A/N: Golly. How are we all doing? It's kinda a wild ride, isn't it... I hope everything is going well for everyone and that we're all staying safe! I'm sorry it was a minute between drinks, as it were - this one was particularly stubborn to write and I'm not sure why, but we got there in the end.

You should all probably tip your hats to who maybe nudged me in the right direction earlier, while we were discussing something else. Maybe I ought to leave a cliffhanger here, hmm? :P

For disclaimer, see Chapter 1.

-0-

Andy had just finished watching the first new Star Trek episode when there was a pounding on her door. Horrified, she dumped her bowl of ice cream on the coffee table and ran to it, peering through the peephole.

"Caroline?"

The little girl slammed into her middle, wrapping her arms around her and sobbing into her stomach.

"Caro, what's wrong?"

Her heart was beating loudly enough in her ears that she didn't quite catch what the little girl was saying.

"Whoa," she said gently, trying to take charge of the situation. "Easy kid. Slow down. Wait, just a moment." She locked and bolted the door and sat on the closest bench by the closet and pulled Caroline onto her knee.

"Now, go slowly but answer me a question first. Are your mother and sister okay?"

"Yes," Caroline sobbed, wrapping her arms around Andy's neck. "But she hates me."

"Who hates you?"

"Mom."

"Why?"

"I," she took a big wobbly breath.

"Easy," Andy soothed, rubbing her back. "Go slow. What happened?"

"I hit Sadie."

"You did what?" Andy stared at her. "Caroline Priestly, you hit someone?"

"She was picking on Jordan. She called him a," she swallowed. "A," she shuddered. "An r-word. But he's not. He just gets the numbers and the letters all around the wrong way. That doesn't make him," Andy's eyebrow hiked. "That."

"Well," Andy sighed, considering how worried Miranda must be. "That's true but what happened at home."

"She got a phone call from the school. Then Sadie's mom. And," she sobbed. "She took my phone and my laptop and I'm grounded for a month. Jordan and I were going to go to Kinokuniya tomorrow!"

"Stop," Andy said gently, but firmly. "Stop. I already told you, I'm not going to argue or approve or disapprove of the way your Mom disciplines you."

"But you could talk -"

"No, I really couldn't," Andy said gently. "Because I agree with her."

"WHAT!"

Caroline stood and her little fists were tight as she glared at her. Andy bit back the tiny laugh at how much she looked like a tiny, angry version of Miranda.

"Before you go off at me, slow down and listen. First, I'm going to call your mother and tell her you're here and make sure everything is okay. Then, you and I are going to talk about how hitting someone, even the most insane of bitches, is never okay." It did exactly what it was supposed to and Caroline snorted, loudly, the tips of her ears going pink as she sniffed and wiped her tears. "Then we're going to get some rest and deal with it all in the morning. Okay?"

"FIne," Caroline said quietly.

"Alright. Go and get changed and ready for bed, you can stay here for the night and tomorrow we'll make a new plan."

Caroline's chin wobbled dangerously but she nodded and wrapped her arms around Andy's middle as she stood.

"It's alright," Andy soothed her gently. "I don't ever, ever want to hear about you striking another human being ever, but I understand it. What Sadie said was incredibly hurtful."

"You were right, you all were. She's a bi-"

"Ah ah," Andy chuckled. "Go and get ready for bed. I got you both new toothbrushes like you asked, they're in the bathroom. There's towels and stuff if you want to shower, but take your time while I call your MOm, okay?"

"Thanks, Andy," Caroline whispered.

"You're welcome, sweetheart. Off you go."

She waited until Caroline had closed the bathroom door and smiled as her phone screen lit up.

"Please tell me she is with you."

"She is."

"Cassidy, she's with Andréa, it's alright. Tell Cara she does not need to come." There was a pause. "Sorry," Miranda sighed.

"Must have been a rough night for you to apologise for that."

"Bite me, Andréa."

