A/N: This one is going out with a massive shout out to Callie-G over on FFNet for providing the prompt.
Summary: Years after the events in Paris, Miranda finds one of her darling Bobbsey's remained in touch with the assistant that got away, Andréa (Call me Andy) Sachs. What will happen when the editor comes face to face with her past? Will she still see a lot of herself in the brunette?
Disclaimer: As always, I am just fooling around with these characters. I do not make any money them because Lauren Weisberger and 20th Century Fox own them.
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Andy found herself busy as multiple submissions for articles arrived as if from nowhere. It felt like, as the press surrounding her relationship with Miranda died down and her article in Runway hit the newsstands, publications across New York vied for her immediate attention.
There was only one job she had refused, and Allure's editor was displeased. Andy's blatant refusal to work with Michelle Lee amused Miranda, especially when she overheard Andy reminding the woman what she had told her when she'd first submitted her article on upcycling.
She now spent many of her afternoons holed up at the townhouse, in the study Miranda had gifted to her, tapping away furiously on the Macbook provided. She researched and wrote, the words flowing easily from her brain to her fingertips.
She had pulled Miranda aside and asked if she had anything to do with the sudden influx of work but had seen the truth in her denial and it was only upon receiving a call from her old boss, Greg, that the truth had become clear.
The publishing event he and Miranda had attended the week before had cleared up a few misconceptions within the industry.
Many assumed Greg would hold a few ill feelings towards Andy for the injury he'd sustained. They had believed such an act of violence against someone, who had already created a name for themselves in their industry, was an unforgivable breach of etiquette. And it had made people wary.
Editors did not wish to use Andy as a freelancer if she was a loose cannon, regardless of her talent. But when he'd greeted Miranda warmly with air kisses to her cheeks, with declarations she was a lucky cat for managing to secure Andy's affections, the room had fallen silent.
The New York publishing world expected fireworks, believing Miranda would decimate the New York Mirror editor for firing her new girlfriend, and when that didn't happen, and upon hearing Greg and his wife's words, they learned the truth.
People finally understood Andy had been pushed to her limit. She had been insulted greatly and her relationship with Miranda was disparaged. People learned, by eavesdropping, that it was only upon having her children brought into things that she had reacted blindly. The word spread.
The fierce protectiveness Andy Sachs had shown was discussed quietly in many an editorial meeting across the city in the following days, and in many places, it was applauded, especially by the women who also had children.
Publications, who had initially bypassed her submissions, going as far as to trash her work, worked tirelessly to recover what they had thrown away. Going over her words, they had seen her talent and the way she engaged the reader in the subject she was writing about. Like Greg and Miranda, they found her work barely needed editing, and only one of her articles was being cut short, and that was only due to space restrictions and she had been urged to submit other work.
Now work had started to trickle in thick and fast and she had been paid for the articles she had already submitted, Andy felt like she finally had control of her life again.
And then another surprising thing happened. A few days before, Greg Hill decided to use her skill at the Mirror, not as a full-time reporter, but as a writer for the lifestyle pages and Miranda unwittingly helped with this.
When they ate out, with Ethan, at a new restaurant, they critiqued the food and she wrote about the experience. Her first article for the Mirror was adored by the readers. The truth was, her descriptions of Ethan's reactions to things, like the waiter flicking his napkin out and placing it over his lap, only to be told firmly to watch his junk, had resonated deeply with parents who had their similar embarrassing tales from their children.
As busy as she now was, she would not allow it to eat into the time she had with Miranda and Ethan, which is why she was at the townhouse more. Both she and Miranda had found their nights apart intolerably long, and even when Miranda was home late, she showed her appreciation of their presence in her home, before working on the book, by relaxing with them as they watched TV or helping with Ethan's Bedtime routine
Andy was torn from her flow of words as her cell chimed with an incoming call and she caught the opening from Men at Work's Down Under. Picking her cell up, she grinned as she swiped the screen to answer. "Tassie, how are ya?"
Christian sounded relaxed and happy as he answered her, and explained he'd finally returned to New York. They spoke of his time in Australia and she realised he was being a little cagey.
