Written by: CI and KP
"She seems so peaceful," Tess spoke to her friends two days later as she walked down the stairs to the living room,
"I can't remember the last time I've walked into Andrew's room to check on that Angel Girl, and not find her crying in her sleep..."
The remaining angels gathered together in the living room exchanged looks with one another and Carla was the first to speak, her green eyes wide,
"She is?"
Nodding her head, Tess came over and took a seat next to Rose and Philip on the couch and reached for her charge's hand giving it a gentle squeeze,
"I can still make out that she has been crying earlier, but I truely believe that our Angel Boy is speaking to her, and he's trying to help her any way he can."
"So you really don't think they are dreams, Tess?" Kevin asked softly, watching her reaction carefully.
"No, baby, I don't. Their connection ran so deep, that I think the Father has found a way for her Angel Boy to be with her. I don't think she's dreaming and I may be wrong, but I don't think she thinks she is dreaming any longer either. Something has finally given her a little peace in all of this and it has to be coming from either Andrew or she is righting her relationship with the Father."
"But why doesn't she talk to us about it?" Carla asked, sadness evident in her green eyes.
"I think if she is having conversations with Andrew, that they are very personal to her, Carla," Philip spoke up gently,
"And the same goes for anything that could be happening with her and God right now. That relationship has over a year of anger and near hatred behind it and I don't think that any steps she may be taking, she is going to be willing to share."
"So it could be soon then...?" Kevin whispered, his eyes growing wide,
"Andrew could be coming back to us soon?"
"It's hard telling, honey," Rose replied, reaching a hand out and laying it on his knee,
"It's a real possibility, but it may have to be until Monica's relationship with the Father is like it used to be..."
"I don't know what's caused that little angel to have some peace, but it had to have been something big, because there is no doubt in my mind that if it hadn't happened..." Tess stopped talking, unable to get out the next words. With the hand that wasn't holding Philip's, she ran a hand through her shoulder-length hair,
"Let's just say that this old angel is starting to find some peace in this too...I just hope that we will see that Angel Boy before too long."
"So you think this is what it is all about? Her trusting the Father? That is why Andrew has been gone all this time?" Carla asked, her expression turning to one of confusion.
Before Tess could answer, Kevin's head shot up, his eyes holding disbelief,
"The day this happened…when Cupcake and I were out on the porch waiting for him…we were talking about trusting the Father. I…I asked her if it was possible to trust God in all things and we were talking about that when you came out, Tess."
Rose's eyes widened at this bit of news she had not been aware of as it seemed some pieces were beginning to fit together, even if it could be a long shot,
"You've been having some problems trusting through all of this as well, honey…maybe to an extent we all have."
"It could be some sort of test," Philip whispered, his eyes turning to each of his friends,
"I mean, it's definitely a possibility..."
"And it's taken us a little more then one year to realize it," Kevin continued as tears formed in his dark eyes again,
"I can't believe we didn't figure it out from the beginning..."
"You were grieving, baby," Tess uttered weakly, reaching for his hand and squeezing it gently,
"We all were."
"And I think I still will be until we finally see Simba again," The youngest angel in the room finished, looking down at the floor as his tears fell freely,
"This could have so easily been avoided, if we had only remembered the conversation we had the day this all happened."
"We don't know that for certain," Rose replied gently, not wanting anyone to get their hopes up or to put any pressure on Monica or Kevin to make things right with the Father,
"We may be completely off base with what we are thinking."
"But what if Andrew is pushing her to talk to the Father?" Carla asked, turning her eyes to her supervisor,
"Wouldn't that be proof enough?"
"He would do that anyway, baby," Tess replied carefully,
"Andrew may not even know what this is all about, but if his Angel Girl had abandoned God, he would do all he could to see to it that she found her way back, whether that meant him coming back or not."
"You're right, Tess," Philip replied softly,
"He would do whatever it took regardless."
Silence filled the living room once more after Philip spoke, each angel caught up in their own thoughts. Sighing heavily, the newest angel closed his dark eyes and lifted up a quick prayer to God that he and his friends weren't wrong in their intuitions.
Monica lay wide awake in Andrew's bed, even thought she had woken up hours ago, and stared at the ceiling. Two nights ago when she had found out that these conversations with her best friend weren't dreams, but were indeed real, the little Irish angel didn't know when she would stop sobbing. When she had found the repaired picture frame, she knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was here, and that he was looking out for her; and although she didn't want to admit it, so was the Father.
