"Thank you, Es - for being such a good friend. Most would have taken my bitchiness personally. Be safe tonight, all right?"

Es nodded. "See you tomorrow night, Senator Tagherty."

Charisma rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile before sitting back and letting Esmeralda shut the door firmly behind her. Es patted the roof and the driver pulled off. She stood and watched the car out of sight, nodding in approval when Amber took up the job of looking out for them. Then she turned and headed out of the garage, anxious to meet Saphira at the diner.

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

Sorry? cutting in again very briefly to explain something. What I said was true - most guardian angels don't do the protection gig. There aren't enough of us to do that for every single person on the planet twenty-four/seven/three-sixty-five. But when a complete fubar like this one is thrown at the clean-up detail, we have a little more leeway and can call upon whatever resources we need to get things straightened out. We try not to overextend everyone else's departments or leave any one section short-handed for an extended period of time, but we do take what we need to resolve the situation we've been handed with all expediency.

To that end, I have enlisted several friends and cohorts to help me fix this mess. Saphira is truly my mate, though she is not a guardian angel of any kind. And I hope I do not need to call upon her true skills beyond supporting me before this is all over. Amber is my best friend other than Saphira - she's a guide guardian? the kind Rafe was before he created this debacle. I'm convinced if Charisma had been her charge, we wouldn't be cleaning up crap now. Hence my snarky comment to Charisma about male angels. Honestly, there are some things most of them just shouldn't try to handle - they don't do as well as their female counterparts.

There are a few other guardians I have on stand-by for if and when they are needed. But at the moment, Amber, Saphira and I and the rest have things well in hand and under control.

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

Esmeralda made her way from the metro station towards the diner, a smile on her face as she approached. It had been a long and interesting day and she was anxious to share her experiences with Saphira. Besides, things should be happening on the flip side of things soon, and Es was anxious to hear how things were progressing. And it didn't hurt that Matilda made the most awesome apple pie and always saved a piece for them to share before they headed home.

She was smiling as she opened the door and it grew to a genuine grin when Saphira's eyes met hers. "Hey, beautiful," Saphira greeted as Esmeralda took a stool at the counter. "How was your night?"

"Interesting. Yours?"

"Busy," placing a glass of milk in front of Esmeralda and pulling the slice of pie from the case and slipping it into the warming oven. "Not that you can tell at the moment," indicating the fairly empty restaurant with a sigh. "Hey, Joe!" calling out to the grill cook. He peeked through the window with a frown on his face until he caught a glimpse of Esmeralda. Then he grinned and came out of the kitchen for a hug. The embrace was brief and Joe pulled back to peer at her.

"You're too skinny there, Essie. Let me fix you something to go with that pie."

"I'm all right, Joe," she started, then continued when she saw him start to frown again, "but a burger would be nice, thanks."

"Good girl? maybe you can get this one to eat something too," he added with a glower in Saphira's direction before returning to he kitchen. Esmeralda turned to look at her mate.

"Joe giving you a hard time?" noting the weariness in Saphira's eyes and body language. Saphira smiled at her.

"No more than usual - he's just concerned. Remember, as far as he knows I lost my job taking care of you during your illness. And I've been working doubles here to pay the bills."

"Well," Es agreed quietly. "That's mostly true. You did give up your job, you did take care of me while I was sick and you have been working doubles here. The rest?."

"The rest will work itself out in His time - I know. I just? sometimes I don't know how you can do this all the time, Es. I just want to get in there and fix things."

Esmeralda smiled. "I know you do, Phira. That's your calling, and you're the best at what you do. But that's not what guardians do. This requires a little more finesse and finagling than brute strength and brilliance."

Saphira snorted. "Nice save, though we both know there is an enormous amount of brilliance that goes into these rescue missions," she said with a smirk, then rose from her stool. "Let me lock the door," she said as the last customer left with a wave. "Then we can eat in peace before we go home for some sleep."