"What's her name, Christian?" Andy teased.
"Peta, we met on the flight to Sydney," Christian muttered the name breathlessly. "I think I might be in love, Ohio."
Andy caught the sound of a woman's voice in the background and grinned. "She's with you now?"
"Yeah, she wants to meet you and E.J. Are you at the apartment?" Christian asked.
"We're at Miranda's. Gimme five and I'll call her, see if we have dinner plans." Andy listened to him laugh before she disconnected the call with a shake of her head.
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Miranda was partway through another uninspiring run-through when the call landed in her outer office and she heard Emily hissing that she wasn't to be disturbed. She wondered idly who was trying to interrupt her day when she heard the red-headed Brit.
"I will divulge the details of Miranda's schedule, not even to you, Andréa." Emily sounded bored. "Well, if you know about the run-through, you should know better than to expect to talk to her. It's not like you are remotely important regardless of the high opinion you have of yourself."
Miranda's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. Jocelyn stalled as she held her hand up. "Enough." She looked through the door of her office and saw Emily cradling the receiver.
She waited a full minute for Emily to run in with a message and when that didn't happen, she saw red.
Jumping to her feet, Miranda stalked past her staff and leaned over Emily's desk. With one hand resting on top of the papers, the redhead was working on, she kept her voice deadly.
"Next time Andréa calls you will treat her as if she is one of the most important people in my life and with the same respect and courtesy you provide me." She caught Emily's startled gaze. "You will do well to remember this one thing, she is as important to me as my daughters, and I expect you to put her calls straight through." She lifted her hand from the paperwork and glanced at the second assistant. "That goes for you, too. All calls from Andréa Sachs are to be handled accordingly, and if I am not in the office, then I expect a detailed message to be sent to my cell immediately so I can return her call. Now get her on the phone. That's all."
She stalked back into her office and saw Nigel's wide-eyed surprise. Jocelyn and Lucia were gaping at her and Serena smiling softly.
"I have Andréa." The second assistant's voice rang out from the outer office.
Miranda picked up her phone as she flicked her wrist at the gaping members of the art department, shooing them away. They trudged out of her office as she spun her chair in the direction of the window overlooking Midtown. "My darling..."
She caught the small sniff that showed Andréa was either upset or angry but no words came from the younger woman.
"...something like this will never happen again, Andréa. My first assistant seems to have forgotten her place." Miranda hissed. She heard Emily squeak in the outer office and smirked. "My staff have now been made aware that your calls are as important as those from Cassidy and Caroline, and they will come to know those from Ethan and Isabel are to be treated with the same importance."
She heard another small sniff followed quickly by another and realised Andréa was crying.
"Now, will you tell me why you are calling?" Miranda urged gently.
"I just...I was wondering if we had dinner plans." Andréa hiccupped. "Christian's back, from Australia, with his new girlfriend and he wants to see E.J."
"Invite them to the house for dinner. I will be home no later than 5:30 and we can order in." Miranda stated. She hated hearing Andréa so upset but she still had a full afternoon of work to contend with. She looked at her schedule and sighed. "No, forget that. I will be home within the hour. Frankly, I have faced sufficient incompetence and would rather be home with you and Ethan."
"You...you don't have to do..." Andréa stuttered.
"I realise that, however, I want to," Miranda reassured. She put her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and called out quietly. "Coat, bag. Clear my schedule and have Roy downstairs immediately."
"Yes, Miranda." Emily's voice was filled with nervousness
"My darling, I am going to hang up now. I will be home shortly." Miranda said.
"I'll be waiting," Andréa whispered.
"Acceptable." Before disconnecting the phone, she spoke softly. "I love you, Andréa."
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Christian spent time before dinner with Ethan, reading out loud from a small book by a Perth based author and illustrator and the little boy was enraptured by the brightly coloured animals on the pages as he held a small stuffed Emu against his chest. The moment had both Andy and Miranda smiling.
