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“Manda!” Andy winced as her daughter's voice echoed down the hall of the townhouse as she closed the door behind them, leaving their bags at the bottom of the stairs to be taken up later. Lottie had been excited all day, practically vibrating with it from the moment she woke up, only getting more excited the closer it got to the time they were due to head over to the townhouse.
“Hello my little love,” Miranda had an indulgent grin on her face as she stepped out of the kitchen wiping her hands on the apron she was wearing just in time to catch Lottie as she threw herself into her arms, scooping her up easily and kissing her cheek
“Hi Manda, happy Christmas Eve.” Andrea approached at a much more sedate pace, leaning around her daughter to give Miranda her own kiss hello before leaving them to it, disappearing into the kitchen to find the girls.
“Hey Andy, have you got it?” Caroline asked in a stage whisper, kneeling up on the bench seat at the kitchen table to accept a hug from the brunette who kissed the top of her head before moving to do the same with her twin.
“Of course I have Caro, but wait until later, ok?” The girl nodded just as Miranda and Lottie walked through the door, Miranda shooting a questioning look at Andy, of course she had overheard Caroline, Andy shook her head, she hated lying to Miranda, it was one of the things she had been very clear on when they got together, but this was a secret she was keeping for the girls who wanted to surprise their mom with something totally unexpected for Christmas.
“Caroline, sit down properly please,” Miranda sighed, “and move over and make space for Charlotte,” the table was set out for decorating Christmas cookies and Lottie’s eyes lit up as she took it all in. Andy baked with her daughter often but she’d never be able to afford the array of decorations that were laid out, “Charlotte, let Caroline help you with your apron while your mummy and I go and get the cookies.”
“Yes Manda,” Lottie nodded seriously and Andy had to bite back a laugh, there was nothing her little girl wouldn’t do to make sure Miranda was happy with her, something she could fully relate to.
Miranda snagged Andrea’s hand and tugged her along behind her out of the kitchen and into the formal dining room that they hardly ever used, before the brunette could protest, Miranda had spun her round and had her back against the wall, her lips hot on hers.
“Hi,” Andrea grinned when they broke for air, one of her hands tangled in Miranda’s hair, “what was that for?”
“I was simply giving you a proper hello,” Miranda smirked, kissing the other woman chastely, “and to reassure you that when it comes to Christmas and my girls I forgive you a little white lie so that they can surprise me.”
“How did you…”
“You don’t realise that as well as you can read me, I can read you too darling,” Miranda offered, tucking hair behind the brunette's ear, “now come on before the girls start decorating each other!”
By the time all of the cookies were decorated and packed into the boxes that would go on each place setting the next day Miranda could see that Charlotte was beginning to flag and knew from speaking to Andrea that if the little girl pushed much further she would become too overwhelmed and struggle to communicate how she was feeling. Andrea was helping the twins stack the dishwasher and clean everything away so the older woman decided to take Charlotte up to the den to decompress and maybe nap, it would also allow Andrea and the girls to discuss whatever surprise they had planned for her.
“Come on little love,” she said gently, running her hand over the little girl's hair and holding her arms up, an offer to carry, “let’s go upstairs while the others finish here.” The girl allowed herself to be lifted and immediately buried her face in the older woman’s neck, her small hands fisting in the fabric of Miranda’s jumper, “it’s ok little love, I’ve got you,” she soothed, not bothering to let the others know what was happening, they would find her when they were done, as she moved from the room. By the time they reached the den Miranda could feel the dampness of tears on her neck, rather than putting Charlotte down she lowered herself carefully into the corner of the sofa, kicking her legs up onto the seat so that she was partly reclined against the arm, Charlotte laying the length of her body. With a quick motion, she had them covered in the soft blanket from the back of the sofa. She worked from what she knew of herself, what she had wished for as an overwhelmed child whose parents hadn’t understood, she said nothing, did nothing, only tightened her embrace when she felt the little girl tug on her arm further around her. For Charlotte, she was determined to be the adult that she always needed and never had.
“Can we see?!” Caroline half whispered when they had all heard the telltale creak that signified that Miranda had walked into the den, the task at hand forgotten in the face of the twin's excitement.
