CHAPTER 2

“Why don’t we go into the living room where we can speak freely?” Sam suggested, his kind, brown eyes seeing the strain on both Tess and Andrew’s faces,
“She’ll be fine for awhile and we’ll be right down the hall should she wake up, but I doubt she will for some time yet. She’s been through quite an ordeal, I’m afraid.”

Andrew got up carefully and gently returned Monica’s head to the pillows, then leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. He could still feel the fever raging through her and he took the cloth from the basin, rung it out and laid it across her forehead. As he walked by Sam, the older angel laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I know its been a tough day, son,” Sam said softly.

Andrew nodded his head before he followed Tess out into the living room. She had sat down on the couch and indicated for Andrew to join her.

Tess was already beginning to worry about him as well. He and Monica had been through a lot together over the last few weeks and he was obviously feeling the strain. He sat down next to her and managed a tense smile as he took her hand in his, forever the comforter. Tess looked at Sam as he sat down across from them,
“What happened to our girl, Sam?” She asked, her eyes searching his for answers,
“One minute she was sound asleep in her assignment’s dorm room and the next time I see her, she is being carried in here by Andrew.”

Sam nodded his head,
“I don’t have all the details, Tess, but I’ll tell you both all that I do know. You know that Kathleen became involved with this last assignment?” Seeing them both nod, he continued,
“Kathleen was the reason God wanted Monica out of there as quickly as possible, which we all know didn’t happen. Monica chose to seek out Kathleen, in the hopes of making the situation between them better, I think. What she didn’t know at that time was that Kathleen was busy tormenting her assignment.”

“Stacey?” Andrew asked, a little confused.

Sam nodded his head once more,
“Kathleen was after Stacey’s soul in a way of getting back at Monica, no doubt. Monica found this out last night when she ran into Stacey. It seems Monica was doing some running herself for reasons I’m not clear on. Stacey thought if she could get far enough away from the college, then Kathleen would leave her alone.”

“Humph,” Tess grumbled,
“As if.”

“Monica opted to go with Stacey last night,” Sam continued, his eyes looking from Tess to Andrew,
“They covered a good bit of distance and apparently, Stacey pulled over to try and get some sleep very early this morning and that is when Kathleen turned up again. “ He hesitated for a moment, drawing in a deep breath,
“Kathleen told Monica it was either her or Stacey and the choice was up to Monica. Monica then made the greatest sacrifice an angel can make.”

Andrew closed his eyes against fresh tears as he heard a small sob escape Tess’ throat. He so wanted not to believe what he was hearing, that this had not happened to Monica. Suddenly he realized that the truth was going to be harder than the ignorance of not knowing.

Sam remained quiet for another moment before he gently proceeded,
“Monica, of course, chose for Kathleen to release the human and then Kathleen apparently took her to the darkest place an angel of God could ever know. I don’t know what happened to her while she was there, but I understand it is something she won’t soon forget…once she remembers.”

“What do you mean, ‘once she remembers’?” Tess asked, wiping at her eyes, trying to fathom everything that happened to her Angel Girl.

“It's highly possible Tess, that when she wakes up, she isn’t going to be the Monica you both know. She has been through a terrible ordeal, and something like this could destroy an angel.”

“What?” Andrew cried out, not believing what Sam was saying,
“Are you saying she may never recover from this?”

“Yes, Andrew,” Sam replied gently,
“That is what I’m saying. The Father felt that the best chance she had would be here, with the two of you. Other than God, she is closest to you both, so here is where she may be able to heal.”

Tess clutched Andrew’s hand tightly, feeling a tear slip down her cheek,
“Oh, my poor baby,” She uttered softly, then thinking of something she turned her eyes back to Sam,
“Sam, how did she get away from Kathleen?”

Sam smiled slightly and glanced up towards the heavens,
“He went and got her. He knew it was not Monica’s will to be there; she only wanted to save one of His children. So God got her back and called you, Andrew to bring her the rest of the way. He knew she would live, but He only wanted the two of you involved with her right now.”

“So, she will wake up?” Andrew asked, his voice tight as he tried to take everything into his mind that had happened and that could happen.

“Once her fever breaks, yes.” Sam replied, leaning forward in his chair for a moment to look at them both,
“But remember, she may not remember anything. She may not remember you and she may not even resemble the Monica you know. Be gentle with her; don’t try to force her to remember. If you do, then she may remember before her heart is ready to deal with what happened.”

“How much longer will she stay human, Sam?” Tess asked, worriedly.

“Until this is over, Tess. Until we know if she will recover. If, and we all hope this is not the case, she does not recover, then of course, the Father will take care of her. “ He fell silent for another moment before adding,
“I know this seems like a lot of ‘ifs’ to both of you, but this is in God’s hands, even if it doesn’t seem that way right now. This has never happened before and we just have to see how Monica fares,” He stood to leave, wishing he could offer them some kind of comfort,
“We’ll all be praying for her.” With those words, Sam was gone.

Tess and Andrew were quiet for a several minutes before Andrew broke the silence,
“I can’t believe this, Tess. She has to get better….she has to because I am not willing to lose one of my best friends!” He got up angrily and walked over to look out the glass door,
“I should have stayed with her. I should have stayed right there in the room with her! She was so afraid! I could feel it in her, Tess. It was like she knew that something was going to happen. I knew it and I still left her alone. It was only for a minute, but---.” He stopped short, closing his eyes in pain, remembering Nancy. Monica had turned her back, for a brief second and it was over,
“I never realized just how big of a difference a minute could make.” He whispered.

Tess watched him and listened as silent tears fell from her eyes. As strong as she was, she was having problems with all of this. Monica was so near and dear to her heart as she had trained her since she had become a caseworker. She had scolded her shortcomings and rejoiced in her achievements and if they weren’t angels, she would have looked at Monica very much like a daughter. Now that angel of Tess’ heart might not recover from the terrible unknown things that had happened to her and Tess had never felt more helpless in her existence. On top of that, now Andrew was blaming himself, which she knew would happen. She just wasn’t sure she had the strength to deal with it.

A horrible scream from Monica’s room erased any thoughts Tess may have had to comfort her Angel Boy. Andrew had already bolted for the bedroom, and as the screaming persisted, Tess turned to follow him,
“Oh Lord,” She whispered tearfully,
“Please help us to be able to help our Angel Girl.”