Hey everyone! I would just like to say a big "thank you" to all of you for the kind reviews! I live for signing on everyday to see if there are any new ones. You guys make my day! As you might have noticed, I've been updating more frequently lately, and hopefully that will continue. I've had A LOT of free time lately, and I'm hoping that this free time will extend 'til the end of this tale. Cross your fingers for me!

Oh, and for those of you who thought this would just be "a lovely little love story" … hold on tight, 'cause the ride starts now. ;)

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Tess had absolutely no idea what to think about the scene she had just witnessed as she watched her red Cadillac fade away into the increasing darkness. She just stood in place shaking her head, praying to the Father that she had imagined it. Understanding flooded through her like a rushing river as she thought of the past two days spent with her "babies" at the cabin. The strange tension that had seemed to appear suddenly from nowhere, and the funny feeling that she was missing something important, and the fact that both Monica and Andrew had been less than talkative around her … oh yes, it all made perfect sense now. She wondered how long this "behavior" had been going on right under her nose, and how long they were intending to keep it from her. They had spent much time alone with each other in the last few days, with their numerous walks in the woods and their late nights on the porch. Realization hit her like a ton of bricks …

They were probably happy to have me leave yesterday, Tess thought, remembering the look on Andrew's face when she said that she'd be away for a while. As she replayed the scene in her mind, the possibility of having imagined the whole thing grew smaller and smaller. No, she had definitely seen it, and a tight knot formed in her stomach. How in the world had this happened? What caused it, and why? The earthly love that humans shared was a wonderful thing, but between angels … no, it was expressly forbidden. And they knew that … didn't they?

A million thoughts raced through Tess's mind, and all she could focus on was getting through her assignment, and getting up there to find out what was going on between the two of them. She had been planning on returning late that night, and hoped that everything would continue to go smoothly, so that she could stick to her plan. For the first time in her existence, she found herself wishing that her assignment would finish as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the two angels in question were still enjoying themselves immensely, having arrived back at the cabin just as the sun sank below the horizon, washing the side of the mountain in blackness. The inside of the cabin was chilly, and Andrew immediately started a fire in the big stone fireplace, adding extra wood so it would burn for a while. Monica removed her heavy jacket and hung it in the closet by the door before heading to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. She figured that Andrew would want some hot chocolate, so she started a small pot of milk boiling for him on the stove as well. As she was about to scoop the coffee grounds into the filter, she was interrupted by a rather large yawn and as a second thought, decided on decaf instead. It was only half past seven, but she had a feeling that she would be going to bed early tonight. The day, as wonderful as it had been, had thoroughly exhausted her and she didn't want excess caffeine keeping her from getting a good nights sleep.

She waited for her coffee to brew before she mixed Andrew's hot chocolate, and then brought both mugs into the living room, where he was still coaxing the flames in the fireplace. He finally got them blazing after adding two more logs, and then he joined her on the sofa a few feet away. After thanking her for the hot chocolate, he slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Thanks again for a wonderful day, Princess," Andrew said softly, feeling quite weary himself after everything that they had done. From the different cafes and restaurants they had visited, to the countless shops that had caught their attention, it had been a very eventful day.

"Your welcome, and thank you …" She replied softly, leaning backwards into his embrace, her head falling easily to his shoulder. "You know my favorite part about the whole day was just being with you," she said with a smile, "but those puppies come in a very close second. I wish I could have brought one home … or all of them …"

Andrew just had to laugh. "Can you even begin to imagine the look on Tess's face if she came home to find a puppy in her cabin? And that would be just one, she would probably drop dead if there were nine …" The smile that had graced Monica's face fell slightly at the mention of their supervisor.

"Tess should be home soon," She observed quietly, and Andrew thought he caught a trace of sadness in her voice.

"Yep," he replied, and then asked, "Are you ok?" She nodded quickly, and mumbled the word "fine," to which Andrew immediately argued.

