Nigel was sat in his office, leaning over his desk as he scanned his eyes over the layouts that were lying on his desk.
The sound of an infant starting to fuss sounded through the room and so he moved the papers out of the way before getting up from the desk and moving over to the pram that was sat to the side of the room.
At the side of his office was a black pram with hot pink detailing, inside of the pram was a small infant that was only three-months-old, she was dressed in a bright pink onesie that was covered in white stars. The little girl was covered partially with a white baby blanket and she was starting to cry.
"Oh no, no, no", the man said as he moved closer to the infant's pram, "None of that now".
Her cries simply increased rather than stopping or even pausing.
Nigel reached into the pram, pulling back the blanket and lifting out the squirming child, "Heyy", he said softly as he cradled her in his arms.
The little one paused her cries for a moment.
"That's better", he said with a smile as he held her in his arms. He had agreed to watch the baby whilst Andrea was in an interview for a new journalist role within Runway. What she did not know, however, was that Miranda had already told her interviewer to give Andrea the job. The interviewer had been instructed not to allow Andrea to know about that though and to just carry out the interview as planned before offering the young woman the position at the end of it.
She did not pause for long though because, within seconds of the noise stopping, she started again, but this time she was much louder than she had been previously.
Nigel rocked the little girl in his arms, trying to stop her crying but continuously failing to do so, "Oh I do hope your mother is finished with her interview soon", he mumbled as he walked around his office and attempted to stop her crying.
The little girl kicked her arms and legs as she screamed loudly in his arms.
Miranda was stood in the beauty department going over the options for their latest cover shoot, she nodded, "That will be acceptable", she said to the last option that she was shown on an example model that had been chosen to look as close to the cover star as they could possibly get which turned out to be one of the writers.
When she left the room, she made her way along the corridor but then she froze at a sound. She pursed her lips, standing in the middle of the corridor and the staff around her were unsure as to how to react to what she was doing.
The woman tilted her head slightly as she listened to the noise for a moment and then, rather quickly, she turned around and moved in the direction of the cries.
She arrived at the doors of Nigel's office and was surprised to see the man walking around his office whilst bouncing a baby in his arms.
The baby was continuing to cry, nothing he was doing was stopping the sounds that she was making, and there were people starting to try and look in but none of them were doing anything to assist. Then again they seemed a little unsure of what was going on and even less sure about how they were supposed to react.
Miranda rolled her eyes and instantly walked into the office, "What on earth is going on Nigel?", she demanded to know as soon as she entered the room.
Nigel looked even more flustered, "I… I offered to look after her while Six is having her interview", he revealed, "But she just won't stop crying".
"Give her here", the Editor-in-Chief suddenly demanded as she moved closer to him with her arms out to him.
The man hesitated, unsure of what to do and unsure what exactly was going on but he did as she had requested and offered the infant to her.
Miranda took the baby into her arms and held her closely against her chest.
The baby stopped crying straight away, sniffling a little bit as the sound quietened down.
"How?", Nigel questioned in shock.
Miranda ignored his question, "What's her name?".
"Huh?", he said, still shocked.
"Her name, Nigel?", Miranda asked again, "I trust that she has one".
Nigel nodded, "Elisa", he said quietly, not wanting to disturb the quiet child, "Short for Elisabeth".
"Well hello there Elisabeth", Miranda said softly to the baby in her arms, rocking her carefully in a rather maternal movement.
Various staff members were conveniently walking past the man's office to see what was happening inside with their boss and an infant.
The baby began to fuss again and Miranda didn't seem fazed at all. She carefully curled one of her fingers before placing it in the infant's mouth, "She's teething", the woman stated, "Do you have anything for her?".
Nigel shook his head, "I don't think so, Six never mentioned that she was teething. He moved to the pram and pulled the bag off of the handles before placing it on the table so that she could look inside of it to search for something that the baby may need.
Miranda rocked the little one in her arms, soothing the again quiet child by letting her chew on her finger. She was cooing over her and smiling happily with the child in her arms.
"I don't see anything", Nigel said, "There's a pacifier? Will that help?".
The Editor-in-Chief extracted her finger from the child's mouth and using that hand to reach out for the item.
Elisabeth began to cry straight away, clearly unimpressed about the removal of the woman's finger.
Within seconds Miranda was placing the pacifier into Elisabeth's mouth.
The baby sucked on the pacifier for a moment but then spat it out after a moment before screaming again, although even louder than she had been when Miranda had initially removed her finger from her mouth.
"Bring her pram", Miranda demanded as she moved to the door, not explaining her actions.
Nigel did not question it but instead, she opened the door for the woman who was carrying the infant in hers.
Miranda Priestly made her way past a variety of her staff members and made her way to her office, ignoring the people that she passed and instead focusing on the little girl that was in her arms. The baby was now quiet in her arms and yet again sucking on her curled finger.
