Chapter 44: Trials & Tribulations
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...
New Year, new chapter! Hopefully a new resolution for getting over this writer's block for 2017! One thing I know for sure is that this story will definitely be completed this year. The end is in sight, although I can't promise the drama is anywhere near over. Your reviews mean the world & I read them over to inspire me to continue writing - although I will admit to deleting the ones literally insulting me for not updating (not helpful FYI I'm MORE than aware of my own insufficiencies).
Hoping you all have a blessed 2017 & THANK YOU for staying with me, I will try my best to faithfully update. XO
"Andrea," before she had even opened her eyes the next morning, Miranda's voice lowered until it was dangerously soft as she felt the younger woman's gaze on her and Andy shook her head, rolling onto her stomach as she grimaced ruefully at Miranda. "I know. You have to go, and short of going into labour I don't know of anything that could stop you."
She paused, a mischievous smirk on her lips, "And even then I wouldn't put it past you to somehow be able to command the babies to wait until court was adjourned for the day. But I hate how exhausted these stupid blood pressure meds make you. They run you down so much," Andy clucked lightly as her eyes scanned the woman in front of her and Miranda allowed herself the luxury of letting her eyes close in pleasure at the younger woman's touch.
Later, as they prepared to leave for the trial, Andy's attention was directed back to the editor's off colouring. "And now I think you might be running a fever," Andy murmured, pressing the back of her hand and then her palm gently to Miranda's forehead, careful not to ruin or smear the older woman's makeup, which while skillfully applied didn't quite manage to cover the dark circles under her eyes.
"I'm fine, Andrea. Don't fuss. Worry about the girls, please."
Brown eyes registered hurt as the younger woman backed off, biting back a remark about how of course she was worried about the girls but not wanting to start something with Miranda when tensions were already running so high and they were both likely to say something they'd regret.
The mood was sombre as the family of four climbed into the waiting car, and Roy's usual cheery whistle was noticeably missing as the Mercedes made its way towards the courthouse. With Miranda sitting so rigidly on her side of the car, frozen in her own silent torment, Caroline and Cassidy were both pressed up against Andy, seeking comfort where they could. With Miranda unable to give or receive any measure of comfort or reassurance, it was with a brittle calm that she placed a manicured hand on the door handle and prepared herself to be the first to exist into the bright flashes and pops of light and cacophony of noise, which although wasn't a foreign occurrence to the girls, seemed to rattle them more than it usually did given the circumstances.
"Did you call him daddy?"
"Did your mother tell you to lie on the stand today?"
"Whose side are you on?"
Miranda's head whipped around to face the jostling throng. "You will not address my daughters or you will never see another line of print for the rest of your pitiable careers." Even behind the tinted lenses of her sunglasses, Miranda's gaze managed to burn into the unfortunate reporter who had dared call out to Caroline, and Andy had put up a good show on the other side as furious brown bored into the watery counterparts of her peers.
Security quickly ushered them into the building without further incident, however both girls grew teary when it was time for the ADA, Alex Cabot and the Child Services worker to take them into the antechamber where they would wait before it was their turn to go on the stand.
Miranda bent down to press a kiss to each cheek, for once not mindful of how it might smear her lipstick. "Be brave darlings. Mummy will be right there watching you, just look at Andrea and me and soon this will all be over, I promise."
Andy helped Miranda straighten up again slowly, feeling the tension in Miranda's spine as she set her shoulders and back ram-rod straight as she prepared to enter the courtroom and the public eye once again. Andy could see the muscle twitching in Miranda's cheek as they took their places in the front row and she was torn between concern for the editor and the cold fury she felt building at the sight of the older man who was doing his damnedest it would seem to hurt the people she loved.
Miranda hadn't said a word to Andy since they had left the girls with ADA Cabot & it looked as though that silence would continue as they took their places in the courtroom and Miranda caught a glimpse of grey hair and an Armani suit, causing her to force back the bile in her throat and use every effort to school her features into an expression of neutrality or at least cold contempt as she stared bullets into Stephen's back.
"The defense has asked that the minors Caroline and Cassidy Priestly be produced for questioning in the case of Tomlinson vs. Priestly on the charges of assault in the first degree, menacing, endangerment of a child and robbery. Will the first witness, Cassidy Priestly, please take the stand."
Miranda gripped Andy's hand in a bloodless vise, and Andy welcomed the pain - not only as a distraction from the pain in her heart as she watched the young girl swear to tell the truth in a small but clear voice, but because it meant Miranda was finally allowing herself to take some comfort from Andy instead of taking it all on her own shoulders and Andy squeezed back, running her thumb over the sharp stone on Miranda's left finger that threatened her own circulation as it bit into her skin.
As she looked over at Miranda, she caught a glimpse of auburn hair and she nodded in the direction of Dr. Jansen who had come to watch the trial as well although her testimony had already been given. Detectives Benson and Munch were there as well and Andy knew if they weren't needed at Runway in Miranda's absence that Emily, Serena and Nigel would have been there as well. Doug had tried his hardest, but hadn't been able to escape a meeting regarding a client merger at Goldman-Sachs but he'd texted Andy that morning before going into his meeting and said he'd call during their break at lunch in case court ended session early for the day.
Stoic as the editor was, Andy could tell her daughter's testimony disturbed her deeply as she listened to her daughter describe the events of that evening and Andy's heartstrings were tugged too as she heard the same fear in the small voice that she had when the little girl had called her that night.
