Chapter 9

It was just past eleven o’clock, and Monica was beginning to feel the effects of her previous night’s relative lack of sleep. However, the rest of the people in the bar appeared wide awake, and she had her work cut out for her keeping up with them, even with Beth and another waitress circulating in the crowd. She noticed that Tess had begin to watch her more closely, and she knew the other angel was waiting for her to make some sort of attempt at talking with David, other than to ask if he wanted more peanuts to go with his beer.

She had just steeled herself for the inevitable when a cheerful face came into view through the crowd. A smile instantly appeared as she caught his eye and he moved towards the bar. The smile wavered a bit as she saw that the only free seat was next to David.

“Hi there, Monica… I guess you’ve been keeping busy,” Andrew said as he sat down. He knew full well who he was sitting next to, but he didn’t let his knowledge show.

“It’s been like this all night. I guess Beth wasn’t kidding when she said it would be packed.”

“Well I’m sure you’re enjoying the music at least,” he grinned, noting the way she was absentmindedly tapping her foot in time to the song.

“Better to have me listening than singing,” she teased, and Andrew laughed.

“Oh brother,” David sneered. “What is this? Another one of your boyfriends? You must really get around.”

Monica instantly tensed, and the color rose to her cheeks turning them bright red, but she said nothing. Andrew looked like he was going to be somewhat less successful at containing the sudden rush of emotions that swelled up within him, but Monica quickly shook her head, and he stopped himself before he said anything to the drunken man.

“I see Tess is here,” he avoided even looking in David’s direction. “I think I’ll go join her.”

“I’ll bring you a drink in just a minute,” the little angel murmured, hoping that the change in seating arrangements would be enough to calm David down.

It seemed to work, because within five minutes the man was back to shoving his glass wordlessly in her direction. Andrew, was another matter. He was having considerable difficulty not walking right back over and telling David exactly what he thought of him.

Another half hour passed, and Monica knew that if she didn’t say something soon, it would be too late. Tess was clearly eyeing her, and with the crowd beginning to thin out she no longer had the excuse that she was too busy. Andrew gave her an encouraging look, and she walked over to her assignment, full glass in hand.

“Here you go,” she said as she passed it to him and removed the empty.

“Yeah, thanks,” he responded. It was the most courteous he had been all night, and she wondered if the drinks were actually mellowing him out at this point.

“I… I just realized that I think we must be neighbors,” she said. She knew it was sort of a lame segue, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Oh really?” he seemed only marginally interested.

Monica was glad that he was interested at all. “Yes… I think I spoke to your wife this afternoon. Kristin?”

David raised his head at the mention of his wife’s name. “You talked to her?”

“Yes… well… and helped with a little unpacking. That can be tough when you’re carrying a wee babe around inside,” she said with a grin, feeling that he was finally opening up.

“Yeah…” a shade of something almost approaching regret passed over his face. “I haven’t been home a lot lately…”

Monica had her eyes focused on his, waiting for him to give her just the smallest opportunity to help and encourage him.

“Whoa! Watch out!” The words were said at least two seconds too late, as a younger man tumbled into David, sloshing his drink over his shirt.

The hopeful feeling disappeared in an instant as David’s face turned angry and he swung around and shoved the other man away. He then turned back to Monica, eyes hard and cold. “I’ve got an idea… why don’t you mind your own damn business, like I told you to yesterday!” He shouted, even as Andrew rose from his seat.

“Hey, man… I’m really sorry,” the younger man said. He was really no more than a college kid, red faced from a little more beer than was good for him.

“Didn’t I already get rid of you?” David’s face had tightened in anger, and he stood up and swung his fist straight at the kid’s jaw.

His fist never made contact, and instead he found himself looking up into Andrew’s fierce green eyes.

“You again?” he swung his other fist and managed to make contact but it didn’t even seem to phase the blond angel.

It did serve to attract plenty of attention, as the kid’s friends decided to get involved. Andrew shouted at them to keep back, but he lost that battle, along with his grip on David’s hand.

“What on earth is going on over there?” Paul said, craning his neck to get a better view.

Mike was watching with a slightly better view, and he had seen everything, including the face of a man who didn’t look like he had much to lose. “I don’t know, but I think we’d better break it up.”

The two agents moved from their seats and quickly headed to the bar and after seeing the distressed look on Monica’s face, he wasted no time in grabbing hold of one of the rambunctious college boys. Pulling him off of the pile, he smirked at the surprised look on the young man’s face, “I think it’s time for you to head home, son.”

So it continued as he and Mike continued to break up the fight, sending intoxicated students on their way for the night. Throughout all the chaos, Paul didn’t even notice Andrew at first, but once he did, his attention was quickly drawn to where the angel’s eyes were focused. Once the fight had dissipated for the most part, what was left was David beating the pulp out of one last college kid, who never stood much of a chance against the older and stronger man. The boy’s nose had been bloodied and probably broken, but still David persisted, his anger obviously out of control.

It took both angel and agent to pull David off the boy, who immediately retreated in a drunken terror back to his table, a look of pure shock and pain on what could be seen of his face. David was still in his element, his eyes blazing with anger and it was Andrew who pressed the human up against the wall.

“Settle down!” He glowered, his own eyes alight with equal intensity and he didn’t loosen his hold until some of the tension left David’s body, though the anger never left his face.

Shrugging off the angel’s grip, David replied to him gruffly, his voice dangerously low, “Get off of me, pretty boy and go back to your bar wench!”

It was only Paul’s hand on his shoulder that stopped Andrew from snapping altogether, “Buddy, he isn’t even worth it.”

Andrew reluctantly released David, the angel’s emotions in utter discord as once again he was confronted with his desire to hurt another. Trying to reign in all he was feeling, he shook his head as David vanished into the crowd, “You’re right, Paul. Thanks.”

“Looks like someone nailed you,” The agent commented with a shake of his head, “You’re going to have one hell of a shiner by morning.”

Andrew managed a slight grin, only at the words being made aware of the smarting of the area around his left eye, “I think you’re right.”

“No offense, but God sure did pick a winner for Monica this time.”

“None taken,” He replied, as he felt his heart clench at the mention of his dearest friend’s name. His eyes darted back to the bar and he just caught a glimpse of her french braid as she all but raced around the corner from behind the bar.

“Slow down, baby,” Tess’ hand caught the little angel before she could escape and as she turned Monica to face her, the older angel’s expression turned to one of great concern. Her charge’s eyes were filled with distressed tears and she seemed to be struggling to catch her breath from the deep panic that had set in with her, “Where are you headed, Monica?”

Feeling as if she had just fallen off Scout once again, Monica managed to take in air, trying to assure herself that lack of sleep and food was what was making her feel this way, though deep in her heart, she knew it not to be true. She had watched David hit Andrew and her own knees had nearly buckled at the act of violence against her friend. As the fight had broken out and as the rampage had broken out in the bar, she had felt as if the room were spinning and her only thought was to get as far away from here as she possibly could.

“Somewhere else, Tess…anywhere else…” She managed to choke out the words as she shook her head helplessly, “I can’t do this…God assigned the wrong angel to David…or better yet, I’m not sure any angel could help him…”

“Miss Wings, this is nonsense and you know it. The Father doesn’t make mistakes and if he assigned you, then that means you can help him.”

“No! Are you listening to me at all? Not only can’t I help him, but I don’t want to help him and even if I did, he has to want help to be able to listen to it, and he obviously doesn’t want that! I tried, Tess, I did, but I can’t…I can’t!”

“Monica-.”

“No!” She cried out, not even willing to let Tess argue with her, “He’s no better than McArthur was! No one could have changed him either and where was HIS angel, Tess? My guess is he didn’t have one as there was no hope for him, just like there is no hope for David! He’d rather solve his problems with beer and violence then to hear the truth. So if you are so convinced that he is able to hear it, then you tell it to him because I’m finished!”

Tess was speechless as she watched Monica push her way through the crowd and as it swallowed up her little form, she turned eyes to Andrew, who was still across the bar with Paul.

Paul noticed the look exchanged between the two and raised his eyebrows in Andrew’s direction, “Angel?” He asked, nodding his head toward Tess.

“Unhappy angel is more like it at the moment, I think,” Andrew conceded as he worked his way over to his friend with Paul in tow, “What happened, Tess? Where did she go?”

“She just walked off her assignment, that’s where she went, Andrew,” Tess fumed, frustration clearly etched onto her features.

Andrew hesitated with his response. He was worried about Monica and he completely understood why the little angel had done what she had, but he wasn’t sure he was up to a battle of wills against the older angel. Monica had just been sideswiped with more violence and it was something she was in no way prepared to handle, but he knew that Tess felt otherwise as she only appeared to be seeing things in black and white right now, and Monica was definitely being held captive in a much more shaded area.

“Well, can you blame her?”

The sound of Paul’s voice interrupted Andrew’s thoughts as he turned to his friend and former partner with a look that clearly read “Do you have any idea of what you are setting yourself up for?”

But Paul was not to be dissuaded as he continued with a frown, “She’s been to hell and back the last few weeks and tonight was the last thing she needed. I’m surprised she didn’t walk out of here last night when that jerk grabbed ahold of her!”

Though this bit of information was obviously news to Tess, she quickly took it in stride and narrowed her eyes at the human, “Monica is an angel with a job to do and truth to be told, regardless of what she has been through of late. God watches out for her, Paul, and she knows that. She is simply refusing to accept it at the moment.”

“She isn’t refusing anything,” Paul disagreed, shaking his head in diguest, “She’s simply accepting what Douglas McArthur taught her; That there are people in this world who are unwilling to accept help to better themselves. I’ve run into plenty of them in my line of work and I’m surprised that in your line of work, that you haven’t discovered the same truth.”

“God doesn’t see it that way,” The older angel snapped, her concern and irritation with Monica getting the better of her, “And because He doesn’t see it that way, neither should she.”

Andrew’s eyes darted back and forth between the two, wondering if perhaps Tess had finally found her match in Paul as the agent was refusing to back down. Paul had spent weeks protecting the little Irish angel and as was true with he and Monica as well, old habits were dying hard.

Deciding it was best that Tess was temporarily distracted, Andrew backed away slowly, his mind and heart focused on one thing; finding his dearest friend.

*****

Monica slumped down on one of the benches on the bar’s outside patio, trying to control her trembling and still trying to catch her breath from the panic that had overtaken her body. She wasn’t sorry for the things she had said; she had meant them from the bottom of her heart. She couldn’t help David and she had no desire to try anymore if she had even had any desire to begin with.

The sound of voices filtered into her thoughts as she wearily raised her head, trying to see through the darkness as to where they were coming from. She could see no one, but surmised that they were coming from the back of O’Reilly’s and she strained to hear who it was.

“Just take the money and shut up about what happened here tonight, all right?”

“The jerk busted my nose, man! He deserves to have the cops called on him! My running into him was an accident and he just freaked out on me!”

Knowing the second voice had to be coming the student that David had attacked, Monica frowned, uncertain as to who the other man was, but she continued to listen

“Five hundred bucks, okay? Get yourself to the emergency room and don’t press charges. That’s all I’m asking.”

“Five hundred? Why do you care so much about this guy? Is he a friend of yours or something?”

“Lets just say I have a vested interest in him keeping his nose clean. Now, do we have a deal?”

As the deal was sealed, Monica remained silent as they departed, never once seeing her and she reached up to wipe a hand over her eyes. The conversation had confused her, but she had much more pressing things at hand right now then some friend of David’s taking up for him, though the human certainly didn’t deserve it.

Knowing she could not possibly face Tess again tonight, she gazed helplessly down the street, unwilling to walk the distance home and certain that her supervisor would be waiting for her there anyway. Reaching into her apron pocket, she pulled out a fistful of bills that had been her evening’s tips; money she had planned on using to help Kristin. But she had walked off her assignment and she was sure that Tess would be able to help the young woman far better than she could anyway.

Seeing a taxi coming up the road, she rose to her feet and hurried to the curb to wave the driver over. She finally felt able to breath normally as she climbed in and uttered softly, “Drive. Just drive.”

Settling back in the seat, Monica closed her eyes, knowing this would solve little, but needing an escape, regardless of how temporary it might be.

Chapter 10

The late hour meant less traffic and noise as even the normally boisterous city settled down to sleep and the cab passed quickly down the streets, following a route that circled the city and managed to pass through some of the prettier parts of it as well. Old-style street lamps reflected in the long river that flowed beside the street, and normally Monica would have enjoyed the sight, but she barely noticed, her eyes instead focused on what she could see of the sky.

The cab driver wasn’t the most sensitive of souls, but even he could see that his passenger was distressed, and he kept an eye on her in the rear-view mirror. He was waiting for her to snap out of whatever state she was in and tell him where she wanted to be dropped off, but she showed no sign of doing that. As the meter clicked around again, he glanced up, not surprised to see her still staring out the window.

“Excuse me… Miss? You’ve already run up a twenty dollar tab here… are you sure there isn’t somewhere you want to go?”

The sound of his voice made her look forward, and she gave herself a mental shake. “Umm… right up there… you can drop me at that corner,” she said.

“Are you sure? Look, I can stop the meter and just take you home…” They were no where near the bar, and had entered the down town shopping district. All of the apartments there were very high rent, and he had a feeling that his passenger didn’t live in any of them.

“No, this is fine. Really,” she insisted, already reaching into her apron and counting out the money. She saw his skeptical looking eyes in the mirror, but tried to smile back reassuringly.

He was reluctant, to just leave her, but there wasn’t much he could do about it, so he pulled over to the curb and turned around to face her. “Listen… there’s a police station just one block over, on the other side of the park,” he said. “If you’re in some kind of trouble…”

“I’ll be fine.” She was actually very touched by this complete stranger’s concern. It was quite a switch from the open hostility she had left behind at the bar. She passed the money forward and hopped out of the cab, giving what she hoped was a confident wave as he pulled away.

She watched until the taillights disappeared around a corner and then turned around to try to get her bearings. She had absolutely no idea where she was, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. At least she wasn’t at the bar, and she wasn’t getting a lecture from her supervisor. The reality that she was completely alone, however, hit her hard and a shiver ran up her spine. She had somehow hoped that God would simply speak to her and direct her Home. He had to know that she had abandoned her assignment, and as disappointed as she was sure He was, she still felt that He had to realize that she had every reason to give up.