Sucking in a shaky breath, she forced herself to clear her throat and speak to her Creator once more. Their relationship was still beyond strained, but she was still determined to do it for Andrew, whether she liked it or not,
"Are You there?"
"You know the answer to that, My angel." His voice filtered down to her aching heart.
She fell silent for a moment, trying to figure out what to say,
"I'm trying to trust you, Father, I am, but it's hard after what has happened."
"Daughter, think of the humans on earth who trust without even knowing for a fact that I exist," Her Creator replied gently,
"They are surrounded by death, illness and sorrow everyday and they who believe in Me still trust."
"Why did it have to be so violent?" Monica whispered, tears beginning to fill her eyes once more,
"I know that humans see violence every day, but we're angels…and Andrew is my best friend. You know that!"
"My precious angel, I didn't want Andrew to have to go through that so violently, but you know that I cannot interfere with free will-"
"Then why did you send some angels for Andrew that day during the hotel explosion all those years ago, but You couldn't send any for him after he was hit by that truck?" Monica sobbed angrily, her eyes still on the ceiling.
"I did send some angels for him, daughter." The Father spoke back lovingly.
"Yeah, two Angels of Death," The Irish angel snapped bitterly, the anger showing plainly in her voice,
"You sent them so that they could steal him from me, and to top it off, You never gave any of us an answer after it was said and done. Why couldn't You have left him here? I needed him so much..."
"I had Adam and Henry take your best friend Home to My presence because I did not want to see him suffer like that if he did survive. I love all My children, Monica, and I do not enjoy watching my children go through so much pain like you have this past year."
"You don't make any sense!" She sobbed brokenly, even as she felt Molly mew softly, sensing she was upset,
"You could have stopped that pain by bringing him back! But You refused to do that! You still refuse to do that!"
"So why didn't you talk to Me about it, Monica?" He asked gently, already knowing her answer.
"Because I was mad at You! I'm still mad at You!" She retorted angrily,
"You left me alone, without Andrew and that wasn't fair!"
"I've never left you alone, My angel, not for one moment. It was you who left Me. I have been waiting for you to talk to Me."
"I'm talking to You now," Monica wept, some of the anger leaving her voice,
"Bring him back…please bring him back…"
"I need for you to trust Me, Monica, with what is so important to you. You told Kevin you tried to trust Me in all things, but you haven't trusted Me in this."
"Did You expect me to suddenly trust You as soon as you took Andrew away?" Monica sobbed brokenly as she buried her face in her hands,
"I want him back...I just want him back..."
"My angel, do you remember the talk you had with Kevin the day this all happened?" The Father spoke to her heart gently again.
"Of course I do," The angel retorted, her hands never leaving her tear-streaked face,
"You know that."
"My angel, I think you know better then anyone how important it is to trust Me in all things, especially when it's hard to do so. Even when you've been angry, You've still spoken to me; like the time on the ship when you and Philip first met." Monica fell silent at those words, but shook her head as sobs continued to tear through her,
"You know that I turned all that around into something good because You managed to trust Me. Can't you trust Me with your best friend? Your soulmate?"
Shame filled her heart at those words as she thought back to that terrible time when Philip had first entered their lives. She had hated him, and now she called him "friend"…
"It's hard, Father," The little angel whispered through her tears.
"Trusting is never easy, daughter," Came the patient reply filled with love for her,
"But it is the one thing I ask of My children."
Falling silent, Monica closed her eyes for a moment, trying with everything in her to say the words and mean them,
"I trust You," She whispered tearfully, another sob escaping her,
"I'm sorry I didn't before…and though this still hurts so much, I'll try to trust You with Andrew…"
"That's all I ask of you, My angel," The Father replied back, and Monica didn't miss the smile in His voice,
"That's all I ask for."
"The Father told me that you two talked this morning," Andrew told his best friend some hours later after she had fallen back asleep,
"I can't tell you how proud of you I am, little one; if I could hold you, I would do it in a heartbeat."
Feeling a slight blush rise to her cheeks at his words, Monica lowered herself to the ground even as her eyes never left his handsome face,
"I...I'm trying to trust Him with you, Andrew; I want you back down here so much, and I know that's the only way now..."
His green eyes grew even more serious as he looked at her,
"Sweetie, I don't know what the plan is or if it entails me coming back, but keep trusting Him, okay? No matter what happens."
Her pale face seemed to pale even further at his words,
"You're saying…you still may not be able to return?"
