Chapter 6: Flashes of Memories

They got out of the room just in time for Nigel to cut in. "oh, hi six. Is it a bad time?" he asked as he looked at the girls and then Andy as she closed the door behind her.

The twins turned to look at him as Cassidy squeaked a glee "uncle Nigel" she said as she hugged the man.

"Oh hi Cassidy" he greeted and knelt in front of the girl to give her a proper hug. When she let go he looked at the young girl's eyes then asked, "Have you seen mommy yet?"

The girl nodded and then spoke "yes but Stephen is in the room with her. Talking to her" she said

"I see" he said before standing up straight and holding the girl's hand before turning to Caroline. "Hi there Caroline" he greeted. But the young girl just gave him a small nod and a bit of a fake smile before turning to walk.

The three of them followed as they walked out of the building. Andy and Nigel were busy chatting at how things were at Runway and everything. When they reached the lobby Cassidy turned to Andy and pulled the woman down enough so the little girl could whisper in her ears "Can we go grab food at Mc Donalds?" the young girl whispered softly but before she could let go Caroline spoke to her sister without even turning to look at her

"Come on Cass, you can say it out loud. Mom's not here to hear it and I know what you're whispering to her anyway. Mom did say something about letting us eat carbs for the night so let's go grab something at Mc Donalds" she said as she crossed the street.

Cassidy smiled at Andy as Nigel answered his phone. Before they crossed the street Andy gasped when a tiny hand held hers. "Can I hold your hand? I get really scared at crossing" said Cassidy. Andy smiled and held the girl's hand as they walked to the nearest Mc Donalds

When they arrived Nigel immediately stood up and asked the girls what they want "So, what does these little devils want to eat?" he smiled as he asked

Cassidy giggled as she answered " I uhm… would like a Big Mac, extra large French fries, and monster coke float" she said smiling.

Caroline frowned when she heard her sister's order "no wonder your ass is bigger than mine" she said as she turned to mockingly look at her sister

Cassidy flashed a hurt look and managed to say, "at least I am managing to grow tits faster than you do" she said without hesitation. They were turning 11 after all, and Caroline was too thin.

Caroline looked outraged at her sister's blurted words but chose to shut up and said "uncle Nigel I'll go with you in counter"

"okay, just wait" he said as he took his wallet and looked at Andy "it's on me." He flashed her a smile and said once more "what do you want six?"

"uhm… I'd just have the fish fillet and a regular fries" she answered and smiled at him "thanks Nigel" she added before they turned towards the counter.

Andy and Cassidy were left on the table. There was a bit odd awkward silence between them at first before Andy spoke. "So, you're sister has the iron-brass made balls then, just for being so bitchy today?" she asked before she realized her words were too vulgar to be talking to an 11 year old.

Cassidy giggled before she replied "oh yah… mom said that dad used to say that Caro took after her and me after dad." She paused and looked at her sister for a while "she is just like that. She hates everyone who hurts mom or me. She hated dad when he left. She is still cold to him even though the divorce was years ago. She hated every guy that hurt mom. And now she hates Stephen. She usually could careless when mom dates someone new. But she is usually the one who gets too affected between the two of us when they break up. So she tries not to get too attached when mom tries a new relationship" she sighed "that's my sister alright. Stronger, tougher and more sensitive than I am, just the way she is" she finished

"So you mean, she is this prudent as she is always?" Andy asked

"No! I mean she is when she is still unsure if she could trust you. But she is a great daughter to mom and a great sister to me. I know so, mom said that she could never ask more of a daughter other than me and Caro. She is just so hard sometimes, just like my mom but she is really great to be with" the young girl explained

"I see… I think she really is pissed at Stephen. I mean it looked like she really hated him and that she was about to melt him down with her glare when they looked at each other earlier at the room" Andy then said with curiosity

"Oh yah she hates him because he doesn't care about mom" the young girl paused "but you, you seem to care about our mom" she said and looked at Andy

Andy was gob smacked as the statement caught her off guard "oh yah" she managed to say "I do care about your mom, I'm her assistant and it's just me to take care of her needs" she said

