"Of course, Miranda," Andy said as she began to reschedule everything as Miranda requested. She had been as busy as ever and now had to hurry since Miranda wanted her to attend a meeting with her.

Miranda did that now. After Paris, she had started to take Andy places, including important things like the budget meetings. Also, late at night after dropping off the book and dry cleaning, she had started to show her how she edited the book.

Andy checked her watch as she saw they would have to leave within the next ten minutes. She text Roy to make sure he was waiting and got their purses ready. She was glad they would have a little time in the car since she could finish the schedule and prepare herself for the meeting some more.

Miranda came out of her office with a slight smirk on her face.

Something had been different with Miranda recently but Andy just told herself it was because of the divorced from that bastard, Stephen. She simply enjoyed the more happy and relaxed Miranda.

She grinned back at the editor. "Here's your purse," Andy stated softly as she passed the woman her purse and their hands brushed lightly.

The moment they touched, time seemed to stand still for a couple of seconds and everything moved in slow motion. Andy wished time would stop altogether so she could take the time to enjoy the feel of Miranda's soft skin against hers and the tingles she got from touching her. After a few seconds, she pulled back and chuckled nervously.

Miranda smirked and gracefully turned and walked towards the elevator.

That Andy didn't start to drool was something. She focussed on the way the editor's hips swayed as she walked and when she saw Miranda's head whip around to glare at her, it was enough for Andy to hurry after her.

They exited the building, with Andy trailing two steps behind Miranda, her eyes once again on her, and got into the car.

Andy closed her eyes and counted to ten, trying to collect herself and get her focus back on her tasks. She pulled her phone out and started organising Miranda's schedule again.

Miranda also had her cell phone in her hands and was checking her emails and answering some texts. Once she finished, she relaxed a little bit, leaning back and closing her eyes.

This gave Andy another reason to stare at the beauty sitting next to her and she had to force her eyes away and try to focus on her work.

Suddenly Roy screamed and the car slid to the side.

From the corner of her eye, Andy spotted a truck transporting steel rods. Her eyes went wide when the truck also began to skid. Roy hit the brake like a maniac as did the truck. Acting on instinct, she lept over to Miranda's side, covering her with her body and holding her down.

They were thrown around the backseat when Roy swerved and Miranda screamed, holding onto Andy for dear life.

The fear in her eyes was distinctly visible.

Andy held on to her and tried to protect her as much as possible and her eyes widened in terror as the car came to a stop. She heard the window shatter and something shot inside.

Andy was halfway laying on Miranda when she lifted her head. "Miranda, sweetheart? Hey, wake up now." She urged, nudging the editor lightly since she seemed unconscious.

Miranda opened her eyes and a single tear rolled down her face. "Please, Andrea, don't move." She panted since she had Andy's full weight on her and she couldn't move.

Andy shifted causing Miranda to whimper. "I have to get off of you though, Miranda. But it's okay. You see, we survived. It's gonna be fine." She tried to calm the editor.

"You don't feel it?" Miranda whispered her breath turning shallow.

"Feel what?" Andy carefully looked down and saw blood trickling down both their thighs.

She tried to move again but Miranda screamed. "AARGH! DON'T MOVE!" She yelled.

"Fuck! I'm sorry." Andy looked down at her leg again and saw what was wrong. She was horrified.

One of the steel rods was drilled into Miranda's thigh, but worse than that. It was also drilled through her thigh too.

Suddenly, Andy started to feel the pain and glancing down at Miranda, it became clear she was in agony too when she spotted the pain etched in her blue eyes. She slowly lay back down on top of Miranda.

"I won't move anymore. I promise. But you need to talk to me, okay?" Andy whispered as she started to caress the woman in her arms. "First, can you tell me where else it hurts?" She asked.

Miranda groaned. "My leg. Only my leg. It hurts like a motherfucker, Andrea." She hissed with a hint her usual irony. "Roy?" She queried.

Andy turned her head and saw the driver was unconscious against the airbag on the steering wheel. Blood was trickling down his head.

She tried to pull herself together so she wouldn't fall apart but it was pretty hard in a situation like this, knowing Roy could be dead, the woman she loved had a steel rod in her thigh and so did she. Taking a deep breath, Andy turned to look at Miranda whos face was tear-stained.

