Hey, I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas!! I hope this chapter finds you all well and rested from the holiday!

The deafening silence that had graced the three angels with its presence earlier had returned, but this time, it was much louder. Monica was finding it rather difficult to breathe, and unlike the previous times that she had been visited with this particular feeling, it was entirely unpleasant; she felt as if her heart had been snatched out of her chest and replaced with a block of ice. The sick feeling that had invaded her stomach was suddenly overwhelming, and she fled from the room in a quest for the nearest bathroom.

"Angel Boy, I-" Tess began, but Andrew held up his hand to silence her, throwing her a look that clearly said that talking to her now was not on the top of his to-do list. He could not believe that this was actually happening. Everything had been perfect just minutes ago and now it was completely falling apart. He ran a hand through his blonde hair and sighed deeply, many undesired emotions overwhelming him as well. There was no other place in the world that he wanted to be more than wherever Monica had gone and he said nothing to Tess as he left the room. He took the stairs two at a time and walked quickly to her room. He didn't find her there, but a moment later, he heard the unmistakable sounds of her getting sick coming from the hall bathroom.

He opened the door and walked to her, kneeling silently by her side, his heart breaking all over again at the sight of her trembling so violently, the nausea ferociously attacking her little body. There were tears streaming down her cheeks and he knew that being sick and human illness in general, frightened her terribly. Andrew couldn't do anything for her, except hold her long hair back and whisper soothing words until finally, after several long minutes, it seemed to pass. Her breaths came in short, ragged gasps as she leaned back against him, grateful that he was there, although slightly embarrassed that he had seen her throwing up.

"Are you ok, Baby?" He asked after another silent minute, and then mentally kicked himself for even asking such a dumb question. Of course she wasn't ok, and neither was he.

"Andrew …" she whispered, her voice sounding slightly panicked, "please … tell me I imagined that … Tess didn't say that, she c-can't mean …" but she couldn't finish. She didn't even want to think about it. Just hearing the words "separate you" had made her physically sick. If Tess was serious, Monica didn't know what she would do.

Andrew knew that Tess would not have said something like that lightly, because she knew how difficult being separated would be for them, even without their newfound romance. There was no doubt in Andrew's mind that she was extremely serious, and he couldn't remember a time that her words had unnerved him more. He was feeling a bit ill himself. He sighed heavily and ran his fingers through her hair soothingly.

"I'll be honest, Princess … I think she was being very serious," he said sadly, wishing more than anything that he could lie to her, tell her she had imagined it, and erase the last few minutes from her existence. But he couldn't, and now they had to figure out how to deal with it. He helped her up from the floor then, and led her down the hall to her room, where he insisted that she lay down and rest. After much arguing, she agreed and allowed him to tuck her beneath the covers and lay a gentle kiss against her forehead. It seemed to her as if he was going to leave as he started to walk away, and she instinctively reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Stay with me …" she whispered, and though her voice was but a soft whisper, it was an urgent request. He had no intention of going anywhere; he had just been going to shut the door to make sure that it was quiet for her.

"I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart," he said, squeezing her hand tightly, his lips turning up in a small smile. He returned to her side quickly after closing her door and crawled onto the bed beside her, although he stayed on top of the covers. He leaned back against the headboard and kept a watchful eye on her as she drifted off into a fitful sleep. He just looked at her as she slept, trying hard not to dwell on the fact that tomorrow she would be taken from him. If he had to come up with a list of the worst things in the world, losing her would be right at the top. He couldn't begin to imagine what tomorrow would be like for them.

She slept for several hours. A few times during her nap, Andrew saw the shadow of Tess's feet lingering on the other side of the door. Once, she even knocked softly. Andrew made no move to get up either time. He had no desire to see her, or hear anything that she had to say. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew that some of what she said, and a part of her argument was valid, and he felt slightly guilty about it. He had been somewhat familiar with the "rules" before all this. Tess had definitely implied it, even if she didn't come right out and say it. It was his fault. He was the older one and supposed to be responsible and wise. If he hadn't allowed things to develop between him and Monica, then none of this would be happening now.

