"I would guess these," motioning to two pictures that hung on either side of prominently displayed diplomas, "are your parents. You have her height, build and eye color and his smile and hair. Since you are alone with your father in his picture and with your mother and her husband in hers and since your dad isn't wearing a wedding ring, it stands to reason that they are no longer married to one another. The fact that there is no mark on his ring finger means they probably haven't been together for a while."

"And the travel?"

Esmeralda smiled. "That was actually the easiest." She walked around the desk to take a closer look. "These," pointing to the college of Brianna's and Charisma's graduation trip, "show you in most of them. If I was to guess, I'd say probably when you were in college and you traveled with at least one friend," not yet mentioning she recognized the same younger version of Charisma Tagherty that sat so prominently on Brianna's desk in the crystal frame. "These," gesturing to the next set, " are still whimsical and personal, and yet there are no obvious people in them, except the one you're in. The photos are of the places themselves, not the people you spent time with there. The timeline is only a guess on my part because photography has changed so much over the last twenty years or so, but I'd guess the two trips were at least ten years apart. And these," standing in front of the last collage, "these are the work of an artist - someone who knows how frame a shot and get the maximum effect. You could probably sell them if you were so inclined. I find it interesting that you don't seem to have visited the same place twice in a row? judging by your photography anyway."

Esmeralda turned to face Brianna, smiling gently at the totally gobsmacked look that graced her face. "So? how'd I do?"

Brianna blinked a couple times, her mouth opening and closing silently as she tried to recover her scattered wits. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were either psychic or a stalker." She held up her hand before Esmeralda could protest. "But your explanations - seeing through your eyes was amazing? and very telling in and of itself."

"How so?"

"You're wasted as a custodian, Esmeralda. You should be a police detective or a secret service agent. You don't miss very much and you have a real grasp on human nature."

Esmeralda smiled. "Lots of practice." She drew in a breath then hesitated, unsure if she should continue. Brianna cocked an inquiring brow and Es shrugged. "I was just noticing - this reminds me of someone I know," retrieving the crystal frame from the desk and studying it carefully. "Another friend of mine. This young woman is about half her age, although given your age here?." She placed it gently back on the desk and met Brianna's green eyes squarely, shaking her head. "But what are the odds of that, huh?"

Brianna smiled weakly, but plowed ahead. "This friend? she doesn't happen to be a United States Senator, does she?"

"As a matter of fact?."

"Um hmm? and does she have a name?"

"Senator Tagherty? Charisma Tagherty. Is that??"

Brianna nodded. "We were college roommates and best friends once upon a time. Then our lives took different paths and we lost touch with one another."

Esmeralda smiled despite the feeling of impending doom that suddenly resonated throughout the room. The tension was apparent in the stiff lines of Brianna's body and Es could feel it scrape and vibrate along her own nerves. However, she was committed to this course of action, so?.

"Well, then - isn't it nice that you're neighbors now?" gesturing towards the closed office door. "It will give you the chance to?."

"No!" Brianna cut in before Esmeralda could finish her thought. Esmeralda looked at her with shock and confusion clear in her eyes and expression. While Brianna's reaction was not unexpected for the angel, the custodian needed a more human response.

"But??"

Brianna held up her hand to halt Esmeralda's words and she took a deep breath before speaking again herself. "I appreciate what you're saying, Esmeralda. But that was a long time ago - things aren't the same anymore."

Es rolled her eyes dramatically, coaxing a reluctant smile from Brianna despite her best efforts to remain stern. "Of course they're not, Brianna. Life is about change - it's the one guaranteed constant we're assured of. That doesn't make it a bad thing. C'mon? can you sit there and tell me you have so many friends you can afford to refuse the opportunity to make another? or renew one that's been lost for years?"

"In this case, yes," Brianna replied firmly. "Leave it alone, Esmeralda. You don't know what happened between Charisma and me."

"You're not going to able to avoid her forever, Brianna. You're from the same state; your offices are just down the hall from one another; and you belong to the same social and political circles. Eventually you're going to run into one another."

