Title: In Between
Author: skeeter451
Fandom: The Devil Wears Prada
Pairing: Miranda/Andrea
Rating: NC-17
Archive: P&P, Cryptic Rain
Disclaimer: Normally, I would claim these characters as my own, but this time I'm sharing them with Tel, or rather she's sharing them with me.
Author's Note: It seems that the gang from somniesperus's story The X Ingredient just can't settle down. First it was Sightings and now this, where we catch little snippets of what happens to the characters in between the newspaper clippings. For those folks who wanted more, this is for you.

Sightings can be found on my Live Journal.

A big Thank You to mercurychkita who is, as always, the ultimate beta.

Summary: Life in between the news.

Andy enjoyed these peaceful moments after hours when it was just her alone in the office. Waiting for the book was the easiest part of her job. Once everyone had cleared out, especially Miranda, Andy was finally able to relax and finish up the tasks she had to do before the book arrived.

Tonight, though, she was distracted. After spending part of the afternoon in delightful frolic with Miranda, she couldn't concentrate on anything else. Finally she turned off the computer and wandered out of the office. She poked her head into the art department and saw John working his team as fast as they could. John noticed her and paused. "Hey Andy…I'd say another hour tops."

"Cool," she replied. "I'm gonna grab some coffee, you guys want any?"

"Nah, we're good," he replied already continuing on.

Leaving the building, she walked to the coffee shop across the street. She smiled at the sandy-haired barista who took her order. As Andy handed her the card the girl asked, "So…how's that boss of yours? Still demanding?"

Andy chuckled as she remembered how she'd gone off on the poor girl for not making the coffee hot enough. "Yeah, as ever," she answered. "She certainly keeps me on my toes." And on her knees and not to mention other fun positions. She felt a blush start to creep up her neck.

The girl must have noticed because her smile turned into something else as she handed Andy back her card. "Well, it's good to see you relaxed," she said. "You were pretty stressed-out."

"Yeah," Andy said, tucking the card and receipt back into her wallet. She was surprised that the girl had remembered her and glad she didn't think badly of Andy for the way she'd acted that day. "Thanks."

"No problem," the girl said. "So, um…you should come by more often, you know. Maybe even hang out. I always see you around late at night. You work at Elias-Clarke, right?"

Andy looked at her in surprise and her blush deepened as she realized the girl's intent. Oh wow. That was kind of…well, that was really kind of cool. She looked at the girl more closely and Andy smiled at what she saw. "Um…yeah, well I have to wait around for the guys to finish something so I can bring it to my boss, along with her dry cleaning. She, uh she's…my boss is…" She trailed off, not knowing if she was horrified or elated at the thought of what her boss now was.

"Demanding, yeah," the girl said with a charming shrug. "But whatever…you know where to find me."

Andy shook off her reverie and returned the grin and said, "Okay…see you later."

"Bye," the girl waved as Andy walked out.

Andy sipped her coffee as she slowly walked back to the office. The girl's attentions were flattering. It wasn't the first time a woman had flirted with her, but it was the first time that she had considered flirting back. The girl was cute…in a kind of familiar way. Not like Miranda, of course. Andy chuckled. Miranda wouldn't care to be thought of as 'cute.' Sophisticated, yes…glamorous, certainly…elegant, definitely – but cute? Andy laughed.

No, Miranda was the most beautiful woman Andy had ever known. A few months ago Andy was happily living with her boyfriend and enjoying the challenges of her job, until one of those challenges forced a reexamination of her own fundamental being. Sure, she could have walked away when she'd learned of Miranda's ridiculous demands. No matter what Emily had said, she was sure she could have successfully said no and gotten away with it. She was certain that none of Miranda's assistants had ever challenged Miranda on anything. But Andy now realized that the bigger challenge had been turning the tables on Miranda.

Andy could also admit that even though she was horrified at the thought of having to perform sexual favors for Miranda Priestly as part of her job, in the back of her mind she was intrigued. What would it be like to have one of the most powerful women in the publishing world? And she knew – she knew – from the first time she knelt before the great editor and realized from Miranda's total loss of control, that no one had ever had Miranda the way that Andy had her. None of her assistants, certainly, and as Andy had previously suspected and now knew for sure, none of her husbands, either.

Up until a week ago, Andy relished in the power she had over her boss. She loved that Miranda would do anything she wanted, anything she suggested no matter what. For Andy, just the thought of Miranda's reaction to what she did was enough to turn her on more than Nate ever had. Things were good…her job was more fun than she'd ever imagined it could be and while her relationship with Nate was strained, at least that was not affecting them in the bedroom. In fact, things were hotter than ever and so what if they barely could say two civil words to each other? Andy wasn't interested in conversation anyway…they had taken care of that while still in college.

Then Miranda had to go and ruin it by being human after all. Andy could no longer ignore the want and desire in Miranda's eyes when Andy did things to her. And she could no longer ignore the fact that when she did allow Miranda to touch her, Miranda did more for her than anything Nate ever had. So when Andy learned that Nate was thinking of moving to Boston without bothering to discuss it with her and that Miranda's marriage with Stephen was failing just as hard, it didn't take much to decide to jump into an affair with both feet. To hell with all this one-sided bullshit, it was Miranda's turn to get on her knees for Andy.

