"So, you're a doctor?" Nigel asked giving the tall balding man a subtle once over. Nice Armani suit, but that tie was just… Nigel shuddered. Well, they could do something about that later.
"Yes, I am," the doctor said pleasantly as he examined the collection of cameras spread out on a table in the studio.
"Not many doctors make house calls these days. You must be very dedicated," Nigel observed.
"Nice of you to notice," the doctor preened. "I wish my patients were as observant. It would make my job a great deal easier."
"I've always been impressed with doctors, the long years of study, the level of commitment. It takes a very special person," Nigel said moving closer. "Your wife must be very proud of you."
"Oh, I don't have a wife," the doctor denied. "I have my music and my studies. They're…sufficient."
"Really?" Nigel purred. "You're a musician?"
"A singer, actually. An operatic tenor," the doctor bragged.
"I love opera. There's a wonderful café I know that features a series of singers. Most are young hopefuls, but they often have lovely voices. Perhaps you'd be interested in hearing them," Nigel said smiling.
The doctor's eyes widened. "Oh, well, I don't know. I might be needed here," the doctor hedged.
"Nonsense, Doctor," Kathryn said as she walked up, followed by Seven, Andy, Cassidy, and Miranda. "Seven and I are having dinner with Miranda tonight. We can call you if we need you. B'Elanna's going to finish up here, and I believe we'll probably be late getting back. I know how much you love the opera. Go and have a good time."
"No, really, I…" the doctor started.
"Wonderful! It's settled then," Nigel cut in and, grabbing the doctor by the arm, began to drag him toward the door. "See you all tomorrow." He pulled the doctor through the door and was gone.
"You do realize that Nigel is gay," Miranda commented.
"Yes, I do," Janeway said with an evil smirk.
"Kathryn, why did you insist the doctor spend the evening with Nigel Kipling when he clearly did not wish to?" Seven questioned.
"Darling, the doctor has shown entirely too much interest in you over the years. I thought it was time he broadened his outlook. I'm sure Nigel will prove quite creative in assisting him to do so," Janeway chuckled.
"Indeed," Seven commented with a concerned look. "And if the doctor does not choose to be…broadened?"
"Nigel can be quite persuasive, I assure you," Miranda informed her. "Emily, call my home and inform the cook there will be three more for dinner. Then you and Serena may go. We will see you both here tomorrow. That's all." Miranda waved them away.
Janeway stifled a laugh as Emily dragged Serena through the door much as Nigel had the doctor, though Serena was being much more cooperative. Andy wasn't as successful, giggling softly at the display.
"My car and driver are waiting outside. It will be a bit of a tight fit, but I believe we can manage it." Miranda said, taking Cassidy's hand in one of hers and Andy's in the other, and heading for the doorway. "Kathryn, Seven, come along."
Dinner was a pleasant affair. After Janeway got over her surprise at exactly how identical the twins actually were, she began to perceive slight differences in their appearance, but more importantly, she realized that they were two entirely separate people with their own views and opinions. Cassidy was the more outspoken of the two, reminding Janeway even more of her sister, while Caroline seemed to be the more reserved, not unlike Janeway herself. The more time she spent with them the less sure she was which one was her direct ancestor, and without knowing that she was going to have a hard time figuring out how to correct the deviation in the timeline.
After they finished eating, the twins excused themselves upstairs to play something called a Wii and Miranda invited Janeway and Seven into the den for an after dinner aperitif and coffee. As Miranda was pouring out measures of brandy for all but Seven, who had declined the offer and requested tea instead, Janeway continued to muse on their predicament. The Temporal Prime Directive did not allow for her to tell Miranda the truth about who she was or why she was there. Yet, it was becoming apparent that she really didn't have a great deal of choice other than to do just that.
"The Temporal Prime Directive prohibits doing what you are thinking, Kathryn," Seven spoke in her ear.
Janeway sighed. As if she had to be reminded of that. I hate time travel. "I'm aware of that, Seven, but I see little other recourse. Miranda would know better than anyone if one of her girls is acting differently, and there's no way she's going to let either of us interrogate one of them without knowing exactly what is going on."
"You must decide quickly," Seven advised nodding toward Miranda, who was advancing on them with two goblets of dark liquid in her hands.
"Kathryn, I believe it's now time for you to explain what exactly is going on with your group," Miranda stated, handing over one of the goblets to Janeway and offering the other to Andy. She returned to the bar and retrieved her own glass, taking a small sip before fixing Janeway with a steely glare.
"Would it be possible for us to speak in private?" Janeway asked. She needed to explain things to Miranda, but Andy was another matter.
