A test in friendship

Prologue

The winter sky was a brilliant blue, the sun reflecting off the mounds of snow that still lingered all around the park and with more snow forecast in the weeks ahead there was a good chance for a white Thanksgiving. Despite the cold, children raced around the park, building snowman and engaging in snowball fights, their cheeks rosy from the chill in the air.

Andrew smiled as he gave his friend another push on the swing, before rubbing his glove-covered hands together to try to keep them warm,
"So, then what happened?" He asked her, backing up a step, deciding she was high enough for the moment.

"Well, after he knew I was an angel, he came to realize that his sister hadn’t done what she did intentionally and he asked for her forgiveness, which she willingly gave, of course. When I left they were both crying and wondering how they wasted so many years being angry," Monica smiled contentedly, remembering the scene in her mind,
"I love it when God works miracles."

"It never gets any less amazing, does it Angel Girl?" He remarked softly, as he watched her lose momentum on the swing before she planted her feet into the snow-covered ground to stop herself altogether.

She turned in the swing to face him, her cheeks flushed from the cold,
"No, it doesn’t and assignments like this one, always remind me of that time when you and I were at odds and how we wasted four years being apart because of a terrible misunderstanding. It makes me appreciate friendship even more as well as the ties that human families are supposed to have."

Andrew’s eyes flickered with sadness briefly, remembering that horrible afternoon on Erin’s front porch-a moment he never spoke of, but would never forget,
"Want to take a walk?"

Nodding her head, the auburn haired angel rose to her feet, wrapping both of her arms through one of his as they walked along the path, managing to avoid the occasional snowball that was misfired from the children behind them,
"I think snow is so beautiful," She said softly, gazing around her at the world covered in white,
"I think it is one of favorite things the Father created."

"He’s getting the earth ready for spring," Andrew remarked, his expression still far away,
"The snow paves the way for all the new beginnings."

Monica gazed up at him, not missing the look in his green eyes,
"Yes, new beginnings. Even though the snow causes death to the leaves and the flowers, in the Father’s time, new life is breathed back into everything; making it all the more precious and making us appreciate it so much more. I think it is so beautiful in the spring, that it makes me forget that the snow did any harm to it in the first place." She caught her friend’s eye as she said this and watched as his lips twitched in a smile.

"Point taken, sweetheart," He replied, knowing she was talking more about their friendship once those dark days were over than the seasons, but both were equally true nonetheless.

"Point?" She asked in mock innocence as she grinned up at him.

Andrew chuckled, his mood lightening once more as they continued walking as he thought about what she had said and he marveled at her ability to take something horrible and turn it around into something good. Thinking about all of this, he never noticed her reach up to grab hold of a snow-covered tree limb, giving it a mighty tug and then releasing it, but he was fully aware of her delighted giggles as the snow from the limb came crashing down on top of him.

Startled, he shook the cold snow from his blond hair, his green eyes glinting with mischief as a boyish grin spread over his face,
"You know this means war, Angel Girl!"

With a yelp, Monica took off at a run, Andrew right at her heels as she struggled to keep her footing in the slippery snow and she gave a surprised cry when she felt a snowball hit her in the back. Breathless, she came upon the hill where a few kids were sledding and seeing no other escape, she started to bolt down it, but she lost her footing halfway and toppled the rest of the way down, finally plunging into a large snowdrift at the bottom.

Unable to tell if she was hurt or not, Andrew raced down the hill, only to slide as well, and wound up in the snowdrift beside of her, only then hearing her uncontrollable laughter and joining in with his own. A minute later, as their laughter subsided, he helped her to her feet,
"Are you okay?" He asked, half laughing still though he was concerned.

"I’m fine," Monica replied, still giggling,
"You should have seen yourself…falling down that hill!" She reached up with a wet mittened hand to wipe at the tears of laughter on her face.

Andrew shook his head in amusement, chuckling at her snow-covered hair, before he shuddered, now feeling cold and looking at his best friend, he noticed she was shivering as well,
"Come on," He said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders,
"Lets get back so we can get changed. Tess will probably be back from her assignment soon as well."

"I agree. I’m freezing!" She exclaimed, snuggling closer to him as they walked. After a moment, she glanced up at him, a smile playing on her lips.

Catching her eye, Andrew met her glance, a curious expression on his face, wondering what she was up to now.

"Thank you," She said simply.

"For?" He asked, both eyebrows raised as he awaited her answer.

"Just for being you, Andrew," Monica replied softly,
"That’s all…just for being you."

Chapter 1

Two hours later, Andrew and Monica walked into the cozy coffee shop in another part of town, laughing and talking to one another. After having taken showers and gotten changed after their little adventure in the snow earlier, the Father had directed them to this coffee shop to wait for Tess…but of course, Monica couldn’t be more happy. Coffee was the Irish angel’s weakness and if nothing could make her smile – except her friendship with Andrew – it was a Double Decaf Mocha Latte.

Smiling as she held onto her best friend’s hand, the two angels walked over to the counter and sat down in two stools, still talking to one another.

"How may I help you two folks today?" The friendly voice of a man broke into their conversation and Monica looked up, brown eyes smiling and her grin a mile wide.

"I’ll have a Double Decaf Mocha Latte, please," Her Irish voice was thick as she talked and she smiled at the human in front of her,
"Actually, make that two – "

"Monica…" Andrew broke in, a warning in his voice,
"You know I don’t drink those. I only go for Ginger Ale and that’s it."

Pouting, Monica turned mock sad eyes to her friend and then turned back to the man in front of them, who was chuckling as he listened to the two angels speak,
"Okay, fine, ONE Double Decaf Mocha Latte."

"And one Ginger Ale, please," Andrew finished off the order, his green eyes still on Monica and as soon as the waiter turned away, he broke into laughter and shook his blonde head,
"You’re hopeless, Angel Girl. If Tess could only see you right now…"

"Oh, like you’re going to tell her, huh?" Monica frowned mockingly at him, but sealed her teasing off with a wink at him and a nudge in the arm,
"I can’t help it, Andrew! Coffee and I get along very well and I can’t cut back…"

Rolling his eyes to the ceiling, Andrew fingered with his napkin in front of him and was about to say something else when a female voice broke into their conversation again.

"Excuse me, are you Andrew?"

Eyebrows raised in question and curiosity, both Monica and Andrew turned around and came face to face with a beautiful-looking female with shoulder length, dark blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a heavy jacket over a dark blue turtleneck and black slacks. Even from the coat she wore, both angels could tell she was rather slim and no matter what she wore, she was a knockout…especially considering male voices were heard over the sudden quietness of the café, and fingers were pointed towards her in awe.

"Uh…Yes, I’m Andrew," The Search and Rescue angel replied somewhat nervously, trying to figure out who this woman was. But for the life of him, he couldn’t figure it out,
"Who are you? I don’t think we’ve met before…"

"No, we haven’t," The woman replied, turning towards the males around her who were throwing cat calls her way and grinning a mischievous smile. Then turning back to Andrew, she continued speaking,
"My name is Brianna and I’ve heard a LOT about you, Andrew."

Smiling brightly at him and tossing her hair over her shoulder while shrugging out of her coat, Andrew couldn’t even give a chance to speak before this woman sat down on the other side of him, her eyes locked on his face. Andrew’s heart practically thudded to the ground as he suddenly realized who she may be: Was she an angel, like himself and Monica??

"You’re a – I mean, you’re…" Andrew stuttered, moving his hands around while glancing around him, trying to not make himself known to the other customers who may overhear them saying the word ‘angel’.

"Yes, I am, Andrew," Brianna finished for him, grabbing his hand and shaking it firmly,
"I’ve heard LOTS about your past work, Andrew, and…I’ll tell you right now, I am what you used to be."

"You mean…an…" Andrew stuttered once again, his face starting to grow red with embarrassment that it seemed to be that an angel was actually flirting and also that she was an Angel of Death, from what it seemed she was trying to say.

"Yes, I am an Angel of Death, Andrew," Brianna whispered, never releasing his hand until Andrew finally firmly, yet carefully, pulled it away,
"I had just returned from an assignment and since I don’t have any other assignment for a while…" Shrugging her slim shoulders, she flashed him a sweet, innocent smile,
"I decided to go and meet this angel who used to be in this department-an angel who has always been so highly thought of around the realms. You, Andrew."

Not able to resist it, the blonde-haired angel returned the smile to Brianna and blushed a bit,
"Well…it is nice to meet you, Brianna. I guess you know why I left that department, right?"

As the two angels continued to talk with one another, former Angel of Death to present Angel of Death, Monica kept quiet as her best friend and this strange angel unintentionally ignored her and acted like she wasn’t even there. Lowering her auburn head to the countertop where her coffee sat, Monica’s good mood suddenly evaporated into thin air and she let out a soft sigh, moving her brown eyes slowly over to Andrew and Brianna.

Slightly moving a little away from them, Monica didn’t notice that Tess had suddenly appeared inside of the café until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Practically jumping out of her skin, the Irish angel turned around and faced her supervisor, pressing a trembling hand across her chest and willing it to stop pounding,
"Oh…it’s just you, Tess."

"Yes, it’s just me, Baby," Tess answered, removing her hand and taking the empty seat on her other side while her eyes didn’t Andrew and Brianna, who were still engaged in conversation, even deeper now than before,
"You okay, Monica? It looks like our Angel Boy here has made a friend with that new angel there…"

"Why shouldn’t I be okay, Tess?" Monica whispered, although a slight feeling of hurt ached in her heart and she turned away from the other two angels to face Tess,
"He’s allowed to make new friends."

"Yes, he is, Angel Girl," The older, dark-skinned angel replied, nodding her head, but then moved closer to her charge and lowered her voice to a whisper only she could hear,
"I know he’s your best friend, Baby – "

"Of course he is, Tess," Monica interrupted, trying to look not as hurt as she felt inside.

Letting out a sigh again, Tess turned dead serious eyes to the younger angel before her,
"Monica, this new assignment isn’t going to be exactly like it’s always been…This new assignment will involve both you, Andrew AND Brianna over there."

"Brianna? Why her? We don’t even know her."

"That’s what I mean, Baby," Tess assured her softly,
"This new assignment is going to be a test for all of you. A test of friendship, Monica…and it’s going to be up to you three to see that you pass it by the time it’s over with."

Chapter 2

Tess looked up as late the following morning, she saw Monica coming downstairs, dressed in a ski outfit, her brilliant auburn hair pulled back into a ponytail, and she was looking more chipper than she had the previous day at the coffee shop,
"And where are you headed, Miss Wings?" The older angel asked, a look of amusement on her face as her young friend came into the kitchen.

"Well, Tess, while I don’t completely understand this assignment, it doesn’t appear that we have any humans to help right now," Seeing the nod from Tess, she continued happily,
"So, Andrew had promised me awhile back that the next time we had a day off and it was snowing, he’d teach me to ski. I’ve never learned and have always wanted to, so since we’re off today, I thought I’d ask Andrew to fulfill that promise for me. Would you like to come," Her dark eyes sparkled mischievously as she reached for the coffee pot to pour herself a cup,
"Come on, Tess, think of it-Whoosh, whoosh down the slopes…it’ll be fun!"

"Baby, you know that this old angel isn’t going to ‘whoosh, whoosh’ anywhere, especially in that cold, wet, white stuff," Tess replied, listening to the giggle that emerged from her friend, before her expression softened,
"There’s one problem, baby. Andrew has already left for the day."

Monica’s head jerked up, her expression one of confusion,
"Where is he?"

Tess sighed softly, knowing her Angel Girl was going to be more than a little disappointed,
"Apparently Brianna had asked him to spend the day with her today, baby. He left before you got up."

There was silence in the kitchen for a moment, before the younger angel went back to stirring her coffee, a small sigh escaping her lips as her mood began to fade and an old feeling she hadn’t felt in a very long time began to push its way into her heart. But she fought it, pushing her resentment aside and drawing in a deep breath to try to keep her emotions in tact,
"Well, I guess I’ll learn to ski some other time then," She remarked, picking up her mug and walking into the living room.

Tess followed closely behind her, not missing the tinge of hurt in Monica’s voice, though it was obvious to the older and wiser angel that her friend was trying to hide her disappointment. She decided not to say anything however, knowing this young angel who was dear to her heart, would not be able to remain quiet for long. Monica’s heart had always been an open door, and when it was aching, she was unable to keep the hurt inside of her for long.

Sitting down on the sofa, Monica sat her coffee cup on the table and picked up a magazine, thumbing through it aimlessly. When she felt Tess sit down beside of her, she looked up and trying to sound nonchalant, asked,
"So who is this Brianna angel anyway?"

Tess smiled inwardly, knowing Monica would not find it funny right now that she was able to all but predict how long it would take her younger friend to comment on what was bothering her,
"She’s an Angel of Death, baby. A very good Angel of Death actually, though she has clashed a few times with some of the other angels, or so I’ve heard. She can be a little rough around the edges at times, but she has the compassion it takes to do her job."

Monica nodded her head, still not meeting Tess’ eyes, lest her friend see too much in them,
"I don’t really understand this assignment, Tess."

"I don’t either completely, baby. All I really know is that the three of you are involved."

"Is it an evaluation?"

"Maybe," Tess replied patiently.

"Do Andrew and Brianna know about it?"

"No, they don’t. I was told only to tell you," Tess sighed, wishing she had more information about all of this to give to her friend,
"Baby, I know you’re hurt-."

"Don’t be silly, Tess. Andrew and I talked about skiing a long time ago and he probably forgot is all," Monica replied, trying to keep the tremble from her voice,
"I’ll just find something else to do today. It isn’t a big deal."

Tess nodded her head, though she didn’t believe her for a minute, she decided it was best to allow Monica to handle this in her own way.

"I guess Andrew wanted to talk to her because he used to be an Angel of Death," the younger angel continued, as if trying to convince herself,
"I mean, he had a lot of issues, especially when his assignment didn’t accept God and Brianna can obviously relate to that and I can’t, at least not really."

"That’s a good point, Angel Girl," Tess replied warmly, reaching to lay a hand on her friend’s knee,
"Now, that just leaves you with the issue of what to do today," Seeing Monica nod, she continued,
"Well, you know, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a day to spend with my Angel Girl. It seems our day off is never the same, or when it is, the three of us do something together, which I always enjoy or you and Andrew are off on some adventure I’d rather not take part in. No, I can’t remember really when you and I have had any time together at all lately."

Monica looked up and smiled at her former supervisor before she impulsively threw her arms around her in a loving hug,
"Oh Tess, you know I’d love to spend today with you."

Tess chuckled as she held her friend tightly,
"Now, you know how I feel about skiing, but I’m sure there is a ski lodge and we could find something to get into, if that suits you."

Pulling away, Monica nodded her head, only a faint trace of sadness still visible in her brown eyes,
"That sounds like fun, Tess. Lunch is on me, my treat, all right?"

"Whatever you say, baby," Tess replied as they stood up to leave, but the older angel found herself saying a prayer that this evaluation or assignment or whatever it was, didn’t get any more difficult, or it would stand to reason that she could very well have a few hurting angel babies on her hands

Chapter 3

2 hours later…

"I had a great time with you this afternoon, Brianna," Andrew smiled at his new friend as the pretty angel pulled up his temporary apartment which he was sharing with Monica and Tess, and unbuckled his seat belt,
"Maybe we can get together sometime tomorrow and I can treat you to a movie or something? My treat! You paid for this lunch and I want to pay you back."

"Don’t worry about it, Andrew," Brianna smiled back at him, her pearly white teeth sparkling, as with her eyes,
"I asked you to have lunch with me this afternoon because I wanted to get to know you a little better, and I’m glad I did. You’re great at what you do, Andrew, and although I am saddened that you quit being an Angel of Death…I can see why you did that. If you want to go see a movie tomorrow afternoon or something, we can split the pay this time, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan," Andrew chirped back, his heart happy after having such a wonderful day with Brianna. It was always great to make new friends and he felt like this friendship was going to last…a feeling inside of him told him so,
"I’ll borrow Tess’ car and we can figure out what we wanta do then, okay?"

"Sure, Andrew," She replied, her blue eyes twinkling,
"I’ll see you then!"

Climbing out of the car, Andrew shut the door behind him and turned back around again and waved to the other angel before she pulled away and drove off. Turning back towards the apartment where he shared with his two friends, the blonde human angel hummed to himself as he climbed the steps towards the apartment door. Taking out his house key and unlocking the front door before him, he yelled out to the quiet house,
"Hello? I’m back!"

Upon not receiving any response from his best friend or supervisor, Andrew frowned, but shrugged it off as he took off his heavy jacket and shook out the bits of white snow in his short, blonde hair. Running his fingers through his locks, the angel yelled again,
"Monica? Tess?"

"Well…looks like they’re not here…" He murmured softly to himself as he headed towards the living room to put some wood in the fireplace. The apartment was freezing cold and although he wore a wool sweater and a pair of blue jeans, Andrew still shivered. Rubbing his arms with his cold hands, after he had taken the gloves off, a piece of paper on the island at the kitchen counter caught his eye and he walked over to it.

Taking it into his hands, Andrew read through the note and suddenly felt a feeling of shock and guilt race through his body.

"Dear Andrew,

Monica and I have gone out for a while, baby, and we’ll probably be gone for a few hours. I took her out to learn how to ski at the nearby lodge. She wanted to learn from you, but by the time she got up, you already were gone out to lunch with Brianna. Our girl was a little disappointed in this, so I decided to teach her myself. Have fun with your new friend, Angel Boy, and we’ll see you later this afternoon.

Love,

Tess"

As Andrew set the note back down on the island, he sank deep into one of the stools and stared off into space,
"Oh Father…I totally forgot that she wanted me to teach her to ski the next time we had a day off…" He whispered to himself, lowering his head into his hands and sighing deeply,
"Father…Is she mad at me??"

"Fear not, My angel," The voice of God spoke to him,
"Monica’s not angry with you. Yes, she is disappointed, but Tess is with her right now. You can take the time to talk to her when they return later today, My precious one."

Sighing again, Andrew looked down at his hands as he folded and unfolded them, whispering to thin air,
"I’m so sorry, Monica…"

*****

A half hour later, Andrew lay on the couch in front of the fire, staring at the flickering flames as they danced. The room finally having gotten warm, the angel had decided to take a short nap while he waited for his friends to return, but couldn’t sleep in the cold house. Finally giving up, he went out to the couch and just stared at the flames, thinking to himself what he should say to his best friend once they arrived back home.

Suddenly as if a direct answer to his questions, the front door opened and two chatty voices filled the room.

"That was so much fun, Tess! When you fell down that hill…I wish I had my camera handy!"

"I’m glad you didn’t, Miss Wings!" Tess replied back in a huffy tone as she shrugged out of her heavy coat and hung it up,
"You would’ve had a serious problem on your hands and I would’ve had to sic Dawg on you, Monica!"

"I would have thought it’d be so cold in here after the freezing weather out there, but it’s so warm – "Her words suddenly broken off as the two angels came into the living room and spotted Andrew sitting up on the couch, Monica’s eyes widened and the cheerfulness that was in them earlier suddenly disappeared and disappointment replaced it.

"Well, Baby, I didn’t expect you home now!" Tess called to him as she headed over to the kitchen and opened the cupboard, taking out a few mugs and some cocoa,
"How was your lunch with Brianna, Andrew?"

"Uh…fine, Tess," Andrew mumbled as his eyes never left Monica’s as she stared at the ground while she started to shrug out of her heavy jacket and scarf. Immediately standing to his feet as he watched her, he walked over to her and gently helped her out of it,
"Here ya go, Angel Girl."

Turning around and giving her best friend a small smile, the Irish angel said quietly,
"Thank you."

"Your welcome." He replied as she hung up the jacket in the closet and wrapped the scarf around another hanger.

"Well, I’m getting some of that hot cocoa ready and the coffee is brewing for you, Angel Girl," Tess called out as she walked back into the living room, a smile spread across her face. As she noticed Andrew’s worried look, Tess’ smile disappeared and she placed a gentle hand on her Baby’s arm,
"Angel Boy, are you okay?"

"Uh…yeah, I’m fine, Tess," He replied, forcing a smile at his supervisor,
"Um, could I speak with Monica for a minute? I need to talk with her, if it’s all right, Tess…"

"Oh! Of course it’s all right, Baby," Tess smiled once again as she patted her young friend on the arm,
"I’ll be right in the kitchen if you need me, Angel Babies."

Waiting until their friend was in the kitchen and the door was closed, Andrew reached for Monica’s hand and gently led her back over to the couch in front of the fire. Requesting for her to sit down beside him, the Search and Rescue angel turned towards her with a look of seriousness on his handsome face,
"Monica…I am so sorry that I forgot to take you skiing this afternoon," He started, forcing back a few hot tears in his green eyes at the disappointment that he had caused his best friend. Whenever she hurt, so did he and this was one of those moments that he wished didn’t happen,
"I totally forgot that I promised you that…Can you forgive me?"

Lifting her tangled, auburn head to face her friend, Monica saw the sadness in his soft, green eyes and she reached up, placing a hand against his cheek,
"It’s okay, Andrew. Really. Tess took me instead and we had a fun time – "

"But I didn’t mean to hurt you like that, Angel Girl," He interrupted, making sure his point was heard,
"I read the note that Tess left for me when I returned and when she said that you were really disappointed…well…all I can say is that I’m very sorry, and that I’ll never do that again."

Not able to resist a smile full of love towards her dearest friend, Monica threw her arms around Andrew’s neck and gave him a bear hug,
"I forgive you, Andrew. I was never mad at you in the first place…I was disappointed, yes, but Tess made up for that. I do hope that we can go skiing together later on during our break…After all, this time I’ll bring my camera along to take a picture of Tess falling flat on her bottom on the slopes."

Unable to contain his laughter, Andrew gently pulled away from her hug and gave her a soft, loving kiss on the forehead,
"Thank you, Angel Girl. I promise that this kind of thing won’t happen again. I’ll make sure of that."

Chapter 4

Monica yawned sleepily late the following morning as she watched the coffee brew in the pot, wondering if it would ever finish. She, Andrew and Tess had stayed up late last night talking and now the angel felt much better about her relationship with her best friend as last night had seemed more like old times than the last two days had been.

She has awoken late to find that Tess had been called out on assignment, but that Andrew wasn’t up yet, so she had decided to go ahead and get coffee brewing as well as a kettle on for tea for her friend, knowing he would be up soon as well. The one thing they both definitely enjoyed about human form was being able to sleep. As angels, they didn’t get tired, but Monica found sleeping as a human to be refreshing and she loved waking up to see sunlight streaming in through her window and the feeling of being all warm and cozy in a bed.

Monica looked up as she heard Andrew come flying down the stairs, muttering something about oversleeping and now being late and the younger angel headed out of the kitchen to see what had her friend so worked up.

Andrew shook his head as he grabbed his coat from the closet and hurriedly put it on. He knew he shouldn’t have stayed up so late last night, or at the very least, he should have set the alarm. Now he was going to be late meeting Brianna and he had enjoyed their day yesterday enough to want to get to know the Angel of Death better. He couldn’t help but feel a bond with her in the fact that she understood the pressures of being an AOD, and that was something he had been unable to share with any other angel. Unless an angel had done the job, it was impossible for anyone to understand the heartbreak of it, watching people die before their time, though he could deal with that part of it, knowing they would soon be in the arms of the Father. It was when they died and refused to believe that had torn him apart and Brianna understood that.

"Andrew?"

The soft, Irish voice stopped him just as he was reaching for the doorknob and he whirled around, startled,
"Monica," He managed a small chuckle,
"You startled me!"

She smiled, unable to help it at his expression,
"I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to," Her expression clouded a little as she asked her next question,
"Where are you off to? I have water on for tea for you."

Andrew ran his hand through his blonde hair, wondering why on earth he felt guilty,
"Oh sweetie, I’m sorry, but I don’t have time. I’m supposed to be meeting Brianna, right now actually, and I overslept. I’ve got to go."

"Oh," She replied, looking away for a moment and trying to keep the feelings she had been harboring yesterday at bay.

Andrew watched her carefully, trying to figure out the reason for her sudden mood change,
"Were…um, we supposed to do something today?" He asked carefully, not wanting a repeat of his mistake from yesterday.

"Would it matter?" Monica heard herself snap before she could help it,
"Maybe you should just pencil me in when you have time." Turning around, she walked back into the kitchen. Once there, she felt tears fill her eyes, realizing what she had just done and as she clutched the counter, trying to ward off her anger, she said softly to the One who had created them,
"I’m so sorry, Father…."

Andrew hesitated for a moment, torn between being late and his best friend’s anger, but he knew he couldn’t leave things this way. There was obviously something bothering her,
"Yes," He answered softly as he followed her into the kitchen and stood in the doorway,
"It does matter. It matters a lot."

The younger angel looked up at him miserably, tears of regret brimming in her brown eyes,
"I’m sorry…I didn’t mean that, Andrew."

Concern filled his eyes as he saw the tears she was struggling to hold back and he approached her cautiously,
"Angel Girl, what is wrong?"

Monica looked away from the knowing green eyes, knowing she couldn’t tell him the truth, but yet, how could she lie?
"I…guess I’m just still a little tired is all and have a short fuse," She stammered, supposing that there was perhaps at least some truth to that statement.

Reaching out, Andrew cupped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him,
"Monica?"

"Andrew, really, that’s all it is and I’m sorry I snapped at you," She managed to sound more convincing this time as she forced back the tears that were threatening her eyes.

Not at all convinced and trying to tell himself she wasn’t lying to him as they had been down that road before, Andrew held her gaze, knowing that there was more to this, but also knowing her well enough to know he wasn’t getting anymore information right now. Whatever was troubling her, she wasn’t ready to talk about yet, but he felt awful about leaving her now, especially with Tess out on assignment,
"Why don’t you come with us today?" He offered after a moment.

But the younger angel shook her head,
"No, Andrew. You two go and have a good time," She replied, seeing that the coffee was finished and she now had an excuse to move away from him. She watched as his hand fell back down his side as she poured herself a cup of coffee, and as a second thought, she moved to get a travel mug out of the cupboard and quickly fixed it up with a cup of tea for him to take along as a peace offering. No, fact was when she had been introduced to Brianna in the coffee shop the other morning, the female Angel of Death had given her scarcely more than a nod before she had gone back to speaking quietly with Andrew and Monica just had a feeling, that the other angel would not take too kindly to Andrew bringing her along.

Andrew watched her in silence as she fixed the mug of tea and handed it to him,
"Are you sure you won’t come along?"

"I’m sure," She replied, wishing now that he would just go before she burst into tears. Moving to him, she hugged him tightly, somehow managing to make herself sound happy,
"Have fun."

Feeling the tightness of her hug, Andrew felt the worry for her once again tugging at his heart and he longed to know what was troubling her. He was doubly concerned knowing that it was when something was brewing deeply within her soul that she didn’t speak of it for one reason or another, such as the times Kathleen or Denise had frightened or hurt her deeply and he hoped neither of the two demons were responsible for whatever was weighing on her mind now,
"I’ll be home by dark," He told her softly, his voice hinting that he hoped they could talk then, as he released his hold on her,
"Thanks for the tea to go."

"Welcome," Monica whispered, watching as he gave her a wave, before vanishing from the kitchen.

As she heard the front door open, then close, the angel sank into one of the kitchen chairs, lowered her head to her folded arms and wept.

****

"Babies?" Tess called out later that afternoon as she came back into the house. Closing the door behind her, she hung up her coat and then turned around to see Monica, who had come in from the den. One look at her young charge and friend told Tess she had been crying earlier, even though Monica appeared to be trying to hide that fact now.

"Hi Tess, how was your assignment?" Monica asked, making every effort to keep from looking into the supervisor’s knowing eyes.

"Surprisingly quick, baby," Tess replied, walking over to her friend and laying a hand on her arm,
"Are you all right?"

"Me?" She forced a smile,
"I’m fine. I was just reading and heard you come in."

"And where’s Andrew?"

"Out with Brianna," Monica replied, keeping her voice light,
"He left a few hours ago. He asked me to go along, but I had a few things I needed to do." She attempted to move away from Tess, but the other angel held onto her arm.

"What’s going on, baby?" Tess demanded, making every attempt to read the younger angel’s expression.

"Tess, what do you mean? Everything’s-."

"Fine?" She cut her off, shaking her head,
"Miss Wings, I know you like the back of my halo and I can tell when something is bothering you, so lets go. Out with it."

"Tess, nothing is wrong," Monica replied, trying to keep the sharpness from her tone, but failing miserably.

"Are you trying to tell me that you haven’t been crying?" Tess continued, determined to force it out of her.

"I’ve been reading-."

"Lying doesn’t become you, baby, not to mention that it is forbidden. Now, for the last time, what has you so worked up today? Something must have happened since I’ve been gone, now what is it?"

"Leave me alone!" The angel finally burst out, as she wretched her arm away from Tess, her eyes wild with anger from feeling trapped,
"I told you nothing and I meant nothing, okay!? Now, get off my back, Tess!" Hating herself for the horrible words she had said, Monica walked over to the closet and grabbed her coat and scarf, putting them both on in haste. She had no idea where she was going, only that she had to get out of here.

Tess watched in shocked silence as Monica stormed out the front door, letting it slam behind her, before the older angel let out a regretful sigh, her eyes moving to the ceiling,
"I know, Father, I know…pushing her is not the way to go about it, but she is so stubborn sometimes and You know I hate to see either of my babies hurting and that little angel is hurting right now," She sighed again, deciding to have a talk with Andrew when he got back, thinking maybe he had some kind of idea of what could be going on in Monica’s heart. Her first impulse would have been to say this all had to do with Brianna, but Monica had been fine last night after their talk and even now, she had sounded accepting of Andrew being with her today; she had even turned down an invitation to go along. So, what could it be then?
"Father, I know that You know, but please help that baby to talk to someone as she is determined not to talk to me about it."

Feeling slightly hurt at that thought, Tess moved into the living room to await Andrew’s return.

Chapter 5

Several hours later, Tess still sat in the living room, reading a novel, although her mind wasn’t on it. She kept thinking about her two Babies and what was going on with them…and when her "Angel Boy" would be back. The older angel still needed to talk to him and she didn’t know why, but an uncomfortable feeling was creeping into her body.

Tossing the book back onto the coffee table, Tess let out a deep sigh as she leaned back up against the couch cushions and stared up at the ceiling, muttering a quick prayer to herself. Although it was only in the afternoon, the supervisor suddenly felt a little tired and just as she was about to close her dark eyes to gather her thoughts and also to give them a rest, a strong male voice appeared from out of nowhere.

"Tess?"

Lifting up her head and frowning, Tess sat up and stared into the face of Sam,
"Sam? What are you doing here?? Is it about Andrew and Monica?"