"Oh baby," she whispered, squeezing Miranda's hand for comfort and concerned when she felt nothing back in response.
Miranda's grip slackened on her hand and Andy felt the older woman's fingers slip through hers just before she watched in horror as the slender frame crumpled beside her, bringing Andy down to the floor as well as she did her best to break the editor's fall.
"No, no, no, no, no, Miranda! Miranda? Dr. Jansen? Somebody, please!"
"Mommy!"
"Order! Order! Clear the courtroom. We're in recess, 10 minutes. Bailiff, escort the witnesses to the holding room with Child Services. Do we need to call an ambulance?"
"I don't believe so your honor," Dr. Jansen spoke from where she knelt beside the prone figure, taking her pulse and trying to reassure a hyperventilating Andy, torn between staying with Miranda and making sure someone was there to reassure the girls.
"You may use the side chambers. However, court will resume session regardless in ten minutes. I can't order a continuance for the presence of a non-witness."
"Understood your Honor, thank you. Roy?" Andy's head whipped around, knowing the driver had been seated only a few rows back and he gently lifted the older woman out of Andy's arms from the strange arrangement on the floor and moved quickly towards the antechamber the bailiff was leading them to after Alex had thrown her suit jacket over the editor's head to keep any voyeuristic trial attendees from snapping a few pictures on their phones that would no doubt go viral the moment they were posted.
"Her pulse is too fast" Dr. Jansen's practiced fingers pressed into the smooth skin of the immaculate figure still cradled in Andy's arms. "I think this must be her body's way of protecting itself from another episode of hypertension and her blood pressure from skyrocketing. It's just shut down before it can fully overload."
"Baby, come back to me now," Andy whispered against the clammy temple. "Please we need you here. I need you here…"
Finally, a flutter of the eyelids and a low groan escaped the editor as she came around, utterly disoriented as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings and tried to sit up only to be stopped by a wave of vertigo. "My head," Miranda croaked hoarsely, sinking back down until she was once more lying in Andrea's arms. "Why am I on the floor?" Suddenly she wrenched her hand from Andrea's.
"I'm not, there's no?"
"You're okay, everyone's okay
"My God, what did the press see?"
Andy ignored the question. "Why didn't you say something? If you weren't feeling well…"
"Andrea, I haven't felt well for the vast duration of this pregnancy… And because I needed you to be present for the girls, not worrying about me. What I need to know is that they are safe and that they aren't hurt from any questions from Stephen or Irving's representation." Miranda looked around for them, but the room was empty save for herself and Andrea as Dr. Jansen had stepped out once more to give them some privacy.
Suddenly Miranda's expression changed once again. "Where are they? Where are Caroline & Cassidy?" The tone of her voice turned from frightened to fierce.
"Shh, they're okay, My Uncle John and Detective Benson are with them."
"Why aren't you? Dr. Jansen is capable of providing medical assistance if required."
"First of all, you're my wife - okay, fiancée, but still. Also, I'm prohibited from seeing them until court is adjourned. Stephen's lawyer had a fit when the judge called for a break and the judge granted his request for separation in case we tried to plant any ideas or lies in their heads."
"Ridiculous," Miranda sniffed.
A soft knock indicated Dr. Jansen's return with a warning that their ten minutes was almost up and court was about ready to resume.
"Miranda, if you don't want to spend the next few hours in the hospital to monitor you and the babies you'll agree to go home immediately and rest, not work, rest for the rest of the afternoon. Otherwise I'm more than happy to admit you."
Miranda's eyes bored into the doctor's eyes but the auburn-haired woman's gaze remained steadily and wholly unimpressed at Miranda's attempts at intimidation, leaving Andy with the impression that the woman had bigger balls than she'd thought and that they might have found the one obstetrician in all of Manhattan who wasn't afraid to lay down the law to Miranda for her own good - and for that Andy was truly thankful she thought as she tightened her hold around slim shoulders.
"Andrea, you stay with the girls -" Miranda started, and Andy did a double take that was almost angry.
"You think I would leave them?" Her voice changed drastically in pitch from low and soothing to enraged.
"Miranda, what kind of mother do you think I'm going to be that I would leave them here to face this alone?"
Oh God, that wasn't what she'd meant. Miranda closed her eyes against the pounding in her head, trying to choose her next words carefully as she tried to ignore the flip flop of her stomach that corresponded directly with the hurt look in the younger woman's eyes and the break in her voice.
"Andrea, I, I don't know," she finally admitted, shaking her head and looking up at the brunette beseechingly. "This is all so foreign to me, I, I can't protect them even though I know I'm the one to blame for putting them in this situation." Miranda's hands moved unconsciously in a protective gesture over her stomach even as she spoke of her other children and Andy's heart squeezed again.
"Miranda, you didn't ask to be assaulted."
"No, but I brought Stephen into their lives and I stayed with him, far past what I should have. And you know I think you'll make an excellent mother, you already are. It's just, these are my babies and I, I'm still getting used to the idea that there will be someone in their lives that is as much a constant - not only a weekend parent or paid help, that they will depend on and go to when they have a problem."