The stars were partially obscured by the haze from the city lights, and as the little angel looked up at them she felt a little sob rise in her chest. No. He wasn’t going to bring her Home. Giving up was unacceptable. Angels didn’t just give up. They believed and they persevered until God’s work through them was complete. She blinked quickly and looked down at the ground. Why had He sent her when she couldn’t remember the most basic truths?

Cars passed by, but they were few and far between, and none of them were cabs. The angel sighed. If she was going to get back to her little apartment, she was going to have to call Tess to pick her up. The driver had said that the police station was nearby. That was as good a place to call from as any, and she thought that the walk through the park would probably do her some good.

A black wrought-iron archway marked the park entrance and she passed through it and let herself relax as the scent of flowers floated towards her. The paths were well marked, if narrow, and she wound her way through the park slowly. She could see God’s hand in the tiny violets beside a stone wall, and the gnarled branches of the crabapple tree that rained its white petals onto the brick path below, and felt the tightness in her heart begin to release.

“Awfully late to be wandering around alone, isn’t it?” His words lacked any true concern and Monica jumped back as the man stepped out from behind a tall oak tree.

“Yeah, seems like she oughtta be home in bed, don’t you think?” The sound of another voice coming from behind her made her spin around.

“Maybe we should just make sure she gets home okay,” the first man said with a chuckle.

Monica was frozen in place. This could not be happening. She was not going to let this happen. She turned her eyes forward and started walking, not looking at either man.

“Where do you think you’re going? Didn’t you hear our very kind offer?” The hand on her arm, so much like David’s from the night before, but this time she was ready for it.

“Let go of me!” she shouted and wrenched her arm free, swinging the other one around to strike him in the face.

He easily ducked out of the way. “Hey there! Looks like she’s got some spunk!”

“I’m sure we can work that out of her.” The words were cold and designed to cause fear as the other man reached out to grab her shoulder.

“No! Leave me alone!” Monica was terrified, but her fear was laced with something else: anger. She shoved the man in the chest and then struck out blindly, feeling a sense of satisfaction as her fist caught the edge of his jaw.

“That wasn’t very ladylike,” he growled, and his hand came down towards her face, making contact and sending stars shooting through her field of vision.

She expected another blow, and had tensed her body in anticipation, but it never came.

“If I were you, I would think very seriously about what you were about to do.”

Andrew’s voice held more restrained fury than she had every heard before, and she watched as he tightened his grip on the man’s wrist. The other man rushed forward to help, but he stopped at one look from the angel, and stood still as his friend fell to his knees.

“Hey… man… we weren’t going to do anything…” he babbled, reaching for the wrist that felt like it was trapped in a vice.

“I know exactly what you were going to do,” Andrew said with disgust. “Now get out of my sight.” He knew that there was only one way for them to run, right into the waiting arms of the police, and he released his grip and watched them stumble over themselves in their rush to get away.

“Monica?” He turned around and saw that the angel had already started walking back towards the main entrance. “Monica, stop.”

He jogged to catch up to her, then felt his stomach clench when she flinched at his touch. One hand was pressed to her reddened cheek, and her eyes were filled with tears she was refusing to spill. Reaching up, he gently pulled her hand away, relieved that she allowed the contact.

“Monica, talk to me. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

She shook her head and closed her eyes as he stroked the side of her face. A moment later and the pain subsided as a warmth flowed through her. She looked up and met his eyes.

“He doesn’t want you hurting any more than I do,” he said, stunned when she fell forward into his arms and held on as bone-wracking sobs shook her small body.

“It was my fault. I shouldn’t have been here in the first place,” she cried, when she could finally speak again.

Shades of the guilt she still carried from Josh’s death hit Andrew harder than a fist. Once again she blamed herself for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Monica…”

“I ran away from my assignment, Andrew.” She felt those words should stop any argument about her culpability.

He held her tighter and stroked her hair. “And where were you headed just before this happened?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

She didn’t answer his question. “I knew when I was leaving that it was the wrong thing to do, but I couldn’t think. I saw him hit you… and then that boy… Why? Why does it have to be so hard? I should have been able to stop him… Tess was furious…” she shook her head. “He just seemed so out of reach… they all do.” She was looking in the direction her two assailants had gone and her eyes took on a faraway look that Andrew hated to see.

“I know it seems that way, Angel… I know how hard it is… and Tess knows too… believe me.” He couldn’t help chuckling at a memory. “And I think Paul is going to make certain she doesn’t forget.”

“I can’t face her tonight, Andrew…I can’t,” The little angel pleaded, not even responding to his mention of Paul.

She looked drawn and tired and though he couldn’t control what Tess decided to do, he could certainly delay things for awhile. Pulling away gently, he felt her sway slightly and he looked sternly into her eyes, “Have you eaten at all today?” Seeing her shake her head as she drew in a trembling breath, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, having noticed a 24-hour diner across the street, nestled within the town. If he couldn’t solve all of her problems, he could at least solve one at the moment as he was certain his friend needed something in her stomach and a good eight hours of sleep to even be able to think coherently.

The diner was relatively empty at this late hour and Andrew was relieved when after the waitress took one look at Monica, she led them to a quiet booth away from the few patrons that inhabited the restaurant. The little angel was still struggling to stop her tears and as the waitress had looked at her in concern, Monica had simply looked away.

Now Andrew watched as she fiddled with the edge of her napkin, trying to pull herself together, but having little success. Reaching across the table, he took her hands into his own and waited until she looked up at him, “Talk to me, angel. Tell me what is going through your mind right now so I can help.”

She sniffled, nearly breaking down all over again at the love and compassion that radiated from his face and she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she could speak honestly, with no fear of being scolded nor judged, “I want to go Home, Andrew, but I know that I can’t…but I don’t know what else to do,” She confessed tearfully, her expression one of a small child that had lost her way, “I can’t even talk to David about more trivial matters, yet alone his problems, so how am I supposed to help him? And why does it feel like every bit of evil in this world is finding me?”

Their waitress approached cautiously and with never taking his hands or his eyes from Monica, Andrew ordered two cups of coffee and a sandwich for his friend. He was grateful for the sensitivity of the older woman, who seemed to come and go with their coffee in gentle silence, leaving behind a handkerchief, which Andrew pressed into his friend’s hand, “For every bit of evil out there, Angel, there are at least one hundred people who care and the reason you feel like the evil ones are finding you is simply because you are now more acutely aware of their presence. God can overcome the evil, Monica, He does it all the time.”

“He didn’t tonight,” She argued gently, “That man hit me…”

“And the Father sent me and He took your pain away,” He replied, watching as she lowered her eyes in shame, “He loves you, sweetheart, and nothing changes that, not even the fact that you walked out of the bar tonight.”

“I shouldn’t have done it…but I didn’t know what else to do. At that moment it all felt so hopeless and I didn’t see how I could possibly help…I still don’t.”

Needing to close the distance between them, Andrew inched out of the booth and sat down next to her in order to pull her to him, “You’re measuring the world against the standard of one man, angel, and for what it is worth, I think I’ve been doing that too. But the world is not made up of Douglas McArthurs. Yes, there is evil in the world, but many of those people are still within the Father’s reach, and that is why we are here. In our own way, Monica, we are His hands and His voice and He has enabled us to make a difference for Him.”

She was quiet for a moment as she leaned against him, trying to draw strength from him, before she asked softly, “Do you think McArthur had an angel, Andrew?”

“I think at one time he did, yes,” He replied with certainty, “I think maybe he refused to see or hear God’s truth though, and that is why he turned out as he did,” He considered her question a moment longer before adding, “There are always going to be people who are unwilling to hear God’s voice, Angel, but we can never stop speaking for Him, or no one would ever be saved.”

The waitress arrived with Monica’s sandwich and the little angel managed a smile for her, “Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome, honey,” She replied warmly, reaching across to give the angel’s hand a little pat. Starting to turn away, she looked back once more, “You know, whatever it is can be made better with God’s help.”

“I think so too,” Monica replied softly, feeling the faint stirrings of hope deep within her heart once more.

Half an hour later, after being told that their bill was on the house, the two angels departed. As Monica followed Andrew out the door, she turned around one last time and saw their waitress handing the manager a bill, which she was paying out of her own pocket. A tired smile crossed the angel’s face, grateful for the reminder that there indeed was still goodness in God’s world.

Chapter 11

Hearing the doorknob rattle, Tess quickly rose to her feet and flung the door to Monica’s apartment open. It was nearly four o’ clock in the morning and the older angel had been worried sick for hours now and if she had been grateful for nothing else, she had been grateful for the Father’s reassurance that her friends were indeed all right, as well as for Paul’s company.

The agent had insisted on knowing that Monica was all right before he would even consider heading back to his hotel. She had finally reached an agreement of sorts with the human, that they were both concerned about Monica. They had spent the last three hours with Paul filling her in on all the details of the last few weeks that Monica had avoided telling her, leaving Tess with a much greater understanding of her charge’s fears.

“Is she all right?” Tess asked worriedly, seeing Monica fast asleep in Andrew’s arms.

“She’s better,” Andrew replied quietly, not wanting to wake the exhausted angel. He was unable to hide his surprise at seeing Paul, considering the heated argument that had been in full swing when he had left the bar, “She fell asleep in the cab and I wasn’t about to wake her. Let me get her back to bed and we’ll talk.”
As Andrew rounded the corner to the bedroom, Paul stood up, “I guess that since she is all right, I’ll head out,” There was reluctance in his tone and Tess was quick to point back to the couch.

“Sit, baby. You might as well stay as it is obvious that you want to.”

Deciding this time not to argue, the agent took a seat once again as they waited patiently for Andrew to return. Paul suppressed a small smile as he thought about the times he had been so jealous of any affection Andrew and Monica had shown each other, but now he could not be more grateful in knowing they were angels and that she had someone constantly looking out for her when he could not.

Andrew managed a tired smile as he joined them both in the living room and they listened as he related what had occurred over the past few hours. He watched Paul’s face tighten in anger as he spoke about the two men in the park and he had a feeling that the agent would be following up on Monica’s two assailants in the morning.

As he finished, there was silence for a moment, before Tess broke it, her voice contrite, which was rather out of the ordinary for her. “Paul has filled me in on a few things that happened with McArthur the last few weeks, Angel Boy.”

Andrew felt his face redden a bit at Paul raising his eyebrows in amusement at Tess’ nickname for him and he wished that it could have been avoided.

“Yes, we had a long talk, Angel Boy,” Paul laughed, unable to help but to give his former partner a ribbing especially since his embarrassment was so apparent.

Smiling sheepishly, the blond angel continued, “I’m glad of that, Tess. I wasn’t sure of how much Monica had told you.”

“Not much, to be honest. She’s been rather quiet about the whole ordeal, but I got a glimpse of the truth tonight before she walked off her assignment,” She confessed, before looking at Andrew through worried eyes, “Do you think she is going to continue?”

He considered her question for a moment before he slowly nodded his head, “Not that I want to speak for her, but I think so. She felt badly about it, to say the least, but was unable to help her actions at the time. But I do think she needs for you to understand, Tess. Not that I think you don’t, but I’m not convinced that she thinks you do as you weren’t there.”

Paul listened with interest to the exchange between the two messengers of God, further amazed by this relatively normal conversation that was taking place, as if they were talking about just a friend and not necessarily an angelic one. It did sadden him however, to realize that emotions were still running just as high, if not higher, than they had been in the time that he as well as Andrew had been Monica’s protectors. McArthur had scarred her, and it was just all the more reason for him to pursue whatever it was that had caused things to go so terribly wrong with her case.

*****

The sun was beginning to slant through the blinds by the time Paul arrived back at his hotel, weary but still too keyed up to even think about sleeping. He tossed the keycard on the table by the door and wandered over to the desk in the corner of the room. A coffee maker and complementary packets of generic coffee sat at one edge of the massive piece of furniture, and he quickly tore one of the packets open after making sure that it wasn’t decaf. Sleep would have to come later in the day, in the form of a nap, if it came at all.

He kicked off his shoes and got himself comfortable on the bed while he waited for the smell of coffee to fill the room. Normally he liked to spread his work out over the coffee table in his living room, but at the moment the floral patterned bedspread would have to do. With one hand he reached down and pulled up the box of files he had gathered from the archives. They dated back five years and covered every witness who had been lost during that time. The stack of files from just the previous year was already on the nightstand, pale blue Post-It notes sticking out from the places he had thought deserved more attention. There were at least twenty-five of them.

Pulling the files had been the easy part. Going through them was tougher. Phone logs, agent task force lists, safe-house floor plans, even receipts, were all neatly saved and recorded, and he was determined to find some sort of common link. Only two of the cases involved witnesses he had protected, but one was the case that had changed his entire life.

He pulled her file from the box and flipped it open. Her picture was smiling out at him from its place, paper clipped to the inside of the folder. It startled him, although it was the same picture that he kept framed on his dresser at home. He had forgotten that he had included it in the file. His calloused fingers traced her features while he thought of how much she resembled the angel who had started this new investigation, and realized that he wasn’t ready to read about her death again. He closed the file and shoved it to the back of the box. There were plenty more that could keep him busy before he had to relive that case.

*****

The first thing she noticed was the muffled sound of footsteps and the gentle clattering of china. She wasn’t alone. It was both a relief and a worry. She hadn’t spoken to Tess since leaving the bar, and she still wasn’t feeling prepared for that encounter. She opened her eyes and hoped that it was Andrew in the kitchen. Swinging her legs out of bed and looking down, she was slightly confused by the fact that she was still wearing her clothes from the previous night. Then she remembered the cab ride home, and leaning against Andrew’s strong shoulder. She had fallen asleep and he hadn’t woken her up.

The clock read ten-thirty, but it felt much earlier, and Monica yawned and almost stumbled as she stood up, her body still tired from her emotional ordeal. For a moment she considered changing into her nightgown, slipping under the covers and going back to sleep. Then the scent of coffee touched her nose, changing her mind. It was a brand new day, with no mistakes in it, and she was going to make the most of it. She was going to have a nice cup of coffee with Andrew, and then decide what she was going to say to Tess.

