CHAPTER 14

The sun was rising on the horizon and its first rays shone timidly through the window in Monica's bedroom. A new day was beginning, and along with it came Andrew's hopes that the sweet and tender angel lying in that hospital bed would open her eyes for him again. But whenever he considered that possibility, two contradictory thoughts crossed his mind. He wanted so much to hear her voice again or see those beautiful doe-like eyes gazing up at him, lots of questions ready to be voiced and the meek curious expression on her face! But at the same time he feared that whenever she regained consciousness, Monica would realize that all the painful memories that had been playing on her mind like an endless nightmare were nothing but the truth.

His heart ached whenever he thought about the great pain and shame that would shatter that pure little angel's heart and the sweet and caring Monica he once knew would probably never be back to him again. That possibility made him flinch, and he quickly reached for her hand, gently squeezing it and rubbing his thumb on its back.

"My sweet Monica... I love you so much, angel. So much. And I promise you, baby, I give you my word that other than doing the Father's work, every day of my existence will be devoted to making you smile again. What I cannot promise you is that I'll be less protective. You wanted me to set you free so that you could fulfil your mission as an angel of God, but I failed. I failed in so many aspects, baby..." With tear-filled eyes, he kissed the back of her hand and stroked her hair, the image of her bruised arms and face shocked him deeply.

Andrew stood in complete silence for long minutes, just observing his beloved angel, until the moment he spoke again.

"I don't know what I did to deserve the gift of your love, but I'll spend my entire existence honoring it. You're so precious to me, angel... If I could, I'd give up my whole existence so that you didn't have to go through all this... But I can't. All I can do is be here by your side, loving you, taking care of you... and protecting you, even though you don't want me to. Please forgive me. It's a fault I... I guess I'll never be able to overcome."

The blond angel bent over and laid a gentle kiss on her forehead, that single movement causing him great pain. Then, he reached for something inside his pocket: the play ring he had found in the chapel floor. His lips curved in a bittersweet smile as he gently slid it on Monica's ring finger.

"I just hope you can accept my love, baby... someday... any day... I'll wait for you for the centuries to come if I have to." He kissed her fingers lightly. "And it's in the name of this love that I ask you... Will you marry me, Monica? Will you give me the honor to spend the rest of eternity by your side?"

He touched her cheek, as if he was touching a precious treasure, delicate porcelain that could easily be broken. "Please, just allow me to stay close to you, baby, that's all I ask... What we have... The love that wasn't even supposed to exist is growing stronger each and every second of my existence. And the time we were apart made me realize I had to prove it to you. I want to show you that it is for real and for good, angel. I just hope you can see past my mistakes and all the times I disappointed you... Please know that it wasn't my intention. All I wanted was to love you."

Frowning a bit more as he considered the future consequences of all the pain Phil had inflicted on her, Andrew pressed her hand against his heart. "This heart of mine... I feel that it has always belonged to you... And it always will, with the Father's blessing. What I ask now is your blessing. You're so precious to me, and always will be, and all I want is a chance to show this to you, as I never did it before. Please, marry me, angel! I want to be joined with you for the rest of eternity..."

Andrew had seen what victims of sexual abuse felt like. He had existed long enough to know that Monica had a long road ahead, and he had vowed to walk this hard path with her - to carry her in his arms if it was necessary. "No matter what happened to you... No matter how you feel about it, baby, I will be here, and I will be loving you. More than you can ever imagine. If tomorrow you wake up and the sun doesn't shine, I will be here."

He leaned over and brushed his lips against hers so lightly that it was like a soft breeze. "I love you, Monica. And... while you're far away, I shall remain here, dreaming of the day that we can be together... forever..."

X

Andrew spent some more minutes standing on his feet but this human form demanded some rest. Contrary to his will, he sat back on his chair and sighed deeply as he watched the sun rays shining on the bedroom floor, exhaustion written all over his handsome face. Andrew had dozed off for only a few moments during the night, after Katie had administered another dosage of sedative to Monica's IV tube. With Tess away on an assignment, he couldn't risk leaving his beloved angel alone, even if he would remain right there by her side.

