Miranda walked out of the ensuite, fastening the back of her earring as she went. Andréa was sitting in bed, sheets pooling around her waist, checking her phone. Miranda came to a stop. Andréa may have dreamt of working side by side in the den, but Miranda could admit to herself that this was her dream.

"I'm just finishing up…" Andréa trailed off… "is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing, darling." Miranda started walking towards the bed. "I just realized that I love you, and maybe it's too soon, but I'm tired of second-guessing the right moment." She reached and slid her hand across Andréa's cheek, lightly cupping her chin before leaning in to peck her lips.

Andréa pulled back, "I love you too." She reached for Miranda, determined to pull her back to bed.

"No, no, darling. I must go to work, and if I recall correctly, you also have a meeting in two hours, and while this is a lovely look," she motioned to Andréa's topless figure, "and one I admit to enjoying very much, I don't particularly wish to share it with New York." Miranda stepped towards the door. "I have to go, darling, and I won't be back until 9 this evening. I am…"

Andréa waved her off. "Go. I know who you are. I know you have obligations. I'm meeting with Emily tonight, and I dare say I'll be back near the same time, if not a little later. Are you sure us staying here isn't a problem?"

"Darling, I wouldn't have invited you if it were, and waking up with you is something I wish to continue for as long as I am able. Have a good day, dear. Agnes is downstairs."

"I'll see you tonight then, Miranda." Andréa watched as Miranda left the room. She then rose and also got ready to meet the day. First, she thought as she finished fastening her watch, was to grab a cup of coffee and then wake Bea to start her day. Thankfully Brigitte had planned a full day to keep her occupied while Andréa went to and from meetings. They'd meet at The American Museum of Natural History around 3, after Bea's nap, and then spend two or three hours looking at the stuffed animals before grabbing dinner. She'd leave the where to for dinner to Brigitte. If everything ran smoothly, she should be able to make her meetings, spend the afternoon with Bea and still make it to the restaurant to meet Emily.

The day had not gone smoothly. First and Andréa could only blame herself for forgetting how traffic is in Manhattan. She ended up stuck on 38th on her way to the Upper West Side, which delayed her for half an hour and then when she finally arrived, she was recognized by a fellow Genovian who asked for a photograph and then shouted, "long live the Queen," bringing tourists, who did not know who she was but still tried to demanded autographs and pictures, and sent her security team into a frenzy. Thankfully the museum sent out staff to help clear the way into the museum, only for them to be ambushed outside the museum by paparazzi when they tried to leave. Dinner out was not possible and deemed unsafe as long as Beatrice was there, so instead, pizza was delivered to the house, much to the twins' delight. As Andréa looked at the empty pizza boxes, she thought Miranda is going to kill me. Luckily the rest of the evening was following the predetermined schedule. Bea was in the bath, and the girls had decided to skip homework, Cassidy seemingly happier about that than Caroline. Andréa remembered from her assistant days making a solar system for Cassidy while Caroline did her own homework. From the sounds of things, they both did their own homework now, but Cassidy was a little less enthusiastic about it. Miranda, or rather Jolene or the other Emily, had managed to get the unreleased film Maleficent and all three girls had decided to watch it together.

Andréa trusted Brigitte would stop the movie if it became too scary for Bea, but Bea was over the moon to hang out with the "big girls". Agnes handled popcorn and drinks. With Bea out of the tub and the movie cued up, Andréa went in to say good night before heading out. The lights were dimmed, and pillows and blankets had been piled into heaps, making a mini fort. Andréa kneeled and kissed Bea before wishing everyone a good night and warning them to behave for Ms. Agnes and Brigitte. She paused on her way out, the flickering of light from the lamps and tv casting the girls' profile in shadow and felt her heart squeeze. This is what I want more of, a bigger family, this family. Visiting with Emily was a pleasure, but she hated that her life so often took her from her daughter, and now with Miranda's daughters in the picture, it seemed even harder to leave. With a swallow, she turned away.

It didn't take long before she found Emily seated at the restaurant. It wasn't fancy, but it had two exits and was small enough to be easily secured by her security team. Andréa figured that it would be a high enough class for Emily but not so high class that she'd feel like Andréa was making a statement. She slid into the chair.

"Hi Em."

"Hi Em?"

"Well, yes. What am I supposed to say here?" Andréa moved her water glass closer as a waiter appeared with menus, and another poured the water and placed the wine list.

"I don't know. I'm still angry with you And…André…what am I supposed to call you now? I'm not calling you your majesty." Emily took a sip of her water.

"Andy is fine. Really Em I am sorry. I couldn't tell you at first. You remember how long it took before you stopped hating me."

"I never stopped hating you, you cow." Emily smiled as she took another sip of water. "I'm ordering the most expensive thing on the menu, you're paying, and I want to hear exactly what happened."

"Fine," Andréa picked up the menu, smiling slightly, "but I want to hear about you too."

"Deal."

They both took a moment to look over the menu before Andréa made eye contact with the waiter, who rushed over to take their order. With orders given, and wine poured, Emily leaned back. "So?"

"So…" Andréa paused, thinking about how to start. Funnily whenever she imagined meeting Emily again, this part never seemed as hard as she was now finding it. "I grew up with a single mom. I told you that."

"Right, braces, glasses, I remember." Emily stared at Andréa while nodding.