Nodding his head as he went over to sit down beside his dear old friend, the ever-older angel let out a long sigh and looked into Tess’ concerned face,
"Unfortunately, yes. I can’t tell you what’s going on with Monica right now – that’s for all of you to find out in the correct time. But the Father sent me here to tell you that Andrew will be home in a few minutes and you’ll get a chance to talk to him. I know this is probably nothing unusual for you to hear, but I wanted to forewarn you that our friend is a little hurt about Monica refusing to talk to him about what’s bothering her, and so is she in turn. I just wanted to tell you that you might not be able to get much information out of him, all things considering, and he might even lash out at you, too. I don’t know if he will; he may or may not. Only the Father knows, and I’m only telling you what He has said to me."

A sadness creeping into her heart and a few tears welling up in her eyes, Tess nodded her head slightly and looked down at her hands,
"I understand, Sam. I just – I just want to understand everything. In just two days, my two Babies…I don’t know…"

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders gently, causing her to look back up at him, Sam continued,
"I know you love them, and their friendship is something that you’ve witnessed grow through the many years you’ve worked together. But…they will both need your help in the coming weeks ahead. Maybe months. No matter how much either one of our friends lash out at you, they both love you dearly, okay, Tess?"

"And I love them," She whispered back, turning back to her hands and then lifting her dark eyes to the ceiling again, whispering a soft prayer to the Father,
"Oh, Father, I love those two Babies…please be with all of us. Thank You."

Ending her prayer, Tess turned back to her left where Sam had sat and wiped at a tear as she saw that her own former supervisor was now gone.

*****

Not too long after Sam had left the apartment complex, Andrew walked through the front door and Tess looked up at the sound of his voice saying something to Brianna who was behind him.

"I’ll talk to you later, Brianna. Thanks for understanding about my needing time to spend with Monica tomorrow."

"It’s no problem, Andrew," The soft voice of the female Angel of Death fluttered back to Tess and the supervisor let out a soft sigh as she heard those words. Maybe this could be the start of some healing for her two friends…

Hearing the door closing and her young charge’s footsteps coming closer to the living room, stopping as the closet door opened and closed, and then continuing to the room where Tess sat, the older dark-skinned angel surprised herself as she rose to her feet quickly and headed straight over to her Baby.

Taking Andrew by surprise as she wrapped her arms around him in a quick, tight hug – not one that was as tight as Monica’s had been earlier, but still tight – the Search and Rescue angel frowned worriedly as he tentatively hugged her back and pulled away after a second,
"Tess? Are you okay?? Is…something wrong?"

"Come on over here, Angel Boy," Tess replied, ushering the other angel the rest of the way into the living room and having him sit down beside her where Sam had been earlier,
"Andrew, we need to talk…"

"Is this about Monica, Tess" Andrew worriedly frowned as he turned his full attention to his older friend and grabbed her hands up in his own, staring into her dark eyes which were filled with sadness,
"Because if it is…"

"It’s about both of you, Baby," Tess interrupted, giving his hands a gentle squeeze,
"Monica…She left the house not that long after I returned back from my assignment and she lashed out at me after I tried to ask her what was wrong. She kept insisting that everything was okay, and she finally snapped back by telling me to ‘leave her alone’. Andrew…Would you happen to know why she did that?? Did something happen between you two earlier that I need to know about?"

His green eyes opening wide and his mouth hanging open at Tess’ words, Andrew found himself speechless for a few seconds before he finally found his voice,
"I – I just…I didn’t know that Monica had planned breakfast for me this morning and I was running late because Brianna and I were planning on spending the day together. You know, getting to know one another a little better, right? Well…Monica didn’t take that lightly. She…pretty much snapped back at me after I told her and after she apologized, she told me that she was okay. She refused to come to the movies with Brianna and myself, but I could just TELL that she was upset about something. Tess…I don’t get it. I’m…what do the humans say? Clueless??"

Letting out a sad sigh as she lowered her eyes, Tess gave her friend’s hands another squeeze before releasing them and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Patting his arm as he leaned into her, she replied to his words,
"I just wish I knew what was going on with that girl…Sam arrived not that long before you came home and he told me that we won’t find out what the deal is until the ‘correct time’. But I guess you can say I’m as ‘clueless’ as you are, Angel Boy…"

Letting out his own sigh before sitting up and out of Tess’ arms, Andrew turned to face his friend as he stood to his feet again,
"I need to go talk to her. Did she tell you where she was going?"

"No, she didn’t, honey," The angel replied, looking up at him,
"She just left and took off. If you can find that baby girl, that’d be great, Angel Boy."

Nodding in reply to his supervisor’s and friend’s words, Andrew headed back over to the closet door and opened it, yelling back towards Tess,
"I’ll be back after a while, Tess! I refuse to go to sleep until I talk to that girl…"

Without waiting for a reply from her, Andrew shrugged into his jacket and scarf before opening the large front door and disappeared once again into the snowy afternoon.

*****

After an hour of searching, Andrew was about ready to give up and head back to the apartment to be with Tess when he felt the gentle urging from the Father to continue. It was only in the mid-afternoon and already, the angel was tired; but he nodded his blonde head and continued looking for his dearest friend.

Stuffing his gloved hands into his pockets while refusing to wipe away the slight wetness in his eyes that had just now appeared, Andrew looked all around him as he came closer to the park where he and Monica had spent the afternoon together the day before Brianna had come along. Letting out a sad sigh as he remembered, Andrew shook his blonde head and pushed some hair out of his green eyes. Closing them for a minute, the angel stopped walking as he turned to his left and he sucked in a deep, shaky breath as he spotted who he was looking for.

The one that he had been worried sick about since hearing Tess’ explanation.

"Monica!" He heard himself calling out to his best friend as he headed as fast as he could towards the swing where she sat, a dejected and devastated look on her face. His tears fell from his green eyes as he spotted the look on her face and it broke the angel’s heart into tiny pieces as he saw her slowly look up at him, eyes filled with betrayal.

Chapter 6

As Andrew knelt down in front of the swing his friend was sitting on, he tried to meet her dark eyes but failed miserably. There was a look of deep hurt about her, even as she shivered a little from being out in the cold winter air for so long. Reaching up, he tenderly wiped at a tear on her cheek,
"You’ve been crying, Angel Girl," He said softly, his heart aching to know what was hurting his gentle friend,
"We’ve been worried about you."

"Please, Andrew," She whispered, unable to look at him,
"Please, not now…I can’t talk to you right now…"

His expression becoming more distressed, he reached for her hand, relieved when she didn’t pull away,
"From the looks of it, sweetheart, you need to talk to someone and you’ve always been able to talk to me before, Monica. Why not now?"

Gazing off into the distance, Monica blinked back more tears. He was right; every time she hurt or was confused or afraid, she talked to him and he had a way of always being able to make her feel better. But this time she couldn’t do that, because he was the problem, and that fact hurt.

She had been going over and over in her mind how she could tell him the truth, but she had not come up with a way to do so without sounding selfish or childish, so as much as she hated it, the truth was not an option. On top of that, she had spent the last two hours praying; asking for forgiveness and pleading for understanding in this assignment, and she had heard nothing. No word from the One above she loved with all of her being, only silence and that scared her.

"I…I just can’t, Andrew," She replied after a long silence,
"I’m sorry I snapped at Tess…she just wouldn’t stop, she…" Her lower lip quivered as she focused once again in the distance.

Andrew’s heart was racing as he struggled to hear what it was she wasn’t saying, but he felt as confused now as he had before. He could feel her pain right to the core of his being and he wanted so badly to mend it for her,
"Baby, look at me, please," He pleaded. Tears filled his eyes when she finally forced herself to, her doe-like brown eyes brimming with tears,
"I knew something was wrong this morning, Monica, but-."

"But you still left." She replied sadly, watching the hurt that flashed in his own eyes at her gentle accusation.

"Yes," He said after a moment,
"I did, but you said you were fine, Monica and even though I didn’t believe you, I knew it was what you wanted. I told Brianna that tomorrow, I’m spending with you though-."

"I’m not a charity case, Andrew," Monica snapped, feeling her anger rising to the surface once more,
"Don’t change your plans, thinking it will make me feel better, because the only reason you’re changing them is to make yourself feel better!"

Startled by her outburst, Andrew rose to his feet, trying to figure out where this sudden anger at him was coming from. Hearing the gentle voice of the Father, he struggled to remain calm, even though her words had wounded him deeply,
"What is it you want from me right now, Monica? I want to help, but you aren’t allowing me to do that. I don’t know what is wrong unless you tell me."

"There’s nothing to tell," She replied, her voice not as sharp as before, but it didn’t lose its intensity,
"And as far as what I want from you, I want to be left alone! I left the house to be by myself and I certainly didn’t ask for anyone to come looking for me," Knowing deep in her heart, she was making a terrible mess of things, she hastily got up and brushed past him, not daring to look back at the hurt she had caused.

Andrew watched her go with tears in his eyes, feeling at a loss now, more so than ever to be able to help her. He knew it would be getting dark soon and then the temperature would drop, but he left her go.

"Oh Father, please look out for her," He whispered as a tear escaped his eye,
"You know how much I love that little angel-I just don’t know how to help her now…"

****

Tess gazed up at the clock on the mantle for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the last hour, sighing softly as she saw it was now well after midnight. Andrew had gone to bed over an hour ago, too disappointed and depressed over what might be happening with his friend to talk about it any longer. He had come home miserable, relating to her all that that transpired with Monica, his heart broken by the youngest angel’s words and actions and just not knowing what was wrong in order to correct the situation.

So, now Tess sat alone, praying and watching the snowfall outside, with no other lights on other than the glow the fire provided. Her heart was heavy, both with concern for Andrew and how hurt he was, and for Monica, who was also hurting and had not yet returned home. She worried over where the younger angel could be and if she would even return after all that had transpired today.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, she heard the front door open, then close and Tess stood to her feet, watching as Monica slowly came into the room, dropping her wet coat over the back of a chair. Her wet, tangled hair hid her face as she stared down at the floor and Tess wasn’t sure she could ever remember the angel looking as lost as she did right now.

"Monica." She said, her rich voice reserved as she wondered what kind of reaction she was in for,
"Where’ve you been, baby?"

Looking up, Monica opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, she dissolved into tears,
"I’m sorry," She whimpered, walking over to where her supervisor stood,
"Oh Tess, I’m so sorry…"

Surprised more so than ever at Monica’s outburst, Tess quickly wrapped her arms around the sobbing angel and led her over to the sofa so they could sit down. Her hands stroked the wet hair as the shivering angel held onto her for dear life,
"Baby, what is so wrong?" Tess pleaded, as Monica buried her face against her shoulder.

But there would be no answers as Monica only continued to cry out her grief, and Tess sat back with the young angel in her arms, rocking her gently and singing softly, until nearly an hour later, Monica had cried herself to sleep.

Chapter 7

Andrew awoke the next morning, hoping to have felt refreshed and at least a little better, but much to his disappointment, he didn’t. Instead, the angel felt worse than ever. Sighing, he climbed out of bed, not bothering to make it, and headed over to the closed door, running his fingers through his tangled, blonde hair as he walked.

Opening it and heading towards the kitchen, Andrew was about to go to the cupboard and make himself a hot cup of coffee when he heard the strong voice of Tess singing in the living room. Tilting his head to the side and putting the bag of coffee grains onto the counter, Andrew tiptoed over to the other room and poked his head in, a sad smile on his handsome face as he spotted Tess rocking Monica’s sleeping form in her arms as she sang quietly to her. From the angel’s viewpoint, it looked as if his best friend had fallen asleep in his supervisor’s arms and he let out a sad sigh as he recalled the many times the little Irish angel had fallen asleep in his arms whenever she was most upset.

Not willing to allow himself to cry right then at the sight, he turned back around and quietly headed back towards the kitchen, but Tess’ loving voice stopped him in his tracks,
"Angel Boy?"

Turning back towards the other room and standing in the doorway, he forced a smile as Tess gave him a loving smile of her own,
"Good morning, Tess," He whispered trying not to disturb Monica’s sleep.

"Morning, Baby," She replied back, her eyes filled with both concern and love for both of them,
"How’d you sleep, Andrew?"

Shrugging as he headed over to where Tess sat and sat down on Monica’s other side, Andrew replied in a somewhat dead tone,
"I’ve slept better…"

Giving him a sympathetic look, the older and wiser angel moved her free hand that wasn’t holding Monica and patted Andrew’s knee. Giving it a gentle squeeze, she removed it after a minute and turned back to the sleeping Irish angel, who was slowly beginning to stir.

Upon spotting this, Andrew winced and rose to his feet shakily, his voice filled with hurt,
"I’ll be in my room, Tess…I don’t wanta bother her."

Practically running towards his bedroom before his supervisor could say a word and the door closing just as Monica opened her doe-like brown eyes, which still held some dry tears, Tess sighed sadly as she gently released her hold on her charge,
"Good morning, Baby."

"Tess? Why did Andrew leave like that…"

Taken by surprise by Monica’s question, Tess raised her eyebrows while answering,
"How did you know he was even here, Baby Girl – "

"I heard him, Tess," Monica replied sleepily, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"He didn’t want to bother you, Monica. Our Angel Boy didn’t get a good night’s sleep last night and, well…" Tess shrugged her shoulders before continuing,
"He just decided to go back into his room."

Her heart still filled with hurt from the night before, but also some guilt over the way she had treated her best friend, Monica rose to her feet and stretched before turning towards Andrew’s room, her Irish voice sounding back to Tess as she spoke over her shoulder,
"I’ll be right back, Tess…"

*****

"…I just wish that you could talk to me about what’s wrong, Monica," Andrew was saying as the two angels sat in front of one another on his bed a few minutes later,
"I’m not angry about what happened last night, but then I should’ve known better…"

Slightly nodding her head, auburn hair bouncing against her shoulders, Monica lowered her eyes as an uncomfortable silence filled the room. Finally breaking that silence, she spoke up.

"I shouldn’t have snapped at you like I did," She said, tentatively raising her brown eyes to meet his green ones,
"No matter how I’ve been feeling, I had no right to talk to you like that. But…"

"But?" Andrew pressed gently, wishing he could just grasp her hand and hold it like he used to, but chose not to. A feeling tugged at his heart that he was moving too quickly if he chose to do that.

"I’ll tell you what’s going on when I feel the time is right, Andrew. I can’t now. But when I do, I’ll come to you. I just hope that you can forgive me for the way I acted," Sucking in a deep breath, Monica let it out slowly before continuing,
"Are we still friends?"

Feeling tears trickle down his cheeks, Andrew gave his head a nod as he realized that she didn’t say "best friends", but chose not to make mention of it. Tentatively deciding to take her hand in his now, he gently grasped it in his own and gave it a squeeze,
"Friends."

*****

"She’s my best friend, Brianna, and I’m so worried about her," Andrew whispered dejectedly late that night at a nearby coffee shop, fiddling with the mug,
"I can’t get out of my mind that something is wrong…and I get this feeling that it’s because of something that I did."

Sighing quietly, Brianna closed her blue eyes and shook her head, blonde hair swinging around her slim shoulders,
"I’m sorry, Andrew. I don’t know what to say, except…"

"Except?" Andrew frowned, leaning forward to the other angel.

Watching as Brianna lifted her eyes to the ceiling as though hearing something from the Father that only she could hear, Andrew’s brow furrowed in confusion as she continued speaking.

"What if she’s jealous, Andrew?" She uttered, her pretty face starting to pale at the very thought,
"Maybe she’s jealous of all the time you’ve been spending with me lately…maybe she feels left out…?"

"Jealous??" Andrew gasped, his green eyes widening and he leaned back into his chair and stared off into space,
"Monica, jealous?"

"Yes," Brianna whispered, lowering her eyes,
"I’ve got it from the Highest Authority, Andrew."

Chapter 8

"That’s not possible, Brianna," Andrew argued, though he didn’t want to doubt his friend, especially since she was saying she had heard it from the Father,
"I know Monica, sometimes better than I think I know myself and something is really hurting her. There’s no way jealousy could do this kind of damage to our friendship and to her."

Leaning over, Brianna placed her hand over his, seeing the torment in his green eyes,
"When did this all start, Andrew?" She asked carefully.

He frowned, not liking where this was going,
"We were in the park a few days ago…the afternoon before we met you actually and everything was fine. Since then…" He shook his head, not wanting this to make sense. If what Brianna was saying were true, did his best friend have so little faith in him that she would think he would just brush her aside for another friend?

Yet on the flip side of that, he had spent the majority of the last few days with Brianna, getting to know her and finally being able to talk to someone about his time as an Angel of Death. He had forgotten about taking Monica skiing, he had left when he knew she had been upset the other morning and even though both of them along with Tess had spent the majority of the day together today, his dearest friend had been uncharacteristically quiet most of the afternoon.

"But why won’t she talk to me about it, if that’s what it is?" He asked, looking into Brianna’s eyes,
"This could be easily fixed if she would just open up about it, which is why I’m having trouble believing she’s jealous. I’ve only seen her this way a few times before and it was a much bigger problem. It’s like she’s pulling away from me, little by little and I’m powerless to stop it."

Brianna saw the tears shimmering in his green eyes as she held his gaze,
"But don’t you see, Andrew? She’s pulling away because she thinks if she does that, it won’t hurt as badly. She’s trying to protect herself and not really meaning to hurt you, but in this case, it can’t be avoided. She’s looking out for herself, Andrew, because she doesn’t know what else to do," She sighed softly as she shook her head,
"I know that I don’t know her, but these are classic symptoms, my friend. It seems to me that you two are very close and that she loves you very much, so she’d never want to tell you the truth about this or ask you to stop spending time with me."

"She wouldn’t lie to me, Brianna," Andrew stated adamantly, shaking his head,
"We’ve been down that road before."

"You need to talk to her then," She replied gently, not liking to see her new friend in pain,
"You’re hurting over this too, Andrew, and one of you needs to stop it before it goes too far and the damage cannot be repaired. If she pushes, you need to push back and not back down."

Andrew managed a shaky laugh through his tears,
"Oh Brianna, you don’t know Monica, do you? For as sweet as she is, she is every bit as stubborn and if she is unwilling to discuss something, it’s like pulling taffy to get it out of her."

The other angel smiled knowingly as she gave his hand a squeeze,
"But you have to try."

****

Monica sat in the window seat in her bedroom late that night, unable to sleep. Her weary eyes watched as the snow fell outside as she continued praying to the Father, with still no answer, and it was beginning to weigh heavily on her mind.

Leaning back up against the wall, she drew her legs up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them as she watched the light from the lit candle flicker off the walls for a moment before she looked back out the window. She knew she had said and done things she should not have, but how could she tell Andrew the truth now? How could she when she had no idea about this assignment, or why the Father’s voice was evading her at this time?

A soft knock at the door disturbed her thoughts and she sighed softly, hoping it was not Tess with another lecture,
"Come in," She called out softly, her dark eyes never leaving the flakes that fell down in front of the window.

Andrew opened the door quietly, his pained eyes coming to rest on his friend, who sat near the window on the far side of the room, and judging by what he could see of her expression, she was miles away. Carefully he approached her and sat down facing her on the window seat, watching her surprised expression as their eyes met.

For a brief moment all he wanted to do was to pull her close and forget any of what had been going on, but he knew he couldn’t do that, so he settled for a warm,
"Hi."

"Hi," She whispered in return, her heart aching at the mere sight of him right now.

He lowered his head for a moment, trying to find the right words to even enter into this discussion,
"Monica, Angel Girl, can we please talk? I know you said earlier you would come to me when you were ready, but honey, I can’t stand this. I can’t stand seeing you like this and not want to help you."

"You can’t," Monica whispered, his words causing tears to form in her eyes.

"Monica, does this have anything to do with Brianna?" He blurted out, unable to bear the tears and not know their cause. If he had to get straight to the point, then so be it.

Somehow, Monica managed to keep her dark eyes focused on his,
"No," She replied, as she felt a part of herself die inside at the lie. She had resolved never to lie to him again, but how could she tell him the truth? To admit the truth when she didn’t even know the nature of this assignment that involved the three of them could have terrible consequences, and she couldn’t tell him about the assignment. If he were supposed to know then Tess would have told him as well.

"Then what then, Monica?" He pleaded, reaching and grasping her hands in his as tears filled his eyes,
"You are pulling away from me so fast, baby, that I’m afraid before too long I won’t be able to reach you and I don’t even know why. It’s like there is some invisible wall and I keep trying to break it down, but you aren’t letting me do that, Monica." He watched miserably as tears began to streak her cheeks.

"I…I want to tell you, Andrew…I do, but I can’t…for a million different reasons…" She managed to say, reaching up to swipe at a tear with a trembling hand,
"Just promise me that once this is all over, that you’ll forgive me…"

As she broke down completely, Andrew couldn’t stand it a moment longer as he reached over and pulled her into his arms, holding her as tightly as he dared as she buried her head against his chest,
"I will always forgive you, Monica…you hear me? Always." His voice broke off as he rested his forehead against her hair, his heart crying out to God for answers.

But a minute later, she was gently pulling away from him and he knew the moment had been a stolen one. Though she was still crying, she was struggling to control it and he knew she had given him all the information tonight he was going to get. Wiping the tears from his own eyes, he stood up and reaching down, he cupped her cheek in his hand, tenderly ruffling her hair,
"You know where I am if you need me," He said, his voice hoarse from all the emotions he was feeling.

"Yes," Monica responded shakily as she wiped at the remainder of her tears.

As he turned to go, he was stopped as he felt her grab hold of his hand and as he whirled around, the look on her face, filled with fear and vulnerability went straight to his heart.

"I’m sorry," She whispered,
"I know I’ve been saying that a lot lately, but it’s true, Andrew."

Remembering Brianna’s words from earlier about pushing back, he reached and took her other hand, pulling her to her feet. Releasing her hands, he placed his hands on her shoulders as a look of complete and utter seriousness came over his face,
"I want you to listen to me, okay? Whatever this is, you can’t keep it inside of you forever and no matter how high you try to build those walls of yours, Monica, I am telling you right now, I will find a way to tear them down. You need to remember the other times you have tried pushing us away, pushing God away and the fact that it was always better once you opened up about whatever it was. You, of all angels, know you never have to carry any burden alone-the Father is ALWAYS there, and I’m here and Tess," He drew in a deep breath, his eyes never leaving hers as he tried to determine if he was getting through to her,
"Whatever this is, Monica, no matter how bad it seems, with God’s help, we can get through it. We always have before, but you have to make that first step to Him with what is weighing so heavily on your heart. Once you do that, He will be right there for you and you know that I will be too. Sweetheart, you are my best friend and nothing…NOTHING is ever going to change that."

He watched as a small, tearful smile played on her lips, as if something in his words had been the reassurance she had needed and a moment later, she had flung her arms around him. Holding onto her tightly as tears fell from his eyes, he nearly sobbed when he heard her whisper into his ear words that he had not heard for a very long time.

"Cross your heart?"

Planting a kiss on the side of her head, he somehow managed to choke out his response,
"Cross my heart, Angel Girl."

Pulling away slightly, the younger angel looked up into his eyes, her own now only showing a trace of sadness,
"I know it’s late, but want to roast a few marshmallows over a fire?"

Andrew laughed softly as he hugged her tightly once more, knowing that though the problem was still there, it had at least lost some of its momentum and that was enough for now,
"You know, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do tonight," Pulling away, he gave her a wink as he took her hand and they headed downstairs.

Chapter 9

One week later…

Andrew screamed in laughter as Monica threw a glob of cake mix at him in the kitchen early the next Monday afternoon and the chocolate glob landed smack in his face. Hearing the sound of laughter coming from his best friend and the sound of her feet running to the other side of the counter to get some more of the ingredients that they had used for the cake, Andrew’s head shot up after he had wiped off some of the mix and he gave the Irish angel a mock look of annoyance.

"Okay, Angel Girl, that’s it," He whispered threateningly, his voice low and his eyebrows raising,
"You wanta start a food fight? You’ve got it!"

Squealing, Monica tore through the kitchen and tried to get away from her best friend who was on her heels and before she could head down the hallway, the feel of Andrew’s hands grabbing her from behind stopped her in her tracks and she pretended to protest while laughing,
"Andrew! Let me go!" Giggling uncontrollably, the angel finally managed to wiggle free and head towards the kitchen again, grabbed a glob of icing in the palm of her hand and turned towards Andrew, a mischievous glint in her brown eyes.

"Oh, no you DON’T, Miss Wings!!" Andrew shouted, a look of horror in his green eyes as icing dripped from his face,
"You put that down…We need to play fair here, Mon!"

Taking off down the hallway, as if running for his life, Monica soon caught up to the angel and threw the glob on top of his head. As soon as he felt the mushiness on his once clean hair, Andrew turned slowly around and shook his head at his dearest friend. He knew that he could never get angry with her or really annoyed over a food fight. Opening his arms to her, he wrapped her own gooey form in his and held her tightly to him. Feeling her hugging him back tightly, Andrew rested his cheek on her brown head and sighed inwardly, reflecting on the last few days.

After that earlier talk with her in her bedroom the other night, the night that they had roasted marshmallows with Tess by the fire, things had finally started to mend between him and Monica. Slowly but surely, Andrew saw a difference in his friend and he was happy about that. Sure, he still spent some time with Brianna on occasions, but he tried to spend even more time with Monica…after all, who else had such an amazing best friend that loved you with everything in her?

That afternoon, after Tess had left on another assignment that would possibly last for a few days, Monica had suggested with that same mischievous look in her eyes, to make a chocolate cake and have some fun together. And also to surprise Tess when she returned about Andrew finally learning how to bake a cake…The handsome Search and Rescue angel was more than happy to agree with this and this was only one more hint of proof that Monica was doing better.

Just as Andrew was about to release his hold on his sticky friend, the doorbell chimed and both angels jumped. Looking around him, Andrew grabbed a white dishtowel from off the countertop and wiped it across his face to get some of the gunk off of him.

"I’ll get it, Monica. You on the other hand…just stay put. I’ve got revenge coming your way once I get this person to leave," Andrew shot her his own "look" before disappearing around the corner and unlocking the door.

As soon as he opened it, however, the smile he had on his face earlier disappeared as he saw who was at the door. A look of worry replaced the smile as Brianna stared back at him, tears falling from her once-joyful eyes. Her arms were crossed over her chest to keep her heavy jacket wrapped around her snugly, but Andrew found that she was still shivering madly.

"Bri? What’s going on??" Andrew quickly ushered his friend into the apartment and was just offering her to take a seat in the living room when the other angel interrupted him.

"No, Andrew…I can’t stay here. But I do need to talk to you, though. Please, Andrew…You’re all I have," She whispered sadly, the tears never ceasing to fall.

Feeling something in his heart telling him that he had to talk to her about whatever was bothering her, Andrew reached over and gave Brianna’s shoulder a sympathetic squeeze before nodding in reply,
"I’ll be right back, okay?"

Nodding quietly, Brianna turned away from him and faced the wall, her shoulders shaking.

Watching her briefly, Andrew practically ran back to the kitchen, untying the white apron he had around his waist and tossing it onto the kitchen counter. Turning to face Monica, who was now looking at him with a look of worry – and fear – in her dark brown eyes, Andrew let out a soft sigh as he walked over to her. Running his hands through his dirty, blonde hair and finding that food was still in it, the angel reached out and placed his hands on his best friends shoulders. Staring into her eyes with a look of total seriousness in them, he spoke,
"Angel Girl, that’s Brianna. Monica, she’s very upset about something and she won’t stay here to talk about it, but she needs me right now, honey. I’ll be back soon, okay?"

The happiness now giving way to some sort of uncomfortable feeling, Monica chose to ignore the feeling and the slight jealousy that was in her and gave her head a brave nod, her ponytail bounding up and down,
"You will be back later tonight, right?"

"Before that, baby, I promise," Andrew responded, moving to embrace his friend tightly once again. Feeling her hug him back in a near death grip, the angel rubbed her back softly while whispering in her ear,
"I can’t wait to see Tess’ face when she returns home and sees not only the mess that we made here, but also the delicious looking cake."

Not saying anything, Monica continued to grip her best friend until she felt him pulling away and kissing her forehead.

"I’ll be back later on."

Turning away and heading quickly over to where Brianna was still standing, sadness still radiated on her pretty face, Andrew grabbed a hat from the rack near the closet and placed it on his head, covering his dirty hair. Opening the closet door and grabbing his own heavy jacket and shrugging into it, he placed his hand on the angel’s back. Hearing briefly from the kitchen as Andrew spoke to the other angel, Monica lowered her head in sadness.

"C’mon, let’s go someplace and talk, okay, Bri?"

As the door closed behind the two angels, Monica finally lifted her head and untied her own apron, mumbling to herself,
"Tess’ reaction isn’t what I’m worried about, Andrew…I just hope you remember what today is."

*****

"Andrew, it was so terrible!" Brianna cried heart-brokenly as she felt Andrew’s arm go around her shoulders and squeeze her gently,
"I had never in my existence as an Angel of Death witness such a horrific crime…I – I haven’t been one for as long as you had, so I’ve never witnessed children being brutally murdered before. How could God allow that man to bomb that elementary school, Andrew?? How could He allow that to happen? It makes me sick to even think about it…"

Wrapping both arms around his new friend in a strong embrace as they sat side by side in a small coffee shop on the outskirts of town, Andrew pulled Brianna close to him as she sobbed. Feeling her hands clenching his flannel shirt tightly and her tears falling onto the fabric, Andrew sighed deeply and closed his eyes,
"Brianna, this kind of thing was why I left that department all those years ago. I do know that it’s terribly hard to witness this kind of thing without intervening, but only God has all the answers and if you seek Him out with your whole heart and listen to His voice, He will tell you. I’ve learned lots of times over and over again that our ways are not God’s ways and it does break the Father’s heart to see such small children taken from this world so quickly and so hatefully…Oh, Brianna, don’t give up. He does love you so much; you’re His angel and He put you in this department for a reason and that’s because you’re GOOD at what you do – "

"Then why don’t you return to being an Angel of Death, Andrew?" Brianna weakly asked as she buried her tear-stained face deeper into the other angel’s shirt,
"I can’t work by myself in this department anymore and I need someone who had experience…I need you, Andrew, so much…Please…"

Chapter 10

Monica glanced at her watch for the 10^th time in the last half hour as she waited in the restaurant, her sad, brown eyes watching out the window for any sign of her friend, but she was beginning to believe that he wasn’t going to show.

For as long as she could remember since knowing Andrew, they had celebrated the anniversary of their meeting as a sort of tribute to their friendship. A bitter sweet smile crossed her lips as she thought about the way they always started the day she had thought was special to both of them. They always met at the same restaurant, and she would always arrive first and be waiting for him. Upon his arrival, she would look up at him and quip the first words she had ever said to him,
"Angel of Death?"

Andrew would always smile as he responded with,
"At your service."