Andy snorted and pulled the phone away from her ear for a few moments as she heard the shower start.

"So she socked someone, hey," she asked gently.

"I have had three phone calls. One threatening to sue for the wasted years of orthodontic dentistry work."

"Oh hell," Andy chuckled. "So what's the plan?"

"She's suspended for a week. That's a blanket policy. She is required to write an apology to this whatever-her-name-is and send it with Cassidy, before she may return to school."

"That's a bummer."

"She struck another human being, Andréa!"

"Yeah, but did she tell you why?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line that made Andy smile.

"Stop smiling, it's obnoxious."

Andy laughed as she heard Miranda groan. She imagined her dropping down into her chair in the den.

"Tell me?"

"That bitch called her friend with dyslexia the r-word."

"Oh for the love of -" Miranda grumbled. "Where do these children get this sort of language? I would never have done that, I do not understand the -"

"It's a learned thing, I shouldn't wonder," Andy said, laying down on her bed with a sigh. It still made her smile even after two weeks.

"After speaking to her mother, I cannot say I am surprised. But Caroline! Andréa, I always thought it would be Cassidy, if I'm honest with you."

"Well, there's definitely time for Cass to get in on it -"

"Andréa!"

"Caro and I have been chatting about Jordan - that's the boy who is her friend with dyslexia - and about how she needed to decide what she wanted from a friendship. Whether she wanted to be doing things that didn't sit right with her, in order to be cool or -"

"Once again, I am indebted to you," Miranda whispered. "For being there for my children when I am not."

"You were there plenty, Miranda," Andy soothed. "I just don't think she told you the specifics. She told you about what happened in that Civics class, didn't she?"

"She did, you are correct. I hadn't put two and two together."

"I told you, I'm not taking your job, lady. Any of them."

Miranda snorted and they fell into a comfortable silence.

"I'm glad she has someone where she can go and feel safe. And where I won't worry about her."

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way," Andy smiled. "Why don't you put a movie on with Cassidy? Spend some time hanging out."

"I have the book and I -"

"It could wait," Andy whispered.

"Goodnight, Andréa," Miranda sighed, though Andy could hear the tiny smirk in her voice.

"'Night Boss," Andy grinned, hanging up and smiling at the ceiling for a while before remembering what had brought her in here in the first place.

Caroline was wrapped up in her new unicorn onesie that they'd both insisted they needed to have so they could leave it at Andy's. She had shrugged bemusedly and waved them in, shrugging to Miranda when they raced back out and hugged her. That had been two days after she moved in but today would be the first time one of them had stayed overnight.

"Alright kiddo?"

"Yah," Caroline whispered. "Just weird I s'pose."

"Come here," Andy sighed, nodding towards the sofa. "Seen any Picard yet?"

"No?" Caroline said, with a look on her face that made Andy chuckle. "What is it?"

"Oh Caro," Andy grinned. "Just you wait and see."

They watched two episodes before Caroline gave up being curled around herself in the armchair and came to lay on the sofa with Andy. Not that Andy minded at all. In fact, she pulled the devilishly soft throw that had just 'appeared' on the back one day over the two of them and wrapped her arms around Caroline, seeing the exhaustion pulling at the corners of her eyes like it did her mother's.

Before she felt her own eyes closing, she sent a selfie of them together on the sofa and beamed when she got the corresponding one back. Sighing into Caroline's hair, she let her head drop down onto the arm and closed her eyes.

-0-

She was just stepping out of the shower when there was a knock at the door. Rolling her eyes, she pulled on her robe, wrapped a towel around her hair and opened it, finding Cara standing there with a wry smile.

"Good morning?"

"Isn't it," Cara smiled awkwardly. "I've been sent over here to look after Caroline."

"Have you?" Andy grinned. "How fortuitous for me."

Andy waved her in.

"Don't suppose anyone thought to check with me, or anything like that?"

"I shall say nothing," Cara smiled.

"Which is probably why you are the single person in her employ that has lasted so long."

