Chapter 2

"Do you see now why I told you to pray?" Henry asked the four angels. "And it's been just two weeks. It all started with one single sick person, and now we don't know how many are sick. Just in this hospital we've attended more than 1 500, but we can't know the number out of the city. A whole town could disappear in days if they don't control their sick people."

"But if that little boy is already sick in Washington... he could infect many other people," Rafael voice was almost trembling.

"In fact, he has," Henry's words were the confirmation of what all the four angels were thinking. "I'm afraid Tess, Monica and Gloria will have a hard work to do."

"You need to have faith, Alice," Monica said to the crying woman who was standing in front of the window that separated the isolated room where two nurses covered from top to bottom worked over little Mike. The Irish angel was also wearing gloves and a surgical mask.

"Please, tell me this is a bad dream. This cannot be happening."

"I wish I could," Monica's voice was trying to be reassuring. "Although, I have to tell you that you'll be isolated as well, but if you want you can stay with Mike, as long as you don't touch him with bare hands."

"Yes, I want to be with him," the teary gaze of the mother penetrated Monica's heart and the little angel squeezed Alice's shoulder.

"Come with me, we'll get you the suit."

"I'm sorry, I don't even know your name," Alice said, realizing that she didn't know how to call the angel that had been so nice to her.

"Monica."

They entered a little room where another nurse handled Alice a blue gown, a hat, gloves and a surgical mask. She was helped to get dressed and that only make her felt more like living something unreal.

"I'd like to apologize for Robert. He's a good man but this is so hard," Alice said lowering her eyes.

"Don't do it. It's not necessary," Monica felt a wave of compassion at the worried face of the woman who was having so much trouble to deal with everything, her son as well as her husband. "I know this is a nightmare for you. I don't blame him for being angry, but I really hope he'll think better about what I asked him."

"We made that trip for Mike; we have had some hard times lately and the kid resented them so bad we thought we could make up things with a safari. You know kids, a safari was such an adventure for him!" Monica and Alice left the little room and walked down the corridor to Mike's room. "Are you married, Monica? Do you have children?"

The Irish angel smiled at the simple thought of she and Andrew sharing a family life. "No, I'm not married, neither I have kids."

"But you're in love?"

Monica's smile grew larger and a special glint appeared in her eyes, the special glint reserved only for Andrew. "Yes, I am."

"Then you can understand what I mean. I wanted to save my marriage and my family. I love Robert. God! I'd like he was here!" Alice leaned over her son and brushed a lock of his hair that was over his forehead.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon, Alice. He loves you and he loves his son," the angel felt she was starting to understand what Tess meant with there was something huge in this assignment.

"Yes, he is his son," Alice whispered without paying attention to Monica's puzzled face.

The angel chose not to ask more and, instead, she left her alone with her son. "I'll be back later. If you need something, call for the nurse, ok?" but she got no answer. She closed the door and stood in front of the window, watching at the mechanical stroking of the woman on his child forehead.

"This family has been built over a lie, isn't it, Tess?" Monica asked when she felt her supervisor presence.

"Yes and not, baby." The younger angel turned to face her, unable to understand the contradiction in Tess' answer. "There's a lie, it's true, but there are also many truths in this family, and one that should never be forgotten: there is love between them, angel girl, and you better than any other angel know that love itself is worthier than any mistake the person you love could ever make."

"But Robert has forgotten that," Monica sighed.

"Yes, and so has Alice, baby."

"Andrew, this is Dr. McKinney," Henry said introducing the blond angel to a dark skinned man. "He's in charge of the hospital right now. The... hum... the original director died two days ago."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. McKinney," the angel shook hands with him.

"Please, call me Jack," he said. "I'm glad you're here. We need all the help we can have."

"That's why we're here. Oh, and these are Adam, Rafael and Ronald." The other three angels shook hands with him too.

"Thank you. I'll take you to where you'll be staying."

Jack took the four of them to a 2 level building that seemed to be the highest building in the zone. It was placed at the end of a road and behind it there was nothing but the open field, beautiful and calm as if it were a little part of the paradise. There was a big terrace on the second floor with open view to it.

"Your rooms are ready. You won't have to share them, there's plenty of room for everyone," Jack explained. "I hope you'll be comfortable." They crossed the living room and Jack added, "Feel free to use the phone. I can imagine you'll want to call your families or someone else," he smiled at seeing Andrew blushing slightly after Adam and Rafael elbowed him teasingly.