The clattering got slightly noisier as she approached the kitchen and she could smell bacon and eggs cooking as well. It instantly brought back the memories of all the mornings she had spent with Andrew and Paul. She smiled. There were some memories of that time that were worth holding on to.

“Good morning, baby.”

Monica stopped in the doorway, her heart instantly thudding against her chest as she saw Tess, apron in place, standing over the stove, spatula in hand. “Good morning,” she managed to say.

Tess was almost shocked by the expression on her angel girl’s face. It was a mixture of fear and anxiety that she had never hoped to see directed at her. Andrew was right. She and Monica had a few things that needed to be cleared up between them.

“Here’s your coffee,” she said, holding out a large mug. “I already added the cream and sugar just the way you like it.”

Monica took the mug gratefully, and took a long sip. She looked at Tess over the rim, but said nothing. She wasn’t even sure where to begin. Would an apology even cover running away from an assignment?

“Why don’t you take a seat. Breakfast is almost done.” Tess knew that she was really just filling the air with the sound of her voice, but the silence was too intimidating to let stand.

“Thank you, Tess,” the Irish angel said as she pulled out a chair and sat down.

Within two minutes the older angel was putting the plates on the table. They were heaped with scrambled eggs, bacon and toast and it all smelled delicious. Unfortunately it didn’t appear that Monica was going to do much more than push the food around with her fork. She was just waiting for Tess to say something. Anything really. Waiting for the lecture was almost as bad as receiving it.

“Monica,” Tess said at last, letting out a little sigh when the younger angel’s head shot up, her eyes like a frightened doe. “Baby, relax for a minute. Please.”

“Tess…”

“Hold on,” Tess shook her head, knowing that Monica was about to launch into a heartfelt apology. “As your supervisor, I think I should be the one to speak first.”

Monica nodded, lowering her eyes to her plate.

“And the first thing I want to say is that I’m sorry, baby.”

The little angel lifted her head, eyebrows drawn together, sure she must have misheard.

Tess reached over and laid a gentle hand on her wrist. “Monica, I know I’ve been pushing you a lot these past few days. I guess I thought that’s what you needed from me. I never for one second forgot that you were still dealing with some pretty powerful memories, but I guess I thought that forcing you to work would make those memories go away. I’ve always been the one to do the pushing, while Andrew’s been the one you could fall back on.” She shook her head again slowly. “Well that’s not the way I should have been acting. I should have been walking beside you. Helping you along.”

“But, Tess, I’m the one who hasn’t been able to get my assignment to listen to me.”

“And maybe that’s because it isn’t time for him to listen,” Tess replied. “I told you I didn’t think your best was good enough, and that was wrong.” She squeezed gently. “Paul and I had a long talk while we were waiting for you last night.”

Monica’s eyes widened a bit, wondering just exactly what had been said.

“Baby, from the second you came Home after that assignment, I knew you had been through something awful. I knew that, but I didn’t let myself think about any of the details.”

“I didn’t want you to know,” Monica said quickly. “It was bad enough to have Andrew carrying all that with him.”

“I know that’s how you felt, but let’s just say that my talk with Paul has given me a whole new perspective on things. I knew you were strong enough to handle this assignment, even if you didn’t believe it yourself, but now I know that I still underestimated you, even if the Father never did.”

The Irish angel could feel a blush rising to her cheeks and she brushed her hand across her face. “No… I’m not strong at all…”

“You are here, trying to make a difference. Even when you didn’t feel you could get through to your own assignment, you tried to help someone else. Your doubts don’t make you weak, Monica. Overcoming them makes you stronger than ever.”

“But what if I’m not strong enough to overcome my them, Tess?” She asked softly, her eyes betraying her deep concern, “And it doesn’t feel like doubt as much as it does fear…”

The older angel was silent for a moment, trying to find words that were both truthful and helpful to her charge. Paul had laid it all out for her last night, in detail, all the things that had happened as well as Monica’s reactions to those things, and she now had an acute grasp of how the little angel must be feeling. In no way did she want to belittle her fears, yet she didn’t want Monica to dwell on them either.

“Fear is a funny thing, baby, and when you think about it, you have told many an assignment not to live by that emotion, but to trust in God to see them through. But then it was suddenly you who was being faced with something to fear and it was a position you were certainly not prepared for, though the Father was really all you needed, just like He is all your assignments need,” She saw a slight smile on her charge’s face though Tess could tell that Monica was still struggling, “God will see you through this, baby. You just need to give him the time and the chance to do so. He has also given you a few friends who all have your best interest at heart and who are always going to be in your corner.”

“You and Andrew,” She remarked softly, her dark eyes filled with never ending gratitude.

“Yes, and Paul, Angel Girl,” Tess added with a smile, “I believe that you have a friend for life in that human and that if there is anything he can do to help you, he would not hesitate for a second.”

The little angel blushed slightly, “I am very blessed, Tess…so very blessed.”

“Just as we are to know you, sweetheart, and I will promise that this old angel will be walking beside of you from now on.”

Getting up from her chair, the little angel moved to the other side of the table to wrap her arms around her supervisor, “Thank you, Tess…thank you.” The relief she felt washed over her like the first ray of sunshine after the rain and considering the storm she had experienced last night, she could only pray that her rainbow would soon be on its way.

*****

The nap Monica had been trying to take was interrupted by a soft knock on her door as she got up tiredly from the sofa to answer it. She knew it wasn’t Andrew’s knock, despite the fact that she hadn’t seen him all day, which struck her as unusual, especially after last night. Peering through the peep hole, she smiled as she opened the door, “Hello, Paul.”

“I hope you don’t mind me imposing on you like this,” He grinned at her as he walked into the apartment and she closed the door and locked it behind him.

“You are never an imposition, Paul,” Monica replied, enjoying the newfound easy friendship between them, “Sit down, please. Can I get you anything? Coffee?” She noticed the dark circles under his eyes and she wondered if he had slept at all last night.

“Coffee would be great,” He agreed as he followed her into the kitchen, not at all surprised to see that a fresh pot had recently been brewed.

“You don’t look as if you got any sleep,” She voiced her observation as she removed two mugs from the cupboard and quickly filled them.

“I was here with Tess and Andrew for awhile and then had some work to do that couldn’t wait,” He explained vaguely, “But I wanted to check on you. Old habit, I suppose.”

Remembering Tess’ words from that morning, she nodded her head as she took out milk and sugar as well as two spoons and arranged them on the counter next to the mugs, before she stood back to allow him to fix his coffee to his liking, “Last night was not one of my more attractive nights,” She replied wryly with a slight grin.

“It was no wonder with that fight breaking out at the bar. You had every reason to take off out of there like you did, honey,” He remarked, his face etched with seriousness as he thought about her assignment and how much he disliked the man.

“Well, I’m not certain it was the right thing to do and now I have to hope I still have a job when I go in there this evening. I have a feeling I’ll be explaining a few things to Beth in order to try to justify my behavior,” She shook her head slightly, not willing to want to speak much about it at the moment as she would be back there soon enough, “So, tell me about this work you are doing.”

Though he quickly covered his chagrin over her question, it wasn’t fast enough for Monica not to catch it and he watched the perplexed expression cross her face, “I’ve been wrapping up some loose ends regarding your case,” He relented with a sigh, deciding that he was not about to seal his fate in hell by lying to the same angel he had hit on a few weeks ago.

“Trying to figure out how he found me three times,” Monica observed as she finished stirring her coffee and leading the way back to the living room.

Paul’s eyes widened at her words, wondering if she had been aware of that fact all along or if God himself had told her, “Yeah,” He stated simply as he sat down with her on the sofa, setting his steaming mug on the coffee table, “Though I never realized that you were aware of it.”

“It was rather hard to miss,” The little angel remarked, a hint of tension in her voice, “Especially the last time when no one else knew where we were headed.”

“Exactly. I’ve been pouring over old cases; cases where the witness was lost due to being found but so far I haven’t found any common ground, though I get the distinct feeling it is there somewhere and I’m just overlooking it.”

She noticed a sudden strain on his face and she had a feeling that there was more to the story then she was aware of, but she didn’t want to push him with anything that might be painful. Instead, she reached over and laid her hand on his arm, “You’ll find it, Paul.”

His heart swelled at her encouragement in the face of her own adversity and he laid his other hand on top of hers, “Thank you for that vote of confidence, Monica.”

“I think after all the support you’ve given me, it’s the least I can do for you.” She smiled, and as usual that small gesture was enough to make him believe that whatever she spoke came directly from her heart. He took a sip of his coffee to mask the rather goofy grin he could feel forming. It was the same reaction he had always had with Lauren, and it was wonderful to be able to remember that without the grief that usually accompanied any memory of her. Monica may have been sent to earth to help David, but Paul knew that she would end up helping him just as much.

Chapter 12

Paul left rather reluctantly when Monica announced that she really needed to start getting ready to go to work. She had been able tell that he wanted to say something else about David and the bar, but had held himself back. Instead, she had a feeling that he would end up being a regular at O’Reilly’s before long. He had only left after she assured him that Andrew would be coming to walk her to the bar.

Monica glanced at the clock again and worried her bottom lip between her teeth. It was only four-thirty and she didn’t know if she should go down to visit Kristin before Andrew arrived. She hadn’t heard any fighting or even raised voices coming from the second floor apartment but she couldn’t get the image of David’s enraged face out of her mind. If he had stumbled home in that state she didn’t even want to think of what might have happened. Her mind made up, she wrote a quick note for Andrew and then headed downstairs.

“Who is it?” came Kristin’s soft voice.

“It’s me, Monica.” She stood back as she heard the locks turning.

“Please come in,” Kristin said, her voice had an urgent tone to it and her eyes were deeply shadowed.

“Kristin, what’s wrong?”

“It’s David! He didn’t come home last night and I don’t know what to do or where to look.” The young woman had obviously been trying to hold herself together, but Monica’s concern gave her an opportunity to let her fears out. Her voice cracked and her hands nervously worked at the edge of her shirt. “Did you see him last night?”

Monica wasn’t eager to share what she knew and her expression said as much.

“You did see him, didn’t you? What happened?”

The angel led her over to the sofa and then sat beside her. “I did see him last night,” she admitted. “There was a little incident at the bar.”

“What happened? Was he hurt? What hospital?”

“No, no,” Monica gently patted her hand. “He wasn’t hurt. It was just a little fight,” she couldn’t outright lie, but she tried to gloss over the confrontation. “I expect he just went somewhere to avoid telling you about it.”

Kristin met Monica’s eyes and the angel could see the pain written there. “I know you probably aren’t telling me everything,” she said. “He’s been getting worse for a while now. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself.”

“I’m sure that if he just gets some help…”

“That’s what Tess said too. She’s a social worker down at unemployment and the other day I just ended up telling her everything. I felt better afterwards, but it didn’t change anything with David. I tried to talk to him, but he just stormed out. I wish you could have met us both last year. We were so in love. He was the perfect husband and we had the perfect life.”

She shook her head, blonde hair sweeping across her face and obscuring the tears that had begun to pool in her eyes.

“Kristin, Tess was right, and I’m sure if you go back to her she’ll give you ideas of where to go for help. You aren’t alone in this.”

The woman laid a hand over her rounded stomach and glanced down at the place where a new life was forming. “I know I’m not… it’s just that sometimes that scares me more than anything else.”

“Oh, no… don’t feel that way. This baby will be a gift from God. No matter what else happens, you have to know that.”

“I never used to doubt that,” Kristin sniffled and raised her eyes to meet Monica’s once more.

“Then don’t start now. He’s there for you whenever you need Him.” Monica was almost surprised by how easily the words flowed from her mouth. Speaking of God’s love felt so natural… just the way it always had.

“You’re right… It’s just hard. I just started admitting to myself that there’s a problem, and now it feels like I’m telling everyone. Telling God feels almost like whining.”

Monica laughed and grasped Kristin’s hand. “I don’t think God ever thinks that the people who talk to him are whining.”

Kristin let a smile touch her lips. “I guess not.”

A knock at the door interrupted them and they both looked up, Kristin’s eyes showing just a hint of fear at who might be behind it. It could be the police, come to tell her that David had been arrested, or worse, in an accident.

“Yes?” she said, the single word a question.

“My name’s Andrew. I’m the building manager, and Monica’s friend.”

Kristin quickly opened the door as Monica rose from her seat.

“You got my note.”

“And just in time. Sorry I’m a little bit late. Mrs. Winthrop down on the first floor had a leaky sink and it was about to flood her whole kitchen.” He smiled at Monica and then turned to Kristin. “It’s very nice to meet you, Kristin. Monica mentioned that she visited here yesterday.”

“Nice to meet you too,” she replied.

Andrew’s quick eyes surveyed the room, spotting all of the little things that needed doing. “You know,” he said. “I think I’ll have some time tomorrow if you’d like me to swing by and maybe fix that ceiling and give the place a touch of paint.”

Kristin looked doubtful about accepting such an offer, but Monica quickly piped up, “Yes, that would be wonderful! I’m an excellent painter,” she continued as she turned to Kristin, nodding her head.

“Well, okay… that would be very nice of you.”

“No problem at all. I’ll give you a call before I come over.” He turned to Monica. “Are you all set for tonight?” he asked, searching her face for the fear he had come to expect.

“Yes, I’m ready,” she replied, “and I think I may have a little explaining to do, so we’d better get going.” She impulsively turned and gave Kristin a quick hug. “Things will get better,” she whispered. “I know they will.”

“I think you may be right about that,” the woman replied, feeling a lightness enter her heart. “If you see David…”

“I’ll send him home, don’t you worry.”

*****

“You seem a little better today,” Andrew commented as the two of them walked away from the apartment building.

He hadn’t meant to put it quite so bluntly, but it was true. The darkness under her eyes was still there, but her eyes sparkled a little more, and she walked with more confidence than he had seen in days.

Monica pursed her lips together thoughtfully. “I guess I am feeling… not better, but different. I’m not who I was Andrew and I don’t think I ever will be, but this new me isn’t quite as bad today.”

He smiled, though her words did little to make him feel better. He longed for the old Monica and while he knew that she would never forget her ordeal, he still prayed that she would at least be able to put it behind her. But for now, her words still lingered on the negative side, but he decided to be thankful for the hint of life that was presently in her dark eyes, “So what do you plan on telling Beth tonight?”

