Chapter 25

Tess sighed softly as she continued to watch Paul pace back and forth restlessly. Though it was nearly dawn, the agent showed no sign of wanting or needing to sleep but his constant movement was beginning to wear on the senior angel.

“Baby, please take a load off for a few minutes. All that pacing is wearing me out.”

He managed a wry smile before he sat down heavily in the waiting room chair across from her, letting out a sigh as he did so, “You’re sure she is going to be all right?”

“She will be all right in time, though unless the Father has other plans, it will take her a bit of time to completely recover. Now, why don’t you tell me what it is that is eating away at you?” She looked at him pointedly, having asked a direct question, fully expecting a direct answer.

“She’s here because of me, Tess. She took that bullet for me,” He shook his head sadly, “All I ever wanted to do was to keep her safe and in the end none of it mattered, and I’m not even sure of why she would do such a thing.”

“Because that is who she is, baby,” Her answer required no hesitation, “She knew you were in trouble and her nature has always been to help, no matter what the odds against her might be. Monica loves you, Paul, with the pure love that only an angel is capable of feeling,” She could see tears in his eyes before he looked away to hide them. “At a time when nothing in her existence made sense to her, she found a friend and an ally in you. She found in you goodness, which helped her to hold onto the hope that there was still goodness to be found in a world that was showing her mostly evil. The thought of David hurting you was more than she was able to bear.”

“Did she tell you this…when you were with her during the surgery?” He asked, still feeling a bit confused about the capacity with which Tess had been able to stay near the little angel as she had fought for her life.

“Not in so many words, Paul, but I know her heart,” She replied with a smile, “And I may be an old angel, but I’m not a blind one. I can see what she found in you.”

A slight blush rose to his cheeks as he ran a hand over his eyes, “How…how do I thank her for doing what she did? How do I thank an angel for saving my life?”

“With words straight from your heart, baby,” Reaching across, she laid a hand on Paul’s knee, “Though I have a feeling that just knowing you are all right is going be more than enough for that little angel.”

He was quiet for a moment, as if contemplating something, “Does she like flowers?”

“Lilacs are her favorite,” Tess smiled knowingly, thinking about how many times she had heard Monica state that their fragrance was like springtime in heaven.

Paul decided he would be asking the florist to deliver every lilac they had, as well as raiding the gift shop when they opened for anything he thought might bring a smile to her face when she opened her eyes. He knew he was going to have to go to the agency today and straight to the top at that, and he was already agonizing about leaving Monica’s side, but today was the day he was going to bring down the man who had started all of this trouble in the first place. Yes, he was going to bring Mike down…and then he was going to find David and make him wish that he had never been born.

“Did you get to see her, Angel Boy?” Tess’ question to Andrew pulled Paul from his planning as he too, looked up questioningly.

The angel nodded his head solemnly. Though thankful that she would be all right, just seeing her lying there was a reminder that she had been hurt to begin with and walking out of the recovery room had been the hardest thing he could ever remember doing. Though he knew she was never alone, it just hadn’t felt right to leave her in the event she might wake up and feel confused and afraid. He was counting down the minutes until she was moved to her room on this floor and he could take up permanent residence beside her bed.

“She hasn’t woken up yet,” He ran his hands over his face tiredly, his chaotic emotions wearing him down.

“She will when she is ready, baby,” Tess assured him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as he sat down beside of her, “She has been through quite an ordeal and so have the two of you.”

“The only difference is that she is the one who has been beaten up and shot,” Andrew replied bitterly, his own tone of voice catching him off guard, but it was too late to turn back now, “I try not to question, Tess, but this, I don’t understand. Why was she assigned to David to begin with if she couldn’t make a difference? She tried to get through to him again tonight, Paul, right?”

The agent nodded his head, “She tried to reason with him…she tried everything short of…um…lighting up…but nothing she said was making a difference.”

“Sometimes, babies, differences are not made at the moment the words are spoken. Impact can occur much later and then he may be ready for her to ‘light up’,” She looked at Paul and raised her eyebrows.

Andrew’s eyes grew wide at her words, “Are you telling me this isn’t over yet for her?”

“It’s over when the Father says it is over, Andrew and so far, I have not been given that news,” She replied firmly, but the blond angel was already shaking his head.

“I don’t want her anywhere near him, ever again.”

“It isn’t up to us to question, Andrew and you know that…” Tess argued. She was trying to be as gentle as she could manage, knowing he was tired and worried.

“I’m not questioning. I’m stating a fact. I don’t want David anywhere near her. Look at what he did tonight! Look at what he did two nights ago! How is she expected to carry on with this?” Not waiting for a reply, he rose to his feet, forcing himself to calm down, “I’m sorry. Obviously, I need to cool off. I’ll be back before they bring Monica to her room.”

Paul watched him go as his own eyes flashed with anger, his mind echoing every sentiment that the angel had said.

*****

Andrew knew that he needed to get his temper under control. He stalked down the hospital corridors, his strides growing longer and faster. The last thing Monica had asked of him kept running through his brain. "Don’t be mad." He had to at least try to abide by that, but it was proving to be much more difficult than he had anticipated. Now his frustration had overflowed from David right up to God Himself. He stopped just outside the hospital and leaned against the cool bricks.

"Father," he sighed, "please forgive me. I’ve been trying to handle this on my own but I can’t. I can’t do it without Your help."

That realization was almost startling to him. He hadn’t meant to do it, but ever since McArthur, he had shut God out. He had felt the anger and hatred forming in his soul and he had been ashamed, but rather than take it to God he had attempted to take care of it himself. All along he should have been handing it over to God and letting Him shoulder the burden. He felt his heart lighten, and a warmth in his soul that could only come from the Father.

"Thank you," he whispered. His anger wasn’t gone, it wasn’t something that could instantly be taken away, but now it felt manageable. He didn’t know what the future held for Monica or for him but now he felt like he could face it. Whatever happened, they would all get through it and emerge safe on the other side.

Andrew looked up at the sky. It was close to four a.m. and the sun was already beginning to send up a haze of light that turned the blanket of stars from jet black to a paler navy. He suddenly felt a familiar weight in his pocket. Reaching down, he pulled out his pocket watch. He hadn’t carried it since just before Monica arrived in the witness protection plan. It was a reminder to him: all things with patience, and in God’s time. Taking in another deep breath to steady himself he pushed off from the wall and walked back inside the hospital. Monica would be in her room soon and he was going to be there when she arrived.

*****

"Where is he Tess? Can’t you… I don’t know… "home in" on him somehow?"

"Paul, it doesn’t work that way," Tess explained patiently, hiding her rolling eyes and slightly amused expression by turning away.

"It’s been almost an hour…"

"He’ll be back when he’s ready. I think he needed to get a fresh perspective on things."

Paul nodded. He was feeling like he could use one of those as well. His prayers had been answered, and Monica would live, but he still felt a hollow place inside. It was the place Lauren had filled, and since her death he had kept it stuffed full of work. Now, with Mike’s betrayal, even work didn’t seem like a safe haven. Monica had shown him the beginnings of something else, but it was something he still couldn’t bring himself to completely trust. He was standing with his toes over the edge of an enormous darkened cliff with a tiny pinhole of light at the bottom. He knew that light could change everything, but it still looked like long way down.

"You know, baby, you could feel the same way. Just talk to Him. Let him in just a little way and He’ll do the rest," Tess said as she walked over to the agent.

"Yeah… I know. I just don’t think I’m quite ready yet…"

"Quite ready?" Tess shook her head. "You were born ready, Paul, but God will be waiting for you whenever you decide that you’re ‘ready’.”

Paul said nothing else, and Tess didn’t push, but she hoped that he was at least thinking about what she had said.

The heavy door swung open and they both looked up, hoping that it was Andrew and relieved to see the angel walk in, looking much calmer, and almost at peace.

“We were just talking about you, Andrew,” Tess said. “They should be bringing Monica up any time now.”

“I know. I’m sorry I was gone so long. I just had Someone I needed to talk to.”

Tess smiled knowingly. Monica was going to need all of their love and support and it was good to see that Andrew had released at least some of his negative emotions to God.

Andrew was about to say more, but the door eased open again, and a nurse held it open while two orderlies wheeled Monica in on a stretcher, IV bags nestled beside her. Paul’s heart was thudding almost painfully against his chest as he saw her for the first time.

“We’ll have her settled in just a minute,” the nurse said. Her face was kind, and she looked around at the assembled group with sympathy and compassion.

Tess nodded and the three of them stood back to give the medical personnel room to work. Five minutes later the little angel was tucked into her new bed and the nurse was reconnecting the IV and oxygen lines. She turned to them when she was done and noticed again how drawn and tense their faces were.

“I can have another cot brought in, and one of you can use the other bed,” she said, motioning to the second, unoccupied bed. “I’m afraid two cots won’t fit.”

“That’s all right, I’m not going to be staying,” Paul said abruptly.

“Okay, then I’ll just see about getting that cot,” she said, and then quietly left the room, sensing that what they really wanted was to be left alone with their friend.

“You don’t have to leave,” Andrew said as soon as the door slid shut. “She’ll want you here.”

“And I want to be here,” Paul replied, “but I have things that need to be done, and if I don’t leave soon I know I won’t be able to leave at all.” He looked over at Monica and moved closer to her bed. I just wanted a few minutes with her, if that’s okay?”

“Of course, baby. We’ll be right outside.”

Paul’s eyes showed his thanks as the two angels left and he sat down in the chair beside Monica’s bed. “Hey there, Monica,” he said lightly, a futile attempt to keep his emotions in check. “I’m not… I’m not very familiar with having this kind of conversation,” he continued awkwardly. He picked up her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You probably can’t even hear a thing I’m saying, but I just felt like I needed to tell you how… how… unbelievable doesn’t even begin to describe it… how incredibly, brave and selfless and loving you are. You saved my life, Monica… that’s not something I’ll ever forget. I have a lot more to tell you, but I have to leave for a while, little angel. Andrew and Tess’ll take good care of you I’m sure.” He leaned in and for the first time placed a delicate kiss on her cheek. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Andrew looked up and met Paul’s eyes as the agent emerged from the room, clearly seeing the raw emotion on his friend’s face and the angel’s eyes filled with understanding. Paul simply nodded in his direction, not trusting himself enough to speak at the moment as he turned away and headed down the hall.

The angel hoped that Paul got some sleep before returning as all he had uncovered today and all that had happened tonight had taken a visible toll on the man and Andrew’s heart felt heavy for him. He waited until the agent had gotten into the elevator before he turned and followed Tess into Monica’s room.

She looked much the same way as the last time he had seen her; still pale and still sleeping and he hoped she continued to sleep for a while. She had been exhausted before tonight had ever happened as she had not been sleeping well and he welcomed the rest for her.

“Hello, baby,” Tess’ words brought him from his thoughts and he watched as the supervisor covered the little angel’s hand with her own as a loving smile formed on her face, “You did just fine tonight with David, Angel Girl, just fine.”

Andrew felt a lump rise to his throat, knowing how much those words from Tess would mean to Monica and he hoped that she was able to hear them. He had no doubts that she felt as if she had failed in helping her assignment, but her supervisor was telling her otherwise and the Irish angel rarely doubted the things that Tess said.

“Angel Boy, I need to go as well,” She watched as Andrew’s eyes widened in surprise, unable to believe that she was willing to leave Monica. Seeing his distress, she held up her hand, “I’ll be back as soon as I can, but I still have an assignment. Kristin left David yesterday and I need to find her. Your assignment is stay with Monica, just as you have done all along,” She assured him before he could even ask and she watched the relief cross over his face.

“You’ll be back soon?” He asked hopefully, knowing Monica was going to want to see both her and Paul as well when she finally awoke.

“As soon as I can, baby. I promise,” She approached the Angel of Death and gave him a warm hug, “Get some rest, Andrew. She’ll be sleeping for a while, I’m sure, so use the time wisely.”

As he nodded his head, she vanished from sight and he sat down in the chair that Paul had abandoned not long ago. Taking the angel’s hand, he folded it into both of his, as his eyes rested on her sleeping face, “I’m here, angel,” He whispered, “I’m here.”

Chapter 26

Paul inserted the key card into his new hotel room at nearly noon, trying to clear the weariness from his mind as the light flashed green and he opened the door. He had just returned from speaking with the director of the FBI and APBs had been put out on Mike and David, but so far neither man had been found. He knew it would take time, but he would not rest easily until they were both behind bars. After all, both men were a threat to him, though maybe not as much so now that the case had been cracked wide open, but his trust for Mike was now non-existent and he wouldn’t put it past the man to still try to see to his demise.

His previous hotel room was now a crime scene and the agency had taken care of getting him another room in another hotel as a safety precaution. Under normal circumstances, he would have been there working the scene with them, but to see that room again would only be a reminder of a little angel lying in a hospital bed and he simply wasn’t up to it. The image was enough to cause his heart to clench and he was anxious to return to the hospital, but not without making a few calls and grabbing a shower. He was desperate for sleep, but he had a feeling that once his head hit the pillow, he would not awaken for quite awhile and until he was able to speak with Monica sleep was simply not an option nor a priority.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he kicked off his shoes and tugged open the nightstand drawer to retrieve a telephone book. Grabbing it, his gaze caught on the Bible that hotels kept in the rooms and he was reminded of his conversation with Tess.

Ever since Lauren had died he had made it a point to depend on no one other than himself. People were fickle and often cruel and falling in love had only meant getting hurt when that person had been ripped violently from his life. He had decided long ago that trusting or depending on anyone else was simply not worth the risk or the pain that accompanied it.

Work had become his only friend and he had thrown himself into it passionately, succeeding in his cases more often than not and he had tried to find satisfaction and comfort in a job well done. That tactic had worked for quite some time, but suddenly it was no longer enough.

Monica had changed everything for him and not just today when she had put her own safety aside to save his life. No, she had made him to see things through her eyes and they were eyes that trusted a greater power, no matter what was thrown her way. Where he had always put his job first, she placed everyone else first; him, Andrew, her assignment. She had a peace that he was only just beginning to understand and he was starting to realize that he wanted to.

Even her last words before unconsciousness had claimed her had been proof of that peace. He could only imagine the pain that had been consuming her in those moments, but she had still insisted she was not afraid. She had trusted that regardless of what happened, whether she lived or died, that God would take care of her. It was trust in the truest form of the word and he longed to understand it better.

But even while he wanted that, he still struggled with why things had happened the way that they had. Andrew had said that God loved him, but yet God had allowed Lauren to be killed. If God loved Monica, than why had she been allowed to be hurt? If God loved all His children, then why did so many of them hurt each other?

These were the questions that plagued his mind and heart; the things that kept him from taking that leap of faith off the cliff and into the light. As of right now, his trust for God was not complete. Andrew, Monica and Tess were proof that He existed, but Paul was still the keeper of his own heart and for now it felt much safer that way.

*****

Tess frowned as she stood outside of the seedy motel located on the bad side of town. The building was run down, but considering David’s lengthy unemployment, she was sure that Kristin had been unable to afford any better.

Vanishing from the street, the angel then appeared in the young woman’s hotel room and shuddered as a cockroach ran across the end of her shoe. She had never liked creepy crawly things and she wasn’t at all happy with the fact that the soon to be mother was in a place so unsanitary.

Kristin emerged from the bathroom, eyes red from tears and she stopped short with a gasp at the sight of Tess. A soft glow now surrounded her friend from the unemployment agency and her eyes widened in disbelief for just a moment before they cleared.

“You’re an angel, aren’t you?” She whispered, sinking down on the edge of the bed.

Tess looked surprised for a fraction of a second before she smiled, “That’s right, baby. God sent me here to you.”

“It’s about David, isn’t it? He’s in trouble; I can feel it.”

“Kristin, David hurt someone last night. He was offered a large sum of money to kill someone and in his desperation to hold onto you, he agreed…” The angel sat down on the bed next to Kristin and reached for her hand, holding it gently in her own.

The color drained from the woman’s face as she lowered her eyes, “He killed someone?”

“No, he failed at that, but he is in a bit of trouble. It was Monica he hurt-,” Seeing Kristin open her mouth in distress, Tess added quickly, “But as she is an angel as well, she is going to be fine eventually.”

“I…I can’t believe he would do this…this isn’t him, Tess. He was so different before…so good. He went to school, he had a good job, he was going to be a wonderful father and now it’s all so wrong…” She forced back tears, trying to focus on what she should be doing, “No one can help him now…”

“That’s where you are wrong, baby. God can help him and that is why Monica was sent to him in the first place. He already regrets what he did and he may need your help seeing the rest of the truth if he decides to come to you. But the first thing we need to do is to get you out of this dump…”

“There is nowhere else for me to go, Tess…” She whispered sadly, “I have no money, Tess and no one wants to hire someone as pregnant as I am…The police will be all over my old apartment…”

“Rumor has it, Kristin, that a certain friend of yours has a little kitten that needs to be taken care of and payment for that is you can stay at her place until things work out,” Tess smiled gently at her, anxious to get her out of her current residence.

Kristin managed a shaky smile, “Tell Monica she has a deal.”

*****

The room had been nearly silent as the darkness of early morning gave way to the dawn, and then late morning on into noontime. Tess had told him to use the time wisely, and he knew that she meant he should grab whatever sleep he could. He had pulled the small cot right next to the little angel’s bed in an attempt to convince himself that he would know if she stirred but he still found it impossible to close his eyes for more than a few minutes at a time.

“Still no response?” Andrew had been so focused on Monica’s face that he hadn’t even heard the nurse enter.

“Not yet, Sarah.” The nurse had come on shift at six a.m. and had paused in her rounds each time to give him a few words of encouragement.

“The anesthesia should be out of her system, but she’s been through a lot of trauma. It could take some time for her to come around.” She spoke quietly and kindly as she carefully took the angel’s vital signs, writing everything down on the chart that hung at the foot of her bed. “I could bring you some lunch if you’d like, but it looks like you’d be better off trying to get some sleep.”

“Actually, some coffee would be great,” Andrew replied as he sat up. “I’ve been trying to sleep, but I can’t seem to take my eyes off her. I don’t want her to wake up alone.”

“I understand,” she said, although she didn’t really, as she was thinking that he was one of the most devoted boyfriends she could remember. “I’ll ring down for coffee and if you need anything else, just push the buzzer. Someone at the desk will come right in.”

“Thank you,” he said appreciatively, before turning his attention back to Monica as the nurse silently left the room.

“You hear that, Angel? I’m right here. You’re not alone.” He sighed. He knew that sleep was exactly what she needed, but he couldn’t help wanting to see her dark eyes open, just for a moment.

There had been a look in those eyes just before she fell unconscious, a look that spoke to him a thousand words. For an instant the haunted expression had faded, replaced by hope and understanding, as if she had suddenly been given the answers to all of her questions. Andrew wanted to see that look again. It had been so long since he had seen her eyes free from at least the hint of grief and pain that he needed to see them clear again to make sure that he hadn’t just imagined it.

“Well, I guess you’ll wake up when you’re ready, Angel Girl. I just hope you’re awake when Paul comes back, or I think he may force the issue,” he smiled. “He can be nearly as stubborn as you. That may be why we get along so well.”

The door opened and Sarah was back and carrying a tray. “I thought that coffee on an empty stomach was a bad idea,” she explained as she placed the tray on the table that spanned the foot of Monica’s bed. It held a full lunch, along with the requested coffee, and Andrew gave her a brief smile.

“Thanks. You’re probably right.”

“Of course I am,” she replied with a grin.

Andrew had to admit that the sandwich did look good, and he had a peculiar weakness for Jell-o, though he kept it well hidden. He reached for the coffee first and was just bringing it to his lips when he saw Monica’s fingertips move. It was just a fraction of an inch, but it was more than she had moved since being brought to the room.

