A/N: Thank you everybody for showing interest in this story! I definitely don't follow Anne Hathaway's process for getting the role of Fantine in Les Mis, but hopefully it's realistic enough.

"Andrea," Miranda said without the accent.

Her first assistant came rushing in with a pad and pencil in hand. Her long brown hair was up in a bun and a few tendrils of hair fell down past her brown eyes. Miranda sighed internally. She had hired the new assistant- whatever the hell her name was-because she looked like the real Andrea. Of course, she was hardly a substitute, but every time Miranda saw her, her spirits couldn't help but lift a bit before sinking back down when she realized that it was not Andrea. It was pathetic, she knew, but at least when she looked into the assistant's brown eyes, she could pretend she was looking at Andrea.

"Yes Miranda?" the over-eager assistant chirped.

"Get me Andrea's number," Miranda said in clipped tones. She was going to do it. She was going to contact Andrea, and she wasn't going to back down at the last second.

"Wait, mine?" the girl blinked stupidly.

Miranda had to physically restrain herself from doing something rash. It was times like these where she actually missed Emily. The redhead was competent, and was efficient. Alas, she had moved on to work as a design editor, studying under Nigel's wing.

"Why," Miranda enunciated each of her words, "would I want to have your number?"

"Uh," 'Andrea' stuttered. "I thought you were talking about me…I, I don't know."

"You. Don't. Know." Miranda leaned forward and hissed, "Get me Andrea Sach's number. Now."

"Yes Miranda," the girl scrambled to get away.

It didn't take her long to find the number, and she returned to Miranda's office and waved the piece of paper she had jotted down the number in the air. She handed the note to Miranda and was alternating her weight from her left foot to her right.

"I found it!" she exclaimed, looking proud of herself. "Oh my gosh. Is it really Andrea Sachs? The girl who played Fantine in-"

"That's all," Miranda growled.

"Right," a light pinkness formed on the assistant's blush-covered cheeks. She turned to go.

"And Andrea?"

"Yes?" the girl flinched.

"Don't bother me."

Miranda's terrified assistant nodded and slipped out of the door, shutting it behind her. Miranda was left in her office alone, staring at the 10-digit number on the white paper. Woman-ing up, she picked up her phone and dialed the number. She almost pushed 'Dial' but then chickened out and hung up. Breathing evenly through her nose, she dialed the number again and waited for Andrea to pick up. Her heart almost leapt into her throat when she heard the soft voice she missed so much resonate through the phone.

"Hello?"

"Andrea," Miranda breathed.

"Miranda?" her voice was surprised. "Why are you calling me?" she backtracked, "Not that I'm unhappy to hear from you, it's just that, well, I haven't spoken with you in what, four years? It's-"

"You're babbling Andrea," Miranda's voice was amused, and she allowed a smile to play on her lips. Usually blabber would bother her, but she found it endearing when Andrea did it.

"Right, sorry," Andrea sounded embarrassed.

There was a short pause.

"I suppose a congratulations is in order," Miranda clutched her phone tightly, wrapping a finger around the cord.

"Why?"

"Your first acting job was a success."

"Wow," Andrea sounded incredulous. "Did you, I mean, well-"

"Did I see the film? Yes, I did."

"Um, what did you think?" her voice was timid.

"I thought I already made it clear Andrea. I enjoyed it very much. Your acting is…acceptable." Miranda held her breath.

"Wow," Andrea repeated, completely shocked. "Thank you so much Miranda. I really appreciate it."

"I was wondering-" Miranda cleared her throat. "I mean, Runway was wondering if you would be available to do a photo shoot. I've noticed you haven't had any magazine features yet, and we would be honored if we could be your first."

"Uh," Andrea, wonderstruck, gulped. "That would be wonderful Miranda. What time?"

"How about two days from now? Friday?"

She heard shuffling in the background. "Um I'm afraid that won't work. I have something going on then. Actually, my whole entire month is taken up. Would tomorrow be too early?"

"No, that would work," Miranda said, puzzled by Andrea's schedule. Her voice sounded a little shaky too. The slight tremor was almost hidden beneath the solid voice, but it was present. "How about three in the afternoon tomorrow?"

"That works for me! Thank you so much Miranda."

"I was wondering," Miranda hesitated before pushing on, "if you would like to accompany me to lunch today."

Andrea got quiet. Miranda panicked.

"Unless you already have plans…" Miranda trailed off.

"That would be wonderful," Andrea said softly.

"Would you like to go to Smith and Wollensky's?"

"Sure."

"I'll meet you there in an hour?"

"Sounds good. See you then Miranda."

"Good bye Andrea," Miranda was gripping her phone so tight, her knuckles were white.