She reached for the lock, turning it with a snick and grabbing the blinds. Before she could snap them closed she heard a desperate voice calling out, "Wait, please! Wait!"

Saphira's shoulders dropped, but she had long since learned not to ignore a plea for help when one was heard. You never knew who or what lay behind the call nor the difference you could make by taking the time to listen. With a sigh, she unlocked the door and motioned the woman forward and into the diner.

The woman crossed the threshold with a sigh of relief and a sincere thank you as she glanced around. She was pulling two large suitcases as well as a tote bag and looked completely lost and out of place. Esmeralda recognized her immediately, but she waited for the woman to speak.

"Thank you so much," she said to Saphira again, taking the stool the woman offered her and accepting a menu. "I somehow missed my driver at the airport and I'm pretty sure I got off the wrong Metro stop as well."

"Is this your first visit to Washington?"

The woman blushed and nodded her head. "I've been all over this country and all over the world, but I've never had the opportunity to come here until now." Not the complete truth, but she had no way of knowing they already knew that.

"So what brings you here - business or pleasure?" Esmeralda asked, eyes widening when Joe plopped the biggest burger she'd seen in a while in front of her. She turned her gaze to Saphira who understood her unspoken request, pulling another plate from behind the counter and proceeded to remove about half the food onto it. Saphira cocked an eyebrow at the other woman who was staring at the hamburger and fries like she hadn't eaten in days, then slid the plate over to sit in front of her. The woman immediately began to protest.

"Oh no? I can't take your food from you. Please."

Saphira just ignored her and poured up two more glasses of cold milk then refilled Esmeralda's. Esmeralda put her hand on top of the woman's and silenced her with it a look. "Please, don't insult us by refusing the food. It's obvious you're very hungry aside from being lost and alone. We can't afford to buy you a whole meal, but we can share what we have."

The woman's mouth snapped shut on her argument and she bowed her head in the face of such simple generosity. "Thank you," she murmured.

"Besides," Es added with a smile, hoping to chase away the woman's embarrassment. "Joe fixed enough to feed a family here and it will just go to waste otherwise."

The woman took a satisfying bite of her burger and her face lit up in a smile. "Oh, I don't think you have to worry about that. Man, this is great!" seeing Joe pop up from the back with a smile at her expression of pleasure. "I haven't had real food this good in ages."

"Well then," Saphira said around her own bite. "I'm glad I held the door open for you."

The woman moaned. "Me too. This place is going to be a regular stop for me while I'm here."

"So are you here for business or pleasure?" Esmeralda asked again.

"Business. I've just been appointed the junior Senator from my state to replace Richard Whitman." Saphira and Esmeralda nodded. Richard Whitman had been in the news for weeks due to a medical condition that had slowly left him incapacitated and unable to serve in the Senate any longer. Many had been waiting for the governor of his state to name his replacement, but nothing had been finalized in the press, though apparently the decision had already been made.

"It was supposed to be announced last week, but?." She shrugged. "The timing was never right - either the governor or I always had some sort of scheduling conflict that kept getting in the way of making an announcement together. I think now the governor is planning to call a press conference here on the capital steps tomorrow - make a big to do over the whole thing."

"And how do you feel about it?"

"The job or the press conference?" the woman asked with a smile.

"Yes," Esmeralda said as she munched on a few fries.

"Well, it's not like it's my first press conference," she confessed, wiping her mouth and taking a swallow of milk. "Man, that's good stuff." She shook her head. "I learned a long time ago that the press and paparazzi are a part of public life, like them or not. As for the job?." She shrugged and looked t her plate thoughtfully. "I'm not sure yet," she replied honestly. "This isn't really something I set out to do in my life - politics don't particularly interest me, but the governor felt I was the best choice for the job. Fortunately, I only have to do it for two years before the people can elect another candidate of their choice."

"And if they decide that choice is you?"

"I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." The woman chewed and swallowed, wiping her hands on her napkin before extending them. "By the way, my name is Brianna Walker."