CHAPTER 5

Monica looked around, wishing she saw something that looked even vaguely familiar to her. She had no idea which direction they had run when the snow had started roaring down the mountain, and any footprints they would have left had been erased by the snow. The angel's head was pounding and her ankle aching with every struggled step, but Sarah was having great difficulty too with her much shorter legs. Her little cheeks were red with the cold and with the effort it was taking and Monica was already beginning to feel tired as well.

But what concerned her even more was the fact that the sky was growing darker as ominous clouds rolled in, blocking out the sun and she was sure that the clouds contained snow and lots of it. Andrew had said that the temperatures were barely above freezing and the little angel knew that if it started to snow, she and Sarah would be in much greater trouble. They had to find shelter and fast.

"Monica, where could they be?" Sarah whimpered, as she managed to sniff back her tears, "Bailey and Pepper aren't answering us!"

"I know, sweetie, but I'm sure they're close by. The snow probably frightened them is all and soon they will know it is safe enough for them to come out." She hoped she was speaking the truth, but only time would tell. Her head was throbbing mercilessly and it had yet to stop bleeding completely and all she wanted was Andrew's arms around her, and to hear his voice telling her that she was safe and that he was here.

Was this why he had warned her about not taking Sarah outside? Did he know something like this could happen? If so, then he was just trying to protect her, but still…he had insinuated that she may not be able to take care of Sarah if anything happened. That's what had hurt so much. But she would take care of Sarah; she would take care of Sarah with everything she had to give.

"Monica…" Sarah's voice disturbed the angel from her troubled thoughts. Looking at the little girl, Monica noticed she was looking up at the sky…and at the snowflakes that were starting to fall.

Blinking back tears at her own feeling of helplessness, Monica struggled to keep her voice light, "Hmm…it seems wee Sarah that we are in for a little snowstorm, so we'd better find someplace to camp!" But where?

The sound of a bark, caused both of them to look up, and a second later, Bailey came tromping through the snow, his tail wagging furiously, and right behind him, being a bit slower and more clumsy, was Pepper.

"Bailey!" The little girl squealed with relief as she threw her arms around the dog, "Where have you been? We were so worried and now it is starting to snow."

Bailey broke away from his young master and gave a short bark, before he ran a few steps ahead of them. Turning around expectantly, he cocked his head to the side and gave another bark, as if to say, "What are you waiting for? Come with me!"

"I think he wants us to follow him, Monica."

The angel looked concerned. She was sure that the way Bailey seemed to want them to go was not the way back to the lodge, but the snow was starting to fall harder and Monica wasn't sure they had much choice but to see what the dog was offering, "Well, then, I suppose we'd better follow him!"

Every step caused pain in Monica's ankle and all she wanted to do was to lie down to try to stop the thrumming pain in her head, but she pushed on, following Sarah, who was following the dogs. Twenty minutes later, the snow was nearly blinding them and the winds had picked up. Monica had hold of Sarah's hand and the child was holding on tightly to Bailey's collar. Their teeth were both nearly chattering with the dropping temperatures, when Bailey finally stopped and led them up a small hill and into the mouth of a small cave.

There wasn't much room, but there was enough and it got them out of the snow and the winds. Monica knew it still wouldn't be enough and that they would still freeze to death without some kind of heat, but as she took in her surroundings, she noticed a large stack of branches and logs.

"Sarah, someone must have used this as a shelter before! Help me, quickly." Together, they laid a few of the larger logs on the ground near the entrance to the cave, stacking them carefully and then placing smaller sticks as kindling on the top. Despite the pain she was in, Monica dug around just outside the cave to find rocks to place around their makeshift fire pit and then, saying tiny prayer for help, she dug into the pocket of her parka and pulled out a pack of matches.

"Thank you, Father," She murmured, before striking one and lighting one of the sticks, which she then used to light the rest of the fire. In a matter of minutes, the fire was blazing, and it wasn't until that point that the angel realized just how cold she had been. She was still shivering, though the heat was starting to help.

Glancing over at Sarah, she saw that the exhausted little girl had laid her head against Bailey and was already down for a little nap. Pepper was nestled against her side, providing her with additional warmth and for that the angel was grateful, which was a good thing as she could find little else to be grateful about. She longed to sleep, but didn't dare. If she fell asleep and the fire went out, they would never survive, so she would simply have to stay awake in order to ensure the fire provided them with the warmth their human bodies required.

Taking inventory, Monica reached into her pockets, thankful that she had purchased a few other things along with their hot drinks earlier. She had picked up two sandwiches, a box of cookies and two small apples. It wasn't much, but it would be enough to keep Sarah alive for a few days if it took that long for them to find help.

Gazing past the fire, to the heavy snow that was falling, the little angel felt her eyes fill with tears and she wasn't even sure of the exact reason for them. Maybe it was the pain in her ankle and head, or her fear over their current situation, or maybe it was because despite how hurt she had been earlier, there was nothing she wanted more than to see a certain pair of green eyes appear, followed by strong arms that would shelter her from anything that could ever hurt her.

x

"Wow, can't believe this weather we're having!" Cory sighed as he and Andrew trudged through the snow to the lodge, "They're saying this storm may not even let up until tomorrow night!"

