Stand By Me

A/N: This is one of my first serious attempts at a TBAA story. I actually got into the show when it was replaying on the Hallmark channel, and got through the last couple of seasons before they took it off the air. Hopefully I saw enough that everyone is in character. Also, while I have my favorite angels, I try to spread the section point of views out evenly. So while this prologue is from Gloria's POV, there will also be Andrew sections, Tess sections, and so on.

After watching a heart-wrenching documentary of the September 11 attacks, I decided I needed to write something about its aftermath. My heart goes out to all those who were affected by the tragedy.

Gloria sat on the windowsill of a kindergarten classroom, watching as five-year-old children ran around the room. It was play time for the next twenty minutes. Children colored at their desks, played dress up in one corner, dolls in the other, or played house. The only adult in sight was a young woman teacher, who went around checking on all the students.

Excitement bubbled up inside Gloria, so much so that she had to keep herself from kicking her heels against the wall they sat on. She'd already done that once, and Tess had sent her one of those "looks." But Gloria couldn't help herself. She loved working with children. In some aspects she was one, since she was only "born" a few years ago. But she wasn't here to play – she was here to work.

"They're all so cute, aren't they?" Gloria remarked. She was sitting next to Monica, who was standing and also surveying the scene. Tess stood next to her, wearing a much less enchanted expression than the other two.

Monica nodded in agreement. "Yes. Innocent, every one of them, with no idea of the wonders, and horrors, they will one day experience. It's a time in a human's life that should be cherished."

"Not all lives are so uncorrupted though," Tess said, giving a heavy sigh.

Gloria and Monica stared at her. Well, first Gloria stared at her own supervisor. "Monica, what is she talking about?"

"I'm not sure," Monica admitted. "I just know that we're going to be teaching this class very soon. Me as the teacher, you as my helper."

"Really? We're going to be working together?" Gloria squealed. This was turning out to be a great assignment. First she got to work with children, and now she got to stay close to her favorite angel.

Monica smiled. "Yes, I'm excited too. Our assignment is that little boy. Well, yours," she amended, pointing out a little boy sitting by himself, coloring a picture. He was dressed in clean jeans and a t-shirt. Shaggy brown hair fell over green eyes that were deepened in concentration on the picture. "His name is Chris Jameson. This is his first year of school, and he's very shy. Mostly because his mother hasn't taught him to socialize with other children on his own. My assignment is his mother, Daphne, but…I don't know why yet."

"I'll fill you in, Angel Girl," Tess offered. "His father, also Chris, was a businessman. He worked in the World Trade Center."

Gloria gasped, along with Monica. She hadn't been assigned to the attack sight, because she'd just been born, but she heard stories about it from the older angels. "Oh no, Tess, you mean that little boy's father…"

"Yes, baby," Tess replied, sadness in her tone. "Daphne was pregnant with Chris when the towers came down. She was left to raise him on her own…and hasn't handled it well so far. Chris Sr.'s body was never found, and she never had closure. The first year she spent grieving. Then when the baby was born, she clung on to the only piece of her husband she had left…his son. Her life became so focused around Chris that she's separated herself from her family, who kept insisting she needs counseling.

"This assignment comes in three parts. Gloria, you will help the boy overcome his shyness and the loss of his father. It didn't bother him so much before, but now that he's in school, he's beginning to wonder why he doesn't have a father, like all the other children do. He knows his father passed away, but doesn't quite grasp what that means.

"Monica, you are assigned to Daphne, to help her see her overprotective tendencies, and convince her that her and Chris need professional help. Me, I'm going to be a neighbor, someone who wants to create a 9/11 memorial in the neighborhood. I'm going to help her realize she can't keep her grief bottled up inside, that she needs to share her story so others can heal too."

Wiping a tear from her eye, Gloria reflected on the news. How could someone so innocent be affect by something so…malicious? It didn't seem possible, but she knew that unfortunately on Earth, those types of things were very possible.

Monica spoke after a moment. "Is Andrew working with us?"

"In a little while. For now he's assigned to Daphne's twin brother, Jacob, and the rest of her family, including her mother and father. I'm not sure what he's doing, but I'm sure we'll be seeing him soon," Tess assured her.

Now having shared all the important information, the three went back to observing the group. Gloria's gaze fell on a little girl playing dolls with her classmates. The blonde-haired girl kept staring in the angels' direction. Finally, the child got up and walked over to them, a doll in hand. Holding it out to Gloria, she offered, "Do you want to play?"

"O-of course," Gloria replied, confused. The three angels were supposed to be invisible to the human eye. As she was pulled in the direction of the doll house, she sent a helpless look in her superior's direction. "Why can she see me?"

The two older angels laughed as they joined Gloria and the young girl. "She's a child, Gloria," Monica explained. "Often, children can see us when older humans can't. It's part of their willingness to see what shouldn't be able to be seen."

"Oh, in that case…" Gloria trailed off, smiling at the young girl.

The girl held up a pretend kettle. The dolls were arranged in a circle for a tea party. "Do you want some tea?"

Gloria chuckled. "Sure, I'd love some."