When the woman got to her office, she was met with two very surprised and confused looking assistants, "Emily, I need teething gel and some teething toys", she stated, "I expect it here within the next ten minutes".
One of the assistants got up from her desk and was soon running to the elevator in order to leave to get the required items.
Miranda entered her office with the little one in her arms and moved to sit down on the sofa at the side of the room.
Nigel followed her in and pushed the pram so that it was sat by the desk. He watched, still in shock, as his boss rocked the infant in her arms whilst softly whispering to her. "Who would have thought it", he commented with a slight smirk, "Miranda Priestly. Devil in Prada. The Baby Whisperer".
Miranda rolled her eyes at her friend's comment, "I do have twin girls, Nigel", she replied, "Or have you forgotten that I did this with two infants at once?".
Nigel smiled, "Well, I'm just grateful you were able to stop her crying", he admitted, leaving it unsaid that he did not know what to do with the child or why she was crying. In the time that it had taken for Miranda to leave the beauty department and arrive in his office, he had checked Elisabeth's diaper and also attempted to give her a bottle, both of which were failures as neither stopped her increasingly loud cries.
"You can go back to work Nigel", Miranda stated without looking up at him and instead keeping her concentration on the infant.
"But Six…", he began.
"Andrea can come to my office in order to collect Elisabeth once her interview is finished", Miranda stated.
Nigel was unsure but he hesitantly nodded before he did exactly what he was told to do, leaving the three-month-old child in the care of his boss.
Miranda smiled down at the child, she was quite happy to hold the little one and she could not help but see Andrea's face in her mind as she looked down into the eyes of the beautiful baby in her arms.
Minutes later, an assistant rushed into the room, out of breath, she had a bag in her hands and moved directly to Miranda.
"Well?", the woman said with her hand out.
The assistant opened the bag and pulled out the various teething toys placing them into the sofa beside her boss along with a few different teething gels, "I wasn't sure which one to get so…".
"That's all", she stated, dismissing the younger woman from her office.
The blonde woman rushed from the office as quickly as she possibly could without looking back for even a moment.
Miranda opened the tube of teething gel and managed to apply it rather quickly, yet carefully, in a way that only a mother was able to.
The little one had started to fuss when Miranda had removed her finger, clearly, she was fond of chewing on it but then she had quietened when the woman had returned her finger to her mouth. This time, however, the finger was coated in teething gel and it was being applied soothingly to her gums.
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"Hey Nig….", Andrea froze as she entered the office, looking around for the first time as she had not taken much notice when she first walked up to the man's office, "Where is Elisa?", she questioned with worry in her voice.
Nigel looked up from his work, whipping his glasses off and rubbing his nose as he spoke, "Miranda has her", he stated.
Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened, "Whyyyyy?", she questioned, elongating the word as she spoke it.
"Elisa started to cry and for some reason, no matter what I did, she just did not stop", he explained, "Miranda must have heard her crying because the next thing I know she's in here and demanding that I hand her over". "Then, you just would not believe it", he declared dramatically, "She just stopped. Just like that. Not a single sound". "When she started to cry again, Miranda just curled her finger and stuck it straight into her mouth", he said making the motion with his hands, "She said that Elisa is teething so she took her into her office and demanded that her assistant go and get some teething gel and toys before she sent me back to work".
Andrea stood there for a moment, "So Miranda has my daughter?", she questioned.
Nigel nodded, "That's what I said", he stated.
"And she's started teething", Andrea repeated.
"Well, Elisa has, I'm not sure about Miranda", Nigel said with a smirk, "Although that would explain some of her foul moods".
Andrea laughed and shook her head, "Well", she said with a sigh, "I best go and get my daughter, I suppose".
Nigel nodded, "Or you could leave her in the dragon's cave?".
"Breathing fire?", Andy questioned.
"Not unless you count demanding teething gel as breathing fire", Nigel commented, "She seemed rather happy to be holding Elisa, it was quite strange seeing her so… maternal".
"She does have twins Nige", Andrea commented.
Nigel smirked, "The same point that she made Six".
Andy rolled her eyes, "I'll see you later", she said before leaving.
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x
Miranda was sat on the sofa with the now sleeping baby in her arms, she still had her finger hooked and in the little one's mouth as she had only just fallen asleep but was still sucking on it. Elisa had calmed down with the gel and her pain levels had clearly lowered a lot since Miranda had first taken her from Nigel.
Andrea stood in the doorway for a moment and watched the older woman with her daughter, "Hey", she whispered quietly as she stepped into the office.
"I wondered how long you would stand there and watch", Miranda commented with a slight smirk as she looked up in Andrea's direction, "Hello Andrea".
Andrea smiled brightly at her as she moved closer, "I just wanted to take it all in", she admitted.