"But you seem to really care about her. I mean I bet her assistants wont spend 2 days without sleep in a hospital suite if she wasn't really needed there. You seem like you could be a good friend to her" the young girl peered at her

"Well yes... I mean I am her friend, I could be. Actually I want to be, I'm her friend, I just hope she's mine" she sighed once again forgetting whom she was talking to

"It's okay. I'm sure she thinks of you as a friend or how else would she have had you stay on that suit with her all day long. Only uncle Nigel would have managed to stay they no more than 24 hours" she laughed "but, I just want you to promise me something Andy" she said sincerely "I just want you to promise me you'd help her and care for her as long as she needs to be cared for" the young girl's words sounded so mature for an 11 year old but it was sweet.

Andy took Cassidy's hand and squeezed it in comfort "I promise. I wont let you down kiddo" she said as she gave the girl a reassuring smile.

They looked at each other for a while before Cassidy smiled. Then Nigel and Caroline came with 2 trays in hand. They eat and talked about some stuff.

When they were done they made their way towards the hospital. They were on the lobby when Cassidy suddenly squealed, " oh my god Car, I need to pee" she said as she was obviously holding her bladder

Caroline met her eyes with a cold glare, which was followed by an eye roll… "Can't you hold it for a minute? There's a bathroom in mom's suit" she said with irritation visible in her voice but at the same time she was soft.

"No, come on I need to pee" Cassidy said as she dragged her towards the nearest C.R "we'll meet you upstairs Andy" she added as they disappeared through the door

As soon as they were gone Nigel's phone started ringing again "I need to take this, it's important I'll just be outside for a while I'll just meet you there" he waved and answered his phone.

Left alone in the lobby she looked around before making her way towards the elevator

XOXOXOXO

"Stephen please, just… lets just try to make this work" Andrea heard Miranda's voice which was sounding close to pleading through the door, as she opened it before deciding to leave it ajar.

"I cant Miranda you know that…" Andy heard Stephen said. For a moment there, Stephen sounded deathly serious as to what he was saying… And his voice paired the sincerity and seriousness in his face when Andy saw him as she peeked through the now slightly ajar door

"Why Stephen? I love you, you know that, don't you?" the words that Miranda said with her oh so sweet voice seemed to be a knife that stabbed Andy right where it was nearly fatal to death… she was hurting with a pang of jealously climbing in the midst of her system

"Of course I do… but you just don't love me that much or even enough, to make our relationship work… we've gone over this a million time Miranda…" he heard Stephen who automatically shut up when Miranda interrupted him

"What do you mean? Isn't trying to make this work between us enough to say that I love you at least that much?" Miranda said, this time Andy was sure she was hearing pure sincerity and hurt in Miranda's voice, that it pained her enough just to accept that she lost the battle to the man that the love of her life was already married with.

"It is… but I just can't let you do this Miranda…"he took a long pause which made Andy curious what he was thinking of saying next "your assistant told me your condition… and I can't let you make decisions which you might regret… " he finished. Here, Andrea felt the urge to give them the privacy they supposed they had, since she was already hurting by the words being said in the conversation

But Miranda's words seemed to stopped her dead on tracks "Stephen this is me speaking… it's me Miranda… not the icon, not the editor, just me… a mother to my daughters, a wife to a wonderful man, and most importantly the woman you said you loved… what ever decisions I make now… I wont regret it… we should at least give this another try… if not to ourselves… we owe it to the twins" Andrea was more than just a bit jealous… she was so jealous that she was afraid she would push the doors and shout on the top most of her lungs; that the woman that Miranda is, the woman behind the icon, told her she loved her… that she was here to claim that love… but she restrained herself from doing so… since she knows it would only make things worse for them… the Miranda the love of her life described to be, was the woman she wanted to get to know more and that alone made her feel pain and afraid that she would miss the opportunity to get to know that part of Miranda

"Oh come on Miranda who are we joking the twins never really liked me… but I tried to be a father to them just so I could continue receiving and giving you love.. so they are not the subject on this conversation… we are way over Miranda… look at us" Stephen replied from out of nowhere

