FicWad

CHAPTER TWO

Julia woke up on her own accord, turning to see the clock indicated half past six. She need not set an alarm any more, it was as if there was some biological alarm built in her to wake her up every morning. She couldn't sleep in even if she wanted to, for that matter, not since that day. Not since him.

Getting up and putting her robe on, Julia went to the kitchen to fix herself some much needed morning coffee. She made her way down the wooden stairs which led to the ground floor that harboured the entrance hall, living room, a bathroom, and most importantly, the kitchen.

Julia sat down at the kitchen table with her coffee mug in hand as she absent-mindedly played with the ring circled around her wedding finger.

----

Flashback
They were walking hand in hand after a much enjoyed dinner on a clear London night. Julia moved closer and snuggled up to him as they continued walking until he suddenly stopped. Julia looked at him questioningly.

"Is everything alright, George?" She asked worriedly.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was just wondering. Would you like to continue living and having dinner with me, for the next eighty years or so?" George asked nervously and she froze, not knowing how to react. Was he really..?

"All I'm trying to say is" he paused as he pulled a small black box out of his jacket's pocket and got down on one knee "would you do me the honour of becoming my wife, Julia?"

There was a long pause before she could make out a coherent answer "Yes! Yes! I love you so much" She replied excitedly as he slid the ring across her finger and proceeded to stand up and kiss her passionately.

----

Julia shook her head profusely as she pulled herself out of her thoughts. No. She wouldn't dwell on the past, it wouldn't do her any good. Feelings were not an advantage.

She got up and made her way back up to her room to get ready for the day. After a few minutes of pondering she chose a grey pencil skirt, a black cotton long sleeved pique button up shirt, black heels and her coat. Julia decided to let her hair down in its natural waves and once satisfied with her appearance, she left the house and climbed through the open door held by Alfred into the black Mercedes.

The ride to work relatively went by in a blur as she was once again shaken by her thoughts when the car came to a halt. Julia walked out of the car and into the building without interruptions to which she was thankful because she was definitely in no mood for some cheerful and friendly 'chit-chat'. She walked into the lift and pressed the button to the eighth floor, growing annoyed by the horrendous music she had to endure on her way up.

Finally the torture ended before the migraine could start and Julia made her way towards her office, greeting a couple of passerbys. She walked in and Philip stood up immediately and followed behind as she entered her office.

"Good morning madam" He greeted politely.

"Good morning Philip" She replied.

"Judging by the time I'd say you've already had your morning coffee, I'll be on my way to get your tea then. If you'll excuse me" She nodded, allowing him to exit her office to fetch her tea. Julia smiled internally at how her personal assistant had become well accustomed to her habits and mannerisms.

In little under five minutes Philip walked back in, a cup of tea in one hand and two files in the other. He placed the cup on Julia's desk and handed her the files.

"An ambassador and her assistant have gone missing and these are their respective files. An urgent meeting has been scheduled in the conference room in twenty five minutes and they require your presence, madam. Will that be all?" Philip inquired after explaining.

"Yes, thank you" She dismissed him and browsed the files of the missing personnel.

Helena Jericho, British Ambassador to Afghanistan, forty seven, has been in position for five years and with the government for twenty. Daisy Giles, thirty one, has been Jericho's personal assistant for seven years.

Julia rubbed her temple in thought of what kind of information could be extracted from such an entrusted and experienced government official. After a while of scanning the files for when and where they had last been spotted and the last course of action before their abduction, Julia glanced at the clock that indicated half past nine and got up to make her way towards the conference room.

She entered the room followed closely by Philip to find Lord Frederick Westrom, the leading government official for ambassador security affairs, and his assistant. They greeted them before taking their seats. No more than a minute later Mycroft Holmes entered with his assistant and took a seat opposite Julia's as he bid his good morning. He was dressed in an all-black three piece suit and blue cravay with the chain of his golden pocket watch showing, holding his unbrella as always.

