CHAPTER 7

"Have some more water, angel." Andrew placed an almost empty bottle of water in Monica's hands and instead of drinking its content, she gazed at it for long seconds.

"We'll run out of our water supply very soon if I keep on drinking every half hour, Andrew."

"We won't. Did you forget that our friends are helping us?" He replied, forcing a slight smile as to encourage her.

They were sitting next to a small rock formation not far from the road and from there they could watch their car and if see any other driver crossed the desert. Andrew had brought some of their food and water supply with him and improvised a small campsite, taking advantage of the shadows that those rocks projected on the ground at that time of the afternoon. Fortunately for them, a soft yet warm wind was blowing, bringing some relief to the two angels in human form.

Resting her head over his shoulder, Monica let out a small sigh and turned her eyes up to meet his green ones. "I feel something strange, Andrew. It's as if… Tess and the others were not as close as they were before…"

The blond angel took the bottle from her hands and opened its lid. "You feel that because you're weak and feverish. Now c'mon, baby. Drink a little."

"We can't stay here forever, Andrew. What if no one passes by on this road and-"

"The sun sets in a couple of hours. And when it does, I'll take a look at the car one more time."

Monica nodded her head quietly, not as hopeful as her beloved soul mate was.

She had been taking brief naps once in a while and Andrew elected not saying much so she could rest as much as possible. Besides this, he wanted to avoid all the doubts and questionings he knew were going to her mind right now, to which he did not have the answers yet. But his dearest friend's soothing voice was once again speaking to his ear and he knew he needed the right words to reassure her.

"Have you been praying for us, Andrew?"

"All the time, angel."

"How do you think our prayers will be answered if we are in human form and cannot hear our Father's message in our hearts?"

"It is because this message we've been waiting for will be sent in another way… perhaps it's already been spoken not only to both of us but to those who are helping and also judging us."

"I see… and we are not prepared to hear it yet, right?"

Trying to lighten the mood, he gave her shoulders a light squeeze. "When did you get such a wise little angel?"

That question finally elicited a smile from her and she looked up at him. "I don't think that I'm that wise, you see. I suppose it is you who have the ability to speak to my heart better than anyone other than the Father."

Andrew leaned down and cupped her cheek, feeling her feverish skin with his fingertips. "I might have lost my angelic status and the power to cross millions of miles or to be invisible to the human eye. I don't mind. But the capacity of whispering to this tender heart of yours all the words that can express my love for you will remain intact."

There were moments that all the increasing adversities faced by the angels were reduced to dust and that was one of those moments. Andrew's lips touched hers initially in a soft caress and that was enough to make Monica let go of her worries and the physical exhaustion. All of a sudden, it all was replaced by sheer joy and a great sensation of peace invaded her heart. Monica surrendered to his kiss and allowed him to deepen it as if it was a love promise that they would be together either in angelic or human forms. She caressed his face before wrapping her arms around his neck and when they reluctantly parted, Monica held him for dear life, needing to feel all the comfort that his strong arms could offer.

"We'll go through this, my sweet angel. You and I will prove to all those who have been judging us that it is them who have to learn something from our love." He kissed her shoulder and pulled away just enough to look into her eyes and stroke her cheek. "And you will be able to see Tess again, and Adam and Rafael… Our friends will greet us with great joy."

The Irish angel's eyes were filled with tears at the memory of their dear friends. "Do you really think this could still be possible for us?"

"Of course I do, baby! Believing that means believing that what we feel for each other is genuine and that it is fair, that we are deserving of those feelings!" He kissed her forehead and concluded. "Our closest friends already know that."

"It's been only four days since I last saw them but it feels like years!"

Andrew nodded his head and pulled her closer to him. "I know how it feels. But we need patience right now. Patience to see where this road will take us."

"You're perfectly right…" She whispered, a crying voice still breaking his heart.

"And you should rest a little. In an hour, the sun will start setting on the horizon and I'll take another look at the car."

The blond angel felt her nodding her head slowly over his shoulder and kept his strong hold around her small form until she was fast asleep. With infinite care, he deposited her over the blanket that had been serving as a bed for the last few days and still kissed her lips softly before walking up to the Cadillac, not far from their improvised campsite.

But before he even started checking on the vehicle, Andrew gazed at the horizon, making out the mountains at the distance and the vast land they would still have to walk on before getting at the nearest city. Then, he turned his green eyes to the sky, where a couple of stars and the moon were already visible.

"Dear Father… Please, let me know I'm on the right path… Please, allow my words to be possible because I love your precious angel with all my heart and soul and I don't ever want to disappoint her or put her in danger… I'd rather give up my own existence." His whispered prayers were the only sound that echoed in that very spot, but Andrew knew that they had been heard and hoped that they could be answered too.

