"Hey, Es," she said softly. "I know you're with Saphira - I can tell by the expression on your face. You look really happy to be wherever you are, so I hope we're not interrupting anything, but we wanted to say goodbye privately." Brianna paused and inhaled slowly. "You and Saphira were good friends, Es, and I'm not really sure I would have survived very long in this place without your friendship in my life. So thank you - thank you both so much. You were amazing, and I'm glad I got the chance to know you both." She sniffed and blew out a shaky breath. "Be happy, Es. We'll miss you."

"Thank you, Es," Charisma whispered before Brianna could shift from her position on the floor. She clenched the shoulder under her hand slightly, feeling Brianna cover that hand with one of hers and smiling at the warmth that followed. "For everything - your friendship; your faith; your encouragement and your love. You'll never know the true difference you made in my life - in the lives of everyone you touched. But we will, and we'll never forget. God bless you, Es. I hope you and Saphira enjoy happiness together in whatever eternity you share."

Brianna stood slowly and Charisma slipped behind her and slid her arms around her waist. Brianna didn't hesitate, but leaned into Charisma and covered her arms in a kind of reverse hug, sighing silently at just how right this felt. And she wondered if Esmeralda could see them - if she was happy for them. She looked at the smile again that Esmeralda wore and knew it for the truth.

"Kay thought Es must have found Saphira too," Charisma whispered into Brianna's ear. "Despite everything, that makes me happy... knowing they're together again. Because I know how wonderful that feels - to be reunited with the one you're meant to be with forever."

Brianna stiffened slightly, but before Charisma could react to her response, Brianna turned in Charisma's arms, and Charisma locked her arms around Brianna's waist. Not tightly, but enough to prevent her from leaving Charisma's embrace prematurely. To Charisma's surprise, Brianna didn't hesitate or try to pull away - instead, she wrapped her hands together behind Charisma's neck.

"Do you mean that, Charisma?"

Blue eyes studied green intently and the gaze was returned stare for stare. Charisma leaned their foreheads together so their eyes were forced to cross to keep one another in focus. "So much, Bri. I know it's taken me forever to get here, but the last few months have shown me so much I refused to see before - how much I missed you when you were out of my life; how glad I am to have you back... even as just my best friend again; how amazing you are and how much we have both grown while still remaining at our cores the women we were in college. But mostly I've learned how very much I love you, and just how right that feeling is." She lifted her head and looked in the direction of the bed where Esmeralda still rested in the peace she'd found in death. "If it was anyone else, I'd probably feel very weird about making this kind of confession by their deathbed, but it seems right that Es be witness to this. After all, she bears some of the responsibility for bringing us back together." Charisma looked back at Brianna, and wondered how she could ever have missed the look of love and devotion staring back at her. "I love you, Brianna Walker... so much. I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this point, but thank you for being patient with me. Thank you for giving me another chance."

She leaned her head down as Brianna tilted her head up, letting their lips come into full contact this time. It remained chaste - just a light touching of lips over and over as they made promises in front of the one witness who deserved to see them. And it was so new that they wanted to savor the sensations flowing between them with just the barest of connections. They understood... and knew Esmeralda would too.

After a moment, they eased their lips away from each other, chests heaving until one would have believed their interaction had been much more promiscuous. They met one another's gaze and grinned.

"Wow," Charisma whispered, unwilling to break the momentary peace that had settled over them. "That was...."

"It was," Brianna agreed. "And it's only going to get better, but not now. Right now we need to see if we can find a way to contact Ruby or Amber. And the police should be here...." The sound of cars pulling into the drive caught their attention and they stepped back, automatically straightening their attire. "Right on schedule," Brianna grumbled. Charisma smiled and took Brianna's hand.

"C'mon. Let's go let the police in and see what we can do about the other. We'll talk more about this later?"

"Of that you can be sure," Brianna promised, and they left Esmeralda lying in state with the smile still etched on her visage.

