DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the characters from Touched by an Angel. They belong to CBS. I do however own Cornelia's daughter, Celine Rose as well as any other OC you don't recognize.
Enjoy!
Remember, God loves you!
A/N: This story is just writing itself. GOL! Here is the next chapter. I hope everyone likes it!
Chapter 3-The Secret Comes Out
"Love Can Move Mountains"
Gloria smiled as she went to check on Celine a few hours later. She had agreed to stay at the house, since Celine was her assignment. She didn't mind this at all and Monica wouldn't be that far away. She was staying with Audrey until the assignment was over with.
Audrey had happily agreed to let Monica stay with her. The two had stayed up late into the night, talking about things and Audrey briefed Monica on how her new life was going. Audrey had taken up writing songs again, which had helped her pay some of her overdue bills. But after that was done, she continued writing just for the pure joy she got from it.
As Gloria stood next to Celine's bed, she gently stroked Celine's hair gently before patting her shoulder. She wasn't even aware that she had started to glow with God's love until someone alerted her to that very fact.
"Gloria?" Celine asked, half asleep. "Gloria, why are you…what's that light around you?"
"Shh, shh, it's okay, sweetheart. It's all right, go back to sleep. I was just checking on you." Gloria told her, praying that Celine would forget what she had seen the next morning.
Celine mumbled something else before rolling over and falling back to sleep to the sound of Gloria singing to her.
Gloria stayed until Celine was completely in dreamland once again. She only hoped and prayed that Celine didn't remember what she had seen come morning. But Gloria knew that kids had the capacity to sense angels around them, even when adults couldn't. Gloria thanked the Father that Cornelia already knew that Monica was an angel, which would hopefully make Gloria's revelation easier on her when Gloria did reveal herself.
"Sweet dreams, little one." Gloria said, before leaving Celine's room for the night. "You're such a sweet little cherub." With that, Gloria left, hoping and praying that she wasn't in trouble.
The next morning, Gloria met Cornelia in the dining room for breakfast. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night, due to worrying about what Celine had seen and if she would be able to keep it a secret.
"Good morning, Gloria." Cornelia greeted, giving Gloria a warm smile. "Did you sleep okay?"
Gloria shrugged.
"Somewhat. Where's Monica?"
"She'll be by later. She and Audrey are going to…they're going somewhere and then she'll be by." With that, Cornelia went back to making breakfast.
Gloria could sense the pain in Cornelia's voice and she had a feeling she knew what it was about.
Monica had told Gloria all about Petey and how close he and Cornelia had been.
But as Gloria was about to ask Cornelia a question, she reminded herself that Celine was her assignment, not Cornelia.
Just then, Celine ran into the room. She gave her mother a kiss and hug before coming over and giving Gloria the same thing. She climbed into Gloria's lap and snuggled in for a cuddle.
Once Celine was comfortable, she whispered into Gloria's right ear.
"Don't worry, Gloria. I won't tell Mommy you're an angel. I'm good at keeping secrets."
Gloria nodded, taken aback by the child's words. She hadn't expected Celine to figure it out this soon. But as Gloria thought about it, she reminded herself that if the Father had a problem with it, He wouldn't have allowed it to happen. This alone comforted Gloria and made her heartbeat slow down considerably.
"I hope you like pancakes." Cornelia said, putting them in front of Gloria. "It's Celine's favorite breakfast."
"Yup! It sure is!" Celine confirmed, smiling from ear to ear. She jumped off Gloria's lap and ran to her seat that was straight across from Gloria's. She reached across the table and took Gloria's hand, ready to thank God for the meal.
Cornelia smiled at her daughter as she went to the stove to get herself some breakfast.
"Mommy, come on." Celine beckoned. "Come and pray with me and Gloria."
Cornelia gave Celine a small smile, but went back to her task.
"You two pray. It's all right. I'll be right there."
Celine frowned before turning her attention back to Gloria.
"Mommy doesn't like to pray a lot."
Gloria nodded, showing Celine she had heard her.
"Do you want to say the blessing, honey?" Gloria offered, taking Celine's hand once again.
Celine nodded. She bowed her head and closed her eyes, squeezing Gloria's hand gently.
"God, I want to thank you for this food and thank you for my new friend, Gloria. I hope we can be friends for a long time and I pray Gloria will be able to help us. Amen." With that, Celine started to eat.
