CHAPTER 16

Marriage was blissfully sweet and as the weeks passed, Monica wasn’t sure she could be much happier.  Yes, she still battled sickness due to her pregnancy, but her doctor was pleased with her for the most part.  And there were many days she missed doing the Father’s work, but more often than not, she was reminded that He was smiling down on his angels.

Spring went from being moderately chilly to hot and humid seemingly overnight but despite the radical change in temperature, Monica was still surprised to wake up one morning feeling positively wretched.  Her head ached, her throat was sore and chills invaded her entire body. She attempted to sit up and the feeling of her head spinning caused her to return it to Andrew’s chest with a soft moan, but even a quiet sound of distress from the little angel was more than enough to wake up her ever protective angelic husband.

“Angel?  Baby?” Moving carefully from underneath her, he looked worriedly at her flushed face and rested his hand against her forehead, “You have a fever,” He murmured worriedly, as he got out of bed and went to rummage in the bathroom for a thermometer. Returning, he put it under her tongue as he sat on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair, his worried green eyes taking in the glassiness of her own brown pools.  He watched as her hands moved down to their baby and her panicked eyes found his again.

“It’ll be okay, Monica,” Andrew assured her, taking her hand into his own, feeling the sweaty clamminess of her skin.  But it was hot in the little apartment.  There was no air conditioning and the spring weather was out of the ordinarily with temperatures suddenly in the nineties and once the humidity was factored it, putting it closer to one hundred degrees.  They had a fan aimed at the bed and now he was wondering if the cooler night two nights ago, combined with the air from the fan directly on her wasn’t responsible for her being so sick now.

“One oh one point four,” He gave her the verdict and laid the thermometer on the nightstand.  Standing up, he leaned over and kissed her forehead, “Be right back, Angel.”

There was very little he knew to do for her.  Putting extra blankets around her would be obscene due to the temperature in the apartment, so he instead, found a wash cloth and filled a pan with cold water.  Returning to her side, he wrung out the cloth, folded it and laid it across her forehead, “Tell me how you’re feeling?”

“My throat is sore,” The hoarseness of her Irish lilt substantiated her words, “My head hurts and I just…I ache,” Frightened doe-like eyes searched out his reassuring gaze, “Our baby?  Will my being sick hurt her, Andrew?”

“Shhh,” Andrew caressed her cheek to calm her worry, “She’ll be fine.  I’m going to keep a close eye on your temperature to make sure it doesn’t go too high and Allie should know what medication you can safely take.  I don’t want you worrying, all right?  I am going to take care of you.”

A weak smile flitted across her lips, “You always do.  You’re forever my angel,” Her weary eyes began to close and he brought her hand to his lips.

“Forever, Angel.”

While the little angel slept, Andrew showered and walked over to Allie’s front door.  Though they saw each other at the diner more days than not, the sight of Andrew at the front door early in the morning was enough to cause Allie’s heart to leap into her throat.

“Andrew?  What’s the matter?  How is Monica?  Are she and the baby all right?  Good gravy, get in here as it is hotter than Hades out here,” She moved aside to usher him into the kitchen.

“Allie, Monica’s sick.  I think it may be the flu and I’m not sure what she can take being pregnant.  She’s running a fever and though it’s really warm over there, I don’t think the fan is the best idea…”

Allie’s eyes flickered with concern, so clearly seeing the worry on Andrew’s face for his beloved wife, “I was going to call you this morning anyway, Andrew.  With this unseasonably hot spell we’re having, I have called about air conditioning being put in your place but it won’t be till tomorrow and you two cannot stay in that heat.  I have several spare rooms, so why don’t you go get that dear little thing and bring her here?  I’ll round up some medication and get the room ready.  You two stay here until the air is installed tomorrow.”

Her voice held no room for argument, not that he would have argued anyway.  He was out of his league on this one.  He had cared for Monica before when she was sick but sick and pregnant was a different story and he didn’t want to do anything wrong.

So thirty minutes later, Andrew was tucking her into the queen sized bed in Allie’s house.  Pulling the covers up over her small form, he stroked her slightly sweaty hair back from her face, “Better, Angel?”

“Cooler,” Monica murmured, covering her mouth as a cough shook through her body and elicited a look of anguish from the Angel of Death. 

“Allie is making you some soup and hot tea, baby.  Once you have some food in you, you can take the medication she has for you.” Sitting on the edge of her bed, Andrew reached for her hand, already loathing when he and Allie would have to go to the diner for several hours.  He so did not want to leave her alone.

But the little angel was extremely perceptive at reading his thoughts and she managed a weak smile, “I’ll be fine, Andrew.  I’m so tired…I think I will just sleep most of the afternoon.”

“I’m sure you will but that still won’t keep me from coming to check on you during my dinner break,” He replied matter of factly as he placed a stray bit of hair back behind her ear.  He  wished her delicate human system wasn’t struggling so and it seemed it had been one thing or another for the last few months, between the pregnancy sickness and now this virus.  Yet she never complained and somehow it made him feel all the worse for her being sick in the first place, “I’m sorry.”

Her eyebrows knitted together in obvious adorable confusion, “Andrew?  For what? You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Maybe not, but I just wish it were me feeling so poorly all the time.  I don’t like you having to do all the hard stuff.”

Despite feeling horrible and aching right down to her bones, Monica smiled as the truth of his words washed over her, “I sometimes wish it were you too, but only so I could have the chance to take care of you the way you always do for me.”

Her earnest expression despite being so pale, brought his lips to her forehead in an intense kiss, “I love you so much, beautiful angel,” He whispered, his hand still resting against the side of her head.

