Chapter 42: Where the Heart Is Pt. 2
Author: TheLadyHoll
Pairing: Andy/Miranda
Rating: M
Disclaimer: Yes, they are mine. I own them. Come to me my pretties and dance, DANCE I SAY. Or, more truthfully, not...
The next evening too brought its own set of troubles…
"Andrea, they're not moving," Miranda's tearful voice came over the line and the sound brought Andy fully into wakefulness halfway around the world.
"Sorry, what's the matter sweetheart," Andy rubbed a hand across her eyes, stifling a yawn as she turned over in bed.
"They're not moving," Miranda's tone wavered between angry and fearful as she repeated herself. "I-I got into bed and after a few minutes of lying here I realized they hadn't moved."
"Oh sweetheart, I'm sure they're just sleeping," a very much still asleep herself Andy answered, trying to placate the borderline hysterical pregnant woman on the other end of the phone.
"DO SOMETHING!" Miranda shrieked, "Talk to your children, they seem to listen to you anyway."
"Alright, alright," Andy agreed, waiting for a moment so she could be sure Miranda had had time to put the phone down before starting to speak.
"Hi babies! Mama misses you sooo much and she can't wait to come home and see how big you've grown. Cassy and Caro promised they would take your picture this week & email it to me. Now can you move for mommy so she knows you're okay? Come on babies, move for mommy so she doesn't worry."
"Oh," Miranda's voice came back on the line, breathless with emotion no doubt in part due to hormones. "They're moving…"
"I miss you so much, Mira, you don't know how much I wish I was holding you in my arms. This is torture."
"I wish that too, darling, more than anything. I never felt like this with my husbands, never this constant, overwhelming need to have someone else near to me at all times. I've never felt like that about anyone except my children."
"Soon. The last day of the peace talks are tomorrow and then the conference will be over."
"I should call the President, sort out this squabble and then you could come home to me."
"Soon, sweetheart. I just wish it could be sooner."
"As do I, my darling… Oof!"
"What? What happened?"
"Nothing, your children are simply agreeing that they miss you too."
"Easy my loves," Andrea's voice sing-songed as her attention turned back to the other two rather quieter but no less active participants in the conversation.
Miranda smiled widely as she listened to Andy talk to the babies, even with the knowledge that the other woman had no way of seeing.
She spoke through a tightly closed throat, cursing her rampant hormones for her exaggerated responses. "I love you, Andrea, come home to me."
"Always. I will always come back to you," Andy paused for a second, smiling wistfully into the phone. "Do you think you can sleep now? Or are they too worked up?"
Miranda chuckled, running a hand lazily down her belly. "You're on speaker and I have the phone resting on my belly. They're kicking where they can hear your voice."
"Oh, my little guys!" she cooed, wishing she could reach through the phone. "Kiss the girls for me and tell them to give the babies kisses for me too. Oh, I cannot wait to come home, it's been days since I got any baby bump action."
"Well I should certainly h-hope so."
Andy smiled on her end of the receiver as she heard a yawn come through before fighting back her own. "Sleep now sweetheart and I'll be home to you all the faster. Imagine my arms around you, holding you and our babies all warm and tucked up in our bed." Andy spoke in lower and lower tones as she heard Miranda's breathing deepen and then even out as she fell asleep still on the phone.
"I love you Miranda," she whispered before hanging up and falling back to sleep herself, holding tightly to the pillow that was a poor replacement for what her arms truly missed.
On the other end of the world, even asleep, Miranda's lips twitched upwards in a soft smile as she turned her head into her pillow, dreaming of her children and Andrea.
Having lived through Miranda's hospital scare as well, Caroline and Cassidy seemed to be working through their mixed feelings regarding the babies and for the most part, had re-taken the mantle of being excited big sisters, eager to be the 'boss' of someone littler than themselves. After all, these were the children of Miranda Priestly. One afternoon found a small redhead wandering into her mother's bedroom where she had gone to lay down before dinner one evening.
