CHAPTER 2

"Oh, Tess…" Monica held Tess back as the older angel stroked her hair, brokenhearted at the immense sorrow she could feel emanating from her heart. "Do you also think that Andrew and I are wrong? Are you here to tell us off and-"

"Baby, listen to me…" The supervisor gently interrupted and pulled away in order to look at her dearest friend. "I'm not here to judge you… Actually, I do not know the reasons that took you and Andrew to find out these new feelings for each other… Perhaps these feelings are not new to begin with." She looked at the blond angel and saw that his face softened at her words; he was more at ease with her presence.

"Tess, are you aware of what you're saying? Are you aware of what's going on here?" Sam was quick to interrupt, eyeing his co-worker with criticism.

But the old supervisor looked back at him not even remotely intimidated. "What is going on here, Sam, is that two angels of God are suffering and I can see no mercy at that fact!"

"They are suffering because they are making a wrong choice." Ruth spoke, and her words only raised Tess' anger.

"I'm surprised at the fact that an old, experienced angel like you, can go backwards. How do you know that what they're feeling is wrong, Ruth? Who told you that?"

"Angels were not made to love the way humans do. You've existed long enough yourself to know that, Tess!"

"Well, while we don't hear from the highest authority, I'm not entitled to condemn anyone for their actions." The supervisor turned to look at Monica, whom she never let go of her arms, and managed a smile. "Especially when we're talking about someone who is so dear to my heart."

Some fresh tears rolled down Monica's face as she managed a crying smile of gratitude. "You are very dear to our hearts too, Tess…"

"Monica's right." The angel of death spoke, placing a gentle hand over her shoulder. "Thank you, Tess."

"Listen, you two… I don't have the authority to allow you to return to your angelic status. But I'm not going to abandon you here, in the middle of the desert." She said, picking up her car keys and depositing then in Andrew's hands. "Take my baby with you. There is food and water and a warm blanket inside. It's getting dark soon and you are too far from the nearest town."

Moved with her gesture, Monica and Andrew exchanged a surprised look.

"We'll never forget what you're doing for us." He said, genuinely moved at her gesture.

"We love you, Tess." Monica held her back one more time.

"I love you two very much, angel girl. You will always be my babies." Tess exchanged Monica's affectionate embrace for Andrew's. "Now you take good care of my angel girl, will you?"

"With all my heart, Tess." He replied, kissing the supervisor's cheek afterwards.

Andrew joined Monica, wrapping his arm around her small shoulders, as if shielding her from the judgmental look upon the other angels' faces. They heard Tess' voice one more time. "Remember that the Father will always be watching over you."

"We feel it in our hearts." The Irish angel spoke, still quite moved with emotion.

"You will hear from us, when the time comes." Sam spoke again, the solemn tone in his voice only inflicted more pain to the angels' spirits.

"Until then I hope you use this time to ponder about the latest events and their consequences." Ruth added, also with authority.

On the following instants, the three angels were no longer visible to both Monica and Andrew, and they found themselves immerged in the solitude and silence of the desert.

Monica looked up and searched for his green eyes, as if pleading for any sign of hope and his reassurance.

And he knew it. With infinite tenderness, the angel of death cupped her cheek. "There is nothing, nothing in this world that is going to make us go separate ways, my sweet angel. I promise we'll go through this together and we'll make them see how wrong they are about us."

"I have no doubts about what I feel, Andrew… But even so… I'm scared…" She managed to say, almost in a whisper.

"I know. But you are the angel of truth, Monica. You know better than anyone that when the time comes, the truth will be revealed. To me, to you and to those who have taken our love for granted."

Biting her lower lip, she nodded and lowered her head. "I just wish it wasn't so painful."

The fact that she was so broken hearted caused him great sadness – greater than all the worries and tribulations they were about to face. Andrew gently brought her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her small form, and was relieved when she returned that gesture and relaxed a little.

The two angels remained in that loving embrace for a while, until Andrew kissed the top of her head and finally broke the silence. "We have to leave, angel. Tess was right, it'll get dark soon."

As she nodded, he gently pulled away and walked up to a small rock, where both his jacket and her cardigan had been left. He placed his jacket over his shoulder and wrapped the delicate pink cardigan around hers.

"Angel…" he said, looking down at her small body with some worry – she was wearing a dress and sandals, and despite the fact that it was rather hot when she got there, the weather would soon change as the night fell. "You'll need warmer clothes, it'll get pretty cold at night…"

"I… didn't think about it. I thought we would meet here and then go some other place." She said, not really concerned about her well-being after all that had just happened there.

"Tess said that there's a blanket in the car…" Andrew walked up to the red Cadillac and opened its trunk, and what he saw placed a smile back on his face. "Actually, she thought about everything!"

With curiosity, Monica joined him and saw that the supervisor had left them a warm blanket, a basket with food, water and new clothes for the little Irish angel. Pleased, Andrew handed her a pair of jeans and a turtle neck sweater, which would keep his precious angel warm during the night.

"Go get changed, baby. We're leaving."

She nodded and raised her eyes to the sky. "Thank you, Father… Thank you, Tess… I hope we can meet again soon."

Monica and Andrew took the borrowed car and departed a few minutes later; crossing the dry land of the desert not only towards the nearest city but also the nearest road, as they were literally in the middle of nowhere.

What they could not see, however, were the three angels that still observed them, now invisible to the human eye.

"I trust we will meet again soon, baby." Tess spoke, watching with emotion as the red Cadillac became more and more distant until it disappeared involved in a cloud of dust.

Ruth let out a frustrated sigh. "I just hope and pray that soon they realize this is a huge mistake. The consequences of this union can become too serious as time passes by."

"And in human form, they will need an extra amount of faith in order to face the adversities without forgetting who they are." Sam added, and those words clearly annoyed Tess.

"I have known those two angels of God long enough to trust that their faith won't be put in doubt during the time they remain on Earth. Much on the contrary, it'll serve them well." She made a short pause and then spoke what had been in her mind for a while. "And so will the love they feel for each other."

"Oh, Tess, I cannot believe you're saying this…"

"The Father will provide us the answer to our questionings and the truth we need to find, Ruth. And meanwhile, I will keep a close look on these babies even if they cannot see me. I will walk with them."

"Count on me, Tess."

At that moment, the three angels saw another co-worker walking towards them. The Latin-American angel had his hands tugged in his pockets and, from the sad look on his face, it was possible to tell that he already knew what had just happened to his dear friends.

"Rafael!"

"I saw everything at Safe Haven. I saw when and how it all started…" He said, joining the old supervisor. "…Or at least, when they realized what was going on in their hearts."

Not entirely pleased with the new angel's help, Sam folded his hands and eyed them with a serious expression. "Ruth and I will walk with them too; invisible to their eyes but watching their every step and showing you both that troubled hearts can lead someone through a very dangerous path."

"We'll see about that, Sam. We'll see." Tess added, she and Rafael ready to defend their co-workers' love against the other angels' judgment.