CHAPTER 6

Soon, the warmth provided by the fireplace made the atmosphere inside the small cabin cozier and a lot more pleasant, causing Monica to stir her head and finally open her tired eyes. Her heart was immediately filled with anguish when she didn't see Andrew around, and for a moment she thought she'd dreamed all that – her escaping from the kidnapper's trailer, the long and desperate walk in the woods, her dearest friend carrying her in his strong arms when she felt her legs give in due to exhaustion. All that sounded like parts of a confusing dream. Lost and afraid, the Irish angel shed a sad and lonely tear, wondering where she was.

But everything became clear to her a second later, when Andrew left the kitchen holding a dish with hot soup in his hands. He'd found a few cans and was quick to prepare her something to eat. As much disappointed in him as she was, Monica couldn't deny the wave of relief that washed her soul when she saw him and realized that it wasn't just a mere dream. Andrew was there with her, holding her tightly and watching over her like the old times, when they were inseparable and would trust each other's with their very existence.

Maybe they would still be like that someday.

"Angel? How are you feeling? Is there anything you need? Are you warm enough?" the blond angel's sequence questions showed how worried he was. He placed the dish with her soup on a small table and knelt right beside her bed. He tenderly caressed her forehead, cupping her cheek and checking her temperature: she was still burning with fever.

"I'm... I'm so tired..." she uttered, watching as he frowned with concern.

"I know, baby, it was a long walk. I prepared you some soup, there's food in the kitchen. Come on, I'll help you to sit up."

"I'm not very hungry, you know..."

"But you have to eat, sweetie," he gently admonished, helping her to sit up straight, "You're very weak and this bad cold is just making you worse... Please, have a little soup."

Andrew straightened a pillow against her back and when she leaned on it, he took the plate and filled a spoon with some soup. The Irish angel eyed him for a few seconds, feeling in her heart all love and worry that was flowing from his very soul, and deep inside she felt glad to be with him – even after all that'd happened, he was still Andrew, her best, dearest friend. She drank a little bit of the soup he'd so kindly prepared her and then reclined tiredly on the bed, closing her eyes briefly.

"You need to rest, angel. I'll be here watching over you."

"What about those two men, Andrew? They must've found out that I managed to escape and will come after me..."

"Shh... No, they won't. I walked through the stream for over an hour, if they were following us, they ended up losing our track."

"There was one of them... He was sorry for me, Andrew. He doesn't seem to be a bad person."

"Yes, I noticed that too. But the other man... We're better off away from him."

"When he caught me I couldn't do anything... he was much stronger than me and he took me by surprise, I didn't have the chance to..."

"I know, angel, I know..." he caressed her face, "... try to forget them for a while, they won't do you any harm. I'm so glad I found you."

She drank the rest of the soup in silence, but with lots of thoughts running through her mind. When she finally finished, Andrew placed the empty dish on the table and helped her lie down in bed. After he covered her small form with the blanket, the blond angel took her hand to his lips and gave her an encouraging smile, "You rest now, okay? I'll stay right here by your side and if you need anything, if you feel anything, just tell me."

Monica slowly nodded her head and then closed her eyes. A long silent minute went by and Andrew heard her soothing but now hoarse voice, "I'm glad you found me too, Andrew..."

Those were the last words she uttered before she fell into a deep sleep but they were enough to fill Andrew's heart with a mix of joy and emotion, and a few tears appeared in the corner of his green pools. Quietly, he bent his head and planted a tender kiss on her forehead, "I love you, angel. With all my heart."

X

The night fell quickly once the sun had set behind the mountains. The warmth brought by its rays had now been replaced by a cold, nearly freezing atmosphere and a disturbing silence filled the air in the woods. In spite of this, the moon and the stars were bright up in the sky and in the latest hours, Andrew had filled his time in between watching over Monica and checking from the window if there wasn't anybody in the cabin surroundings.

But the last time he left the window to sit on the floor, right next to the bed, he ended up falling asleep, beaten by exhaustion. It was then that the noise of footsteps walking along the grass broke the silence. Someone was certainly going towards the small cabin, as the sound got louder each and every second. Monica woke up scared, wondering if she was really listening to real sounds or if that was just her imagination. She turned her head and saw Andrew's sleeping face right beside her. Some logs were burning in the fireplace, alleviating the coldness brought by the night. She was exactly wondering if the fire would attract her kidnappers when suddenly the door flung open and her heart nearly stopped with great fear and sheer terror.

