Home Again (5/?)
Home Again (5/?)
Coco ♥ i_heart_cuddy
pairing Miranda/Andy
rating r
verse Continuation of: Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Mother, Honey, Honey & It's a Short Trip
summary Miranda rushes to the bedside of her dying mother. The family, the home and the life that she ran away from thirty years before. The weight of the guilt still heavy even after so much time has passed. Can Miranda's money and clout help her mother get the treatment she needs? Can getting her mother the treatment she needs ease her conscience?
title inspired by two different quotes:
"You can't go home again." Thomas Wolfe
"Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." Robert Frost
Okay... here's the deal... I missed my deadline. August 15th? That was yesterday... this is the 16th and this is NOT the final part. But I'm going to try to post the final part by the end of the day?
disclaimers I make absolutely no money off of my fanfiction whatsoever. I am not claiming to be affiliated with twentieth century fox, Meryl Streep or Anne Hathaway.
Click to enlarge:
Miranda came down from her room around one and found Jamie sitting on a barstool. "Thought you were going to bed." He said.
"Thought you'd be home with your wife."
Jamie smirked, "you're one to talk."
"Maybe it runs in the family. Running away." Miranda slid onto the stool next to Jamie.
"Yeah, I'll drink to that." Jamie lifted his glass but stopped, "oh, you don't have a drink, let me get you an ale."
"No, no... it's a little late for me." Miranda waved him off.
He nudged her, "you're here, might as well partake of the cove's ale. My treat, name your poison."
"Do they still carry Spingo?"
"Are you kidding? Of course they do." Jamie flagged Billy down, "Billy, get Miriam a Bragget, wouldya?"
Billy set the stein in front of Miranda, "you two take your time but I have to start cleaning up."
"Thanks, Bill. My tab."
"No, Jamie." Miranda frowned as she sipped the ale. "I'm not going to let you buy me anything."
"Look, just accept it." Jamie said tersely.
Miranda sipped the ale again and shook her head. "You smash my phone with one hand and offer me a drink with the other. Forgive me, don't forgive me but you can't do both."
"I can still think you're a selfish cow and buy you a drink. I'm your brother." Miranda pursed her lips and remained silent. "It's crazy how much you look like mum but you're exactly like dad. Dana looks like dad and acts just like mum."
"You can take the girl out of England..."
"Is it genetic, do you think? The desire to leave, I mean. First dad, then you... I went to London for school and I met Virginia and I brought her back here, but... I hate my life... maybe I'm mad that you got out of here. You made a clean break of it."
"Your kids are all grown." Miranda shrugged her shoulders. "You can leave."
"I love my wife."
"So don't leave."
"It's not that simple." Jamie gruffed.
"Look, Jamie." Miranda set down the beer and turned to face him. "It is simple. People act like things aren't because they find supposed obligations and restrictions in order to keep themselves from being responsible for trying to make themselves happy."
"Easy for you to say."
"Jamie, look at me. I don't live here, I don't know you're life and I'm leaving soon. So there's no reason to bullshit me. What would make you happy?"
"I want to travel. I want to see other places. I want Virginia to go with me... but she doesn't want to leave the grankids, you know? She doesn't want to go and I don't want to stay but we want to be together."
"It sounds like either way one of you will be unhappy." Miranda shrugged.
"Yeah, or both of us will be unhappy. I make the sacrifice to be unhappy so that Virginia can be happy."
"You're a better man than I."
"Or a stupider man." Jamie scoffed. "Maybe I'm still mad that you left because I'm still mad that it was so easy for you to leave us."
"It wasn't easy." Miranda corrected, stunned. "It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. I hope you know that I didn't leave because I stopped loving my family. Sometimes you hurt the ones you love the most."
After a long silence, Jamie mumbled. "I'm sorry I smashed your phone."
Miranda shrugged, "I'm not going to pretend that I'm not mad. It just made it infinitely more difficult to talk to my wife or my daughters considering I can't get a decent wifi signal here."
