Thank you to everyone who continues to follow this fic. I admit, it has been difficult to find time to write but when i do, this story is my main focus. Here is another chapter and I hope you enjoy. Also, thank you for the kind reviews. I greatly appreciate them!

6.

It was the first time they had been intimate since Andrew had taken her to Ireland several weeks ago, and now they were both getting used to the changes. Monica's skin was warm to the touch, almost hot, but also very soft, like silk. Andrew let his fingertips drag along her body, loving the feel of her against him. His mouth brushed the back of her neck as he lay pressed against her, an arm draped over her middle. She was fuller but also, somehow as small as ever. She seemed frail but also stronger, human, but angelic. She was a living, breathing contradiction, a heavenly being who also throbbed with the beat of two human hearts: her own and her unborn child's.

"Monica…" he whispered as he felt her arch against him, the friction causing a tremor to travel up his spine. And her smile was slow, a tease. His fingers tangled in her hair as she rested her head back against his shoulder.

"I don't know what's happening to me, Andrew." Her voice was a sigh. "I feel so filled up."

He chuckled mischievously against her. "You are filled up…"

The blush that came over her skin was warm and prickly. Wherever he touched her, her nerve endings caught fire and sent little pinpricks of electric throughout her body. Being physically joined with him was second nature now, like walking or breathing. She shut her eyes and let him move against her, from behind. His hands splayed against her convex belly, his mouth against her neck. And then he turned her face and kissed her mouth, deeply, savoring the taste of her, the sweetness, the high-pitched whine of her needy whimper.

In heaven time had no meaning. It was forever, endless perfection. They stayed connected as long as they wanted or until Andrew was called away and was suddenly bound by the confines of earthly time.

Monica had no way of knowing how long she had been sleeping when she awoke alone in a soft bed layered with the softest comforters. It was Gloria who stood in the doorway, her eyes roaming over her as if examining, and Monica realized her sheet had fallen away.

"Your stomach is so round now." Gloria seemed in awe. "It's kind of shaped like… a basketball."

Monica laughed right in the middle of yawning which caused her to hiccup. Having Gloria around was always entertaining, and she grinned at her now.

"You're not going to try and toss me into a wee basket, are you?"

And Gloria's eyebrows raised into her hairline. "Oh, gosh no! I would never… I mean… that would be a virtual impossibility. Unless, of course, the basket was sized to your specific parameters. But, I guess I still wouldn't because that would be considered… inappropriate?"

"It was a joke, Gloria." Monica, smirked, pulling on a soft fuzzy robe that was overly large on her. "Have you seen Tess? Is she working?"

Gloria nodded. "Yes, she and Adam are on an assignment in Madagascar."

"Oh. Interesting." Monica combed fingers through her thick long hair before pulling it back into a ponytail. "Madagascar is quite a lovely little island."

"I agree." Gloria's mind drifted. "I've always been curious about Madagascar – and not just for the lemurs, although I admit I am very interested in animal life…"

The older angel agreed. "Yes. Well, there is something to be said for God's four-legged creatures." Monica was watching Gloria with a fond smile. "Gloria, is there a particular reason why you came by?"

Now Gloria blushed and shrugged. Her eyes seemed to dart now. "I… I just thought I'd come along and check in on you. I mean, Tess did ask that I keep an eye… but not because of anything bad. I think she's just concerned…"

Monica sighed and nodded. "Yes. It must be a terrible burden on you, Gloria, keeping my secret from Tess. I apologize for putting you in that position."

Gloria wasn't sure what to say so she came over and sat next to Monica. "I don't mind keeping a secret. I just… I wonder why you want to keep it from her if it's not a bad thing. Surely Tess will be glad for you."

"I don't know if she will be glad. I don't know how she will react at all." Monica turned to look at Gloria. "I only know that I don't want to lose her as my friend."

"Tess wouldn't stop being your friend." Gloria felt certain of this. "Maybe it would only strengthen your friendship. She would want to be a part of this."

"Yes, but I don't know that." Monica's uncertainty was causing her head to throb as well as her heart. "Tess isn't just a friend. She's like… a mother. You understand?"

Gloria took a moment to process that information. "A mother? A maternal figure. A mentor but also a close personal relation, the first person a child connects with?"

"In a sense, yes. And I want her to be proud of me. I don't want to disappoint her, and this…" Monica gestured at her stomach. "… Tess may not take to this new revelation."

"But how will you keep it from her?"

Monica had given it much thought, but she had never spoken it aloud – not even to Andrew. "I'm going to go away for a time, until my baby is born…"

"No!" Gloria stood and tried to keep the emotion out of her voice. "Monica, you can't leave. What will we do? What will I do? You're the first angel I ever knew, and you're my friend..."

"It's alright, Gloria." Monica stood and tried to comfort the young angel. "You'll be fine. It won't be long, I assure you. Look how far I've come already and it's only been a few months. I can already feel the baby moving. Here…" she took Gloria's hand and let it rest against the round place where her stomach was so fertile like a ripe fruit.

Gloria's hand was cool and timid against her skin, but her face was determined and scientific. Gloria was always hungry for knowledge, which was a good thing in this instant. When the flutter of tiny feet pushed against the skin, Gloria started, her eyes wide with wonder.

"It kicked." Her voice was in awe, and Monica smiled at her. "It kicked me, Monica!"

"Yes, it did." She nodded. "I don't know for certain, but I think it's a boy."