“Monica? Can you hear me?” he asked as he quickly put the cup down and leaned closer to her face. “Open your eyes, honey. C’mon, I know you want to,” he coaxed, taking her hand into his and squeezing it gently. He held his breath as he watched her eyelids begin to flutter and then, with infinite slowness, they opened just a crack. “Just a little more… you’re almost there.”

He looked down as he felt her fingers tighten around his. “Andrew?” she whispered her voice raspy and hoarse.

“Yes, I’m here. Shhh… don’t say anything else. Let me get you some water.” He quickly poured a little into the plastic cup beside her bed and put in a straw. “Here, just try to drink a little,” he said as he directed the straw between her dry lips.

She closed her eyes again as she drank, but when she stopped she opened them wider, and looked slightly more alert. “I’m in the hospital,” she whispered.

“Yes, they brought you here last night and they fixed you all up,” he didn’t want to go into the details of her surgery or her injuries. There would be plenty of time for her to learn about them later. “You’re going to be just fine, Monica.”

She held his hand tighter and looked into his clear green eyes. “You’ve been here the whole time.”

He carefully brought her hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly. “I couldn’t be anywhere else, Angel. You know that.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, Monica, the only thanks I needed was to see you open your eyes, and you’ve already done that.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly and she tilted her head as she took in the worried lines on her friend’s face and the dark circles under his eyes. “You were afraid… you were afraid for me,” she said slowly.

Andrew nodded. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more frightened in my entire existence. I… I didn’t know what to think, or what to expect… All I knew was that you were hurt… and I couldn’t help you. You weren’t afraid, but I was terrified,” he admitted.

“Just having you nearby… that’s all I needed from you. God was with me,” she smiled and he saw that wonderful sparkle in her eyes once more. “He was with me and He held me the whole time.”

Andrew felt a smile spreading across his own face. “I knew He would, Monica… I guess I was just afraid He wouldn’t want to let you go,” he said as he kissed her fingertips again.

His words brought a slight blush to her cheeks and she freed her hand and placed it against his cheek. “But He hasn’t let me go, Andrew. He’s holding me right now.”

Andrew said nothing for a moment. Of course He was with her. He was with all of them, every moment if they just stopped to feel His presence. God had proven that to him outside the hospital and Monica’s words just drove the point home.

“Andrew,” she whispered, her voice beginning to fade a bit. “David? What…”

“Shh… you don’t need to talk about him. They’ll find him, Monica, and he won’t be able to hurt anyone else.” His tone was harsher than he intended and he closed his eyes for a moment to center himself.

She shook her head and he looked at her, confused. “He’s… he’s not all bad, Andrew.”

“Monica…”

“No... I saw, Andrew! I saw into his soul. He isn’t like McArthur. He isn’t evil, he’s just…”

“Just what? Confused? Angry? Monica, he shot you. He would have killed Paul. There is no excuse for that.” Andrew kept his temper in check and his voice low and steady.

“I know that… but there is still good in him. If he asked God for forgiveness, He would grant it… and so would I.” Her eyes had grown moist with tears and Andrew hated seeing them.

“That’s because you are the most gentle, loving, and generous soul I know. You have been through so much and still you aren’t afraid to risk your own existence for your friend. I can’t imagine anything braver, and I can’t tell you how proud I felt when I found out what had happened.”

“Andrew…” Monica lowered her eyes, not used to such an outpouring of praise.

“I love you, Monica, and every word I just said is the truth.” He took a deep breath. “Seeing you in that hotel and not being able to do anything for you except hold you was the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced. I can’t stand to see you hurt, and right now… I’m sorry, Angel, but I can’t say that I will ever really forgive the man who has caused you so much pain.”

“Please don’t say that,” She whispered, blinking back tears, sorrow over his words covering the sparkle that had previously been there, and he immediately regretted having said anything.

“The Father and I will work on it, angel, all right?” He did his best to reassure her at least knowing that his words were true. He would try, he just couldn’t promise anything. He reached out and stroked her temple with the backs of his fingers, wishing he could wrap her up in his arms, “I promise.”

“Okay,” Monica conceded, her trusting eyes gazing up into his, satisfied with his promise to try.

She was worried about how badly she had been hurt, but wasn’t feeling brave enough to ask the questions as of yet. She knew that it hurt for her to breathe and that there was much pain still involved around her right shoulder and back despite the pain medication she knew was entering her system through the IV. Tentatively, she moved her left hand up to her right shoulder, but ever so gently Andrew stopped her.

“You’re going to be fine, sweetie, so stop worrying. You just need time to rest and to heal, that’s all.”

“Andrew, how badly-,” Her question was cut short as he brought his finger to her lips.

“Shh, angel, rest. I say we both grab a nap and we’ll talk more about it later,” Though she had only been awake for a short time, he could see how much it had tired her out.

“You’re going to stay, right?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” He assured her, his hand still wrapped around hers, “Now, close your eyes and rest. You deserve it.”

Never releasing her hold on his hand, the little angel closed her dark eyes and a moment later, sleep claimed her once more.

Chapter 27

Andrew opened his eyes groggily sometime later, a fragrant smell filling his senses and he wondered if perhaps he had been dreaming. His eyes immediately moved to Monica and finding her still asleep, he gazed around the room, his eyes growing wide at the many splashes of purple and white that seemed to surround the two angels.

Lilacs and Paul.

The agent managed a grin in Andrew’s direction as the angel sat up on the cot and looked around the hospital room at what must have been fifteen different vases filled to the hilt with Monica’s favorite flower. In addition to the lilacs, there was a balloon bouquet, a stuffed cat that looked amazingly like Lucy and a large plastic jar of bubbles.

“She’ll tell you that you went overboard, but secretly, she will love it,” Andrew commented, taking the styrofoam cup of coffee that Paul offered him.

“I owe it to her that I’m alive to go overboard. Besides, even an angel deserves to be spoiled sometimes,” He replied, casting a tender look in the sleeping angel’s direction, “She still hasn’t woken up?”

“She was awake earlier but not for long as she is tiring easily,” He explained, taking a welcome sip from his cup, “How did things go today? Have they caught David?”

His voice held a hint of the familiar anger as he asked the question.

“Not yet. He and Mike must be lying low, but they’ll find them.” He didn’t miss the controlled fury in Andrew’s eyes and he understood it all too well. It hadn’t taken him long to develop an intense sense of protection for Monica and Andrew had known her for decades.

A soft, small gasp caught their attention as they both turned to Monica. She had woken up and her eyes were wide as she took in the garden that her hospital room had become. Forgetting herself momentarily, she tried to sit up more, but pain that took her breath away stopped her movement.

“Easy there, darlin’,” Paul was standing immediately and moved to her side in order to calm her.

“Paul,” A weak smile crossed her face as she reached out and waited for him to grasp her hand, “You’re all right.”

“I could say the same about you,” He grinned, his tiredness forgotten with his sudden happiness at hearing her utter his name.

“I’m going to go and stretch my legs,” Andrew remarked, knowing Paul wanted to talk to the little angel, “Paul, do you need anything?”

“Not anymore,” He replied, causing Monica to blush slightly and his grin to widen.

“You did all this?” She asked softly as Andrew left the room and she turned her eyes to the agent.

“Monica, it was the least I could do after what you did for me,” He replied steadily, his expression turning completely serious, “I’m not sure that words have been invented to tell you how thankful I am to be alive and I owe that to you.”

A quirky grin played on her face, “Well, I owed you one,” Her voice held a hint of teasing but seeing that the serious look never left Paul’s face she continued, “You’re my friend. Anyone hurting you was not an option if I could do something to prevent it.”

“You shouldn’t have done it-.”

“Yes, I should have,” She was quick to cut him off, “No matter what had happened to me, God was taking care of me, however, we still have a little work to do between you and Him and I need time to take care of that.”

His eyes widened, wondering how she could have known about the things he had been thinking about earlier, but he didn’t yet feel ready to really discuss it, “Well, there is that, I suppose.”

Sensing his reluctance to discuss God as of yet, she changed the subject, more than willing to give him time, “The flowers and balloons are lovely Paul,” She commented, watching as he picked up the stuffed cat and she smiled sweetly, “She looks like Lucy!” Taking the toy from him, she stroked it lightly, before looking up at him once more, “Andrew is reluctant to tell me, but I know that you will,” She looked a bit uncertain, “How bad is it? It’s hurting when I breathe, so-.”

“It isn’t bad at all,” He was quick to reassure her as he squeezed her hand, “It hurts when you breathe because the doctors had to rebuild one of your ribs. There was a little damage to your shoulder blade and a good bit of soft tissue damage, which will heal. You were very lucky and because of that, we were all very lucky.”

She nodded her head slowly, taking it all in before she asked the next question that was bothering her, “Where is David?”

He was able to contain his own anger at the mention of the man, though barely, “We don’t know yet. He and Mike are missing, but it is only a matter of time before they are found.”

“He was instantly sorry, you know,” She was quick to say, “I could see it in his eyes and on his face.”

It took all he had to hold his tongue and not tell her that David did not yet know the meaning of the word “sorry”, but somehow he managed to, “Unfortunately, honey, sorry won’t keep him out of jail.”

Monica looked down at her hands and continued stroking the stuffed animal she held. “I know that.”

Her mind was flashing back to the moments just before and after the shooting. Those feelings were something that no one ever deserved to experience: terror and hopelessness and fear. She had felt them all, and she knew that if she hadn’t been there then Paul might not be alive. She could eventually forgive him, but that didn’t mean that she thought he didn’t deserve any punishment. Human justice demanded that he be punished, and after everything that had happened she couldn’t disagree.

“Hey, you know, I hear that the cafeteria downstairs actually makes a pretty mean mocha java. How would you like me to sneak one up to you next time?” Paul could see that her thoughts were turning inwards and he didn’t want her dwelling on anything except getting well.

Monica smiled as she looked up at him. It was obvious that he was trying to distract her, but she still thought that it was sweet of him to try. “That would be lovely… but I’m not sure my doctor would approve.”

“Well, that’s why I would be sneaking it in,” he explained. “Anyway, the sneaking makes it more exciting.”

Her eyes twinkled as she shook her head. “Don’t you think we’ve all had enough excitement for a while?”

“Bad excitement, yes. Good excitement, no. You can never have too much of that. Just remind me that I need to sneak around Tess too. She doesn’t strike me as a coffee lover.”

“No,” Monica agreed, “she’s always trying to get me to cut down.”

“Yes, but while the cat’s away, the mice will play.” Paul failed to notice the slight widening of Monica’s eyes, or the way her eyebrows shot up under her bangs.

“What’s this about cats and mice?” Tess asked, with a touch of suspicion.

“Oh, nothing, Tess,” Paul said with a nervous smile. “Just discussing Lucy, that’s all.”

Tess wasn’t buying it, but she played along anyway, stifling the chuckle that threatened to emerge from her throat. She moved to the side of Monica’s bed and looked her little charge up and down, taking note of every mark and every bandage. She finally met the Irish angel’s gaze and held it, just memorizing every nuance of her dark, expressive eyes.

“It’s good to see you awake,” she said simply, but her words held the deep and unshakable love that she felt.

Monica reached out and took Tess’ hand, pulling the older angel closer. “I felt you with me,” she said. “You and the Father. You pulled me back.”

Tess quickly blinked away a tear as she sat down on the edge of the bed. “Well, I wouldn’t say I pulled… you were already fighting, Monica. I just helped by giving you a little something more to hold onto.”

“I’ve already thanked Him,” Monica said, “so now I’ll thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me, baby. We’ve been through an awful lot together, Angel Girl, and there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you.” Monica didn’t say anything, and Tess could see that she was about to get teary eyed herself. “Besides… I just got you all broken in as my charge… I don’t want to have to train anyone else.” She smiled and winked, and that was enough to make Monica break into a wide grin.

“Did you see Andrew out there?” Paul asked.

“I saw him getting off the elevator down in the lobby. He said he’d be back in a few minutes.”

For some inexplicable reason, Paul felt uncomfortable leaving Monica alone without at least Andrew as protection although he smiled inwardly, thinking that Tess was probably an even bigger threat. In his head, Andrew was still his partner, and Monica was still his responsibility.

“I hate to leave so soon, Monica, but I really need to check and see how the search is going.”

The angel looked at him lovingly and hugged her stuffed kitten closer. “Don’t worry about me, Paul. I’ll have this little one to keep me company in your place.”

He chuckled and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead. Somehow, in the midst of everything, the physical boundary that he had placed between them after learning of her true nature had been torn town. His love for her hadn’t diminished, it had simply changed, and the little touches that he had once avoided now just felt natural. Monica immediately noticed the change and looked up at him with a little bit of surprise and a lot of happiness. Their friendship had grown so much in the past weeks and now it felt perfect.

“I’ll check back in later tonight.”

“Paul?” she called as he was opening the door, and he turned around, a question in his eyes. “I’m sorry about Mike.”

He nodded, seeing the sympathy echoed in her expression. “So am I, but I’m even sorrier that this whole mess ended up touching you. He’ll pay for what he’s done, Monica. I’ll make sure of that.”

*****

He had five passports laid out on the bed and he scanned each of them, trying to decide which name, which picture he wanted to become. He was wearing a full beard in one, a thin mustache in another. He had even donned a bald skull cap for one. He still remembered that case. His head had itched like crazy under that thick rubber. Well, no matter. If he went bald this time, it would be for real. He needed to disappear for good, and he was one of the few men in the U.S.A who could actually do it and do it well.

This was certainly not the way he had expected things to go, but he was nothing if not a planner. Meticulous was the way he thought of it. His ex-wife had called him a few less pleasant things.

He pounded his fist down on the bed causing the passports to bounce out of their careful arrangement. If only that damn drunk had done what he was supposed to do. The satisfaction he had felt when word came in about a shooting at the hotel had quickly been replaced with fury and a controlled panic when the next report announced that the only victim was a young waitress.

What was Paul doing with a waitress in his room anyway? Mike shook his head. So much for his belief that the agent was still pining over his fiancée… Lisa? Laura? What had her name been? He tried not to think about the witnesses whose deaths lay at his door. He concentrated instead on the money that was now sitting in an off-shore bank account.

He glanced at the passports again and swept up the one of him as a bald man with thick-rimmed glasses. Hank Olsen. He was rather fond of that name. Yes. He’d give things one more day to settle down and then he’d set out for Chicago. From there he was just a plane ticket away from a life free from worry in a country free from extradition.

*****

David tried his best to stay well hidden in the abandoned warehouse until after night fell, knowing that would be the safest time to make a move. He was exhausted. He had been all set to board the first plane he could find that morning until his eyes had come to rest on a newspaper someone had left in the park and his heart had nearly stopped at seeing the sketch of him and the picture of Mike on the front page. They were looking for him.

His hopes of escaping had been quickly dashed by this realization and he wasn’t sure of why he had expected anything less. People were looking for him and the ones that weren’t at the very least had seen his picture and it would only be a matter of time before someone recognized him as the sketch was good.

Kristin.

Surely she was now aware of what had happened as what was on the front page of the paper would also be in the news and he felt unbridled guilt fill his heart. She didn’t need this stress. It was bad enough that he had made the last several months hell for her, but now he had shot someone and that someone had also been her friend. He had betrayed his wife so badly that he was certain that Kris would be thankful to finally see him in jail, though his heart filled with great sadness at the thought of never knowing his baby.

He would have made a poor excuse for a father anyway. What kind of father would even consider taking money from a criminal to kill someone? His one small glimmer of relief in this whole thing was that Monica had lived and if he had been a praying man, he would have hit his knees the moment he had read that, and thanked God above for sparing her life. He hadn’t killed anyone, but the fact remain that he had been holding a gun with the intention of doing just that.

He gazed out the window, his eyes resting on his apartment building. He hadn’t known where to go, but he had remembered the abandoned warehouse across the street and figured it would be as good a place as any for him to gather his thoughts. He had watched the police come and go from the building all afternoon and now things seemed quiet. He started to lower his eyes when a taxi pulling up in front of his building caught his eyes and his breath caught as well as he saw Kristin emerge slowly from the backseat after paying the driver.

Hope sprang up in his heart as he watched her walk into the building. He was going to jail, of that much he was certain, but at the very least, he could try to make things right with Kristin before that happened.

Chapter 28

Kristin unlocked the door to Monica’s apartment with the key that Tess had given her and then the deadbolt before she slowly entered. She managed a tearful smile as her friend’s kitten scampered out of the bedroom at the sound, stopping short to look up at her with large, questioning green eyes that seemed to show a hint of disappointment at her not being Monica.

“It’s okay, Lucy,” She said softly, closing the door behind her and wearily making her way over to the couch in order to sit down. She patted the cushion beside of her and waited until the kitten hesitantly jumped up, falling just short and pulling herself up the rest of the way, causing a small smile to appear on Kristin’s lips as she moved to pet the cat, “I’m sorry I’m not your mommy, but she’ll be home soon and maybe in the meantime, I can sneak you in for a visit. I know she must be missing you.”

Her heart ached at the thought of the little angel who had fallen victim to David’s recent violence on more than one occasion. She would never forget nor forgive the bruises on the young angel’s face the other day that the man she loved had inflicted. Monica had been sent to help David and in return she had only gotten hurt and the reality of it stung terribly.

Leaning back, she closed her eyes, trying to remember better days with David before it had all gone so horribly wrong. She was still unable to fathom that he had shot Monica, that he had planned to shoot Paul, but it had all been all over the news this afternoon. Her only question was why he had left without finishing the job and she was nearly appalled by her own thought process. But then again, David shooting anyone had never been something she thought she would ever be considering at all.

A knock at the door, caused her to look up and she stood to approach it, wondering if maybe Tess or Andrew were here to check on her, “Who is it?” She asked guardedly, hoping it was not the police. She knew she would have to answer questions eventually, she just needed a little time first to get to the idea of David being a criminal.

“Kris? It’s me. Please, open the door.”

She wanted to tell him no, to tell him to go away, but for some reason, she found her shaking hands unlocking the door and swinging it open. David looked haggard, as if he had aged fifteen years in a day and his eyes held great sorrow. Tears burned in her eyes as she turned and walked back to the couch, her legs suddenly feeling weak and needing to sit down.

David’s eyes followed her as he closed the door and slowly approached her. She had not said a word, but the truth was all there in her eyes and it broke his heart.

“How could you do this?” She whispered accusingly after a long period of silence, “I thought I knew you, David. I mean, I knew things were bad, but for you to shoot Monica? To take money to kill Paul? How could you?”

He dropped to the floor in front of her and hesitantly laid his hands on her knees. He was shaking. He had never felt so afraid and it had nothing to do with the thought of going to jail. That he could handle. Kristin spending the rest of her life hating him, he could not.

“Krissy, I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry doesn’t even begin to express what I’m feeling, but I know I have to try. I don’t know what happened or what I was thinking or maybe I do. It just all seems so confusing now, but you were right all along, about everything. About the drinking, about needing to go and talk to Tess at the unemployment office…if I had just done those things…” His eyes filled with tears and his voice became choked.

“What do you want from me, Dave?” She asked softly, her own tears now escaping her eyes, “I don’t even know you anymore. How could you have thought that this was the answer?”

“I don’t know…I don’t know. Mike said that Paul worked for him and that he had become a ‘bad seed’ and needed to be done away with. The money he offered…I thought it could fix things for us and the baby. I was drunk at the time and it seemed like a good idea. Then when I came home and you were gone, all I could think about was that the money could help me to get you back…”

“Don’t you dare put this on me!” She cried out, a sob escaping her, “I left you because I was afraid. You hit Monica and it was only a matter of time before you did the same to me! I had a baby to think about, because you sure weren’t thinking about that!”

