"Something like that takes a long time," Joe said from the kitchen window. "Months... years even, in some cases. At least she's getting better. There was a time we were worried that might not happen."

Saphira nodded. "Me too. Not sure what else I can do about it though." Matilda patted her hand before clearing away a stack of dirty dishes.

"You're doing fine, Saphira. You're her rock and that's the best you can do for her." A light tap on the door caught her attention and Matilda left the dishes to go look, grinning when Esmeralda smiled back at her. "Speak of the devil," she said as she opened the door and ushered Esmeralda into the warm diner. "How ya doing, Cutie? You look a little better than you did the other night."

Esmeralda put her hands on her hips and glared at Matilda, though her green eyes twinkled beguilingly. "I think I'm being insulted," she growled. "First I'm the devil and now I look bad?"

Matilda's eyes widened. "That's not what I said!" she protested, then caught sight of Esmeralda's smirk. She narrowed her eyes and then had to smile when Esmeralda laughed. "You like living dangerously, don't you?" she asked, then glanced at Saphira. "Nevermind," she continued dryly.

"HEY!" Saphira protested, then smiled when Esmeralda walked straight into her arms. Matilda just pointed a finger at her.

"Don't even bother. Now you two sit down and have a bite to eat before you head for home."

"Matilda...."

"Eh," holding up a single finger and halting Esmeralda's protest on her lips. "Do as I say, young lady. You're not gonna get sick again if I have anything to do with it. You got me?"

"Yes ma'am," Esmeralda acknowledged. "Thank you, Matilda."

"You and Saphira are like our own, Essie. Now sit up to the counter and tell me about your night. It had to be more interesting than the food fight we had here this evening."

"Food fight?" Esmeralda repeated, looking around at the spotless restaurant. Saphira snorted and shook her head.

"Don't let her fool ya, Sweetheart. Matilda put a stop to it so fast, those kids' eyeballs are probably still rolling around in their heads."

"Not to mention the bruises they're gonna have from being on their knees after cleaning up," Joe added as he set a plate between them and another for him and Matilda to share. "I've never seen anything so funny in my life."

"Why's that?" Esmeralda asked as she scooped up a forkful of mashed potatoes.

"Cause I made the parents get down there with 'em. The looks on their faces... priceless. But I betcha they never act like that in public again."

Saphira snorted again. "I betcha they never act like that ANYWHERE again." She turned to Esmeralda with a smirk. "Matilda threatened to turn them over to the Marines for discipline if they tried something that stupid in her sight again."

Esmeralda sighed. "And of course there's no video of this. That's way more interesting than my night - though I was apparently missed last night."

"You sure were, hon," Matilda assured her. "Both of you were. Now eat up. It's time for you two to get on home to bed."

"Us too, old woman."

"Watch who you're calling old woman there, old man."

Saphira and Esmeralda snickered and turned their attention to their food.


Chapter XXX

Saphira and Esmeralda were surprised to find Ruby waiting up for them when they got home. They immediately went into the living room to see what the problem was and Ruby motioned them to the couch opposite the chair she was occupying.

Ruby looked at them hard for several long, silent moments. Finally, Esmeralda couldn't stand it any more and moved to kneel beside Ruby, taking the worn hand in her own. She tilted her head in question.

"What is it, Ruby? What's wrong?"

She patted the hand that held hers, then gently cupped Esmeralda's face. "How are you, Es? Really?"

Esmeralda met Ruby's eyes and held them with her own. "I'm tired, Ruby," she replied honestly, "but I'm better than I was. I appreciate you working for Phira yesterday so she could stay home with me. I think that helped... a lot."

Ruby held Esmeralda's gaze for another long moment, then nodded her head slowly. "I wasn't looking for thanks, Es; I was glad to do it. You know that. You scared us yesterday - all of us... not just Saphira. Are you sure you're gonna be all right to finish this assignment?"

Esmeralda smiled gently and shook her head. "Only He knows that, Ruby. I can only take it one day at a time and do my best every day."

"That's as may be, young lady, but you're not to let yourself get run down like that again. If you need a break, you let us know so we can give one to you *before* you collapse. We're here to help... and to help you bear this burden. Let us."

"I'll try, Ruby. But so much of this sits on my shoulders and I've never...." She broke off and bit her lips before continuing. "I've never been in a position like this before - to where my health plays a role in how things get done."

"I know, honey. I know how you work. But you're gonna have to take it into account, because it does affect everything." She looked at Saphira whose head was down, hiding her eyes. "I know Amber is usually your second and she's exceptional at what she does, but you've got the best watching your back this time. She may not be a guardian, but Saphira has the strength to be the rock you need," smiling when Saphira's head popped up and she was pinned with blazing blue eyes. "Don't be afraid to utilize everything you've got. It's why we're here."

Esmeralda dropped her head into Ruby's lap, balancing her forehead on Ruby's knees. "I'm trying, Ruby. It's just hard."

Ruby trailed her hand through Esmeralda's messy blonde hair. "And you're exhausted. Are you sure you don't need a little more time off to recover?"

"I can't, Ruby. I feel like we're so close to a breakthrough. Once we get that, I think I'll be able to stop pushing so hard."

"Why?" Saphira asked unexpectedly. "Why do you think that a breakthrough is coming soon? And why will you get to slow down then?"

