Archive of Our Own

Andy was working in the home office when she got a call on a Monday morning. It was 11 am—only three hours after Miranda had dropped the twins off at school.

“Yes this is her speaking” she said, speaking into the phone “I’ll be there in fifteen.” Andy immediately grabbed her keys and dashed out the front door. “I’ll be back in a few Pattie.” She ruffled Patricia’s fur and closed the front door of the townhouse behind her. 

It was the first day of sixth grade for Caroline and Cassidy. What could have possibly happened on the first day of the school year that warranted their parent’s appearance?

Andy arrived at the school not even fifteen minutes later.

After she had quit Runway, she started working at the New York Mirror then moved on to the New York Times not long after. As Andy’s writing career took off, it gave her the liberty to work from anywhere. Most days she would just work from home—only showing up at the office when she was really needed. 

Staying home meant Andy got to see Miranda off every morning and make breakfast for the twins before they left for school. At night she helps them with their homework and waits for Miranda to get home right before they all have dinner together. It may seem pretty normal and mundane to other people, but it was all Andy ever wanted. Five years of marriage and she still couldn’t believe she was living the life she only once dreamt of. Her wife and children coming home to her at the end of the day was her most favorite thing in the world. 

Andy hurriedly walked the halls of Dalton, looking for the counselor’s office. She knocked before opening the door to the office and walked in. 

Andy tried not to be swallowed by the growing worry in the pit of her stomach, “I’d like to know where my children are,” she says calmly to the front desk. 

“Andy?” A familiar voice greeted her, confused—making her turn around. 

“Sara.” Andy was visibly surprised by the sudden encounter, although she kept her composure. 

“Wha—what are you doing here?” Sara asked softly, her tone a mix of intrigue and amusement. 

Andy was about to answer when, 

“Mama!” Caroline and Cassidy shouted in unison as they ran towards Andy—tightly wrapping their arms around her. She bent down to her knees to meet the girls' gaze and hugged them back. “Are you okay sweethearts?”

Cassidy’s eyes are still a bit red from crying, and Caroline is irritable.

“Mama?” Sara turned to Andy, stunned and visibly confused. 

The school’s guidance counselor suddenly spoke, “I thought we’d requested for their mother"

“Andrea Sachs-Priestly.” She offered her hand, “We spoke on the phone,” 

“Ah, yes I remember, my apologies. This is Sara, their homeroom adviser.” The counselor explained.

“I’m sorry, my wife couldn’t make it today, she has a meeting on the other side of the city.” Andy added.

Sara was staring at her from across the room. 

“So what happened?” Andy asked.

“Caroline punched someone,” Sara explained.

Caroline tugged on Andy’s shirt “He called Cass a dyke, and he wouldn’t quit taunting me.”

“It’s alright sweetheart, we’ll figure it out.” she said, reassuring her daughter.  

“Wait let me get this straight, you’re punishing my kid for defending herself? She’s at fault I recognize that, but why isn’t the boy getting reprimanded as well?” Andy questioned protectively.

“I expect my children to get treated fairly.” Andy added, already fuming.

Most people assumed Miranda raised her children with the same iron fist she used to run her magazine. But, despite Miranda’s tough outward persona she was a complete softie around the girls—only ever really strict when the situation called for it. 

Andy was the ‘cool mom’, but she was never one to spoil them rotten. She didn’t believe in letting things slide, especially when the twins had done something wrong.

Miranda usually handled things like this. But with Andy’s more flexible schedule, she had become the default for unexpected calls and school-related emergencies when they arose. When it came to circumstances involving the twins, just like Miranda—she never played. 

It took them several minutes of back and forth—Andy more irritated than necessary—before everything was sorted. The boy was suspended and Cassidy was assigned two hours of community service after school. 

She and the twins were making their way out of the office when Miranda arrived.

“Moooom!” The twins ran toward Miranda, wrapping themselves around her on either side.