“Kristin, that’s all I thought about,” He was pleading now, but he didn’t care. If he wanted nothing else in this world now, he wanted her to forgiveness, “I’m not blaming you for anything; I’m just trying to make you understand. I was wrong…I was so wrong and I’m going to turn myself in, but I need for you to try to understand…”

His words stopped her heart. In every possible scenario she had considered, David turning himself into the police had never been one of her options, “You’re turning yourself in?”

“Yes,” He whispered, trying in vain to blink back the tears, “I shot her and I thank your God that He spared her life as I’m not sure I could have lived with any other option. It had to be a miracle, Kris, because she was dying, I know she was. I keep thinking about all the things she had been trying to tell me and at the time, I had found it so annoying, but she was only trying to help me, just like she helped her friend last night. I never meant to shoot her and I was forcing myself to shoot him, but she got in the way. Once I got there, I didn’t know how to go through with it, but it seemed too late for me to turn back. I had already pointed a gun at them…” He ran his hand over his face before he searched her eyes helplessly, “Krissy, if there were any way in this world to take it all back, I would. I would do it in a heartbeat. I’ll go to jail; that’s fine, but I can’t go there knowing that you hate me for the things I have done.”

Her tears were now flowing freely as she saw a remorse and sorrow in his eyes that seemed to go the whole way to his soul, “David, I could never hate you, even if I tried. You’re my husband, for better or for worse, and yes, things have been for worse lately, but I never stopped loving you and praying for you to turn things around,” Her hand trembled as she laid it against his tear streaked face, “And no matter what happens now, I’ll be with you.”

Sobs escaped him as he wrapped his arms around his wife and held her as tightly as he dared, “I’m so sorry, Kris. I’m so sorry, baby. I did everything wrong. For some stupid reason, I thought the answers would come if I could just drink enough, but the answers were always here with you and our baby. Always.”

Kristin closed her eyes as she held onto him, knowing that her prayers had finally been answered. She had her husband back. Before the night was over, she would call the police and no matter what happened, they would face whatever those moments after that held, together.

*****

Paul got the call at 5:48pm, just as he was about to head back to the hospital. David had been spotted going into his old apartment building. The police wanted to know whether they should wait for him or go in on their own. Paul was very emphatic: they were not to move unless David left the apartment. He took the back stairs two at a time, not willing to wait for the elevator, and commandeered one of the agency cars once he hit the underground garage.

Fifteen minutes later he was pulling up across from the apartment building, hands tight on the steering wheel, jaw clenched so tightly the muscle threatened to cramp. He spotted the unmarked police cars easily. The black Crown Victorias were parked one behind the other. Very subtle, he thought. He walked over to the front car and the officer inside rolled down his window.

“You must be Gatlin,” he said. “Detective Wolsk.”

Paul nodded. “Any movement?”

“Nothing. One of the other patrols saw him enter and we’ve been watching all the exits ever since. I’ve got two men positioned behind the building.”

Paul looked over his shoulder at the brick building. Frankly he was surprised that David had come back. He knew the man had money and he figured he would have either hopped the first plane or train out of the city or laid low in some flea-ridden hotel where the staff was good at forgetting a face for a few hundred bucks.

“I want to be with the group that goes in.”

“Not a problem. Had a feeling you might say that,” Wolsk replied. He was fully informed about the victim in this case, and the agent’s relationship to her. “He’s up on the third floor, but the building’s pretty calm. We don’t expect to cause a scene on the way up.”

“Third floor?”

“Yeah. One of the guys followed him in. Said he went to 302.”

Monica’s apartment. Paul’s hands tightened into fists. What the hell was that bastard doing in there?

“Alright, let’s go in now. I want to get this over with.”

The next five minutes passed in a rushed but orderly fashion as the officers made their way inside the building, Paul leading the way up the narrow staircase. His gun was already in his hand and his eyes were set in dark determination. First David, then Mike. He was not going to rest until they were both taken care of, and he didn’t much care if that meant taking them away in a cop car or a body bag.

He nodded to Detective Wolsk, and the man pounded on the door, rattling the little brass numbers that marked it. “David Young! We know you’re in there!”

Inside the apartment Kristin shot up out of her seat, and David pulled her back, not wanting her any closer to the door. He wasn’t surprised to be found, but he had been hoping to have a few more hours with his wife.

“No! Don’t shoot!” Kristin cried out as she broke away from him and ran to the door.

Paul heard her voice and he cursed under his breath before stepping forward and motioning everyone else back.

“Kristin? Kristin, it’s Paul. Get away from the door.”

“Paul! Oh thank God! Paul… he wants to turn himself in… he was going to turn himself in… please don’t let anyone hurt him.” Her thin, pleading voice touched a nerve considering that he had been planning to do much more than hurt David if pushed.

“Kristin, no one’s going to hurt him. Now you need to get in the bedroom. David, if you have any weapons they had better be on the floor, and your hands had better be above your head when we come in!” He tried the door and felt that it was unlocked. Good. Andrew wouldn’t have to put up a new one. “Kristin?” he called out again, and when he got no reply he swung the door open and rushed into the room, quickly followed by Detective Wolsk and two other police officers.

David was standing in the middle of the room, hands linked above his head, and he didn’t move a muscle as the four men surrounded him, guns drawn. The throbbing muscle was back in Paul’s jaw and he roughly grabbed one of David’s arms and swung him around, pushing him into the wall as he snapped a pair of handcuffs on first one wrist and then the other, while the police quickly searched the apartment for any weapons or other evidence. The agent grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around again, slamming him back against the wall and pushing his forearm against his neck. Their faces were only inches apart and Paul stared into David’s eyes. He was almost disappointed to find a look of remorse there. It was the last thing he had been expecting, and somehow it made him even angrier.

“You have no idea how lucky you are that your wife is in the other room,” Paul’s voice was low and threatening. “Because I don’t really care how sorry you are right now. It is not even close to how sorry I want you to be. Not even close. In fact, if you so much as twitch I can’t guarantee that not even her presence will be enough to protect you. So go ahead, big man. Try something. They have plenty of hospital beds down at the jail.”

David said nothing. There was nothing he could say. He deserved Paul’s anger. He deserved a lot worse than that.

“C’mon, man. Ease down,” Wolsk placed his hand on Paul’s shoulder. It was safe to say that if David had resisted whatsoever that the police would have been fine with letting Paul take care of him, but at this point the detective knew that anything Paul did he would only live to regret.

Paul let out a disgusted breath and stepped back, letting some of the tension drain from his stiff limbs. Every muscle had been on full alert and they still tingled with adrenaline. “Get him out of my sight. You’ve got the call list from the agency. Run through it and someone from our side’ll be down to question him.”

“You alright Gatlin?”

“Yeah. I’m good.” He turned to go into the bedroom, but stopped himself. “Hold on a second,” he called back to the officers who were leading David out. He shook his head, hardly believing what he was about to do, but he knew it was what Monica would want. He opened the bedroom door and saw Kristin huddled on the bed. “They’re taking him away, Kristin, if you want to say something to him before they do… now’s your chance.”

Kristin’s eyes widened and she jumped off the bed and gave Paul a thankful look as she moved past him and into the living room. Husband and wife spoke in whispers and Paul didn’t even try to catch what they were saying. Somehow, despite everything it looked like they still loved each other. Paul felt his hear constrict. They were in love and they were being separated, but at least they were both still alive.

*****

After his brief walk outside during Paul’s visit, Andrew had returned to Monica’s side and flatly refused to leave it. Even while Monica was napping he remained seated beside her, occasionally drifting off as the lack of sleep finally caught up to him. Tess had finally stopped trying to get him to lie down. Even she knew when she was fighting a losing battle.

“Should we wake her up for dinner?” Andrew asked as he glanced at his watch. He had no idea where the afternoon had gone. It seemed just moments since he first saw her open her eyes.

“The IV’s giving her what she needs, but why don’t I go check with the nurse,” Tess answered. She had a sneaking suspicion that Andrew just wanted her awake again so that he could verify that she really was all right.

As she left the room Andrew stretched out his hand to gently stroke the little angel’s long hair. “It’s a good thing you’re getting all this rest, Angel,” he whispered, “but I wouldn’t object to hearing the sound of your voice.”

“Really?” the word was barely a whisper. “Even if I’m singing?” she said as her eyes slid open.

Andrew laughed. “You can sing ‘Oh Danny Boy’ anytime, as far as I’m concerned.”

She grinned up at him with a slightly smug expression on her face which only made him laugh more.

“I hope I didn’t wake you up, Monica.”

“No… I think I was ready to wake up,” she said thoughtfully as if trying to assess exactly how she was feeling. She looked around the room. “Is Tess still here?”

“She just stepped out to see if we should wake you for dinner… I guess that’s not really an issue now.”

The door opened and both angels looked up as Tess walked in with a much more somber look than they were expecting.

“What’s wrong?” Monica asked, suddenly worried about the one missing member of their little group: Paul.

“Nothing’s wrong, baby,” Tess said reassuringly. “The radio’s on out there at the nurses’ desk and I just heard the news. They caught David.”

Andrew watched as the flurry of emotions crossed over the little angel’s face at Tess’ news, everything from fear, to relief to remorse. She seemed uncertain as to what to say and finally a single word slipped from her lips, “Where?”

“It seems it was in your apartment, baby. He was there with Kristin. She is kitten sitting for you and the police saw him entering the building.”

Her heart was racing, needing to know that Paul was all right; needing to know that the agent hadn’t hurt David either. And what about Kristin? How had she taken the news and was she okay?

Seeing her heart monitor suddenly seem to fly off the chart, Andrew took her hand and laid his other hand against her cheek, “Angel, you need to calm down,” His voice was stern and he watched her alarmed eyes turn to him.

“But Andrew-.” She stopped mid-question when the door to her room opened and the alarm in her eyes change to relief as tears rushed to them, “Paul…”

The agent could clearly see that she had already heard the news, though he had been hoping that he would be the one to tell her. He wasted no time in getting to her and Andrew moved aside to make room for him.

“You’re okay,” Monica uttered before he could say anything and her words nearly floored him.

“Of course I’m okay,” He replied gently, entwining his fingers through hers, deeply touched by her concern for his safety, though he knew that he really should not be surprised by such things any longer. He could tell that she was ready to burst into helpless tears, so he’d better start explaining and put her mind at ease, “He turned himself in, honey. Kristin was there with him and they seemed to have worked things out between them. He was taken into custody without a fuss,” He knew that would mean a lot to her though he had still wished David had put up some resistance so that he could have beaten him to a pulp for shooting the little angel.

Tess and Andrew watched as the line on the screen began to flow normally once more and they gave a collective quiet sigh of relief. The last thing Monica needed was to get all worked up when her body was trying to heal itself.

“I was worried about you,” She admitted, feeling a bit ashamed of that fact. She knew she had seen remorse on David’s face last night, but it wasn’t enough to stop her from fearing what he might do.

“Well, there is no need for that now,” Paul replied with a small smile, “And I don’t want you worrying about anything other than getting better.”

Monica searched his eyes and a frown formed on her face. Something was greatly troubling him as it was all too clear in his hazel eyes. She looked over at Andrew, her expression pleading, hoping he would understand.

Though he didn’t want to leave her, Andrew too could tell something was on Paul’s mind and he had a feeling that if anyone could get to the bottom of it, Monica could. He was only concerned about her all too fragile health status at the moment though she seemed to be holding her own rather well, “Tess, lets grab some coffee. Paul looks like he could use a cup.”

“Well, the Father gave him two legs,” Tess began, before catching the look in Andrew’s eyes, “and they look tired, so you stay put Paul and we’ll be back in a bit.”

As they departed, she looked back up into Paul’s eyes, “What is it? Something is troubling you.”

He grinned slightly, though the attempt was rather sad as he shook his head, “It’s nothing, Monica, really.”

“No, it is something. Please, let me help.”

“You’ve helped me more than enough,” He argued gently, trying to be careful to not hurt her feelings.

“Paul…”

He sighed, seeing her need to be able to make a difference and to be able to help him. He just wasn’t sure of how to explain, “It’s Lauren,” He began softly and he felt her fingers tighten around his.

Chapter 29

Paul lowered his gaze, trying to find words, “I guess when I saw Kristin and David together a little while ago, it just reminded me of how their lives are about to change, but also how they were both still alive. It was obvious that they love each other and I guess…”

“You don’t understand why things had to change the way they did with you and Lauren,” Monica offered softly, her heart aching at his pain.

“Yeah, something like that,” He mumbled, moving to pull his hand away, but the little angel wasn’t letting go, “David did everything wrong, but in the end, none of it mattered. Kristin still loves him and I have a feeling that she is going to stand beside him through everything. I tried to do everything right and none of it mattered. I lost it all and all because a friend betrayed me,” His voice was choked and he turned away in order to clear his eyes.

Silently, Monica pleaded for the right words, knowing that this conversation could be a turning point for her friend, “You know, God’s son lost his life because a friend betrayed him, but God’s grace allows good things to come from terrible tragedies. I know that losing Lauren has made it difficult for you to see that good things have happened since then, but they have, and don’t think that it was God’s will for her to die. He gives free will to all His children and many of them use that gift in terrible ways.”

“He could have stopped it,” Paul stated tensely, “If God had really wanted to, He could have allowed her to live.”

“A gift can’t be given, Paul, and then dictated as to how it can be used,” She replied softly, “Though it is hard not to question. I’ve done nothing but question Him the last two months as to why things were happening to me and I’m an angel. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you. But what he does promise is that He is always with us and that He will always love us.”

“Yeah, well, I haven’t seen a whole lot of that love you’re speaking of, sweetheart,” He replied softly as he lifted his eyes once more and froze.

The love he thought he had been missing was right in front of him in the form of a little angel who had thrown herself in front of a gun to save his life. She had thrown herself in front of evil because of who she was and because of who God made her to be. Monica hadn’t been the only one in that hotel room with him last night. God had been there and had sent his angel to spare his life. He had then spared Monica from going through the pain of dying, which Paul was certain would have destroyed him, despite the fact of who she was.

Just as the man who killed Lauren had used free will to murder, just as Mike had used it for his own personal gain, Monica had used it selflessly, because she trusted God. She had known that no matter what had happened to her, that she would be all right. When she had said last night that she wasn’t afraid, he had been convinced that the blood loss was causing her to become delusional, but that wasn’t it at all. Trust allowed her to not be afraid and where being shot might have scared her, or the pain had terrified her, the outcome of it all did not. She knew in her heart who was taking care of her and that because of that she had nothing to fear. God had turned David’s free will and Monica’s pain into something good-the fact that he was alive to be sitting here with her. The fact that he was alive to stop Mike from hurting anyone else and the fact that David had apparently realized all that he had done wrong.

“Paul?” Monica tilted her head, trying to catch his eye again. He had fallen silent and the cynical look in his eye had faded away.

He shook his head in a sort of disbelief. “I’m sorry, Monica. Looking at you and saying I don’t believe in God’s love… I don’t know how I could be so blind…” He bowed his head for a moment before looking at her again. “I guess I haven’t been seeing very clearly for a while now.”

A crooked grin played at the corner of the angel’s lips. “How does it go? ‘I once was blind, but now I see’?”

Paul chuckled. “Something like that, I guess.”

“God understands why you haven’t been able to see or feel the love around you, but He wants to open your eyes.”

“I know that now… I guess I’m lucky that He sent a particularly stubborn little angel down here to prove it to me. Although, next time I wouldn’t mind my proof with a little less drama.” He gently placed his hand on top of her immobilized wrist.

She quickly reached out her much smaller hand to cover his, “I’m not your proof, Paul,” she said gently. “Your proof is in your own heart. You’ve let me inside… now it’s time to let Him in too.”

“And I will, Monica,” he assured her. “I’m going to have a nice long talk with your boss… I promise. I just have one more thing to do first.”

Monica stared at him for a moment and a trace of Tess’ sternness flickered through them. “Paul… no. You don’t need to do that… I don’t want you to do that…”

“He’s the reason you were hurt and he’s still out there.” He was trying to rationalize himself to her.

“I don’t care. That doesn’t mean you have to be the one to catch him,” she insisted.

“He killed Lauren. He may as well have pulled the trigger himself. If I don’t owe it to you, I damn well owe it to her,” his voice turned hard and harsh and even the slight look of hurt on Monica’s face failed to quench the fire that sprang up behind his eyes.

“Please believe me… I understand, but going after him isn’t going to fix things. It isn’t going to make you feel better… not really.”

“I know that, but it’s something I just have to do. I’m sorry, Monica. I’m sorry that I can’t just let it go, but that’s not who I am… maybe one day it’s who I’ll become, but right now… let’s just say I’m no angel.”

Monica closed her eyes against the feeling of hopelessness that suddenly pressed in around her. Paul was so close, but she couldn’t force him to talk to God, and she couldn’t keep him from going after Mike. Paul felt like the lowest piece of dirt as he watched her hopeful expression crumble.

“Hey, now! I don’t want you thinking about him, or me or anything other than getting better and getting out of here,” he said with a forced joviality.

“It isn’t my job to interfere with your free will,” she said, ignoring his comment and deciding to try to change his mind just one more time. “It isn’t my job, but I’m asking you as my friend, to please reconsider. You don’t want his blood on your hands Paul. It might make you feel better in that moment, but the stain will never wash away.”

“I’ll think about it, Monica. I can’t promise you any more than that.”

She nodded sadly, willing to settle for whatever she could get. “Will you at least promise me that you’ll be careful? I don’t think…”

A finger against her lips stopped her words. “That is something I can definitely promise you. Don’t worry about me, Monica.”

An ironic smile flitted across her face. “I’ll think about it… I can’t promise you any more than that.”

“Touche,” he said, with a matching grin. “I’d better get going, but I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

“Make sure that you are,” Monica replied, her breath coming a little shorter. All of the emotions, on top of the drugs and her injuries suddenly appeared to be sapping the last of her energy.

“You just rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.” His hand was on the door knob and he pulled it open and nearly ran into Andrew, who was carrying two large and very hot looking coffees.

“You’re leaving already?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’ve got a few things I need to wrap up. I’ll be back in the morning,” Paul replied.

Andrew looked from one less than happy face to the other and thought that there was definitely more to the story than a few things that needed wrapping. “Well here, at least take one for the road,” he said, handing the agent one of the coffees.

“Thanks, Andrew. Say my good-byes to Tess.” He shot another look at Monica but she just gave him a small wave and he sighed and left the room.

“What just happened?” Andrew said as soon as the door was closed.

“Andrew… Go after him. I want you to go with him,” Monica said in a rush.

“What? Monica, what are you talking about? Where is he going?” He was now completely confused and the fact that Monica looked even paler than before was not making him feel any better about the situation.

“He’s going to find Mike and kill him. You can’t let him do that, Andrew… you just can’t!”

“He’s what?”

“He is going to kill Mike. You know that will just give him one more thing to feel guilty about. Please… you have to stop him.”

“Angel, calm down,” Andrew said as he sat down on the edge of her bed. “You know I can’t keep him from doing anything… no matter how much I may want to.”

“I know, but Andrew, I have such a horrible feeling right in my heart. Something’s going to happen to him. Please go with him. Even if you can’t stop him, you can still be there to help keep him safe.”

“Paul isn’t my assignment, Monica… and I don’t want to leave you.”

“He may not be you assignment, but he is your friend, and I’m asking you to please follow him. At least if your together I won’t worry as much.”