"Hi Baby Cora," Caroline was lying next to Miranda on the king size bed and had her hand pressed to a sleeping Miranda's stomach. "This is your big sister Caroline. I'm the oldest, and I'm still gonna be the oldest when you're born. Mom and mama are really worried about you. They say you're really small and you could be really sick when you're born. I don't want you to be sick and I don't really want you to go away like I said before, I just said that cuz I thought me and Cass were gonna get sent away too, and then we'd never see mom or Andy cuz they'd have a new family. But I think there's room for you too. Andy said our hearts stretch like rubber bands around all the people we love and that they don't ever break. So if Andy and daddy and Patricia and Uncle Nigel can all fit, I think you guys can too, especially since you're so little."
Later that evening, Miranda tapped the keyboard on the laptop impatiently, waiting for the screen to re-load and ensure she wasn't missing the connection to Andrea. Finally, the familiar chime sounded and uncharacteristically it was Miranda who spoke first, wanting to share with the younger woman the events that had transpired that afternoon.
"Andrea, she talked to her."
"What. Who? Who are you talking about?"
"Caroline, she talked to the baby."
"They've been doing that for months, what's so different about that?"
"She used her name." Miranda tried to impart frustratedly. "She called the baby Cora. She thought I was asleep and she came in and lay down next to me and said the baby's name on her own, without prompting."
"She called her Cora?" The brunette finally caught on and Miranda nodded furiously on the other side of the phone, not realizing the other woman couldn't see her before a short, choked-up laugh escaped her lips as she passed her hand over and over again over where she knew the baby lay.
"And you're sure it wasn't just to impart threats?" Miranda could hear the younger woman smiling over the phone.
Just then a clattering and a chorus of 'mom!' from the main floor interrupted their conversation and Miranda shook her head ruefully, wiping carefully under her eyes to remove any smeared mascara before carefully rolling herself to the side of the bed to get up.
"Speaking of our children, I believe they are bellowing for their dinner."
"I wish I was there with you."
"As do I, darling, but I know you have commitments to a nobler calling than 'pizza night'."
"Pizza would be great right about now," Andy rubbed her own flat stomach which was grumbling ominously beneath her hand. "There wasn't really time for lunch in the breaks today if you wanted to get a decent seat for the sessions. Tomorrow will be crazy as well. Netanyahu's ex-aide will be speaking."
"Mooom!"
Miranda sighed. "Did they get this impatience from me?"
Andy burst out laughing. "I'm not touching that one with a ten-foot pole."
"Hmph," Miranda said nothing but privately conceded her suspicions were probably correct. At that moment however, her stomach decided to join in chorus with the rest and she could hear the young woman chuckle although the sound was muffled as though she had tried to cover the speaker.
"It sounds like all of our children have decided its dinnertime," Andy's heart ached slightly as she thought of the scene at home. "You had better go and feed the ravening masses before a revolt takes place and you're down a man, well woman."
"Yes Andrea,"
"Squeeze the twin terrors for me & tell them I love them. And the littler terrors you're keeping safe in that belly. I love you my Cora, I love you my little prince. Be good for mommy for mama's sake, okay?"
"Remind me when you get back, I've had a thought about a name for the 'little prince'."
"What, we just can't keep calling him that? And here I thought Prince & Princess were befitting for children of royal birth as befits the 'Queen of Fashion'."
Miranda snorted derisively at the hyperbolic nature of her press-awarded moniker.
"And you've had a thought or a decree?" Andy asked teasingly, knowing Miranda's 'thoughts' or 'suggestions' became law rather quickly.
"A thought," Miranda's voice softened, and Andy knew she wasn't joking anymore and she really did want to involve the brunette in the decision that would affect the child they would share.
"I can't wait to hear it, and I can't wait to be home." Now Andy's voice came through with painful sincerity. "I love you Miranda."
Instead of answering and revealing the tears she knew the brunette would hear instantly in her voice, Miranda ended the call in her signature style even as she kept the phone close to her ear for several long moments after the connection had been cut off, relishing the younger woman's words and feeling their warmth from halfway around the world
Feed the vain little attention monster? Grr?
