"You're not. It's actually worse for the day crew because they have to interact with them on a mortal level. Opal's got it the worst."

"Yeah... Charisma's lucky Opal answers to a higher authority. She'd have quit by now otherwise."

Esmeralda's brows rose into her hairline. Opal hadn't shared that bit with her and their paths had crossed several times since Friday night. On the other hand, Charisma had always been around and was pricklier than a hedgehog in Esmeralda's presence.

"Okay - I hadn't heard that. I guess it is time for a meeting. Let me get Coral and you two can tell me what's been going on at night. I'll speak to the rest in the morning before they go to work." She felt Saphira's eyes on her and held up a hand before she could speak. "I know I need to rest, but it will work better for everyone else to do it then. I promise to go right back to bed."

"But will you sleep?"

"I'll try," Esmeralda said honestly. "It's the best I can do at the moment. Besides, this way you and Ruby can be there as well. I'd like your input."

"All right. We'll leave them a note so they'll be ready early in the morning." Saphira rose. "I'll grab Coral for you. You gonna meet in here?"

"At the table," Esmeralda answered. "They need breakfast and so do we." Saphira nodded and headed out of the room. Esmeralda stood to follow her, only to find her hand caught in Amber's. She cocked an eyebrow but remained silent, waiting.

"You look a little tired still. Everything all right?"

"Everything's fine, Amber... honestly. Saphira is taking good care of me. I'm not tired really... just frustrated. I'm beginning to wonder if it wouldn't have been better for them to have had a knock down, drag out fight. At least we wouldn't be riding in this limbo."

"If it makes you feel better, I think that's coming down the pipe sooner rather than later." Esmeralda waited but Amber shook her head and held out a hand for Esmeralda to take. Esmeralda took it and pulled Amber to her feet, groaning theatrically. Amber glared at her, then smirked.

"So you're saying it's not these pants making my butt look big?" looking inordinately pleased with herself when Esmeralda gave a bark of unexpected laughter. She hadn't heard the sound very much lately and it tickled her to be able to draw that response now. Saphira stuck her head in the door, glancing first at Esmeralda's smiling face and then to Amber's smirking one.

"Are you flirting with my best girl?" Saphira growled at Amber. Esmeralda squeezed her hand before crossing the room to stand beside Saphira.

"I'd better be your ONLY girl," she stated, poking Saphira in the chest for emphasis.

"Always," Saphira affirmed immediately. "You know there's never been anyone else."

Esmeralda looked into Saphira's eyes, absorbing the look of adoration being bestowed on her. Amber making gagging sounds behind them effectively ended the moment and they turned to glare at her simultaneously. She held up her hands in surrender.

"I'm just going to go get some breakfast now," trying to push between them to get out the door. Saphira smacked the back of her head.

"And you say *I* have no manners!"

"Well, you're taking up the entire doorway. I suppose I could have just knocked you to the ground."

Saphira snorted. "I'd like to see you try."

"All right, you two... enough!" Esmeralda broke in, rolling her eyes at their posturing. "Honestly, anyone listening to the two of you would think you were still toddlers," she added, moving out of the doorway towards the kitchen and pulling Saphira with her. Coral smirked into her coffee, having clearly heard Esmeralda's last statement.

"Wait," she said. "You mean they're not?"

"Not. Helping." Esmeralda stated firmly when she heard growls emanating from either side, but Coral could see the twinkle in her eyes. She chuckled.

"Was I supposed to be?" She rose from her place at the table and took out some hamburger and fresh produce. "Well then - take a seat. I'll see about fixing us all something to eat."

Esmeralda moved over beside Coral to begin prepping the vegetables, but Coral simply glared at her. Esmeralda held up her hands in surrender, moving to take a seat at the table beside Saphira. Amber grabbed three coffee cups, pouring them up and topping off Coral's before passing it to her. Then she set out to make another pot of coffee.

While it made, Amber grabbed a knife and started slicing toppings for the hamburgers Coral was preparing. Saphira and Esmeralda just exchanged looks, then Esmeralda cleared her throat to speak. Coral and Amber turned their heads slightly to acknowledge they were listening and continued their work, waiting for Esmeralda to break the silence. It didn't take long.