“Hello, bobbseys. Is everything all right?” she asked, leaning down to press a kiss to each of their heads.

They nodded, looking up at her.

“Can we please get ice cream after this?” Cassidy asked.

“We’ll have to ask your mama about that,” Miranda replied, earning identical pouts from both of them.

By the time they made their way back to Andy, Miranda leaned in to kiss her in greeting. “Darling, I came as soon as I could.”

“Hi,” Andy smiled. “You didn’t have to run all the way here, you know, I already managed.” she added and smiled softly at Miranda.

The twins hovered close to Andy’s side when Miranda’s gaze shifted, catching sight of Sara standing just behind them. She arched one brow—so subtle it would have gone unnoticed by anyone else. 

Andy turned around, “Sara, this is Miranda, my—” 

“Her wife.” Miranda cut in smoothly, stepping forward to shake Sara’s hand. Firmly. 

“I trust everything has been settled. It was a pleasure to meet you…Sandra.” Her hand settled on the small of Andy’s back. 

Sara blinked. “It’s Sara.” she said, correcting her. 

“Yes, well.” Miranda slid her sunglasses down from atop her head, a knowing smile tugging at her lips. She turned to Andy instead of finishing whatever she had to say. 

“We’ll be waiting in the car, darling.” 

She pressed a brief, chaste kiss to Andy’s lips before taking each twin by the hand and leading them away.

Silence fell around them. 

Sara exhaled quietly, releasing a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding in, “So,” she said carefully, “you’re married now.”

Andy nodded.

“And you have kids.”

Another nod. 

“How long?”

Andy glanced toward the door Miranda had just walked through.

“Five years.”

6 years ago

“Have you ever been with a woman before?” Miranda asked.

“Once.”

They were tangled in each other, with nothing but the sheets covering them, as Andy lay her soul bare to Miranda, telling her everything. 

“Listen, Miranda…if we’re doing this, I won’t do it half-heartedly,” Andy said, meeting Miranda’s gaze. “I can’t go through that again.”

Miranda looked into her eyes, earnest and unwavering. “Whatever made you think this wasn’t serious for me? Darling, I would never dare make you feel like anything less. You’re everything—not an afterthought.”

True to her word, Miranda never hid her relationship with Andy—not even from the press. She didn’t care what Page Six had to say when the tabloids began gossiping about her being in a relationship with a woman after three divorces.

“Yes, I’m seeing someone—and she’s not just some woman. Her name is Andrea. At least get your homework right,” Miranda sneered at the reporters camped like lions outside Elias-Clarke.

They went out like any normal couple—dining at restaurants, walking Patricia in the park with the twins, taking them around the city. Miranda held Andy in her arms at every gala and benefit she attended, introducing her to every person in the room.

7 years ago

Andy and Sara basically grew up together. They met in sixth grade English class. It was Andy’s first day at a new school after her family moved into town. She was timid and clumsy, while Sara was outgoing and effortlessly bright. Wherever Andy went, Sara was there. Their mothers would always say that Sara brought Andy out of her shell.

They were each other’s first—everything.

At twelve, they spent their afternoons together, frequenting each other’s houses for sleepovers. They’d lie awake late at night, talking about what they wanted to be when they grew up.

“I want to be a journalist.”

“I want to be a teacher.”

At sixteen, they turned down every boy who asked them to prom so they could go together—as friends, of course. That is, until they had too much to drink at an after-party at some guy’s house.

They were alone in the backyard. The other kids were either too busy or too drunk to notice when Andy suddenly kissed her.

“I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to, I just—oh God.” Andy pulled back, suddenly sober.

"I think I love you."

“I don’t just think, Andy—I know. I love you too,” Sara said, before kissing her back.

They started dating in secret after that. Having grown up in religious, conservative households in a small town in Ohio, being queer wasn’t exactly something that was accepted. They were careful. Besides they had been seen as a matching set since they were eleven—no one ever questioned their closeness.

