Chapter 19

Andrew and Tess watched with great expectation and some apprehension as their dearest friend slowly started to regain consciousness. The two angels were in human form and under that condition they had never felt their hearts racing like they were at that moment.

After a long minute, Monica let out a slight sigh and her eyelashes fluttered open, the brightness of the cold and white room immediately blinding her for a moment, causing her to shut her eyes closed in reflex.

"Angel?" Along with the beep of the machines connected to her human form, Andrew's low voice was the first sound that reached her ears, and it caused her to make a new attempt in opening her eyes.

"Baby, can you hear us?" Tess' voice came next, as a message that wherever she was, the little Irish angel was surrounded by her two most loved friends and it encouraged her to insist in regaining fully consciousness.

Tess and Andrew exchanged a worried glance and turned their eyes back at Monica as she moved her head again, blinking several times before focusing her doe-like pools at the two silhouettes that stood by her bed.

"Monica? Angel, are you awake?" The blond angel insisted.

"Andrew..." His name pronounced by her sweet lips was like a breath of fresh air after so much suffering. If she would remember their romance and all the dreams, it would be yet to be revealed and he would wait patiently until then. The most important now was to see the one living creature he loved so much recovering and turning to her own self again.

Andrew took her hand to his lips and stroked her hair. "I'm here, angel..."

Monica's eyes focused on him and a shy, tired smile appeared on her face. Then, she turned her eyes to Tess and her eyes also sparkled with emotion.

"Tess..."

"Hi, baby! My angel girl, we're both here with you!"

Monica made a brief pause and frowned with confusion. "What...is this place?"

The two angels looked at each other again, not sure of the best way to answer to that question. It was Tess who spoke first, as Andrew turned his face away with some hopelessness – that simple question could confirm what he feared the most: Monica's not remembering of her last few days.

"You're at Bountiful City Hospital, baby."

"H-hospital?"

"Yes. You were at the St. Patrick's Elementary School, remember?"

Monica closed her eyes for a couple of moments and then suddenly the fire and the children's cries for help all became clear to her.

"The children!" She suddenly said, her eyes open once again and an expression of fear on her face.

"They are alright, angel! They are all fine!" Andrew was quick to speak, gently placing his hands on her shoulders as she made a quick move to lift them from the bed.

"But there was a fire and three other children got lost-"

"Sarah, Jimmy and Nick, we know. They're all safe and sound and have already gone home." He said.

"Really?" The relief that flashed through her eyes was nearly palpable.

"Yes, baby. You rescued them and managed to remove all children from the school when the fire started." The supervisor explained, and Monica's heartbeats slowly regained normal pace.

"It couldn't be any different as God sent the perfect angel to watch over all those children." Andrew spoke, taking a cup of water with a straw. "Here, sweetie. Drink some..."

"Are you sure nobody got hurt?" She wanted to know, after taking a few sips.

"Yes, baby, we're pretty sure... Everyone you helped is fine and the children you saved from the fire had only minor injuries. They're home now, praying for your recovery." The blond angel took the little teddy bear that little Sarah had brought her a few days before. "See this little buddy? Sarah asked us to keep him here so that he could make you some company!"

The piece of information finally brought a slight smile on her face. "How... how long have I been here?"

"A couple of weeks, baby." Tess informed, keeping a low voice while stroking her hair. "You got yourself hurt while you were trying to save Sarah and the boys. So doctors needed to bring you here to take a better care of your injuries."

"Why?"

They knew what she was asking. If she was an angel then why keeping her "trapped" in human form instead of just simply healing her injuries so that she could go back Home or maybe move on to her next assignment?

"Because the Father found it was better if you still remained here, in this human form, baby."

"And you can be sure you kept on doing His work even while you were here, angel." Andrew spoke, aware that she would fill him with tons of questions about the last few days.

"But we'll talk about it later." Tess spoke. "Right now, I'll go get Karen and doctor Richards, they need to know you're awake!" The supervisor quickly left the room.

Andrew and Monica remained alone and once their friend closed the door behind her they looked at each other, tenderness written in both faces.

"I felt your presence." The Irish angel spoke.

"I stood right by your side offering my prayers for your recovery, angel. Just like everybody else."

Monica could read in his eyes all the pain and suffering he had been through. Their bond was too deep for him to try to hide his ordeal. With a light shake in her head, she kept on talking.

"You were not here only as a friend, were you? You were on an assignment too."

Trying to escape from her inquisitive and penetrating gaze, he lowered his head. "I'd stand by your side anyway."

Deeply moved, Monica searched for his hand and squeezed it.

"I'm very sorry you had to go through this... I can see how hard it might have been."

"I had faith you'd recover. You've always been so strong, angel. Besides... many things happened while you were here..."

Andrew could not help making that one comment – he needed to know if she had any memory at all of her dreams and feelings. But her following question nearly broke his heart.

"What kind of things?"

With a bittersweet smile, he kissed the back of her hand. "Later, I'll tell you about the small miracles that you helped to perform right here in this hospital."

The ICU door turned open again, interrupting their conversation, and Tess, Karen and Dr Richards came in, all of them very happy with the latest news.

The supervisor approached the bed under Monica's curious gaze and introduced the newcomers.

"Baby, this is Karen. She's your nurse and took care of you night and day while you were here." She said, and they saw it when the Monica's eyes met Karen's filled with gratitude.

"It's very nice to meet you, Monica." The young woman spoke, with genuine happiness.

"I'm happy to meet you too, Karen. Thank you so much for taking care of me."

Hearing that simple greeting caused Andrew's face to fall once again. During Monica's dreams he had told her about Karen and they even saw her at the park, playing with her son. But the little angel did not seem to remember anything.

"No...please don’t thank me. I was doing my job and I confess that this specific mission became even more special after all you did for those children."

"And this..." Tess went on, "this is Dr Richards. He is your doctor and performed your surgery together with his team."

Monica's eyes turned from Karen to Richards and when he gazed into her doe-like pools, his own eyes flashed with enchantment. "It's very nice to meet you, Dr Richards."

"It is an honour and a privilege, Monica." He replied, marvelled at her soothing and cadenced voice.

That meeting, however, had the opposite effect on Andrew. The angel of death clenched his jaw and could not avoid the jealousy that consumed him. Without knowing what to do, he looked away and slowly stepped backwards from the bed, while Richards and Karen followed all the medical procedures to be taken when a patient came out of the comma.

On the following minute, he quietly left the bedroom.