For the first time in her life, she waited for Andrea to hang up before she did. She placed the phone back into its cradle, and swiveled her chair around so she was facing out the window. Miranda took off her glasses and dangled them between her fingers. She rested her index finger on her upper lip, and simply sat for a while, contemplating the younger woman's behavior. Something was off, even if she did try to hide it. Making a mental note, she resolved to find out when she saw Andrea soon.

Miranda couldn't help but smile when she thought of the idea that she was going to meet her former assistant in less than 55 minutes.

"Andrea," she called.

"Yes Miranda?"

"Clear my schedule for the next three hours. Call Roy and have him waiting in about an hour. Have coffee when I return, and tell Nigel to design a feature page for Andrea Sachs. Inform the staff to set up for a photo shoot tomorrow at three. They know what to do. That's all."

'Andrea' took longer than necessary in writing everything down, and Miranda could feel her frustration growing. Luckily for the assistant, she left before Miranda could act upon her anger.

She sighed and turned back to her paperwork. She worked on it for about twenty minutes before looking up and stretching her neck. Standing, she straightened out her Dolce and Gabanna jacket and smoothed her Vivienne Westwood skirt. Miranda swept out of her office and barked, "Coat. Bag." to Andrea. After she had plucked the coat and bag out of her assistant's hands (there was no way Miranda was going to let Andrea put on the coat for her) she proceeded briskly down the hallway and stepped in the elevator, chasing out a skinny model who squeaked and wobbled out on her 6-inch heels. Miranda chuckled softly to herself when she was alone in the elevator. She took the time to put on her coat and her trusty Prada sunglasses.

The sadistic part of Miranda enjoyed seeing other people's fear when she passed by them. Today was no different, as Miranda confidently strutted out of the building, her heels clacking on the polished floor. Grown men, models, designers, even janitors cowered before her. They all made haste, and scattered out of the path of the Dragon Lady.

"It's so efficient," Miranda thought, "to get from one place to another."

She made her way outside, shivering slightly when the chilly breeze hit her. Roy was waiting patiently outside for her, holding the car door open. Miranda slid in and Roy shut the door behind her, shielding her from the cold. Once inside, she took off her sunglasses and fiddled with them. There was no doubt she was nervous. Her mind worked overtime to think of conversations she could have with the younger woman, and she almost gave herself a headache from thinking so hard.

This time around, Miranda paid attention to her surroundings, and was out of the car before Roy could even open the door for her. Sunglasses were back on her face, and she looked every bit the fearsome Editor she was.

"I'll be about two hours," Miranda tossed over her shoulder.

Roy nodded, climbed back into the car, and drove off. Miranda squared her shoulders, adjusted her posture, and strolled into the restaurant.

"Hello ma'am, how many-" an attractive waitress began her normal speech.

"Does Andrea Sachs have a table?" Miranda interrupted, taking off her sunglasses and pining the poor waitress with glare.

"Yes, she is sitting over there," the waitress pointed to a secluded booth that was hidden in the corner.

Miranda could see a hint of dark hair peek over the back of the booth, and her heart lifted. She left without another word, leaving the waitress confused. Approaching the booth, she noticed Andrea had taken time and effort into dressing nicely. She wore black True Religion jeans, and a cream colored blouse. Her accessories were just right too. "It's for me," Miranda thought dizzily. She noticed with a slight frown, however, that Andrea was currently staring off into space with a blank expression on her face.

However, when Miranda came closer, Andrea's face morphed into a small grin.

"Miranda," she said, standing and giving Miranda the customary pecks on the cheeks. Her soft lips brushed past Miranda's cheeks, and Miranda wanted more.

"Andrea," Miranda managed to get out.

Andrea walked behind Miranda and gently took off her coat, her fingers brushing against Miranda's neck inadvertently. She walked away, hung the coat up, and returned to the table with a smile on her face. Miranda couldn't help but observe how thin Andrea had gotten. Andrea slid into the seat across from her and rested her hand on the back of her neck.

"How are you?" Andrea asked, breaking the ice.

"I'm fine," Miranda replied. "And you?"

Andrea stared off into space for a second. "I'm…busy. The acting business is harder than I thought." She shrugged. "But I am really enjoying it so far. There's so much to learn, and I'm just scratching the surface."

"Mmm," Miranda hummed.

A blonde waitress came over, breaking the silence that blanketed them.

"Hi my name is Mandy, and I'll be your waitress today. What would you like to drink?"

"I'm fine with water," Andrea said and smiled.

"I would like an iced tea," Miranda said and did not smile.

"I'll be right back with your drink. Do you know what you will have to eat today or would you like some time to look over the menu?"

"I'll have a Caesar salad please," Andrea said and handed her menu over to the waitress.

"I'll have a steak. Medium rare. No sides," Miranda handed her menu to Mandy too.

