CHAPTER 1

For a moment, Andrew couldn't move, yet alone think. He had expected to never see the little angel again, yet here she was smiling tearfully at him. He was afraid to hope. He had the feeling that perhaps they had been allowed a brief time together to say goodbye and he had so much to say.

Though he was dreading the separation he was certain was forthcoming, his eyes drank her in, rejoicing silently in seeing Monica once again well. The horrible illness that had threatened her human form was now gone and even though he had known God would heal her, still his heart was filled with gratitude at seeing it done.

"Andrew," She repeated his name and disrupted his reverie, "I have to talk to you-."

At the sound of her voice, Andrew came back to himself and shook his head at her words, "Angel, no. Please, me first," Desperately, he reached for her hands and held them tightly in his own, "I'm so sorry, baby. So sorry for everything. I know I told you that before, but please believe me. I was so insensitive to you when you told me how you felt. Monica, a part of me was so happy, yet in the next moment so afraid of what could happen to us if we had these feelings. But that's no excuse for what I did. You trusted me and I betrayed you," His eyes held her gaze as the words poured from his heart, "I never meant to hurt you, angel. I'm not sure I'll ever forgive myself for what I did, but I pray that one day you'll be able to forgive me."

Silent tears coursed down Monica's gentle face as she listened to him, her heart swelling with love for him once more, "Andrew. I've already forgiven you. I have. I know that you were trying to protect me; I understand that now. I'm not even sure that I was truly angry with you on the beach that day…it was more…I had just missed you so much!" A tiny sob escaped her as she remembered how lost she had felt without him, "I should have told you that instead of getting so upset with you, Andrew. Had I not walked away from you, none of the other things would have happened. Then you never would have had to go through the pain of taking me Home!"

Tears stung his eyes as she started to cry and he didn't wait a moment longer to pull her into his strong embrace. Despite everything, Monica had known how difficult his last journey Home had been with her in his arms and she was blaming herself for his pain after all the heartache he had caused her, "No, Angel," Andrew whispered as he pulled away and laid his hand against her cheek, "None of this is your fault. I hurt you and nothing can change that and nothing makes it your fault. I'm just so sorry, baby."

"Can't we just…say we're both sorry and put it behind us?" Monica pleaded through her tears, "I just…I want us to be okay again. Please Andrew…"

His fear of losing her momentarily and her being afraid they were not "okay" caused him to place aside his own guilt, "Of course, Angel." He replied, pulling her close once more. He felt her lean into him and he stroked her hair as he listened to her begin to calm, "I know it's all about to change, Monica, but I just have to tell you one more time just how much I love you. You're my sunshine on any day, baby and I don't know how I'm ever going to exist without you."

Monica's eyes flew open as she remembered what she had come here to tell him. Andrew didn't know! He was holding onto her, waiting for the moment to come when they would be separated for all eternity!

"Oh, Andrew, no," She pulled away and looked up into his eyes. Suddenly her heart felt as if it would beat out of her chest and her hands trembled as she reached for his. Through her tears, she left out a tiny laugh, "Why am I so nervous?" Seeing the pained, quizzical expression on his handsome face, she knew she had to continue, "Tess talked to me and the Father…" She blushed and suddenly felt terribly awkward. She knew what they had been given, but had no idea what that entailed. This had never been allowed before now and she now felt so incredibly shy with him.

"Monica?" His green eyes were searching hers, trying to understand.

"What…what we have, Andrew…"Despite all her awkwardness, fresh tears filled her eyes, "What we feel for each other the Father has blessed. He isn't going to separate us, Andrew; not now and not ever. We have his blessing."

For a moment all he could do was stare at her in disbelief, "Angel…what are you saying?"

A sound that was half laugh and half sob escaped her as she squeezed his hands, "This love that we're feeling, Andrew…it's permitted. It isn't wrong. It comes from the Father."

"Monica..." he narrowed his eyes and searched for the truth deep inside her sweet brown pools. They reflected so much happiness and a multitude of other loving feelings that there was no space for doubts anymore – their love had been blessed by God Himself. Never breaking their gaze and with infinite tenderness he lay both hands on each side of her face, marveled with the meekness of her Gaelic features.

"You're telling me that... that our love is not condemned? That we've been allowed to be together?"

"Yes..." she managed to reply, as tears rolled down her face.

Still shocked, Andrew closed his eyes briefly, taking in those words. Then, he let out a small laughter, which was also a bit of a sob. "Oh, God... Angel, you're making me the happiest creature in this whole universe by telling me this, baby... I'm just so happy I can hardly believe this is happening..."

"When Tess told me I couldn't believe it either... But it's as real as we're both standing here..."

He rubbed his thumbs on her temples gently. "I love you so much... So much... I love you with all my heart... with all my soul. And you have my word, baby, that I'll never ever do anything to hurt you... because all this time I thought we'd be apart all I could think was that... that without you, I can't exist." He noticed as she bit her lower lip in an attempt to control the surge of emotions in her soul and kept on talking, "I don't know how this feeling started... Maybe it's been here since the first time I lay my eyes on you... But there's something I'll be eternally sure of: I want it spend my eternity with you, Monica. I want to be able to look deep inside your eyes – the sweetest eyes I've ever seen, and tell you again and again that you're my world... that you'll have my heart and my love forever."