Andy saw Miranda's eyes flutter as she finished speaking and she felt her stomach drop guiltily. The last thing she should be doing as a responsible parent and supportive partner was picking fights when she had just watched the woman in her arms collapse in the middle of a crowded courtroom in the midst of watching their daughters face the man who had hurt their mother under their noses. And she knew the flutter of the editor's eyelids meant the imminent appearance of a vicious headache that would require complete darkness and silence to ease if it wasn't to turn into a full-fledged migraine that could last for a day or more.
"I'm sorry," Andy murmured, gathering up the pregnant editor more tightly in her arms and brushing her lips against the older woman's temple so that her eyes closed against the harsh tubular lighting of the side room they were in.
"Roy, make sure she gets inside safely, please." Andy beseeched the older man as she relinquished the editor from her arms even though she knew she didn't have to voice the request. The big bear of a man had already locked his gaze on the woman he had driven for so many years and his stance was protective and not a little fierce as the pair exited out into the hallway where a throng would be waiting for them.
"She has her blood pressure medication, which will make her sleepy, so hopefully she'll just sleep the afternoon away and her body will have a chance to heal itself from this before she has to deal with the aftermath of the trial." Dr. Jansen spoke from behind her.
"How much longer can she go on like this?" Andy asked in a low voice, staring out at the courtroom. "I thought my being back would help."
"Andy, I'm sure it is helping. There are just some things you cannot control. Things that would affect any parent if they had to watch. It's simply the sheer multiplicity of factors here that are coming together to make this a dangerous situation for Miranda."
She paused though before she added grimly. "If she does collapse again, or have her blood pressure fluctuate so drastically as to cause her to faint, I will put her on bedrest for the remainder of the pregnancy, despite my apprehensions about how it might affect her stress levels."
Andy nodded, goosebumps rising on her skin as she remembered how it had felt to watch and to feel Miranda's body go limp and to plead once again, with the love of her life, as she lay unresponsive in her arms.
"She's too important, Dr. Jansen," Andy insisted, her gaze still distant as she remained lost in thought. "She is too damn important to lose over this fuckery. And I don't mean because of the fucking magazine or her reputation as La Priestly or as the editor-in-chief of Runway. I mean she is everything to me and those girls. The rest can go to hell for all I care, but I need her. Just promise me she is going to be fine and I can deal with all the rest as it comes."
When the trial resumed, Caroline and Cassidy were brought back into the courtroom by the Child Services worker, and Caroline was put on the stand to testify first.
Her eyes red and puffy, but refusing to cry in front of the court, just like her mother, and her lips trembling as she opened her mouth to ask in a shaking voice. "Is my mom okay?" The young high voice hitched slightly and terrified eyes scanned the courtroom wildly before coming to rest on the warm brown ones belonging to her other mother.
Andy opened her mouth to speak, but the judge cut her off, although she appeared loathe to do it. "The witness will refrain from addressing anyone in the audience."
Andy watched the little girl's eyes fill with tears that she stubbornly tried to not let fall and felt her own eyes prickle. Damn it if she wasn't susceptible to the Priestly blues. Already she was having a hard time not leaping the wooden barrier and scooping both girls into her arms and getting them the hell out of there.
On the other hand, it was probably a good thing Miranda wasn't here to witness this on two levels. One in that she knew that the editor's already high blood pressure would be pushed over the edge, and two - had she been in the courtroom she would have torn the judge apart. All too clearly Andy could see the enraged mother tearing the judge apart for adding to her baby's distress turning the 'Ice Queen' on full blast and possibly endangering the case.
Even Stephen's lawyer had the grace to look chagrinned as he wended his way through the maze of questions and arguments meant to trip up the little girl who sniffed back her tears angrily and set her small shoulders back in an eerily familiar mimicry of some person now absent from the trial. Two fat tears and then nothing more escaped the electric blue and Andy's heart both broke and swelled with pride as she watched the little girl who she would so soon be legally able to call her daughter.
"Oh, my sweet girls. I am so proud of you." Andy dropped to her knees and swept both redheads into a tight hug as they were finally let out of the courtroom after they were adjourned for the day. Luckily, it seemed, all relevant questioning had been completed and the answers obtained deemed satisfactory to meet the requirements set by the defense and so the girls' part in the trial was over and the defense unable to call them back to the stand in the future.
"I wanna go home, mama." Cassidy mumbled into her shoulder and Andy could see they were both fading fast.
"Is mom okay?" Caroline repeated her question from earlier. "Is she gonna have to go back to the hospital again?" Tears returned to the blue eyes and the childish voice.
"No baby, she's at home. Dr. Jansen was in court today and she decided what was best for the babies and your mom was to go home and rest for a while. Hopefully she'll be feeling a lot better and she won't need to go back to the hospital until it's time for the babies to be born.
"B-but she fainted, and she was on the floor again and she wouldn't wake up just like the night Stephen was at the house and the ambulance came and took her away!" Caroline's voice began to turn hysterical and this time it was her turn to be picked up by the brunette and cuddled close, even with long legs dangling awkwardly. Cassidy then immediately latched on to Roy who looked surprised and then touched as he tenderly carried a Priestly female for the second time that day, and Andy was never more grateful for the man as for when they were all finally, safely back in the car and heading home.
Caroline clung stubbornly to Andy's side for the whole car ride home, but Cassidy had succumbed to the rigors of the day and was sound asleep when they pulled up to the townhouse.
"Cass? Cass honey, can you wake up? We're home."
