PART 4

The first morning sunrays started to shine inside the small cabin, causing Monica’s eyelids to flicker slowly. A few seconds later she opened her brown eyes, catching a glimpse of her surroundings. The last few logs burned in the fireplace and there was no trace of the thunderstorm that had scared her so deeply.

As a matter of fact, a much more beautiful memory of the previous night soon came to her mind, and before she knew it, she felt a gentle touch on her hair.

"Hey... good morning, angel!" Andrew greeted her, speaking softly to her ear.

Monica looked up at him and gave him a sleepy smile, causing him to chuckle with amusement. "Hi... is it morning already?"

"Yep. And I guess it's our clue to head to the cabin..."

"Why don't I feel like getting up?" she said, enjoying his arms around her, and returning her head to its previous position - over his chest.

"Well, maybe because you're quite a sleepyhead angel girl!"

She smiled at those words. "I'd say it's because the accommodations are quite comfortable!"

"I don't think so. We're on the hard floor and I'm sorry you had to lie down here all night long."

"I was talking about your arms!" she said, kissing his chest.

Andrew cupped her cheek and once she was gazing back at him, he caressed her skin so tenderly that she leaned on his touch, treasuring the light contact. “Waking up with you sleeping quietly in my arms, looking at this sweet face of yours is... basically everything I dreamed of... ”

Their eyes spoke silent love words that both could clearly hear echoing in their hearts, inside their very soul. Andrew took her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. With his other arm he encircled her waist and pulled her even closer to him, enjoying it when she held him back. But he didn’t kiss her immediately, even if their lips were burning to meet in a tender caress. Andrew took his time to study her face once again, analyse every little detail in it, as if falling in love with her all over again.

“I love you so much...” she spoke, almost in a whisper, lost in the intensity of his green pools.

The blond angel bent his head and kissed her forehead. “My angel...” Then he kissed the tip of her nose, watching as she closed her eyes in anticipation. “I promise you...” and finally one tiny kiss on her lips, which let her even more needy. “... that you can have my heart forever.”

They didn’t have to say anything else, as now their lips collided in a soulful, loving kiss that couldn’t wait any longer. Monica tilted her head and wished that they could remain there a little more time, as that small shack lost in the countryside would be in their memory forever, along with the love promises and confessions that had been made there.

But soon they had to pull apart and rise to their feet, as Tess and little Angela were waiting for them in their cabin, on the top of the mountain. Hand in hand, they left the small shack and headed back to Tess' car, talking with each other and grateful that they had found a shelter to protect them from the storm. Once they got at the Cadillac, though, both angels' smiles disappeared and they looked at each other with deep concern: the car headlight had been damaged during the storm.

"Oh, dear!" Monica exclaimed, picturing Tess' face once she saw what had happened to her "baby".

Andrew nervously ran his fingers through his blond hair. "It's... it's not our fault..."

"Of course it's not! I'm sure she... will understand... eventually..."

"Well... Tess let's not forget Tess has an issue when the subject is me and her car..."

"I know..." she stroked his arm sympathetically, feeling sorry for him as she remembered how their dearest friend scolded him for breaking her car once. They entered the vehicle and headed to the cabin, now slightly concerned about what they would hear when they got there.

X

"Tess! We're here!"

When the supervisor heard the Cadillac being parked in front of the cabin and Monica's unmistakable voice, she turned to the little angel on her lap and grinned. "Did you listen to it, little angel? It's your mommy and daddy!"

Little Angela's toothless smile back at her melted her heart for the hundredth time and she finished to put a pair of tiny shoes in the little one's feet and carried her out of her bedroom and down the stairs, watching as the couple of angels entered through the door.

And when Angela saw her parents, she raised her little arms and grinned at them.

"Whoa, looks like someone certainly missed you two, babies!" the oldest angel exclaimed.

"Oh, sweetie! Mommy and daddy also missed you so much, angel!" Monica was quick to rush to Tess and gather her little one in her arms, kissing her cute face and receiving a baby laughter in reply.