"Well, at least we think everyone is accounted for and we don't have any wayward skiers missing this time," The angel remarked, though his mind was more on one little angel and how desperately he wanted to hold her and tell her how sorry he was for his earlier behavior.

Cory opened the door to the lodge and let Andrew walk in ahead of him, "I'll let you know if I hear anything, man, but hopefully it will be an uneventful storm."

Andrew nodded as Cory headed off towards a group of other ski patrollers, before he looked around the lodge for the auburn haired angel. He frowned, not seeing any sign of her and as it was snowing as well as getting dark outside, he knew that she and Sarah had to be nearby, unless Sarah was already back with her parents and Monica had gone up to his room to wait for him.

He was just considering heading upstairs to look for her, when he heard his name being called frantically. Whirling around, he saw the Coopers running in his direction.

"Andrew!" Janet Cooper grabbed his arm, her eyes holding great concern, "Have you seen Monica and Sarah? They went out back early this afternoon and we haven't seen them since. That avalanche…and now this storm…" Her eyes filled with tears and her husband's arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Andrew felt his heart plummet to the floor as his mind raced. Monica was missing. They had gone out back, away from the skiers. They hadn't been seen since the avalanche.

"I haven't seen them, Mrs. Cooper, but we'll find them! Monica…she's amazing…so resourceful…" He didn't even know what he was saying anymore. Yes, Monica was those things, but he was saying them more to convince himself that she was fine. Fact was, he felt nearly sick at the thought of her being out there in this storm, especially after what had transpired between them that morning, "I need to go alert the rest of the rescue team and we'll check out the other lodges to make sure they aren't there. Try not to panic and I'll be in touch."

Mark Conner met Andrew's eyes, "You have to find her, Andrew. Sarah…she's everything to us."

The angel gave a short nod of his head, "I understand, sir. Monica is everything to me."

Leaving them, Andrew broke into a jog across the lobby, where the other members of the rescue team who were on duty were still gathered, "Cory! We've got two people missing. A little girl, and Monica, one of the personal assistants. They haven't been seen since this afternoon. We have to get out there and find them!"

"Whoa, Andrew. Slow down, buddy," Cory's eyes were alert but solemn, "We can't search for them in this storm. You can't see your hand in front of your face out there. We have to wait until it lets up."

"I'll get the word out to the other lodges," Jeff piped up, before he walked away from them, his walkie Talkie in his hand as he radioed the information.

"Cory," Andrew's eyes were frantic, "You said this storm may not let up until tomorrow night! They could easily freeze to death by then! I have to go look for them now."

"Andrew, you can't." The man's eyes were firm and not allowing for any argument, "I can't risk you being out there because when this storm is over, we're going to need you to help search. We just have to hope for the best until then."

Paul didn't miss the anguished expression in Andrew's eyes, "Andrew?"

The angel stared out the window at the raging snowstorm, "My girl's out there."

"Monica?"

The angel nodded his head sadly, "I'm going to go and see if Jeff has found out anything."

The two men watched him walk away and Cory turned to his friend, "Paul, keep an eye on him. We'll do everything we can to find them, but we can't have him going out there now. Not at night and not in this storm."

x

"Monica, it's so cold," Sarah shivered and she inched closer to the fire, "And it's so dark outside."

Monica emitted a small sigh and then forced a smile, "I think Bailey and Pepper were keeping you quite warm while you slept."

The little girl smiled at the two dogs, "Yes, they were. Bailey always takes care of me," She fell silent for another moment before speaking up again, much more softly, "Monica, are we going to die out here?"

The angel's eyes widened with the question, "No, Sarah, of course not!" She immediately felt slightly guilty about her words. She had no idea what God had planned, but she didn't want to believe for a moment that part of His plan included taking a child away from her parents, "You know how Bailey takes care of you?" Seeing Sarah nod, she continued, "Well, there is someone else taking care of all of us: God."

Sarah scrunched her face up in thought, "My friend, Heather, has told me a little bit about God. She goes to church every Sunday with her parents."

"Your parents don't take you?"

"No. Well, we went once for my Aunt Sheila's wedding but that's the only time I can remember," A worried look came over her face, "Monica, if I don't know who God is, why would he take care of me?"

"Because he knows who you are, wee Sarah," Monica wrapped her arm around the girl's small shoulders, "And he knows where we are right now and I'm guessing that as soon as this storm is over, he'll make sure someone finds us."

Sarah thought this over and was then interrupted by a little yawn, "Do you s'pose you could tell me more about God tomorrow?"

The little angel smiled, "I'm sure I can, wee Sarah. Are you hungry?"

"No, just sleepy," The girl replied as she curled up on the ground in front of the fire. Bailey immediately moved closer to her and laid down as well, his body pressed firmly up against his master as if sensing she needed his warmth, "G'night, Monica."

"Good night, Sarah."

The Irish angel gazed at the fire as she said a silent prayer that she would be able to stay awake to keep the fire going. She was tired and her head was pounding badly, but Monica also knew that she should stay awake in the event she had a concussion. Falling asleep was simply not an option.

She wondered what Andrew was doing and if he knew she was missing by now. She had a feeling he did and she worried he would try to search for her in this storm. Monica hoped that wasn't the case because as tired and hurting as she felt, she didn't want Andrew placed in any danger.

She was in enough for both of them.