Episode 39 - Christmas at the cabin (part 1)

Andrew closed the apartment door behind him and threw the keys over the coffee table. After one more day of hard work, his human form was extremely tired. In order to fulfil his assignment, the angel of death was working as a construction worker, and only the joy of another mission fulfilled made him ignore his exhaustion.

Besides the physical issue, he also missed two very special angels and couldn't wait for the moment he would hold them in his arms again. But that would have to wait for a while. His Monica was probably some other place, also taking hope and a loving message to the ones who needed them. His little Angela, for herself, was probably melting other angels' hearts in their heavenly Home.

And the fact that there were only two days for Christmas only made things more difficult and their absence more painful to him. Inside the small apartment, there was no decoration that reminded the special date, which caused Monica's absence to be even greater. A bittersweet smile appeared on Andrew's handsome face as he remembered her childlike excitement during the Christmas holidays, and how her soft brown eyes sparkled at the vision of the colourful ornaments hanging inside the houses.

It was past 9 in the night, and dreaming about the two loves of his existence, Andrew headed to his bedroom. He removed his shoes by the doorstep and pushed the door open, and was when he had the greatest surprise of the day. Lying on his bed, sleeping peacefully under the soft light coming from the bedside table, were his two "angel girls." Little Angela was wearing cute pink pyjamas, with tiny flowers on it, and Monica had covered her with a white blanket. The baby had fallen asleep with her little fingers wrapped around her mother's thumb. Monica's long auburn hair was spread over Andrew's pillow and she too had changed into a comfortable flannel nightgown.

Andrew's heart was immediately filled with tenderness at that image and for a few instants he remained there, by the bed, just admiring his precious treasure. With a happy smile on his handsome face, he came closer and knelt next to Angela, who indeed looked like an angel. Andrew leaned over and kissed her little head.

"Daddy is so happy to see you again, my little angel... So happy..." he whispered, caressing her pink cheek with the back of his fingers. "I love you, sweetie."

He rose to his feet and walked along the bed. And slowly and very carefully, he climbed up the bed to lie down right next to Monica. The blond angel gently caressed her delicate jaw with his fingertips and removed a strand of hair from her face. Then, he bent down and brushed a loving kiss on her cheek.

"I love you..." he whispered, close to her ear.

What he didn't expect was the slight smile that appeared on Monica's face and her quick reply, which also came as a whisper. "I love you too..." The Irish angel stirred and he couldn't hide his amusement at the sight of her eyes opening slowly. "Hullo, Andrew..." Her soothing voice and loving gaze only made her more adorable to him.

"Hello, my sweet angel..." He greeted her with a smile; fingers tenderly stroking her dishevelled auburn hair. "I thought you were sleeping..."

"I guess I took a little nap but I woke up as I felt your presence closer to me... And... I hope you don't mind that this wee one here and I broke into your apartment during your absence... But the accommodations are quite nice!"

Chuckling at those words, he narrowed his eyes. "I can see you two made yourselves quite comfortable!"

A small giggle escaped her and she pulled him down, "Yes, but the most important was missing... You!"

He bend down and kissed her lips softly and gently, caressing her jaw as if touching delicate porcelain, treasuring the tender contact. When the kiss ended, he pulled just a few inches away, looking deep inside those sweet brown eyes, and once again finding her pure and unconditional love for him.

"Is it some kind of early Christmas present?" He gently stroked Monica's face, still not believing they were actually there.

With a sleepy smile, she reached out to touch his face and his lips. "I guess it is... my Christmas present... after all, my heart is so full because I'm here with you again..." she looked at Angela, who was sleeping serene by her side, "And so is this wee one's."

They were soon locked up in each other's gaze and on the following second, Andrew captured her broad smile in a tender kiss, cupping her cheek with one hand as that loving caress continued. It eventually turned into tiny kisses and Monica pulled her beloved to lie down next to her. As he did so, she changed her pillow for his arm, and with their hands permanently entwined they observed as their little Angela slept.

"It'll be her first Christmas..." Monica spoke, enjoying his caresses.

"Yes. And our first Christmas together with our little angel!" He kissed her shoulder, "Do you have any idea of how much I love you two?"

"I guess we do, right, sweetie?" Monica whispered, once again turning to look at the little girl. "How was your assignment?" she wanted to know, a moment later.

"Everything turned out just fine, angel. I was so grateful..."

Monica took his hand to her lips. "If you're happy, then I'm happy!"

He smiled at her and kissed her lips lovingly again. "Will you two stay here for Christmas?"

"I don't know. I was told to come to meet you here and wait, and I... I just couldn't come without our wee one. Staying away from her, especially at this time of the year, would be..."

"So painful..." Andrew concluded, as he too thought he would be apart from this little family.

"Yes."

She was serious now and the angel of death took her hand and placed it against his heart. "But we're here now and all the three of us, baby, so let's enjoy what we have and give thanks. You two are blessings I'll treasure for the rest of my existence!"

He kissed her again and some time later, Monica fell into a pleasant sleep. Like a loyal guardian and feeling his heart full with joy, Andrew remained awake for long hours, just admiring his two precious blessings. All day long, he wondered if they would be together again for Christmas, and now his silent prayers had been answered in the most wonderful way. The angel of death fell asleep eventually, with a happy contented expression on his face.

X

When Andrew woke up on the following morning he was the only one in bed. But a pleasant sound soon reached his ears and drew his green eyes to the armchair next to the window. There, Monica was holding little Angela in her arms and speaking gibberish to her, causing the little one to emit happy sounds that resembled a little laughter. The gentle sun that was coming through the window bathed both mother and child in a way that they were both glowing with God's love. As the Irish angel saw he was awake, she turned Angela to sit on her lap so that she could see the blond angel. "Oh, look who is up, wee one!"

Andrew was speechless for a moment. "You two are positively the most beautiful of God's creations." He said, rising to his feet and walking up to them, a happy grin playing on his lips. "Good morning, sweetie!" Andrew kissed Monica's cheek and then knelt by the sofa, "Hey, my little angel!"

Both angels chuckled as Angela followed her daddy's fingers with curious green eyes until the moment they gently poked her tummy. As they did so, she turned to look at him again and let out another baby laughter at the ticklish sensation.

"Hum... Looks like we got a rather ticklish little one here!" Amused, he kissed her chubby hand and added, "I wonder where she got that from!"

Andrew shot Monica an accusing glance and slightly embarrassed, she tilted her head, blushing and smiling at the same time. "I guess that would be from me..."

It was in those moments that she looked even more adorable to him. Chuckling, he stopped tickling the little ones belly and grabbed her face with both hands, kissing her lips lovingly a second later. "There's something else she got from her mom, you know..." the expression on his face was full of complete adoration as he moved his hand to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear, "Loveliness!"

The angel of death kissed her one more time, her giggling almost matching her daughter's.

He moved to kiss the top of Angela's little head and then rose to his feet. "I'll prepare our breakfast..."

But before he left the room, Monica reached for his hand. "Andrew, we have an assignment..."

"An assignment?" he spoke, already fearing they would have to go through separate ways after so little time together.

But Monica's words seemed to put his heart at ease. "Yes. I received the message a bit before you woke up... We should head to the cabin with Tess' car. It should be parked outside."

Andrew frowned. "By car? So we should really leave soon because I've heard it on the radio yesterday: the weather will change. We'll have a very cold Christmas."