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 last chapter of the story. I hope everyone likes it!
God loves you!

"The Christmas Shoes"

Chapter 6-The Last Dance

Jerry, along with Brooke and Caleb returned to the house an hour later, package in hand.

Once Jerry was sure the two children were going to be okay, he left. He wanted to give the siblings some time alone with their mother. He knew their time together was precious.

Brooke and Caleb went straight to their mother's room. Brooke was the most excited to give her mother the present.

"Mommy! Mommy! We bought you a Christmas present!" Brooke's smile filled her face as she reached her mother's bedside. She sat down on the bed and gave her mother a kiss while wrapping her arms around her neck gently.

"Aw, hi baby." Kristen said, her voice stronger than it had been in a long time. "Did you have fun with Gloria today?" She asked, before starting to cough.

"Uh-huh." Brooke replied. She reached over and Andrew handed her a cup of water. The little girl gave it to her mother, who took a few sips from it. It took a few minutes, but her coughing fit subsided.

Kristen tried to give her little girl a brave smile.

"I'm okay, honey." Kristen assured her daughter.

Brooke nodded, although she knew otherwise.

"Do you want your present now?" Brooke asked, her voice full of joy and eagerness.

Kristen laughed, which sounded more like a ragged cough.

"You and your brother are gift enough." She told her little girl, giving Brooke a hug.

Brooke grinned.

"I know. Miss Gloria told me that too. But we wanted to give you something. You're gonna love it. Come on, close your eyes. Please?"

Kristen smiled, despite the pain she was in. She did what Brooke wanted, playing along for her little girl's sake. She knew whatever her children had bought her, couldn't measure up to the joy she felt being able to spend one last Christmas with them.

Brooke took out the box and opened it for her. She knew her mother wouldn't be able to open it in her condition.

Once the box was open, Brooke took the top off and announced, "Open them….now!"

Kristen did so and her smile grew when she saw what was in the box. She also had tears streaming down her face, but these tears were ones of love and gratitude.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Kristen said, gazing down at Brooke with nothing but love in her eyes. "Thank you so much."

"Caleb helped too." Brooke told her mother. "He raised the money so we could buy them."

"Thank you, baby." Kristen said, giving Caleb a hug and kiss. "They're beautiful."

"Do you want me to put them on you, Mommy?" Brooke asked. She was anxious to see how they looked.

Kristen smiled.

"Sure, honey."

"Yes!" Brooke cheered, the smile filling her face.

Gently as possible, Brooke took the shoes out of the box. She then placed them on her mother's feet, being careful not to cause Kristen any pain.

After Brooke was done, she stood back to admire her work. She grinned when she saw the outcome.

"They look pretty on you, Mommy!" Brooke announced. "Really pretty!"

Caleb nodded in agreement.

"They look good on you." Caleb commented, making everyone laugh.

"Thanks, Caleb, I think." Kristen replied, getting a laugh out of Andrew.

Brooke then went over to the CD player and pressed play. Music soon filtered through the room. The music was instrumental and the kind used for ballet.

The little girl grinned as she sat down beside her mother and started humming the tune by heart.

"So do you like the gift?" Brooke asked, her tone hopeful.

Kristen nodded.

"I love it, sweetheart. Thank you both so much. I really appreciate it. You two are amazing and I love you both so much. Don't ever forget that."

"We won't." Caleb told his mother, giving her a kiss. He felt tears come to his eyes, but he fought them back.

Brooke tried to fight her own tears and was successful, if only for a little while longer.

Just then, a yawn escaped Brooke's mouth.

"Aw, I think someone's ready for bed." Kristen said, turning to Brooke.

"Mommy, may I sleep in here, please?" Brooke asked, her eyes full of desperation.

Kristen nodded.

"Of course you can." She replied, patting Brooke's shoulder gently. She then turned to Caleb. "How about you, sweetheart?"

Caleb shook his head.

"No. I'm okay. I'll see you in the morning. I love you." Wit that, Caleb kissed his mother and little sister before leaving the room.

Kristen looked to Andrew while tucking Brooke in to bed next to her.

Andrew sighed.

"He'll be all right, Kristen." Andrew told her. "God will see to that."

"I hope you're right." Kristen said, sighing as she laid back down. She pulled Brooke close and planted a kiss on her head before planting one on her cheek.

Brooke returned the kiss and laid her head against her mother's shoulder before falling asleep.

"I love you, Mommy." Brooke said just as she was drifting off to dreamland.

"I love you too, sweetheart. I love you so much " Kristen replied, stroking Brooke's hair gently. "I love you too."

