CHAPTER 17

Andrew woke with Monica snuggled against him, a smile still playing about her lips even as she dreamed. Never had he even dared to imagine that things would end up this way. When his feelings had first made themselves known the best that he had hoped for was that he would be able to keep them hidden. Then, when he had feared that she was pulling away because of them he had hoped that he would be able to repair the damage and go forward as friends. Now, he was lying in bed with his arms wrapped around the most perfect creature he could ever dream of, knowing that when she woke up she wouldn’t be afraid of the love in his eyes, she would return it.

Very carefully he tilted his head to kiss her hair, while he rubbed soothing circles on her back. He was very certain that if he could only wake up like this every morning, he would never want for another thing. A slight shadow fell across his eyes as he remembered the half-spoken fear she had uttered the night before. She was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to be and do everything that he wanted. His hand stilled as he hugged her closer, suddenly feeling fiercely protective. He would convince her that she was wrong. Just the taste of her lips was like ambrosia to him, and if that was all she could ever give it would be more than he deserved.

A kitten-like yawn alerted him to the fact that she was waking up and he smiled as her eyes fluttered open and a blissful look spread over her face. “Good morning,” he said warmly, running his hand up her back to settle around her shoulders.

“Good morning,” she said happily.

“You slept well.”

“I knew you would be here when I woke up,” she said softly.

Andrew’s heart felt so full he wasn’t sure how it was continuing to beat. “I never asked you last night,” he said around the lump in his throat, “but may I kiss you?”

She raised her head and looked down at him with joyful tears in her eyes and nodded slightly. One of his hands moved to her cheek and drew her down for a long, slow kiss that asked for nothing other than its own completion. He felt moisture against his thumb and pulled back to see a few stray tears bright against her cheeks.

“Hey, none of that,” he said lovingly as he kissed them away.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a little laugh. “I’m just so happy… I never… I didn’t think I’d ever feel happy again… and now I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”

“Well that’s what I like to hear. Every day, angel. I want you to feel like that every day.” He pulled her in for another kiss and then hugged her close, letting her move back to her place against his shoulder.

“I suppose we should think about getting up,” he commented as he watched the sun rising higher in the sky and heard Paul making much more noise than necessary in the kitchen.

“I know. I have a lot to do,” Monica said with an enigmatic smile.

He glanced down at her. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Angel’s secret,” she teased. “Now we both have one.”

“Well it’s a good thing it’s Friday, because I won’t have to wait in suspense for very long.”

“I’ll try to make it worth your wait,” she teased.

“Just being able to spend time with you will make it worth the wait,” he said seriously. “All you need to do is be there.”

“Well I can definitely promise you that.”

“Good,” he said on a smile and a moment later he heard a light rumbling sound. “Okay, now we definitely need to get up and get you something to eat. You barely ate yesterday and you can’t do secret stuff on an empty stomach.”

“Today I think I’ll be able to eat,” she as she pushed herself up.

“I’m sorry you ever had to feel those doubts, Monica,” he sat up and took hold of her hand.

“It’s all right,” she said with a sweet smile and a little shrug.

Andrew kissed her on the forehead before getting out of bed and handing her a robe. It wasn’t all right as far as he was concerned, but he was going to do his best to replace those memories with much happier ones.

*****

“Are they ever getting up?”

Alex chuckled as she waited for the toast to spring up from the toaster. “I’m sure they were tired. It was a very emotional night,” she reasoned.

“I know, but--” he was cut off by the two angels entering the kitchen.

“Good morning,” Monica said with a shy smile. “I’m sorry we overslept.”

“Don’t even think about it, honey,” Paul said as Alex turned her back and stifled a laugh.

The first thing that Paul noticed was that Monica had come to the table in her nightgown and robe. She hadn’t left her room without being fully clothed in over a month. Andrew was still in his sweatpants and tshirt, hair slightly mussed, but eyes bright and cheerful. Paul couldn’t remember the last time that he had seen them look so relaxed.

“Did you sleep well?” Alex asked as she brought the toast to the table. Paul had already brought eggs and hashbrowns to the table and was busy passing them around.

“Like an angel,” Monica replied, with that same shy smile.

Alex reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “I’m so glad,” she said, her face completely radiant with her smile.

“I must admit, it’s nice to see you both here with smiles on your faces,” Paul said, although he gave an extra glance to Andrew. He still had a few things to say to the angel, he realized, and would have to find the time to say them sooner rather than later. “So what are your plans today?”

“Actually,” Monica said just a bit hesitantly, “I was hoping that Alex would take me into town.”

The woman’s eyes sparkled at the very idea. “A trip to town? Since when have I ever refused that? We can go just as soon as you get dressed.”