"I am looking at us Stephen, in an evenly more positive way than you are… and you know what I see? A promising future coming towards us… I know it would be if we just worked hard enough to make it work" Miranda said as Andy saw Miranda reached for Stephen's hand. He let her grab it but as he leaned forwards as if to kiss Miranda he diverted his lips towards the dragon's ear and whispered

"No Miranda… don't you see? We've drifted apart. I love you but it's not enough to keep things burning… you are just confused… and at the moment of Chaos and I know you need someone to lean into… but I'm sorry Miranda I can't be the foundation of your strength… not now…" he finished as he straightened himself once more before leaning in to brush his lips elegantly on Miranda's knuckles

"Stephen please…" Miranda plead once more but he interrupted her

"I love you Miranda… in 3 weeks time… a month at tops that you still want to make this work I would come back in an open arms… but until then… you might thank me one day" he said before leaving the room.

On his way out he saw Andy standing by the door as he opened it. He guessed that Andy heard their conversation seeing as he gave her a long serious look before walking away once more.

Andy didn't know what to feel, whether to feel good that Stephen hadn't taken his chance on Miranda or to feel guilty that the woman of her life is now in there, crying totally. It was then, that it struck her that Miranda was still in chaos, that it was difficult for the woman to accept all these happenings… but she wasn't just going to stand there and watch… she was going to comfort the woman…

And with this thought she bursted into the room and walked straight to the woman in bed. Miranda barely had the chance to compose herself before she found herself being taken in an intense hug by the younger woman. She wanted to stop crying and kill the woman in front of her just for seeing her in this vulnerable state… but once again she found no courage and strength from her own body to pull away, instead she held on tight to Andrea's fierce body against hers, the young woman's arms wrapped around her. She knew that ever since this woman took her first pair of Channel boots, she was attracted to her. Oh how she longed all day for this woman to wrap her around these strong arms, to calm her down in the middle of the confusion she is experiencing now, and her scent, how she'd long for the woman's scent in this close proximity. This scent that she remembered straightly from an incident in Paris… flashes of memories rushed back in her mind, as if it was some kind of a film flash back… then she started racing her mind as a dull pain invaded her senses as she tightly clung on Andrea's arms around her…

"Esteemed colleague… Jacqueline Follet" she heard herself saying "you thought I didn't know" she hugged tightly as she tried to process what she was remembering "I know what was happening for quite sometime" she held Andrea's arms tightly in her hands that she was sure her nails dug in fresh flesh "I was impressed on how intently you tried to warn me" she heard herself say once more in her thoughts as those unclear scenario's flashed through her mind "you can choose for your self" now her head was spinning at the same time throbbing as she couldn't quite tell what and where that memory was about… she only somehow knew that Andrea, the same woman holding her now was somehow present in these scenes as she could freshly smell the same Channel perfume that was right under her nose… then she heard the only clear words she remembered coming from her mouth "I can see a great deal of myself in you" and with this Miranda tried hard not to scream… but she yelped in pain and yelled

"ARGH!" the throbbing from her hand became almost unbearable that she nearly faint. This time Andrea now she was not just having her emotional break, but was somehow having a memory breakdown… the young woman panicked

"Miranda… what? What? What's wrong? Where does it hurt?" she asked in the most alerted and panicked voice Miranda has ever heard… the woman unwound herself from their fierce hug, which only made Miranda feel that she was running out of foundation from her strength…

She held her head on her hands, curled into a tight ball and yelped in pain once more "argh! my head! Get me the doctors Andrea…" Andy froze from where she was standing for a moment and processed what she was being asked… she was in a moment of mental block… but as she heard another yelp from Miranda with a bit of pleading in her voice, she snapped back to reality "Please" Miranda said as she cried once more… the memory was too much to asses. That she was barely conscious… Andy ran out of the room and yelled like a lunatic she was "help! Nurse! Doctor somebody please… help us with Ms priestly" and with this, the nurses started rushing towards the door…

XOXOXOXO

(in the public bathroom)

"Why were you being nice to her?" Caroline spoke to her sister as she washed her hands.