"I'm so sorry …" he whispered aloud. Monica stirred beside him, opening her eyes and murmuring confusedly,

"For what?"

Andrew hadn't expected her to hear him, but she must have already been awake. He looked back at her sadly, and shook his head.

"I …" he began, "I just … I feel like this is my fault. Tess certainly thinks it is … I never should have let this happen in the first place …" he said, looking away. Monica's eyes widened in bewilderment.

"Wait … never let what happen?" She asked, still not entirely sure why he felt the need to apologize. But a few moments later, she understood. "No," she commanded, shaking her head, "Don't you dare apologize for loving me …" She absolutely refused to let him be sorry for something that he had no control over, even if he thought that he did and could have somehow prevented it. In spite of everything, the stubborn look on her face made him laugh.

"Ok then … I love you and I'm not sorry," he said, moving to touch her cheek lightly. She smiled and sighed, happy to have gotten her way, if for no other reason than the fact that arguing with him had momentarily taken her mind off of what was coming.

It was late afternoon by then, and the rest of the day continued to fly by much too quickly. They stayed in her room for the most part, talking about anything and everything except what the next day was bringing, until well into the night. Monica was feeling much better after her earlier upset, and had suggested that they take something to eat out to the porch swing. He had agreed of course, and they walked hand-in-hand down the stairs to the kitchen. They passed Tess on their way, but neither of them spoke to her. As they arrived in the kitchen, Andrew asked her sweetly,

"What can I make for you, Princess? Your wish is my command …" She told him pancakes, and he didn't even question the breakfast dish at such a late hour. If she wanted pancakes, she would have them. He rummaged through the cupboards, located all the ingredients that he needed, and then set to work, intent on making her the most wonderful pancakes she had ever eaten.

Less than a half hour later, they both carried out plates full of delicious, fluffy pancakes to the wooden swing on the porch. Andrew was glad to see that the quilt from the previous morning was still there, for it was quite cold out, and after her being sick, he didn't want Monica to catch cold. They ate to their fill, and after he took her plate and set it on the side table along with his, it was a few moments before he realized that she was crying.

Silent tears were pouring from her eyes, which were closed against them, and Andrew could feel hot tears stinging the back of his own eyes at the sight. He didn't have to ask her what was wrong … he already knew. They had finally reached that point. The time where they could no longer pretend that everything was ok. They now had to come to terms with the fact that, in just a few short hours, their world would be turned upside down.

"I c-can't believe this is happening," she said, nearly choking on the lump in her throat, "it happened so fast and now … just as fast, it's ripped away …"

He wanted to say something, anything, to comfort her. But he knew that nothing he said could do that now, and so he just wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

They stayed on the swing until the wee hours of the morning, neither one of them even giving sleep a thought. Eventually, they moved back inside because of the cold, and resumed their position on the sofa, still not daring to close their eyes. Morning would come soon enough, and neither one of them wanted to waste these last precious hours together in sleep.

The cabin was bathed in a brilliant light as the sun rose the next morning, but the mood inside was far from warm. Monica had not been able to resist sleep and had finally fallen under as the sun was breaking the horizon. Less than an hour later, she jerked awake and more tears fell from her eyes as she noticed the daylight and realized that she had fallen asleep. Andrew tried to wipe them away, but they were only replaced with new ones. He gave up and without speaking, pulled her close to him again, his eye catching Tess coming down the stairs looking solemn. She regarded him sadly when he looked up at her, searching her face for a clue as to when Sam would be here. A moment later, his question was answered.

Andrew looked into Monica's tear filled eyes as Sam materialized before them in the living room of the small cabin to take Monica away. Knowing that it was time, he cleared his throat and asked in as civilized tone as he could manage,

"Sam, can we have a minute alone?"

Sam seemed to consider it for a moment, but then shook his head. "I don't think-"

"Please Sam …" Monica interrupted, quietly but desperately, and it must have been the look in her eyes that made Sam give in.

