Chapter 6

Without any further thought about it, the angels and Jack rushed over to the railing, where they took one glance down only to find Grace, desperately scrambling through the ocean ways in any attempt to keep her head above the enormous swells. "Grace!" Jack yelled at the top of his lungs, though it was clear she didn't hear him, whether it was because she had fallen so far or because he head kept disappearing under the water they weren't sure. But then Monica knew what she had to do. In her heart, her Father was calling out to her, telling her what had to be done. And so, with almost no thought about it, she mustered up every last bit of courage in her body and threw herself over the railing after the young woman, ignoring any screams of protest from Andrew or Gloria. The fall was terrifyingly long, as they drop was an unbelievable distance.

But eventually, after having the breath torn from her lungs because of the fall, Monica hit the water at break-neck speed and disappeared beneath the surface immediately. The water, even though it was tropical, hit her like icy knives as she sunk. But she wasted no time once she had regained her composer, and made a desperate swim for the surface. She could feel the swells forcing her down, but further up she swam until after an eternity it seemed, her head broke the surface and she gasped for whatever air she had lost. She then glanced around her hastily, ignoring the shouts from above until her eyes finally fell upon the flailing figure she could only assume was Grace.

She paddled toward her with her arms, using nearly all her strength to get through the undertows and waves. Panic was beginning to ride in her heart as she felt herself shiver and tire from the ocean. She couldn't even imagine how Grace had to be feeling after being in this icy water for so much longer. But she eventually reached the young woman and outstretched her hand to get the message across to the human, as the both of them were far too frozen and exhausted to say a word. Only by the mercy of the Father did Grace understand and reached out her with once hand. Monica only had to stretch her drenched arm a little further before their hands connected and the angel held on with all her might, not exactly knowing what she had to do next.

But it was then that the crewmen aboard the ship found what they had been looking for and tossed it down to them. A life preserver. Both Monica and Grace were gasping for air now as the freezing water found it's way into their lungs and Monica kicked with all her might before she had brought the both of them over to the life preserver, all the while not letting go of Grace's hand. Once they had reached it, then Monica released Grace's hand as the human grasped the life preserver with both hands and allowed the crewmen to hoist her up on deck. It was a long haul, but she was finally there and felt the tension release from her lungs as she coughed in the warm night breeze above. Jack leaned over the railing to grab her once she was in reach and he then hauled his new wife over the railing and onto the deck, where she collapsed and struggled to regain her breath as Jack pulled off his own bathrobe and wrapped it lovingly around her shoulders.

Seeing this, all Andrew wanted was to have Monica back at his side and he shouted for the crewmen to send down the life preserver again. They did, but everyone was surprised and horrified when it splashed down into seemingly empty waves. Both Andrew and Gloria leaned over the railing, desperately searching for their friend, whom they knew had to be down there. She just had to be down there somewhere. But nothing but quiet and a gentle splashing sound drifted up to them from the sea below. It was almost too much for Andrew to stand. "Monica!" He screamed as loudly as he could as tears threatened in his throat.

He thought of the day before, when they had been playing volleyball and having a good time. He even thought of a few hours ago, when she had made the Squirrel Boy joke. She couldn't be gone. She just couldn't be. But then a new development occurred and suddenly a still, lifeless looking figure appeared on the surface below without a sound. Everyone watching knew what it was and prayed what they saw wasn't true. In some form of a miracle, the life preserver just happened to drift the right way so that it slipped over Monica's head and arm, securing her unconscious body to itself. One of the crewmen then demanded the other to hoist her up and he did so, careful not to let her fall again throughout the journey upward.

Andrew was the first one to her aid when she finally reached the railing and he grasped her tiny body by the shoulder and pulled her on deck with minimal difficulty. He lay her gently on her back on the hard surface and knelt at her side. Jack then knelt next to her as well and hastily checked her pulse before bending forward to check if there was air emitting from her mouth. There was none. "Okay, I don't have a pulse and she's not breathing." He informed Andrew and Gloria, who stood close by. "And there are no first aid officials around. Someone's going to have to perform CPR." He announced this part a little more loudly in hopes that anyone around who hears would know how to do it.

But there was no point in awaiting a reply, Andrew was not going to waste one more second of his friend's precious life that was slowly slipping away from them and he dropped to his knees at her side once more. "Okay, watch out." He waved Jack out of the way before bending his head to check her breathing and pulse once again before beginning. Tears streaming down his face, he folded his hands over her chest and pumped down over and over again, all the while counting to five before he tilted her head back, plugged her nose, holding it shut with his thumb and index finger. He then bent again, and, without a second thought about it, he covered her mouth with his and gave her two deep breaths of air. Rising again, he repeated the procedure over and over, though it seemed to have no effect.

"Oh Monica, come on, don't leave me now." He pleaded through tears as he gave her five more thrusts onto her chest and leaned over once again, giving her two more breaths of air. But the little, Irish angel only lay there lifelessly as though she would never rise again, her hazel eyes closed almost peacefully and her wet, auburn hair loose beneath her head. "Oh God, Monica wake up!" Andrew shouted as tears now fell freely down his face and he repeated the heart-pumping procedure before bending down one last time. But this time before he reached her mouth, as if on her friend's demand, Monica coughed up the water almost violently and Andrew helped her to roll on her side so she didn't choke again. An enormous grin spread his face as he cried harder yet, but this time out of joy. He loved that little angel so much; he didn't know what he would of done if he hadn't been able to revive her.

"Oh, thank God!" He exclaimed as she finished sputtering and gasped for air. He them wasted no time in leaning forward and embracing her petite frame so tightly that he was sure he would never let go. What would he have done? Still slightly dazed and confused, Monica struggled with her memory until she recalled waiting for the life preserver and being pulled under the boat by an undertow. That was the last thing she remembered. But now as Andrew held her in his arms, she could guess pretty easily what had just taken place and she felt steaming tears of her own work their way down her freezing face. If it hadn't been for Andrew, she would never have woken up again and she owed her life to him. She could never be more thankful than she was now. She was sure of it.

"Oh, Monica, I thought we'd lost you." Andrew whispered in his friend's ear as he held her, still not letting go. Monica allowed the tears to spill freely over her angelic features now as she rolled over the situation in her mind again and again. "Andrew," she gasped disbelievingly as the air flooded back into her lungs, "you saved my life." She stated, still in a state of shock, as she was suddenly aware of how cold she was. Feeling her small, trembling body in his arms, Andrew drew back momentarily to pull off his own bathrobe and wrap it caringly around his friend's shoulders.

But as he sat there with her, watching her drip salt water and shiver in the moonlight, he suddenly realized how this all happened. He had been the one to convince her that water was nothing to be afraid of. He had been the once to make sure she came on this cruise. And last but not least, he had been the one who had let her dive in tonight. He could've stopped her. This was all his fault! He had almost lost his best friend and it was all his fault!