"What makes a family?"
Andy sat, waiting for her contact to confirm whether she'd finally get an interview with the Bayview Correctional Facility warden about the prison riots that had been going on for almost a week now and nearly resulted in the deaths of two prison guards. When her phone rang she looked down at the ID and smiled.
"Andy Priestly, how can I satisfy your desires?"
"For your sake, I hope you haven't made a habit of answering your calls with that particular greeting," Miranda replied, a certain warmth breaking through her usually ice-cold manner.
"Of course not, only when my amazing wife calls." She explained giggling. "How are you, honey?"
"I'm doing well, waiting for my driver, I don't know why it is so challenging for some people to be on time."
"Baby, chill out. We have a deal, remember? Now, how was your appointment last night? Did you like him?"
Miranda was in Boston to finally meet a new artist, Brian Allen, whose work she had had the opportunity to view recently. She had a feeling that he could turn into the next James Holt, and while he was both excited and terrified to meet Miranda, he was also very aware that this one encounter could make or break his fashion career.
"Yes, more than I was expected to. He is very talented and with the right support and guidance—my support and guidance!—he could turn into a real artist."
"I'm glad you're happy and that your plans are going well; when will you come home?"
"I have a meeting in half an hour, two more later this evening and my flight is booked for tomorrow morning"
"Great, I have a surprise for you" she said with a devilish smile trying to picture Miranda's face upon seeing what she had done.
"Hmm. I like surprises. Now, is it something for me to see, touch, smell, taste, or play with?" Miranda's voice took on a wicked tone as she asked the question.
"Oh, I'm hoping for all the options you just gave me and some more." Andy felt her inside twist with the anticipation of Miranda, hands all over her body, discovering what she had done, and what could happen if Miranda decided she didn't like the surprise.
"I can't wait to get home then," she teased her.
"Me too, its only two days apart but I miss you so much, the girls too." Andy said.
"I miss you and my twins too, I hope you are not letting them sleep too late or eat inappropriate food."
"No, I am not" she said, failing miserably in her attempt to appear firm.
"I will pretend I believe that."
"Scout's honor," Andy said while trying to hide a laugh over the phone.
"Sure. How is your day going?" Miranda asked, glancing at her watch.
"Well, I'm waiting for my contact to confirm the interview with the prison warden. I hope I can get an exclusive with her since they're not letting many press into the prison."
"Please take care of yourself, I don't want you in danger. What if the prisoners rebel or something like that while you're there?"
Andy rolled eyes to such exaggeration "Miranda, relax ok? It's a minimum security facility, everything will be fine." She was trying hard to reassure Miranda that a journalist's work was not all that dangerous.
"Take Nil with you," she demanded, hoping that Andy would give in for once and bring someone along to watch her back while she worked.
"Nil? The last time I brought him along he almost had an heart attack while I was interviewing the homeless; he heard a car backfire and lost his head." She laughed of the memory of the girlie scream Nil made, "Honey, don't worry I will be fine. I've been waiting for this interview for two days now."
"Ok, but please be careful. I have to go now, my driver finally decided to arrive." Miranda said impatiently for having to wait that much.
"Ok, have a nice day, I love you."
"Ditto," Miranda answered, knowing what would come next.
"Miranda, say it." Andy said sighing.
"I love you too, Mrs. Priestly," she answered with a joyful smile.
"Wonderful. Bye, baby."
"Bye."
Forty minutes later, Andy was still sitting in her office when Ronald arrived.
"Andy, the contact called, we got it. They are expecting us in one hour"
"Yes! Give me 10 minutes, get your camera and wait for me downstairs. I'm just going to get my things and call Nil to take us there."
"Don't take too long"
Andy was putting her mess of papers together when her cell phone rang again with an unknown ID.
"Hello?"
"Hello, this is Virginia Ford calling from Dalton school; I would like to speak with Andrea Sachs Priestly."
"Yes, is something wrong?"
"I'm calling about one of our students, Caroline Priestly. I already called Miranda´s cell phone but it has been going directly to voicemail. Since you're down as one of her emergency contacts, Caroline asked us to call you instead of her father.
Andy felt her heart skip several beats.
"What happened?"
"She hasn't been feeling well. She went to the infirmary this morning complaining of a stomach and head ache. She has a fever and has been vomiting and we need someone to come and pick her up from school."
"I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Ok, I will be waiting for you then."
"Thank you, I'll be right there." She hung up the phone and let out the breath she hadn't even noticed she was holding.
Rushing even more now, she grabbed her purse and her cell phone before running to the elevator.
"Finally, Nil is already waiting for us." Ronald said anxiously.
"Change of plans. I can't go with you, I have a family emergency that I need to take care of." Andy passed by him while saying.
"What? You're kidding right? That interview is important to us, Andy" he said following her.
"No, I'm not. My family is important to me. Would you please call the warden again, tell them what happened and try to reschedule for later. Or better yet, for tomorrow?"