Dinner itself was a small success with Miranda and Peta hitting it off remarkably well as they discussed the latest fashion. Peta had read the recent issue of Runway and they discussed up-cycling quite heatedly.
Andy sensed Ethan wasn't sure about Peta and when she had asked him about it, as she put him to bed, he'd voiced a small concern that his Tassie new friend didn't like him. He told her she wasn't like Miranda and not half as pretty either.
Andy was also concerned about this. She had watched, upon first sitting down to dinner, as Peta had looked between her and Christian a few times, before glancing at Ethan and frowning. She had ignored the little boy entirely even when he asked her if she had a little boy he could play with.
Andy seriously didn't want to raise it with Christian but knew she would if he backed away from them due to Peta's influence. She would not allow the woman to come between them. She would not allow him to come and go from Ethan's life.
Upon Andy's return from settling Ethan, Peta spoke and her words had both Andy and Miranda bristling.
"You look too young to have a fifteen-year-old daughter, Andy, and I know mistakes happen..." Peta paused for a moment. "...but I would have thought you would have tried harder to practice safe sex after having a child at so young."
"I beg your pardon." Andy spat the words between her teeth.
"Christian mentioned E.J's sister Isabel," Peta explained.
Andy glared at the woman. "Isabel is my cousin and I very much doubt her mom, as young as she was when she had her, would ever have said she was a mistake. Also, I do not appreciate the implication my son is one either, regardless of if I spent one night or a dozen with Christian." Andy brushed her hand through her hair in frustration. "And frankly, my family planning is none of your concern."
Peta sat back suddenly, realising how offended the other women had become.
It was Miranda who spoke, coldly and concisely for them both. "No child is a mistake. Each one is put on the Earth for a reason. Isabel is a remarkably talented artist and Ethan..." She trailed off. "...well, he is a little young to show discernable talent, but he is smart, and extraordinarily loving, like his mother."
"I didn't mean...its just...Christian?" Peta glanced at Christian.
He bit his lip and shrugged nonchalantly. "I didn't say Isabel was Ohio's biological child, you made that assumption on your own, honey," Christian stated to Peta. "And I certainly didn't call my son a mistake." He glanced at Andy. "I couldn't ever regret time with you, it is because of that we have our boy." He assured. "I love you and E.J more than life itself and sure, I'm a selfish asshole at times, but as I've said numerous times, you make me want to be better and having you both in my life is the best thing ever."
Peta was stunned by the words as Christian tried to reassure Andy.
Andy stood and moved to the dry bar, needing to do something before she either let her anger at Peta take over or her tears flow at Christian's words. She knew she was being overly emotional and knew it was because her period was due.
The sound of the townhouse door opening and closing caught her attention and Miranda stepped from the room. She caught the sound of Miranda's soft murmur and Emily's agreement. She poured herself a vodka and was throwing it down her throat with a wince as Miranda stepped into the room, the book clutched firmly in her hand. She stepped towards Andy and took the bottle of vodka from her hands and busied herself for a moment, putting it away.
Andy sensed when Christian stood and tugged Peta to her feet and turned to face them. She saw Christian's hesitancy and smirked up at him while ignoring the woman beside him.
Let's see how she likes it. Andy thought bitterly.
The way the night turned out wasn't Christian's fault and she turned a small smile upon him. "Do you want to take E.J this weekend? We're heading off for Izzy on Sunday and the twins arrive home Monday."
Christian brightened. "Yeah, that would be great. I'll call you tomorrow and we'll arrange it. We should be off now. Thanks for dinner."
"I'll see you out," Miranda stated.
Christian let go of Peta's hand and they watched as Miranda led her from the room wordlessly.
He stepped closer and once he was within reach, Christian pulled Andy into his arms, offering her a bear hug. "I've missed your face, Ohio." He told her. Pulling back, he smiled sadly and Andy caught his whispered words. "Another one bites the dust."
Andy moved onto her tiptoes and brushed a kiss on his cheeks. "Don't do anything rash, Tassie. If you think you love her..."
