Chapter Text
“Andrea?” Miranda asked.
Andy looked up from the notes app on her cell phone. “Yeah?”
The relationship between the two women had become somewhat more casual since they’d returned from Paris. Andy had come within seconds of walking out on Miranda after she’d blindsided Nigel but, ultimately, her empathy won out and she found that she couldn’t abandon Miranda too.
The fondness that she’d felt for Miranda had definitely waned but she decided to be an adult and wait until she’d secured a new job before giving Miranda her two weeks’ notice.
A little more than two months had gone by and Andy was hardly putting in a momentous effort to find another job. Miranda had let Andy see a vulnerable side of her and instead of pushing her away, Miranda let Andy act more familiarly with her. Andy felt like she was constantly pushing the limits of Miranda’s newfound permissiveness, however, Miranda continued to treat Andy respectfully.
Andy didn’t want to admit that she was regaining her affection for the older woman. She continued to act somewhat petulantly, daring Miranda to give her the sharp side of her tongue. Andy desperately wanted to either push Miranda too far or to goad Miranda into doing or saying something that would reignite Andy’s desire to walk away from her.
Andy knew that she liked Miranda’s company a little too much. She knew that she cared about the older woman more than she should. She felt a deep connection with her boss that was almost certainly going to be a recipe for disaster at some point but, like conservatives and climate change, she saw the signs but refused to take any action to stop the impending devastation.
Miranda rubbed her temple tiredly. “I need you to schedule an appointment with my lawyer.” She stated. “If you have to move other appointments to make it work, do it.”
Saving her job in Paris had hardly been the end of her problems. She was still contending with her very public divorce and Stephen was already being featured on Page Six with the twenty one year old intern from his firm. Irv didn't instantly get off her back and was, if it was possible, more critical than before. Nigel was really her only friend and she was still, understandably, in the doghouse with him. She knew that she would be able to work out another opportunity for him but she’d had neither the time nor the mental energy. It was ironic because if she had her friend’s shoulder to cry on, she’d have more mental energy but she needed the mental energy to regain her friendship.
Andrea remained a constant. She knew that she’d disappointed the doe eyed idealist and that Andrea had genuinely been trying to warn her and had genuinely been concerned for her. Miranda knew what it was like to discover that people that one looked up to were only human and how disheartening it could be.
She wanted Andrea around so she was ignoring the young woman’s newly discovered casual manner of speech and occasional sigh of annoyance. Andrea continued to perform her job flawlessly and she still lacked the mental energy to muster up her Beastly Priestly persona around her.
If she were honest with herself, which was not something she was wont to do too often, she genuinely adored this woman. Everything that Miranda had ever done to keep her at arm’s length, no matter how coldly she’d treated her, whatever ludicrous demand that she’d expected her to fill, Andrea was by her side.
Andrea didn’t remain loyal to Miranda because she loved the magazine, adored fashion, needed the connections in the world of haute couture, she was just loyal.
Miranda loved that about her. She tested the word out in her mind. Did she love something about Andrea? Was that the word for her what she was feeling?
She was brought back to the present by the sound of a distant car horn being laid on. She met Andy’s expectant gaze.
“I’m sorry, what were you saying?” Miranda asked, biting the inside of her lip self-consciously.
Andy furrowed her brow for a moment, startled by the apology. “Um, I was asking if you want to get something to eat?” Andy asked, looking down at her phone, scrolling through yelp. “You pushed lunch to get to the run through.”
Miranda sighed inwardly, she was bone weary and she was about to answer when she heard Andy yelp. She looked up to see that a tall man in a sweatshirt with his hood hanging low into his face had grabbed Andy and was trying to pull her down the sidewalk.
“Hey!” Miranda snapped, surging forward, she grabbed at the man’s arm and he lashed out, his elbow catching her in the nose.
Miranda stumbled backwards. The heel from one of her pumps snapped as she fell back, the wall of the brownstone stopping her from falling on her ass. Her vision blurred from the hit, her eyes were watering involuntarily as she blinked them clear.
She kicked off her shoes and ran after the man again, now he had his arm wrapped around the lower half of her face so that her protests were muffled. A van screeched to a halt on the street in front of them and he tried to pull Andy forward.
Even though Andy wasn’t able to scream for help, she was putting up a damn good bit of resistance and he was clearly dragging her with effort. Miranda glanced down at the little fenced area around a tree and spotted a stick with almost an inch diameter. She grabbed it and swung it and hit the man in the back of his knees.
His jeans absorbed most of the impact but it was enough to bring him to a halt as he turned to look at Miranda with equal parts disdain and surprise. Andy took the opportunity to sink her teeth into the arm around her face.
He hissed in annoyance and Miranda gritted her teeth, “let her go,” before she wound up and took another swing with her makeshift bat and it hit him square in the temple and the driver of the van leaned out of the window yelling, “come on, man. Get the bitch and get in.”
The man’s nostrils flared in anger, letting go of Andy in favor of reaching for Miranda menacingly. “You’re gonna fucking regret that.”
Miranda planted her feet, holding her stick, her eyes daring him to continue coming at her because there were many things she regretted in her life but she was not going to regret anything she was going to do to this waste of oxygen.
Andy started to shout and yell and for anyone nearby, fumbling with her phone. Her fingers were shaking too hard to pull up the keypad.
The man took another step toward Miranda when the driver yelled, “hey man, forget it. Get the fuck in the van!”
“Andrea, stay behind me.” Miranda warned, gripping and regripping the stick, desperate for an excuse to give him another good crack.
The proprietor of the business they were outside of ran out to the sidewalk and the man in the hoodie darted for the van. He jumped in and the van peeled away down the road, the sour smell of burning rubber permeating the air as the business owner tried to chase after the van but it skidded around the corner and he jogged back to Andy and Miranda.
“I called 911.” He said breathlessly. “Come on, come sit down.” He said to Miranda, attempting to put his hand on her shoulder.
Miranda shrugged him off. “It’s not me who was attacked, make sure she’s okay.” She lowered her hands but the adrenaline coursing through her kept the stick held firmly in her fist.
He looked back at Andy for assistance and Andy stepped up to Miranda. “Let’s both sit down.” She wrapped an arm around Miranda, holding her protectively as she guided them to the nearest stoop.
“Are you okay, Andrea?” Miranda asked as she lowered herself to the concrete.
Andy smiled, “I am, thanks to you.”
Miranda felt warmed by Andy’s smile, it had been a long time since anyone had smiled at her like that. Miranda licked her dry lips, tasting the coppery tang of blood and then frowned. “Andrea, am I bleeding?” She reached for her face and Andy intercepted her hand.
“Yes, you are.” She nodded, holding onto Miranda’s hand, “I wouldn’t touch anything just yet, it might be broken.”
An ambulance pulled into the small street and a police patrol car pulled in behind it. An EMT helped Miranda to the ambulance amid protests. They sat her down on the edge and Andy saw Miranda trying to argue with the EMT who was asking her to lean forward so they could complete an assessment of her injury.
Andy picked up one of Miranda’s Jimmy Choos as a uniformed police officer walked up to her. “Ma’am, can you tell me what happened here?”