CHAPTER 2

By the time the plane was preparing its descent, Monica had gone beyond tired, both physically and emotionally. The little angel knew it had to be sometime in the wee hours of the morning, but her mind was still reeling too much to even try to sleep. The fact that the private plane held no other passengers other than Paul, herself and the pilot, only added to her feeling of isolation, despite the fact that she knew that God was with her.

"Still awake?" Paul asked, coming out of the cockpit, and not missing the tired look in her eyes. He saw her nod her head as he took a seat next to her, understanding all too well, the things she must be feeling. He had been in this situation before with witnesses to terrible crimes, and he never liked having to tear them away from their lives, their families or their friends, "We’ll be landing soon, so before too long, you’ll have a warm bed in which to catch some sleep."

Though she didn’t much feel like talking, Monica resigned herself to trying to find out more about her situation and about Paul as well. If he and his partner were going to be her only means of company for however long this would take, she may as well start now. She loved God’s children deeply and unconditionally; it was just that the events of last night had left her feeling numb and frightened and she wasn’t enjoying either of those emotions, "So where are we headed exactly?"

"A farm in the middle of nowhere, to be as exact as I can," He replied with a smile, "The agency uses this place occasionally, especially in circumstances such as yours. So you will have your fill of fresh air, and if you like to ride, you will have that available to you as well, providing you always take an escort."

"Nowhere by myself, right?" She asked, feeling a little sad at this fact, though the farm didn’t sound half bad to her.

"Monica, we only want to keep you safe," He interjected gently, "The trial after he is caught is secondary to that. Douglas McArthur has eluded us for a long time, the last time getting off on a technicality. He’s a dangerous man, Monica, and we don’t want him slipping through our fingers again, nor getting to you before we can track him down."

"Did he have a reason for killing Josh?" She asked softly, rubbing her temple with her hand, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on and reminded her once again how long today had been and how tired human forms could become.

"Joshua Kelly was the prosecuting attorney at McArthur’s last trial and this man knows how to hold a grudge," Paul replied patiently, glad that she was finally beginning to ask questions as it was a good sign that she was accepting what was happening to her and wanting to learn as much as she could about what needed to happen in order for her to get her life back.

"So, he’s now going to be looking for me." It wasn’t a question, just a simple statement that left a bad taste in her mouth.

"And its our job to make certain he doesn’t succeed in doing that," Paul concluded, watching with concern as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Resting a reassuring hand on her knee, he added softly, "Better buckle up as we’ll be landing soon. From there it is an hours drive to the farm and then you can get some sleep," As she nodded her head once more, he stood up to go and prepare for landing.

The descent left Monica feeling light headed and though exhausted, the little angel was relieved to find herself on solid ground once more, though upon landing, she was whisked immediately into a waiting vehicle. The clock in the dashboard told her it was 3:30 in the morning, so she tried to blame her rapidly fraying nerves on that fact.

The moment of facing Douglas McArthur seemed like it had been days ago, and each mile that the car traveled seemed to take her further away from Tess and Andrew. Thoughts of Heather and Missy tormented her, as she remained silent for the ride, wondering and hoping that they were holding their own. The worst part of the whole thing for her was still the fact that she had been sitting on the front porch when Josh had been murdered and though she knew that berating herself for not going into the house sooner would change not a thing, she couldn’t seem to shake it from her mind.

Monica had given up trying to view the countryside through the darkness as all she now knew was that she couldn’t see anymore signs of civilization; no lights, no houses, and not so much as another car on the narrow road, and a moment later, Paul was turning the car onto a long dirt road, where they traveled for the better part of what had to be two miles.

When the car finally stopped, the weary angel felt as if she almost had to drag herself from the car and she shot Paul a grateful look when he grabbed her suitcase from the trunk and led her up the walk in the darkness. She could see lights on inside, though the outside was completely dark and the large farmhouse was well hidden and far from the road.

Hearing the front door open, Monica only looked up in exhaustion when she heard Paul again talking to her.

"Monica, I’d like you to meet my partner, Andrew."

The flood of emotions that washed over her was like the first perfect ray of sunlight breaking free after a storm. Her heart felt so full with the knowledge of God’s love, the evidence of which was standing right in front of her. It was all she could do not to run into his arms, but she knew that according to Paul, this was the first time they had ever met.

"It’s very nice to meet you," were the words she settled on as she held out her hand, and at that moment, his hand closing gently around hers was almost as good as the embrace she longed for.

"Nice to meet you too, Monica," his green eyes met hers, transmitting a wealth of unsaid words. "I promise we’ll take good care of you here," he assured her.

Monica knew she couldn’t hold his hand for a second longer without throwing her arms around him, so she forced herself to let go and take a step back. "I know you will," she replied quietly.

Paul guided her into the house with a steady hand at the small of her back. "I know you’re exhausted, so let’s get you settled so you can get some sleep," he said.

She was led down a short hall to the bedroom that was to be hers for the duration. She looked around briefly, noticing the pretty quilt on the bed, the braided rug on the wooden floor, and the flowers on the dresser. If this was where she had to stay, at least it was comfortable and homey.

"I’ll be right across the hall, and Andrew here will be in the bedroom next to you," Paul said as he set her suitcase inside the door. "One word and we’ll both come running."

