Saphira frowned. "Why would there be a mark against you? It's my pride."
"And isn't there a Bible verse somewhere that compels us to not be beholden to anyone... to pay our debts? You took care of me again, Saphira - let me make some sort of contribution towards the time and effort that took. The friendship part I can only repay with my own."
Saphira took a deep breath. "That was very sneaky and underhanded," she commented with a wry grin. "We are happy to have your friendship, Brianna - your acceptance of us means so much. As for the money... well, I certainly wouldn't want to be responsible for a black mark on your record, so I will just say thank you and add it to the jar that is going towards paying off Esmeralda's medical bills."
"Are there many?"
"Many what?" Esmeralda asked as she joined them in the doorway. They waved goodbye to Matilda and walked out of the diner together. Brianna had dismissed her car, so they all headed towards the closest Metro station. Esmeralda and Saphira silently agreed to see Brianna home before they went to their own.
"Cousins," Brianna said without missing a beat. "You've mentioned large families, but no siblings."
Esmeralda blinked. She didn't really think they had been discussing their families, but it was a legitimate question. If something else was going on, Saphira would share the details with her when they got home. She cleared her throat.
"Oh... well, yes - there are quite a few actually, although Saphira does have a sister."
"Oh that's right - I had forgotten." She closed her eyes in thought. "Amber, wasn't it?"
Saphira wrinkled her nose. "That'd be her," gently guiding the two smaller women towards the correct platform. Brianna stopped walking and looked at them in bemusement when she realized they were accompanying her instead of going to their own train.
"You know, guys... I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."
Saphira just held her eyes. "You remember those marks we were talking about earlier? Do you know how big and black the one I'd get would be if we let you go wandering around down here by yourself when it would only take a few minutes of our time to see you safely home??"
"That was very sneaky and underhanded," Brianna commented with a wry grin.
Saphira chuckled. "I know - I learned from the best," sketching a half-bow in Brianna's direction.
"So the two of you are going to share with me exactly what I am missing here, right?" Esmeralda growled....
... only to suck in a breath when a stranger seemed to deliberately run into Brianna. He knocked her off-balance and it was only Esmeralda's swift action in reaching out that kept Brianna from hitting the concrete face first. That was about all he had time to do as Esmeralda's gasp had spurred Saphira to action. Before he could open his mouth to say a word, he was face down on the ground with his arms wrenched so far up his back he couldn't whimper without causing himself excruciating pain. Brianna immediately found a law enforcement officer, and then the real circus began.
************
It was closer to daylight than dark when Esmeralda and Saphira dragged themselves into the house... to be met by every member of their household except for those on duty. They looked at each other and then at the rest, before Esmeralda turned her attention to Ruby.
"Ruby?? Is everything okay?"
Ruby blew out an unsteady breath. "That was going to be our question - are you two all right? Coral gave us a quick rundown, but...."
"She did? When?"
"Just a little while ago - probably right before you left the police station because it was right after Brianna called Jas to come pick you all up from there. I'm still not completely clear on what happened tonight... only that there was some kind of trouble."
"Were you up all night?"
"I started to be," Ruby answered honestly. "When you were late, I considered staying up to wait for you. Then I realized that if something was wrong and you weren't late taking care of Angel business, I could do more good if I got some sleep last night and covered for Saphira today. Don't even," she added fiercely with a look in Saphira's direction. Saphira held up her hands in surrender and Ruby knew whatever had happened, it had been hellacious for Saphira to capitulate so easily. She turned back to Esmeralda with concerned eyes. "So?"
"So, it should already be on the news and in the early edition of the paper. Some punk kid tried to mug Brianna - Saphira put a stop to it."
"Then why does she look like she just ran a marathon in her mortal body carrying a sack of gold bars in each hand?" Opal asked, ignoring the glare she got from Saphira.
"Because the rescue was easy. The paperwork, on the other hand...."
"Hell is not fire and brimstone," Saphira growled, drawing surprised looks from all the Angels who had indeed witnessed the fire and brimstone of Hell. They waited for her to continue. "It's drowning in government paperwork that has to be filled out in triplicate." She looked at Esmeralda. "I'm glad I didn't go with my first instinct and kill that idiot. I'd *still* be doing the paperwork to get out of that place while I suffocated under the weight of it."
The rest laughed at her description and Saphira stuck out her tongue. Esmeralda looked around at them with tired eyes. "Brianna is safe - she refused to stay here saying we needed to sleep and she needed to get ready for work."
Indi snorted. "Is she crazy??"
"We prefer to think of her as dedicated, no matter how nuts we consider her to be at the moment. However, she is going to work for at least part of the day today, so you all will need to be there as well. If you will excuse Saphira and me, we're going to bed as well. I'd hate to undo all that recuperation with one night of excitement, and I'm really tired. I don't need to tell you to keep your eyes peeled and your ears open."
Everyone shook their heads and waited for Esmeralda and Saphira to enter their room and close the door behind them before they stirred... ready to start another day.
************
"Senator? Senator Walker has entered the building." Opal's voice was calm as it came over the speakerphone in Charisma's office. Charisma jerked her head in the direction of her desk and scowled.
"Are you certain, Opal?" Surely Brianna had needed to sleep after the night she'd had.
"Yes ma'am," Opal replied without hesitation. "Turq just called me and said her car had just pulled up. Apparently Senator Walker's driver called ahead and asked for some help to get through the press presence that's gathered around outside."
Charisma closed her eyes and breathed deeply to will herself to calmness. When she had heard the news that morning, Charisma's first instinct had been to rush over to Brianna's to check on her personally. Then she realized that she had lost the right to be so familiar, and she determined to wait until Brianna contacted her. She decided this was close enough to contact for her to show a concerned interest without being accused of hawking over or mothering. God knew the last impression Charisma wanted to make was that of a mother.
Not that she hadn't had her staff do some checking - Charisma knew more than any of the news agencies did at this point... and probably almost as much as the parties involved in the incident did. But it didn't lessen her need to assure herself that her friends were all right. The only reason she hadn't called yet was that she fully expected them all to be sleeping soundly. She wondered what had caused Brianna to choose to come to work instead of getting a little rest. Then she shook her head - that wasn't as important as the fact that she was here and Charisma could now go see how she was doing personally.
"Thank you, Opal," Charisma said and she stood and straightened her clothing. She took a deep breath and walked to the door, opening it with confidence before passing through her outer office without a word. The staff exchanged glances, then simply got on with their day's work. If and when Charisma Tagherty needed their input, they'd be the first to know - until then, they would do their assigned tasks and be thankful for the respite from a moody boss.