For disclaimers and author's notes see Part 1

Unspoken Fantasy pt 2

by Gin

Miranda sat on the balcony of their bungalow sipping her first coffee of the day. It wasn't a balcony in the strictest sense, the platform her chair rested on was only a few feet off the ground, but the drop off to the landscaped area below made it seem much higher. The sunrise was gorgeous and almost enough to keep her thoughts from turning to the previous evening and to Andrea. Almost but not quite. The memory of Andrea's arms around her sent an echo of the electric sizzle down her back. She had never in her life reacted to anyone the way she reacted to Andrea. The physical reactions were understandable, Andrea was a beautiful woman. It was the mental, emotional, responses the young woman drew from her were just unfathomable to Miranda. Never in her life had she obsessed over someone the way she seemed to be doing with Andrea. She knew she should end her contact with Andrea, Miranda sipped her coffee and nodded to herself. Yes, she decided, Cutting all contact with Andrea was the thing to do. It would be difficult, but doable, after all she had not heard anything about her former assistant in nearly three years. How hard could it be?

Miranda tried to imagine not seeing Andrea again and began to shake. She put her coffee down and clasped her hands together. "Impossible." she muttered, "She's only been back in my life for two days... it's ridiculous to think she'll remain after this week is over." The door dividing the balcony from the rest of the living quarters opened and Miranda tried to compose herself. "Good morning, Bobbseys.."

"Morning, Mom." Cassidy grabbed a slice of fruit off the tray on the table next to Miranda. "We're going surfing, okay?"

Caroline also snagged a slice of melon, "Yeah, there were some surfers at the party last night. They said to meet them in the cove this morning."

Miranda narrowed her eyes at her flirtatious daughter, "More busboys?"

"No Mom, just surfers... really." Caroline rolled her eyes. "No flirting. You know we love the water."

Cassidy was with her sister on this one. "We've taken lessons... we know what we're doing."

"You can stay here and rest," Caroline suggested then reminded her mother, "This is supposed to be a vacation."

"Mmmm..." Miranda nodded, "Very well. Just be careful!" She grinned as both the girls bent down to kiss her cheek.

"Thank you, Mother." "Thanks, Mom."

Miranda watched them leave and sighed. They were growing so fast. She looked out at the bluing sky and took a deep breath as she listened to the waves pounding against the shore. They would be gone soon, off to college, soon after that they would be off to live their own lives and then there was her retirement to consider. Why was it that retirement coincided with children being all grown up? What will I be left with, after I retire, after the girls move away? Miranda reached out for her coffee, now cold. She took a sip anyway. Cold coffee, and silence. It left a bitter taste in the back of her throat. Maybe, she thought as she wiped away a tear that had found its way down her cheek, maybe that's all I deserve.

Miranda walked down the path toward her temporary office. She was slightly distracted by many things, but she slowed her pace as her main distraction came into view. Andrea walked, hand in hand, with a nice looking young man up to the door of the office, smiled at him and then, much to Miranda's surprise, kissed him directly on the lips. Stopping her trek, Miranda watched the display for several seconds, then continued on, determined to work for a while at least. Breaking up the young people was only a benefit and she smirked as the boy jumped away from Andrea at her approach. Infuriatingly, Andrea didn't even have the decency to look ashamed and merely turned on her sun-bright smile.

"Good Morning, Miranda."

Miranda glanced at the young man's retreating form and raised an eyebrow, "Apparently, a better morning for some more than others." Turning to unlock the door, with the key Mr. Roarke had given her, Miranda ground her teeth together as Andrea's musical laugh cut through the morning air.

"That is often the case, Miranda."

"Mmmm..." It had meant to be a thoughtful sound, but even to her own ears Miranda knew it seemed disapproving. She didn't want to look at Andrea's face, knowing that the smile would now be wiped from Andrea's beautiful lips. "Let us get to work, shall we?"

