A/N: doubling up on the chapters so this one is longer, thanks for the feedback!

January - Somewhere in the Poconos, New York

Late the next morning, Miranda pulled up the winding driveway and checked Andrea's handwritten directions several times to confirm she was in the right place. When the young woman described it as "a cabin in the Poconos," she imagined a tiny, two-room log cabin style house. This was really just the opposite—a modern two-story home with floor-to-ceiling windows, a large porch overlooking the valley, and a basement that walks out to a large swimming pool. There was a three-car detached garage, and it looked like there was a smaller structure beyond the garage that could have been a shed or an apartment.

She carried her bags to the porch, then put the car in the garage. It was very smart of Andrea to purchase a used Lexus SUV for this purpose. It was still a nice car, but practical enough that anyone living in a home like this could afford. Inside, she was pleasantly surprised to find little touches of home everywhere. Andrea had made copies of many of Miranda's favorite photos of the girls, stocked the bookshelves with some of her favorite books, as well as some classics and new bestsellers. Another case was dedicated entirely to back issues of Runway. In the living room, she spotted a leather sectional with built-in recliners and new she would be spending most of her time there.

The first floor consisted of the foyer, a small bathroom, the kitchen, a small office nook, and the living room. Upstairs, there was an impressive master suite, as well as a spare bedroom that was more of a den, and a laundry room. In the basement was a sort of rec room with a large flat-screen television, an area with a treadmill and stationary bike, a temperature-controlled wine storage, and a built-in cedar sauna. This was really an incredible house, and Miranda was already feeling less anxious about the next nine months.

Andrea received a text that morning from Miranda: Arrived and settled. The house is nice. -M

She smiled and laughed to herself. In Miranda-speak, that means she was impressed. She sent a quick note back, then jumped in the shower. Nigel wasn't Miranda, but that didn't mean he was any less of a demanding boss.

Several weeks later, Andrea looked at all of the bags in the trunk of her rental car. How could the woman have "forgotten" so much stuff? Shaking her head, she shut the trunk and took a seat behind the wheel. Leaving now. I have everything you requested, plus some groceries and paperwork from EC. Anything else? -A

Miranda quickly replied: An overnight bag for yourself? Forecast calls for snow. -M

Andrea chuckled to herself and started the car, confident that she had already packed a bag. She didn't want to get ahead of herself, but over the past few weeks, her relationship with Miranda had changed significantly; they were almost—she hesitated to think it—friends.

When she arrived at the house, Miranda came out on the porch to greet her, and she was surprised to see the editor's visible baby bump.

"Hi, how are you?" Andrea said, walking up to her and hugging her lightly.

Miranda returned the hug and squeezed Andrea's hand. "I'm good. Can I help you bring some things inside?"

"Absolutely not," Andrea said. "You can hold the door for me, though," she added with a smile before running back to the car to unload the trunk.

Once they were settled, Miranda made a light lunch and asked the young woman a lot of questions about Runway, Nigel, and just New York City in general.

"Actually," Andrea said nervously, "I did want to talk to you about something else. Um, I think Nigel will have to make some staff cuts, and I am not sure how much longer I will have a job, so um…"

Miranda stared at her wide-eyed. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. Look, I will still be here for you, but I will need to find another job, so I can't guarantee that I will be able to drop everything," she said, looking down at her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry—I know the timing is not ideal."

"How much do we pay you?"

"Salary?"

"Yes."

"Um, $35,000 plus benefits. Why?"

Miranda rolled her eyes. "Irv is just doing this to get back at me. It makes no sense financially to eliminate the youngest, lowest-paid employees," she said. "I have an idea. You can decline, but just hear me out. Leave Runway and I will employ you personally. For the next eight months—February through September—I'll pay you $35,000, plus your health insurance premiums, and room & board if you choose to stay here. In October, you could either return to Runway with me, all things pending, or I'm sure I could help you find something else," she said. "What do you think?"

"That's very generous, and significantly more than I'm currently making. Don't take this the wrong way, but what's the catch? What's the actual job?" the young woman asked.

"Well, you'd have to put up with me, during the second and third trimesters I might add. I can't promise to be nice."

Andrea smiled. "That's no problem. What would you need me to do, though?"

"Well, if you're really bored, we can work on my book, but I really just want company more than once a month. The past few weeks were driving me crazy," she said. "I sleep a lot, and I like to do my own laundry and cooking and light housework because it keeps me active. I'd need help discreetly arranging for the adoption and everything, but that wouldn't take too much time. You would have a lot of free time to do whatever you'd like."

She took a deep breath, and replied, "Okay, I'll do it," she said with a smile. "Can I tell Nigel tomorrow? I think he'll actually be relieved he won't have to fire me."

Miranda nodded.

"And not to change the subject, but have you had a chance to review the midwives I sent over? Now that you're what, fourteen or so weeks along, it's probably important to—"

"I know," she said, interrupting her. "And thank you for looking into all that. I think Mary would be a good fit, but I'd like the opportunity to talk to her on the phone—can you arrange that?"