Gloria grinned at the little girl from across the table. She had found Celine's prayer sweet and cute.
After breakfast was over, Cornelia and Gloria did the dishes while Celine stayed in the kitchen and drew a picture for Gloria.
Once the dishes were done, Cornelia told Celine it was time to get ready.
"Can Gloria help me, please? I want to show her my new outfit you bought me." Celine asked, hoping her mother would go for it.
Again, Cornelia looked somewhat uncomfortable with the idea.
"Celine, sweetheart, you're a big girl now. You can get ready by yourself. And if you wear the new outfit Mommy bought you, then Gloria can see it. Hmmm? Go on, honey. Gloria can braid your hair after you're done."
This seemed to satisfy Celine and she left to do so.
After Celine was gone, Cornelia turned to Gloria. She gave the angel an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry about Celine. Once she attaches herself to someone new, she wants them to help her with everything."
Gloria shook her head to show Cornelia it wasn't a problem.
"It's okay." Gloria told her, sincerely. "I don't mind. I LOVE taking care of kids. It's one of my favorite parts of my job. I enjoy spending time with Celine. She's a sweet girl."
"I can't argue with you there." Cornelia said, smiling over to where her daughter's room was. She then turned her attention to Gloria. "Would you like something to drink?"
"Do you have lemonade?" Gloria asked, hopefully.
"I think we do. I'll be right back." Cornelia said. With that she was gone.
Once Cornelia was out of sight, Gloria left the room. She had to use the bathroom and she wanted to check on Celine. She knew something was going on and she was determined to figure it out here and now.
Gloria found the bathroom with no problem. After she was done, she went in search of Celine's room.
As Gloria approached it, she heard Cornelia call to her from the living room.
"Gloria! The lemonade's done!"
"All right. I'll be right there. I'm just going to braid Celine's hair. We'll be out in a minute."
"Okay!" Cornelia called back.
Gloria sighed with relief when she found Celine's room. She knocked before going in, just in case Celine wasn't done getting dressed yet.
"Celine? Celine, it's Gloria, honey. Can I come in?"
"Sure!" Celine called back.
Gloria opened the door and stepped into the room. She smiled when she saw the rainbows and stars covering the walls. There was a pink and blue carpet on the floor and a desk sat in the far right corner of the room.
A book shelf with books and various stuffed animals was on the left of the desk.
"This is a nice room." Gloria commented, sitting down on Celine's chair. "Is it okay if I sit here?"
Celine glanced up and nodded.
"Uh-huh. I don't mind. So can you braid my hair, please?"
"Sure. Come here. Come and sit right here." Gloria said, pointing to a spot directly in front of her.
Celine obliged. She gave Gloria a brush and a blue ponytail holder before sitting directly in front of her.
"There you go." Celine said, making herself comfortable in front of Gloria.
"Thank you." Gloria replied, before starting to braid Celine's long, dark blond hair.
"You're welcome." Celine said, closing her eyes in contentment. She enjoyed when her mother or Aunt Audrey did her hair. It always relaxed her for some reason.
As Gloria continued to work on Celine's braid, she posed a question to the little girl.
"So where's the new outfit you wanted to show me?" Gloria asked, curiosity in her tone.
Celine pointed to a pink and blue jumpsuit sitting on her dresser.
"Over there. Blue and pink are my favorite colors. I like purple too."
Gloria nodded.
"I like blue and pink too." She said, making Celine smile from ear to ear.
A few minutes of silence passed before Celine broke it.
"I meant what I said at breakfast. I won't tell anyone you're an angel. I'm really good at keeping secrets."
"You are?" Gloria asked as she snapped the ponytail holder around Celine's finished braid. "There you go. All done."
"Thanks!" Celine said, turning around and giving Gloria a hug.
"Aw, you're welcome, sweetheart." Gloria hugged the child back before pulling away a minute or so later. "So you're good at keeping secrets, huh?"
Celine nodded.
"Yup. But sometimes, I wish I didn't have to keep them."
Gloria nodded. She didn't like where this conversation was going, but she knew if God was giving her the opportunity to talk to Celine, she had to take it.
"Celine, honey, what kinds of secrets do you wish you didn't have to keep?" Gloria asked, hoping Celine would talk to her.
Celine hesitated slightly. She did trust Gloria, but she didn't want to get in trouble with her mother. But a much bigger part of Celine wanted to tell someone. She wanted to get help for her and her Mom and she also wanted to stop wearing long sleeves in the summertime.