Christian frowned. "E.J didn't warm to her and I realised, a little late perhaps, that she doesn't particularly like him. I can't have someone in my life who can't accept my son. He's far too precious to me and holds my heart in his little hands. I won't give that up." He stepped from the embrace and his finger stroked her cheek gently." Or you. I will not give up our friendship, Andy."
Andy grinned. "Don't go all soft on me now, Tassie. There'll be a pot of coffee on if you need an ear tomorrow." She told him.
"I might take you up on that but then again, James Holts punch is sounding appealing right about now. I may just drown myself in it and sleep the day away. Do you have plans tomorrow night?" Christian asked. "Is Miranda going to the Condé Nast benefit?"
"Yeah, and I'll be with her." Andy had been pushing the fact she and Miranda were attending the event together to the back of her mind, but thinking of it now had her tugging her fingers.
Christian stalled the movement. "You'll be fine, Ohio. There'll be plenty of people you know, and word on the street is that the publishing world is curious about your clear skills as a dragon tamer." He grinned as Andy scoffed. "I'll be there too and I'll be claiming a dance or two."
"Christian..." Peta's voice sounded impatient and had him rolling his eyes.
"I'll see you tomorrow night," Christian reassured her, squeezing her hand lightly.
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Miranda made her final edits and closed the book with a sigh. Andréa had gone up to bed thirty minutes prior, advising she wished to shower, but she knew deep down the younger woman simply needed time alone.
Peta's words about Ethan and Isabel had angered her and Miranda knew, from talking to one another on the phone one night, that Andréa often questioned her ability as a mom. It was one of those things, as she struggled on alone, that haunted her.
Andréa often worried if Ethan and Isabel would turn out to be well-adjusted after having a single, not-so-heterosexual guardian and if the occasional dinner and weekend visits to his dad meant Ethan would grow to think he lacked a male role model. She asked herself if he would grow to hate her or if he would appreciate the fact she needed to work harder, as a single parent, to provide for them all.
Andréa had told her Christian paid child support, but she put it away for Ethan's future education and relied on her salary to provide the necessities for both her children, often going without to ensure they had what they needed.
It was rather admirable.
She had not had to worry about her finances for quite some time. Her first husband was independently wealthy, meaning Cassidy and Caroline wanted for nothing, but by the time they had divorced, she had left their marriage quite wealthy in her own right having worked hard for it rather than relying on Greg's fortune, although in their divorce she had left with a nice chunk of it.
She simply didn't want Andréa to have to struggle financially and wanted to do what she could for the little family. True, she had assisted, albeit unknowingly, with Isabel's scholarship at Dalton, and clothes had been sent to Runway for the four children, but she wanted Ethan to have the best life could offer.
But what could she do?
She thought back to her whispered words to Peta as Christian and Andréa had said their goodbyes.
Miranda had glared at the young woman and told her in no uncertain terms that if she could not accept Christian's son, she would lose. Miranda offered the subtle warning that Christian would always choose his son and Andréa over any woman.
Miranda knew Christian's feelings ran far deeper than just friendship but it did not worry her. She also knew it was her Andréa loved. Andréa made that abundantly obvious.
Andréa was sometimes ridiculously stubborn and so very proud. These were facets of the younger woman's personality she adored, there was no question about it. And Miranda admired what she had achieved since her departure from Runway.
Deep down Miranda had hoped they would reconnect when the time was right. And frankly, she'd been disappointed when Andréa had not been present to accept the numerous awards she had won. She hoped, by coming face to face, she would be able to let go of the impossible feelings that never really left her.
The younger woman's absence from her life had left her aching. She learned to understand her feelings ran far deeper than she was willing to admit, even to herself, but now she had a chance, to make this thing between them last and she swore she would not mess it up.
An inkling of an idea formed but she needed to speak to her Bobbsey's before she put the plan into action. Picking up her cell, she texted Caroline and Cassidy, knowing that they would wake up soon to head to the beach. She asked them to ensure they were available to talk at lunchtime their time as she wanted to ask their opinion on something. She knew it was likely they would call to demand answers, regardless of it being the middle of the night in New York.
