PART 1

In the dark deserted road, under the heavy thunderstorm, the three angels prayed for a miracle to happen. The nine-month pregnant Monica had been in labour for the last half-hour, but much to their despair there wasn't a shelter or anybody to help them now. With his heart filled with anguish and fear, Andrew left the car and faced the heavy rain so that he could try and fix it.

"Try it now, Tess!" he shouted, his voice stifled by the echoing thunders and the raindrops hitting the ground in full force.

The supervisor turned the motor on for the third time, but, once again, it didn't work. Andrew ran his hand through is blond hair, sighing with impatience at how wrong that night was turning into. Thorough the windowpane, he looked at his beloved Monica, who was still biting her lower lip, trying to resist bravely to the pain she was obviously feeling. "Hold on, Angel... I promise I'll take you out of here... I give you my word, darling..." he murmured, looking deep inside her eyes.

"Angel boy, I guess we should try once again, baby..." Tess' voice took him out of his reverie, and once again the blond angel pointed the flashlight to the motor, trying to find the cause for the Cadillac's sudden stop. But nothing seemed to be working that night, and after one more attempt, Andrew gave up and closed the hood with a lot more strength than necessary.

Returning to the car, he made Monica open the window on her side. "Baby... I'm so sorry..." he spoke, taking her hand to his lips.

The Irish angel caressed his handsome face gently, not pleased at all with the fact that he was soaked to the skin and under the heavy rain. "Andrew... You shouldn't be outside in human form..."

The blond angel was moved with emotion: his beloved Monica was worried about him even though she was facing perhaps the most difficult moment of her existence, ignoring her own pain. She had truly an amazing soul, and was the most selfless creature he'd ever met - some of the uncountable reasons why he'd fallen in love with her for the rest of the eternity. "Sweetie... You're surely an angel, aren't you? It's you the one who deserves all the care and attention here, baby, not me. I'll be alright when you are alright."

Now she took his hand to her lips and held it close to her heart. "Then we have a tie here, because I'm only fine when you are fine too..."

"Andrew! There's a car coming! Look!" Tess interrupted their conversation as a light beamed on the rear mirror and the three angels looked at it. Andrew kissed Monica's hand once again and rushed to the side of their car, waving with both hands so that the driver could see them.

"Hey! Stop, please, we need help!" he shouted, while Monica closed her eyes and lifted a silent prayer.

The car driver, however, didn't slow down. Much on the contrary: when he saw the tall blond man standing on the road, he accelerated even more, making Andrew give a step backwards when it passed by. The three angels watched as the vehicle disappeared as fast as it had come into view.

"That was really weird!" the blond woman who was sitting on the passenger's seat spoke, looking at the red Cadillac that was left behind.

"It's definitely an ambush, Melissa. Bet I would stop there and the first thing that guy would do was to point a gun at us, and tell us to give him our car and our money!" the driver said, "Stupid thieves!"

Sighing with disappointment, Andrew watched as the car made a turn and disappeared from his view and ran his fingers through his hair. "We need help... All we need is help..." he murmured, and Monica saw the expression on his face: the same expression of disbelief in the human race she'd seen the previous night.

"There might be another car... There is a reason why we stopped here, I'm sure of that, babies... At this very moment, all we have to do is pray... And trust..." Tess spoke, as he returned to stay by the window at the passenger's side.

"Tess is right, Andrew..." the Irish angel spoke, while the supervisor wiped her sweaty forehead with a handkerchief. Despite the rain, it was a warm night and it was quite hot inside the car. Suddenly, she closed her eyes again, and moaned with pain.

"Monica?" With his heart racing, Andrew rushed to stay close to the window next to her once again.

"I... I guess I'm having another contraction..."

"Shh... don't speak, baby! Breathe... Please, God, help us..." he prayed, almost in panic as her pain was visibly getting worse.

"Angel boy is right... try to speak as less as possible, baby, and breathe..." Even though she was trying to control herself, Tess was as nervous as Andrew, and praying that baby wasn't born in there, in the middle of nowhere.

All of a sudden, though, they realised there was another car coming along. With despair, Andrew practically blocked the road and waved again. "Please! Help us! We need help in here!" he shouted.

Inside the vehicle, a family with father, mother and two teenage children saw him. "Don't stop, daddy, it might be a trap!" the eldest daughter said, somewhat scared with the image of that blond man blocking the way.

"Carol is right... I don't like this at all, Joseph..." the wife spoke, sitting next to the driver, who frowned with concern. "Hum... I don't know.. that guy looks pretty desperate..."

"It's a trap, daddy, he might kill us all!" his son replied, and then, convinced by those arguments, the man accelerated the car. "Okay..."

Once again, the angels were left behind, which only increased Andrew's despair and his lack of faith in the human being.

"Don't give up, Andrew... If an angel loses his faith, then miracles cease to happen..." Monica whispered, knowing that he could hear her words echoing in his heart.

"I need to save you, Monica... You and our baby are at risk and the only ones who can help are turning their back on us..." he replied.

"Some might have turned their back on us, but not our Loving Father..."

He returned to stay by the passenger's door and caressed her face. "I'm so sorry, angel... I... I wish I could do more..."

The tears in his eyes broke her heart and were worse than any pain those contractions could cause her. "Please, don't apologise, Andrew..."

"I should have done this before... I should have brought you before, baby..." he said, caressing her face and watching as she fought against the pain.

"Everything happens for a reason... If this is happening to us, then we must wait and see why... Besides, you're here with me... And that's the most important..."