"What will you name it?" Gloria put her hand back onto Monica's belly, hoping to feel the little kick again. "Something celestial?"

Monica laughed softly. "I don't know. It's not only my decision…"

. . . . . . . .

Miles away in a tiny village off the mainland of Normandy, Andrew spoke French to a small group of frightened labor workers. He waited until the right moment and Heaven's light flowed through him. He held an injured worker in his arms and let them know he would be escorting him home to the Promised Land.

Nearby, Rafael also spoke the comforting words of Christ as he reassured the people of this village that they were messengers from God who meant no harm. The tears flowed freely then as a few of the men fell to their knees and bowed their heads in awe and disbelief. After all, most had never seen a real angel.

The journey to heaven was a brief one as Rafael and Andrew made the trek together. The fallen man could now walk on his own, his strength and his faith fully restored.

"Merci…" he whispered in a trembling voice as both angels nodded and sent him on his way, towards Heaven's light. When they saw him off, Rafael turned to look at Andrew and smiled a knowing smile.

"You do good work, Andrew. I am honored to be in your presence."

"Ok." Andrew's green eyes were humble as he warded off the comment. "Thank you. I think. Where does this come from?"

The smaller angel shrugged a narrow shoulder, his heavenly light adding luster to his ink-colored curls. "I dunno. I just thought about how we don't work together that often. You're considered one of the highest angels, the work you do, the importance of it, means so much to so many…"

Andrew offered a small smile. "That's very kind of you to say, Rafael. But don't diminish your own importance. There are many saved souls because of your own ability to do God's work."

Rafael paused and looked at Andrew. "I learned a lot from you. I haven't been around as long as some other angels, but I have a few centuries under my belt…"

Andrew chuckled. "Believe me, that's a good start!"

"But there's so much I still want to do." Rafael was looking at the world as though he were a child, with bright dark eyes, optimistic and filled with excitement. "Like… go jet-skiing!"

"That gets old. Fast!"

"Write my own hymn…"

"Well, maybe Tess could help you with that one."

"Fall in love."

Andrew started to remark but held his tongue. Instead, he shoved hands in pockets and waited. Surely Rafael was joking. Love, romantic love, wasn't a usual aspiration for an angel. In fact, he had fallen for Monica on accident, when he wasn't paying attention, when he wasn't expecting it. He didn't even know angels could love in that manner. Now Rafael was looking at him, wonder written into the boyish planes of his face.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Andrew shook his head. "No. I don't think so."

"It's that look on your face. Like… you're holding something back."

Andrew shook his head. "I'm not. I just… found it odd that you would aspire to love someone in that way. It's unusual."

They were walking through a field on Earth and they had come to a babbling glen. Andrew kicked a pebble into the water, hoping to distract himself from this conversation so he could kind of listen and nod without having to engage himself.

"Well, the humans do it all the time. Granted, they were built for that kind of love, but I always wondered: what if two angels fell in love? Real romantic love?"

Andrew shrugged. "That would be something amazing." He coughed. "I think."

Now Rafael turned and looked directly at Andrew. "For instance, what if you and Monica fell in love?"

Now Andrew choked and then coughed, surprise catching him off guard. "What?! Rafael, I…I don't know what say….?"

"I mean no harm. You're just the first two angels who come to mind when I think of compatibility. And you're both so close. What if you fell in love with her? Would you even recognize it? Are we made to know that kind of love or will we always be ignorant of it, immune to it?"

Andrew shrugged and pretended to be oblivious when all he could think of was her and her beautiful smile and her dimples and her full lush hair. Her voice was the softest and sweetest he had ever known while her small hands and small body seemed made to touch him, to receive him.

"I don't know…" he answered, his voice so far away.

. . . . . .

Later, when he went to Monica's place to hug her, to wrap his arms around her and tell her how much he had missed her and loved her, he found emptiness instead of her.

He searched everywhere she might be and even some places she wouldn't have been, but he came up empty again.

"Gloria," he found the little angel in the unlikeliest of places, outside of a saloon in Austin, Texas, waiting for Tess to bring her new orders. "Have you seen Monica?"

Gloria shook her head and turned away from him. "No. I haven't. She's… taking a sabbatical, I think."

"Well, that's insane. She wouldn't go anyplace without telling me."

"Um. Right. Why would she do that?" the nervousness in her voice gave her away, and Andrew searched her face before she got flustered and broke down.

"You know something."

"Forgive me, Andrew. Monica is going to be so angry with me if I tell you – but you keep looking at me with those, those… puppy dog eyes or something… and…"

"Where is she?" his voice was gentle, concerned.

Gloria shrugged. "She didn't tell me, but… you can find her easily, the way you found me. You have the gift of tuning in to other angels…"

"Yeah, usually, but she's masking herself. She doesn't want me to know where she is."

There was an urgency to this that caused Gloria to feel a little upset so that when Tess finally came out of the saloon, long after Andrew had gone, she had to pretend it was from the heat.

"You alright, baby?" Tess put a hand to Gloria's head and searched her face. "You look a little peaked."

Gloria shrugged and mustered up a convincing smile, though Tess seemed to see right through it. "I'm fine. Just ready to get on with the assignment."

And Tess searched her face and saw the anguish there behind the façade, but she didn't press the issue. She already had an inkling of what it was; it would only be a matter of time before everything came to light – and God revealed the truth…

tbc