CHAPTER 10

The rest of the day passed very slowly for the angel of death, as Monica and Faith slept through lunchtime and on into the afternoon. He was anxious to assure his best friend that everything was back to normal between them, and that was difficult to do while she was asleep. Tess tried to convince him to drive into town and find out what he could about Faith’s disappearance, but he managed to think of a hundred and one reasons why that task could wait until the next day.

He spent half the time on the porch; where he gazed off into the woods and tried to think of why Faith would have been out there on her own. The other half he spent in the living room, where he tried, without much success, to read the book of Shakespeare he had forced Monica to abandon. Occasional attempts at joining Tess in the kitchen had been met with sharp looks and sharper words. The older angel was making cookies and she emphatically insisted that she did not need any help.

Finally, as the clock ticked past four o’clock, Andrew couldn’t stand it any longer. Fortunately a thumping sound from above gave him the perfect excuse to go check on the sleeping angel and her newest foundling. He took the stairs two at a time but then slowed himself down and silently made his way to Monica’s room. Faith was still there, curled into a tiny ball, and he carefully closed the door to avoid waking her. A few more steps took him to his own room. The door was half open and he eased himself into the room. Lucy was circling the foot of the bed, and Andrew noticed a circular indentation in one pillow where that cat had been sleeping. The thumping must have come from her jumping to the floor.

Monica was curled up on her side with her arms clutching the other pillow to her chest. Her expression was peaceful, but Andrew felt as if he could see an underlying tension. His mind was telling him that he was imagining things, but his heart refused to believe.

"Andrew?" she was murmuring before she even opened her eyes. "It’s too early…"

He smiled and waited until her eyes slid open. "Angel, it’s after four in the afternoon.

She blinked sleepily a few more times as she woke up fully. Her eyes fixed on Andrew’s face and almost instantly she could see that something was troubling him. "Is everything all right? Faith is still here isn’t she?" she asked as she quickly sat up and swung her legs around.

"She’s fine, Monica… sound asleep in your room."

She squinted her eyes a bit as she looked at him again. "Are you still upset with me?" she asked hesitantly.

"No!" he exclaimed, more loudly than intended. "No, of course I’m not." Mentally he was shaking his head over her ability to have already let go of her own distress over their argument. For her it was over and done with, but he couldn’t seem to put it out of his mind… and now he was causing her more anxiety about it.

"You know I won’t run off like that again, don’t you?"

"Yes, I know. Monica, I don’t want you giving it another thought. Remember how Tess just sat down and thanked you for bringing Faith back? Well that’s what I should have done… so why don’t you pretend it IS what I did," he finished with a slightly forced grin.

"Is that what you’re going to pretend too?" she asked hopefully, but with the feeling that she would be disappointed with his answer.

He took a deep breath and knelt down beside the bed so that their heads were level. "It’s not that easy for me, Monica, and I think you know why."

"No I don’t," she said, shaking her head. "I upset you and you forgave me and that was all I needed to feel at peace, but you won’t let me do the same for you…"

He was quiet for a moment, before replying softly, "Monica, all that time we were with Paul and dealing with McArthur and David at his worst, every time they caused you to hurt, I was furious with them. Anytime anyone hurts you, it makes me angry at the one who did it," He reached up and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, "This time it was me who hurt you, and my reaction to you being hurt is no different."

She lowered her eyes briefly, mentally scolding herself for not having left that note. It would have avoided so much, his anger to begin with and his guilt now, "You were reacting to being afraid for me and a note would not have alleviated that," She pointed out, "It simply would have told you what in your heart you already knew. What was wrong was that I didn’t wake you. What was wrong was that I didn’t confide in you the other day before we went into town. If you’re so insistent of keeping track of your own regrets, don’t dismiss mine without dismissing yours."

"Angel, I made you cry…"

"Andrew, I cried because I had hurt you. I could see that beneath your anger and you had a right to feel that way. It should have been a priority for me to tell you where I was going, even if I wanted to go alone in order to try to overcome my fear of going in the first place. That you would have understood, even if you hadn’t liked it," She gave a little grin and was rewarded with seeing the beginnings of one on his face as well.

"You are so precious to me, Monica," He reached and cupped her cheek in his hand, "Talking to you like that should have never been an option."

"Remember the day McArthur sent the flowers and I got angry?" She watched as he nodded his head before she continued, "I snapped at you and then ran away from you and when I came out of my room, you had gone to the florist. I felt terrible, as if I had trampled on something that was perfect and was now never going to be the same again. I hadn’t been able to help my anger at the time because my emotions got in the way and I was sure that I had somehow hurt our friendship. But that wasn’t the case at all because you forgave me unconditionally. I’m telling you now that this time it is you who have been forgiven unconditionally. This morning wasn’t even all your fault, it was mine too," She smiled teasingly, "I behaved badly and caused you to worry to begin with and your reaction to that worry was a natural thing."

"When did you get so wise, angel?" he smiled and winked at her, though he had a feeling he would still be trying to make up for her tears.

"A very patient friend taught me," Monica replied without hesitation as she took his hand into both of hers, "Don’t allow your guilt to hurt something that your anger never could, okay?"

