Yes, Sir

Mycroft wasn't easy to please. But he appreciated good work.

That's why he needed an assistant who was available twenty-four hours a day, concentrated, focused and highly dedicated to work.

If you didn't perform your duties correctly Mycroft would smile at you – coolly – and tell you to get the hell out. Well, in a nice gentlemanly manner, of course. But if you worked hard and never allowed a mistake to happen, he would take you seriously eventually. And if you managed to live up to his expectations, he would never let you leave again.

That's what Anna, Audrey, Andrea, or recently: Anthea did.

When Mycroft hired her, he was wondering if it might have been a mistake to have a woman as his assistant. He wasn't exactly a nice person. And women tended to get… hurt. But he decided to give this inexperienced girl a chance, because the men he engaged before her lacked something. And soon every task he gave her would be done perfectly. She didn't deduce him, but she analyzed him until she understood his curt orders properly and knew which details they implied. She even planned ahead.

Mycroft never expected to rely on someone or to team up. But Anthea was different.

She was like a shadow, waiting for him, assisting. She was never questioning and she never demanded an explanation. She would nod and say "Yes, Sir." calmly.

Mycroft wouldn't admit it to the world but sometimes he waited for his meetings to end and for an opportunity to tell Anthea about his successes, just to see her smile at him or lift an eyebrow in disagreement. She would say "Yes, Sir!" nonetheless. But it would be a sweet kind of mockery.

If someone asked Mycroft whether Anthea was attractive he wouldn't answer. He wasn't the "Iceman" for no reason. But he would elaborate this question accurately when he was alone and find that, yes, Anthea was attractive. Of course he would not admit to anyone that he had noticed. And he certainly would never start a highly inappropriate office romance. He was a gentleman after all.

Actually some people had asked Anthea if she could imagine a relationship with her boss, him being a wealthy politician. True, he wasn't attractive, they argued, but he looked okay. So, why not? She had laughed at them. And thought about Mycroft in his suits, Mycroft driving her crazy when he was on a diet, Mycroft's smile when they shared a joke nobody else would understand, Mycroft's cold eyes turning all warm when he saw her dressed up for the mandatory events they attended together. The people who couldn't see his attractiveness… they were idiots.

Any other man could not introduce a woman younger that him as his assistant. But Mycroft Holmes could. And everyone would believe him. He didn't need to lie about anything. That was very attractive.

They worked together for six years. And since work was his life it was just logical for Anthea to become a constant in Mycroft's life. He didn't think about it too much. His mind was occupied with politics, schemes and the problems his little brother caused.

So, when he slipped into the car one day, issued a command and didn't hear the required response, he paused.

Anthea wasn't there. It was the first time in six years, that he returned from a meeting and she wasn't there. It was not her day off and she didn't have an urgent appointment to attend to – she would have texted him if she did – but she was not there.

A few phone calls later Mycroft knew why. It never occured to him that someone would kidnap his assistant. It also never occured to him that this would bother him so much.

Twelve hours later he had his assistant back. That was fast, even for him. Maybe he had hugged her, too close. Maybe she had leaned on him, too long. And calling the best doctors in Britain to examine a completely unharmed person might have been a little bit too much.

"I want you to take a week off," he had told her.

And her smile, fragile yet brave, surely was the most attractive thing he had ever seen. And, shoot - they could sue him for an inappropriate office romance, but when she answered "Yes, Sir," he had to kiss her.

I had to do this. Mycroft is strange but a good person. And Sherlock gets all the attention.

This is my first fanfiction in English. Please review (and tell me if something sounds weird).

Thank you for reading