Now that the door was closed and everyone was in place, Westrom rose from his seat and operated the projector, which showed the photographs of the ambassador and her personal assistant.

"Unfortunately, Lady Smallwood is currently occupied and could not attend this meeting, so let us get on with it. Helena Jericho, British ambassador to Afghanistan of five years now, and her assistant have gone missing yesterday in Uruzgan, north of Kandahar" Lord Westrom explained.

"What kind of information had the ambassador acquired access to? How severe are the consequences?" Mycroft asked.

"I am afraid Mr. Holmes that Ms. Jericho had been entitled to an awful lot of information, including the latest affiliation and meeting details between the Prime Minister and the Afghan president, as well as the details of the negotiations between them and Al Qaeda extremists located in Kandahar"

The tension in the room could be cut by a knife. The amount and nature of the information that particular ambassador possessed was beyond dangerous and consequential in the wrong hands. It could get us two steps closer towards a war.

"How are we choosing to do this?" Julia asked, "Freelance agents or special agents and army operatives?"

"Good question. I would personally suggest freelance agents" Mycroft stated "Particularly new ones, ones we haven't required their assistance prior to this moment"

"Elaborate, Mr. Holmes" replied Westrom, encouraging Mycroft to continue speaking.

"P.A.L.O" He stated "The best currently around, available for collaboration"

"Aren't those the ones the CIA recently contacted for the recovery of the missing files in Eastern Europe?" Asked Julia, earning a nod from Mycroft.

"Precisely." He confirmed "I personally supervised the communication and agreement with them prior to the mission"

"Very well then. It seems we have found our saviours" Westrom concluded.

The meeting continued to run its course as the three government officials took their time to schematise plans and contact the freelance agents personally. By the time they were done it was almost one o'clock.

Julia was stopped outside the conference room by Mycroft.

"Shall we leave Miss Graham?" He asked as he held out his arm.

"Yes" She replied, putting on the coat handed to her by Philip and took Mycroft's arm.

The pair walked towards the lift, the various and mostly odd looks they received not going unnoticed by either of them. They silently walked outside towards Mycroft's Jaguar, Julia mumbling a 'thank you' as he held the door open for her, climbing afterwards.

"Would you mind me asking about our destination, Mr. Holmes?" She asked after a couple of minutes.

"A place of one of my favourites, I surely hope it would come to your liking" Mycroft answered with a small polite smile.

It was another ten minutes before the Jaguar pulled over in front of Aqua Shard, one of the most highly rated restaurants in London. As they got out Mycroft noticed Julia visibly but momentarily stiffen before taking his arm and walking once more.

Once inside the young man rushed behind the reception desk "Mr. Holmes, this way please" He stated and walked further inside, the pair following closely behind. The man finally stopped at a table for two next to the wide window that showed the wonderful view of central London. Mycroft and Julia took their respective seats as the young man handed each a menu and retreated back to his original position.

"Aqua Shard, I'm quite impressed Mr. Holmes" said Julia and Mycroft hummed in reply.

"They do certainly have remarkable food," He acknowledged "Not to mention the service and even the restaurant itself are impeccable" He added.

Julia looked around at the place she hadn't set foot in for so long and noticed that not much had really changed. The internal décor was the same as always, ridiculously fancy, and the only changes were the displacements of the tables and the reception décor. Julia was dragged out of her thoughts by the sound of the waitress clearing her throat once at their table.

"May I take your orders, sir and madame?" the girl asked, a polite smile enveloping her features.

"We'll have a bottle of Chardonnay Red 2002, and two flat iron steaks if you please" Mycroft ordered almost absent-mindedly, proving that he was a regular customer at Aqua Shard. The girl nodded and wrote on her paper, taking the menus she walked away.

"Well then Mr. Holmes-" Julia started.

"Please do call me Mycroft" He interrupted.

"Mycroft" She corrected, "I'm going to have to trust your judgement on this one" Julia said with a serious expression but the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth indicated that she was indeed joking.

