CHAPTER 6

Andrew paced heavily from one side to another in the lodge's hall, his green eyes fixed on the windows, watching the snow storm that was falling down outside. It was possible to tell how anguished and nervous he was feeling judging by the way he clenched his fists together. He breathed heavily, praying in silence for the little girl's life and begging God not to let Monica suffer as much as she did a while ago, when he was forced to take her Home.

The blond angel finally stopped in front of the window and sighed deeply, staring at the mountains. They stood a bit distant from the resort and right at that very moment, he loathed to imagine what the temperature in them could be. Besides, an extra thought made his heart race with panic: the avalanche on that same afternoon had been somewhere around them. What if Monica and Sarah were close to it? What if the snow had hit them in full force, not allowing them to move from where they were?

"Angel... please, hang on in there, will you? I need you here with me..." he murmured, remembering his last words to her - harsh words spoken without thinking, and which he would regret for as long as he existed.

"But if something happens, Angel, you may not be qualified to help her!"

They kept on echoing in his mind, along with all the worry caused by her disappearance.

"I'm so sorry, baby... I'll make it up for you, I promise... I'll find you and Sarah... I'll give up my own existence if I have to..."

Suddenly, he felt a shiver run down his spine as if his very soul had been taken by a deep cold. And he knew the cause for that: somewhere over those high mountains, his soul mate was suffering, which was enough to make him suffer twice. "Monica... Oh, Father, please, forgive me but I don't know what else to do... I have to go to her... Please help me..." Raising his eyes up to the dark clouded sky, the angel offered his prayers and then left the hall.

X

Inside his apartment, Andrew prepared a backpack containing a kit with first aid material, water, food and a warm blanket. On his face, a tense, anguished expression: somewhere out there, his Monica and a seven-year-old little girl needed help, and they needed to be found before it was too late.

The chief of the ski patrollers had ordered them to remain in the lodge, as a rescue mission at that very moment would only put the whole team at risk, and they might die trying to save Monica and Sarah. The blond angel knew he couldn't count on them to help him now. Besides, Andrew hadn't received any word from his loving Father, and these facts only offered him one only choice: go after them by himself, as remaining in the lodge was driving him crazy every second.

He zipped the backpack and placed it over his shoulders. Wearing heavy clothes to protect him from the cold and the snow, Andrew left his bedroom and took the elevator. It was past 10 in the night, and at that time, due to the snow storm, most of the guests were already in their rooms. Nobody would notice his absence until the following morning.

The elevator finally stopped on the ground floor and Andrew crossed the empty hall with quick steps. But, before he could reach the front doors, a voice broke the silence.

"I knew you'd end up doing something stupid, Andrew!"

The blond angel turned around and saw Edward, the chief of the ski patrollers. Cory and Jeff were together with him, and they were ready to do anything in order to stop him from going outside.

X

Monica rubbed her hands and straightened her coat around her body, in an attempt to at least have the illusion that she was feeling warmer. She spent the night alternating between watching over little Sarah, who slept warmed up by Bailey and Pepper, and praying. Her human form was feeling the effects of the exposition to that kind of weather. Sometimes, it was difficult to stay awake, but she couldn't afford not even a slight nap - that would be fatal to all of them. She was hungry too. A package of cookies, along with two sandwiches and two apples, were the only food they had, and they had to go to Sarah. To the Irish angel, all that was left was to wait for help to come.

With her knees drawn up to her chest, Monica watched as, little by little, the day got clearer outside the small cave, even though the storm and the howling wind kept on in playing a dramatic melody, increasing her anguish. She sighed deeply, as a lonely tear rolled down her cheek. Imagining what Andrew could be doing at that very moment, she frowned with concern and felt terrible. He certainly was angry at her. He had advised her not to go outside the lodge, he had warned her that an emergency situation could happen and she wouldn't be prepared to face it. Andrew was right.

At least in part.

Even though she hadn't been able to avoid the accident that had trapped both her and Sarah, the Irish angel would be the little girl's guardian angel, protecting her from the cold and standing by her side until they were found. That was her assignment in the first place, and that was what she would do, no matter what. She was a servant of God before anything else, and would honor her nature.

"Monica?"

Sarah's voice took her out of her reverie, and the angel managed a short smile, "Hullo, wee Sarah. Good morning..."

"G'morning..." she replied, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's past seven already, and you should have your breakfast." She informed, taking the package of cookies and offering her its content. The little girl moved to sit closer to her and grabbed three cookies. Eating one of them, she eyed her protector with curiosity.

"Aren't you eating too?"

"Oh, no... I... I'll wait for the rescue team to come, they will certainly bring more food..."

"But mommy says if we don't eat we get weak..."

"Oh, and she's right, sweetheart. That's why I want you to keep these cookies. I guess it'll take some more time than I thought for the ski patrollers to come to us, you know, because of the storm. So you need to be strong until they get here."

The little girl sighed with some disappointment. Even though she was still a child, she knew their situation was serious, and that if help didn't come soon, she, Monica and the dogs wouldn't manage to survive there for a long time.