“The truth,” She answered simply, knowing that there was no other option. If another fight broke out or if David decided to act up, she had little control over her actions and it was best that Beth understood where she had just come from, “I just hope she understands.”

“I’m sure she will,” Andrew encouraged, knowing that if the Father wanted Monica to continue working at the bar then there was little doubt that Beth would find the understanding she needed. However, he wasn’t at all sure he wanted Monica reliving those moments when McArthur was after her right before going to work, especially with an assignment that was far from pleasant.

They finished the walk to the bar in silence and the older angel could almost feel the heaviness creep into the little angel’s heart the closer they got.

Eyeing the door for a moment, Monica then turned to Andrew, a hopeful look in her tired eyes, “Will you-.”

“I’ll be here, no later than 2:00,” He finished for her, smiling at the relief that crossed her face, all the while knowing that he would probably make an appearance long before then.

“Thank you,” She said softly before he tugged her into his arms for a hug. As he released her, she reached up and kissed his cheek, saying a silent prayer of thanks for the blessing of his unwavering friendship, before she turned and headed through the door.

O’Reilly’s was not yet crowded and Monica immediately spotted Beth lighting the little votives that sat on each table, “Beth?”

Beth turned to look at Monica in surprise, further shocked to see her wearing her uniform, “I thought I had seen the last of you last night,” She remarked carefully. Though Monica’s disapearing act had annoyed her last night as they were so busy, she liked her and wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt.

“I’m sorry about that,” She replied, her eyes flashing sincerity, “Beth, I’d like to explain a few things to you, if you have a minute.”

Gesturing to the table where she had been lighting the last candle, Beth sat down and waited for Monica to join her. She had a feeling that Monica had been through something terrible from the very first night they had worked together and she was hoping that now, she could make her understand why she had bolted out of here last night.

Realizing Beth was waiting for her to speak, the angel struggled with how to begin, as she really wasn’t all that anxious to relive the moments she needed to speak of. She also knew that she had little choice, “I just came out of the Witness Protection Program, Beth,” She began softly, her eyes trained on the top of the table, “I saw a man murdered and the killer saw me, so I was taken into the program until he could be caught…” Her voice trailed off for a moment as the memories that had barely begun to fade caught up to her once more.

“That must have been terrible,” The other woman replied quietly, knowing that there was more to the story, “Did they catch him?”

Nodding her head, she released the last bit of detail she was willing to voice, “Yes, they did, but not before he found me. He was holding me at gunpoint when he was killed.” She shuddered involuntarily, the images still so fresh in her mind that they stung.

Compassion filled Beth’s eyes as she reached across the table to cover Monica’s hand with her own, “I’m so sorry. I can’t even begin to imagine how horrible that must have been.”

“When the fight broke out last night, it just…it scared me badly enough that all I could think about was getting as far away from the violence as I could. That wasn’t fair to you and I’m sorry.”

“Your reaction was well warrented,” Beth told her firmly, “I’m just sorry the fight had to break out in the first place,” She watched as the angel raised her eyes and she could plainly see the haunted look in them, “You still have a job if you want it, Monica. You’re a good waitress and the customers love you.”

Monica blushed slightly at the praise she didn’t feel she deserved after abandoning her station last night, but she nodded her head, “I would like to stay, Beth.”

Smiling now, Beth rose from her chair, “Well, then get to work,” She replied with a teasing wink, “Saturday night isn’t as busy as last night was thankfully, so we shouldn’t see any bar brawls, and of course there is the added bonus of being closed tomorrow. You look like you could use it to catch up on some sleep.”

“I’ll be looking forward to that,” She returned the smile, feeling more than grateful over not having to deal with David tomorrow. She only wished she wasn’t longing for her hiatus from her assignment to begin tonight.

*****

Paul sighed heavily as he laid down yet another file on the bed and he ran his hand across his eyes in exhaustion. Since leaving Monica’s apartment, he had been going through them, one detail at a time, and now the ten files he had completed were peppered with Post It notes of various colors in a haphazard color coding system.

Leaning back against his pillows, he tried to take in all he had learned and the knowledge was not encouraging so far. Each of the ten cases had one definite thing in common; each of the witnesses had been bumped up to the highest security measures possible, which had either meant that the killers had discovered the safe houses once, or that there was evidence that they were nearby.

High security measures meant that the people in the agency with knowledge of the witnesses whereabouts were extremely limited. Only the highest-ranking FBI officials were made aware of the details of the cases and for Paul that narrowed it down to three people if his suspicions were correct and none of the three were comforting…one in particular.

His eyes fell onto the three stacks of files on his bed, one that he had already gone through, one that he had yet to go through and the third one consisting of only one file. Lauren’s. Based on what he had seen so far, he wasn’t sure he could bear finding out that she had been set up if that was indeed the case as he wasn’t at all certain he would be able to control his emotions.

Closing his eyes, he allowed his mind to rest as the lack of sleep was beginning to catch up to him and it wasn’t long before he was caught up in a dream about those last few moments when he had thought the story of his own life was going to have a happy ending.

“It’s almost over, Paul,” Lauren grinned over at him from where they sat together in the back seat of the car as another agent drove steadily towards the courthouse.

He chuckled, not wanting to diffuse her excitement, but wanting her to face reality as well, “Honey, there may very well be more than one court appearance. This could take a bit of time.”

“But we have time and when it is over, all that will be left of this whole nightmare is you and me,” Her eyes sparkled as she reached over and took his face in her hands, before touching her lips to his, “I love you, Paul Gatlin, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life telling you that.”

Reaching up, he ran a hand through her dark hair, the love he felt for her unable to compare to anything else he had ever experienced in his life, “I love you too, baby, and you’re right; we have all the time in the world…”

The sound of shots firing in his mind caused Paul to jerk awake, his heart feeling as if it would surely burst out of his chest. His hazel eyes flashed with anger at the thought that his time with Lauren had possibly been cut short due to betrayal from people he had trusted and he knew that sleep would have to be pushed away yet again.

Reaching for the single file that sat alone, he opened it up and began to read, trying to seal himself off from the pain in order to find out the truth.

Chapter 13

Monica’s night was progressing smoothly, much to her relief. The bar wasn’t nearly as busy as last night when the band had been playing and she was further put at ease by David’s absence. It was nearly midnight and there had been no sign of him and she could only hope that maybe he had finally gone home, therefore putting Kristin’s fears to rest.

Though business was slower, it was still busy enough to keep her constantly on the go as the college crowd made up most of the customers, but she enjoyed them with their funny stories about teachers and senior pranks which they were eager to share with her whenever she delivered drinks to their tables. She marveled at how invincible humans appeared to be at that age, knowing that the world held endless possibilities for them and she did her best to try to convince herself that the same was true for her.

The clock on the wall behind the bar had just struck 12:30 when the door to the pub opened and the grin left her face as her assignment walked in the door. He was still dressed in last night’s clothing and that told her that he had yet to return home to his wife and she felt sadness fill her heart for Kristin, knowing the soon to be mother was still sitting at home wondering what had become of him. This however, reminded her of the promise she had made to the young woman and one look at David told her that he was not in the mood to be offered advice.

Due to the late hour, the stools around the bar were occupied and she watched a scowl cross his face over that fact as he took a seat at the furthermost table in the corner, away from anyone else, and this did little for the angel’s confidence. Reluctantly, she grabbed a clean mug and filled it before slowly heading in his direction.

Monica sat the mug of beer down in front of him and summoned her courage, “Bad day?”

David shot her a glare, his eyes showing the reddened look of someone who had seen more than one bar today, before he grabbed his mug and chugged it slowly, before shoving it back in her direction, wordlessly yet clearly demanding a refill.

She picked it back up, prepared to go back to fill it for him, before she hesitated, “Kristin is worried sick about you. I saw her this afternoon before coming to work and I told her that if I saw you-.”

“How many times do we have to have this conversation?” He snapped at her, cutting her words short, “Your job is to sell me beer, not lecture me. So shut up and stay away from my wife while you’re at it.”

Monica winced inwardly, but she kept her voice controlled, “You could at least call her, David, and let her know you are all right.”

He moved so quickly, she barely had time to react as his hand grasped her wrist tightly as he rose to his feet, roughly pulling her closer, “If you insist upon learning things the hard way, I’d be happy to show you.”

He had twisted her wrist and she bit back a cry of pain as she tried to control her racing heart, “Let me go!” She demanded, the tremble in her voice betraying her fear. The loud conversations in the bar were drowning out what was happening and the little angel felt her panic rising to her throat once more.

“I’ve told you three times now to stay the hell out of my business,” He all but snarled at her, jerking her closer to him, as the smell of much harder liquor seemed to emanate from his breath against her face. He ignored the terror he saw in her eyes as he brought his face closer to hers, “But you refuse to listen to what I have to say, so if you need a physical reminder, I’d be happy to give you one.”

Monica felt the horrible feeling of helplessness sweep through her body as she pulled back, trying to free her wrist from his vicious grip. She managed to force her fear to the back of her mind. If she could just get him to listen to her, maybe this was the chance she needed.

“Stop it! I’m just trying to help you! Kristin loves you and she’s worried about you.”

“I don’t need you telling me how my wife feels!” He felt her struggling and it only made him hold her tighter as he spat out his words. Months ago the fear in her eyes would have appalled him, but in his drunken state he almost enjoyed it. He didn’t have power over much else in his life, but he had power over her.

“Just let me go! I never meant to get you so upset,” she tried to pry his fingers off but couldn’t. Monica knew that Andrew would be furious when he saw the bruise she could already feel forming. She wanted more than anything, to promise David that if he just let go she would go away and never speak to him again, but it was a promise she knew she couldn’t keep.

He watched from the other side of the bar and clenched his fists, pushing them into his pockets to somehow contain the growing anger. He could see that Monica was still talking to David, trying to reason with him, and he didn’t want to interfere unless he absolutely had to. He started making his way towards them. He didn’t doubt Monica’s abilities, but David seemed to be getting even more agitated.

“C’mon, you wanna talk? Well I’ll take you someplace where we can talk,” David yanked on her arm, throwing her off balance and she stumbled forward.

“I’m not going anywhere! Let go! You don’t know what you’re doing!”

Monica could tell that no calming words were going to get through to his booze soaked brain, and the courage she had been relying on suddenly fled. There was no way she was letting him take her out of the bar. She looked back towards the bar, frantically wondering where Beth was. Didn’t anyone else see what was happening to her? She turned back to David and lifted her foot, ready to slam it down onto his instep, but he pulled her forward again, the motion sending a shooting pain up her arm and making her fall to her knees.

David growled at her, trying to pull her to her feet. He stopped immediately when a stronger hand than his clamped down on his shoulder, agile fingers pressing into the sensitive muscles and nerves. He didn’t even have a chance to turn his head before another hand circled his throat.

“I tried to be nice to you the other day, but I see it didn’t work. Now let go of her before I snap your worthless neck… and believe me, I can do it.”

David could feel the power in those hands and he quickly released Monica’s wrist. She cradled it next to her body, looking up to Paul through sad eyes. Her expression nearly undid him. He wanted to break every bone in the man’s body, just to hear the satisfying cracking noise. Instead he prodded him forward.

“Now help her up, and be careful about it.”

Monica eyed David warily, but she took his hand when offered, and he gently pulled her to her feet.

“Now you are going to leave this bar and get the hell home to your wife. And if you lay a hand on her, I’ll know about that too, and I know where you live. Keep that in mind.”

David nodded slightly, some of the fight gone from his eyes, although the seething anger was still flowing below the surface. Even he knew when he was outmatched, but that didn’t mean he liked it.

Paul shoved him towards the door. “Don’t forget what I said,” his words were a warning that he hoped he wouldn’t have to follow through on.

The other man pushed people out of his way as he moved towards the door, but eventually he was gone, and Paul moved all of his attention to Monica.

“Are you alright?” he asked. How he hated asking that question of her over and over again. It seemed that every time he saw her she was getting hurt. When was she going to be given a chance to recuperate?

“I’m fine… thanks to you.”

He shook off the compliment. “Let me see that wrist. It doesn’t look fine to me.”

She held it out and he gently moved his fingers over the reddened skin. “Andrew’s going to be upset when he sees it,” she said regretfully.

“Andrew’s a lot like me. We both think we should be around 24/7 to keep this kind of thing from happening to you.”

That drew a slight smile. “Yes… you do seem to have that in common.”

“Come on. Let’s see about getting some ice on that. Maybe it won’t bruise quite as badly.”

As he led her back to the bar, Beth spotted them, her face showing her concern. She finished pouring drinks for the people shouting to her and then quickly moved to Monica’s side.

“What happened? Man, that looks nasty!”

“It’ll be all right,” Monica replied softly.

“It was that gem of a customer, David,” Paul supplied, seeing that Monica wasn’t going to.

“That’s it!” Beth was suddenly angry. “The next time he comes in here I’m sending him right back to the street.”

“No, don’t do that… he…”

“He was drunk as a skunk before he ever got in here and then he assaulted you. I’m not about to let that happen again,” Beth argued. She was feeling particularly protective of the small woman after hearing her history, and she wasn’t going to let the bar be yet another bad memory for her.

“I appreciate that, Beth, but give him one more chance, okay?” Monica was afraid that if she couldn’t connect with him at the bar, she never would, and she was not about to fail at another assignment.

Beth pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes. “Fine. One more chance, and only because you’re feeling so forgiving.”

“Thanks, Beth.”

Beth nodded her head though it was clear to Monica that her temporary supervisor wasn’t all that happy with having to relent, “Now you, take a break.”

“Really, I’m fine and it’s nearly closing time anyway…” But one look at Beth’s face told her this was one battle she was not going to win, but at least she had chosen carefully. David could come back.

Monica felt Paul’s hand on her shoulder and she allowed him to lead her to a table away from most of the crowd. Sliding in across from her, he reached out his hand, “Let me see that wrist,” He requested, his tone gentle, yet not allowing for any argument. As she allowed him to take her hand, he pressed the ice pack that Beth had given him to the reddened area and she noticed the flash of anger in his eyes over her being hurt.

“Thank you again for being here,” She offered softly, wincing slightly at the cold feeling of the ice on her throbbing wrist.