Monica nodded her head, the now familiar exhaustion sapping the last of her strength. She looked once more into Andrew’s face and saw there a touching expression of concern. For his sake she attempted a little smile that fell far short of her usual cheerful appearance.

"I’ll see you both tomorrow," she said, then turned to shut the door. "Oh," she glanced back at them both, "and thank you… for what you’re doing for me," she ended softly.

After changing into her nightgown and crawling into bed, it only took minutes for the Irish angel to fall asleep. Silence fell over the house as Andrew and Paul went to bed as well, leaving only the sounds of the night to fill the void, and even those seemed oddly still, as if all of nature knew about the angelic creature who was suddenly within their midst.

Hours later a quiet figure stood over the little angel, his form casting a shadow over her bed. She looked so small, and her delicate features were set in anxiety even in sleep. He had only wanted to check and make sure that she was sleeping soundly, but almost against his will he found himself reaching out a hand to tenderly brush the hair out of her face.

Her eyes blinked open slowly, and he pulled back his hand as he watched her expression go from fear to absolute relief. "Andrew!" she whispered, and in an instant she was sitting up and wrapping her arms around him, holding on as if she never meant to let go.

"I’m so glad you’re here," She uttered, blinking back tears that longed to fall, both at having him here with her as well as for the events of the previous day.

"So am I, Angel Girl," He replied softly, hugging her tightly for a moment before pulling away to look into her tired eyes, "Are you okay?"

"Do you know what happened?" Monica whispered, her eyes swimming with unshed tears. Seeing him nod his head, she continued shakily, "I shouldn’t have stayed. If I hadn’t done that, none of this would be happening…"

"Angel, no amount of wishing in the world can undo what is done and how could you have possibly known anything of this nature would happen?" He asked gently, his eyes holding nothing but love and concern for her.

Opening her mouth to remark on her inability to change what had happened to Josh, she thought better of it, not feeling stable enough at the moment to voice what she perceived as her shortcoming in all of this. She had been there and still Josh had died and it just wasn’t settling well with her.

"What is it, Monica?" Andrew asked, not missing the pained look in her dark eyes.

"Nothing," She replied softly, lowering her eyes, lest he see too much.

Silence fell between the two friends for a moment, before he broke it by laying a hand against her cheek, "I’m glad you are all right, Angel Girl. I know that Douglas McArthur tried to hurt you and I’m just so relieved that didn’t happen. We plan on making sure he never gets another chance at it either."

A faint smile graced her face as she looked up at him once more, "Thank you," She whispered softly.

Knowing that there was something she wasn’t confiding in him, as well as knowing she had spoken not a word of whether or not she was afraid, he decided to leave those two topics alone for now. It was still early in the morning and his dearest friend still looked more than weary and Andrew knew that she would come to him when she was ready, "Why don’t you get some more rest, sweetie? I won’t be far if you need me; you know that."

"I do now," Monica replied with a sleepy smile, moving to hug him one more time, while she had the chance, reveling in the safety she always found in his arms.

Finally pulling away, the older angel waited until she had lain back down, as he gently tugged the quilt more securely around her, smiling as her eyelashes fluttered slightly before her eyes closed as she lost the battle to stay awake. Leaning down, he kissed her gently on the side of her head, "Sweet dreams, Angel."

But even as she slept relatively soundly, it was another hour before Andrew finally found the strength to leave her side. Sometimes he wondered at the feelings of protectiveness and love that one little Irish angel could evoke within him. He always ended up simply thanking the Father for those feelings and all the rest that went into their special relationship.

He was grateful that she was able to get at least some sleep, as he himself lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Suddenly every little sound was a threat and he felt his muscles tense with each one. He had promised to keep her safe, and nothing was going to prevent him from keeping that promise. Inevitably however, his human body gave in to its exhaustion and within an hour he had joined his friend in sleep.

*****

Paul was the first to wake up and he was content to keep himself busy in the kitchen while he waited for his partner and their assignment to join him. He had his coffee and his newspaper and he enjoyed the peace of early morning. It wasn't until he got to the second section of the paper that the satisfied look left his face.

One of the lead stories under the national news was the murder of Josh Kelly. He angrily turned the page, not wanting to read about something he was currently living. They had at least been barred from mentioning that there had been a witness. Obviously McArthur knew he had been seen, but the last thing they needed was a bunch of two-bit thugs out to make a name for themselves by helping him.

"Bad news?" Andrew greeted him from the doorway, having seen him taking his frustrations out on the helpless newspaper.

"Nah… about what I expected," he said with a wry smile. He cocked his head in the direction of the bedrooms. "She still asleep?"

"I didn't hear anything so I think so." Andrew had to bite his tongue to keep from saying that with the scent of coffee in the air it wouldn't be long before she woke up. He realized with a start that it was going to be a bit difficult pretending not to know the angel who was his best friend.

Paul gave a little nod and took another sip of his coffee. "Good… I'm glad she's getting some rest. Last night she looked like she was about to drop."

Andrew's eyes grew serious again. "I guess it was a lot to take in all at once."

"Yeah, it always is. Sometimes even I wonder how they get through it. Let's just hope they catch the guy soon and she can go back to her normal life."

Andrew knew that Monica's life was very rarely what a human would consider normal, but he raised his coffee cup to Paul in a mock toast to normalcy. "Here, here," he said, dryly, as his eyes momentarily drifted to the hallway in search of his friend's familiar face.