Looking at little girl blinking sleepily & rubbing at her eyes, Andy was suddenly struck with the image of what the girls must have looked like as toddlers and young children. Mussed red curls, cheeks flushed from sleep and the soft rosy pout on familiar lips all came together to squeeze at Andy's heart.
"I don't wanna go back,"
"Baby you're not gonna have to go back. You don't ever need to see him again." Andy ran the backs of her fingers down the still baby-soft skin of the ten year old huddled miserably on the sidewalk, scuffing the toe of her shoe in a way Andy knew Miranda would hate if she were there to see it.
"I know you're tired, honey. Maybe you could all have a nap, hey? Then we'll be nice and refreshed for dinner. Come on, let's go see if your mama's listening to the doctor and staying in bed."
Cassidy nodded her agreement and the trio climbed the stairs to the townhouse under the watchful eye of Roy, whose gaze never wavered from their backs until they were safely inside. Not on his watch was anything going to happen to any of the women in that household - and it was with aged but not forgotten military attention that his eyes swept the immediate vicinity for any threats or lurking reporters. Finally, satisfied at hearing the dull click of the lock, he turned back to the car, heading back out into the midtown traffic and Runway where he would no doubt be pumped for the details of the trial by Emily, although the Brit preferred to pretend she didn't care as much as she did. Hopefully though, the questioning could wait until drinks after work, because he could certainly use one after the events of the day and a pint or two certainly wouldn't go amiss as he recounted the drama of the trial proceedings as they had occurred.
Back at the townhouse, the young woman backed into the wall of the darkened bedroom, her arms held tightly around herself and slid down it, staring intently at the bed with its now three sleeping figures, the girls having gone directly to the master bedroom and joining a thankfully sleeping Miranda.
"My girls…" she whispered, now hugging her knees to her chest as she stared in a hungry, almost desperate way at the scene in front of her, wanting to keep them all as they were, safe in that moment as she listened to the soft, deep breaths of the three people she loved most in the world.
Groggily opening her eyes two or so hours later, Miranda blinked blearily not sure as to what she was seeing at the foot of the bed given the two figures she could feel curled around her sides.
It was only then that she noticed the young woman, curled in what appeared to be a very uncomfortable position on the floor.
"Andrea? Sweetheart? Darling, wake up." Miranda wished she were able to get down on the floor with her, but between the irksome fullness of her bladder that had awakened her in the first place, and the question of how to manoeuver her awkward frame to the floor without assistance stood in her way.
As she stood over the younger woman however, she stirred and came to, raising her head and wincing slightly at the stiffness from her awkward position.
"Man I guess I was more tired than I thought," Andy grimaced, rising with enviable ease Miranda thought absently as she worked a kink out of her neck before she turned to level her gaze at the woman standing before her. "How are you feeling?" Andy's hands smoothed over Miranda's waist to settle at the small of her back and both women stared down at the bump between them over which Miranda placed an elegant hand with a sigh. "Better. Tired, but better. The medication seems to have worked in reducing the frequency of the Braxton Hicks contractions as well."
"Hmm, your pressure's probably still low," Andy watched as Miranda dutifully got back into bed after finishing with the facilities, noting the colourlessness of her face still and smiled gently as both girls wriggled closer in their sleep under Miranda's arms.
"How were they?" Miranda ran her fingers lightly through the tousled auburn locks.
"It was hard," Andy admitted, running her own hands through her hair as she curled up on the chair next to the vanity to continue their conversation. "They were worried about you, and the judge wouldn't let them ask any questions and seeing Stephen really rattled them. I hadn't thought about the fact that this would be the first time they've seen him since the night of the assault - and then to be put in the same room with him…"
Miranda tensed, and Andy watched as the older woman's nostrils flared as she forced herself to breathe normally. "I hate him for putting them through this, moreso than for what he did to me."
"Don't say that. Miranda, he nearly killed you. If you had hit your head differently, or, or…anything had happened differently, you might not be sitting in front of me right now and the thought of that…"
"Alright, alright," Miranda agreed to soothe the other woman's rising distress, although her hands didn't still from their petting of the two redheads, hoping to keep them asleep so they could continue their conversation.
"It's over." Miranda spoke decisively. "The girls won't be brought back and I refuse to let myself be cowed by a man whose deficiencies are as numerous as his hair plugs."
Andy snorted loudly before clapping a hand over her mouth so she didn't wake the girls, but her face soon turned serious.
"There is one more thing I have to inform you of regarding the events of the trial after today."
"What, what is it?"
"Apparently, the consequences of having to testify involve the ordering of pizza for dinner." Andy spoke with mock seriousness and Miranda rolled her eyes as the tightness in her shoulders eased.
She shook her head as she looked down at her daughters. "Sausage and mushroom tonight I think," she decided, "in addition to whatever the girls requested."
Andy nodded and leaned over the bed for a kiss before she left. But before she reached the door, she thought she heard Miranda mumble something and turned back to face the editor who was decidedly looking to the side as though she hadn't said anything.
"Miranda?"
"I said, when you return, bring the Nutella jar."
Doing her best to keep a straight face, Andy replied "Yes, Miranda," before letting her laughter ring out in the hallway. All the stress of the trial, the press, the stares she now engendered constantly at work. It was all worth it because of what and who lay in bed upstairs at that moment. Whatever came next as the birth came closer and the trial came to a close, it was worth it.
