With a sigh, he leaned forward and reached for the book, hesitating only briefly before scooping it up in his hand. He caressed the cover just like his son had, noting that it was very soft and very smooth - a testament to the age of the album at least. Then he opened it once more.

The images were definitely his wife taken at least twenty years prior. Aside from the look of the photographs themselves, he knew when she had graduated from college - the diplomas she displayed in this office as well as on Capitol Hill prominently stated it. And the very first picture in this album was of her and another young woman who he now knew to be Senator Brianna Walker on what must have been their graduation day.

Kent studied the picture carefully, wondering again what had happened between the two women to keep them apart for so long. They were posing for the camera - arms wrapped around each other and cheeks pressed together as they held up their diplomas and laughed with delight in their accomplishment. The next few pictures were similar, though Charisma's family and what he supposed were Brianna's parents joined them in different groupings.

He tilted his head in thought and let his gaze go inward for a few minutes. Then he carefully set the album aside and rose, making his way to the other side of the house and the family room. This was the most comfortable room in the house, in his opinion. It was the one spot that looked lived in - with the magazines and TV Guide, the entertainment center with the gaming consoles and the shelves of DVDs. It also held the largest assortment of family photos... the kind snapped on outings together and not done in a professional studio.

Kent took a moment to look around at them. Many of them were taken at the various family functions they had attended at Okasa's and Patrick's home. In those, there was always a variation of who got grouped together, and he smiled when he realized just how often his mother was included as well. Okasa had made it a point to adopt them both into the family when he and Charisma had gotten married and he hadn't even noticed it consciously until right then.

Still, as much as that made him smile, it wasn't the reason he'd come in here looking, and he took his time studying each and every single picture. He remembered when he'd initially met Charisma's brothers - they had been cool and less than welcoming and he'd put it down to the natural protectiveness of older brothers towards a baby sister... even when that sister was long since grown up and a US Senator besides. Now he wondered.

The pictures didn't reveal anything, really - other than the fact that Charisma never smiled in them like she was smiling in her album. After a few more minutes, Kent shook his head and went back to Charisma's office.

He picked up the book again and moved past the graduation pictures and onto... He squinted his eyes trying to look harder. Then he flipped through a few pages to confirm his guess - this was the extended European trip Charisma had taken after college.

The first picture was them waving goodbye at the airport and Kent could only assume Okasa or Patrick had snapped it for them. And from there the photos told their own story of two college girls touring their way across Europe.

Some of the pictures made Kent smile or laugh out loud. Some of them brought a tear to his eye. But all of them were bringing him to the realization that Brianna Walker meant far more to his wife than he ever had. Then he found the picture of them in front of the Trevi Fountain.

He paused for a long moment and simply stared. Charisma and Brianna were standing with Trevi Fountain lit behind them in the darkness. Their foreheads were leaned together and their eyes were closed - if he didn't know any better, he'd have sworn they had just kissed one another senseless. The shot was just that intimate. However, the very next picture had them wrapped up in the same hug he'd seen in their graduation pictures with the same crazy, giddy smiles on their faces.

Kent was tempted to close the book then. He'd found what he needed to know and really didn't want further confirmation. Still, he was only a few pages from the end and figured he'd never get a better chance. So he slowly turned through the last few photographs the album held.

There was nothing remarkable - nothing that stood out like Trevi did... until the last picture. The very last photo in the album was a picture of Brianna alone. They were obviously in an airport and Brianna was waving to the camera. But it wasn't the waving or the airport background that caught his attention. It was instead the sad smile on her face and the hint of tears in her eyes.

Kent stared at that photograph for a very long time. Then his stomach growled, reminding him that not only had he missed his dinner after the theatre the previous night, but that he never had managed to get his coffee fixed that morning. A glance at his watch showed him it was well past a normal lunch hour too. He glanced back to the book he held once more, then carefully closed it and put it back on the coffee table where he'd found it.