Andy followed Miranda into the office. "Yes, Miranda." While Miranda settled herself at her desk, Andy opened the far wall for the ocean view, then went into the small attached kitchenette to start the coffee brewing. She heard the familiar tones of Miranda's computer starting up. The sound of tapping keys continued until the coffee was finished. She carried the steaming mug out to Miranda's desk and her soft smile returned at the sound of frustration Miranda made. "Problem?"

"This system is uncooperative." Miranda gestured to the unfamiliar screen, "I wish to check my messages."

"Ah." Andy set the drink on the desk then leaned down to look over Miranda's shoulder, "Let me have a look." Although she was dressed appropriately for the office, as she had been on Saturday, today she had left her hair down. Now as she leaned forward it fell softly against Miranda's shoulder. "Oh," Andy heard Miranda's soft gasp as the hair brushed against her, "Sorry." She absently moved her wayward hair to the side away from Miranda and reached forward to the mouse. "You're connected to the island's server, but now you need to click here." She moved the pointer to the small Elias-Clarke logo in the lower left corner. "This will connect you to the Runway system."

"I see. Thank you, Andrea." Miranda shivered slightly as Andrea's low tones caressed her ear.

"You're welcome, Miranda." Andy pulled away slightly, but remained close. "Anything else you need?"

Turning, Miranda saw the large expanse of leonine neck very close to her, so close she could see the steady pulse beating there, could feel the heat radiating from Andrea. Swallowing against her suddenly dry mouth, Miranda shook her head and managed a soft, "That's all." She barely pulled her gaze from those, maddening, beautiful eyes, but glanced at full red lips as they formed a gentle smile.

"Okay."

Andy moved back to her desk and started her own computer on its way to connecting to the systems she needed.

Miranda blinked once as she watched Andrea's efficient motions then, realizing what she was doing, staring at her assistant, she turned to examine the large amount of new messages inhabiting her inbox. So much for a relaxing vacation. She thought and reached for the mouse to open the first message marked Urgent.

After several hours of answering emails and phone calls, one of which actually turned out to be important, Miranda now sat at her desk silently looking over several layout proposals that Nigel had sent for her approval. She hadn't realized how engrossed she'd become in the photographs until Andrea's clearing throat caused her to look up from the page. She blinked because she had not noticed the young woman moving from her desk, "Yes?"

"I was wondering if it would be possible to leave for lunch slightly early today."

"Oh?" Putting down her red pencil, Miranda looked over the top of her glasses. "For what reason?"

Pressing her lips together for a moment, Andy took a deep breath and then explained, "Susan is leaving today. I had hoped to see her off."

"Leaving?" Miranda took her glasses off, tossing them on top of the photos she'd just been examining and leaned back in her chair to observe Andrea. "Problem?"

"Not in the least." Andy smiled, "She's a friend that I would like to wish a safe journey."

"And the young man this morning, is he also a friend?" Miranda knew the question sounded a bit churlish, but she couldn't help it.

"No, Miranda. He was only a passing acquaintance. I met him yesterday. Did you enjoy your day off?"

Not as much as you apparently. "Do you always kiss, passing acquaintances, like that?" Now she sounded positively jealous and again, couldn't help it. The lack of control was infuriating as was Andrea's wide smile as she answered.

"Yes, actually." Andy's eyes held a hint of amusement, "I was always taught to obey my elders."

Elegant eyebrows raised in reaction to that statement, "Indeed. Your "elders" told you to kiss every person you meet?"

"No, Miranda." Andy grinned, "Only one elder, my Grandmother. She told me that I should kiss anyone I had the opportunity to, and when I kissed the "right one" I would know it." Smiling at her slightly slack-jawed boss, Andy continued. "Then, Grandma said, I wouldn't ever want to kiss anyone else." She shrugged, "Except... you know, on the cheek as greeting or something... She and my grandfather were happily married for fifty years, so I figured she knew what she was talking about."

"Mmm..." Miranda was obviously thinking about that advice. "So, I take it you haven't found "the one" yet..."

"No, Miranda." Andy licked her lips and shrugged, "Not yet."

"It must be such a burden," Miranda spoke sarcastically, unable to help reverting to her Dragon persona, "kissing all those people, all the time..." Her biting comment trailed off at the sadness in those huge dark eyes.

