A/N: I have made a giant stereotype of bad orphanages. I'm sure that there are good ones. As it happens, like I mentioned about being adopted, I've likewise never spent time in an orphanage - so please do not take what I say to be anything other than a fictional representation of something I needed to create in order to further my story.
As always, thank you to my beta for being so awesome :D
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Miranda and Andréa were driven as far as the Elias Clark building by Roy where the Ice Queen dropped off The Book, leaving instructions with Nigel, before taking the wheel and comfortably navigating them to Dalton. It was the first time Andy had seen her actually driving, but she found it suited her, sitting there behind the wheel of a powerful SUV.
"Are you coming in?" Miranda asked as she gracefully slid out of the car after they'd pulled into the school.
"Don't you think it would be better coming from you?" Andy asked, even as she made a move to get out.
"I think my daughters are enamoured with you," she blushed a little, "as am I, and would love you there to support us all while I tell them I'm about to stir up their perfect lives."
"Miranda -"
"Will you just come with me?" Miranda said exasperatedly. "Please?"
"Did I mention I don't like desperate you?" Andy said as she got out of the car.
"Well I dislike this cautiousness you seem to have developed,"Miranda said in turn. "What happened to the confidence you seem to exude as my assistant?"
"Hey, you're the one that keeps moving the goalposts here. I'm here as your friend, not your assistant, which means I have to act differently."
"You are correct," Miranda said, stopping outside of the door. "I apologise."
"I'm not sure I like you apologising either."
"Andréa," she groaned, buzzing them into the school. "I do not apologise for myself in the business world. If people cannot deal with my decisions, then that is on them, not on me."
"I understand that," Andy said as she followed Miranda down the hall, "but you have to give me some leeway. Up until last night, I was only privy to you in the business world."
"Which is why I am trying very hard not to order you about," Miranda smirked, finally turning to greet the woman at the desk. "I need to speak with Caroline and Cassidy Priestly."
Andy smirked as the woman did as she was ordered and in no time at all, considering the size of the school, Caroline and Cassidy were trotting down the corridor to greet their mother with a hug.
"Mom, not that we don't love you, but we only just said goodbye to you like an hour ago."
"I know Bobbsey's, but Andréa made me realise that I should talk to you about a decision I have made, as it affects both of you as well."
"Are you two getting married?" Cassidy asked, grabbing Andy's hand and twirling under it with a grin.
"Cassidy!" Miranda coughed, covering both her mouth and what looked to Andy like a giant grin.
"No Cass, your Mom and I are not getting married," Andy said, glaring at Miranda.
"Then what is it?" Caroline asked, sitting on Miranda's knee.
"Do you both remember Alec?"
"Was he your husband after Dad?" Cassidy said, tilting her head just like her mother did.
"He was, you were still very small when we were married, but you might remember him before we divorced."
"He had sandy hair right? And wore horrendous shoes."
It was Andy's turn to choke, but she didn't do it with quite the aplomb that Miranda had, and ended up giggling for a full two minutes.
"Sorry," she said, biting her lip.
"Hmm, as I was saying. Darlings, Alec and his wife were both killed in an auto accident yesterday."
"Whoa!" Cassidy said, plonking herself on Andy's knee as Caroline sat on Miranda's. "Are you okay Mom?"
"I am fine Cassidy. Alec and I hardly parted as friends, though I wished him no harm but while his death is tragic there is something even more pressing that involves the both of you."
"Us?" Caroline asked, turning to look at her mother over her shoulder.
"Indeed. It seems that after divorcing me, Alec and his wife had three children. They, mercifully, were not in the car when they crashed, but it seems that Alec never updated his will."
"But what has that got to do with you?" Cassidy said, clamping her mouth shut as Andy shushed her.
"I, according to his last will and testament, have been named guardian of these children." She looked at both of her children. "And I intend to carry out my duty to them."
