Hey everyone! Sorry about the long wait again, I have had some issues to deal with, and school is giving me a rather difficult time as always. I know this chapter is quite short, but I hope you enjoy it none-the-less. Also, because of the issues that I mentioned above, I did not type or load this chapter. A friend typed it up and posted for me, and God knows my handwriting is awful, so forgive any mistakes that she might have made!

As some of you may know already, I am absolutely obsessed with music, and I can usually find a song to relate to almost any situation. The idea for this particular story came from a song from the movie 'Anna and the King.' It is called "How Can I Not Love You?" and it is sung by Joy Enriquez. SO, if you would like to get a feel for the heart of this story before it's written for you here, I suggest listening to that song. Also, I've used elements from Daniel Bedingfield's "If You're Not the One" as well, so that's also a good one to listen to.

So I hope you enjoy the songs, but most importantly, CHAPTER FIVE!

Love, A

It was definitely getting colder. Every second that passed, the temperature seemed to drop a degree or two. Monica pulled the sleeves of her sweater down over her hands as a shiver ran up her spine, and she wished that she had taken the time to grab a jacket, or at least some gloves. The wind had started to pick up too, and she could feel the bitter coldness nipping at her nose and cheeks like an annoying pest. The air smelled like snow though; the mixture of burning fireplaces, ice, and the slight burning sensation inside her nose made her smile, and she wished that the sky would open up and coat the earth with the fluffy white stuff. The first snowfall of winter would definitely help to raise her spirits. Not that they really needed raising. She just needed something to distract her, so that she could get through the day without upsetting Tess anymore.

It had to have been at least 20 minutes since she had left the cabin, and she was slightly surprised that Andrew had not found her yet. She knew that she didn't have to wait for him, that he would come and find her as soon as he could (respectively) escape from Tess's questioning presence. He always did.

Soon, she came to a bench on the side of the path, nestled up against a tree trunk. She sat on it to wait, and not a second later, there he was, walking up the path towards where she sat. She smiled at him shyly as he took a seat next to her and cleared his throat.

"Why didn't you wait for me? I would've come with you …," he said softly, turning to look in her eyes. The deep pools of green gazing at her were paralyzing for a millisecond. She was still trying to get used to that feeling, but she found herself fighting it at the same time.

"I … I'm sorry, I just had to get out right then. I know that we aren't lying to Tess, but not telling feels like a lie to me, and I had to get away before I said something …" she said timidly, understanding nothing. Andrew also looked troubled and nodded in agreement.

"I know what you mean. It was really hard to sit there and pretend that nothing was wrong when you walked out like you did," he said, and realizing the way that statement sounded aloud, he quickly corrected himself, "I mean … I understood why, but she didn't of course, and tried to get it out of me. That's why it took me a little while to get out here. I had to dodge every other question she asked, and you know that's not an easy thing with her."

Monica nodded and looked away. Andrew was a little worried that she wasn't talking much, but at the same time, he knew that she was fighting a battle against these new feelings same as he was. He was certain now that these mounting feelings were for her in a way that he'd never felt before, but whether it was "love" or not, he didn't know. He didn't want to jump to that conclusion immediately, but considering what he had been feeling before, and what he felt now … he didn't think it could be anything else. In the beginning, he had tried to fight these feelings away but since he had surrendered, they were racing forward at an alarming speed. And, on top of everything else, right in that moment, he had the overwhelming desire to take her face in his hands and –

"Andrew … look, I think it's starting to snow …" her voice was barely above a whisper, but it was enough to yank him from his thoughts. He chose not to look at her, afraid that the blush rising to his cheeks from what he had been thinking a moment before would show, and she would ask about it. He grinned, slightly surprised that he had thought of such a thing, but remembered in the next moment that it wasn't the first time. He followed her gaze towards the sky, and saw that it was indeed beginning to snow. The flakes were just small flurries now, but he knew it would turn into more, especially if the temperature continued to drop through the night. He hoped, more for Monica's sake than anything, that they would wake tomorrow to a blanket of fresh snow. He knew that would help to bring her into the spirit of the holidays if nothing else would.

