DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the characters from Touched by an Angel. They belong to CBS. Everyone you don't recognize, I do own.

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope everyone likes it.

God loves you

"The Christmas Shoes"

Chapter 4-Safe in Heaven

Gloria returned to the Kissenger household to find Caleb asleep, but Brooke was wide awake. The little girl was holding onto her bear and tears were streaming down her face.

"Brooke? Brooke, honey, what's wrong?" Gloria asked, taking the child into her arms. She carried the six year old to the glider and sat down, securing the little girl in her lap as she did so.

Brooke sniffed before answering Gloria's question.

"I'm gonna miss her!" Brooke sobbed, her voice full of distress.

Gloria had to fight hard not to cry herself. She wanted so badly to take Brooke's pain away, but she knew she couldn't. All she could do was hold the child and try to reassure her with words of truth and comfort.

"I know, Brooke, I know. But your Mommy's going to be safe in Heaven. Just like God is going to keep your gift to her safe, He will keep your Mommy safe when she goes to Heaven."

"How do you know?" Brooke asked, her voice full of longing rather than anger.

Gloria smiled, feeling God telling her it was time to reveal herself.

"Because I'm an angel." Gloria told her, the light of God's love shining around her all the while.

Brooke gasped, but she stayed where she was.

"Don't be afraid, Brooke. I'm an angel. God sent me here to help you and your family."

Brooke nodded. SHE smiled at Gloria before shaking her head.

"I'm not scared." Brooke told her. "I knew there was something special about you. I knew it!" With that, she jumped off Gloria's lap and ran to get Caleb.

When the two children returned, Brooke scrambled onto Gloria's lap again and snuggled in for a cuddle.

"See?" Brooke said, giving her brother a triumphant smile. "I told you she was an angel."

Caleb nodded. He frowned as he stared at Gloria before glaring at her.

"Are you here for our Mom?" He accused, his voice full of anger.

"No, of course not." Gloria told him, honestly. "I'm here to help you and Brooke. I was sent here to help you. God sent me here to help you two."

Caleb nodded. He gave Gloria a once over before turning around and running out of the room.

"Why is Caleb mad at you?" Brooke asked, a frown crossing her face. "You're trying to help us."

Gloria sighed as she shook her head. She had stopped glowing by this point, but she still had a message to deliver.

"I don't know, sweetie. But I have something I need to tell both of you. God has a message He wants you to hear."

"God has a message for me?" Brooke asked, surprised.

"Yes, He does." Gloria told her, hugging the child close. "God wants you to know that He loves you. He also wants you to know that He is very proud of you for wanting to buy your Mom a Christmas gift. He knows that you're going to miss her and He promises that He will keep her safe once she reaches Heaven. But God also wants you to know that a part of her will always stay with you, here." Gloria pointed to Brooke's heart. "You know why?"

Brooke shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

"Because you two share a gift." Gloria explained, wiping Brooke's tears away gently. "You both have the gift of song and dance. And whenever you dance or sing, your mother's spirit will live on in you. You will keep her alive for your brother and yourself."

Brooke frowned.

"I will?" She asked in disbelief. "I'm only six. I can't do anything like that."

Gloria smiled.

"With God, anything is possible. As long as you have God on your side, you can do anything. All you have to do is ask Him."

"And He'll help me?" Brooke asked, hoping she had gotten it right. She had stopped crying for the most part by now.

"Yup. He will most definitely help you out." Gloria assured the little girl.

It was then that a yawn escaped Brooke's lips.

"We should get you to sleep." Gloria told her, picking the child up and carrying her to her room.

"What 'bout Caleb?" Brooke asked, almost halfway to dreamland.

"I'll talk to him tomorrow." Gloria told her. "We need to give him some time. I'm gonna make sure he didn't leave the house, but I want to give him at least until Sunday to cool off."

"Okay. I love you, Miss Gloria." Brooke said, before her eyes closed.

"Aw, I love you too, sweetheart." Gloria stayed with Brooke until she fell asleep.

Once Gloria was sure Brooke was out, she sent a silent prayer up to God, asking Him to help her finish this assignment. She knew they couldn't do it without God's help. They needed it more than ever now.

Caleb, meanwhile, had fled to the safety of his mother's bedroom, hoping to find solace there.

As he stepped into the room, he could see a man with green eyes and blond hair sitting by his mother's bed.

He regarded the stranger with something of distrust on his face. Before he could speak, the man beat him to it.

"Hi. You're Caleb, right?"

Caleb nodded, his eyes full of suspicion.

"How do you know my name?" He asked. "Who are you?"

The man smiled gently, his green eyes full of compassion.

"I'm a friend of Gloria's." He replied, truthfully. "My name is Andrew."

