A/N 1: Please see all disclaimers from the first chapter before .
A/N 2: I have a serious problem; I don't know how to include line breaks. Anyway, I'm dealing with a topic about which I don't have the first idea about, it's all just research and what you'd call 'writer's license'. So don't sue me for incorrect facts, I'm trying.
A/N 3: I'm gonna follow a pattern of alternate chapters-switching between the present and the past, hope it doesn't get too confusing. This way you'll have healthy doses of joy and grief, haha. All text in italics is a narration of past events.
A/N 4: Un-betaed, so all mistakes are mine. Also please let me know what you think if you're reading this. Thank you to those who commented, favourite and followed.
"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all."
―Emily Dickinson
17th June, 2007
11.34 p.m.
Master Bedroom
The Townhouse
'I ,' followed by a string of incoherent words babbled by the silver haired fashion maven from in between Andy's breasts where she has buried her face inhaling in her lover's scent and then 'baby.'
Andy is still recovering from the body shattering orgasm Miranda had her endure and her mind is still fuzzy from everything that transpired in the past hour- the foreplay, the hot open-mouthed kisses, the sucking, the mixture of juices flowing, their hands going all over the place, did she mention the kisses, Miranda's breasts..Miranda herself, things that have happened for quite a while now, but which seem new and exciting every time around.
They've been together for almost nine months, she left in Paris alright, but she left Runway. That was all. She was soon back in Miranda's life by a dumb stroke of luck, there were a lot of tears and apologizing and the rest as they say was history.
So, she is used to these adorable half-talks of her otherwise stern lipped lover, during sex. She loves when all Miranda can utter is 'Aahs' and 'Uuhns' and then becomes a babbling sleepy mess.
So she doesn't care much about what Miranda says and casually utters a 'Yeah' while caressing Miranda's back.
At this Miranda cocks up her head and looks at her lovers face, with utmost sincerity and focus, 'Really?'
And now Andy is confused. 'Umm, yeah sure. Uum, you're... my...baby!?' she hopes this is what Miranda had said.
'What? I'm you're..what?' and then it dawns on Miranda that her words haven't been paid attention to at all and she cackles. Yes, Miranda Priestly cackles in the safety of her house, in the arms of her lover who looks at her like she is a work of art.
'Andrea, do keep up. I said... I want to have your baby.' Miranda says while she turns herself over and settles in Andy's arms.
It's a Saturday and the twins don't have school tomorrow, thank God, because then they can sleep in till late and talk about important things tonight. Like it is happening right now.
If Andy was confused a minute ago, she is dumb-founded now. She wonders where this is coming from, it's true they had been talking about kids because Andy is young and wants to becom a mother like any other woman. However they soon realize that her uterus isn't viable for carrying a child. Andy remembers crying herself to sleep while Miranda had tried to soothe her very awkwardly, because Miranda Priestly can't do emotions. She can only offer solutions to problems like she is doing right now.
'If you can't carry it, I will.' Miranda says matter-of-factly and slowly sits up.
All thoughts of sleep, coffee and unfinished news paper articles leave Andy's mind while she just keeps staring at her lover who looks back cockily. This is Miranda's way of consoling someone and Andy knows this isn't insincere.
She needs time, time to process this, time to assess how crazy this sounds, and time to know how safe this is for Miranda, so she decides to stall her.
'Umm, Miranda, last I remember, my Biology teacher said an embryo is made by the fusion of an egg and a sperm, umm..I am..I'm not capable of you know, producing..I'm not a guy.'
Miranda has the gall to look amused and then a bit annoyed. She shifts away from Andy, slightly miffed and Andy knows all this kidding won't work. When Miranda Priestly is serious she is nothing but.
'I have been looking at surrogacy brochures and I spoke to Susan, she says it's perfectly safe.' Miranda says while playing with the ring on her index finger.
Andy stares, mouth agape.
'Susan, Dr. Abassac? My gynaecologist.' Miranda repeats.
Andy shakes her head, 'Yeah, I know who she is! Are..are you sure?'
Miranda glares.
'Yeah..umm, you..you, umm, we need a donor.'
'Yes, they are readily available. I'm not interested in seeing him, you can choose. Susan says her clinic is more than equipped to perform the IVF culture and I can continue visiting her if I do get pregnant. If you agree, I can get an appointment set up for us, tomorrow.'
Miranda is very very serious about this and does not want to waste time and Andy knows not to make fun of this. So she says what she is expected to.
'Sure, okay!'
And that's how it's done. Like that, just like that the ball is set rolling.