So...good start to the New Year?
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...
New Year, new chapter! Hopefully a new resolution for getting over this writer's block for 2017! One thing I know for sure is that this story will definitely be completed this year. The end is in sight, although I can't promise the drama is anywhere near over. Your reviews mean the world & I read them over to inspire me to continue writing - although I will admit to deleting the ones literally insulting me for not updating (not helpful FYI I'm MORE than aware of my own insufficiencies).
Hoping you all have a blessed 2017 & THANK YOU for staying with me, I will try my best to faithfully update. XO
"Andrea," before she had even opened her eyes the next morning, Miranda's voice lowered until it was dangerously soft as she felt the younger woman's gaze on her and Andy shook her head, rolling onto her stomach as she grimaced ruefully at Miranda. "I know. You have to go, and short of going into labour I don't know of anything that could stop you."
She paused, a mischievous smirk on her lips, "And even then I wouldn't put it past you to somehow be able to command the babies to wait until court was adjourned for the day. But I hate how exhausted these stupid blood pressure meds make you. They run you down so much," Andy clucked lightly as her eyes scanned the woman in front of her and Miranda allowed herself the luxury of letting her eyes close in pleasure at the younger woman's touch.
Later, as they prepared to leave for the trial, Andy's attention was directed back to the editor's off colouring. "And now I think you might be running a fever," Andy murmured, pressing the back of her hand and then her palm gently to Miranda's forehead, careful not to ruin or smear the older woman's makeup, which while skillfully applied didn't quite manage to cover the dark circles under her eyes.
"I'm fine, Andrea. Don't fuss. Worry about the girls, please."
Brown eyes registered hurt as the younger woman backed off, biting back a remark about how of course she was worried about the girls but not wanting to start something with Miranda when tensions were already running so high and they were both likely to say something they'd regret.
The mood was sombre as the family of four climbed into the waiting car, and Roy's usual cheery whistle was noticeably missing as the Mercedes made its way towards the courthouse. With Miranda sitting so rigidly on her side of the car, frozen in her own silent torment, Caroline and Cassidy were both pressed up against Andy, seeking comfort where they could. With Miranda unable to give or receive any measure of comfort or reassurance, it was with a brittle calm that she placed a manicured hand on the door handle and prepared herself to be the first to exist into the bright flashes and pops of light and cacophony of noise, which although wasn't a foreign occurrence to the girls, seemed to rattle them more than it usually did given the circumstances.
"Did you call him daddy?"
"Did your mother tell you to lie on the stand today?"
"Whose side are you on?"
Miranda's head whipped around to face the jostling throng. "You will not address my daughters or you will never see another line of print for the rest of your pitiable careers." Even behind the tinted lenses of her sunglasses, Miranda's gaze managed to burn into the unfortunate reporter who had dared call out to Caroline, and Andy had put up a good show on the other side as furious brown bored into the watery counterparts of her peers.
Security quickly ushered them into the building without further incident, however both girls grew teary when it was time for the ADA, Alex Cabot and the Child Services worker to take them into the antechamber where they would wait before it was their turn to go on the stand.
Miranda bent down to press a kiss to each cheek, for once not mindful of how it might smear her lipstick. "Be brave darlings. Mummy will be right there watching you, just look at Andrea and me and soon this will all be over, I promise."
Andy helped Miranda straighten up again slowly, feeling the tension in Miranda's spine as she set her shoulders and back ram-rod straight as she prepared to enter the courtroom and the public eye once again. Andy could see the muscle twitching in Miranda's cheek as they took their places in the front row and she was torn between concern for the editor and the cold fury she felt building at the sight of the older man who was doing his damnedest it would seem to hurt the people she loved.
Miranda hadn't said a word to Andy since they had left the girls with ADA Cabot & it looked as though that silence would continue as they took their places in the courtroom and Miranda caught a glimpse of grey hair and an Armani suit, causing her to force back the bile in her throat and use every effort to school her features into an expression of neutrality or at least cold contempt as she stared bullets into Stephen's back.
"The defense has asked that the minors Caroline and Cassidy Priestly be produced for questioning in the case of Tomlinson vs. Priestly on the charges of assault in the first degree, menacing, endangerment of a child and robbery. Will the first witness, Cassidy Priestly, please take the stand."
Miranda gripped Andy's hand in a bloodless vise, and Andy welcomed the pain - not only as a distraction from the pain in her heart as she watched the young girl swear to tell the truth in a small but clear voice, but because it meant Miranda was finally allowing herself to take some comfort from Andy instead of taking it all on her own shoulders and Andy squeezed back, running her thumb over the sharp stone on Miranda's left finger that threatened her own circulation as it bit into her skin.
As she looked over at Miranda, she caught a glimpse of auburn hair and she nodded in the direction of Dr. Jansen who had come to watch the trial as well although her testimony had already been given. Detectives Benson and Munch were there as well and Andy knew if they weren't needed at Runway in Miranda's absence that Emily, Serena and Nigel would have been there as well. Doug had tried his hardest, but hadn't been able to escape a meeting regarding a client merger at Goldman-Sachs but he'd texted Andy that morning before going into his meeting and said he'd call during their break at lunch in case court ended session early for the day.
Stoic as the editor was, Andy could tell her daughter's testimony disturbed her deeply as she listened to her daughter describe the events of that evening and Andy's heartstrings were tugged too as she heard the same fear in the small voice that she had when the little girl had called her that night.
