CHAPTER 2

"Angel?"

The sound of Andrew's voice softly speaking that term of endearment caused Monica to sleepily open her dark eyes, "Andrew?" Her voice held just a touch of nervousness when opening her eyes revealed near darkness surrounding them.

"It's okay," He whispered lovingly, his lips brushing her forehead, "We aren't far from the cabin." Waiting until she sat up, he then rose to his feet and extended a hand to her. The look in her eyes as she met his gaze and accepted his hand nearly took his breath away.

Standing in front of him, their hands still joined, Monica continued to look up into his eyes, "Tell me again?" She asked softly.

A sweet smile graced Andrew's handsome face as he reached to cup her face in his hands, knowing exactly the words she was asking to hear, "I love you…with all that I am, Monica, and all that I ever hope to become. My heart belongs to you, my angel."

Happy tears shimmered in the little angel's eyes, as she laid her smaller hands overtop of his, "I love you too, Andrew…so much."

Their lips met in a gentle, tender kiss that only ended with the sound of what was probably a small animal rustling through the meadow that made the younger angel shiver slightly, but it was enough for Andrew to sense her discomfort.

"Come on, baby," Taking her hand firmly into his, Andrew led her out of the meadow and into the woods. He felt her grip his hand more tightly as the darkness consumed them and he was reminded again of how it had been in the darkness that those two men had trapped her. It was no wonder that she was feeling so uneasy.

Within minutes, they were walking up the steps and into the cabin and it was only then that Monica felt as if she could breathe again. The lights in the living room were on, casting a soft glow on their surroundings and she turned to him with an embarrassed grin, "I'm sorry I was afraid, especially when in my heart, I know you won't let anything hurt me."

Her words brought a tiny rush of sadness to his green eyes, "I'm glad you feel that way, Monica, especially as we both know I didn't do a very good job of protecting you the last time."

"Andrew," Shock and pain for his hurting spirit registered in her eyes as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, "You did protect me. You got me away from them and didn't allow them to find me again. When you had to take me Home, I knew that I was safe in your arms for the journey," Tilting her head up, she looked into his eyes, "Here on earth, your arms have always been the safest place I've known."

His smile was soft as he dipped his head to brush her lips with his, "Thank you, Angel. I'm not always sure I'm deserving of you, but I couldn't be more thankful to have you."

"I think we're both equally blessed." Monica grinned, before she hugged him tightly once more and then headed for the kitchen, "Do you suppose there is any coffee here to be made?"

Andrew let out an amused chuckled, "Upstaged by the coffee bean again," He stated with a mock sigh that caused her to giggle.

"No, you weren't. I just woke up is all, so it feels like morning and morning means coffee, you know."

"Monica, it's nighttime and will be time to sleep soon," He protested on a laugh, delighting in the sound of her laughter.

"Andrew, when have you ever known coffee to keep me awake?" She replied, grinning over her shoulder at him, "Besides, it's the one thing in the kitchen I can make!"

Though he knew she had a point, he wisely elected not to comment on it. Instead, he walked over to the stone fireplace and set about arranging wood and newspaper in order to start a fire. By the time Monica returned with a cup of coffee for herself and a cup of cocoa for him, the fire was illuminating the room, leaving it toasty and warm.

"Thank you, baby," Andrew said softly as he took the mug she offered him and risked a tentative sip, "Perfect." He grinned at her, watching as she nestled down on the couch next to him. Setting his mug on the table next to hers, he opened his arms and gave a contented sigh when Monica snuggled down into them.

"Are you hungry, Angel?" He asked whispered, brushing her forehead with his lips.

"No," Monica tilted her head up to meet his gaze, "I think I'm too happy to eat anyway. All this joy inside of me is making me feel very filled up."

He smiled and then watched as a troubled expression crossed her pretty face. Concerned, Andrew squeezed her gently, "What is it, sweetie?"

Working her lower lip between her teeth, she appeared thoughtful for a moment, "I guess I'm just wondering…well…what all this means? I know we're allowed to be together, but…what does 'together' entail? Not that I think what has already happened is not completely perfect, because I do! I'm just a wee bit confused about…what happens next."

Andrew was unable to help but smile at her nervous chatter, despite the fact that he, himself, held no answers for her. He had no idea what God intended for them to do with this gift, but yet the dear little soul in his arms was looking up at him, waiting for an answer. He had always enjoyed how she looked to him for wisdom, and now he only wanted to be able to offer some. A silent prayer provided him with an answer.

"Angel, I think what we are supposed to do is to allow the Father to guide us," His hand moved to her cheek and the trust in her eyes nearly caused him to stop breathing, "He knows that this is…well…uncharted water for us and he isn't going to leave us to stumble through it on our own." A rueful smile tugged at his mouth, "I just wish I would have trusted him six months ago."

Laying her hand overtop of his that was still resting against her cheek, Monica replied gently, "So do I, but what is most important is that we trust him now." Seeing the sadness in his eyes, she continued, "I'll always wish we had handled it differently from the beginning, Andrew. Being away from you for six months…I'll always regret it, but it wasn't all your fault. We were both afraid and we both handled it differently. We should have been trusting the Father the whole time." She lowered her eyes for a moment and when she raised them again, tears glistened in them, "Just promise me that we'll always, always be honest with each other from now on. I never want to be without you for that long again, Andrew. It hurt so much…just so much…and now that we've been given this gift…it would be unbearable…"

Without another word, Andrew pulled her protectively in his arms, hearing the painful little sobs that flowed through her, "My sweet, sweet angel," He whispered against her ear, "I promise you, baby. I promise. Never again will something like that happen. Please don't cry, sweetie."

