"A handler?" Charisma asked distractedly.

"Someone who can manage people who are of an age to be considered legal adults," Saphira replied dryly. "But of a mindset to think that they are still children."

Brianna chuckled. "Hey! That sounds like a lot of people *I* know... most of them in the capital," she added with a smirk. Charisma laughed.

"I think I know some of them as well." She turned to Esmeralda and tilted her head. "How are you doing, Es? We've kept you pretty busy this weekend... especially for someone who's supposed to be resting and recovering."

"I'm good, Charisma... really good. Okasa has made sure I haven't overdone and...."

"Yeah - I probably should have warned you about that," smiling when two sets of eyebrows shot into dark and light hairlines even as Brianna nodded her agreement to Charisma's unfinished statement. "Mama has a tendency to mother everyone. Age doesn't matter in this house - you visit the Tagherty household, Mama keeps an eye on you. You become family. Well, now you have another Mama. And she will always treat you like you're her kid."

"Yeah... I figured that out when she threatened me with warm milk," chuckling at Brianna's automatic wince of disgust. "But it's... nice. It's nice to belong to a family who looks out for one another."

Saphira nodded. "This is a good family to belong to, and we're both glad you invited us to join you this weekend."

"We're glad you came," Charisma assured them both. "But ask Brianna - you're in now, so that means you're stuck with the lot of us for a very long time. Like the rest of your lives long."

"She's right," Brianna agreed with a firm nod of her head. "Holidays, birthdays, oddball get-togethers in the summer - you'll be expected to be here for every single one of them," watching their eyes widen in dismay and wracking her brain for what she could have said to achieved that particular response. Then she nearly slapped herself stupid as realization dawns. "Or as many as you can manage to get here for. We've all missed a few things because of work obligations - Mama understands. She doesn't like it, but she does understand." She sighed as she watched them visibly relax.

"We'll try," Esmeralda said softly. Saphira nodded but didn't say anything, knowing Esmeralda wasn't finished. "I can't tell you what this weekend has meant to both of us. And I really do feel... so much better. Not sure what it is that made the difference or if it has just been the whole experience, but it's amazing to feel... good again."

"So that means when I get back into town, we can have our girls' day, right?" Charisma asked, looking between Brianna, Esmeralda and Saphira. They exchanged glances and shrugged.

"Sure," Brianna said casually. "Why not? Do you know when you want to shoot for?"

"Let me check my calendar tonight and we can set it up in the morning before you three head back." She glanced at the clock. "And speaking of... does anyone want to come down to the kitchen with me for one of the last slices of chocolate cake before bed?"

Saphira nudged Esmeralda into a sitting position, then Charisma took one proffered arm while Brianna took the other. Soon the four of them were comfortably ensconced around the kitchen table with plates of cake and glasses of milk, laughing like nobody's business.

Okasa peeked in on them from the doorway, then headed upstairs with a smile on her face. Maybe everything will finally work out, she thought. She had no way of knowing what was headed their way.


Chapter LXV

Ruby and the others were waiting at the house for them when they returned home, so the next couple of weeks saw something of their normal routine return to Esmeralda's and Saphira's household. Saphira and Ruby went back to their scheduled shifts at the diner and everyone else except Esmeralda took one of the round-the-clock ethereal guardian shifts on Brianna and Charisma. To keep either mortal woman from 'feeling' the presence of someone known to them on the corporeal plane, Brianna's office staff kept tabs on Charisma, and Charisma's staff did the same for Brianna. All except for Ame - who had reported back to her job after the holiday was over and Kent returned to the City; and Mal - who like the rest had been called Home, but had yet to return to her assignment.

Esmeralda wondered what was up with that - she didn't have the staff necessary to keep up with Kent without Mal. She was hoping they would hear something from Mal sooner rather than later. She was getting more than a little antsy, despite what were becoming weekly calls from Brianna, Charisma and Okasa keeping her abreast of a lot of what was going on.

So she was thrilled when, as the third week approached, she opened the front door one afternoon to find Mal on the other side. She smiled when she noticed Mal had remembered her gloves, and when Mal followed her gaze, she chuckled lightly and shrugged. Then she allowed Esmeralda to pull her inside the house and close the door firmly behind her.

Mal stripped off her gloves and hung up her coat, then shadowed Esmeralda to the kitchen, gratefully accepting a mug of hot chocolate. She sniffed deeply before sipping, then met Esmeralda's eyes with a grin. "I have missed your hot chocolate, Es. You must be feeling better. But, um... where is everyone?"

"Saphira's already left for work; Ruby's not home yet; Jade went to pick up some groceries; Coral and Amber are both upstairs asleep; Ame's with Adam; Turq and Jas are out driving; and Indi and Opal are guarding Charisma and Brianna respectively. So it's just you and me here at the moment."

"Good... that's good."

"So what's up?" Esmeralda asked Mal directly, forcing green eyes to meet her own. Mal bit her lip and Esmeralda extended a hand, waiting until Mal accepted it before she pulled them towards the living room. Once they were seated, Esmeralda patted the hand she held. "Tell me."

"I have a question first," Mal stated and waited for Esmeralda to signal her continuance. When Esmeralda nodded, Mal nodded back and took a deep breath. "Have I missed anything... something important? Like something big happening between Charisma and Brianna?"

Esmeralda blinked. "You mean like them...?"