"Oh baby," she whispered, squeezing Miranda's hand for comfort and concerned when she felt nothing back in response.
Miranda's grip slackened on her hand and Andy felt the older woman's fingers slip through hers just before she watched in horror as the slender frame crumpled beside her, bringing Andy down to the floor as well as she did her best to break the editor's fall.
"No, no, no, no, no, Miranda! Miranda? Dr. Jansen? Somebody, please!"
"Mommy!"
"Order! Order! Clear the courtroom. We're in recess, 10 minutes. Bailiff, escort the witnesses to the holding room with Child Services. Do we need to call an ambulance?"
"I don't believe so your honor," Dr. Jansen spoke from where she knelt beside the prone figure, taking her pulse and trying to reassure a hyperventilating Andy, torn between staying with Miranda and making sure someone was there to reassure the girls.
"You may use the side chambers. However, court will resume session regardless in ten minutes. I can't order a continuance for the presence of a non-witness."
"Understood your Honor, thank you. Roy?" Andy's head whipped around, knowing the driver had been seated only a few rows back and he gently lifted the older woman out of Andy's arms from the strange arrangement on the floor and moved quickly towards the antechamber the bailiff was leading them to after Alex had thrown her suit jacket over the editor's head to keep any voyeuristic trial attendees from snapping a few pictures on their phones that would no doubt go viral the moment they were posted.
"Her pulse is too fast" Dr. Jansen's practiced fingers pressed into the smooth skin of the immaculate figure still cradled in Andy's arms. "I think this must be her body's way of protecting itself from another episode of hypertension and her blood pressure from skyrocketing. It's just shut down before it can fully overload."
"Baby, come back to me now," Andy whispered against the clammy temple. "Please we need you here. I need you here…"
Finally, a flutter of the eyelids and a low groan escaped the editor as she came around, utterly disoriented as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings and tried to sit up only to be stopped by a wave of vertigo. "My head," Miranda croaked hoarsely, sinking back down until she was once more lying in Andrea's arms. "Why am I on the floor?" Suddenly she wrenched her hand from Andrea's.
"I'm not, there's no?"
"You're okay, everyone's okay
"My God, what did the press see?"
Andy ignored the question. "Why didn't you say something? If you weren't feeling well…"
"Andrea, I haven't felt well for the vast duration of this pregnancy… And because I needed you to be present for the girls, not worrying about me. What I need to know is that they are safe and that they aren't hurt from any questions from Stephen or Irving's representation." Miranda looked around for them, but the room was empty save for herself and Andrea as Dr. Jansen had stepped out once more to give them some privacy.
Suddenly Miranda's expression changed once again. "Where are they? Where are Caroline & Cassidy?" The tone of her voice turned from frightened to fierce.
"Shh, they're okay, My Uncle John and Detective Benson are with them."
"Why aren't you? Dr. Jansen is capable of providing medical assistance if required."
"First of all, you're my wife - okay, fiancée, but still. Also, I'm prohibited from seeing them until court is adjourned. Stephen's lawyer had a fit when the judge called for a break and the judge granted his request for separation in case we tried to plant any ideas or lies in their heads."
"Ridiculous," Miranda sniffed.
A soft knock indicated Dr. Jansen's return with a warning that their ten minutes was almost up and court was about ready to resume.
"Miranda, if you don't want to spend the next few hours in the hospital to monitor you and the babies you'll agree to go home immediately and rest, not work, rest for the rest of the afternoon. Otherwise I'm more than happy to admit you."
Miranda's eyes bored into the doctor's eyes but the auburn-haired woman's gaze remained steadily and wholly unimpressed at Miranda's attempts at intimidation, leaving Andy with the impression that the woman had bigger balls than she'd thought and that they might have found the one obstetrician in all of Manhattan who wasn't afraid to lay down the law to Miranda for her own good - and for that Andy was truly thankful she thought as she tightened her hold around slim shoulders.
"Andrea, you stay with the girls -" Miranda started, and Andy did a double take that was almost angry.
"You think I would leave them?" Her voice changed drastically in pitch from low and soothing to enraged.
"Miranda, what kind of mother do you think I'm going to be that I would leave them here to face this alone?"
Oh God, that wasn't what she'd meant. Miranda closed her eyes against the pounding in her head, trying to choose her next words carefully as she tried to ignore the flip flop of her stomach that corresponded directly with the hurt look in the younger woman's eyes and the break in her voice.
"Andrea, I, I don't know," she finally admitted, shaking her head and looking up at the brunette beseechingly. "This is all so foreign to me, I, I can't protect them even though I know I'm the one to blame for putting them in this situation." Miranda's hands moved unconsciously in a protective gesture over her stomach even as she spoke of her other children and Andy's heart squeezed again.
"Miranda, you didn't ask to be assaulted."
"No, but I brought Stephen into their lives and I stayed with him, far past what I should have. And you know I think you'll make an excellent mother, you already are. It's just, these are my babies and I, I'm still getting used to the idea that there will be someone in their lives that is as much a constant - not only a weekend parent or paid help, that they will depend on and go to when they have a problem."
