Chapter 13

Under Andrew's terrified eyes, Dr Richards, along with Karen and two other nurses and an assistant doctor, tried everything they could to revert Monica's condition. Her human heart had suddenly stopped and Richards tried electrical shocks in order to bring the young teacher back to life.

"Please, Monica, please show some response! You should not leave this world so early!" The doctor whispered, his eyes reflecting the same worry that was written on Andrew's face.

"C'mon, sweetie, fight! You've been so strong so far!" The nurse who had been a loyal friend to Monica also spoke, feeling sorry to see such a noble and brave creature suffering so much.

Andrew's beige suit was back in his angelic form and, in despair, he leaned next to Monica's bed and started to whisper in her ear.

"Please, angel, hold on just a little more. I know you're tired and I'm sorry if somehow I made you feel like that... Please, forgive me... for everything..." He caressed her pale face. "I love you so much, my sweet angel... So much that I'd easily trade places with you to spare you from feeling even the smallest amount of pain."

The blond angel made a brief stop when he noticed another angelic presence in the room. Tess' expression held as much sadness as his, and in her crying eyes he could see the resemblance to a mother who was losing her daughter.

"We're losing her, angel boy?" The supervisor spoke, holding his hand.

"No... I refuse to accept that, Tess..."

The oldest angel closed her eyes. "Please, Father, keep this angel in Your hands..."

"We got a pulse!"

Dr Richards' loud voice echoed in the room and in a matter of seconds seemed to renew their hopes.

"She's stable, doctor!" Karen spoke, double checking the machines connected to Monica's human form a few moments later.

"Yes, but we're taking her to do an MRI... I have a slight suspicion on what may have caused that. And I'll do everything to save her!"

Tess and Andrew watched, side by side, as Dr Richard's team started to prepare their precious friend for the next procedures. She did not miss the evident jealousy in the blond angel's eyes when the doctor's feelings of protectiveness towards Monica became clear, and Andrew's reaction left her quite worried.

X

"Right now, we're looking at a clot in Monica's brain, which was caused by a concussion in her head. That explains her unconsciousness and subsequent comma."

Dr Richards's voice echoed in his cold office a couple of hours after Monica's crisis. There, he assembled with Andrew and Tess, who had then been introduced to him and Karen as the other family member in Monica's life. He showed them the result of Monica's exam and explained the seriousness of her condition and what should be done.

"But the medication did not manage to reduce the swelling in her brain?" Andrew asked, paying close attention to every detail the doctor told him.

"We were hoping so but unfortunately it didn’t happen. That's why I called you both here. Monica has to go to surgery immediately in order to remove the clot."

"Will she recover after it's removed, doctor?" Tess wanted to know, and now that she was in human form her tears never ceased to fall.

"I'm sorry, Tess, I wish I could say so, but at the moment all I can tell you is this is the best way to try to make her heal."

Andrew and Tess bid their angelic friend a sad goodbye minutes before she was taken to the surgery room. What the doctors and nurses did not know was that after she crossed the cold room doors, the two angels remained by her side, holding her hands, whispering loving words in her ear and praying to God so that He guided the doctors' hands during the entire procedure.

"Tess... She's in pain, I can feel it." Andrew finally spoke, interrupting their pleas for divine intervention.

"I know, angel boy. I can feel it too." The supervisor quietly replied, and on the following moment she understood what he really implied.

"Please, allow me..."

Without saying a word, Tess nodded her head.

X

The movement of Monica's eyelashes was a sign that little by little the gentle Irish angel was coming back to her senses. Monica was still weak and a little drowsy but the presence of loved ones so close to her soon filled her spirit with warmth and peace. She stirred her head slowly and finally opened her eyes to see that she was back at the cabin, in the bedroom she usually slept in whenever she and her angelic friends were there.

"Hey, sweet angel..." Andrew's soothing voice calling her by the term of endearment she was so fond of was the first sound that reached her ears. And even feeling so tired and sleepy, the little angel smiled; her soft brown eyes quickly finding his green ones.

"Andrew..."

The sound of her voice was weak but her joy to see him again was written on her face. For some instants Andrew wondered if she remembered everything that had happened the last time they met. But his thoughts were quickly interrupted when he felt her squeezing his hand.

"We're back at the cabin, sweetie. But all you'll do now is rest now, okay?"

"No dancing this time..." she said, a few seconds later.

That remark was followed by a look of tenderness that went straight to his heart and which conveyed much love: a hint that she did remember their last encounter and the loving kiss that sealed their mutual feelings.

Andrew could not help returning her gaze, letting her know that his memories were also vivid in his mind.

"No dancing. But I'll be right here at your side taking good care of you." He said, taking her hand to his lips.

"You always do that."

If Andrew had any doubt about her feelings concerning their last meeting, those words only reinforced the impression that she held no regret or doubt about it.

"But this time I did not come alone." He added, finding the slightly confused look in her eyes rather cute despite the circumstances. Monica followed his gaze up to the bedroom door and when Tess entered the room, her smile grew wider.

"Oh, Tess!"

"Angel girl!"

Moved with emotion, the supervisor approached the bed and took Monica's hand in both of hers.

"I missed you so much..."

"Oh, baby, I missed you too! I cannot believe it I spent so much time without seeing you!"

"There's so much to talk, Tess... I just wish I wasn’t so weak at the moment..."

"That's right, Miss Wings. A lot of resting, little talking!" The supervisor gently admonished, trying hard to control her emotion. "We can do the talking later."

Andrew reached out and stroked her temple lovingly. "Tess is right, angel. We brought you here to rest."

"What happened to me?" The little angel insisted, her doe-like eyes gazing up at them in a way that made it twice hard to deny her an explanation.

"Shh...We'll still have a lot of time for this, angel girl!"

Tess made one last attempt to keep her quiet, but Monica's stubborn nature sometimes overcame even situations like those. Aware of Tess' firm posture, the little angel turned to her other beloved friend.

"Andrew?"

Her sweet voice and the unique way which she pronounced his name were enough to get from him the answer she was waiting for. Feeling he would give in, the blond angel looked at Tess, who rolled her eyes with some frustration: it was clear he was unable to resist to Monica's plea.

"The... doctors are working on your human form right now, angel." He cautiously explained.

"What do you mean?"

"It's... a procedure to remove a small clot from your brain. When they're done, they believe that you'll regain consciousness."

"Is this why I feel so tired? Is this why I passed out the last time we met and-"

"What Andrew is telling you is that Dr Richards and his team are giving their best in order to heal you, angel girl." Tess gently interrupted, and Andrew was relieved she did so as he was suddenly afraid Monica could reveal their most intimate moment at the wrong time.

And the little angel finally accepted the fact that she could not argue protest against Tess' authority and nodded in understanding.

"Dr Richards... He sounds like a very capable person..."

"And he is." The supervisor added. "Everyone at the hospital and in the entire city is praying for you and putting their faith not only in God but also in Dr Richards' hands. You are under the care of a very talented professional."

"He must have saved many lives already. I hope I can meet him."

Tess did not miss the look in Andrew's eyes and how he turned his face away from them for a few moments, trying to hide what was already too obvious to her: his deep jealousy.

"You will, baby. I have faith that soon we'll be sitting in a café and I'll be scolding you for ordering a third mocha latte and mister Halo here will either convince me that one more cup won't do you any harm or manage to get you some more away from my eyes!"

Tess' words brought a smile back to Monica's and even to Andrew's face.

That scene she had just described was everything they had been waiting and praying for.