Andrew sighed as he stood up. “Yes, but I’ll be worrying twice as much about you.”

The little angel let out a breath of relief. “Oh, thank you, Andrew!”

“No, you’re right. He’s my friend, and if I can help him by sticking close to him, then that’s where I belong.” He leaned over and brushed a light kiss against the top of her head. “But you’re responsible for explaining it all to Tess,” he continued, and then in an instant he was gone.

As he left, Monica closed her eyes, suddenly feeling more acute pain with the tension that had invaded her body and mind. She forced herself to breath slowly, but each breath hurt and she let out a soft whimper of pain.

“Angel Girl?”

Hearing Tess’ voice, she opened her eyes and forced a smile, but her supervisor could clearly see the strain behind her attempt.

“What’s the matter, baby?” She was at Monica’s side in an instant and she laid her hand over that of her charge.

“I’m just not feeling all that well, Tess. It’s probably perfectly normal, but…”

The words were no sooner out of her mouth that Tess had hit the button to call for a nurse, “You’ve had entirely too much excitement for one night,” She scolded gently as her watchful eyes traced the little angel’s pale face, “And what happened to Andrew and Paul? I can’t believe they left you alone.”

“Paul went to find Mike and I asked Andrew to go with him,” She whispered tearfully, “I don’t want Paul to do something he might regret and I’m afraid that something might happen to him.”

Tess had a lecture on the tip of her tongue, but she stopped herself due to how fragile Monica looked at the moment. Her dark eyes were clouded with pain and worry and the older angel found herself wishing that the agent she was growing so fond of had not announced to her charge what his plans were.

“Everything all right?” Sarah poked her head in the door and frowned at the look on Monica’s face, “What’s wrong? Are you having pain?”

“Yes, Sarah, she is and don’t let her convince you otherwise,” Tess stated firmly before Monica could even think about arguing, “She just told me she wasn’t feeling very well and her color doesn’t look good to me at the moment.”

“I’m sure upping her dosage of pain medication is not a problem but just let me go and clear it with the doctor on call. I’ll just be a minute.”

“Tess, no…I want to be awake when they come back…I have to know that they are all right!” The little angel’s eyes were flooded with tears as she pleaded, knowing that an increase in medication was going to ensure that she sleep.

“Angel Girl, listen to me, all right? You know that no matter what happens, God is watching out for them, the same way He watched out for you last night.”

“But Paul…he isn’t quite ready. I just need a little more time.”

Tess watched the tear that slid down Monica’s face and she took a seat on the bed next to her and took her hand into her own, “Monica, you’re making it sound like Paul isn’t going to come back, when only the Father knows what is going to happen out there. You can’t convince Paul to trust God if you aren’t doing that yourself.”

“I do trust Him, Tess. It’s Paul I don’t trust when it comes to facing the man who was responsible for killing Lauren. He’s going to do something he will regret forever-,” Her weak voice caught in a small sob as her eyes held both sorrow and pain.

“I know that Paul is your friend and that you love him, but you cannot change his heart, baby. Only God can do that and in order for that to happen, Paul has to open the door for Him first. There is no other truth to it, Monica and the Father is fully aware of what is happening,” She reached a hand out to stroke the little angel’s tangled hair in an attempt to calm her until medication could, “You getting yourself all worked up isn’t going to change anything.” She watched in dismay as her charge turned her eyes away.

“I’ve got the okay,” Sarah smiled as she returned to the room and made some adjustments on the IV machine. She could clearly sense a tension in the room and felt a bit relieved that Monica would soon be sound asleep, though she made a note in her chart about increased pain for the doctor, just to be safe. She laid a gentle hand on Monica’s leg, “You’ll start to feel a bit better in just a few minutes.”

“Thanks, Sarah,” the little angel mumbled sadly as she watched the constant drip and despite her attempts to fight it, she was soon sound asleep.

*****

”Son of a-,” Paul nearly drove rental car off the road when Andrew appeared in the passenger’s seat, “You scared the hell out of me,” He remarked with a small grin once he had gotten over his initial shock, “What are you doing here anyway?”

“Monica asked me to come and she was very insistent. You’ve got her worried sick, Paul,” His heart clenched as he remembered the paleness of his friend’s face before he had left and he knew that Monica wasn’t the only one who was worried.

“Yeah, I know and I’m sorry about that, but it can’t be helped,” His voice was hard, but regret also shone in his hazel eyes.

He was ready to remark that yes, it could have been helped, but he figured the words would do little good, “Where are you headed?”

“I got a call from a contact who has spotted Mike going into a hotel just outside of the city,” He explained, unable but to help but feel relieved at having the angel’s company as in his mind they were still partners. Plus, it never hurt to have an angel around.

“Are the police meeting you there?” Andrew asked, hoping for an affirmative answer.

“No.”

“Paul, this is not the answer and you know it. Let the police handle it.”

“He killed Lauren, Andrew,” The agent replied tensely, “The bastard looked me straight in the eye and accepted being my best man in my wedding and knew that Lauren would not live through the following day. It’s time for me to settle the score about that.”

“Did you not hear anything Monica said to you earlier?” He asked as knowledge of their conversation filled his heart, “What you are planning is no better than what Mike did or what David did and while you may get some temporary satisfaction from it, in the long run it will haunt you.”

“I can live with that,” Paul replied as he drove the car into the parking lot of the hotel and killed the engine, “Anything is better than being haunted by the memory of her bleeding to death in my arms and it is time for her to have justice. It’s my job to see that it happens.” He climbed out of the car and checked his gun in the holster.

“You don’t really want to do this or you never would have told Monica it was what you were planning,” Andrew argued as he closed his door and faced his friend once more, “You wanted her to stop you but you didn’t give her time to do that. You knew in your heart that she would not want this for you and neither would Lauren for that matter.”

Something in Paul’s eyes flickered for a moment before his expression hardened once more, “Lauren is dead.”

“Lauren is with God, but the whole time she was down here, she never once expressed a need or desire for the man trying to kill her to die. Lauren trusted God, but she didn’t discuss that very much with you because you were unwilling to hear it as you felt you were the one responsible for keeping her safe, but it was never up to you, Paul. Lauren was being kept safe with God.”

“Then why didn’t she live, Andrew?” He snapped, making the angel fully aware that he was hitting a nerve.

“She does live…she lives with the Father and she is waiting for you there when it comes your time to go. But first you have to allow God into your heart for that to ever happen,” He countered, offering silent prayers that something would cause Paul to change his mind about his intentions.

He was quiet for a moment before he shook his head, “and I will do that, just as soon as Mike pays for what he did to her.”

Andrew hung his head briefly as he followed Paul into the hotel and he remained silent as the agent gave the employee at the counter a picure of Mike after showing him his badge. The clerk did remember Mike and gave Paul a key card to his room with no hesitation and Andrew could clearly see the satisfaction in Paul’s eyes that he was that much closer to what it was he thought he wanted.

As they exited the elevator at the penthouse, Paul drew his gun and shook his head, “He certainly didn’t spare any expense,” He remarked angrily as he quietly approached the door, but a hand to his shoulder caused him to turn around to meet Andrew’s eyes.

“If nothing else I said has had any impact on you, know that if you go through with this you will break Monica’s heart.” His words were quiet, holding a trace of sadness and he sighed when Paul elected not to respond.

Mike looked startled when the door opened but only for a split second, before a smile crossed his face, “Paul, if anyone was going to find me, it was going to be you, I suppose.”

“I wasn’t stopping until I did, Mike,” He replied tensely, his knuckles white from how tightly he was holding the gun on the man who had been responsible for Lauren’s death.

“I’m sure that you know everything by now,” He mused, raising an eyebrow, “The money was too good, Paul…it was too good to pass up.”

“That was all you cared about?” Paul asked furiously, “The stupid money? You killed people, Mike! Good people we were trying to keep safe because they were willing to testify to put the bad guys in jail. You were no better than the killers we were trying to keep them safe from. You even had me fooled into thinking you were my friend, but a friend would not have seen to it that the woman I loved was killed. My God, you even helped me plan her funeral! I loved her and all you loved was the money!”

Something resonated deep in his soul at his words; something he fought to understand better. He had loved Lauren. He had loved her with everything inside of him and each day spent with her had been a blessing. With her, he had felt things he had never felt before and he had gained so much from the experience, despite the fact that in the end, he had lost her. Nothing would bring her back, not even killing Mike, and at the very least Andrew had assured him weeks ago back in the barn that Lauren was happy, unlike a little angel who was lying in a hospital bed worrying about what he might do.

Paul shook his head slightly, trying to physically rid his mind of such thoughts. The man standing before him deserved to die, but maybe that was too easy. Avoiding spending the rest of his life in jail would be a blessing and he had nothing else to keep him here. Mike’s wife had left him years ago and instead of opening his heart to the possibility of all that life had to offer, he had focused on getting rich off other people’s misfortune to try to fill the empty space that his life had become and Paul realized that just as easily, that could have been him.

He could have not allowed Monica and God to change his heart. He could have remained bitter and angry, but he now realized that these were emotions he was struggling to hold onto because they felt safer and little by little he was losing his grip on them.

“Andrew,” He said softly, unable to believe what he was about to say, “Call the police. Tell them we have him.”

Relief flooded the angel’s features as he moved to the telephone and placed the call, thanking the Father for what had just happened, though he wasn’t at all sure of why Paul had just changed his mind, but he was grateful for whatever the reasons had been.

“I came up here to kill you,” Paul stated as his angelic friend hung up the telephone, “Because I thought you deserved it and while I still think you do, it won’t be me to do it, Mike,” The man had once been his friend and not matter what evil he now knew about that Mike had been involved in, on some level that fact weighed enough to keep him from pulling the trigger.

As Paul lowered the gun slightly and glanced over at Andrew, Mike wasted no time in grabbing the lamp off the nightstand beside of him and he swung the glass fixture violently at Paul’s head, smiling when he made contact.

The blow took Paul by surprise as pain exploded around him and shattered glass rained down on him along with a sudden warm flow from his head. He saw Mike lunging for something and the agent realized that the direct hit with the lamp had caused him to drop the gun.

Andrew’s eyes filled with distress, knowing he could not interfere but not having any idea how he would ever tell Monica that she had basically sent him here to take Paul Home. He saw both men fighting for the gun and he silently pleaded for Paul’s safety. It was impossible for him to tell if either of them had a grip on the weapon but his questions were answered a split second later when the sound of a shot filled the room and it all went quiet.

Chapter 30

A low groan was the first sound that Andrew heard and he watched as Paul shoved Mike’s body off of his own. The angel was at his side in an instant, rolling the injured man over and staring down into his already glassy eyes. He saw the bright red blood flow out and form a blossom above his heart before spreading garishly across his chest. The wound was eerily similar to Monica’s.

“Get me a towel and call 911!” Paul cried out as he gathered his senses and took stock of what had happened.

His head was pounding in time with the beat of his heart and he had to blink to clear the blood from his eyes. He swiped at his forehead distractedly, brushing away more blood and trying to ignore the pain. Mike was clutching at his chest now and his breath was coming in short gasps. Paul could see the life draining slowly away and the scene was too familiar. The only difference was that his sympathy lay elsewhere. Andrew was at his side again before he realized it and he grabbed at the pristine white towel and mashed it against the bullet wound.

“No way, you bastard. You are not going to die on me now, after everything else,” he was practically shouting as he pressed harder and stared into Mike’s eyes.

“Hate to disappoint you, but I think this is it.” Mike coughed spasmodically and suddenly blood was pooling in his mouth and spilling over his chin.

“Damnit! Andrew, give me a hand here!” Paul struggled to turn the man’s head and keep pressure on his chest at the same time.

Mike had blacked out from the loss of blood and Andrew looked down at him with a detached feeling of regret. He knew he wouldn’t be shedding any tears if the man died and it troubled him. This would mark the second man that the angel hadn’t mourned. The angel knelt down and felt for a pulse in the man’s neck. It was still strong but he could feel it beginning to slow.

“Andrew? What? C’mon… don’t look at me like that!”

“I’m sorry Paul, but I can’t heal him any more than I could heal Monica. We just have to wait.” Andrew took notice of the distress on Paul’s face but he knew that it wasn’t for the man who lay bleeding on the floor. It was for the little angel who was waiting for them.

“You’ve got to tell her… Andrew… you saw… I didn’t want this to happen…” Paul was shaking his head even as he pressed harder on Mike’s chest and leaned forward to listen for his raspy breath.

“I know, Paul. I know.”

The whine of a siren sounded in the distance but neither of them moved until Paul looked up, lines of remorse etched across his face. “I really didn’t want to shoot him, Andrew. Monica was right all along. If he dies I’ll be just like him.” His voice had dropped to a gravelly whisper that Andrew had to strain to hear.

“No you won’t be. Trust me, Paul. You’re nothing like this man.”

*****

The paramedics arrived just a few short minutes later, racing into the room and throwing their bags to the floor as they quickly pushed Paul and Andrew out of the way and went to work. They knew the man they were working on was a wanted fugitive, but they couldn’t let that knowledge affect them. He was simply another human being in need of their help.

“Pulse is thready and decreased breath sounds on the right side. Looks like the bullet pierced that lung,” one of the strong young men announced as he threw down his stethoscope and started packing the bullet wound.

“Line’s in, we’re ready to move,” the other paramedic tapped on the IV line and started the fluid moving. “Let’s get him to the van, it looks like he’ll make it but he’s gonna need blood and fast.”

“You two coming with us?” The question was directed at Paul and he shook his head.

“We’ll follow. Where are you taking him?”

“Mercy General,” he answered as he finished strapping Mike to the gurney.

Monica’s hospital.

“No. You’re not taking him there,” Paul declared. One of them had already said that Mike would live, and Paul was relieved, but there was no way he was going within five city blocks of Monica.

“What? That’s the closest hospital and that’s where we’re going,” the man countered.

Paul whipped the badge from his back pocket and flipped it open. “No. You’re not. This man is currently in my custody and I’ll tell you where to take him. He’s not going to Mercy. Now let’s go… we’re wasting time and I’ve got a hundred calls to make on the way.”

*****

The hours stretched on and somehow Paul managed to hold it together through countless questions from everyone from the chief of police to the head of the Bureau on down. The hospital ended up setting aside an unused patient room just to accommodate them. And then there was the media, hovering in the hallways almost before the ambulance arrived. Paul managed to avoid them, leaving it to his section chief to handle the required PR. Through it all, he thought only of being able to leave and go across the city to Mercy General and assure Monica that everything was all right.

The agent cast frequent glances at Andrew and he knew that the angel was longing for the same exact thing. Somehow he had been remembered as Paul’s short-time partner, and he had been forced to go through questioning of his own. Paul wasn’t sure how he even managed it. If he was eager to go to Monica’s side he could only imagine how Andrew was feeling. The angel was probably having to use every muscle in his body to keep from simply springing up, announcing that he was an angel and that God loved them all but that he was on a really tight schedule, and then vanishing from sight.

It was nearing one a.m before the crowd finally thinned out and the fina prognosis came back on Mike Deatrich. He would live, and with those words Paul and Andrew were both able to breathe easier. He was actually in much better shape than Monica despite the fact that their injuries were similar. He was, after all, nearly twice her size and while the blood loss had been nearly fatal for her it had never been an issue for him.

As Paul and the last of the questioning agents exited the makeshift conference room Andrew crossed the waiting room to meet them. “Trust me,” Paul was saying. “It’ll all be in my report by five tomorrow afternoon.” The agent gave a half-hearted wave to the trio of agents who had been in the room with him and then turned his attention to Andrew. “I thought you left when the three of them arrived,” he said.

“No. I decided to wait for you. I had a feeling you’d be going my way,” Andrew replied.

“Yeah… good guess.”

Their drive back to Mercy General was silent and even when they arrived on her floor they had said less than a dozen words to each other. Andrew’s mind was already with his friend, and Paul’s was rapidly going over a script of what he was going to say to her.

“Wait!” he said suddenly as they approached her room. Andrew looked at him quizzically. “Maybe I should wait until tomorrow… I don’t want to upset her… You could just tell her about what happened and make sure she knows I‘m all right.”

Andrew just stared at him. “Paul, she’s going to want to see that you’re all right with her own two eyes.”

Paul set his mouth into a determinedly grim line. “Yeah… I know…”

“Then stop stalling.” It was as close to stern as Andrew had ever been with him, and it made the agent have to hold back a laugh.

The angel very quietly opened the door and the two of them walked in. They weren’t surprised to see that Monica was asleep, with Tess sitting in the chair beside her bed. Yes, sleep had claimed the little angel, but the lines across her forehead were evidence that it was not a peaceful slumber.

“Well thank the good and gracious Father Himself that the two of you are back and safe!” Tess exclaimed softly.

“Yeah… sorry it took so long, Tess,” Paul said. His eyes flickered to Monica’s face. He was actually glad to see that she was asleep. It bought him just a little bit more time.

“The news has been full of what happened, and the nurses have been keeping me informed, but I let her sleep,” Tess said. “I knew she wouldn’t believe anything until she saw the two of you standing in front of her anyway.”

“Is she okay?” Andrew asked, running his hand along Monica’s cheek and surprised that she only relaxed a fraction under his touch and showed no signs of waking.

“She was in some pain just after you two left and they increased her medication. It’s kept her asleep the whole time,” she replied. “And by the way, Angel Boy, the next time you decide to run off and follow orders that haven’t come from God, you might want to let me know.” Her hands were on her hips and her expression clearly said that Andrew had better not think about running off in the first place.

“Sorry, Tess.” The blond angel said. “Don’t worry, I won’t make it a habit.”

“See that you don’t.” Tess was firm, but Andrew could tell that those were the last words she would speak about it.

Paul stepped closer to Monica’s bed and then turned to Andrew. “I don’t know… it looks like we should just let her sleep and I’ll swing by tomorrow morning some time.”

“Paul.” The one word response to that suggestion was more than enough to let the agent know what Andrew thought of it.

He walked to the other side of the bed and hesitantly reached out to take hold of Monica’s hand. Only moments after wrapping his strong fingers around hers he saw her eyelids begin to flicker open.

“Andrew…” she uttered sleepily, and then her eyes focused on the agent and they opened wider. “Paul… You’re back.”

“Yep… I’m actually not that easy to get rid of,” he replied. “Of course it didn’t hurt that I had my partner back for a while,” he continued as he glanced at Andrew.

The Irish angel turned her head to look at her dearest friend with all the love she held in her heart. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“It was my pleasure, Angel Girl.”

“Paul… is Mike? You didn’t…” Monica was afraid to ask the question that she desperately needed the answer to.

“I think that’s our cue to leave, Tess.” Andrew said lowly, and the older angel didn’t need to be told twice.

Paul watched with some trepidation as the other angels left the room, and his eyes stayed on the closed door for a minute before turning back to Monica.

“Paul?” she asked again fearfully.

“He’s alive, Monica… he’s in another hospital…”

Monica’s face fell and she shook her head. “You promised you’d think about it… you never promised me anything else,” she said with resignation.

Paul quickly squeezed her hand to reassure her. “Monica I did think about what you said… I thought about it all and I changed my mind about everything. I swear to you, Monica… I didn’t intend to do anything but arrest him.”

Monica looked up, surprise and the beginnings of joy chasing across her face. “Really?”

“Really. He tried to make a break for it and in the struggle he was shot, but it was an accident.”

She could see how sincerely he was trying to convince her and she quickly put him at ease. “I believe you, Paul… and you have no idea how happy that makes me… not for my sake, but for yours.”