Monica opened her eyes sleepily the next morning, her body aching from the night on the hard, cold ground. The first thing she was aware of was that Andrew's arms were not around her. The second thing was that she was still feeling weak and tired. Rising shakily to her feet, she ran a hand through her disheveled auburn locks and immediately saw Andrew standing, hunched over Tess' car. She could feel his weariness in her own heart and she approached him slowly, clearly able to see the tension in his strong shoulders.

"Andrew."

Turning around, he met his eyes with hers, "Monica, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Did you sleep at all?" She instantly knew the answer, judging by the dark circles beneath his green eyes.

"I'm fine,' Andrew's reply was short and he immediately returned his attention to the engine of the caddy in order to avoid the perceptive little angel, "Why don't you go and grab something from the trunk for breakfast?"

Nervously, she bit her lower lip; she could feel the tension coming off of him in waves, "And what about you? Have you eaten?"

"I'm fine," he repeated quietly, never looking up as he began to loosen a nut within the engine.

"N-no, you're not. Andrew, please. The car can wait. You need to take care of yourself…."

"No, Monica," His voice was sharp as he finally turned to face her, his pale face flushed with frustration, "What I need to do is to get the car running again so I can get us out of here!"

She flinched slightly at his tone, not missing the slight widening of his eyes as she did so, "Maybe that isn't your responsibility-.'

"It is my responsibility. It's my responsibility to take care of you, to get us out of here. We can't just stay out here because our human forms will die! Surely you understand that!"….

…

"It's starting to fall apart." Ruth murmured, a kind of relief evident in her voice, "It won't be long now. They are beginning to realize how wrong they are."

"No," Rafael replied firmly, "They will not fall apart. You don't know them, Ruth-you and Sam don't know them at all."

"We'll see about that," Sam watched the exchange, feeling a slight sense of guilt at seeing the exhaustion on Andrew's face and the pain in Monica's eyes.

"Andrew is only upset because he is worried about Monica," Adam stated calmly, "They believe in their relationship and so do we."

"They can't last through all this," Ruth insisted dryly, her annoyance evident in her tone of voice.

Only then did Tess respond to the discussion, and her stare was pointed directly at Ruth, "Wanna bet?"

…."I'm not your responsibility either," Monica stated softly, the hurt evident in her voice.

"Monica please, just do what I asked you to do," though there was still a sharp edge to his words, the weariness was evident as well, "Go and get some breakfast. Why is that so difficult?"

She stared at him in silence for a moment, willing the tears not to come, but it was becoming a struggle. She knew he was simply tired, upset and afraid; so was she, but his words stung just the same. A dozen replies were on the tip of her tongue but instead of speaking and maybe making things worse, Monica turned around and walked silently back in the direction of their campsite.

Andrew watched her for a moment and then turned back to the car, trying not to acknowledge the guilt that was ripping through him. Grabbing the wrench once more, he continued on with his task for a few minutes and then stopped, realizing he had no idea what he had been doing all night. He couldn't fix the caddy; he had done everything in his power to try to fix it and nothing was working.

There was only one thing he could fix and it was the most important thing in his existence. Throwing the wrench down into the sand in frustration, he turned back around and took long strides as his worried green eyes searched for her. He knew she would not go far and he was right. Andrew's breath caught in his throat as he saw her standing on the other side of the rocks that had been their campsite, back to him, auburn locks blowing back over her shoulders.

She sensed him before he got to her and he could see the shiny path her tears had made as she turned to face him. He had her in his arms a heartbeat later.

"I'm sorry, Angel. I'm so sorry," Andrew murmured against her hair, hating the way her breath hitched on a tiny sob, "I'm just worried; about being here, about you…'

"I know," Monica murmured tearfully against his chest, 'But I worry about you too."

His jaw clenched with great emotion and for a moment he couldn't reply. He had just hurt her feelings and she was reminding him of her great capacity to love even the most undeserving of creatures, "Thank you for that. I'm not sure I deserve such concern at the moment."

Monica pulled back enough to look up at him, her expression deeply troubled, "Yes you do! You always do, Andrew."

Andrew smiled a bittersweet smile as he brushed her tears away with gentle fingers, "Thank you, baby," his smile faded as he felt her warm skin, "You are still so feverish. You need to rest more, Angel."

"So do you," Her voice was firm and Andrew nearly chuckled at her attempt to look stern, a look she was obviously imitating from her supervisor.

"You're right," As he said the words, he felt the exhaustion settle into his soul, "I'm truly sorry about earlier. Please say you forgive me."

"You know you never even have to ask," Monica whispered before she reached up and touched her lips to his.

The tender gesture soothed Andrew's guilt and as their lips parted, he kissed her forehead as well, "Come on. The sun will soon be getting hot so let's get in the shade."

Leading her back to their campsite, they sat down and shared a bottle of water and a sandwich before lying down on the blanket, Monica resting in his arms. Her head resting against his shoulder, her right arm slipped across his chest to gently run through his hair, weary dark eyes watching as he started to surrender to sleep. Only when he was resting peacefully, did the little angel close her eyes.