NOTE: I know it has been close to forever since I updated last, but I hope you will forgive me and continue to leave me nice comments! I've been so extremely busy since starting at university, I haven't hardly any time to breathe, let alone write. So, with that said, if it happens to be another long stretch of time before I am able to update again, PLEASE know that it's not because I don't care, or that I've forgotten! This story (and it's completion) mean the WORLD to me, and I will not let it die, I swear!

Love, A

The next day, Thanksgiving, dawned bright and much too early for a certain auburn haired angel. Monica had slept fitfully, tossing and turning in her bed, unable to really get to sleep. She had finally drifted off into a light slumber just as the sun was rising, but was snatched out of it when Tess poked her head in,

"Good morning, and happy Thanksgiving, Angel Girl," she said brightly, drawing a misunderstood groan from Monica, who was usually a morning person and full of energy early in the day. Tess frowned and added before turning to leave, "You better leave that attitude in this room when you come downstairs, Miss Wings … today is not the day."

"Tess," she protested, "I don't mean to be rude, it's just that I'm so t-t-tired …" She stifled a huge yawn, "and if you don't need me to help, I'd rather just stay in bed …"

Monica covered her face with her bedcovers and squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to shield herself from the world. Surprisingly, she wasn't that tired … she figured that Andrew was probably awake and downstairs already, and she was afraid that it would be awkward between them after what was said last night, and she didn't want Tess picking up on the tension. Unfortunately, she didn't have a choice in the matter.

"You get your Angel rear out of bed, Miss Wings … it's Thanksgiving and we are all spending the day together! Andrew's already downstairs …" Her tone was firm, but not angry … just like a mother with a stubborn teenager. With that, Tess exited the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

With another groan, Monica shoved the covers aside and stood up reluctantly. Andrew was already downstairs, just like she knew he would be. But shouldn't she be glad, and excited to see him? Yes, she thought, as she shuffled to her bathroom. So why was she dreading going downstairs now? She didn't really want to admit it, even to herself in the mirror, as she stood there combing her hair, but she really was feeling something for Andrew unlike anything she'd felt before, and it really was making her nervous. Could it be possible that what her mind had been dwelling on for the better part of the last two days was actually happening?

"No …" she said to her reflection, but the way it came out, even she didn't believe herself. She frowned and studied the way her messy hair fell over her left eye like a curtain, and she was reminded of her book again, how the girl's hair fell in her face in the exact same manner. She tried to fix it nicely, but going to bed with it wet and not sleeping well had turned her normally smooth mane into a pile of messy curls, twisting and waving every which way. She sighed and frowned, before just tying it up in a ponytail, not willing to spend anymore time on the disaster. It would just have to do.

She found that, for only the second time in her existence, she was worried about the way she looked and what she should wear, and she couldn't begin to imagine what caused the sudden change in behavior, unless it was that she wanted to look good for Andrew. The thought made a blush rise to her cheeks, and she knew it was true. With that in mind, she walked to her closet, pulled the doors open and stared at all her clothes, trying to figure out which was the best outfit for the occasion. She pulled out shirts, sweaters, jackets … she hated everything that she saw and clothes were soon scattered around her room and there was nothing left hanging in the closet. She turned away from the closet and finally decided that pajamas would do well for now, and she would decide what to wear later, when she knew the details of the rest of the day. With that in mind, she dragged her rumpled self from her room and down the stairs towards the kitchen, where she imagined Tess had prepared something for breakfast.

"Well, look who's decided to join us …" the comment was made light-heartedly, and a grin pulled at the corners of her mouth as she looked into his face, getting used to the way her heart jumped out of her chest when she did so. She noticed immediately that he too had opted to stay in pajamas for the time being, and just that little thing put her mind at ease, at least for now. She looked around and saw that the table in the kitchen was set for breakfast, and there was an assortment of morning foods on the stove ready to be eaten. Tess entered then and greeted Monica brightly, motioning her over to help with drinks for the meal.

She didn't need direction; she knew that Andrew liked orange juice with his morning meal, and that Tess would drink a cup of coffee, black, but just one. Tess was busy filling plates as Monica set mugs of coffee and a glass of juice on the table, and took her seat across from Andrew. She smiled at him shyly, but still hadn't opened her mouth to speak, for she didn't quite trust what she might say to him in front of Tess. She didn't want to accidentally say something that would make Tess question them and expect answers that they were not ready to give, or even understand for themselves. Andrew didn't say anything more to her either, for precisely the same reason.

As Tess came back with full plates for her and Andrew, Monica could sense that she was picking up on the slight tension between them, and knew it was only a matter of seconds before she said something, for that was just Tess's way.

"Angel Girl, you're awfully quiet this morning … everything ok?" Tess asked, not noticing Monica's eyes widen an infinitesimal amount, still locked on Andrew. He smiled only big enough for her to see, and as she answered her supervisor with a simple 'yes,' she wasn't sure if it was true. Everything was ok. So it wasn't really a lie. She hoped.

"Ok, well … Andrew would you ask the blessing, please?" He nodded, took Tess's hand, reached across the table for Monica's and started praying, his voice faltering only slightly as the shock from her touch ran from his hand to his shoulder. He finished the blessing, and as the chorus of 'amens' went around the table, Monica stared at her extremely full plate of food and wondered how she was going to eat any of it now.

