The drive over to Erin's studio took longer than Miranda had thought it would, but the traffic had been unusually heavy and her driver was more cautious than normal, probably owing to the fact that she had been through an ordeal earlier that day. She rolled her eyes a little at that melodramatic thought, even though she knew that was the excuse he would give for his caution. Finally, though, they arrived in front of a nondescript building, one that she felt did not suit Erin at all. Still, it had probably been chosen by the Marshals in order to protect her, and so it had most likely been a necessity to be plain and unobtrusive.

"This is it?" Penelope asked as they got out of the car, and Miranda shrugged before giving instructions to her driver on when he could expect her call to pick them up. He nodded before driving off into traffic. "I expected a house or a cute brownstone!"

"This is probably what she was given as part of the Program," Alex said, confirming Miranda's thoughts, and Penelope frowned through her nod as she looked at the names on the buzzer, finally finding an E. Smith and pressing the button for a long time. Miranda gave her a look, and she sheepishly pulled her finger back as they waited for an answer from the unseen studio. To Miranda, it seemed as if they were kept waiting longer than normal, but finally the door unlocked and they went inside. There was no lift, which annoyed Miranda to no end, since that meant they would have to climb up to the fourth floor. Taking a deep breath, she led the way upwards until they had reached the correct floor.

The door to the studio was already open, and Miranda lifted an eyebrow as she entered the space, her eyes widening as she took in the crazy array of fabric and half completed looks, some of which had her very intrigued. As if on autopilot, Miranda drifted over to a large corkboard that was covered in pictures of Alex along with sketches for garments, including what appeared to be a truly gorgeous gown that would close out the show for the Alex collection. "If you had waited for me, you could have had that exclusive."

She turned to look at Erin, giving her a small, elegant, shrug. "I have the feeling that you'll allow me to feature this show in Runway, anyway. It's already looking to be an amazing show, if that sketch of the ballgown turns out well in real life."

"I have high hopes. I'm still sourcing the material that I want to use for it, since I have something very specific in mind and have yet to find it."

Miranda smiled a little as she turned back to the sketches and swatches. "I'll put you in touch with Nigel, he has a good relationship with a number of fabric houses in the City and abroad. You'll just have to come back to my office in order to do that."

"You drive a hard bargain."

She smiled and quirked an eyebrow upwards. "I just know sheer raw talent when I see it. The others are right behind me, I just climbed the stairs a little faster than them."

"The others?"

"Did you really think that we'd stay away when we knew you were alive, Erin?"

Penelope scurried over to their sides, stopping right next to Erin and hesitantly reaching out one hand, as if she wanted to touch the woman, but wasn't certain that the touch would be welcome. "No, but I was hoping to have a little time to think about what I did back at Runway."

"Oh, you mean that kiss you laid on Alex? I know there's a story there, and I want to know all the details, but only when you're ready to give them. She's here, too, along with Miranda's girlfriend. I think she's a reporter, because she was talking about writing a story on this incident for her newspaper. If you want that. I mean, I would want to tell my story for all the world to hear, now that I was safe from being hunted by a madman."

Erin let out a long-suffering breath as she glanced over at Miranda, and she had to hide her giggle with a cough as she shook her head. "All I wanted was a quiet life after John. It seems that that was always going to be a pipe dream. Maybe 2015 will be my year of solitude."

"With me?"

All their heads turned to look at Alex, who was now perusing the board that Erin had made of her. "You're with James."

"You're behind the times. He found that there were major cracks in our marriage that only came out when we were living together full time. We'd grown too accustomed to being apart, and that led to too many cracks and stressors in our foundation. Our marriage died a quiet death, but I suppose that it leaves me free to start over anew."

"Truly?" Erin asked as she stepped around Miranda and Penelope to sidle up next to Alex, her hand coming to rest on the other woman's shoulder. "This was going to be my love letter to you, even if you never saw it. I worked on Penelope and Emily first, to prove that I could design an entire collection, and then you were going to be my last, greatest, work."

"That's beautiful," Andrea murmured in Miranda's ear as she rested her head on her shoulder.

"It is. That might make a good angle for your story that you write, if you get permission."

"That's right, you need our permission to write anything about us. I think that I'll grant that to you, if you ask nicely enough. Though I think that Miranda would like the exclusive interview with me about my fashion house."

Miranda nodded and stepped forward once more. "If I may be so bold, since you're making this collection in homage to Alex, I would just continue to shock the fashion world and use your muse as your final model for this collection."

"I'll have to keep that in mind, Miranda. Now, if you don't mind, I would truly love to talk with Penelope and Alex alone. I will be in touch with you and Andrea in the next few days to set up times for what you want to talk about. I know, you have to strike while the iron is hot, but there are probably some things that I need to discuss with my handlers before I can tell my whole story."

"I can live with that. Enjoy your time together, ladies," Andrea said as she took firm hold of Miranda's hand and led her out of the studio. "I know, you wanted to stay and pump her for more details, but she's in a delicate space, and so are you, you just won't see it until we're alone in your bedroom and you can allow yourself to think about today's events. So we're going to head home, watch a movie or two with the twins, and then go to sleep. I mean, the cat's out of the bag to all the important people that we're together. We might as well start making it official."

Miranda sighed as she nodded, knowing that Andrea had a point. "I suppose that we could slowly start integrating you into my life. I just don't want you to get hurt. I've had years to develop my tough exterior…"

"And I can learn very well from you," Andrea replied before turning and kissing her quickly. "Now, call your driver to come pick us up, we have a movie to watch." Miranda rolled her eyes as she pulled out her phone and texted her driver, letting him know that they were ready to return home, before taking off down the street arm in arm with her lover.