HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOO AGAIN!!!!

I'm sorry it's taking me this long to upload but my life has been more than complicated the past months!

I hope you're still interested on this story and I'll be waiting for your comments as always!

For those who still remember what's going on in here, I promise you this chapter will be worth waiting for it!

And as always this is dedicated to my beloved sisters, who love me still even if it takes me years to upload, write or read!

God bless you all!

Gabby

CHAPTER 5

In Andrew and Monica's suite…

Monica just couldn't take her eyes off Andrew the following morning while he fixed one of the ties she had bought for him the previous day. He was now wearing a deep gray suit with light pink shirt and matching tie, and leaning against the door frame of the bathroom, the little angel couldn't help but think he looked more than good. "How do I look?" Andrew took her out of her reverie when he discovered her so lost in thought.

"Very handsome… and that's thanks to who?" she asked walking to barely straight his tie. Her wide smile made her look even more beautiful to his eyes that he couldn't help but reach to graze her cheek with the back of his hand.

"Thanks to you… and to my credit card…" he joked as he leaned to touch her nose with his index and to kiss her cheek. She joined his laughter after she slapped him on the arm playfully, and then followed him to the dinning room, where their breakfast was ready.

"Will you go out with Vivian today too?" Andrew asked Monica.

"Yes, I guess… She was feeling pretty bad yesterday, but I've started to get her to trust me and I have a good idea now about what's wrong with her…"

"Edward's facing pretty rough times too… and I think the worst is yet to come…" When he saw she was clueless, he continued. "There's this guy, his former lawyer who wants to cause him big trouble by proving Lewis Enterprises do not pay taxes or benefits to its employees… It's not true though, but…"

"…but the guy may as well give him some nasty days…"

"Yes… Vivian doesn't know about it, ok? Edward asked me not to tell you too, but…" he reached to take her hand across the table, and the mere contact made her shiver, "… I cannot lie to you."

"I know…" she murmured just to say something as she was unable to take her eyes off him. Time seemed to stay still between them as the only words spoken by then were those of their eyes.

A sudden knock in the door broke the magic of the moment. Andrew sighed as he released Monica's hand and walked to see who it was. "Ready?" Rafael walked into the suite and greeted his friends.

"Rafael…" the angel of death complimented him not very enthusiastically.

"Edward's coming too," the younger angel said. "Nice suit…"

Andrew turned to shoot Monica a thankful gaze and turned his attention back to the angel. "So, tell me… How is it possible that a man like Edward has gotten himself involved with a man like Stuckey?"

"He told you. He was his former lawyer. He got mad at him when Edward broke the deal they had with Morse…"

"Edward told me Vivian was the one to show him he was doing wrong by trying to get benefits from other people… I still don't get it why Stuckey is still wanting to have revenge on Edward…" Andrew said.

"But I think Monica does have a good idea…" Rafael turned to look at the Irish angel, who cleared her throat before she could speak.

"You mean Phillip Stuckey doesn't forgive Edward for choosing a woman like Vivian?" Monica asked Rafael. He nodded. "This has to be with what Vivian told me yesterday, Andrew," she explained to her "husband", "and with what is her biggest concern".

"What is Vivian concern?" Andrew asked still not getting it.

"Before she was the elegant woman you know, she was… a hooker," the little angel explained. The blond angel opened his eyes not able to believe what he was hearing. "They met by mere chance, when she helped Edward to find his way back to the hotel. He hired her to go out with him when he needed her. What they never thought would have happened was that they would fall in love…"

"I see…" Andrew said at last. "But you said it had to be with Vivian's biggest concern. What is it?"

"She fears Edward doesn't truly love her… They are not…" Monica was explaining, but a second knock in the door made her stop. Rafael went to open the door to let Edward come in.

"Good morning, Andrew, Monica…" he greeted his friends. "I hope I'm not interrupting any family breakfast!" he said cheerfully and smiled when the angels exchanged embarrassed glances.

"No, no… I-I am ready…" the angel of death stuttered turning to look for his briefcase. "I-I… We can go…"

Edward made his best not to laugh at the nervousness of his partner, then turned to look at Monica. "Vivian is not feeling well again, Monica. She's still resting, but would you make me a favor?"

"Sure…" the little angel said.

"Could you see her to eat something? The last couple of weeks she has refused to eat anything in the morning arguing she feels nauseous. She hasn't accepted to go to the doctor either. I thought the changing of weather from New York to Los Angeles would make her feel better, but it seems I was wrong…"

"Don't worry. I'll make her eat," she promised, and the man reached to squeeze her hand and kiss it thankfully.

"I'll be thankful the rest of my life for this!" he said enthusiastically. "She doesn't have friends in New York. You're the first one I see she really trusts…"

"I'm happy and I'm here to help," the angel assured.

"Let's go," Andrew said coming with his briefcase. Rafael reached to take it. When both the angel and Edward stayed in their places, the blond angel looked at them quizzically. "What?"

"Hum… I'll see you later, Andy…" Monica blushed guessing what they were supposed to do then.