Andy saw Miranda's eyes flutter as she finished speaking and she felt her stomach drop guiltily. The last thing she should be doing as a responsible parent and supportive partner was picking fights when she had just watched the woman in her arms collapse in the middle of a crowded courtroom in the midst of watching their daughters face the man who had hurt their mother under their noses. And she knew the flutter of the editor's eyelids meant the imminent appearance of a vicious headache that would require complete darkness and silence to ease if it wasn't to turn into a full-fledged migraine that could last for a day or more.
"I'm sorry," Andy murmured, gathering up the pregnant editor more tightly in her arms and brushing her lips against the older woman's temple so that her eyes closed against the harsh tubular lighting of the side room they were in.
"Roy, make sure she gets inside safely, please." Andy beseeched the older man as she relinquished the editor from her arms even though she knew she didn't have to voice the request. The big bear of a man had already locked his gaze on the woman he had driven for so many years and his stance was protective and not a little fierce as the pair exited out into the hallway where a throng would be waiting for them.
"She has her blood pressure medication, which will make her sleepy, so hopefully she'll just sleep the afternoon away and her body will have a chance to heal itself from this before she has to deal with the aftermath of the trial." Dr. Jansen spoke from behind her.
"How much longer can she go on like this?" Andy asked in a low voice, staring out at the courtroom. "I thought my being back would help."
"Andy, I'm sure it is helping. There are just some things you cannot control. Things that would affect any parent if they had to watch. It's simply the sheer multiplicity of factors here that are coming together to make this a dangerous situation for Miranda."
She paused though before she added grimly. "If she does collapse again, or have her blood pressure fluctuate so drastically as to cause her to faint, I will put her on bedrest for the remainder of the pregnancy, despite my apprehensions about how it might affect her stress levels."
Andy nodded, goosebumps rising on her skin as she remembered how it had felt to watch and to feel Miranda's body go limp and to plead once again, with the love of her life, as she lay unresponsive in her arms.
"She's too important, Dr. Jansen," Andy insisted, her gaze still distant as she remained lost in thought. "She is too damn important to lose over this fuckery. And I don't mean because of the fucking magazine or her reputation as La Priestly or as the editor-in-chief of Runway. I mean she is everything to me and those girls. The rest can go to hell for all I care, but I need her. Just promise me she is going to be fine and I can deal with all the rest as it comes."
When the trial resumed, Caroline and Cassidy were brought back into the courtroom by the Child Services worker, and Caroline was put on the stand to testify first.
Her eyes red and puffy, but refusing to cry in front of the court, just like her mother, and her lips trembling as she opened her mouth to ask in a shaking voice. "Is my mom okay?" The young high voice hitched slightly and terrified eyes scanned the courtroom wildly before coming to rest on the warm brown ones belonging to her other mother.
Andy opened her mouth to speak, but the judge cut her off, although she appeared loathe to do it. "The witness will refrain from addressing anyone in the audience."
Andy watched the little girl's eyes fill with tears that she stubbornly tried to not let fall and felt her own eyes prickle. Damn it if she wasn't susceptible to the Priestly blues. Already she was having a hard time not leaping the wooden barrier and scooping both girls into her arms and getting them the hell out of there.
On the other hand, it was probably a good thing Miranda wasn't here to witness this on two levels. One in that she knew that the editor's already high blood pressure would be pushed over the edge, and two - had she been in the courtroom she would have torn the judge apart. All too clearly Andy could see the enraged mother tearing the judge apart for adding to her baby's distress turning the 'Ice Queen' on full blast and possibly endangering the case.
Even Stephen's lawyer had the grace to look chagrinned as he wended his way through the maze of questions and arguments meant to trip up the little girl who sniffed back her tears angrily and set her small shoulders back in an eerily familiar mimicry of some person now absent from the trial. Two fat tears and then nothing more escaped the electric blue and Andy's heart both broke and swelled with pride as she watched the little girl who she would so soon be legally able to call her daughter.
"Oh, my sweet girls. I am so proud of you." Andy dropped to her knees and swept both redheads into a tight hug as they were finally let out of the courtroom after they were adjourned for the day. Luckily, it seemed, all relevant questioning had been completed and the answers obtained deemed satisfactory to meet the requirements set by the defense and so the girls' part in the trial was over and the defense unable to call them back to the stand in the future.
"I wanna go home, mama." Cassidy mumbled into her shoulder and Andy could see they were both fading fast.
"Is mom okay?" Caroline repeated her question from earlier. "Is she gonna have to go back to the hospital again?" Tears returned to the blue eyes and the childish voice.
"No baby, she's at home. Dr. Jansen was in court today and she decided what was best for the babies and your mom was to go home and rest for a while. Hopefully she'll be feeling a lot better and she won't need to go back to the hospital until it's time for the babies to be born.
"B-but she fainted, and she was on the floor again and she wouldn't wake up just like the night Stephen was at the house and the ambulance came and took her away!" Caroline's voice began to turn hysterical and this time it was her turn to be picked up by the brunette and cuddled close, even with long legs dangling awkwardly. Cassidy then immediately latched on to Roy who looked surprised and then touched as he tenderly carried a Priestly female for the second time that day, and Andy was never more grateful for the man as for when they were all finally, safely back in the car and heading home.
Caroline clung stubbornly to Andy's side for the whole car ride home, but Cassidy had succumbed to the rigors of the day and was sound asleep when they pulled up to the townhouse.
"Cass? Cass honey, can you wake up? We're home."