"It's lonelier than you might think."

"Did you kiss people at Runway?" A horrible thought crossed Miranda's mind. "Did you kiss Emily?"

Laughing at that, Andy shook her head, "Nooo... no no no... there was never any doubt as to my relationship with Emily." She smiled, "I did kiss Serena once though, I think."

Miranda's eyebrows raised. "You think?"

"Mmm..." Andy shrugged, "James Holt's punch." She laughed again at Miranda's look of understanding. Andy continued answering the question. "I didn't need to kiss most of them, I knew they weren't the one just by looking. There were only a few I considered possibilities and, well, there just wasn't ever the right opportunity for... them." Andy glanced down into the mug on Miranda's desk and noticed it was empty. "More coffee?" She took the mug even before Miranda nodded and moved into the kitchenette quickly.

Even standing with her back to the door, Andy knew when Miranda appeared there, the air in the room changed. It seemed to vanish completely when Miranda spoke quietly.

"You haven't kissed me."

Turning to face her boss, Andy took a deep breath and agreed, "No, I haven't."

"You had opportunity," Miranda took a step closer, "when we danced..."

"I..." Andy swallowed and gripped the counter behind her tightly as she leaned back against it. "I didn't think you would appreciate the gesture."

"Mmm..." Taking another step forward, almost unable to believe what she was doing, Miranda's eyes never left Andrea's, "I don't believe you should ignore your grandmother's advice."

"No?"

Another step put Miranda directly in front of Andrea, "No."

"Well then..." Andy pushed away from the counter to stand up straight, "I suppose, if you feel that way about it..." Displaying more confidence than she actually felt, Andy reached up with a surprisingly steady hand, to cup Miranda's jaw lightly. She moved closer, stopping millimeters from touching Miranda's lips with her own. "Are you sure?"

Miranda rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Oh for goodness sake, Andrea just..." Any further comment was lost as Andrea's lips pressed against hers, moving softly as the pressure increased. Miranda had never felt anything like it. Andrea's lips were so soft, so warm, Miranda's mind blanked for a long moment forgetting everything but the sensations she was experiencing. She was totally taken by surprise at the electric sizzle the contact brought with it. The feeling was similar but much, much more intense than when they had danced. She automatically wrapped her arms around Andrea's slender waist, pulling her closer, needing her closer. The sensuality of Andrea's fingers that had been gently cupping her jaw, now sliding through her hair, was indescribable. The hand pressed on the back of her head, firmly held them together even as Andrea's tongue flicked out in silent request, one Miranda was quick to grant. It wasn't a battle for domination, as so many other kisses Miranda had received had been. This was gentle exploration. They swallowed each others moans as they continued the kiss until air became an issue. Even then, they parted reluctantly and both were trying to catch their breath as they looked at each other with what could only be described as awe.

Miranda watched as Andrea reached up to touch her own lips. The young woman's voice was strained, "Miranda... I..."

"You should go..." Stepping back, controlling her reactions, Miranda took a deep shaky breath. "See your friend safely to the plane."

"Miranda..." Andy searched Miranda's face trying to see past the mask that had slammed into place after she'd stepped back. "Come with me."

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea." Miranda smoothed the lines of her jacket across her abdomen.

"Miranda..." Andy licked her lips and seemed to only barely stop herself from stepping forward to claim another kiss. Instead, she whispered, "Please."

Forcing herself not to lick her lips, Miranda stood a bit straighter and nodded, "Very well."

Andy quickly shut the office down and they left, walking down the path side by side to the pier where the seaplane waited to take guests back to the mainland. Miranda wasn't exactly sure why she was there, she didn't know this Susan person at all. So she hung back, standing next to Mr. Roarke, as Andrea moved to speak to her friend. It was only when Andrea knelt next to the seated woman that Miranda realized something important.

"Why is she in a wheelchair?"

Mr. Roarke smiled a bit sadly before he answered. His accent gave his words extra weight, "Ms. Susan Bennett is paralyzed from the waist down. The result of an unfortunate automobile accident."

