CHAPTER 2

Six months later….

Tess was growing impatient and though that was not out of the ordinary for her, it was when that impatience was directed at her young charge. Though it had always been true that Monica could be a bit of a daydreamer and that occasionally, her innocence and love for the human race could get her into trouble in her assignments, Tess could not deny that the little angel was doing extremely well with her cases. No, that was not the problem. The real problem was that Tess could not exactly put her finger on what exactly the problem was. Yes, it was true that Monica was a little sadder, a little quieter and that there was a certain sparkle missing from her dark eyes, but the older angel chalked that up to the fact that for some reason in six months time, Andrew had not been assigned to work with them.

That in itself was strange enough but what was even stranger was that Monica made very little mention of that fact. Usually if the gentle Angel of Death went a few weeks without working with them, Monica would be missing him terribly and would be quite vocal about that fact. The Irish angel had never been one to keep her feelings contained and anyone that had ever seen the interactions between Monica and Andrew knew that the pair was extremely close. Almost since the day they had met, Andrew had taken the inquisitive younger angel under his wing, so to speak, and what had started out as a bit of mentoring had quickly grown into a lasting friendship. Tess had always been amazed at the protective nature that Monica brought out in the blonde angel and there had been times that the supervisor had to remind him that God was looking out for his little Irish angel as well. But even knowing that the Almighty had everything under control sometimes did little to keep Andrew from worrying about his friend.

Something had to be causing these changes in her young charge, but Monica was certainly not talking. Though when Tess would mention Andrew's name, she would see the flash of guilt that would spark in Monica's dark eyes before she would turn away to hide it, less Tess see too much. The supervisor's inquiries to God also went unanswered to her satisfaction. The Father would just gently remind her that some things Monica was choosing not to share at the moment. It was just a struggle for Tess to accept that as the little angel was generally an open book and recently Tess felt as if she couldn't read past the first page.

Seeing her charge walking towards her, Tess was forced to abandon her thoughts and to replace them with a smile, "Nice job, baby, as always."

"Thank you, Tess," Monica returned her smile as a slight blush rose to her cheeks. She had only been doing her job so she never really felt that praise was necessary, "Have we been reassigned?"

The older angel could clearly read the hopeful expression on her charge's face and was reminded that was just one more thing that was out of place. In past years, there was nothing Monica loved more than a day off work with her friends, but now at the mention of a day off, the little angel seemed to panic and would then plead to be able to continue working. Up until now, Tess had been able to arrange for another assignment for the young angel, but this time God had been very clear. Monica was to take the next two days off work.

"No, Angel Girl. The Father has informed me that you more than deserve a little time off," She watched the expression change on Monica's face and Tess decided to continue before the inevitable pleading began, "Now no arguments, Miss Wings. The Almighty was very clear when he told me you needed a break."

Monica began to study the ground as a tiny sigh escaped her, "All right. If that's what he wants, but Tess, please tell him that if anything comes up and he needs an angel right away, that I would be more than happy to-."

"I'm sure he knows that, baby, being the creator of the universe and all."

"Oh….yes, of course. I didn't mean to insinuate-."

Tess cut her off again but this time by placing her hands on her shoulders, "Angel Girl," Her voice was soft which was enough to cause Monica to look up at her, "I know that something is going on with you, baby and I know that whatever it is, you don't want to tell me and I can accept that. But the Father is giving you the next few days to try to sort it all out in your mind. My guess is that all this working you have been even more eager than usual to do, is a way of hiding from this problem of yours, but baby, it is no way to solve it."

Monica bit her lower lip, trying to force back the tears that were threatening her dark eyes, "No, Tess….I don't…"

"Monica," Though still soft, Tess' voice became ever so slightly stern, "Miss Wings, you look me right in the eye and tell me something is not upsetting you and I promise I will never bring it up again."

For a brief moment, Monica looked as if she wanted to deny it but then she remembered that angels were never, ever supposed to lie. Besides, she had a feeling that even if she did lie to Tess, that her supervisor would know the truth. Meeting Tess' eyes briefly, the little angel then looked away as a lone tear made its way down her cheek.

"Oh baby," Tess whispered sadly as she drew the younger angel into her arms, "Just remember, Angel Girl, that there is no problem so big that God cannot help you solve it. You only need to take it to him."

"I think this time may be different, Tess," She uttered tearfully, "He'll be so angry with me-."

"Nonsense, Monica. There is nothing in all of heaven that could keep his love from you. There is nothing you could do or say or feel that would make him love you any less. You tell that to your assignments all the time, baby so what makes it any different for you? You're his child as well."

Monica sniffled as she pulled away and wiped at her eyes, "I suppose you won't be with me over the next few days?"

"No. I have a few things of my own to attend to. But I'll be there for you once the Father tells me it is time to get back to work."

The forlorn expression on the little angel's face nearly undid her, but Tess held onto her resolve, "Take care of yourself, baby and I'll see you soon."

"Bye Tess," the words were barely out of the angel's mouth before her supervisor disappeared.

Soon after Monica walked alone along the shore, allowing the ocean waves to break gently over her feet. This was the first time in six months that she had been alone with her thoughts concerning Andrew and all that had occurred the day she had told him about her feelings. She had been doing a very good job of ignoring the things that had happened and of avoiding the fact that her feelings regarding the Angel of Death had not changed in six months time. She was still holding onto what Andrew had said: that they needed to be apart until these feelings of hers went away, but what Monica could not begin to understand is why they weren't going away.

If anything, not seeing Andrew was making her love him even more because she missed him so terribly. He was so much a part of her and now she felt as if part of her very soul were missing. How much longer before these terrible feelings would go away? Would they ever go away and if they didn't, did that mean she could never see Andrew again? The very thought of that caused tears to spring to her eyes.

Never in a million years would she have ever expected to find herself feeling this kind of love for her best friend. She wasn't supposed to feel this way. Andrew said it was wrong, and he never lied to her. So what was she supposed to do? She missed him. She wanted to see him again. Being without him was a kind of lonely she had never before experienced and some days it was all she could do to hold herself together.

Seeing a mountain of rocks that lingered above the ocean, the little angel began to climb them, being careful as they were quite slippery against her bare feet. Once on top, she sat down, and gazed out over the ocean, allowing the ocean breeze to blow her hair against her face until it created a shield around her delicate features. To anyone who might have passed by her, it would have prevented them from seeing the tears she was finally allowing herself to cry.