She wasn't completely surprised to find the rest of the household there ahead of her - what did surprise her was the utter silence they were sitting in as well as the fact that *everyone* was there... including those on watch duty as well as Ame, who had been woken out of a sound sleep by Amber as soon as Charisma had gotten her family settled and crawled into bed herself. Now all eyes turned to Ruby, but before anyone could speak, she held up a hand.

"I know we need to talk; I just need a few minutes...please."

In answer, the rest turned back to their coffee. Amber poured Ruby a cup and set it down in front of her, squeezing her shoulder in support and understanding. Then she took her place leaning against the counter once more and waited for Ruby to speak.

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

Esmeralda leaned against the door, her hand over her mouth... though whether it was to keep from screaming or throwing up, she couldn't have rightly said. She breathed in, a sob settling in her chest as the aroma that was them settled into her lungs and on the back of her tongue. She wanted to rail and rage and scream at the unfairness... at the injustice of His action in taking Saphira away from her again despite everything. Instead, she shed her shoes and climbed into their bed, covering herself in Saphira's robe and wrapping herself around Saphira's pillow. Then Esmeralda closed her eyes and let the tears flow, never realizing when she fell asleep.

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

Okasa wasn't surprised to find Charisma in the kitchen when they finally arrived in Washington an hour or so before daybreak. It only took a glance to know that Charisma hadn't been to bed yet, but no amount of coaxing from Okasa was able to convince Charisma to lie down for just a little while. Finally, Patrick stepped in.

"Princess," garnering a small smile at the memories that moniker invoked. "You need some rest if you're going to be any good to anyone. Mama and I will be here if Adam gets up before Ame gets here and…. What?" asking when Charisma shook her head.

"Ame is already here."

"Of course... of course," Patrick agreed. "I wasn't thinking. However, we'll still be here when Adam and Ame get up. I'm pretty sure we can handle things for a little while so you can get some rest."

"Daddy...."

"Charisma, please don't be difficult about this. Mama and I will catch a little nap later today - while Adam is at school or when he gets a nap here... whatever," waving his hand dismissively. "Let us do this. We'll be there for you so you can be there for Esmeralda."

"Kent should be here shortly."

"And he knows how to find his way around, I'm sure," Patrick said with a teasing smile that Charisma couldn't begin to return. He wondered, but not enough to push at the moment. Instead, he put a hand on her back and gently guided her out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. "Go. We'll call you if we hear anything."

"What about the boys?"

"They'll be here for the service... as soon as we know when it is. Now go."

Charisma gave them one last look before she nodded, heading back upstairs to at least take a shower. Maybe that would help her feel a little more like a human being. She wondered how Esmeralda was doing and if Brianna had heard anything. She shook her head, knowing that if Brianna had heard something... anything, she'd have called. Despite their falling out - for lack of a better description - Charisma knew Brianna well enough to be sure of that.

Then she stripped down and stepped into the streaming water and put everything out of her mind for just a few minutes. Maybe it would make more sense if she just stopped thinking about it for a little while.

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

"Are you okay?" Kay asked Brianna as soon as the door was closed behind them. Brianna nodded and rubbed her itchy eyes. Every time she closed them, all she could see was the deadness she'd witnessed in Esmeralda's. It made her shiver again and Kay caught the slight movement. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around Brianna and held her while she cried.

Kay maneuvered them to the couch and they collapsed on it in a tangle of limbs. It was nothing they hadn't done before, but it wasn't anything they'd shared once they were no longer intimate. And though it felt a little strange and kind of awkward, it was also comfortable and familiar and Brianna took solace in the gesture.

In a few minutes, her tears slowed, and Brianna and Kay shifted until Kay held Brianna much as she would one of her children. She brushed a kiss over Brianna's brow and murmured, "You ready to talk about it now?"

Brianna snuggled her head under Kay's chin, and Kay tightened her arms reflexively. Brianna played with the tissue Kay had given her. "I'm not sure what there is to talk about, Kay - Saphira's dead."

"I know. And as sad as that fact is, I'm not sure I understand why this has made you as upset as it seems to. Is there something about you and Saphira that I should know?" Brianna jerked upright, nearly taking Kay's head off with her own in her haste. She glared at Kay, who visibly flinched at the fire being directed out her from Brianna's green eyes.

"You know me better than that, Kay - or at least you should. I don't date other peoples' wives. I'm not a home wrecker!!"

Kay held up a hand in surrender. "Hey! It was just a question; you're reacting pretty strongly for someone who was just a casual acquaintance. I'm trying to figure out how to help."

"She wasn't just a casual acquaintance, Kay - she was my friend... she and Esmeralda both. They treated me like family from the moment I met them." Brianna took a deep breath and the fire in her eyes was extinguished. "I think I'm mostly crying for Esmeralda. They were everything to one another, Kay. You didn't see how dead her eyes went when we discovered that Saphira was already gone."

"We'll be there for her as much as we can, Bri. But there's nothing we can do to make this better for her. This is something Esmeralda is going to have to learn to live without for the rest of her life... unless she decides that she is willing to settle for less than her mate."

Brianna shook her head. "She won't, Kay - you know that as well as I do after Thanksgiving. I'm not even sure she will live without this for very long."