Allie arrived soon after with tea and soup and Monica managed to eat about half her meal; at least enough for Andrew to feel satisfied that the cold medication that Allie had assured them was safe for her take, would not upset her stomach.  For two hours, Andrew sat at her bedside, watching her sleep, always her protector, but the time finally came for him to leave to go to work.

Sighing deeply, he leaned over the bed and kissed her forehead, grateful when she never stirred, “Sleep, my sweet angel,” He whispered, “I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

XX

Monica woke up a few hours later, still feeling achy and cold, but she knew she was alone by a glance at the clock.  Both Andrew and Allie would have been at the diner for awhile now and she sighed softly.  She hated being alone, especially when she was sick, but though she tried to fall back to sleep, she felt too restless to close her eyes.  Maybe a drink of water or juice would help, though she had no idea what was here in Allie’s home or if she should help herself. 

Slipping out of bed, she waited until the spinning of her head settled before walking out of the bedroom and to the kitchen.  The effort was exhausting and she stopped to rest before pouring a cold glass of orange juice and sipping at it tentatively.  Her throat was still sore and she still felt feverish and she supposed she should get back to bed.  But instead she found herself slowly and rather dazedly walking into the living room. 

The room wasn’t large but definitely cozy and decorated with county accents that seemed to suit Allie perfectly.  Woven baskets lines the shelves along with little plaster plaques that said things such as “Count your blessings” and “Simplify”. There was a stone fireplace with a wooden mantle above which was filled with framed photographs.

Steadying herself by holding onto the furniture, the little angel made her way to the mantle to get a closer look at the pictures.  There were several of Allie with a man she assumed had to be Ryan and sadness filled her heart as she looked at his face, so full of life, brown eyes laughing as he hugged Allie to him.  It was obvious the two had been very much in love and she shuddered imagining how horrible it must feel to have the one you love the most taken away.

Blinking back tears, Monica took in the other photographs; several were of a little boy, who had to be Jonah and then there were some with Jonah and a girl who appeared to be a few years older than he was.  The angel frowned.  Something about the girl felt familiar, but her head was aching so terribly it felt difficult to focus on why.  Glancing back to a picture of Ryan, Monica realized that maybe the reason the girl seemed familiar was that she seemed to be the very image of Ryan, but Allie had never mentioned a daughter, nor had the newspaper.  Was the girl some other relation altogether, like a cousin or niece? 

A fit of coughing overtook her that shook her small frame and magnified the pain in her head but she managed to make it back to the couch before sinking onto it weakly as she tried to catch her breath.  Her room suddenly felt miles away and she wished she had just stayed there.

“Angel?”

The sound of her angelic husband’s voice was like music and great relief filled her heart, “In here.”

The voice was hoarse and weak and Andrew quickly walked to the source, “What are you doing out of bed?  Are you all right?” He knelt down in front of her and immediately felt her forehead, relieved to find she at least didn’t feel any warmer than this morning.

“I was thirsty,” He followed her gaze to the juice on the table, “And then I just felt so weak…”

He didn’t wait to hear anymore.  Slipping his arm under knees and the other around her back, he lifted her into his arms, knowing how badly she was feeling when she simply rested her head on his shoulder.  After gently situating her back in bed, Andrew smoothed back her hair from her face and then reached for the thermometer, “Let’s see how you’re doing and while that is under your tongue, let me go fill up your juice glass for you.  I’ll be right back.”

Sinking back onto the pillows propped up behind her, Monica closed her eyes as she waited for him, hardly able to believe that such a tiny outing to the living room had tired her so much.  She couldn’t wait to fall back to sleep, but then Andrew was back, setting the juice glass down on the nightstand and taking the thermometer from her mouth.

“It’s actually down a tiny bit, Angel, and it’s time for more medicine too,” He poured the orange liquid into the little medicine cup, being especially careful she only get the recommended amount and even chuckled a little at her face after she drank it.  It was a taste she was obviously not fond of and he handed her the juice glass immediately.

“Thank you,” Monica stated softly as she handed the half empty glass back to him, “How long can you stay?”

“How about the rest of the day and all of tomorrow?” He smiled at her surprised and slightly more alert expression, “Allie called Ben in to cover for me.  She wasn’t too happy with you being alone either.”

A weak smile graced her pale face, “I feel better already.”

Though he knew that really wasn’t the case, Andrew also knew how much being sick had always frightened her.  Though she was now fairly calm when her pregnancy illness flared up, he had seen the nervousness in her eyes earlier before she had fallen asleep and the fearfulness when he had just found her in the living room, “Well, as much as I would like to believe that is true now, I hope it will be soon.  I brought you home some of Allie’s homemade chicken noodle soup you like.  Do you think you could eat?”

“Not yet.  Maybe later.  I’m just so sleepy all of a sudden….but will you stay?”

“Monica, of course.  I brought your books home so I can catch them up for you since you’re sick and I plan on doing that right here.” Walking around to the other side of the bed, he slipped off his shoes as he sat down and then swung his legs up onto the bed, leaning up against the headboard, the accounting book on his lap, “See?  Not going anywhere.  So let’s get you tucked in so you can rest.”

She leaned forward as he readjusted her pillows for her, and then he chuckled as she moved them closer to him, so she could snuggle in right beside of him, “Is this okay?”

“Perfect, baby,” He worked his fingers into her hair, combing through her locks, as she closed her eyes sleepily, “Feel better, Angel,” He added softly, but he could see she was already fast asleep, “I love you so much, Monica.” Andrew’s words caught in his throat, suddenly overcome by emotion as he gazed down at her, “and I sometimes wonder if you truly have any idea just how much.”