A/N – New Story! YAY! Truthfully though I have been sitting on this one for a year. I make no promises on how quickly the updates on it will come though. I do promise that none of my stories are dead. I know it has been a long time since I updated some of them but I will be finishing them. Eventually. As always, read and review. It is greatly appreciated.

Two Beds and a Coffee Machine

Andy took another step and slowly opened the door, looking around the wreckage that was her living room. Glancing back she checked to make sure that Nate, her soon-to-be ex-husband was asleep before beginning to clear away the broken glass and furniture scattered across the floor. They had been up half the night screaming which had ended in Nate back handing her across the room, where she had fallen through their coffee table, accounting for the black eye and bruised cheek, the cuts on her back, and the glass that covered her carpet. After the furniture that had been tipped in their fight had been righted and placed where it belonged, she went about picking up the glass. Things between them had been bad for over a year now and weren't getting any better. More than once Andy had to cover bruises that Nate had left in various places on her body. Tonight had been the last straw, when he had threatened their two children.

After she had fallen through the table, their 5 year old daughter had come out of the room she shared with their son who was only a year and a half. As soon as the door to their room had opened Nate had spun on the child, grasping her by the arm, he threatened to beat her bloody if she didn't stay in her room. Hearing this Andy had run over and grabbed his wrist, yanking him away from her daughter. With a nod of her head she had sent the child back into the room.

It was not long after that that Nate had gone into their bedroom and passed out. He often came home drunk these days and Andy had definitely had enough. Andy jumped and hissed as a particularly nasty shard of glass sliced into her palm. Quickly moving to the bathroom she cleaned the cut and applied an antibiotic ointment, before wrapping it in a roll of gauze that she had found beneath the sink. Luckily it had been the last piece of glass that she could see.

Slipping silently into the bedroom where her husband slept she pulled out her overnight bag and stuffed as many sets of clothes into it as she could, which was most of the clothing she owned, before moving to the bathroom and gathering her toiletries. Once her task was finished she quietly crept into her childrens' room and helped them pack, telling them to be as quiet as possible until they made it to the car. After they each had their clothes and toys packed into bags she led them down from their apartment and into the car. They weren't going to stay in Boston while she filed for divorce. It would take her the better part of 4 hours, but she was going back to New York. The money she had would be enough to get them into an extended stay hotel for a while until Andy could find a job to support them.

"Mommy, are you ok?" She had only been driving for a few minutes when Melody spoke up. The child had always been worried about her mother whenever she saw her parents get into fights. She knew her daddy hit her, and Mommy had always told her that hitting was bad. She didn't understand why Daddy kept hitting her, nor did she understand why Daddy hated her and her little brother. He never spent any time with them and every time she drew him a picture he would ignore her.

"I'm fine baby." Andy whispered. "Why don't you try and get some sleep, ok? I promise I'll wake you when we get there." The mother knew that right now all she needed was quiet and she didn't want to snap at the child. She glanced in the rear view mirror and smiled tightly at her little girl. She loved them both more than life itself and knew that if Nate were to come looking for them that she wouldn't hesitate to call the police. She still had friends in the NYPD from her days at the Mirror.

Melody nodded, and laid down in the backseat. Mommy was still upset and needed time by herself.

Andy drove without really seeing. She knew this road well enough that she could probably have driven it in her sleep. She didn't love Nate. She never really had, she knew that much. Thinking on it for a moment she knew that this was one of the easiest decisions that she had ever made. Miranda. The woman's face flashed through her mind. With a smile to herself, she shook her head. She had always held a torch for the other woman and, even now, after 7 years, her heart still fluttered whenever she thought about her. Nothing could ever happen between her and the other woman. She knew that much. Especially now that Andy had two children to feed.

The hours passed quickly as Andy continued to drive on and on, her thoughts consumed by the white haired editor. She knew it was hopeless and a pointless dream to think that she even had a chance with the fashion maven. Things like that just didn't happen to girls like her. Besides, right now her focus needed to be on Melody and Andrew. She couldn't even consider dating anyone right now, even in her fantasies, when she had two children to think of.

Her thoughts turned to her destination. They were only about a half hour from the city now. She could call up old friends, Nigel would let her stay for a while, though she wasn't sure about her kids. Emily would have a fit if she brought children into her house. Though, thinking about it for a moment longer she realised that it was probably a bad idea to call them at all. That would just be another hassle. Another bruise to try and hide and alibi to come up with. Better to stick to the original plan. She would call The Mirror in the morning and see if Greg, her former boss, would give her a job again. She hoped there was something open.

Finally she pulled into the hotel that she and the two kids would be staying at for the foreseeable future. She glanced in her rearview mirror at herself and grimaced. Her eye looked horrible and her cheek was swollen, but she didn't have the right make-up to cover it and didn't own a pair of sunglasses to try and hide it. She opened her car door and walked around to the rear. She pulled her son out of his car-seat and settled him on her hip, with his head on her shoulder as he quickly fell back to sleep. Melody reached out and took her hand as she locked her car and headed inside. Renting the room was easy enough. Room 263 was just around the corner from the office. When she opened the door she sighed. It was a simple set up, with not much to it. Two beds and a coffee machine, But for now, it's all they would need.

She settled her two children in one bed and brought in their bags from the trunk and their pillows and blankets from the back seat. She covered each of her kids with their own special blankets. Melody's was purple with small monkeys all over it. Andrew's was green with trains. She placed their respective stuffed animals in the bed next to each of them, kissed them on the forehead, and crawled into her own bed. It wasn't long before the events of the night caught up with her and the tears began to flow. She hadn't allowed herself to feel for the entirety of the fight, the packing and the drive up here, but now she couldn't hold it in anymore. She curled into a ball on top of the covers and cried herself to sleep.

A/N – So? What do you guys think? Should I continue? Or should it be left here? Let me know in reviews. Private messages are always welcome too!