He nodded his head, his attention purposely focused on her wrist. He was feeling concerned by how calm she was being considering what had just happened and the terrible thought struck him that maybe she was beginning to accept that these kinds of things were going to happen to her. He could see the sadness in her eyes and a sort of resignation that unnerved him and he so did not want this for her.

“I don’t know how I’m ever going to get through to him,” Monica remarked with a sigh after a moment, “I think I’m making things worse.”

Wanting to offer her encouragement, he tried to smile, “You have time, Lauren.”

The angel’s head shot up in confusion, “Who is Lauren?”

Drawing in a sharp breath, now realizing his mistake, he managed a small grin as he shook his head, “No one. I’m not sure of what I was thinking.”

She didn’t miss a flash of pain in his eyes and she frowned, “Paul-.”

“Monica? What happened?”

She looked up and realized that Andrew had come into the pub and was now looking at her with eyes filled with concern and holding just a glint of anger. She had been hoping to somehow hide her injury from him, but now it was too late, “It’s nothing, Andrew, really…”

Sliding into the booth next to her, he took her hand into his own, his eyes narrowing as he saw her flinch, “It was David, wasn’t it?”

“He was being his usual charming self,” Paul remarked tensely, somewhat surprised at the fury he saw in the angel’s expression, “I sent him on his way for the night.”

“What happened?” The angel demanded, trying with everything in him to control the anger he was feeling.

The look in his eyes definitely required an answer, “It was no big deal, Andrew. I made him angry; I pushed too hard.”

“You were only talking to him for a minute, Monica,” Paul interjected, “How much pushing could you have done in that length of time?”

“I think it’s time to talk to Tess,” Andrew stated firmly, the rage in his voice completely contradicting the gentleness in his hands as he touched them to the angry red mark that circled her small wrist, “Maybe what is needed is a little rearranging of assignments.”

“No!” The insistence in the younger angel’s voice startled both of her protectors as they turned hazel and green eyes to her face, “David is my assignment and I will get through to him.”

“But at what cost, Monica?” The agent reasoned, with a disgusted shake of his head, “He was in the process of dragging you outside tonight when I stopped him.”

She saw Andrew’s eyes widen as he considered the implications of what could have happened and she drew her hand away from his, “But he didn’t and he was too drunk to have done any real damage had that happened.”

“Angel, what do you call this?” He indicated her wrist once more, trying to grasp onto her train of thought and being completely unsuccessful.

“Unfortunate, Andrew, that’s all,” Monica replied firmly, not meeting his eyes, “Let me out. I need to get back to work.”

Knowing they were being dismissed for the moment, he reluctantly slid out of the booth to allow her slip out quickly. She started to walk away before turning back to him briefly.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk to Tess as it isn’t necessary.”

Andrew could clearly feel the tension between them and a glance at Paul told him that the agent felt it as well, “I reserve the right to disagree, Angel Girl.”

“You’re the one who told me that there were bad people in the world, Andrew and that there always had been, only now I was more aware of them. Fine, I am more aware of them. I’m aware of the fact that they hold guns to heads, and grab ahold of you in parks and bars and that there is nothing I can do to stop it. You also told me that we weren’t supposed to give up and you are now asking me to give up on an assignment and I’m not willing to fail another one.” Ignoring his bewildered expression, she turned and walked back to the bar.

Andrew sat back down once more and rested his head in his hands for a moment before looking up once more and glancing towards the bar. Monica had gone back to serving drinks and he inwardly cringed at the way she was favoring her right hand as he struggled to understand both her words and her attitude, “Josh.” He stated after another moment had passed, “She still thinks she somehow failed him.”

Paul nodded his head in understanding, “What concerns me more is that she seems to want to accept that being physically hurt is now perfectly normal. She was terrified when I stopped her jerk of an assignment from all but dragging her out the door, but as soon as he left she put on this mask of calm and acceptance.”

The angel nodded his head, his ever protective eyes still watching her and detecting the strain in her expression. Monica’s emotions of late had been as diverse as the universe itself and he was beginning to feel less and less surprised by her method of thinking and coping, though he wasn’t convinced any of it was healthy for her. “I’m glad you were here, Paul or there would have been no telling what could have happened.”

He nodded his head, knowing he had taken part of the anger at what he had found in the files tonight out on David, though he wasn’t at all sorry for how he had handled things, “She needs to be careful in the event he decides to take out on her the fact that I nearly snapped his weasely little neck tonight, though if he lays another finger on her I may not hesitate the next time.”

“I’ll keep it covered. It I had my way he’d never get within ten feet of her.”

Paul glanced up, surprised and a little worried that the rage in Andrew’s expression had barely wavered. “Do you think you’ll end up talking to Tess?”

“I’d rather have Monica tell her.”

A dry laugh was the response. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

“Then I guess Tess’ll never know.” The scowl on his face said what he thought about that. “She’s barely trusting humanity at this point. I can’t afford to have her lose her trust in me too.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, an innocent bystander could always relay the information,” Paul said suggestively.

Andrew chuckled. “Thanks for the offer, but Monica has really grown to depend on you as a friend. I don’t want you putting that at risk.”

The agent shifted his gaze to Monica, and then to the door, thinking about David coming back the next night, the night after that, and the night after that. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Chapter 14

Paul had always considered himself a bit of a morning person, so he thought it was vaguely ironic that now he was spending most of his waking hours at the other end of the day. Of course he hadn’t had any real reason to be out late at O’Reilly’s, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He kept reminding himself that Monica was no longer his responsibility, but knowing that she was so close and in such a stressful situation was more than enough to make him start polishing his armor. Tonight his watchfulness had paid off.

He yawned as the elevator slowed to a halt on the fifth floor and fumbled in his pocket for the keycard. He hated those things. Real keys rattled and jingled and made their presence known. They didn’t hide themselves between the American Express card and the driver’s license. The hallway was empty so no one saw him drop all three cards to the floor and give a muffled curse under his breath before retrieving them. Bed was looking better and better all the time.

The card reader flashed green and the door unlocked with an audible click. Paul felt his exhaustion growing in direct correlation to his distance from the bedroom, and he turned the handle and walked in. Tossing card, and wallet to the table by the door and shrugging out of his jacket, he gave another yawn, all without even turning on the light. He hit the light switch just as he was stepping into the bathroom, and suddenly all feelings of fatigue vanished.

There were papers scattered all over the room. His bed had been torn apart. The lamps on the nightstands were tipped over, their light casting strange shadows on the walls and ceiling. His luggage was ransacked and even the little coffeemaker was lying broken on the floor.

“That son of a…” Paul’s first thoughts were of David and he pulled out his cell phone, ready to call hotel security and the police.

He stepped gingerly over to the bed, not wanting to disturb the scene too much. If he got the police involved, they would want to take pictures and prints and catalog what was missing. Narrowing his eyes, he looked around the room again, adrenaline kicking up another notch when he saw what he was looking for. His gold and silver watch was still on the dresser, right next to the television remote control. David wasn’t the one who had tossed the room. Even in a drunken stupor he would have taken the valuable watch.

Paul tucked his phone back into his pocket. He suddenly had no one to call. He knelt down and started sweeping together the scattered files. It was going to take hours to put things back in their correct folders. He was grateful that at least they were just copies. He was going to have to remember to send Janice flowers, down in records. She was the one who had refused to let him walk out with the originals and had made the copies herself to keep him from pestering her.

What had started out looking like random destruction now had sinister undertones. Paul was quick to notice that every page he had marked with a colored tag was missing. He reached under the bed to retrieve his notebook. It was practically shredded but he flipped through it anyway, the muscle in his jaw tightening when he saw that his notes had been ripped out and taken. One of those pages had contained his list of possible suspects, and now one of those suspects had it. A deep dread settled in his chest. He had been working to prove that there was an inside man at the bureau but a tiny part of himself had wanted to be wrong.

*****

“How’s your wrist feeling?” They were the first words spoken since starting the walk back to the apartment.

Monica looked down and saw that the redness was nearly gone, replaced with the very faint blue of a forming bruise. She sighed and looked up again, concentrating on the flickering streetlamp up ahead. It looked like the bulb was just about to blow out.

“Monica?”

“It hurts,” she said truthfully. There was no sense in hiding the facts. She had seen him watching her for the last hour of her shift, and knew that he had probably made note of every time she avoided using it.

“We can put some more ice on it before you go to bed.”

“It’s nothing. I’ll get used to it.”

“Angel, you shouldn’t have to get used to being in pain.”

She looked up at him and he couldn’t miss the slight look of accusation in her eyes. It dared him to prove that his words were true. If they were, then why was she constantly under attack? God was testing her. She accepted that. It was about time that Andrew accepted it as well.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I think it’s time I toughened up, don’t you?”

Andrew frowned. “No, I don’t.”

She let out another sigh and faced forward, barely curling her fingers around Andrew’s when he picked up her hand. “Remember when I told you that I think I need to be able to handle things on my own?”

“Yes, and I told you that you’re never alone and you don’t need to think that you are.”

“Well I wish I had been able to handle tonight without Paul. I wish that I had been able to make David stop hurting me and listen. I wish that he had been afraid of me instead of the other way around.” There was an unmistakable tone of anger in her voice, made all the more noticeable to Andrew because he had heard it so recently in his own.

“But that’s not who you are, Monica.”

“Maybe it’s who I should be. God doesn’t want weak angels, Andrew. Maybe this is His way of making me stand up for myself,” she said harshly.

“There’s a big difference between standing up for yourself and God and making people afraid of you. Moving from mistrust of humans to anger at them isn’t right. It isn’t what God wants, and it isn’t what you want.”

“I talk to Him every night,” she said, her voice quieter. “I ask Him for advice. I ask Him to tell me what to do. I always feel Him with me. I feel how much He loves me, but He never answers. I have all these questions and no one, not even the Father, will tell me the answers.”

Andrew let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders instead. He felt the slight tremor go through her but kept walking. If he stopped and looked in her eyes he would just pull her close and promise to protect her from the world, but that wasn’t what he needed to say.

“Telling you what to do isn’t something that God has ever done. He trusts you so much, Monica. He knows that you can find the answers for yourself. I think that’s what you’re here for. You’ve been through so much, and I wish I could take it away from you… or answer all your questions, but I’m still asking them myself. The answers will come. You just have to be patient. We both do.”

“I’ve been patient,” She stated, the anger back in her voice once more, “I’ve been more than patient. I’ve approached my assignment over and over again though he has made it crystal clear that he wants nothing to do with me. So when am I going to have answers and will it be before or after David tries to kill me?”

“Monica-.”

“It’s how I feel, Andrew. Every time I try to talk to him he gets a little more violent. How much more violent will he get before he sees the truth and I understand why all this is happening to me?”

Her question left him speechless as he had no idea what the answer was and the implications about David’s violent tendencies did little to halt the anger in his heart. David was her assignment and he had told her not to give up on speaking God’s truth, but after what Paul had told him had occurred tonight, he felt nearly sick at the thought of her trying to talk to him again. There was no telling what the human would have done to the little angel had he succeeded in getting her outside tonight and Andrew’s imagination ran wild over the possibilities. He was beginning to dislike her assignment more and more.

As his mind still searched for an answer, he felt Monica stop walking and as he turned to her, she shrank back slightly as his eyes followed her gaze. He watched with distain as David stumbled out of the bar across the street from where they were standing, heading back in the general direction of O’Reilly’s.

Monica supposed that she shouldn’t really be surprised that the human had not taken Paul’s “advice” to go home to his wife, though a small part of her felt disappointed that he was still out drinking. She watched him staggering down the street, torn as to whether or not she should try to approach him once more, but Andrew settled that decision for her.

“No, angel, not tonight.” He shook his head firmly. Despite her anger, he had seen the look of fear that had filled her eyes at seeing David and he was not about to allow her to set herself up again tonight to be hurt, “You have the night off from the pub tomorrow, so take a day to relax and recuperate and maybe things will be brighter the next time you try to talk to him,” He knew he was saying those words for her benefit and not because he believed them, but it was too important to him right now that she take a little time for herself.

They completed the walk in silence and it was only once they had entered the apartment building that Monica spoke up once more, “You don’t have to walk me up…”

“I know that I don’t have to, but I’d prefer to if that is all right with you,” He replied gently, relieved when she nodded her head.

Even Monica had to admit to herself that the narrow stairwell wasn’t nearly as worrisome with Andrew behind her. It was nice to emerge onto the third floor with her heart still beating at a normal rate, though it only took a moment for it to suddenly feel as if it were beating in her ears once more.

The door to her apartment was cracked open and she came to a dead halt as despite all her agitation earlier, she felt tears burning in her eyes as she simply starred at it.

“Stay here.” Andrew ordered, quickly moving around her and approaching the apartment door. He opened it wider and glanced inside, fury building up in him once more over the state that her apartment was in at the moment. He was unsure judging by the mess if someone had been looking for something specific or only for revenge. It didn’t take him long to determine that the apartment was now empty and his heart ached when he turned around and found Monica standing there. Her expression spoke volumes.

She felt completely defeated and victimized, unsure of whether to burst into tears or to run as far away from here as she could possibly get. Instead, one word escaped her mouth, “Lucy.”

“I’m sure she is here, angel,” He uttered, his own heart racing as he knew if anything had happened to the kitten it would put her completely over the edge, “We’ll find her.”

Wordlessly, Monica began to search through tear-filled eyes as she bordered on frantic, sure that with every door or cupboard she opened, she would find the kitten dead, just like the mama cat in the barn, “She’s not here, Andrew! She’s not here!”

He could see the hysteria rising within her as he helped her search and a moment later, the pitiful kitten cry sent relief flowing through him like water bursting from a dam. Monica obviously heard it too as she raced to the closet and flung open the door, collecting the frightened little cat into her arms.

It was only after she had buried her face in Lucy’s soft fur and took several deep breaths that she was able to survey the damage to her temporary home. Cushions had been removed from the sofa and chairs and cupboards and closets had been searched through. The little desk in the living room had been completely torn apart and papers lay scattered all over the floor. The scene was completely overwhelming as it was and the fact that it was nearly 3:00 in the morning wasn’t helping her coping mechanisms much.

