*Author's note* Hello! It has been a long time, but since there has been interest in this story, I decided to update it. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading!
Andrew found himself standing outside of room 342 memorizing the lines of the grey plastic numbers. They seemed so insignificant so unimportant, yet those three numbers scared him more than anything he had ever experienced. He imagined it was how humans felt when they stood at the edge of a cliff, that sudden fear of what could happen with the next step. Silently, he began to recite the prayer that had been his mantra for the past few days.
"Father, all I ask is that you allow me to watch over Monica while she heals. Let me guard over her until she's ready to come home."
Andrew closed his eyes in the hope that he would receive a definite answer, but once again he was met with silence. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open readying himself to see Monica.
No matter how mentally prepared he thought he was, the sight of her still shocked him. She looked so fragile, with her broken discolored body attached to various medical machines. His heart tightened as he reabsorbed the sight of his dearest friend. Physical damage assaulted his eyes as he scanned her battered body, but what worried him was the pain that laid behind her still closed eyes. Imagining the hate that was inflicted upon her crushed his soul and sent him spiraling down an eternity of unanswered questions. Since his first sight of her days ago, he had been asking God why and was still only met with silence.
Pushing his own frustrations out of the way, he took the seat beside Monica's bed and gently took her hand in his.
"Hello sweet angel." Andrew whispered tenderly as he brushed his thumb against her skin.
"Oh!" Tess's surprised exclamation startled him. "I didn't see you come in, baby."
She was arranging a bouquet of flowers in the corner of the room, her back to the door.
"How is she today?" Andrew quietly asked, his eyes memorizing each dark eyelash that lay against Monica's pale cheeks.
The older angel sighed and shook her head as she glanced at the two younger angels.
"Still no sign of her coming out of it."
Andrew's face immediately betrayed his devastation. Trying to control her own emotions, Tess turned her attention back to the bouquet.
"I thought these might brighten the room, and give her something interesting to look at when she wakes up."
"They're beautiful, Tess." Andrew offered, knowing that both of them were desperate to hang on to any hope. "The lilacs are an especially nice touch."
Tess absent mindedly touched the delicate fragrant blooms. "They're her favorite."
Andrew could feel the worry weighing heavily on Tess, and worried she was beginning to crack under its pressure. Letting go of Monica's hand, he went and enveloped Tess in a tight and much needed hug.
"She'll get through this." He heard himself say it despite the doubt that hid in the corner of his mind. Tess patted his hand before wiping away a stray tear.
"I know you're right, baby. It's just hard to see my angel girl this way." Despite her best efforts, tears began to flow from Tess's dark eyes.
"I know, Tess." Andrew gently rubbed his hand down her back, feeling the knots that were building in her human form. "I know."
Clearing her throat, and pulling away to dab at her eyes with a tissue Tess asked "Have you gotten an answer yet?"
Turning back to Monica, Andrew focused on the curve of her nose as he answered. "No, nothing yet."
Tess didn't respond. They both had their hopes in the father's hands, but they both wanted Andrew's request to be approved. After a moment of silence, the undercurrent of anxiety forced Tess to do something. She placed the bouquet of flowers on the tray attached to Monica's bed, moving individual flowers around so that Monica had the best view when she woke up. Andrew seemed frozen, stuck on memorizing the lines of Monica's profile. Tess maneuvered to reach around him, picking up a book from the counter that once held the flowers.
"Today I brought The Importance of Being Earnest. I figured she would like that since it is written by an Irishman."
Andrew just smiled as he resumed his place at Monica's side, with Tess taking the open seat across from him. Andrew began to get lost in his thoughts as Tess's soothing voice filled the room. As he typically did, he found his thoughts devoted to memorizing each marbleized bruise on her ashen face. He traced the swirl of chartreuse as it deepened into a thick eggplant color before pockets of black accumulated at the center. When it became too much for his heart to handle, he would resume his memorization of her delicate eyelashes, as if his attention could convince them to flutter open.
After wishing for it so long, he believed he was starting to hallucinate the subtle twitch of her lashes. When they did it again, he felt his heart stop in his chest and fall into his stomach.
"Tess," he whispered so softly that the supervisor didn't hear him over the sound of her own voice reading the words of Oscar Wilde. Monica's left eye was still too swollen to open, but her right eyelid had lifted enough to show her chestnut iris and hazy pupil.