Monica seemed so distant from Andrew and Tess as the three made small talk throughout the meal, Andrew glancing at her every so often to see that her face was blank and her eyes weren't really in focus. She had hardly eaten, and the little bit that she had seemed to be forced in an attempt to not hurt Tess's feelings. Andrew wondered if the conversation that they had had the previous night was a mistake, or if he had said something that scared her unintentionally. He wanted to be alone with her so that they could talk more, but he knew that, with it being Thanksgiving and all, Tess would expect the three of them to be together all day. It would hardly be fair for them to leave Tess by herself for the second day in a row anyway, let alone on a holiday that was meant for families. He figured that they would just have to wait until later, when they could be alone, and he hoped that Tess wouldn't pick up on the tension building between them. His thoughts were interrupted when Tess, thankfully, broke the silence.

"It's getting much colder since yesterday. The storm last night must have brought a cold front with it," she said, "I've heard that it might snow tonight." At the mention of snow, Monica's eyes seemed to brighten a little. As beautifully colorful as the other seasons were, Monica's favorite had always been winter. The thought of winter arriving a little sooner than expected brought her spirits up slightly. She shivered at the thought of the colder weather, but it was more out of excitement than actual chills.

Monica looked down at her plate and thought, if nothing else, she could at least manage to eat the toast. After five minutes or so, after everyone was finished eating (with the exception of Monica), Tess suggested that everyone go to get ready for the day while she put the finishing touches on the dinner for later that afternoon. Gratefully,

Monica brought her nearly full plate to the kitchen and looked at Tess apologetically,

"I'm sorry, I … just wasn't very hungry," she said meekly, praying that Tess wouldn't ask her to explain why. Thankfully, she didn't, but suggested instead,

"That's alright, baby. Why don't you put on something warm and go pick some more flowers for the table? That will give you something to do while I finish up in the kitchen," Tess said, hoping that doing something productive would get Monica's mind off of whatever was troubling her. Monica was usually the chatty one, especially around the holidays, so the fact that she had said less than ten words all morning raised a red flag in Tess's mind. Monica nodded her thanks, and left the room without speaking, leaving Andrew alone with Tess in the kitchen.

Andrew shifted uncomfortably in his chair, and prayed that Tess wouldn't ask him what was going on. Unfortunately, his request went unanswered.

"Angel Boy … you know what's going on, don't you?" Tess asked pointedly, with her best stern look. Andrew sighed, and thought for a moment that he just might get up and walk away as Monica had done. He couldn't bring himself to lie and say that he didn't know anything, but he couldn't betray what they had talked about the night before either. He wasn't altogether sure whether or not the subject matter of his and Monica's talk was a break of an unspoken rule, but nonetheless, he didn't think it was a good idea to tell Tess about it. He took a breath and hoped that Tess wouldn't be hurt by his words,

"I know … but I can't tell you. It's not my place to tell, and honestly, I wouldn't even know how to tell you if it were," he said, looking away, wishing she would get the hint and drop it. And it's not just her … he thought to himself.

Tess sighed, slightly irritated. It wasn't very often that this happened, and when it did, she knew that she wasn't going to get anything else out of Andrew by pestering him for answers. The best thing to do was to let it go. She knew that there must be a reason that Monica didn't want her to know whatever was on her mind, and she had learned to respect that over the years. Still, it was difficult to accept the fact that her "baby" was upset and she wasn't permitted to help, and wouldn't be until Monica chose to tell her for herself, if that even happened at all.

"I understand, Andrew. I know that you would never do anything to betray her trust, or anyone's for that matter. She counts on you an awful lot for that …" Tess said quietly, wishing secretly that their roles were reversed and it was her that Monica trusted above all others. Monica and Andrew's relationship never ceased to amaze her, and the way it continued to grow. It seemed, to her anyway, like just yesterday she was introducing the two of them to each other. Monica's apparent agitation towards him at first seemed to melt away within days, hours even, and they were close friends from then on. She used the term 'close' subjectively however, as she wasn't quite sure where on the scale of closeness their friendship really ranked. Pushing that thought from her mind, as she still had much cooking to do before dinner, she finished,

"I'm glad that she can trust you so explicitly. That's something that not a lot of people, human or angel, can say that they share with another person. That's a very special thing."

Andrew nodded, and his stomach flipped uncomfortably at her words. He knew that she was trying to be kind, but also that she was hurt, even if she wouldn't admit it forwardly. But, he could read between the lines and figure out that she was voicing what she wished that she shared with Monica, and maybe even him to some degree. It wasn't like he had gone out of his way to step in front of Tess and become that person; it had just happened that way naturally, and he felt slightly guilty about it, even though he wouldn't trade it for the world, especially now.

"Well, thank you for understanding. I bet it has to be hard sometimes, not knowing. But I promise that, if she was in any danger or something was seriously wrong or anything like that, I would tell you," he said. "We … just have some things to work out, is all …"

And he left her to her cooking at that. He couldn't justify saying anything else about it, without compromising Monica's trust, as Tess had so eloquently stated. He hurried out of the kitchen and up the stairs. His plan was to get dressed and offer to go flower-picking with Monica, which would give them the perfect opportunity to have alone time to talk.

But as he opened her door slightly, and poked his head in, and saw that she had already gone.