"You're right," he said, continuing to watch the tiny snowflakes dance around in the sky on their decent to the earth. Monica turned to look at him and furrowed her eyebrows together.

"Do you think we should head back? It's getting really cold, your face is red …" she said, always the observant one. He shook his head and smiled,

"No, I'm fine to stay out if you are … you know, maybe we should go ahead and pick some flowers. If it gets too cold, we won't want to stay out and if we wait … well, flowers don't usually survive in snow. This might be our only chance." She nodded her agreement and stood up, and waited for him to do the same.

Soon, they were on their way back home with enough flowers for three centerpieces, Andrew having picked an armful as well. They had picked every flower that was worth having, and by now the temperature was really starting to get to them both. The snow was falling harder now, huge, fluffy flakes that left wet spots where they landed, and it was starting to stick to the ground. Monica looked around and smiled, loving the feeling of contentment that the snow and being with Andrew brought to her. Just walking with him, even in complete silence, soothed her spirit like nothing else could. She hoped that, as they neared the cabin again, the good feeling would remain at least long enough for her to get through Thanksgiving dinner in a cheerful manner.

They came in through the back door, and the wonderful aromas that greeted them were almost intoxicating. If there was one other thing besides being a supervisor that Tess was blessed with, it was cooking. Andrew laid his bundle of flowers in a basket that Tess had left out, and took Monica's from her to add to the vase already on the table. She stood silently, watching him rearranging the flowers and had to bite her lip to keep the tears that were welling up in her eyes from falling down her cheeks. When Andrew turned from the table a moment later and saw her sudden change in emotion, his own eyes softened and he asked softly,

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" She lost the battle against her tears as he spoke, the tenderness of his words reaching right to her heart. A lone tear fell from her eye, but before it even had the chance to trickle half-way down her cheek, Andrew wiped it away gently with his thumb. He placed his palm against her cheek delicately as her eyelids slid shut and he looked at her searchingly, wishing he could feel what was in her heart as easily as if she told him aloud. He let his hand linger for another moment as she regained her composure and opened her eyes to look at him. When she did, she couldn't help but notice how warm his hand was, or how incredibly close his face was to hers. It stole her breath for a moment, and she had the sudden thought that it would be extremely nice if he were to lean in and ki-

"Hey …" Andrew whispered, his voice faltering slightly, for he too had been (again) thinking exactly what she had been thinking at the same moment that he interrupted her thoughts, much like she had done to him earlier. "I think we should probably go and check on Tess and dinner … don't you think?"

No,she wanted to say, let's stay right here. But she couldn't manage to form the words. "Y-yes we should go check on … on Tess … definitely …"

She stepped back from him then, averting her eyes from his still searching gaze and almost made it to the swinging kitchen door before he stopped her.

"Wait," Andrew said, "you never said what was wrong … you were crying …" She nodded and shook her head,

"It's nothing, really... I was just thinking about you and all the things you do, and how incredibly lucky I am to have you … and you know me, sometimes I get a wee bit emotional." It was simple and honest, and Andrew couldn't say or do anything but stare at her beautiful face and the tears shining in her eyes and wonder what he had ever done to deserve such an incredible being in his life. He closed the distance between them in two large strides and had her in his arms before she even knew that he had moved.

"No, no …" he whispered softly into her ear, his fingers running through her auburn hair, "You can't possibly imagine how much having you in my life has meant to me all these years, Princess … it's me … I'm the lucky one." She nodded her head against his chest, listening to his heart beating in steady rhythm with her own, something about the sound driving all the anxiety from her body and mind, and she felt that with him by her side, she would never want for another thing ever. Besides being an angel and being in the Father's presence, Andrew's friendship meant more to her than anything in the world.

"Well, let's not argue about who's the luckiest and just say we both are," she said with a giggle, as she pulled away from his embrace, "besides, you know eventually you would let me win."

Andrew smiled and shrugged, "Hey, I don't know about that. Maybe … but you'd definitely have to fight me for it." He tucked a strand of her long hair behind her ear and when they heard Tess call for them a moment later, he placed a light kiss on her forehead and said,

"Ok, Princess … dinner awaits us …"

Sorry, I know it's short! I'll have more ASAP!