PART 2

Andrew put a wet cloth on her forehead and frowned with concern at the pain that was evident on her face. Two hours had passed since she had started to feel the contractions and, so far, her suffering and struggle to give birth hadn’t produced any result. “Breathe, Angel. I'm here by your side all the time, I won't let anything happen to you... You can make it!”

“I know...” she said, half crying, and half smiling. "I love you so much..."

"I love you too, baby..."

Tess looked at her dear friend. “Now, Monica, I’ll count to three and I want you to push, ok?”

The humble cabin was filled with Monica’s cries, worrying them as the minutes went by.

“Please, angel girl, you have to push harder!” Tess insisted, she and Andrew feeling very sorry for the little angel who was suffering in that bed. The Irish angel was trying to ignore her own pain in order to allow her baby to come to life.

“I’m trying, Tess!” she replied, catching her breath. Andrew wiped Monica’s forehead once more, petrified with the thought that he would have to take her and the baby Home if anything went wrong.

That would destroy his very soul.

“Father, please, help us...” he secretly prayed, "Please, help Monica... I love her so much... I don't want to see her suffering..."

“Another contraction!” Monica cried.

“I’ll count to three and you have to push harder, ok?” Seeing her nod, Tess continued to talk, “One... two... three!”

Using all her strength, Monica pushed harder than before and, a second later, a smile appeared on Tess’ and Mrs Lopez's faces, “It’s coming! It’s coming, Monica! Your baby is on the way!”

“Oh, Father... please, help me...” she said, with tears rolling down her face, and trembling body.

Mrs Lopez watched the angel's suffering and conjoined her hands. “Please, God, please, help Monica and the baby...” she prayed, in a low voice. But Tess' voice interrupted her prayers.

“Mrs Lopez, bring more water, please!”

She obeyed her command immediately and, while Monica recovered from her last effort, Tess continued to speak words of encouragement, “Keep on, angel girl, you’re doing great!"

"Tess is right, Monica! I have faith that very soon your baby will be here!"

"Now, I need you to push once more!”

The Irish angel nodded her head weakly. “Okay...”

One more cry of pain filled the air a second later and the angels and Mrs Lopez thought that she would pass out. But, all of a sudden, another cry echoed inside the small bedroom and, with a broad smile upon her face, Tess held a small baby in her arms, “You’ve done it, angel girl! Your baby is here!” she exclaimed, she and Mrs Lopez with tears of joy in their eyes, “And it’s a beautiful little girl! It’s a beautiful little angel girl!”

With tears rolling down their eyes, both Monica and Andrew looked at each other - now smiling broadly at the miracle that had just happened. "A little girl, Angel... A little Monica..." he whispered, caressing his wife's sweaty cheeks.

"Andrew... she's ours... our little baby..."

He kissed her lips and forehead, "Yes, honey... our little angel... Our little miracle..."

Their happiness was shared by Mrs Lopez and soon, by her husband and son, who heard the baby's cries from the living room, announcing the good news.

“Oh, thank you God...” the woman murmured, while Tess cut the baby’s umbilical cord.

Tess cut the link that had kept mother and daughter together for nine months and, before Mrs Lopez’s and Andrew’s marvelled eyes, the supervisor took the baby close to Monica. The little one was still dirty with blood, but the mother’s need to see her and touch her was more urgent than anything else. Tess placed the baby close to Monica’s face and, with tears of both happiness and pain, she reached out and caressed the little girl’s cheek. Andrew, for himself, ran his fingers through the baby's auburn hair, feeling in awe at the vision of his daughter right in front of him, and the possibility to touch her for the first time.

And the new born angel carried much - if not all of her mother's traits. Dark reddish hair and white skin that resembled exactly like Monica's. The future would still reveal the colour of her eyes and her tender and kind smile - another smile that would certainly be etched on Andrew's mind and that would melt his heart for the rest of eternity. Apart from the baby's mother, the blond angel had never seen such a perfect little creature in his existence.

“Hi sweetie... You’re so beautiful!” she said, her voice tired and hoarse with emotion, “Mommy and daddy are so happy because you’re here!”

"Very, very happy, little one..." he spoke, equally moved with emotion, feeling tears pricking his eyes.

"Look at her... Isn't she pretty, Andrew?"

"She's gorgeous, Angel... As gorgeous as her mommy..." he kissed Monica's lips once again, "Thank you, Angel, for the present you just gave me... I'm the happiest soul in all universe and it's thanks to you... again... and again... and again... I love you so much... So much, sweetie..."

"Don’t you want to hold her a little?” the supervisor offered. Weakly, Monica stretched her arms and held her daughter for the first time, placing the baby against her chest, closer to her face. The little one was warm and never stopped crying, which indicated that, despite the difficult and unexpected birth, she was as normal as another new born baby.