Now alone with her, the agent dropped all pretense and spoke honestly, “I wanted to kill him when I got there, but then I got to thinking about the things you said, and how sad his life really was and I changed my mind…” He hesitated for only a second before added softly, “I realized how close I could have come to being just like him.”

“Because of what happened to Lauren,” She whispered, curling her fingers around his hand that was resting over hers.

“Yes. I was on the same road that Mike wound up on and I honestly think things would have worked out differently had you not come along, Monica. Despite my completely inappropriate feelings for you at first, they made me realize that I was capable of feeling those things again and then later realizing that I was capable of keeping friendships again, even if they are with angels,” He laughed a bit self-consciously, “I know this assignment for you, Andrew and Tess will soon be over, but I’m not sure of how I’m ever going to be able to say good-bye to you.”

Monica felt the presence of tears in her eyes as she looked up at him, “Paul…” She couldn’t even begin to imagine not having him around and she had given no thought to the possibility.

He gave a little wave with his free hand, “Let’s not think about it yet. There are still David and Kristin for you to help, so we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Reaching over, he gently swiped at the tear that had managed to escape her eye, “You should sleep. It’s late. How are you feeling, by the way? Tess said you were in some pain earlier.”

She nodded her head and gave the smile of a tuckered out little girl, “I’m sleepy. The pain medication…” She closed her eyes briefly for a moment and when she opened them she noticed the bandage on his forehead, “Your head…are you all right?”

“Five stitches. No big deal,” He assured her.

“Now we match.”

Her impish grin as she indicated the bandage on her own forehead, caused the agent to chuckle, “You need to get some rest. Let me get Andrew so you can say good-night,” He rose to his feet and planted a tender kiss on her forehead, “I’ll see you in the morning, honey.”

“Good night, Paul,” She replied sleepily as her eyes followed him from the room.

Paul nearly collided with Andrew as he stepped out into the hall, “Better hurry, buddy. One tired little angel fading fast.”

The agent’s grin was contagious as Andrew realized that his friend seemed pleased with his conversation with Monica and he nodded his head, “See you tomorrow?”

“Absolutely, and Andrew…thank you,” He clasped his hand on the angel’s shoulder before he turned and headed down the hall, knowing he would be sleeping much more soundly tonight for the first time in weeks.

“Still awake?” Andrew asked as he poked his head in the door.

“Barely,” Monica mumbled wearily, though a smile played on her lips and it was the most welcome sight Andrew had seen since leaving with Paul tonight.

“Thank you for going with him tonight,” She continued as he took the seat Paul had abandoned and instinctively reached for her hand.

“You are more than welcome, angel,” He told her softly, “I’m just glad things turned out as well as they did. I honestly wasn’t sure about things there for a few minutes.”

“But the Father changed Paul’s heart,” She sounded completely content as she grinned up at him for a moment before her smile faded.

“What is it?” He asked worriedly, sensing her sudden change of mood.

She was quiet for a moment, eyes downcast, “This assignment is going to be over soon.”

His brow furrowed, figuring she would be much more excited at the aspect of this whole nightmare being over, “It appears that way, angel.” He waited, having a feeling she was working up to something.

“We won’t be seeing Paul anymore,” She whispered sadly, her expression forlorn and Andrew felt his heart clench at the look.

“We don’t know that, sweetie. We could see him again once this is over. Only the Father knows for sure,” He did his best to reassure her, despite the fact that he also felt a little saddened over the fact. Paul had become a part of their existence the last two months and it would be hard to go.

“I’m going to miss him,” She admitted, her words sounding as heavy as her heart felt as she closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep.

Reaching to smooth back her hair with his other hand, Andrew kissed her fingertip softly, “Me too, angel, me too.”

Chapter 31

Monica awoke late the next morning and she blinked softly to clear the sleep from her eyes. As her vision came into focus, her dark eyes widened as they settled on Kristin’s face and the worried expression that was on it.

“Kristin,” She uttered, trying to keep the surprise from her voice.

“Hello Monica,” Her eyes held a combination of sadness, regret and relief, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m going to be fine, so don’t worry,” She replied, deciding that at least that much was true. She knew that her body still hurt, but with just waking up, she hadn’t really had time to assess the situation yet, “More importantly, how are you?”

The young woman ignored her question, knowing there was more she needed to say first, “I’m so sorry about what happened. David never meant to hurt you…he told me…”

“Kristin, I know,” The little angel cut her apologies short, “How is he doing?”

“I saw him this morning and despite all that happened, I can truly say that he is doing better than he has been in some time, which sounds a bit strange considering he is in jail. They set his bail yesterday and its more than we could ever afford, but it is still okay. He has accepted it and no matter what happens, we’ll get through it,” She hesitated for a moment before adding, “He wanted me to tell you that he is sorry for everything.”

Tears filled the angel’s eyes, hardly daring to believe that her assignment would say such a thing, “He…he said that?”

“Yes and he means it, Monica. He sees now that you were trying to help him and he knows that he should have listened. I didn’t even tell him you were an angel.”

She blinked, yet another surprise blindsiding her, “You know?”

Kristin nodded. “Tess told me. Actually, she showed me and I sort of guessed,” she amended, giving a little smile. “She came and found me after David… after you were shot.” The woman still couldn’t bring herself to say the whole truth out loud, at least not in those words. She could say that David had hurt Monica. She could say that he was the reason she was in the hospital. But to say that he had shot her… there was something so horrible and brutal in those short words and to link them to David’s name… She just wasn’t able to reconcile them in her mind.

“Tess told me that you were watching Lucy, but she didn’t tell me anything else,” Monica said. She knew that she had been half asleep most of the time so it wasn’t too surprising that the older angel hadn’t bothered to fill her in on all the details.

“Yes, I am,” Kristin said with a grin. “When Tess found me I had nowhere else to go. I really thought that there was no one else in the world for me to turn to, but she told me otherwise.”

Monica smiled. Kristin’s expression showed that Tess had used her usual straightforward approach. “She’s very good at that,” she commented. “I think it’s her specialty.”

Kristin laughed. “Well it worked on me, that’s for sure.” The laughter died down and she raised her eyes to meet Monica’s again. “When Tess found me and told me what had happened, I don’t think I ever felt worse in my whole life.”

“Kristin, it wasn’t your fault and I’ll be fine. Really, I will.”

“I know that, and I know that God is watching out for you the same way He’s watching out for me, but I still felt horrible. You had been nothing but good to me, and because of that you were hurt.”

Monica started to speak again but Kristin reached forward and grabbed her hand. “Please let me finish all the way through or I don’t think I’ll be able to,” she said, eyes wide and sincere. “I know that you’ve probably helped hundreds or thousands of people, and never had anything like this happen to you before.” She took a deep breath. “I just don’t want you to go away from here remembering all this bad stuff. I want you to remember how much you really meant to me while you were here. You gave me something I hadn’t had in a really long time: hope that thins would get better.”

The little angel was speechless. She just sat looking at Kristin with tears in her eyes.

“I wish there was someplace for me to send one of those little comment cards,” Kristin went on and she smiled at Monica’s confused look. “You know, like to recommend you for Angel of the Month or something. But I suppose you don’t have that up there,” she explained as she glanced upwards.

Monica had to stifle a giggle that pulled at her still tender stitches. “No, nothing like that,” she replied, eyes dancing in amusement.

“Well from the looks of this room I think you’d have a few nominations coming your way if there was,” Kristin was looking around at all of the flowers that dominated the room.

“Actually, they’re all from the same person. I know he went overboard, but…”

“But you can’t help loving it,” Kristin finished for her.

Monica nodded, suddenly startled by her throat closing up as tears pricked the back of her eyes. Just thinking of Paul’s thoughtfulness was a reminder that soon she would have to say goodbye to him.

“It was Paul, right?” Kristin said and Monica nodded again. “He was there when they arrested David. He made sure they didn’t hurt him and then he even let us have a minute together before they took him away.”

The angel looked up in surprise. She knew how angry Paul had been and she knew how much it must have taken for him to set that anger aside. “He’s a good man,” Monica said, unable to say all that she wanted to. That would have to wait until Paul was actually sitting beside her.

“Yeah, I could tell that right away,” Kristin agreed. She glanced down at her watch, surprised by how much time had passed. “I should leave,” she said apologetically. “I just wanted to check in on you, not tire you out.”

“It wasn’t tiring,” Monica insisted although she was beginning to think that a wee bit more pain medication might be nice. “I’m glad you came. I hope that Lucy’s a good girl for you.”

“She’s been a little angel so far,” Kristin said with a wink, “and I’ll make sure to give her an extra kiss from you.”

*****

Monica lay in her bed attempting to be very still. She didn’t want to call the nurse but the pain was back and any movement was nearly enough to bring tears to her eyes. So instead she lay with her eyes closed, breathing in the scent of lilacs and letting her mind wander to the last time she had seen them outside. It had been at the second safe house Paul and Andrew had taken her to. They had formed a hedge in front of the house and she had insisted on stopping to smell them and marvel at their delicate form and beautiful color. She smiled thinking about how Paul had rolled his eyes in a good-natured way, and Andrew had choked back a laugh.

“Monica? Are you alright?” the sound of her best friend’s voice brought her back to the present.

She opened her eyes and turned her head towards him. “I’m okay,” she said. It wasn’t quite a lie but then she flashed back to the lies she had told David through the door. She didn’t want to have even a half-truth hanging in the air between her and Andrew. “Actually, it hurts,” she admitted.

“Monica, that’s why you have a call button. The nurse can give you more medication,” he chided gently.

“I know, but it makes me so sleepy and I don’t want to sleep anymore.”

“Angel, your body needs its rest right now.”

Monica sighed and immediately bit her lip on a wince. “I can stand it for a little while longer,” she insisted.

Andrew looked at her and pressed his lips together as he crossed his arms. Unfortunately for him Monica had seen that look many times before on the face of the angel who had patented it.

“Don’t ‘Tess’ me, Andrew,” she said as she narrowed her eyes and struggled to keep her own expression serious. “Please just come and sit with me. I won’t think about it so much now that you’re here.”

Andrew let out a long breath and slowly unfolded his arms, shoulders drooping slightly in defeat. “All right, Monica, but when the real Tess gets here I don’t think she’ll be so easy.”

She grinned up at him in satisfaction. “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,” she said as she patted her bed.

“No… Monica you’re already in pain. I’m just going to sit right here.” Andrew said as he pulled a chair to the side of the bed.

“Please?”

“Two ‘pleases’ in five minutes. You’re pushing your luck,” he warned her, but he already knew that the battle was lost.

“I know it, but you haven’t been able to hug me since I got here… this would be sort of the same thing.”

Andrew rolled his eyes but he very carefully made a place for himself on the bed and drew her into his arms, nestling her head on his chest. She was right. It felt just like a hug, and he had a feeling that it was recharging him as much as her.

“Kristin was here earlier,” Monica offered by way of conversation.

“How is she doing?” Andrew asked. “And I’m sorry I wasn’t here earlier. Being in the hospital… the Father had a few assignments he needed me to tend to.”

Monica nodded. She’d had a feeling that he was busy taking someone Home. She hoped that the trips had been peaceful and she made a note to ask him about them later.

“She seems to be doing well… she said that David was doing better too.” She opened her eyes and looked up, wondering how Andrew would take that news.

His eyes, normally so warm, turned a degree colder but it didn’t carry through to his voice. “I’m glad for you, Angel,” he said. “I know how much that means to you.”

No one else would have noticed that he didn’t say he was glad for David’s sake, but Monica was not just anyone else. She closed her eyes again and concentrated on the warm, safe feeling she got from being held within his arms. She still had work to do with both the men in her life but she was finally feeling as if she was not only ready but able.

“I know that you are angry with him for what he did,” She began hesitantly, “but I think that I have decided something.”

“And what might that be, Angel?” He asked, not sure if he really wanted to know what she was about to say.

“I was so convinced that David was exactly like McArthur. That he was full of hate and that nothing I could ever do could change who he was. But the night David shot me, I saw things so differently. He was having so much trouble pulling the trigger on Paul and I could see that what he thought he wanted was not going to be worth it for him. The only reason I got hurt was because I purposely got in the way in order to help Paul. David didn’t want to shoot me…he wanted to pay me off to just leave quietly and not say anything.”

“I wish you had gone, Monica.” The words were out before he had a chance to think about them.

“Had I done that, Andrew, Paul would be dead,” She replied with certainty, “I would have done the same for you despite the fact that you are an angel. You’re my best friend and Paul has become so special to me as well. I would do anything to keep harm from coming to either one of you.”

His heart ached at her words, knowing that they were the truth and his voice was quiet as he responded meekly, “So what did you decide?”

“That there is a difference between an evil man and a desperate and angry one. McArthur’s heart could not be changed, but David’s could be and that transformation has already begun. You told me we could never quit trying or no one would ever be saved, and you were right. I nearly gave up on David and I wanted to, but it wasn’t the right thing to do. He isn’t lost, Andrew. He still has a chance.”

He was quiet as he stroked her hair gently, thinking over the things she has just said. He had been furious with David from the first night he had encountered him and he had not wanted to let go of that anger. But here in his arms was the little angel who had battered by him, and later shot by him, rejoicing in the fact that the man’s heart was changing. Surely if Monica could see past the things David had done to her, then he could as well, all the while knowing that before it was said and done that another of God’s children could be saved.

“You’re absolutely right, angel. He still has a chance and I have a feeling that if you and the Father have anything to do with it, that in the end, he’ll make it,” He drew in a deep breath, “I’m trying to not be angry with him, Monica. It’s just hard to see you here in the hospital and know that he is responsible for it being so.”

She pondered his comments for a moment before replying thoughtfully, “David had trusted that he did everything right. He went to college, he found a good job. Then he got married and was expecting his first child with the woman he loved. Then it all went wrong for him. It must be very difficult for humans to trust in a God that they can’t see when the things they’ve done right, that are in front of them don’t work out. I know that it is all about trusting that God has a plan, but even His angels question Him at times.”

Andrew smiled, knowing that she was referring to him as much as to herself, “You have a point, sweetie. We’ve both had our share of doubts lately, though you were much quicker to see the truth than I have been.”

“That’s why you depend on me so much,” She teased, turning slightly to grin up at him. But the movement cost her dearly as pain overcame her once more and tears dampened her dark eyes.

“That’s it,” He reached and hit the button to call for her nurse, “You’re having more medication, sleepy or not.”

“If I must,” She whispered on a sigh, managing to breathe normally once again, “But will you stay here? Please?”

“That’s three ‘pleases’ now, Angel,” He joked gently, “Third one’s supposed to be a charm though, right.”

But she shook her head, “No. If you stay, it isn’t a charm. It’s a blessing.”

Andrew smiled as he rested his chin against the top of her head, “I agree, so rest assured, I will be staying.”

*****

“Unbelievable,” Paul ranted as he came into Monica’s room much later that afternoon, once the angel had woken up from a nap.

The two angels looked up from where they had been talking as Monica had been attempting to eat some of her dinner. It was clear to see that the agent was furious and was barely containing it and the angel pushed away her barely touched tray to look up at him.

“Paul?”

He seemed to come to his senses and realized he had worried her, judging by the look on her face and Andrew was looking slightly less than happy at this fact, though there was concern in his eyes as well, “I’m sorry,” He stated earnestly as he took a seat beside of Monica’s bed, though he kept fidgeting with annoyance, “I shouldn’t have done that. Eat your dinner, Monica. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

But she shook her head firmly, as much to disagree with his apology as to clear her head from how groggy the medication was making her. Though it was better controlling her pain, she despised the feeling of being in a fog while she was awake, “No, Paul. What happened?”

He sighed and was on his feet once more, pacing around the small space next to her bed, “They’ve offered David a plea bargain. If he agrees to testify against Mike, then he gets off with probation.”

The little angel’s dark eyes lit up at his words, “That’s a good thing. He’ll have another chance.”

“He shot you.” Paul stated firmly, as if this should be the end of the discussion, “He has no business being any place other than jail.”

“No, Paul, that isn’t entirely true. Everyone deserves another chance at life-.”

“You didn’t seem to feel that way about McArthur,” He retorted before he could even think about what he was saying and he cursed himself under his breath as he saw her shrink back slightly at his words. He was back at her side an instant later, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

Monica looked down and toyed with the fabric in her blanket, knowing that on some level, Paul was right.

“I’m sorry,” He repeated, reaching for her hand to stop her, “I didn’t mean that. They are two different people and I know that.”

“Yes, they are,” She replied quietly, finally looking up at him once more, “McArthur had someone to help him once and he refused to see the truth, just as in your own way, you refused to see it for a long time. David is seeing it now, Paul and that makes him different.”

“It’s just hard for me, honey. He hurt you and I can’t take that lightly.”

“I understand that. I do, but a desperate man can take desperate measures at times, Paul. That is what David did and I believe he sees that now. If he has a chance to turn his life around, then I’m happy for him. He has a conscience, and that makes him different from McArthur or Mike. He regretted what he did where they never did and maybe never will, though I still hope that one day, Mike will find his once more.”

Paul gave her hand a gentle squeeze, wanting things right between them once more, “I hope for your sake and David’s that you are right. It’s just hard for me to shake that image of you lying on that hotel room floor. You were in pain and I couldn’t help you, all because of him.”

“But you did help me, Paul,” She uttered, her eyes shining with sincerity, “You were there.”

Paul shook his head even as a small smile worked its way across his face. He would never believe that just being there was enough, but Monica thought it was and she was the only one who mattered at the moment. “I suppose that Andrew and I probably sound like broken records by now,” he said ruefully, “and you’re stuck reassuring us when we should be the ones encouraging you.”

Monica grinned. “Actually I like it much better this way.”

Paul laughed. It was true that Monica never looked happier than when she was helping someone else. After weeks of discouragement and frustration he could tell that she was beginning to feel like her old self again. He just hoped that he would be able to see her completely healed, inside and out. He had been thinking about how Andrew had described her being before McArthur came into her existence and he longed for just a glimpse of that reality. As each day drew to a close however, he wondered if it would be the last day that he would see Monica and the others. Well, he hadn’t expected to see them at all after the McArthur case and so he refused to accept that their parting, whenever it happened, would be anything more than a ‘see you later’.

“So,” he asked, “how much longer are they going to keep you in here?” The tone in Paul’s voice, and the way he quickly shot a look upwards let Monica and Andrew know that he was really asking two questions.

Monica had been avoiding thinking too much about her injuries and how much time it could take to heal from them. The pain was bad enough, but contemplating a long recovery wasn’t something she was ready to do yet. Paul saw that immediately and wished he hadn’t asked. Fortunately Andrew saw it as well and spoke up after placing a supportive hand on Monica’s arm.

“The doctor’s are saying that she can leave within the next few days as long as she starts walking around a little more,” he answered. “After that… well it looks like she’ll be recuperating at her apartment for a little while.” He gave her arm a little squeeze and cast a in her direction. “Which I can’t say I mind… I have some painting to catch up on, and old Mrs. Kellerman has a leaky sink in her bathroom.”

No matter how kindly he put it Andrew’s words still announced that he thought Monica was going to have to go through the normal healing process at least for a time. Paul couldn’t help but have mixed emotions. He didn’t want Monica to suffer, but he knew he would treasure any remaining time he had with her. The Irish angel, on the other hand, was less upset than she thought she’d be upon hearing her friend state what she had already suspected. Looking at Paul she remembered that she was in no great hurry to leave, and if she was to remain in the apartment then maybe that meant she still had a chance to completely change David’s way of thinking. Remorse for what he had done was a good first step, but the news of mercy and forgiveness was something she was sure he needed to hear.

Chapter 32

While they had spoken Monica had started twirling her fork around in her hand, completely ignoring the meal spread out on the tray in front of her. It hadn’t taken her long to discover that all of the human complaints she had heard about hospital food were absolutely correct.

