Andy once again found herself, silk pajama clad, sitting in 'her' spot on the hearth by the fire, only this time she was playing with Tay and hadn't cooked the meal that she'd stuffed herself on earlier. "I think Tay should be the one exercising me." Andy laughed and patted her belly as she waited for Tay to bring the tennis ball back to her. "That food was delicious."

Miranda chuckled, "French food is deceptive in nature. It's the sauces that get you."

Taking the slobbery ball from Tay's mouth, Andy rolled it across the floor, again. "Oh, by the way, I contacted the garage here, before we left New York, they said they could bring it here for me. So you won't have to drive me to the shop to get it."

"It would be no trouble..."

"It would and you know it. You can't leave Tay here all by himself, so you'd have to crate him up... and all that. It's taken care of." Andy smiled at Miranda then looked to see where the puppy had gone. "But the offer is appreciated." She spotted Tay resting on his large bed in the corner, gnawing at the ball.

Nodding at that, Miranda looked at the large grandfather clock. "It's late and it has been a long day. Perhaps we should all try to get some sleep."

Cassidy seemed to vibrate in place as she asked, "Can Tay sleep in my room tonight, Mom?"

"Of course," Miranda held up her hand to stop Caroline's protest, "He may sleep in your room tonight Cassidy, and in Caroline's tomorrow night. Make sure he sleeps in his own bed, he needs to get used to that. That is why we brought them."

Andy hid a grin at the disappointed look on Cassidy's face. The beds in question were now scattered throughout the East wing of the house, unpacked from the large box that had been in the back of the van. There was practically one in each room, except the the bathrooms and guest rooms. Andy noticed that her room and Miranda's room had also been excluded from the dispersal. But, each of the girls had one of the large fluffy cushions in their room for the puppy to sleep on. Andy pressed her lips together to keep from smiling when Miranda relented.

"You can place it at the foot of your bed though, if you wish." She was very firm on her next point though, "He cannot run through the house unattended, so make sure your door is closed before you fall asleep."

"Right! Thanks Mom! Good night." Cassidy kissed Miranda's cheek then coaxed Tay up the stairs with her.

"G'night, Mom." Caroline also kissed Miranda's cheek. "See you in the morning."

Flattening her palms against the warm stone she sat on, Andy leaned back, supporting herself on straightened arms. She never would have imagined feeling so relaxed in Miranda's presence, but this Miranda was different from the one she'd known as her boss. She'd only had a few tiny glimpses of this one while she had worked at Runway.

The Runway Editor, the Dragon Lady, was harsh and often forced people into a downward spiral of unending despair. This Miranda was a loving mother who cried over lost pets and worried about her children constantly, because she loved them. Runway Miranda was never touched, but this one had held her hand and gotten kisses on the cheek from her children. Grinning impishly, Andy half-jokingly asked, "Should I give you a goodnight kiss on the cheek too?"

Rolling her eyes at that, Miranda chuckled as she stood, then called Andrea's bluff, tilting her cheek toward her guest, "If you must."

Andy sat up straight and then stood, "Um... I mean... Are you..."

Smirking at Andrea's befuddlement, Miranda waved off any further action and nodded, "Thought so..." She began to move toward the stairs, "Good night, Andrea. Sweet dreams."

With a glance at the dying fire, Andy called to Miranda, "Wait!" Andy caught up with her hostess and walked next to Miranda all the way to the door of her room. Andy looked into Miranda's eyes and remembered them, tear filled, from earlier. Leaning in, slowly, she gently kissed Miranda's cheek and whispered, "Sweet dreams, Miranda."

She escaped into her room quickly and leaned back against the door for a long moment, her heart threatening to pound its way out of her chest. Wow, that was totally stupid, Sachs... She hoped Miranda wasn't too upset with her. She hadn't been kicked out yet, so that was a good sign. Crawling into bed, Andy closed her eyes and tried to relax then sat straight up in the bed. "Holy shit, Miranda Priestly just let me kiss her!"