Jamie laughed, "I'm kind of glad you're here."
"Kind of? Well, it's an improvement from earlier..." Miranda took a swig the ale. "Are you going to remember this conversation in the morning or have you had too much to drink?"
"No, I'll remember it... but I had to have the alcohol to say it."
"Take what I can get, I guess."
Jamie finished off his stein and said, "so, you're really married to a woman?"
**
"Cassidy?" Zoria whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. "Cass?"
Cassidy grumbled and turned over, nuzzling into Zoria's shoulder. "Too early. Be quiet. Go back to sleep."
"I have to go, I have to get ready for work."
Cassidy wrapped her arms around her and kissed her, "come back soon? Like tonight?"
"We'll see. Kate has yet to inform me of her intentions for this evening." Zoria ran her fingers over Cassidy's stomach and up between her breasts. "I'll call you, though."
"You'd better." Cassidy grinned.
Zoria pulled on her clothes. "Just down the stairs and to the left?"
Cassidy yawned and nodded, "yeah."
"Have a good day." Zoria whispered as she slipped out of the bedroom. Andy paused at the top of the stairs watching Zoria close Cassidy's door and pad quietly down the steps. She heard the front door slip shut.
Andy continued down to the second floor landing and knocked on Cassidy's door. "Did you get lost?" Cassidy asked as she opened the door. "...oh... Andy..."
"Can we talk?" Andy asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah, as long as we don't talk about the woman who just left." Cassidy shifted, tugging at the shirt she'd just pulled on.
"Um..." Andy furrowed her brow and shook her head. "Um, yeah... uh, your mother, I tried calling her and it went straight to voicemail. I'm not sure if she's ignoring me or if there are other problems. I was wondering if you'd call just in case."
"Yeah, totally." Cassidy nodded, "did you try the inn?"
"I did, I got a busy signal. I have to go in to work now, though." Andy said slowly, "but I think we should talk about the woman who just left... who looked suspiciously like your high school guidance counselor? But it'll have to wait until I get home..." she looked at her cell phone.
"Alright." Cassidy started closing the door.
"Hey, stay out of trouble, kiddo, okay?"
"I'm an adult." Cassidy called through the door. "And you're not my mother. The sooner you stop trying to act like you have or deserve any authority over me the better. Okay? Go to work and you stay out of trouble."
Andy sighed heavily and paused before continuing down the stairs. On her way out the door she dialed Miranda again. The voicemail came up immediately, "hey sweetheart, it's me again. I just miss you and I'm sorry and I love you and I... I don't know, just call me, okay?"
Once at the office, Jimmy greeted her at the door, "Andy, your piece on the senator is a smash hit. All the news stations and other newspapers are struggling to catch up to you on this one. It's incredible."
Andy grinned, "I don't know what to say..."
"Sachs!" Dave huffed from his office, "come see me."
Jimmy clapped her on the back, "good luck and congratulations."
"Thanks." Andy kissed his cheek, "couldn't have done it without you."
"Eh," he waved her off, "you could have, it just would have taken a lot longer."
Andy stepped into Dave's office, "yes?"
"Sit down," he gestured to the shaggy couch in his office. "Let's talk about that promotion that you're due for."
**
When Miranda arrived at the cottage Dana was getting ready to leave. "Hey Miranda," Dana said as they passed in the living room. "I might make it back for dinner, but I'm not sure. Do you need a ride anywhere today?"
"No," Miranda shook her head, "thank you. I think I'm just going to visit with mum today."
"Okay, have a good day then." Dana smiled and excused herself.
Miranda climbed the stairs and when she entered her mother's room she found her sitting at her vanity reading. "Hey mum, I have some good news for you."
"Oh?" She turned and set down the book.
Miranda sat on the bed, "I've been calling around London hospitals and there's one with an excellent cardiology department who said they have the room for you. You can go as early as the beginning of next week."