“You know, unless certain angels finish all their dinner there will be no desert.” Everyone looked up as Tess walked in carrying a tall Styrofoam cup.

Monica’s drug-bleary eyes brightened as she looked up at her supervisor. “What is it?” she asked, sounding exactly like an impatient six year old.

“Oh nothing, just a little something you like to call a sundae with coffee ice-cream and extra chocolate sauce,” Tess told her, putting the cup on the edge of the tray.

The little angel started to reach for it and Tess stopped her. “Tess, please?”

Andrew was unable to hold back the laugh at hearing Monica using the ‘p’ word with the usually immovable older angel.

“And just what are you laughing at, Mr. Halo?”

“Nothing, Tess… really,” he said as Monica narrowed her eyes and looked up into his laughing ones.

Tess turned all of her attention back to Monica. “You should at least eat a little more, baby,” she urged. “You need your strength if you want to get out of here.”

Monica didn’t argue that point and instead picked up her fork again. “I’m too tired to eat anymore,” was her only comment.

“Did the nurse give you more pain medication?” Tessa asked Monica, but looked to Andrew for the answer.

“She had another dose about an hour ago.”

“And I’m feeling just fine now,” Monica cut in as she took what she hoped would be her last bite of dinner. “definitely good enough for ice-cream.”

“Well…” Tess pretended to be thinking about it for a full minute before pushing the cup towards Monica and handing her a spoon. “It’s all yours… just try not to fall asleep into it,” she chuckled.

Monica, who was already annoyed with her drowsiness just glared at Tess for a second before breaking into a teasing smile and grabbing for her desert. “Much better than Jell-o,” she declared.

“I stopped by your apartment to check on Kristin and Lucy,” Tess said as she watched Monica eat.

“Everything okay?” Paul, still with an adrenaline fix running through his veins felt himself preparing to hurl himself into the thick of things again.

“Just fine. Kristin was talking about David getting released?” It was a statement, but Tess managed to put a question mark at the end of it.

“Yeah, within the next few days,” Paul answered.

Tess didn’t look entirely happy with that answer but she kept her feelings to herself. “In that case, let’s see if you can’t beat him home,” Tess smiled.

Monica yawned as she finished the last of her sundae. “I’ll definitely do my best.”

“Without pushing yourself,” Andrew heard himself saying.

Monica leaned back and set her spoon on the table. “Yes,” she replied with a yawn, and before she even had time to say ‘goodnight’ her eyes had slid shut.

Silence prevailed in the room for several moments as all three sets of eyes lingered on the sleeping angel, each one lost in thoughts of their own. Finally Andrew broke the silence, “So do you really think she is going to have to recover?” His eyes remained on Monica’s face, noting that the bruises were beginning to fade much to his relief, though she still looked pale to him. He watched as flickers of pain crossed her gentle face and he felt his heart ache at the look.

“I haven’t been told, baby,” Tess remarked softly, not wanting to disturb her charge, “I suppose that a part of me is hoping that even the Father agrees that she deserves a much needed rest.”

Secretly, Paul was hoping the same thing and he nodded his head, “She’s been through so much.”

Tess looked over at him and remarked softly, “I get the feeling that you are not looking forward to this good-bye anymore than she is.”

“Well, she kind of grew on me…after about a minute and half,” He grinned, glancing at the Irish angel affectionately.

“Well, baby, if it is the Father’s will, you will see her again,” The older angel tried to console, clearly able to see the pain beneath his teasing.

Paul’s eyes lit up slightly as his expression turned to one of hope, “Does that happen very often? I mean, Monica must have helped hundreds of people…does she see any of them again?”

Andrew exchanged an uncomfortable look with Tess and knew he had to be honest, “It does happen, but not very often unfortunately,” He sighed as Paul’s face fell as the agent nodded his head.

“I kind of thought that might be the case.” He looked a bit hesitant before he looked over at Andrew, “I don’t suppose you’d mind a little company in her room tonight?” He knew the angel would not leave Monica’s side and right now, he really didn’t want to either.

Smiling knowingly, Andrew shook his head, “No, I don’t mind at all. In fact, I think she would probably prefer it that way.”

*****

The following morning, Kristin smiled as her husband sat down on the other side of the glass that was a border between them. He looked tired, but he managed a smile at the sight of her, which came as a great relief.

“Are you hanging in there?” She asked him, her blue eyes showing her concern.

“More or less, Kris,” David replied honestly, “I’m anxious to get out of here so we can just start over…I promise you, it will be so much better this time.”

“I saw Monica yesterday,” She awaited his reaction and was secretly grateful for the concern that lit up his face.

“How is she?” His voice held nervousness as he awaited her reply.

“She’s going to be fine, Dave. She still has some recovery in front of her, but all things considered, things could have been a lot worse.”

David was quiet for a moment as he nodded his head, “She shouldn’t even be in the hospital in the first place. I should have listened to the things she was trying to tell me, though for the life of me, I have no idea as to why she was trying to help me in the first place.”

“That’s just who she is, David. Some people are just good and kind with no strings attached and you need to accept that. Paul is her friend, and she got shot trying to save him, because she cares about him….just like she cares about what happens to you.”

“She has no reason to care what happens to me,” The regret in his voice was unmistakable, “Anymore than you should. The way I treated you, Kris…I was cruel and a lousy husband…I can’t believe you are even sitting here talking to me.”

“You were all those things, David,” She stated softly, “Completely different from the man I married. But I knew that somewhere underneath all that anger the man I married still existed and I was holding out for that. I’m glad I waited, because I missed him, very much.”

David’s eyes shone with tears at her words as he rested his hand against the glass, “When I found your note, honey, I thought I was dying inside. I knew that I had made a mess of everything, but the thought of losing you was horrible. You were the only thing that still made sense.”

“I know that you don’t really believe this, Dave, but there is Someone else who makes sense all the time and all He wants from you is for you to trust Him,” She saw him lower his eyes but not before seeing the doubt that shone there, “You used to believe in God, David. What happened?”

“I believed in Him until everything went wrong,” He said softly, still not feeling able to look at his wife, “I trusted Him to take care of me…us…and instead I lost my job and couldn’t find work. I was unable to provide for you and our baby..”

“But you could have done better had you not been spending so much at the bars every night,” Kristin pointed out softly, “Half of the unemployment check went to that every month and hangovers kept you from job hunting. God isn’t responsible for those choices,”

She longed to tell him that Tess, Monica and Andrew were angels, but for some reason it felt wrong for him to know unless one of them told him.

“Maybe not, but He certainly didn’t help matters either. Kristin, I don’t want to fight about this…I don’t want to fight with you about anything. I just want to testify against Mike and be able to get out of here before our baby is born. I’m going to find work and be a perfect husband and father to you and our baby.”

“You don’t have to be perfect, David. All you have to be is there and sober,” She paused for a second before adding, “It’s what I’ve been praying for.”

He met his eyes with hers, knowing that their visit was nearly at an end. He wished he could tell her that he had been praying for those same things, but it would be a lie. He had shut God out the same way he had once shut Kristin out and all he cared about was not doing that to her again.

*****

Movement hurt and Monica was surprised at just how weak her body had become in just a few days of lying in a hospital bed. She held onto Andrew’s arm, her steadfast friend constant by her side as she tried to disguise just how tired the short walk from the bed to the door had made her.

“Do you feel like you can go a bit further?” He asked her, his eyes focused entirely on her, “Maybe down the hall a bit?”

“Sure,” She wasn’t sure at all if she could manage it, but she was determined to at least try. She didn’t mind taking the time to recover, but she would prefer to do it in her apartment and not in the hospital. She missed Lucy and was weary of the constant presence of nurses all through the night, now certain that a hospital was no place to rest.

Andrew could sense her hesitation, but he didn’t want to strike up an argument, so instead, he just folded his other hand over hers and let her proceed at her own pace. He could tell she was hurting, but was hoping he could trust her enough to tell him when she’d had enough, “You’re doing great.”

She flashed him a tired smile before she winced, amazed at how walking could disturb her incision sites enough to cause pain, “Where did Paul go this morning?”

“I’m not sure, angel. He just said he had some things to take care of.”

“It seems kind of silly to keep FBI operations a secret from angels, don’t you think?”

Andrew chuckled, pausing as she stopped walking to catch her breath, “Maybe he never thought of it that way.”

Monica took a breath and started walking again. She was concentrating very hard on making it to the end of the hallway. A few nurses were completing their rounds and they looked approvingly in their direction. It was hard not to know who the little Irish patient with the trio of devoted protectors was. They all marveled at her determination and kind nature. Even when she was barely lucid she always asked how they were doing. They were all wishing her a quick recovery but she was one of the patients they were all going to be sad to see leave.

“Do you think that we’ll see him again,” Monica said softly. They were half-way down the hall and her legs were exhausted already. The question was meant as a distraction but Andrew heard the longing in it as well.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “It’s unusual for us to meet up with the same person twice, never mind three times.”

“I know that… I know,” she said slowly, “but I just feel like there’s more to be done…”

He stopped her and turned to face her. “What you feel is that you will miss him… and so will I. I don’t want to think that this is the last time we’ll meet, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up either.”

She lowered her eyes and walked forward again without saying anything, leaving Andrew staring at the space where she had been. In two long strides he was at her side again and had tucked her hand into the crook of his arm.

“I’m sorry, Angel. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You told me the truth. It’s not your fault that this time I’m the one who’s not ready to hear it.” She had finally reached the end of the hallway and she turned around and looked at the long stretch of white tile that led back to her room. “I promise I won’t get my hopes up, Andrew, but I do have this feeling in the corner of my heart. It tells me that Paul is one of those few people we’ll see again.”

Andrew looked down the hallway as well, thinking about how far Monica had come, and not just physically. If she had a feeling and it gave her hope then he was going to believe in it. She was leaning on him more heavily and he wondered if he could somehow convince her to let him carry her back to the room. No. Definitely not. However, grace came in the form of an angel pushing a wheelchair.

“Monica, you aren’t supposed to be straining yourself.” Tess said sternly. “Now sit down and let’s get you back to your room.”

“But Tess… the doctor won’t release me if I don’t walk around.”

“And he won’t release you if he can’t see you either, and right now he’s standing in your empty room.”

Monica raised her eyes hopefully. “Do you think he’s going to let me leave?”

“Well I can’t say for sure, but he’s got a stack of papers under one arm, and I think we’d better get back before he decides to just hold onto them!”

Chapter 33

Four hours, two elevator rides, one physical therapy session, and countless discharge papers later, Monica stepped through the door and into her little apartment. She was out of breath and she longed to just collapse against the doorframe. The stairs had been quite a bit more of a challenge than she was ready for and even with Andrew practically carrying her up the last flight she still felt as if she had run a marathon. Tess was looking at her with a very firm look on her face, and Andrew had worry lines around his eyes.

“I’m fine now,” she said with a weak grin. “Isn’t it wonderful to breathe in air that doesn’t smell of antiseptic?”

Tess’ eyes narrowed. “Yes, just wonderful. Now sit yourself right down and I don’t want to see you move for the rest of the afternoon.” Tess had wanted Monica to stay in Andrew’s apartment and avoid the stairs and seeing the slight shaking in her charge’s legs convinced her that she should have fought harder.

“C’mon, Monica, we’ll get you all set up here,” Andrew said, a bit more gently, as he led her to the sofa and carefully eased her down. “Just sit tight and I’ll get a blanket from the other room.”

“Thank you, Andrew,” she sad. “And thank you, Tess,” she winked up at her supervisor and smiled. Yes, the older angel had probably been right to suggest that she avoid the stairs, but she was here now, and she was very pleased that she had won that little debate.

She didn’t have time to adjust herself on the sofa before a little streak of grey flew through the room and launched itself at her lap. Lucy’s purr sounded like it was coming from a much larger cat, and even Tess found herself chuckling.

“Looks like someone missed her Mama.”

Monica grinned as she picked the kitten up and held her to her face, loving the warmth and the softness and the comforting sound of contentment that rumbled deep in Lucy’s chest. “Did you miss me, my wee little girlie?” she said and then continued talking in a low babyish whisper.

Only Andrew’s stifled laughter made her raise her head and put Lucy down in her lap. She looked at her friend with mock annoyance.

“Sorry, Monica. I couldn’t help it… you reminded me of the time you caught those little worms.”

“Oh yes!” Monica nodded her head. “I suppose that they were my first pets.”

“Miss Wings, angels don’t have pets, and if they did they certainly wouldn’t be worms.”

Monica looked up sharply and pulled Lucy to her chest. “Well Lucy is a pet,” she argued, with a slight hint of fear causing her voice to waver. Tess had never officially said that she was allowed to keep Lucy, but she honestly wasn’t sure what she’d do if she had to give the little creature up. It was silly, but for some reason just being around Lucy cheered her up, and she was able to admit that she had needed a lot more cheering lately.

“Your little Lucy…” Andrew looked at Tess with his own stern look. The cat was going to stay unless God Himself ordered otherwise. “…is an exception,” Tess finished. “So I guess that makes her your first pet, not those wriggling little insects.

“Actually they’re nematodes,” Monica said with a yawn, “but you may be right… they never did answer to their names.”

*****

Monica spent most of the afternoon and on into the evening napping. She was finally able to convince Andrew to get busy with all the work around the apartment building, but Tess had been an immovable object when it came to leaving the apartment. She declared that there wasn’t nearly enough food prepared and had set to work cooking, at the same time monitoring the little angel and making sure that she took her medication on schedule. It was an obvious excuse to stay, but by dinnertime there was enough food to feed several apartments full of people.

“I think you may have gone overboard,” Andrew laughed when he saw the food laid out on the counter.

Tess gave a little sniff. “I’m not very good at just sitting,” she declared.

“How has she been?” He nodded back towards the living room where Monica was once again sleeping.

“Just worn out, poor thing. I’ve been making sure she takes the pain medication, but I think that time is the only thing that’s really going to make her feel better.”

Andrew nodded. “Luckily that’s something we have plenty of, and frankly I don’t think that she and Paul are ready to say their good-byes yet.”

As if on cue, a light knock on the door captured both angels’ attention. “Anyone home?” The voice was Paul’s and Andrew smiled as he went to open the door.

The angel held a finger to his lips as he let the agent in the door, indicating Monica who was still napping on the couch and watched as Paul nodded his head in understanding.

“How is she feeling?” Paul asked in a hushed whisper.

“Wiped out. She insisted on coming the whole way up to her apartment instead of staying in mine, though she was extremely happy to be here and out of the hospital.”

“I’m sure she was,” Paul remarked with a small smile as his eyes rested on the Irish angel, who was just starting to stir. Though he was anxious to speak to her, he waited patiently as Andrew made his way to her side.

Monica was just opening her eyes as Andrew sat down on the coffee table across from her and he reached out to lay his hand over hers, “How are you feeling, angel?”

She smiled sleepily as she looked up at him, “Did you get everything done that was on your list?”

He chuckled softly, “Just about, but you didn’t answer my question.”

“A wee bit better,” the little angel confessed before she looked over and saw Paul standing across the room, “Paul,” She grinned, her obvious delight at seeing him warming his heart.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, sweetheart,” The agent stated as he moved closer to her and planted a kiss on her forehead.

Andrew watched the exchange with a mixture of pleasure and bittersweet sadness. The affection the two held for each other was obvious and he dreaded the moment when they would have to tell each other good-bye. In all the years of knowing Monica, he had never seen her get so attached to a human being, and he had a feeling it was going to break her heart to let go of the special friendship that had developed.

Monica searched Paul’s eyes and a frown slowly crept over her face, “Something’s wrong,” She said, her words both a statement and a question.

Paul’s expression went blank for a moment. He was never ceased to be amazed at Monica’s perception and she was probably the only being on the planet who was always able to see through to what he was trying to hide, “It’s nothing for you to be concerned with,” He explained, but he could tell by her stubborn expression that she was not about to be deterred.

“I’ll go tell Tess to set another place for dinner,” Andrew rose to his feet, trying not to be obvious that he wanted to leave the two alone to talk.

“What makes you so sure I’m staying?” Paul asked, though his eyes held a playful glimmer.

Andrew shot a wink Monica’s way as he replied and glanced upward, “I have it on the Highest Authority.”

The combination of confusion, then understanding and finally surprise that crossed Paul’s face, caused Monica to giggle, despite the fact that her rib was still aching and she stopped abruptly when the pain hit her, “Ow.”

Paul had to laugh at the slight pout that appeared on her face as he moved to Andrew’s vacated seat on the coffee table, “You okay?”

She sighed softly, “Yes, just tired of it hurting. Though it is lovely to be home.”

“It seems that your furry friend is glad to have you back as well,” he remarked, indicating Lucy who was still napping on her lap.

Monica smiled, as she moved to stroke the kitten’s head, “I missed her too and it’s now official. Tess said I could keep her.”

“Should we throw you a kitten shower now that it is official?” He asked teasingly, delighting in her grin.

Her eyes danced happily for a moment, before they clouded with concern once more, “What’s the matter, Paul? Did something happen today?”

“And what makes you think that anything is the matter?” He asked her, trying to keep the joking inflection in his voice.

“I know you and I can tell when something is troubling you,” She stated firmly, her expression telling him that he was not going to get off the hook with this.

“I went and saw Mike today,” He stated simply, folding his hands in front of him.

Monica looked perplexed, trying to interpret what that entailed, “What happened?”

“Nothing much,” He lowered his eyes briefly before raising them once more, “I guess I had just hoped to see a tiny bit of regret from him.”

She nodded her head, now understanding what it was he was saying and what it all boiled down to. Lauren.

“I’ve called the man a friend for years, Monica. We played racquetball together, went to the Superbowl together, and got together for drinks after difficult cases. I trusted him. I just didn’t think it would be too much to ask for him to show some remorse for murdering my fiance.”

His voice held more bitterness than Monica had ever heard from him as he spoke the words, and her heart went out to him as she reached for his hand, “I’m sorry,” she whispered to him sincerely, “I know how hard it is to forgive something like that.”

“Forgive him? Honey, that isn’t even an option for me right now,” He shook his head firmly as if wondering how she could even suggest such a thing.

“I didn’t want to forgive McArthur either,” She persisted, a twinge of sadness in her Irish voice, “He changed the way I saw the world and instilled a fear in me unlike any I have ever felt before. I had no idea of how to forgive him for making me feel those things. But in order to make myself feel better, it was something that I had to do. Anger is much more cumbersome burden to carry, Paul, than forgiveness.”

He hesitated for a moment, looking directly into her large brown eyes, “You’ve forgiven McArthur?”

“Yes. Right after David shot me, I forgave him for becoming who he was instead of who he was created to be. God never intended for him to live the life that he was leading and therefore it was never intended for McArthur to put fear in me. Some people just refuse to hear the truth, no matter how many times they are presented with it,” She squeezed his hand gently, “I’m sorry for what Mike did to Lauren and the loss you suffered must have been horrible. Mike will now become a lonely man, as he has lost a true friend, and will spend the rest of his life in prison. Don’t allow that to become your burden as well, Paul, as it will not serve you in any way.”

He fell silent and though she knew he was contemplating her words, she continued, “Tell me about Lauren. I know she looked a lot like me, but what was she like?”

The agent’s face softened as memories of his fiance filled his mind and before he could stop himself, he began to speak, “She was a bit rough around the edges at first, but in all honesty, once her walls had been torn down, she was a lot like you. Compassionate. Trusting, despite the fact that she had seen her parents murdered. She wanted to see justice done, but she never wished the killer dead. She loved music and loved to sing. She loved doing the crossword puzzles in the back of the television guide. She enjoyed cooking and was good at it,” He grinned and winked at the little angel, “That was a definite difference between the two of you. No offence.”

