Charisma moved back over and knelt at Brianna's side. "Trust me when I tell you that this play of yours is going to go off without a hitch, and if you're not careful, you're going to become a sought-after playwright instead of a kick-ass attorney."

"Oh... no way!" Brianna exclaimed, pushing their previous conversation out of her mind. She rose to her feet and pulled Charisma up to stand beside her. "I have worked too damn hard for that law degree to let the lure of the theatre sway me now!" shaking her fist at the ceiling.

Charisma snorted. "Um... you don't think *that* was a little theatrical?"

"Nah," Brianna said with a straight face, though her eyes twinkled merrily. "That was aggressive posturing."

"Oh, is that what they're calling it in your law class now?"

"Well, no," Brianna replied sheepishly. "Professor Hayes calls it theatrics, but she has admitted their effectiveness in the courtroom if used sparingly and to good effect."

"So she approves of your drama classes now?" remembering the sarcasm Brianna had been subjected to by that particular professor for her choice of minors.

"Hardly, though at this point I think it has become more of a teasing argument than anything else. Why would she bother to attend every new performance I am a part of at least once?"

"Perhaps she is a theatre lover like I am."

Brianna pouted. "And here I thought you came just for me." Her eyes slid to the clock. "Shit! I'm gonna be late! You've got this?" motioning around the kitchen. Charisma rolled her eyes.

"I've got this. G'wan... get out of here before Professor Mac sends out a search party for you. You know the roommate is always the most likely suspect."

Brianna laughed and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "If your study group finishes early, drop by the theatre. You can have a sneak peek at what the piece you read at the beginning of the term has evolved into."

"That different, huh?"

Brianna opened the door. "You tell me. See you later?"

"Yeah... wait for me. We'll go for ice cream or beer when rehearsal's over."

Brianna made a face and crossed the threshold into the breezeway. "Hopefully not together. Bye, Ri."

"Later, Bri."

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

Now, I know what you're thinking - you're thinking that Charisma's and Brianna's little discussion about loving another woman made them self-conscious about one another and drove them apart. Actually, it didn't. It opened up their communication with one another even more, though that particular subject never came up again. That is the main reason Rafe missed the importance of it.

He, like you, expected things to be awkward and for it to put distance between them immediately and when that didn't happen, he disregarded it as a fluke.

For our two players in this little drama, however, it was anything but a fluke, and eventually, it would have far-reaching consequences.

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

"Brianna Brianna, that was amazing!!" Charisma exclaimed as she wrapped her best friend in a tight hug. "Are you sure you're destined to be a lawyer?"

"That's what I keep asking her," Professor Mac MacAvoy commented as he walked up behind the two women grinning like a maniac. "She has a real gift for storytelling."

"All the better to convince a jury of her position in court, Mac. Leave my star student alone and get your own protйgй," Janice Hayes commented to Mac with a smile. Brianna just blushed at the perceived rivalry over her between her two most important professors.

"I have one - she just has to get the law bug out of her system first."

"All right, you two," Charisma cut in. "That's enough. You're embarrassing Brianna and this is her night."

Mac and Janice looked at the two young women with surprise, then they exchanged glances. "You're right, Charisma," Mac said with a charming smile. He turned to Brianna. "Fabulous effort, my dear. Absolutely exceptional work. I think it's safe to say your grade for the year is in the bag. And if you should ever change your mind on making drama your major...."

"Thanks, Prof," Brianna said with a smile.

"It really was wonderful, Ms Walker. I enjoyed it very much. Now, don't you have an opening night party to be the center of attention at?"

"As a matter of fact.... Thanks, Professor Hayes." The two young women made their way out the theatre door under the watchful eyes of the two teachers.

"Okay... that was pretty cool, Brianna Brianna. Why are you shaking?"

"That was the most nerve-wracking thing I have ever been through."

"But...?"

"It really was pretty cool. Nice to know the profs probably won't fail me."

Charisma snorted. "Not that that was even a possibility with your grades, Bri. Now c'mon... let's go celebrate your success with your colleagues for a little while. I'll make sure you get home before you crash or go crazy."

"Glad you've got my back, Ri."

"Always, Brianna Brianna."

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

Brianna's play was the hit of season, but despite Mac's greatest efforts and most eloquent pleas, she continued on her chosen path to law school.

When commencement rolled around, there were a number of tears and hugs between Charisma and Brianna as they packed up four years of living together. A lot of their time was spent reminiscing over the good times they had shared and the bad times they had helped one another through.

"You know," Charisma said, laughing through their latest round of tears. "We're acting like we're never going to be together again."

"Ri, we probably won't be together again... at least not like this. I mean, I'm heading off to law school in September and you'll be headed to DC to start your political career as a White House aide. You're going to do big things, you know, and I expect to be invited to the Inaugural Ball when you become President."

"Invited? I expect you to attend as a member of my new cabinet if not as my running mate!"

"You've got yourself a date, President Tagherty." Charisma grinned at Brianna's words.

"I like the sound of that." Brianna chuckled.

"Somehow I figured you might. But you see what I mean?"

Charisma sighed. "Yeah, I know. But we've got mail and phone and if Bill is telling the truth, we'll soon be using a computer to keep in touch."

