FIC: Changes Wrought 2/?
Changes Wrought 2/?
By: bargara_b
Fandom: Devil Wears Prada (film)
Pairing: Miranda/Andrea
Rating: PG-13 to R
Disclaimer: Honestly? Not mine.
A/N: I’ve never written one of these. I am not a writer nor can I claim any expertise in fashion, journalism, medicine, psychiatry, rescue operations, or teenaged girls (though I do have one of those they remain a mystery). Also, I owe thanks to Radak for the prompt.
Thanks very much for all the encouraging comments on my first chapter. You're all very kind.
Changes Wrought
Chapter Two
“Not mom.”
Finally.
Andy had been lying there, for what seemed to be a long time, holding the girl’s hand and stroking her forehead, murmuring gentle encouragements whenever the girl would moan. She had been able to make further assessments, not just of the girl, whose need had turned Andy into a mother, but also of her own physical condition. She knew she had banged her head pretty hard but that pain seemed to be subsiding and now other things had started to hurt; her knee especially and her hip. The knee felt broken to Andy, at least that is how she would define it. She couldn’t bend it without all hell breaking loose in the pain department. Her hip had a constant steady throb so she opted to move it as little as possible. Also, Andy kind of knew she wasn’t really thinking as clearly as she thought she was. She knew there was that whole adrenalin thing happening that makes you think you’re smarter and more on top of things than you really are … or maybe it just makes you hyper-aware of whatever you need to do to stay alive. Oh, and her face hurt.
“No, I’m not your mom but you’re going to be okay and I’m going to stay right here with you until she gets here.” At that moment, Andy was certain that there had never been anything more important in her life than that promise. Everything that ever was and ever would be was relying on her promise. Or so she felt.
Andy reached over and brushed the girl’s hair off her face and looked into somewhat unfocused blue eyes. She had been unable to tell where the blood was coming from on the girl’s head but it seemed to be clotting. Andy was more concerned about the labored breathing and the jagged piece of metal protruding through the girl’s calf. She also guessed the leg was broken because of its odd angle.
“What’s your name, sweetie?” Andy asked.
The girl just stared at Andy. Her lips parted but no sound other than the labored breathing came out.
“Can you tell me your name?” Andy continued making what she hoped were soothing circles on the girl’s hand.
“Caroline.” It was a raspy whisper and her lips didn’t even move. Her eyes didn’t leave Andy’s for even a second.
“Hi Caroline, I’m Andy.”
There was no response, just the not quite focused gaze that was unwilling to let Andy’s go for anything. Andy felt awkward under the look and it compelled her to keep talking.
“They’ll be here soon to get us. I can hear them coming. Can you hear them, Caroline?”
Andy saw that the girl’s eyes were getting glassy with tears.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. Just hang in here with me. Okay, Caroline?”
Tears did spill over and ran down across Caroline’s face and into her hairline. Andy reached over and brushed away what she could.
“Torey.”
It took Andy a moment to not just understand what Caroline had said but to recall who Torey was. Ah, the girl sitting with Caroline before the accident, that’s right.
“She’s fine sweetie. We’ll see her once we get cleaned up.” Of course, Andy knew no such thing but felt it was the best answer just now and Caroline seemed satisfied since she just kept looking at Andy.
Andy’s super-powers had started to diminish but what was left of them now focused on this girl while still keeping one ear listening for rescue workers. If Andy had wanted to, she could have heard all kinds of noises going on but she knew this was enough; this was all she could handle. She could not handle looking around her any more than she could handle letting go of Caroline’s hand or dropping Caroline’s gaze. Andy needed this. She needed Caroline’s hand and gaze more than she had ever needed anything in her life.
See, in the very back of Andy’s mind she knew that a lot of bad stuff was happening all around them and that if she chose to she would be able to hear everything: the crying, the moaning, the screaming, and the silence. Instead Andy chose to focus the whole of what was left of her superpower energy on this little school girl, with the glassy unfocused blue eyes that wouldn’t leave hers, who wore the school uniform which had probably been adjusted after leaving her house that morning away from the disapproving eyes of mom and dad.
+++++++++++++++++
“You will all be informed when your loved one is located and you will be instructed which hospital they are being taken to. You will then be escorted to that facility where you will be reunited with your loved one.” The official in charge of keeping the families under control and informed continued. “Make certain you have signed in with one of the volunteers. They are set up alphabetically by last name. Give them all of your contact information and a description of your loved one.” He droned on, but kindly.
Miranda sat straight and stiff on one of the hard plastic molded chairs staring directly ahead. Next to her sat Nigel whose hand she held. She probably wasn’t even aware that she held it and that she was squeezing every bit of reassurance out of it. They did not speak and they did not look at each other. Miranda just continued to look straight ahead while Nigel focused on the back of the of the hard plastic molded chair in front of him and allowed Miranda Priestly to squeeze the life out of his hand. If he had glanced at Miranda, and if she hadn’t been wearing her darkened glasses, he would have seen the abject terror in her eyes. He would have noticed that she was all but holding her breath.
