CHAPTER 30

A new friend

With the feeling of Andrew's warm hand on her leg, the little angel found herself drifting off into a light sleep not long after they started driving. The day had been a full one and she had started it with a wee bit of a hangover, so now her body craved some rest where wine was not the reason.

Though she was unsure how long she had been asleep, she woke up as soon as she felt the car come to a stop and she would have thought they were back at their little cabin, were it not for Andrew's murmured "Oh no..."

"Andrew?" Monica blinked sleepily for a moment and then looked over at him worriedly.

"The engine just died, baby. I'm going to take a look under the hood, but it's so dark I doubt I'll be able to see much." Giving her an encouraging smile, Andrew slipped out of the car and popped the hood.

Monica attempted to look out through the darkness and it was clear that they were on a back road and she knew it was getting late, which would limit the amount of traffic. She nibbled her lower lip worriedly, her heart racing despite the fact that she could just make out Andrew's silhouette in front of the car. But that didn't stop her relieved sigh when he got back in the car and turned to her.

"I can't see anything, Angel...and I think this seals the deal on us getting cell phones when we get home," He attempted to joke, but immediately realized it wasn't diminishing the concern in her eyes. But he was concerned too. As it was early spring, the temperatures had dropped considerably since the sun had gone down and it would be fairly chilly to stay in the car all night, but on the other hand, it might be their only option.

She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly, "All right. So we'll stay here until help comes...or until morning as there doesn't appear to be much traffic at the moment." The little angel was already certain of what her husband was going to suggest and she was hoping her alternative would be good enough for him, but knowing how protective Andrew had always been, she was fairly sure she was being ineffective.

"Angel, its cold tonight," His hand reached up to cup her cheek, feeling the chill of her skin as if confirming his words, "I'd like to see if I can find a shelter nearby. I won't be gone long, I promise."

"I could come with you-." Monica began hopefully.

Andrew glanced out the window of the rental car. There were woods surrounding them and the last thing he wanted to do was to lead her into something potentially dangerous, "Baby, just let me have ten minutes to look around and then one way or another, I'll be back; either to take you with me or to wait in the car with you, all right?"

He was still stroking her cheek tenderly and she sighed. He asked for so little from her and gave her so much, so no matter how much she didn't want him going out there alone, she also knew she wasn't going to argue with him about it either. Sadly, she nodded her head.

"Monica, I promise," Andrew stated softly as he leaned in to kiss her lips.

"Please be careful."

"I will. Lock the doors, okay? I won't be long." Another quick kiss and he was out of the car and quickly leaving her sight.

The little angel's eyes remained glued to the window, even after Andrew had vanished from her vision into the darkness, a whispered prayer already falling from her lips, which still tingled from her husband's kiss. She tried to gauge the time that was passing, but every minute seemed a small eternity with Andrew not beside of her and she was soon certain it had been way over ten minutes since he had left.

Monica hesitated. He had asked her to stay in the car but what if he was in trouble and she was just sitting here? The thought nearly made her stomach lurch and she struggled to calm her suddenly racing heart. Grabbing the keys from the ignition, she shoved them into the pocket of her jeans before unlocking the car and cautiously climbing out into the cold night air.

A shiver ran through her, more from fear than the cold and she called out Andrew's name, though it came out as a hoarse whisper. Clearing her throat, she called out again, but was greeted with only silence. Venturing a few steps in the direction he had gone, Monica pulled her light sweater tighter around her small frame.

After walking for a few minutes and pondering the wisdom of her decision, a rustling in the brush beside of her caused a tiny cry to escape her lips. Her legs were shaking so badly she didn't know how they were still supporting her as she froze in place, the only sound at first that of her own rapidly beating heart. A second later, a small whimper replaced her fear with great concern just as her eyes were growing accustomed to the darkness.

A small golden puppy looked up at her fearfully but as soon as the angel bent down to scoop it up, it grew frightened and turned and ran, but not without Monica noticing that the poor animal was limping and favouring a front paw.

Monica's heart had always been extremely sensitive to children and animals and now she put her own fear aside to help another, even if the other was a lost puppy, she still saw it as one of the Father's magnificent creations. Just able to make out the puppy, the angel ran after it, deeper and deeper into the woods, until she stumbled over some tree roots and felt herself flying forward to land on the hard, unforgiving ground.

Catching her breath and brushing off her skinned palms, Monica came to the realization that she had not only lost the puppy, but she had also completely lost her way. It was something she should be used to by now, but being lost never failed to unnerve her and she felt unbidden tears spring to her eyes. Andrew was going to be worried if he had returned to the car by now and that mere thought alone caused her heart to ache almost painfully.