She was going to say something else when her soft brown eyes turned away from his green ones, as something on the dark road called her attention. "Andrew... Tess..."

Her dearest friends followed her gaze and saw that two people came along the shoulder of the road. One of them was a man, dressed with poor, humble clothes. The other one, a woman, equally wearing old garments. And as the couple came closer, both cuddling together under an umbrella, the angels could see they appeared to be field workers, and certainly had been walking for a long time.

"Hello..." the man greeted, both of them frowning with concern at the image in front of them. "... is there a problem with your car, sir?"

"It... it broke, and-"

Before Andrew could go on talking, the woman came closer and saw Monica. "Oh, my goodness... She needs help!"

X

"... come on this way, we're not far..." Mrs Lopez said, as Andrew and Tess followed her and her husband. With a fiercely protective look in his green eyes, Andrew was carrying Monica in his arms, praying that the house was not far from the road where the couple had found them. "... it was God who sent us here tonight... We were supposed to finish the work at the farm earlier..."

"I'm definitely sure He was the one who made our paths to cross, Mrs. Lopez." Tess spoke, attentively looking at the narrow trail they were following, in between the bushes and tress spread along the way. Her heart was filled with sorrow to see how quiet and miserable Andrew looked. With his eyes focused on the path ahead, he kissed his wife's temple and prayed in silence, though his anguish was written all over his face.

"There it is!" Mr Lopez pointed to a small house just a few steps away from them. "Our children are waiting for us." The lights in the small porch and inside were on, and once they were closer it was possible to notice how poor and in need of repairs the small house was. The doors and windows needed painting and the grass around it had to be mowed. The small roof over the porch had a few shingles broken, and the water was dropping on the old wooden floor.

"Juan, Emilio, open the door!" their mother shouted, and a second later, a dark-haired boy appeared at the window. "It's mom and dad!"

The door flung open right afterwards, and they saw another boy, a bit older than the first. "Mom..." he said, he, his brother and his little sister who was sitting on a chair watched with questioning faces as their parents and the three strangers entered the house.

"Please, come on in... Our house is small, but I promise we'll help you to have your baby, Monica..." the woman spoke, as Andrew placed her on the old armchair next to the window. He knelt right beside it and kept an arm wrapped around her shoulders and held her hand in his own.

The Irish angel managed a small smile, "Your house is perfect... Thank you, Mrs Lopez..."

"Hold on just a moment, I'll get our bedroom ready for you!"

"I'll help you out, Mrs Lopez," Tess offered, and both headed to the humble bedroom - one of the four rooms there were in the house. Meanwhile, Mr Lopez explained his children what was happening and that they all could help Monica and her little baby. The two boys rushed to get some towels and bed sheets, as their mother had instructed, and Mr Lopez went to bring some fresh water.

His youngest daughter, who appeared to be around five, remained sitting on the chair, holding an old fabric doll and looking at Monica and Andrew with curiosity. "Are you really going to have a baby?"

The couple looked at each other and Monica nodded with a smile, "Yes, sweetheart..."

"Is it a boy or a girl?" she wanted to know, smiling at the positive answer.

"We don't know yet, honey." Andrew replied, feeling himself the expectation to have his child in his arms.

"Oh, I see... Well, will I be able to play with him or her?"

Despite the pain she was feeling, the Irish angel's smile grew wider, and she and Andrew looked at each other once again, "What's your name, sweetie?" she wanted to know.

"Maria..."

"That's a beautiful name you got, Maria!"

"Thanks, mister!"

Monica caressed her belly and then looked at the girl once more. "Maria, I don't know if this little one will be a boy or a girl, but I'm definitely sure he or she will love to have such a pretty little friend like you!"

The little girl's smile, along with her expressive big brown eyes and straight dark hair, were captivating and warmed the angels' hearts for a few instants, and only a new contraction could interrupt that conversation.

"Hold on, Angel... hold on a little more..." the blond angel whispered, squeezing her hand firmly. It was then that Mrs Lopez opened the bedroom door. "Everything ready! Please, Andrew, bring Monica in!" the woman commanded.

He immediately gathered his wife in his arms and carried her to the bedroom, where Tess and Mrs Lopez were already waiting for them. Mr Lopez and the children remained in the living room, praying that everything would go well for mother and child.

With infinite care Andrew lay his beloved Monica in bed and sat down at its edge, right next to her, permanently holding her hand. He remained in silence, though, trying to hide his nervousness.

But the Irish angel knew his heart better than any other living creature in the universe. Turning her eyes to him, she smiled reassuringly. "Everything will be just fine, Andrew... The Father is watching over our baby and me... I know..."

Moved with emotion, he kissed her forehead and placed her hand close to his heart. "I am supposed to be telling you this, Angel..."

"I know, it's your job... But I'm glad we both have the same occupation..." she whispered at him, as he kissed her face again.

All of a sudden, Monica’s cry echoed inside that small and poor house: the contractions were more powerful each minute and realising that they wouldn’t be over anymore, Tess placed a supportive hand over the angel’s shoulder. “You’ll have your little baby, angel girl. And we will help you!”

"Tess... I'm so sorry... I should have listened to you first, and-"

"Baby, you and I know that things happen when they are supposed to happen... And I'm thankful that Andrew and I are here with you!"

"Tess is right, Monica. And, though we don't have much, my husband and I want you to feel as if you were in your house..." the woman placed her hand over Monica's shoulder and smiled friendly.

"Mrs Lopez... I... I don't know what to say-"

"Then don't say anything at all... Tess and I will take care of the baby... And Andrew will take care of you!"