“None taken,” Monica smiled reassuringly, “What else?”

“I don’t know. She loved winter and I hate the cold, but she managed to convince me to go skiing and snowboarding and I actually enjoyed it. She had a game she loved to play when we had nothing else to do and that was to get into the car and we would just drive and she would flip a coin. Heads we turned left. Tails we turned right. I never knew where we might end up! She was spontaneous that way, “ He shook his head, “Looking back, I realize just how many risks I took with her safely while she was in my care.”

“Seems like the biggest risk you took was falling in love with her,” She observed softly, “Knowing now how it would all turn out, would you have stopped that from happening?”

He felt tears sting his eyes at her question, “No. Not in a million years.”

“Then that is what you need to remember. You can let your soul fill up with hatred and resentment or you can keep it full of the love you shared with Lauren. It’s very difficult to do both and I think I know which Lauren would tell you to choose,” she said very quietly.

Paul lowered his head and wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I’m not going to argue with you, Monica. I know better than that. I guess the problem is that no matter how right you are it doesn’t really change the way I feel. I wish that it did, but it doesn’t. Maybe someday.”

“Someday could be sooner than you think.” She reached over and tugged on his sleeve. “Remember what you told me?”

He looked up with confusion on his face and she smiled.

“You told me that after Mike was caught you would be able to talk to God. Well, he’s in jail now. You saw to that, and now it’s time that you carried through with that promise.”

“Monica…”

“Just a few words, Paul and you can feel your burden lifted.”

He stood up abruptly and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Well maybe I don’t want to have it lifted. Maybe it’s the only thing I still have to remind me. What would it say about our love if I just turn around and forget about how she was ripped away from me?”

“Paul, where are you going? Please don’t leave.”

“I’m not leaving. I just think maybe Tess could use some help in the kitchen,” he said, and with that he disappeared around the corner.

Monica sank back against the pillows with a long and tired sigh. This was not going quite as well as she had planned and she wasn’t sure how much time she had left. She plucked at the blanket that covered her legs and absentmindedly pulled it tighter while wishing that she had the strength to chase after Paul.

*****

The kitchen door swung open and familiar footsteps slowly crossed the room.

“Monica?”

She opened her eyes and gave him a smile as he sat down on the edge of the sofa.

“Is everything alright?” Paul, who normally needed to be pried from her side, had suddenly appeared in the kitchen and asked if anything needed chopping. That was reason enough for his question.

“He’s still not ready, Andrew,” she said it very matter-of-factly, but there was no hiding the tinge of disappointment in her voice.

“He’ll come around.”

“But when? I thought that I…” She shrugged and looked at her hands. “He’s our friend. I want to be here… I know it’s silly and selfish but I guess I wanted to be the one to lead him back to God.”

“You have,” he insisted. “Whether he talks to the Father today, tomorrow or next month, it will be thanks in part to you. You’ve started him on the path, Monica. He needs to go the rest of the way alone.”

She looked up again and smirked at him. “When did you get so smart?”

“Well, hanging around with you has helped. After all, you do keep me on my toes,” he used her favorite little catch-phrase. “Now, let me get your pain medication and I think Tess will have dinner ready.” He quickly left the room and was back before she had a chance to miss him. “Here,” he said as he held out his hand, two small pills nestled in his palm.

“I will be so glad when I stop hurting,” she murmured.

“Every day will get you that much better. You just need to rest and let us take care of you.”

“I know, but Paul…”

“Monica, you need to stop worrying about him for right now.”

She pouted but it was short-lived as he leaned forward to kiss her lightly on the forehead. “I’ll try,” she said as her face softened.

“Good. God is working within him right now, even if he doesn’t know it. Let Him do what He does best.”

Despite feeling completely safe in Andrew’s presence a knock on the door still caused Monica to flinch. He looked at her with concern as she relaxed an instant later. Some things were going to take longer to heal than others he realized. He squeezed her shoulder as he went to answer the door, not surprised to find Kristin on the other side.

Chapter 34

“I just wanted to see how Monica was doing,” she said as she poked her head inside. “I stopped by the hospital and they said that she had been released.”

“Why don’t you come on in and ask her for yourself,” he said as he stepped aside and let the young woman inside.

“Hi Kristin,” the little angel welcomed her with a smile.

“Monica, you look much better,” Kristin replied, noting that the bruises were beginning to fade, replaced by a more natural color. “Getting out of the hospital agrees with you.”

Monica nodded her head in agreement. “It’s nice to rest in my own bed… well, sofa anyway,” she said with a very small laugh.

Andrew picked Lucy up from the big easy chair and motioned for Kristin to sit down as he took up his usual spot on the edge of the sofa. Monica went to move her legs to give him more room but a gentle hand stopped her movement. Kristin felt a warm smile crossing her face as she sat down and watched that simple but loving exchange. She had to keep reminding herself that they were angels and she was witness to a love and a friendship that few people even dreamed of.

“How is David?” Monica asked, and Kristin was once again amazed that the little angel was able to see past the pain he had caused her.

“He’s fine,” she said slowly, an idea beginning to form. “Just waiting… There’s a lot of paperwork that needs to be done and he still has to go through psychological interviews and then more meetings with all the prosecutors. He’s getting time to think now and that’s exactly what he needs… at least mostly…”

Monica cocked her head and looked into Kristin’s face searching for the reason behind that hesitation. “What is it?” she said with a generous smile. “You don’t have to hold back with us, Kristin.”

She pressed her lips together for a moment. She knew she didn’t have to hold back but she also knew what the angel’s reaction would be and she wasn’t sure if it was right for her to force it. She had already been through so much.

“Kristin?” Andrew asked, becoming curious himself.

She leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees. “I’ve been trying to talk to him… you know… about God…” she said haltingly. “But he won’t listen to me. He knows that he needs to make a change in his life and I believe that he will, but it isn’t enough any more. He needs to believe again. I need for him to believe. I don’t think he’ll ever be whole until he does. Right now he wants to change for my sake, but I want him to want to change for God and for the sake of goodness alone.”

The smile faded gradually from Monica’s face, replaced by a thoughtful look. “I need to talk to him,” she said, and Andrew sat straight up and was about to say something until her eyes stopped him.

“I knew you’d say that… but I wasn’t sure if it was a burden I should give you. You’ve already done so much… too much,” Kristin explained.

“I’ve just been talking about burdens with someone else,” Monica replied, “and about how they should be handed over to God…” she smiled again, “or in this case, His angel.”

“I don’t know how to thank you, Monica. It seems like I keep needing to though,” Kristin said with a small grin.

“You can save your thanks for your prayers, and just concentrate on taking care of yourself.”

“I think I can do that,” Kristin answered. “In fact I just joined a prenatal class down at the hospital. I should probably stop bothering you and get ready to go there.”

She stood up and Andrew stood as well, still not saying anything.

“It was good to see you Kristin. Don’t worry about David,” Monica said as she turned her head to watch the woman and her friend move to the door.

Kristin could tell that Andrew wasn’t particularly happy about what Monica had just agreed to do and she felt badly about putting the slight scowl on his face. “She’s very special, isn’t she?” the words were whispered as she stood in the doorway.

Andrew glanced at over his shoulder and into the little angel’s dark eyes. “Yes,” he said as his face relaxed into a look of acceptance. “She’s very special. I’ve seen her get through to people I thought could never be reached. She’ll get through to David.”

Kristin reached forward and grasped the angel’s hand in a quick squeeze and then she was gone, hurrying down the hallway towards the stairs. Andrew sighed and went back into the apartment, closing the door with a gentle shove.

“Andrew…” Monica started before Andrew had a chance to say anything.

“I know I can’t talk you out of it.”

Monica smiled slightly and patted the sofa. “Thank you for not trying.”

He sat down with another sigh and took her hand, “I don’t necessarily like it, but I know better than to try to change your mind. I don’t want to see you hurt anymore than you have been already.”

She looked up into his green eyes, her own reflecting her love for him, “I know that you don’t and I love you for that. But for weeks now, we’ve been waiting for me to feel ready and now I am.”

Andrew smiled, knowing he had to be glad for that much, “That’s what is most important.”

She could tell that he was still unhappy with her decision to talk to David, but at least he wasn’t completely opposing it. She was prepared to say something more when Tess came out of the kitchen to announce that dinner was ready and Monica noted that Paul had elected to stay behind.

“Let me help you,” Andrew insisted as he got up and gently helped guide her until she was standing. He saw the determined look on her face and stood back to allow her to walk the short distance to the table, hating the fact that when she got there she looked a little bit paler. She flashed him a grateful smile as he pulled out her chair for her and he squeezed her good shoulder reassuringly, “I hope you’re hungry as Tess was bored all afternoon.”

“As long as it isn’t hospital food, then yes, I’m starved,” She admitted though her eyes reflected that today had still left her feeling tired and a little bit discouraged.

“No need to worry about that, baby,” Tess replied as she carried in a platter that contained roasted chicken as Paul followed with sweet potatoes and green beans.

“It smells heavenly, Tess,” Monica remarked, trying to catch Paul’s eye but the agent seemed to be avoiding her gaze and her shoulders slumped slightly.

“Paul, would you do the honors of giving thanks to God for the meal?” The older angel requested as they all sat down at the table.

Monica’s eyes widened before she lowered them, feeling as if she was holding her breath wondering what Paul would do.

The agent felt cornered and he had noticed Monica’s expression before she had gazed downward, causing a stubborn expression to cross his face, “I’m a little rusty, Tess, so maybe you had better take care of that.”

Tess and Andrew watched as Monica’s head drooped a bit further and both older angels had to push aside their protective instincts in order to not cause a scene at the table. Andrew knew that that this was a battle of wills at the moment; Monica’s to get Paul to talk to God and Paul’s to resist, but he still didn’t like seeing his dearest friend hurt in any way.

Though Tess looked more than slightly disgruntled, she picked up where Paul had failed to follow through, “Heavenly Father, thank you for this bounty that You have placed before us, and thank You for friends to share it with…friends we are kind to, Father and that we don’t hurt to prove a point, lest one of your angels might get angry…Amen.”

Despite the situation, Paul had to hide a grin at Tess’ prayer and the way she accentuated the word “angry”, but the urge to smile quickly faded as he stole a glance at the Irish angel. She was pushing the food around on her plate and he suddenly felt terrible for wanting the upper hand. This was no game to her and she had saved his life only a few short days ago and already he had hurt her tender feelings and the thought was causing him to push his own food around, suddenly not feeling all that hungry.

He wished for the floor to open up and swallow him when after a few moments, Monica rose shakily to her feet and mumbled something about not being hungry and being tired. The tension at the table mounted as the little angel walked slowly and obviously painfully down the hall to her bedroom.

As Andrew stabbed angrily at a piece of chicken, Tess looked over at Paul and remarked, “Do you not like chicken, baby, or are you just feeling like one at the moment?”

The agent blinked in surprise, never ceasing to be startled at the oldest angel’s forwardness, “I didn’t mean to upset her.”

“But you did,” Andrew stated flatly, his gaze cooler than Paul could ever have recalled seeing it, “Her body is trying to heal and the last thing she needs is to be upset.”

“I agree,” He replied softly as he rose to his feet and picked up Monica’s plate, before heading down the hall to her room. He knocked softly before he opened the already cracked door a bit more and found her sitting on the edge of her bed. It was obvious she had been trying to lie back against her pillows, but the pain in her rib as well as the pain from the incisions was causing her great difficulty and he was unsure if his actions or pain were what caused the tears that were in her eyes.

Quickly, he laid her plate down on the night stand and moved to her side, “Let me help you,” He offered, relieved when she didn’t resist and he supported her back while she swung her legs up onto the bed.

“Thank you,” She whispered weakly as he adjusted her pillows for her, but Paul noticed that she was avoiding his gaze as he sat down on the edge of her bed.

“I’m sorry. I was being pig-headed and that was wrong of me. Tough guys aren’t supposed to feel like they need to be thankful to God for food, I guess,” He was joking, but he did not win the smile he was hoping for. In fact, her reaction was completely the opposite of what he wanted as her tears spilled over, “Oh honey, please don’t cry.”

Monica struggled to stop her tears enough to be able to speak, “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be here, Paul, and then more than likely, I am never going to see you again and I don’t want to leave not knowing how things are going to turn out for you. I know you can’t force it, but you at least have to try…”

‘Scum of the earth’ didn’t begin to touch how he was feeling at the moment as he moved to pull her as gently into his arms as he could, “You’re right, I do have to try, and I will. I promise you that I will. And what is this nonsense about never seeing me again?” He forced the words, knowing that he was feeling the same things about their impending separation.

“Paul, I can count on one hand the number of times I have met up with an assignment twice and it has never been more than twice,” She explained tearfully, “and no matter how it turns out, the fact remains that I’m going to miss you.”

He closed his eyes briefly as he rested his chin against the top of her head, “Yeah,” He said softly, his eyes now focused on the wall as he managed to keep his own emotions intact, “It’s safe to say that I’m going to miss you too and for that reason alone, I am in no hurry for you to get better.”

Monica managed a small smile as she looked up at him, “You enjoy seeing me in pain?”

He chuckled softly as he kissed the top of her head, “No, but if it means keeping you around longer, then so be it.”

She giggled, but then sighed softly, “I’m going to miss you not being around. I’ve grown to depend on that, whether or not I should have.”

“I can say the same about you. I’ve come to depend on you keeping me on my toes in more ways than one,” He grinned, thinking about her disappearing acts in the days after they had met, not to mention when she had set off the fire alarm, “Don’t misunderstand, honey. I am thinking about the things you said earlier and I should have told you that straight away, instead of retreating and then retaliating. I was feeling a little vulnerable, I guess and us tough guys don’t enjoy feeling that way, but you have a way of doing that to me. Not that it is a bad thing.”

“Even tough guys need God, Paul, especially those that put their lives on the line for others day after day,” She spoke softly and hesitantly, “Trusting Him isn’t a sign of weakness, but of strength. Physically, you prepare your body to do your job by lifting weights or whatever it is you tough guys do. But you are spiritually weak right now and for a man who deals with murderers many days of his life, that is not a place that I feel comfortable with you being. God strengthens your soul just as weights strengthen your body and together you can face all the things that life throws at you, being certain that you have protected both body and soul with the best armor available.”

He was quiet, hearing her words and considering them carefully, “But what about Lauren? What does it say about my love for her to let go of my anger at the man who killed her?”

“You aren’t honoring Lauren by staying angry, Paul and you aren’t celebrating her life by hating Mike. Mike and the FBI brought her into your life to begin with and you said you wouldn’t change anything about that.”

Paul let out a long sigh. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.” He picked up the folding breakfast tray from beside the bed and settled it over her lap and then set her still full plate in the center of it. “I know that I should just be grateful for the time that we did have together.”

“It was a precious gift, Paul, and not even Mike can take those memories away from you.”

*****

Andrew was making a half-hearted attempt to read a newspaper as he sat on the sofa. Tess was keeping herself busy clearing the table and cleaning the kitchen. Neither one of them wanted to interrupt Monica and Paul. Andrew rustled the paper impatiently and turned the page. His anger at Paul had quickly faded, but he was still annoyed.

“Are you sure you don’t need a hand in there, Tess?” he called out for the third time.

“Andrew, I have it under control,” Tess replied sounding only slightly exasperated.

The blond angel sighed and leaned back again. He turned the page he hadn’t really read, gave the paper another shake, and stared at the pictures on the next one.

“I have a feeling you’d prefer to be shaking me,” Paul said as he walked into the room.

Andrew looked up and raised one eyebrow. “Well…” he left the statement open-ended and Paul gave a low chuckle.

“I deserve that,” he said, “but I think we’re okay now. I’m sorry for spoiling dinner. I was being an ass and I’m lucky you’re an angel or I think I’d have a black eye right about now.”

The angel laughed and tossed the paper to the side. “Well I wouldn’t go that far.”

Tess pushed open the kitchen door and stuck her head out. “No, not quite that far, baby… but close.” She let the door swing shut again and Paul laughed.

“She’s the one you really have to watch out for.”

“I’m getting that impression,” Paul replied.

“I see that Monica finished her dinner after all,” Andrew said, eyeing the empty plate.

“Yeah. We talked and then I made her eat while I told her stories about my early days in the bureau.”

“I’m glad you two sorted it out. I’m nervous enough about her going to see David tomorrow without her being upset about where you two stand with each other.”

Paul seemed to tune out all the words that followed Andrew’s announcement that Monica was going to visit the man who shot her. His eyes narrowed and he glanced back to the bedroom. Andrew, for his part, instantly realized his mistake and stood up to prevent whatever rash action the agent was thinking of taking.

“She’s going to see him?” the words were more growled than spoken.

“Kristin asked her to, and I think Monica was just looking for a good excuse.”

“You’re letting her go?” Paul turned his gaze to the angel and the fierceness there caused Andrew to take a step back.

“Paul, she has the freedom to do whatever she wants. And she wants to try to help David.”

Paul rolled his eyes but held his tongue for a moment. “Then I guess nothing I say will really change her mind.”

“No. And I think she’d rather have you supporting her than fighting her right now,” Andrew stressed.

“I’ll always support her. I just don’t have to like it.”

Andrew patted the man on the shoulder. “It isn’t easy sometimes, but trust me… if you ever see her really work God’s grace through her… it’s something you’ll never forget.”

Paul nodded, wishing that he’d had that opportunity. “I’m sure it isn’t.” He was already running through the numbers of all his contacts in the jail and wondering which of them would still be at the office. “Look,” he said, as he glanced at his watch, “I need to get going, and I should probably let you guys get to sleep anyway. Say goodnight to Tess for me?”

“Of course,” Andrew said as he walked him to the door. “She’ll be fine, Paul. In fact, I think she’ll be better than fine.”

Chapter 35

The frustration at not even being able to change into a nightgown by herself threatened to dampen Monica’s good mood. She comforted herself with the thought that at least she was out of the hospital and she was much happier having Tess help her than one of the nurses.

The soft material had to be gently eased up over her injured shoulder and even as careful as Tess was the younger angel couldn’t keep from flinching. Tess’ expression held concern but she didn’t say anything. Monica was already tired of having everyone alternately asking if she was alright and apologizing for accidentally hurting her.

“All set, baby,” she said instead as she guided Monica’s arm into the white sling and fastened it behind her neck.

Monica let out a breath and felt herself relax. She hadn’t even noticed how tense she had become. There was a throbbing in her shoulder and she sat down on the bed heavier than she intended to and let out a sharp breath. Again Tess said nothing, but she did fish Monica’s pill bottle out of her pocket and silently hand it to the angel.

She looked up gratefully. “Thanks, Tess,” she said, and it was clear that she meant for more than just the pills.

Tess waved off the thanks and finished fluffing up the pillows. “Okay, now let’s get you tucked in,” she said with a grin.

Monica let the older angel ease her back against the pillows and pill the light sheets up to her chest. There was a hot breeze blowing in through the window and it flowed around both of them like a tender embrace. Tess found it to be a bit stifling, but Monica didn’t seem to mind.

“I could probably find you a fan somewhere,” Tess said pointedly.

Monica grinned. “No… after all the air-conditioning in the hospital I’m enjoying the heat.”

Tess shook her head a bit. First no shoes, now a hot-house lover. Had she taught her charge nothing? She grinned a little thinking about all of Monica’s other quirks… quirks that she wouldn’t give up for the world.

“All tucked in?” Andrew said as he stepped into the room.