"Well seeing as you hadn't touched your menu I presumed I had clearance to order for you, Miss Graham" Mycroft retorted with a smirk.

"If I am to call you Mycroft it is only fair that you call me Julia, is it not?" She asked.

"Fair enough I believe," He smirked once again "Do tell me Julia, do or do you not like this place? Because judging by your initial reaction and your deep-in-thought state earlier I would confidently presume that you have been here prior to this day" Mycroft explained.

Julia internally cursed. The man was too smart and observant for his own good, she thought as he looked at her expectantly. She knew her actions would not be overlooked by the official, but had hoped it would be for the sake of not having this conversation. Nevertheless she replied.

"Yes Mycroft, I have been here before, but that was quite a long time ago. And to answer your initial question, I like this place very much" Julia smiled for a fraction of a moment and she realised it had been the first time in a while since she had last smiled. Even Mycroft looked mildly surprised.

"Do you believe the freelance agents would be able to carry out this mission successfully?" Mycroft asked and Julia nodded affirmatively.

"In my personal opinion we could not have chosen any more competent people to take such action, after seeing the effectiveness of their work in retrieving the missing files from the CIA" Julia replied.

"Indeed" Was Mycroft's last word as the waitress came back with a bottle Chardonnay red wine as requested and poured a generous amount in two glasses before handing them to Mycroft and Julia.

Both sipped from their respective glasses and put them back down on the table to return to their conversation.

"Pardon my curiosity, yesterday you mentioned ignoring lunch most of the time, why is that?" Mycroft asked.

"To me the time I spend eating is just another period of time that I could spend working, getting important things done. I almost always never get up, and sometimes I just manage to lose track of time. Philip tries to get me to eat by bringing my meals, but I just generally manage to get by with some dessert late in the afternoon or evening" She explained.

"Do you have any idea how unhealthy that is, Julia?" It was more of a fact than question, and for a fraction of a second Julia actually thought there was some semblance of worry in his voice. But no, of course not. This was Mycroft Holmes, the man who cared for no one. She wanted to change the subject but the waitress beat her to it as she placed a plate of deliciously looking flat iron steak in front of each of them.

The pair proceeded to eat without another word. To say the food was great was an understatement, it was truly divine. Julia had forgotten how wonderful it actually was here but had no problem remembering with the edible piece of art currently on the plate in front of her.

"I've forgotten to ask you, have you chosen a candidate to replace Daviss yet?"Julia inquired.

"I have absolutely no judgement on the decision whatsoever" He tried to convince her.

"We both know that is untrue, Mr. Holmes" She allowed the corners of her mouth to raise slightly.

Mycroft smirked "Back to Mr. Holmes I see" He said changing the subject.

"Force of habit, Mycroft" She returned the smirk.

"Would you mind telling me more about yourself?" Mycroft asked, surprising her.

"What would you like to know?" Julia asked after a moment's silence.

He paused. "Hm. Any family members?" Mycroft asked with a pleasant look.

Julia smiled fondly to herself. "A brother, Grant. Currently residing in Dublin" She answered, "What about you?"

His pleasant expression turned unimpressed "A brother"

Julia smiled. She personally found it weird how easy and effortless it was to show some emotion around this man. "Ah yes, the infamous Sherlock Holmes, I forgot for a moment"

Mycroft sighed "I wish I could be blessed even if for a moment to forget" He said as he rubbed his temple.

"Really? He surely can't be that bad" she stated.

"Well he's smart, can be responsible, but he's made it his life goal to remain a large pain in my bottom, a pest if you will." He sighed once again.

Julia let out a small giggle that caused Mycroft to look up and look at her with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

Mycroft shook his head with a soft smile and proceeded to change the subject. "What made you join the government?"

"I believe my love for law and order was the main reason" She shrugged.

"You could have joined the police" Mycroft stated in as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

"Yes I could, but i'm not really fond of field work, too troubling" Julia answered honestly.