The next few weeks is a blur- doctor's appointments, extensive research on surrogacy procedures, the dangers of it (of course Dr. Abassac hadn't said it's 'perfectly safe' unlike Miranda had enunciated), finding a donor, getting used to the fact that they were actually trying to have a baby.
When Christine, Miranda's first assistant tells Emily who is now the new assistant Art Editor about the frequent trips to the doctor she pretends to not understand or analyse the situation although she tells Nigel nevertheless who pretends to do the same.
Miranda had of course kept to her word and declined to have a look at the donor. Andy realized that Miranda did not do empty words and hollow emotions, she did actions, selfless actions like this to show Andy what she meant to her. Andy decides she's never felt luckier in life.
So she chooses blue eyes which would remind her of Miranda and the love she has for her. Although has already told her that given her genotype the chances of the baby having blue eyes would only be 25% given blue eyes were a recessive trait. She goes ahead with a white male with brown hair and blue eyes, about her own age, not especially handsome but attractive nevertheless.
While Andy does as she is told to do for the IVF culture, Miranda is put on a million different medicines to prepare her uterus to receive the embryo, which meant her hormones were all over the place which also indirectly implied that the Runway staff was buried alive.
After the procedure, Dr. Susan had very sternly ordered a two day bed rest to which Miranda had acquiesced after much coaxing and cajoling.
Andy has been working on auto-pilot mode all these days and she dioesn't know what to feel. Not when most of the work is over and all she can do is wait, wait for the results, and wait for the test to show up 2 pink lines. She has realized, that after all, she wants this, wants this more than she's ever wanted anything else in her life, almost as much as she wants Miranda.
On the other hand, Miranda is a waking, sleeping, eating, talking mess. Somehow she feels responsible for whatever the outcome might be- she is in charge of Andrea's baby and like everything under her control this too needs to be perfect, this can't get screwed up. Not in a million years.
So, everything is a mess, a tangle of nervous energy, tangy acrid attitudes, and moods over the edge, ready for a volcanic eruption, too many emotions-terror, apprehension, anxiety, and excitement.
It's this one thing-now or never. They will not allow this to go awry.
Luckily the twins don't catch on the tension because Miranda and Andy have no intentions of telling them anytime soon. They have enough at school to worry and be excited about. They want to tell no one until they're a 200% sure.
15th July, 2007
7.24 p.m.
Master Bedroom
The Townhouse
It's been 14 days since the whole IVF transfer of the zygote to Miranda's uterus took place.
They had started checking from day 11 for results and had come up negative all three times till last night.
said it might take time or it might even mean that the process has been a failure, the chances of which are high, given Miranda's age and physical health.
Andy is pacing outside the bathroom, her hands are wet from perspiration and yet she has them clamped around each other and is wringing them every other second. It's exactly like that scene from the movies where the father is waiting eagerly for the 'good news' outside the delivery room.
Both of them have been losing hope with every night that the result showed up negative. She doesn't have much hope for tonight either. It won't work out after-all. It's not meant to be. She loves Caroline and Cassidy perfectly well and it won't matter in two days, but still...
The bathroom door opens.
Andy is overtly anxious to see Miranda's face and hope against hope that they've done it. But she can't see Miranda emerge and her heart drops to her feet thinking Miranda is too ashamed or sad or whatever else to even show her face.
But then, then a woman peeks from behind the door with a shy smile on her face. She looks exactly like her Miranda, but younger more radiant and beautiful.
It is Miranda after all, as she emerges from behind the door. She nods once and then smiles again-she suddenly looks younger, almost miraculously.
Andy is delirious with joy and again she doesn't know what to do.
Miranda is still standing there with that shy expression on her face which Andy has never seen before. She looks beautiful and Andy knows her mind is playing tricks with her but there is something different about the way Miranda looks- something somewhat maternal and it gives rise to this ridiculously warm feeling in Andy's heart.
Miranda is pregnant with her child and Andy feels a fierce wave of protectiveness over her, the way she feels with Caroline and Cassidy.
She internally pledges to take care of Miranda and this unborn child who is giving rise to these unknown emotions that she has never felt before.
She ultimately finds courage to move from her spot and close the distance between them.
She doesn't thank Miranda because that's not the right thing to do, because it's their child, the gratitude is mutual, Andy realizes as she gazes into her lovers eyes.
Instead she kisses Miranda, who kisses back as passionately as Andy is kissing her. Everything from the past few weeks: the tension, the anxiety, the worry all melts away in that moment when their tongues battle for a mutual existence in each other's presence.
This, tonight, just knowing about the things to come infuses them with enormous hope and that is enough. Enough gratitude for having each other in their lives and the child that they can rightfully call theirs.
Thanks for reading.