Coral shook her head. "At lest we've got progress on the work front. Maybe it really will go swiftly from here so we can all go home soon."

"We can hope," Amber replied as she began moving the dishes to the sink and started running dishwater. Coral brought the rest of the plates, and they cleaned up together in silence. Then by unspoken mutual consent, they went into the tiny living room to sit for a while where they could watch over the rest of the sleeping household.


Chapter XXVI

"What do you mean you don't know where he is?" Opal hissed at Luke. He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest defensively.

"I mean," he returned with a growl, "I don't know where he is. We went to the men's room... he said he needed to use the restroom and I figured I'd better grab the chance to go as well." Luke shrugged. "I guess I took too long. When I came out of the stall, he was gone."

Opal took a deep breath and released it slowly. "All right - start looking... but you're going to be the one to explain it to Senator Tagherty if she asks."

"If I ask what?" Charisma said as she stepped from her office with several papers in her hand. She looked around. "Where's Adam?"

Luke scratched the back of his neck and looked down at the floor. "Well, you see Senator...." watching her eyes go wide in fear and alarm.

"Luke... where is my son?"

"See," Brianna's voice came from the doorway where she stood cradling Adam in her arms. Three heads swiveled in her direction. "I told you your mom was going to notice you'd gone missing." Luke slumped in relief and Opal blew out a nervous breath. Charisma stood stock-still, stunned by the picture of Brianna and Adam framed in the door.

Brianna had Adam on her hip and he had curled himself into her body. His head was tucked under her chin and his arms were wrapped around her neck. Even as Charisma watched, Brianna tried to lower Adam to the ground. Adam, however, was having none of it and tightened his grip.

"Whoa, little man - careful," Brianna instructed with a chuckle. "I still need to breathe." Adam tilted his head up at her and giggled. "Don't you want to go to your mom?" Adam shook his head and giggled again. Charisma cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head.

"What sort of magic have you worked on my son?" Brianna shook her head and shrugged. Charisma turned to Adam. "Son, we have to let Senator Walker go back to work. That means you have to let her go," seeing him shake his head and clutch Brianna tighter. Charisma moved closer to them, even as Brianna knelt and put Adam down on the floor.

"I'll make a deal, big guy. You let me go now and do my work, and if your mom says it's okay, we'll go for ice cream later, okay?"

Adam grinned and nodded, then ran to his mother and wrapped his arms around her leg, looking up at her with bright blue eyes. "Pwease?"

Charisma pushed Adam's dark hair out of his eyes. "We'll see," she promised. "But you have to stay here and not run off like that again, all right? You scared mama."

Adam tilted his head. "Mama okay?"

Charisma smiled. "Mama's fine, son." She turned back to Brianna as she rose to her feet again. "Thank you for bringing my son back to me."

"It was my pleasure," Brianna assured Charisma. She looked at Adam. "It was nice to meet you, Adam."

"Br'anna good," he declared with a smile. Brianna returned his grin and left without another word. Charisma turned back to her office staff.

"Does someone want to tell me what just happened here?"

"Br'anna good," Adam reiterated. Charisma looked down at him and brushed his hair back again.

"She is, huh?" smiling when Adam nodded vigorously. "All right. Adam, you stay here with Luke, okay? Luke, try to keep up with my son this time. Opal, you're with me." Adam went to the couch and Luke went back behind his desk. Opal and Charisma went into Charisma's office and things settled down again.

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

"So really... what sort of hex did you put on my son?" Charisma's tone was a little accusatory when she and Brianna sat down with their ice cream some time later. Adam had curled up beside Brianna as a matter of course and pulled Charisma down into the chair beside them.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Ri. I haven't done anything. Why do you ask?" trying not to lose her temper at the perceived indictment in Charisma's voice.

"Adam doesn't trust easily, and yet he warmed up to you immediately." She paused and took a bite of ice cream. "How did you end up with him anyway?" narrowing her eyes in question.

Brianna and Adam looked at each other and Brianna chuckled. "We found each other in the hallway, didn't we buddy?" waiting for Adam to nod. She turned her attention back to Charisma. "I was returning from a meeting and met Adam coming out of the men's room. Since I was pretty sure you didn't want him wandering around the building by himself, I figured I'd better bring him back to you."

"And he just came to you?" slight suspicion still in her tone.

Brianna tilted her head, sucking the ice cream from her spoon as she pondered her answer. "Not exactly. I knelt down to speak to him... you know, at his level. He came close enough to look me in the eyes, staring at me for a very long time before he wrapped his arms around my neck." She looked back at Charisma. "Are you saying that isn't normal for him?"

"Not at all. He's not friendly to strangers and it generally takes him a long time to warm up to people. It was three days after he was born before he let his father near him without screaming bloody murder." A beat. "Maybe he's another sucker for green eyes," Charisma muttered under her breath, remembering Adam's similar response to Esmeralda.

"Excuse me?" Brianna said, her green eyes widening, not quite sure she'd heard Charisma correctly. It was the nicest thing Charisma had said to her since they'd said goodbye in Barcelona.

Charisma, on the other hand, seemed to realize she'd stepped beyond some self-imposed line and withdrew immediately. "I'm sorry," she said as she scrambled to stand up and reached for Adam's hand. "That was untoward of me. If you'll excuse us...." she continued awkwardly. "Thank you for the ice cream."

