Part 2

Chapter 12

ONE YEAR LATER:

"How are you feeling," Anna asked her patient.

"The headaches still happen but not as often now," the woman responded.

"Well given where all of this started, I'd say you've made excellent progress," Anna commented.

"How's the leg doing."

"Don't you worry Doc, I will be more than able to walk down the aisle next week."

The doctor's blush made Andy laugh. Her soon to be stepmother was not use to having this type of relationship with a patient. As a matter of fact, this would be the last time that Dr. Stern would be able to act as her Doctor. Anna had tried to back out once she and Ellen had become engaged but, Miranda quickly put a stop to that. For some a year seemed quick for a couple to meet, fall in love, and get married but, both Anna and Ellen had been certain that this was where things were going from the very beginning.

"I was not worried that you would be able to escort your mother down the aisle," Anna finally said.

"Good because I am looking forward to it, I don't know how you talked Miranda into being your best man," Andy commented genuinely curious.

Anna laughed at that. The fact that she had been Andy's doctor during a time that Miranda feared she would lose her wife meant the world to Miranda. She made that clear not just by helping to speed up her move to New York, but by providing a place for her and Ellen to live.

The message was clear, they were now her family and they always would be.

"All I had to do was ask," Anna responded with a smirk.

"It did not hurt that I decided that we would both be wearing tuxedos."

Andy felt a slight shiver run down her spine as she remembered seeing Miranda in the tux that Ralph Lauren designed for her himself. Miranda was, of course, gorgeous but, Andy had not expected how sexy the woman would look wearing menswear. Andy shuttered when she thought of what they had done to one another that night.

"You liked the way she looked, huh" Anna commented. Andy did not blush because she loved the hell out of her wife and was not in any way embarrassed about their rather active sex life.

"I did, and since my mother and I are a lot alike I suspect that you will have a very satisfying wedding night."

That statement did make Anna blush a lovely shade of red. Andy laughed at the doctor's sudden discomfort. If only she knew how much Andy knew about their love life. She and her mother had always been close and never had problems talking about any topic including sex. Now that they were both adults in relationships with women, they talked in great detail about their relationships. In fact, now that the twins were seventeen she was beginning to have that type of relationship with them as well. She forced herself back into the present moment to see the woman in front of her was still that lovely shade of red.

"I am glad you and my mother found each other,"

"I know that she is as happy as I can ever remember."

Anna was touched by Andy's words. The two of them got along well despite her natural instinct to keep an emotional distance between herself and her patients. In truth, she'd felt a kinship with both Miranda and Andy that was completely independent of her relationship with Ellen.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as an arm snaked around her midsection. She did not react as she knew only one person had permission to get so close.

This was confirmed as a familiar voice whispered in her ear, "In one week I am going to be Mrs. Ellen Stern."

Anna made it clear that Ellen did not have to take her last name but she was secretly pleased that she had chosen to. It spoke to the difference in their ages that Meredith had never considered taking her name and Ellen had never considered not taking it. The doctor soon found herself sandwiched between her soon to be wife and Madeline Elise Priestly.

The precocious kid had taken to both she and Ellen from the moment they met. She had nearly choked on her coffee when Madi had asked if she could call her Nana Anna. At the time she had stared daggers at Madi's moms who were both stifling laughter thinking that they had put her up to this. Later she figured out that this was just how Madi was. She was bright and intuitive and said what was on her mind without any filter whatsoever.

"We are going to get our dresses for the wedding," Madi said.

Anna was once again impressed at how precise the girl spoke. It was clear that both her "mommy" and her "mom" used proper English around their daughter at all times.

"Well I had better finish up with your mommy so you all can get going," Ann said.

"Plus I need to meet your mom for my tuxedo fitting."

"Mom said that she asked Ralph to redesign the first one so that it would fit all of your curves," Madi proclaimed.

Anna could feel rather than hear Ellen stifling her laughs against her back. She knew there was no point in fighting any of this. This was her family now and she would not change a thing.

She quickly finished up with Andy and walked out to the waiting room to see two redheads and brunette girl sitting in between. She reflected that it spoke well of Miranda and Andy that their girls had so readily taken Allie under their protection. It made her sad that Allie's mom was not currently able to care for her daughter. Elise was currently in a residential treatment facility not far from the city. In the meantime, the girl was living with the Priestley's but she also spent a lot of time with Her and Ellen as well.

After kissing her soon to be wife goodbye she was about to head out. She asked Cassidy if she was coming along. Cassidy had decided that she wanted to stand up for Anna alongside Miranda. It touched Anna how completely included she had been made to feel by all of the Priestly women.

"Yeah sure," she responded then gave her little sister and Allie hugs and a simple fist bump with her twin. Although the two girls appeared on the surface to be identical Anna had quickly learned that their personalities were separate and distinct. Her acknowledgment of their innate differences had been appreciated by both girls and made their relationship easy to manage. It had been a little more difficult for the girls and Ellen at first. They knew that Andy loved her mom but they also knew how much Ellen's mistakes had hurt their younger mother.

The girls were fiercely protective of both mothers. She had asked Andy once how she had gotten so close to the girls. Andy told her the story of how she had unexpectedly become pretty good friends with Miranda's ex and the girl's father Jeffery.

"We just hit it off right away," Andy had said.

"Miranda acted as if it bothered her but she liked the fact that I would interact with him so she wouldn't have to."

When Jeffery had gotten sick and then died soon after the girls could tell how genuinely sad Andy was about the loss of her friend. Miranda was sad too but her sadness was for her girls.

"I was sad for them too but I also just missed Jeffery."

"We really bonded during that time and have had our own relationship that is separate and unique from their relationship with Miranda ever since."

Anna, who had no previous experience with children, used this advice and had taken the time to forge separate relationships with all three of Ellen's granddaughters and her niece as well. She had been surprised to find out she was actually pretty good at this. So good that she was starting to rethink her stance on having children. She cringed a little internally because she was not sure how that conversation with Ellen would go.