"It definitely has something to do with it," Cara chuckled. "I don't mean to impose -"

"Geez woman, come on. It's not like I don't know. Stay as long as you like, or as long as she likes. My house is yours, is theirs, I suppose," Andy shrugged. "As long as you don't mind if I -"

"No, go, she said she'd be another 20 minutes," Cara called. "Breakfast meeting or something."

"Uhuh, which obviously means I have 15."

Any didn't waste any more time, rushing through getting ready and groaning when she realised she wouldn't have time to finish drying her hair at this rate.

Another knock on the door had Caroline calling that she would answer. Andy stopped the dryer and peered out of her door to watch. Honestly, there were only so many people that knew where she lived. Nigel knew that she'd moved but she'd so far avoided having a housewarming party simply so she didn't have to answer any of his probing questions.

"Oh," Caroline said quietly, stepping back. "Hi."

"Good morning," Miranda said, looking at Caroline carefully. Cassidy slipped passed her and hugged Andy on the way to the kitchen, but Andy watched, smiling when Miranda glanced up at her. "I wish you hadn't run away from me last night," she said in that tone she reserved for the twins. "But, I understand why you did and I'm sorry that I did not listen to you."

"S'okay," she mumbled, sitting on the bench. "I know it's bad to hit."

"It is," Miranda sighed, sitting beside her carefully. "But it makes it a little less bad that you were sticking up for your friend. Which is why I have brought you these."

Andy downright grinned when Miranda pulled out Caroline's technology and handed it over. She watched as Caroline threw her arms around Miranda and Miranda caught her, even with a laptop and phone in her hands. Andy stepped forward and took them off her, winking as she put it on the shelves next to them and went back into to do her hair.

She argued with it for a while before she decided on a high ponytail and was just on her way to finding a band to put it in when Miranda knocked on her bathroom door.

"Do you mind?"

"Um -"

Miranda nodded for her to sit on the edge of the bath and started the dryer again, teasing out long waves that hung down over her back like a waterfall. Andy looked at her sideways, finding that little smirk she liked so see and laughed.

"Of course you know how to do that."

"I fail to see why you keep insisting that it is surprising that I know how to blow dry hair, Andréa. How pedestrian you must think me."

"Whatever," Andy rolled her eyes, touching up her makeup. "As if Miranda Priestly has ever been anything but fabulous in all that she does."

"Andréa, do be careful, you're drooling."

"Oi!"

"Come along, we're going to be late and then my whole day will be thrown off and then we shall all be late for dinner at your place tonight."

"Oh, will we now?"

"We will," Miranda smiled. "Cara has insisted we be here."

"Don't blame Cara!" Andy said, joining them in the kitchen to a perfectly toasted bagel with cream cheese. "Oh," she said with love. "Definitely don't blame Cara."

"Fine," Miranda teased. "But nevertheless, we shall, all of us, be back here for dinner by six. Then I shall take my wayward warrior home with me."

"Aw, how come I don't get to stay, do I have to punch someone too?"

"CASSIDY!"

Andy nearly spat her bagel across the room as they all dissolved into laughter before her phone pinged, signalling the cars. She sent a quick message to Roy to tell him to come to her place before picking up her bag.

"You are trouble," Andy whispered in her ear. "Maybe on the weekend, you can come stay, yeah?"

"Yeah," Cassidy smiled.

"Waiting on you, Boss."

"Do you see the level of abuse I must deal with on a daily basis?" Miranda quipped to her children as they grinned at her from Andy's breakfast bar. "Be good, my darlings. Cassidy, enjoy your day at school. Caroline, make sure you do what is required of you. Be good for Cara please."

"Yes, Mom," they said in stereo.

"No rearranging my DVD cabinet."

"Yes, Andy."

Andy rolled her eyes and opened the door for Miranda who swept out of there with a small smirk and her sunglasses in place. Andy still had no clue what she had done to deserve this, but it was something to cherish and she was loving every moment.