"Brianna. We had an interesting talk tonight. And she reminded me that I have everything I need in my life - I have you."

"I hope you never have cause to doubt that," Saphira said quietly. "I hope I never give you a reason to."

"You won't," Esmeralda affirmed. "Not after everything we've been through." She slid out of Saphira's arms and let her feet touch the floor. Then she linked her fingers with Saphira's and tugged her towards the bed. "I want to hold you tonight. Tomorrow I'll tell you what I'm thinking about all this."

"Sounds like a plan."

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

It was later than they normally got up. Already the day crew was up and gone; Amber and Coral had returned some minutes ago and were in the kitchen preparing something to eat. Still they lay together while Esmeralda told Saphira about her conversation with Brianna the day before.

"Are you sure you want to get involved like that?" Saphira asked when Esmeralda laid out her idea to help facilitate the building of the friendship between Brianna and Charisma. Esmeralda leaned up from her spot on Saphira's chest where she'd been listening to the strong heartbeat beneath her cheek. The disbelieving look on her face spoke volumes and Saphira waved her hands to stop her speech before Esmeralda could make a comment. "You know what I mean."

Esmeralda shook her head. "I'm not sure I do, Phira. We're already involved in this... up to our eyeballs."

"I know, Es, but this is different." She paused. "Isn't it?"

Esmeralda shook her head. "No, Sweetheart. We're just expanding our horizons by...." Whatever her thought was going to be, it remained incomplete as there was a rapid knock on the door mere seconds before it opened and Amber stuck her head in, eyes firmly closed.

"You need to come quick, Es. Opal's on the phone. I think there's trouble in paradise again."

Esmeralda sat up and reached for her robe, slipping into it before she stood and tying it as she made her way towards the door with Saphira right behind her. Esmeralda nodded at Coral who put the phone on speaker so they could all hear Opal's conversation.

"Opal? What's up?"

"I'm not sure Es," Opal practically whispered into the phone. "Charisma had me call Brianna in for a meeting."

Four sets of eyes around the table widened comically and they exchanged flabbergasted expressions before Esmeralda cleared her throat. "Excuse me?"

Opal sighed. "You heard me. Charisma had me call Indi and set up a meeting between them. She should be here in.... Hello Senator Walker. Thank you for your rapid response. Allow me to announce you to Senator Tagherty." Through the connection, they heard Opal knock on the door and inform her of Brianna's presence, then Opal ushered Brianna into the inner sanctum before she resumed her seat and picked the receiver up once more.

"I suppose you heard all of that?"

"Yes," Esmeralda replied decisively. "What brought this on?"

"I don't know, boss. We didn't get much more warning than what I gave you."

Esmeralda blew out a breath. "All right. Keep your eyes and ears open and call me back once Brianna's gone back to her office. I'm gonna give Indi a call."

"Will do, boss."

"Thanks Opal. Good work."

Amber put a cup of coffee in front of Esmeralda even as Coral hung up the phone, then turned around and dialed Indi. It didn't ring twice before Indi picked up. "Senator Brianna Walker's office. This is Indigo - how may I help you?"

"Indi, it's Es," Esmeralda said without preamble. "What happened?"

They could almost hear Indi's shrug through the phone. "I dunno, Es. Opal called; I put her through to Brianna. Next thing I knew she was out the door and down the hall."

Esmeralda pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. "How did she seem?"

"Determined, if I had to put a name to it. She didn't hesitate and she was pretty focused when she walked out of here."

Esmeralda sighed. "All right. Let me know what happens when she gets back, will ya?"

"You betcha, boss. Anything else?"

"No, Indi. Thanks." Esmeralda nodded at Coral who thumbed the phone off and hung it up. Esmeralda leaned back when Amber put a plate of food down in front of her. There was the sound of chairs scraping against the floor and silverware tinkling against plates, but otherwise it was quiet in the kitchen as they allowed Esmeralda to process what she'd just heard.

After a while, she pushed back from her place and leaned back in her chair. Three sets of eyes turned her way and she sighed.

"Now what?" Amber asked before Esmeralda could speak. Saphira reached out a hand and smacked the back of her head. Amber clapped a hand on her head and turned to glare at Saphira. "What'd you do that for??" Saphira just gave her a look.