"But," Miranda protested, "I saw her, walking... dancing..."

"Mmm.. yes." He nodded at both the activities, "There are certain properties, here, on the island, that... alleviated her condition, for a time. This is Fantasy Island after all."

Shaking her head, Miranda tried to wrap her mind around what the man was saying. "My daughters were going on about "having a fantasy granted"." She looked at the man beside her intently, "Are you trying to tell me that is true?"

With a nod and a smile, Mr. Roarke spoke, his accent again intensifying the almost wistful tone, "It was her dream to dance, once more, with the man she had thought forever out of her life, her first love."

Miranda followed their host's eyeline to see the tall, handsome, gentleman that Susan had been dancing with on Saturday night, walk up and put his hands on the handles of the chair. "She was here, for him?"

"Indeed." Mr. Roarke risked a sideways glance at Miranda and quickly covered his smirk at her tone. "One of the conditions Ms. Sachs had on accepting this job was that... Ms. Bennett's fantasy be fulfilled."

"Does Andrea want nothing?" Miranda was outraged at the thought, "Why does Andrea not get a fantasy as well!"

"Ms. Sachs assured me that being allowed to work for you, for a week, would be more than enough compensation for her. It would not be appropriate to share any other requests she made." Mr. Roarke now smiled at his stunned guest, "She apparently felt very embarrassed about how she left things with you in Paris and decided she owed you a week. It was, I believe, one of the main reasons she accepted my offer."

Miranda watched as Andrea spoke to the woman then leaned in for a goodbye hug. "She owes me nothing." She watched, the moment she had dreaded, as Susan also moved to kiss Andrea's lips, as she had done previously when they parted. A spark of joy settled in Miranda's chest as Andrea held her fingers up to stop the contact, then shifted to kiss Susan on the cheek. Miranda was surprised when the seated woman smiled widely and pulled Andrea into another hug. Andrea laughed at something the woman had said into her ear and nodded. Miranda tried not to read too much into the kiss on the cheek though, since the man Susan apparently loved was standing right next to them. It would hardly be appropriate for Andrea to kiss the woman in that situation. Susan's reaction to the farewell was probably just her elation at finding her long lost love. When Andrea stood she shook hands with the man before he began to push the chair toward the plane. Andrea walked slowly back to where Miranda and Mr. Roarke stood.

"Thank you, Mr. Roarke." Andy's smile was solely for him. "She's so happy now."

"You are very welcome, Ms. Sachs." He watched as the plane taxied away from the pier then bowed to the women. "If you will excuse me, I have other guests to attend."

Miranda nodded, "Of course." She barely waited for him to leave before turning to Andrea. "I believe you have a story to tell me."

"I do?" Andy smiled at Miranda's narrowed eyes and relented. "Yes, I suppose I do." She offered her arm to her temporary boss, "Shall we discuss it over lunch?"

Taking the offered elbow, Miranda wished she had the nerve to slide her arm around Andrea's waist and they began to walk. "That sounds lovely." She was rewarded with a sun-bright smile and they quickly made their way to a cozy little cafe not too far off the water.

They had been seated and their orders were being prepared before Andy began to speak. Her first sentence made Miranda bristle slightly.

"I've been living with Susan for the last six months." She ignored the uncomfortable shift of Miranda's shoulders and continued. "When the Mirror closed its doors, before that actually, my editor had put me in touch with a friend of his. She is a publisher. They do mostly non-fiction, biographies, autobiographies and things like that. One of her clients was writing their autobiography, but writing was not one of their many gifts." Andy took a sip of her water and shrugged. "I helped."

"Ghost writer." Miranda nodded. It made sense now, how Andrea had seemed to drop off of the face of the Earth so long ago. "Is that what you've been doing for the past four years?"

"Three and a half, yes." Pausing to allow the waiter to set their food in front of them, Andy smiled at the man and murmured her thanks before turning her attention back to Miranda. "The lease on the apartment my boyfriend had signed over to me was up, so I packed the things I needed, sold the rest and as a condition of my working with the prospective authors, I lived in their homes with them." She grinned as Miranda again shifted in annoyance and added, "In their guest rooms." Andy loaded her fork with some salad and shrugged again, "I had a place to live and a small income, they got the book they wanted... everyone was happy."