"You can talk to me about anything." Gloria assured the little girl. "I promise I won't get mad at you. I'm a good listener too. And I'll try my best to help you."
Celine nodded. She gazed up at Gloria and that's when she felt it. The moment she had locked eyes with the angel, she knew she could tell Gloria what was going on.
But just as Celine was about to open her mouth, she sighed instead.
"What? What is it, sweetie?" Gloria asked, concern in her eyes as well as her tone. "You can tell me."
"I hate wearing long sleeves." Celine confided in Gloria. "It's so hot out, but Mommy makes me wear them anyway."
"Why?" Gloria asked, praying Celine would trust her enough to talk to her about whatever was going on.
Celine took a deep breath before explaining the whole story to Gloria. She came over to her and gave her a desperate look.
"You can't let Mommy know I told you." Celine pleaded.
"Okay, all right." Gloria said, not sure she would be able to keep that promise, but praying she would at least be able to help Celine with whatever was going on.
"Okay. This is why Mommy wants me to wear long sleeves." With that, Celine lifted up her right sleeve until her peach colored skin was visible.
Gloria gasped at the sight before her. Celine's arm was covered in bruises!
Gloria tried to recover herself so that Celine wouldn't become afraid.
When Gloria did regain her senses, she pulled Celine close and gave her a hug full of nothing but love and compassion.
"Celine, sweetheart, who did this to you? Did they hurt your Mom too? I want to help you, but I can't unless you tell me." Gloria said, her voice full of urgency.
Celine took a deep breath. She had started to cry from relief and fear and Gloria could only hold her and assure her that everything was going to be okay.
"Shh, shh, it's okay, Celine. It's all right. SHh, hush. You're gonna be okay. I'm here. I have you. It's okay."
Celine shook her head as she tried to compose herself. She was clinging to Gloria as though her world was coming to an end. At the same time, she was trying to calm down. She didn't want her mother to see her crying. If Cornelia saw that Celine was upset, she would get suspicious and Celine didn't want her to find out what she had done.
"Celine, who did this to you?" Gloria repeated, while stroking Celine's hair and rubbing her back, trying to calm her down. "You have to tell me, sweetheart. I want to help you, but I need to know who did this to you."
Celine let out a sob as she buried her face in Gloria's shoulder for protection and comfort.
Before Celine could answer, another voice did it for her.
"She fell." Cornelia replied, her voice as calm as it could be, given the circumstances. She wasn't mad at Celine, she just didn't want anyone finding out her secret.
Celine shook her head as more tears streamed down her face. She turned around to face her mother and glared at her.
"That's not true!" Celine practically yelled. She then turned to Gloria once again. "It's not true! I didn't fall."
"Then what happened?" Gloria asked, praying Celine would tell her the truth this time. She wanted to help her, but she couldn't unless she knew the whole story.
"Please." Gloria said, pleadingly, turning her brown eyes on Cornelia. "I want to help you both, but I can't unless I know the truth."
Cornelia shook her head, but Celine stood her ground. She was tired of running. She was tired of being afraid all the time. She was tired of it all. And if her Mom wasn't going to tell the truth and get help, then Celine would do it for her.
"My Daddy hurt us!" Celine confessed, tearfully. "He's hurt us for a long time. We left him, but he keeps finding us! That's why we move so much. And that's why I have to wear long sleeves in the summertime. But you know what? I'm tired of it! I'm tired of running and I'm tired of being scared all the time! I want us to be happy again!"
Gloria's heart about broke right there. She could feel Celine's pain and she knew the child spoke the truth. The only thing Gloria wasn't sure about was where Monica was. She needed her help more than ever now.
Just then, as if an answer to Gloria's silent thoughts, Monica appeared. She gave Celine a gentle smile, before turning her attention to Cornelia.
"Cornelia, why did you let him hurt you? Why don't you get help?" Monica asked, having heard everything Celine had said.
Cornelia shrugged.
"We don't need help. We're fine. He wont' find us here."
Celine shook her head, tears still streaming down her face.
"Yes he will! He finds us every time we move!" Celine then turned her tearful oceanic orbs upon the Irish angel. "The reason Mommy wont' get help is because she won't listen! She won't listen to me or anyone else! She doesn't want to get help! She never listens to me!" With that, Celine ran from the room in tears, leaving two very stunned angels and a very broken mother behind…