"Wow, Miriam, I don't know what to say." Evelyn was stunned.
"They'll send down transportation so you don't have to worry about your car or anything." Miranda explained.
"Miranda, that's so thoughtful of you."
"Well, you're my mum and I want to help you any way that I can." Miranda admitted.
"Just seeing you again has done wonders for my heart, dear," Evelyn got up from her seat and sat next to Miranda. She took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "You can't know how happy I am to see you."
Miranda smiled and wrapped her arms around Evelyn.
**
"Hey Miranda girl." Christian greeted when Andy picked up the phone. "I saw your article, you made a killing. Great example of journalism."
"Thanks." Andy turned away so as not to distract Jimmy with her conversation. "I'm just glad to have gotten a chance to do a piece that I really cared about."
"Well, it's obvious that you put your heart into it. I heard a little rumor today that I think you'd be interested in..." he said cryptically.
"Don't make me beg." Andy laughed.
"I heard a rumor that you're going to be offered a job here at the Times."
There was silence on Andy's end. "You've got to be shitting me... don't do this to me, Christian. You know that's my dream job."
"I'm not kidding, Andy, a lot of people are impressed. The senator is being brought up on charges. This article is going to take you places. And how proud is Miranda?"
Andy shrugged, "no idea, actually. She's out of the country and I haven't been able to get a hold of her."
"Shameful! You need to be taken out to celebrate. I'll pick you up when you get off work. Six?" Christian offered, "we'll get drinks and then do dinner."
Andy stopped to think about this proposition for a moment. On the one hand she felt that she should be there for Cassidy but after the attitude she'd gotten that morning wasn't sure that Cassidy would care if Andy were there for dinner. Also, Andy wanted to get the low down on Cassidy's new love affair to figure out if it was something she should concerned about or not.
"Andy?" Christian asked when she hadn't answered.
"No. Yeah, six sounds great, I'll meet you outside at six."
Coco ♥ i_heart_cuddy
pairing Miranda/Andy
rating r
verse Continuation of: Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Mother, Honey, Honey & It's a Short Trip
summary Miranda rushes to the bedside of her dying mother. The family, the home and the life that she ran away from thirty years before. The weight of the guilt still heavy even after so much time has passed. Can Miranda's money and clout help her mother get the treatment she needs? Can getting her mother the treatment she needs ease her conscience?
title inspired by two different quotes:
"You can't go home again." Thomas Wolfe
"Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." Robert Frost
Okay... here's the deal... I missed my deadline. August 15th? That was yesterday... this is the 16th and this is NOT the final part. But I'm going to try to post the final part by the end of the day?
disclaimers I make absolutely no money off of my fanfiction whatsoever. I am not claiming to be affiliated with twentieth century fox, Meryl Streep or Anne Hathaway.
Click to enlarge:
Miranda came down from her room around one and found Jamie sitting on a barstool. "Thought you were going to bed." He said.
"Thought you'd be home with your wife."
Jamie smirked, "you're one to talk."
"Maybe it runs in the family. Running away." Miranda slid onto the stool next to Jamie.
"Yeah, I'll drink to that." Jamie lifted his glass but stopped, "oh, you don't have a drink, let me get you an ale."
"No, no... it's a little late for me." Miranda waved him off.
He nudged her, "you're here, might as well partake of the cove's ale. My treat, name your poison."
"Do they still carry Spingo?"
"Are you kidding? Of course they do." Jamie flagged Billy down, "Billy, get Miriam a Bragget, wouldya?"
Billy set the stein in front of Miranda, "you two take your time but I have to start cleaning up."
"Thanks, Bill. My tab."
"No, Jamie." Miranda frowned as she sipped the ale. "I'm not going to let you buy me anything."
"Look, just accept it." Jamie said tersely.
