PART 4

During the hours that followed, Monica managed to entertain the little girl by decorating the Christmas tree, but on their minds the worry about that situation remained. Monica feared for Andrew's safety if he went outside to try to look for Jade's parents. The roads were dangerous, it was snowing too much and darkness was all he would have ahead. The danger of an accident and the constant reminder that they were in human form kept on playing in her mind.

"Her parents must be desperate, Andrew..." Monica spoke, joining him by the window while Jade kept on placing ornaments on the tree and speaking to a very curious Angela, sitting on her stroller. "I can imagine what it feels like for a mother to be away from her child... Especially when her child is missing..."

Andrew nodded his head. "I can imagine that too, angel. But I was told we should remain here. I don't know why but..."

The noise of a toll truck outside the cabin interrupted him. They looked at each other and then through the window. A few moments later, Andrew was already opening the door and saw their dearest friend Tess followed by a man. And judging by all the anguish and despair on his face, it was easy to guess who he was.

"Tess..."

"Hello, babies, I'm glad you're both home already... I met this gentleman, Mr Stevens, and he is looking for his daughter." The supervisor explained.

"She's six, her name is Jade and she disappeared from our house-"

"Daddy!" Jade rose to her feet and rushed to the door as she heard her father's voice.

"Jade!" A moment later, the man was holding his little daughter in his arms, and crying with emotion. "Oh, my little princess... I finally found you, sweetie..."

The three angels exchanged a gaze of complicity and joy, as Andrew wrapped his arms around Tess' and Monica's shoulders. "I guess somebody has just got a great Christmas  present!"

They invited Mr Stevens to come in and closed the door behind them. Monica, Andrew and Tess watched with a joyful smile as father and daughter held each other, after moments of anguish and uncertainty. "Baby, where did you go? I looked for you everywhere!"

"I'm sorry, daddy. I wanted to feed the fawn but I got lost in the woods..." she explained, with some tears of regret in her eyes.

Mr Stevens caressed her hair. "I was desperate... I... I thought..."

"Wee Jade found our cabin on the way, Mr Stevens," Monica explained, "And Andrew and I were very surprised to know we had a guest when we arrived!"

"I don't know how to thank you... All of you. I was on the road, looking for Jade, when I had a flat tire. If it wasn't for Tess I'd still be there."

"It was wise to stop here to ask if you'd seen a little girl!" the supervisor said, winking at her two dearest friends.

"I can imagine how you must have felt, Mr Stevens. Now that..." Andrew looked at Angela, who was playing with her stuffed turtle, "... now that I'm a father too."

A little more relieved, the man nodded his head. "It's a precious gift that demands all the care we can give." He kissed his daughter's cheek.

It was then that they heard another car outside, and a few seconds later, there was an urgent knock on the door.

"I wonder who it might be now!" Tess spoke, with mock concern. And as Monica opened the door, surprise caught them once again: Jasmine and Mr Kelly were standing at the doorstep with tear-filled eyes.

"M-Monica... it's... it's really you..." the young lady spoke, "I saw your car outside and..."

"Jasmine, please, come on in." She invited, and with a warm smile she added. "I guess there's something here that belongs to you..."

The Irish angel opened the door completely and as the young lady saw her daughter and husband standing in the living room, she covered her mouth in disbelief. "Oh, my God!"

"Jasmine!" Mr Stevens was quick to hold his wife, never letting go of their daughter. The family was reunited again.

"You found us, mommy!"

Mrs Kelly stared at Monica and Andrew with astonishment. "You two again..."

"Hullo again, Mrs Kelly!" the Irish angel greeted, while Andrew placed his hands over her shoulders and also smiled.

But another surprise, a lot more shocking was about to come. Jade pulled away from her parent's loving embrace and looked at the old lady that had arrived with her mom. "Hi, Mrs Kelly..."

The little girl's words did call their attention. The old woman's eyes were filled with tears at the vision of that six-year-old little girl. On the following second, she was crying openly, her hands trembling with emotion as she had just witnessed a miracle.

"You know this lady, Jade?" her father wanted to know.

"Yes. She works at my school. At the cafeteria. And she always warms my milk." The little girl told them. "I like her very much, even made a drawing to give her as a Christmas present. I drew you and mommy, me and Mrs Kelly together by our Christmas tree."

"I never... I could never know that... that Jade was yours..." the old lady finally spoke.

"You know Mrs Kelly, mommy?"

Jasmine looked at her mother, fresh tears falling from her eyes. "Yes, I do, honey... I... I guess I never knew her so well... But now... now I guess I do... I so understand her..."

"So do I, dear..." Mrs Kelly came closer and squeezed Jasmine's hand. "That's why I want to apologise... for everything that I said to you and Mike. For all the harsh words..."

"Oh, mom..." the young woman held Mrs Kelly tightly and both cried in each other's arms. "I apologise for everything I didn't say! And especially for not giving you the opportunity to know the beautiful granddaughter you have..." She sobbed and smiled, "... even though God found a way to do that for me!"

"I guess He gave us three a Christmas miracle..." her mother replied. "... in order to make us realise that..." she looked at Monica and finally understood the events of the day. "...that each day of anger and hate is one day less in a person's life. And each day of love and compassion is one more day in our existence."

Jasmine nodded her head, as she too felt there was something different with the people that had stopped to help her on that Christmas eve. The three angels and little Angela, now in Tess' arms, watched as the family held one another, aware that the events of the day would be etched in their memory forever.

"Isn't it wonderful, Tess?" Monica spoke, holding her supervisor's hand.