It took a while to get over that thought, but once Andy finally dozed off, Miranda's final words to her were realized. Andy had sweet dreams indeed.

Andy yawned and stretched, wincing a bit as the bruising on her chest ached at the motion. She heard noises and walked tentatively into the kitchen. She stopped just inside the door, lowering her arms slowly to her sides as she blinked at the scene before her. "Miranda?"

Looking up from her task of transferring eggs from the carton to the counter, Miranda smiled softly and spoke quietly, "Good morning, Andrea."

"Um.." Andy slid into a seat at the preparation island, "Good morning."

"Coffee?"

Andy looked behind her, then back at Miranda, "Uh... yeah..."

Nodding, Miranda placed the egg carton back in the fridge and reached for a coffee cup. She poured the mug half full, then scooped in some sugar and added some creamer before placing the cup in front of her guest.

"Thank you," It was too early in the morning for Andy to censor her words. "How long have you been up?"

Miranda licked her lips and took a sip of her own coffee. "It was a beautiful sunrise."

"What's all this?" Andy indicated the mixing bowl and measuring cups on the counter, not to mention the large number of eggs.

"Breakfast." Miranda laughed outright a the expression on the young woman's face. "Really Andrea, who do you think cooked for us when you weren't here?"

"I..." Andy shrugged, "I hadn't really thought about it, but I guess I just assumed..."

"That I have a personal chef?" Miranda nodded, "Much like you assumed that I have a chauffeur..."

"Something like that, yeah." Andy sipped her coffee and sighed, "Mmm... that's good."

"There is a woman who comes to the townhouse twice a week. She cooks meals suitable for freezing and cleans." Miranda actually hated that necessity, "I'm often held late at the office and have no time to cook the evening meal for the girls."

"Of course." Andy fully understood that. "That's the big reason Mom began to teach me, and my sister Jill, how to cook from a very young age. On the nights she had to work, or was too tired from work to cook, we would do it for her."

"What does your mother do?"

"Did," Andy smiled, "She's retired now... Middle school, English teacher."

"Ah," Miranda began to crack some of the eggs into a bowl, "So you come by your love of writing honestly."

Nodding, Andy agreed, "Something like that."

Miranda began to whisk the eggs together, "And your father?"

"He's a lawyer."

"Mmm..." Miranda continued her batter creation. "I see. No desire to go into that field I suppose."

"Actually, I did apply to Stanford's Law Program." Andy sipped her coffee.

"That is a tough program to qualify for," Miranda set aside the mixture she'd been working on, "They don't accept many."

"Oh," Andy smiled, "I got in. I just changed my mind regarding my career path. Northwestern's journalism track was a more appealing option for me."

"Interesting choice." Before Miranda could say more, Tay scrambled into the room followed by Cassidy and Caroline. "Good morning, my darlings."

Both girls eyes lit up when they saw the mixing bowl and they both spoke together, "Yay, crepes!"

"Yes," Miranda laughed, "Go get dressed and take Tay out for a quick business walk. By the time you get back the crepes will be done. We will show him the grounds later."

"Okay, Mom." Cassidy tugged on her sister's pajama sleeve, "C'mon, Ro."

"Yeah, yeah.. I'm comin'"

Andy laughed as Tay raised up to put his front paws on her legs. Miranda reprimanded him instantly.

" Patri..." With a quick exhale, Miranda corrected herself, "Taymor! Sit!" The puppy immediately obeyed and Miranda handed Andrea a small piece of bacon. "Give this to him."

Andy nodded, not commenting on the slip Miranda had made, and rewarded the puppy for sitting when told. She ruffled his neck fur after he took the treat, "Good boy."

"He cannot be allowed to jump up on people. He is too large a breed for that. He must be trained now, to curb that habit." She shook her head, "It's the one area of his obedience training that still needs work." Wiping her hands on a damp towel, Miranda pulled a large shallow skillet from the cabinet under the prep area and ladle after small ladle began to cook the crepes.