"Oh God, no. Miranda, don't cry. Please don't cry, lovely. Roy will be fine we will all be fine. Shh." Andy said, caressing her cheek in an attempt to calm her.

Miranda put her arms around Andy and held her tight around her shoulders and cried into her neck while they hugged.

"Don't worry, Miranda. We'll get through this." Andy soothed. She heard sirens in the distance and suddenly felt how Miranda's embrace had relaxed. "Miranda? Sweetheart, you need to wake up." She said, pulling her head back to see Miranda was unconscious. She started to panic.

"MIRANDA? Roy?" She cried, trying not to move too much, so she wouldn't hurt Miranda or herself further. "Fuck!" She whispered as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Nhgg…" Miranda's moan of pain caught her attention and she watched as she regained consciousness.

"Hey," Andy was relieved. "Hi, lovely. You have to stay awake now, okay? Just talk to me. I'm here and I need you to be okay, do you hear me?" She asked.

Miranda struggled to open her eyes. "If you quit yo...your ba...babbling...I could talk." She panted. She was still having trouble breathing but tried to cheer Andy up with her usual wit.

Andy wasn't fooled. She didn't have to imagine her pain since she felt the same.

"My girls..." Miranda whimpered, tears rolling down her face.

"You will definitely see your girls again, Miranda. You will not give up." Andy stated firmly. She caught the sound of Roy groaning and looked toward him. "Roy, don't move until the paramedics are here. You're gonna be fine."

He opened his eyes and did as Andy said. His head was to the side on the steering wheel and he glanced back at Andy and. Miranda. Seeing the steel rod, his eyes widened.

"Don't worry, please, Roy. We are fine. It's okay, just stay calm. Help is on the way." Andy tried to reassure him while continuing to caress Miranda's cheek, listening to her laboured breathing.

Miranda held Andy's hand and squeezed it as someone called out to them.

"Hello, are you guys hurt?" Andy spotted the paramedic and relief washed through her. He pried open Roy's door. "Sir, can you hear me?"

Roy answered a shallow, yes.

The paramedic called for more help and looking back, saw the two women stuck together. His eyes widened. "Ladies, can you hear me? Can you tell me your names?" He asked.

"Hey, I'm Andy, this is Miranda and that's her driver, Roy. You have to get us out. Miranda's having trouble breathing with me on top of her." Andy said.

Miranda squeezed her hand again as a sign of her gratitude that she had spoken to the paramedic for them since she didn't have the strength to do so.

"Okay, Andy. Don't worry. We are here to help. A firefighter is coming and he will sit in the front and try to cut through the steel rod between you ladies. We'll get you free as soon as possible. While that happens, I will continue to work with my colleagues on a way to get you out safely. I've not yet ruled out any neck injuries so we'll not try to move you very much until you are secure." The Paramedic explained calmly. He had already injected Roy with a needle and hooked him up on an IV while he spoke.

She was relieved that help was here. "See it's gonna be just fine, Miranda," Andy said and caressed Miranda softly.

Miranda tried to smile but it wasn't possible.

"No, don't try to hide the pain, lovely," Andy stated, trying to let her know that she's okay to be in pain in this situation. Miranda whispered something but Andy couldn't hear it. "What was that?" She asked

"I adore...how...how you call me lo...lovely." Miranda stuttered and blushed a light shade of pink.

"You are," Andy said and paused to look into her eyes. "Lovely, that is." She added with a small smile.

They heard the paramedic. "Okay, we've got him out, now hurry him to the hospital."

A firefighter slipped into Roy's place in the driver's seat, holding some kind of saw. "Okay ladies, my name is David and I will try to make this fast and as painless as possible for you both. I am going to cut through that rod between you both so you aren't attached anymore. Now, I don't want you to pull the rest of the rod, that's still stuck in you, out. It will be removed at the hospital because they have to make sure veins and arteries were damaged by the impact. I will cover up your legs a bit and I will tell you, step-by-step, what I am doing. Alright? " He was friendly and he seemed like he had a lot of experience.

Andy nodded and Miranda closed her eyes in pain as she nodded as well.

"Also, while I am working here, my colleagues will be trying to open the back doors so we can get you both out." He told them.