“It’s all wrapped ready to go under the tree,” Andy explained, digging her phone out of her pocket and continuing as the girl's faces began to fall, “but I took a picture to show you, look.” When the twins had quietly asked Andy if she could help them get a true surprise for their mother for Christmas she had been touched by the show of trust they already had in her, still in the early days of her relationship with Miranda and worried that the twins were unsure of the whole thing. They had explained that they wanted to get the other woman something totally personal, something that no one else could give her, that no designer could create to earn her favor. They already had some ideas and they had spent an afternoon when Miranda and Lottie were off doing something together to make their decision.
They had settled in a simple pendant in white gold with their thumbprints etched into the surface in the shape of a heart, Caroline wanted their mother to know that they were always with her, Cassidy was happy to go along with her sister so long as she was agreeing to something personal and Andy thought it was a great idea and knew that Miranda would love it. With that settled it had been down to Andy to source, purchase and hide the gift until Christmas Day something she was more than pleased to do.
“It’s perfect,” Caroline grinned, leaning against Andy to look at the picture on the screen, “right Cass?”
“Yeah,” Cassidy nodded after taking a little longer to look at the image, “yeah, thank you Andy.”
“You are more than welcome,” she grinned, hugging them both, “why don’t we finish up down here then we can go and put it under the tree ready for in the morning. Maybe we can persuade your mom to watch a movie this afternoon?”
Andy handed Cassidy the wrapped box as they passed her bags at the bottom of the stairs, opting to grab both bags and take them upstairs since they were headed in that direction anyway. All was quiet on the first floor despite Andy knowing that Miranda and Lottie were in there, but she trusted the older woman with her daughter so she wasn’t worried.
“I’ll be back.” She told the twins, continuing to the second floor where she left her own bag outside the door to Miranda’s room and continued along the corridor to the guest room that had become Lottie’s room when they were staying over. She was unsurprised to find a new set of pjs folded on the bed ready to be worn, Miranda had this way of always trying to sneak something new in, along with what looked like the next in the series of books they had been reading together. She dropped her daughter's bag on the bed for now, she’d come up and unpack it later, but for now, she just pulled pingping out of the top and headed back down to the den where she could now hear the strains of A Muppets Christmas Carol beginning. The main lights were off and she made her way across the den by the light of the Christmas tree, the twins were sprawled on the two-seater, leaned against each other, a large throw over both of them and Miranda was laid out on the larger sofa, Lottie tucked up against her chest.
“Your mumma has pingping love,” Miranda murmured as Andy neared them and she knelt down by the sofa as Lottie’s face slowly emerged from where it had been hidden in Miranda’s neck. She could tell from the girl's eyes that she had been crying but she looked comfortable and safe in the older woman’s arms.
“Here you go peanut,” she said gently, slipping the stuffed penguin under her daughters arm and stroking her hair,
“Thanks mumma,” Lottie whispered, tucking the toy under her chin and snuggling further into Miranda though her face didn’t disappear back to it’s previous place. Andy opted to settle on the floor in front of the sofa, not crowding her little girl but close enough to reach if she wanted to, leaning back, she grinned when one of Miranda’s arms looped round her shoulders and she couldn’t stop herself reaching up to play with the bracelet at the older woman’s wrist as they all settled in to watch the movie.
Miranda was placing the last of the gifts under the tree when Andrea wandered into the room already dressed in her pajamas, her face clean of makeup,
“Everyone is asleep,” she offered, dropping into the corner of the sofa and tucking her feet beneath her, “Thank you for bringing Lottie up earlier, my focus was too divided and I hadn’t noticed how overwhelmed she was getting,”
“You don’t need to feel guilty for not having four pairs of eyes and three pairs of hands darling,” Miranda soothed, sitting beside her and resting her head on her shoulder, yet again reading Andrea better than the younger woman thought possible, “We’re a team,”
“Yeah,” Andrea sighed and turned to kiss the top of the older woman’s head, “Still, thank you for caring.”
“I’ll always care Andrea,” Miranda said honestly, her arm slipping over the younger woman’s torso, “and I’ll always give her the love and support that I wished for as a child, it took me a long time to understand my own needs and learn how to advocate for them if I can help you give Charlotte the tools to do that while she is still young then I will do everything in my power to do so.” They lapsed into silence after that, each of them lost in their own thoughts, Miranda of the past, Andrea of the possibilities for the future with Miranda by her side and in her corner.
“Merry Christmas darling,” Miranda murmured sometime later when the clock in the hall struck midnight.
“Merry Christmas love,” Andrea sighed, accepting the gentle kiss that Miranda moved to press to her lips, “The first of many I hope.”