“You’re a little early, honey... Were you curious to know what’s like outside, huh?” the Irish angel spoke, gently stroking the girl’s hair.

"I wonder where she got all this curiosity!" Tess said, also crying happy tears, and causing Monica and Andrew to laugh.

“She looks like her mother..." Mrs Lopez observed, smiling when the baby grabbed Monica's finger in her tiny little hand.

With a proud smile, Andrew nodded his head, never taking his eyes away from his family. "Yes... she does... that's why she's perfect... a perfect little miracle, just like her mom..."

The look in Monica's eyes as she met his gaze and offered him the little baby nearly took his breath away. "Do you want to hold her, Andrew?"

"Y-yes..." Moved with emotion, he stretched his arms and carefully took the crying little girl from her. "Hey, my little one... Shh... it's ok, sweetie... it's ok... You're having quite a busy day, daddy knows it..." he whispered, kissing her little head and with his voice hoarse with emotion.  "... But it's over now, sweetie... It's over now... You're finally here with your mom and daddy... I love you so much, little angel... so much..."

His heart skipped a beat when the little one moved her chubby arms and grabbed his finger, just as she'd done with Monica a minute before. Bursting with happiness, Tess took the Irish angel's hand and squeezed it tightly, as both angels and Mrs Lopez watched the fatherly love and happiness evident on his handsome face.

"Did you pick a name already? You just told us you didn't know if it would be a girl or a boy..." the woman wanted to know.

Monica and Andrew exchanged a loving gaze, "Yes... We had talked about it before..."

"We talked a lot about it..." Monica spoke, with exhaustion in her voice, but smiling as she remembered the unusual names she had suggested for that little one.

"Well... yes..." he agreed, quite amused at the memory of those names. "But we came to an agreement... A name that would suit this little one perfectly, in case it was a girl..."

Tess, on the other hand, frowned with some impatience. "And what did you decide, for Heaven's sake?!"

The Irish angel reached out to caress the baby's auburn hair, "We'll call her Angela..."

"Angela!" Mrs Lopez repeated, "Oh, it's such a beautiful name!"

"Angela! Little Angela! It's perfect, babies! A perfect name for this perfect little angel!" the supervisor's lips turned into a broad smile as she heard it.

That stormy night had started badly for the three angels, but the little baby was like a breath of fresh air, bringing happiness back to their hearts. An atmosphere of peace and love filled that humble house and renewed their souls just exactly like a God's miracle would do.

As soon as Mrs Lopez finished to clean the little baby she dressed her with the white clothes that Tess had so carefully knitted, and wrapped her in an equally knitted white blanket. The woman handed little Angela to her father, and Andrew, for himself, placed her closer to Monica. "Hey, sweetie... You got your shower already, huh?"

"Yes... she's ready for the party now!" Andrew joked, enchanted with the new-born angel in his arms.

"And I bet there's an audience out there in the living room who is eager to meet her..." she said. "...especially a certain little girl who couldn't wait to be her friend..."

"Monica is right, baby. Introduce Angela to our guests while Mrs Lopez and I take care of angel girl!" Tess ordered, but the blond angel turned to look at his wife, not really wanting to move away from her side.

"Tess is right, Andrew. Please, take our daughter to play with her little friends. I'll be alright..."

"You sure?"

"Yes... Come here..." as he dipped his head, she placed her hand on his cheek and they exchanged a tiny but loving kiss.

When Andrew opened the bedroom door, carrying his daughter in his arms, the two boys and their father rushed towards him, all of them eager to see the little baby. "Here is little Angela!" he proudly announced.

"She's such a beautiful little girl!" Mr Lopez spoke, glad to see that everything had turned out just fine like he prayed.

"She's so little!" the younger boy exclaimed.

"Of course she is, she's just got from her mom's belly!" his brother quickly replied, "But she'll grow up faster now, just like we did!"

A girl's voice interrupted their conversation and drew their attention. "I want to see Angela too..."

Little Maria moved and left the chair she had been sitting on since the unexpected guests had arrived, and slowly walked towards Andrew - her eyes focused on the baby who had just been born.

"Well, here she is, Maria! Your little friend was eager to play with you!" the blond angel spoke, with a permanent smile. What he didn't notice, however, was the haunted look on her father's and brother's faces.

"Oh, my God..." the man finally whispered, as his daughter came closer to them and Andrew knelt down to show her the baby.

"She's so beautiful!" Maria exclaimed, touching Angela's pink cheek with her fingertips.

"Dad... look..."

"Maria..." her two elder brothers spoke, as surprised as their father.

Only then did Andrew notice the shock and amazement in their eyes, and frowned with concern. "Is... is there anything wrong, Mr Lopez?"

"Maria... my little daughter..." the man took the girl's hands and looked at her from head to toe, not believing what his eyes could see. "... she's... she's walking..."