"I just always want to be with you," She whispered, raising her head as he wiped tenderly at her tears.

"We'll never be apart again because of my own foolish actions, angel. You have my word on it," Cupping her face in his hands, Andrew softly kissed her lips, sealing the promise.

X

Summer night came down gently over the mountains and the silence around the cabin was only broken by some occasional cricket noise and the tree tops moving slowly with the soft wind. There was food in the kitchen and Andrew prepared him and Monica a delicious dinner. Aware of her cooking skills (or lack of them), the little angel offered to set the table and, happily humming a tune, she did a beautiful job in decorating the dining room.

The two angels spent a pleasant evening, enjoying each other's company and chatting about the joy of past assignments. After dinner, Andrew threw a few cushions on the carpet and the two sat down in front of the fireplace, the blond angel with his arms permanently wrapped around her small shoulders.

"It was a lovely day..." Monica sighed, watching as the flames danced in front of them, comfortably resting the back of her head against the blond angel's chest.

Smiling, he nodded and caressed her auburn hair, amazed at how his existence turned from sad and painful to wonderful in only a matter of hours. "It sure was, baby... It was the happiest of my existence, to tell you the truth..."

"Of mine too, Andrew..." she replied, closing her eyes for a moment, reliving all the events of the day.

He bent his head and kissed her cheek lovingly. They remained quiet for some time until Andrew noticed his beloved Monica was trying to stifle a few yawns.

"It seems it's past time a certain little angel went to bed!" he whispered into her ear, causing her to open her eyes.

A little embarrassed, Monica nodded and snuggled closer to his embrace, not really wanting to move away from his strong arms. "Being in human form does that to angels, you know..."

"Yes, and that's why angels in human form need a few sleep hours to recover their energy!"

Smiling, she turned her head to look at him, "I guess you're right..."

Andrew gently pulled away and stood on his feet, helping her to stand up. Then, he held her both hands and kissed them, before leading her upstairs.

X

Monica rolled in her bed several times, constantly staring at the window and visibly annoyed with the darkness. There was soft light coming from the bedside lamp but it didn't seem to ease her heart. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself that Andrew was in the bedroom just in front of hers and that they were safe up in that cabin, the weird panic sensation combined with flashbacks of terrible memories kept on haunting her.

The little Irish angel decided to sit up in bed, with her knees drawn up to her chest. She remained like that for a few minutes, repeating for herself that there was nothing to fear, but, unable to relax – and scared with every little noise she heard, Monica threw the covers away and put on a woolen coat over her flannel pajamas. Then, she left her bedroom and headed to the room right in front of hers.

The door in Andrew's bedroom had been left ajar and Monica pushed it slowly. Trying not wanting to wake him up, she tiptoed over up to his bed and crawled under the blanket, snuggling close to him. Although those were soft movements, they were enough to make the blond angel open his eyes a minute later, somehow feeling her loving presence and the uneasiness coming from her heart.

"Angel?" he said, frowning and really surprised to see her there. "What happened? Are you-"

"I'm okay, Andrew," she quickly replied, not really happy to disturb his sleep, "I just couldn't feel comfortable in the other bedroom, you know..."

The frightened look in her soft brown pools broke his heart and he automatically wrapped his arms around her small form, bringing her even closer to him, making her rest her head over his strong chest. "Oh, Angel... Baby, why didn't you tell me in the first place? You could have stayed here..."

"I... I thought it was just a little impression... that I'd fall asleep eventually." She confessed, shyly. "I guess it'll take a while to get used to Earth again, you know... after all that's happened..."

Monica felt Andrew tightening the hold on her a bit more, with a tense, worried expression on his face. How he wanted to protect her from all the harm in the world! If he could, he would just rip all the fear that was constantly haunting her from her gentle soul. If he could, maybe he would go further and just turn back time and fix things from the start, so that she wouldn't be so frightened at that very moment.

But her soothing voice and loving words brought him back and left him deeply moved. "I'm so happy you're here, though. With you holding me like this, I feel so much peace I forget the fear."

He kissed the top of her head repeatedly and straightened the blanket around them, "Oh, Monica... my little angel... I love you so much, baby... You're my light, you know? My everything..."

"You're my everything, too, Andrew..." she replied, raising her head up and also holding him tightly, enjoying the feeling of his arms around her shoulders.

And Andrew couldn't resist but to bend his head and brush a loving kiss on her lips, gently caressing her cheek with one hand, holding her tightly with his free arm. Smiling, noticing how relaxed she was with that gentle caress, he still kissed her forehead and the tip of her nose before she settled her head on the previous position over his chest.

"Have sweet dreams, Angel. I love you..."

"Thanks, Andrew... I hope I'll dream about you..." she replied, also with a pleased smile on her meek face. "I love you, too. With all my heart."

The blond angel watched as, little by little, her eyes started to close and the rhythm of her breath became a steady, calm one. In a matter of minutes his beloved friend fell into deep, peaceful sleep, lying limp in his strong arms; certain she was protected and much loved. Andrew didn't sleep so soon, though. He took the opportunity to enjoy the lovely image of her fast asleep, drinking every little detail of her lovely features, never getting enough of them.