True, he was no longer an Angel of Death, but neither of them had bothered to change their yearly greeting and over the years it had become a running joke between them, especially since her initial reaction to him had been one of dislike. But that had all changed as they had been thrown together on more assignments and under Tess’ watchful eyes; a friendship had blossomed between the two angels. Monica loved the way he always looked out for her, and she in turn, was very tuned into his moods and could tell in an instant if something was on his mind. So often, no words were needed between the two of them and they could communicate with no more than a glance and Monica thanked the Father every night for giving her such a wonderful angelic friend.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she glanced at her watch one last time, fighting back tears when she saw he was now over two hours late. Brianna must have taken longer than he had expected and though she was trying her hardest to be understanding, she was finding it difficult. Why today, of all days, did she have to show up? Though she knew it wasn’t very angelic of her, the feelings were still inside of her and as she collected her coat with a heavy heart, she knew she wasn’t ready to return home just yet. The emotions were flowing through her too strongly and she needed a little time to think.

****

Andrew paced the floor of the living room, unable to settle down enough to read or do anything else for that matter, as his thoughts were in turmoil. Brianna’s request that he return as an Angel of Death had left him more than a little confused. Sure, there were parts of that angelic duty he had loved, but then again, there were parts of it that had been very hard for him to handle at times.

Not wanting to upset Brianna further, he had promised to think about it, but had made her no promises. He had promised to have an answer for her in a few days, but he had no idea of what that answer might be. He had been hoping to talk it over with Monica, but to add to his frustration, his friend was nowhere to be found and he was beginning to get worried.

He had watched her face fall when he had told her he needed to go with Brianna, but could tell she was trying to understand. Now it was getting late and the weather had taken a turn for the worse with a terribly cold winter rain and still there was no sign of her. It wasn’t like Monica to not leave a note, so that added to his concern.

Walking over to the window once more, his heart leaped into his throat when he finally saw her walking up the path to the house, shivering and dripping wet. Turning, he raced back to the bathroom and grabbed a towel, and then hurried back to the front door, opening it just as her hand was reaching for the knob.

Grabbing her hand, he pulled her inside, her hand ice-cold in his,
"Monica, where have you been?"

Feeling Andrew wrap the towel around her in an effort to catch the drips from her hair, the truth hit her so hard it nearly knocked her over.

He had forgotten.

Brianna really had little to do with it, though had she not showed up today, perhaps he would have remembered, but did it really mean so little to him that he would forget about their one special day?

As hot tears filled her eyes, she managed to respond to him, though she refused to meet his gaze,
"Just out."

Andrew felt his heart begin to pound in his chest at the evasiveness of her response and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that whatever had been so wrong last week had returned. Something was desperately wrong.

Moving away from him, Monica somehow managed to unbutton her coat with shaking fingers as it formed a puddle at her feet, and she hung it up on the coat rack,
"I’m going to go change and go to bed. I’m tired and really don’t feel all that well."

Against his better judgment, he reached a hand out to touch her cheek, startling her as she looked at him and he was able to see the tears brimming in her brown eyes,
"You’re warm," He whispered, letting his hand drop back down to his side as she once again looked away. If he didn’t know any better, he was sure if he looked hard enough he would be able to see her invisible wall going up before his eyes,
"Why don’t you go change and we’ll talk, okay?"

"No," she replied, brushing past him and quickly retreating up the stairs. It was only once she was in her room, with the door locked behind her did she allow the tears to come. Sobbing, she leaned up against the door and sank to the floor, her dripping hair mingling with the tears that poured from her eyes.

How could he have forgotten? In all the years that they had been meeting at that restaurant, the only time it hadn’t happened was during those years that had followed that horrible argument on Erin’s porch. Him losing track of time because of whatever problem Brianna had was one thing, but his completely forgetting about it was more than she could bear.

"Monica!" The sound of Andrew trying the knob of her door and then pounding on it disturbed her thoughts,
"Monica, open the door!"

"Go away, Andrew…I’m fine…just go away," She sobbed, covering her face with her hands as the painful sobs continued to wrack through her shivering form.

Hearing her sobs on the other side of the door, Andrew’s desperation grew as he struggled to make his voice sound calm and soothing, even as tears filled his own eyes at the sound of her pain,
"Baby, you are not fine. Now, please, open the door so I can help you. I want to do that more than anything, but you have to let me."

"Oh, I think you’ve done quite enough," She responded harshly through her tears before she could stop herself.

His frustration coming to a head, the angel pounded his fists on her door,
"What is that supposed to mean!?" He cried out, his heart breaking for the pain his gentle friend was in-pain he had somehow caused.

"It doesn’t matter, Andrew…it doesn’t matter…" Monica wept, her tears coming with renewed force.

"It does matter!" He pleaded, crying himself now, as he tried to fathom what had happened to cause such hurt to her…to them,
"Monica, this isn’t fair. You have to tell me what I did so I can make it right. Please, sweetheart, just let me do that for you!"

"Just go away, Andrew…please, if you care about me even a little bit, just go away…"

Leaning his forehead against the door, he listened to her anguished tears as he wept along with her,
"Angel Girl, please, let me help you…I just want to help you…"

But there was no response as the Irish angel continued to weep, fully aware of her friend on the other side of the door who had broken her heart. Miserably, her mind traveled back to that terrible day on the porch and she knew that though he had not struck her today, the pain was still very much the same.

Chapter 11

The next morning, Monica had left the small apartment early and decided to go for a walk and clear her head after the past night’s events with Andrew. Just thinking about all of that caused the angel to grow even more upset and as she tightened her heavy jacket around her slim form and shoved her gloved hands in the pockets, Monica slumped down onto a nearby bench and leaned forward, resting her head into her hands. The knit hat that was on her auburn head fell to the ground as she leaned even further, tears falling from her eyes as memories flooded her brain.

"Monica?"

Jerking her head up at the sound of the familiar voice and soon finding herself face to face with Sam, Monica gasped and immediately turned away from the older, wiser angel trying to hid her face,
"What do you want, Sam?"

"Why do you think I’m here, Monica?" Sam lifted a dark eyebrow and eyed the younger angel before sitting down beside her,
"Hmmm?"

Shrugging her shoulders in a careless manner, Monica continued to stare in the opposite direction, not daring to meet his dark eyes filled with full-time seriousness,
"I don’t know. Why are you here, Sam?"

"I think you DO know, Monica," Sam confirmed, placing a firm hand on Monica’s shoulder and turning the young, Irish angel to face him,
"I’m here because I need to talk to you and explain something to you and lying will get you nowhere."

"Make it quick, all right?" Monica snapped, shrugging off the older angel’s hand and turning away once again,
"Because I really would like to be alone right now – "

"Only the Father will decide if I can ‘make this quick’ or not, Monica," Sam sternly interrupted, shooting her a no-nonsense look,
"And you will listen because He has something He wants me to tell you."

"What is it?" Monica impatiently grumbled, trying to make it sound like everything was all right and that she didn’t need to talk,
"What does the Father want you to tell me? That He has punished Andrew for what he did last night – "

"Now, hold on there right now, Monica!" Sam snapped at her, grabbing her shoulder and turning her around to face him against her will,
"You’re not going to pull Andrew into this conversation, is that understood?? I’m here to talk about YOU right now, Monica, and the Father’s plans for you. NOT Andrew. Got it?"

Taken aback by Sam’s sharp voice and words spoken, Monica suddenly realized what she had just said and, trying to pull herself together again and not show her true feelings, she gave her head a jerky nod and turned near frightened, brown eyes to the older angel.

"The Father has re-assigned you now, Monica. And I’m the one that’s going to be showing you what that new assignment is, all right?"

"But what about Andrew? What about this assignment?? Tess told me – " Monica helplessly gestured with her gloved hands as if trying to get her point across, but Sam again interrupted her.

"Is Tess God? The last time I checked, she wasn’t," Sam folded his arms across his chest and stared Monica straight in the eye,
"GOD is the one who makes these choices. Not Monica. Not Tess. Not Andrew and not me. We’re only the messengers FROM God and right now, He is telling me to tell YOU – and only you – that things have gone on far enough for the time being and you need to get on with another assignment."

"But why can’t I work with Tess?" Monica demanded in a desperate voice. Although she didn’t dislike Sam, the young angel found him rather intimidating and just like a few minutes ago when she had nearly jumped on him about Andrew, it made her even more nervous to be under his supervision,
"She’s my supervisor, Sam – "

"Tess is with Andrew right now, Monica," Sam answered in the same stern tone, rising to his feet and waving his hand for her to stand up also,
"God’s got a plan, Monica, and don’t forget that. Now are you going to come with me and see what the assignment is, or are you going to disobey the Father and turn away?"

*****

A half hour later, the two angels, one holding a stubborn frown on her face and now dressed in beige pants and a pale lavender sweater with a heavy jacket on top, and the other standing beside her with a serious look on his face, stood at a nearby high school. Locker doors were slamming shut all around them and students were scattering everywhere, eager to get out of there for Winter break.

"You see that young girl over there, Monica?" Sam pointed over to a short, skinny girl who appeared to be no more than 14 and was walking towards her locker with a heavy backpack on her shoulder and a sad look displayed on her face. The young girl appeared to stand out from the crowd and against her will, Monica felt curious about this assignment.

"Yes. Who is she?" She questioned, turning to the other angel.

"Her name is Jacqueline Parker, Jackie for short, and she appears a lot younger than she really is. She’s really 18 years old, and that young girl has just been through some of the worst hell on Earth that is, Monica. She lives in an abusive foster home; her birth parents died when she was a baby and nobody wanted her because she was 3 months premature and just a few weeks ago, she was diagnosed with cancer. The only ones who had stood by her side are those 2 girls over there," Pointing over to two taller girls, both dressed in green and white cheerleading outfits – one with long, blonde hair and the other with shoulder length, red hair – Sam frowned again as he and Monica watched Jackie spot the two girls and instead of going to her locker, which was only a few feet away from them, she turned on her heel and headed out the school door instead.

"I don’t understand, Sam," Monica uttered, her curiosity getting the better of her,
"If those two girls are her friends…then why does she look so frightened?"

"Because just a week ago, Barbara and Sandy turned their backs on Jackie for the only reason being because they didn’t to hang around a ‘cancer patient’ anymore. They started avoiding her and spread rumors about that poor girl until Jackie started slipping into depression," Shaking his head, the dark-skinned angel glanced at Monica before continuing,
"She’s in serious trouble right now, Monica, and your job is to be there for Jackie…First claim her trust and be her friend, and then things will hopefully work for the better, if it’s the Father’s will. You’re going to be her next door neighbor – "

"WHAT??" Monica gasped, fear now in her dark brown eyes all over again,
"I’m…not going to be living in the other apartment with Tess and Andrew…?"

"No, you’re not, Monica; this is for your own good and just trust in Him," Sam replied, a firm look on his face,
"I don’t what will happen in the coming days, but you need to work fast before it’s too late."

*****

Andrew sat on Monica’s bed, a framed photograph in his hands and tears in his soft, green eyes. Sadness also filled them as he looked down at the picture that was taken just a few months ago during the summer: At the beach before this whole mess had begun. He had his arm wrapped around his best friend’s waist and hers around his. Monica’s auburn head was rested on his shoulder and a contended look was on her pretty face.

Sniffing back more tears, Andrew looked up the ceiling, whispering words to the Father,
"Oh God, please help us…whatever I did last night…whatever happened that was my fault…please tell me soon. I’d hate to see our friendship go down the drain because of my actions, God. Over 40 years, Father…40 YEARS!"

Unable to stop himself, the blond angel laid the framed picture back on the bed where he had found it an hour ago, after knocking on Monica's door, only to find her gone. Wrapping his arms around one of his friend's pillows, he buried his face in it, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs

Chapter 12

Monica struggled with the snow filled snow shovel as she attempted to shovel the snow off the front walk of her temporary home, in hopes of relieving some of the frustration she was feeling. But the wet snow was heavy, and the human angel stopped to rest after a few minutes, her head pounding from the cold she had managed to catch from being out in the rain last night. Usually, she loved being human, but illness was still something that was very foreign to her as it didn’t happen all that often and it only added to her misery over this entire situation.

She knew that Sam was anything but happy with her at the moment and she was sure he was aware of all that had transpired between she and Andrew, thus the reason for what she thought to be her "exile". Her heart still ached at the thought of him forgetting about dinner last night, but on the other hand, maybe she should be grateful that she didn’t have to face her friend right now. With her being out of the way, he would be free to spend all the time he wanted with Brianna and as the human’s say, "Ignorance is bliss"; she wouldn’t even have to know about it.

But that thought only made her feel a little better for about five minutes, as she sighed and went back to her shoveling. Her body ached with each shovel load of snow she moved from the path and it wasn’t long before she planted the shovel into a pile of snow in the yard,
"Oh, forget it," She muttered under her breath, her thoughts interrupted by several sneezes as she reached for one of the tissues in her coat pocket.

"God bless you."

Monica looked up, surprised to see Jackie coming across the yard, a slight smile on her face, though her eyes held much pain,
"Thank you," Monica spoke up, smiling at the young girl coming across the yard through the snow,
"I’m afraid I’ve caught a wee bit of a winter cold."

"They’re the worst," Jackie observed, reaching Monica and extending her hand,
"It’s bad enough it’s cold outside, but then to not feel good as well really makes winter not much fun. My name’s Jackie; I’m your neighbor."

"Hello, neighbor…Monica." The angel took Jackie’s proffered hand and shook it,
"I was just getting ready to take a little break. Do you like coffee, Jackie?"

"Love it," The girl replied, picking up the snow shovel and finishing off the last few patches of snow from the path.

"How about I whip us up a few cups then? You’re more than welcome to come in, if you’d like."

"Sure, that’d be great," Jackie replied as she carried the shovel up to the porch and leaned it against the side of the house, before following Monica into the house.

****

Andrew starred out the window in the entrance hall of the apartment, keeping an eye out for Monica. He was determined to get to the bottom of this thing once and for all as soon as she returned home. He would make her tell him what was going on if he had to force it out of her, but he was not about to lose his best friend by just doing nothing. She meant far too much to him for that to happen and this invisible demon he was fighting would just have to step down. He couldn’t imagine his existence without her, and he was sure that’s what would happen if he let things go on the way they had been,
"Come on, Angel Girl…where are you?"

"She won’t be coming back here for awhile, Andrew."

Sam’s strong voice caused Andrew to turn around in surprise as he came face to face with the older angel,
"Sam? What do you mean? Where is she?"

"On assignment, Andrew. She’ll be busy for at least the next few days. Tess will be returning tomorrow however," Sam informed him gently, seeing the pain in the younger angel’s eyes.

"Assignment?" Andrew repeated, wondering if Monica was even up to an assignment after all that had transpired last night; He knew he wasn’t.

"That’s right, Andrew. It’s best for both of you if she is distracted by something else right now."

"She won’t be staying here, with us," Andrew asked desperately, wanting so much to have the chance to make things right,
"There are things we need to talk about, Sam…"

"No, she won’t be staying here right now, Andrew," Seeing the torment in the Search and Rescue angel’s green eyes, Sam laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder,
"Son, your friend is walking on thin ice right now, so to speak, and she isn’t any good to you or Tess in her current state of mind. This is the best thing right now, for all involved. I know that there are problems between you two right now, but only she holds the answers and she isn’t willing to share them with you right now."

"What do you mean ‘she’s walking on thin ice’? Sam, what is going on?" Andrew suddenly felt frantic with concern.

"Andrew, lets just say that hopefully this assignment will help her get her focus back and leave it at that, shall we? Now, I have to get back as I’m supervising her on this one… and something tells me I’m going to have my hands full," Sam said this last part under his breath, but it did not go undetected by the younger angel.

Before Andrew could respond, Sam had vanished as quickly as he had come and Andrew sank down onto the couch, his head in his hands as his eyes filled with tears,
"Oh Monica, what are you doing? And what have I done?"

****

An hour and two cups of coffee later, Monica listened as Jackie finished her story regarding most of the things Sam had told her earlier,
"So, Barbara and Sandy seemed to have moved on just fine with their lives and with new friends and have pretty much left me in the dust. I feel so alone, Monica. We used to do everything together, go everywhere together…it was just so easy being with them and now, I’m all alone, with this horrible disease," Reaching up, Jackie wiped at the tears on her cheeks, surprised to see tears lingering in Monica’s eyes as well,
"Why are you crying?"

Monica managed a small smile,
"Because I understand Jackie, so well. My friend, my dearest friend, has befriended someone else and spends a good bit of time with her. So much time, he forgot about a special occasion that he has never forgotten about before."

"So what do you do, Monica? How do we fix it?" Jackie looked at her new friend desperately, hoping she could offer advice.

"I don’t know, Jackie. I can’t bring myself to tell him the truth-I’m afraid of what he’d think of me. Sometimes I think that sometimes, no matter how much you love someone, it just isn’t enough…."

Unseen to both angel and human, Sam shook his head, as he ran a frustrated hand over his head, wondering how on earth Tess managed to keep this Irish angel on track.

"So, you mean, that maybe there is no way to fix it?" Jackie whispered, swallowing hard.

Sadly, Monica nodded her head, her thoughts far away…with Andrew.

"I’d better get going," The young girl said softly, getting up from her seat,
"Thanks for the coffee, Monica and the company."

"See you tomorrow maybe?" The angel asked, forcing herself out of her reverie.

"Sure, maybe." With a wave and tears still shining in her blue eyes, Jackie saw herself out of the house.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

Sam’s voice caused the angel to jump as she whirled around to face him,
"I wish you’d stop sneaking up on me like that," Monica retorted, her depression and her pounding head getting in the way of her senses.

Crossing his arms in front of him, Sam met his eyes directly with hers,
"I would advise you, Monica, to think long and hard about what you are doing with this assignment. Jackie is not a sounding board for whatever issues you are having right now. How about telling her that the Father is her friend and she needs to put her trust in Him, instead of telling her that there is no hope for her situation?"

Lowering her auburn head, Monica answered softly,
"I was getting to all that…but she had to go…"

"No, I don’t think you were and when this is all over, you and I are going to have a long talk about your sudden inability to be honest," The older angel managed to keep his voice lowered, despite his dwindling patience,
"Lies are like snowballs, Monica; one rolls right into another one until it is so big, you can no longer control it. That girl needs the truth, God’s truth and if I remember correctly, that is supposed to be your area of expertise, or have you forgotten?"

"No, sir," She replied, subdued now by a lecture that was ten times worse than any she had ever been given by Tess.

"Good, then I suggest you remember Whom it is you are serving and make an honest attempt to help that human before all of this snowballs into a much bigger disaster than it has already become. Are we clear on that, Monica?"

"Yes, sir," Monica whispered once more, watching as Sam disappeared from her kitchen. Then laying her feverish head in her hands, she began to weep softly, like Jackie, never having felt more alone.

Chapter 13

Jackie stood in front of the dresser in her small bedroom up in the attic, looking fearfully down at the silver pistol nestled in the middle of the top drawer. Part of her knew that this wasn’t the way out, but another part of her was telling her otherwise…the part that Monica had told her, about how things wouldn’t be better and that all was hopeless. After hearing what her new friend had told her about her own friend and his errors in his ways, Jackie started to feel that what she was planning on doing was for her own good, as for everyone else.

Tentatively reaching out and grasping it into her shaky hand, the 18-year old fingered the pistol and gazed at it with sad eyes. Cocking the trigger with her finger and walking backwards till she was sitting on her bed, Jackie aimed the gun to the side of her head. Taking a shaky breath and saying a silent prayer to God for forgiveness, the girl pulled the trigger and as soon as it had started, it was all over…

*****

Brianna wiped away the tears from her eyes as she watched the young girl pull the trigger of the gun and collapse in a heap on the small bed. Blood poured from her skull onto the dull mattress that was her bed and her body was as lifeless as could be.

Raising her head to the ceiling and soon receiving the word from God that she was to take Monica’s assignment Home to Him, the Angel of Death closed her eyes as she listened to His Voice, filled with sadness. But she knew that the Father had forgiven Jackie for her actions, although it did make Him sad, along with herself.

‘My gosh, Father, why??’ She silently screamed to herself as she headed towards the figure who lay there in a heap,
‘She was Monica’s assignment…she’s gonna kill me!’

"Trust Me, Brianna, and know I’ll never leave you or forsake you," The Father responded to her heart lovingly and the angel slowly nodded her head in reply, although sadness still tugged at her being.

Walking shakily over to Jackie, who’s spirit was just now rising from the mattress and looking around, Brianna knelt down beside her and rested a hand on her shoulder while glowing with God’s love from head to toe.

"Jacqueline?"

Wiping at her blue eyes with her hand, Jackie looked up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice and gasped at what she saw. Who was she? And why was she glowing like that??

"Jacqueline, my name is Brianna and I’m an angel. Sent from God the Father…to take you Home to Him…" Brianna whispered with as much love as she could put into her voice without breaking down right then.

"I’m…dead?" Jackie whispered as she stared in awe at the beautiful angel in front of her,
"Home…you mean, as in Heaven?"

"Yes, Jacqueline," Brianna responded sadly,
"The Father is very sad to see you take your life in such an instant, but He has forgiven you and He’s ready to invite you Home to Him and hold you with the love nobody on this earth could ever compare with. Are you ready to go, sweetheart?"

Nodding slowly, the dead teenager grasped hold of Brianna’s outstretched hand and allowed her to be helped to her feet. Feeling the angel’s arm go around her shoulders, Jackie watched in awe and amazement as they headed towards the bright, beautiful light up ahead…the light that was the way to Heaven. To God.

*****

Softly swinging on the swing that she had occupied just a few weeks ago with Andrew before this whole mess had begun and looking around the same park they had spent their time at for a while, Monica sighed sadly as she recalled everything that Sam had told her an hour ago. Although she knew that she was supposed to go after Jackie and correct her errors and replace the words she had spoken with truth instead, the Irish angel wasn’t so sure she knew what ‘truth’ was anymore. Instead, she had left the house after she had run out of tears and headed towards this place to think. Again…When wasn’t there a time these last few weeks when she WASN’T thinking??

Slowly looking up at the feel of another presence around, Monica felt her heart tighten as she found Brianna coming towards her, a nervous and fearful look on her pretty face. Glaring over at her, and watching as the other angel flinched at her dirty look, Monica turned her head the other way and ignored the angel as she felt her coming closer until she was standing right beside the swing.

"Monica? Can we talk?"

"I don’t want to talk, BRIANNA," Monica stretched the word out and shot another glare her way before turning back the snow covered ground.

"I’m sorry, Monica, but you need to hear this," Brianna responded in a soft manner, placing her hand on the wire that held the swing,
"It’s about Jacqueline – "

"How do you know about my assignment, Brianna??" Monica snapped as she shot her head up and stood quickly to her feet, the swing swinging back and forth behind her,
"Did the Father tell you to get involved?!"

Flinching again, but deciding to not let it get to her – especially since Monica had to know about what had just happened – Brianna looked down at her feet while speaking quietly,
"Monica…Jackie killed herself this afternoon. She’s dead…and I took her Home to the Father…"

Raising her head slightly to get a look at Monica’s expression and how she was going to handle this, a look of sadness came across her face as she saw that look on the pretty, Irish angel’s features. But just as that look of shock came upon her, fury replaced it and she backed up a small step as she heard Monica shout.

"That’s a LIE!"

Before she could react or say anything, she saw Monica’s hand coming towards her face as if she was going to slap her across her cheek. But much her surprise and also astonishment, the slap never came. Instead, Monica’s hand was stopped in mid-air by Andrew’s and Brianna gasped as she saw the look of anger on her friend’s handsome face.

"What are you DOING, Monica?!" Andrew shouted, never lowering her arm from where it was held in his firm grip,
"Were you about to do what I THINK you were going to do, Angel Girl – "

"Don’t call me that anymore, Andrew!!" Monica responded with a shout as she wrenched her arm tightly away and shooting a hateful glare at her former best friend while backing up a step,
"If you hadn’t gotten in the way, then I could’ve given Brianna what she DESERVED!"

"She’s not LYING, Monica! Jackie did die…Monica, the Father TOLD me just now and He told me to come – "

"You’re lying, too, Andrew! How could you DO this to me? I thought you were my best friend, but I guess not! You MUST not be from God if you’d lie to me like this!! This is all your guy’s fault! It’s your fault Jackie supposedly died; it’s your fault this mess started and…and…I hope I never see HER face as long as I continue to live on this earth!!" Pointing a shaky finger into Brianna’s face, she shouted right into her face,
"Do you hear me?? I want you out of here and never come back!!"

Hardly able to believe how Monica was reacting, Brianna turned on her heel and ran away from the park, sobs tearing through her body, both from sadness over Jackie, but also the feeling of hopelessness…

As the young angel finally disappeared around a corner of the snow-covered world, Monica felt a tight grasp on her arm and she heard Andrew’s voice yell at her.

"What do you think you’re doing, Monica?! Huh? I’ve never seen you like this!! What’s happening to you – "

"You wanta know what’s happening to me? You want to know what’s HAPPENING to me, Andrew?? Well, I’ll tell you! My problem is that I met you in the first place! This is all your fault too, and if I had it in me, I’d tell you that I hate you!" Monica shouted, backing as far away from the other angel as possible.

"Monica, you can’t mean this! Please – " Andrew pleaded, taking a step closer to her, but she continued backing away as if he was going to attack her.

"What in Heaven’s name is going ON here??" The voice of Tess suddenly interrupted and both angels turned their eyes over to their supervisor, who looked as exasperated as Andrew felt,
"Answer me, you two…Monica, what are you doing?"

"Oh, so now it’s ‘pick on Monica time’, huh, Tess?" The angry, Irish angel snapped back, shooting an angry look over at her supervisor, who was walking over to stand beside Andrew, who now had tears in his green eyes. Ignoring him completely and the look on his face, she instead focused her attention on Tess, who much to Monica’s annoyance, reached over and placed a hand on Andrew’s arm. Her voice rising again, Monica shouted once more,
"Well, what about Andrew, huh? It’s always pick on Monica, pick on Monica! Never pick on Andrew!! I never want to see you again, Andrew…and if you know what’s best for you, you’d stay away from me…"

Knowing deep inside of her heart that she didn’t mean a word of what she was yelling at her friend, Monica only continued to do it with all of the hurt and anger inside of her. Not knowing what to say anymore, the angel rushed off, auburn hair flying and headed out of the park.

But she didn’t get very far as she ran straight into another figure, who grasped her arm tightly in his and his strong voice now both angry and controlling,
"It’s time to have a little talk here, Monica."

Chapter 14

"Sam?" Monica felt the color drain from her face, knowing this was not going to be good.

"I thought I told you that you had an assignment," Sam began, struggling to keep his voice under control, but he was so angry and disappointed in the angel before him, that he was having trouble, which was not like him,
"But instead you run off to the park, while Jackie kills herself in her attic bedroom."

Against her will, the young angel felt herself begin to tremble,
"She…she killed herself?"

"Isn’t that what Brianna and Andrew just told you, Monica? Oh, that’s right, you accused them of lying to you, when the only one around here in all of God’s angelic creations, who has not been honest, is you."

"She killed herself?" Monica whispered again, her hands covering her mouth as tears filled her dark eyes,
"I was going to go back, Sam…I-."

"In whose time, Monica? Yours? Last I checked things around here ran in the Father’s time, but you have been so concerned with your friendship with Andrew, that you seem to have forgotten all of that, not to mention that you’ve forgotten what true friendship is and that it is a gift from God, Himself," The Angel’s Angel, stopped to take a breath before he continued tearing into the angel before him,
"You asked me earlier today about the assignment Tess had mentioned to you last week. I’m going to divulge the specifics of that assignment now for you. When angels have past histories of displaying certain tendencies early in their Case Working career, they are evaluated at a later time to find out if by their prayers and the grace of God, they have been able to right these tendencies. If you recall, Monica, early in your career, you displayed jealousy; first of Andrew’s relationship with Tess and later with Alice as you were jealous of her beautiful voice. In one of these instances, you had harsh words to say and in the other, you ran off the assignment. Well, it seems like not much has changed," He watched her horrified eyes widen in shame and humiliation as he continued,
"On top of that, you lied to Andrew about it, when he asked you straight forward if you were jealous of his relationship with Brianna. You had the opportunity to correct the problem right then and there, but you chose not to do that. Instead you lied to him and told him no. Need I remind you that is forbidden? I would have expected more from a former supervising angel such as you. You are to set the example for other angels to follow and instead you’ve done nothing lately but follow your own heart and your own anger."

Still feeling Sam holding onto her arm, the frightened angel tried once again to speak; to say anything in her defense,
"Sam, I-."

"I’m not finished yet," He shook his head grimly, his eyes never leaving her teary brown ones,
"You told Andrew once that he was a servant of God before he was a servant of his own heart, and those were very wise words, Monica. It’s a shame you were unable to follow them yourself. Now, because of that, a young life has been taken. True, she is with the Father now, but it was before her time, but she felt so hopeless after hearing your words today that she saw no other way out. Because of you listening to your own heart, you have hurt Brianna as well as Andrew and Tess. Need I remind you that all three of them are innocent in this?"

"I was angry, Sam…Andrew, he forgot-."

"Do you know why he forgot? No, of course you don’t, as none of that has mattered to you. Andrew forgot the other night because Brianna had just been through a terrible assignment and she needed a friend. During this discussion, she asked Andrew to think about going back to being an Angel of Death, because he was so good at his job. When you returned that night, he was waiting to discuss this with you."

Monica felt tears race down her cheeks, knowing that any decision of such a thing would be hard for Andrew,
"I didn’t know, Sam…I didn’t know!"

"You didn’t give yourself the chance to know!" He raised his voice slightly, but remained in control,
"That angel was convicted and he didn’t even know what the charges were against him, Monica, and this is how you treat a friend?" He watched as she covered her face with the hand he didn’t have control of and sobbed miserably,
"You failed your assignments, Monica-both of them. Had you been jealous and had discussed it with Andrew, it would have been a different situation altogether, but instead you lied, you shut him out, you failed to give hope to a scared, lonely young girl, you attacked Brianna and then Andrew and Tess. It snowballed, Monica and now there is nothing you can do."

"I kept trying to talk to the Father about it, Sam…," She wept brokenly, unable to meet his icy stare.

"You went to the Father with no intention of changing anything. You went to Him with your mind and not your heart, that is why there were no answers," He finally released her arm, knowing she was too distraught to go anywhere,
"So, you have left me with no choice. I was going to send you to God’s country, but have decided against it. You’ve been reassigned, indefinitely. You’ll be joining Carla in Florida momentarily. You will no longer be working with Andrew. Once it was thought that your friendship with him was a blessing and helped you to be a better Case Worker and when your mind is on the assignment, you are a wonderful Caseworker. As this has happened, I see no choice but to remove the problem of your distress-Andrew."

"No, Sam! No, please! I’ll fix it, I will!" Monica pleaded, between the sobs that engulfed her small frame,
"I’m sorry!"

"It’s too late for that, I’m afraid and I’m not the one you need to be apologizing to-you need to ask forgiveness from Someone else."

Covering her face with both hands, the angel sobbed hysterically for a moment, hardly able to believe that this was happening to her,
"Can’t I at least say good-bye?" She whispered after a moment.

