinks."

"No." Anthea hummed, chewing on her bottom lip. "Let him finish." James looked cautiously between the two women.

"You know it's easy to give someone no name when they have no family." He kept going. Jamie made a noise from the table. "Easiest way to protect you. Barely need to think about security. Someone like Holmes who has family?" James scrunched up his face and shook his head. "I bet you know how much of your budget goes into protecting his house and his family but do you know how much of my budget goes into Sherlock?" He sniffed. "Busting drug dens ain't cheap." Anthea rolled her eyes.

"And I believe you are fairly compensated." She growled in a whisper back, switching into her own work mode. James shook his head a few times.

"I'm not complaining!" He defended. "What I'm saying is we can't put that type of budget and energy into protecting an assistant's little girl." He nodded to Margot. "But if Holmes' little girl needed someone to keep an eye on who came in and out of her school? Now, that could be arranged no problem."

Anthea looked over to Jamie again. Jamie shrugged and pouted, expressing she saw the logic, but not forgetting to shoot her husband another death glare.

To be fair James had his points. He should have his points; he had his position for a reason. There would be something wrong if James couldn't see through these types of things quickly and express opinions on such. He maybe should have waited until he wasn't hopped up on coffee and functioning on no sleep. Still, it gave Anthea something to think about.

She had never really stopped to consider this. She had been so busy during the pregnancy trying to wrap her mind around it and dealing with all the different concerns running through Mycroft's busy brain that she'd never considered it. Why would Margot need the protection warranted to Mycroft Holmes' family if she wasn't going to be his family? And why would a PA need protection for her daughter? Then she'd been too wrapped up in all the beauty and exhaustion that came with Margot, her dramatic entrance, and having a newborn in what was a very quiet house.

But Margot would go to school one day. She'd have activities to go to one day. Maybe she'd join a sport or do dance (she was definitely learning an instrument if the Holmes siblings had a say). Maybe she'd be in some after school clubs. Maybe she'd wonder off on her own and explore the world in a very Holmes way. Maybe she'd drag Hope, Rosie, or the boy on the way along with her. Someone would need to keep an eye on them when they were old enough to think they could be alone or when the adult supervision wasn't good enough.

Oh, but there were so many carefully construction walls and traps in place that would have to be dismantled in order to build new ones around Margot. So many of these Anthea wasn't sure she wanted to take down herself, not even to stop and think about Mycroft's carefully constructed world.

What would be the easier solution in the end?

"James." Jamie's voice broke Anthea out of her thoughts. "Get out of here before I kill you." A flash in James' eyes suggested that he took this warning more seriously than he took any of the others.

"'Kay." He relented. "I've got calls to make before bed anyway. But first!" He hugged Anthea again, softer this time. No bones cracked and no feet lost contact with the floor. Anthea slipped out of work mode and hugged him back. "I'm really happy for you, A." He reiterated in case it had been forgotten in their discussion. It hadn't – Anthea was the queen of living two lives at once. She knew there were at least two James' as well. She patted his back.

"Thanks, cupcake." She laughed. "Get lost now." He laughed and let her go.

"Love you." He called out to Jamie. She sneered at him.

"Yeah, you're lucky I love you." She growled at James. James smiled sheepishly and then disappeared back from whence he came. Anthea and Jamie shared their exhausted expressions before Anthea came to sit at the table with her best friend and their daughters.

"Maybe do throw out the coffee." Anthea uttered. "He needs to be punished." Jamie snorted.

"Carol's probably tearing her hair out with him like this." Jamie uttered. Anthea laughed loudly. She probably was.

"I'll make note and send her a gift card." Anthea quipped. Jamie snickered but she shook her head.

"Please ignore him." She implored. Anthea waved her off with a flick of her hand. "Ever since we found out the gender of the new baby, I think it's really hit him." Jamie smiled at Hope as she spoke. "He's gotten all serious about the kids."

"And he's worried that Mycroft and I are going to make a poor decision?" Anthea asked, eyebrow quirked. Jamie's lips pulled into a small smile.

"If it makes you feel better, he's more freaked out about Baker Street than your guys' lies." It did help… For a second… Until Jamie's words dawned on Anthea.

"Lies. Is that what we do?" Anthea asked. Jamie playfully tapped her arm.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Is 'controlling the narrative' better?" Jamie teased. She had to have heard James or Carol say that before. Anthea laughed.

"Something like that." Anthe looked down at her hands and picked at her thumb's nail polish, chipping away the dark colour. James' words weighed heavy on the brunette woman. But even so, the scenarios he was bringing up were years down the line. It was nothing that had to be thought of now. Baker Street, on the other hand. "Baker Street's our problem, not his." Anthea said. "Let us worry about Sherlock living with a child in his home. At least Mrs. Hudson's there." Jamie broke into a grin again.

"Hey babe." James stuck his head through the door again. Both women looked at him like he was an intruder. He took no offence. "Can I go to the club for lunch on Sunday?" He asked.

The club?

The Diogenes Club? Was he talking to Mycroft? Did James immediately leave the room and call Mycroft?

"Myc's club?" Anthea asked in disbelief. James nodded eagerly. Jamie hummed.

"Will you be off nights by then?" She asked James. He kept nodding. "With enough time to not be jumping out of your skin and causing chaos like a psycho?"

"Let him cause chaos." Anthea scoffed.

"I'll be so good." James said.