"Is Andrew coming to save you?"

Once again, Monica forced a slight smile and caressed her curly blond hair, "I don't know. Maybe he has to be some place else other than here... maybe that's what God wanted."

"But... if God is as good as you say, he would want you and Andrew together... I know he's very worried about you... like my mom and dad are about me."

"Sometimes things are more complicated that what they seem, Sarah... Maybe God's plan was to make me stay here with you because you need me more than Andrew does..." the slight smile on her face faded away, and she looked outside in an attempt to hide the tears that were lingering in the corner of her sad eyes.

"You told me you'd tell me more about God... Could you, please?"

X

Andrew watched as the snow kept on falling outside through the window of his apartment. His superior had forbidden to go outside, and took away his bag and all the equipment he was carrying with him. Besides, he had been warned that if he tried that again he'd be permanently out of the rescue team that would look for Monica and Sarah once the storm was over.

Despite his angelic nature, he felt angry. At his co-workers, at all the events that had led to that very moment, even at the weather. But most importantly, Andrew felt angry at himself, both for hurting Monica's feelings, and for not being able to go to her when she most needed him. If the worst happened, he would blame himself for the rest of the eternity.

He spent the night awake, looking through the hotel window and watching as the snow storm didn't show any sign to be ceasing. Much on the contrary: judging by the intense wind that bent the pine trees almost to the point of breaking, he was under the impression that it was getting worse every minute.

"Angel... if I lose you... then I lose everything..." he murmured, placing the palm of his hand against the window glass and feeling tears in the corner of his eyes.

Hearing a knock at the door, Andrew felt his heart seize in panic. Who could be at his door so early and would that person be the one bearing terrible news about Monica and Sarah? He wasn't sure he could bear it. Opening the door to come face to face with Paul didn't do much to alleviate his fears either.

"Andrew, it's okay, buddy," The man could easily read the fear in his co-worker's eyes, "I don't have any news. I just wanted to see how you're holding up."

Andrew's shoulders sagged with a tiny bit of relief. At least the worst was not about to happen, "I dunno, Paul. It looks so bad out there and I can't help but wonder…" He shook his head, unable to say the words.

The man placed a hand on the angel's shoulder, "I know, but we just keep thinking good thoughts. Let's not borrow trouble."

"I should be out there looking for her, Paul. I should be out there looking for both of them."

"No, Andrew, not yet. You go out there now and you're going to wind up in every bit as much trouble as Monica and Sarah are in right now and the last thing I want to have to do is to find this special girl of yours and tell her that you are missing," He gave Andrew a pointed look and raised an eyebrow.

The angel ran a hand over his face tiredly, "I know, it's just so difficult to just sit here and it seems to be getting worse outside! When I think of them being out there in this storm, in these temperatures, it nearly kills me, Paul!"

"I know," Paul walked over the coffee maker on the counter and filled the pot up with water, "There's good news and bad news, Andrew. The good news is that this storm is supposed to taper off sometime tonight," Measuring out the coffee grounds, he poured them into the filter and then started the machine. It didn't take long for the smell of the rich, warm liquid to start filling the room, "The bad news is that the temperatures out there are dropping."

Andrew listened to the words as the smell of the brewing coffee invaded his senses. The temperatures outside were dropping and he could only think about how desperately his beloved angel would love a cup of her favorite drink right about now.

The sound of his fist banging against the wall startled both of them and Paul immediately approached the angel and laid firm hands on his shoulders, clearly seeing the torment in Andrew's green eyes, "Listen to me. I've been doing this job for a couple of years now and I have seen many people survive situations exactly like this one. It's happened, so don't you dare give up."

"We won't be able to look for them for another twenty-four hours,
Paul! How are they supposed to survive out there in this?"

"That's where believing in someone higher than ourselves comes in, Andrew."

The words felt like a slap in the face. Of course, Paul was right; God was taking care of Monica and Sarah and he knew that. But still, human bodies could fall prey to human conditions, such as cold or pain and it was that piece of it he was having so much trouble with at the moment, "I know…it's just that…yesterday, Monica and I had an argument. The last words I said to her, hurt her feelings, though I never intended them to. I just…I don't know what she's thinking right now and there is nothing I can do right now to make things right."

"Maybe not, but there are things you can do for her in general. What you're going to do is have a cup of coffee and then you and I are going to grab breakfast and check for any updates on the storm or on Monica and Sarah. Then you are going to get some sleep. You look like hell, buddy and you need to be alert and in good condition tomorrow morning so we can go and find them." Paul had only known Andrew for a few short weeks, but he already knew that the guy had a compassion for helping people. The two of them had been on several rescue missions together and Paul had found Andrew to be thorough and safety oriented; both with the rest of the rescuers as well as with those he was rescuing.

Andrew nodded his head, knowing Paul's words made sense. He couldn't be food and sleep deprived and still help his angel, especially as he had no idea what kind of condition he'd find her in when he did find her. Right now, he just had to trust that God would keep her alive.