Sniffling, the little angel wondered what she should do when she felt a tiny, warm lick to her hand. Looking down, she saw the little puppy looking up at her with soulful eyes, still holding up the wounded paw.

"Ah, wee one, thank you for coming back," Monica smiled tearfully as she carefully lifted the puppy into her arms and was rewarded with happy kisses to her face, "Well, you're quite welcome, but right now, we have a problem, wee puppy. We're lost, you see and Andrew, that's my husband, is either lost too or back at the car and terribly worried about me."

Holding the pup carefully, Monica rose to her feet and turned around to face the way she had come. She had to try to find her way back at the very least and by now she was frightened enough that any scolding from Andrew would be well worth being found.

She walked on with purpose, trying to force herself to feel braver than she did though every little sound or rustle from the woods made her want to scream as she remembered Andrew telling her about this being bear country. Maybe the puppy had been hurt by a bear and maybe that bear was still lingering nearby. It was enough to cause her steps to quicken and when another several minutes produced no comforting results, she was unable to help the tiny sob that escaped her.

"Monica!"

The second her tears began, the sound of Andrew's sweet and deeply concerned voice reached her ears, "Andrew! Andrew!"

With her frightened voice, a wave of relief washed over the nearly frantic blonde angel, "Just stay still, Angel, and talk to me, I'll come to you."

Tearful pleas for him to find her followed and a moment later, the little angel was in his sheltering embrace, "Thank God, Angel! I was so worried about you."

"I'm sorry...you were gone too long and I got worried...I should have stayed in the car..."

"I should have taken you with me," Andrew corrected her, incredibly sorry for his decision she stay in the car, knowing her worry for his safety would get the better of her. That decision is what had his little wife trembling in his arms, "It's okay, baby. I'm the one who is sorry. You're safe now," As his heartbeats slowed back to normal, he only then noticed her arms were not wrapped around him. Pulling away a little, an amused smile finally graced his handsome face, "Seems as if you've found a friend." His hand immediately rested on the puppy's head and received a warm tongue to his wrist in response.

"It's hurt," Monica's eyes and voice were both still teary, her expression one of a child who was looking to him to fix the problems currently in her world, "Its paw. He was limping."

"Okay," He wiped the tears from her face, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead, "I found what apparently used to be rental cabins, but they have long since been deserted. They'll work as shelter for the night and by morning we should be able to flag down some help and get the rental car agency to switch out our car for one that runs." Her tiny giggle warmed his heart as he wrapped his arm tightly around her shoulders, "C'mon, let's get you both out of the cold."

As Andrew led her through the woods, Monica felt peace once again fill her heart now that she was once again safe with her eternal protector. Still holding the puppy snugly against her chest, she tilted her head up to look at her husband, "Thank you for finding me...and for not being upset with me."

Kissing the top of her head, Andrew replied with no hesitation, "There was nothing to be upset with you about, sweetheart. One day I'll learn that leaving you alone to worry is just not a good idea. And the part about finding you? Wasn't going to stop until I did."

"I know," She replied sweetly and it caused him to tighten his hold on her a little more.

They soon arrived at the cabins Andrew had found and he led her into the one he had deemed as the largest and the cleanest and then locked the door behind them. Monica watched, still clutching the puppy, as her husband rummaged around for some matches and lit the two candles on the table and only then could she clearly make our their surroundings.

Though only one room and an adjoining bathroom, the cabin was relatively clean and contained a small kitchen and a double bed as well as a fireplace, which Andrew was already working on getting a fire burning in order to warm the rather cold cabin.

As he worked on starting the fire, Monica rummaged through the kitchen until she found a bowl and filled it with water for the puppy, watching with concern as he drank it thirstily, "Poor little wee one. You were quite thirty. How about if I see if I can find you anything to eat?"

Casting a sidelong glance at Andrew, she frowned. He seemed upset somehow and she wondered if maybe despite what he'd said, if he really was at least a little bit angry with her. The thought made her nibble her lower lip, but she elected to wait to ask him about it until the fire was blazing and she'd hopefully found something presentable for their guest to eat.

She managed to locate a can of soup and though slightly doubtful, she opened it and poured it into another bowl to offer it to the puppy, both pleased and saddened that he lapped at it as if he had not eaten in quite some time. She watched him for a moment before turning her attention back to her husband, who had succeeded in having a significant blaze in the fireplace.

"Andrew?"

Standing up to face her, his expression was immediately concerned, "What's wrong, baby? Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine...I'm just not sure if you are. I can understand if you are upset with me; I know I worried you by leaving the car after you'd asked me to stay-."