Amused, Andrew bent down and kissed his daughter's little head, stroking her soft auburn hair. "Hey, little angel! Did you have fun with your auntie Tess while we were out, huh?"

Angela raised her chubby hand and touched her father's chin, sparkling green eyes turning from him to her mother, visibly indecisive about who she would greet first.

"You bet we had, angel boy!" the oldest angel replied, receiving a kiss on her cheek form both Monica and Andrew.

"Oh, Tess, did she get scared with the thunderstorm last night?" the Irish angel wanted to know, concern all over her face.

"Well, she complained a little but I kept this little one in my arms and sang for her until she fell asleep, didn't I, baby?" the supervisor replied, tickling Angela's belly.

"Thank you so much, Tess. We were caught by the storm when we were coming back, so we had to stop and wait." Andrew explained.

"I imagined that, baby. I think it was the wisest thing to do, you shouldn't drive my baby along the road with a weather like that!" she said, causing both angels to exchange a worried glance. "And of course, you two should be protected by a shelter all the time. Angela was just fine, it didn't take her too long before falling asleep."

Monica tilted her head and looked at the supervisor with tenderness. "We were sure that she couldn't be in better hands, Tess. There's no one we trust her with other than you."

Pleased to hear that, Tess grinned from ear to ear. "Well, but now that you're already here, I'll take a break in babysitting this cute little angel to go up to the town."

The smile immediately disappeared from their faces and the couple of angels looked at each other again. "Now?" They both said at the same time.

"Well, yes. Angela has already eaten and your breakfast is ready. I'll be back in a couple of hours!" She caressed little Angela's cheeks and received another smile in reply. "Don't you worry! Tess will be right back, baby!"

They wanted to say something else but the supervisor had already turned her back on them. And a second after she opened up the door, her voice changed from kind and friendly to a very upset one.

"But what happened with my baby?!"

"Erm... Tess... we... we were about to tell you..." Monica tentatively spoke.

"Y-yes... you see... we... the thunderstorm was blowing things against the car... an object, maybe a tree branch, might have hit the headlight..."

"What are you talking about?" she interrupted Andrew, "What do you mean by 'might have'? You don't know what hit my baby? What were you two doing when this happened?!"

Monica and Andrew looked at each other for the third time, now really not knowing what to say.

"We... We... Andrew spotted a small shack not far from the road," the Irish angel started.

"Yes, and it was getting too risky to go on driving, so I parked your car out of the road and we headed to this shack..." Andrew completed, while they watched as Tess climbed down the stairs at the entrance of the cabin and took a closer look at her damaged "baby".

"Oh, no! Look at that! My poor baby!"

"Tess, it's just a headlight!" the angel of death spoke, receiving a very, very upset glare in reply.

"What did you just say, mister Halo?"

"Can... can't we fix it?" Monica intervened, noticing her friend's mood had been too damaged at that point.

"We're not talking about just a car like the other ones! This baby is special! It's not that easy to find a piece that fits perfectly here!" the supervisor replied, still not believing it was happening.

"Well, in this case why don't we all go downtown to look for the right piece? It's early in the morning and wee Angela here could get to have a walk in the town!" she said, with a tentative smile and under the impression that little Angela was having fun with all that situation.

"Yeah, good idea, Monica! It's a beautiful day and she would be really happy to go out!" the blond angel agreed, also forcing a smile.

But Tess' mood had definitely been ruined, and she was not pleased with him. "This is not an occasion for a happy outing in the park!"

One hour later, after taking a shower and having their breakfast, the couple of angels and their little daughter were ready to leave the cabin and search for a mechanic downtown.

"You give me those keys, mister!" the oldest angel spoke, grabbing the car keys from Andrew's hand. Monica winked at Andrew and he gave her a little nod, chuckling with amusement.

As they put little Angela's chair in the back seat, next to her daddy, the four angels headed downtown, like a happy family that would spend the weekend together and enjoying one another's company.

To be continued