"I think you have said quite enough to them." Sam replied, raising his eyebrows as if challenging her to deny it.

Monica swallowed hard, nodding her head numbly, knowing she had no choice but to accept this.

***

Minutes later, she found herself on the steps of a small house, alone. Her tears falling like rain, she raised a hand to knock on the door, but before she could, the door opened.

Carla looked at her former supervisor with a combination of love and compassion,
"Monica." She whispered softly, already knowing that she would be arriving.

Upon seeing the angel she had worked with for nearly 15 years, Monica’s sobs were renewed as she looked helplessly at her friend. She tried to speak but no words would come.

Carla reached out and pulled the weeping angel into her arms, holding her tightly as her hand moved to stroke the tangled auburn hair,
"I’m so sorry, Monica…I’m so sorry."

Chapter 15

"Angel Boy?" Tess called softly as she knocked gently on her friend’s closed door,
"Andrew, can I come in?"

After waiting a few seconds, but receiving no response from him, Tess sighed sadly and closed her eyes briefly, lifting up a quick prayer of strength and comfort for both she and Andrew…and Monica, wherever she was.

Grasping the doorknob with her hand, the angel slowly opened the door with a quiet creak and poked her head inside, immediately spotting Andrew sitting with his back towards her on the made bed and facing the window. His blonde head was down and his arms were folded, hugging them to his chest, and Tess was able to catch a glimpse of his shoulders shaking.

"Baby?" She called to him again, walking hesitantly into the room and moving to stand beside her "Angel Boy". Tearstains were on his handsome face and his green eyes were closed as if deep in thought. Sucking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, the supervisor angel sat down beside her young friend and rested a hand on his shoulder with great care and love,

"Andrew, you’ve been quiet ever since we came back. I’d like to talk with you for a minute, Angel Boy…"

"What about?" He finally spoke up, glancing up at his older friend with pained eyes,
"Monica told me how she really feels about me now and I guess that’s enough, huh?"

"No, Andrew, it’s not," Tess squeezed Andrew’s shoulder gently before slipping her arm around them in a loving manner,
"WE need to talk, honey, and I think you know that."

Sighing softly and lowering his head, Andrew reluctantly nodded his blonde head,
"I do, Tess. I do…"

"Well then, let’s go out into the living room and talk, shall we, Baby?" Grasping his hand into hers and giving it a gentle squeeze, Tess pulled her young friend to his feet gently and led him out the door and into the small, comfortable living room where they took a seat on the couch.

"Angel Boy, I honestly don’t understand what occurred while I was gone on assignment these last few days, so maybe you can enlighten me a bit, honey?" Tess’ brows furrowed in question as she reached for his shaking hand again and holding it in her own,
"I would’ve thought, Andrew, that after you and Monica’s yearly anniversary since you met, that everything would be okay between you two again – "

"Anniversary??" Andrew suddenly came fully to life at those few words and he jerked his head up in total surprise and stared at his friend and supervisor, who was now staring at him with wide eyes,
"Did you say…anniversary??"

"Yes," Tess answered slowly, nodding her dark head,
"Monica was really looking forward to spending that evening with you at the restaurant to celebrate like you do every year and I would have thought that things would have been situated and worked out by then. But I come back to see her chewing you and Brianna out – "

"Oh my gosh," Andrew gasped as he stood to his feet abruptly, surprising Tess at the sudden movement,
"Oh my gosh…Oh, God forgive me…Monica…Oh no, this isn’t happening…"

"What’s wrong, Angel Boy?" Tess questioned with a slight twinge of nervousness in her stomach. Why was he acting like this all of a sudden? It didn’t make any sense to her now,
"Andrew…talk to me. What happened??"

"I – I forgot, Tess…" He gasped out, turning to face her with such pain and horror on his face that it took all that was in Tess to not start crying at the look her friend gave her,
"I forgot the anniversary! Oh God, that’s why she was angry with me! Oh no, oh no…"

"You forgot??" Tess gasped now, rising to her feet and walking over to where Andrew was now standing as still as a statue, and grabbed him by the arms until their eyes met,
"Andrew, have a seat again. Please." Keeping her voice as calm and cool as possible, she once again guided the shocked and horror-struck angel back to the couch and sat him down,
"What happened, Mr. Halo? What made you forget something like that??"

"Brianna…Tess, she stopped by the apartment just the other day, the day of the anniversary and…she had just completed a very difficult assignment and she needed to talk to me privately," He whispered in a choked-up voice, finding it was also shaking madly like his hand was,
"Tess…She asked me to return as an Angel of Death because she thought I was so good at it, and she wanted me to be with her…it took me by such surprise and it was so unexpected that I told her I would think about it. The anniversary slipped my mind totally,
Tess! I swear it did! I didn’t know what to do and I wanted to talk to Monica about it…"

"Then why didn’t you?" Tess pressed him as she took hold of his hand again to keep it from shaking, but to also try to calm him down,
"Continue, Angel Boy."

"Well, when I got home, it was raining and I was waiting up for Monica, but she was nowhere to be found. When…when she finally did come home, she didn’t want to talk to me at all and told me to leave her alone and that she was fine…" His voice cracking again, Andrew shook his head, reliving that terrible day and he lowered his eyes to his lap, tears stinging his green eyes.

Wrapping a loving arm around her "Angel Boy" and drawing him close to her for a moment, Tess pressed on,
"Then what happened?"

"She didn’t tell me about the missed anniversary, so I was clueless, Tess! Totally and completely clueless, which made me even more upset and angry at not only myself, but also at her. I kept asking myself what I had done so wrong and I was asking her why she wouldn’t talk to me, but she just…didn’t. She just didn’t."

Finally feeling himself break down, Andrew rested his head on his supervisor’s shoulder and let the tears fall he felt her other arm go around him in a loving hug. Tightly hugging her back and trying to keep his strong emotions under as much control as possible, the angel grew silent as he berated himself over and over again.

‘How could I had been so stupid?? I know that I don’t want to return as an Angel of Death…so why didn’t I tell Brianna then and there?? Oh, God, forgive me, please forgive me…Oh, Monica, I’m so sorry…’

Feeling himself being rocked in his supervisor’s strong arms and hearing her whispering words to him that he couldn’t make out at the moment, Andrew only continued to stay silent and not say a word, his mind off in a different world.

*****

Late that night, Andrew kept his eyes wide open unable to get any sleep at all. Whenever he closed his eyes, no matter how tired he was, he would see Monica. He would see her angry eyes glaring at him and her words, "If I had it in me, I would hate you!", being hurled at him like daggers to his heart. Not that long after he had talked with Tess about everything that had happened and was able to let his emotions out, Sam had appeared before both of them and explained then and there that Monica had been moved indefinitely…to work with Carla again, and she now was in Florida for the time being as the orders had been. Things had went on far enough, as Sam had put it, and although Andrew could tell that he was sorry about this, there was nothing they could do.

Lifting a weak hand and wiping away the few tears that had formed in his green eyes, Andrew let out a soft sigh and turned over onto his side, staring at the wall and trying to keep his emotions in check so that Tess wouldn’t worry about him and have to come in and check on him. Sure, he loved his supervisor more than his own life and would do anything for her, but this was a time when he knew that he didn’t deserve her comfort, much less her love for him.

Just like he had never deserved Monica’s love. The missed anniversary had taken the cake, and he knew it all too well. Hugging his pillow tightly, the Search and Rescue angel closed his eyes briefly, but as soon as he did, an unpleasant memory overcame him…a memory that took him by total shock.

(Andrew’s Flashback)

"He may be pushing you away, but he needs you, Angel Girl. You have a way with him that no other angel does. He loves you, baby."

Monica was crying too hard to answer at first, but she finally gained enough control to speak after a moment,
"M..Maybe ten years was too long, Tess, because he certainly doesn't need me anymore. He has made that all too clear and I can't keep fighting him like this! It's too hard to do and still have to watch him slip further and further away from us! All those memories last night, Tess…all those memories and it seems like I've been afraid of losing him for so long due to things beyond our control. The plane, Titanic, when he went to Search and Rescue…and he knows all of that! But now, this time, he is in control of it and he doesn't care enough about me or you or the Father to stop it from happening! So don't talk to me about him needing me! Maybe he never did-maybe he never needed either of us, if it is so easy for him to throw it all away!"

(End Andrew’s Flashback)

Eyes as wide as saucers as the memory was practically hurled at him from every direction, Andrew felt himself breathing hard and, sitting straight up in his bed, he turned his wide green eyes to the ceiling above him. Now allowing the tears to make their way down his pale cheeks, the angel whispered in horror to himself,
"Did I really never care that much about her to begin with, Father? Am I…am I really such a terrible friend? Oh God, Monica…please…forgive me…wherever you are out there…"

Chapter 16

"Here you go," Carla sat a steaming cup of hot tea down in front of her friend at the dining room table,
"I know you prefer coffee, Monica, but it’s an herbal tea and I think it will help calm you a little as well as work wonders for that cold."

Sitting her own mug down on the table, Carla took the seat across from her former supervisor and waited in silence for the angel across from her to talk. She could tell by looking at Monica, that her friend needed to get the words out and she knew her well enough to know if she was just patient, Monica would talk.

"Did Sam tell you I was coming?" Monica whispered finally, bringing her swollen and reddened eyes up to meet Carla’s.

Carla sighed softly as she nodded her head,
"He didn’t tell me much, only what he felt I needed to know. Only that you were having some problems and that is best you weren’t working with Andrew anymore. I know that there is more to the story than that, though, Monica. I know how much you love Andrew and Tess…"

Resting her hand against her feverish forehead, Monica fought back more tears,
"I made a terrible mess of things, Carla."

Seeing the struggle that was going on inside of her friend, the younger angel got up from where she sat and moved to sit beside of Monica. Reaching for her hand, she gently pulled her around to face her and then took her other hand up in her own,
"Tell me, please. I want to help, but I have to know first."

Looking into Carla’s clear, green eyes, the angel winced, remembering the hurt look in the other pair of green eyes she had seen today,
"I’m not sure anyone can help…" Monica whispered, a tear trailing down her cheek.

"You have to get this out, Monica," Carla interjected gently, relieved when her friend sadly nodded her auburn head….

…Carla listened patiently, her eyes never leaving Monica’s face as her friend related the entire story to her, from that morning in the park, to meeting Brianna in the coffee shop and all the way up to what had happened in the park today as well as with her assignment. No look of surprise, horror or shock ever crossed Carla’s pretty face as she just held onto Monica’s hands and listened, allowing her friend to get the words out of her system.

"Sam was so angry with me today and I understand why, I do," Monica finished shakily,
"It didn’t have to be this way if I had just acted responsibly, but I couldn’t seem to do that…" She drew in a shaky breath and met her eyes with Carla,
"I’m not sure how you learned anything from me, Carla…"

"Now, hold it right there," Carla interrupted firmly, her blond hair swaying up against her face as she shook her head,
"You may have made mistakes over the last week-terrible mistakes, but we all make them from time to time and I don’t want to hear you berated yourself because of them. Got it?"

"But a young girl is dead because of me, Carla…she took her own life because I was so caught up in my own problems that I failed to give her hope. I lied to my dearest friend, and lashed out at him more times than I can count in the last few days, I was absolutely insubordinate to Sam," Miserably, she pulled her hands away from Carla to weep into them,
"What is happening to me, Carla?"

Tears in her own eyes for her dear friend’s grief, Carla rested a comforting hand on Monica’s shoulder as she began speaking,
"Do you know what humans refer to jealousy as, Monica? The ‘green-eyed monster’, and I think I know why. They call it a monster, because it overpowers them, it makes them feel insecure in their relationships and it prevents them from taking a step back and realizing what it is they really have. Don’t you see, Monica? The same thing happened to you."

"I’ve been so afraid of losing him in one way or another for long…" Monica whispered,
"But he’s always there…always."

"And I think that has so much more to do with you than with Andrew, honey. I think that has to do with things you don’t even realize right now. Like Kathleen and Denise…"

Monica’s head shot up as Carla said the two names,
"W...what do you mean?"

"I mean that maybe your insecurities regarding Andrew are stemming from things that happened with those two. They were both angels that you once called ‘friends’ and you lost them both to an evil force. You came close to that with Andrew once, and then countless other times when you felt that your friendship with him was in jeopardy for one reason or another. I’m not saying you are still afraid of losing Andrew to evil, not at all, but that you’re just afraid of losing him, because of two others in your existence that you lost," She hesitated, trying to see if Monica was following her train of thought,
"Denise and Kathleen walked away from you for reasons of their own and I think somewhere, deep down inside, you believe that reason has to do with you, but it doesn’t, Monica. It had everything to do with them and nothing to do with anything you did."

"But what does this have to do with Andrew?" Monica whispered, knowing that deep in her heart, she already knew the answer.

"Do you have so little faith in Andrew and your friendship with him that you think he would really just walk away from you? You know better than that, but things that have happened in the past are causing you to doubt the truth, so what you do instead is you pull away first. You can’t bear the thought of losing him, of him walking away, so you do it before he ever can, if he even wanted to, but he doesn’t. He never did, not from you. From what you are telling me, he tried so hard to find the answers, but you wouldn’t tell him," Moving from her chair, the younger angel knelt in front of her friend and took her hand once more,
"Honey, Andrew is not Kathleen or Denise and if you don’t know that yet, then know it now. He loves you so much; I could tell that the first time I met him when he was telling me about what had happened with Denise and an angel would have to blind to miss the love and concern in his eyes for you. I remember thinking that the two of you had something special, and God’s entire kingdom knows it too. Angels talk, Monica, and there have been many times when I’d hear other angels discussing the strong friendship the two of you had been given. It’s you who needs to just accept the beautiful fact that you are always going to be his little Angel Girl. The Father gave you both a gift, Monica, but you have to accept it as just that and stop trying to find ways to talk yourself out of it."

"But it’s too late now…even if I could fix it, Carla, I can’t…I can’t…" Monica uttered wearily, trying to absorb everything Carla had told her.

"Lets cross that bridge when we get to it, okay? You’re not ready to fix this yet, honey. The hurt is still too intense and you need to work that out in your heart and then take it to the Father, before you can even think about taking the truth to Andrew. By that time, maybe Sam will have changed his mind." The younger angel sighed softly, hoping that would be the case. When Sam had come by to give her a new assignment earlier, he had been intent on sending Monica to God’s Country, but Carla had pleaded with him to allow her former supervisor to come and work with her, knowing what Monica really needed right now was a friend who was not involved directly in this whole terrible situation.

"Thank you," Monica whispered, giving Carla’s hand a squeeze,
"You’ve given me a lot to think about and I will."

"I hope so," She responded quietly, smiling softly at her friend,
"I have an assignment to finish up in the morning, but I won’t be long, okay? We can talk more then, but right now, I think you should get some sleep. I’ve never developed much love for these human forms, and I know how exhausted you must be, not to mention not feeling well. A little rest will probably help you see things more clearly." Getting up, she gestured to Monica to follow her to her room….

…. Wearily, the Irish angel lay in her bed, thinking over all Carla had told her, especially about things she had not even realized, regarding her fear of losing friendships in general, especially one as special to her as the one she had with Andrew.

"I’m so sorry, Andrew," She whispered aloud, before a soft knock on her door disturbed her. Sitting up, she watched as Carla opened the door, holding a gift bag in her hands.

"This just showed up on the dining room table," She said softly, handing it to Monica before heading back out the door,
"It’s from Tess," She added before softly closing the door behind her.

Tearfully, Monica reached into the bag, pulling out the snow-white angel bear that had been a gift to her from Andrew a long time ago. Pulling the bear close to her, Monica opened the small card that was attached and read Tess’ simple words,
"Angel Girl,
I love you.
Tess"

Tears steaming down her cheeks; Monica lay back down, the bear securely in her arms as she closed her eyes,
"I love you too, Tess," She uttered as she began to drift off to sleep,
"Thank you…"

Chapter 17

"Wanta go for a walk or something, Angel Boy? It’s stopped snowing and raining and it’d be good for both of us to get some air," Tess asked with forced cheerfulness the next morning as her friend came out of his room, dressed in black jeans and a blue farmer’s shirt that was unbuttoned at the very top; it was the same one that he had on many, many years ago on an assignment with a Mexican family who were migrant workers. Smiling pleasantly at how handsome her "Angel Boy" looked that morning, Tess tilted her head to the side,
"Well, you look nice today, Andrew!"

Blushing slightly, the other angel ran a hand through his blonde hair and forced a small smile at his supervisor as he walked into the kitchen to grab a glass out of the cupboard,
"Thanks, Tess…"

"Doing any better?" She asked somewhat worriedly as she gazed at him.

"Not really…I had a terrible night’s sleep last night and although I’d love to go for a walk and to clear my head…I have some business I need to take care of," Andrew poured some orange juice into the glass he held in his hand and swallowed it down quickly before setting it in the sink to be washed,
"I’m sure Sam told you about Brianna’s request the other day, right Tess?"

Sadly nodding her head as she squeezed her younger friend’s upper arm, Tess replied,
"Yes. She asked you to return as an Angel of Death."

"Yeah…Well, I’ve made my decision and, well, I need to talk to her about it and get this over with as soon as possible," Andrew answered as he faced his supervisor before heading towards the closet door and opening it. Pulling his jacket off of a hanger and shrugging into it, he faced his friend again,
"Don’t worry, Tess. I’m not returning to that department and I’m not leaving you again, I promise. I just…need to talk to her is all."

Pulling her "Angel Boy" into a quick hug, Tess gave him a tight squeeze before releasing him and shooing him out the door,
"Then you do that, Andrew. Our walk can wait, but this can’t."

Leaning over and giving her cheek a soft kiss, Andrew said in a soft, although sad tone,
"I’ll be back in a while."

Nodding her head at his words, Tess watched as the door closed before shaking her head slowly and letting out a soft sigh. She knew that her friend’s news wouldn’t make Brianna feel any better after the past day’s events, but the older angel could only pray and hope that Andrew could speak some words that would not only comfort that hurting, young angel, but also himself as well.

*****

Staring at the novel that she was reading, but not really reading it since this was the fifth time she has read over this sentence, Brianna shook her head and removed her reading glasses, rubbing her sore blue eyes. Although she didn’t really know that angels could have bad eyesight, she had been given a pair of glasses several years ago after she had trouble reading and she always hated the way she looked in them. Tossing them onto the nearby end table and placing the book on it, too, the angel rose to her feet and headed towards the kitchen.

‘Brianna, what are you doing here, anyway?’ She asked herself silently, leaning against the counter, palms placed on it flat down,
‘Father, what AM I doing here? Was I only here to have my head bitten off yesterday or to make a friend? I don’t know anymore…’

Trying to hold back a flood of tears, the angel shook her head and rubbed her eyes once again.

Just as she was about to burst into tears, a knock on the front door stopped her and she immediately pulled herself together, like she had always tried to do so hard in the past. Walking slowly towards the door and without looking through the peep hole, Brianna opened it only to come face to face with her friend, Andrew.

"Andrew?" She whispered, staring into his handsome face. She watched as a look of total concern etched its way onto his face and he appeared to be struggling with many different emotions at the same time, which only added to Brianna’s misery. She hated to see her friend, this sweet angel, concerned, frightened or hurt and it made her want to cry even more. Feeling her lower lip quivering slightly, the angel ushered him inside and closed the door behind him.

"Brianna, are you okay?" He asked of her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, which caused her to look up at him with teary eyes.

"No…I’m not," She replied, wishing that she could have him hold her, like he used to do with Monica so much in the past. But she was wishing this on another angel’s best friend, who wasn’t even around now, and it caused herself to feel guilty at the very thought,
"I’m…I’m sorry, Andrew, but I’m a total mess right now…"

Nodding his head, Andrew opened his arms to her and whispered,
"C’mere, Bri."

Sobbing openly now, the other angel threw her arms around Andrew’s waist and held on for dear life as she sobbed against his shoulder. Feeling his arms wrap tightly around her and his hand stroking her shoulder-length hair, the angel only sobbed harder as she knew that she shouldn’t be doing this. After all…it was her fault that this whole mess had started in the first place.

"Hey, it’s gonna be all right, it’s gonna be all right," Andrew whispered into her ear as he finally pulled away and led her over to the nearby couch,
"My friend, we need to talk and I know that you need to get something out, too. Am I right?"

Slightly nodding her head, knowing that she couldn’t tell him a lie since that was forbidden, Brianna whispered,
"Yes…"

Sighing softly, yet feeling his heart race frantically, Andrew closed his green eyes and folded his hands in his lap before speaking,
"Brianna, I came here to tell you something, but I’m not sure now is a good time. I think you should tell me what’s on your mind instead – "

"What do you want to tell me, Andrew?" She interrupted him, wiping at a stray tear clinging to her eyelash,
"What is it?"

"I’m not doing this because I don’t like you or that I don’t want to continue being your friend because I DO, but…" Stopping for a second, Andrew turned around and faced Brianna, looking her straight in the eye with seriousness in his own sad, green eyes,
"I can’t return as an Angel of Death, Bri. I’m sorry…I’m sorry, but I just can’t."

Seeing the look of devastation crossing her pretty features, but also seeing her nodding her head weakly, Andrew sighed with deep sadness in his heart as she looked down at her own hands. Grasping one of them lightly in his own and giving it a gentle squeeze, the angel explained what was on his heart.

"Honey, we created a friendship with one another that I will forever treasure and no one can say that an angel can have too many friends. But I can’t leave Monica or Tess…I know that Monica and I are no longer working together, but she’s my best friend as you know and…I still love her and I know that I’ll see her again, even if it’s not for a few years. But I know deep down that I will…" Sucking in a deep breath and feeling fresh tears well up in his eyes and slipping onto his pale cheeks, the angel continued,
"Brianna, I still want to be your friend, though. Maybe we’ll be put together on an assignment someday or maybe one day you’ll come to work with Tess and I. But right now…this is where I belong. I know that your last assignment was the most difficult you had ever done and I am very sorry about how it turned out, believe me; I’ve been in the same boat. But God will always be there for you no matter what. I know that you know deep down inside that you know that is the truth. He will never leave you or forsake you. Remember that, Bri, all right?"

"Are you…are you leaving right now?" Brianna’s voice trembled, as she held onto Andrew’s hand tightly, afraid to let it go,
"Because I can’t handle it right now…"

"No, I’m not, my friend," Andrew answered softly, lifting a hand and wiping at a tear on her cheek,
"Neither Tess and I are going anywhere until the Father directs us to and…well…we just have to wait and see what His plan is." Hearing his voice getting choked up, the Search and Rescue angel quit talking and looked down at his feet instead.

"I’ve never had any very close friends, Andrew," Brianna suddenly broke the silence as she whispered these words. Watching as Andrew faced her with confusion on his face, she continued speaking quietly,
"I always wanted a special friend in my existence like you and Monica had…and…I don’t know how to say this, Andrew. I – I started to butt in because I had heard so much about you and what a terrific angel you are and I wanted you as a friend, too. And that happened! I was jealous of your relationship with Monica also, but I never ever expected everything to turn into such a mess like this…I swear I didn’t, Andrew! It’s all my fault you two are separated now; it’s my fault…"

Shocked beyond belief at these words he heard his friend speak, Andrew remained quiet for a few minutes before he finally leaned over and took the angel into his arms gently. Running his fingers through her golden-blonde hair, the angel whispered, his voice choked with tears of their own,
"Oh, Bri…it’s not your fault. It’s not your fault…" Not sure what else he could say right then, he lifted his eyes to the ceiling and sighed before closing his eyes and allowed Brianna to cry out the remainder of her guilt and grief in his arms.

Chapter 18

"It’s a terrible thing to say, Andrew," Brianna said softly several minutes later once her tears had subsided,
"But I always felt like I had accomplished something when I was able to spend time with you. I felt like I was winning or something," She reached up with a trembling hand to wipe at a stray tear before meeting his eyes once more,
"Deep down inside, I knew this wasn’t a game, but never having had a friend before, other than the Father, I guess I didn’t really know how it worked. Then yesterday, part of the reason I ran from the park is because for the first time, I could clearly see all of the pain I had caused. I could see it in your eyes…and in Monica’s. Though she was furious, I could see past that and see the hurt."

"I know you didn’t mean for it to happen that way, Bri," Andrew responded gently, though pain shimmered in his own eyes.

"No, not really, but…but…" She shook her head miserably.

"But what?" Andrew pressed, feeling like he needed to know this last piece of information; that it was important somehow.

"I did intentionally show up on your doorstep the day you two were supposed to have dinner together to celebrate," She whispered, tears once more filling her blue eyes,
"The assignment was terrible, but I could have handled it, had I really wanted to, but…Oh Andrew, I’m so sorry!"

Andrew sucked in a deep breath as the truth of her words hit him. But he struggled to remain calm,
"I still should have remembered though, Brianna. Monica and I had celebrated that day for years and it was important to both of us."

"I didn’t give you a chance to remember, Andrew…I made sure of that! I knew in my heart after all the talks we had in the past that you had no desire to return to this line of work, but I threw it out there anyway to distract you from her. It wasn’t that I didn’t want you to come work with me, because I did, but I think deep down inside, I knew it would mean more time spent with me and less with Monica…" Her voice trailing off, she buried her face in her hands and sobbed miserably.

Tears in his own eyes, as he tried to fight off the feeling of betrayal he was feeling at Brianna in that moment, he somehow managed to say,
"So why are you telling me this now, Brianna?"

"Because after what you said a few minutes ago, about still being my friend, but not being able to leave Monica and Tess, I think I understand now that you can have more than one friend…. it doesn’t have to be a competition, which is what I made it into," Struggling to stop the flow of tears, she looked back up him and reached for his hands,
"Please Andrew, forgive me for this. I wish I could take it all back, but I can’t."

Feeling as if the room were closing in on him, Andrew shakily got to his feet,
"Brianna, I need some time to think," He replied, his voice hoarse from the emotions he was feeling.

"Tell me what you’re feeling, my friend," Brianna pleaded through her tears,
"I have to know if you hate me…"

""No, I don’t hate you," He responded as calmly as he could,
"And I don’t blame you for all of this, though some of it is your fault, but then, some of it is mine and a lot of it is Monica’s. All I know right now is that my best friend has been sent away for an indefinite amount of time and if we had all done things just a little differently, this could have all been avoided," He closed his eyes as a single tear escaped,
"I just need some time, Brianna," He whispered, before turning and walking out of her apartment.

****

"Does Sam know you’re here, baby?" Tess asked Carla softly as the two of them walked through the park that morning. Carla had shown up not long after Andrew had left and Tess had suggested her walk to the young supervisor once Carla had stated she didn’t want to speak to Andrew at this point, for no other reason, than it would probably be painful for him.

"No, but he never told me I couldn’t see you, Tess," Carla replied calmly,
"I knew you would be worried about Monica, so I wanted to come."

"I appreciate that, Carla and yes, I’m worried about my two babies right now as I know they are both in a lot of pain over this whole thing," Sadly, Tess shook her head,
"How is my Angel Girl?"

"Hurting," Carla replied with a sigh, pulling her coat tighter around her,
"There were a lot of tears last night and we talked a good bit. She’s devastated by all that has happened and of course, Sam gave her a chewing out that I hope I’m never on the receiving end of," The younger angel stopped walking and looked at Tess,
"She’s so insecure, Tess, in her friendship with Andrew and I think it has to do with what happened with Kathleen and Denise."

"I’ve wondered that myself, baby," Tess agreed, nodding her head,
"Monica was deeply hurt by those two and I think she carries that with her and it comes to the surface anytime she feels her friendship with my Angel Boy is being threatened. Of course, the fact that he forgot about their celebration a few nights ago, I’m sure didn’t do much for those feelings of insecurity."

"No," Carla replied with a sad smile,
"It didn’t, but she understands, I think, as far as what Brianna had asked of him and how he could have forgotten. That doesn’t make it hurt any less, but at least there is some understanding of ‘why’ there for her now."

"I just hope Sam doesn’t decide that this separation is a permanent thing and he was sounding the other day like it could be," Tess sighed once more, fighting back tears.

"Well, she isn’t ready to see Andrew yet, I don’t think. The anger is gone, but she needs time to come to terms as to why she has these feelings in the first place. Jealousy and insecurity are very human emotions and not all that easy for an angel to understand. The whole thing has left her in a state of shock, I think, over how it got to this point."

"Maybe part of that is my fault, Angel child," Tess replied softly,
"I didn’t have many details on her evaluation, and I’m sure that may have had something to do with the fact that she never uttered a word about what was going on in her heart. Maybe if I had not said anything at all, it would have had a better outcome."

Carla smiled at the older, wiser angel,
"It’s hard to say, Tess. A lot of things were said and done that made this all turn out the way it did," With another sigh, the angel looked Tess in the eyes again,
"How is Andrew? Is he terribly angry?"

"No, baby, I don’t think so," Tess answered as they continued walking, and she wrapped her arm lovingly around Carla’s slim shoulders,
"He has some guilt about missing the dinner and other than that, he really hasn’t said too much, which concerns me. Andrew internalizes things a lot, Carla and sometimes we have to work rather hard to get it out of him. Monica was always best at being able to do that, but not this time as she is part of the problem. I’m hoping I can talk to him later today. I can tell he’s hurting-I can see that in his eyes. He loves that little angel with everything in him."

"Well, I think Sam is giving her a little time off before we take on any assignments together, so hopefully she’ll be able to start putting things into perspective and I’m going to be there for her every step of the way. Andrew, with you on his side, will hopefully be able to do the same."

Tess smiled, looking at the young angel beside of her,
"You’re a good angel, baby, and a good friend," She said knowingly.

"I had a good teacher," Carla replied, returning the smile,
I’d better get back. Monica was still asleep when I left; she’s caught a bit of a cold and with everything else, I think she was just wiped out. Thank you, for sending the bear to her. I think she needed to know that you still loved her."

"Carla, when it comes to my babies, there is nothing in this universe strong enough to make me stop loving them," Tess wrapped her arms around the young angel before Carla vanished from her sight. She then turned her eyes towards the clear, blue sky,
"Father, be with the four of us in the days to come, and work on Sam’s heart as well, because I think You and I both know that a permanent separation is not the answer to this problem. Yes, those babies need some time, but not forever."

Chapter 19

An hour later, Tess was still in the park wondering around aimlessly, both doing some thinking and also watching some young children play around and throw snowballs at one another. A sad smile on her lips, the angel knew how much both Andrew and Monica loved small kids and she wished her two friends could be there now with her to see them play. If she could just see those two "Angel Babies" smile just one more time…

Letting out a soft sigh, she turned away from the scene before her and walked slowly back to a nearby bench, but stopped in her tracks as she spotted Andrew sitting there now, deep in thought. A look of both betrayal and confusion radiated on his face and Tess’ heart went out to him. What could have happened with Brianna just now? What kind of problems could be added to the already raging fire?

"Andrew?" She finally spoke up and sat down beside him as he looked up at her with surprised green eyes,
"Baby, what are you doing here?"