He rose and stretched, wincing when he heard his bones popping back into place. Then he turned and walked out of Charisma's study, closing the door behind him without ever looking back.

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

Okasa looked at the box of unopened letters she held and bit her lip to hold in the sigh she wanted to release. The letters were separated by year and tied with ribbon and still she'd had to invest in a mid-sized Rubbermaid container several years before. Now she stared down at the box with a pensive expression on her face. She had been so sure sending them to Charisma would solve everything.

"Second thoughts, me love?" Paddy drawled as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. She leaned into him and tilted her face up to him so gauge his seriousness. When she recognized the genuine concern in his expression, she nodded slowly.

"I think we should send them, Paddy - I really do. Charisma has a right to know how Brianna feels... how she's always felt."

"But...?"

"But I'm not sure it's right to betray Brianna's trust this way. If it backfires - if Charisma will not accept Brianna's feelings for her... even if only to herself - Brianna will see it as a betrayal... my betrayal. And I couldn't live with driving her out of our lives like that. The boys would never forgive me."

"Then why take the risk, Okasa?" Patrick asked playing devil's advocate. "Surely they can figure it out on their own."

Okasa snorted and turned in his arms. "Oh no you didn't. Please tell me you didn't just say that." She huffed at him. "Patrick Tagherty - those two young women have had twenty years to figure things out on their own and they've refused to do so. I don't think leaving it to them is a prudent course of action anymore."

"Neither is buttin' in where you've no business being." Patrick sighed and leaned his forehead into hers. "So what do you want to do, Sweetheart? You've basically eliminated your choices."

Okasa crossed her eyes to keep him in focus and grinned. "How do you feel about a road trip?"

Patrick pulled away just slightly so he could uncross his eyes. "What are you thinking, Mama?"

"I think I need to go talk to Brianna. And we could go visit our daughter and grandson as well."

Patrick raised his eyebrows at her. "Been thinking about this a little have you? Did you actually hear a word that Father Ross spoke in mass today?"

"I got the essential bits," she smirked. "Now, can you be ready in an hour?"

"Can you get the time off?"

"I'm waiting to hear back from Nancy now. As much time as I have saved, it shouldn't be a problem... especially since I am supposed to be partially retired at this point."

Patrick just stared at her for the longest moment, then he started chuckling silently. "You're something else, Mama... you know that?"

Okasa snorted. "I had to be to keep up with you lot." The phone rang and she moved to answer it. With a little luck, they'd be on their way to the Capital shortly.

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

Charisma walked back into the kitchen just a few minutes after having left it and looked at the stack of dishes with a frown. "Did they multiply while I was gone? Someone forget to separate the boys and girls?"

Esmeralda laughed. "Nothing so dramatic," she replied as Ruby stirred a big pot on the stovetop and Brianna shut off the running water. "Whenever Ruby doesn't have to wash the dishes, she cleans out the fridge. And then she'll make a soup or macho nachos... depending on what's in there. That way the leftovers don't go to waste and she doesn't get stuck washing the containers."

Charisma cut her eyes at Ruby who gave her a serene glance in return. "That's pretty clever," she admitted as she accepted a towel from Esmeralda. "But can I ask what macho nachos are?"

"Leftovers on a bed of nacho chips and smothered in cheese and jalapeсos. That way, even though you're never quite sure what's under there, you'll eat them anyway."

"Seems kind of risky."

"Kind of like asking for trouble isn't it?"

Esmeralda snorted at their dual response causing laughter to ripple through both Charisma and Brianna. "Well," she conceded as she took the first dry dishes out of Charisma's hand, "you can end up with some pretty interesting dreams if you're not careful."

"I'm not sure that'd be a good thing in this town. I'm not sure I'm ready to dream about naked congressmen flying kites on the Mall or something."

Esmeralda scrunched up her face in distaste. "That's not interesting... it's downright scary. Thank you very much for that visual. I don't wanna know where that came from."