"All of these babies are so cute, Tess!"
Surrounded by a most pleasant and innocent ambience, Tess and Monica, two hard-working angels visited the maternity ward of the Saint Maria Hospital in Northern Virginia. They looked through the glass at the many newborns, and Monica gave them all friendly stares, welcoming them into the world.
"They are," Tess agreed cheerily. "They really are."
"Look at that one," Monica chuckled. "He has the reddest hair I've ever seen! He must be of Irish descent. That's lovely."
"People are people, Miss Wings," Tess reminded gently. "You can't have a preference for Irish people just because God gave you red hair and an accent."
"I know, Tess," Monica assured, still staring at the crying babies behind the glass.
Suddenly, a blond man with a somber expression came out of the one of the hospital rooms nearby. He joined Monica and Tess by the observation glass, his gloomy atmosphere brutally cutting into the joyful one already established.
Monica slowly turned to face the man as a bittersweet frown came upon her face. Her eyes observed him sadly.
"Andrew, why are you here?" she asked, though her eyes insisted that she already knew the answer.
"I just took a stillborn," he sighed quietly. "Gosh, it's already 2006, and they still can't save every single baby."
"We know that being the Angel of Death is hard," Tess grimaced, putting her hand on Andrew's shoulder.
"It can be," he agreed grimly. "But that bouncing baby boy is in his Father's arms now."
Just as Andrew finished his last few words, a man came out of the same hospital room Andrew did. The man had a chilling look on his face, and sweat was all across his forehead and cheeks. He wore a doctor's uniform, a tight blue cap, and long, latex gloves that were covered with blood.
"My baby! How could you do this!" A woman's distressed screams came from the room, and the doctor looked back at the doorway anxiously. Tears filled up his eyes, and he leaned against the wall outside the room.
"Is that the doctor?" Monica asked worriedly, staring at the doctor with wide eyes. "Did he deliver the stillborn?"
"Yes," Andrew frowned. "And he is feeling terribly guilty."
"But why should he?" Monica questioned, giving Tess an imploring glance. "It wasn't his fault that the baby died, was it? It is all in God's plan, right?"
"Well, of course," Andrew answered slowly. "And something good will come out of this, I'm sure of it. But, right now, he can't erase that baby's face from his mind. And I may just have to stick around with him for tonight."
"You mean suicide?" Monica's voice was as cold as ice as she stared at the doctor. She observed the complete sorrow on the man's face as Tess grabbed her hand.
"Monica, guilt can haunt people for a very long time," Tess explained gently. "And it can make them do crazy things. But God sent Jesus here to take away all guilt from the hearts of the people. And we can help by delivering His messages."
"Is he my next assignment?" Monica asked, an eagerness in her voice.
"No, you'll meet her soon," Tess assured, turning Monica back to the observation glass. "And there has already been an angel assigned to that man. Ah, look at that baby they're bringing in now."
A new born was carried into the room behind the glass by a calm, affectionate nurse. She placed the baby in a cradle directly behind the glass, in perfect view of the three angels.
"Well, look at those pretty blue eyes and that blond hair," Tess beamed. "Isn't she beautiful?"
Monica was silent as she frequently glanced over at the weeping doctor down the hall. Her attention was obviously compromised, but Tess wasn't one to allow for distracted angels.
"Is she not your cup of tea, Miss Wings?" Tess questioned sternly. "Just because she's not obviously Irish doesn't mean you shouldn't take interest in this little baby here."
Just as Tess had intended, Monica gave a repentant grin towards Tess before she started to observe this blond baby before her. And as she looked at the baby, her eyes lit up.
"Goodness, she is beautiful," Monica smiled. "She is adorable!"
"Her name is Allison Christmas Kingston," Tess informed excitedly.
"Christmas?" Monica asked. "Well, that is an odd middle name for a wee baby, is it not?"
"It was an odd first name for her grandmother," Tess smirked happily. "But she got by with a nickname."
Monica's whole body froze. She turned to face Tess, a stern, confused look upon her face. As Tess continued to grin all the more, a smile started to form across Monica's mouth.
"Tess, you couldn't be talking about…Chrissy Snow, could you?"
"Chrissy Snow from Santa Monica?" Tess suggested mysteriously. "The one who roomed with Jack Tripper and Janet Wood? Well, I am. I definitely am."
"Oh, Tess!" Monica exclaimed, starting to jump up and down. "Tess, I'm going to see Chrissy again? This is amazing! I can hardly believe this!"
"Well, believe it, angel girl," Tess beamed. "And, you may feel a bit honored when I tell you that little Allison's mother's name is, in fact, Monica."
"Chrissy named the baby after me?" Monica questioned blissfully. "That is wonderful!"
"Oh, well, if it isn't the Trippers," Tess noted, her eyes trailing behind Monica.
A piercing exclamation of joy filled the hospital's halls as Monica turned around to see Jack and Brooke Tripper observing her with immense surprise. The elated angel ran over to her old friends and embraced them eagerly.
"Monica, is it really you?" Brooke asked, grabbing onto Monica's arms and looking over the angel's face. "It can't be. Oh, it must be!"
"It's me!" Monica insisted cheerily. "And it's you! Goodness, Brooke, Jack, I've missed you both so much!"
"And you haven't aged a bit," Brooke observed enviously. "Why, I have to go in to the beauty salon ever month to have my gray hairs touched up!"