Miranda cut into her steak and questioned, "So, this Susan woman... she is someone of note? Someone who needs a biography written about them?"

"This was a bit of a different assignment. Susan was a championship ballroom dancer in her youth as well as a fairly respected choreographer in the theater. The biography wasn't on her though, not really. It was focused more on her mother's career, a very well respected choreographer in the theater industry. She had worked with a lot of very famous actors and actress', legends."

"Ah..." Miranda chewed her bite of steak thoughtfully, "A tell all..."

"Something like that." Andy laughed, "There were a lot of facts that I had to track down and verify, which is why I had been there for so long. We were just finishing the manuscript when Mr. Roarke's offer arrived."

"Are you..." Miranda hesitated, then asked, "Are you, happy, with the life you lead?"

"It gives me a place to live, and pays the bills... what more could I possibly want?"

"You have obviously been searching for something, kissing all these random people has to mean something." Miranda cut another bite of her steak before slowly voicing her thought, "I couldn't help notice that you did not kiss your friend goodbye."

Andy smiled, "My days of kissing random people are over, Miranda."

Miranda worked very hard to keep her heart from racing as Andrea's smile appeared. "You said you hadn't found the person you were looking for yet."

"And then I kissed you."

"So you now believe that I am "the right one" for you?" Miranda raised her eyebrows at the immediate response.

"I know you are."

"And if I don't believe that?" Miranda studied the woman across from her closely as Andrea spoke. It surprised Miranda to notice that there was no hint of insincerity in Andrea's voice or demeanor.

"Then our first kiss, will have been my last."

Miranda's response was lost as two familiar voices rang through the cafe.

"Mom!" "Mom!"

Both women looked up as the twins made their way through the tables to where their mother was sitting. Miranda smiled at the girls' enthusiasm. "Girls, what is it?"

"There's a surfing competition this afternoon. Can you come watch?" Cassidy seemed to be vibrating in place. "We're entered and if this morning was any indication, we actually have a shot at winning!"

Caroline was only half paying attention to her mother's answer, she was too interested in the person sitting at the same table. She knew it was Andy they needed to consult regarding their mother's schedule. It was always the assistants that they needed to talk to for that. "Can you reschedule Mother's afternoon?"

Andy smiled. "Yes, I believe so, Caroline. There are no meetings today." Her smile widened when Cassidy spoke up.

"Can you come watch us too, Andy?"

"That would be up to Miranda." Andy turned to get Miranda's reaction to the question, well aware that the twins were also looking to their mother for a response.

"It is a free beach, Andrea. I'm sure the competitors will enjoy many spectators."

"Great!" Cassidy clapped her hands together in front of her, "We'll see you there. We've gotta go get ready!"

"You need to eat first!" Miranda was appalled that her daughters would skip lunch. They were far too thin as it was and she knew they had barely eaten any breakfast.

"Awww.. we don't have time!" Cassidy almost whined. "The competition starts soon."

"I don't want to be really heavy feeling right before we go out, Mom." Caroline assured her mother, "We'll be fine. Honest."

Andy shook her head, "Your mother's right. You need nutrients before going into a sports competition." She stood and almost bowed. "Wait right here..."

They watched as Andy walked to the bar and spoke to the bartender quickly. He nodded and in short order two tall glasses were being set on the bar, then filled with a thick, creamy, bluish colored liquid. Andy carried the drinks back to the waiting girls. "Here, drink these."

"Are you kidding?" Cassidy eyed the concoction suspiciously.

"No," Andy handed one to each girl. "They're protein shakes, and I drink one every morning before my run. Trust me."

"What's in them?" Caroline, the practical one, also didn't like the look of the mixture.

"Nothing you're allergic to." Andy smiled at their shocked looks, "I remember from when you were younger." She listed off the ingredients that included yogurt, banana, and several other tropical fruits, none of which had been on the "allergy list" when she worked for Miranda.