"Go, go! Have fun being fancy." Jamie granted her blessings. James quietly celebrated. As he left the room Anthea heard him talking calmly and professionally in the phone. Anthea turned to Jamie and widened her eyes.

"He's really serious about getting a membership, isn't he?" She asked. Jamie rolled her hazel eyes and nodded.

"Not that he knows what to do with himself there." She huffed. "But apparently there have only ever been five people in his position who have not had a membership and the last three in a row didn't. I think he wants to break that." She explained. Anthea sniffed in humour.

"Look at you knowing things that I don't."

"Oh, Ali!" Jamie sighed. "I could write a book about all the things I know that I shouldn't know at this point." She shook her head at Hope. "John and I could probably make a fortune between us." Anthea laughed.

"If you do that then I'm afraid we'll have to discreetly dispose of you." Anthea crinkled her nose. "Would you prefer Greenland or Madagascar?"

"Shut up and tell me how the Ice Man won you over."

After Anthea got home and got Margot settled, she went straight to Mycroft's home office. She knocked lightly and without waiting for confirmation let herself in, leaving the door open behind her in case Margot called out. Mycroft looked up from the papers he was reviewing, eyes glittering as they landed upon Anthea's face. She smiled at him.

"Hello dear." His velvet voice always snatched her heart up but it was worse today. She couldn't help herself, her smile broadened. She came up to the front of the desk, fingers touching the edges of the wood.

"James called you." Anthea stated. Mycroft clicked his tongue.

"I know." He bemoaned, rolling his eyes and pulling a dramatic tired face before smirking subtly at Anthea again. She laughed under her breath.

"I never did ask why you are so interested in getting him a membership to that hell hole." Anthea uttered, her own way of asking. She now knew James' reasonings, she just needed Mycroft's. Mycroft hummed to himself. He went back to his document, turning a page over.

"That hell hole is quite prestigious, Alice, dear." He explained to the paper. "It would do James well professionally and personally to have a membership to such an exclusive location." Anthea leaned forward, putting weight onto her hands.

"And why would you care about that?" Anthea asked, cocking her head to the side. Mycroft scoffed.

"I don't." He answered in a bored tone. Anthea resisted the urge to call him a liar. "But there are connections within the club that could be beneficial for both he and I for him to have." Mycroft turned another page and skimmed it. "For example, should he wish to pull some strings to get Hope and the boy into any school they wish he would have those strings available." He made a few notes on the page and crossed something out then turned the page again. "I'm already going to have to pull those strings for Rosamund Watson, I should not presume I could get away with it for two other children that aren't my own. What would that do to my reputation?" He quirked an eyebrow as he crossed out an entire page.

Anthea bit on her bottom lip as she thought.

Here Mycroft was future proofing in a different way to James. They were talking about the girls' safety and futures. Mycroft had mentioned pulling strings for children that weren't his own and made no mention of Margot. Did that mean he expected her to go to school under her birth name with all the good and bad that came with that? Or was he assuming Anthea had her own strings now she could pull? That didn't sound like Mycroft… But neither did the alternative. Was it almost time for the charade to come down? Surely there was time to think about this.

"Bit early to be talking about schools, isn't it?" Anthea asked.

"My love," Mycroft breathed. He closed the document and placed his hands folded together on top of it. He leaned in closer to her and smiled. "It is never too early to discuss education."

Oh.

Maybe she didn't have as long to think about this as she thought.

Mycroft held out his hand. Anthea gave him her left hand. Softly, Mycroft brought her hand up to his lips and placed a kiss on her fingers. All of Anthea's thoughts melted away at such a gentle action.

She might not have years to make these choices but for now, for this lovely moment, she didn't have to think about it. She could focus on this.

"I could get use to this Mycroft." Anthea purred. Mycroft kept his eyes on her hand as his thumb ran over her fingers. His expression could only be read as sentimental.

"You know me better than to expect such throes of whimsy to last long, dear." He murmured. He looked up and met her gaze.

"But you do love to fidget with things." Anthea teased. "Your umbrella, your pocket watches, my ring…"

"True." He smirked as he looked back down at her ring. "I do find it somewhat…" He took a breath as he looked at it. "Calming? No. Centring perhaps."

"Because you won?" Anthea continued to joke, warmth coming out of her every pore.

"No. I lost. You won." He pulled a face at Anthea and once again his eyes looked down at her ring.

"Because it reminds you what's important?" Anthea asked seriously. Mycroft ran his tongue over his teeth and took a good minute to consider Anthea's words. After a moment of fleeting silence, he nodded.

"Perhaps that's it." He conceded.

Author's Note: First on my agenda – I was going to have other people find out this chapter. Namely; Sherlock. I'm kind of glad I didn't get to that because I was scared enough to try and write James and Jamie again let alone touch a canon character as complex as him. So, when I next find my courage that'll be next. I'll need a lot of courage to tackle that character. That character is like the personification of potential and kinetic energy and I am afraid to touch it… if enough people want it, I guess! Last chapter might have just been a fluke! But yeah, James and Jamie were scary as hell. Jamie is easier – she could easily be forgiven for appearing one note (she's not though… Not to me anyway….) but James is a bit more of a complex character. I don't know if I ever got across in the past how he has to code switch a lot.

Ugh anyway this is giving me a bunch of nervous energy. I'm going to go find something productive to do like work on my original writings… or keep replaying Hades 1…