"Thinking…" Came the quiet reply as he toyed with his hands and sighed softly,
"Just doing some thinking, Tess…"

"About?" The older angel pressed, knowing that something was terribly wrong and it was weighing heavily on his heart right now.

"Brianna, Tess," Andrew replied quietly…almost too quietly, since the other angel had to lean in closer to hear his words,
"I just…I’m not sure if you want to hear this, Tess."

Placing a hand gently on his arm and rubbing it soothingly, the angel replied with firm conviction,
"Andrew, I’m always here to listen to you. You know that, Angel Boy. Right?"

Shrugging slightly, Andrew turned to face her and answered,
"I guess so, Tess. But I’m just worried…worried and angry, in a way."

"What happened at Brianna’s, Angel Boy?" Tess gently pressed, taking his hand into hers and giving it an encouraging squeeze,
"You can tell me, Andrew."

"I just can’t believe that she would do this to me, Tess…Brianna was supposed to be my friend and instead…she did something that I’m not sure I can forgive her for, and if I do, I’m not sure I can be her friend after this. It’s pretty much ruined my friendship with Monica, Tess," He softly spoke as his eyes still held so much torment and betrayal at another angel.

"What did she do?" Tess asked gently, knowing that he had to get this out in order for things to get better between them all.

"Tess…Remember when – well, the day Brianna came over and wanted to talk to me about her assignment gone bad? And…I did the unthinkable of forgetting of Monica’s and my yearly anniversary because of Brianna’s request of me?" Seeing his supervisor nod her head, the blonde angel continued,
"Well…I was finally told the truth today. I don’t get what’s going on lately, Tess!! All that’s happening it seems is that I’m being lied to and it’s making me angrier and angrier…" Finding that he was raising his voice and his words were coming out quicker than he had anticipated, Andrew took a deep, shaky breath before closing his eyes and whispering,
"I’m sorry, Tess…I shouldn’t have yelled like that…"

"Don’t apologize, honey," Tess gently reassured him, giving his hand another squeeze,
"Continue, Andrew. You have my listening ear."

Feeling a few tears forming in his sad eyes, Andrew kept his gaze turned away from his supervisor and dear friend while he spoke,
"Brianna told me this afternoon that…that the assignment that she had supposedly had a hard time coming to terms with wasn’t as terrible as she had made it out to be. Yes, there was a bombing at a school, but she told me that she really would have been able to handle it, but she wanted me to miss my anniversary with Monica to get me away from her and…and…she did all that on purpose ‘cause she was jealous of my friendship with Monica…Tess, she really did want me to return as an Angel of Death, but…she did this just to get me away from my best friend so that I could be with her??" His voice getting choked up with each passing minute and each spoken word, Andrew pulled his hand away from Tess and threw both of his hands up in the air,
"How could she DO this to me, Tess!! I’m finding it so hard to forgive her, and I know I have to, but a small part of me wants to continue being her friend, but another part of me doesn’t want to. I feel like I’m being torn in two here, Tess, and I’m not sure anymore what I want…"

Placing his head into his hands as he found himself growing exhausted from everything that he had spoken and also the past few weeks’ events, he ran his hands through his hair and let a choked sob escape his lips. Feeling the hand of his friend on his back and the gentle embrace from her, Andrew allowed himself to just collapse in her arms and let it all out.

"Oh Baby…I’m so sorry, Andrew, I’m very sorry about this," Tess whispered into his ear as she patted his back and sighed quietly. Raising her brown eyes to the sky above them, the Voice of the Father spoke to her heart and she knew she had to say these words to her friend,
"Andrew, the Father knows how you feel, but He wants you to forgive Brianna, Baby. He doesn’t expect you to just pretend that everything is all right when it’s not and continue being friends with her; that’s your decision, Angel Boy. But He wants you to find it in that heart of yours to forgive her…and Monica."

Pulling away from his supervisor’s arms, Andrew turned wide eyes to his friend,
"Tess, forgiving Monica is EASY compared to this! I…I love her more than my own life and we’ve been best friends for over 40 years. But – "

Placing a finger against his lips to silence him, Tess spoke firmly yet lovingly,
"It’s your choice, Andrew. Remember that God loves you no matter what that choice is and He will never leave you, nor forsake you. I think you know that by now, Baby. But He does want you to try and He also wants you to talk to Him. Have a conversation with Him, one on one. Tell Him what you just told me, Andrew, and let Him help you. Okay?"

As she spoke the words, Tess knew that those words were coming straight from God and she lifted a slight smile to the blue sky. God really was in control of this whole mess and He spoke it to her heart. But that uncomfortable feeling of her two "Angel Babies" being separated for eternity wouldn’t leave her heart and the angel knew that she had to put everything in His hands and only hope that the forever separation wouldn’t be His will.

*****

Monica was still in bed by the time the clock hit noon and she gazed at it with near lifeless eyes. She had barely gotten any sleep the night before and she was sneezing and coughing even more. That was the worst part of being in human form – especially stuck in it and not just for an assignment. Grabbing a kleenex off of her nightstand and blowing her nose, the angel leaned back against her pillows and grasped the angel bear that was by her side into her weak arms.

"How did you sleep last night, Andy?" She whispered to the bear, almost feeling an embarrassed blush rise to her cheeks as she realized that she was talking to a stuffed animal, but chose to ignore that feeling,
"I hope you slept better than I did, my friend. I couldn’t stop thinking about Andrew…Oh, Andy, if only you could talk. I miss him so much and I just want to apologize to him for everything that I did to him and Brianna…I know that I should ask forgiveness from the Father first, but how can He forgive me?"

"Because I can, My angel," The sudden voice of her loving Lord spoke loud and clear to her heart and Monica’s eyes widened as she recognized that voice anywhere,
"I can forgive you any time if you only ask for it. I still love you, Monica, and that will never change. You just spoke from your heart and I will grant you forgiveness when you ask Me."

Sobbing openly now as she hugged the bear that Andrew gave her so many years ago during the most difficult of all assignments, the Irish angel closed her tear-filled, brown eyes as she whispered in a choked up voice that only she knew the Father could hear,
"Father, forgive me…oh, please God, I’m so terribly sorry!! For everything. For lying, for my anger and jealousy and not trusting You, Father. Please, God, please help me…I want Your forgiveness and I want Andrew’s, too. I love him so very much and I can’t even imagine how he must feel towards me right now. Please make me whole again, God, and help Your angel…"

Chapter 20

Carla opened the door to Monica’s room, her eyes coming to rest on the ailing angel, who was knelt beside of her bed, hands clasped tightly together and her shoulders shaking with sobs. Hearing the broken words being offered up to the Father, the younger angel moved inside and carefully knelt beside of the bed near her friend. Folding her own hands over Monica’s, Carla spoke softly,
"Tell Him what’s in your heart, Monica," She whispered gently,
"He already knows, but He needs for you tell Him now."

Trying to gain control of her emotions, the Irish angel continued, grateful for her friend’s calming presence as she began to speak to their Father more coherently and with everything inside of her,
"Oh Father, I’ve made so many terrible mistakes, the worst of them being my errors with Jackie, one of Your children. I followed my own heart instead of Your will, Father and I am so, so sorry. I know she is with You now and please tell her how sorry I am for not being the angel she needed when she needed me," Weeping softly for a moment, the angel once again found her voice to continue in her petition,
"And Andrew, Father. I need Your help…Carla was right…I have so many feelings of insecurity where my friendship with him is concerned and it caused me to lash out at him and pull away from him, and in doing so, I also pulled away from You. Please help me to know that what happened with Kathleen and Denise was not my fault, if it be Your will, and please help me be able to explain it to Andrew one day, so he can at least understand why I acted so horribly, even if he can never forgive me for having so little faith in our relationship. You know how much I love him, God and how thankful I am for You sending him to me in the first place, but please, Father; don’t let our friendship begin and end in my jealousy, please. I know I lied to him several times through all of this and I’m so ashamed and not worthy to be called Your angel…"

As Carla listened to the words of her dear friend’s heart, she softly began to sing in an effort to calm her. Her voice lifted up softly, not like Tess’ rich and full alto, but her own soft and sweet voice lifted up in praise to the One who loved them all so much,
"Hide me, Lord,
in Your holiness.
Every sin, I now confess.
"Praise to You,
forgiving Lord,
Hide me in Your holiness…
Hide me in Your holiness."

"And Father, please forgive the wrongs I’ve done to Brianna, Tess and Sam…I think now, that they were all just trying to help me, but I reacted in anger to them all and I’m sorry. You even send Your angels angels to help guide them and I didn’t see it, Father. Lastly, Father, forgive me the wrongs I have done to You, for in hurting those that You love, I know I hurt You as well. Help me to trust that You are in control of this whole horrible mess that your wayward angel created. Please Father, I ask all of this and for You to guide me in the coming days that I face without them, knowing that Your love will carry me through."

As she whispered an "Amen", the angel rested her head against her hands, exhausted, but already feeling better spiritually. She closed her eyes as she heard the loving voice speak to her heart,
"My precious daughter, you are forgiven, though there is still work to be done. Trust Me, My angel, in the days ahead, even when it passes your understanding, that I am in control and that all will work out to the good. My plan is already in motion."

Reaching over, Carla hugged her friend tightly; her own eyes shining with tears as she felt some peace finally flow through Monica,
"You need to rest, my friend. You’re still human and your fever is raging," Carla felt a bit puzzled by this as she would have thought there would be healing, though Monica had never asked for it, nor Andrew’s forgiveness, but she trusted that the Father must have His reasons.

"I just can’t seem to sleep, Carla," Monica replied tiredly,
"Every time I close my eyes, I see Andrew and all the pain I’ve caused him, and I know I may never get the chance to explain it to him and tell him how deeply sorry I am."

Helping her friend to her feet and back onto the bed, Carla waited until she had lay down and she pulled the covers up over her shivering friend,
"Trust." She whispered simply, watching as Monica nodded her head.

****

One week later…

"Tess, I just don’t know what to do," Carla lamented, having paid the older and wiser angel another visit,
"Her illness is getting no worse, but no better either and I think it’s because she can’t seem to rest right now with all of this on her mind. How is Andrew holding up?"

"I wish I knew, baby," Tess sighed softly,
"He’s so quiet these days and he has yet to speak with Brianna again. It seems that she instigated a lot of what happened by trying to break up my babies’ friendship and that isn’t settling lightly with Andrew, and I have no idea how he feels about Monica right now. He said last week it would be easy for him to forgive Monica compared to Brianna, but that’s all he has said. Two angels he called ‘friend’ lied to him and weren’t honest and I really don’t know what is going on inside of him right now."

"He and Monica need to talk, Tess," Carla ventured carefully, following the words of her heart,
"They need to at least have a chance, even if it’s just an hour."

"Well, I had thought about that too, but have already spoken to Sam and he’ll have no part of it and he is the boss. I’m just so worried, baby, that he may not ever come to his senses about this," Tess shook her head.

"But look at what’s at stake here, Tess. Andrew has retreated inside of himself and Monica’s ill from all of this. All I’m asking for is an hour-let him come to her for an hour to test the waters. She’s made her peace with God, but she needs to make it with Andrew." The younger angel argued gently.

"I know that, Angel Child, but we cannot just defy Sam or we’ll be in as much trouble with him as Monica is right now."

"Well, I was thinking about that…" Carla chose her words carefully, unable to risk a "No" from Tess,
"What if we go above Sam’s head? Go straight to the top, so to speak. We’re only asking for an hour, Tess…"

As Carla’s words sank in, Tess turned to the younger angel before her, her brown eyes stern for a moment and Carla feared she had lost this battle. But a moment later, Tess’ face had broken into a smile,
"Baby, did I ever tell you, that I love the way you think?"

Chapter 21

"Carla?" Andrew’s eyes clouded with confusion as the young supervisor opened the door three days later for he and Tess. He turned his eyes to Tess questionably,
"What are we doing here, Tess?"

"Well, baby, we’ll explain that to you in just a minute, as soon as we get in the door," His supervisor responded as she gently ushered her charge in the door.

Once Carla had closed it behind them, she and Tess exchanged a worried glance, before Tess once more turned to her Angel Boy,
"Baby, Carla and I have borrowed a little time; an hour to be exact, from the Father. It’s up to you what you do with that hour, but we’re hoping you’ll use it to talk to Monica."

"Where is she?" He asked, his heart beginning to race at this situation he was just now being made aware of.

"Back in bed," Carla said softly, before explaining further,
"She’s been sick, Andrew and I think a lot of it may have to do with needing to see you. The two of you need to talk, Andrew, and I know an hour isn’t a lot of time, but it’s all we have right now."

Concern mixed in with the confusion in his eyes at the news that his friend wasn’t well, but it didn’t change all that had happened and he wasn’t at all sure of how he felt about this. Oh, he wanted desperately to see her, but…
"You expect us to fix everything in an hour?" He asked, not quite believing this part of the whole thing.

"No, baby, of course not," Tess replied, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder,
"But we have to start somewhere…providing you want to."

"Of course I want to," He said, a slight angry tinge to his voice. He just wished Tess would have told him about this before, so he would have had time to get used to the idea. Instead the minutes were ticking by and what he felt was a lot of pressure.

Sensing his frustration, Carla gestured back the hallway, saying a silent prayer that she and Tess had not made a grave mistake,
"Last door on the left."

As he started down the hallway, he turned around once more,
"Does Monica know I’m coming?"

"Yes, baby, she does," Tess replied worriedly,
"She needed to feel a little bit of hope."

***

Monica looked up from where she sat up in bed, her head resting against the pillows, when she heard the door open. Her heart began to pound in her exhausted human body before she ever saw him, but a second later, he was standing there and she swallowed hard against her sore throat, trying to summon up courage she wasn’t feeling,
"Hello Andrew."

Temporarily, his confusion and frustration were forgotten as he looked at her, his eyes filling with sympathy, as he closed the door behind him and then moved to sit on the edge of her bed, reaching for her hand without a moment’s hesitation,
"Hello yourself," He responded softly his expression one of concern as he noticed her flushed cheeks and the weary look around her eyes,
"How are you feeling?"

The feel of her hand in his, made her want to cry, but she held it together, knowing she had a lot to say and not much time in which to say it,
"I’ve been better," She admitted truthfully, forcing herself to meet his eyes,
"I’m glad you came…I wanted to talk to you."

He laughed, though it sounded forced, even to him,
"Well, I didn’t have much choice as I knew nothing about this till five minutes ago."

A combination of shock and hurt flashed in her eyes,
"Andrew…I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…"

Seeing what he had done, he shook his head,
"No, Monica, it’s okay," Feeling awkward, and at a loss for words, he continued,
"You said you wanted to talk to me?"

She lowered her eyes for a moment, searching for the right words in which to begin,
"I…I wanted to apologize to you for everything and to try to explain some of the things I’ve realized with Carla’s help, but I know now that she was right," She drew in a shaky breath as she met her eyes with his once more.

"You lied to me, Monica," Andrew stated, his voice not accusing, but full of hurt and disappointment,
"You lied to me more than once."

"Yes." She whispered, unable to control the single tear that ran down her cheek,
"And I’m sorry…I’m so sorry, Andrew."

"But you were sorry the last time too, Monica," He told her firmly, the old hurts flooding back to his heart.

"I know that, but…" She looked away again, knowing this would be the hardest part,
"I was comparing you to Kathleen and Denise…" Seeing the shock and confusion on his handsome face, she continued,
"They were both my friends once too, Andrew and I lost them and somewhere, deep inside, I think that it was my fault. Like maybe there is some flaw within me, that this keeps happening. So, what I was doing with you, and have done with you in the past, is that whenever I feel that our friendship is being threatened…I lash out first…so I’m not the one who is hurt. It was wrong but it’s what I did. I shut you out, I got angry with you and I lied to you…"

Andrew looked away for a moment and when he returned his eyes to hers, his were filled with tears of anger and hurt,
"How could you ever compare me to those two, Monica? How?"

"It…it wasn’t my intention to compare you to Denise or Kathleen, my friend," Monica started to sob as she heard her best friend’s words to her,
"Please, you must believe me. I love you so much and although I’ve lied to you, hurt you and haven’t been the friend I should’ve been – "

"Yes, you lied," Andrew interrupted, the angry tears now rolling down his pale cheeks,
"And right now, I’m not sure which hurts more: That you think I’m going to leave like Kathleen and Denise or that 3 years after you were promoted to supervisor, you lied to me then and you PROMISED that you wouldn’t do it again! I trusted you, Monica…just like I trusted Brianna, and I’m having a hard enough time forgiving her!"

"What?" Monica whispered, her brown eyes widening at the mention of the other angel she had lashed out at over a week ago,
"Andrew…please, I know it’s a lot to ask, but please forgive me. Please…"

Releasing her hand from his gentle grasp, Andrew laid it back into his lap and looked down at the carpeted floor, unable to meet her own pained eyes,
"Monica…I’m going to tell you what I told Brianna the other day when I found out that she lied to me, too. I need time to think and I don’t know what my decision will be by that time, Monica…"

"She lied to you…?" Monica uttered, her voice catching on a sob as she realized the extent of Andrew’s words. Brianna, the angel that she had been so angry at for stealing her best friend from her had lied to Andrew, too? But how?
"How?" She questioned, holding her breath as she waited for what he would say.

Looking up at her with eyes filled with both shock and anger that she would have the gall to ask such a thing right then, right now, at this time, Andrew sucked in a sharp breath. Knowing that he would regret saying these words, the older angel also knew that he didn’t really have much of a choice and he was too hurt right then to even reconsider saying this,
"I don’t really think that’s any of your business at this time, Monica," He said in a soft voice.

Although his words hurt the younger angel to the core, the tone of his voice wasn’t harsh or filled with hatred towards her. A flush rising to her cheeks at the thought that she had even asked this, Monica gulped, although her throat was burning up even more, and allowed him to continue speaking. After all, hadn’t she said enough these last few weeks? It was time for her dearest friend to let everything inside of him out and in the open.

"I’m sorry, Monica, but that’s how I feel right now. If it was under different circumstances, I’d tell you in a heartbeat, but I don’t feel like explaining it to you at the moment…"

"Andrew…please don’t hate me…" She whispered, reaching for his hand again and flinching as he pulled it away before she could even grasp it,
"Please…"

"You know I don’t have it in me to hate you," Andrew responded, guilt rising inside of him as he repeated a lot of the same words that Monica had lashed out at him at the park the other week: "If I had it in me, I’d hate you!"
"No matter what you really think of me, after what you told me at the park the other day…I don’t feel that way about you and although I am deeply hurt and frustrated by the actions we’ve all done…I can’t hate you, even if I tried, Monica."

Lower lip quivering, Monica couldn’t find the words to say right then and she wished more than anything to wrap her arms around him and have him hold her to him like he always used to do in the past. Instead, as she saw Andrew’s eyes fill with pain at the sight of her own tears, the Irish angel felt so many different emotions as she felt her friend’s hand on her face and brushing away the stray tears on her cheeks. At the simple feel of his fingertips, the angel wanted to just grasp his hand and never let it go again. But she knew that couldn’t be the case; after all, they only had a half an hour left,
"Andrew…I am sorry," She uttered tearfully instead as she felt her friend’s hand drop to his side again and away from her wet cheek,
"I know you don’t believe me, but I am! I wish I didn’t hurt you like I did and I now realize how much jealousy can tear apart someone, even an angel."

Watching her face, Andrew wordlessly nodded his head, the tears making their way down his face like rain. His heart shattered into pieces as he thought of the consequences of everything they all had done. Lowering his teary, green eyes for a brief moment, he looked back up at the sick angel and gave his head another nod,
"Yeah…"

Knowing that he couldn’t take much more of this and that he had to get away from this house before he broke down completely, Andrew slowly rose to his feet and glanced at his pocket watch. Although the human angel knew that they still had a good 20 more minutes to try to talk things through with one another, he also knew that he wouldn’t be able to do this without falling apart in the bedroom,
"I better go," He whispered, glancing down at his ‘friend’ with pain-filled eyes,
"I’m sorry we have to part this way, Monica…and I want you to know that I am also sorry for my part in this. But I do need to get going and as I told you…I need some time to think."

As he gave her a forced smile, the angel turned around and was about to head for the door when the touch of Monica’s hand on his stopped him and he faced her again. Looking deep into her eyes that were almost a mirror to her soul, Andrew didn’t say a word until she spoke.

"I love you, Andrew," She whispered, voice cracking,
"I do love you, please know that…"

Nodding his head slightly once again, Andrew bent down and brushed her forehead with a gentle kiss with his lips before choking out,
"Good-bye, Angel Girl."

Chapter 22

Tess and Carla both looked up as Andrew walked purposefully into the room and by them both without a word.

"Andrew? Baby?" Tess called out, but he ignored her as he slammed out the front door. The two supervising angels exchanged worried glances and it only took the two of them a second to get back to Monica’s room.

Opening the door, Tess’ eyes fell upon her Angel Girl, who was weeping as if her heart would break, into her pillow. As Carla stood in the doorway, the older angel went and sat down on the bed, pulling her young charge into her arms, feeling Monica latch onto her as if she were the only thing that could save her from this whole thing,
"Tess is here, baby, she’s right here," She crooned softly to her, her hand moving to stroke the hair back from the younger angel’s face, her eyes growing more concerned as she felt the heat from Monica’s face.

"T..Tess…" She sobbed, her forehead resting against her friend’s shoulder,
"He’s…never going to…forgive me!"

"Baby, please calm down," Tess pleaded. The younger angel was shaking terribly and Tess was beginning to wonder if this had been a bad idea.

"How could I have done this, Tess? I’ve lost everything…everything…" Monica shook her head in misery, the pain of this whole thing coming at her full force once again,
"My head says all I need is God, Tess, but my heart…my heart says something else…" Trying to control her tears, she pulled away from Tess, sinking back wearily against her pillows,
""How could I have been so stupid? I’m an ANGEL, Tess, an angel! Now I’ve lost so much of what matters…"

"Like what, sweetheart?" Tess asked softly, seeing Carla leave out of the corner of her eye, as she reached for Monica’s hand and held it tightly in her own.

"Like working with you…and Sam’s respect…and my best friend, Tess….my best friend!" Covering her face with her hands, the angel continued to weep, deep, shuddering sobs that Tess could feel to her very core.

Feeling tears in her own eyes, Tess began speaking in as calm a voice as she could muster, despite her worry about her two beloved friends,
"Monica, listen to me, baby. There is not an angel in the universe that has not made mistakes. You are not the first and you will certainly not be the last, so lets get that straight right now," Reaching up, she gently pulled Monica’s hands away from her face and held them in her own,
"Yes, there has been repercussions due to what happened, and you may have to work very hard to make this up to a few angels, but baby, I am not one of them. You know I love you and nothing changes that fact."

"I’m sorry for the things I said to you in the park, Tess…I am…" Monica shook her head as her eyes pleaded with her.

"Angel Girl, I knew that before you even turned around to leave that day. There was no doubt in my mind about that. Are we all clear on that one small fact?" Tess asked, her eyes stern, but her voice warm.

"Yes, ma’am," Monica replied shakily, drawing in a trembling breath,
"But, Tess, I don’t think things with Andrew and I are ever going to be the same again…"

"Only the Father knows that, baby. You told him you were sorry, now maybe what this needs is time. He’s been hurt by two angels he called friend too, baby, of the two being the one he called ‘best friend’ and sometimes it’s hard to trust again," Seeing the fresh tears brimming in her young friend’s eyes, Tess continued as gently as she could,
"You and I both know that when Andrew is hurt, he usually goes to you, baby, and I’m imagining he’s feeling a little lost right now, because this time it was you who caused the hurt."

Monica gazed downwards, the tears trailing down her cheeks as she thought about the conversation she had just had with Andrew. With everything in her, she had wanted him to say he still loved her, but that had not happened. Instead she felt even more confused by his actions; his gentle touch and his anger; his leaving before the time was up and the kiss to her forehead and she had no idea where she stood with him. He had said he needed time, but how much time? What amount of time totaled up to forgiveness? A week, a month, years?

He had promised her that night they had spoken in her room that he would forgive her when this was all over, but then he hadn’t known any of the truth and he hadn’t known about her lies. Maybe one broken promise deserved another…

"What are you thinking, baby?" Tess asked, after a minute had gone by.

Monica raised her head up to meet those of her supervisor, her voice trembling as the words escaped with no more than a pained whisper,
"That maybe the best way for me to show him how sorry I am is to just stay away…that way, I can never hurt him again. Maybe that’s the only way I can trust myself not to."

"And you know that is not the answer, Miss Wings-."

"Do I?" She questioned, swallowing hard as the tears had made her throat feel like sandpaper,
"You should go, Tess. I know you and Carla did this behind Sam’s back and if he finds out he won’t be happy. Thank you, for being here, but I’m really tired right now," She gave Tess’ hand a final squeeze before pulling away, wanting her to just go before the tears came with a renewed force.

Tess stood to go, sensing that Monica wanted to be alone, though it was taking everything in her to leave the fragile angel by herself right now. Walking to the door, she turned around one more time,
"You don’t want to do this, baby. You need to trust in the Father that all will be all right again."

"It will be, Tess," She whispered, not meeting her friend’s eyes,
"It will just have to be all right without Andrew is all, but it’s for the best…Sam knew it and maybe now, I do too."

Feeling tears burning in her eyes, and knowing that there would be no reasoning right now with the hurting angel, she nodded her head,
"We’re not through talking about this, Monica. You know I love you baby, and whether you believe it or not, so does Andrew."

As Tess closed the door behind her, the ailing angel dissolved into tears once more as she whispered aloud,
"Then why didn’t he say so, Tess? Why didn’t he say so?"

***

Carla bolted from the house, her eyes searching frantically for Andrew and it didn’t take long for her to find him sitting on the steps of the school across the street. Making her way over to him, the younger angel sat down next to him and waited to see if he would acknowledge her presence. When he didn’t, she spoke up,
"Are you all right, Andrew?"

"Just leave me alone, Carla, okay?" He replied brokenly, not raising his head,
"I think you and Tess have done plenty today."

"We only wanted to help, Andrew. You and Monica are both hurting so badly and so deeply and we just thought-."

"I know what you thought, Carla," He responded softly,
"But you and Tess can’t fix this."

"Well, somebody had to try," She argued gently, knowing she may be entering on dangerous ground with this hurting angel that she had only met once.

"Carla, she lied to me and she compared me to Denise and Kathleen; two of the most evil demons in all of the darkness," He snapped, finally looking up to meet her eyes.

She drew in a deep breath, seeing the pain, anger and tears his green eyes held,
"And I’ve never seen anyone, angel or human who is more sorry than she is," She replied firmly.

"Yeah, well, I’ve heard that before."

"Andrew, I’m not excusing the lies, please don’t think I am, but you’re missing the point as to why this happened," She responded, her voice holding a determined edge to it,
"She loves you, so much that the fear of losing you for whatever reason is more than she can bear. Can’t you see that? And excuse me for saying so, but you’ve given her more than enough reasons to believe that it could happen. The time she nearly lost you to the darkness, the time you were determined to give up your wings, the time you put her in a lifeboat aboard a sinking ship, the time your plane was hijacked. Take your pick, Andrew and then tell me in all honesty that if the tables were reversed that you wouldn’t feel more than a little insecure as well? I’m not asking you to say what she did was fine, but I’m asking you to try to understand."

Andrew remained quiet, her words hitting close to his heart, but he shook his head,
"She should have been honest."

"Yes, she should have been," Carla replied, standing to her feet in order to face him,
"But she would rather lie to you than stand in the way of something you may want. She knew that if she told you the truth, you would maybe have stopped your friendship with Brianna. She may not have known what the answers were, Andrew, but she knew that wasn’t it."

"No, Carla, obviously the answer was shutting me out!" He fumed back at her, feeling more confused now than ever.

"That was her defense!" Carla cried, trying so hard to get him to see the truth when so much was at stake,
"She shut you out because the hurt over possibly losing you would be too great!" When he didn’t respond, she continued, trying to remain as calm as she could,
"Is it so hard to forgive the angel who is your best friend? The angel who jumped back on a sinking ship for you, the friend who ran back into a school turned war zone to look for you? I’m not saying you haven’t helped her out of horrible situations, because I know you have, but can’t you see the love she has for you? Love so great that she takes into consideration your needs before her own, even if it means you walking away from her for another friend! I know you wouldn’t do that, but after everything that has happened in the last 40 years, maybe she doesn’t!"

"She knows!" He cried out, the tears in his eyes now spilling over.

Kneeling down in front of him Carla took his hands in hers, as her own eyes shimmered with tears of her own,
"Maybe you need to think about telling her again," She whispered softly,
"She’s so insecure about this and I know you’ve been hurt, Andrew, both by her and by Brianna. Now, I don’t know Brianna very well at all, but I do know Monica. She loves you, Andrew and I don’t know what else to do for her. I don’t understand why she is still sick; unless her grief over this is so much that she is somehow doing it to herself without realizing it. What I do know is that in the middle of the night when she is burning up with fever, she calls out for you. I know that if she could turn back time to before all of this started, she would, but she can’t do that."

"I don’t know what to think anymore, Carla," He choked out, though he still held tightly to her hands.

"Just think about what’s really important to you, Andrew. Think about that, and I think you’ll find the answers." She replied as she stood back up. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Tess coming out of the house, a sad expression on her mahogany face.

Approaching Tess carefully, and knowing that they were now out of time, Carla looked at her worriedly.

"Angel Child, I’m not sure if we made things better or worse…"

Chapter 23

"Andrew, Baby…I’m so sorry about this," Tess watched her young friend as they arrived back at their apartment and he headed immediately down the hall and towards his room,
"That didn’t go as I had expected, and…Angel Boy, will you stop walking and listen here?"

Hearing him let out a loud sigh and turning to face her with sad eyes, Tess walked closer to him and rested a gentle hand on his arm,
"Andrew, we had no idea things would go like that and I thought it would make things better instead of worse. Will you forgive us, Baby?"

Without meeting her eyes with his green ones, Andrew mumbled,
"It doesn’t matter right now, Tess…I’ve got a lot of thinking to do and…I just wanta be alone if you don’t mind."

But before he could get anywhere, the older angel grasped her charge’s arm and brought him to a halt, bringing him back around to face her,

"Now, Mr. Halo, that’s something I’m not about to let happen now. You’ve been alone a lot this past week and I think it’s time you and I had another talk. Like, what did happen with Monica back there; what you’re REALLY thinking and why you’re shutting me out right now, Baby. C’mon, Andrew," Keeping a gentle grip on his arm and leading him, though reluctant, to the living room like they had done the past week when he had fallen asleep sobbing in her arms.

*****

Late that night, Tess kept an eye on her "Angel Boy" as he slept fitfully on the couch in the living room. After many hours of talking, and only getting a little bit out of her friend about what had occurred with Monica and what he had said to her – plus his later conversation with Carla - the older angel had finally given up for the day and knew there was nothing else she could do. She had gone into the kitchen to get herself some hot cocoa for herself and for her young charge, but had come back several minutes later to find him sleeping on the couch, tossing and turning.

