CHAPTER 10

Though the children were the ones who were supposed to be napping, it wasn't long before one little angel drifted off to sleep as well in her husband's arms, leaving Andrew the pleasure of holding her close. He surmised that her little escapade in the woods had tired her and though he was by no means angry with her, it did cause him a little bit of regret at knowing she must have been terribly frightened and he had not been able to be there with her.

His concern was apparently well warranted when a moment later, Monica began to murmur in her sleep and her peaceful expression turned to one of distress. In his heart, Andrew immediately knew she was back in the prison in her mind and as he had feared, something about being lost and alone today had brought back that terrible time that happened less than a week ago.

"Shh, Angel," He whispered, as he stroked her hair and held her closer, "You're safe now, baby and nothing can hurt you." He placed a lingering kiss against her forehead, "I love you so much and you are so much more amazing than you realize, Monica."

His whispered words soothed her, even in sleep as her expression relaxed once more and the tension flowed from her small body. Reaching behind him, Andrew grabbed the quilt from the back of the couch and covered her with it, before his hand went back to stroking her hair.

It was nearly two hours before she stirred again.

A kitten-like yawn alerted him to her waking and he looked down to see sleepy dark eyes looking at him shyly, "You're a wonderful pillow, you know."

"Yes, so I gathered," Andrew teased gently, though he made no move to release her from his embrace, "You had a nice nap, I take it?"

"Yes. I hadn't realized I was so tired."

"Well, someone had a busy morning!" Hearing her giggle, he grinned and then turned more serious, "The storm is over, Angel, so we should get Hanna and her brother to town."

Monica nodded her head, "Yes, their parents must be terribly worried. I'll wake them," She attempted to untangle herself from the quilt and from his arms.

"Not so fast, you," Andrew watched as she stopped her movement to look at him curiously, "There is a small fee for using one Angel of Death as a pillow, you know."

Her eyes narrowed playfully and she raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"Mmm, yes. I hope you are able to pay it or I won't be able to allow you to leave."

His face was dangerously close to hers and as she closed her eyes, their lips met in a long, languid kiss that Monica could feel clear down to her toes. She only spoke once she was able to again form words, "Payment made in full, sir. But I think I shall have to fall asleep against you more often!"

"I'm certain that can be arranged," Andrew replied seriously before he smiled at her, "Now go and wake up your little friends, so we can get them home."

X

The trip into town was rather animated as with the children now well rested and dry, they were both eager to regale their tale of being lost in the woods and how Monica had shown up just in time to help move the log from Hanna's foot.

Their arrival at the police station was a whirlwind as their parents were there, hoping and praying for news on their beloved children. There were hugs and tears from the family and then an abundance of thanks to the two angels until both Monica and Andrew were blushing profusely.

But finally the two angels departed the police station hand in hand and at Andrew's suggestion, they decided to pick up some groceries before heading back to the cabin. Though he was still feeling rather protective given Monica's outing in the woods earlier, when he saw her nodding her head in agreement he managed to relax a bit.

"Yes. I believe we are getting a wee bit low on coffee."

"Monica!" Andrew could not suppress a laugh, "There is still half a can left!"

"Yes, I know," Monica replied stubbornly, "That's what I mean. There is only half a can left." Seeing him shaking his head and laughing, her dark eyes narrowed briefly, "We'd may as well pick up more because that way we don't have to come back into town when I run out, especially as I have a feeling you prefer having me all to yourself at the cabin."

Though he would have laughed, Andrew seemed to ponder her words carefully, "You may have a point. We'll pick up two more cans, just to be safe."

As she giggled and then wrapped both of her arms around one of his, Andrew felt his heart swell with great love. The little angel was positively precious and he suddenly felt like the most undeserving creature to be entrusted with her for all eternity. He made a mental note to thank the Father on a daily basis for not only what was his most enjoyable task, but also the one of greatest importance.

Once at the supermarket, Monica left most of the decisions up to Andrew as he was the chef out of the two of them and she insisted that anything he felt like cooking she was more than willing to eat. They took their time, pushing the cart up and down each aisle, enjoying a task they rarely got to do, and especially not together.

Andrew looked at his wife curiously as he placed two cans of coffee in the cart and then watched as she tossed in a box of decaffeinated tea bags, "Tea?" That was as out of character for her as Monica suddenly deciding she wanted to go surfing in the ocean.

She gave a tiny shrug, "Just in case. Besides, you like tea, right?"

He eyed her closely, still feeling unsettled about the tea. The only time Monica the coffee drinking angel made any reference to tea was when Tess was making her drink it to cut down on her java consumption, "Yes. I do sometimes."

"Okay then," Monica gave him a little grin before she continued walking down the aisle. She didn't want to tell him but she was starting to feel the very beginnings of a sore throat coming on, but she was in denial. She preferred to tell herself that it was just a temporary result of being out in the rain and after a nice, hot cup of coffee, it would diminish immediately. But she wasn't sure if the same theory would work on her suddenly stuffy nose as well. Being sick on her honeymoon was just not something she wanted to be.

The biggest problem was that the tea had placed her husband on high alert. She could feel his eyes watching her as she strolled down the aisles, stopping briefly here or there to ponder an item, but with each aisle, she was starting to feel a little bit worse than the aisle before.

Andrew was patiently waiting. He knew something was up and he also knew that given a little bit of time, Monica would confess it to him. She had been much quieter ever since the tea discussion and he could tell she was slightly upset about something though nothing had happened since this morning to cause her to be upset. He just hoped she still wasn't feeling guilty about going out in the woods to begin with.

He was just about to ask her what was troubling her, when Monica stopped walking in front of a row of canned soups and crossed her arms in front of her. Andrew watched as she stared at the labels and then when she finally turned to look at him, there were tears in her eyes.

"Angel? What-."

"I don't feel well," Monica stated quietly on a little pout.

Andrew's overprotective streak immediately went into overdrive, "What? Sweetheart, what's wrong?" His hands were immediately cupping her face, her teary-eyed expression causing him great distress, "You have a fever, Angel."

"I know. And my throat hurts and my nose is all stuffy and Andrew, I don't want to be sick on our honeymoon!"

A tiny bit of relief filled the Angel of Death at knowing the truth about her tears as he pulled her into his arms right there in the middle of the market, "I know, baby, and even though I hate the thought of you being sick, there is a bright side."

"A bright side? Andrew, how can there possibly be a bright side?" She murmured against his chest.

"Because I get the privilege of taking care of my sick little Angel Girl for the next few days," He replied as he kissed the top of her head.

"But you always do that," Monica replied as she tilted her head back to gaze up at him.

"Yes, but now I actually have an excuse!"

The little angel managed a weak smile as she hugged him tightly, "Just for the record, you never need an excuse to take care of me."

His heart gave another swell of love before he pulled away just as a shiver went through his wife, "I'll tell you what, Angel," Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the keys to the caddy and handed them to her, "Let me finish up in here. I'm just going to grab a few things to make you some soup and then go over to the cold remedy aisle and see what I can find for you. Why don't you wait in the car and turn it on so you can have some heat. I won't be more than five minutes, baby."

She looked a little doubtful and a little worried, but she nodded her head as she took the keys. Monica was suddenly feeling very tired and the thought of curling up in the caddy was appealing, even though it meant being away from her husband for a few minutes, "Five minutes?"

"Promise," Andrew replied, kissing her forehead, before he walked her up to the front of the store and watched through the window until she was safely inside the car. Then he walked briskly back down the aisle, wanting to get what he needed as quickly as possible.