Brianna shrugged, knowing Hunter was right. "Maybe, but it's her call to make."
"What about you, Bri? When do you get to be happy?"
Brianna smiled wryly and patted his arm. "I'm happy enough. At least we're together as a whole family again for the first time in twenty years. And there are new friends to boot."
"I like them, Bri," Hunter commented, recognizing the change of topics for the ploy that it was and letting Brianna get away with it anyway. "I really do. Though why Saphira is a waitress instead of a law enforcement officer of some kind...."
************
"No he didn't," Saphira said flatly in disbelief.
"Saphira, why would I make it up? Of course he did. He can't figure out why his instincts... instincts that he trusts on a daily basis to solve crimes and save his life if necessary... were so far off base. It's going to drive him crazy for a long, long time."
"That's a little bit funny," Saphira snickered.
"Yeah, but it's also a little mean. I mean, it's not like you can go around announcing that you were an Angel of Vengeance in another life. Well, I guess you could, but I'm pretty sure it would wind up with you making a one-way trip to the Looney bin."
"I could be the head toon!"
"You already are," came the snappy retort, causing Saphira to start tickling Esmeralda, and Esmeralda to start squealing. They didn't actually realize how their voices carried until Adam came rushing into the room, Charisma hot on his heels.
"ADAM ROCKWELL!!"
"MAMA!" he yelled right back, running towards the bed where Saphira and Esmeralda were now frozen in place, watching as the pajama clad little boy made a beeline towards them. Saphira reached down an arm and scooped him up onto the bed to sit beside her just as Charisma appeared in the door with Kent and Brianna following right behind her.
"Everything okay in here?" Brianna asked, peering around Charisma to one side so Kent could stand behind his wife if he wanted. Instead, Charisma took that as her cue and moved into the room with Brianna beside her. Kent waited in the doorway, a little uncomfortable, but not wanting to leave in case there really was a problem and he was needed.
Before Esmeralda or Saphira could answer, Adam reached over and gently patted Esmeralda's flushed face. "Es 'kay?" he questioned seriously, a deep frown cutting lines between his eyes. Esmeralda caught his hand and squeezed it lightly.
"I'm fine, Sweetie. Why would you think otherwise?"
Adam tilted his head thoughtfully as he worked out what Esmeralda meant in his mind. Then he looked between her and Saphira. "Screamin'," he said perfunctorily.
Saphira chuckled and Esmeralda blushed, though she couldn't stop the smile that crossed her face. "Oh, honey... we're fine. Saphira was just tickling me. I forgot to be quiet. I'm sorry."
"Okay?"
Esmeralda nodded. "Okay."
Adam leaned forward and gave her a sloppy kiss, then threw his arms around Saphira's neck before Kent finally entered the room and scooped him out of the bed and swung him into the air, making Adam squeal this time.
"C'mon, Boy - it's past your bedtime. What say you and me go find a good story to read and leave Mama and Brianna in here to visit with Esmeralda and Saphira for a little while before bed?" smiling when he saw Adam's face scrunch up to argue. "It's a girl thing - men like us don't get invited to girls sleepovers 'cause they do all kinds of girly things... like brush their hair and paint their nails and...." Kent's voice trailed off as he and Adam made their way down the hallway and into the bedroom. The four women left in the other room just looked at one another for a long moment, then burst into laughter.
"Oh he's good," Saphira commented. "I expected a fight." She turned to Esmeralda. "We should hire him - there are a few people I know who could use a handler like him."
"A handler?" Charisma asked distractedly.
"Someone who can manage people who are of an age to be considered legal adults," Saphira replied dryly. "But of a mindset to think that they are still children."
Brianna chuckled. "Hey! That sounds like a lot of people *I* know... most of them in the capital," she added with a smirk. Charisma laughed.
"I think I know some of them as well." She turned to Esmeralda and tilted her head. "How are you doing, Es? We've kept you pretty busy this weekend... especially for someone who's supposed to be resting and recovering."
"I'm good, Charisma... really good. Okasa has made sure I haven't overdone and...."
"Yeah - I probably should have warned you about that," smiling when two sets of eyebrows shot into dark and light hairlines even as Brianna nodded her agreement to Charisma's unfinished statement. "Mama has a tendency to mother everyone. Age doesn't matter in this house - you visit the Tagherty household, Mama keeps an eye on you. You become family. Well, now you have another Mama. And she will always treat you like you're her kid."
"Yeah... I figured that out when she threatened me with warm milk," chuckling at Brianna's automatic wince of disgust. "But it's... nice. It's nice to belong to a family who looks out for one another."
Saphira nodded. "This is a good family to belong to, and we're both glad you invited us to join you this weekend."
"We're glad you came," Charisma assured them both. "But ask Brianna - you're in now, so that means you're stuck with the lot of us for a very long time. Like the rest of your lives long."
"She's right," Brianna agreed with a firm nod of her head. "Holidays, birthdays, oddball get-togethers in the summer - you'll be expected to be here for every single one of them," watching their eyes widen in dismay and wracking her brain for what she could have said to achieved that particular response. Then she nearly slapped herself stupid as realization dawns. "Or as many as you can manage to get here for. We've all missed a few things because of work obligations - Mama understands. She doesn't like it, but she does understand." She sighed as she watched them visibly relax.
"We'll try," Esmeralda said softly. Saphira nodded but didn't say anything, knowing Esmeralda wasn't finished. "I can't tell you what this weekend has meant to both of us. And I really do feel... so much better. Not sure what it is that made the difference or if it has just been the whole experience, but it's amazing to feel... good again."
"So that means when I get back into town, we can have our girls' day, right?" Charisma asked, looking between Brianna, Esmeralda and Saphira. They exchanged glances and shrugged.
"Sure," Brianna said casually. "Why not? Do you know when you want to shoot for?"
"Let me check my calendar tonight and we can set it up in the morning before you three head back." She glanced at the clock. "And speaking of... does anyone want to come down to the kitchen with me for one of the last slices of chocolate cake before bed?"
Saphira nudged Esmeralda into a sitting position, then Charisma took one proffered arm while Brianna took the other. Soon the four of them were comfortably ensconced around the kitchen table with plates of cake and glasses of milk, laughing like nobody's business.
Okasa peeked in on them from the doorway, then headed upstairs with a smile on her face. Maybe everything will finally work out, she thought. She had no way of knowing what was headed their way.
Chapter LXV
Ruby and the others were waiting at the house for them when they returned home, so the next couple of weeks saw something of their normal routine return to Esmeralda's and Saphira's household. Saphira and Ruby went back to their scheduled shifts at the diner and everyone else except Esmeralda took one of the round-the-clock ethereal guardian shifts on Brianna and Charisma. To keep either mortal woman from 'feeling' the presence of someone known to them on the corporeal plane, Brianna's office staff kept tabs on Charisma, and Charisma's staff did the same for Brianna. All except for Ame - who had reported back to her job after the holiday was over and Kent returned to the City; and Mal - who like the rest had been called Home, but had yet to return to her assignment.