Charisma was also on a routine very similar to Brianna's, though she did not always remain in the office in the evenings anymore. Laura had convinced her to get out and mingle with her colleagues more often, for although Charisma had the backing of several of the major players in the Senate, if she was serious about making a run for the White House, she was going to need more movers and shakers in her corner when the time came. Still, she made time to be on hand two or three nights a week to talk to Esmeralda. She found her days and weeks tended to go much smoother when they shared a bit of girl talk together. It wasn't as though they talked about anything pressing or important, but just having that time with one another gave Charisma immeasurable comfort.

So it was that several weeks after Charisma's talk with Brianna in regards to her involvement with the Tagherty family, both Senator Walker and Senator Tagherty were waiting in their offices for Esmeralda to arrive. Though Esmeralda was quiet, she could be heard making her way along the hallway slowly if you knew what to listen for, and both Brianna and Charisma did. And they were both in their offices, patiently waiting, when the sound of a ruckus brought them out into the hallway.

Esmeralda had completed almost half the offices on the floor, when Rick emerged from the elevator almost running, and calling out her name far louder than the decorum of this place demanded. Esmeralda turned to shush him, but one glimpse at his face made the blood drain from her own face and her legs shake. She grabbed the cleaning cart for support and waited for Rick to reach her.

By that point, not only had Brianna and Charisma made it to their hall doors, but so had the other few Senators who were also working late. They all stood back waiting to see what had brought Rick, who up to that moment had been a quiet, by-the-book individual, running and yelling through the halls of the Senate office building. He didn't even notice them he was so focused on Esmeralda.

When he reached her, she clutched at his arm with one hand, knowing whatever he had to say didn't bode well for her. Then the words came out of his mouth, and only his grip on her kept her from falling to the floor.

"Es, it's Saphira. She's...." He stopped and shook his head, willing the tears not to come. She gripped his arm tighter and he struggled not to wince at the pain. Instead he focused on what he needed to say. "I don't have any details - all I know is she was just rushed to the hospital at Georgetown. Es... they don't expect her to make it."

Esmeralda stared at Rick like he was speaking a foreign language - a fact that should have been funny given the number of languages she was fluent in. But it wasn't funny and it didn't change the fact that she was having trouble processing what he had said.

Fortunately, Charisma and Brianna recognized the signs of shock and took charge as a team much in the same manner they had done during their college years. Charisma called Turq to pick them up immediately while Brianna called for a police escort to get them to the hospital as quickly as possible. One of the other Senators had gotten Esmeralda a glass of water and another brought out a chair for her to sit in. Charisma called Matilda and Brianna called the hospital and as soon as Turq beeped that the car was out front, they got one on either side of Esmeralda and headed for the elevator. "Rick, you'll take care of things here?"

"You don't be worrying none about that, Senator Tagherty. We'll take care of this business. You just look out for Es and let us know...."

"We will," Brianna assured him as the doors closed.

They were seated in the back of Charisma's limousine with Esmeralda between them when the startling sound of sirens brought Esmeralda's head up. There were no tears - there was nothing at all. And that look scared both Charisma and Brianna, causing them to exchange worried glances.

"What did Matilda say?" Brianna asked.

"Not much - it was hard to make sense of what she was saying. Apparently Saphira just collapsed... no warning, no nothing. Joe called the paramedics while Matilda called Rick. What did the hospital say?"

"Only that things looked grave."

"Why this?" Esmeralda whispered, so softly both Charisma and Brianna nearly missed her words. "Why now?" She looked up, eyes unseeing on the roof of the car. "You can't need her more than I do - You don't love her like I love her!!! WHY??" almost screaming. "Why are you doing this??"

Brianna grasped Esmeralda's hands and Charisma cupped her face. "Es... ES... ESMERALDA!" blowing lightly into Esmeralda's face to force her to take a deep breath. "C'mon now - you need to stay with us here. We'll be with you every step of the way... no matter what. But you need to stay here with us now, all right?"

Esmeralda looked between them and blinked, then looked between them again, actually seeing them this time. Brianna gently chafed some warmth back into her ice-cold hands and Charisma's thumbs gently traced over her cheekbones. Esmeralda looked at them a final time before closing her eyes and swallowing hard. "All right," she whispered.

Then they were pulling up into the emergency room entrance, and that started a whole new commotion.

Their arrival, precipitated by the police escort, caused an immense amount of confusion and upset and angered a number of medical personnel. That in turn caused the nurse at the desk to refuse to give Esmeralda any information, claiming her right to be recognized as Saphira's mate was irrelevant. Even protestations from both Brianna and Charisma did nothing to get them the information they needed.

In something of a daze, Esmeralda left them arguing with the desk nurse while she went to sit in the waiting room. The charge nurse had just come out from the back and noticed the lost, forlorn look Esmeralda wore and put the chart she was looking at in its appropriate spot before walking around the commotion at the desk and wandering over to take a seat beside Esmeralda on one of the hard chairs.

"You okay?" knowing it was a stupid question, but needing something to open the conversation with.

"No," Esmeralda replied starkly. "She's gone and they won't even let me see her to say goodbye."

The charge nurse covered Esmeralda's cold hands and turned to face her more directly. "Who?"