"Okay... so this is a mini-team meeting since the two of you are my night-shifters and won't be here in the morning when I sit down with everyone else. I need to know what's going on with your charges." She saw Coral's startled look at her and continued. "They've been avoiding being alone with me like the plague - like my being witness to their interaction the other night is the ultimate embarrassment. I figure it will be another day or two before someone breaks down and hunts me up to talk. But until then, I need to know what's going on with them from your point of view."

Coral and Amber gazed at one another briefly, then Amber jerked her head towards the table and turned back to her slicing. Coral neatly put four hamburgers into the pan, then turned to face Esmeralda and Saphira.

"Brianna's been very cool... laid back and reserved with her people. Indi and Jas haven't mentioned a whole lot to me at any rate. But she seems to be intent on driving Charisma crazy."

Esmeralda cocked her head. "How do you mean?"

Coral shook her head. "You'll have to talk to the rest of the team; I haven't seen anything myself."

"All right. Then what have you seen? How is she spending her nights?"

"Sedately. She's been leaving her office early as you know," waiting for Esmeralda to nod, "then coming back later to work alone. Since she's been sending Indi home, my watch starts there."

"But she's not in contact with Charisma then?"

"No. Her time in the late evenings seems to be dedicated to actually working on Senate stuff - please don't ask me what exactly. I haven't figured out all that mumbo-jumbo they use in those stacks and stacks of paper."

Esmeralda chuckled. "Don't feel bad, Coral. I don't think they understand a majority of it. Hence the reason for the stacks and stacks... clarification."

Coral grinned and turned back to the burgers, flipping them smoothly before looking at Esmeralda again. "Probably."

"So what happens once you leave there?"

"We go back to her apartment and she maps out ways to get Charisma's attention." Amber whipped around, but Esmeralda asked the question.

"Excuse me?"

Coral shrugged her shoulders. "You heard me. So far, every night she's pulled out a legal pad and made a list of ways to be nice, ways to aggravate, ways to grab her attention - and let me tell you... some of what I've seen on *that* list are REAL doozies - ways to offer Charisma her support. You name it, Brianna's been thinking about it."

"And I haven't heard about any of this before now because...?"

"There's really not anything to tell," Coral replied practically. "She makes a list, then she wads it up and throws it away."

Esmeralda closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She smiled when Saphira moved behind her smoothly and began a gentle kneading of her shoulders. After a moment, she turned her attention back to Coral who was just lifting the burgers from the pan. "Is there anything else?"

Coral nodded. "When she throws the list away, she pulls out an album - the same album every night. From what Amber's said and what I can figure out, it's twin to the one that Charisma keeps locked away in her home office." Es nodded but didn't speak. "Brianna's gone through it twice since I was assigned to her Friday, but usually she stops on a singular picture and...." She stopped and shrugged. "She studies them is the best way to describe it - memorizing or reliving or...." Another pause. "I don't know. I'm not really sure how to describe it."

Esmeralda nodded again. "Is it always the same photograph?"

"No," Coral denied immediately. "In fact, it hasn't been the same one yet." She put the burger patties on the buns Amber had ready and moved the plates to the able. Amber placed the sliced vegetables she'd prepared in the center with the condiments and she and Coral to their places. Coral returned her attention to Esmeralda. "Is that important, do you think?"

"I think everything's important at this point," Esmeralda stated plainly. "We can't afford to overlook anything." She turned to Amber, just as she took a large bite of her burger. "What about you?"

Amber glared at her and held up a hand, chewing and swallowing as rapidly as she could manage without choking. "You've been taking lessons from Saphira, haven't you?" narrowing her eyes in Esmeralda's direction and garnering her a full-bodied laugh from everyone at the table. She swallowed the rest of her food and took a healthy draught of coffee.

"Better?" Saphira asked with more than a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Much, thank you," Amber responded regally, pulling another snort from Saphira. Amber stuck out her tongue and faced Esmeralda.

"How do you stand it?"

"Love conquers all," Esmeralda said. Saphira grinned; Amber gagged.

"Remind me why I put up with the two of you again."