So the nuptials came and went. It was a small, intimate affair - only family and the very closest of friends were invited. And not long after she and Kent were settled into married life, Charisma announced she was expecting.

************

Despite all the misgivings, that was actually a happy occasion in the Tagherty household. Okasa and Patrick had been waiting a long time to welcome a grandchild from Charisma and the boys and their wives were equally excited. And that excitement went a long way towards healing the anger Charisma felt towards her brothers for their attitude towards Kent? especially since she knew their reaction was honest. She really couldn't stay mad when they were only looking out for her, no matter how misguided their concern.

Adam was born on summer solstice - the longest day of the year. Charisma swore he brought sunshine into her life. And if everything wasn't perfect, Adam made her remember the good things in her life. And so life went, bringing us to the present point in time.


Chapter IX

Let me catch you up a little more, because there are a few things you need to understand before we pick up our story in the present day.

Their marriage, while it made Kent's mother ecstatic, quickly became a thing of convenience for both of them, though to anyone looking from the outside they are happy enough. Like many of their peers, they have separate careers and in some ways, separate lives, but on the occasions they are together, they present a united, happy front.

Now, don't misunderstand me, Kent does love Charisma in his own way, but it soon became apparent to him that she does not return his affection to the same degree. She does care for him, but she sees him as a friend and a father to her son - not a husband or a lover. And it isn't something he knows how to overcome.

While sex is not non-existent between them, it is performed more as a duty than a pleasure. Once Charisma became pregnant, there was even less of an obligation between them. And when Adam was born, the expectation between them slipped even farther.

Charisma spends her time between Washington and her home state; Kent divides his time between being a house-husband and father in Washington and an actor working in Manhattan. Once or twice, Charisma has made an effort to support her husband's career by attending a production but by and large, he leads his life and she leads hers.

As for Adam - he stays with Charisma. Kent takes care of him when he is in Washington, but when he leaves to go work in Manhattan, Adam is strictly Charisma's son.

That brings us back to the present. Hopefully from here on out, you can see things in real time. Now, I don't know how things will go precisely, but one of the cool things about being a guardian angel means I can see the possibilities. So hold onto your horses - this promises to be a bumpy ride.

************

Esmeralda quietly cleaned the office, conscious of the two individuals resting on the couch just a few feet away. When she was finished, Esmeralda crossed back over to the couch and gently touched Charisma's shoulder, watching the blue eyes open alertly and gaze at her in confusion for a brief moment before clearing.

"Es?" Charisma whispered, one hand cupping her son's back while the other pushed the hair from her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Late," Esmeralda returned. "I was just getting ready to leave."

Charisma reached out a hand and Esmeralda took the hint, helping Charisma to sit up without losing the hold she had on her sleeping son. Then she pushed her hair back from her face, frowning as she tried to find a semblance of coherent wakefulness. Without seeming to impose, Esmeralda scooped Adam from Charisma's arms, giving her the opportunity to stand and gather her things together.

Charisma watched them for a long moment, smiling at the precious picture they made. Adam had always been shy around strangers - very particular about whom he let in his personal space even as a baby. And yet, seemingly without effort, Esmeralda had charmed Adam so quickly, he was actually squealing in laughter. Charisma smiled sympathetically.

"You must have some sort of magic," Charisma commented softly as she crossed the room to collect her purse and jacket as well as Adam's things. "He's never warmed up to anyone so quickly. It took three days before Kent could hold him without Adam screaming bloody murder, and he's Adam's father." Charisma chuckled. "We figured out it was the scent of greasepaint and the theatre that seemed to bother him. Once Kent came home and immediately took a shower before coming near him, Adam stopped wailing like a banshee." She brushed her hair back again and smiled at the joyful expression on Esmeralda's face.

"Children and babies love me," Es confided, cooing at Adam while gently rocking him back to sleep. Charisma watched amazed as her son's eyes closed again.

"Obviously," she agreed. "I think you're in the wrong line of work." A beat. "Do you and Saphira have children?"

Esmeralda shook her head. "No," she said sadly. "Neither of us is able to have children and because of who and what we are to one another, we can't adopt. But there's a reason for everything, Charisma. I think I'm right where I need to be."

Charisma gazed speculatively at her for a long moment. "Maybe you are," she muttered mostly to herself, though Esmeralda clearly understood her. She picked up the receiver and called for her car. "Can I offer you a lift? home?"

Esmeralda smiled and shook her head, easily transferring the toddler in her arms back into his mother's embrace. Then she moved to collect her cart. "As nice as that sounds, I still need to put away my things and I don't want to hold you up. You need to get your little guy to bed? and it wouldn't hurt you to get a little rest as well," she scolded, opening the door and motioning for Charisma to go in front of her. "Besides," Esmeralda added as she pushed her cleaning cart through the door and turned to lock it behind her, "I'm not going home."

Charisma smiled. "Late night date with your lady, then?"

Es smiled bashfully. "Something like that. Her shift at the diner will be over by the time I get there and we'll go home together."

"I can still drop you?." Charisma started, but stopped when the blonde head shook negatively.

"Not that I don't appreciate it, Charisma, because I do? more than I can make you understand. And I promise you'll get to meet her soon. You let me know when's good for you and we'll make it happen. But trust me when I tell you it's better for you not to do this for me right now."