"Charisma...?"

"Mama? NO!" Adam screamed loudly enough to draw the attention of the whole dining room as he pulled away from Charisma and curled up tighter into Brianna. Before Charisma could react, Brianna moved Adam to her lap, wiping away the ice cream on his face.

"It's okay, little man. I'm sure your mama will let you take your ice cream with you and you can come see me again sometime, all right?"

Adam studied Brianna's face carefully, then gently patted her face. "Br'anna good," giving her a smile that Brianna returned wholeheartedly. Adam laughed.

"Good boy. You go with your mama now." He wrapped his arms around Brianna's neck and gave her a sloppy kiss before turning back to Charisma and extending his arms.

"Mama... up!" he commanded with a grin. Charisma hefted him into her arms.

"I'm sorry, Brianna. I can't do this... not even for Adam. Especially for Adam," she added, then she and Adam made their way out of the dining room. Brianna watched them go as tears formed in her eyes, though she refused to let them fall. When Charisma's back disappeared through the door, Brianna returned her attention to her ice cream, determined to finish it quickly and continue on with her schedule. She still had one more meeting to attend before she could call it quits for the day.

"I wouldn't take it personally," one of the other Senators in the room instructed her as he crossed to stand beside her table. "Senator Tagherty is known for her aloofness, so the fact that she spent any time at all with you while she had her son with her is nothing short of amazing." He glanced at the empty chair, then looked at her questioningly. Brianna studied him a moment longer and nodded her head. He took the seat across from her and extended his hand. "Senator Scott Patterson. You're the new Senator... Brianna Walker, right?"

Brianna nodded, shaking his hand briefly before turning back to her ice cream. Patterson nodded his head and sat back to allow the server to pour him a cup of coffee. He prepared it as Brianna continued eating her ice cream. She took her time, wondering what this Senator wanted with her and she figured that patience on her part would garner her more satisfactory results. He was the first to break the silence.

"So how are you settling in, Senator Walker? Think you could get to like it here?"

"I find Washington an interesting place," Brianna replied calmly. Patterson's brows went into his hairline when she didn't continue.

"That's it? That's all you've got to say? Do you realize how many people would love to be where you are?"

"Senator Patterson, I don't want to be rude, but do you have a point?"

He shook his head. "Not really," he confessed. "Just trying to get to know you a little bit, Senator Walker. After all, you don't want to get a reputation like your fellow Senator, do you?"

"I don't know, Senator. I haven't heard anything about the reputation Senator Tagherty has here. I know that for a politician she is considered well-liked and respected at home."

"She's well-liked and respected here... at least in the political arena. On a personal level, not so much."

"And does the personal level matter?" Brianna asked with a confused frown. "I thought we were here to do a job. That makes this professional."

"You're new - you'll learn. There are certain rules and protocols around here that can't be ignored if you want to get ahead. Senator Tagherty has big ambitions, and while she doesn't have any real enemies, she doesn't have any real friends either. Her entire state may be behind her, but she'll never get any further with her political pursuits if she doesn't have any friends behind her here."

"What do you mean?"

Patterson shrugged. "Having friends makes the professional side a little easier."

"I see," Brianna replied as she stood, prompting Patterson to stand as well. "I'll keep that in mind," she said as she headed out the door.

"It was nice to meet you," Patterson offered.

"I'm sure it was," Brianna responded with a smirk, then disappeared without another word. Patterson watched her go and shook his head, then took his coffee and turned to go back to his own office.

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

"So, how were things tonight?" Saphira asked when Esmeralda was seated at the counter with a plate of food in front of her and a cold glass of milk. Esmeralda immediately shifted half the food onto another plate and pushed it over in front of Saphira. Saphira picked up her fork and started eating.

"Quiet," Esmeralda confessed in a whisper. "Brianna was long gone of course, though Indi was still there. She gave me a quick overview of the day."

"Es?" Saphira prompted when Esmeralda grew pensively silent. Esmeralda gave a look around the nearly empty diner, then shook her head. "Later?" Saphira asked, getting the barest nod in response.

"Apparently, Charisma had some sort of human resources issue today," Esmeralda went on in a more normal tone. "Her son was at work with her."

"Oh, that must have been interesting," Matilda said as she came out of the kitchen. She looked back at Joe who gave her a grin as he shook his head. "We had a few experiences like that back in the day."

"Well, according to a few of the staff of several of the senators that were still working, it made for a noteworthy day anyway."

Matilda chuckled. "I'll bet it did." She looked a little closer at Esmeralda and frowned. "Are you all right, Es? You look a little tired to me," putting her hand on Esmeralda's forehead.

"I am tired," Esmeralda agreed, patting Matilda's hand. "Our roommates woke us up very early this morning."

Matilda scowled. "Do they not understand you're recovering from a serious illness?" She turned to Saphira and glared. "You need to do something about this." Saphira's eyes widened and she looked at Esmeralda. Es smiled at her and turned her attention back to Matilda.

"It's all right, Matilda... honestly. They are aware of my situation and usually they are very considerate about being quiet in the mornings - just like Saphira and I are late at night when we get home. But there was an accident this morning; it kinda threw everything into chaos."

Matilda's eyes widened and she looked between them. "Is everyone all right?"