"Okay." Andy agreed.

"Alright then, let's start by covering your legs," David said as he put a plastic sheet around the rod and cut it so it would fit around it. "Sorry, miss on top. What's your name?"

"Andy." She muttered.

"Alright Andy, are you able to lift yourself just a tad up, while I try to push this plastic sheet between you two?"

"I'll try, but I can't go far because it'll hurt my boss," Andy told him.

"That's fine, Andy. Anything you can do is fine. On three." David paused a second. "One, two, three." He counted.

Andy lifted herself a little bit.

"Arghhh, fuck." Miranda groaned again.

Andy moved back down quickly. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I'm truly sorry but it's done. See? David did it. We will be out of here soon." She said feeling guilty for causing Miranda further pain.

"Its alright, darling," Miranda whispered hoarsely.

Andy's eyes widened when she heard the endearment.

"Alright Andy, I will slowly saw you guys apart now. I can see the part where I have to cut. All you have to do is to stay calm and do not move. Alright, Andy and boss lady?" David asked.

They both nodded and the firefighter started his power tool which was very loud and scared them.

Andy tried to cover Miranda's ears when she saw how the noise bothered and scared her.

Miranda gripped Andy's arms so tightly her nails dug into her skin.

"Shhhh, look at me. It will be over soon." Andy looked at her the entire time, refusing to break eye contact. "I'm here with you."

David cut the rod between them and once that was done he shortened the piece attached to Andy. She ground her teeth together and groaned as pain flowed through her. She was thankful the rod was no more than perhaps a centimetre thick and could be cut through quickly. He turned to Miranda and shortened the rod attached to her too.

David removed the plastic sheets between them and threw it out of the way and his colleague opened the door in the back. "Andy, can you crawl back towards my colleague. His name is Andy too." He smiled.

Andy tried to be very careful and hissed in pain with each movement. "I'll see you outside, okay Miranda?" She asked as she eased herself backwards.

"Okay, and Andrea..." Miranda's eyes twinkled. "I told you Andy is a boys name."

Andy chuckled at the comment then groaned. She took a deep breath before trying to scoot out of the car without moving her injured leg. It was harder than she thought and she hissed in pain as she crawled out of the car.

"I don't think I can do this," Miranda said when it was her turn.

"Alright, if you can lift your legs I can pull you out." the firefighter, Andy told her.

Miranda did as the firefighter told her and he grabbed her under her arms to pull her out. He did it as quickly as possible so she was out of the car but the movement jarred her and she let out a piercing scream of pain. She was lifted onto a stretcher and paramedics rushed forward.

Miranda made sure they knew she wanted them all taken to the Presbyterian hospital as they were transferred to the waiting ambulance.

xxxxx

Once at the hospital, Miranda and Andy were both rushed into surgery immediately to have the steel rods removed, but not before Miranda made sure that she and Andy were in the same private room afterwards.

"How's Roy?" Miranda asked upon first waking up from her anaesthetic and seeing the nurse.

"He's doing fine, Ms Priestly. He didn't need surgery and asked me to tell you he will come by tomorrow before he is discharged. More importantly, how are you feeling?" The nurse asked as she gave Miranda antibiotics and more fluids through her IV.

"Good. I'm alright, actually... " Miranda said and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she looked over and spotted there was no-one but her and the nurse in the room. "Where is my Andrea...I uh mean my assistant?"

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this. Andy has had some complications and needs to stay in the intensive care unit for the next 24 hours." The nurse advised her gently.

Miranda gasped. "What? No! Oh, God. Please, what happened to her?" She asked in a panic as tears sprang in her eyes.

"I can't tell you anything further since you're not a close relative. I'm sorry, Ms Priestly." The nurse said.

Miranda turned her gace away from the nurse and her tears fell.

"Can I see her?" A familiar voice asked when the nurse was about to leave.

"Sure, if she's up for it. But not too long," The nurse said agreeably.

"Hi, Miranda. How are you feeling?" Nigel asked as he stood next to the bed and put his hand on top of hers.

"I'm fine but Andrea and my girls..." Miranda sobbed.