"And which of the Father's miracles isn't wonderful, angel girl?"

The family left sometime later, and now Monica, Andrew, Tess and little Angela could finally enjoy their Christmas celebration, with a lot of joy, delicious food and singing. Tess didn't like Monica's participation on the carols she had previously and so carefully selected for that special occasion. And Andrew couldn't hide his amusement at the supervisor's face once her charge started to sing. But much to Tess' despair, little Angela turned to be a huge fan of her mom's vocal ability and the oldest angel had no other choice but to surrender to the little one's wishes. By midnight, before the supper, they offered their prayers of thanks for being one more year together, like a real family.

But some time after dinner, Tess started to feel the effects of being in human form until so late at night. It didn't take too long for the supervisor to kiss her "babies" good night and go upstairs to her bedroom.

Andrew had offered to wash the dishes and when he returned to the living room he found Monica sitting on the loveseat. Chin propped on her hand and a slight smile playing on her lips, she watched as the snow fell outside.

Andrew's green eyes were filled with tenderness at her vision, as now with the lights off and only the fire illuminating the room, she really looked like an angel. His beloved angel.

He approached her and kissed the top of her head. "Well, seems it's just you and me now!"

Monica finally interrupted her thoughts and looked at him, snuggling close to his chest as he sat next to her. The blond angel wrapped his strong arms around her shoulders and held her as tightly as he dared, and kissed her temple.

"I couldn't be in better company then!" she said, enjoying the feeling of being in his warm embrace.

"I can say exactly the same. It was possibly one of the best Christmas of my existence." Andrew replied, tenderly caressing her long auburn hair.

Monica sighed deeply, listening to his steady heartbeats. "Of mine too."

But what she didn't see was the mischievous smile on her beloved angel of death's face. "But there's one thing missing..."

Frowning a little, Monica pulled away just enough to look at him. "One thing missing?"

Her questioning expression caused him to chuckle - it made her look simply adorable. "Yep!" That short answer only increased her curiosity.

Monica tilted her head and frowned even more. "What is it, Andrew?"

He let go of her embrace and from behind his back he pulled some mistletoe. Highly amused, Andrew placed it high above their heads and innocently looked back at his wife. "Hey! Mistletoe!"

Now a broad and also amused smile appeared on Monica's lips and she narrowed her eyes. "Ah! Mistletoe! I wonder how in the world it appeared here!"

"Well, me too, but you know what? Now that it did appear here, there's something that has to be done, don't you think so?"

Monica bit her lower lip and grinning at him, she nodded her head. "Alright then... Close your eyes, mister angel of death!"

With a pleased smile, he gladly obliged her. What he didn't expect was the tiny peck he received on the tip of his nose, and Monica's excited giggles as she rose to her feet and walked a few steps away from him.

"Hey! That's cheating!"

His upset face only amused her even more. "Oh, is it? And what about that mistletoe that came out of nowhere, huh?"

This time, it was Andrew who narrowed his eyes, leaving the small plant aside and standing on his feet. "You know what else will come out of nowhere, Monica?"

She knew that look very well but before she could do anything, Andrew's strong arms were already wrapped around her waist. He laughed at her excited giggles as his hands tickled her ribs, playfully ignoring her pleas for him to stop.

"Andrew!" she tried to keep her voice low as she pronounced his name like nobody else did, a way that he had always found particularly endearing.

"Shh, angel! You don't want to wake Tess up, do you?"

He tickled her so hard that her legs began to buckle underneath her and she melted into giggles until they were both on the carpeted floor, in front of the warm fireplace. Andrew decided it was time to stop when Monica was lying on her back and there were tears falling from her eyes. He just stood sitting there, admiring her, treasuring her smile and the beauty of her delicate features.

As her laughter started to subside, the angel of death reached out and caressed her face. A tender touch that caused her to look deep inside his green eyes. No words needed to be spoken as a multitude of loving feelings was exchanged through their connection. Andrew leaned toward her again, but now his gaze had shifted and instead of tickling her he brought his lips to hers and they enjoyed a long, loving kiss.

Monica's hands were soon rubbing across Andrew's back and his hands caressing her hair as the kiss continued. Eventually, air became a problem and Andrew smartly transformed that loving caress into tiny ones, spread all over her face.

"I love you so much, Andrew..." she spoke, looking at him with a smile and so much love that he wished time stood still a bit more so that he could relive that moment again and again.

He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Angel... my angel... my Monica... You know ever since I first met you, all the days of my existence have been touched by an angel?" as she tilted her head, still gazing at him with a warm smile, he kept on talking. "As hard as an assignment is, as much as I see all the terrible things that happen in this world, the memory of you... of your eyes and your smile, it brings me back to where I belong. God sent me you as a reminder of Heaven, baby. A reminder that always brings out the best in me and that also fills my heart with much love."

Monica touched his face, delicate fingertips gently tracing a line along his jaw. "My dear Andrew..." a silent tear fell from the corner of her eye, "Thank you..."

Returning her smile, he took her hand and kissed it. "For what, baby?"

"For being you... because it always feels like Christmas whenever we're together... whenever I hear your voice or when you hold me tight... You're my destiny, Andrew. Please, tell me this is forever..."

"It is, baby. For the centuries to come, you'll have this heart of mine. And I promise it'll always be Christmas for you, baby."

Another kiss followed those tender words, and then the two angels in human form remained there, in each other's arms watching as the flames danced inside the fireplace. Two hearts beating in the same rhythm, and two souls connected by the same loving feeling.

It was huge, beautiful and certainly endless.

To be continued.