Leaning over in the chair she sat in, the mahogany-colored skinned angel sighed as she reached a hand out and brushed Andrew’s blonde hair out of his sealed eyes,
"Oh, Andrew…Father, please, I’m asking You again to help these two babies. You know better than any of us that I can’t stand to see my Angel Babies suffering like this and although I know that Carla has been trying to help Andrew today, I’m still wondering, Father. Will they ever heal? And if so…when, if it’s Your will?"

*****

One week later…

"Carla? Angel Child, what are you doing here??" Tess gasped as she opened the front door of the apartment and saw the younger angel looking back at her with a look of devastation on her pretty face. Tess immediately knew that something was very wrong and she was determined to know what it was about. The thought of Monica immediately came to her and she held her breath as she allowed Carla inside.

"Oh Tess…Monica is getting worse and I had to come here," The angel whispered, not going any farther than the doorway,
"She’s caught pneumonia, Tess, and she’s getting worse as the days go on. I’m so worried about her, Tess and…Sam hasn’t stopped by or anything to help and that’s making me worry even more! You need to help me, Tess, please! Something could happen to her and she just won’t stop talking about Andrew!"

"Whoa, Baby, slow down," Tess held up a hand and stared at her "Angel Child" in shock,
"Pneumonia? Are you sure, honey??"

"Yes, I’m more than sure! All of the signs are there and…I don’t have as much experience as Monica did, so I don’t know what do when an angel catches an illness like this…"

The older, wiser angel laid a gentle hand on Carla’s shoulder and hushed her before she ran out of breath from talking so fast,
"Hang on a minute, Baby. I’ll help you, and I have gotten word from the Father that I can; I just need to go and tell Andrew I’ll be back after a while. Hang on, Carla."

Practically racing down the hall and towards her "Angel Boy’s" room, Tess suddenly stopped in her tracks as she saw the door cracked open and the light turned off in the room. Moving slowly closer, the angel knocked softly on the door, but after receiving nothing from Andrew, she nudged the door open and turned the light on. What she saw, however, made her gasp in shock and her face paled.

The room was empty.

*****

‘Pneumonia…’ Andrew thought silently to himself as he finally came upon the house where Monica was staying at with Carla. After overhearing the news that the younger angel had told his supervisor just an hour ago, the Search and Rescue angel had known that he just had to go to Monica, no matter what.

Even though if it meant receiving the wrath of Tess or Sam – especially Sam – Andrew knew that he couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. Guilt had torn through his being all over again as he had heard Carla tell Tess that Monica had talked about him nonstop and he just knew that she was sicker because of his refusal to forgive her and also his refusal to tell her that he loved her.

‘But I do, Father…I really do,’ He thought silently as he walked up the steps and towards the front door,
‘Please forgive me, Father, for disobey and breaking the rules so to speak, but I just have to do this. Please understand why!’

Reaching for the doorknob and saying a silent prayer of thanks that it was unlocked, the angel tentatively opened it wide open and walked inside.

The house seemed empty, since Carla was still over back at the apartment with Tess, and Andrew felt a twinge of fear sweep through him at the realization of what he was doing,
‘I feel like I’m breaking and entering…and disobeying doesn’t help me any…’

Tears finally filling his green eyes as he reached Monica’s closed door, he was about to knock when a loud cough from behind the closed door interrupted him and he grimaced as he recognized that cough as his best friends’.

Best friend.

Was she really still his best friend?? The words that Carla had spoken earlier that week came back to him at full force and he remembered all she had spoken…the truth. Shaking his blonde head and closing his green eyes, Andrew grasped the doorknob tightly in his shaking hand and knocked softly on the door with the other.

"Carla?" The choked up voice of Monica sounded behind the door and a cough followed her question.

Without responding to the question, Andrew took a deep breath and pulled the door open slowly. Poking his head in tentatively, a flush rising to his cheeks as the tears ran down them, he spoke up, his voice filled with pain and emotions,
"Guess again, Angel Girl."

*****

As she heard the sound of the voice she’d know anywhere, Monica gripped the kleenex in her sweaty hand and turned over onto her side and sucked in a deep breath as she saw Andrew coming into the room, a look of total devastation on his handsome face. Along with regret and pain.

"Andrew…" Her voice saying his name being caught off by a loud cough that shook her small, delicate frame, she felt Andrew’s presence come into the room and felt him sit down beside her on the bed like he did the other week.

At the feel of him rubbing her back with a gentle hand, Monica forced herself to look up at him, her eyes filling with hot tears and rolling down her pale face,
"Andrew…" She repeated, feeling her body shaking as she realized that he was really here with her.

"Yes, it’s me…I’m here, Monica. I’m here…" He whispered with a cracking voice. Seeing him gulp and finally look into her eyes, she listened to him intently,
"Angel Girl…I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I – heard Carla tell Tess earlier what was happening to you and…Oh, Monica, I don’t know what to say except that I’m sorry. For everything. For not forgiving you and for acting like I did when I saw you last…and for not telling you that I loved you when I really did when I had the chance. I do love you, Monica, and…after some talking with Carla and from Tess, I’ve realized what I’ve done. I forgive you, Angel Girl."

Although it hurt to every core of her being, Monica forced herself to a sitting position and threw her weak arms around her best friend’s neck for the first time since that night in her room when she had lied to him for the first time. Although her arms were weak as she held tightly to her friend, she didn’t let go as she buried her face deep into his shoulder and nearly wept with relief and gratefulness as she felt Andrew hugging her back.

"I’m so sorry, Andrew…please, you must know that," She whispered as guilt still tore through her, even after Andrew had just told her he had forgiven her…and she knew her friend never lied, unlike herself,
"I’m so sorry…"

"Shhh," He whispered as his own tears fell onto her shoulder,
"I realize that now, baby, I realize that. And I know that I broke the rules by visiting you right now, but I couldn’t leave you here by yourself. Oh, Monica, please forgive me…"

"I do forgive you, Andrew. I forgave you a long time ago."

Breathing a deep sigh of relief, Andrew allowed the tears to really fall from his eyes as he only held his friend as tightly as he dared, especially in the condition she was in, and buried his tear-streaked face in her auburn hair as he stroked it. Gently running his fingers through it and working some of the tangles out, the angel gave her back a final rub as she refused to let him go from her tight hug.

Finally, after several minutes of total silence between the two angels, Andrew gently pulled back from her arms and carefully laid her back against the pillows while smoothing her hair back from her tired, pained brown eyes. Yet, as he was about to open his mouth and speak something to her, the feel of a tap on his shoulder startled him and he turned around slowly. Gulping and his face turning a deathly shade of pale, Andrew and Monica came face to face with a not-happy Sam.

"And just what is happening here, Andrew?"

Chapter 24

"Sam, please…" Monica whispered, another cough interrupting her and left her gasping for air, as frightened tears made their way down her face.

"It’s okay, baby," Andrew responded softly, before he glanced back at Sam,
"I’ll meet you in the living room in a minute, Sam."

"Andrew, you know you are not supposed to be here-," The older angel interrupted, but Andrew cut him off before he could finish.

"The living room, Sam, please," He repeated, a tinge of anger in his voice before he turned back to his friend,
"Not here."

Waiting until Sam had finally gone; he gazed down at Monica,
"I’ll be right back, Angel Girl."

"Andrew…" She whimpered softly, fear evident in her eyes that Sam would make him leave.

Reaching for her hand, he gave it a gentle squeeze,
"I promise, Monica. I’m not going anywhere, regardless of what Sam says. I’m needed here and when I get back, we’re going to have a long talk and work on getting you better, okay?" Still seeing the fear in her eyes as he stood up, he reached down to stroke her cheek, which was hot with fever,
"I promise." He repeated softly,
"Try to rest, sweetheart; I’ll be right back."

Sam was waiting for him, arms crossed in front of him as he waited for an explanation and Andrew could tell by the look on his face, he was none to happy,
"Well?" The older angel drawled, his eyebrows raised in anticipation.

"She needed me, Sam," Andrew replied simply, keeping his voice calm and in control.

"I broke up this working arrangement for a reason, Andrew, and you knew that."

Andrew swallowed hard as he summoned up courage,
"I don’t see either one of us on assignment right now, Sam, do you?"

"You know what I mean," Sam replied, trying to remain patient.

"Sam, Monica is sick and Carla doesn’t have the experience to help her. She’s been waiting for you to show up to offer her some guidance, but this is the first appearance you have made, so Carla came to Tess needing help and I couldn’t hear that my dearest friend has pneumonia and not do something," Andrew countered, determined to win this battle.

"Well, I’m here now, so you can go. I’ll help Carla until Monica is better and then she will remain with Carla for future assignments."

"I’m not going anywhere, Sam; I’m sorry. But I’m not leaving right now. Now while she is this sick," The younger angel argued.

"Would you mind repeating that for me, Andrew and think about what you are saying, please?" Sam replied calmly.

"He said he wasn’t going anywhere!" Tess’ voice interrupted and she winked at her Angel Boy, seeing the relief that flowed over his face. Walking over to stand by Andrew as she and Carla entered the house, she flashed her young charge a look of love and pride,
"You get back to our girl, baby. I’ll handle this conversation from here. Sam, I think you and I need to take a little walk and discuss a few things."

Shaking his head, the Angel’s Angel resignedly followed his former student out the door, knowing he was not about to have a battle of the strongest angelic wills in the universe in front of Andrew or Carla,
"That’s fine, Tess, but this is far from over."

As they departed, Andrew and Carla exchanged as they both tried not to laugh,
"I’d want Tess in my corner anytime," Carla grinned.

"It’s a good place for her to be," Andrew agreed, before looking at the young angel before him. Approaching her, he placed his hands on her shoulders,
"Thank you," He said softly, tears in his green eyes,
"For taking care of her and for making me see the truth last week."

Carla smiled, breathing in a sigh of relief that hopefully things would soon be on their way back to normal,
"It was my pleasure. I’m just glad you’re here now."

"Me too," He replied, moving to give her a hug,
"I need to get back to Monica. We have a lot to talk about, but I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am that she has you for a friend."

Carla blushed as she pulled away,
"Yeah, well, so do you and I’ll straighten the two of you out again if need be, so don’t push it," She said with a laugh.

"I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that there isn’t a next time-not like this," Andrew replied, his eyes holding a trace of sadness,
"And we still have Sam to deal with, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it," Seeing her nod, he continued,
"I’m going to go check on her."

Andrew opened the door to Monica’s room, his heart going out to her as he saw her curled up with the angel bear, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs that he knew stemmed from her fear of Sam making him leave, combined with the illness that was raging through her human body. Not wasting a moment in getting to her, he laid down the basin and juice he had brought in with him and sat down beside of her and tenderly gathered her into his arms, rocking her gently.

"You’re still here," She whispered, holding onto him tightly.

"I told you I would be," He responded softly, kissing the top of her head,
"Tess is dealing with Sam right now and my guess is that by the time she is finished, my being here will not be an issue." As he pulled away from her to look into her exhausted face, he saw a weak smile playing on her lips.

"He doesn’t stand a chance," She replied, with a short laugh that sent her coughing again and holding tightly to Andrew’s hand until it subsided.

"C’mon, Angel Girl, lay back," He admonished her, as he reached for the basin of water and wrung out the cloth he had brought back with him. Waiting until she had laid back against her pillows, he gently bathed her feverish forehead and face with the cool water.

"I’m so glad you’re here," She said softly, closing her eyes for a moment,
"After last week, I didn’t think…well, I thought that would be the end of it…"

Andrew watched sadly as a tear slipped onto her cheek, before she opened her eyes once more,
"I was pretty confused last week," He admitted carefully, not wanting to upset her,
"But then I had a long talk with Carla and she made me realize how you felt about a few things…"

"About losing you…" Monica whispered, her eyes never leaving his.

"Yeah," He nodded his head, knowing his next words needed to be the right ones,
"She made me see how you could think something like that; that I would ever walk away from you and I guess…I guess I thought you knew…"

Tearfully, she looked at him as she reached for his hand once more,
"Knew what?"

Tears filled his own eyes as he responded to her question,
"That I never would, Monica. I know I’ve given you reason to doubt that in the past, I see that now, though none of them were intentional, but I understand now how much all those times hurt you and made you feel afraid," His hand moved to stroke her cheek as he saw the tears falling from her eyes,
"Sweetheart, there is nothing within my control that is strong enough to take me away from you, okay? I don’t take our friendship lightly and it is based on so many things-things that I could build with no one else, but you. You’re a part of me, Angel Girl, a part that is irreplaceable and not interchangeable. Nothing changes that…nothing," Feeling tears slipping from his own eyes, he remembered the one other thing she had said last week,
"With that being said, you also need to know that there is no ‘flaw’ within you that is going to cause you to lose me, so do me a favor, okay? Stop trying to push me away when you feel this way. I know that things in the past have caused you to have these doubts about yourself and about me, but baby, I can’t reassure you, if you don’t tell me and I will always, always reassure you, because I don’t want you to feel afraid, not about this."

Monica looked down as the tears continued to fall from her eyes, deeply touched by all he had said and still feeling a touch of the guilt from all she had done to hurt him. Looking back up at him through reddened and exhausted eyes, she spoke, her voice so quiet, it was all he could do to hear it,
"Cross your heart?"

Moving to sit beside of her at the head of the bed, he waiting until she had curled into his arms, her own weak arms wrapped around his waist as her head rested against his chest,
"Cross my heart," He whispered back into her ear,
"Now and forever, sweetheart," His hand brushed through her sweat dampened hair until he heard her shallow breathing that was all the illness would allow for right now, and he knew she had finally fallen asleep. Andrew knew that there were still other things to discuss; the lies and Brianna, but for now, he was content just to hold her in his arms and let her rest.

Chapter 25

Three hours later…

Tess sucked in a deep, sharp breath as she re-entered the house and closed the door behind her. Finally, after three long hours of fighting for her "Angel Babies" with Sam…the ‘conversation’ with him was finally over and he had left for the day. Leaning against the door and closing her brown eyes in exhaustion, the angel thought back to what she had told her former supervisor just now…and a feeling of some relief came over her at the thought that she may had just gotten through to him. Being the stubborn angels that they were, neither were going to give up without a fight, but Tess was more than determined to see to it that Sam would listen to what she was telling him…REALLY listen.

"…Tess, you know that I love Andrew like my own son and although Monica is very stubborn, I care a great deal for her, too, but this whole situation has gone on far enough and it’s about time for them to move on," Sam had argued not long after his former student had ushered him out the door and onto the front porch,
"I was Andrew’s supervisor before you even were, Tess, and I do know him better than you; he’s very stubborn and he had no right to just come here against my orders – "

"Your orders, Sam, or the Father’s orders?" Tess had interrupted him, giving him a challenging look,
"Sam, did you know that the Father AGREED for those two Babies to spend an hour together the other day? That He doesn’t object to my Angel Boy being here right now?"

Letting out another deep sigh as she re-lived the long argument she had with Sam, Tess allowed a small smile to cross over her lips as she recalled how just now, she may had just said the right thing; after she had said it, Sam had told her that he had "some thinking" to do and he had departed without any further words.

"Father, I have this feeling we got through to him…thank You, God," She smiled tiredly as she headed down the hallway and towards Monica’s room. Spotting Carla leaning against the door jam to the young, Irish angel’s room, Tess came up behind her and glanced over her shoulder. A few happy tears came to her eyes as she saw her two precious "Angel Babies" sleeping soundly in one another’s arms. Andrew’s arms were wrapped around Monica’s shoulders and his cheek was resting on her head; a slight smile was on his lips as his chest rose up and down from his soft breathing as he slept. Monica’s arms were wrapped tightly around her friend’s waist and she looked as content as ever.

"How long have they been this way?" Tess whispered to the other angel beside her, resting a hand on Carla’s shoulder gently.

"For the last couple of hours," Carla replied, smiling at the scene in front of her,
"I peeked in not very long ago to see how they both were and I saw them both sound asleep. I can’t help it, Tess…I feel like I’m gonna cry!"

"It has been a long time since I’ve seen them both this content, Baby," Tess replied, wrapping a gentle arm around the younger angel’s shoulders and stared at her two friends for a few minutes in total silence,
"I have a good feeling about what Sam’s decision may be, Angel Child."

Looking over her at the older angel, Carla’s eyes widened in surprise and she whispered softly,
"What did you say to that angel to make him maybe change his mind, Tess?? Boy, Andrew was right; it is great to have you on our side!"

Chuckling softly as to not wake up her dearest friends, Tess responded,
"I told him the truth, Carla. And I must say, none of this would have been possible if it hadn’t been for you, Baby."

Finding herself blushing once again at the compliment made by Tess to her, the blonde-haired angel lowered her head,
"I didn’t do so much, Tess…"

"Oh, you did more than that, Baby," Tess argued gently, wrapping the angel in a grateful, loving hug,
"Much more than that."

*****

Late that night at past 1AM, Andrew woke up suddenly and blinked in the darkened room to try to figure out where he was. Suddenly starting to remember as he felt Monica’s arms still wrapped snugly around him, Andrew smiled gently, yet tiredly, and glanced around him. Obviously, Tess or Carla must have been in the room later on because a quilt was now wrapped around him and his friend to keep the two angels warm. Lowering his tangled blonde head to give Monica’s head a gentle kiss, Andrew ever gently pulled out of her arms and climbed off of the bed. Leaning down and lifting his best friend into his arms gently to tuck her underneath the bedspread and blankets, the angel fluffed up the pillows and smoothed her still dampened hair from her face before kissing her lightly on the forehead. Human thirst came over him and he knew he had to get something to drink and a quick late night snack before going back to sit by Monica while she slept.

Stretching his arms over his head and groaning softly, the young angel ran his hand through his hair tiredly and headed out the door while leaving the door open in case Monica woke up, and walked towards the nearby kitchen to grab a glass of orange juice. As he opened the refrigerator to grab the carton of OJ out and a tall glass from the cupboard, Andrew was about to fill up his glass when Monica’s scream sounded and his own scream followed as he dropped both the glass and the juice carton on the marble floor.

"ANDREW!! Andrew, please no!! Don’t leave me!! Don’t!"

Running as fast as his stocking feet would allow, Andrew raced down the hall and threw the bedroom door all the way open again, turning the light on immediately. Racing towards the bed where Monica sat straight up, with a haunted and devastated look on her gentle face, Andrew immediately grabbed hold of her arms as she started to put them to her face while sobbing.

"Angel Girl! Monica, wake up, it’s okay, Shhh, I’m right here," Andrew whispered soothingly as tears filled his own eyes at what had just happened as soon as he had left the room,
"Baby, it’s all right, I’m right here. It’s all right, Monica…"

"What just happened?!" Tess’ voice suddenly broke through and she and Carla ran towards the room where Monica and Andrew were sitting, both utterly shaken,
"I heard a scream, followed by your scream, Andrew. Are you two all right??"

"I thought…I thought Andrew had left me," Monica whimpered, her shoulders shaking as she tried to make eye contact with her best friend,
"I woke up after a nightmare and I dreamt about Denise. Denise and Kathleen…Andrew, I thought you had left me! I had thought you left me here…"

"Baby, it’s all right, it’s all right; I’m right here and I’m going nowhere," Andrew soothed through his own tears as he took her into his safe embrace and nearly gasped at the force her arms as she hugged him back with all her might,
"I’m so sorry, honey…I was thirsty and I was getting something to drink out in the kitchen. Monica, I’m not leaving and Denise and Kathleen aren’t even here. They’re gone, Angel Girl; they’re gone."

Clutching her dearest friend with all her might, yet not saying anything for a while, Monica and Andrew sat on the bed holding onto one another tightly. Sensing the need to wrap her "Angel Babies" in her own arms and try to comfort them both, Tess walked quickly into the room and sat down beside her charges where they still held onto one another for dear life. Wrapping an arm around Andrew and the other around Monica, Tess rocked her Babies back and forth as they both sobbed quietly.

"Don’t leave me, Andrew…don’t leave me…" Monica’s muffled sob broke the silence as she clenched Andrew’s shirt with somewhat weak hands,
"Please don’t leave me…"

Knowing that she was still partly in a dream and that she fully wasn’t awake yet, Andrew only continued to hold tightly to his friend with one arm and the other, he wrapped around Tess’ waist,
"It’s all right, sweetheart. I’m still here, I’m still here. Andrew’s not going anywhere and I cross my heart on that one, Angel Girl."

Watching the scene with sad eyes, Carla stood still in the doorway, knowing it wouldn’t be appropriate to intervene. Wiping at a tear that was in her eye, the younger angel continued watching as she received the news from the Father that this wasn’t over yet; there was still work to be done, and some of it would be painful for both Monica and Andrew. Brianna still had to know what Andrew’s decision was going to be about him forgiving her or not; and Carla could only hope that if the handsome Search and Rescue angel that Monica loved with all of her heart could never be friends with Brianna again…at least he could forgive her for her earlier actions of lying.

Chapter 26

Carla slipped quietly into the bedroom the next morning, carrying a tray that held juice and some toast. Seeing Andrew look up at her from where he now sat in the chair beside of Monica’s bed, she smiled,
"I figured you’d be hungry," She explained, setting the tray down on the bedside table quietly, so as not to wake Monica.

"Thanks, Carla," Andrew smiled tiredly,
"I’m starved actually."

"I wasn’t sure of what you liked, but I figured I couldn’t go wrong with toast," She replied warmly, before glancing at the still sleeping angel,
"Did she do okay the rest of the night?"

Taking a hearty drink of the juice, Andrew nodded his head,
"More or less. She had another nightmare, but nothing like the first one. I think her fever has come down some, so that’s a relief."

"She was like this the whole time, ever since her cold got worse," Carla explained softly,
"Calling out for you in the middle of the night and I’m afraid I wasn’t of much comfort to her. It was you she needed, Andrew."

"I should have been here sooner," He replied sadly, watching as his friend murmured softly in her sleep and he reached over to stroke her hair until she quieted once more,
"I was just being so stubborn about the whole thing…."

"You were hurt, Andrew and that is a big difference. You needed time to sort things out for yourself or you wouldn’t have been any good to her anyway. The important thing is that you are here now." She told him, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Andrew shook his head as a sad smile played on his lips,
"You know, I think of how angry I was last week and how unwilling to forgive I was and looking at her now, there is nothing I could deny her."

"And what about Brianna, Andrew?" Carla asked carefully,
"Will you be able to forgive her as well?"

He was quiet for a moment, considering her question,
"I want to talk to Monica first, before I make any decisions about Brianna. Monica needs to know that everything that happened was not all of her doing, that Brianna played a part in it. If this makes any sense, I think that telling her what happened will help me in some way."

"Of course it makes sense," Carla replied,
"She’s your best friend, after all."

"Yeah," Andrew replied, thinking of the easy ring those words had to them,
"She is."

"Well, she should be up soon, so I’m going to go put the kettle on for tea for her-."

"Tea?" Andrew chuckled, looking at Carla in amusement,
"You have her drinking tea?"

"Well, for the moment and only for her throat. I didn’t say she liked it," Carla gave him a wink as she headed back out the door.

A few minutes after Andrew had finished off his toast, he noticed Monica beginning to stir and he moved back over to sit on the edge of the bed. Sadness filled his green eyes as she began to cough, and he rubbed her back gently until it subsided. He watched as she sleepily opened her eyes and managed a small smile as she saw him watching her worriedly.

"Hey," She whispered groggily, trying to find the energy to lift her head from the pillow.

"Hey yourself," He replied warmly, moving to help her sit up and adjusting her pillows for her,
"How are you feeling?"

"Like my get up and go got up and went," Monica joked half-heartedly, closing her eyes for a moment,
"I’m sorry about last night…"

"You have nothing to be sorry for," He replied, reaching for her hand, his thumb running gently over it,
"It’s probably going to take a little time for those nightmares to go away after everything that happened and I’ll be here to chase them away, okay?"

"That’s a deal," She replied wearily, looking into his eyes. She knew him well and could clearly see that he was thinking about something,
"Andrew?" She asked softly,
"What’s the matter?"

He smiled; always charmed at how she always knew when something was on his mind,
"I want to talk you, sweetie, about Brianna," Watching as she nodded her head, he explained all that the other angel had told him two weeks ago about her part in this whole terrible mess,
"I wanted you to know that she played a part in all of this too, sweetheart, it wasn’t just you." His eyes widened as he saw tears filling her own and confusion flooded his handsome features,
"Monica?" He expected her to hold anger for Brianna now that she knew the truth, but this reaction was not what he had expected at all.

"I’m sorry she hurt you," She whispered, her voice choking on a sob as she held his hand tightly,
"The two angels you thought of as friends both lied to you and…oh Andrew.."

Tears welling up in his own eyes at the fact that it was him she was hurting for, he reached for her and wrapped his arms around her tightly, not even knowing what to say, so he held her in silence for a moment, before gently pulling away.

Reaching up, Monica wiped at a tear on his cheek,
"I can’t imagine how you must have felt, Andrew."

He sighed softly as he nodded his head,
"What I don’t know, Angel Girl, is what to do. I still haven’t spoken to her again and I’m not sure of how I feel about what she did."

The younger angel was quiet for a moment as she struggled with her mixed emotions about Brianna, before she looked back into his eyes,
"Sometimes Andrew, I think people and angels do wrong things out of love. Maybe Brianna’s heart was in the right place, but as she had never really had a true friend before, outside of the Father, she handled it badly because she didn’t know any better," Drawing in a trembling breath, she added softly,
"And sometimes, even an angel who does have a true friend, doesn’t handle that relationship any better. How could Brianna know the right way to be a friend when someone who ought to know, didn’t do much better than she did?"

"So, what are saying exactly, Angel Girl?" He asked softly, already knowing what was weighing heavily on her conscience, but knowing she needed to say it.

"That you ought to forgive Brianna," She uttered, fighting back tears,
"Because you forgave me and I think her part was more of a mistake as she didn’t have enough of an understanding of friendship, where my lies were more…intentional…" Grabbing his other hand in hers weakly, she looked into his eyes as she spoke her heart,
"And I am so sorry. I promised you a long time ago that I would never do that again because nothing good ever comes of it, but I broke that promise to you, Andrew. Even when you asked me point blank if it had anything to do with Brianna, I looked you right in the eye and I LIED. I felt a part of myself die in that moment, but for some reason, the truth just seemed…so hard."

Drawing in a deep breath, as he saw the tears spill onto her cheeks, he responded, his voice gentle, yet firm,
"I don’t care how hard the truth is, Monica, the lies have to stop, okay? You know better, baby and I never want to have to doubt that what you are telling me is the truth."

"I know," She whispered miserably, grateful when he wrapped her up in his arms once more. Resting her cheek against his chest, she felt completely drained already and was longing to fall back to sleep,
"Thank you," She whispered wearily,
"For loving me enough to give me second and even sometimes third chances."

"It’s my pleasure," Andrew whispered, sensing the tiredness that had come over her. Gently, he helped her to lie back down, pulling the blankets back up over her as he noticed her shivering,
"Are you hungry, sweetie?" He asked, his thumb moving to stroke her temple as he watched her with concern.

"No, just so sleepy, Andrew," She responded.

He was quiet for a minute before asking her what he knew he needed to ask,
"Would it be okay with you, if I slip out for a bit to go see Brianna?" He knew he didn’t need her permission, but with as badly as she was still feeling, he didn’t want to leave her without knowing she would be all right for a little while.

Managing a smile, she shook her head,
"I’m sure she would like that, Andrew and you need to do it for yourself too. Carla and Tess are here, I’ll be okay."

"Sure?" He asked as he rose to his feet, his eyes searching hers for any doubts about his going to see the angel who started this whole thing.

"Positive," Monica replied, her eyes already beginning to close,
‘I know you’ll be back, Andrew and that’s all I need to know."

Smiling, he leaned over and softly kissed her cheek,
"That’s right, Angel Girl and there better not be any doubts in your pretty head about that."

Chapter 27

Andrew stood on the doorstep of Brianna’s small temporary house and let out a deep breath. Closing his eyes for a brief moment and asking for one last bit of guidance from the Father to help him forgive Brianna, he opened them a few seconds later and smiled. The Father really did answer prayer quickly when it came to stuff like this…As he had headed towards the other house where the other angel was living at this time, a little bit of anger had started to fill his heart again at the thought of her lies; but he had remembered Monica’s words and he knew that the Father would take away that anger that was in him if he would only ask for it.

Lifting a hand and knocking on the wooden door, he waited for a few seconds until it opened and he faced the younger Angel of Death. Her face appeared to have been sunken in from lack of sleep and sadness was very apparent on her pale features. Her long, blonde hair hung limply around her shoulders and she appeared to have not touched it or washed it in days, which made Andrew feel sad at the thought that what his words to her the last time he saw her may had done to her.

"Andrew?" She finally whispered and her blue eyes, which had dark bags underneath them, widened a bit,
"What are you…what are you doing here…?"

"I have something I need to talk with you about, Bri. Can I come in?" Brianna stared at him in shock and her heart thudded with the thought of what he could possibly want to talk to her about; but she spoke with as much courage as she could,
"You know you can always come in, Andrew."

Both confusion and a twinge of fear crossed her face and Andrew noticed that expression as soon as it came, and as gentle as he could, reached over and placed a loving hand upon her shoulder. Watching as she glanced up at him in surprise at his touch, the other angel gave her a soft smile before walking into the house and seeing her close the front door behind them.

"Brianna…" Turning around to face the sad-looking angel, Andrew gestured for her to come over to him and he placed a hand on the small of her back, ushering her over to the soft couch in the living room,
"Come on over here, Bri. I do need to talk to you, and please don’t be afraid."

Feeling her tremble upon his light touch, Andrew withdrew his hand and they sat down side by side on the couch,
"First, I wanta apologize for the words I spoke to you last time I was here," Andrew began, trying to meet her frightened and confused eyes with his and succeeding,
"I was very angry and also confused at that time, as I’m sure you know – "

"You don’t have to apologize to me, Andrew," Brianna interrupted as she turned from his gentle gaze and looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap,
"I’m the one that should. For lying the way I did and for not being a friend – a REAL friend and an honest one, like…like Monica had always been to you."

"This is where I need to correct you, Bri," Andrew broke in gently, yet firmly, taking one of her hands into his and not continuing to speak until she looked up at him. Once more asking for the correct words to say from the Father, he spoke from his heart,
"Brianna, I won’t say that lying was right, and Monica did the same thing. But I have forgiven her, and I know that it’s only best for me to forgive you. I’ve done lots of thinking, and when you told me how you didn’t have many friends, I actually found it hard to believe for a while. I didn’t understand why you would lie like you did, but Monica explained some things to me earlier today that have made me think long and hard. I’m not going to explain what she told me, Bri, but I will tell you that I do forgive you. And even thought I can’t return to being an Angel of Death, like you are, I would still like it if we can continue being friends. Maybe one day in the near future, you can start working with Monica, Tess and myself. I hold no hard feelings towards you and I shouldn’t be judge and jury about all of this; only the Father is and I know that He forgives us for what we did to cause this whole mess to start. Now I’m asking: Can YOU forgive ME?"