Nigel leaned in to hug his closest friend. "The girls are fine, Miranda. Greg picked them up and they will stay with him until you have had the time you need to heal. Roy is doing a lot better. He has a nasty concussion and as for Andrea..." He pulled back and smirked. "...she uh..." Nigel hesitated.

"Spill it or I'll fire you." Miranda hissed, almost back to her old self, as she wiped away her tears.

"Well, I just came from her and she will be transferred back here tomorrow. She had a little trouble waking up from the anaesthetic. But she's recovering beautifully."

"Thank God, Nigel. I wouldn't have known what I'd have done if something..." She trailed off and narrowed her eyes. "...wait. How did you get in there? They wouldn't tell me anything because I'm not related." Miranda hissed.

"I kind of told them I'm her brother," Nigel admitted, smirking shyly.

"They wouldn't have believed me that. Maybe mother." Miranda scoffed.

"Stop it. As soon as you're out of here, you better marry her or something. That way she'll be your next of kin and you hers." Nigel said, faking annoyance. "You guys are madly in love with each other anyway."

"What, who told you...I mean...did she tell you?" Miranda asked.

"You just did, with your behaviour." Nigel shook his head. "And secondly, anyone with eyes in their head, who know the both of you, can tell just how much you adore each other. And to be honest, yes, she told me she's in love with you. She's not acted on it since she still works for you and all the jazz. I, of course, was asked to keep that confidential, so use the information wisely." He confessed, hopefully as he turned towards the door ready to leave.

xxxxx

Andy was transferred back to the normal ward early the next morning while Miranda was still asleep and she knew the editor would have been exhausted due to the events in the car and the medication she had been given. "Excuse me, can you put my bed right next to hers so I can hold her hand?" Andy whispered to the nurse.

She was offered a smile and a nod as she was granted her wish and her bed bumped lightly against Miranda's as the nurse put them side by side. Andy was grateful the older woman didn't stir.

The nurse checked Andy's vitals, IV and monitors. "Everything is fine here, but you should get some more rest, Ms Sachs."

"Thank you, I will," Andy whispered as the nurse left. She turned and looked at Miranda's sleeping form. She had her face turned towards her and looked relaxed.

Andy was glad. The last time she'd seen Miranda was when she was in pain. Scooting closer, she hissed in pain as she had to move her leg slightly. She was glad surgeons had gotten everything out and now it just had to heal up. She took Miranda's hand and caressing it lightly, she saw a smile on Miranda's face.

"My Andrea..." Miranda muttered, still half asleep.

"Yes, my love. I've missed you." Andy admitted with a smile.

Seeing Miranda in such a cute state blew her mind.

"I love my Andrea," Miranda mumbled.

Andy gasped and her eyes widened in surprise.

Miranda's eyes opened and she smiled groggily over at Andy.

"Do you...do you remember what you just said?" Andy asked in disbelief over what she'd just heard. She was certain Miranda had only said such a thing because she was dreaming.

"Yes, it seems we got stuck together and now it's as it should be. We're together once again and I want it to keep it that way." Miranda had tears in her eyes. "I love you, Andrea. Will you stick with me?" She asked, watching Andy's emotional reaction.

"Yes...I...uh...yes. Oh my God. You are stuck in my heart already, Miranda and I want to be stuck with you forever." Andy said, crying softly as she leaned in to meet Miranda halfway for their first soft kiss. "I love you, Miranda, so very much." She smiled.

"Then let's don't waste any more time, Andrea. I wish to be with you for the rest of my life. And as we both saw, that could be cut short. Please marry me." Miranda asked, refusing to waste any more time.

Andy sobbed uncontrollably. "I have never wanted anything more than that. Yes, I will marry you. Oh my God, I can't believe it." she babbled, totally shocked and happy by the turn of events.

Miranda was relieved she'd received a positive answer and cried happy tears with her new fiancé.

They held hands and eventually kissed softly once again.

After a while, Andy grinned and Miranda smirked.

"What is it?" Miranda asked.

"Well, I was thinking about our rings when we get married. I think they should be made out of steel," Andy said, shaking the container holding the broken pieces of steel rod that the surgeons had removed from them both.

"Excellent idea." Miranda declared as she leaned in for another kiss, finally feeling content with the woman of her dreams in her arms.

THE END