"I'm saying that I don't know, honey," He replied as gently as he could,
"I don't know what the plan is either and I don't want you to get your hopes up. You need to trust the Father no matter how this turns out," He hated having to be this honest with her, but if the Father's plan was not to return him to earth, he didn't want that destroying his best friend.
"I can't do that, Andrew!" She cried out as fresh tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her pale face,
"He can't do that to me...to us..."
"Sweetheart, listen to me," Andrew interrupted, his voice a little firmer then earlier, but still holding the same love for her,
"You know how the Father's plans are always perfect, and if His plan is for me to return to earth, then He'll send me; but if He doesn't..." He fell silent for a moment as he heard the heart-breaking sounds of Monica's sobs once again,
"You still need to trust Him, despite it all. Okay?"
"How, though? HOW?" She sobbed brokenly, her heart breaking all over again at the possibility of this being the only means of communication with her dearest friend. How could she be able to spend the rest of eternity like this?
"Baby...if you can't do it for Him, then do it for me, little one," He said softly, desperately wanting to calm her, but this was a blow she had not been ready to consider. Getting no reply and seeing her rock back and forth as she cried, fear filled his heart that this had been too much for her,
"Sweetheart, please…this is just a possibility I need for you to keep in mind."
"I can't…I can't do this forever…" Monica wept, more to herself than to him.
"Mon', the Father reminded you of Philip…how terrible that was and good still came out of it, baby…" He uttered, tears beginning to fill his own eyes.
"I…I'd rather go through what Philip did a hundred times than this once!" She cried out, nearly breaking his heart at those words.
"Sweetheart, you can't mean that-"
"I do mean it, I do," She wept brokenly, never lifting her head,
"This...this is worse then what happened on that ship, and the Father knows that! Why won't He give me a yes or no answer, Andy, why?!"
"I think you know the answer, sweet girl," The older angel whispered back, his voice choking up as he spoke,
"The answer is simple. Trust. Trust with all of your heart."
"It's not that simple, Andrew, it's not..."
"No, it isn't," Andrew agreed, his spirits sinking rapidly at the pain she was in and being unable to help her with anything but words right now,
"But sometimes the hardest things are for the best, and trusting unconditionally is for the best, Angel Girl. The Father told you that earlier today." He stopped speaking for a moment as her sobs continued to intensify,
"I know how hard this is for you, sweetie...Remember, I felt this same way when you turned to the darkness to save my life; I never thought I would see you again, but I did...and everything turned out all right in the end."
"That was three days, Andrew…three days! It's been 15 months, 2 days and 19 hours without you and I know that because I count every minute!" She sobbed, on the verge of hysteria as she kept her head lowered.
"Oh sweet baby girl…" He uttered, the tears now streaking his face as once again the magnitude of her grief and pain hit him like a punch in the stomach.
"I thought…I thought if I trusted Him, He would bring you back!"
"And He might, sweetheart, He might," Andrew choked out,
"But we aren't making deals here, Monica. It doesn't work that way with God."
"Why does He do this, Andrew...why is He doing this to us?! He's torn us apart for over a year, and now He may not give you back?" Monica wailed miserably, her shoulders shaking with each heart-breaking sob.
"I wish I had all of the answers here, sweetheart, but I don't..." He whispered, his voice shaking slightly,
"I just don't..." As he listened to her cries, the angel closed his emerald eyes and uttered weakly,
"Oh sweetie, if I could hold you right now, I could..."
"I-I'm trying so hard to trust Him...but with this bit of news, He's making it all the more difficult," The Irish angel cried in agony,
"He's making is harder...then I can handle..."
"Angel Girl, the Father never gives us anymore then we can handle," Andrew tried to soothe her once again, but his best friend interrupted.
"This time He has!" She cried,
"This time, He's given me way more then my heart can handle!"
"I know it feels that way, Monica…" He began through his own tears, but she interrupted him.
"It IS that way, Andy…not even you know how much this hurts and I wish…I wish I had driven your car off that cliff before I ever made that promise! At least then, the pain would be gone," Not looking up, she never saw her best friend close his eyes as the tears slid down his face at her words,
"Just go for tonight, Andrew…I can't talk anymore right now…even to you…" Continuing to rock back and forth, she completely gave into the sobs.
Wishing more than anything that there was something he could say to make up for the step backwards she had taken tonight, he could only settle on one thing,
"I love you, little girl, with all my heart and tonight as most other nights, my prayers go to the Father for you."
CI and KP