Mycroft smirked. "Not a fan of leg work I see" and Julia grinned slightly. Such a pleasant sight, he thought before shaking that thought out of his head and returned to reality.

Meanwhile Julia was mentally scolding herself. She was also wondering what makes it so easy to smile and laugh around Mycroft Holmes, she found herself at such ease when speaking to him.

They spent quite a while talking about pretty much anything and everything. Work, family, politics, even literature, everything found its way into their conversation.

"Care to order some dessert?" Mycroft asked upon seeing their plates were empty but both were too engrossed in conversation to actually notice.

Julia hesitated. "Um, no thank you, I think i'll pass this time. We should probably be getting back soon anyway" She said and Mycroft nodded, gesturing to the waitress for the cheque.

After paying they both got up and Mycroft turned his side towards Julia expectantly. She gently took his arm and allowed him to lead her outside.

Once inside the Jaguar Julia turned towards Mycroft. "Thank you, for today" She started "I quite enjoyed it" She added a smile at the end of that sentence, and despite it being an after thought, it was nothing short of genuineness.

Much to her surprise, Mycroft returned the gesture with an equally genuine one. "It was my pleasure" His expression then turned a bit uncertain "Would you like to do this again soon? Say, tomorrow perhaps?"

Julia smiled at him again, reassuringly. "I'd love to, Mycroft" His smile returned instantly. "Same time?" She asked and Mycroft nodded.

The rest of the journey back to work was spent in comfortable silence. The pair once again walked, arm-in-arm, towards the lift. They waited patiently to reach the eighth floor and exchanged a couple of looks.

The lift's doors opened allowing them to exit towards the direction of their offices. Philip and Maggie were talking animatedly in the corridor when the pair passed them by, both assistants scurried to follow closely behind their respective employers. Mycroft and Julia made eye contact and unhooked their arms, an unspoken good bye exchanged as each entered their office with their assistant.

"Did you enjoy your lunch madame?" Philip asked once she was seated at her desk.

"Yes I did, thank you. You seem to have enjoyed yours as well" Julia stated and smirked internally as Philip's cheeks turned a deep scarlet. "Were P.A.L.O. informed of all their transportation details?"

Philip cleared his throat and collected himself. "Yes they have Miss Graham. Also, Lady Smallwood called, she wishes to speak to you"

"Very well Philip, thank you" She dismissed him as she picked up the handset of the phone atop her desk and speed-dialed number four.

"Yes, could you put me through to Lady Smallwood?" She paused, "Julia Graham. Thank you."

"Hello?" Lady Smallwood's voice sounded from the other end of the line.

"Hello Alicia. You wanted to speak to me?"

"Ah Julia, yes. How are you dear?" Alicia asked.

"I'm fine thank you, how are you?" Julia asked nicely. She personally liked Alicia since she was one of the first people to support her and help her when in need.

Alicia sighed. "I'm alright. I've actually been trying to reach you for an hour or so, since Mr. Holmes wasn't there" She stated.

"I'm sorry, I was out for lunch. What is it that you needed?" Julia asked.

"I meant to ask you about your decision regarding the abduction of the ambassador in Kandahar" Alicia started "Are you sure those agents would be able to get the job done with the least possible amount of damage?"
"I personally believe they can. Besides, My-Mr. Holmes has made use of their services before and guarantees the excellency of their work" Julia assured her.

"Oh very well, if you say so. Now tell me about you." Alicia changed the subject. 'How are you doing? And how is Grant?"

Julia smiled to herself at the mention of her little brother "Everything is as good as it can be. And Grant is well, spoke to him on Sunday, his work is really starting to pay off"

"Good, good. Well I must hang up, take care dear" She said.

"You too" The younger woman replied before hanging up.

Julia proceeded to get on with the files Philip had laid upon her desk, managing to work at an inhumanly rate until an ungodly hour.

But of course, that was Julia's way of doing things.

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Relatively long chapter yay! Sorry about the boring ending, didn't know what to write.

Thanks for reading.