Pairing: Andy/Miranda
Rating: M
Disclaimer: Yes, they are mine. I own them. Come to me my pretties and dance, DANCE I SAY. Or, more truthfully, not...
The next evening too brought its own set of troubles…
"Andrea, they're not moving," Miranda's tearful voice came over the line and the sound brought Andy fully into wakefulness halfway around the world.
"Sorry, what's the matter sweetheart," Andy rubbed a hand across her eyes, stifling a yawn as she turned over in bed.
"They're not moving," Miranda's tone wavered between angry and fearful as she repeated herself. "I-I got into bed and after a few minutes of lying here I realized they hadn't moved."
"Oh sweetheart, I'm sure they're just sleeping," a very much still asleep herself Andy answered, trying to placate the borderline hysterical pregnant woman on the other end of the phone.
"DO SOMETHING!" Miranda shrieked, "Talk to your children, they seem to listen to you anyway."
"Alright, alright," Andy agreed, waiting for a moment so she could be sure Miranda had had time to put the phone down before starting to speak.
"Hi babies! Mama misses you sooo much and she can't wait to come home and see how big you've grown. Cassy and Caro promised they would take your picture this week & email it to me. Now can you move for mommy so she knows you're okay? Come on babies, move for mommy so she doesn't worry."
"Oh," Miranda's voice came back on the line, breathless with emotion no doubt in part due to hormones. "They're moving…"
"I miss you so much, Mira, you don't know how much I wish I was holding you in my arms. This is torture."
"I wish that too, darling, more than anything. I never felt like this with my husbands, never this constant, overwhelming need to have someone else near to me at all times. I've never felt like that about anyone except my children."
"Soon. The last day of the peace talks are tomorrow and then the conference will be over."
"I should call the President, sort out this squabble and then you could come home to me."
"Soon, sweetheart. I just wish it could be sooner."
"As do I, my darling… Oof!"
"What? What happened?"
"Nothing, your children are simply agreeing that they miss you too."
"Easy my loves," Andrea's voice sing-songed as her attention turned back to the other two rather quieter but no less active participants in the conversation.
Miranda smiled widely as she listened to Andy talk to the babies, even with the knowledge that the other woman had no way of seeing.
She spoke through a tightly closed throat, cursing her rampant hormones for her exaggerated responses. "I love you, Andrea, come home to me."
"Always. I will always come back to you," Andy paused for a second, smiling wistfully into the phone. "Do you think you can sleep now? Or are they too worked up?"
Miranda chuckled, running a hand lazily down her belly. "You're on speaker and I have the phone resting on my belly. They're kicking where they can hear your voice."
"Oh, my little guys!" she cooed, wishing she could reach through the phone. "Kiss the girls for me and tell them to give the babies kisses for me too. Oh, I cannot wait to come home, it's been days since I got any baby bump action."
"Well I should certainly h-hope so."
Andy smiled on her end of the receiver as she heard a yawn come through before fighting back her own. "Sleep now sweetheart and I'll be home to you all the faster. Imagine my arms around you, holding you and our babies all warm and tucked up in our bed." Andy spoke in lower and lower tones as she heard Miranda's breathing deepen and then even out as she fell asleep still on the phone.
"I love you Miranda," she whispered before hanging up and falling back to sleep herself, holding tightly to the pillow that was a poor replacement for what her arms truly missed.
On the other end of the world, even asleep, Miranda's lips twitched upwards in a soft smile as she turned her head into her pillow, dreaming of her children and Andrea.
Having lived through Miranda's hospital scare as well, Caroline and Cassidy seemed to be working through their mixed feelings regarding the babies and for the most part, had re-taken the mantle of being excited big sisters, eager to be the 'boss' of someone littler than themselves. After all, these were the children of Miranda Priestly. One afternoon found a small redhead wandering into her mother's bedroom where she had gone to lay down before dinner one evening.