She was snapped out of her reverie by the sight of Andrew picking up the telephone, his expression set in grave determination, which quickly turned to shock as Monica took the phone from his hand and replaced it in the cradle.

“You can’t call the police,” She whispered shakily.

“Watch me,” He replied angrily, but something in her expression stopped him.

“He can’t go to jail, Andrew. I can’t help him from there,” The tears shimmered in her eyes, telling him how much she wanted to not even try to help David anymore, but her words spoke of feeling cornered into having no choice in the matter.

She turned away and gently dropped Lucy to the floor as she began picking up papers with trembling hands and her friend’s heart broke at the silent tears that were escaping her eyes.

“Sweetheart, leave it for tonight, please?” He asked softly, but she shook her head as she continued on her mission.

Resigned to the fact that sleep would not be coming soon for either of them, he nodded his head as he headed into the kitchen to put it back to rights, though it took everything in him to keep from slamming shut the cupboard doors. Like McArthur, David had gone too far this time and the angel had no idea how to help Monica at this point. She seemed caught up in a world that she had no desire to live in, yet she knew of no way out as her mind was holding her hostage.

Had he done this? Had his talk with her in the diner the other night convinced her that no matter what David might do to her that she had to continue; that she had to risk her well being to continue trying to talk to him? He hadn’t wanted her to give up, afraid of how it would affect her if she did, but now to continue seemed ten times worse and completely unsafe. Yes, she was an angel, but David was hurting her, in words and actions, and he had no idea how to abide by that and he certainly didn’t want to see her try.

In the other room, Monica continued to pick up the loose papers that had been torn from the desk, collecting them in her injured hand. Each time she picked one up, she caught sight of the bruise that was forming and her vision would blur once more, the color of the forming bruise looking as black as her heart felt.

Had she only been able to stand up to David without Paul having to interfere, this could have been avoided, of that much she was sure. But she had been too weak and too afraid to fight him off in words or actions and this was simply the consequence she was paying for her weakness. She was sure that was true and she didn’t think anything could convince her otherwise.

Rising to her feet, she wiped her hand across her eyes as she moved to return the pictures to the desk, but she froze once more as her eyes came to rest on a picture that hadn’t been in or on the desk before tonight. Her hand trembled as she picked it up, feeling as if she were looking into some kind of mirror.

The young woman’s face smiled back at her, but the resemblance to herself was almost eerie. Though the picture was black and white and there were definite differences between her and the image that had been captured on film, Monica was sure if she were human that this woman could have easily passed as a relative, but who was she?

Turning the picture over slowly, she blinked to clear her eyes of tears as she read the name on the back of the photograph.

Lauren Sherman.

Paul had called her Lauren. She felt the name resonate in her soul, as if she should remember if from somewhere else as well. She flipped it over again, dark eyes peering into the eternally smiling face, slender fingers touching soft looking hair. Where had it come from? Had it been in the desk? She looked to the floor for answers, wondering if there would be some letter or card that told her who Lauren was. Was she supposed to help her?

“What do you have there?” Andrew asked as he walked out of the kitchen. Luckily the destruction in there had been limited to open cupboards and scattered pots rather than shattered china.

Monica held the photo towards him. “I found this on the floor. It says her name is Lauren, but I don’t know who she is.”

The instant he heard that name he felt a chill push goose-bumps out along his arms. He took the picture, already knowing what he would see. Paul had never showed him a picture, but he had told him that Lauren looked like Monica. He had been telling the truth.

“Do you know her, Andrew?” She had picked up on his expression and it was anything but neutral.

He turned the photo over a few times before answering. He was stalling for time and if the situation hadn’t been so grave it would have been almost amusing to see him searching for his words.

“Is she someone you took Home?” she asked gently.

“No,” he said at last. “Lauren is someone Paul knew.”

“Paul?”

“He protected her… she was in the Witness Protection program, like you.”

Monica knew the answer to her next question, but she asked it anyway. “She was killed, wasn’t she?”

Andrew set the picture aside and looked straight into Monica’s tear clouded eyes. “Yes she was.”

“And he was in love with her.”

That question startled him, but only a little bit. She had always been extremely perceptive. “They were engaged.”

Monica let go of her tears as she collapsed onto the sofa. “Paul’s dedicated his whole life to protecting people and he couldn’t save the one person who was most important to him… and now her picture shows up here. It was David, wasn’t it? He’s the one who killed her and now he’s furious with me.”

Andrew was quick to wrap his arms around her and pull her head to his chest. “Monica, we don’t know anything about that. It could have been here all along.”

His eyes flickered briefly towards the picture again. He honestly didn’t know what to think. Was David somehow involved? What other possibility was there? He needed to talk to Paul, and he hoped that morning would be soon enough because he wasn’t planning on leaving Monica’s side for what remained of the night.

“Father,” Andrew could hear the little angel whispering. “I’m not asking for answers this time. Please… just give me the strength to face whatever you have planned.”

“He will.”

“In my head I know that, but I’m waiting for my heart to catch up,” she murmured. “We should talk to Paul,” she continued, echoing his thoughts.

“Not tonight, Angel. It’s late. There’s nothing he could do right now.”

She tilted her head up and watched the light glint off his green eyes. They normally held such assurance and certainty, but tonight they wavered between doubt and anger and the change left her feeling unsettled.

“I don’t want to stay here… not tonight,” she said with a forcefulness that surprised even her.

Andrew looked around the apartment and couldn’t blame her. It was still in a complete disarray and just the knowledge that someone had done it on purpose left a sick feeling in his stomach.

“We’ll go down to my place,” he said as he stood up and offered her his hand. “Grab Lucy and we’ll head down right now. There’s still a chance for you to get a few hours of sleep tonight.”

Monica noticed that he said ‘you’ and not ‘us’, but she didn’t mention it. She had a feeling that Andrew would be keeping watch over her as usual. His certain presence was the one thing that kept her from fleeing altogether. Lucy had settled next to Monica on the sofa, and the angel scooped her up and wordlessly gave another look around the living room before following Andrew to the door.

*****

“My place isn’t quite as luxurious as yours,” Andrew joked as he unlocked the door to his apartment.

Monica gave him a tiny poke in the ribs and a grin as she passed through the door and looked around. It was definitely smaller than hers but it was comfortable and, most importantly, untouched by violence. She set Lucy down and watched as the kitten raced around, inspecting each corner in turn.

“I think she approves,” Andrew chuckled. “C’mon, let’s get you to bed.”

“You’re coming too, aren’t you?” she asked, eyes wide.

“The bed isn’t quite as big as yours,” he answered with a little smile. “I was going to stay out here on the sofa.”

“I don’t care how big it is,” she insisted. “I… I…” she wanted to say that she needed him, but after the angry words she had spoken in the street she was almost afraid to admit that.

Their connection was strong enough that he didn’t need to hear the words. “You go change into one of my shirts… it should come down to your knees,” he said, his smile never wavering. “I’ll be in as soon as you call me.”

He watched as she nodded her head and disappeared into his bedroom and a few minutes later he heard her soft call that he could come in and join her. She was sitting up in his bed, looking a bit forlorn as she moved as far to one end of the bed as she could in order to make room for him. Sitting down with his back against the pillows, she went through the now familiar motion of curling into his arms as he held her up against his chest.

“Thank you,” Monica whispered, as she snuggled closer and closed her dark eyes in complete exhaustion.

As she drifted off to sleep, Andrew’s fingers traced the bruise on her wrist, wishing he had remembered to bring in some ice for it. He couldn’t help but to be reminded that this bruise was very comparable to the one that was on her spirit at the moment and as he watched her sleep, he still could not imagine how anyone could want to hurt her. The thought was foreign to him as even when he was frustrated with her rapidly changing emotions, he always chose his words carefully so as to not so much as hurt her feelings and he knew that this was not just because he was partial. The little angel had touched Paul’s life quickly as well as the lives of numerous other assignments as she had endeared herself to them and now she had been faced with several people who only wanted to hurt her and cause her fear, contradicting all she had ever known. He hated it.

“Please bring her peace, Father,” He whispered aloud, knowing his words would not disturb the sleeping angel as fatigue had won out even against fear and anger, “Whatever you are trying to teach her, let her find some peace in all of it as I’m afraid for her.” The violence had been coming at her from all directions and she wasn’t even having enough time to take in one thing before something else happened and he was sorely worried that his words were carrying far too much weight with her. Though her stubbornness about wanting to continue trying to reach David in any other situation would not be out of the norm for her, he could clearly see that what she really wanted to do was to run as far away as possible from all of this and cocoon herself up somewhere until she felt like the world was a safer place.

And though a part of him longed for her to do just that, he also knew he had to do everything in his power to keep that from happening.

*****

A knock on the door late the next morning, disrupted the two angels from trying to put Monica’s apartment back to rights, as Andrew moved to answer it and got no argument from his friend. Despite the fact that she had slept soundly through what had been left of the night, she had awoken early and so there was still an aura of weariness about her as she sadly swept the remains of a few knick knacks into the dust pan. She hadn’t said much all morning and had seemed to withdraw a little further as she had watched Andrew change the lock and install the deadbolt to her door that he had meant to do for her days ago.

As Andrew opened the front door, Paul’s eyes immediately swept across the room as his jaw set in anger. The angel had said very little over the phone, only that he needed to come to Monica’s apartment as soon as he was able to and even with the cleaning that was still in progress, it was obvious that he was not the only one who had been paid a late night visit.

“What the hell happened?”

The gruffness of his voice caused the Irish angel to start slightly as she turned frightened doe eyes towards him and he immediately changed his tone, “I’m sorry, honey,” His regret was unmistakable as he met his eyes with hers, “Are you all right?”

Monica started to nod her head, then she shrugged her shoulders, pushing back the tears that were threatening her eyes. Wordlessly, she approached the agent who had become her friend and was caught up in his arms as Paul hugged her tightly.

Andrew felt tears burning in his own eyes as he watched them, feeling ridiculous for having ever felt jealous of Paul’s affection for Monica. She looked at him as a friend now, and also as a friend who dealt with this kind of thing all the time and the older angel could not begrudge her anything or anyone who made her feel a little bit safer.

“I’m sorry about Lauren,” Monica whispered as Paul finally released her and he could see that her tears were not so much for herself as for him.

He looked slightly confused as to how Lauren was suddenly a factor for her, despite how deeply touched he was by her words and the compassion she was feeling for his loss. He looked up as Andrew handed him a picture and he felt the familiar stab of pain in his heart at the sight of her face.

“Monica found it here last night when we were starting to clean up the mess that someone made of her apartment.”

Paul nodded his head as he pushed aside the wave of grief he was feeling and replaced it with anger over Monica now being involved with the problems he was having with the agency, “You think it was David?”

“He must have been angry about what happened last night,” The little angel replied sadly.

The agent sat down on the sofa, picture still in hand as he struggled to understand all that had happened last night. He had been certain that one of his suspects from the FBI had been the one to break into his hotel room, but now with Monica’s apartment having been ransacked as well, he was trying to decide how David could possibly fit into the picture he had worked so hard to paint.

“My hotel room was broken into last night as well,” he confessed, watching as Andrew’s expression tightened and Monica’s eyes widened, “I had assumed it was someone from the agency who had figured out what I was working on, but now with the same thing having happened to you, it appears I have more than one option. Either David is involved or whoever it is that now knows about my freelance investigation knows that I had been here as well.” He sighed heavily, knowing and voicing the one thing he knew for certain, “Either way, I cannot be more sorry about your involvement, Monica.”

“It isn’t your fault,” She replied firmly, sitting down next to him and exchanging a glance with Andrew to make sure he was in agreement. Seeing him nodding his head, she turned back to Paul, “I suppose that our paths were just supposed to cross once more and if that is the case, I am in no way sorry.”

A grin tugged at his lips, “Neither am I, to be honest. I kind of enjoyed having you both around,” He held out his hand to her, “Let’s see the wrist.” Taking her offered hand, he frowned at the deep bruise that her assignment had inflicted upon her last night and his frown deepened at the thought of her coming back here to a break in almost immediately afterwards, “How about I help you two finish cleaning up and then we see about a new lock for your door.”

She smiled, looking up at her best friend once more, “Andrew has already seen to the lock as well as a deadbolt, but if you want to help, it would be greatly appreciated. I can even fix lunch if you’re hungry.”

“Hmm, not ordering room service and seating alone?” He mused with a wink, “I think you may have a deal.”

Chapter 15

Paul and Andrew made short work of finishing up the cleaning in the living room and naturally gravitated to the kitchen to help Monica with lunch. Paul was soon joking about lunch being the safest meal for her to prepare as it didn’t require a stove. Andrew was surprised by the remark and wasn’t sure how Monica would take it. She glared at the agent for a split-second before bursting into laughter and Andrew realized that Paul’s teasing was probably exactly what she needed.

Paul was treating her like a kid sister, not like someone who needed to be on high alert for incoming danger. Andrew shook his head as a tiny smile crossed his lips. All of those years of protecting people and trying to set them at ease were certainly serving Paul well. It took her mind off of the assignment, and off of the fact that she was feeling extremely vulnerable.

Even a knock at the door failed to cause the usual startled reaction, although she did take a slight step backwards and let Andrew answer it.

“Anyone gonna let an old angel inside?” Tess said, just as Andrew opened the door. She looked around and noticed the table set for lunch and Paul standing protectively behind Monica’s right shoulder. “Well, looks like you didn’t need me for company, Miss. Wings,” she said with a grin. “You’ve got a little party going on already.”

She was surprised when Monica didn’t say anything and instead hurried to her side and wrapped her arms around her. “Now everything feels just right,” the little angel murmured.

Tess gave her a loving hug, but raised questioning eyes to Andrew and Paul. “Don’t tell me something else happened,” she said, wondering why she was always the last to know.

“We had a couple of break-ins last night, Tess,” Andrew said. Monica had only told him not to tell her supervisor about David’s actions at the bar. She hadn’t said anything about not telling her about the ransacked apartment.

“A couple?” Tess drew back to look into Monica’s face. “What on earth happened?”

“No real damage, Tess,” Paul supplied. “Unfortunately it looks like my work followed Monica home as well as me.”

Monica lowered her eyes. “We don’t know that for sure,” she said. “Maybe David broke into your place first and then came here… he could have left the picture as a warning.”