The Irish angel smiled her thanks and then took a long drink of coffee. Somehow everything tasted so much better this morning. It was as if she was finally waking up after a very, very long sleep.

*****

Monica was scarcely belted into the car before Alex started asking her questions.

“So where to first? No, wait, tell me everything…. I mean, not everything… but you and Andrew… you’re going to go forward with this, right?”

Monica grinned. “Yes. He asked me out.”

“He asked you out?!” Alex enunciated each word. “Oh my God! Oh, sorry about that, I mean, Oh my goodness! Your first date! This is so great!”

The angel couldn’t help but giggle. Alex was almost more excited about it than she was. “What I really need is help with my clothes,” she said as she plucked at the bulky sweater she was currently wearing.

Alex had noticed that Monica had abandoned the flannel shirts for the first time, but even so, her outfit was very pretty, but not very flattering. She pursed her lips together as she stared down the road, trying to think of the best store to take the angel to.

“Well, we don’t know where he’s taking you, right?” Monica shook her head, and Alex continued, “But this is Andrew, so I’m sure it will be someplace nice. LBD. I think that’s your best bet.”

“LBD?”

“Little Black Dress. It’s a staple for any woman’s closet,” Alex said with confidence. “I know just the place. In fact, I know just the dress. I almost bought it for myself, but I already have two, and anyway, it will look much better on you. You’re nice and petite.”

Monica’s eyes were opened in child-like innocence. Whatever Alex said, she was sure she wouldn’t steer her wrong.

“Oh, you’re going to have so much fun! This is wonderful. Ahh,” she let out a long sigh and glanced over at Monica who was looking slightly intimidated. She reached over and patted her hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you,” she said with a grin.

“I know you will,” Monica replied.

”We’ll have ourselves a major shopping spree actually as chances are, one date will lead to another one, so you’ll need an assortment,” Alex continued to chatter happily, “I’m so excited for you,” She looked over at the angel and saw her gazing out the window at the passing scenery.  Reaching over once more, she squeezed Monica’s hand, “You look happy.”

Monica turned back to face her friend and smiled, “I am, Alex.  After everything that has happened to think that this is the end result…it’s almost hard to imagine.  I keep expecting to wake up from a dream.”

“Well, I can pinch you if need be to reassure you this is no dream, honey,” The agent winked at her and as she did, caught a glimpse of something more, “So tell me what is bothering you?  Are you nervous?”

The little angel laughed and shook her head, “Silly as it sounds, I am.  I’ve never gone on a date before and I think with most humans, that is a getting to know you time at first.  But Andrew and I have been together forever, and we know everything there is to know about each other.”

“I think you’ll be surprised, honey.  I knew Paul for quite awhile as well, even before we were partners as we both worked for the agency.  No, we weren’t as close as you and Andrew have been all these years, but I thought I knew him pretty well before I fell in love with him.  But when a man is smitten, Monica, you see a whole ‘nother side to him!  And trust me, Andrew has it bad!”

She felt a blush rising to her cheeks as she giggled, “How do you know this?  I didn’t know it.”

“The writing was all over the wall, Monica, but then I’ve always thought so, maybe even before he did.  You were too close to the situation to notice any subtle changes and you had way too many other things you were dealing with, but lets not talk about that.”

Monica smiled and fell silent for a moment, debating whether to voice her other fears to Alex.  The two had grown so close and from the angel’s perspective of having no experience in this field whatsoever, she considered the agent an expert, “I’m a little scared to be honest.  I don’t really know where all this is leading and I’m not sure anything like this has ever happened before…to angels I mean.  I feel like…in some ways I know more than I should, but in other ways, nothing at all,” She let out a deep breath to calm her racing nerves, “I love him, Alex, but I don’t want to let him down in any way…”

“Now hold it right there,” Alex interrupted, glancing over at her friend before she pulled the car over to the side of the road and threw it into Park so she could give Monica her full attention, “I don’t think you could let Andrew down if you tried, Monica.  He loves you and anyone with eyes can see that, and he knows everything.  He was there for it, he helped you through it, he knows how hard you struggled.  I don’t think he would expect anything, so don’t you go into this with any more expectations other than the fact that you two love each other.  All the rest of the shit you are worrying about is just that.  I don’t think Andrew is expecting anything from you other than what you are willing and comfortable with giving, so don’t you expect more from yourself than he is.”

Monica nodded her head, feeling a little bit better about the situation though she knew her concerns would remain in the back of her mind for awhile, “All right.”

“You trust him and he is not going to do anything to betray that, honey.  He only wants to take care of you and to be able to love you in whatever way you can allow him to.  He’s just so damn happy to have you.”