As Andy walked through the doors to the quiet offices of Runway magazine, a satisfied smile spread across her face. Wow, wasn't the fact that Miranda was actually so very good at it the most wonderful surprise of all?

Before Andy reached the art department to check on the status of the book, her arm was viciously yanked and she was pulled in another direction.

"Nigel!" she protested. "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" he said. "What am I doing? What the hell are you doing?"

He dragged her through the glass doors to his office and angrily pointed at his computer monitor. "What is that?"

Andy looked. After nearly a year at Runway she was quite familiar with the online gossip rags and immediately recognized the Post's logo. Under a photo of Lindsay Lohan was a short blurb of only four sightings. Andy's heart skipped a beat as she saw Miranda's name in capital letters. She read the rest and took a deep breath as she collapsed into a chair. Oh shit.

"Uh…" she mumbled, her mind whirling along in a desperate attempt at damage control. "It's nothing. The uh… the car wasn't ready after the meeting so Miranda wanted to stretch her legs for a bit."

Nigel stared at her for a long moment and Andy tried not to writhe under the scrutiny. She wasn't counting much on her success. "The meeting at Christian Lou's was cancelled, Andy," he said. "Emily was up in arms about how to tell Miranda. Imagine her surprise when Miranda brushed it off with a simple 'fine'."

"Well, yeah…what I meant was that Miranda wanted to grab something to eat and –"

"Quit it, Andy," he said. "Stop right this second. You and Miranda were seen coming out of a hotel and I know for a fact that particular hotel does not have a restaurant."

"How do you know?" she goggled.

"I've worked in fashion for twenty years, my dear, and I know every hotel in the garment district quite well," he said.

"Oh," Andy whispered and her gaze wandered back the screen. Busted.

Nigel sighed as if he sensed her surrender. He slumped into a chair and also stared at the screen.

"I should have seen this coming," Nigel said. "But I didn't realize what was happening. Miranda never let an assistant get so close this fast and for god's sake, she never took one to a hotel!" This time his glare was blazing.

"What?" she cried, her eyes widening. "You know about…? I mean, what?"

"Of course I know about Miranda's little games with her assistants," he said waving a hand. "I know everything that goes on in these offices."

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Andy shot back. "Jesus Nigel, do you think it was fun having Emily tell me cunnilingus was the next job skill I had to learn? Christ! I thought we were friends."

"We are friends," Nigel said. "But I also have a responsibility to this magazine and the woman who runs it. And like I said, she has never, ever trusted an assistant with that particular task this quickly. I thought I had more time before I had to speak with you and frankly I thought that maybe she would not even want you."

"Why not?" Andy glared.

"Oh for…" he closed his eyes and leaned back his head. "There is nothing wrong with you, Andy. I didn't mean it that way…just the opposite, in fact. The assistants Miranda picks for her little relief sessions are all the same type – pretty, fashionable and not very bright. Like Emily."

"Oh," Andy said. "Then why did she…?" She tried to think, but it was getting really difficult.

"I don't know why," Nigel admitted. "And that's why it caught me unawares. You're the only one of her assistants smart enough to bring everything she's built collapsing into ruin." He gestured toward the screen with Page Six still displayed. "And I guess you have."

"Me!" Andy scowled. "I'm not the one who asked if I could perform sexual favors for my boss, Nigel. And I'm not the one who took it out of the office. That was her."

"Yes, but you could have stopped it before it even started," Nigel said and looked at her pointedly. "Why didn't you just say no?"

Andy looked back and since she had been thinking that same thing less than an hour before, she didn't want to answer.

"That's what I thought," he said and sighed. "Well, it's out of our hands now. Miranda's made her bed and she and the rest of us are going to have to lie in it."

"What will happen?" Andy said. "I mean, it's just a silly sighting. They post hundreds of those every month."

He shrugged. "Hopefully nothing will happen and it'll get lost in the next outrage by the Olsen twins, but if it doesn't…well, it could get bad, Andy. Really bad. Expect the worst."

Andy sighed. "Well, at least it was fun while it lasted," she muttered.

John turned the corner carrying the book to Miranda's office, but did a double take and opened Nigel's door. Andy quickly hit the clear button erasing the damning Page Six evidence from the screen, but John didn't even bat an eye in his rush to finish work and get home. Nigel rolled his eyes as John quickly left.

"This stops right now, Andy," he said and picked up the book. "I'll deliver the book tonight and from now on Emily will take over that chore. Your job is to do your job – your legitimate job – and nothing else. You are to minimize any contact with Miranda, keep it to business only. You do not speak to her unless she is giving you instructions and then you only say 'yes Miranda' and leave. Do not call her on the phone unless it is work related and only work related. Do not go to her house. Do not meet her anywhere. Do you understand?"

Andy felt the rebellion building inside and opened her mouth to lash out when he interrupted her again. "I'm serious about this Andy," he growled. "I don't think you've quite realized what's at stake here. So you go home to that pretty boy of yours and think about all that you have to lose." He stood up and tucked the book under his arm. "I'll see you bright and early in the morning. Good night."

Andy watched him leave and for the first time since this whole thing with Miranda had started, she felt a tingle of fear in her gut.