Charisma's face hardened. "Oh? I see. You want to be some sort of reverse snob," she said, but Esmeralda cut her off before she could continue.

"Don't, Charisma - you know better," Es replied fiercely. "But can you really afford to be seen in a government vehicle riding around at this time of night with an out lesbian who happens to be part of the janitorial staff in your Senate building? Regardless of the fact that you'd be taking me to meet my mate, I don't think your constituents would take too kindly to it despite the fact that there really is nothing more untoward about it than you offering someone less fortunate a bit of consideration. You've worked too long and too hard to establish the reputation you have to throw it away on an unnecessary kindness."

"I'm sorry, Es - you're right. I don't know why I'm so raw today. But you shouldn't be catching the brunt of my pissiness." She paused. "Is there such a thing? as unnecessary kindness, I mean?"

"In this case, yes." Esmeralda unlocked the janitorial closet and pushed her cart in, taking care to restock just as she did every night even though she was still very aware of Charisma's presence. "It's been a long day for you and Adam - you should focus on getting the two of you home and settled. I'll be all right, Charisma - I promise. I do this every night. In fact," she added as she exited the closet and locked it behind her, "it would probably freak Saphira out if your car pulled up in front of the diner at this time of night with no warning. She'd think something bad had happened to me."

Charisma nodded - she hadn't thought of it like that before and she knew without asking that neither of them had cell phones. "But you promise I'll get to meet her soon? And that you'll be okay walking there by yourself? I know I sound paranoid - I guess I never really considered?."

"I promise, Charisma. You get me a date and time that will work for you and we'll arrange something. And I'll be fine - I've got a guardian angel watching over me," rubbing the tiny pin attached to her blouse

"I wish I had one of those," Charisma mumbled.

"I'm sure you do, Senator," motioning the other woman ahead of her as they approached the garage. Esmeralda held the door for Charisma to slip through with Adam, then followed behind her. "But here," removing the pin and carefully sticking it on Charisma's jacket. "Now you have a visible reminder."

"Oh Es," Charisma protested. "I can't take this from you. It's your guardian angel."

Esmeralda smiled and Charisma was overwhelmed by the sheer radiance of it. "No, Charisma. It is merely a reminder. My guardian angel is a little more ethereal than the pin and she sticks pretty close."

"She, huh?"

"In most cases, yes. I think the male angels are busy posturing and talking politics and completely missing the big picture around them? no offense."

Charisma couldn't stop the laughter that welled up at the assessment and she slid into her vehicle still chuckling. Es held the door until Charisma got Adam settled in his car seat and turned back to look at her.

"Thank you, Es - for being such a good friend. Most would have taken my bitchiness personally. Be safe tonight, all right?"

Es nodded. "See you tomorrow night, Senator Tagherty."

Charisma rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile before sitting back and letting Esmeralda shut the door firmly behind her. Es patted the roof and the driver pulled off. She stood and watched the car out of sight, nodding in approval when Amber took up the job of looking out for them. Then she turned and headed out of the garage, anxious to meet Saphira at the diner.

************

Sorry? cutting in again very briefly to explain something. What I said was true - most guardian angels don't do the protection gig. There aren't enough of us to do that for every single person on the planet twenty-four/seven/three-sixty-five. But when a complete fubar like this one is thrown at the clean-up detail, we have a little more leeway and can call upon whatever resources we need to get things straightened out. We try not to overextend everyone else's departments or leave any one section short-handed for an extended period of time, but we do take what we need to resolve the situation we've been handed with all expediency.

To that end, I have enlisted several friends and cohorts to help me fix this mess. Saphira is truly my mate, though she is not a guardian angel of any kind. And I hope I do not need to call upon her true skills beyond supporting me before this is all over. Amber is my best friend other than Saphira - she's a guide guardian? the kind Rafe was before he created this debacle. I'm convinced if Charisma had been her charge, we wouldn't be cleaning up crap now. Hence my snarky comment to Charisma about male angels. Honestly, there are some things most of them just shouldn't try to handle - they don't do as well as their female counterparts.

There are a few other guardians I have on stand-by for if and when they are needed. But at the moment, Amber, Saphira and I and the rest have things well in hand and under control.

************

Esmeralda made her way from the metro station towards the diner, a smile on her face as she approached. It had been a long and interesting day and she was anxious to share her experiences with Saphira. Besides, things should be happening on the flip side of things soon, and Es was anxious to hear how things were progressing. And it didn't hurt that Matilda made the most awesome apple pie and always saved a piece for them to share before they headed home.

She was smiling as she opened the door and it grew to a genuine grin when Saphira's eyes met hers. "Hey, beautiful," Saphira greeted as Esmeralda took a stool at the counter. "How was your night?"

"Interesting. Yours?"

"Busy," placing a glass of milk in front of Esmeralda and pulling the slice of pie from the case and slipping it into the warming oven. "Not that you can tell at the moment," indicating the fairly empty restaurant with a sigh. "Hey, Joe!" calling out to the grill cook. He peeked through the window with a frown on his face until he caught a glimpse of Esmeralda. Then he grinned and came out of the kitchen for a hug. The embrace was brief and Joe pulled back to peer at her.