"Take what in?", Miranda questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Nigel told me what happened", Andrea said, ignoring the question, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know that she was teething or I wouldn't have left her".
"You needed to go to that interview Andrea", Miranda stated instantly, "Next time, however, I think it would be preferable if you were to simply leave her with me".
"But… wouldn't it interfere with your work?", she questioned.
Miranda shook her head, "No more than what it would Nigel, in fact, I think it would interfere less with mine than it would his because at least I know how to stop her crying", she highlighted, "I could have just taken her with me to the meeting in the beauty department or I could have made the beauty department come here".
Andrea found herself smiling, "That would definitely shock some of your staff members", she commented with amusement.
The Editor-in-Chief nodded with a soft laugh herself, "Yes, I imagine so", she admitted, "The shock of seeing the dragon lady walking around Runway with a baby in her arms".
"I wish you wouldn't call yourself that", Andrea said softly as she sat down on the sofa with Miranda and her daughter.
"Why?", Miranda questioned as she looked at her, "It's what they call me".
Andrea sighed heavily, "But it isn't true", she pointed out, "I mean look at you right now, you look as far from a dragon as someone could possibly get". "If you were a man in your position, doing your job as well as you do it then they wouldn't even think to call you that or anything else", she commented, "They would just say how great you are at your job".
"True", Miranda replied.
"You really want me to leave her with you if I have a meeting or something?", Andrea questioned.
Miranda nodded, "Yes", she said softly, "I have found that I have rather enjoyed having Elisabeth with me".
"She does seem rather fond of you", Andrea admitted with a fond smile.
"As I am of her", the older woman whispered before pressing a gentle kiss to Elisa's head without waking her or disturbing her in any way.
Andrea smiled at the scene, "Thank you for looking after her Miranda".
"It was no problem Andrea", Miranda highlighted, "As I said, I rather enjoyed spending time with her". She carefully extracted her finger from the infant's mouth before she discreetly wiped it on the blanket that she had pulled out of the pram earlier and wrapped around the child in order to keep her warm, not that it was cold of course. "She's so beautiful", Miranda commented as she ran her finger over the sleeping baby's cheek, "She looks so much like you. Those eyes".
The new Runway writer smiled, "You think I'm beautiful?", she questioned, jokingly, with a smirk on her face.
"Yes", came the sudden and slightly unexpected answer.
Andrea just stared at the woman, her jaw dropped slightly.
"Please Andrea, you are not a fish", Miranda commented, "Do close your mouth".
"Sorry, I just…", Andrea stumbled, "I'm just surprised".
"Why?", the woman questioned.
"I just didn't expect you to even think that I…"
Miranda looked up at her, moving her hand from the child's cheek to Andrea's, "Of course I think you're beautiful Andrea", she said quietly, "I always have done".
Andrea reached up and put her own hand over the top of Miranda's, she could not help but instinctively close her eyes as she took in the feeling of the other woman's skin on hers, the warmth of her hand on her cheek, "Miranda", she whispered.
"Yes?", came the equally quiet response.
"I have always thought you were too", she smiled, "So much so".
Miranda smiled brightly towards her ex-assistant, "I really wish that you would have stayed with me in Paris", she commented sadly as she ran her thumb over the soft skin of Andrea's cheek, "The person who interviewed you? That was the job that I was going to be offering you when we returned to the States". "I had planned to take you on a date too", she revealed, "My beautiful Andrea".
Andy smiled happily, "Oh Miranda", she said softly as she leaned in and pressed her lips to the lips of the other woman's, "If I had known then… I can promise you now that I would never have left".
"You're here now", Miranda highlighted, "I trust that you will not be running away again".
"Never", the woman said with conviction and determination in her voice, "I will never leave you for as long as you want me here".
"Then you will come to the townhouse tonight in order to have dinner with my Bobbseys and me", Miranda said with a smile, "Then you will never leave".
Andrea laughed, "Don't you think it's a bit soon to be moving in?".
"I meant that you will never leave me", Miranda corrected, "Moving in is a good idea though, although you're right, maybe we should wait".
She nodded with a smile, "That sounds like a good idea", she said before kissing the woman again.
Miranda held Elisabeth in her arms, the little one still fast asleep and looking rather comfortable in her embrace whilst the woman used her free hand to pull Andrea close, kissing her passionately.
Andrea smiled brightly into the kiss, she could not believe her luck. First, she had gotten the job that she had interviewed for and now she had gotten the woman that she had been in love with for the past year.
Andrea had been pregnant when she went to Paris, not that she nor Nate knew about it at the time despite her being almost four months pregnant when she flew across the ocean. Upon her return to the US, she had visited the Doctor and discovered her pregnancy but Nate did not want anything to do with the Andrea, the pregnancy, or the resulting infant. Five months after returning to the US, and five months after leaving Miranda in Paris, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl Elisabeth Miranda Sachs.