"Look at that, Mike! We finally found the little angel!" Jim's cold eyes were shinning even in the darkness and he had an evil, cruel smile on his face.

Andrew was soon awoken by the loud noise and once he saw the two invaders, he stood up and placed himself in front of Monica, "Stay away from her!" the angel shouted, not missing the terrified expression on her meek face.

But Jim was determined to recover his "golden pot" and, contrary to his friend, whose indecision was visible, he gave two steps towards both angels, "You stay outta my way, buddy!"

Andrew still tried to react, but the man was carrying a heavy log in his hands and used it to hit the blond angel full force, giving him no chance to react. Monica's frightened cry echoed through the dark woods and panic took over her soul when she saw her dearest friend falling lifeless on the floor. "No! Andrew! Andrew!"

"Quick, Mike, take her and let's get outta here! We can use that shortcut to go back to the trailer!"

"No! Please, leave us alone!" Monica cried, desperate to see Andrew's blood on the floor, "Andrew! Please, talk to me! Andrew! Andrew! Please, talk to me!"

"Monica? Angel, wake up..."

Andrew's soothing voice started to become audible to her ears and little by little, the Irish angel woke up from a terrible nightmare. When her eyes got used to the darkness inside the cabin, as Andrew had wisely put out the fire, her dearest friend's worried face was the first image she saw, and the realization that the latest horrible moments were nothing but parts of a bad dream finally started to put her little heart at ease.

"Angel? Baby, you were having a bad dream. It was just a bad dream..." sitting on the edge of the bed he tenderly caressed her hair, brushing away the few strands that were on her face.

"Andrew?"

"I'm here, angel. It's alright, we're safe in here." He took her hand and squeezed it tightly. But she threw herself in his arms a second later, her body now trembling with fear besides cold. "Those two men... They were here and they hit you... they were going to take me back to the trailer..."

"There's nobody around, Monica, I can assure you. I put out the fire for a while and I've been watching the surroundings through the window and I haven't heard anything, sweetie, it's all quiet. And even if they were following us, they would have to stop when the night fell, they couldn't walk through the woods."

Resting her head on his shoulder, she sighed deeply and closed her eyes, the images of the nightmare permanently on her mind. "It was so real..."

"As long as I'm here with you, they won't touch you, they won't do you any harm. Otherwise why would the Father send me to you, huh?" he gently pulled away, checking her temperature and trying not to show her all his concern when he noticed that she was still burning with fever. "Are you warm enough?"

"I'm..." Monica didn't know what to say. First because she knew he was extremely worried and she would only make him even more nervous about her condition. And second because she knew he couldn't light up the fireplace for a while – the smoke by early morning would surely attract the kidnappers attention. "I'm fine, Andrew..."

But if there was something that was second nature to him was the way she bit her lower lip and her soft brown eyes reacted every time she was avoiding to tell him what was on her mind.

Gently, he made her lie down again and straightened the blanket around her small form, holding her gaze as she looked at him again, "Allow me, angel? I cannot light up the fireplace but I could keep you warm."

As she nodded her head, he removed his shoes and lay down on the small bed beside her, immediately wrapping her in a warm, protective embrace. And she was also quick to hold him tightly, abandoning the small pillow to rest her head on his strong chest.

"Sleep, angel. I want you to rest as much as you can before we set off to search for help." He spoke, resting his chin on the top of her head, with a pensive expression on his face, now feeling even more the warmth that was coming from her skin.

Monica couldn't deny the fact that being in his arms brought her an incredible sensation of peace and comforted her troubled heart. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, secretly enjoying all the protection that only Andrew could give her. Then, when he started to run his fingers through her hair, in a monotonous movement that would surely lull her to sleep, the little angel raised her head and looked at him, shooting him a grateful look, "Thank you, Andrew... Thank you for everything..."

"No... don't even think of thanking me, sweetie." he kissed her perfumed hair as she returned to the place on his chest and tightened the hold on her small form, lifting a silent prayer for her recovery and for her safety. And his heart skipped a beat when he felt her returning the hug, as if repeating her thankful words all over again.

She was already sleeping when he whispered her name and kissed her head one more time, "I'm here for you, Monica. I'll chase away your nightmares... You'll only have good dreams from now on... Only good dreams, honey."