"All right, I'll be right back with your drink soon, and your orders should be ready in no time!"

"Thank you," Andrea turned her attention back to Miranda.

"A Caesar salad?" Miranda raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were done dieting."

"No, I'm done. A salad just sounded good to me," Andrea explained.

"How much weight did you have to lose for the film?"

"About 25 pounds."

"Andrea!" Miranda was shocked. "Did that threaten your health?"

"No, I had doctors and professionals telling me how to lose the weight the right way. It really wasn't that hard, besides" Andrea snorted, "at least I'm not fat anymore."

"You were never fat," Miranda wanted to hit herself in the head for ever saying those words.

"That's ok, it's over and done with," Andrea grinned. "Besides, even though it sucked-I mean it stunk-when you said it, at least I knew I made an impression on you. Besides, you said I was the 'smart, fat girl'. So at least you thought I was smart!"

"But that's no excuse," Miranda growled, angry with herself. "That was mean, and-"

"It's fine Miranda," Andrea's eyes crinkled. "Stop beating yourself up over it."

The waitress came back with Miranda's ice tea and set it down on the table.

Miranda took a dainty sip, savoring the flavor of the cool liquid washing down her throat, and sighed. Looking at the beautiful woman across from her, she could see faint stress lines, and a hint of shadows under her expressive brown eyes that concealer couldn't quite hide. She felt contrite.

"Andrea, I apologize for blacklisting you. It was rash, and I shouldn't have done it from every publishing company."

Andrea ran her fingertips around the rim of her glass.

"I'm not going to lie, I was really upset when you did, but what did I expect? I abandoned you at your busiest time. I would've blacklisted myself if I were you too," Andrea paused and took a sip of water. "Apology accepted. I'm also sorry for leaving you so unprofessionally."

"Apology accepted," Miranda smiled faintly. "Now with that settled, will you care to indulge me in the last four years of your life? How did you land the role of Fantine?"

"Well after I returned from Paris, I knew I had to find work quickly," Andrea started to explain. "My boyfriend at the time, Nate, had left me to work as a sous-chef in Boston. I was happy for him. It was time for us to break up anyways, but without him, half of my money was gone. I couldn't afford my apartment anymore."

"Oh my, were you homeless?" Miranda was scared of her response.

"Not completely, my friends Doug and Lily took me in. I alternated sleeping on their couches. I worked odd jobs for a while-I was a babysitter, a house cleaner, and I worked at multiple restaurants at a time so I could move out and get my own place. As soon as I saved up enough money, which took a little over a year, I purchased a small apartment, and moved in quickly. I felt bad for crashing at their places," Andrea paused and took a drink of water. "But I paid them back for everything I used. Anyways, onto my tale of getting the role of Fantine. Lily owns an art gallery, and she had a few pieces that became really popular. She had multiple gallery openings, and I was at all of them. Then at one of them, the director for Les Mis, Tom Hooper, walked in and we started chatting. It was so surreal. I couldn't believe that I was speaking to someone famous. The only famous person I've talked to is…you," Andrea looked up and blushed. "Anyways, he was telling me how I had 'the look' that he was going for, and one thing led to the next, and soon I had landed the role, acting along with other amazing actors such as Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman. It was so nerve-wracking. It was the first time I had sung or acted in front of other people before, but everyone was really nice and supportive."

"Your voice is incredibly beautiful," Miranda whispered. "And your acting abilities…good lord."

"Thank you," Andrea blushed.

"I must admit, you had me in a blubbering mess by the time the movie was done," Miranda looked down and clasped her hands firmly.

Andrea reached over and gently untangled Miranda's hands. She squeezed Miranda's hands her own and flashed her best smile.

"Miranda, that means so much to me, although I'm sorry you were reduced to such a state," Andrea's fingers rubbed the spot that formed a 'v' between Miranda's thumb and pointer finger.

The waitress came back, and Andrea pulled back her hands, much to Miranda's dismay. She set two plates full of food down in front of the women and stepped back.

"Is there anything else you would like?"

"No, thank you," Andrea said. "Everything looks delicious."

After Mandy left, Miranda felt her mouth dry up. She couldn't believe what she'd made the other woman do. "I'm so sorry Andrea."

"Miranda, it's alright," Andrea flashed her white teeth. "It was a learning experience. Besides if you hadn't blacklisted me, I wouldn't have gotten that role. I realized that I loved acting; I just never gave it a chance. I love how I can become someone else."

She stabbed a piece of lettuce with her fork and raised it up to her mouth. Her jaw flexed as she chewed, and Miranda found herself drawn to the muscles in her chin and throat.

"Are you going to eat or just stare at me the whole meal?" Andrea smiled to take the edge off of her words.