“Priestly? Marianna Priestly?”
Nigel leaped to his feet. “Here! She’s … we’re here.” He looked down to Miranda who, still holding Nigel’s hand, stood and moved towards the table marked “Transportation”.
“I’m Miranda Priestly.”
An earnest looking intern-type smiled softly at Miranda. “Ms. Priestly, your daughter,” she glanced down at her clipboard, “Caroline, is being transported to …”
If Nigel hadn’t still been holding Miranda’s hand she would have fallen to her knees at that moment. He held her tighter.
“. . . will escort you and,” the earnest young woman glanced at Nigel, “Mr. …”
“Kipling.”
“You and Mr. Kipling to the hospital.” She then handed Miranda a large manila envelope. “Here’s a packet of information which includes contact numbers for organizations that you may find useful later on.” She smiled again and looking very sincere directed Miranda and Nigel to the door where a uniformed officer waited.
++++++++++++++++++++
Andy had pulled herself a bit closer so Caroline would feel more secure. Hell, who was she kidding, Andy needed to feel more secure. Their heads had been close to begin with but their bodies had been angled slightly away from each other. After a while, Caroline had started to shiver and Andy tried her best to give some body warmth with out moving Caroline. Andy was in tears after shifting herself over; the pain was that intense. Once she settled as close as she could next to Caroline the pain ebbed just enough to refocus and to try to keep Caroline warm.
“Hey, is that better?” Andy asked.
Caroline said nothing but the shivering lessened a bit. The raspy breathing was intensifying, however, and Andy wondered about a collapsed lung. If there was a rule about how to treat a collapsed lung Andy probably wouldn’t have dared to do anything. She really didn’t want to move Caroline especially since Caroline hadn’t moved pretty much anything at all but just stared at Andy like she was her lifeline.
Time and space had been turned on their respective heads. Andy was clueless about how long they’d been down there but she was pretty sure she could hear … no, it was more like she could feel the rescue workers coming. She pressed her lips to Caroline’s hand which was becoming more and more chilled.
“I think I hear them coming Caroline. We’ll be okay in just a few more minutes.” Andy was worried. Caroline was closing her eyes for longer intervals. Initially, Andy would have thought she was in one of those schoolyard staring contests, the kind where the first to blink loses, but after a while Caroline started taking long slow blinks. Now Andy wouldn’t even classify them as blinks.
“Caroline, stay with me, honey. You’ve got to stay awake for me. Can you do that for me, sweetheart?” Caroline opened her eyes and they rolled reminding Andy of someone who was exhausted but really wanted to stay awake.
She searched her mind for a story that a 12 year old would find compelling enough to fight unconsciousness to hear.
Nothing came to her. Of all the times for words to fail her this time should not have been one of them. Andy knew she needed to come up with something … anything would do at this point.
“I kissed my first boy when I was seven,” Andy said. “Well, seven and a half, really.” Caroline didn’t exactly look disinterested and she didn’t blink so Andy continued. “My bird, Budgie, had just died and we’d had the funeral in the field behind my house. And Mikey Edwards just walked right up to me and said ‘I’m gonna kiss you now’ and he did!” Andy gave a little snort. “It was kind of gross and I told him so. Then I chased him all the way back to his house and told him never to do that again.” Caroline’s eyelids started to flutter and Andy grasped her hand even tighter.
“Caroline,” Andy said. “Hey, honey, when you feel a little better I want you to tell me about your first kiss, okay?”
For a moment, Caroline looked like she was going to open her mouth and start talking. Instead, she looked at Andy with such an intensity, Andy would have sworn Caroline’s eyes narrowed, prompting an odd sense of déjà vu. Then Caroline closed her eyes and didn’t open them again.
“No. No. No! Caroline! Caroline, open your eyes, honey, open your eyes. Stay with me, sweetie,” Andy begged. “Please baby, they’re almost here. I can hear them coming, I promise.” Andy turned her head for the first time since she had locked eyes with Caroline to see if there was any sign of rescue. There was. They really were coming. “Please Caroline, open your eyes. Sweetie, come on you can do it you can stay with me … they’re coming, baby … they’re coming. We’re okay now … we’re okay.”
More noises.
“Hey!” Andy shouted. “Hey, we’re in here! We’re in here!”
Andy would later learn that they had been almost shoulder to shoulder with the other injured passengers on the train. In fact, if she had turned her head to the left she would have come face to face with one of the other injured students. But she had turned to the right. She had turned to Caroline.
TBC