Miranda took another small drink of her brandy, appearing to weigh the idea, but giving a decisive nod. "Very well. We can adjourn to my study. Andréa, you are aware of my girls' bedtime. Please see to it that they do not miss it. I will look in on them when we are finished if they're already in bed," Miranda said, giving Andy a gentle smile. She squeezed Andy's hand in passing and led Janeway upstairs.
Andy wasn't thrilled with Miranda being alone with Kathryn without knowing what was going on. She had instinctively trusted the woman from the moment they met, but in truth, none of them knew very much about the photographer. She also wasn't all that happy about being left to entertain Seven. She still held a small resentment for the tall blonde who had usurped her place as Miranda's assistant. Were it not for Seven, Andy might not have been sent away in the first place, though Andy couldn't help thinking that she and Miranda might never have spoken of their feelings if they were still in daily contact. Would Miranda have said something that much sooner if I had walked away in Paris? Knowing there was no point in second guessing the past, Andy rose to accept the tray from the cook that held Seven's tea. She rested the tray on the coffee table and, once seated, poured out a cup for Seven. "Milk, sugar, lemon?" she asked, playing the proper hostess.
"Sugar, one lump," Seven replied and accepted the cup once it was prepared. After a tentative sip, she nodded. "Perfectly prepared."
Andy couldn't help smiling. "Miranda wouldn't have it any other way."
"Miranda Priestly is extremely efficient," Seven agreed. "As is Kathryn, though perhaps more emotionally overt in her methods."
"Miranda can be very emotional with those she trusts. There just aren't a lot of people that she allows that close," Andy said, feeling she had to defend the woman she loved.
Seven sat neatly on the couch near Andy, knees together and back straight. The contrast between the two was startling as Andy turned to the side, resting one knee up on the cushion and leaning against the back of the couch.
"Kathryn can be very similar. I believe she thinks that allowing her emotions to show would inhibit her ability to lead. Her logic is faulty, though understandable," Seven observed.
"Oh, that definitely sounds like Miranda. No one at Runway can see her as human. She takes great pains to reinforce her Dragon Lady image whenever possible," Andy laughed and gave an affectionate shake of her head at some of the things Miranda had done to instill fear in her employees.
"I assume she has proven quite difficult to work with," Seven mused.
"You have no idea," Andy said chuckling. "She regularly demands I do the impossible. Somehow I always manage to pull it off, though I'm never really sure how." She looked down into her goblet for a moment before taking a drink. "I just don't want to disappoint her, I guess. She gets enough of that from other people."
"The fact that you are able to perform these duties prohibits their being thought of as impossible," Seven stated logically. "Perhaps she seeks to challenge you. Kathryn is quite fond of challenging me. I believe it amuses her to observe me while I attempt to assimilate the knowledge she takes for granted." Seven frowned for a moment. "Though she is always available to assist me when I have questions of a philosophical nature."
Remembering the "Cerulean Lecture" as it had become known at Runway, Andy grinned. "Yeah, Miranda explains things to me a lot."
"Cassidy Priestly expressed surprise that her mother does so. This is unusual behavior for her?"Seven asked.
"How did you-," Andy started and then waved the question away. This was Seven she was talking to, and anyone who could impress Miranda that much with her constant efficiency must have a healthy dose of mind-reader in her genetic makeup. "Miranda never explains anything, and no one dares ask. Well, except the twins, of course. They're the exception to all the rules the rest of us live by."
"And now, it would seem, so are you," Seven observed.
"Yeah, I guess I am," Andy agreed with a dreamy smile. Miranda loves me. How cool is that?
"I have observed you with Miranda Priestly since I came to Runway. I did not believe at first that you liked her. Your new relationship status will come as a surprise to the rest of your collective as well."
Andy laughed. "Seven, you have a unique way of putting things. If you weren't so efficien,t you'd drive Miranda crazy."
"She has expressed as much to me," Seven stated by way of agreement.
"You're right though," Andy continued. "Things haven't been good between me and Miranda for a while, though it was mostly me with the problem. I thought of leaving so many times but then kept changing my mind. Getting my full year in seemed to become more and more important, and I just kept getting angrier at Miranda the longer I stayed." Combing her fingers through the hair on the side of her head, Andy then rested her head on her knuckles, elbow propped on the back of the couch and pulled her other knee up to rest on the leg already curled before her. "I cared about her, and it was so hard to be around her feeling the way I did and thinking she'd never feel the same, wasn't capable of it. It was easier to build walls between us and use anger to keep them there."
"When Kathryn and I became angry with each other, the effect was directly the opposite. We seemed to draw closer during those discussions. Her body is often centimeters from my own when we have a strong disagreement."
"Strong emotions reflecting other strong emotions," Andy mused with a grin. "You should have just kissed her, would have saved a lot of time."