"That could be pretty cool... if he can make it work."

"In the meantime, we have one more trip to take together and this time, we have almost three months. I plan to make a lifetime of memories with my best friend."

"That sounds great, but we gotta finish packing up all this stuff first," Brianna said, motioning to the mess still scattered around the room.

"Always something getting in the way of our fun," Charisma grumbled. "C'mon... before my parents get here and Mama decides she needs to help." Brianna's eyes widened. She loved Okasa Tagherty as much as she did her own mother, but she knew exactly what would happen if Okasa took a notion to help.

"I'm on it," and soon the two were working in tandem once more, packing up four years of life together.

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

I'm going to pause right here because the next bit is going to be a bit involved and you probably need a break at this point to review all the evidence so far. Can you see what we missed? Is it apparent to you what is happening... what has already happened between Charisma and Brianna?

It is so obvious to me now - the signs were there. They were just so subtle, so innocuous that they were impossible to see until it was too late and I was called in on a salvage operation. Sometimes I wonder if there was any way to keep this from becoming a salvage operation, but I guess we'll never know now.

Now the only thing I can do is give my best effort to fix this cluster.


Chapter III

You want to know one of the most interesting things about being a guardian angel - especially a guardian angel on clean-up detail? I spend time in the world of men as a human being. And while it's generally not glamorous, it is fascinating. I get to interact with a number of people on a more personal level - something I find intriguing. Human beings are so different from angels... so different from one another, and yet you are all the same as well. Not in a bad way. All of you think and feel and bleed and breathe, and those are good things. True, there are varying degrees of success in the thinking and feeling departments, but that is part of what makes you all human. It is one of the reasons guardian angels stay so busy, though thankfully, I am not called upon too often - only in cases of dire need. But when I am, it gives me a chance to be a part of the world.

Why am I telling you this? This is very rare for me - both the opportunity to be part of the human experience as well as the drama involved in this particular situation. You have to understand - until recently, we never had drama in heaven. That thing with Lucifer doesn't count. He was a moron, and frankly, most of us were glad to see the obnoxious prick go. The other - that's personal and a story for another time. Maybe I'll share it with you one day.

For now, however, let me briefly take you back to the present day Charisma Tagherty. I need you to see where she is before I can take you back to where we were. Don't worry - we will go back. There's still a lot more ground we have to cover.

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

"Senator Tagherty?" When there was no answer, Esmeralda stuck her head into the office, noting the dark head bent over a file on the desk. A single lamp near her left elbow provided the only illumination in the room, its small circle of light leaving the rest of the room in virtual darkness. "Charisma?" Esmeralda called out again, knowing no one was around to object to the familiarity in which she referred to the senator.

Charisma's head popped up at the sound of her name - so few people actually referenced her as anything besides her title. It had been one reason, though not the only one, that she'd given Esmeralda leave to do so. She had no problem skirting protocol and getting right to the heart of things. A smile formed on Charisma's face and she beckoned Esmeralda into her office.

"Come in, Es. How are you? How's the family?"

Esmeralda pushed her cleaning cart ahead of her into the room, then walked around the desk to greet the now standing senator with a brief, fierce hug that was returned wholeheartedly. Then Charisma motioned to the chairs across the desk from hers and resumed her seat.

Esmeralda accepted the unspoken invitation and took a chair across from Charisma, who sat waiting with her arms propped on the desk and an expectant expression on her face. "Well? How are you?" she repeated when Esmeralda didn't reply immediately. "How's the family? We've missed you around here."

"I'm doing much better, Sen... Charisma," she corrected herself when Charisma held up a hand to do so. "It's slow progress, but at least it's progress. And Saphira has been so patient with me."

"She loves you, Es. Why wouldn't she be?"

Esmeralda shook her head. "The last few months have been so hard...."

"Yes, but isn't that when love becomes the strongest?"

"Thankfully in our case - yes. Sometimes though... so many times I've seen something like this break up a couple. But she has been my rock."

"And you've been hers as well, I'll bet."

"As much as I can. It's nice to get back to work, though."

"Well, you've definitely been missed around here."

"And how would you know?" Esmeralda asked archly. "You're not supposed to be here this late. Aren't you supposed to be home with your family at this time of day?"

For the first time, Charisma's eyes shuttered and her head dropped. Esmeralda stood from her chair and walked around the desk to kneel at Charisma's side.

"Talk to me, Charisma. What troubles you, my friend?"

Charisma smiled weakly at the address Esmeralda used. "You're one of the few friends I have ever had, Es. Almost everyone I know is a colleague or an employee or an acquaintance. I hope Saphira knows how lucky she is to have you."

"We're lucky to have one another, Charisma, but that is not answering my question, is it? Is there something I can help with... something I can do to make things better?"

"Why would you want to, Esmeralda? Do you think you can get something out of me?"

The attack was unexpected and green eyes burned brightly with anger. Charisma was visibly startled. She'd never seen Esmeralda anything but helpful and friendly to everyone and her rage was shocking. She watched in fascination as Esmeralda deliberately put her anger aside and returned her eyes to meet Charisma's squarely. "I think you know how unfair that was," Esmeralda said softly. "But I'm guessing the reason behind it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with whatever it is that is bothering you."