"Okay." Cassidy thought, from the way Andy described it, that it might taste decent. "We've both grown out of our allergies though. We can eat pretty much anything now."

Both girls tentatively tasted the smoothies and then proceeded to almost chug them down. "Thanks Andy..." They looked at their mother expectantly, "May we go now?"

Miranda licked her lips and nodded once. There was no time to continue the motion, because the girls were gone. She chuckled and turned her attention back to Andrea. "Thank you. They are forever skipping meals."

"My pleasure." Andy smiled, "They're good girls."

"I, um, never thanked you for going above and beyond the way you did, acquiring the Harry Potter manuscript for them." Memorizing the list of their allergies...

"It's not necessary, Miranda." Andy smiled at the memory, "You didn't thank me, but they did." She saw a wrinkle peek out from behind the swoop of hair that fell across Miranda's forehead and elaborated. "At the train station, that day."

"I often wish I could take more credit for their upbringing. Leaving them in the care of a Nanny, no matter how competent, really isn't a good alternative to their actual mother being there for them."

"You were always there for them, Miranda." Andy laughed, "I think you brought the hurricane with you from Florida when you couldn't get back for their recital."

"That was... an over-reaction on my part." Miranda recalled the incident. "The shoot had gone horribly wrong, because of the weather and had to be completely redone from a lovely outdoor layout to an indoor thing."

Andy grinned, "As I recall the photos turned out to be spectacular."

"There was a hotel nearby with an arboretum that suited our needs."

"Which you recognized and salvaged the shoot, despite the weather trouble." Andy wondered aloud, "Did Mr. Ravitz ever find out how much you saved by doing that, instead of scrapping the whole thing and trying again when the weather cleared, as the photographer wanted to do?"

"He did not." Miranda sniffed haughtily. "Irv has no need to know the everyday workings of Runway. All he need see is the bottom line, which, for as long as I have been Editor-in-Chief, has been black."

Andy smirked a bit, "Yes, Miranda." The smirk turned into a smile as Miranda rolled her eyes at that. They both took several bites of their meal in companionable silence. Until Miranda again spoke quietly.

"You have changed." Miranda caught Andrea's startled eyes, "You no longer feel the need to blather on about inconsequential things. And," Miranda took a sip of her wine, "I notice you no longer stutter."

"I've found that quiet times are good for internal contemplation." Andy tilted her head in acknowledgment of the implied compliment. Miranda had never tolerated idle chit chat. "And as for the stuttering, that is a result of a few months of intense," She straightened her spine slightly and spoke in what Lily would have called her "High Society Voice", "lessons in diction and elocution." Relaxing a bit, Andy shrugged, "Courtesy of one of my early clients. I only stutter now when I'm extremely nervous or upset."

"Lessons..."

"Mmmm..." Andy laughed and admitted, "That, and a few years of therapy to work on my self esteem issues. It seems I'm always attracted to people who treat me badly."

"Oh." Suddenly Miranda began to think about all the times she had treated Andrea unkindly.

"For example," Andy went on, oblivious to Miranda's thoughts. "When I got the job at Runway. My boyfriend was shocked that I'd gotten a job at a fashion magazine, and in front of our best friends asked me if it had been a phone interview."

"And you tolerated this behavior?"

"I tolerated Nate, just as you tolerated Stephen." Andy watched Miranda closely, "Until the situation became intolerable. My separation was infinitely less complicated than yours though. Mine merely required him getting a job in another city." She noticed that Miranda was no longer eating and gestured to the half empty plate. "Finished?"

"Mmmm..." Looking down at the steak, which had been delicious, but was now cold, Miranda nodded. "Yes."

"Great." Andy signaled for the check and when the waiter promptly brought it, signed the receipt to her bungalow number. "Let's go watch the girls surf!"

"Andrea, I could have..." Stopping the protest, Miranda stood and linked arms with her beautiful assistant, "Thank you, for lunch."

Andy patted the arm around hers and winked. "You're welcome, Miranda."