Running a hand over his blond hair, his eyes followed the gentle sunrays up to the window, and he wondered if the day that had just started would be also be filled with pain and anguish. Suddenly, something called his attention and caused him to rise to his feet: a white dove perched on the window frame and cooed, eyeing curiously the interior of the room. Andrew gasped as he observed the small animal and felt his heart beat faster once the dove cooed again and few away.

On the following second, a soft moan reached his ears and that sound immediately attracted him to Monica's bed. He searched for her hand again and kissed it, placing it against his heart. "Angel?" His heart was racing with expectation and fear: were the nightmares back or was she finally regaining consciousness?

But he was speechless a moment later as she squeezed his hand in return and her eyes opened slowly, confusion written all over her face. At first Andrew even thought that she wasn't really there, that another scary flashback was causing that, but as she moved her gaze from the ceiling to his face, he gasped again. The little angel was slowly coming to full alertness.

"A-Andrew?" Regardless all the suffering that was surely yet to come, her soothing voice and the way she was gazing up at him - eyes still slightly glassy from sleep, caused his heart to ache with so much love.

A huge, overwhelming love that nearly took his breath away.

"Monica? Angel?"

"Andrew..."

With his heart racing, the angel of death reached for the cup with water and took it to her lips. "Here, angel. Drink this." He said, supporting her head up so that she could drink the content. Andrew didn't miss the look of confusion and shock in those sweet brown eyes. He dreaded the reason for this. He dreaded to have to face it right now.

Monica ended up coughing and he quickly removed the cup away, gently raising her head a bit more so that the spell was over.

"Shh... It's okay, baby. It's okay..."

Once she could breathe normally again, he straightened the pillow underneath her head and helped her to lean back again. Then, he reached for her hand. "It's alright, angel. It's over..."

"Andrew... I was in the woods, I-"

"No, angel, I need you to rest, okay?" he gently interrupted, removing a few strands of hair away from her face and daring to caress her cheek, his feather light touch never causing her any pain.

"But I-"

The monitor connected to her body told Andrew that her heartbeats had accelerated and he hit the button right above her bed. A nurse had to be called there urgently.

"I'll call Katie, okay? She's your nurse, and she's been taking such good care of you-"

"Phil..."

That name, pronounced by Monica's sweet lips, caused his ears to burn and his stomach to twist. Andrew felt anger burning inside his very soul and an urgent wish to hunt that man. The angel of God didn't know what he would be capable of doing once he laid his eyes on that bastard again.

"Monica... angel, please, don't..."

But her following words surprised him in a way he could have never imagined.

"I'm so sorry, I was so worried about you!" tears soon filled her eyes and started to fall freely. And it was at that moment that Andrew knew she had remembered the night in the woods. He didn't manage to avoid it. Once again, he had failed.

"Please, angel, don't think about what happened! I don't want to hear it, I-"

Monica shook her head stubbornly, "You saved me and I thought I had abandoned you..." slowly, she reached out and touched his face, an attitude that Andrew found rather strange under those circumstances. And the slight crying smile that appeared on her face caused him to frown.

"I... I was so worried about you..." she added.

"Baby, I-"

"I though he... he had come back... I left you when you most needed me, Andrew..."

"Monica, angel, I should be saying that to you!"

"No... You saved me. Even hurt and bleeding you managed to save me from him. I went to the woods and tried to call his attention... I even took his gun and knife with me so that he didn't hurt you..."

Andrew's head reared back as he suddenly felt his breath catch in his throat, unable to believe the words she had just spoken. What she was telling him was totally different from what he had imagined. So different he wondered if Monica was trying to hide the awful truth from him. But what she told him next put an end to his anguish and pain.

"I ran... and I ran... There were times he was so close that I thought he could hear my heartbeats. But then he was gone for good and I... I felt so much pain and it was so cold..."

"The cut on your leg, Monica... How did it happen?" he just couldn't help asking, desperately trying to believe that his beloved angel girl hadn't suffered the same violence Phil's former victims had.

"I stumbled and fell on the ground and I cut myself with the knife I stole from Phil..."

A single tear fell from his eye, but this time it wasn't from sadness. Much on the contrary: Andrew felt his soul being washed by a flood of relief. He then graced her with a smile; fingers tenderly stroking her dishevelled auburn hair, while he kept her hand close to his heart.