Andy stared at the back of Cassidy's school jumper as the tension mounted in the room. There was no telling which way this was going to go, and it wasn't long before Andy could keep herself from looking up. Miranda was sitting with Caroline still on her knee, but Cassidy was staring intently at her sister, and Andy realised they were communicating with each other without speaking. It amazed her to watch it; she'd heard of it before, heard Miranda speak of it, but this was her first time seeing it. It was, in a word, magical.
"Okay," Caroline started. "So we have a few questions."
"I am all ears darlings," Miranda said, apparently quite used to waiting for their silent conversations to end.
"Do we have to give up our rooms?"
"No," Miranda said. "I'm sure we'll have enough room for them in the guest quarters upstairs. You and Cassidy can keep your rooms, unless you stipulate otherwise before Andréa and I leave here to pick up the children."
"How old are they?"
"They cannot be more than six years old as I am quite sure Alec's," she grimaced, "partner was not pregnant at the time of our divorce," Miranda stated. "But I am unsure of their exact ages."
"What are their names? Are they girls or boys? Will they be babies?"
Andy chuckled as Miranda held up her hands for silence.
"Girls, at this point, I know as much as you. I do not know how old they are, or indeed if one is a baby. I hadn't thought of that." She glared a little at Andy, who hadn't thought of that either. "I do not know whether they are boys or girls but we will all find out in due course."
"Do you think they like dogs?" Cassidy asked. "What if they don't like Patricia, does that mean she'll have to go to the pound? Do you know what they do to dogs there?"
"Relax munchkin. You're creating problems before there are any," Andy said soothingly. "Your Mom wanted both of you to know what was going on, before you got back from school to find three new kids in your house. The fact of the matter is, your Mom is an awesome Mom - right?"
"Right," they said in stereo.
"Right, so three more children that get to have her as their Mom are super lucky."
"Yeah, sorry Mom, I'm just excited. I've never had a brother or sister."
"Neither of us have dummy and Mom knows that, she's kinda gotta be the one to give us them!"
"Girls, please. Caroline, please try not to call your sister a dummy, and do start using proper English words. 'Gotta'is not something I ever want to hear come out of your mouth again. I am raising two ladies, not two hooligans." Cassidy giggled, until Caroline did as well.
"Yes Mom, sorry Mom."
"Good, now Andréa and I are off to Philadelphia to see about these children, and I want you both to be good for Cara tonight. Please make sure you help her with Patricia."
"How about you also help to make sure the guest rooms are alright for three kids, okay?" Andy asked, ignoring the look she got from Miranda.
"Oh cool, yeah okay Andy." Cassidy got up and hugged Andy around the neck. "See you later," she whispered. "Bye Mom," she said, hugging her too. "I have math and I can't miss it."
"Alright darling, have a good day."
Caroline had not moved from Miranda's knee, and although she had taken the lead when asking questions earlier, it seemed as though Caroline was the slightly less sure twin.
"Mom?" she asked quietly, leaning back and playing with Miranda's bangle.
"Yes, my darling girl?" Miranda replied, just as quietly.
"If we have more kids in the house, will you have to be home more?"
Andy closed her eyes against seeing the pain in Miranda's face. She could already imagine what it would look like, and it wasn't something she wanted to see.
"I -" Andy looked up to see a stricken Miranda grasping for words. Deciding she could no longer stay quiet, Andy sat forward a little bit.
"Caroline, you know that if your Mom could, she'd be there every minute of the day with you."
"Yeah, I know," she said forlornly. "But if there's little kids, you'll have to be there more right?" she tried again.
"Caroline -" Miranda sighed.
"I tell you what," Andy said, taking Caroline's hand in her own. "You know as your Mom's assistant, I get to control what time she goes home. How about from now on, at least two nights a week, I make sure she can get out of work in time to eat dinner with you guys?"
"Really?" Caroline said, turning around to look at Miranda.
"If Andréa says she can do it, then I will do it," Miranda said, looking past her daughter and staring into Andy's eyes. "Andréa can do anything."