Miranda shifted uncomfortably. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Andrea took another bite of her salad and swallowed. "How are the girls?"

"Teenagers," Miranda summed it up in one word. She cut a bite of steak.

"How old are they? Thirteen now?" Andrea chuckled when Miranda nodded in affirmation. "Ah, the hormonal years."

"Cassidy is the twin showing more potential right now. She's actually studying and working on her schoolwork. The only thing Caroline does is read People," Miranda shook her head, "which, by the way, you are in."

"I am?" Andrea squeaked.

"Yes."

"Hmm, I didn't know I was of that much interest," Andrea mused. "Anyways, so how are you handling the two teens?"

"They are a handful, but they are wonderful. The hardest thing about them is just connecting with them. They like things that I just don't have any interest in. I feel," Miranda paused. "Old." Miranda felt an ache in her chest. It had been so long since she had someone to confide her problems in-it felt nice to finally voice her insecurities to someone who cared.

"Miranda," she reached her hands over and grasped Miranda's hands again. "You are a wonderful mother. I think every parent goes through that stage where they have nothing in common with their child. Take my parents for example; when I was 13, all I wanted to do was write romance novels. I spent hours editing and revising stories that were probably awful. They didn't understand why writing was my passion at that age. My sister's passion was drooling over every single boy she could find. My parents obviously didn't approve of her hobby!" Andrea chuckled. "I think the only think you can do is to support Caroline and Cassidy. You can also find that one thing you have in common with both of them. With my family, our special thing was baking. Sometimes, all of us would just make an entire meal, and we would bond over that. And you are not old. I consider 70 and above old." Her eyes sparkled with something Miranda couldn't place. It wasn't love, but it was something close to it. Miranda blinked hard.

Andrea tried to pull her hands back, but Miranda held fast to them and squeezed gently.

"Thank you," Miranda said in a low voice. "That is the best advice I have ever received about my children."

Andrea smiled knowingly and interlaced their fingers. Both of their breathing sped up, and they unconsciously leaned towards each other.

"May I clear your plates?" Mandy, seemingly oblivious to the obvious tension crackling between the two women, grinned cheerfully as she looked from Andrea to Miranda.

Miranda's nostrils flared in annoyance. Her eyes narrowed, and she was about to yell at her, but Andrea softly rubbed her hand, and Miranda lost her train of thought.

"Yes, thank you," Andrea said and let go of Miranda's hand. "I'll take the check now."

Mandy dropped the check on their table, and Andrea slipped $40 dollars into it.

"Keep the change as a tip," Andrea grinned. She put her jacket on from where she tucked it into the side of the booth, stood, and held out her hand for Miranda to take. Happily accepting, Miranda interlaced her fingers with Andrea's again and allowed the younger woman to guide her along. Andrea grabbed Miranda's coat again, and held it out for the editor to slip into. They made their way outside and after they had walked together for a while, Andrea turned to face Miranda.

"Miranda, I had a lovely time today," Andrea said.

"As did I," Miranda agreed. "Thank you for lunch."

"No problem," Andrea blushed and looked down. "It was nice to see you again."

"You too."

There was a pause.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes. Can I give you a ride?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine."

Miranda leaned in and gave Andrea kisses on her cheeks, lingering a bit when her lips touched soft skin.

"Until tomorrow," she said softly in Andrea's ear.

Andrea shivered. "Until tomorrow."

Andrea threw her coat and purse into a chair.

"God damn it!" She yelled.

She threaded her fingers through her short hair and groaned. Tears began leaking out the corner of her eyes, and Andrea sank down to sit on the floor of her apartment. She couldn't succumb to Miranda's charms. When she had heard her former employee's voice on the telephone, her heart rate had increased rapidly and her breathing hitched. When she had seen the Editor, she had been reminded how much it hurt when she walked away. She had truly missed Miranda over the last four years.

"Oh god," Andrea moaned. "I touched her."

But she could not and would not pursue any kind of relationship with Miranda, no matter how much she wanted to. Her secret prevented her from doing that. Andrea's heart ached.

"Ok, Just do the photo shoot tomorrow, and then Miranda will be out of your life," Andrea started crying again. "For good."

She stood and walked over to the wooden table where she had furiously tossed the papers that sealed her fate. Re-reading the results, her heart sank even further and she felt scared, hopeless, and angry all at the same time.

"It's not fair," Andrea whispered as she thumbed the page.

Andrea sniffed and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.

"You can do this," Andrea spoke out loud to herself. She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I have to. For Miranda's sake, and your own. You are strong enough to handle this."

Too tired to do anything for the rest of the day, Andrea crawled into bed and hid from the world, Miranda, and the damned papers that seemed to be mocking her.

As always, please review! Thank you :)