Andy stepped out of the garage and smiled at the man from the repair shop. "Thank you, so much..." she read the patch on his blue mechanic's shirt, "...Arthur."

He chuckled, "Junior... almost everyone calls me Junior." He pointed to the logo for Junior's Repair Shop on the right side of his shirt.

She grinned as she accepted the keys to the newly repaired car from him and hugged herself to stave off the cold. "You have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"No problem. When I recognized the address..." The corners of his eyes crinkled when the door that connected the garage to the house opened. "Hello, Miranda!" He looked down and asked, "And who's this?"

"Hello, Arthur. This is Taymor." Miranda gave Andrea an admonishing look before draping the extra coat she'd carried out over the young woman's shivering shoulders. The puppy pulled on the leash and Miranda gave it a light tug, "Taymor, sit!" The puppy did what he was told. Miranda fed the dog a snausage before addressing Arthur again. "I understand your business is booming these days."

"Yes, ma'am." He grinned, "But I always have time to tune up the Porsche." His eyes glittered, "It's about time for an oil change, right?"

Miranda chuckled, "The next time I drive it up, I will be sure to bring it to you."

"Excellent." He sighed, "I love working on that car." He glanced behind him as a tow truck began pulling up the long driveway. "There's my ride." He gestured with his thumb toward the car and told Andy, "Your boss called in a credit card number, so it's all paid for, the receipt's in the passenger seat."

"Thanks, Ar...er.. Junior."

Grinning at her near slip, he winked and moved toward the waiting tow truck. He pulled the door of the truck open and as he began to climb in he turned back to the women. "Oh yeah... Miranda. Dad says he'll come by sometime next week to restock the wood supply, and clear the debris from the snow storm. He wants to wait for the snow to melt before he does it, so he's sure to get everything."

"Thank you, Arthur," Miranda smiled, "Tell Arthur I appreciate the diligence."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Miranda, you are the only person I know that can say both my name and Dad's in the same sentence and the listener can still tell who you're talking about." He looked at Andy, "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." The keys in Andy's hand jingled as she gave the man a little wave and a smile.

Miranda watched the tow truck move a safe distance away then allowed Taymor to begin walking. Andy moved up next to her, matching her stride.

"May I walk with you?"

Glancing at her guest, Miranda nodded, "If you wish."

"Where are the girls?" Andy had thought Tay's care was mostly their responsibility.

"They are engrossed in a movie on television." Miranda paused for yet another landmark to accept Taymor's mark. They walked in silence for short distance before Miranda spoke quietly. "He's married, you know." The confused look on Andrea's face prompted Miranda to elaborate, "Arthur. He's been married, happily, for five years and has three young children."

With a deep breath, Andy pressed her lips together for a long moment before answering, "He's not my type anyway."

"Oh," Miranda paused to allow Taymor to mark a small shrub, "You don't like handsome men? You would prefer a homely man instead?"

Andy laughed and studied the sky for a moment then admitted, "It's not the handsome part I have a problem with..." She shrugged, "It's the man aspect that bothers me."

"Ah," Miranda licked her lips and glanced at her companion, "I see." She tried to process that information, "I, wasn't aware..."

"Yeah," Andy shrugged, gathering warmth from the thick coat around her, "Not many people are..." She elaborated, "... aware. I know I certainly wasn't for... a long time."

Tugging on Taymor's leash, Miranda began to lead the young dog toward the edge of the semi-frozen pond.

"Miranda?" Andy worried at Miranda's silence. "Miranda, are you... um..." She asked her hostess quietly, "Would you like me to leave?"

"I suppose you may leave anytime you wish. You have a vehicle now." Miranda brushed a stone bench free of the last bits of snow still clinging to it, then sat. She let the leash out to its maximum length and attached it to the arm of the bench via a hook installed specifically for that purpose.