"Andy, I'm sorry but I've got rent and bills to pay. I'm not married to a millionaire fashion queen or living in a mansion like some people I know." He looked annoyed as he waited for Andy to reconsider.
"You know, Ronald, you're really lucky that I'm in a rush or I'd make sure you'd regret everything you just said. And I wouldn't worry about the interview anymore; from now on I have only Julian working for me.
Andy got in the car without looking back to see the displeased face Ronald gave to her.
"To Dalton´s, Nil, as fast as you can. I have to call Emily."
"Ok."
-Dalton school-
Andy was greeted by Virginia and rushed to the nurse's office to find Caroline stretched out on a cot with Cassidy, having refused to leave her sister alone, sitting at her side.
Andy rushed over to the girl and hugged her. "Caroline, God, you're burning up!" She put her hand to the girl's hot forehead.
"I'm sorry, Andy, I know you were working but I'm really not feeling well." Caroline said in a weak voice.
"Baby, it's ok, I'm here now." She kissed her stepdaughter's forehead, "Can you stand up? Nil is waiting."
"Yes, I think I can."
"Cass, go get your things and your sister's thing and let's go" she ordered, helping Caroline out of the room.
They rushed from the school straight to an ER; Andy found herself silently thanking Emily for calling ahead and informing the intake desk that they were on their way.
-Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital-
"Hello there, I've got Caroline's exam results here with me," said the doctor that had first attended to Caroline.
"Good, what is wrong with her? She will be fine, right?" Andy's worry was evident in her voice.
"Yes, she'll be fine. Lactose intolerance episodes are common on children and she said she had some extra cheese pizza yesterday and cheese sandwich today. This suggests an event of lactose intolerance and we'll start with IV medicines to treat her fever and hydrate. We need to keep her for a few hours to monitor her progress and then we can release her, okay?"
"Ok, thank you." Andy's voice was of pure gratitude.
"You're welcome, I'll come back later to see how things are going," she said leaving the private room.
Andy walked back to the bed and settled next to Caroline, drawing her close in a comfortable hug.
"I'm sorry," Caroline said with a weak voice, not used to getting sick and not wanting to have caused Andy trouble at work.
"Baby, there is nothing to be sorry for. Let's concentrate on getting you all better, okay? You want me to call your mother now?"
"No, she'll just worry and since you're here there's no need to involve her as well." She cuddled into Andy's arms.
"Ok, we'll tell her tomorrow morning when she come back home. Cass, are you hungry?"
"A little," Cassidy answered from the couch she was sitting on, trying to read a book.
"You want to go home? I'll call Nil to take you there."
"No, I want to stay; we'll go home when Caroline feels better" she said, smiling to her sister in an attempt to soothe her twin.
3 hours later
"Caroline, how are you feeling?" Dr. Kwok asked as she entered the room.
"I'm feeling better, my head isn't hurting anymore and I don't feel like vomiting either," she answered, still cuddled within Andy's protective hug.
"That's great", the doctor said, turning her attention to Andy, "she has no fever now and she hasn't had an episode of vomiting in awhile. I think you can go home now, just don't let her eat solid foods for the rest of the day and if she feels nauseous again, make sure she drinks a lot of liquid and rests. She can have Gatorade diluted with a small portion of water. I'd recommend that she stay home tomorrow too just to prevent a relapse and so she can rest a little more."
"Is she lactose intolerant now? Should she take any other medicine at home? Antibiotics or anything" Andy asked, worried that Caroline would have to change her eating habits, however briefly, and feeling guilty for letting the girls eat or do whatever they wanted while Miranda wasn't home.
"That's not necessary; intolerance can happen in isolated cases, and I think this is the case with Caroline. Still, its better that she avoid heavy food for a few days and there's no need to take antibiotics. She just needs to stay hydrated; lots of liquids and some light meals and she'll be like normal in just a few days." The doctor smiled as she tried to reassure a fretting Andy.
"Ok, thank you again."
"We're here to help. Now, let me sign Caroline's release and you all can go on home."
-Sachs-Priestly townhouse-
Andy and the girls arrived home and were welcomed by Joanna.
"Hi, baby girl, how are you feeling?" Joanna asked.
"I'm feeling better Joanna, thanks for asking."
"I made that chicken soup with potatoes that you like."
"Thank you but I'm not hungry."
"Yes, but you must eat. Go on, take a shower and I'll bring your dinner there," Andy said, knowing that Caroline was afraid to eat and be sick again.
"Can I stay with you?" Caroline asked this with her most lovely puppy dog eyes, the ones that work on Andy and her mother every time, no matter what.
"Sure, baby, after you're done with your shower, why don't you come to the bedroom, hmm? We'll eat a little and then you can rest, okay?"
Later that night Andy sat with a sleepy Caroline watching High School Musical when Cassidy came into the room.
"Hey, are you feeling better, sis?"
"Yes, much better."