"Angel, Angel, no," Andrew shook his head and moved to her to cup her worried face in his hands, his eyes drinking in her beauty and those sweet brown eyes, "I'm upset with myself, baby. You see, I asked you to stay in the car so I wouldn't worry about you being in any danger, but that wasn't fair. I should have immediately taken into consideration that it placed you in a position to worry about me." Stroking her cheek tenderly, he sighed, "I told you just yesterday that your ability to get lost simply meant I needed to keep you right beside me. Apparently, I need to take heed of the things I say."

She studied his face in silence for a moment, hating that he blamed himself for her getting lost, but then again, it was typically Andrew, "I love you so much," Monica finally whispered, taking one of his hands from her face and bringing it to her lips, "And you're right, I was worried. The thought of anything happening to you...let's just say it is the one thing that can overcome my fear of venturing out into the darkness. I think if you needed me, I would gladly swim across that lake we saw yesterday."

Her expression was so earnest, it took his breath away and Andrew was unable to resist capturing her lips in his own for a sweet and tender kiss that spoke of all they were to each other, "I love you too, my precious wife," He murmured, holding her close for a moment as he reigned in his emotions, "Now, let's see about this new boyfriend of yours, shall we?"

Monica giggled and nodded before she turned around and scooped the little retriever puppy up into her arms, seeing as he had finished the soup she had found for him.

"Bring him over to the fire, Angel, so I can see his paw," Andrew urged and then waited as she brought the puppy to him, nearly chuckling at both pairs of deep brown eyes looking at him in absolute trust that he would be able to fix the problem. Gently, he looked at the front paw the pup was favouring and nodded his head, "He has a bit of glass in the pad of his paw, Angel. Hang tight and let me see what I can find, all right?"

As Monica cradled the puppy in her arms, Andrew stepped into the bathroom in the hopes of locating a few things that would be helpful and either these cabins had been extremely well stocked or he was receiving a little Divine Intervention. He elected to assume the latter.

"Okay baby," He returned to her side and motioned for her to sit down on the cabin floor. Sitting down in front of her, Andrew set aside the bandage and small bowl of soapy water and looked into his wife's worried eyes, "I'm going to have to take the glass out of his paw. I'm going to do it as quickly as I can, but try to keep him still for me, okay?" As she nodded her head, Andrew saw the way the glow of the fire caught the reddest parts of her hair and he cleared his throat to keep himself focused on the task at hand, but didn't miss Monica's questioning expression, "It would be helpful at the moment if my assistant wasn't quite so beautiful and charming," He winked at her and saw a small blush rise to her cheeks as she smiled shyly at him, "Okay, let's do this."

Andrew was as gentle as he could be and though removing the glass was quick, the puppy yelped and a sympathetic tear escaped Monica's eye.

"It's all right, wee one," She murmured as she held him next to her cheek, "It's all over now and your little paw is going to feel so much better. I promise. Andrew is wonderful at taking care of us."

His heart again overflowing with great love, Andrew grabbed the wash cloth in the warm, clean water and cleaned up the pup's paw, even as the dog bathed Andrew's hand at the same time, causing both angels to chuckle, "I would bandage it, Angel, but I have a feeling he will simply chew it off, so maybe we can find a crate to make a bed for him for the night so he stays off it."

"I think I saw a crate," She piped up and then carefully handed him the puppy, "Go to your daddy, wee one."

Another chuckle escaped Andrew at her words, certain God could not have created another creature half as adorable as the little angel. He watched as she found a crate and then shrugged her sweater off her shoulders to place it inside.

"Okay, wee pup, let's get you to bed," Monica retrieved the now sleepy puppy from her daddy's arms and laid him in the crate close to the fire, petting him until she saw his eyes droop closed in sleep, "I suppose he may belong to someone who is missing him."

"We'll do some checking tomorrow, baby, but I have a feeling that if we don't find an owner, he may have a new home."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up happily, "We can keep him? I've never had a pet before, Andrew, I mean other than my worms and I couldn't really pet them or anything."

Tugging her into his arms, Andrew kissed her softly, "Then my beautiful little wife will have a real pet and even if we find an owner on this little guy, we'll still see about an addition to the family when we get home."

"You're so good to me," Monica uttered, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and resting her ear against his heartbeat, loving the feel of his strong chest beneath her and his strong arms that held her so tenderly.

"No less than you deserve, baby. Now, it's late and we need to get some sleep." His fingers intertwined in her dark tresses, simply enjoying the way she fit so perfectly into his embrace.

"Really?" She tilted her head up to look at him, raising an eyebrow mischievously, laughing softly at his somewhat shocked expression. Standing up on tiptoe, the little angel met her lips with his in a long, languid kiss as her fingers deftly unbuttoned his shirt, allowing her hands to roam over his chest.

The kiss continued for long moments, before Andrew swept her up in his arms, his eyes, filled with a fierce love for her, gazing down at her in adoration, "Okay, so maybe sleep can wait a bit longer..."