"Liar …" he said playfully, "Tell me what's wrong."

Monica sighed. She could never hide anything from him, and she was just going to have to accept that. "I just … I don't know, I mean obviously we can't just not tell her …" she said, her stomach fluttering nervously, "but how do we tell her?"

Andrew considered her question for a long moment. She was right, of course, they had to tell her what was going on. Even if they tried to hide it from her, she would eventually figure it out. Andrew thought that she already suspected that something was going on, even if she didn't know what it was, and that she was bound to call them on it sooner rather than later.

"Well …" he said thoughtfully, "we don't have to jump up and tell her everything the moment she gets here. We can take a few days and try to ease in to it …"

"Yeah, that would probably be wise," Monica agreed, "either way; do you think she'll be mad?" One of Monica's biggest fears was disappointing Tess, and she hated to think that something that made them both so happy could possibly anger her supervisor, but she knew that they had ventured into uncharted territory, and that it might be a problem.

"Look, Princess …" Andrew said softly, as he could hear the apprehension in her voice, "no matter what she, or anyone says, it won't change the fact that I love you. It's not just going to go away, so you don't have to worry about that." He knew, whether she ever admitted it to him or not, that another of her greatest fears was loosing him, in any sense of the word, and he felt the same about her. They had become so accustomed to working together over the years that being apart for longer than an assignment's time seemed unimaginable. Andrew hoped that, for both of their sakes, nothing like that ever happened.

They continued chatting for a while, until Monica's eyelids were droopy, and her speech slightly slurred with fatigue. "Love you …" she murmured softly, closing her eyes and snuggling closer to him, making no move to get up. Andrew just smiled and was perfectly willing to let her drift off to sleep. He would move her later if it was necessary. He stayed awake and watched the fire dance in the fireplace, the heat from the flames spreading through the room in warm waves, until it had almost completely died down. He could feel himself quickly losing the battle against the fatigue that had already captured Monica, and he drifted off to sleep easily, never hearing Tess enter through the back door.

She stood silently for a moment, just listening. She didn't hear any movement, or voices, and wondered for a moment if they were even there. She walked through the kitchen to the living room and narrowed her eyes when they fell upon the pair of them, all wrapped up in each other on the couch. She was tempted to wake them up and demand an explanation immediately, but they looked so peaceful that she could not bring herself to do it. Besides, she wanted to have a talk with an old friend first, before she confronted them about anything.

Monica awoke the next morning to the sun shining through her bedroom window, and was momentarily confused of her surroundings. She remembered being on the couch with Andrew, but not falling asleep. He must have carried her up here sometime during the night, and she was surprised that she didn't wake up when he moved her. She sat up and stretched, and the wonderful scent of coffee instantly filled her nostrils, and she smiled to herself. She figured Andrew was already up and had started a pot for her. She slipped into her bathrobe quickly, and descended the stairs, stopping abruptly when she heard voices in the kitchen.

It was Tess and … someone else, but she couldn't make out the voice enough to know who it was. She didn't even know that Tess had come home already. She approached the swinging door to the kitchen, and stood on the outside quietly, not wanting to interrupt whatever was going on on the other side. She listened for a few more minutes, not able to make out much of what was said. But suddenly, she knew.

It was the unmistakable voice of the Angel's Angel Sam. They seemed to be discussing something in hushed tones, and Monica could hardly hear a thing. She leaned closer to the door trying to catch the conversation, and she was suddenly overcome with the worst feeling. Her whole body froze and she felt like her heart had dropped from her chest into her stomach.

She couldn't be sure of what he was saying exactly, but he was definitely talking about her and Andrew, sounding rather angry. Monica had practically pressed her ear to the door, not caring in the least that she was eavesdropping. She caught her and Andrew's names in the conversation several more times, and a few other scatterings of words that did not make much sense. The words "not allowed," "wrong," and "rules" floated back to her through the door, and she backed away slowly, feeling sick to her stomach. How did they know?