"All right you two... enough," Esmeralda said without a hint of a smile, though Coral was having problems keeping a straight face. "Now we wait. Who knows... maybe they'll solve this without us now."

"But you don't think so," Saphira stated without question. Esmeralda shook her head.

"No. It's never that easy."

"Okay, so now what?" Amber asked again. "And no smacking," she added with a glare in Saphira's direction. "It's a legitimate question."

"Yes, it is. But for right now... we do nothing. We can't do anything until we know what they're doing."

"Any thoughts about that?" Coral asked.

"I have all kinds of thoughts," Esmeralda replied dryly. "But I'd like to wait and see what we hear from Opal and Indi. I have a feeling this is Charisma's attempt to take control of things before they get completely away from her. I doubt Brianna is gonna let that happen."

"Well, you did say things were going to get more interesting."

"Lucky me," Esmeralda answered drolly, drawing laughs from around the table. She stood up and Saphira followed, picking up their plates and moving them to the sink... only to be pushed out of the way by Coral and Amber.

"We've got this," they proclaimed. "You two go... do something else. We'll let you know when Opal and Indi call back. They you can figure out what to do with it."

"Thanks, guys," Saphira said with a nod. The she held her hand out to Esmeralda who took it without hesitation. Then they went back into the bedroom and closed the door behind them. Coral and Amber watched them go, then shook their heads and got back to work.


Chapter XXIII

Charisma looked up from the legal brief on her desk when Opal knocked on the door. She pulled her reading glasses off and folded the arms together, placing them on the desk and motioning Opal in. Opal stepped into the room just past the threshold and announced Brianna's arrival in the office. Charisma nodded her acceptance and simply said, "Show her in."

Opal crossed back into the outer office and gestured Brianna forward. When Brianna reached the door, Opal announced her. "Senator Brianna Walker."

"Thank you, Opal," Charisma acknowledged with a smile, then she looked at Brianna. "Can she bring you anything...?"

"No thank you."

Charisma nodded and Opal took the dismissal for what it was, closing the door behind her and returning to her desk to resume her conversation with Esmeralda. Meanwhile, inside the office, Charisma motioned Brianna to a seat. Instead, Brianna stood behind one of the guest chairs facing Charisma and braced her hands on the top.

"Why am I here, Charisma?"

Charisma held Brianna's gaze, searching the green eyes she'd once known as well as those she saw in the mirror every morning. Brianna didn't flinch or look away and eventually, Charisma sighed and looked down at her desk for a moment, leaning her arms on it and folding her hands in front of her before bringing her eyes back up to meet Brianna's.

"Brianna, would you please have a seat?"

Brianna held her gaze another full minute, then relented and took the seat she had been hovering behind. "Now will you tell me why you summoned me, Charisma?"

Charisma's eyes widened. "I didn't summon you. I simply asked for a few minutes of your time at your earliest convenience."

Brianna barely contained the urge to roll her eyes. "Semantics, Charisma," then held up her hand before Charisma could protest. "It doesn't matter. What can I do for you?"

Charisma picked up her glasses and leaned back, crossing her legs and bringing the arms of her glasses to her lips. "I thought perhaps we could clear the air... set some ground rules," watching Brianna's brows fly into her hairline and her eyes darken to a stormy gray color. "I mean," she stumbled on hastily, "since we'll be working together and all."

Brianna settled back herself, crossing her legs and leaning her elbow on the chair arm so she could prop her head on her fingertips. "Can I ask why?"

Charisma frowned. "I don't understand - why what?"

"Why this? Why now? It's not like we've really had occasion to interact with one another so far, so why start worrying about it now?"

Charisma sighed. "Because at some point in the near future, we *will* have to interact with each other, and I'd like us to be on the same page when it happens to save us both from being embarrassed or worse."

"And I'd like for us to be friends again, but I doubt there's any likelihood of that happening in my lifetime, despite...." trailing off when she saw the anger cloud Charisma's blue eyes.

"Despite what, Brianna? And I suggest you tread lightly, Senator Walker."

Brianna shook her head. "No," she stated. "I'm not treading at all. I'm not getting into this with you here."