CHAPTER 12

Settling In

By the time the two angels returned to their apartment from the roof, Monica's eyelids were already beginning to droop. Andrew knew she was more than a little bit sleep deprived after such a stressful and lonely week, so he tenderly urged her to go get ready for bed.

He then waited an appropriate amount of time, before he knocked softly on her bedroom door and grinned when he heard her sleepy, "C'min Andrew."

She was already curled up in her bed, hair fanned out over her pillow and hands tucked beneath her cheek. It was an image that caused his heart to beat so loudly he was sure Monica would be able to hear it, but of course, she couldn't.

Andrew sat down carefully on the edge of her bed and moved his hand to caress her cheek with his fingers, "I think someone is exhausted."

"Mmm hmmm." Monica grinned up at him before her expression turned hopeful, "Andrew...stay with me. Please?"

He hesitated. They had talked about this; about being careful, but one look into her pleading brown pools and he knew the battle was lost.

"This is not going to become a habit," He told her sternly, even as he moved to the other side of the bed, and lay down on top of her blankets, though he had to fight to keep his strict expression in place when he saw the little grin playing on her lips.

"Of course not," She replied, rolling over and abandoning her pillow for his chest, a small sigh escaping her when she felt his arms enfold her, "I've just missed you so this week."

His heart melted at her words, and he moved his head to kiss the top of hers, "I missed you too, baby. Now sleep, Angel. I'm right here with you."'

The feeling of his fingers running through her dark hair, lulled her off to sleep almost immediately and Andrew smiled as her felt her relax completely into his arms. If only it could always be this simple for her; a movie, the stars, being together. But he knew that human life contained so much more; some of it wonderful and some of it difficult and all his heart longed for was to be able to shelter the little angel in his arms from any of the difficult things. In moments like these, when she lay snuggled in his arms, Andrew actually believed it was indeed possible.

x

Though some days were endless, and others seemed to fly by faster than Monica could ever comprehend, they quickly passed from the warmth of summer into the cooler days of fall, and before too long, the angels realized they would soon need to Christmas shop as Thanksgiving was right around the corner.

Halloween had come and gone and though it was a holiday that didn't particularly appeal to Andrew, watching Monica gleefully open the apartment door to little trick or treaters, dresses up as pirates, fairies, princesses and a sundry of animals had caused him to somewhat change his mind about the morbid holiday. Watching the little angel's obvious joy as she fussed over each costume and handed out little bags of treats brought both peace and enchantment to his heart.

As their days in this new life had turned to several weeks, things had become more of a comfortable routine. Their combined incomes allowed them to live comfortably as well as to tuck some money away into a saving account that they never really discussed. There were two things Andrew knew they simply didn't speak of to each other; one was his working nights. Monica hated it and though she had accepted it as part of the way things needed to be, she was far from comfortable with it. Those were still the nights she lied awake, willing sleep to come though more often than not, it avoided her. The week he worked nights was the week her emotions were on overdrive due to exhaustion, so he strove to reassure her any way he could. He would call her at home, right after she got home from work, and again right before she would go to bed, just to tell her how much he loved her and so that she would know he was all right. It helped as much as it possibly could, but Andrew knew there would never be a perfect solution for her when it came to his night shifts.

The other thing they didn't discuss was how long they had been here or how long they thought this would last. He knew the repercussions of being here were two-fold for Monica. Deep inside, she was still hurt by Tess banishing them to earth to find their way alone. Andrew knew that his beloved Angel had forgiven her former supervisor as not forgiving was simply not in Monica's nature, yet he could also see her pain at times, when Ella would say something that reminded her of Tess. Though Ella knew nothing about Monica's past, Andrew could clearly see the grief that would flash in those mocha colored eyes, before she would subdue it once more.

The other reason they didn't discuss their time on earth was because they both feared it ending and they would have to go their separate ways. At least now they were together and there was no one down here to tell them that their love was forbidden. Here and now, they were free to be together and that kept them from discussing when and how their current situation might end.

But now with Thanksgiving only a week away, Andrew was presented with an entirely new problem. The fire department didn't close for holidays and as low man on the totem pole, Andrew was stuck working the day of the holiday, though the good news was that he would be off work for Christmas. Though he would be working a day shift for Thanksgiving, he certainly couldn't leave the cooking to the culinary challenged Monica, though the thought made him smile, thinking about how much trouble she could get into during his eight hour shift, with as little as a turkey and a stove.