At eighteen, they left Ohio for Illinois, attending Northwestern University. Andy studied journalism, while Sara majored in English. For the first time in years, they finally had the freedom to be themselves.

They moved into a small apartment just outside campus during their second year and lived together until they graduated.

“Can you believe it?” Sara said excitedly, unpacking the few things they had. “We actually have our own place.”

Andy wrapped her arms around her from behind, smiling. “We’re just getting started Sara. We have our whole life ahead of us.”

They lay together that night.

“What’s the one thing you want most in life?” Sara asked.

“I want to be a mom one day,” Andy said softly. “I want my wife and kids coming home to me at the end of the day.”

“Hmm that sounds nice.” Sara replied, burying herself closer to Andy. She stiffened—just slightly—but enough to be felt. Andy chose to ignore it. Instead, she held her until they both fell asleep.

They would go home for the holidays and revert back into being “just friends” in the eyes of everyone they knew. At first, it was manageable—Andy understood. But as time went on, it became exhausting. Especially when Sara’s family began setting her up with boys from their hometown, ones they deemed acceptable for their daughter.

And then they’d return to Illinois as if nothing had happened.

The cycle repeated over and over again, and slowly began to eat away at Andy. 

One year, their mothers decided to celebrate Thanksgiving together. They were in Andy’s room when someone almost caught them kissing. Sara pulled away immediately, pushing Andy back the moment she noticed.

Sara started dating Michael not long after that—at least for show, though he didn’t need to know that. He was a boy from their hometown, someone she only saw when they went back.

Andy had just gotten off the phone with her mother.

“And say hi to Sara for me. Michael’s such a nice boy—you should get yourself a boyfriend like him too.”

Andy ended the call, confused.

“Who’s Michael?”

“What do you mean?”

“Really, Sara? This is how I find out you’re seeing some other guy?”

“It’s only temporary—just to keep my parents off my back. Please, just hear me out.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Were you even planning to?” Andy couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I can’t do this.”

Despite everything—the argument, Michael, and Sara doing everything in her power to keep them hidden—Andy stayed.

It went on for almost a year, and suddenly it didn’t feel so temporary anymore. Every single time they were back in Ohio she’d be with Michael, and come see Andy after. If she wasn’t lucky, Andy wouldn’t see her at all. Then she saw Michael kissing her, and Sara didn’t pull away.

She decided she finally had enough.

Andy was done settling for crumbs and calling it dinner. She wasn’t about to accept a life like this—not when she would have given Sara the world.

She came out to her parents that night. Not that she expected anything different, but a small part of her still hoped—hoped they would still see her as their daughter, hoped Sara would finally choose her, fully, hoped that they didn’t have to hide anymore.

They disowned her that same night.

“You’re leaving?”

Sara stood in the doorway of Andy’s bedroom, watching as she packed her entire life into a single bag.

“Come to New York with me,” Andy said, her voice steady. 

Sara blinked. “What?”

“We can start a life of our own—far from everything. No prying eyes, no more hiding, no more worrying about what people might think every time we’re alone for longer than fifteen minutes.” Andy let out a shaky breath. “We—we don’t have to live like this anymore.”

“Just wait, Andy, please. I need more time.”

“For how much longer, Sara? Two years? Five?” Andy’s voice cracked, her previous composure slipping away “What then—do I watch you marry some guy while you hide me from the rest of the world? Sneak around, see me every two weeks like I’m something you get to tend to when it’s convenient?”

“I thought you understood!”

“I did,” Andy said, her voice breaking now. “I do. But I love you—and I don’t want to be tucked away like some dirty little mistress. I can’t do it Sara, not anymore.”

Sara’s expression hardened “Not everyone can just walk away from their family, Andy! You already lost yours—and I’m not about to lose mine.”

The words landed harder than anything else. The moment they left her mouth she’d immediately regretted it—but it was too late. 