"So..." Andy sat next to her former boss. She knew it was time for her to go, but she was reluctant to do so. Andy admitted to herself that she liked it here, with Miranda and the girls. It didn't seem right to leave. She didn't want to leave but she knew she would have to. Miranda wouldn't want her to hang around longer than necessary, would she? Andy leaned forward to pet Tay's head for a minute before he went to the end of his leash sniffing out some unknown scent. "What now?"

"I'm not sure what you're asking, Andrea." Miranda pulled her coat a bit tighter around her. The thought of what came next was doing something to her that no employee of Runway would believe possible. It was breaking her heart. Andrea had her car back and would soon exit her life, again. Miranda nearly cried at the thought. Even back, when Andrea had been her assistant, Miranda had come to rely on the young woman for a lot of things that she didn't usually ask assistants to do. She had given Andrea more access to her children and her personal life than she had ever given anyone, assistant or not. Miranda knew that was why it had hurt so badly when Andrea left the first time, in Paris. She wasn't sure she could take that kind of pain a second time. Keeping her distance was the only thing Miranda thought would safeguard her heart against the hurt that she could feel was approaching.

If Andrea was still an employee at Runway this situation would not be a problem. Miranda would have assisted her with her car and that would have been the end of it thus avoiding any sort of lawsuit an employee could come up with. But, Miranda had continued the contact with Andrea and Andrea was not an employee anymore. Unfortunately, Miranda vocalized her thoughts softly, as she often did when she was alone; here on the bench, looking out at the water. "I suppose you won't sue."

"Sue?" Andy was stunned by that comment, "Is that what all this has been about?" She stood and looked down at her expressionless former boss. "You thought I might sue you?" Andy shook her head, "Unbelievable..." She ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it slightly to focus her thoughts, "Well, you're right... I won't sue you, so you're safe and there's no reason for me to stick around anymore, right?" Growing angrier at how stupid she'd been to think that Miranda might actually be someone she wanted to get to know better, could get to know better. Andy knelt down next to the puppy and ruffled the fur on his neck. "You be good, Tay... be a good boy." Standing, Andy studied Miranda for a long moment, marveling at how the woman suddenly seemed to be an extension of the stone bench, "Goodbye, Miranda. Have a pleasant weekend."

Miranda didn't, couldn't, move as Andrea walked away, again. It was several minutes later when Taymor jumped up on the bench and began to lick the tears away from Miranda's cheek before she snapped out of it enough to move. Wrapping her arms around the puppy, Miranda wet his neck with her tears. She knew it would feel like this and wondered how her heart could feel so heavy when there was such a huge hole in it. But there was nothing she could do about it, there were too many complications. The most important concern being, what the girls would think of her foolishness. She looked into Taymor's big brown sad eyes and sighed, "It would just be, impossible."

Miranda was accosted by her children as soon as she entered the house.

"What have you done?" Caroline's tone was borderline venomous.

"To what are you referring?" Miranda removed her gloves, putting them in her coat pocket, then removed the coat and opened the closet door to hang it up. The coat she had loaned Andrea earlier was there.

"Andy!" Cassidy shook with a mixture of fear and anger. "She's gone!"

The muscle at Miranda's jaw jumped for a moment before she spoke. "She indicated that she was going to go home..." Caroline's next demand shocked Miranda speechless.

"Get her back!"

Cassidy agreed. "You need to get her back, Mom." Cassidy guided Miranda into the living room and settled her in her favorite chair. Tay immediately went to his bed and began to gnaw on his chew toy. "Ro didn't mean for it to sound like she was ordering you..."

Caroline scoffed, "The hell I didn't."

The mother in her prompted the automatic reprimand, "Language!" Miranda shook her head, "Andrea is a grown woman. She is not a prisoner here, she is allowed to leave whenever she wants."

"No!" Caroline stomped her foot and crossed her arms across her chest. "You don't understand!"

"Then explain it to me." Miranda held up her hand and ordered, "Count to ten. I am listening."