"Hi Baby Cora," Caroline was lying next to Miranda on the king size bed and had her hand pressed to a sleeping Miranda's stomach. "This is your big sister Caroline. I'm the oldest, and I'm still gonna be the oldest when you're born. Mom and mama are really worried about you. They say you're really small and you could be really sick when you're born. I don't want you to be sick and I don't really want you to go away like I said before, I just said that cuz I thought me and Cass were gonna get sent away too, and then we'd never see mom or Andy cuz they'd have a new family. But I think there's room for you too. Andy said our hearts stretch like rubber bands around all the people we love and that they don't ever break. So if Andy and daddy and Patricia and Uncle Nigel can all fit, I think you guys can too, especially since you're so little."
Later that evening, Miranda tapped the keyboard on the laptop impatiently, waiting for the screen to re-load and ensure she wasn't missing the connection to Andrea. Finally, the familiar chime sounded and uncharacteristically it was Miranda who spoke first, wanting to share with the younger woman the events that had transpired that afternoon.
"Andrea, she talked to her."
"What. Who? Who are you talking about?"
"Caroline, she talked to the baby."
"They've been doing that for months, what's so different about that?"
"She used her name." Miranda tried to impart frustratedly. "She called the baby Cora. She thought I was asleep and she came in and lay down next to me and said the baby's name on her own, without prompting."
"She called her Cora?" The brunette finally caught on and Miranda nodded furiously on the other side of the phone, not realizing the other woman couldn't see her before a short, choked-up laugh escaped her lips as she passed her hand over and over again over where she knew the baby lay.
"And you're sure it wasn't just to impart threats?" Miranda could hear the younger woman smiling over the phone.
Just then a clattering and a chorus of 'mom!' from the main floor interrupted their conversation and Miranda shook her head ruefully, wiping carefully under her eyes to remove any smeared mascara before carefully rolling herself to the side of the bed to get up.
"Speaking of our children, I believe they are bellowing for their dinner."
"I wish I was there with you."
"As do I, darling, but I know you have commitments to a nobler calling than 'pizza night'."
"Pizza would be great right about now," Andy rubbed her own flat stomach which was grumbling ominously beneath her hand. "There wasn't really time for lunch in the breaks today if you wanted to get a decent seat for the sessions. Tomorrow will be crazy as well. Netanyahu's ex-aide will be speaking."
"Mooom!"
Miranda sighed. "Did they get this impatience from me?"
Andy burst out laughing. "I'm not touching that one with a ten-foot pole."
"Hmph," Miranda said nothing but privately conceded her suspicions were probably correct. At that moment however, her stomach decided to join in chorus with the rest and she could hear the young woman chuckle although the sound was muffled as though she had tried to cover the speaker.
"It sounds like all of our children have decided its dinnertime," Andy's heart ached slightly as she thought of the scene at home. "You had better go and feed the ravening masses before a revolt takes place and you're down a man, well woman."
"Yes Andrea,"
"Squeeze the twin terrors for me & tell them I love them. And the littler terrors you're keeping safe in that belly. I love you my Cora, I love you my little prince. Be good for mommy for mama's sake, okay?"
"Remind me when you get back, I've had a thought about a name for the 'little prince'."
"What, we just can't keep calling him that? And here I thought Prince & Princess were befitting for children of royal birth as befits the 'Queen of Fashion'."
Miranda snorted derisively at the hyperbolic nature of her press-awarded moniker.
"And you've had a thought or a decree?" Andy asked teasingly, knowing Miranda's 'thoughts' or 'suggestions' became law rather quickly.
"A thought," Miranda's voice softened, and Andy knew she wasn't joking anymore and she really did want to involve the brunette in the decision that would affect the child they would share.
"I can't wait to hear it, and I can't wait to be home." Now Andy's voice came through with painful sincerity. "I love you Miranda."
Instead of answering and revealing the tears she knew the brunette would hear instantly in her voice, Miranda ended the call in her signature style even as she kept the phone close to her ear for several long moments after the connection had been cut off, relishing the younger woman's words and feeling their warmth from halfway around the world
Feed the vain little attention monster? Grr?