"Awesome. Thanks Mom, thanks Andy," she said, kissing both their cheeks and disappearing from the room.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -"
"You did mean to, but I am not upset. If you can find a way for me to be out of the office two nights a week for dinner, then I will be very grateful."
Andy nodded, already re-arranging run-throughs and meetings in her head.
"But not right now," Miranda said, slipping her hand into Andy's. "Now I need you to be my friend, and not my assistant. I realise Miranda Priestly does not often get nervous, but Miranda the mother is terrified of what we're going to find when we get there."
"Then I'll be there the whole time to hold your hand," Andy said quietly as they got back in the car.
The drive was silent and, aside from the odd moment stuck in traffic, went rather well. Neither of them spoke until Andy remembered something Miranda had said to her at the school.
"You said you don't get nervous, so what was all that about before the speeches?"
"I said not often," Miranda quipped, smirking, but keeping her eyes on the road. "After Paris, I realised my every move was being scrutinised, so every speech, every event, I had to perform better than I ever had. That much pressure would make anyone nervous."
"What about last week, at the dinner? You didn't come to me beforehand," Andy asked, frowning at the memory. She had dearly missed that quiet moment together at the time.
"I may not need you to assuage my fears quite so regularly anymore," Miranda grinned. "As one friend to another, and not as your boss, I can tell you Irving is leaving at the end of next month."
"What?" Andy screeched. "That's fantastic! Why?"
"He has been pushed out by certain board members who have been secretly discussing his manoeuvres in Paris. That is why you are in charge of the organising the next board meeting. It will be his last, and I would like it to be perfect."
"It will be," Andy said confidently, making a few mental notes about things she needed to change in order for it to run smoother than she had originally planned.
"Good. Now, no more talk of work. We are nearly here."
-0-
They spoke of things that required very little thinking, such as the girls and the latest fads and trends they were following. Andy stayed well clear of what she had promised Caroline, and Miranda commented no further on it. They finally arrived in front of a non-descript building that the GPS insisted was the correct location.
"I suppose we should just go in," Miranda said, locking the car and stopping at the bottom of the steps to wait for Andy.
"This is definitely an orphanage," Andy said uselessly, shivering slightly as she said it. "You can smell the despair."
"Well this particular over-privileged woman is not going to leave you here. I might actually make you take them back and I stay here, depending on what they are like."
"Don't joke about that," Andy said quietly, accepting the small squeeze of her hand as an apology.
"Come along Andréa," she said, in a tone that was more like Miranda Priestly, rather than this relaxed version of Miranda.
It spurred Andy on, allowing her to relax into being a sort of assistant, rather than an ex-orphan from an orphanage that smelled just as this one did; of bleach and broken souls.
"Miranda Priestly to see Annabelle Williams."
Andy stood back, completely alright with Miranda handling most of the interacting. She had no desire to talk to anyone remotely connected with running a place such as this, and she desperately wished she hadn't agreed to come.
"Andréa."
She snapped her gaze away from a little girl brushing a nearly-bald doll's head and back to Miranda.
"Come along."
She nodded, not looking back at the little girl that she still felt like sometimes.
Loneliness had been a part of her life for many years. Her adoptive parents were amazing people, but they had very little time for her nowadays. After adopting Andy, there had been what amounted to a miracle, and her new mother had fallen pregnant with her own child. To their credit they hadn't send Andy back and for that she would be forever grateful to them, but with the arrival of a new baby, and one that was their own flesh and blood, Andy had fallen by the wayside. Not out of malice, or ill-content, but simply because the people who were her parents had got something they'd always wanted. And that wasn't Andy.
"I believe you're here to take custody of the three Walker children, is that correct?"
"Yes it is," Miranda said, transitioning seamlessly into her Editor-in Chief personality. "The law firm I have on retainer should have faxed all the necessary documents."
"Yes, I had a phone call from them earlier," Ms WIlliams said. "I'm afraid one of the children had to be sedated when she got here. We've confined her to her room so that she doesn't disturb the other children."