So much for easing in to it. Somehow, Tess had figured it out and thought that it was enough of a problem to consult Sam. Monica's mind was racing at full speed as she hurried up the stairs, assuming that Andrew was still asleep in his room, and knew nothing of what was going on. She didn't even take the time to knock, she just opened his door.

Andrew stirred groggily at the noise, but he wasn't fully awake until he saw the stricken look in Monica's eyes as she came and knelt at the side of his bed. He sat up quickly and asked,

"Princess, what is it?" He thought something terrible had happened, judging by the whiteness of her normally rosy complexion. She looked as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Uh-I …" Monica stuttered, not quite sure how to describe what she had just witnessed. She took a breath and tried to speak a little slower,

"Sam's here and … I think we're in trouble …"

Andrew considered what she said for a moment, but the expression on her delicate face was enough to convince him that something was up.

"Ok hold on," he said, "Sam and Tess are friends, sweetie … what makes you think that him being here means we're in trouble?" Monica shook her head.

"I don't know," she said, "but I heard them talking … about us, and it didn't sound like a leisurely chat …" Andrew sighed and would have tried to reason with her further if not for the look in her eyes. He didn't like the sound of what she was saying at all, and hoped that she was wrong. There was really only one way to know though, and that was to go downstairs and find out for themselves.

Andrew gave Monica a quick kiss of reassurance, and then they both headed down the stairs and to the kitchen. Monica hesitated slightly at the door, but Andrew led her in with a gentle hand at the small of her back. Both Tess and Sam stopped talking and looked up abruptly upon their entrance, and Andrew thought that Tess looked startled to see them.

"Tess … Sam," Andrew said in greeting, nodding at the Angel's Angel respectfully, while Monica said nothing and just stared at the floor. Sam nodded back to Andrew and then motioned for the two of them to join them at the table. Neither Andrew nor Monica moved.

"What's going on?" Andrew asked, turning his focus to Tess pointedly. She looked away from his gaze, as if unwilling to meet his eyes, and Sam answered the question instead,

"We all need to have a serious talk."

Andrew could feel Monica tensing beside him. He could sense what this " serious talk" would probably be about, and he had a feeling that neither one of them would like it. "Ok, let's talk," he said, trying to keep cool for the moment.

Sam cleared his throat. "Tess came to me with some interesting news last night, and I would like an explanation from the pair of you." Monica took a breath and glanced nervously at Andrew, her face turning whiter than before at Sam's words.

"What sort of explanation?" Andrew asked, even though he knew perfectly well what Sam meant. At that, Tess spoke for the first time.

"Andrew, please don't play games. I was right there in town, and I saw you …" She said, shaking her head.

So that explained it. Tess had seen them kiss, and probably heard the "I love you." That was definitely not how Andrew would have preferred her finding out. It was surprising to him though, that she had thought it necessary to bring Sam into it before talking to them first. But it would do no good now to deny anything, not if she had seen.

"Ok, you saw us," Andrew said, "and you invited Sam over for coffee? Or is there something else you'd like to say?" His tone was sarcastic, and he knew that his words probably stung, but he didn't care.

"Andrew …" It was Sam's voice, and there was no mistaking the impatience, "this behavior can't go on …"

Andrew was getting angry now. There was a great many things that he wished he could say in that moment, but he bit his tongue. Neither he nor Monica was really in any position to argue, after all. Monica had been quiet the whole time and finally spoke.

"Tess, we were going to tell you," she said softly, not looking directly at either her or Sam. "But we weren't sure how …"

Nobody said anything then, as Sam looked to the ceiling and shook his head. A moment later, he looked to Tess and said,

"I have to go and take care of something. I'll be back in a few days … figure this out."

And then the Angel's Angel disappeared before their eyes, leaving the three of them in a stumped silence.

More Soon!

Love, A