PROLOGUE

There had been no warning, but maybe having one would not have helped anyway. Dreading a moment for days in advance would have been fruitless and would have simply made every hour filled with some sadness. And besides, deep in their hearts, they had known the time would eventually be at hand, even if they didn't know precisely when it would be.

Still, it had been a harsh reality when a little angel had rolled over in bed with a sleepy smile on her beautiful face, having dreamt about the near perfect days of her honeymoon with Andrew, to find him standing next to their bed, dressed in his beige suit and a look of lingering sadness on his handsome face.

Monica was immediately fully awake and she sat up, a look of grief immediately in her dark, now tear-filled eyes, "Andrew?"

"I'm being called, Angel."

The regret in his voice was almost palpable and she struggled to remain brave. She knew they would soon be back together, but the weeks of bliss that had followed their wedding had spoiled her to a certain extent. She loved being able to be so close to him without their love being interrupted and Monica felt positively wretched for even feeling that way.

Swallowing hard, she managed a small smile, "I guess we knew it was coming. We are messengers of God even before…before we are newlyweds."

Andrew sat down on the edge of the bed, laying his palm against her cheek as his long fingers curled into her hair, "We'll be together again soon. You know that."

"I know." Despite how positive she was trying to sound, there was no disguising the slight tremble in her voice as she leaned against his palm and closed her eyes to ward off tears.

His eyes drank in every tiny feature of a face he loved with all his heart and soul; her porcelain complexion, long lashes that laid against her slightly rosy cheeks, her full lips that he could not help but kiss at every opportunity. She was so incredibly beautiful, inside and out and the fact caused his heart to ache.

"My sweet angel," His tender voice was soft, just loud enough for her to hear, "These last few weeks have been the most amazing of my existence and I take the memories of every single moment with me to relive in my heart until we are together again."

Unable to help herself, a tiny sob escaped her as she flung her arms around his neck, "I love you so much, Andrew. I'll be counting the seconds until you are back at my side."

Cradling her close, Andrew pressed his lips to her temple. He knew this was more than their first separation since being granted the gift of marriage. This was their first real separation since her last assignment in the prison and though he knew she had come miles since those terrible months, he also knew she felt secure with him by her side. He also knew what an incredible messenger of God she truly was, but now was the time for her to remember it about herself, "I'll be existing for that moment, baby." He pulled away and framed her face with his strong hands, "And I know you will be a blessing to whomever you are assigned to when that happens."

A teary smile graced her lips, "I don't want you worrying about me. I will be fine, thanks to you."

"No, Angel, not thanks to me. You are nothing less than who you were created to be and I have nothing to do with that."

Monica smiled sweetly as she laid her hands over top of his, "You're wrong, my dear Andrew. God may have created me to be the angel he wanted me to be, but it is you who completes my soul. You are the one who gives me the strength to believe in myself, even when it feels impossible. So never tell me that you have nothing to do with who I am."

His heart clenched with great love and unable to wait a moment longer, he pressed his lips firmly to hers in a long, languid kiss, wishing nothing more than that he could have the time to make love to her one more time, but sadly, he knew it would have to wait until they could be together again.

The passionate kiss turned into much smaller ones before they separated to a hair's breadth from each other, "I love you so, my precious angel."

"Take care of yourself for me, my love," Monica whispered, her small hand coming up to lay against his cheek.

"I'll be thinking of you every moment, Angel Girl. We'll be together soon."

"God speed, Andrew," She closed her eyes as he kissed her cheek and a heartbeat later, he was gone.

For several minutes, Monica remained perfectly still, eyes closed, savoring the still warm place on her cheek where his lips had just been. She knew when she opened her eyes, the painful reality would sink in that they were apart and for a moment she felt sobs rising to her throat, threatening to choke her before a memory flitted through her mind from the previous night.

"I wish we could stay like this forever," Monica murmured, once she had caught her breath and had floated back down to earth in Andrew's arms, basking in the afterglow of their love making.

Kissing the top of her sweat dampened hair, Andrew smiled, "Me too, Angel. The gift of being able to share this with you, to be joined with you for all eternity, I feel it is more than I deserve."

"You are my most precious gift, Andrew," She lifted her head from where it was resting against his chest to look up into his loving green eyes. In those eyes she could so clearly see all the love he felt for her, his unwavering devotion and his desire to always keep her safe from all harm. She had seen all those things there before but now, they seemed to mean so much more, if that was indeed possible.

"What you are thinking about, my pretty little angel girl?" His fingers brushed some of the stray hair away from her face as he awaited her answer.

"You know, being married to you…belonging to you… changes everything and I think…I think if I could have had that certainty during some of my darkest moments recently, I would have handled them differently," Seeing a tiny of flicker of distress in his emerald eyes, she smiled and gave her head a slight shake, "I know that we were blessed with this union at the perfect time and that it could not have happened any sooner for many reasons. It happened in the Father's perfect timing. But, I cannot deny that there is certainness about everything I feel now. Your love, your love for me, it makes me feel so strong and maybe it should have before too, but it wasn't the same," Monica nibbled her lower lip, worried she was doing a poor job of explaining her heart to him this time. But one glance into his ever patient eyes and she knew the words would come, "Though our love for each other has always been there and has always been one of the strongest things I have ever known, this…this new blessing of our union…I know now that I can survive anything as long as it means that at the end of the hardest parts of my existence, that you, my husband, my perfect angelic husband, will be waiting for me and that brings such great peace to my heart."

"I always want to be that peace you feel, Angel, "Andrew whispered tenderly, "Even when we are apart, you will always carry me here," He rested his hand just above her heart, "the same place I carry you."

Opening her eyes as the warmth of the memory flowed over and through her, Monica laid her open palm against her heart, "I feel you," She whispered aloud to the darkness, before she lay back down and drew Andrew's pillow her to chest, hoping to dream of him in the hours before she was assigned.