"Oh… Yeah, I'll see you later…" he said and reached to cup her face so tenderly that she felt her throat closing in a tight knot. He met her hazel eyes and couldn't help but drink in her expression attentively again, in her slightly trembling lips, her soft skin getting just a hint of pink with the nervousness she was obviously feeling when he had cupped her cheek. He knew they were taking too long but he just couldn't fight anymore the force that seemed to attract him to Monica unlike ever before. His heart raced wildly when he realized what he wanted to do right then, no matter who they were with. He leaned over until he was just inches away from her face and took a deep breath…

Both angels sighed and gulped when the moment was broken. "Bless you!" Rafael told Edward reaching to offer him a Kleenex. The Latin angel looked at his friends, who were obviously embarrassed, while the man cleaned his nose.

"Bye…" Andrew said simply, quickly kissing Monica's cheek.

"Bye…" she said too cleaning an inexistent particle of dust on his chest.

"Andy?" Rafael asked his partner in the lowest voice when Edward was ahead of them and they were just leaving the room.

In Vivian and Edward's suite…

"Come in…" Vivian replied from inside the room and Monica found her lying on the couch.

"Are you ok?" the angel asked her friend. "You look too pale…"

"I… yeah… I'm fine… Just not hungry…"

"Well, that you cannot be… Come here, you're eating…" the Irish angel said taking her hand and dragging her like a little girl. "I haven't had breakfast either and my stomach is eating itself…"

Vivian had in fact eaten very little, but that minimal amount of food had done wonders for her stomach and when they finished their breakfast, she was feeling way much better. "I guess you were right, Monica… My main problem was I was hungry…"

"See? None can not be hungry for pancakes!" she blinked behind her coffee cup. "Now, what do you want to do? Yesterday it was my plan, now it's yours…"

At Monica's words, Vivian got all silent, like finding her empty glass of juice suddenly fascinating. "There's something I want to do now that I'm in L.A. again… But if you don't want to come it's ok…"

"Tell me…" the angel urged her.

At "Kit's House of Hair" in the suburbs of Los Angeles…

"That must be…" Vivian pointed at a small place on the opposite side of the street where the limousine was parked. "Kit always wanted to take a beauty course and have her own place to work… I just really hope she has done it…"

They crossed the street and got into the local, a little bell announcing their entrance. A small, smiling woman came from behind to welcome them. "Welcome! What can I do for you?"

"Kit… Don't you recognize me?" Vivian asked looking intensely at her old friend. "Four years have been too long?"

The so called Kit seemed to study her face for a long time, until she was sure it was who she thought it was. "Vivian?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, my!" she reached to hug her friend. "I never thought you would come back! You look so, so different!" she studied her from head to toe: if Vivian had never really fit in the boulevard before, now it was more obvious than ever. What Kit had in front was a very elegant woman, dressed in the finest clothes and smelling to the most expensive perfumes.

"I don't! You look just the same!" Vivian replied. "This is Monica, Kit. She came with me to find you…"

"Hi!"

"Hullo…" the angel shook hands with her. "Vivian's talked a lot about you…"

Kit invited them to have a cup of coffee in the back room of the salon. Both friends had a lot to tell each other after four years of being away, four years when both their lives had changed a lot. "… I didn't stay long on the boulevard after you left…" she explained Vivian, "I've been clean since that day you found me in the Blue banana. I took my course and for the first four months I kept on working at the boulevard, but afterwards, when I started to do some easy things, nails and so, I left… and that has been the most wonderful day of my life!"

"I bet so!" Vivian said. "This is great…" she admired the room. "I take it you don't see any of the 'girls'…"

"I see some from time to time. Rachel, Betty, Mary and Cris… they are my regulars here… Mary and Betty in fact are out too. Mary is married now and has a little boy…"

"Wow…" Vivian said in a low voice, "so much has changed…"

"Yeah…" Kit replied, "you just need to look at yourself… I thought you'd never come back…" Vivian smiled lightly. "There's something I need to tell you 'cause I bet you haven't heard about it…"

"What?"

"Rachel came two weeks ago. When I left the boulevard, she kept our old apartment and still has it… She told me she got a phone call for you…"

"For me?"

"From your mom… Your dad's sick and he wants to see you…"

That last piece of news was like a bucket of cold water for Vivian, that much Monica could say as she heard the sharp intake of her friend. Later that day, when they would be walking along the beach in Santa Monica, the angel would still see the sad traces of Kit's words in the woman's eyes.

In a beach near Santa Monica…

Even with the amount of problems he saw coming, Edward's mind was alert enough to see something was wrong with Vivian. She seemed to be lost in thought and so close to tears that he was indeed very worried. He could be buried in papers talking about business deals but nothing would matter him most than what he had at home, with the woman he had so causally found four years ago. "It must be difficult to let go something so beautiful…" Bernard Thompson, the manager of the Regent Beverly Wilshire had told him the day he had said bye to Vivian after the week they had first spent together, and Edward still wondered often if Mr. Thompson had seen coming what he hadn't seen until it was almost too late: that Vivian was in fact a treasure he shouldn't let go. Now he had her at the reach of his hand but she seemed so far from there, somewhere he couldn't guess.