Caroline nodded and took the time to slowly count to ten, then began to speak. "For a long time now, Cassidy and I have known that something is wrong with our family." She held up her hand to stop Miranda from replying to that, "We know you love us and we know that Dad loves us. For some people that arrangement works perfectly well. But," She glanced at her sister who urged her to continue, "Cass and I agree that even though we are, somewhat happy with things the way they are, something is missing in our lives. You know it too. You tried to fill in the missing bit with Stephen, but he wasn't right... didn't fit. He wasn't the missing piece." Caroline took a deep breath and informed her mother calmly, "We think Andy is the missing piece. She makes you happy, Mom. We see it every time she's around you. You smile easier, you joke around..." Caroline continued ruthlessly, "Mom, when was the last time you participated in a snowball fight, before last weekend?" At Miranda's silence, Caroline admitted, "I know I'm only thirteen and you probably don't believe me. But that's why you need to get her back."

"Why?" Miranda loved her children very much, but she wasn't sure she could comply with this request. She wasn't sure she could put herself through the pain that the probable consequences of spending more time with Andrea would bring. "Why do you believe Andrea is 'the missing piece' to our family?"

The girls exchanged looks and they both shifted into action, laying in the floor as they normally did when they played their video games. Caroline looked back at Miranda, "Now, just be in the moment," Caroline instructed, "And just see what's missing..."

Miranda agreed with Caroline, this lecture coming from a thirteen year old was just ridiculous. She did, however, appreciate the lull in the chastisement. Leaning back in her chair, Miranda relaxed slightly listening to the small sounds in the quiet room, the fire popping, the girls speaking quietly to each other in their special twin language, Taymor's tiny growls as he chewed on his rubber toy. Miranda had never believed in ghosts, but as she looked into the fire, just for a moment, Andrea's outline appeared in 'her' spot on the hearth. It took a moment after the vision faded before Miranda could speak. "How?"

Caroline and Cassidy scrambled to their feet and moved to stand in front of their mother. Caroline continued to speak for both of them. "You have to apologize."

Immediately outraged at that, Miranda scoffed, "For what?"

Cassidy rolled her eyes, "For whatever it was you did that made her leave."

"Cass," Caroline gave her sister a light shove, "Count to ten." She spoke to her mother again, "An apology would be a start..."

Miranda wasn't sure she liked the tone of where this was headed, "A start?"

Caroline nodded, "After you get her to accept your apology..." Caroline winced a little and kept going, "After she accepts, you need to spend more time with her."

There was that tone in Caroline's voice again and Miranda called the girl on it, "What are you saying?"

Caroline bit her lips together unwilling to elaborate. Cassidy wasn't so squeamish.

"You need to romance her." Cassidy grinned at her mother's astonished expression. "Send her flowers. Buy her dinner."

"Buy her coffee." Caroline nodded and suggested, "Take a sunset walk in the park."

"Write her a love letter," Cassidy grinned. "Do all the things the people do in the movies to win back their love's heart."

"Love?" Miranda stood from her seat, "Now you listen to me and listen carefully. I don't know where this wild notion you have stuck in your heads has come from, but there is no chance that Andrea would ever want to be romantically involved with me."

"Why not?" Caroline listed off the qualities she thought Miranda had going for her, "You're smart, beautiful, powerful and rich... Why wouldn't she want to be involved with you?"

"I'm also twice her age." Miranda sat back down and sighed, "There is just no chance."

"She likes you." Caroline nodded at her mother's expression. "She wouldn't smile at you the way she does if she didn't. She smiled a lot when she was here, especially when she was interacting with you."

Cassidy narrowed her eyes, "Mom... why didn't you say it was because you're a woman?"

Miranda remained silent.

"Mom," Caroline knelt next to Miranda's chair, "We love you and want you to be happy." She paused for that to sink in then pressed her point, "Andy makes you happy. We've seen it and we love that, but if she is going to be part of our family, you have to win her heart."