"I mean like them screwing around together or declaring their undying love for one another or something equally momentous."

Esmeralda cleared her throat. "No - not unless it's been within the last few hours. Amber and Coral didn't mention anything, and neither did either Charisma or Brianna when they called."

"Were they together?"

"Excuse me?" Esmeralda frowned.

"Charisma and Brianna - were they together when they called?"

"I'd have to go with no," Esmeralda replied slowly. "For one thing they didn't call at the same time, and for another, Charisma is still out of town as far as I know and Brianna's here." She angled her head slightly and cocked an eyebrow. "What's this about, Mal? What happened? And where is Kent?"

"Jade is keeping an eye on him for me - I caught her on her way to the store," she said in answer to Esmeralda's surprised look. "She's still gonna pick up the groceries; she's just gonna be a little later doing it than she planned."

"Okay - so why are you here, Mal? Something must have happened."

"It did. Give me a minute to explain - it will help you understand." Mal set her cup on the table and rose to pace, running a nervous hand through her hair before turning back to meet Esmeralda's eyes. "When Kent got back from his holiday, he seemed very thoughtful... almost pensive. He still went to work - his performances haven't suffered. He seems to be able to separate his character from his real life. Anyway," waving her hands, "he's going to work everyday and to the restaurant sporadically, but he's been spending a lot of time pacing his apartment and looking out the windows. He hasn't gone home to Washington or the Tagherty's since he returned to the City - no weekends away to spy or stalk or whatever it was he was doing to Charisma before they went to the Tagherty's for the holidays. With me so far?"

"Right beside you," Esmeralda confirmed.

"All right then - so imagine my surprise when today... out of the blue, Kent Rockwell met with his family's lawyer."

"He's getting his will in order because something's wrong?"

"Not exactly. He had separation papers drawn up."

"Excuse me?" Esmeralda blurted, then held up a hand to keep Mal from repeating herself. "I heard you. I'm just processing what you said."

"Trust me," Mal said wryly, "*I'm* still processing what I said. That's why I asked if anything big had happened between Charisma and Brianna."

"No," Esmeralda replied distractedly, pinching her lip between her fingers while she let her mind play over the things she did know and other things she suspected. "Nothing big has happened, but a lot of little things have." She turned and met Mal's eyes. "Did he sign them?"

Mal shook her head. "No. He only asked for them to be drawn up... by the lawyer personally - no secretaries, no paralegals - by the senior partner himself. The lawyer is supposed draw them up and to keep them until such time as Kent requests them."

"So it may be a pre-emptive strike," Esmeralda mused, mostly to herself. Mal recognized the tone and remained quiet while Esmeralda worked things out in her mind. "Then again...." She sighed. "Thanks, Mal. I'm not sure what this means yet, but I definitely needed to know."

Mal smiled. "It was worth it for the hot chocolate. But I better get back so Jade can finish with her shopping."

Esmeralda nodded and rose to walk her to the door. "Mal, if he decides to take another trip this way, make sure I know before he gets here, all right?"

"I'll do my best, Es. Promise."

"Thanks, Mal. That's all I can ask for." Mal donned her outerwear and headed back to the City so Jade could come home and finish the shopping. Esmeralda returned to the living room to think.

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

"Brianna? This is Charisma," the words causing Brianna to roll her eyes and chuckle. She was pretty certain she'd always recognize Charisma's voice, but she didn't see the need to enlighten Charisma to that fact.

Instead, she replied, "Hey Charisma! What's up?" In the days following their long talk at Okasa's, the two had spent a few minutes on the phone everyday... even if it was only to exchange a 'hi... how are you' before heading off again - for Charisma, to the next round of meetings and political gatherings; for Brianna, to reconnect with the friends she had missed during her time in Washington.

"Not much," Charisma replied. "I've got a few more sessions here, then I'm headed back to DC for the next few days. I've got some informal meetings with several different committee members, and then there's that party at Gypsum's."

"You're going to that?" Brianna asked in amazement.

"Yes, and so are you," Charisma asserted. "This is one of those political 'can't miss' things." Charisma heard Brianna's frustrated sigh and softened her tone. "You really don't want to miss this, Bri. Even though you don't plan to be here beyond the next election for that seat, there's no reason to snub the people you have to at least *pretend* to get along with for the next couple years."

"Dammit," Brianna groaned. "I had plans that night."

"Bring your plans with you; I'm sure she wouldn't mind," Charisma said lightly, glad Brianna couldn't see the grimace that crossed her face as the words left her mouth.

"Um... no. Not that kind of plans." Brianna sighed - she had really been looking forward to a night out with the girls. It was unfortunate that two of them were only available the night of Gypsum's party, but she figured she didn't need to go to the Senate soiree as she wasn't in Washington to make friends or influence people. Charisma's words, however, gave her pause. "Guess I need to make a few phone calls," she added dejectedly.

Charisma grimaced. She was dying to know, but refused to let her curiosity run away with her, hoping Brianna would choose to share of her own volition. Instead, she offered. "Well, maybe I can help make it better."

"Oh?"

"We could go to Gypsum's together, then you could come back to the house... stay the night, maybe?" hating that she sounded so tentative. "We could have a slumber party - bring your album and we could look through our pictures... maybe share our memories. Then try to catch up on each other's lives a little bit? I mean, we do have nearly twenty years to fill one another in on."