When both Edward and Andrew had decided to take the afternoon off work, he had proposed to go to the beach, to this little suburb outside Santa Monica, to see the sun set and to have some dinner by the sea shore. Knowing how much the Irish angel loved the see, Andrew had accepted immediately.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward finally interrupted Vivian's thoughts, reaching to graze her arm until he had her little hand in his.

Vivian smiled at her husband. "Nothing really…" she lied. She had seen him looking through papers with a clear worried expression in his face and had sensed him staying awake for hours at night, and that could only mean he had problems in business. She couldn't load him with something more. Sometimes she still could see the traces of the deep loneliness she had first seen in his eyes when he had told her about his life, his mother and his difficult relationship with his father. That was when she saw him like a little lost child and she felt she needed to protect him.

Vivian turned to look at the beach. "I was thinking about them, about how cute they look together, don't you think?"

Andrew and Monica were walking along the sea shore, shoeless and hand in hand, laughing like two silly teenagers. Knowing how much she loved to take off her shoes and feel the sand under her feet, the angel of death had seen her do so with nothing but pure adoration in his green eyes. She had then offered her hand to him, her eyes speaking volumes about the new flow of feelings that were invading them. He had taken her small hand without breaking eye contact with her. He had felt guided by an invisible force when she had pulled him by the shore, and the sound of her laughter was pure music to his ears mixed with the sound of the waves. At some point, he circled her waist from behind, pressing her against his body and lifted her easily, spinning her and lowering her just enough for her toes to touch the water.

Monica's closeness was just driving Andrew's self control away, her perfume was intoxicating him and he could guess the softness of her cheeks so close to his face. She had wore the tiny dress she had bought a day before and his mouth had dropped to the floor when he had seen her: a short skirt showing her long, firm legs, a deep cleavage that revealed her chest just enough to make his heart race wildly and his knees to grow weak. This reaction of his had nothing to do with his being an angel, but with his human part and with the biggest present God had given to his children of being able to feel utter love for someone else.

They were a little far from where they had left Vivian and Edward, practically alone with nothing but the sound of the sea and the birds that it seemed to them there was a kind of celestial music playing just for them. When the sun reached the horizon, Monica stop their walking. Andrew stopped by her side too, feeling the warmth of the sun rays washing his body just like God's love did. He took a step closer to the little angel running the length of her arms carefully to finally embrace her lovingly. There, with Monica's back pressed against Andrew's chest, they watched the sunset until there were just rays crossing the clouds. Never had the little angel felt so protected and loved as she felt in that exact moment when her best friend's cheek rested on the top of her head, and she knew then he was nothing but the biggest present the Father could have given her.

"I love you, Andrew…" she murmured quietly and closed her eyes when she felt him kissing her temple.

"My angel… I love you so much too…" he whispered back feeling his heart was complete for the first time in the long centuries he had lived already.

When it was almost dark, Monica said again, "I guess we should go back…" They walked slowly, hand in hand, hearts beating in one same rhythm, knowing they had ahead a long walk to discover. "Aren't you hungry, lovebirds?" Vivian playfully mocked them when they met them again.

"It had been a long time since I enjoyed a sunset like this…" Monica said leaning against Andrew's arm. "Thanks a lot!"

"It's Andrew whom you should thank, Monica," Edward told the little angel, "he mentioned how much you loved the sea and thought this was a good way to spend the afternoon…"

Monica turned to face him once more, her eyes shinning with love. "Thank you…" she reached to kiss his cheek.

"Come on, Monica! What a way to thank him!" Vivian's voice made the angels exchanged a clueless sight. "Every time you two kiss, you make it on the cheek! What kind of couple are you?"

In a minute, Andrew felt his nervousness growing a thousand times. If it was what he was thinking… "What, Vivian…?"

"We've never seen you two kiss!" she continued and now Edward seemed as amused with the situation as his wife. "You two guys are married, and married couples kiss!"

Monica and Andrew looked at each other once more, now nervousness turning into near terror.

"Don't tell me you're so shy that you wouldn't kiss in front of your friends when obviously you want to?" Edward joined Vivian's request.

"Well…" Monica smiled nervously as if trying to say 'yes'.

"Don't be!"

All of a sudden, both angels were speechless, without arguments to stop what they saw coming. Andrew saw nothing more to do but to turn to place himself right in front of Monica, his chest barely a couple of inches from hers. He could so easily feel her erratic breath speaking volumes of how nervous she was, so nervous she couldn't stand his gaze. So tenderly, so slowly he placed a finger under her chin to lift her face and met her hazel eyes, trembling with expectation but also bright with the deepest trust in him. His throat was already closed with a tight knot, his palm burned at the simple contact when he finally cupped her cheek and leaned down to caress her lips with his own in a slow, long and loving kiss.