Paul wasn’t sure if it was the right time to tell everyone about the fact that all of his notes and pertinent files had been taken. He still had work to do, and maybe it was better for them to think that the break-in had just been caused by an angry drunk rather than a murderous criminal.

“You think David’s responsible?” Tess asked. “I just stopped by his apartment and Kristin said he was ‘sleeping it off’, but she didn’t mention how late he’d been out, and why would he go after Paul?”

There was silence as Tess looked at each of them, waiting for an answer. Andrew and Paul’s faces each held well-practiced blank expressions, and Monica was concentrating on the floor, hands clasped behind her back.

“I believe I asked a question. That means I expect an answer.” The tone heard so often when Tess was talking to a particularly stubborn assignment was now turned on Monica and the others.

“Alright,” Paul said, stepping forward. “I’m just going to say it.” He looked at Monica apologetically. “I’m sorry, Monica, but she’s obviously not going to accept silence for an explanation.”

Tess looked at the man expectantly. He had made her furious less than forty-eight hours ago, but there was something there that brought a smile to her heart as well. Of course she wasn’t about to let that smile show at the moment.

“David grabbed her last night and I pulled him off of her,” Paul said, deciding that the shorter the story, the better. “I guess that would qualify as a reason to dislike me, and I think we all know he’s had it in for Monica since she started on this crazy assignment.” He knew it wasn’t his place to question their work, but he couldn’t resist letting that smidgen of bitterness slip out.

Tess opted to ignore it, instead concentrating on her still silent charge. “Monica? You weren’t going to tell me?”

“You already saw what he’s like,” Monica replied. “It wasn’t really any worse than that, and it doesn’t change anything. I’m going to get through to him… it just may take a while…” she trailed off as she turned back towards the kitchen. “We’re just about to eat… let me just make another sandwich for you.”

Monica still hadn’t met her gaze and Tess looked to Andrew instead, her face hardening at the troubled look he was giving her. “I’ll give you a hand,” she said, following the little angel into the kitchen.

She stepped next to Monica and took a plate down from the cupboard, wishing that things didn’t have to be so hard. “I’m sorry things aren’t going any better, baby,” she said gently, “but you don’t have to hide that fact from me.”

Monica shrugged. “I know. I…”

Tess stopped her mid-sentence as she suddenly grabbed her hand and stared down at her wrist. “Did that man do this to you?”

“Yes,” was Monica’s simple reply.

Tess had a bag full of things she wanted to say, but she squelched her racing emotions. She could plainly see that Monica wasn’t in any frame of mind to relive what had happened.

“Well he should be glad it was Paul that stopped him and not me,” she declared.

The statement was made so seriously and with such loving and protective overtones that Monica felt tears pricked the backs of her eyes. “Thank you, Tess,” was all she said, and a tiny grin flitted across her face.

*****

Though reluctant, Paul had left Monica in Andrew and Tess’ capable hands once darkness had covered the city. He had a feeling that Tess had things she wanted to discuss with the Irish angel, though the matronly angel had carefully steered conversations away from David and anything else that might cause a flicker of pain to cross Monica’s face.

As he sat in the back of the taxi, he had to smile. Just as something in Monica reminded him of Lauren, something in Tess reminded him of himself. It was possibly her protective nature and her “no nonsense” tone of voice when she was seeking answers, but he also knew that beneath the tough exterior was a heart of pure gold and that despite their tumultuous discussion a few nights ago, Paul knew that he had a friend and ally in Tess.

As the taxi stopped in front of the FBI building, Paul paid the driver and muttered his thanks as he got out of the car and walked purposefully into the building, showing his badge to the security guard that was on duty inside the doors. He elected to take the stairs as to not risk running into someone in the elevator and he climbed them briskly up to the fourth floor before he quietly opened the door and glanced down the hall to make certain that no one was around.

He walked as lightly as he could, his sneakers making little noise this time as he struggled to make himself as unnoticeable as possible as he approached Mike’s office. By looking just under the door, he could tell that his friend’s office was dark and he turned the knob and pushed open the door, being careful to close it quietly behind him. Taking the tiny flashlight from his jacket pocket, he moved to the desk and opened the third drawer down. Reaching to the back of the drawer, he moved the keys to the file cabinet from their hiding place.

He and Mike had been friends for a long time, since the early days of Paul’s career with the agency and though he had many times seen Mike put those keys away, the younger agent had never considered that one day he would use that information to deceive someone he had always considered a friend. The problem was that Paul was quickly getting the feeling that turnabout was fair play.

He quickly opened the filing cabinet and fingered through the files until he found the names of the witnesses he needed, but in paging through the files, everything seemed to be in order with nothing out of the ordinary. He sighed impatiently as he returned the files to their rightful places and thumbed through the other files in the cabinet, looking for anything that his instincts might tell him was out of place, but he was coming up empty.

Closing the first drawer, he opened the second one and repeated his process, hesitating briefly when he came across a file marked “Financial/Personal” and he removed it from the cabinet. Holding the flashlight precariously between his teeth, he paged through the file that seemed to be laden with mortgage and car information. He was about to return it when he came across a bank statement and as his eyes skimmed the document, his brow furrowed.

Mike seemed to be taking in large deposits that were more than his paychecks, which were direct deposited and marked accordingly. The other sums were rather hefty, and appeared to be sporadic as he paged through several of the bank statements. Taking a small notepad out of his pocket, he jotted down the dates and the amounts in question, the process taking him several minutes, before he closed up the file and returned it to the drawer.

Satisfied that he at least now had something to pursue, he turned off his flashlight and put it back in his jacket, making a mental note to call Janice in the morning to see if she had gotten the flowers and if she would consider making him more copies of the files to see if the dates of these deposits corresponded with anything in them.

As he exited the office, Paul could only hope that the information would help him figure out who had broken into his hotel room and more importantly, Monica’s apartment.

*****

He cursed softly under his breath as he watched Paul vanish into the stairwell, now knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that the young agent was in over his head. It was a shame really. He liked Paul and he was a damn good agent, but now it was either Paul or him, and there was no way he was going to be the one to lose.

*****

Monica yawned sleepily as she rested up against Andrew’s shoulder, struggling to keep her eyes open and to keep up with the conversation that had been going back and forth between him and Tess. She felt her friend gently wrap his arm around her shoulders and a moment later, her eyes had slid shut as her head drooped to rest against his chest.

The blond angel smiled as he moved to stroke her hair tenderly as he looked over at Tess, “She’s wiped out, Tess. This entire ordeal has been exhausting for her.”

“I’m sure it has been, Angel Boy. Not that I’m questioning the Father’s plan, but I would certainly like to have a word or two with her assignment about her wrist…” Tess all but grumbled, as her eyes remained focused on the sleeping angel. The darkness beneath her eyes had yet to vanish from her days hiding from Douglas McArthur, and though she had been quicker to smile tonight, she had still been more on the quiet side then Tess felt was normal.

“Whatever you said to her in the kitchen this afternoon seemed to have put her more at ease,” He remarked with a small smile, having the feeling that Tess had been a bit more sympathetic and supportive of late. He knew that she had never meant to not be, but Monica had been feeling more than intimidated lately by feeling as if Tess didn’t think she was doing enough and he was glad that seemed to be resolved.

“I hope I was able to make her feel at least a little better,” Tess said, mouth turning slightly downwards. “Unfortunately I think it could be a little while before she’s completely comfortable with me again.” She shook her head sadly. “You were right about me pushing her too hard, and I guess our talk yesterday wasn’t enough to keep her from being afraid of me.”

“Tess, she’s not afraid of you,” Andrew disagreed, “she just doesn’t want to keep disappointing you.”

“Well from where I’m sitting it feels the same to me. I gave her a reason to stop coming to me with her problems, and I’m going to have to do a little extra work to get that back.”

Andrew looked from Tess’ determined expression to Monica’s sleeping form. “What makes me angry, is knowing that two months ago your pushing wouldn’t have bothered her at all. Sometimes it seems as if she’ll never be that confident, head-strong angel again. I know she’ll never be exactly the same… and neither will I… but the toll on her seems so much greater.”

Tess reached over and grasped Andrew’s hand tightly. “No, she won’t be the same… but we’ll all adjust, and in the end the Father will make her even more perfect in His sight.”

*****

Monica looked around, shaking her head and trying to blink the sleep from her eyes. She had been sound asleep, but something had woken her up. She looked around and saw the pale light stretching across the sky, the edges of dawn just starting to overtake the night. Andrew and Tess were gone she realized. She was tucked in her bed.

There it was again, a sound that Monica now recognized as frantic knocking. Without thinking about who it might be, she stumbled from her bed, pulling most of the bedding along, and causing Lucy to voice her irritation.

“I’m coming!” she called out, turning on lights as she made her way to the door. She was about to just throw back the locks and swing the door open but her sleepy mind cleared and a sense of fear clutched at her heart. “Who is it?” she asked, small body braced against the door as if to keep out any unwanted visitors.

“It’s Kristin. Please let me in, Monica.” The woman’s voice sounded scared and Monica’s eyes widened.

“Kristin, what happened?” she asked as soon as she had the door open. She held open her arms and pulled the woman inside, one arm around her waist as she led her to the sofa. “Are you alright? Is it the baby?”

Kristin was still dressed in a nightgown and robe and it was obvious she hadn’t wasted any time in leaving. She shook her head. “No… the baby’s fine. I just needed to get away.” The tears in her eyes and the paleness of her face struck Monica hard and she didn’t need to ask why Kristin needed to get out of her apartment.

“Did he hurt you?” she asked, staring into the woman’s face, knowing that she would be able to tell if she lied to her.

“No… he’s never done anything like that.”

“But he scared you.”

She nodded her head. “He just woke up and he was mad… I don’t know… maybe it was because he couldn’t drink yesterday… we didn’t have anything in the house and no place sells it on Sunday. I asked him if he was going down to the unemployment office. Tess said she’d be there and would try to help him,” she explained. “He just exploded. He started throwing things and saying he was sick of people trying to change him. I’d never seen him like that… I just couldn’t stay…”

Monica had a pretty good idea of how David had been acting. “You were right to leave,” she said reassuringly.

“But I love him,” Kristin insisted, tears threatening, “I love him and I don’t know how to help him.”

“Kristin, right now you have to just concentrate on making sure that you’re safe.” She took a deep breath, wondering how she could continue when she hardly believed what she was about to say. “David will come around, but you can’t help him if he doesn’t want to be helped. It may be hard, but I believe that God has a plan, and we just have to wait to see what it is.” She realized that she was almost repeating what Andrew had told her about being patient, and thought about how much easier it was to give that advice than to take it.

“But what do I do now? I know he’ll calm down… I just know it… and I know he would never hurt me,” Kristin was twisting her hands and her words tumbled out so quickly they were almost impossible to make sense of. “I can’t just stay up here forever. I’ll need to go back, and then what do I say?”

“If he’s as angry as you say, then I don’t think you should go back right now. He’ll leave and you can go back then. Maybe it will all just blow over by the time he comes back tonight,” Monica said hopefully.

“Right… right, of course. Yes… he never stays mad for very long…”

Monica picked up Kristin’s hands and stopped their nervous motion. “But Kristin… if he scares you again, you have to promise me you won’t stay down there. You come up here to my place, or down to Andrew’s… he’s in the manager’s apartment on the first floor.”

Kristin nodded, swallowing hard to contain her tears. Monica felt like crying herself, but at the same time she was at least thankful that she could be some help. Kristin pulled back one hand and rubbed it over her swollen belly.

“I never imagined that this was what my life was going to be like,” she whispered. “I keep holding onto a vision of the three of us in the park, sitting on a blanket in the sunshine and laughing.”

“That can still happen… don’t stop believing that,” Monica said gently. “I’m going to go make some coffee and toast. You just stay right where you are and relax.”

“Thank you, Monica… you’re such an angel.”

She could help but grin at that comment as she made her way into the kitchen, but an instant later it vanished.

“Kristin! Kristin, you open up this door! I know you’re in there with that damn wench from the bar!” The pounding that accompanied David’s shouts shook the door and rattled the pictures on the walls.

Monica ran back into the living room, grateful that she had locked the door again after letting Kristin inside. The pregnant woman was looking up at her, clearly terrified, her eyes asking her what she should do.

“Get in the bedroom,” she mouthed as she approached the door, trying to control her own trembling steps. “Father,” she whispered under her breath, “please forgive me for this lie.”

“Kristin!” The door shook again and Monica took a step back.

“She’s not here!” she shouted back. “Go away! She isn’t in here.”

“You think I believe that?” David’s voice was now low and dangerous. “You’d better open up before I break down this damn door. Or do you have your collection of boyfriends in there to protect you now?”

“I’m telling you, she’s not here, David. Please, just go home!”

The door knob rattled and then the door shook as David threw his weight against it. “Well if that’s true you don’t have anything to hide then, do you? Because if you’re lying then last night will look like a picnic compared to what I’ll do to you.”

The threat sent a chill through her and she jumped back as he slammed his weight against the door once again and she winced as the hinges began to pull away from the door frame. There was no question in her mind that he was going to get into the apartment, the only question unanswered was what was she going to do when he did?

Chapter 16

“Stop it, David or I’m calling the police!” She played her last card, hoping the threat would be enough to make him stop his violent acts, at least for the moment, but the only response was another slam to the door, causing the door to finally give way under his weight and she soon found his angry face towering over her.

“Where the hell is she?” He demanded, immediately grabbing her already bruised wrist in his hand and yanking her closer, almost wanting to laugh at the sheer terror in her dark eyes.

“I don’t know!” The little angel pleaded, praying that Andrew, Paul or even Tess would come through the door right about now, but it seemed her prayers were going unanswered.

“You do know!” He bellowed at her, causing a small whimper to escape Monica’s lips. His hand felt like a vice on her wrist and she briefly wondered if he could crush the bones if he took a notion to do so.

“I’m here, David.”

Kristin’s voice caused David to turn around, dragging Monica with him as he focused his dark eyes on his wife, “Kris, you need to go home while I take care of some unfinished business.”

“Let her go, David,” She pleaded, not missing the fear on Monica’s face, “I came to her and she has nothing to do with this.”

“She has everything to do with this,” He replied, his voice losing a little of its venom while speaking to his wife, “She and I need to have a little chat and then I’ll be home.”