Picking up the book, she stood and moved around her desk and out of her study. She placed the book down on its usual table safe in the knowledge Emily would deal with it in the morning while she enjoyed a relaxed breakfast with Andréa and Ethan.
Yes, she now had a plan of action, although it was dependent on her children's opinion. She felt certain they would be happy for her to proceed as she wished.
Moving up the stairs, Miranda checked on Ethan and placed a kiss on his head before moving further up the stairs and entering the master suite. She caught Andréa's eyes as they rose from her kindle. She offered her a small smile as she stepped towards the side of the bed to snare her lips in a gentle kiss.
"I shan't be too long," Miranda advised.
"Okay." Andréa husked.
Miranda loved the breathless quality to Andréa's voice after they kissed and the blatant desire that lit up her expressive eyes. The knowledge she put it there was extraordinary and she hoped it never changed.
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Andy woke in the early hours of the morning to Miranda's cell ringing and started to grumble as she untangled herself from the editor. Miranda was dead to the world but prodding her in the stomach had her stirring.
Miranda groaned as her hand reached out on her bedside table for her cell. "...'lo?" Her voice was thick with sleep but she soon woke fully. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Couldn't this have waited just a few more hours, Bobbsey?" Miranda slipped from under the comforter and grabbed her robe as she exited the room.
Andy could hear her voice growing fainter as she moved down the stairs and snuggled back into the pillows and tried to focus on going back to sleep.
She thought back to the moments before sleep had claimed them both when Miranda had exited the ensuite wearing a silk nightshirt that ended mid-thigh. It was all Andy could do to stop herself from pouncing on the older woman but knew she would want to return the favour. Andy just wasn't up for it.
Instead, they kissed gently, simply happy to reconnect through the soft brush of their lips and then Miranda had pulled away and started to talk.
That in itself wasn't unusual. But it was what she spoke of that surprised her. She spoke of them attending Paris Fashion Week together as a family that year, and after the events, spending a week at her home on the Côte D'Azur.
Miranda was planning for the future with her firmly situated by her side and she had to admit it was a little scary.
Miranda's wealth didn't concern her, she had worked so hard to achieve what she had, but the sheer level of it often surprised her. There was the house in London, the villa in the south of France, the beach house in the Hamptons and the townhouse she was currently lying in. Miranda had invested in property and art and had large shares in Elias Clarke.
Andy could barely afford her rent and utilities some months, regardless of how careful she was. She wondered what she offered the successful older woman.
Her heart offered answers to her musings.
You offer her time, love, respect and trust. You support her and don't ask more of her than she is willing to give.
Her mind continued to offer her reasons why they worked so well.
She laughs with you, she's cried with you, she's been unfailingly honest and she allows you to do the same. You make her humble. There is no power struggle, no guilt or resentment. Just think of how refreshing that must be for her.
Andy knew relationships required serious compromise at times, regardless of if it was deciding which side of the bed to sleep on or who was going to stack the dishwasher after their shared dinners.
Andy grinned. Miranda was so ridiculously fastidious there was rarely a glass or cup out of place. It was one of those unspoken negotiations that she would clean up after herself at the townhouse and Miranda wouldn't say anything when at her apartment about the sink full of dishes.
And like this evening, she had been given a few minutes of peace when she needed it and she offered Miranda the same.
They were learning to be a team, helped by their late-night talks and by sharing in this new life they were creating together as equals.
Miranda walked back into the room and tossed her robe to one side before putting her cell back on the bedside table. She seemed happy as she slipped back under the comforter, seeking out Andy's warmth.
Wrapping Miranda up against her chest, Andy brushed a kiss on the crown of her head. "Everything okay with the twin's?" She felt Miranda's smile against her sternum as she relaxed fully into the embrace.
"Everything's perfect, my darling," Miranda stated. "Everything is wonderful." She raised her head and offered her a sweet kiss. "We'll talk more tomorrow. Sleep well, my Andréa."
Andy snuggled in, her eyes falling closed easily. Inhaling deeply, she found herself surrounded by Miranda's scent and felt truly happy.
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