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

"Welcome home, my children," the Father's booming voice echoed across the throne room above the raucous cheers of heaven's inhabitants. Saphira and Esmeralda glanced around in awe - they had never expected such a grandiose celebration. Naturally, their hands tightened around each other's and they soaked in the happiness that was apparent on every face before looking at one another with questions writ large over their expressive countenances. The Father just chuckled and the sound brought their attention back to Him.

When they reached the bottom of the throne, they stopped and bowed their heads, waiting for whatever the Father had planned for them. They were more than a little surprised when they felt his gentle hands raise their eyes to meet His and realized He had left His throne and moved down the steps to greet them. His actions garnered even louder applause, and He let it roll for several moments before signaling for silence. Only then did He begin to speak.

"Before we get started with the official proceedings," He stated in a loud, clear voice over the soft hum that remained, "I think you should be aware that heaven almost had another uprising because of you two." The hum dropped to utter stillness and He rolled His eyes before He looked out at the gathered assembly. "People... hello? Omniscient here, remember?" shaking His head at Saphira and Esmeralda who simply bit their lips. He cleared His throat.

"Anyway, once everyone recalled how poorly the last revolt turned out, things settled down and we watched and waited. I want you to understand - the choices and decisions you made were all your own, as were the consequences that came with them. But there was a reason for everything that happened."

"Father?" Esmeralda interrupted quietly. "Brianna and Charisma - were they a real assignment?"

The Father smiled and nodded. "They were indeed. But they were also part of your testing, and you far exceeded every expectation," He added, lifting His hand and revealing a massive screen that showed their conversation with her and each other by her deathbed. "They still have things to work out and obstacles to overcome, but they got their second chance together. And from the sounds of it, they could actually make it work this time."

A buzzing sound interrupted His speech and He looked directly at Amber and motioned for her to answer the call. Saphira looked at Esmeralda. "When did we start getting cell reception up here?" asked out of the side of her mouth. Esmeralda shrugged; then her eyes grew wider when the Father beckoned Amber forward. She bobbed her head in respect, then put her hands on her hips and glared at both Saphira and Esmeralda.

"I am so angry with the two of you...." holding up a hand to cut off their outbursts. "I don't have time to deal with this at the moment. I have to return to Earth and take care of *your* final arrangements," poking her finger at Esmeralda. "But I'll be back, and when I am, we're going to sit down and discuss just what is and is not pertinent information."

"But...."

"Not a word," Amber cautioned. "We'll discuss this later." She looked at the Father. "If you'll excuse me," jerking her head in affirmation when He nodded once. Then Amber disappeared and He turned his attention back to a shell-shocked Saphira and Esmeralda.

"Perhaps we should get back to what brought us all together here today," He proposed with a smile, and was once more met with cheers and applause.

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

"Did you reach her?" Charisma asked as she dropped onto the couch beside Brianna. They had decided that Charisma would deal with the authorities, as she had actually been the one to find Esmeralda's body. So Brianna took responsibility for contacting Amber. She nodded.

"Yes. She didn't sound upset, though. It was weird."

"It's very possible that she was expecting this," Charisma responded. "Maybe she's like Kay and can see that kind of thing. And even though we know she hasn't been here, per se, it's entirely possible that she's been in touch with Es daily."

"Still, it was a little strange that she wasn't shaken up by this."

"Why?" Charisma asked reasonably. "We weren't. If anything we're sad for ourselves, but happy for Es... because she's finally regained peace."

Brianna narrowed her eyes. "Have you always been this... oh wait - I remember now. You have. It was one of the things that used to drive me crazy about you."

"And now?" asked coyly.

Brianna smirked. "Now, I'm just crazy about you period." She looked around at the quiet comings and goings of the various personnel that had been called to the scene. "How long do you think they need us to stay?"

Charisma shrugged. "I think it's mostly a formality - so there's someone here who can take responsibility for the house and all until Amber arrives. Once they've moved Es to the morgue, we should be able to go."