"Did you finish your homework?" Andy asked firmly, she already let the girls do many things they were not supposed to do. She tried to make sure that at the very least, they did do their homework each night.
"Yes, mine and Caroline's."
"Good."
"Can I sleep here too? Please?" Cassidy had her own puppy dog eyes and never turned down an opportunity to put them to good use.
"Yes, honey, you can. Go get your teddy and come join us."
"Andy, I do not sleep with the teddy bear. I just use it as a pillow."
Caroline tried hard to disguise her chuckle as a cough, knowing that her twin loved that teddy bear and only pretended not to so people wouldn't think she was a baby anymore.
"Sorry, honey, go get your pillow then."
xxxxxxx
It was around 11 pm when Miranda made it home that evening. She went straight up to Caroline's bedroom and when she found that room empty, moved on to the master bedroom where she found the three loves of her life sleeping like babies as the TV played on in the background. She leaned over to kiss Cassidy on the forehead, and then moved to kiss Caroline and check her temperature. Finding no sign of fever, she grabbed the remote to turn the TV off, walked around the bed to where Andy lay, and kissed the corner of her lover's mouth. Miranda grabbed some night clothes and slipped out of the bedroom, unintentionally causing Andy to stir as she shut the door behind her.
Andy got out of bed and walked out of the bedroom, finally finding Miranda at the stairs.
"Miranda? You back already", she said sleep, still heavy in her voice, as she rubbed at her tired eyes.
"Hi, go back to bed. I'm going to make some tea. We can talk in the morning."
"No, it`s ok," she said, walking to Miranda and wrapping her arms around her wife in a tight hug, "How are you?"
"I'm fine, come with me then."
They went to the kitchen and Miranda started to make the tea. After a few minutes of silence, Miranda passed Andy her cup of tea, took a sip of her own, and began to talk.
"Why didn't you call me to let me know what was going on?"
"I was going to but Carol didn't want to worry and disturb you. I was with her the whole time, I'm sorry for not calling, and I would have if I couldn't have handled it, or if the situation had been more serious." Andy played with her cup but never took a sip, "Who told you?"
Miranda pursed her lips.
"Emily, of course; I'm gonna kill her. Not only did she make you worry but she made you cut your trip short and rush home!"
"It's ok, I spoke with the doctor who attended Caroline and she explained what happened and that you were perfectly capable of handling it. But I wanted to come home. I was only a quick flight away. Anyway, did you get to go to your interview," she asked already knowing the answer.
Andy didn't want to Miranda feel bad but she decided not to lie.
"I didn't, Julian called me early and he said he was trying to arrange with the contact to reschedule the interview for tomorrow afternoon but he's not sure how it will work out yet."
"You should have called Emily-or their father, even-to go to the school and pick them up."
"Caroline wanted me to go get her, and I was worried like hell about her. Do you think I could have paid any attention to an interview knowing she was sick and that I wasn't with her? That neither of us were?"
"I know, I just don't want you to mess with your job with things there are not directly your responsibility."
"How can you say that?" Andy asked with indignantly, "They are my responsibilities. I don't love or care about the girls like they're an unwanted obligation. I love and care about them like they are my own children. It seems crazy, I know, and I don't know whether they feel the same way about me—frankly, I don't care—but I would do anything in my power to protect them, and you. You three are the most important things in my life, all of you." Andy's voice rose as she finished; it hurt to think that Miranda might not consider the twins to be an integral part of her life as well.
"Andrea, calm down. They do, believe me; they love you and they trust and care about you very much."
Miranda went to where Andy was sitting and pulled her into a hug, giving her a sweet kiss that had Andy feeling better immediately.
"I love you," she declared tenderly as she snuggled Andy's neck.
"Ditto and more," Andy said, feeling better after Miranda's words, indulging in a little foreplay as she let her hands trail down Miranda's back.
"You say that but you know it's not true. It's impossible for you to love me more than I love you," Miranda said, kissing Andy again.
Andy broke the intense kiss, struggling to get the air she needed. "Yes, it is. It's true."
"Let's go to bed, darling, you look tired. Come on."
They kissed again before heading hand in hand upstairs. Andy found herself alone when she entered their room, Miranda refused to follow.
"Baby, you know our bed is big enough to fit all of us." Andy whispered.
"I know, but I want to shower and don't want to make noise and disturb their sleep."
"Where will you going to sleep?" Andy asked curiously.
"In the guest room."
"Aww, poor baby. How will you ever survive without me to hold you in the dark?"
"It'll be hard, but I'll live." Miranda kissed the corner of Andy's mouth again, as her lover smiled in the dark.
"Sleep well, I'll see you in the morning."
"You too, and if you want to pay me a visit later, don't feel shy about it. I still want to know what my surprise is it about," she teased her wife with an evil smirk.
"Damn woman, don't do this to me, I won't be able to sleep now."
Miranda only laughed maliciously and disappeared into the darkness of the hall, leaving a laughing Andy behind.
FIN.