Esmeralda turned and met the nurse's compassionate brown eyes with empty green ones. It was all the nurse could do to contain her gasp. "My mate... Saphira."

"Are you Esmeralda?" The blonde head nodded. The nurse made a decision. "Come with me," rising and offering Esmeralda her hand. Esmeralda looked at her a long moment before comprehension dawned. She took the nurse's hand and let her lead her to the back.

Meanwhile, Charisma and Brianna had tired of dealing with the bigotry of the desk nurse and they'd each placed a phone call that caused the hospital switchboard to light up like a Christmas tree. Only once they were off the phone did they realized they had somehow lost Esmeralda, but before they could cause even more of a disturbance, the charge nurse returned and took them both by the elbows... despite their protests.

"Do you know...?"

"Who do you think...?"

"Before either of you finish those thoughts, Senators," the nurse said firmly, "I'd like to remind you that this is a hospital and there is such a thing as bad publicity in politics." They exchanged glances and immediately deflated. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry, Nurse...." Charisma paused and looked at the woman's nametag. "I'm sorry, Nurse Walters," Charisma apologized with Brianna nodding her affirmation. "Nurse Ratched over there is being impossible about letting Esmeralda back to see Saphira and on top of that, we seem to have lost Esmeralda as well." Charisma pushed her hands through her hair and took a deep breath in an effort to bring herself under control. Brianna reflexively placed a calming hand on Charisma's back and the effect was instantaneous as both women perceptibly relaxed. Nurse Walters noticed but didn't comment, focusing instead on easing their minds in her own way. But first....

"May I ask how you two are related to either Esmeralda or Saphira?"

Brianna and Charisma looked at one another before Brianna said, "They are very dear friends... almost like family."

"They ARE family, if you ask my mother," Charisma added when Nurse Walters frowned.

"Then perhaps you should be making phone calls instead of upsetting the entire trauma department." Walters held up her hands before they could object. "I understand you're just looking out for Esmeralda, but she's already in the back with Saphira... saying her goodbyes," she added when they opened their mouths to speak. "So maybe you might want to start taking care of the things that need to be done... to ease Esmeralda's burden a little." And with those parting words, Nurse Walters turned and headed to the desk, ready to remind the nurse there what being a caring professional entailed.

Brianna and Charisma stared at one another, equally ashamed of the uproar they'd caused and dismayed at the fact that Esmeralda was suddenly without her other half. Still, the charge nurse had made an excellent point - there were others that needed to be called and made aware of the situation and there were any number of things that could be taken care of without Esmeralda's input.

"I'll call Mama," Charisma offered quietly. Brianna nodded.

"I'll try to get in touch with Ruby, then see if I can locate Matilda and Joe. I thought they'd have been here by now." Brianna looked around. "C'mon... we're really not supposed to use these in here and there's not really a reason to upset the applecart any more than we've done already. Besides, I'm sure Nurse Walters will come find us if Es comes out before we're done and I need some air."

Charisma nodded. "I'm with you." They turned and together walked out the emergency room doors. Charisma took a deep breath, then winced at the scent of oil and gasoline and stale cigarettes. "Do you really think she will?"

Brianna looked up, frowning. She'd been engrossed trying to figure out where to call next if Ruby didn't answer at Esmeralda's home. "Do I think who really will what?" she finally asked, shifting her attention back to Charisma and the conversation at hand.

"Do you really think Esmeralda will really leave Saphira's side before she's made to - even if she's already... you know, gone?"

"I think when the time comes, we're going to need every ounce of persuasiveness to get her to leave, so make your call. We're going to need everyone on our side we can get."

Charisma nodded her agreement and pressed a button before lifting the phone to her ear. This was one phone call she'd never expected to make. Then Okasa was picking up the receiver and Charisma turned away from Brianna to relay the wretched news to her family.

Brianna meanwhile had dialed Esmeralda's, hoping beyond hope that Ruby was home and awake... or at least close enough to a phone to answer it. She still had no idea where else to try if Ruby wasn't home. Then all her worries were invalidated when a sleepy voice picked up the receiver.

"'lo?"

"Hello, Ruby? This is Brianna Walker."

The change in Ruby's voice was abrupt and Brianna could hear her throwing the covers back and rising from the bed. "Senator Walker?" her voice was calm, though Brianna detected the slightest hint of a tremor. "What's wrong? Has something happened to Esmeralda?"

"Es is fine," Brianna assured Ruby, hearing her sigh of relief. "Ruby... it's Saphira. We're here with Es at Georgetown University. I don't have any answers yet, but it doesn't look very good at all. I thought you'd want to know, since you're their family."

"You're right... I would," wondering why Turq hadn't called. "It's going to take me a little while to get there, but I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I'll have Jas come and pick you up, Ruby; don't you worry about that."

"Thank you, Senator. I'll see you soon." And the line went dead before Brianna could respond. Ruby looked around her room, filled to its tiny brim with nosy, concerned Angels.

"Ruby?" Indi asked. The older Angel held up a hand and shook her head, silently asking for a moment. Jas' phone rang and she answered it, her replies brief to the barked out instructions on the other end. When she was done, she hung up and all eyes turned back to Ruby.

"You wanna tell me what *that* was all about?" Jas asked looking at Ruby.