"Absolutely. Mary wasn't too far away, either. With her credentials, she can write you prescriptions, order lab tests, and basically ensure you and the baby are staying healthy," she explained. "Plus, she's delivered hundreds of babies at home."

Miranda nodded. At first, she was opposed to the idea of a stranger coming every other week, but now she would actually welcome the support. "Did you catch whether she had any experience with adoption?"

"No, but Mary was willing to figure out whatever needs to happen. She does have some experience with surrogate mothers, which is the closest we're going to find, I think. I'll check with the lawyer to see what else might be needed."

"No—I will do that. When do you think you will move up here?" she asked, changing the subject. "I can send Nigel a note and try to work some relocation expenses into your severance package from Elias Clarke."

"Where would I stay? I don't have any furniture—my apartment is furnished. I think I'm on a month-to-month lease this calendar year, so theoretically, I could move up here at the end of the week."

"That works. It's up to you. There's the spare bedroom on the second floor, or the gatehouse behind the garage is actually very quaint."

"Oh, umm…"

Sensing the young woman's hesitation, Miranda chimed in. "Actually, why don't you plan on moving into the gatehouse. I'll clean it up this week. Then, if it makes more sense for you to be staying here in the house, you can always do that, too."

"Okay."

"Okay. Great, that's settled. Are you hungry for lunch?" Just as Andrea was about to answer, Miranda's cell phone chimed. "Oh, excuse me—the girls wanted to Skype this afternoon. That's them."

"I'll put something together for lunch while you talk to them," Andrea said. "And I'll be quiet."

Miranda nodded and headed over to the desk, arranging herself in front of her laptop as the call came through.

"Hi Mom!" they both said.

"My babies, it's so good to see you and hear you. Tell me everything—how did school go this week?"

Andrea couldn't help but smile as she listened to the woman catching up with her daughters. She was such a great mother, Andrea struggled to understand how she could give up this baby so easily. Then again, no one said it was easy.

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mid-March - somewhere in the Poconos, New York

"How is the dizziness? Any better?" Andrea asked, sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch where Miranda had spent the better part of the morning.

"No. I was a little queasy last night and this morning—I think it's just dehydration," she said.

"Okay, I'm going to bring you something to drink, and then I'm just going to check with the clinic to see if they can take you when the snow lets up."

"Andrea, I am not seeing a doctor. Mary is coming by tomorrow."

"I know," she said. "But there's a free emergency clinic in one of these tiny towns up here, and I don't think they make you show ID or anything. That's what I want to check on."

"Surely they'd recognize me."

Andrea rolled her eyes.

"It's not an emergency, Andrea. I will not take that risk, not after all I've already given up to keep this secret."

"What if there's something wrong with the baby?"

"He's fine. I have felt him moving around all morning."

"But you look like hell today! Your face is pale and swollen, and you can't even stand on your feet without falling over."

"Why are you being so mean to me?" Miranda whined.

Andrea took a deep breath and counted to ten. The older woman had a point—she wasn't exactly being nice. "I'm sorry. I am just nervous. If something happens to you, or to the baby, it's my fault."

"That isn't true," Miranda said. "Look, I have four more months to go, and I can't have you panicking over little things."

"That's just it, you don't really even know how far along you are. You said you're at twenty-two weeks, but even Mary guessed that you were farther along. For all we know, you could be at thirty-five, or you could be having twins!"

"Fine, Andrea, I don't have the energy to argue about this. Why don't you call the clinic and see if they will give you any sort of medical advice over the phone. I'm going to have something to drink, and then I'm going to go lie down upstairs. Help me up," she said.

The young woman helped her up, then wrapped her arms around her, hugging her softly. "I'm sorry for not trusting you. I know you'll let me know if something doesn't feel right. Do you want me to hang around here this afternoon?"

"I am going straight up to bed after this," she said, pointing at the glass of juice on the kitchen island. "But you are welcome to be wherever you'd like."

"Okay. I'm going to stick around here in case there's anything else you need. I'll work on the list for the store next week, too."

Miranda waved her hand as she finished the glass of juice. She put the glass in the dishwasher, carefully balancing against the counter as she leaned over. She could feel Andrea's eyes on her as she headed towards the stairs.

"Andrea, stop staring and just come walk with me upstairs," she said, rolling her eyes.

The young woman was quickly at her side, reaching for her hand as she led her up to the bedroom. Miranda crawled onto the bed, and Andrea helped rearrange the pillows so she could be comfortable.

Miranda sighed and closed her eyes. "Now, are you okay?"

"Yes," Andrea said quietly. "I am sorry for upsetting you. You look as beautiful as ever today—I was just worried."

The editor chuckled. "I am feeling a little better now—I think the juice helped," she said.

"Oh, good. I'm, uh, just going to go downstairs. Let me know if you need anything," she added. "Rest well."

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TBC - let me know what you think! i have a good portion of the rest of the story finished, but i really do take all of your comments and feedback into account. xo