“It’s fine, Kristin,” The sound of her own calm voice, startling her, Monica looked over at the young woman, hoping that she would indeed go, but anywhere but home and the angel was hoping to buy Kristin enough time to do just that, “I’ll be fine.”

Kristin clearly saw the look in her friend’s eyes that seemed to be urging her to get as far away from David as possible, but she was loathe to leave Monica with David at this moment. Her husband’s eyes held a fire she had never seen before and for the first time in her life she was truly afraid of him.

“Go and take care of yourself and your wee baby,” Monica stated calmly, looking at Kristin with a direct expression in her brown eyes, her only concern right now getting Kristin out of harm’s way, “He won’t hurt me…” She knew that was the second lie she had told this morning and the sun had yet to rise in the sky, “We’re only going to talk.”

Though Kristin was in no way that gullible, she knew that Monica had a point and the young human feared for her baby more than anything else. She also knew that there was no way she was going to walk out of this apartment and not find help for the little Irish female. She shot her husband a look that spoke of pleading for him not to hurt her friend, before she headed for what was left of the door, “Don’t be long, Dave. I think that you and I need to talk as well.”

He nodded his head, his eyes following his wife until she was out of sight in the hallway, before he turned his attention back to the angel he was still holding in his grasp and as soon as his focus was settled on her once more all pretense of gentleness left his eyes, “You lied to me!”

“She came here because she was afraid of what you might do to her, David,” Monica knew she was struggling to reason with the unreasonable, but she knew that she had to try, “She loves you enough to try to find help for you wherever she can.”

“So why didn’t you tell me she was here, huh?” He jerked her once more and she flinched in pain.

“Because I didn’t want to risk you hurting her,” Monica replied as calmly as she could manage, “She’s pregnant and-.”

His blow hit her with a force that sent her reeling, and caused her arm to be wrenched away from him, the pain in her wrist competing with the blow to her face as it twisted sharply. She stumbled, barely catching herself on the arm of the chair before she hit the floor as she struggled to clear her vision.

“Don’t you dare even insinuate that I would ever…EVER hurt my wife!” He all but screamed at her, his face red with rage.

Seeing that he was approaching again, Monica tried to brace herself even as she held her wrist close to her body with her left hand, “I’m sorry…I won’t…but David, if you’d just listen to me for a minute-.”

But listening was not what he had in mind as his fury seemed completely out of his control and his next blow caused her to taste blood as she stumbled, her head making contact with the coffee table as flashes of white light passed before her face. She knew she was not only fighting to stay conscious, but also to keep him from killing her, if that was even possible, “Please…” She uttered weakly, bringing a shaky hand to her forehead and feeling a sticky wetness that made her nearly feel sick to her stomach.

Grabbing her by the same wrist once more, a smirk on his face as she cried out in pain, he jerked her to her feet and brought his face close to hers, “This is your last warning, you got that? You stay away from me and you stay away from Kristin. Are we clear on that or do you need more of a reminder?”

“We’re…clear…” It took every bit of strength she had in her to say those words as she closed her eyes, knowing her assignment was over.

She had failed.

*****

Kristin raced down the steps as quickly as her pregnant body would allow her to until she reached the first floor. Breathing hard and struggling to catch her breath, she found the office door and pounded her fist against it frantically, never once letting up until she heard the lock turning on the other side.

Andrew’s hair was tousled and his sleepy eyes widened at the sight of the young woman who stood before him on the verge of tears, “Kristin? What is it? What’s wrong?” He reached for her hand in an attempt to pull her inside and out of the hallway, but she wrenched her arm away from him.

“You have to come now! It’s David…he’s out of control…he’s in Monica’s apartment…”

Her last words were enough to stop his heart, “Stay here,” He ordered firmly, barely waiting for her to nod her head before he was off and racing to the stairwell. His heart was in his throat and he found himself praying; not only for Monica’s safety but for himself as well as God would be the only one who could help him if that man had hurt the little angel.

He burst through the door on the third floor, the sight of Monica’s broken in door already breaking his heart. He should have stayed with her. He never should have left her alone last night. He berated himself with these thoughts as he ran to her apartment, the sight inside the living room chilling him and causing unbridled anger to flow through him.

She was hurt. Bleeding. Yet still the human had a grip on her and Andrew closed the distance between himself and David in two steps. His own hand on David’s arm held more strength than an army of angels as David’s eyes flew up to meet angry green eyes.

“Get your hands off of her. Now.” It was all he could do to keep himself from throwing the man against the wall and beating him within an inch of his life and he almost wished that Paul were here to do what he could not.

As David released her, Andrew caught her before she could slump to the floor, but his eyes quickly returned to David’s face, “Get out of my sight,” He demanded as he gently lowered Monica to the sofa, feeling her every pain filled breath with his very soul.

“I’ve about had it with you, pretty boy-“ David’s fist was drawn back, but one swift motion on Andrew’s part caught the human’s wrist in his hand, causing his eyes to grow wide at the sheer power behind that hand.

“I said get out of here. NOW!” Andrew knew that if David didn’t wise up and leave, that he would lose the little bit of control he was holding onto and do to him what he had wanted to do to McArthur and he found his heart praying that for once in his life, David would follow a simple direction.

“Gladly,” He all but spat in the angel’s face, before he turned and stalked out into the hallway.

#Andrew didn’t waste another second on him, turning all of his attention to the little angel. He quickly picked her up and hurried into the bedroom, setting her down on the bed before allowing himself to look at her injuries. One side of her face was red and already beginning to swell, while the cut above her left eye bled enough to make him wonder if she was going to need stitches.

"Monica," he called her name, hoping to bring her around. The fact that she was unconscious scared him more than anything else. "C’mon, Angel Girl… c’mon back. He’s gone, and he’s not coming back."

She still didn’t move, and Andrew was beginning to think that he was going to have to call for an ambulance. He had never dealt with anything even remotely like this. He had no idea if she would be healed like she had been in the park, or if conventional medicine would even have an effect on her.

"Please, Angel… please wake up," he begged.

Still not seeing any sign that she was coming to, he pushed himself up from his kneeling position next to the bed and rushed into the bathroom. He yanked open the medicine cabinet, sending the door slamming into the wall. With one motion he grabbed everything in his two hands without even bothering to look at what he was taking.

"Andrew!" her cry was feeble at best, but the blond angel heard it and ran back into the bedroom. He tossed everything onto the bed, eyes going instantly to Monica’s face.

"Monica, I’m here, you’re safe now," he assured her, seeing that her dark eyes were moving everywhere, as if expecting David to still be nearby waiting.

"Kristin was here… she was here…" suddenly telling the truth seemed to be of the utmost importance to her.

"I know, Angel. She came and got me. She’s in my apartment and she’s safe. I don’t even think David knows I work here."

"No… he can find her!" she tried to sit up and fell back with a moan as dizziness overcame her.

Andrew moved to sit next to her on the bed, and gently held her down by her shoulders. "Shhh… I promise you… she is okay. You’re hurt. You’re the one I need to take care of right now."

Her frightened eyes searched his face and saw only the calm and loving angel she knew so well. He would never lie to her and he would always protect her. She blinked slowly and when she opened her eyes again they were still pain-filled, but calmer.

Andrew noticed that change and breathed a sigh of relief. "I can see where he hit you," he said. "Did he hurt you anywhere else? Did he hit you in the stomach?" his own stomach clenched at even the thought but he knew he had to ask. A man David’s size could easily cause internal injuries with even a single blow.

She shook her head, but then moved her injured wrist onto her chest. "He grabbed my wrist again," she admitted tearfully.

He glanced down and saw that it was now painfully swollen looking. He closed his eyes, saying a very quick prayer for patience because at the moment it was taking everything he had not to race out the door and track David down.

"Okay, sweetie. It looks like it’s probably sprained but right now I’m more worried about your head."

"I’m bleeding," she said, almost like a child who couldn’t quite believe it.

"Yes you are, but I’m going to take care of that in just a second."

Andrew scanned over the multitude of things he had brought from the bathroom, looking for anything useful. He found a few gauze pads and the ointment she had used on her hand after that first awful night at the bar. He started dabbing at the cut with one of the pads, steeling himself towards the little flinches she made each time he touched it. Unfortunately it didn’t look like the pad was going to quite do the job. He pulled back and looked down into her dark eyes.

"I need to go get some water and a cloth. I’m just going to be a second. Everything’s fine."

She nodded hesitantly. "Just for a second?"

"I promise."

Andrew ran across the hall and into the bathroom again, quickly grabbing a towel from under the sink and running it under the faucet. He was gone for less than a minute but it felt like far too long for both of them. He could see her trying to control her breathing and her pounding heart as he entered the room.

"Back again. Now let me take another look at that." He sat down and carefully used the wet towel to wipe away all of the blood until he could see exactly how big the cut was. He felt his own pounding heart begin to slow when he found that it wasn’t as deep as he had feared.

"It’s not that bad, Monica. I’ll get it fixed up for you in no time."

She didn’t say anything, and her silence was almost as frightening as the blank stare that had taken residence on her face. Andrew knew he couldn’t even begin to really comfort her until he had taken care of her injuries, and he forced himself to look away from her eyes. It only took another minute to bandage the cut and then it was another trip out of the room to gather ice and more towels to wrap it in. Finally, with one makeshift icepack against her cheek and another on her wrist, Andrew was relatively satisfied that she would be alright.

Now came the hard part; taking care of her heart.

"Monica? I think I’ve taken care of everything. Is there anyplace I missed?"

She shook her head, but his careful eyes caught the slight trace of red at the corner of her mouth and he wiped it away with the already bloody towel. Her teeth must have cut the inside of her cheek when he hit her, he guessed as he struggled to keep his breathing even and slow. The surge of adrenaline should have passed, but he felt like it surged stronger with every thought of the man who had hurt her. He gritted his teeth. He wanted so badly to have just five minutes in a room alone with him, but as an angel those were not thoughts he should be entertaining, and with Monica lying before him, those were not thoughts he could afford to have. At the moment, she needed him to comfort her, not avenge her.

He very carefully stroked the side of her face, willing her to meet his eyes. She did, but he hated what he saw. Her dark eyes were as dull and lifeless as they had ever been when McArthur had been hunting her.

"Angel, I don’t even want to know what happened before I got here. I know enough. I just want to hold you now and help you. Would that be alright?" He was almost afraid that she would shake her head and try to send him away although there was no way he was going to allow that.

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as she nodded vehemently and started to lean forward to allow him to slip in behind her. The tears that had pooled at the bottom of her eyes finally spilled over at the sharp pain that passed through her head, but Andrew had his gentle hands behind her back before she even had to ask.

"Let me do everything," he told her as he slowly inched her forward and slipped onto the bed. He was half underneath her with her head nestled on his chest. He took the icepack she was holding in her shaking fingers and placed it lightly against her face once more.

"It’s over," she whispered, and Andrew’s heart clenched. Her first words weren’t even about herself. They were about her assignment.

"That doesn’t matter," he insisted as he wrapped his other arm around her thin shoulders. "I don’t want you to even think about it. I just want you to concentrate on the fact that I’m here and you’re safe."

She closed her eyes for a moment but quickly opened them again. "What if I can’t stop thinking about it?" she whispered. "It’s just like before… I keep seeing him come after me, and I can’t stop him."

Andrew didn’t need to ask what ‘before’ time she was referring to, he just held her closer. "You did stop him. You stopped him from hurting Kristin."

"But I couldn’t protect myself." Her eyes grew wide once more, "and I lied to him… I told him Kristin wasn’t here… God…"

Andrew stopped her. "Monica, do you really think that God thinks less of you for doing that?"

She closed her eyes and a few more tears slipped out. "It’s just one more thing I’ve done wrong."

"Angel, no. Please don’t think that way. You’ve done the best you could. No one can fault you for how things have turned out. No one." He dipped his head a kissed her forehead as a mix of angry and sympathetic tears rose behind his eyes and he blinked them away. "Monica, I am just grateful that you’re alright. When Kristin burst into my place… I don’t think I’ve ever been more afraid. I shouldn’t have left you last night. I’m so sorry I left you alone."

Monica looked up, startled by the amount of grief and self-reproach she saw in Andrew’s face. "Don’t say that. You have always been exactly where I needed you. You’re here right now, aren’t you?"

He glanced down and met her wide eyed gaze. His guilt wasn’t something she needed to deal with. He was supposed to be helping her. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her long hair.

"Yes, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere."

There was a moment of silence before Monica spoke again. "What if I said I wanted to go Home? Would you come with me?"

"Monica…"

"Please, Andrew," she murmured. "There’s nothing here for me now. I want to go Home and forget any of this happened. I want to go Home and stay there this time."

“Angel…” He was at a loss for words. Frankly he wanted to get her as far as possible from harm’s way himself, but if she ran now she would never be able to accept that there was still some goodness to be found on earth. "I think maybe you should wait and see what happens first. Even if David won’t come around now, there’s still Kristin. She looks to you for guidance."

"She shouldn’t bother. I don’t have any to give. I’m useless here, Andrew."

"I don’t ever want to hear you say that again." His voice grew stern. "No matter what happens you cannot believe that."

"But I’ve failed, Andrew… I’ve failed again… everyone is going to know that… Tess… God…"

"Monica, everyone is going to know that you were thrown into something that the strongest angel would have problems with, and everyone is going to hold you and love you the way I am right now."

Her hot tears trickled down her cheeks and she turned and buried her face in his chest. "Oh Andrew… I love you so much…"

"You can’t possibly love me more than I love you at this very moment," he whispered, "and that love is never going away. You are safe and you are loved. I want you to rest now and not think about anything except that."

He felt her nod and continued to tenderly stroke her hair, his eyes tracing the lines of her face as it slowly relaxed into sleep. He ran his fingers slowly and gently up against her swollen wrist, as it laid across his chest and he repositioned the ice pack on it, his heart clenching in anger once more as she flinched in sleep.

His desire to hurt David was not fading and the longer he gazed at his friend, the more intense the feeling became. He pondered the fact that McArthur had never caused her physical pain, but his feelings for both men rivaled each other and the realization struck him that he hadn’t gotten over his anger at McArthur, he had only redirected it at David.