"If you don't, if you just become friends with her then she might be around for a while," Cassidy knelt next to her sister and explained, "Until someone else captures her heart, and she goes off to be with them. Then our family will be missing a piece again." She repeated her sister's assertion. "You have to win her heart. You have to make her want to stay." Miranda's continued silence brought back the previous issue. "Just because you're both women doesn't mean you can't fall in love."

"I know, Bobbsey." Miranda reached down to pat Cassidy's cheek, "But she is so... young."

Caroline was a little angry at the defeatist attitude and knew where it came from. Standing to tower over her seated mother, Caroline growled, "This is Stephen's fault."

"What?" Miranda shook her head, "Why would you..."

"This is how you were with him." Caroline ranted and paced in front of the fire, "When you fought, when he was drunk out of his mind and raging about not wanting to be "Mr. Priestly", you would bow to him... you would tilt your head, make yourself smaller... bend to him... placate him..." She stopped and pointed an accusing finger at Miranda, "... you gave in to him. Just like you're giving up now."

Miranda swallowed hard, "I didn't know you saw..."

"Well, we did..." Caroline spat, "And I hated it."

Cassidy stopped hiding from her sister's outburst and also stood, offering some advice of her own. "You can't back down, Mom. We will have a happy life even if Andy isn't here with us, but, if she is with us... if you can make this happen, for you, for us..." The girl took a deep breath and proclaimed, "Our lives will be exponentially better."

Miranda thought the girls' suggestion was so out of the blue, it would take some time to wrap her mind around it. It did occur to her that she was fighting rather hard against doing something that she really, if she was honest with herself, wanted to do.

It was the hurt that was stopping her, there was such a huge potential for being hurt. It was one thing to say 'I hope I don't get hurt' when entering into a romantic relationship. This though was different, Miranda knew what it felt like when Andrea left her, and knew if she tried this, and failed, the thought made her shudder slightly. I might not survive it. She cleared her throat and spoke quietly, "I need to think about this for a while."

"Right." Cassidy tugged at her sister's sleeve, "C'mon, Ro... let's introduce Tay to the west wing of the house."

Caroline pulled her sleeve from her sister's hand and while Cassidy coaxed Tay from his comfy spot, Caroline spoke to Miranda again, quietly, calmly, "The pros outweigh the cons, Mom." Eerily similar gazes met and locked as Caroline said her final piece. "Just do it."

Miranda watched her teenaged girls leave the room and tried to reconcile the whirling thoughts in her head with the swirling emotions in her heart. Staring into the fire, Miranda began to go over all the possibilities in her head and projecting their possible outcomes. Many made her wince at the potential pain, those were the cons. Some made her shiver, those were the pros. The vision of Andrea sitting by the fire distracted her and Miranda decided this was not the place to contemplate the dilemma.

She walked slowly to her room, passing the open door of the room Andrea had used while she was here. A glance inside turned her footsteps. Before she knew it, Miranda was standing at the foot of the bed looking down at a pair of, neatly folded, white silk pajamas. She touched the fabric. It was cold against her fingertips. No, she thought, they're only thirteen... they don't understand what they're asking...

There was the very real potential for what she knew would be nearly unbearable pain if she failed. Not trying, was the only way to protect herself from that possibility. As she walked on to the master bedroom her hand idly trailed against the hardwood panels that lined the hall. Her grandfather had built his house, brick by brick, board by board, nail by nail. There had been setbacks, and pain, but he didn't stop trying, didn't quit. She closed her bedroom door behind her and lay back on her bed on top of the covers. Looking at the ceiling, that her grandfather had painted, her father had repainted, and she herself had painted again, Miranda whispered to the memory of her long dead grandfather, "There is a way, isn't there Papa? I don't have to not try. I don't have to quit in order to protect my heart." She understood what the house represented and nodded to herself, "I just can't fail."

Decision made, Miranda knew this was not the place she needed to be and stood. There were things to do and not a lot of time to do them.