"As you kissed Miranda Priestly?" Seven asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Umm…yeah, point taken," Andy said blushing. "I guess the first move did have to come from them."
"You said that you often wished to leave Runway. Why did you not do so?"
"Every time I decided to walk away, something stopped me," Andy began and then stopped. She ran her fingers through her hair again, curling a lock around and around as she thought. "You know, that's not exactly right. Every time I made up my mind to leave, I'd run into this guy, and he'd say something that got me thinking. Anyway, I'd change my mind and be more determined than ever to stay for the full year. They say a year with Miranda and you can work anywhere. I wanted that." She smiled ruefully. "Or maybe I just wanted any excuse I could find to stay near her. I don't know. Being close to her, even as angry as I was, was better than not seeing her at all."
Seven straightened even more if that was possible an expression of intense concentration on her face. "Someone interfered with your leaving Runway?" she asked.
"Well, not interfered really. He'd just make a comment that would get me to thinking that I should stick it out." Andy shrugged.
"What did this man look like?" Seven asked.
"Average, I guess. Middle-aged, about fifty, I'd say," Andy blushed as she realized what she'd said. Miranda was also fifty. If I can look like that at her age, bring it on!
"Six, you must concentrate," Seven directed with a note of exasperation in her tone.
"What's so important about him?" Andy asked, leaning her head to the side.
"I do not know that anything is important about this individual. However, it would appear from your statements that you did not know him prior to your interactions with him recently. I find it interesting that a stranger could have such a strong impact on your actions."
Andy frowned, twirling a strand of hair around her fingers rapidly. "It was just that the stuff he said got me to thinking, stuff about giving up and being beaten by Miranda. It just fed into what I was already feeling."
"When did you first meet this individual?"
"In Paris, after…well, something happened at one of the luncheons, and I was going to walk away from Miranda and Runway. I'd gotten as far as a fountain in the square nearby. Miranda was calling me, and I was about to throw the phone in the fountain when he said something about not letting it fall in. I just instinctively held on to it. We talked for a minute, and then Miranda called again. That time I answered and made some excuse about needing a breath of fresh air. She just told me to get back there and do my job, which kinda surprised me, but that's what I did, though I made up my mind that's all I'd do. I wouldn't care about her anymore. Easier said than done," Andy finished ruefully.
"This man, what did he say that made you change your mind?" Seven pushed.
"Something about being forewarned is forearmed. I—what happened that day, it made me think Miranda couldn't be trusted. That eventually she'd do the same thing to me. I thought I needed to get out before she could, or worse, I became so much like her that I'd do the same to someone," Andy finished. Dropping her head back, she closed her eyes and remembered the feelings she'd had that day. "It would have killed me if she'd done what she did to N – the same thing to me."
"And it would have been equally as devastating for me, had I been forced to do so, Andréa," Miranda said, clearly having caught Andy's last comment as she came back into the room followed by Janeway. "Were I now faced with a choice of losing Runway or you…I would miss the magazine, but I'm sure I could find another use for my talents that is just as satisfactory."
Andy stared at her. Miranda would give up Runway for her?
"Breathe, Andréa," Miranda advised with a smirk. "You cannot think I would allow anything to take you from me, now that I finally have you."
"Oh, wow, Miranda. I don't even know what to say," Andy gasped.
"Then say nothing, Darling. I spoke with the girls before we came down, and they're getting ready for bed now. Kathryn and Seven will be remaining with us tonight. Could you please show them to the guest room on the third floor, last room on the right? I'll tuck the girls in and join you afterward," Miranda directed.
"Join me?" Andy asked, frowning. "Where?"
"In our room, Andréa. Where else would you sleep tonight?"
"Our room," Andy parroted, surprised both that Miranda would speak of a room as theirs and that Miranda seemed to think she knew which one it was.
"Yes, Darling. Our bedroom. First door on the left on that same floor," Miranda explained as if Andy should be aware. "I'll join you momentarily." She turned and left the room without glancing back.
"We" have a bedroom. Andy felt her heart race at the thought, though she realized she should have expected it. Miranda always moved quickly once she'd made up her mind about something. The woman was nothing if not decisive. Andy's eyes widened as she realized that their having a bedroom also meant they had a bed. One in which Andy was evidently expected to sleep with Miranda. Breathe, Andy, breathe! She sucked a loud breath into her lungs and blushed as Janeway chuckled. Two could so play at that game, Andy thought before putting on her most innocent smile. "Just follow me, Kathryn. I'll show you and Seven to your bedroom for the night." Andy bit her lip to keep from laughing as Janeway's eyes grew enormous and she sucked in her own loud breath. Payback is a glorious thing, Andy chuckled to herself.