"I'm sure at some point we'll even have to work together. That doesn't mean we have to try to be friends again, Es. Far too much water has flowed beneath that particular bridge, I'm afraid. However, I am a consummate professional - I've spent years cultivating that persona in the courtroom - and I will deal with Senator Tagherty as such. She's done a lot of good in her position Esmeralda, and I admire that about her - I always have. I also appreciate the hard work and effort she's put into her career. Her focus was legendary in college and she's successful for that very reason. I've had to do much the same thing to be at the top of my profession." Brianna shrugged. "We don't have to be friendly to get things done."

"Wouldn't it be easier?"

"Probably. But it's not likely, so I'm happy just to maintain the status quo."

Esmeralda remained quiet for a bit, biting her lip in silent contemplation. Finally? "I think you're wrong, you know."

Brianna smiled sadly. "I know. It still doesn't alter the truth."

"Maybe," Es conceded as she started putting her cleaning supplies away. "Will you do something for me?"

Brianna eyed her warily. "What, exactly?"

"Let me reintroduce you. Nothing fancy? nothing public. Just a casual reintroduction here. She works late many nights? says she gets more done without all the interruptions daylight hours bring."

Brianna blew out a frustrated breath. She'd known when she'd accepted the appointment to this position that she and Charisma would have to meet face to face at some point. Would it be better to do so privately with only the two of them where things could turn personal and questions get asked that Brianna didn't have a ready answer she was willing to share? Or in a public venue where the hundreds of eyes surrounding them ensured that any interaction between them would remain polite and professional? Brianna scoffed silently to herself. She felt confident, given their history and the fact that Charisma had let her go without seeking her out for answers years ago, that as long as she did not assume the air of an injured party, things could remain cordial and cool between them. And since she freely acknowledged that she was the one that had set them on this course years ago, she decided that was the best she could hope for.

"I'll tell you what, Es. You talk to Charisma first. If she wants something like that, then I'll agree to it, all right?"

Esmeralda studied green eyes so like her own for a long moment, then solemnly nodded once. "All right." She pushed her cart towards the door. She stopped when Brianna called out to her again, then turned to look at her, waiting for her to speak.

"Why do you care? You don't know me? not really? and you don't know the story of what happened between me and Charisma or the circumstances surrounding our estrangement. So why?"

Esmeralda held her eyes for a long moment. "I've been where you are Brianna." She held up her hand to keep Brianna from interrupting her. "No, I don't know the details of what happened between you and Charisma, but the look you have in your eyes? I've seen that look in my own before. It was one of the darkest periods of my life? when I thought Saphira was lost to me forever. If I can do something to bring you a measure of peace, even if it is just be there to support you both when you meet again for the first time or listen when you need to talk, I want to do that. No one should be completely alone, especially in that much pain - no matter how bravely and stoically you try to bear it."

"Will you tell me the story one day?"

Esmeralda smiled gently. "Absolutely. I got my happy ending, you know."

"I know," Brianna agreed softly, remembering the feeling of family she'd felt surrounding the two of them the night before. "I hope you realize how lucky you are."

"I count my blessings every single day, Brianna. But I need to get a move on. I still have work to do, and I promised to meet Saphira at the diner when I'm done."

Brianna nodded, donning her professional facade once more. She rose and moved to open the door for Esmeralda, stopping her just outside the office with a touch on her arm. "Thank you, Esmeralda," her eyes conveying so much more than her words. Esmeralda simply smiled and nodded then headed through the outer offices towards the hall. Brianna watched her go, only closing the door when she was out of sight.

When she was in the hall, Esmeralda leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. Well, it could have gone better, but it certainly wasn't as bad as it could have been. Of course, there's still Charisma to talk to and after what Amber said?.

Esmeralda shook her head and sighed, pushing off the wall and slipping down the hallway to her next charge. This was turning out to be a far more interesting day than she'd expected. But at least her talk with Brianna had given her an inkling of hope about the possibilities of salvaging things. Time to beard the lion, she thought, and knocked softly on Charisma's door.