His smile widened as he wrapped her up tightly in his arms, "That’s a deal, Angel Girl."

She nestled her head against his shoulder, still feeling undeniably tired, but so very relieved that things now felt perfect between them once more and she made herself a promise to tell him everything going forward, even if it was way more than he ever needed or wanted to know.

He pulled back after a moment, relieved and very pleased to see the happiness shining in her dark eyes, "Now that we have that all settled, how about we check on your little project and you need something to eat. You haven’t eaten anything all day." She looked pleased with the suggestion to check on Faith and as they both stood up, he took her hand firmly into his own.

Faith was still sleeping, though now somewhat restlessly and Monica frowned, hearing a small whimper of fear escape the child. The angel knew all about frightening dreams and just as Andrew had saved her from them more times than she could count, she longed to do the same for the little girl.

Sitting down on the bed next to her, even while Andrew kept a slight distance, remembering Faith’s discomfort with him, Monica lightly brushed the blonde hair away from the child’s eyes. "It’s just a dream, little one," she whispered softly to her and a moment later, Faith’s green eyes sprang open, wide with fear.

As her eyes settled on the angel’s face, she seemed to relax and actually started to move closer to Monica. She stopped herself as if uncertain, but Monica would have none of it and Andrew smiled as he watched his friend pull the little girl gently into her arms. Faith was rigid at first, but then the tension left her tiny body and she relaxed into the warm embrace, though a look of wonder and awe was present on her face. Andrew found himself wondering when the last time had been that Faith had been hugged before Monica came along.

The older angel felt a tug at his heart as he watched his friend speak softly to Faith, and he realized that much of Monica’s gentle and child-like innocence was still intact and it was what was drawing Faith to her. At one time, he had feared the loss of it, but God had restored much of what men had tried to take away.

"You know, I think Tess has been busy making cookies," He remarked, being careful to keep his voice quiet, though he noted that Faith shrank away slightly at the sound of it.

Monica noticed it as well and proceeded with great care, "Little one, Andrew will not hurt you. He is my friend and the one who chases away my bad dreams," She carefully held out her hand to Andrew, relieved when he took it and allowed himself to be pulled closer.

"She’s right, Faith," he knelt down and looked into her frightened eyes, "I promise not to hurt you," He ventured out a hand to touch her pale cheek and he hesitated at the sheer terror that was in her eyes. But as his fingertips gently brushed her cheek, she seemed to stop breathing for a moment and he could clearly see the disbelief in her eyes. He felt a trace of anger in his heart that some man, probably her father, must have hurt her and now she felt that anyone male would only do the same thing and as a tear escaped her eye, he was quick and tender with brushing it away.

"You’re soft," Faith whispered, her expression still one of wonder and disbelief as she reached up a tentative hand to grasp one of his fingers.

Monica blinked back tears, knowing in that moment that Faith had just stolen Andrew’s heart. She smiled, saying a silent prayer of thanks for the gentleness her friend always possessed that she could now see so clearly when it was directed at someone else, all the while knowing it was how he approached her nearly each and every time.

"How about checking out those cookies? I’ll bet they are still warm from the oven," Andrew’s words brought the little angel from her reverie and she looked down as Faith nodded her head eagerly. He rose to his feet and Monica noted that Faith still had hold of his hand as she stood up as well. She reached out with her other hand to grasp Monica’s as the two angels exchanged a smile over her head.

Tess looked up as the threesome entered the kitchen and she threw the dishtowel she was holding over her shoulder, ignoring the fact that Monica was stifling a giggle at the sight of her in a full apron that was dotted with flour and batter, "Well, what have we here?"

"Faith, this is our friend, Tess," Monica encouraged, pleased when a slight smile showed on the girl’s face. Faith was beginning to trust that they would not lead her into anything bad and the little angel would do everything in her power to make sure that remained true.

*****

Faith happily ate five cookies before Tess commented that perhaps any more would give her a tummy ache. Where most children would have pouted or whined, Faith simply nodded her agreement and pushed her plate to the middle of the table. However, when dinner was laid on that same table less than two hours later, the little girl once again devoured everything in sight, after looking to Monica for permission.

"You certainly have a good appetite for a little bit of a thing," Tess said with a smile. "When’s the last time you ate something, Faith?" The older angel was trying to figure out how the girl had managed to stay alive in the forest for nearly three months.

Faith scrunched up her little face. "I had cookies," she answered.

Monica let out a tiny laugh. "No, Tess means what’s the last thing you ate before we found you?"

She pulled her lower lip into her mouth and her eyes took on a worried expression that none of the angels had been expecting. "I had the bunny from my Easter basket at Sunday school," she said, sounding a little bit confused.

Monica quickly reached over and patted her hand, wanting to reassure her that her answer was perfectly acceptable. "Maybe we can get you some more chocolate tomorrow," she said kindly.

Meanwhile Tess and Andrew were exchanging a confused look of their own. It was obvious that Faith hadn’t been kept alive by a single chocolate bunny. Andrew gave a little shrug. Faith had been on her own for a long time. She probably didn’t exactly understand the question, and there was no sense in upsetting her by badgering her about it.