A sob escaped her but in her meek face there was a trembling smile that could only mean one sweet truth, voiced by the little angel a second later, "Oh, Andrew... Andrew..." she reached out and tentatively touched his handsome face, "I love you so much... So much... And..." she blushed even more as her smile grew wider, "... apart from God I don't think my heart would belong to any other creature in this whole universe – either human or angel, other than to you..."

Andrew's green pools were immediately filled with tears of pure joy as those words were the sweetest ones he'd ever heard in all his existence. He eyed Monica carefully, committing to memory every little feature of her beautiful crying face. He thought he'd never see those brown eyes again and yet, he he'd been honored with a very precious treasure: her love.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, drinking her angelic beauty as it warmed his heart and made him fall in love again and again. They remained hypnotized by each other's gaze for several moments. The notion of time and space, so common even to angels whenever they were on Earth, had all but been forgotten, and all that mattered now were each other's presence and the loving feelings in their hearts. Andrew's eyes then turned to her rosy lips and he felt his heartbeats accelerating with anticipation. As he leaned down to her, Monica closed her eyes; his warm breath tickling her soft skin caused pleasant butterflies to well up in the pit of her stomach. When their lips finally met, Andrew moved one of his arms to encircle her waist, pulling her even closer to him, and the little angel melted in his loving embrace. Her hands ran over his chest and up to his shoulders and remained there as their loving kiss went on.

It seemed that time had frozen to allow them that one special moment that would certainly be etched in their memory forever. Andrew's fingers entangled in her auburn hair and remained on the nape of her neck as he deepened their kiss a bit more. Monica tilted her head, welcoming his caresses and feeling like the happiest creature in the whole universe, sure that there wasn't a warmer place other than his loving arms.

But being in human form brought an immediate drawback and their loving caress had to be interrupted when air became a necessity. As they parted, however, all the joy and excitement of the moment was reflected in the spark of their eyes. Fascinated with the way she was looking at him, Andrew managed a slight smile as he moved his hand to cup her face. "You look more beautiful than ever, angel..."

The meek, shy smile on her face only made her more adorable to him. Shedding a tear of joy, Monica looked deep inside his green depths, still a bit unsure of that new wonderful reality. "Is this really happening, Andrew? Was it real?"

"Yes, baby, it was real... It was the sweetest moment of my existence, angel... And I'd give up the whole eternity for it..." he said, brushing away the lonely tear that rolled down her cheek and watching as she leaned on his touch.

"Of my existence too... And... What makes my heart so full is that we don't have to give up on anything... We've been blessed by the Father..."

"I was blessed by the Father on the day he sent you to me, baby."

He couldn't help but to lean his head and brush his lips on hers once again – softly at first, as she closed her eyes and sighed. And when the blond angel pressed his lips more firmly onto hers, Monica was once again lost in the moment – in a world that was only theirs.

X

The only living creatures in that vast green meadow, surrounded by colored flowers and huge ancient trees, were two angels in human form. Lying on the soft grass, under the shadow of an oak tree, Monica and Andrew watched a few white clouds passing by in the blue sky, feeling a gentle breeze blowing against their faces.

"I'm always happy when I'm working, you know, Andrew. But... but I hope we can stay here, exactly like this at least for a while..." Monica spoke, snuggling a bit closer to him, resting her head on his strong chest and enjoying the gentle caress he was performing in her hair.

"I couldn't agree more, angel. It's an honor to do the Father's work but I'd be equally happy if I had to remain here with you for... let's say, a couple of centuries..."

Enjoying hearing her giggles, he bent his head and brushed a loving kiss on her forehead, as she went on talking, "I wonder if we'll be working together in our next assignment... I don't want to be away from you... I know we'll have to, eventually, but not now..."

Feeling an inch of sadness invading his angelic heart, he tightened his hold on her, "Shh... Let's not think about it now, angel. The most important is that we're here now and that either together or separated for a little while my heart will always be with you."

Monica turned her head up to look at him with a pretty smile on her face, "So will mine, Andrew."

He cupped her chin and kissed her lips softly, lovingly. For a long time afterwards, Monica lay embraced in his arms, neither wanting or needing to move away. She'd never felt so relaxed, so contented before, wishing that feeling to last forever. All the sad memories and the terrible argument she'd had with Andrew had disappeared and been replaced by the most absolute joy. Sighing with happiness, she let her eyes close as Andrew's rhythmic tender stroking of her hair lulled her into sleep.

The blond angel smiled contentedly as he looked down at his dearest friend, overwhelmed with the multitude of loving feelings inside his heart. That sweet, warm hearted angel lying in his arms was not only God's – she was his angel girl. A wave of compassion and protectiveness washed over his soul and, deeply moved, he tightened the hold on her a bit more, promising God and himself that he would be her guardian for the rest of eternity. He loved that sweet little angel – and she loved him just as much.

Reality couldn't be more perfect.