CHAPTER 4

Paul wandered out to the barn at the end of his survey of the grounds. He hadn't found or seen a single suspicious thing. That only made him feel even worse about how hard he had been on Monica. He had let his old baggage interfere with his reaction to her brief disappearance and it wasn't something he was proud of doing.

The horses had already been cared for by two well-trusted hired hands, but he wandered down the aisle anyway, checking to see who was still inside. He had told them to leave a few of the calmest ones inside in case Monica wanted to ride. Of course he didn't think she would really be in the mood to join him for a ride after the way he'd spoken to her.

He stopped by Scout's stall and the big animal quickly thrust his head out and began snuffling around his pockets. "Hey, big guy!" one eyebrow rose as he grinned at the horse. "I hope you weren't this fresh with Monica!"

Scout merely looked at him for a second before moving on to the next pocket. "Fine, fine, here you go," he said as he pulled out a mint. "But that's all you're getting from me," he continued as Scout eagerly licked the candy from the palm of his hand.

Being in the barn made everything seem so simple, but Paul knew that as soon as he stepped outside all of the real life complications would have to be dealt with. He sighed and gave Scout another pat.

"Maybe I'll see you later, big guy," he said. "Right now I've got an apology to give."

He pushed his hands into his pockets as he strode out of the barn and walked quickly up the hill to the house. Once he had his mind made up about something he didn't like to waste time. He looked up at the house, trying to think of the right words, and then gave up and trusted that they would come to him when he saw her.

It didn't take him long to find her once he got inside. She was still in the living room, a book in her hands. He noticed that she only appeared to be on the first page. Andrew was sitting in a chair across from her, and he and Paul shared a glance.

"Ummm…" Paul started, but Andrew interrupted.

"I think I'll go grab another cup of coffee," he said as he rose, shooting a quick but tender look to Monica as he left the room.

Paul glanced over his shoulder after his partner, not sure if he was sorry to see him go or not. He moved in front of the sofa where Monica was sitting, her legs stretched out across the cushions. She made no move to swing them down as she peered up at him, so he perched on the coffee table. Recognizing the look of apprehension in her eyes he gave another sigh.

"Monica," he began, forcing himself to meet her gaze. "I just wanted to say… well, to apologize for earlier. I was out of line."

The little angel's look immediately softened, noticing the way Paul nervously tapped his fingers on his knees, and hearing the true regret. "You were right… I shouldn't have gone out alone."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have said the things I did. I know you don't think this is a game. I overreacted when I saw you were gone, and then I took out my frustration on you. Can we just have a 'do over'?"

A smile spread across Monica's face and the look in her eye turned playful. "Deal," she said as she held out her hand.

Paul chuckled and gave it a firm shake. "Deal. Now, let's see what my partner is up to."

Allowing him to pull her to her feet, she abandoned the book she hadn’t been reading and followed him out to the kitchen, where she saw Andrew raise his eyebrows curiously, though his expression immediately relaxed at seeing much more peaceful expressions on their faces.

"I can safely assume that a truce has been negotiated?" Andrew asked, with a twinkle in his green eyes.

"Something like that," Monica chided with a small smile in his direction, as she tried to make the best of this situation, and pushed aside what was troubling her.

Paul regarded her silently for a moment before laying a hand on her shoulder, "How about a walk? You had wanted some air and my concern cut that short for you," Seeing her nod her head eagerly, he turned to Andrew, "Care to join us?"

"Sure," He agreed, not really wanting his dearest friend out of his sight unless he knew she was in the house. Moving to help Monica into her jacket once more, he then grabbed his own jacket, noting how his friend grabbed two apples from the counter, one she took a bite of and the other she stuffed into her pocket. He smiled, feeling more relieved that her appetite seemed to be returning, as he followed them both out the door.

"You know, Monica," Paul began softly, "If there is anything you need, we can get it for you. Books, needlework, whatever you are into; I can arrange to get anything sent here to help keep you occupied. Just say the word."

She smiled in his direction as they walked leisurely down to the barn, "If I think of anything, I’ll be sure to let you know, but for right now, I’m fine." Munching thoughtfully on her apple, she looked over at Andrew, "So how long have you two known each other?"

The older angel stifled a chuckle at her incessant curiosity coming to the surface and he took this as another good sign for the moment at least, "Not very long actually. Paul’s regular partner is out on medical leave, so I was asked to fill in last month for a case that they had been working. No sooner did that case wrap up, than this one began."

Monica nodded her head, wondering if the Father had known all along what she would witness with Josh or if He had just decided to keep Andrew where he was at the last minute when things had taken this unexpected turn.

"And it has worked out very well, if I say so myself," Paul added, shooting his partner a smile.

Andrew returned the smile as he pulled open the barn door, watching as Monica looked at him in amusement, "Well, I’m also assuming that extra apple is not for Paul or I…"

She laughed as she shook her head, before walking into the barn between he and Paul and she noticed how Paul quickly assessed the situation to make sure no one was lingering anywhere. She waited patiently with Andrew, until he nodded his head that it was all clear, before she made her way back to Scout’s stall.

"Hello again, big guy," She crooned softly to him, her hand instantly moving to stroke the gentle horse, "I brought you a treat this time as I now know where to find you."

Andrew watched mesmerized as the large animal responded to the little angel who looked so small standing in front of Scout, but the two seemed to have already developed a trust for one another as the horse nuzzled her gently, causing her to giggle.

"Do you ride, Monica?" Paul asked, watching her as well. Seeing her nod her head, her full attention on the beautiful animal, he continued, "Would you like to ride him tomorrow?"

Monica turned to face Paul, her face alight with happiness for the first time since this had all begun, "Could I?"