Looking at little girl blinking sleepily & rubbing at her eyes, Andy was suddenly struck with the image of what the girls must have looked like as toddlers and young children. Mussed red curls, cheeks flushed from sleep and the soft rosy pout on familiar lips all came together to squeeze at Andy's heart.
"I don't wanna go back,"
"Baby you're not gonna have to go back. You don't ever need to see him again." Andy ran the backs of her fingers down the still baby-soft skin of the ten year old huddled miserably on the sidewalk, scuffing the toe of her shoe in a way Andy knew Miranda would hate if she were there to see it.
"I know you're tired, honey. Maybe you could all have a nap, hey? Then we'll be nice and refreshed for dinner. Come on, let's go see if your mama's listening to the doctor and staying in bed."
Cassidy nodded her agreement and the trio climbed the stairs to the townhouse under the watchful eye of Roy, whose gaze never wavered from their backs until they were safely inside. Not on his watch was anything going to happen to any of the women in that household - and it was with aged but not forgotten military attention that his eyes swept the immediate vicinity for any threats or lurking reporters. Finally, satisfied at hearing the dull click of the lock, he turned back to the car, heading back out into the midtown traffic and Runway where he would no doubt be pumped for the details of the trial by Emily, although the Brit preferred to pretend she didn't care as much as she did. Hopefully though, the questioning could wait until drinks after work, because he could certainly use one after the events of the day and a pint or two certainly wouldn't go amiss as he recounted the drama of the trial proceedings as they had occurred.
Back at the townhouse, the young woman backed into the wall of the darkened bedroom, her arms held tightly around herself and slid down it, staring intently at the bed with its now three sleeping figures, the girls having gone directly to the master bedroom and joining a thankfully sleeping Miranda.
"My girls…" she whispered, now hugging her knees to her chest as she stared in a hungry, almost desperate way at the scene in front of her, wanting to keep them all as they were, safe in that moment as she listened to the soft, deep breaths of the three people she loved most in the world.
Groggily opening her eyes two or so hours later, Miranda blinked blearily not sure as to what she was seeing at the foot of the bed given the two figures she could feel curled around her sides.
It was only then that she noticed the young woman, curled in what appeared to be a very uncomfortable position on the floor.
"Andrea? Sweetheart? Darling, wake up." Miranda wished she were able to get down on the floor with her, but between the irksome fullness of her bladder that had awakened her in the first place, and the question of how to manoeuver her awkward frame to the floor without assistance stood in her way.
As she stood over the younger woman however, she stirred and came to, raising her head and wincing slightly at the stiffness from her awkward position.
"Man I guess I was more tired than I thought," Andy grimaced, rising with enviable ease Miranda thought absently as she worked a kink out of her neck before she turned to level her gaze at the woman standing before her. "How are you feeling?" Andy's hands smoothed over Miranda's waist to settle at the small of her back and both women stared down at the bump between them over which Miranda placed an elegant hand with a sigh. "Better. Tired, but better. The medication seems to have worked in reducing the frequency of the Braxton Hicks contractions as well."
"Hmm, your pressure's probably still low," Andy watched as Miranda dutifully got back into bed after finishing with the facilities, noting the colourlessness of her face still and smiled gently as both girls wriggled closer in their sleep under Miranda's arms.
"How were they?" Miranda ran her fingers lightly through the tousled auburn locks.
"It was hard," Andy admitted, running her own hands through her hair as she curled up on the chair next to the vanity to continue their conversation. "They were worried about you, and the judge wouldn't let them ask any questions and seeing Stephen really rattled them. I hadn't thought about the fact that this would be the first time they've seen him since the night of the assault - and then to be put in the same room with him…"
Miranda tensed, and Andy watched as the older woman's nostrils flared as she forced herself to breathe normally. "I hate him for putting them through this, moreso than for what he did to me."
"Don't say that. Miranda, he nearly killed you. If you had hit your head differently, or, or…anything had happened differently, you might not be sitting in front of me right now and the thought of that…"
"Alright, alright," Miranda agreed to soothe the other woman's rising distress, although her hands didn't still from their petting of the two redheads, hoping to keep them asleep so they could continue their conversation.
"It's over." Miranda spoke decisively. "The girls won't be brought back and I refuse to let myself be cowed by a man whose deficiencies are as numerous as his hair plugs."
Andy snorted loudly before clapping a hand over her mouth so she didn't wake the girls, but her face soon turned serious.
"There is one more thing I have to inform you of regarding the events of the trial after today."
"What, what is it?"
"Apparently, the consequences of having to testify involve the ordering of pizza for dinner." Andy spoke with mock seriousness and Miranda rolled her eyes as the tightness in her shoulders eased.
She shook her head as she looked down at her daughters. "Sausage and mushroom tonight I think," she decided, "in addition to whatever the girls requested."
Andy nodded and leaned over the bed for a kiss before she left. But before she reached the door, she thought she heard Miranda mumble something and turned back to face the editor who was decidedly looking to the side as though she hadn't said anything.
"Miranda?"
"I said, when you return, bring the Nutella jar."
Doing her best to keep a straight face, Andy replied "Yes, Miranda," before letting her laughter ring out in the hallway. All the stress of the trial, the press, the stares she now engendered constantly at work. It was all worth it because of what and who lay in bed upstairs at that moment. Whatever came next as the birth came closer and the trial came to a close, it was worth it.
So...good start to the New Year?