Chapter 14

While Dr Richards and his team worked on Monica's human form and did their best to remove the clot from her brain, the little angel's spirit remained by her dearest friend's side. Andrew could not bear the thought of her in pain, so he decided to take her away from that cold surgery room and took her to a place that was so dear to her: the cabin in the mountains. And as much as she knew that there should be special orders for him to do such thing, Tess had not only agreed to do anything to spare Monica from suffering but also joined him in this journey.

The supervisor did not stay there all the time, however. Noticing that Monica had dozed off to a light sleep after she woke up in the cabin, Tess took the opportunity to leave, and now she was inside the surgery room, closely watching the doctors and praying for the procedure to turn out fine.

At the cabin, Monica's spirit did not rest for a long time after Tess' departure. When the Irish angel opened her eyes once again, she saw Andrew sitting on a chair next to her bed, downcast eyes staring at the floor as he seemed to be lost in thoughts.

"Andrew..."

The sound of her voice made him fully alert and he immediately turned his attention to her. "Angel? What is it?" He said, taking her hand and searching deep inside her brown eyes for any sign of pain or suffering.

"I guess... I fell asleep..."

"You did, which is good. Like we said, you need lots of resting."

She looked around the room and saw that there was someone missing. "Where... where is Tess?"

"She's with Dr Richards and his team now."

"I understand..." There was silence for a moment, but she spoke again. "Will you help me sit down?"

"Monica..."

"I just want to sit down in bed, I promise. Please?"

A little against his will, Andrew ended up obliging her. Arranging two comfortable pillows on the back of the bed, he helped her lean against them. And as he did so, the Irish angel placed her hand against his face – a gentle and unexpected caress that took him off guard.

"I did not forget nor do I regret what happened." She said on the following instant, surprising him even more.

Biting his lower lip, he too needed a few instants to reply to her utmost sincerity. "I...feel like I crossed a line... I feel that even unintentionally I ended up taking advantage of a situation..."

Monica frowned at those words, clearly displeased at what he had just said. "Did you listen to yourself? Never in this world you would 'take advantage' of a situation...of me!" Her voice was low and weak, but the tone of disapproval in it was clear.

"I was supposed to be your angel, to show you an alternative to all the pain you were certainly feeling. I could feel it too."

"You did fulfil this assignment beautifully as you showed me nothing more than the deepest love a God's child can feel for another."

The soothing movement of her slender fingers stroking his handsome face as she spoke finally broke his resistance. Andrew covered her small hand with his and kissed her palm. "I just don’t want to see someone I love so much going through so much suffering." He said, looking deep inside her eyes for the first time, once again beaten by the overpowering love he felt for her.

"It would hurt even more if you were not here. Plus, in spite of what's happening, you gave me the best present I could ever wish for other than the Father's love."

He knew what she was talking about, and his lips curved into a slight, bittersweet smile. "I wondered if I was asking too much from you."

"Well... I wondered if I really deserved so much from you."

Without saying a word, Andrew held her in his arms for a tight, long embrace, and when she wrapped her arms around his neck he felt like never letting her go away from him again.

"You will recover, angel. I have a firm belief that I haven’t been assigned to you as my regular duty but as a guardian angel..."

"That I am also sure of." She replied, closing her eyes for some seconds. "Andrew..."

"Yes, angel?"

Monica's eyes were open again, but she did not have the courage to let go of his embrace. "What will happen to us?"

She had the courage to make the other question that had been haunting his thoughts since the moment he dared to transform their friendship into a romance. He too had been wondering the implications of their latest actions.

Summoning his own courage, Andrew pulled away slowly and only enough to face her. There was fear in her eyes. "You should not worry about that right now, Monica."

"Of course I should, Andrew. I feel that my soul is connected to yours now more than ever. How could I not care or fear what may happen to us?"

"You should not worry because the first and most important thing to be considered is your condition. Our feelings are real. They're solid and cannot be changed." He stroked her face with the back of his hand. "I love you, and that is a fact. It is my constant, my endless truth. The consequences of my love, these I'm ready to face whatever they are."

With tearful eyes and trembling lips, she smiled at his words – a small, bittersweet smile like his, but enough to show him that he was her only source of joy at that moment. "You will always have my love, no matter what. I promise you."

There were no more words that they could tell each other that would be able to convey what they were feeling. Andrew carefully held her face with his both hands and, once again, dared to cross that same line he had mentioned before. When his lips touched hers, their souls seemed to become one, bathed by an incredible glow that illuminated the room and warmed their hearts. Perhaps their only moment of pure joy inside the turmoil of terrible events that they had been facing since that assignment started.

At the city hospital, inside the surgery room, Tess watched as the doctors finished the procedure on Monica's human form and Dr Richards removed his mask to reveal a rather moved expression when he turned to his team. "Now it is a matter of time...If you all have faith, you can offer your prayers for this young lady. The next 48 hours will be crucial."