"It's hard to explain," Esmeralda said slowly. "It's one of those things I know because of my experience... you know, kind of like a gut feeling." She paused and looked at Saphira thoughtfully and smiled when Saphira nodded her understanding.

"So the fact that they're talking to one another again...?"

"That in and of itself is a huge breakthrough. But it's not enough - it's not the breakthrough we need. But it's progress."

"So how do you know you'll be able to ease up a little?"

Esmeralda smiled. "Because my job is to achieve that breakthrough. That's the objective here. After that...." She shrugged. "I can't force the results, Phira - you know that; none of us can."

"I know," Saphira answered with more than a hint of irritation in her tone. "I just...."

Esmeralda covered her hand. "I know, love. Soon... I promise," holding Saphira's eyes for another long moment before she turned back to Ruby. "Brianna is coming over on Sunday."

Ruby nodded her understanding. "I'll be here. Do you want the rest of the girls to go out?"

"Yeah - less questions that way."

"I'll take care of it. I'm sure they can find something to do in this town for a little while."

"Thanks, Ruby. Now shouldn't you be getting to bed? Morning will be here sooner than you want."

Ruby chuckled and shook her head. "Technically, morning's already here. And I always have to be up before I want to be anymore." She sighed dramatically. "I'm getting old. I need a vacation."

Esmeralda couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up from her chest. "You may need a vacation, but you're not getting old, Ruby."

Ruby snorted. "You're right. I hit old years ago," cackling at their smirks. She patted Esmeralda's hands, then rose and headed for the door. "Night girls."

"Night, Ruby," they called back quietly, watching her slip up the stairs to the room on the next floor. Saphira and Esmeralda remained still for another couple minutes, then Saphira offered Esmeralda her hand, smiling when she clasped it immediately.

"C'mon, Es. It's late and I'm tired."

Esmeralda yawned and gave in to Saphira's gentle tugging towards their bedroom. "Me too," she conceded. "Maybe the next couple days will be quiet." They exchanged glances.

"Nah," they agreed wryly, knowing the way things tended to go. Then they went into the bedroom and shut the door. They would worry about tomorrow on the morrow.

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

Except that the next couple days were completely quiet. Charisma and Brianna stuck to their schedules and routines, not once interacting with each other as their work didn't demand it. Charisma's staff breathed the smallest sigh of relief - it was nice to return to some semblance of the chaos that passed for normalcy in her office. And without Brianna in her sphere, Charisma found it easier to focus and maintain her professional demeanor. Brianna's staff, still feeling their way around their new boss, was just glad for the chance to watch her at work. Brianna may have been the new kid on this particular political block, but she had been around the type all her adult life and knew how to work a crowd to her advantage.

Indi and Opal spoke to Esmeralda briefly, giving her updates as they were preparing to abscond for the day, then leaving her to her work. Charisma and Brianna both chatted with her for a few minutes before heading off to their respective homes for the evening. Esmeralda made sure Brianna knew where she and Saphira lived so she would be able to find them on Sunday. But otherwise, everything remained status quo and so the week passed into the weekend.

When Sunday rolled around, Saphira rose early and slipped out of the room stealthily, determined to do the last-minute cleaning that needed to be done before Esmeralda woke to do it. She walked to the coffee pot and found it half-full and hot, so she went into the living room to see if she could discover what was going on. What she found was all their housemates doing a little bit each, making quick work of everything that needed to be done.

Ruby took one look at her gobsmacked expression and laughed, crossing the room to push Saphira's mouth closed. "Don't want you catching flies," she commented, chuckling again when Saphira cut her eyes and glared, then crossed her arms over her chest.

"There are no flies this time of year, Ruby."

Ruby snorted. "Figure of speech, Saphira. You looked like you got hit between the eyes."

"S'okay... I kinda feel that way at the moment. What are you all doing up so early? And how come I didn't hear you?"

The rest looked at her and smiled, then shook their heads and returned to their silent work. Ruby took her by the arm and led her back to the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator door and started pulling out stuff to make breakfast. Saphira took it from her as she handed it out, placing it on the counter and waiting for Ruby to speak.

Once she had everything she needed, Ruby shut the door and motioned to Saphira. Then together they started preparing breakfast for the crew. "Ruby?" Saphira coaxed as she set the first tray of bacon into the microwave and slid the biscuits into the oven.

Ruby looked up from her cutting board and shook her head. "Sorry - I was thinking ahead today. Remember, we're always up this early and you generally don't hear us. And we've all worked with Es before. We know what she likes and what she expects."

"I don't...."

"Angel or not, Es is a proud woman. And even though we are all neat and fastidious in our habits, the fact is that with a dozen women living here - give or take - the house is not always going to be as neat or as clean as we'd like it to be... especially when we're having company over. So the girls and I decided to take care of that this morning before they head out for the day. With that many women working together, it really doesn't take long."

Saphira held up the pot and Ruby nodded. She topped off their cups and started another pot brewing. Once it was underway, she started the eggs. If they had timed it right, breakfast would be ready just about the time that the girls were done with their cleaning. And it would still be warm when Amber and Coral returned.

"Has anyone heard from Mal?" Ruby asked. Saphira shook her head.

"No. She asked Es to give her a couple more days to pin some things down, so we should be hearing from her shortly." Saphira turned to the kitchen door as the troops wordlessly filed in just as she was taking the eggs off of the stove. They seated themselves and Ruby said grace, then they silently began to fill their plates.