"Tess," still her voice filled the room. "Tess," he said louder. The salt and Pepper head lifted at the sound of her name. She followed Andrew's stare and stood up shocked, the book falling from her hand onto the floor.
"Miss Wings?" Tess asked as she leaned into Monica's eyeline. Monica's eyelid opened a little farther before drooping once again.
Andrew couldn't resist leaning closer to her.
"It's ok, Monica. Take it easy." he encouraged her as she struggled to keep her eye open.
"I'm going to call the nurse, ok baby?" Tess asked as she reached for the big plastic call button on Monica's bed. Monica followed Tess's movement as best she could without moving her head. The heart monitor started to beat more rapidly, alerting the angels to Monica's growing awareness and panic.
"Hey, hey, hey." Andrew cooed as he carefully caressed the left side of her head. "It's alright, angel. You're safe."
Monica's eye never left Tess, who was glancing between Monica and the door. Monica's heartbeat was still racing despite Andrew's soothing words.
"Tess?" Andrew worriedly sought wisdom from the older angel as Monica's heart rate escalated.
"You're ok baby," Tess started soothing. "Shh it's ok."
Monica's heartbeat finally started to steady as Tess spoke to her, the honey voice surrounding Monica just like a hug.
"That's right, baby. Just breathe." Tess forced an encouraging smile while holding Monica's unsteady gaze.
Two nurses and the doctor came in to check on Monica. Tess kept her reassuring smile and nodded at the little angel while the medical staff poked and prodded at her.
Andrew moved to stand beside Tess, hoping the new angle would be easier for Monica to catch his eye. Still, she only looked at Tess. A sharp pain pierced his heart as he desperately searched to connect with his friend.
When the doctor was finished, she asked to speak to Tess outside.
"I'll be right back, angel baby." Tess promised as she gently patted Monica's hand.
Andrew saw a spark of panic in Monica's eye as Tess followed the doctor. At last, he thought he could help her. Their eyes would meet and he could tell her everything would be okay.
"Hey, it's alright." Andrew tried to soothe Monica. He caressed the unharmed flesh of her upper arms.
"Monica?" she didn't even acknowledge his touch. Her body was falling back into the healing lull of sleep, her eyelid falling despite her best effort to stay awake.
"Monica?" he tried once more to catch her eye.
Tess came back to find Andrew sitting on the side of her bed, with slumped shoulders.
"Is she okay?" Tess asked tentatively.
"She fell back asleep."
"The doctor just told me that would be normal. She may not stay conscious long." Tess resumed her place at Monica's side. "But she is regaining consciousness."
Andrew didn't say anything, just sat staring at Monica's closed eyes.
"That's good news baby." Tess encouraged. When Andrew's demeanor didn't change, Tess knew something else was bothering him. "Andrew, what's wrong?"
"She didn't see me, Tess." The pain in his voice was undeniable. "She didn't see me, hear me, or feel me Tess. It was like I wasn't there."
Tess's face contorted with worry as Andrew spoke.
"What is it Tess?"
Tess looked as if she didn't want to tell him. Sighing, she said "You are in your angelic form, baby."
"I don't understand."
Tears were filling Tess's eyes as she turned towards Monica's sleeping face.
"She's really stuck in there, Andrew. She didn't see you because she is trapped in human form."
"She can't forget she's an angel." Andrew said in disbelief.
"She can and she has." A man's voice answered Andrew.
"Sam?" Andrew turned to see the older angel at the door of the hospital room.
"Hello, Andrew, Tess." Sam greeted solemnly as he approached Andrew, stopping to stand between Andrew and Monica. Tess and Andrew waited nervously as Sam observed Monica's sleeping form.
"He warned me that it was bad, but it's different when you see it with your own eyes." Sam whispered, as if to himself as he reached to run the pads of his fingers against Monica's sheared hairline. Looking away from the beaten little angel, he turned to focus on Andrew. Before Sam could say anything, Andrew spoke his eyes brimming with tears.
"She didn't see me, Sam."
Placing a hand on Andrew's shoulder, Sam sighed.
"This is going to be a difficult assignment."
Andrew stared at Sam, baffled. "Does that mean?" He began to question, but couldn't quite voice his hope.
"Yes, the Father has decided that you will serve as Monica's guardian angel."
Instinctively, Andrew took Monica's hand in his.
"Thank you, Father." Andrew silently offered as he caressed the back of her hand. Sam began to explain the logistics, but Andrew was distracted by the light twitch of Monica's fingers against his.