Looking at his friend with full-time seriousness in his somewhat teary, green eyes, Andrew watched as her shoulders shook slightly and her already red-rimmed eyes brimmed with more tears. Still waiting for a response from the younger angel, Andrew finally breathed a sigh of relief as she spoke,
"I can always forgive you, Andrew…I just can’t forgive myself. I – I was never angry with what you told me the other day; how could I have been angry? You were right and I never expected you to forgive me. I’m just glad that Monica did…that’s what I was concerned about after you left. I still think it’s my fault this whole thing happened, Andrew…"

"Hey, hey…" Andrew soothed gently, hesitating a moment before reaching for her and offering a shoulder to cry on. Feeling a relief as she took his invitation immediately and wrapped her arms around him in return, Andrew sighed softly as he stroked her back with gentle hands,
"You listen to me, all right? You must believe me that I forgive you and the Father does, too. He knows that you asked for forgiveness, right, Brianna?"

Nodding slightly as she smashed her face deep into Andrew’s shoulder, the Angel of Death responded in a somewhat dead tone,
"Yes, I did, but…"

"No, Brianna, no buts," The blonde Search and Rescue angel interrupted softly as he pulled away from her,
"The Father’s forgiveness is all you need, honey, and you also have mine…and you have Monica’s. She was confused, too, Bri; and she forgives you. And I’m sure she’d like to get to know you as well."

"Are you sure about that, Andrew?" Brianna choked out, lifting tear-stained eyes towards her friend,
"I mean…what if she kicks me out and doesn’t wanta see me??" Her voice choked on a sob and she wished that the other angel would hold her again; he was her only friend besides the Father, and he always made her feel safe and secure when he did that.

Sensing her need, Andrew leaned towards her and gave her another gentle hug, running his hand through her once-shiny hair again. Rocking her gently on the couch, the angel replied softly,
"I know that she will not kick you out, Bri. And that’s a fact. I talked to her this morning and I know that she’d like to get to know you, like I got to know you. It wouldn’t hurt to start making some more friends; will you do it? Will you come with me to see her and work some of this out between the two of you?"

At his words, Brianna gasped and lifted her head up off of his shoulder, looking straight into his green eyes with horror in hers,
"You want me to go to her now??" She cried, a twinge of frustration evident in her usually calm voice,
"You want me to settle everything with her RIGHT now?"

"Yes, Brianna; it will do you some good, believe me. I would never lie to you – "

As he heard the words coming out of his mouth, Andrew clamped his mouth shut and whispered instead as he saw the hurt in her eyes,
"I didn’t mean for it to come out that way, Bri…That’s not what I mean; you have to know that…But I’d like for my two friends to get to know each other and to become friends themselves…"

"Well, I’m sorry, Andrew, but I can’t do that now," Brianna whispered, standing to her feet and barely able to look into his eyes anymore,
"Now, I’m not angry at you or anything…and I’m not really angry at Monica, but…I’d really like to be alone right now if you don’t mind, Andrew. I’m sorry, but this is how I feel; please go."

"Brianna!" Andrew cried out, rising to his feet along with her and reached out to touch her arm, but she backed away from him,
"Bri…what’s going on with you?"

"Just leave, Andrew…" Brianna demanded, her voice still low and her eyes still lowered,
"Please."

"Brianna, you said that I was your friend, and…I’m trying to be one right now! But I can’t do that if you won’t talk to me! Please…I don’t want a repeat of what has already occurred – "

"Just go, Andrew!" Brianna finally snapped, her eyes finally lifting and her glare to him so strong that Andrew backed up and walked backwards towards the front door,
"I don’t want to have to tell you again!"

No more words spoken, Andrew fumbled for the doorknob, his mood suddenly changing to dejection all over again and sadness flowing through his heart. Finally getting the door open, the angel stumbled out onto the front porch and to his shock, the door immediately slammed in his face. Finding tears welling up in his green eyes at what had just occurred, Andrew stayed put on the doorstop, not moving. Raising his eyes to the blue sky, he mumbled out loud,
"What have I done, Father?? What have I done…"

*****

"Well, it’s good to see you up and about, Angel Girl!" Tess happily said as she saw Monica coming out of her room several hours later that late afternoon with a robe on over her pajamas and her auburn hair hanging unbrushed around her shoulders,
"You feeling better, Baby?"

"Much better, Tess," She smiled, her eyes sparkling for the first time in so long,
"Thank you. Where’s Carla?"

"The Father gave her a quick assignment to do. She’ll be back in a few hours and it’s good to spend some time alone with you, though," The older angel winked at her young charge, smiling as a laugh escaped from Monica’s lips. Ushering her gently over to the kitchen table to sit down, Tess set a hot mug of coffee in front of the young, Irish angel and said,
"I thought you’d might like a hot cup of this, Angel Girl. I think you’re well enough now to have some."

Closing her eyes in contentment at the smell of the coffee in front of her, Monica lifted it up to her lips as if tasting it for the first time and took a sip,
"Thank you, Tess…I really missed this."

Laughing heartedly at her comment and shaking her head, Tess came behind her and gave her friend’s shoulder a loving squeeze,
"It’s good to see you coming back to the Angel Baby I know and love, Monica."

"It feels good to be feeling on the right track somewhat, Tess," She answered, winking back at her supervisor before setting the cup down and looking over at her friend,
"Tess? When’s Andrew returning? He’s been gone since this morning and I thought he’d have returned by now…and I honestly would have thought he’d bring Brianna with him; you know something, Tess, I really would have liked to apologize to her for how I acted and maybe even get to know her a little bit…"

"I’m not sure when he’ll be back, Baby," Tess replied, sitting down opposite her friend with a mug of hot tea in front of her. Wrapping her fingers around it, she continued speaking,
"But I’m sure he’ll return by nighttime, Angel Girl. Maybe he needs to settle some more things with that other angel and you know how our Angel Boy is, Monica; he loves us all and won’t rest until he knows they’re okay."

Nodding her head and lowering her brown eyes to her black coffee in front of her, Monica whispered softly as her heart suddenly started to feel something that she had felt before,
"I just hope HE’S all right, Tess… and I’m getting this sad feeling that he’s not, and Tess, I’ve gotten this feeling before. More than once."

Chapter 28

Brianna sighed when she heard a knock at her front door not long after Andrew had gone. Assuming it was him again, with more pleas for her to make amends with Monica, she flung the door open, an angry retort on the tip of her tongue, but she stopped short. This petite, blond female was not Andrew.

"Hi," Carla began, managing a smile, though she felt a little intimidated,
"My name is Carla and I’m a friend of Andrew and Monica. Would it be okay if I came in for a few minutes?"

Knowing immediately that Carla was a fellow angel, Brianna nodded her head and moved aside so she could enter,
"I have a feeling I know what this is about," She remarked softly, closing the door behind her,
"And I really don’t feel like discussing it any further."

"Look, Brianna," Carla’s usual brashness already taking over. She had never been an angel to mince words and this was no time to begin,
"I won’t take up much of your time, but the Father asked me to come, so here I am. We both know what this is about, so lets just cut to the chase, okay? Andrew asked you to do something for him and you refused. How come?"

Running a hand through her blond hair, Brianna sighed,
"Carla, Monica and I didn’t really get off on the right foot, you know? The last time I saw her, she wanted to rip my eyes out, so why would I run over there to see her?"

"To give you both a chance to make amends," Carla retorted firmly as she looked at Brianna imploringly,
"Andrew told you it would be fine and it will be."

"I doubt that. You didn’t see her that day. She said she never wanted to see me again and at that point she didn’t even know the part I played in all of this."

"She said a lot of things she didn’t mean that day and she wants the chance to apologize to you, Brianna, just like you need the chance to tell her that you’re sorry as well. I can assure you that she won’t fly into you; she wants to make this right." Carla tried to tell if she was getting through, but she just wasn’t sure.

"She doesn’t even know me, Carla," Brianna argued weakly.

"You never gave her a chance to know you. You barely gave her a nod in the coffee shop the day you met her and things went downhill from there. You both made mistakes and now it is time to correct those mistakes. If for no other reason than the fact that the Father and Andrew are asking you to. For your part in this whole mess, you owe them this much, don’t you think?" Not getting any response, Carla sighed softly,
"Just think about it, okay? If it helps any, Monica hasn’t been feeling well, and I really don’t think she’d have the energy to rip your eyes out anytime soon, so that won’t be an issue." Seeing just a glint of a chuckle in Brianna’s eyes at her joke, Carla suppressed a smile,
"You know where we are, Brianna. I hope you do the right thing as you stand to make a few more friends out of this." Having said her piece, the angel gave her one last smile before heading out the door.

****

Monica sighed softly as she stopped to rest, sinking down onto a nearby bench in the park. When Andrew had failed to return home, Tess had opted to head back to the colder climate where Brianna lived to look for him. The younger angel, unable to shake the feeling that her friend was hurting, had found herself unable to sit around waiting any longer, and besides, she had a feeling he was here in this town somewhere.

Now, she was starting to regret her decision a little. She had been searching for an hour and still battling the pneumonia, she had begun to grow tired and the cough was becoming more persistent as her throat felt dry and scratchy. She knew she would stand a scolding from Tess when she returned, but if her friend needed her, it was too hard to sit and wait.

Glancing around her in the dark, she noticed a figure sitting alone at a picnic table with his head bowed and the knowledge filled her weary heart that her search was over. Forcing her aching body up from the bench, she approached him carefully, not wanting to startle him.

"Andrew?"

At the sound of the hoarse Irish lilt, his head jerked up, his expression clouded with confusion and concern,
"Monica? What on earth are you doing out here? You’re never going to get better if-"

She held up her hand to stop him as she interrupted,
"Andrew, I promise, you can fuss at me all you want later, but I had a feeling you were in trouble or hurting and I had to find you. What happened with Brianna?"

Seeing the determination in her eyes, though the rest of her looked ready to collapse, he took her hand and sat her down beside of him, shrugged off his jacket and helped her into it before he sighed,
"And I will ‘fuss at you later’, by the way," He replied, trying to keep the slight smile from his face, but his heart was really too heavy to smile anyway.

"Brianna?" She persisted, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

He nodded his head, wondering how he could tell her,
"Well, she forgave me for waiting to see her and for walking out the day she told me the truth. And she accepted my forgiveness…"

"But??" Monica asked, sensing that there was indeed a "but" to this.

"But…I asked her to come back with me so that you two could sort out your differences and she refused," He drew in a deep breath before he finished,
"I think she’s afraid of how you’ll react to her after the park incidence and I tried to tell her that would not be the case, but I don’t think she believed me as she pretty much kicked me out of her house." As he gazed over at her, he watched as she lowered her head and with a sigh he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close,
"Hey now, Angel Girl, I know what you’re thinking and this isn’t your fault."

"But it is, Andrew. I had to shoot off my mouth that day in the park and she was telling me the truth…about Jackie." At the mention of the failed assignment, she felt tears fill her eyes and a sob in her throat, but she coughed instead to try to keep from crying.

"You’ve done your part, Monica…"

"Well, you’re right about that," She joked sarcastically, before she regretted it,
"I’m sorry, Andrew. There just seems to be no end to this whole mess and it all could have been avoided…"

Placing his hand under her chin, he tilted her head up to meet his eyes, the pain in them reflecting hers,
"No more, okay? This part is up to Brianna and if she chooses to not get to know you, well, then that is her loss."

Nodding half-heartedly, she shivered a little, more from the implications of all of this than the cool night.

Knowing he wasn’t really getting through right now, nor would he right now and his heart aching for both Monica and Brianna, he stood to his feet, bringing her with him,
"C’mon, it’s getting late, you’re exhausted and so am I. I’m hailing us a cab and we’re going home."

Wrapping her arms around one of his, the younger angel walked along beside of him, closing her tired eyes against the tears.

Chapter 29

As Andrew and Monica walked together towards the end of town with the youngest angel’s arms still wrapped around her friend, she watched as the other angel lifted his arm and was about to hail a coming cab when a large red Cadillac Convertible came ahead of it and pulled to a stop in front of the two young angels.

Feeling Monica shivering even underneath his jacket, Andrew, without saying any words, led her over to Tess’ waiting car where their supervisor was leaning over and opening the door for them. As soon as they both had hopped in and were buckled inside, the words of the older angel came out at a rush,
"And just WHAT were you doing out there, Miss Wings?!"

Leaning back against the leather seat in her supervisor’s car and sharing a look with Andrew before turning back around again, Monica let out a deep breath before letting out a loud cough that shook her small form,
"Tess, I’m all right… I just – "

"You had to go and look for him when I had told you that I would be back with him! You still have pneumonia, Monica, and that doesn’t make me very happy!" Tess raised her voice before looking in the rearview mirror to glance at her "Angel Boy",
"And just where were you, Mr. Halo? We were worried sick about you! I thought you would’ve returned right home, Andrew – "

"I needed some time to think about what had occurred with Brianna for a little bit, Tess – " He began before being interrupted by his supervisor.

"A little bit?? A LITTLE bit??" She shrieked before turning the car off to the side of the road and bringing it to a halt. Turning around in her seat so that she could face both of her young angel charges, she gave them both her famous "look" before she continued her lecture,
"You were gone for more than a ‘little bit’, Angel Boy, and you know it. And you, Miss Wings, no matter WHAT, you should have stayed put, you hear?"

"She can’t turn back the clock, Tess!" Andrew cried out, causing both Monica and Tess to look at him in shock,
"And besides…I already told her that I would fuss over her for going to look for me in this weather once we returned, and…I’m planning on keeping that promise, Tess. We’re both all right…"

"Are you sure about that, Baby?" Tess lowered her voice and spoke gently,
"You wouldn’t have just not returned after so many hours without telling us; you know how I worry about you two during times like this!"

"We do know, Tess," Monica lowered her head to her lap and let out another loud cough,
"And I am sorry for what I did, and I’m sure Andrew is, too…But…I can’t never just not follow my heart when Andrew is concerned, Tess. I mean, I told you that I knew that he was either hurt or in trouble, and I was right!"

"Monica…maybe we should discuss this once we get back to the house – " Andrew started before being interrupted by Tess, who held up her hand.

"No, we’re going to settle it here, Andrew," She stated, her eyes never leaving Monica,
"Continue, Miss Wings."

Exchanging a somewhat nervous look with her best friend, who she saw let out a soft sigh before looking down at his hands, Monica took a deep breath before continuing, her Irish lilt thick with some nervousness,
"Tess, he told me that Brianna practically kicked him out of her house because he tried to convince her to see me. I guess Brianna didn’t like that idea too well after what I told her at the park…She hurt Andrew deeply with what she told him, and I could see that in his eyes when I found him an hour ago, Tess! You know the kind of connection we have, and my health is the last thing on my mind when it comes to my best friend, and you Tess. I don’t know what the exact words to him were, but I do know that they must’ve been awfully harsh to have him not return home immediately. Don’t you see, Tess? Don’t you see why I had to go to him?"

Finding himself blushing furiously at his friend’s words, Andrew kept quiet as the other two angels conversed words to one another.

"You know that I will always forgive you, Baby, but I do wish that you trusted me enough to find him, instead of going out in this weather and possibly making your pneumonia worse – "

Unable to stop himself any further and his thoughts wondering of why his two friends weren’t including him in on this conversation when it had to do with him, Andrew interrupted his supervisor firmly,
"So are you ever going to tell ME all of this and what you think I should do with my feelings to my face, Tess?"

At his words, both Monica and Tess quit talking at the same time and turned around in unison to face their friend, whose eyes still held so much hurt and some slight anger at the two of them,
"Andrew…" Monica started before her friend interrupted by raising his hand and speaking.

"Let me finish, please."

Exchanging a concerned look with Tess, Monica nodded her head weakly before shutting her mouth and letting the other angel speak what he thought.

"You two keep going at what I have been feeling and where I should be going when I’m upset for the last several minutes here and not since we’ve pulled over to talk, have you two included me in on this, when it has to DO with me!" He slightly raised his voice. He wasn’t really angry – not completely, at least – but he was hurt and confused as to why his best friend and supervisor were just continuing to go at it without so much as asking him some of these questions.

"Angel Boy – " Tess began but was once again stopped by Andrew’s voice and a soft touch on her shoulder from him.

"Tess. Please, can’t you let me talk without being interrupted?? I’ve wanted to say some stuff these last few minutes and even now, I’m getting shut up by you," The blonde angel wearily shook his head and furrowed his brow before lowering his hand and leaning back in his seat,
"Why??"

"Andrew, I’m sorry about that," Monica spoke up, her voice still hoarse from all of the coughing she was still doing. Reaching for his hand, and feeling a sense of relief that he gave it to her without objection, she continued,
"I didn’t even realize what I was doing. I was explaining everything to Tess when it was really you who should have been doing it in the first place. After all…it was you that Brianna kicked out of her house."

As she saw her friend flinch at the reminder of the other young angel, Monica lowered her auburn head and sighed softly while squeezing his hand,
"Forgive me, Andrew?"

"You know I do," He choked out before releasing her hand and wrapping his arm around her shoulders, drawing her as close to him as he could as he was in the back seat of the car. Feeling his friend wrap her arms around him in return and running her fingers through his blonde hair, Andrew rested his cheek on her head and allowed the few tears he had held back at the park just an hour ago to fall from his sad, green eyes.

Watching the scene between her two dearest friends and finding herself somewhat choked up as she listened to what Andrew was saying and spotting the tears in his eyes, Tess couldn’t take it anymore and unbuckled her seat belt. Leaning over to her two "Angel Babies", she wrapped her arms around them both like she did the night that Monica had that horrible nightmare. Giving them both a soft kiss on their heads, the older angel whispered sadly and regretfully into Andrew’s ear,
"Forgive me, too, Angel Boy? Ol’ Tess really couldn’t shut up this time…"

"It’s okay, Tess…I can always forgive you," Andrew responded quietly while still holding onto his best friend with one arm and the tears still making their way down his cheeks. Closing his eyes, he whispered from his heart to the two angels closest to him,
"I love you guys."

"We love you too, Baby," Tess replied, ruffling both of her two favorite angel’s hair,
"We love you too."

Chapter 30

Tess held the door open as Andrew helped their younger friend into the house fifteen minutes later. His eyes were still showing his worry for her, hoping that she was not taking a sudden turn for the worse, just when she was beginning to feel better. Helping her over to the couch, so she could sit down, he knelt down in front of her, looking into her eyes worriedly.

"I’m all right, Andrew," Monica said softly with a tired sigh,
"I’m more worried about you. I know she hurt you tonight and I feel terrible about it."

"There’s nothing we can do about that, Angel Girl. You shouldn’t have gone out there tonight, not when you are still getting better," Laying a hand on her forehead, he was relieved to feel her fever was only low grade and not the raging one it had been last night.

"And I told you why I did that…" She argued tiredly.

Glancing behind him at Tess who had moved to the hallway to hang up her coat, he leaned in closer to his friend,
"Between you and me, sweetie, I was glad to see you, but I’m supposed to be fussing you, remember?"

As he winked at her, Monica suppressed a smile as she saw Tess turn around out of the corner of her eye,
"I know, Andrew and I’m sorry," She replied, her expression solemn as she played along.

"You’re not leaving this house again, baby, until I personally open the door for you," Tess retorted sternly, despite the fact that her eyes were warm,
"You got that?"

"Yes, ma’am," She replied meekly, before coughing once more.

"And it’s back to tea for you. You want a cup, Angel Boy?" She asked walking by him and tousling his blond hair.

Before he could respond, Carla came out of the kitchen, her green eyes filled with relief that Tess had found them,
"Thank goodness you two are all right!"

"We’re fine, Carla, thanks," Andrew replied, brushing back Monica’s bangs to plant a kiss on her forehead before he rose to his feet once more. Turning to face the blond angel, he noticed a peculiar look in her eyes and he looked at her questionably,
"Is…everything all right, Carla?"

"Well," She began glancing from him to Monica then back again,
"Brianna is in the kitchen."

Monica gasped as Andrew’s eyes widened and even Tess looked surprised at this news,
"She’s here?" Andrew asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yeah, she’s been waiting to talk to Monica," Carla responded, glancing at her friend, who seemed to be desperately trying to not look panicked.

Relief flooded Andrew’s eyes as he realized his friend had finally come to make things right and he couldn’t help but to feel proud of her, knowing this was hard for her,
"So, why isn’t she out here?"

"She wants to speak with Monica…alone," Carla said softly, exchanging a look with Tess.

As Tess gazed at the worried look on her Angel Girl’s face, she nodded her head, waiting until Andrew caught her expression as well,
"We’ll leave you two alone for a minute and keep Brianna company," Wrapping her arm around Carla’s shoulders, the two angels headed into the kitchen and closed the door behind them.

Andrew watched his friend with concern, noticing how she had folded her hands and was now gazing down at them, but he didn’t miss the fact that her hands were trembling slightly. Moving over to her, he knelt down to be able to face her once more, taking her hands into his own,
"Are you okay with this?" He asked softly.

Monica started to nod her head, but she stopped herself, knowing she had to be completely honest with him about this from this point forward,
"Well, I’m trying to be, Andrew…I really am."

"I don’t want to force you to do anything you don’t want to do, Angel Girl," He responded gently, moving his hand, he laid his palm against her cheek, his fingers running into her hair,
"I know you still don’t feel good and I don’t want to pressure you--."

"Andrew," She interrupted, her tear-filled eyes meeting his at last as she managed a sad smile,
"I want to do this…for you."

Tears rushed to his eyes at her words, but before he could remark on what she had said, she continued,
"I know you’ve forgiven me for everything I’ve done-I know that with my entire heart, and I know I don’t have to prove anything to you, but if nothing else, I need to be able to show you how sorry I am and how much I regret everything I did to hurt you."

"Monica, I hurt you too and you’re right, you have nothing you need to prove to me. I know you’re sorry, sweetheart and I don’t want this to be about me, but about you and Brianna." Reaching up, he swiped at a tear on her cheek, even as one escaped his own eye.

"Andrew," She whispered sadly,
"It was always about you, for both Brianna and me and that’s what makes this hard."

"But you know now that I’m not going anywhere, right? We are at an understanding about that. Yes, she is my friend, but you, Monica are my best friend and I’m not trading you in for anything. Are we clear on that?" He said softly, looking into her tired brown eyes.

"Yeah," Monica uttered, moving to wrap her arms around him,
"We’re all clear on that…" Feeling him wrap her into his embrace, she let out a soft sigh, just enjoying the feeling of safety she felt for the moment. She finally forced herself to pull back as she wiped at her eyes with her hands,
"Go and tell Brianna she can come on out. I’ll try to go easy on her."

Andrew smiled at her attempt at a joke, but he knew she was trying to cover her nervousness about this meeting. He caught her hand as she was brushing at her tears and softly kissed her palm,
"I love you, baby girl and this will all be fine."

"Right back at you, my friend," She replied as she drew in a shaky breath as he rose to his feet. She managed a smile as he touched her cheek once more before he vanished into the kitchen,
"Please, Father," She whispered,
"Let this be okay."

A few minutes later, Brianna walked out of the kitchen and Monica could tell immediately that the other angel seemed just as nervous. Having always seen Brianna as calm and collected, this made her feel a little better as she started to get up to greet her.

"No, Monica, it’s okay. Stay put. I know you’re a bit under the weather right now," Brianna told her, moving to sit in the chair across the room.

Monica nodded her head before an uncomfortable silence filled the room. Feeling her head begin to pound with the loudness of this particular silence, she knew she had to say something before she backed out of this situation altogether,
"Brianna, listen…I’m sorry about that day in the park…I had no right to say the things I said and to not believe you about Jackie," Once again, at the mention of the name, she had to force back tears, but she was determined not to cry in front of this particular angel,
"You were telling me the truth and I should have believed you, but I was too angry with you to do that." Monica looked away, waiting for the other angel to speak, but once again, she was greeted with silence. Starting to feel frustrated and just a touch angry as well as her head continued to pound with what was becoming a full blown headache, she turned her dark eyes to the blond angel,
"But then you didn’t always tell the truth, right Brianna?"

Brianna bristled noticeably at the other angel’s words,
"I may not have been completely honest, but I never out and out lied to him, Monica…that was where you came in."

Feeling bewildered over this whole conversation that had consisted of silence and then a direct jab to her, Monica felt her temper, as Irish as her voice begin to rise,
"Oh, that’s right, manipulating Andrew was your specialty, wasn’t it? What is it exactly that you have against me, Brianna? Maybe if we can clear that up, then this conversation will flow a wee bit more smoothly, because right now, it’s going nowhere fast."

Rising to her feet now, and knowing this whole thing had been a mistake, Brianna replied as coolly as she could,
"I think you’re hurtful, Monica. That’s what I have against you. You were hurting Andrew the whole time by not telling him what was wrong and that’s the reason I tried to get him away from you for a while. Here he was calling you his best friend, but I certainly couldn’t see where you were acting like one."

Though she felt more than a little shaky, Monica rose to her feet as well, the pounding in her head intensifying,
"I’ve made my peace with Andrew and I thought I’d be able to make it with you as well, but obviously both he and I overestimated you, Brianna. I apologized to you for my actions that day, but that’s the end of it. You can take it or leave it."

Brianna laughed, rolling her eyes,
"I guess I’d better leave it then as I doubt you meant it. From what I understand, anything you say can’t be trusted anyway."

Monica’s eyes widened as she watched Brianna head for the door,
"How dare you?" She uttered, no longer willing to even make an attempt to hold her tongue,
"What gives you the right to judge me? You waltz into our existence a few weeks ago and turn everything upside down and you want to pass judgment on me? I nearly lost my best friend because of you, because I didn’t want to forgive him for the night you caused him to forget something important and you don’t even care! You just pretend you do for him, so whose lying now, Brianna?" Feeling her heart beating wildly in her chest, she turned away as a cough shook her entire frame. As she opened her eyes once more, her vision began to grow fuzzy and she wondered what was happening to her. She could see Brianna was saying something, but the words seemed like no more than an echo in her pounding head.

The last thing she remembered seeing was Brianna reaching for the doorknob as everything went black.

Chapter 31

"How do you think things are going out there, Tess?" Andrew softly asked as he sat down at the kitchen table beside his supervisor and looked at her with both concern and hope in his eyes,
"Things seem rather quiet in there…"

"Hopefully, they’re talking things through, Baby," Tess replied softly, resting her hand gently on her friend’s as she found that it was shaking slightly,
"Don’t worry, Andrew. We both know Monica more than she knows herself, and I know that she’ll try to talk things through with Brianna. After all, that other angel was the one who appeared on our doorstep, not the other way around."

"She is right, Andrew," Carla piped in, stepping away from the counter and coming over to stand on their friend’s other side,
"I have a good feeling about this." Smiling reassuringly at the older angel and resting a hand gently on his shoulder, Carla’s smile faded slightly however as she saw a look cross Andrew’s handsome features. It was a look of total dread that she had never seen before it and it scared the angel slightly to see it.

"Andrew? Angel Boy…what are you thinking?" Tess curled her fingers around her younger friend’s gently and gave it a squeeze to try to get him to talk to her. But Andrew shook his head and, without saying anything, he pushed back his chair and jumped up from the table.

"Andrew? Where are you going??" Carla jumped in, taking off after him and grabbing his arm before he could head out into the living room. Seeing him shoot a worried look her way, Carla didn’t say a word and didn’t release the hold she had on his arm as he slightly opened the kitchen door and peeked his head out. Both angels not seeing anything, but hearing all too clearly the mistakable voice of Brianna, Carla felt Andrew flinch beneath her touch.

"You know, this was such a mistake coming here! I just could never understand what Andrew saw in you in the first place…after all, you’re such a little trampy angel that I can’t believe GOD ever forgave you!!"

Exchanging a look of terror with Carla, Andrew broke free from the younger angel’s hold and bolted from the door just as the front door slammed shut and he saw the body of Monica collapse to the floor in a heap. Gasping as he caught her before she hit the hard floor and bonk her head, Andrew slumped to the floor with his dearest friend in his shaking arms and called out to the nearby kitchen,
"Carla! Tess!! Come quick!!"

Almost as soon as the words escaped his lips, the tears already making their way down his pale face, Andrew watched as his two friends ran into the room and knelt down beside the Irish angel’s lifeless form. Still holding her gently in his arms, Andrew quickly looked over at the closed door and nodded over at Tess,
"Tess…I need you to call 911. I have to go after Brianna. She has some serious explaining to do and I have this feeling it will NOT be pretty…"

Quickly, yet gently, laying his best friend into his older friend’s waiting arms and brushing her hair from her deathly pale face, the blonde angel laid a kiss on her forehead before whispering to her still body,
"I’ll be right back, Angel Girl. Hang on, baby; please, hang on for us…"

Jumping to his feet just as Carla re-entered with the cordless telephone and a cool washcloth, Andrew bolted like a rocket to the front door and swung it open. Running down the steps as quickly as possible, he drew in a deep sigh of relief as he saw that his former angel friend hadn’t gone very far and she was just walking as quickly as she could along the sidewalk. Practically running over to her, anger burning through him at what she had said to his friend, he grabbed hold of her arm and turned her around to face him.

"Get your hands off of me right now, Andrew!" She shouted in his ear and Andrew withdrew his hand as though she had just delivered a hard slap across his face,
"Never come near me again!!"

"Brianna..What – what just happened back there?? I thought you wanted to make amends with Monica, not make it worse! I don’t get it…I heard what you told her right before she had passed out and – "

"Well, that conversation was none of your business, Andrew," Brianna snapped heatedly, turning around and walking away again, but she found herself being turned around once again as Andrew grabbed her arm. Anger burning in her blue eyes at the realization that he wouldn’t let her go before she explained, she yelled in his face just as she wrenched her arm out of his grasp again,
"You want to know why? Well, I’ll tell you ‘why’, Andrew…although eavesdropping on the conversation wasn’t part of your doing. I did it because you have refused to see who Monica really and truly is! You’re so BLIND, Andrew! What do you SEE in that witch?? She’s done nothing but lie to you these last few weeks and I had thought that I could teach you what friendship is truly about for a while there – "

"Excuse me??" He gasped as his green eyes widened in surprise,
"Brianna…what are you SAYING?!"

"What I’m SAYING, Andrew, is that neither of you two angels deserve each other! She doesn’t deserve you and you don’t deserve HER! I mean, you’re such a coward, Andrew, and I seriously thought we would be friends – BEST friends – for life, but that won’t be the case any more now, will it??" Brianna continued heatedly, glaring coldly at him. Andrew flinched at her look and her words of hatred towards both himself and Monica, but found it in him to speak his thoughts with as much love in his voice as he could.