"You think she's suicidal?" Kay asked with alarm.

"Not like you mean, no," Brianna responded sadly. "But I don't think the will to live will last for very long either. You haven't seen her, Kay - something in Esmeralda died when she got the news... and we didn't even know Saphira was dead yet."

"But Esmeralda did."

Brianna nodded. "It certainly seemed that way."

Kay bit her lips thoughtfully, then finally shifted until she and Brianna were standing side by side in front of the couch. "Lee and the kids will be here as soon as we know when the service is. But for now, I'm gonna tuck you into bed so you can get a little rest. Work will wait," Kay assured Brianna when Brianna opened her mouth to speak. "It's not like it's going to go anywhere and if it's urgent, someone will call. I'm perfectly capable of explaining there's been a death in the family."

They entered Brianna's bedroom and Kay tucked her in tenderly, brushing a kiss over her forehead before reaching to turn out the bedside lamp. Brianna stayed her action with a gentle grasp on her wrist and Kay looked at her with a question in her glance.

"Will you stay? Just until I fall asleep?" Brianna hated to appear so weak, but more than anything, she didn't want to be left alone. Without thought, Kay slipped off her shoes and lay down next to Brianna. She wrapped Brianna in a spooning embrace, then leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Go to sleep, Bri. I'll keep the bad dreams away."

"Thanks, Kay," Brianna answered on a sigh, and fell into sleep. Kay lay slightly beside her... keeping watch.

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

Ruby kept her eyes focused on her coffee cup as though it held the answers to all the questions she'd ever had about anything. Finally, though she blew out a breath and began to speak quietly. "I know everyone here is angry and frustrated and in mourning. So right here, right now, I'm offering every one of you the chance to speak without censure or prejudice. Once each of you has had your say, I'll say what I need to say and we'll move on. We have to," Ruby continued when she sensed their desire to argue. "Despite what we want or believe or feel at the moment, we still have a job to do. And there is NO WAY," looking up and pinning each of the others with a glare before she returned her gaze to her coffee cup, "Es is gonna suffer through this and us not finish what we started out to do."

"You really think we can?" Amber asked wearily, scrubbing at her eyes with the heels of her hands.

"I think we're so close, I can see it."

"Ruby, no offense, but we been this close for a while, and nothing has happened except one or the other of them walking away. Why do you think anything's going to change at this point?"

"I don't know that it will, Opal. But I can't just quit now. If I do... if *we* do, everything we've done, everything we've been through has all been for naught. And despite everything I'm feeling at the moment - and believe me, there's as much anger as there is sorrow - I have to believe it's got to count for something."

"And what about free will - *their* free will? They're the ones who've chosen this path. They don't want to be together! We can't MAKE them choose otherwise."

"No, we can't, Turq. But we can stay and do our jobs here until He calls us home. At least we'll be able to say we did everything we were supposed to... everything we could."

Amber chuckled sadly. "I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but Saphira was right - we should have just smacked their heads together to put some sense into them and been done with this months ago." The rest smiled wryly and nodded their agreement. "But Ruby is also right, much as it pains me to admit it. If we quit now, everything we've put up with will be wasted effort. Saphira will still be dead, Es will...." Amber looked down at the table and sucked in a shuddering breath. "I don't expect Es to survive this... I don't think any of us do." She looked up and met the eyes of each Angel gathered in the kitchen, seeing the truth of her words reflected back at her. "But even if she can't finish this assignment, it somehow feels like we'd be letting her down if we just quit now." She held up her hands before anyone could comment. "I know everyone here is frustrated beyond belief. And I know everyone would have preferred any number of things to have been handled differently... including His handling of Es and Saphira. Wanting doesn't change what is or what has already happened."

"So we just go on like what, Amber?" Turq asked with more than a hint of ire in her tone.

"We mourn Saphira - we remain steadfast for Es. We go on just like we have been - you keep driving; I'll keep watching; Opal will keep assisting and so on. When all is said and done, we'll be able to say we did our jobs. He won't be able to find fault with us."

"I'm not finding a lot of comfort in that right now."

"None of us are, Turq," Mal returned quietly. "But Es won't be able to find us lacking either, and for me, that's pretty important."

Ruby looked around the room and saw the silent agreement. She cleared her throat and waited until everyone was focused on her. "Well, Amber covered about everything I had to say. Does anyone else have anything they want or need to get off their chest about this?" Silence followed her query and Ruby nodded in satisfaction. "All right then - we've all got work to do. Amber, Coral and Mal - I think you should get back to your charges for now. I doubt anyone's going to be going anywhere this morning. The rest of you - go on upstairs and get some rest. If your bosses call, I'll let you know."

"What about you, Ruby?" Jade asked.

Ruby passed a hand over her eyes and shook her head. "I'm gonna stay down here and keep an ear out for Es. Matilda said the diner would remain closed until after the funeral."

"Wow," Jas commented softly. "Can they afford to do that?"

Ruby shrugged. "I wasn't gonna ask. She said they would do it for any death in the family." She sighed. "C'mon, you lot. Nothing is going to make this better. To bed with you," gesturing to one half of the Angels, "and back to work with the rest of you. Ame, are you...?"

Ame nodded. "I have to, since ostensibly I am already there. You'll let me know...?"