Later that morning, Brooke awoke to the sound of someone calling her name. She rubbed the sleep out of her blue eyes and sat up.

"What? What's going on?" Brooke asked, still half asleep.

"I have a surprise for you." Kristen said, a happy note to her voice. "Come on."

Brooke nodded and followed her mother into the living room. She watched as her mother put on the same music she, Brooke, had played the night before.

"What's this?" Brooke asked, a little confused by her mother's actions.

Kristen smiled.

"I know we haven't danced together since I got sick, so I figured since I'm feeling unusually strong today, we would take advantage of it. What do you say?"

Brooke didn't need anymore coaxing. She smiled from ear to ear as she let the music guide her movements. She had always loved dancing. But ever since her mother had become ill, she had stopped doing it.

But as Brooke moved to the music, letting it dictate her every action, she remembered just how much she loved it.

Kristen was the same way, letting the music take her away. She smiled at her daughter lovingly as she watched Brooke in her element.

For the last ten minutes, Kristen held Brooke as the last few notes played on the stereo.

"Never forget that I love you. I love you more than anything. The same goes for your brother. I will never stop."

"I won't." Brooke said, the tears she had fought so hard to hold back threatening to fall once again. "I promise."

"Good girl." Kristen said, kissing the top of Brooke's head. 'I also need you to promise me something."

"Anything." Brooke said, her voice full of tears.

"Promise me that you'll never stop dancing. As long as you dance or sing, I will always be a part of you."

Brooke nodded, unable to speak due to the tears that were streaming freely down her face.

Gloria had told her the exact same thing just a few days ago.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, darling. It's all right. I'll always be with you." Kristen told her daughter. "I love you, baby."

"I love you too," Brooke told her, trying to calm down.

The last thing Brooke remembered was falling asleep in her mother's arms to the sound of her singing to her.

The next thing Brooke new, she was waking up to the sound of someone calling her name, but it wasn't her mother this time.

As Brooke opened her eyes, she saw that it was Tess. The wise angel was sitting near her bed, her hand resting on the little girl's shoulder.

"Brooke, sweetheart, you need to get ready." She told her. Her voice was full of sadness and Brooke knew instantly what had happened. Although a part of her didn't want to believe it, her heart knew what had happened.

Brooke shook her head as though doing so would make what had happened not be true.

"I'm so sorry, honey." Tess told her, her voice soft and gentle. "I'm so sorry."

Brooke didn't speak. She couldn't. She just collapsed in Tess's arms, the tears bursting forth like a dam that had burst.

All Tess could do was hold the child and assure her that everything was going to be okay in time. There wasn't anything else she could do. She wanted to take the child's pain away so badly, but she couldn't. Only God could do that.

The next few weeks were a blur for the Kissenger siblings. They went from relative to relative, never knowing where they would be next. It wasn't until three weeks after their mother had died that the siblings got a sense of stability in their lives.

Jerry Thompson knocked on the door of the group home the siblings had been sent to shortly after spending two weeks with their Aunt Felicia.

The woman who opened the door, gave the young man on the other side an expectant look.

"Yes, how many I help you?" She asked, her voice full of suspicion.

"Yes. I'd like to talk to you about adopting Brooke and Caleb Kissenger."

The woman smiled.

"Of course. Of course. Come in. Come in." She said, opening the door and standing aside to allow Jerry entry.

Standing just across the street from the home, four angels stood, watching the events unfold with smiles on their faces.

"Well, angel babies, I stand corrected." Tess said, gazing at the man who was about to change two siblings lives forever. "This assignment turned out to have a happy ending after all."

"I guess you can say that." Monica agreed, smiling herself at the prospect of a new life for Brooke and Caleb.

"What do you think, little angel?" Tess asked, turning her attention to the youngest member of their family.

Gloria didn't answer for a minute or two. She then got a grin on her face and replied, "I think since its Christmas, you should let me drive your car back."

Monica giggled and Andrew let out a chuckle.

Tess on the other hand, shook her head and pulled Gloria in for a hug.

"You're too much sometimes, you know that, Gloria?"

Gloria shrugged.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway." SHE said, giving Tess a cheeky smile.

"You're right, I do love you. And that goes for you two too." Tess said, glancing at Monica and Andrew. She then noticed that Andrew was no longer beside Monica. "Hey, where did angel boy-" Tess was interrupted as a snowball hit her square in the side of the head!

"You should not have done that angle boy!" Tess shouted, readying her own attack.

Gloria giggled as she and Monica joined in the snowball fight as well.

As the angel's laughter filled the air, a white dove flew above the winter wonderland. It's presence signifying a new start for the Kissenger siblings, as well as a new year for all God's children.

THE END