"Brianna…none of what you’re saying is true! Bri, please…Come back in. Monica has fainted just now and…and I just hate that this happened to all of us. You know that Monica will always be my best friend, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be YOUR friend, too – "

Right as the words came out of his mouth, he couldn’t say any more as he felt Brianna’s hand suddenly come slapping across his face in the hardest slap he had ever felt in his existence. Gasping, he turned his head and placed his hand against his already red cheek. Finding it hard to look back at the other angry angel, he finally did and, with his hand still placed on his bruised face, he choked out,
"Bri…"

"Don’t talk to me, Andrew!! I’m warning you…don’t talk to me ever again! We’re through! You’re just as wicked as SHE is!!"

No more words spoken, the furious angel turned on her heel and tore down the sidewalk, leaving Andrew speechless behind her. As her small form disappeared around a corner, the hurt angel slumped to the ground on his knees, his hand still on his face, and let the hot tears pour from his eyes. Not only was his heart hurting now, but it was shattered. Not only had he lost a friend he had thought would be his friend forever, but who knew how sick Monica was now? His best friend was in critical condition for all he knew, and it was all because of a certain angel.

*****

"Where has that boy disappeared to again?" Tess grumbled to Carla as the paramedics finally arrived some minutes later and were busy lifting Monica onto a stretcher and providing her with an oxygen mask,
"This just isn’t like him…"

"I’ll go see if I can find him, Tess; he shouldn’t have gone too far since he was only going to talk to Brianna. I’ll meet you at the hospital, all right?" Carla, although worried for the older angel along with her former supervisor, spoke as calmly and bravely as she could.

"Of course, Baby," Tess replied quickly, worry evident on her face along with some tears in her eyes. Moving around the stretcher that was being lifted up with their unconscious friend strapped to it, the older angel gave Carla a quick, tight hug before shooing her out the door,
"Now go find my Angel Boy, all right?"

Nodding, although ignoring the curious glances the paramedics exchanged between one another at Tess’ nickname, Carla practically flew out the door as quickly as possible and looked around her. There was no sight of either Andrew nor Brianna and that thought started to frighten Carla. Although she knew full well that the older angel could take care of himself and that he could handle Brianna better than anyone, the words that she had overheard the younger, angry angel speak to Monica had started to worry and scare her. What was up with this angel??

Sighing softly, Carla lifted her blue eyes up to the sky and said a quick prayer to the Father,
"Lord, I know that you know where he is, and that only You know how Monica is going to be, but please tell me something. Please let me help them both…and Andrew’s my goal right now. Monica will need him in the days or weeks to come and I can’t help worrying about him too, Father. Where is he? If it’s Your will, please let me find him. Thank You."

Lowering her head and closing her eyes, the beautiful, young angel waited for a response and a small smile came across her face as she heard the answer she had been waiting for…where Andrew’s whereabouts where,
"Thank You, Father." She whispered, taking off immediately in the direction He had directed her to.

Chapter 32

"Andrew!" Carla called out, as she saw him sitting on the bench in the park and she ran over to where he was,
"Andrew, are you okay? What happened?" Her heart was racing from all that had just occurred in the last twenty minutes as she struggled to catch her breath.

The older angel shook his head sadly,
"I should have never forced this issue, Carla. I don’t know what happened with Monica and Brianna, but Brianna is so angry…"

Carla looked into his face and noticed the red mark on his cheek that had scarcely begun to fade. As her hand moved to it, she saw him flinch as her green eyes grew angry,
"Did she hit you?" Seeing him nod, the little blond angel struggled to keep her emotions under control.

"I’m the one who wanted this to happen, Carla…I wanted the two of them to be friends and somehow I’ve made it worse…she said terrible things about Monica and told me I was a coward, though I’m not sure of why…" He lowered his head miserably,
"What have I done?"

"You’ve done nothing wrong," Carla heard herself saying, her natural gift for the truth taking over.

"How can you say that, Carla? Brianna was fine before she went out there to talk to Monica and Monica was more or less fine before too. They both knew I wanted this and Monica was afraid of it for some reason, but wanted to do it for me…for me!" Shaking his head, he drew in a deep breath.

"No, Andrew! Brianna was pretending to be fine, but I know in my heart that whatever happened out there with them, she caused. Brianna made her decision and she did it in a horrible, hurtful way, to both of you. That’s what she wanted to do, and once Monica is better, she’ll be able to tell us what happened and then you’ll see the truth. But for now, you need to let that other angel go and stop wasting so much energy on her right now when there is another who needs you more," Carla stated as she felt tears welling up in her eyes,
"We don’t know what’s the matter with her, Andrew, but we do know she needs you to see it through."

"And I’ll be there for her," He choked out, meeting her eyes,
"I did this to her in the first place, by not forgiving her when I should have and now tonight by making her feel like she had to do this when I knew how she was feeling!"

"She is human right now and sick, Andrew, plain and simple and you know she would never blame you for any of this. I’m not even sure she realized how badly she was feeling tonight until it was too late and I’m sure Brianna got her good and worked up, just like she did you," Feeling tears now wetting her cheeks, she reached for his hand,
"You know in your heart this is the truth and eventually, your mind will believe it too."

Looking up at the angel before him with tears in his eyes, both for what had happened tonight, as well as for the fact that he had never seen this spunky little angel cry, he rose to his feet and wrapped his arms around her. Though his heart was still grieving over what had happened with Brianna, it was also nearly breaking at the thought of his best friend and his fears were confirmed in Carla’s words in his ear a moment later.

"I’m scared, Andrew," She whispered shakily.

"Me too," He replied, pulling away from her and taking her hand,
"Lets get to the hospital."

****

Tess wiped at her eyes as she once more gazed out the door of Monica’s room, finally feeling a little relief as she saw Andrew and Carla coming down the hall hand in hand. Slipping from the room, the older angel closed the door softly behind her and hurried to meet them.

Wrapping her Angel Boy up in her arms, she held him in silence for a few moments before speaking softly,
"You okay, baby?" She ran her hand through his hair, feeling the tension and fear inside of him.

"I don’t know, Tess. I don’t know what happened and I don’t understand this at all, any of it, but I feel like I caused it somehow," He responded shakily.

"You did not cause this, baby, but I do have a feeling Brianna may have had something to do with it," Tess replied, trying to keep the anger from her voice.

Still feeling uncertain, and not ready yet to repeat all the painful things Brianna had said about he and his best friend again, he pulled away, his reddened eyes full of concern,
"How is she?"

Tess felt tears fill her eyes once more as she shook her head,
"Not good, baby. The pneumonia has worsened and she hasn’t woken up. The doctor said her lungs are full of fluid and they have her on oxygen and an IV, which scares me because I don’t know what all that human medicine is gonna do to that little angel baby in there…I know the human part of her needs it, but the angelic side is gonna have trouble with it."

"This is my fault…" He muttered softly to himself,
"I should have come home earlier tonight, then she wouldn’t have had to come looking for me. I told her I wouldn’t be gone long and then I was gone for hours," He shook his head tearfully,
"The only reason she should have been worried about our friendship is because I’m never where I should be when she needs me!"

"Oh, Andrew, no…" Tess started to say, as she reached for him.

"No, Tess," He held up a hand to stop her,
"We’ll talk about it later. Right now, I have a lot to make up for, and I’m not wasting anymore time." Turning around, he headed to Monica’s door and entered the room.

The handsome angel fought back tears as he looked at his friend lying in the bed-the stark whiteness of the room, making her appears so small and vulnerable. He watched as she took breaths with the help of the oxygen, each one shallow and seemingly an effort as he approached her bedside and slumped down into the chair. Running his hands over his face, he then leaned foreward, one hand reaching for hers and the other moving to brush through her bangs with an incredibly loving touch,
"Oh sweet Angel Girl," He sighed softly, feeling the tears welling up in his green eyes,
"I’m so sorry, sweetheart, for everything. For whatever Brianna said to you tonight, for making you feel like you had to talk to her in the first place, for not being there for you," As the tears fell from his eyes, he struggled to continue, though his friend never so much as moved in response to his words,
"If you can hear me, baby, I want you to listen, okay? You have my word that I am here for you from this moment on until you are well and you will get well, Monica. You have to, do you hear me? Because I cannot bear the thought of anything but…" Taking her smaller hand into his, he continued,
"I…I think I may have been wrong about Brianna, but the one thing I’ve never been wrong about is calling you my best friend. You are, Angel Girl and I’m sorry you ever doubted that because of another angel who was just apparently out to be hurtful, after tonight, it just drives the point home all the more of how dear you are to me. Whatever she said to you tonight, sweetie, wasn’t true, okay? I’m just so sorry…" Lowering his head, and bringing his hands that were still holding onto hers to his head, he felt the tears come hard as he whispered,
"Please Father, be with her…hold her close until this is over…"

Chapter 33

"What has happened to my babies, Carla?" Tess glanced inside of Monica’s hospital room, but turned away as she saw Andrew sobbing quietly beside their friend’s beside; her heart hurt terribly as she saw her "Angel Boy" in so much pain,
"What did Brianna DO to him, Carla…One minute, he’s going after that angel to try to figure out what’s going on, and the next…" As if proving her point, Tess waved her hand to the room as tears filled her dark eyes while choking out,
"I heard from the Father that Brianna has slapped my Angel Boy and who knows what’s going to happen to Monica?"

"Yeah…she did," Carla inwardly cringed at the reminder of what the other angel had done to her new friend, and not to mention Monica,
"I found him at the park and he agreed to come here, but that doesn’t stop the hurt in him, especially emotionally. I don’t know the exact words that Brianna said, but I did hear a little bit of what she said to Monica before she collapsed…"

"What did she say to my Angel Girl, Baby?" Tess whispered, reaching a hand up to wipe at a tear while wrapping a loving arm around the other angel’s thin shoulders,
"I do need to know…"

"She basically called Monica a ‘tramp’ and that it was a total mistake coming here…She said some rather hurtful things…to both of them. But we can’t know what else caused Brianna to lash out like that until Monica wakes up, and Andrew hasn’t told me everything that she told him before she slugged him in the face…"

Lowering her eyes for a brief moment, Carla looked up again and stared at the other blonde angel through the crack in the door, sadness filling her heart for everything that had happened these last few weeks, and everyone who was affected by it. Glancing back up towards the older angel, she softly broke the silence that was around them for several moments,
"I’m going in there…"

"You do that, honey," The older replied gently, releasing her hold on Carla and laying a hand on her back, ushering her into her "Angel Girl’s" room,
"I’m going down to the cafeteria and grab myself a nice cup of hot chocolate. Would you like anything, Angel Child?"

"Coffee would be nice," Carla smiled weakly and couldn’t resist a chuckle at the look on Tess’ face.

"That’s another thing besides truth that you and Monica have in common, Baby; your love for coffee. Not that I’m not fond of it myself, but ol’ Tess here still finds it rather amusing…" She grumbled, trying to lighten the mood even as the tears continued to fall from her brown eyes. Sighing softly, she patted Carla on the shoulder lovingly before heading off towards the nearest elevator,
"I’ll be back soon, honey."

Nodding in reply, the younger took a step towards her former supervisor’s hospital door and opened it gently, walking in. Not wanting to startle Andrew as his sobs never lessened, she took a seat beside him in the nearest chair. Concern showing on her gentle features, she reached over and laid a tentative hand on top of his own, as he only continued to hold Monica’s lifeless hand.

"Andrew?" She whispered after receiving no reply to her gentle touch,
"Please talk to me…I know how much you love Monica, and I see so much pain in your eyes at the moment that it’s heartbreaking. What are you thinking at the moment? Are you angry?"

Seeing him shake his tousled, blonde head at her words, she waited until he found the strength to say anything before she spoke up again,
"No, I’m not angry…not at anyone besides myself that is, Carla. I just wish I had done things differently, that’s all…you know, being the friend that I should have been. Why didn’t I see what Brianna was doing when I first met her?? WHY, Carla? Am I that insensitive to other people?"

"Andrew, although we don’t know one another as well as you know Monica, I do know that what I have seen these last couple of days, and when I first met you, that are NOT insensitive; there’s no way! I mean…you could have just said, ‘Forget it, I’m not going to the hospital to see Monica. There’s no way on this earth. She doesn’t need me right now.’ But you didn’t, Andrew; you knew part of the truth, and that was that Monica needs you now more than ever and when she awakens, she’ll only need you more. She will NOT blame you, and I wish you knew the rest of the truth: That you’re NOT the one at fault here! You were just being…you. That’s all. Didn’t Monica thank you before everything happened and got so out of control that day at the park, when you were having a snowball fight? Didn’t she thank you just for "being you"? Well, you still are, and you believed that Brianna would be a friend to you and even to Monica tonight. I know you believed it with your whole heart, since there’s not really anybody that you DON’T trust, but I’ll tell you something else, Andrew. Satan is enjoying himself immensely watching you and Monica suffer like this, and he’s also enjoying watching Brianna react the way she is. That tears me up inside to even think this, and to also watch two angels I have come to call friends over the course of the last few years and even weeks…suffering this way. Andrew, you must believe me. It is NOT your fault. It’s not! I’m speaking the truth fully here and if it makes you feel any better…these words were given to me from the Father Himself." Finding finally that she was almost out of breath and feeling shocked that she had said everything that she had, the younger angel watched the face of Andrew’s as it displayed different emotions all at the same time.

"I…I just can’t believe that this has happened to us…" Andrew finally spoke up, his voice so quiet that Carla had to lean in closer to hear his words,
"I wanted Brianna as a friend, but now it looks like friends can turn into enemies even if they’re an angel…I just wish things had been different, Carla. If only things had been different…" Releasing Monica’s limp hand, he reached it out and brushed her slightly damp bangs from her forehead and as Carla watched, he lowered his head once again to try to hide the tears that were in his own green eyes. Unable to stop her own tears, the other angel allowed them to fall from her own compassionate eyes that were so similar to Andrew’s.

Rising to her feet and offering what comfort she could to this hurting angel who loved Monica with everything inside of him, Carla closed the small gap between the two of them and wrapped an arm around his trembling shoulders, drawing him into a gentle embrace. As he hugged her tightly back in return, the angel who was usually so in control of her emotions cried softly with her friend while looking over his shoulder at Monica’s still body.

‘Please, Father, heal us all…’ She prayed softly as she gently rubbed Andrew’s back, but her green eyes never leaving Monica.

*****

The next morning, Tess stood on the doorstep of Brianna’s house, lifting up prayer after prayer of strength and courage to talk to this stubborn, angry angel without letting her sharp tongue get the better of her,
‘…But Father, I really need Your help now more than ever. That angel may get what’s coming to her and although I know that it won’t be a bed of roses, please help me to control myself…’

After leaving a still unconscious Monica and a hurting Andrew in Carla’s care that morning, Tess knew that she couldn’t take it anymore; she just had to speak with Brianna face to face and hopefully make her think about what she had done and maybe even turn back to the One who had created her in the first place and not allowing all of the anger inside of her to get the better of her.

‘If there IS a better side of that angel right now…’ She thought angrily to herself as she knocked sharply on the front door.

Almost immediately after she had knocked, Brianna came to the door, a mask of anger on her once beautiful face and she still looked like she did the night before. As Tess saw her open her mouth to probably spit out some snappy remark, the older, wiser angel interrupted sharply,
"You’re not going to say a WORD, Brianna. You’re going to listen to me and you’re going to listen well. You got it??"

For once, she saw the younger, more inexperienced angel, stare at her in shock and not saying a word. Noticing that as an accomplishment somewhat, Tess brushed past Brianna and headed into the front hallway. As she did so, she heard the angry human angel shout after her while slamming the door behind her,
"I never even said, ‘Come on in,’! You had no right to just barge in here like that; what about asking me what I thought about talking to you – "

"I THINK you’ve said enough as it IS, Little Miss Thingamabob!" Tess snapped back, placing her hands on her hips and staring the angel down,
"You don’t even REALIZE what your words the other day have done, so I’m going to share with you the TRUTH, all right? I may not be the Angel of Truth, like Monica may be and I may not have the gift of compassion in situations like these that Andrew has, but I DO know what is the truth, and I know how to SPEAK it. So are you going to LISTEN to me, or are you going to stand there with your mouth hanging open like a fish waiting for it’s breakfast??"

Finding herself at a loss of words, Brianna shut her mouth with a snap and looked at Tess with anger in her blue eyes, along with some slight fear of what she was in for now from this older angel.

"You think lashing out at Monica was the way to go, huh? Well, did you forget that you were the one who came over to begin with, Brianna, or were you just pretending? And I also have a question that has been on my mind since last night: What did Andrew do to you that was so horrible to cause you to slap him like that? Hmmmm? Did he hurt you? Did he call you names? Did he slap you first?" Tess knew that what she was saying wasn’t exactly coming from God with love, but from what she was feeling, the angel right then didn’t care and continued speaking without waiting for Brianna to have a say,
"I guess I would say no to those questions, Brianna. I must tell you, in my friends’ defense, that those Angel Babies have hearts of gold; but when you started to lie to Andrew – AND Monica, actually – "

"I never lied to her!" Brianna shouted back, turning around and opening the door widely as if telling her to get out,
"She’s the one that lied to US – she lied to Andrew – "

"Oh, and you didn’t, missy?? Monica never slapped him squarely across the face like you did; and I’ll tell you, the red mark that you left from that ring on your finger…" She pointed down to it, which was on Brianna’s left middle finger, before continuing,
"Well, it’s redder now more than ever, Brianna. And Monica is still unconscious and I know my Angel Girl well enough to tell you that if she had said something to you to cause you to yell such words at her…well, then you have to take that up with God and ask for His forgiveness because you have made some pretty harsh accusations the other night. But He will forgive you if you only ask for it. I don’t know how things will ever be okay between my Angel Boy and you again, but things will be all right with the Father," She stared into the other angel’s furious eyes, waiting for her to reply to her statement.

"I never want to see Andrew AGAIN, Tess! I told him that, and now I never want to see you or Monica or even CARLA again! Get out of my house and don’t come back…and take God with you because He surely screwed things up…" She shouted, pointing her finger towards the open door. After Tess didn’t move, she yelled again,
"Get OUT!"

Nodding her head stiffly, knowing that there was nothing else she could do, Tess headed towards the door, but stopped in her tracks before she actually departed. Turning around, she turned stern eyes to the angel who was in most dire need of help,
"We’re going, Brianna, but don’t think for one minute that the Father has given up on you. You need help, baby, and He is the only One who can give it to you."

Chapter 34

Andrew woke up that morning, having fallen asleep in the chair with his head resting against Monica’s bed, his hand still lying atop of hers. He stretched briefly, his body stiff from being in the chair all night, before he leaned forward and laid his hand on his friend’s forehead, still feeling the fever that was flowing through her.

Sighing sadly, he decided to go and grab a cup of coffee from the machine in the hallway. As he stood up and moved for the door, he was stopped suddenly by the sound of his friend’s voice, crying out in her sleep.

"No…please, no! Brianna, don’t…you don’t want to…do this…"

Andrew hurried back to her side, tears filling his eyes as he heard her half crying, as she began to thrash in the bed. Fearful as well now that she could hurt herself or pull out the IV, he began stroking her hair as his other hand took her hand once more,
"Monica? Sweetheart? Wake up, baby…"

"Denise, no…Brianna…"

He watched helplessly as a wide range of emotions swept over her pale face and he wondered if the antibiotics were what was doing this to her,
"Wake up, Monica…please, wake up," He pleaded tearfully, noticing she had broken out in a cold sweat,
"Come back to us, Angel Girl, please? You’re safe, baby..Brianna isn’t here, nor is Denise…it’s just me, sweetie. Please wake up…"

Suddenly, his friend bolted up in her bed, her eyes opening and wild with fear as she looked around her, confusion apparent on her pretty face, as she breathed hard, each breath causing a look of pain to flash in her eyes.

"Hey, hey," He moved to sit down on the bed, and carefully reached to touch her cheek, unsure if she was awake yet,
"It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re all right."

Her eyes met his; frightened tears welled up in them,
"Andrew…" She managed to say, her voice weak and hoarse,
"What happened? Why am I here? Have they gone?" Her voice began to tremble along with the rest of her body,
"They’re not still here, are they?"

"C’mere, baby," He moved so she could rest her head against his chest and he was able to fold her into his arms as she trembled,
"No, they aren’t here, Angel Girl. You had a bad dream is all and you’re here because you’re very sick, Monica, but God is taking care of you, okay?" He stroked her hair tenderly in an effort to soothe her as he felt her begin to relax in his arms. Though he desperately wanted to ask her about last night, he waited, wanting to make certain she was calmer,
"You took a turn for the worse last night, honey, so we got you to the hospital." He felt her nod her head against his chest before a cough shook through her and left her gasping for air, even as he continued to comfort the frightened angel. After a few moments, he kissed the top of her head before he cleared his throat,
"Monica, do you remember Brianna being at the house last night?" Andrew almost regretted asking the question as he felt her stiffen up in his arms.

Her mind, though it felt incredibly groggy raced with images of what had taken place last night and she closed her eyes as tears began to fall from her eyes,
"I’m sorry, Andrew," She whispered, burying her face against his shirt,
"I tried, I promise you I did…I’m so sorry…you have no reason to believe me, but.."

"Shhh," He replied tearfully, hearing the pain in her words and feeling another rush of guilt over what had happened,
"Listen to me, baby, all right? I’m not blaming you for anything, Angel Girl. I just need to know what happened. Can you tell me?"

Trying to get her emotions under control, she nodded her head,
"I told her I was sorry, for my part in all of it and I kept waiting for her to say something, Andrew, but she wouldn’t…she wouldn’t…maybe I started it, I don’t know… I made the remark that I wasn’t the only one who had lied to you and she said, she never out and out lied to you…because that was where I came in…" She paused for a breath as painful tears escaped her eyes, grateful for the feel of his hand running through her hair,
"I asked her what she had against me and she said that I was hurtful…that ever since she had met you that I had been hurting you…she said…she said she would leave my apology as nothing I said could be trusted anyhow…"

Andrew felt tears racing down his face, both of sadness for the words he knew had hurt her terribly, as well as of some anger at the words his so called "Friend" had said, but before he could say anything, she continued as she clutched him tightly.

"I’m sorry…I know what she said was true but I got angry anyway….I accused her of only pretending to care about the fact that she tried to break up our friendship to impress you and then…I can’t remember anymore…my head was hurting so badly and I couldn’t catch my breath," Wearily she raised her head to look into his eyes, but before she could continue, she noticed the red mark on his cheek. With a trembling hand she reached up to touch his face,
"Andrew?"

"Brianna and I had a little disagreement last night after you passed out, sweetie…we’ll talk about it later, okay?" He whispered, not wanting to upset her further when she was this sick. He could already see the heartache in her doe-like brown eyes and he didn’t want to add anymore to that right now, not to mention, he was trying to digest all she had just told him.

"She hit you?" The younger angel whispered as she began to cry in earnest,
"I’m sorry…I did this, Andrew, I did this! I wanted to make it right with her and I tried, I did…"

"No," He uttered, gently pressing her head back onto his chest, so he could draw her close once more,
"You didn’t do this, Monica. Brianna did this-she set out to hurt us and she managed to do just that, okay? She did not speak the truth to you, all right? You can be trusted and you know I trust you with my entire existence, sweetheart, and everything else has already been forgiven. I’m sorry I pressured you into talking to her to begin with, Angel Girl, I just thought it would turn out… differently…"

"I got angry first…" She wept, feeling his arms tighten around her small frame,
"It’s so wrong of me, Andrew…but I don’t like her…I wanted to, but I can’t…I can’t. Something just doesn’t feel right…I’m sorry."

Tears still escaping his eyes, he rocked her gently in his arms, his mind trying to figure out how another angel could cause such pain, not once, but twice and he wondered now if it had been intentional,
"Shhh, it isn’t your fault, Monica…it isn’t your fault…" Desperate to calm her for fear she’d pass out again, he continued to rock her and to speak reassuring words into her ear until she finally quieted and he realized that she had cried herself to sleep.

Not moving from where he sat with her cradled in his arms, he rested his cheek against her hair, sighing softly as he closed his eyes. Just as he felt himself drifting back off to sleep, the sound of the door bursting open caused him to jerk his head up and for Monica to open her tired eyes.

Looking up, his eyes met with those of Brianna.

Chapter 35

"Brianna??" Andrew gasped in horror as he only tightened his arms around Monica’s shuddering form. A fear unlike any he had experienced since first meeting Brianna tore through his own body and shivers went up his spine. Feeling Monica’s arms only tighten around him, as she too, was rather frightened, Andrew never loosened his grip as he tried to get control of his emotions, although he found that almost impossible,
"What are you – "

"You want to know what I’m doing here?" Brianna interrupted, a smirk showing plainly on her face. Andrew forced back a scream as he recognized that smirk all too well and, with terror in his heart, he glanced behind the blonde-haired angel; nearly fainting himself as he saw someone who looked all-too familiar to him as well as to Monica, the human angel tightened his grip around his best friend not only to keep himself from collapsing on top of her still weak form, but to protect her and shield her from evil itself.

"Denise…" He whispered in fear as Monica buried her tear-streaked face against his chest and clutched him only tighter,
"No, this can’t be happening…What are you – what are you doing here, Denise?!"

"What does it look like I’m doing, Andrew?" Denise smirked back as she saw Monica shudder in the angel’s arms and the look of fear on Andrew’s own face,
"She can’t see me, Angel Boy, and that only makes my plan go all the more smoothly for me. After all, who better to help me out with this then my very own supervisor?"

Suddenly appearing as if out of nowhere, Kathleen appeared in a dark cloud of smoke beside the other dark angel and Andrew forced himself to not scream again. Biting his tongue, he glanced over the two dark angel’s shoulders and his breath was taken away at the site of the hallway: Everything appeared to have been stopped in mid-action, whether it be human beings or the clocks. Nurses and doctors who were heading towards their destinations had now stopped in mid-walk and Andrew shuddered involuntarily at this site. God surely wouldn’t had done such a thing like this; this could had only been done by Satan’s powers and his own demons…

Pulling Monica closer, who was sobbing hysterically against him at what was going on around the two of them, Andrew turned back to Brianna, who was still unknowing to the two demons behind her whispering in her ear.

"So now you’re talking to yourself, eh, Andrew?" Brianna laughed mockingly as she took a step closer to the two huddled angels on the hospital bed after closing the door behind her and locking it tight with a click,
"Do you know WHY I’m here, though, my friend?"

"Don’t you dare call me that anymore, Brianna.." Andrew seethed angrily, shooting a look of both anger and betrayal at both his former "friend" and the two dark angels who moved wherever Brianna went,
"You were never a friend to begin with, and you know it deep inside of you. God forgive her, but it is true. I must say that I feel real sorry for you, Brianna– "

"Don’t you ever know when to keep that mouth of yours shut, Andrew?!" Brianna snapped back, coming closer until she was standing right beside of the two angels, one sobbing and other coming close to it,
"Or do you want me to give you another good slap like I did last night? Hmmmm?"

"Don’t hit him, Brianna…" Monica pleaded in a weak voice, her pale face still buried into her best friend’s wrinkled shirt,
"Please, Father, don’t let her hit him again…"

"Oh, Monica – ANGEL GIRL – don’t you know by now that God won’t answer your cries?" Kathleen spoke up, leaning over and whispering her words into the human angel’s ear,
"He doesn’t care! Don’t you realize that He is never going to be there for you? I mean, c’mon, Miss Wings! He deserted all of you in your ‘hour of need’. What makes you think He’ll listen NOW? Huh, Monica?"

"He sure didn’t help me when I was in trouble, Kathleen," Denise continued where the other dark angel had left off,
"Remember? I was in trouble and God deserted me. Well, Lucifer didn’t. He’s the one I truly serve now and I know that you’ll be much happier, Monica, if you leave this God alone. You know that by the time this is over, we’re going to claim another soul, Angel Babies." Smirking, she nodded her head over to Brianna, who still stood as a threat to the other two angels,
"It will either be Brianna…or one of you two. Your pick, Monica and Andrew; but I know which one it’ll be, though – Satan’s already told me that part and we’ll be back by the end of this week to claim that soul."

Sharing one last smirk at Kathleen and whispering her departing words into Brianna’s ear about the "other side", Denise disappeared in a cloud of dark smoke. As soon as she was gone, however, Kathleen gave a mock shrug of her shoulders and a loud cackle before following right behind her colleague…leaving Brianna back alone with the two frightened friends.

"You know, Andrew," She continued speaking, the whole time unaware of Denise and Kathleen’s evil presence,
"What if I had come here to apologize? What would you have done then? Would you have regretted what you just said to me, or not? You’re not a mind reader, of course, so you don’t know what I came here for, but what would you have done if I had come here because I was worried about Monica?"

"You didn’t come here to apologize, Brianna!" Monica finally burst out, slightly lifting her head off of Andrew’s chest to stare fearfully at the other angel, who was coming so terribly close to losing everything,
"I – I know it…After what you’ve done to us…How could you?? How could you, Brianna??"

"I could do it because of my own personal reasons, Monica," Brianna whispered threateningly, leaning close and staring into Monica’s tear-filled, brown eyes,
"But I will tell you this, though; you will find out that reason very soon. You, too, Andrew; being the nosy and cowardly angel that you are – and not counting being hard-hearted – I think that you should know why I came, too. Don’t you think so?"

Before either angel could reply to this weird question, Brianna turned around and walked casually towards the locked hospital door. Turning the lock, she unlocked the door and before either angel knew what had happened, Brianna had disappeared. Trying to take in everything that had just happened, Andrew gently pulled out of Monica’s arms, laid her back up against her pillows carefully and hurried over to the open hospital room door. Eyes widening, the human angel looked around him and saw that everything was how it had appeared earlier; nurses and doctors were now walking towards their destinations like nothing had happened and the clocks had started working again. Fear unlike any he had known before tore through his being and he shook his head.

Brianna’s threatening words to them just then echoed loudly in his head, causing his own head to start pounding with a headache. What did she mean by they would find out soon? What was she going to do to them?? But more importantly…

What did Denise and Kathleen have up their sleeves for them, and who would end up winning in the end?

"Andrew…?" Monica’s thick Irish lilt breaking him out of his trance, and a cough following it, Andrew turned back around with tear-filled, green eyes,
"Andrew…Can you please just hold me again?"

Nearly breaking down himself, the older angel nodded his head without saying a word and turned away from the hospital hallway to head over to where Monica still sat. A look of total sickness and tiredness radiated from her face and she looked as though she would pass out at any given time. Taking a seat in front of her where he had been sitting earlier, the human angel gathered his dearest friend gently yet tightly, into his strong arms once again and rocked her back and forth.

"I’m so frightened, Andrew…I’m so scared," She whispered against his shoulder as she held him tightly around the waist,
"What is going to happen to us…?"

"I wish I knew, sweet baby," Andrew choked out tearfully, closing his terrified green eyes as tears slipped out of them and down his scarred cheek,
"I really wish I knew…"