Authors note: to take away some confusment you may have about this and the previous chapter; it's told from Jim's point of view now. I might be switching between them some more often.

Angel's Return

On a stormy night my wish finally had come true.
It was already 1 am when my mother heard somebody knocking on the door.
"Who could be calling on us in this late hour?", she thought.
Shivering from the sudden cold she put on her morning robe. I saw the light in her room and decided to take a look.
She opened the door while warming herself, still not completely awake. I couldn't see who was there, but my mother immediately slapped her hands against her mouth the minute she saw the person. She looked as if she had seen a ghost.
I wondered what it could be that made her so upset. Apart from some vague movements of the person standing in front of her I couldn't see a thing, nor could I hear a word from what they were saying. They talked and my mother stepped aside to make some more room.
Then I saw her, carried by a man I didn't knew. My heart jumped over by the look of her little figure.
"Angel", I whispered.
She shivered and coughed. Her clothes were soaked and her hair was a mess. My mother pointed towards the room next to mine and the poor thing was laid on her previous bed.
Angel tossed and turned as my mother took out her shoes and clothes. She asked me for one of my old pyjama's and put it on by the little girl. Like any other mother would do with an ill child she tugged her in warm and gave her a short kiss on the forehead.
After she was done; my mother and the stranger went downstairs.
She thanked him and offered one of the rooms to sleep in, but he insisted to go because they were waiting for him at home.
I sneaked into Angel's room, while my mother was calling the doctor. I held her cold hand into mine and sat by her bed.
"What happened?", I cried, as I stroke with my hand on her cheek.
She just laid there and I felt so powerless to see her struggling. Her coughing increased, which really worried me. How could she have become so ill?

When the doctor came he send me away to examine her.
I walked in circles around the room, unable to sit down.
"Don't worry so much", my mother said, "The doctor will take good care of her."
I nodded, but to be honest I wasn't so sure about that. It seemed to take forever before the door was opened again.
I ran towards the doctor.
"And? What's wrong?", I asked impatiently.
He put down his bag and gave my mother some prescriptions.
"The girl cached a serious cold", he said, "She has pneumonia. And you have to make sure she eats good as well. Undernourished as she is I'd say she hasn't seen food for at least three days."
I was shocked. Something really awful must have happened to her, I thought, or else she wouldn't be doing this to herself.
"Will she be alright?", I asked.
The doctor smiled. "Sure she will", he said, "This sort of thing is easy to treat at home nowadays. Just let her take the medication and I'll come to check upon her once a week."
My mother thanked him and showed the way out.
I sighed with relief. Everything was going to be alright. Still my heart ached to see Angel in such pain. Suddenly I remembered the necklace I had given her. I noticed that it hang around her neck, while she held the Guardian Angel pendant tightly in her left hand. She breathed quietly and peaceful.
"And now let us catch some sleep as well", my mother said. She send me to my bed and went herself too.

The next few days I went strait to Angel's room when I got home. I sat by her and she was always happy to see me, I saw it in her. She lifted her head and smiled at me when I entered.
My mother and me both made sure that she took her medication and she seemed to improve quickly. Though medical care in our time was far better then it used to be, Angel was still very ill. She hardly spoke a word, and if she did, it usually was to me.
At first she had not wanted to eat, but I sat with her patiently to push her gently to do so. She was just as stubborn as I can be at times.
"Come on, you really must eat", I said.
She coughed and looked at me with dull eyes.
"But I can't, I'm not hungry", she replied weakly.
Her words made me more and more worried. The twinkling in her eyes had disappeared, which was not a good sign. She seemed to have lost all her will to live and I was desperate to get it back.
"Please tell me what's wrong", I cried, "I know there is something you are not telling me! I can see it!"
She sighed. I saw tears coming into her eyes. Good, I thought, finally she's showing some emotion. Apparently Angel had been pressing away her memories from the past months. That had to come out sometime.
"I…I saw them pushing", she stuttered, "Horrible…he tried to escape. Kicking…so much on the kicking and the beating…they didn't stop. I wasn't able save him…"
Then she couldn't hold back her tears anymore. It all came out. I climbed on the bed and sat beside her. I held her into my arms and slowly rocked her back and forth.
"It's alright, it's alright. Oh, my dear Angel, what in the world has happened?"
I wiped away some tears from her eyes and she began to calm down a bit.
"My father", she whispered, finally facing the truth, "Is dead."
I closed my mouth in astonishment. I realised that she had no one anymore. Angel crawled further into my arms and I closed them around her.
I wanted to tell her how sorry I was, but for some reason I couldn't find the words for it. I saw by the look in her eyes that she felt comfort in my embrace.
The only thing I wished was to show Angel that she was not alone; the she had me.
"Do you want to tell me about it?", I asked.
She hesitated. It had been quite some time since we had seen each other and I could imagine that she must have gone through a lot.
"Yes…", she replied, "I think I'm ready for it."
I gave her a tissue to blow her nose. Her eyes were all red from the crying.
"You are not alone, Angel", I told her, "I will always be there for you."