"Of course you can, and Andrew and I will join you. We can make a day of it."

Looking back to the horse, the Irish angel smiled happily, "What do you think, Scout?"

Nuzzling the little angel once more, Scout seemed to be in agreement.

****

The rest of the day passed smoothly and Paul did steaks on the grill for dinner, trying to make things as festive as possible under the circumstances and Monica knew he still felt badly about earlier, so she made an extra effort to try to reassure him.

He was an excellent cook, which she was sure came as a relief to Andrew as being in the kitchen was not one of the gifts she had been blessed with, which she confessed to Paul. A playful ribbing from both he and Andrew followed this admission, and she took it good-naturedly, pleased that the mood was so much lighter than that morning.

It was relatively late when Monica bid them both goodnight and went to bed, tired and in much better spirits, she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

But she awoke screaming.

Andrew threw himself out of his bed almost before the sound of Monica’s screams had time to register in his brain. He was out the door a split-second later and almost ran straight into Paul who was bolting from his own room. They burst into Monica’s room, with Andrew fumbling for the light as Paul swept his eyes around the moonlit room.

He couldn’t see anything unexpected except Monica’s pale face, eyes wide with terror and grief. The overhead light suddenly threw its harsh illumination over them all, and Monica squinted, and covered her eyes. The room was silent except for the sound of everyone breathing heavily as their hearts all slowed back to normal. Paul rubbed his hand across his eyes and sat down heavily at the foot of Monica’s bed.

"I’m sorry," she said, her sad eyes fixed on the quilt.

"Don’t worry about it," Paul said, wishing that she would look up. "Bad dream?" he asked.

He watched her auburn head move up and down slightly. "Mmmhmm," she murmured.

"Do you think you’ll be able to get back to sleep?"

She gave a little shrug, still refusing to look up. She felt extremely embarrassed to have caused such a scene. "I can try," she replied.

"Alright then," Paul stood up, and took a deep breath. "If you need anything…"

"I’ll be ok," Monica said, anxious to assure him that she wouldn’t be any more trouble than she had already been. Her eyes finally left the quilt to look in his face.

As she looked up she saw the gleam of metal in his hand, the shiny barrel of the gun he carried. Her breath caught and she looked away again. Paul knew exactly what she had noticed, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He was there to protect her, and a gun was part of that protection. Still, he hated the fact that she now looked even more uneasy.

"Come on, Andrew," he said as he turned to his partner. "Let’s leave her to sleep."

The blond angel had been standing off to the side watching Monica closely. Her expression, the nervous motion of her fingers, and the dark look in her eyes… they all caused his heart to ache. What he wanted to do was take the five steps to her bed and pull her close, but that was the one thing he couldn’t do. Instead he followed Paul out of the room. Just before he left, he looked back at the little angel who was still sitting up in her bed. He gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile, and then turned out the light and shut the door.

Monica tried to settle herself down, but every time she closed her eyes the nightmare replayed itself in her mind. She tried rolling over, but even the sight of the moonlight across the fields couldn’t erase the pictures in her head. She felt a sob catch in her throat as she heard her door slowly creak open, and knew instantly who it was.

Andrew closed the five steps to her bed this time in a matter of seconds and closed her up in his arms, holding her tightly as he felt her trembling against him. He ran his fingers lightly through her brilliant auburn hair, the soothing motion beginning to calm her.

"Tell me about the dream." He whispered simply, still holding the little angel up against his chest.

Monica was quiet for a moment, swallowing back her tears, "He found me."

Andrew closed his eyes tightly for a moment, the three little words saying it all for her; it was her confession of fear. Despite her angelic status, she was afraid of this man who had killed Josh, who had wanted to kill her and still did. Yes, she was an angel, but human forms were unpredictable and could still feel pain. What he didn’t know was what to tell her. Yes, McArthur could possibly find her, but the Father was always in control.

"We will keep you safe, little angel, and we have God on our side."

He fell silent once more, knowing he had to try one more time. If she would only open up to him, then perhaps it would chase her nightmares away, "Angel Girl."

"I feel guilty," Monica whispered, before the question could even be voiced, "I stayed…and I couldn’t stop it. Josh died while I was sitting on the other side of his front door. There was no…purpose to my being there."

"Monica, you didn’t know," He tried to console her, but she shook her head sadly.

"I stayed." She stated, knowing that was what it all boiled down to. What was the point in being somewhere you weren’t supposed to be if you were unable to help by being there, "Josh was a good man. He deserved better. What was the point of reconciling him to his family, only for him to die an hour later?"

"God can turn this all around, Angel Girl, and turn it into something good." Andrew replied, but his words sounded insignificant, even to him, to touch her pain.

"Perhaps. But for right now, it hurts, Andrew," She replied, her cheek still resting against his chest, as the sound of his heartbeat calmed her further.

"I know it does, angel," He soothed, resting his chin on the top of her head. She was summing this up as a failure on her part and he didn’t like that fact at all.

"I’m sorry I scared everyone," Monica whispered with a trembling sigh, still feeling horribly embarrassed.

"Hey," finally pulling away, he cupped her chin in his hand and looked into her sorrowful brown eyes, "You have no reason to apologize. You did nothing wrong, okay?" Seeing her nod her head slightly, he continued, "Why don’t you try to go back to sleep?"

Blinking back tears, she looked up into his eyes, "Will you stay…until I do?"

"I was planning on it, angel," He spoke tenderly, as she laid back down, and he moved to stroke her hair, the monotonous action causing her eyelids to grow heavy. Only when he was satisfied that she was sleeping soundly, did he head back to his own room, leaving her door open a crack and his as well, in the hopes that if she needed him, he would know the next time before she was terrified.