Miranda sipped the ale again and shook her head. "You smash my phone with one hand and offer me a drink with the other. Forgive me, don't forgive me but you can't do both."
"I can still think you're a selfish cow and buy you a drink. I'm your brother." Miranda pursed her lips and remained silent. "It's crazy how much you look like mum but you're exactly like dad. Dana looks like dad and acts just like mum."
"You can take the girl out of England..."
"Is it genetic, do you think? The desire to leave, I mean. First dad, then you... I went to London for school and I met Virginia and I brought her back here, but... I hate my life... maybe I'm mad that you got out of here. You made a clean break of it."
"Your kids are all grown." Miranda shrugged her shoulders. "You can leave."
"I love my wife."
"So don't leave."
"It's not that simple." Jamie gruffed.
"Look, Jamie." Miranda set down the beer and turned to face him. "It is simple. People act like things aren't because they find supposed obligations and restrictions in order to keep themselves from being responsible for trying to make themselves happy."
"Easy for you to say."
"Jamie, look at me. I don't live here, I don't know you're life and I'm leaving soon. So there's no reason to bullshit me. What would make you happy?"
"I want to travel. I want to see other places. I want Virginia to go with me... but she doesn't want to leave the grankids, you know? She doesn't want to go and I don't want to stay but we want to be together."
"It sounds like either way one of you will be unhappy." Miranda shrugged.
"Yeah, or both of us will be unhappy. I make the sacrifice to be unhappy so that Virginia can be happy."
"You're a better man than I."
"Or a stupider man." Jamie scoffed. "Maybe I'm still mad that you left because I'm still mad that it was so easy for you to leave us."
"It wasn't easy." Miranda corrected, stunned. "It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. I hope you know that I didn't leave because I stopped loving my family. Sometimes you hurt the ones you love the most."
After a long silence, Jamie mumbled. "I'm sorry I smashed your phone."
Miranda shrugged, "I'm not going to pretend that I'm not mad. It just made it infinitely more difficult to talk to my wife or my daughters considering I can't get a decent wifi signal here."
Jamie laughed, "I'm kind of glad you're here."
"Kind of? Well, it's an improvement from earlier..." Miranda took a swig the ale. "Are you going to remember this conversation in the morning or have you had too much to drink?"
"No, I'll remember it... but I had to have the alcohol to say it."
"Take what I can get, I guess."
Jamie finished off his stein and said, "so, you're really married to a woman?"
**
"Cassidy?" Zoria whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. "Cass?"
Cassidy grumbled and turned over, nuzzling into Zoria's shoulder. "Too early. Be quiet. Go back to sleep."
"I have to go, I have to get ready for work."
Cassidy wrapped her arms around her and kissed her, "come back soon? Like tonight?"
"We'll see. Kate has yet to inform me of her intentions for this evening." Zoria ran her fingers over Cassidy's stomach and up between her breasts. "I'll call you, though."
"You'd better." Cassidy grinned.
Zoria pulled on her clothes. "Just down the stairs and to the left?"
Cassidy yawned and nodded, "yeah."
"Have a good day." Zoria whispered as she slipped out of the bedroom. Andy paused at the top of the stairs watching Zoria close Cassidy's door and pad quietly down the steps. She heard the front door slip shut.
Andy continued down to the second floor landing and knocked on Cassidy's door. "Did you get lost?" Cassidy asked as she opened the door. "...oh... Andy..."
"Can we talk?" Andy asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah, as long as we don't talk about the woman who just left." Cassidy shifted, tugging at the shirt she'd just pulled on.
"Um..." Andy furrowed her brow and shook her head. "Um, yeah... uh, your mother, I tried calling her and it went straight to voicemail. I'm not sure if she's ignoring me or if there are other problems. I was wondering if you'd call just in case."
"Yeah, totally." Cassidy nodded, "did you try the inn?"