"Fine," he said, not at all happy about it, but figuring a minute wouldn't hurt anything. Not wanting to waste any of the precious seconds that Sam had allowed them to have, Andrew immediately pulled Monica up from the couch and into the kitchen. Once there, he pulled her into his arms and held her as tightly as he dared, running his hands over her long hair, as all the while, a painful knot formed in his stomach.

"Please don't ever forget that I love you, ok?" He whispered dejectedly into her ear. He felt her nod her head against his shoulder. As soon as Sam had appeared, her tears had stopped, and Andrew knew that it was because she didn't want the Angel's Angel to see her cry. But he could tell from her trembling shoulders that she probably wouldn't be able to keep that up for very long.

"You'll come and find me, right?" Monica asked brokenly, pulling away from his embrace just enough to look into his glistening green eyes.

"I … of course, I'll try, baby you know I will …" he replied, running his fingers lightly through her bangs.

"You most certainly will not."

Both angels turned startled eyes to the corner of the kitchen, where Sam could be seen, his features clearly angry, frowning impatiently.

"Sam … you said you'd give us a minute alone," Andrew said, trying to remain calm and keep his building anger in check.

"And you've had almost two," Sam said coldly, looking at Andrew with a challenging stare. Then he turned to Monica and added sharply, "Let's go. Now." Seeing that she wasn't going to come by herself, he crossed the room in three swift steps and took hold of her by the arm, pulling her roughly from Andrew's grasp, all but dragging her through the cabin.

Monica glanced over her shoulder every few seconds at Andrew, who had followed them closely out onto the front porch. Tess was there waiting, and as Sam and Monica descended the porch steps and walked down the path towards where Sam's car was parked, Tess took hold of Andrew's arm and led him gently in the opposite direction. At that, Andrew knew that it wouldn't be long before Monica lost it. And a moment later, he was right.

All of the emotion that she had been trying desperately to hold in in front of Sam finally came to the surface. She turned away from him and hung her head as the anguished sobs tore through her little body. Suddenly, not able to stand the physical separation, with all the strength she could muster, she wrenched away from Sam's tight hold on her and ran as fast as she could to Andrew.

Seeing Monica pulling away from Sam and rushing towards him, Andrew did the same, and left Tess standing in bewilderment by her car, and he didn't care. The only person that mattered in that moment was the little angel that he loved with all his heart. It only took a few seconds to close the distance between the two, and as soon as Monica was close enough, she literally launched herself into Andrew's arms and buried her face in his chest, her tears falling again like the rain. A sob caught in Andrew's own throat as he listened to her cries. He tightened his hold on her, wishing desperately that he wouldn't ever have to let her go. But he knew that in a few seconds, she would be ripped from him again.

Sam stood by his car, his anger boiling. They know it's wrong, and yet still, they push it, he thought angrily to himself. Well, they had to be broken of it somehow, and if this was the only way … then so be it.

Andrew saw Sam approaching out of the corner of his eye, and he knew they didn't have much time. He pried Monica away from him gently but firmly, took her face in his hands and gazed lovingly into her red-rimmed maple brown eyes. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but no words came out and she closed her eyes as more tears spilled onto her cheeks. Knowing that it would enrage Sam if he saw, but only thinking of Monica in that moment, Andrew pressed his lips against hers in one final kiss. Just as he did, she let out a strangled cry as Sam grabbed her around the waist and held her arms behind her back, preventing her from breaking free again. Sam was treating her like a prisoner, and it made Andrew sick.

The scene that followed was horrible. Sam, after having practically dragged Monica away from Andrew for the second time, proceeded to load her into the back of his car. His heart shattered into a million pieces from the look in her eyes as she looked out at him from the back window. He watched until the car had completely faded in the distance before turning his eyes to Tess and glaring at her, as if daring her to say something. She just looked at him for a long moment, almost sympathetically, but clearly disappointed. She sighed heavily.

"Andrew, I know-"

"Just don't," he interrupted coldly, his eyes flashing in anger and hurt, "I don't want to hear anything that you have to say. As a matter of fact, I've heard enough to last me the rest of my existence and I don't care."

With that, he turned and walked quickly away towards the snowy forest so that Tess wouldn't see him cry.

More Soon!

Love, A