Shortly after leaving Tess and Andrew found a booth in the hospital cafeteria, and sat down to a breakfast Tess described as "something Monica would cook". After they sat down, Andrew wasted no time in asking Tess the question that the older supervisor suspected had plagued him all morning. "Tess, why is this happening to Monica?"

"You know perfectly well why, Halo Boy." Tess told him firmly. "It's part of the Father's plan and He said so, that's why, and I shouldn't have to remind you of that." Though she would never admit it to her charge, Tess had been considering that very same thought in the back of her mind. She knew that God works in mysterious ways, but did that way really have to be so drastic?

Andrew lowered his eyes, and began to eat his breakfast slowly, obviously deep in thought. He got about half way through his oatmeal and toast before he realized that what he had just eaten felt like lead in his stomach. Gulping down the rest of his orange juice, he stood up and stacked his dishes on his tray. "Monica should be up by now, why don't we go see her?"

Tess nodded wordlessly and stood, following Andrew out of the cafeteria and to the elevators. Neither angel said anything as they rode the elevators to Monica's floor, and walked down the hall to their friend's room. As they entered, they saw that Monica was awake, and much to Andrew's relief, looking slightly better than she had earlier.

"Hi, Baby," Tess said, leaning down to hug her charge.

Monica weakly hugged both her friends, not missing the concern in their eyes. "I'm alright. The chemo was just hard on my system, that's all." The managed a smile for them.

"You're sure?" Andrew asked.

Monica nodded. "Kayla said the first treatment is always the worst, but they can give me a medication that should help with the side effects."

Andrew seemed relieved, but as Tess took a closer look at her Angel Girl, she saw the dark circles under her eyes, and the paleness of her skin. The older angel also picked up a hint of hoarseness in Monica's voice, something else that concerned her. As she sat listening to Andrew and Monica's conversation, the older angel decided that she would be paying a later visit to her young charge, who was a long cry from 'alright'.

***

That afternoon, Monica was wheeled into another room for her second chemotherapy treatment. Once in the room, Monica was directed to get into the bed, and wait for the nurse. The room itself was small, with just the bed Monica was lying in, and some other medical equipment. There was also a small television hanging from the ceiling across from the bed.

The nurse entered shortly, carrying two IV bags and a large syringe. The IV bags looked normal enough to Monica, but it was the syringe that had piqued her interest the previous day and now. The syringe was full of a red substance that looked almost like plastic. The nurse, who had introduced herself as Georgia, took hold of Monica's Hickman line and slowly began injecting the red stuff into her body.

As the chemical entered her veins, Monica began to actually taste the chemical in her mouth. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. The nurse looked at the young angel and smiled, "Bad taste?" Monica nodded, and smiled gratefully when the nurse handed her a glass of water. "Don't worry," Georgia said, "It won't last." After the injection was finished, the nurse stood up and hooked one of the IV bags up to Monica's line. She explained that the drip would take about a half hour to complete, and that she would be back to check on Monica.

After the nurse left, Monica picked up her journal, which she had brought with her to the treatment room. She untied the ribbon and turned the book to a clean page…

Last night I finally understood why some humans who are horribly sick wish for death. I have never experienced anything even close to what happened to me last night, after my first chemotherapy treatment. And yet, here I am today, receiving another round. I can only hope that last night was not a preview of events to come, and that things will get better for me.

I once had an assignment with an oncologist, and he explained to me how cancer works. That the body's own cells grow out of control, invading and killing as the cells continue to multiply. It's odd, the irony of my own human body betraying me… and the irony that the chemicals that made me so deathly ill are my only hope for survival.

The nurse came back while Monica was writing and changed the IV bags. "Your friends stopped by," she told her. "They said they'd be back to see you later."

Monica smiled and nodded, taking another sip of her water. True to the nurse's words, the chemical taste was starting to fade. Setting the cup back down, the angel turned back to her journal…

Tess and Andrew are as concerned as ever. I can only be grateful that they didn't see me last night. Especially Andrew. He's always hurting whenever I am, and I don't want him to blame himself because he can't protect me from this. This is a battle that Kayla and I have to fight, one that nobody else can fight for us. I feel like Kayla's losing her will to fight, though, and that frightens me. She even told me last night that she intends to give up when she doesn't have the energy anymore. I just hope with my whole heart that I can help give her the energy she needs to keep fighting.

As Monica finished writing, the nurse came in to remove the empty chemotherapy bag and the rest of the tubing from the angel's line. Monica moved back to the wheelchair and was taken back to her room, where she realized how tired she was. The young angel didn't even wait to be told before crawling onto the bed and pulling the covers up to her neck. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.

***

Several hours later, Tess returned to the hospital and made her way up to Monica's floor. Andrew had been called away on an emergency assignment, and the older angel was determined to find out how her young charge was really doing. As the older supervisor entered Monica's room, she saw that the Irish angel was not in her bed.

"Where's Monica?" Tess asked Kayla, who was watching television from her bed.

Kayla motioned to closed bathroom door, concern etched on her face. "The anti-nausea meds didn't work for her."

Tess's face filled with worry, and she turned to the bathroom door, knocking lightly. "Monica, are you okay?"

She heard muffled sounds from inside the bathroom, but they were unmistakable… the sounds of someone who was violently ill. Tess slowly opened the door to reveal Monica, who was sitting against the wall, her knees pulled to her chest. The little angel looked terrible, her red-rimmed eyes contrasting with her deathly pale skin. "Oh baby," Tess said quietly, instantly at Monica's side.

"Tess," Monica said, her voice hoarse, "Is Andrew here? I don't want him to see me like this… please…"

"Shhhh… Angel Girl. He's on assignment. Let's just worry about getting you into bed, ok?"

Tess gently helped Monica to her feet, and got the weakened angel into her bed. "Tess," Monica whimpered, "Everything hurts so bad… I don't know if I can take much more of this."

"You're doing just fine, baby," Tess assured her.

"You'd better make her drink some water," Kayla's own weakened voice broke into Tess's focus. "She'll get dehydrated otherwise."

Tess nodded, and took Kayla's advice. Once Monica had drifted into an exhausted sleep, Tess turned to the young woman. "How are you doing, baby?"

"I've been better, but I'm not as bad off as her," Kayla said, gesturing to Monica's still figure. "I've never seen chemo be so hard on someone before… but I have to admit, she did better than she did last night." Tess was shocked by that admission. Monica hadn't even alluded to being so sick. The youngest angel had emphatically upheld that she was fine, and even though Tess didn't completely believe her, the older supervisor had never imagined this.

"Well, you've obviously been a great help to her, because we had no idea she was that sick," Tess told Kayla. "She told us that the chemo was hard on her, but that appears to be the understatement of the century."

A small grin flickered across Kayla's face; "I think I'd have to agree with you there. Her expression then turned serious, "You know, Monica's really lucky to have friends like you. I don't think I've ever had something like that in my life."

Tess took the young woman's hand and smiled, "Well, you do now, baby." Seeing the smile that brightened Kayla's face, the older angel squeezed her hand and said, "It's getting late. You should get some rest too."

Kayla nodded. "Are you gonna stay around for a while? Just to make sure Monica's alright?" When the angel nodded, she rolled over and pulled the blanket up to her chin. As Tess sat between the two beds, she prayed fiercely for both young women, but at the same time, she tried to figure out why Monica wasn't telling them everything.