"Yeah, so I left out that when I was 16, my absentee father died. I mean, I saw him once or twice over sixteen years. Mostly it was gifts, and he paid for my schooling. I never really put it together that my single artist mom could afford a whole building in San Francisco and pay for private school. It just was the way it was. So anyway, he died, and my grandmother, who I had never met, showed up and told me, Hey, you're a princess." Andréa twisted the napkin in her lap, hidden under the table cloth.

"Please tell me she didn't say hey."

Andréa smiled and let out a small chuckle, some of the tension flowing out with the release of breath "no, I don't think she's ever said hey, but she once told the Prime Minster to shut up."

"You're making that up."

"Hand to God, she did."

"We'll come back to that. So you won the genetic lottery, and you're a princess."

"Right. I didn't think it was all that great, but I saw that I could make a difference over time, so yes, I was a princess." Andréa didn't think she needed nor did she want to delve into those painful years. A quick joke or anecdote was all she liked to share about those confusing and lonely moments of her life.

"I don't understand how that leads to you lying to everyone for years."

"It wasn't everyone."

Emily just raised her eyebrow in question.

"Lily knew."

"Lily? That girl that treated you like crap."

"Hey, you treated me like crap. But yes, Lily knew. We went to high school together, and I dated her brother Micheal."

"Fine, Lily knew."

"Right. So I went to university, and I wanted more than an inherited title and a life of servitude, so I convinced my grandmother to let me work a bit and try to be my own person before I had to pledge myself to my people."

"And that worked?" Again Emily lifted her eyebrow, expressing her disbelief.

"I was very convincing."

"And René? Is he really your cousin?"

"Of course he is. Why would I lie about that."

"I don't know; you lied about your name, that you came from Ohio, even that your father was dead."

The waiter appeared with their meals, forcing both women to take a break. They both took a minute to eat and collect their thoughts.

"Em. I told you why I lied. I just wanted to be more than I was. I know you understand the feeling."

"Of course I do. You know about my family, and I think that's why I'm so hurt. You should have been able to tell me. I told you things I never shared with anyone."

"I know. You're right. I should have. I wanted to, but by then, I didn't know how and then I had to go home. I always meant to reach out, but the next thing I knew, I was fighting for the title I hadn't wanted, getting married to Micheal…".

"Wait," Emily's lip curled in disgust, "you married Lily's brother?"

"No. Oh, yeah, no, I, my ex-husband's name was also Micheal." Andréa blushed as she stumbled over her words.

"Okay, continue," Emily twirled her fork before continuing to eat.

"So I was married and then pregnant. I nearly died, and then René decided he'd open a fashion house in Paris of all places, dragging me back to your sphere." Andréa took a bite of her fish, delicious but because of all the talking, now cold. She didn't want to meet Emily's eyes. She still felt incredibly guilty; she had felt guilty for a long time.

"You almost died?" Emily's voice cracked. "I…I wouldn't have ever known Andy."

"I know Em. I am so sorry. I really am."

"You can't…I can't…" Emily took a moment and wiped the corner of her eyes, catching the tears before they fell. Drawing in a ragged breath, "Never again, okay? You don't disappear and almost die again, okay?"

Andréa laid her hand over Emily's, "I promise not to disappear again, Em." They sat quietly for a moment, sipping their wine.

"So tell me about Serena. Is she as flexible as you used to imagine after two glasses of wine?"

Emily started choking as she inhaled her wine. She could feel her neck begin to burn. She waved the waiter over. "We're going to need another bottle, I think."

Andréa sat back in her chair and laughed, happy that the tension between them had finally dissipated.

An hour later, Andréa was ushered into the townhouse by Lars. Good thing he had a key because Andréa had never even given it a thought. I'm getting too spoiled, she thought, swaying slightly in her heels. "I hate heels. I'm going to take them off and…" Andréa's whispered declaration trailed off as she saw a bemused Miranda watching her from the doorway to the den.

"I didn't expect to see you like this," she said, a grin concealed in the corner of her lips.

"Emily is mean and kept ordering wine."

"Oh," Miranda's smile burst wide open, "She's mean, is she? Did she make you drink it?"

"Yes, yes, she did. She said I was a bad friend for not finishing it."

"Darling," Miranda chuckled as she grabbed Andréa's elbow and guided her towards the master suite, "let's get you into bed." With some prodding and pulling, Andréa was dressed in sleeping attire, face scrubbed, and teeth brushed. If she hadn't found her so charming, she might have been a little put out that on one of the few nights they had together, Andréa showed up drunk, but she knew how worried she was about Emily, and it sounds, if one could trust Andréa's drunken ramblings, that it's all water under the bridge now. Miranda tucked her in and, after a few moments, joined her in sleep.

"Oh my God!" Andréa sat up in bed, suddenly waking Miranda. She opened a bleary eye. It was one am.

"Andréa, are you going to be sick?" Miranda asked around a yawn.

"What? No. I just remembered the girls' birthday."

Miranda opened both eyes and rubbed her fingers along the creases. "You just remember my daughters' have a birthday?"

"No, I mean, I just remembered that they need a physical gift."

"At one in the morning?" She yawned again, laying back on the pillow.

"Sorry, no, of course, this can wait until morning."

"Great, can you go back to sleep now?" Miranda asked, already curling into Andréa's warm body.

Andréa nodded and laid back down, pulling Miranda closer. She was already giving them two plane tickets to come and visit her whenever they liked, along with lessons on a sailboat while on vacation. As she started to drift, she thought of René. She'd ask him for two shirts from his collection, and she knew which ones she wanted. Andréa yawned and faded into sleep, her last thought about arranging delivery.