Andy was sitting in the twin's playroom playing Wii with them while they waited for Miranda to get home for dinner. The twins were pretty good at every game on the system but Andy could always beat them at Wii bowling. She had perfected her technique and bowled a strike nearly every time. It had taken a few weeks for the twins to warm up to her but after about a month they had declared that she was over there so much that she needed her own Mii. That had turned in to a full hour event that had all three of them laughing hysterically as they played around with Andy's facial features and made her look outrageous before Caroline had stepped in and taken over. She was definitely the more serious twin and the Mii she created looked so much like Andy that the resemblance was a little creepy.

She had indeed been spending more and more time at the townhouse and she was happier than she had ever been. Miranda was happy too which the twins definitely noticed and gave Andy a lot of credit for, helping them to accept her much more quickly than they had with Stephen who never seemed to make their mother smile nearly often as Andy did. The first time Andy had stayed the night was a major milestone in their relationship. Coming downstairs for breakfast together and seeing the look on the twins faces would have been an amusing anecdote if it hadn't been so terrifying. What was even more terrifying was the fact that the twins weren't surprised at all. Apparently they had known what was going on for weeks and they had not only accepted it, but secretly threatened their mother that if she drove Andy away they would never speak to her again. When Miranda had told Andy this she had beamed with such pride that she had fallen in love with her all over again and they had barely torn themselves away from each other before the girls walked in on them in a very tangled situation.

After Andy had beaten them at yet another game of bowling the twins replaced the game with Guitar Hero which they could practically do with their eyes closed. Andy had never been that great with hand/eye coordination and she was terrible but it made the twins giggle and Andy couldn't resist playing with them. When they were like this, Andy could nearly forget the fact that they nearly got her fired the first time she delivered The Book. And when Miranda gave her that look that had her quivering with anticipation she would go so far as to say they were perfect angels.

All three of them were so into the game that they didn't notice the front door opening, the footsteps echoing through the entryway, or said footsteps coming up the stairs and stopping in front of the door to the playroom. Miranda had had an extremely long day but the sight of her three girls laughing and spending time together had an almost magic effect on her and let all the stresses slowly start to melt away. She still could hardly believe her luck that all those months ago, after meeting Andrea for the first time since Paris, she discovered that her ex-assistant shared the feelings she had been harboring for months. In fact, if Miranda were honest with herself, she had felt a spark of attraction for the girl ever since the Cerulean Blue sweater incident. They became unlikely friends and had fallen into a very comfortable routine that slowly became more passionate until the tension between them had very nearly exploded. After the first week and a half of dating, taking it slow was becoming highly overrated. They had barely touched, only allowing chaste kisses to pass between them. Then one night after a few too many long gazes across the dinner table and a shared bottle of wine, the desire to touch and be touched consumed them both. The first time that bare skin meshed with bare skin it had almost been too much. Miranda had been overcome with the emotions running through her and she realized then that Andrea was a force in her life that she would fight to keep until the very last breath left her. She had begun to make it a priority to make it home for dinner at least four nights a week and she knew the girls appreciated the extra effort too. Andy had been more than pleasantly surprised to find that Miranda had a very romantic streak and when it was directed at her, Andy felt like the luckiest and most cherished woman in the world. She often found little gifts near her pillow when the editor had to get up and leave early for a meeting before she woke up and the first time they shared a bed Andy discovered that Miranda was a cuddler. No matter how many times Andy moved during the night, Miranda always found her way right back to her side in the enormous bed and Andy found it to be one of the sweetest sights she had ever seen.

Miranda could see the game winding down so she slipped out of her heels and crept up behind her young lover and snaked her arms around her waist. Andy jumped up and squealed a bit as she turned around and nearly collided noses with the older woman. "You're home!" Andy exclaimed excitedly and before she could stop herself she reacted on instinct and claimed Miranda's lips in a short but heated kiss. As she stepped back she immediately got a worried expression on her face as this was the first time they had shown any sort of affection in front of the girls. One glance in their direction, however, proved her worries useless as both girls had identical expressions of amused boredom on their faces. "If you are going to get all lovey-dovey on us can we at least eat dinner first!?" That was Cassidy. Cheeky little thing. But all fears subsided and Miranda's arms remained firmly ensconced around Andy's waist and she was absent-mindedly stroking her hip which was slowly but surely driving Andy crazy with want. They hadn't been alone together in three days and the tension was at an all time high. That was the longest they had gone without sleeping next to each other since their relationship had reached that level. The girls quickly lost interest with the couple and returned to their game. When she was sure that the twins were occupied, Miranda leaned forward and whispered gently in Andrea's ear "I can't wait to get you alone tonight darling. It has been far too long and I have had nothing but time to think of all the ways I can make it up to you." Those words and the warm breath caressing against one of Andy's most sensitive spots caused Andy's knees to grow weak and the smallest whimper escaped from between her lips. Miranda heard the whimper and it caused a similar one to rise up in her throat as the hand caressing Andy's hip ached to go lower. Later, she promised. She would show Andrea just how much she had missed her later… but right now was family time and she was doing her best to make this family work.

"Mommy, will you play a quick game with us?" "Yeah Mom! Please!! Pretty please!?" Andy had been with Miranda for months now and while she had been surprised on many more than one occasion, she was fairly certain that she couldn't imagine the editor playing video games. "Of course my darlings but there will be no pouting when I beat you this time. Deal?", Miranda said with a slight smirk on her face. Ok, Andrea thought to herself. Mark that as one more surprise dealt out by the woman she loved. "So, what game will it be girls?" The twins shared a look between them and two voices spoke the same sentence at the same time; "We want you to bowl Andy".

Miranda did not miss the look that passed between her twins but she wasn't entirely sure what it meant. The girls wanted her to play against Andrea which could be fun but Miranda played to win, no matter what. She hoped Andrea would understand. Meanwhile, Andrea was struggling to keep the smile off her face. She surmised that Miranda had also mastered all of the games on the system since she played everything to win and the twins wanted Andy to beat her. Caroline handed Miranda her remote and Andy nearly choked with laughter when Miranda's Mii came bouncing onto the screen. As the Mii stood and twirled Andy took it all in and the silver hair and the black framed glasses were almost too much. Andy was nearly rolling on the ground because the resemblance to Miranda was uncanny. The only thing that could have made it better is if the little square feet had little square Pradas on. "Are you quite done? What may I ask is so funny?" Miranda asked in a slightly miffed tone. Andrea finally calmed down her laughter but there were tears streaming down her cheeks as she said "Are you serious Miranda!? First of all, I would never have been able to picture you playing video games and now you have a little Mini-Mii bouncing out on the screen! That is by far the funniest thing I have ever seen! All you need is a little Mini Emily bouncing out after you with pen and paper at the ready!" The only tell that Miranda was amused was the slight curling of her lips at both corners as she looked at Andy and simply said "For heavens sake Andrea. Lets just get this over with so we can eat before midnight." "Whatever you say Miranda," Andrea said with a slight smirk of her own. This was going to be fun.

TBC…