"You still look beautiful, honey," Jack whispered to Brooke. "But, Monica, you do look exactly the same."
Monica nervously blushed and gave Brooke a worried look. Brooke just laughed and took Monica's hand.
"I hope you don't mind," Brooke started, "but I ended up telling Jack about your…occupation."
"Oh, I don't mind at all!" Monica chuckled, a relieved expression upon her face. "As long as it brought you closer together."
"Well, we got married," Jack informed happily.
"Of course!" Monica exclaimed. "How has life been for you?"
"We just sent our youngest boy John off to college in Massachusetts," Brooke told with a bit of nervousness. "He's going to Berklee School of Music!"
"And Brian, our oldest is in Harvard law school," Jack stated proudly.
"Christina is about to finish her pre-med from UCLA," Brooke continued. "She's going to eventually become a pediatrician. It's so exciting!"
"I'm so happy I've run into you guys again!" Monica beamed. "Have you come to see the baby?"
"Oh, yes," Brooke sighed as if she had just remembered something important. "Yes, we had better do that, Jack."
"Hey, Chrissy is in room number 316 with Monica, Michael and Alex," Jack said, looking at Monica. "I'm sure she would love to see you."
"And I would love to see her," Monica grinned. "Go, see the baby. I'll go see Chrissy. Wow, I'm going to see Chrissy! This is incredible!"
An excited Monica left Jack and Brooke to find room 316. She peeked her head inside, looking as innocent as a child. Inside, a new, exhausted mother lie on a bed with a young man by her side, holding her hand tenderly. At the foot of the bed was an older man standing beside a familiar blue-eyed blond, whose harmless smile lit up the whole room.
"Halloo," Monica greeted, slowly walking into room. "My name is Monica."
"Monica!" Chrissy shouted, her stunned eyes examining the angel frivolously. "Monica, my gosh, it's you!"
"Yes," Monica grinned merrily.
"Oh, Monica!" Chrissy exclaimed, rushing over to Monica and wrapping her arms around her. "I've missed you so much! It's been so long!"
"It certainly has!" Monica agreed quickly. "Twenty-seven years usually doesn't seem too long for me. But I guess missing you made the years a whole lot slower."
"Monica!" Chrissy smiled, looking at the young woman in the bed. "This is my old friend Monica, your namesake."
"It's wonderful to meet you," the new mother insisted enthusiastically. "I've heard so many good things about you. My mom said you actually saved her life."
"It is an honor to finally know you," the older man at the foot of the bed told, shaking Monica's hand. "I'm Chrissy's husband Alex. You really helped my wife."
"Oh, Chrissy, you got married," Monica chuckled happily. "That's wonderful."
"And this is my son-in-law Michael," Chrissy introduced, gesturing to the content looking man holding the young mother's hand.
"It's great to meet you," Michael said, obviously still flustered about his daughter being born.
"This is our first grandbaby," Chrissy informed excitedly. "We're all a little shaken up about her."
"I saw her down the hall," Monica smirked. "She is a beautiful baby."
"Thank you," Michael replied happily.
Suddenly, a young blond woman entered the room. Her eyes were wide and excited and showed that she was obviously running on quite a bit of coffee. She wore a smart, professional outfit, as well as an FBI badge hanging from the bottom of her blazer.
"JJ!" Monica, Chrissy's daughter, beckoned the entering woman towards her. They shared a quick hug while JJ caught her breath.
"Gosh, Monica, I'm sorry I'm late," JJ started with a long sigh. "We just got off the plane an hour ago, and I rushed in from Quantico as fast as I could."
"I'm just glad you could make it," the new mother smiled. "Those cases take you away from me a lot, you know."
"Well, I've got to be here for my goddaughter," JJ grinned.
"We'll let you girls chat," Chrissy said quickly, rushing her angel friend out of the room.
When they were alone, Chrissy gave Monica another hug and squealed like a little girl. "Goodness, Monica, how could it really be you?"
"I've got a case here in Virginia," Monica informed. "Actually, I'm curious to know how you, Jack, and Brooke ended up in Virginia. And where is Janet?"
"Well, Jack and Brooke got married and decided to move here to be close to Brooke's parents," Chrissy explained. "And I moved along with them so that Monica could have a father-figure in Jack. And I met Alex here, and we got married. As for Janet, she stayed in Santa Monica, got married, and then moved to Ohio, where she opened up her own flower shop."
"Wow," Monica sighed. "That's incredible that of all places I could be assigned, it would be here in Virginia. I'm so glad to see you, Chrissy!"
"I've truly missed you, Monica," Chrissy assured, giving Monica another hug. "Hey, how did you know Jack and Brooke were here too?"
"They came by the window when I was there just a few minutes ago," Monica enlightened. "They're actually looking at the baby now."
"Oh, yes, they stopped by the room," Chrissy laughed. "Monica, do you have to leave?"
"I'm afraid so," Monica admitted sheepishly. "I have a job to do."
"Alright." Chrissy's eyes turned a deeper blue as tears formed on them. It appeared the new grandmother would surely start to cry, but she only smiled brightly. Her joyful expression lit up the hall, and she squeezed Monica's hand. "Go do angel things, my friend."
"I will." A bittersweet grin eroded on Monica's face. But God gave her a comfort in knowing she would see her friends again. She started down the hall towards Tess and anticipated her newest challenge that God had awarded her. Her heart longed to serve.