Miranda awoke to a dull pain in her abdomen and a soft feeling on her hand. The room was dark and she needed a while to get used to the dim light, but there was no doubt of who was sitting at her bedside, obviously asleep. Andrea Sachs. The girl had terrible timing when it came to seeing her at her most vulnerable moments. And she was brave. Not many people would have the courage to come back after walking out on her. But then again, nobody had survived walking out on her before, at least not on a professional basis. Miranda didn't know why she didn't threaten Andrea. She thought about it of course, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. It turned out to be an acceptable decision, as the feeling of the girl's hand covering her own was not altogether unpleasant.
"Andrea," A whisper was all she could manage and Miranda was annoyed at how frail she sounded.
Andrea woke up, for a second not knowing where she was, until she saw Miranda looking at her. She realised she was holding the Ice Queen's hand and quickly pulled it away.
"Miranda, how are you feeling?" What a stupid question. The woman looked like hell and just had an operation that, considering the time, must have been not an easy one.
The older woman just kept on looking at her, which made Andrea more than uneasy. "I'm sorry, Miranda. You just had a surgery and you're obviously…well…are you in pain?" Great, Andy. She is ill and you sound like a stuttering idiot.
Miranda turned to look away from Andy, and a sudden pain pierced through her body with a force so strong that she hoped she would just faint. The young woman could see her hands clasping the sheet in what seemed to be pain. Andrea ran out of the room to get a nurse. "Please come quick! Something is wrong with Mrs. Priesley!"
The nurse hurried into the room and looked at the medical report. "I am sorry, Mrs. Priesley. I can't give you any more pain medication. The pain after this sort of operation is a common problem, but there is nothing that can be done about it, I'm afraid. It will get better in the morning."
Andrea couldn't believe the woman. It seemed that she was enjoying Miranda's condition, and Andy wondered if that was revenge for how Miranda had behaved before the surgery, but regardless, that woman would never again work as a nurse in NY when Miranda was well.
Andy didn't really know what to do, so she decided to do what she would have done for every other person. She sat back in her chair beside Miranda's bed and placed her hand on the older woman's arm. "Take my hand, Miranda and squeeze it tightly when it hurts. You…" She was cut off when Miranda indeed grabbed her hand so tightly that Andy thought it would break, but Andy knew better than to complain about it.
Because of the pain in her abdomen, Miranda couldn't lie on her back any longer. The problem was that neither did she want to face her former assistant, nor did she want to let go of her hand. When she tried to move she had to find out that she wouldn't need to make that decision, because she was too weak to roll to her side and, being Miranda Priesley, there was no way she would ask for help.
Seeing the older woman's failed attempt to move, Andy hesitantly moved her free right arm under Miranda's head and slid her hand under the groaning woman's shoulder. "Let me help you." Andy slowly and carefully pulled her former boss towards her. From the pressure she received on her left hand she knew the movement was very painful for Miranda. Finally lying on her left side, she didn't have the strength to move her head from the young woman's arm.
She felt nothing but unbearable pain, Andrea's warm soothing hand on her back, and the gentle pressure she got back when she squeezed Andrea's hand as tightly as she could. She couldn't think, she couldn't move. It seemed the pain reduced her to a groaning mass.
"Oh god, make it stop," she pleaded over and over. Andrea held her close and prayed that she would feel better soon. It broke her heart to see the strong queen of fashion like this. "I am here Miranda, you are not alone. I will help you through this." Andrea couldn't stop her tears from falling, and as both of her hands were occupied, she couldn't wipe them away, and they fell freely on the moaning woman's face. When Andrea finally managed to pull her left hand out of Miranda's, she wiped her own tears from Miranda's cheek and forehead. She was shocked to feel fever and cold sweat.
Suddenly the woman was shaking and pleading, "Help me! Oh god, Andrea please help me. Oh god…"
"I'll get help. Hold on Miranda!" Andy was about to run when Miranda grabbed her wrist. "Don't leave me. You promised…don't leave me here."
"I need to find a doctor. This is not normal post-op pain. I promise to be right back." She instinctively bent down and quickly kissed Miranda's forehead. "I won't leave, hold on."
She ran out of the room without looking back, right into the nurses' room just to find the same nurse that was on Andy's list already. "Mrs. Priesley needs help. NOW! She is in so much pain. That's not normal!" The young woman practically shouted at the night nurse.
"I already told you that I can't give her more. And the visiting hours have been over for quite a while. You need to leave now and come back tomorrow at three." With that she turned to her paperwork again.
Andy was furious. "I want to talk with a doctor. Who is the director of this hospital?!"
The nurse didn't even look up. "Go, or I will call security."
Andy had heard enough, and so she raced downstairs to the reception desk, glad to see that someone was still there. She took a deep breath. It wouldn't do to shout at the poor woman, so she asked kindly, "Can you tell me please who is in charge of this hospital?"
"Mr. Maison," she said slightly confused as she handed Andrea his card. Andrea didn't have the time to tell her what was going on, so she just dialed his number. The woman at the desk went pale. "Miss, what are you…" She didn't get to finish as she heard Andrea shouting at the man at the other end. "Mrs. Priesley is screaming with pain. She needs a doctor, and I swear you will never work in the country again if you don't get her help immediately. … I don't care!...her assistant…three minutes and not even God will be able to help your sorry ass if you don't help her!" She slammed the phone shut and ran upstairs again, right into the room she had just left a few minutes ago.
Miranda was crying herself now, groaning and muttering, "Make it stop, oh please make it stop," over and over again. Andrea grabbed her hand again and started stroking her hair. "Help is coming, Miranda. Hold on just a few moments. I'm here." She kept on murmuring nonsensical words of comfort until the very man she had just called walked in, the nurse Andy hated too dearly in his wake. He went pale when he saw the most important patient he ever had. Something was terribly wrong. He looked at her vitals and shouted at the nurse "It must be inner bleeding. I need to open her again. Get her to the O.R.!"
Then everything went very quick. Miranda was rushed into the O.R and Andy ran beside her as far as she was allowed to go, still holding her hand. For the first time since Andy had known her, Miranda looked truly terrified.
"You will be all right, Miranda. I'll be there when you wake up," was the last thing Andy shouted after her before the doors closed.