Monica looked up from where she sat curled up on the sofa with her lesson plans for the upcoming week. Though Andrew held a magazine in his hands, she smiled, clearly seeing he was not paying attention to it. She loved these moments; when she could watch him and he wasn't aware of it. She loved the way his eyes flickered as his mind tried to solve whatever problem he was facing, and the way his brow would furrow with the possible solutions and the silent sigh that would cause his strong chest to heave as he pondered the answer. They were all things that caused her heart to beat a wee bit faster and she closed her planner, quietly laying it on the end table.

"Andrew?"

The sound of the endearing way only she pronounced his name took him from his reverie as he turned to face her, looking a little sheepish over the mischievous glint in her eyes, "Angel. Sorry, I was just thinking."

"So I noticed," Monica replied with a grin as she got up from her end of the sofa to snuggle in next to him.

Gratefully, Andrew enclosed his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, "All finished with your lessons?"

"Mostly. There is still tomorrow to finish up and this is a short week anyway, with Thanksgiving on Thursday."

Andrew gave out a short sigh, "Angel, about Thanksgiving..."

"You have to work, don't you?" Her expression was crestfallen, so he was quick to reassure her.

"Yes but only until four, and I have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off."

Her face relaxed a little as she looked up into his eyes worriedly, "Then why are you so worried? We can just have a later dinner."

"Yes," He began slowly, "That's kind of what I was thinking..." These were the moments when he was frustrated over their situation. Last year, it had been he, Monica and Tess sharing this holiday, with Tess in charge of most of the cooking. Now, here they were, in this new life and he wanted everything to be perfect for Monica, but with him having to work and not having Tess' expertise to help Monica with dinner, he wasn't too sure of what to do.

His hesitation told her all she needed to know, "Oh," Monica stated quietly as she dropped her eyes to her lap.

She didn't have to tell Andrew how she viewed her lack of cooking ability as one of her personal failures and he hated that she felt that way. His mind raced for a solution as it was so important to have one, "No, don't even think that way, baby," He squeezed her tightly and kissed her firmly on her forehead, "Here's what we'll do," Andrew knew he was taking his life...or rather the life of their apartment into his hands, but there was no other solution, "We'll get the turkey all ready to go the night before and then I'll put it in the oven on low before I leave in the morning, so it can cook all day long, okay? We can get the other dishes pretty much ready Wednesday night too and then they can just be heated up when I get home on Thursday."

Noting how he'd said "We'll" when talking about the turkey made Monica's heart ache pleasantly. She never had to explain anything to him; he already knew, "We can grocery shop tomorrow, after church." She added eagerly, her eyes once again bright with excitement.

"That sounds perfect, Angel," He smiled, watching her in amusement as the happy smile played on her lips. She was enough to take his breath away.

"Then it's all settled. I'm so glad you'll be home for dinner, Andrew." Her shining dark eyes danced up at him and he could hardly contain himself. Lowering his head and surprising her, he captured her lips with his own in a long, languid kiss.

Monica's surprise only lasted for a heartbeat before she melted into the tender caress, her small fingers delicately grazing his cheek as his hands got lost in her long auburn locks, "Andrew..." She murmured as his lips trailed down her face and to her neck and a contented sigh escaped her. Her hands sought out his face and she guided him back to her hungry lips and the moment didn't end until they were both gasping for breath.

Looking up at him, Monica's hands framed his handsome face, "I love you so much."

"Not half as much as I love you," Andrew replied, as his heart finally began to slow back down to a normal beat.

Her eyes gazed into his, memorizing the tiny flecks of gold within his emerald eyes, "Every day," She murmured, her voice laced with disbelief, "Every day I wonder how I could ever love you more than I already do, but by the time the sun begins its descent, I know that it is indeed possible."

The emotion in his throat made it impossible for him to speak for a moment as his thumb brushed against her lower lip, "My precious little angel girl," He said softly, "It doesn't matter that the sun rises into the sky in the morning or disappears from sight in the evening, because for me, every day begins and ends with you."

A blush colored her cheeks as she smiled shyly up at him, "You're such a blessing to me, Andrew. The Father knew all my dreams when He gave you to me, even though I didn't know the dreams existed yet."

"I'm going to make all of your dreams come true, Monica."

"Andrew, you already have."