"You're an angel too?" Caleb asked, not daring to believe it.

Andrew nodded.

"Yes I am. And so is Gloria."

Caleb nodded and sighed.

"I know. She told Brooke and me. Brooke was fine with it, but I got mad and left."

"Why?" Andrew asked, truly interested in Caleb's story.

"You wouldn't be interested." Caleb told him.

"Try me." Andrew gently coaxed. "You'd be surprised at what things interest me."

Caleb was silent for a few minutes before resigning to telling Andrew his story.

"Well, my Mom…She…She's dying and Brooke and I wanted to get her a Christmas present since this is probably gonna be her last Christmas with us. Brooke wanted to get her new ballet shoes."

"That's very thoughtful." Andrew commented.

Caleb nodded before continuing to speak.

"Gloria took us shopping for her," he said.

Andrew could hear the bitterness in the young boy's voice when he said Gloria's name.

"Gloria's not to blame." Andrew told him. "She was sent to help you, just like I was. Gloria doesn't want to hurt you. She wants to be your friend. She's Brooke's friend."

Caleb nodded.

"Brooke likes everyone." HE commented, before continuing his story. "Anyway, Gloria took us shopping and we found the gift we wanted to give Mom. Well, really Brooke found it. But we couldn't buy it that day because we didn't have enough money. We had to put them on hold until tomorrow. Gloria's taking us back to the store to get them tomorrow afternoon."

"Well that was nice of her." Andrew observed. "Maybe instead of blaming Gloria for something that isn't her fault, you should thank her."

Caleb thought about this for a few minutes. Finally, he spoke. But rather than acknowledge Andrew's comment, he asked the angel a question of his own.

"What kind of angel are you?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Andrew sighed. He didn't want to scare or anger the boy further, but he couldn't lie to him either.

A minute or two of silence passed before Andrew spoke.

"I'm an angel of death." Andrew replied. "I'm the angel who takes people to Heaven when it's their time to be with God."

Caleb nodded. He glared at Andrew before planting his hands on his hips. But instead of yelling at Andrew, Caleb vented his frustrations elsewhere.

"It's not fair! Why does my Mom have to die! Brooke needs her! I need her! We don't' have anyone else! Nobody else cares about us!"

Andrew shook his head.

"That's where you're wrong, Caleb. Somebody else cares about you. There's someone who cares very much about you."

"Who?" Caleb asked, bitterly.

"God." Andrew answered. He had stood up from his place by Kristen's bedside and was now standing in front of Caleb. He was glowing like Gloria had done a few hours before.

Caleb glanced up at Andrew with fear and anger in his eyes.

"Don't be afraid, Caleb. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to tell you that God loves you. Gloria would have told you this herself, but you ran out before she could deliver God's message to you. But God does love you. He loves you and your sister so much that He sent His angels to help you through this time."

"How could God love us!" Caleb shouted. He was fighting tears now and losing the battle rather quickly.

Andrew sighed as he pulled the boy into his arms.

Caleb struggled at first, but then allowed the angel of death to hold him.

"God loves you because you're His child. And so is Brooke and so is your Mom. He loves you all so much. He wants you to know that your mother will be safe in Heaven. She will be safe and she won't be in pain anymore. Don't you want that for her? Don't you want her to not hurt anymore?"

Caleb nodded, overcome with tears of fear and grief.

"Then let her go." Andrew told him, his voice full of compassion and gentleness. "Let her go to God. Release her into God's hands and let Him help her. He wants to take her pain away, Caleb. And God also wants to help you and Brooke heal as well. But you have to ask Him."

"Will you help me?" Caleb asked, his voice still laced with tears and pain.

"Of course I will." Andrew replied, his hold on Caleb loosening a little bit.

"Well it looks like my job is done." Gloria said as she walked into the room a few hours later.

Andrew shook his head knowingly.

"You know better than that, Gloria. What is Tess always telling us?"

"God is never finished." Gloria recited, a small smile on her face.

"That's right."

Gloria frowned as she glanced down at Caleb.

"Is Caleb going to be okay?" Gloria asked, her voice full of concern.

Andrew nodded.

"In time, he will be. I think I was finally able to help him understand what's going on."

"I'm glad someone was able to get through to him." Gloria commented, a sigh escaping her lips. "I only pray that tomorrow's shopping trip will help shed some light on this whole assignment."

Andrew smiled at Gloria.

"I think it's going to do more than that." He winked and Gloria knew he was trying to help her feel better. She was grateful to Andrew for trying to cheer her up. She knew this assignment wasn't easy for him either. But as Gloria thought about it, she had a feeling that the shopping trip would help put the pieces of this assignment together. Little did Gloria know how right she was…