"I... I don't understand..." the blond angel replied, looking at him and at the boys, searching for an answer.

"Maria never walked... never in her life..." Emilio finally spoke, that revelation came as a shock.

"My wife and I took her to many doctors... we spent the money we didn't have to find a treatment for her, but... they said she would never be able to walk..." Mr Lopez said, with tears of emotion in his eyes as he caressed the girl's face. "... but now... now here she is... It's a miracle! A miracle from God!"

"I wanted to see Angela..." Maria replied, with the simplicity of those who couldn't fully understand what was going on. "... I just felt I could do it..."

"Joanna! Come here! Come here, it's a miracle!" he shouted, while Andrew just looked at his little daughter and at Maria - everything was clear to him at that very moment. Their car breaking down and Monica's giving birth in that poor house weren't coincidences - he knew that they didn't exist, but sometimes it was difficult even for an angel to understand God's mysterious ways.

When Mrs Lopez opened up the bedroom door, followed by Tess, and saw that Maria was standing on her feet and smiling, the woman fell on her knees and conjoined her hands, saying prayers of thanks for the grace she had just been conceded.

Amazed with the second miracle right before him, Andrew prayed in silence. "Father... now I see... I see everything..." he looked at Maria and then at the small baby he had in his arms once again, "... Thank You for reminding me that Your power is stronger than any other evil force... Thank You for reminding me that there are good people in this world... a lot more than it seems..." His lips curved into a slight smile at the reply that echoed inside his heart, "I know... You sent this little angel to remind me of all those things... I'm so grateful for this one more and special blessing..."

He and Tess watched as Mr and Mrs Lopez held their daughter, crying together and at the image of her standing on her feet by herself. The two angels exchanged a look of complicity, aware of the role they had played in God's perfect plan.

X

Tess helped Monica to change into clean clothes and arranged new bed sheets and pillows. With the supervisor's help, she settled down and reclined against the pillows, and due to Monica's incessant questions on what was going on in the living room, Tess had no other choice but to tell her about the miracle that had just happened there.

Then the old angel left the room, so that two other angels who were eager to see Monica could come in.

"Hey... somebody here is looking for her mom!" Andrew joked, knocking softly on the bedroom door. Smiling, the Irish angel stretched her arms as he walked towards her, "I was already missing you both!"

He sat down at the edge of the bed and, after kissing his daughter's forehead, he carefully placed Angela in her mother's arms. The little one was calm and sleeping peacefully. "We were missing you too, Angel," the blond angel said, kissing her cheek lovingly.

"Tess told me what happened..."

"Yes... Our little angel here has just had her first assignment!"

With a giggle and a sob, Monica kissed her daughter's forehead. "Yes... She's a little angel... Definitely a little angel girl! Look at how much happiness she brought with her!"

Andrew caressed their baby's cheek and nodded, equally moved with emotion. "Yes... she taught me a lesson that I'll never ever forget..." he then moved his other hand and cupped her cheek lovingly, "... You two reminded me of the meaning of love. You're both my miracles..."

As he bent his head and kissed her lips softly, Monica let out a small sob and tears started to fall from her eyes. On the following second, she was crying openly, with a mix of loving emotions in her angelic heart.

Andrew moved closer to sit down next to her, so that he could wrap his arms around her shoulders, and kissed her temple repeatedly. "Shh... it's alright, Angel..."

"I wish I wasn't crying like this... it's meant to be a happy moment, and I am happy... but... but I can't help it, Andrew... Please forgive me, but I can't help breaking down and crying every time I think about... about everything we have..."

He caressed her pretty crying face, smiling back at her and wiping away her tears with gentle fingers. "Who needs a smile, when a tear's so full of love?"

Her lips curved in a shy and crying smile as she turned to look inside his green pools. "My dear Andrew... You certainly know my heart better than any other living creature... That's exactly how I feel now... so full of love..."

"Me too... But then... I always feel this way when you're with me..." He kissed her cheek and continued to caress her soft auburn hair. "Rest now, my Angel... You should rest as much as you can..." his face turned serious for a moment, and he frowned, "You know... I wish I could take you two back to the beach house or to the cabin... they're like our home here on Earth; our shelter... I'm so sorry I can't do that right now, baby..."

The smile on her face grew wider as she blinked at him and she gently placed her hand on his chest, "And who needs a home if it's here in your heart that I want to be carried?"

Looking deep inside her sweet brown eyes, and seeing his own image reflected on them, Andrew covered her hand with his own. "I love you..."

With his heart bursting with love and joy, he bent his head and their lips met a second later, in a soulful kiss. That night, the multitude of loving feelings Monica and Andrew felt for each other were materialised in the new-born little angel who was sleeping peacefully in Monica's arms.

To be continued.