“Snug as a bug,” Tess replied. “Which is apparently how she likes it.”

Andrew laughed and Monica let a sheepish grin cross her face. “I can’t help it. The warm air feels nice!”

“It’s hot air, baby, but if that’s the way you want it then you just lie back and enjoy it,” Tess said as she leaned in and cupped her hand around the Irish angel’s cheek. “I have to stop by and see Kristin, but you sleep well, Angel Girl. I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”

“I love you, Tess.” Monica couldn’t seem to get enough of saying those words. She wanted everyone around her to know how she felt.

Tess felt the color rise to her cheeks at the unexpected declaration. “I love you too, baby. Now get to sleep and don’t keep this one up all night talking,” she said as she pointed her thumb at Andrew and chuckled.

“I don’t think there’s any danger of that,” Andrew commented, seeing the way Monica’s eyelids were already beginning to droop.

Tess gripped Andrew’s arm in a gentle squeeze and slipped out of the room, leaving the two younger angels staring at one another. Andrew could tell that a battle of wills was about to ensue.

“You should go down to your apartment.”

“I don’t think so.”

“You’ll be much more comfortable there.”

“I won’t sleep a wink”

“Really I’m fine.”

“What if you need something in the middle of the night?”

“I won’t.”

Andrew just stared at her and Monica eventually broke his gaze by blinking. He took that as acceptance and carefully slipped off his shoes and climbed onto the unoccupied side of the bed and turned out the light. Another look from Monica and he was inching closer and helping her to settle her head against his shoulder.

“How did you know I really wanted you to stay?” she whispered into the darkness.

“Because I know your heart, Angel.” He felt her small smile against his chest and let out a deep and contented breath before drifting peacefully into sleep.

*****

Monica threw another wadded up piece of paper, delighted when Lucy scampered off after it, chasing it down and batting it from side to side. The kitten would play with it for a few minutes before deciding that it seemed to be “dead” at which point she would run back to her mistress and lick at her fingertips. Unfortunately Lucy hadn’t quite mastered the “bringing back” part of the game of fetch and so the room now had a dozen paper balls piled in one corner and Monica was busy tearing out another page of the newspaper.

Tess had been by in the morning, as promised, and she had helped the Irish angel prepare herself for her meeting with David. Monica was pleased that she had managed to shower and dress with a minimal amount of help. Her breath still caught against the pain in her rib, and she still couldn’t move her injured arm higher than a few inches, but she felt more alert and able nonetheless. Now she just wanted to get down to the jail and see David again face to face.

Andrew had promised to take her, but he had been needed to fix a burst pipe in the basement so she was forced to wait for him. It wasn’t an unpleasant way to spend the morning: playing with Lucy and just enjoying the freedom to walk around without being hooked to an IV stand or an assortment of well-meaning nurses.

“Come on in, Andrew” she said to the knock at the door and then giggled as Lucy tumbled over in her quest for the latest paper ball.

“Sorry to disappoint, but it’s just me,” Paul said as he opened the door.

“Paul?” Monica’s eyes widened. She had definitely not been expecting him. In fact she felt a twinge of guilt at the fact that she had purposely avoided telling him that she was going to the jail. After the dinner table and then their long talk, she hadn’t wanted to upset him and start another disagreement.

“I think I’m what they call an escort,” he said with a crooked grin. “I met Andrew downstairs and he agreed to let me drive you.” When she looked into his eyes she could see that he wasn’t particularly thrilled with the situation, but for her sake he was keeping the smile firmly plastered to his lips.

For a second Monica wasn’t sure what to say. She was glad that he had volunteered to come, but a part of her felt a little bit wary as well. She wasn’t sure how he would react to seeing David again. But, he was there, so surely that said something, and she slowly pushed herself off the chair.

“I’ll be glad to have you with me,” she said sincerely, and once again Paul fell in love with her sweetness. How could he possibly deny her anything?

Paul had yet another agency car and he swerved through traffic and down shortcuts, taking the best route to the jail. They were mostly silent on the drive, with neither one of them exactly sure what to say. Their longest conversation was four sentences about the weather.

Once at the jail Paul carefully helped her up the steps to the large doorway. They passed through security, and then one flash of his badge later and they were being led through the corridors and into a small, grey-walled room. Monica looked at the agent with a mixture of amazement and respect.

He shrugged. “I know some people.”

Monica was about to say more but then the heavy door was opening and David was at the doorway with a guard at his side. The young man looked shocked to see the two of them and didn’t say a word as the guard prodded him inside.

“You can take off the cuffs,” Paul said.

The guard looked skeptical for a moment but then he saw Paul’s hand subtly move to the gun that was holstered under his arm. The keys rattled, the cuffs slipped off and David instinctively rubbed at his wrists though they had been imprisoned for less than five minutes. The guard cast a backward glance before leaving the room and the sound of the bolt sliding home hung in the air.

“I…uhh… I wasn’t expecting you,” he said to Monica. Paul had stepped back into the corner of the room and David avoided looking at him. “I was expecting Kristin.”

Monica eased herself down into one of the chairs that surrounded the heavy metal table in the center of the room. David winced as he watched her careful and obviously strained movement. He wanted to say something but the words wouldn’t come. All that filled his mind was the incredible shame at having caused such pain. Paul’s stony gaze from the corner didn’t make him feel any better about it, and he stared at his hands instead.

“Why don’t you sit down, David?” Monica offered. It was strange, but she no longer felt any fear at being near him.

He somewhat reluctantly took a seat across from her but still couldn’t look her in the face for more than a few seconds at a time.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” she began, but before she could say anymore, the words were suddenly spilling from David’s mouth.

“I don’t know how… I mean how can I say I’m sorry? That just sounds pathetic! I don’t expect you to forgive me, and I don’t want you to think I’m only saying I’m sorry to guilt you into that. I… I look at you and I can’t even believe what I did to you. I know you won’t believe it but I am sorry… I am… I’m sorrier than I have ever been for anything in my life and I don’t think I’ll ever stop being sorry for it. I don’t even know what I was thinking… I was just so drunk and so desperate… but that’s not an excuse… there isn’t any excuse…”

David’s head was shaking back and forth the whole time he spoke, and he frequently turned his pleading eyes up to hers, but only to quickly break her gaze and go back to staring at his hands and the smooth surface of the table. By the time he finished he was running one hand nervously through his hair while the other hand nervously curled around the arm of his chair.

“David.” Her soft voice captured him and he looked up, shocked once more to see such a peaceful and calm expression on her face. There was no anger there, no fear and no regret. “I didn’t come here to have you apologize to me. I know that you’re sorry and I have already forgiven you.”

“What?” his brow crinkled in confusion as his eyebrows knit together.

“I appreciate you telling me you’re sorry, but I don’t need to hear it. I’d rather hear you apologize to God and ask Him for forgiveness.”

He was completely blindsided by the statement and he shook his head, amazed that Kristin had resorted to bringing complete strangers in to try to force him to believe. “So I guess Kristin sent you then,” he said wearily. “You didn’t just decide to come on your own.”

Monica tilted her head and pursed her lips together, not about to lie to him. “Kristin did tell me that she felt you needed help she couldn’t give, but I’m the one who wanted to come, David.”

“You can’t force me to believe any more than she could. Isn’t it enough that I’m truly remorseful? Isn’t it enough that I’m promising to turn my life around and be a better man?”

“I know I can’t force you to do anything. That’s not why I’m here.”

“Then why?”

“I’m here to help you find the belief that you used to have and that you somehow lost along the way.”

“Well maybe I don’t want it back. I don’t see that it helped me much,” he said, his voice still tired but laced with bitterness.

“It didn’t help you because you wouldn’t let it. You chose to find your answers in a bottle rather than in God.”

David looked up, skepticism written all over his face. “And I suppose He’s up there just waiting for me to come to Him?”

“As a matter of fact, He is,” she replied, and as she spoke she could feel the power and love of God flowing through her damaged human body. She could feel all her hurts healed and all her pain washed away. She stood up and watched as David’s eyes grew wide and the light of God shone out from her and filled the room. “I am an angel, David, sent to you by God to put you back on the right path and to remind you that He loves you and He is always there for you if you call out to him, or even if you whisper.”

“He… you’re… God knows me? He knows who I am?” The very idea flabbergasted him.

“Of course He knows who you are,” Monica said, and her smile was like a thousand happy sighs. “He knows and loves all of His children.”

David’s eyes were quickly filling with tears and he swiped them away, completely overcome by what this small Irish-tongued woman…ANGEL… was saying to him. He found it difficult to comprehend.

“And He forgives me for the mess I’ve made of my life?”

“Yes He does. He knows your heart. He knows the pain and confusion that filled you and He knows the goodness that made you give yourself up. Now He just wants you to know Him. He will be there for you through all your sorrow and all your joy if you’ll just let Him in.”

David could only nod, his throat tight with emotion. “I believe you,” he whispered. “I believe… and I want to know Him… I really do.”

Monica walked around the table and laid her hand on his shoulder. “Then just speak to Him from your heart. He’ll hear you now, and always.”

From his seat in the corner Paul could feel tears pooling in his own eyes. They had begun to form at the beautiful sight of Monica’s transformation and had increased at seeing the change that came over David. In that small and dingy room he could see a man’s heart reborn. He could feel the power of God that filled every corner.

“Oh, God,” he silently prayed. “Why has it taken me so long to come to You? Please forgive me for my stubbornness. Forgive me for needing to see Your grace displayed before me this way when all I really needed to do was remember my love with Lauren, and look into Monica’s eyes to see the truth. Please help me. Help me to get rid of this anger I’ve held onto for so long. I want to remember the love, Father, and I want to feel Your love with me… now and long after Monica and Andrew and Tess leave.”

He didn’t expect an answer. It was enough that he had spoken to God in his heart, but in an instant he could feel God’s presence flowing through him. It entered and filled him, dulling the anger and filling his heart with the sure knowledge of an unending love. Even after the feeling passed he could still sense the love, and he knew that God was watching over him. He watched silently as Monica turned to face him, as the light faded, and the expression that formed on her face was filled with joy. Somehow she knew.

She fell into his arms and hugged him with all her might. She couldn’t even begin to say how happy she was. He had at last begun to find peace and she could see it in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He wasn’t even embarrassed when a single stray tear managed to escape and drift down into her hair. Her assignment had to be nearly over. She would be leaving soon.

*****

It was much later that day that David was sitting at the same table only this time it was Kristin who was sitting across from him. Paul had arranged a more intimate meeting for the two of them, instead of having a glass wall separating them and Kristin’s eyes immediately widened at a look of peace on her husband’s face that she had not seen in a very long time. But David spoke before she could question it.

“Kris, you were right.”

She briefly looked confused, unsure what it was he was talking about, “How do you mean?”

“About God. He is real and He and I had a long chat this morning and I think we’ve reached an understanding.” He spoke softly, a smile playing on his lips.

Tears sprang to her eyes as she digested his words, “And what might that be?”

“I’m going to let Him lead me where He sees fit and not give him a hard time about it. In return, He will give me his peace that everything is going to work out just fine…for me, for you and for our baby.”

Tentatively, she reached across the table and took his hand, watching as he linked his fingers through hers and in that moment she could clearly see the man she had fallen in love with, “Dave…” She whispered through her tears, not even sure if there were words to express what she was feeling.

He grinned and dropped his voice to a whisper, “Krissy, there really are angels.”

She laughed through her tears and nodded her head, “Yes, I know.”

Chapter 36

Paul watched her from where he stood leaning up against the wall in her apartment that night. She was laughing and smiling, bantering playfully with Andrew and even daring to tease Tess a bit. Monica had not only been transformed that morning, but also healed, body and soul. He knew that there could still be some residual fear from time to time if she was presented with a dangerous situation, but this angel he was watching completely embodied how he had always imagined that God’s angels would be. Even in the early days of their relationship he had not seen her so happy and what pleased him the most was that he was a part of that happiness.

They had spoken briefly on the ride back to her apartment earlier about his long awaited conversation with God and though she was no longer “lit up” as he liked to put it, she had been positively beaming at the things he was saying. His heart felt lighter than it had in years, and though he knew he would be faced with difficult and dangerous situations in the future, he knew he was no longer facing them alone. It was a burden he was grateful to have lifted from his heart and his shoulders.

The evening had been a joyous one. Andrew and Tess were abundantly pleased at the change they were seeing in Monica, though the two older angels and the agent had all expressed concern when the little angel had vanished into the kitchen. She had been back and forth, though she was allowing no one through the kitchen doors and Paul kept bracing himself to hear the fire alarm going off, but so far she had remained incident free.

“Are you ready?” Monica poked her head out of the kitchen door, her eyes twinkling with mischief, “Sit down, it is nearly ready.”

The threesome exchanged a glance before they moved to the neatly set table, complete with lilacs in the center of it. Tess sighed heavily as she sat down and muttered, “And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, even in the form of food that a non-culinary little angel has prepared…”

Andrew nudged her and gave her a mock stern look, “She is happy. Whatever she has fixed you will eat and you will like.” He winked at her and Paul chuckled.

“I’m just impressed that there has been no smoke,” He remarked wryly, his eyes dancing with amusement as he was met with a look to hush up as the kitchen door opened and Monica entered carrying a large bowl of salad.

Tess gazed at it skeptically for a moment, but then her expression relaxed as she noted it looked crisp and very good, without a hint of coffee grounds and even Andrew noted that the vegetables were cut in various shapes and sizes, which no one else would notice, but came as a great relief to him and caused his grin to widen.

Monica had vanished back into the kitchen and now returned with a large, round baking dish, which she set down on the table, her expression that of someone who was obviously quite pleased with herself.

Paul looked at the deep dish pizza with awe and wonder. It looked delicious but then a peculiar look crossed his face, “Do I smell coffee?”

Tess rolled her eyes heavenward and Andrew stifled a laugh, both knowing that Monica had prepared her one and only recipe.

“That’s because it is coffee pizza, but I elaborated a bit this time,” She grinned as she took her seat and began serving up their plates, “I added a hint of mocha…well, a heavy hint, but it tastes wonderful.”

Paul threw his head back and laughed. Angel or no, this one would never cease to amaze and amuse him and he found the qualities endearing, “Well, give me two slices then as I have got to try this.”

Monica was delighted at his request and did as he asked before handing Tess and Andrew’s plates to them as well.

“Someone needs to say grace, as we could use some divine intervention about now,” Tess remarked, but her expression was warm, causing Monica’s grin to widen.

Her smile faded somewhat as she looked over at the agent, “Would you do it, Paul?”

Their eyes met from across the table as he replied steadily, “I’d be honored, honey,” He waited until his angelic friends had bowed their heads before he lowered his own and spoke reverently, “Father, bless this meal that was prepared in love and thank you for the gift of your angels with which to share it. Also, thank you for Your amazing grace which I am just starting to see and now wonder how I ever could have missed it in the first place. Amen.”

He noticed the happy tears in Monica’s eyes as he raised his head and he wordlessly accepted her hand as she held out her own and gave a gentle squeeze.

*****

The evening progressed nicely and it wasn’t until nine o’clock that Tess looked up from her seat in the chair in the living room and stated softly, “Babies, it’s time.”

Andrew looked up sadly before looking over at his dearest friend and seeing the grief reflected in her eyes. He knew she had been dreading as well as avoiding talking about this moment that was now before them and he squeezed her hand from where she sat on the couch between he and Paul.

“Time?” Paul asked, though he knew full well what Tess was referencing. They were being called to do God’s work someplace else and where only meant one thing to him. That he would not be present this time to see it take place.

“We have a new assignment, Paul,” The oldest angel replied as she rose to her feet and watched as other two angels as well as the agent did the same, “It’s time for us to say good-bye, baby.”

“Oh,” His voice was soft and he found himself already struggling with his emotions as Tess approached him and wrapped him up in a tight hug.

“You stay on that path you found today, Paul,” She advised him sternly, “It is the only path that matters and God will light the way for you.”

“You’re one tough cookie, Tess,” He managed a grin as she pulled away, “If you ever have the need for a job with the FBI, please look me up. You’d fit right in with us tough guys.”

She chuckled, “You never know, baby. You never know.”

Andrew clasped his hand on the agent’s shoulder and looked into his eyes, “Thank you for everything. Working with you in protective services is not something I’ll be forgetting any time soon.”

“Be sure that you don’t, Andrew. We are now both part of some exclusive club, I think, designated to the protection of little Irish angels.”

The blond angel chuckled, “Take care of yourself, Paul and God be with you.”

“He is, Andrew. For the first time in my life, I am certain of it.” He replied, watching as Andrew motioned to Tess and the two of them started for the front door.

“We’ll be outside, Angel Girl,” Andrew stated softly, exchanging a look with his teary eyed friend, “Take your time.”

As her friends departed, Monica looked up at Paul and drew in a deep breath. She knew the moment she had been dreading was at hand, but what could she say to even begin to sum up her feelings? Her chin trembled slightly as she threw her arms around the agent that had become her friend and hugged him tightly, “I’m going to miss you so much.”

Paul held onto her, never wanting to let her go, “Honey, you have no idea,” He managed to choke out the words, “Thank you for everything…for saving my life in all the ways that matter.”

“It has been a pleasure, Paul. Thank you for everything you did for me, and for the gift of your friendship. At least I now know you will be okay…” She pulled away from him and looked into his eyes, her own blurred with tears.

He blinked rapidly, feeling the unfamiliar wetness in his own eyes, as he moved to brush at the tears on her cheeks, “Remember that if you ever get a day off, you have four other kittens to check on.”

Monica laughed and nodded her head, “They are in good hands as I know you’ll keep them safe.” She could feel the tugging at her heart that it was time to leave and she felt another tear trail down her face, “I love you, Paul and I’ll never, ever forget you.”

Softly and tenderly, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, “Ditto, Monica, in both cases.”

A sob escaped her and she knew if she didn’t leave now then she never would, “Good-bye, my friend.”

As she vanished from his sight, Paul felt tears escape his own eyes and he knew that for the moment his tough guy image had been blown, “Good-bye, sweet angel.”

Monica appeared outside where Andrew was waiting for her and he looked at her with sympathetic green eyes, “Tess went on ahead. Are you all right?”

The little angel nodded her head, then changed her mind and shook it sadly and a moment later she was being held in Andrew’s arms as she released the rest of her tears against his chest, “I’m going to miss him, Andrew,” She whispered a few moments later, as she struggled to stop her tears, “I know it sounds silly, but I know that Lucy will be wherever I am next and just wish that Paul would be too.”

He smiled softly at her words and at the vision of Monica opening the door on each assignment they had from here going forward to both a cat and an agent, “He has his own life to lead, angel, but the good news is that he is not doing that alone anymore.”

“I’m thankful for that,” She replied, pulling away and feeling Andrew wiping at her tears and her expression softened. Andrew, her loyal, stalwart, dearest friend that she would never have to say good-bye to, who had shared with Paul what he thought was his responsibility alone-keeping her safe. He had seen her through so much of the last two months, just as he would continue to see her through whatever the future held.

He smiled knowingly at her expression, “It’s always a pleasure, Monica and yes, you are stuck with me indefinitely,” He saw her tearful smile before glanced up at her apartment window before gently turning her around to face the building, “Look, angel,” He stated softly as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

She gazed up at her window and saw Paul watching them. As the agent noted her gaze, he rested his palm against the window. She could see tears in his eyes and her heart ached as she raised her hand in a little wave before the pair vanished from the street.

It was time to move on with Andrew, Tess and God at her side and just as she knew that Andrew would be an immovable object, she also knew, deep in her heart, that somewhere out there was an FBI agent whose life had been changed and who would always hold a very special place in her heart.