“God! You think I wanted to lose my family? They were the only thing I had—besides you! And I was stupid enough to gamble all of it for a chance at a life with you!”

By the time Sara returned to Illinois, Andy was gone.

The rest of her things were packed into boxes. Her house key sat on the table, next to a note in her handwriting, 

I’ll have the rest of my things picked up by the end of the week.

She never came back to Illinois or Ohio.

A few months after she’d left, Sara tried reaching out to her. They met at a diner near Andy’s workplace.

Andy looked different—still the same, but different. Her hair was longer, styled differently, and she wore nicer clothes. Like the girls they used to see on magazine covers.

“How have you been?” Sara asked.

“I’m okay,” Andy said. “I just started a new job—far from the writing I want to do, but it’s a good stepping stone.”

A palpable tension surrounded them. Heavy and suffocating.

“Listen, I’m sorry for how we left things. If I could go back and change it, I would—”

“Are you still with him?” Andy asked, cutting her off.

Sara went still.

Andy let out a quiet breath. “I can’t sit here talking about how I’ve been when nothing’s changed, knowing you’ll just go back to him afterward.”

Her voice hardened slightly. “So what, Sara? Are you still with him?”

Sara looked at her, guilt in her eyes. That was all Andy needed to know. She stood, placing a twenty on the table.

“Please don’t contact me again. Goodbye, Sara.”

Sara sat there, unable to hold back her tears as she watched Andy walk out of her life.

That was the last time she ever saw her.

“How is everyone?” Andy asked, breaking the silence. 

“I honestly don’t know, I haven’t been home since I came out.” Sara replied, briefly looking at Andy before averting her eyes to the floor. 

Andy was surprised. “Oh.” She thought she’d never see the day Sara would tell her family—let alone everyone. 

“You know I told them about us…how much I regretted letting you leave.” Sara continued. 

“I’m sorry it took me so long, and by the time I was ready I'd already lost you.” 

Sara paused, drawing in a shaky breath. “I’m glad you have everything you ever wanted… even if it wasn’t me who gave it to you. I just—” Her voice broke.

“If I’d been braver… maybe it could have been me. I hope you know how much I wanted that. How much I wanted it to be me.”

Andy only looked at her and said,

“I wish for your happiness Sara, well I better get going, my family’s waiting for me.”

Sara could only give her a weak smile, watching as Andy got in the car, her children glued to her side, and Miranda’s arm around her shoulder.

That night, as they were getting ready for bed, Miranda spoke.

“Remind me to thank her.”

Andy frowned, confused, as she walked toward where Miranda sat in their bedroom, stopping just in front of her. Miranda’s hands slid around her waist, pressing a soft kiss to her torso.

“You wouldn’t be married to me—sharing my bed every night, having my children call you their mother—if it weren’t for her.”

Andy let out a quiet laugh, her fingers slipping into Miranda’s hair. “Look at you,” she teased gently, “Miranda Priestly, wanting to thank someone—as if you didn’t want to rip her head off earlier.”

“Me? Rip someone’s head off? Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Andrea.”

“You know, you’re adorable when you’re jealous,” she whispered fondly, her fingers threading lazily through Miranda’s hair.

Miranda tilted her head slightly, one brow arching. “She’s your first love, and I’m your wife. Pray tell, why would I be jealous, darling?”

“Mm-hmm,” Andy murmured, nuzzling into her neck—trailing soft kisses on her jaw. 

“Looking at you as if she could take you back,” Miranda continued, rolling her eyes. “As though I haven’t been in your life for the past six years.”

“And since when did Caroline go around punching other children?”

“Please, shut up.” Andy said, attempting to stop her from rambling. 

Miranda’s brow lifted higher at that.

“Please, shut up, baby.” Andy added smiling before leaning in and kissed her. When she pulled back, her forehead rested against Miranda’s.

“I love you.”