"You did what?" Andy asked with a touch of venom, slamming back into the moment and leaving her thoughts for another time.
"I'm afraid she was being difficult," Ms Williams said, glancing between Andy and Miranda, who sat back letting Andy take the lead.
"I want to see her, right now," Andy said getting up, ignoring the frown on Miranda's features. "Take me to her now."
"Miss -"
"Take me to her!"
"I suggest you do as Miss Sachs says, Ms Williams," Miranda said coolly. "She is not the kind of woman to be trifled with."
A small part of Andy's mind was startled by Miranda's confidence in her, and also in the warning that Miranda spoke, even as she allowed Andy to take command.
They walked down the long corridor, following the woman who was grating on Andy's nerves, even though she said nothing. She stopped in front of a closed door and drew a giant ring of keys from inside a pocket and Andy was suddenly transported back to when that noise usually heralded something she didn't want.
"She's in there."
Andy rolled her eyes and walked around the woman who was blocking the view of the room. It was a mess. Everything had been thrown everywhere, and there was no noise.
She walked slowly and carefully into the room, shaking her head at Miranda, making sure she didn't follow.
She found the little girl, curled up in a corner with her head buried in her knees and her shoulders quaking.
"Hey," Andy said quietly, crouching down a little way away.
The girl startled, and as she lifted her head, it was clear that she'd been crying for a while.
"Go away!" she screamed, looking around for something to throw.
"No, no it's okay. I don't work here, I'm here to take you home."
"No!" the girl said. "I don't got a home, I'm not going home. I want my brothers. Where are my brothers?"
Andy glanced back at Miranda, who looked more upset with the state of the little girl than the the thought of taking home two boys as well.
"We're taking them too; all of you are coming to another home," Andy said gently. "And we won't ever be bringing you back here. I promise you that."
"Andréa," Miranda said quietly, but Andy heard the chastisement.
She didn't care though, Andy was determined. If Miranda couldn't keep this little girl and her brothers, then Andy would take them. She had no idea how, but she would never let this girl come back here. No matter what.
"Come on, let's get out of here and find your brothers," Andy said, staying exactly where she was, but offering her hand to the girl. She had to be the one to come to her, not the other way around, and they had to wait for a few moments before the girl, who could not be any older than seven, slipped her hand into Andy's.
As they walked from the room, the girl pressed herself into Andy's side, refusing to even look at Ms Williams and only glancing minimally at Miranda.
"What's your name sweetheart?" Andy asked quietly as they walked down the hallway.
"Olivia," she whispered.
"Hi Olivia, I'm Andy, and this is Miranda. She's going to be the one looking after you, okay?"
"Not you?" Olivia said, stopping dead in her tracks and looking bereft.
"Andréa will be there as well," Miranda said gently, in a tone Andy knew was reserved for the twins, and now, perhaps these children as well.
"Miranda's really nice," Andy whispered, winking conspiratorially. "She has two daughters already, twins named Caroline and Cassidy who are thirteen and a huge dog named Patricia. You'll love her, she's really cuddly."
"Mommy and Daddy are angels now," Olivia said quietly, still stopped in the middle of the hallway.
"I know baby," Andy soothed, "but we're going to take good care of you, I promise."
"Andréa," Miranda said, nodding to where Ms Williams was waiting at the door.
"Come on princess," Andy said, tugging her along.
The little one didn't move, but held up her arms. Andy knew that she was probably too old to be carried really, but she couldn't and wouldn't withhold any comfort she could give and so did as Olivia asked and scooped her up into her arms.
"Are you alright?" Miranda muttered as they walked, her hand burning pleasantly against the small of Andy's back.
"I'll be better when I get them out of here," Andy said. "I'm sorry if I -"
"Don't." Miranda waved her off. "I am glad you were here."
Miranda followed Ms Williams into the room, leaving Andy stood in the doorway, marvelling at the comment.
"How about that?" she said to herself, only remembering she had a child in her arms some moments later.
"Come on, let's go find your brothers."