An hour later, the blond angel went to find Jack back at the hospital. He was wearing the safety equipment already, and when he arrived the doctor was closing the eyes of the woman lying in front of him. The angel looked in front and saw Rafael, all dressed in white, offering a hand to the soul of the woman.

"Her little son died yesterday," Jack told Andrew when he covered the corpse. "She told us they had already buried her husband before they came to the town. We're losing more than a hundred people everyday between here and the other hospitals, but we have no exact records of the deaths in the villages. We're desperate now, that's why we've asked help."

"Where have you asked for help? The World Health Organization?"

"Yes, but we also hope to get help from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. They're doing research about epidemics and I truly believe they are most capable to handle this. Unfortunately they are refusing to come. I know this scares them, but the whole world is in danger if we don't control it. My last hope is a woman I talked to yesterday. Her name is Tess."

"Yeah, I know her," Andrew said.

"You do?" Jack asked surprised and saw the angel nodding. "She said there was someone else who could help us, another woman..."

"Monica," he guessed.

"Yes! Don't tell me you know her too?"

Andrew smiled, his heart feeling sad at the memory of her. "I do... I know her very well."

"Well, I really pray for her to help us. I wish she could some and see what you've just seen."

"It's not necessary, Jack," the angel of death told him placing a hand on his shoulder. "Monica doesn't have to see this to believe you need help. She has the most compassionate heart of the world and I can assure you she's already doing everything to send help."

"She must be something for you to talk like this about her..." the doctor commented in surprise with Andrew's words about the little angel.

"She is," he said smiling. "I hope one day you can meet her... under better circumstances."

"How are you feeling, Mr. Grimsley?" Monica asked the man who was looking at his wife and son through the window of the isolated area of the hospital.

"How do you think?" he replied sarcastically.

"I know you must feel terrible for Alice and Mike, but actually I was talking about your health. I didn't ask you to be isolated for what I told you before, but if you show any symptom as fever or muscular ache, you will have to be admitted as well."

Robert turned to look at the Irish angel and leaned heavily over the wall. "No, I don't feel bad at all. I'm ok."

"Alice asked me to let her stay with your son. She told me the last few months have been pretty hard for you..."

"Yeah... That's why we had the idea of the trip. She proposed Disney but I wanted something more. It was me the one who thought about going to The Congo. I never thought something like this could happen!"

Monica placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "This is not your fault, Mr. Grimsley. You wanted to give your son something to remember and you did."

"Yeah... and I gave him his own death."

"Robert, the next two weeks will be critical for him. If he survives them, he may have a good chance to recover. He's here under a good care, getting the medicines that cannot cure him but that can help him to fight. But there is an epidemic at The Congo, and thousands of people are lying on the floor just waiting to die! Please, you have to help me, you have to help them!"

"You've said it, doctor...?"

"Call me Monica."

"Ok. You've said it, Monica. Here we have the conditions, medicines, special clothes! There there's nothing! My job as a senator is to protect the life of the citizens, not send them to risk it!"

"A fancy hospital is not what they need!" she replied feeling desperate at how her words crashed with a wall again. "If Mike is not the only case, we won't have a single chance either! Do this for your country, do this for your own son!"

"My son? I don't know if..." Robert stopped not wanting to discuss his worries with a complete stranger. "There won't be any more cases, Monica," he said.

"How can you know?!"

"We're in America, we're lucky, we've always been lucky," he said with a forced smile.

"I wouldn't call it luck."

"Call it the way you want to. Mike will be the only case. Oh, and I need to ask you something. Please, don't inform the press about this. You don't want to cause a massive panic, do you?"

The little angel's hands were tightly wrapped in fists, her nails almost hurting her. How could this man be so blind? She closed her eyes and mentally asked for help and guidance, though what happened next scared her more and let her wondering about the near future.

"Monica, you need to come immediately!" Gloria said almost breathless running to the angel and the man.

"What's going on, Gloria?" she asked.

"We have two new cases of Ebola on the ER! A flight attendant and Mike's teacher!"

Robert's blood froze in his veins but what he would never forget was the penetrating sight in Monica's brown eyes.

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