"It was my pleasure, Brianna, though I wish the circumstances were different."
"Charisma...."
"Brianna, I hope we can be real best friends again one day, but not at this sort of cost. I would never have had this happen to anyone - especially Esmeralda and Saphira - not even if it meant it would make things right between us. That's not what this was about."
Brianna blew out a shaky breath. "I know, Charisma. You'll call me if you hear from Ruby?"
"First thing - you'll do the same?"
"Of course." Brianna stepped from the car, leaning down into the door Turq kept open for her. "See you later today, Charisma."
"Goodnight, Brianna."
************
Charisma walked in the door to her silent house, closing the door and setting the alarm before trudging up the stairs. She paused for several long minutes in Adam's room, letting the peaceful rhythm of his breathing soothe her aching soul. When she finally got her tears under control, she crossed the room and pulled the covers up over him and kissed him goodnight. Then she left his room and headed to her own, only to be stopped by the sight of a disheveled Ame standing in the doorway of what was quickly becoming her room in Charisma's house.
"Everything okay, Senator?"
Charisma shook her head. "No - rough night, and the next few days will probably be equally as bad."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No, Ame - you're doing enough already. Just keep looking out for my son."
Ame smiled. "It's my pleasure, Senator... most of the time, at least," garnering her a tragic smile. "I'll let you get back to...." Ame motioned vaguely around. "Whatever you were headed for. Goodnight, Senator."
"Goodnight, Ame," Charisma said, turning as Ame closed the door again. She glanced at her watch. She could probably reach Kent now, knowing it would have been a futile effort before. Besides, her family should be arriving soon - no point in trying to sleep before they did. Charisma grabbed her phone and started dialing Kent's number, wondering if she'd get to see the bed before the sun came up in just a few, short hours.
************
"So what's the story?" Ruby asked as Turq finally made her appearance in Esmeralda's tiny enclosure. Opal, Indi and Jas were already there, though only Ruby was noticeable to the human eyes that periodically checked on her and her charge. As far as they knew, Ruby was talking to Esmeralda in an effort to provide comfort.
"None of us knew what was going on until we got here, Ruby. I got bits and pieces in the limo, but nothing I could really report on. I tried to call to see if you could find out what was going on, but I couldn't get through."
"I was supposed to be waiting for a call to pick Brianna up," Jas chimed in. "She sent me out on some errands earlier, then told me to go home and wait for her to call. It's why I was at home instead of at the Senate Building. I think she'd been planning to go with Es to the diner."
"What about Coral and Amber? Surely they knew...."
Turq shook her head. "Amber said they found out when Es did, but they were forbidden to notify any of us. They were physically unable to do anything but stay with Brianna and Charisma."
"That means that Ame, Mal and Jade are probably out of the loop as well."
"Well that just sucks!" Opal snarled, and the rest looked at her wide-eyed. "Oh, don't any of you look at me like that and pretend that you don't think the same thing." She focused her attention on Ruby. "So what are we supposed to do now?"
Ruby shook her head. "I don't know, Opal. First we have to get through the next few days."
"You think she'll survive it?" Jas asked quietly.
"She'll survive for a little while," Ruby said confidently. "She'll get through the funeral. After that...?"
"What about the autopsy, Ruby?" This from Indi. "Won't that show the anomalies of Saphira's angelic nature?"
"Indi, you know nothing will show up that He doesn't will first. But why are you assuming there would be any evidence of anything that wasn't human? Angels don't die, and yet, Saphira is dead... just as though she had been born a human mortal. I'd say that points to the sheer humanity of her nature."
"I thought one reason Esmeralda refused continued medical treatment was a fear of someone discovering she was... well, for lack of a better description, abnormal."
"That's true - until today we had no reason to believe that He had removed their immortality when He banished them from home - especially since Es did survive her illness. We all know that could have easily killed her," watching heads nod. "But a big reason for her refusal was the cost involved; they simply did not have the means to pay for more than she had already received. As it was, a majority of the therapy Esmeralda took was provided free of charge by a friend."
"What a cluster," Turq offered with disgust.
"Worse than before," Ruby confirmed, "and it was completely snarled before this."
"So we're right back where we started, which is... what now?"
Turq snorted. "I think if we knew the answer to that, we'd have gotten our happily ever after ending already." She looked around at the assorted machines standing quietly waiting to be called into service. "Had anyone else here wondered if maybe Brianna and Charisma weren't actually the real clients in this case? After all, it's not like they've been treated like any case *I've* ever worked on, and I'm betting the rest of you would say the same."
"You think Esmeralda and Saphira...?"
"I think He's got a lot to answer for at this point."
"Careful, Turq," Ruby warned. "That is dangerously close to insubordination. Lucifer was kicked out for less."
"I'm not sure I care anymore, Ruby. I'm not sure I can keep doing this... not sure I want to - not if He's going to play games with people's lives like this."
Before Ruby could formulate a reply, Esmeralda blinked her eyes open. She didn't move or speak, but she couldn't stop the silent tears from rolling down her face. One by one, each of the Angels in the room with her kissed her forehead, then shimmered out of sight until only Ruby remained.
"What say we get out of here, Es?" Esmeralda sat up without a word while Ruby rang for the charge nurse. The sooner they left the hospital, the better for all involved.
Chapter LXXXIX
The house was silent when they entered and Ruby chanced to wonder if the others had gone straight to bed when they arrived home. She wasn't concerned, however; she was much more focused on getting Esmeralda to her room and settled before she collapsed. Because that is exactly what Ruby expected to happen - she'd seen what separation had done to them before. Ruby sighed and walked beside Esmeralda until they reached the bedroom door. Then Esmeralda stopped and Ruby was forced to stop as well... waiting for Esmeralda to give some indication of what was going on.
When she didn't move... didn't speak... for several minutes, Ruby finally took the bull by the horns and gently grasped Esmeralda's jaw in her hand, urging Esmeralda's eyes up until she could look into them. Ruby bit the inside of her lip to keep her reaction from becoming visible. Instead, she took a deep breath, then whispered softly, "Es? C'mon, honey... let's get you tucked into bed."
"No, Ruby," her voice so low Ruby had to focus on the movements of her lips. "I have to do this by myself. Don't... please," cutting Ruby off before she could begin to formulate a response. "Nothing is going to make this better. Please... just leave me alone."
Ruby stared into dead, gray eyes - the color sucked out of them when Esmeralda's inner light was snuffed out - and it took all she had not to shiver against the chill that set into her bones. "All right, Es. We'll be here if you need us. We'll talk about the arrangements later?"
Esmeralda just shrugged and opened the door to the bedroom she had shared with Saphira since their exile in this place had begun. It more than anywhere else had been their home and Ruby watched as Esmeralda stiffened her shoulders before crossing the threshold. Then she closed the door behind her without a backwards glance and Ruby shook her head. She turned and headed towards the kitchen - despite her exhaustion, she needed a few minutes to recoup before heading upstairs to try and get a few minutes of rest before starting what promised to be one of the hardest days she had ever known. And she knew they were going to get worse before they got better.