"I did, I got a busy signal. I have to go in to work now, though." Andy said slowly, "but I think we should talk about the woman who just left... who looked suspiciously like your high school guidance counselor? But it'll have to wait until I get home..." she looked at her cell phone.
"Alright." Cassidy started closing the door.
"Hey, stay out of trouble, kiddo, okay?"
"I'm an adult." Cassidy called through the door. "And you're not my mother. The sooner you stop trying to act like you have or deserve any authority over me the better. Okay? Go to work and you stay out of trouble."
Andy sighed heavily and paused before continuing down the stairs. On her way out the door she dialed Miranda again. The voicemail came up immediately, "hey sweetheart, it's me again. I just miss you and I'm sorry and I love you and I... I don't know, just call me, okay?"
Once at the office, Jimmy greeted her at the door, "Andy, your piece on the senator is a smash hit. All the news stations and other newspapers are struggling to catch up to you on this one. It's incredible."
Andy grinned, "I don't know what to say..."
"Sachs!" Dave huffed from his office, "come see me."
Jimmy clapped her on the back, "good luck and congratulations."
"Thanks." Andy kissed his cheek, "couldn't have done it without you."
"Eh," he waved her off, "you could have, it just would have taken a lot longer."
Andy stepped into Dave's office, "yes?"
"Sit down," he gestured to the shaggy couch in his office. "Let's talk about that promotion that you're due for."
**
When Miranda arrived at the cottage Dana was getting ready to leave. "Hey Miranda," Dana said as they passed in the living room. "I might make it back for dinner, but I'm not sure. Do you need a ride anywhere today?"
"No," Miranda shook her head, "thank you. I think I'm just going to visit with mum today."
"Okay, have a good day then." Dana smiled and excused herself.
Miranda climbed the stairs and when she entered her mother's room she found her sitting at her vanity reading. "Hey mum, I have some good news for you."
"Oh?" She turned and set down the book.
Miranda sat on the bed, "I've been calling around London hospitals and there's one with an excellent cardiology department who said they have the room for you. You can go as early as the beginning of next week."
"Wow, Miriam, I don't know what to say." Evelyn was stunned.
"They'll send down transportation so you don't have to worry about your car or anything." Miranda explained.
"Miranda, that's so thoughtful of you."
"Well, you're my mum and I want to help you any way that I can." Miranda admitted.
"Just seeing you again has done wonders for my heart, dear," Evelyn got up from her seat and sat next to Miranda. She took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "You can't know how happy I am to see you."
Miranda smiled and wrapped her arms around Evelyn.
**
"Hey Miranda girl." Christian greeted when Andy picked up the phone. "I saw your article, you made a killing. Great example of journalism."
"Thanks." Andy turned away so as not to distract Jimmy with her conversation. "I'm just glad to have gotten a chance to do a piece that I really cared about."
"Well, it's obvious that you put your heart into it. I heard a little rumor today that I think you'd be interested in..." he said cryptically.
"Don't make me beg." Andy laughed.
"I heard a rumor that you're going to be offered a job here at the Times."
There was silence on Andy's end. "You've got to be shitting me... don't do this to me, Christian. You know that's my dream job."
"I'm not kidding, Andy, a lot of people are impressed. The senator is being brought up on charges. This article is going to take you places. And how proud is Miranda?"
Andy shrugged, "no idea, actually. She's out of the country and I haven't been able to get a hold of her."
"Shameful! You need to be taken out to celebrate. I'll pick you up when you get off work. Six?" Christian offered, "we'll get drinks and then do dinner."
Andy stopped to think about this proposition for a moment. On the one hand she felt that she should be there for Cassidy but after the attitude she'd gotten that morning wasn't sure that Cassidy would care if Andy were there for dinner. Also, Andy wanted to get the low down on Cassidy's new love affair to figure out if it was something she should concerned about or not.
"Andy?" Christian asked when she hadn't answered.
"No. Yeah, six sounds great, I'll meet you outside at six."