She blinked back happy tears as Alex smiled before putting the car back in Drive and pulling back onto the road.  The agent was right and hopefully she would be able to put the rest of her fears to rest soon…and for forever.

*****

“Got a minute?” Paul asked as he walked into the living room after spending some time trying to catch up on paperwork in his office.  Well, he had been trying to work, but his thoughts were elsewhere, so he figured now was as good a time as any to confront them.

Andrew looked up at the agent and supressed a grin.  He’d had a feeling that now that the truth was out between he and Monica, that he had just taken on more than just a relationship with the little Irish angel, but with her “big brother” as well, “Actually, Paul, I’ve been expecting you.”

Paul raised an eyebrow as he sat down in the chair across from the angel and tried to figure out how to broach the subject of his concern, “So, about this thing with you and Monica…I just want to make sure that you and I are on the same page.”

“By all means,” Andrew replied, giving the agent the invitation to continue.

He cleared his throat, for some reason feeling awkward about having a birds and bees conversation with an angel, “She’s happy, that much I can tell and I know that means a great deal to both of us.  However,” He looked Andrew right in the eye, “Regardless of everything she has been through, she is still a very innocent little angel and I know, as you are an angel as well, you may be that too, but you’re still male, and we both know how we think…well, how some men think…not you or I necessarily…” He ran a hand through his hair and gave a rueful grin, “Oh fuck this…I’ll cut to the chase…you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

Andrew laughed, unable to help himself, though he knew in part, Paul was serious.  When it came to Monica, there were certain things he expected and he knew this as he expected them from Paul at all times as well, “Paul, you have no need to worry, I promise you.”

“Yeah, well, maybe not.  I know you love her and that you’ve always taken care of her, but your relationship is changing and she may not be ready for much…”

“I know that and I have no expectations, Paul.  I’ve told Monica the same thing in regards to her voicing her concerns last night and I plan to keep making that abundantly clear.  I want nothing more than to be with her, Paul and being with her can entail as little or as much as she wants.  That’s the bottom line,” His voice was completely serious and he watched as the agent relaxed, “I know what she has been through and if she is never ready for more than we already have, I’m completely happy with that.  All I want is to make her happy, and make her forget the last few weeks, and give her a reason to smile. Nothing more.”

Paul nodded his head, feeling completely reassured, “It’s not that I doubted you, buddy, but when one protector is crossing a line, the other has to interrogate…you know how it is.  It’s in the rule book.”

Andrew chuckled once more, “She is in good hands, Paul.  You have my word on it.”

*****

“So, you had a good time with Alex today?”

The two angels were snuggled up together in Monica’s room late that night and Andrew smiled as she nodded her head against his chest, “Yes, it was a girl’s day out and a lot of fun.  We should do it more often,” She knew what he was really asking her.  He wanted to know if she had felt afraid at all and she smiled when she realized the truth, “I wasn’t afraid at all of being in town this time, Andrew.  I knew I was safe,” She moved to rest her chin on her hand so she could gaze up at him, “I’m not fooling myself.  I know that there may still be times when I feel frightened…maybe even for a long time, but somehow knowing how you feel about me, makes me not feel as afraid, even when you aren’t with me.”

He smiled tenderly at her, as his fingers brushed through her hair, “Had I known that, angel, I would have told you the truth a long time ago.”

She smiled, “I think your timing was perfect.  I may not have been ready to hear it earlier,” She inched up to kiss him gently, thinking she would never get tired of that simple freedom, “When did you know?”

He chuckled softly.  He enjoyed the inquisitive expression on her face, a sure sign that she was definitely feeling better about everything, “I’m not sure, sweetie.  Maybe when I first realized I was jealous of the attention Paul was paying you back when we first met him,” A rueful grin crossed his face, “I didn’t like it, not one bit.  I didn’t like having to share you with anyone other than Tess or God.”

“And you knew how Paul felt about me back then,” A giggle escaped her at the irony of it all.

“Paul mentioned once about how back then he thought he was going to have to duel me for you…I think he’d have had a bigger fight on his hands than he realized had it come to that,” He admitted teasingly, enjoying the sound of another giggle from her.

“You owe him a lot.  He set me straight last night about a lot of things,” Monica remarked, watching as his eyebrows rose in question, “I didn’t want to accept those things at first, but regardless of the things I’m still not completely sure about…about myself…he spoke a lot of truths.  I think he may be an angel-in-waiting.”

His hand reached out to touch her cheek, “You just give me a little more time, angel.  You will be completely certain of all the things he said.”

Monica blinked back tears and nodded her head, “I hope so, Andrew.  I want that for both of us.”

“You’ll have it,” He promised, knowing he would find a way.