As Cassidy got out of the bathroom cubicle she looked at her sister before leaning in the sick to wash her own hands "what do you expect me to do? be a bitch to her because she is helping mom? Oh Caro do be serious" Cassidy said as she looked at her sister through the mirror's reflection.

"Yah right, as if I didn't know… mom's been pretty much upset ever since she came back from Paris" Caroline replied as she arranged her hair seeing as it was slightly mused from the cold wind outside

"Well it's not her problem that Stephen has been an asshole, just because he filed for a divorce, doesn't mean that we should take it out on Andy" Cassidy defended

"You prat, don't you see? Stephen is out of the picture… I can't even imagine mom upsetting herself over that bastard…" Caroline answered

"Language Caro… if mom could here you right now I know she'd be washing your mouth with soap and water" Cassidy hissed

"I just can't believe you would be so dumb not to realize it…" Caroline then said

Cassidy was now getting too much irritated by her sister's insistence "what do I have to realize? Andy is staying because she cares for mom"

"If she cares so much, why did I see mom last Wednesday scanning a couple of resumes and was talking to Emily about getting her a new second assistant? That same night I woke up around three in the morning and I found mom looking at a paper in her hand but I didn't bother her since she was looking at it far too long for me to approach her so I returned to bed… the next day I found the paper she was looking at the night before, and saw that it was Andy's resume. I also heard Emily Chatting with Roy of how incompetent Andy was for leaving mom in Paris…" Caroline hissed… now that caught Cassidy's attention

"Hey, hey hold on" she said "what do you mean she left mom in Paris? I mean she is here as her second assistant taking care of her… where did you pick up all these lies Caroline?" She looked at her sister as if she swallowed a big rock

"I am not lying Cassidy… I really heard them. That's why I came to my own thinking… mom isn't that lame to be upset with Stephen… but when I heard Andy left I kind of started to think that mom loved Andy… I just don't know as a what, but mom loved Andy maybe as an assistant or as a friend or probably even more, for her to be upset when she left her. I mean it does sounds dull because mom doesn't really care that much for assistants and she doesn't have friends at work aside from uncle Nigel nor is she a lesbian to be in love with Andy" Caroline started explaining but was interrupted by Cassidy's snort of laughter

"way to go genius…" she said sarcastically "if you ask me you are over thinking much… mom is not gay so I suggest that you take that silly theory of yours and stuck it up your ass for the mean time, just until we could ask mom about it okay?" she said as she grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her out of the bathroom…

when they made it to their mother's door they were quite shock when they saw that the door was slightly open… their mom would never tolerate such carelessness they were sure… but whet they saw next as they peaked through the door gave them a shock more than anything in the world…

Their mom being thoroughly hugged and comforted by another woman

For now they couldn't and wouldn't give a flying fuck where the hell Stephen was, but they were sure he would be off the picture for a while… as ridiculous as it would seem, they felt that they were invading a private moment from the two women so they decided to lead on the wall next to the door on the outside hall… waiting for the two to break off…

Caroline sighed loudly and said "I told you so…" before peering up to her sister who was still stunned at what she saw… 'no one got that close with La Priestly other than her kids, and a MR. Priestly' Cassidy remembered… before breathing lightly "so we have three theories?" Caroline nodded "A) mom is getting soft with her assistants?"

"yup" Caroline simply said

"B) mom is starting to make friends with her employees?" Cassidy Continued

"yup" Caroline answered again

"C) mom is turning gay and she is in love with Andy?" she said draining her blood at the last thought

"And yup" Caroline said once more…

But before the twins could think again… things started getting to fast… they heard their mom yelping and Andy screaming… the next thing they knew… Nurses were rushing towards their mom's room…

XOXOXOXOXOXXOXOOX

TBC… care to review? God sorry it took me so long to update… been busy with school… anyway just wanted you to know that my story is unbeta'd and all mistakes are mine so bare with me… ^_^ anyway reviews are highly appreciated ^_^