"I’m not going!"

Monica’s shout caused Tess to cross her arms in front of her chest and give her a stern look that only she could pull off. Noticing that her young charge barely flinched at her look, the elderly angel raised an eyebrow in question and demanded,

"Since when, Miss Wings?"

"I said ‘No’, Tess! I-I can’t go on that ship! After the Titanic disaster-"

"Monica, Monica, calm down…" Andrew stood in front of his best friend and placed his hands firmly, yet gently, on her shoulders. Trying to meet her doe-like brown eyes, but not succeeding, the older angel sighed but continued anyway,

"Sweetheart, please…look at me. You need to calm down a bit, all right?"

"How can I calm down, Andrew, when I’ve already said I never want to set foot on another ship for the rest of my existence?!" The Irish angel cried out, finally lifting her head and meeting her friend’s green eyes, which held more sympathy than Tess’,

"You were there with me, Andrew, when that ship went down…I can’t do that again! What if…what if we collide with another iceberg?"

Not having as much patience as her "Angel Boy", especially when it came to Monica and her stubbornness, Tess shot a "look" at the young Irish angel and walked around the counter in the rented apartment to stand on Monica’s other side. She tried to hold her tongue and her patience, but the supervisor angel was finding it nearly impossible. After all, she would have thought that Monica’s fear of ships would have dwindled since 1912…

"Miss Wings, the FATHER gave us this assignment and neither of us are taking ‘No’ for an answer!" She snapped, feeling a slight twinge of guilt in her heart as she saw the few tears in Monica’s eyes. But she wasn’t about to let that get to her right now,

"Yes, the Titanic sank. Yes, the Father did warn us of upcoming danger, too. But He has NOT said anything about icebergs on this ship, on this assignment; He has said, however, that we are to help a troubled young man that will be on that ship and that’s all. And before you get your halo all twisted in knots, Andrew is going to be there with you again, and so will Carla and myself."

"Carla?" Monica repeated, lifting a hand and wiping at the tears in her eyes at the memory of Titanic,

"Carla will be there?"

"Yes, she will be, sweetheart," Andrew replied, shooting a look Tess’ way that clearly read, ‘That’s enough’. Wrapping a gentle arm around her shoulders, he breathed a sigh of relief as she responded with her arm around his waist and she snuggled close to him,

"And you have my word that I will be there, too, Monica. None of us know what this full assignment will bring, but I seriously don’t think it will involve icebergs this time…"

Knowing that she needed to grab a good night’s rest in the next room before the beginning of their journey tomorrow, Tess rolled her eyes heavenward, lifted up a silent prayer of strength and mumbled softly,

"Well, I’m heading off to bed. We’ve got a long couple of days ahead of us and we have to be at the dock at 10AM tomorrow and the ship will leave at Noon. Good night, babies."

Eyeing his supervisor as she headed slowly down the hallway and stretching as she did so, Andrew frowned as he recalled Tess’ earlier tone with Monica about her fears. Leaning down and whispering into Monica’s ear that he’d be back in a few minutes, Andrew caught up with the older angel and placed a hand on her shoulder before she could enter her room.

"Tess?"

"What is it now, Mr. Halo?" She grumbled in reply, turning to him in exasperation,

"This old angel is tired and she needs her rest in order to get through tomorrow’s hours-"

"Tess, don’t you think you were a bit hard on Monica back there?" Andrew interrupted in a stern tone, although his green eyes held concern for both of his friends, one of them being his best friend,

"I mean, you know how sensitive she is…and I know that it’s been nearly a century since Titanic, but when it comes to stuff like that, she doesn’t get over it as fast as we do. I admit, I still even have some nightmares about that night…but I’m not afraid of ships. That’s one of the differences between Monica and I-"

"Angel Boy, this is an assignment," Tess impatiently replied, closing her eyes and heaving a loud sigh before facing her younger friend again,

"That little Angel Girl back in there has got to get over those fears or else she won’t be able to do this assignment like she needs to do. I know that I’m being tough, Andrew, but this fear has gone on long enough and it’s time for her to face reality here. And it’s time for me to go to bed. Good night, Angel Boy."

Forcing a smile on her face and nodding her head to her "Angel Boy", Tess opened the door to her bedroom and stepped inside, closing it behind her and in Andrew’s face. The younger angel stared at the closed door and rolled his eyes to the ceiling, whispering,

"Oh Father, why did she have to be created with such stubbornness??"

"I don’t know why she’s so stubborn, but I can tell you that I think you should hit the hay as well, Andrew."

Andrew nearly jumped out of his skin at the familiar sound of Carla’s voice and he turned wide eyes to the younger angel. Spotting her standing in front of her with a laughing look in her identical green eyes, Andrew breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down knowing that it was only her.

"Carla, you nearly scared the living daylights out of me…" He whispered, his heart still pounding.

"Sorry about that, Andrew," Carla blushed slightly and reached out to give him a quick hug,

"It’s great to see you guys again."

"You too, Carla," Andrew smiled down at her as he released his hold on her,

"I didn’t think you’d be here so soon. What about Mon-"

His question was cut off as he spotted over Carla’s head, Monica sound asleep on the living room couch. She must have sat down to rest her mind from the next day’s events and had fallen asleep in the midst of it.

"Well, that answers my question then…" He mumbled to himself, his attention turning back to his other friend,

"What are you doing here so late, though?"

"Keeping an eye on Monica," Carla replied, her attention turning back to her former supervisor who had turned around and was facing the other direction on the couch,

"You were right when you told Tess that she’s sensitive, Andrew. She doesn’t get over this kind of thing as quickly as you do, and although I know that it still hurts to think about what had happened that night in that year of 1912, and there’s an occasional nightmare, you aren’t freaked out to step foot on a boat dock. But Monica is…"

"So you’re saying she could have another nightmare tonight, Carla?" Andrew whispered, sympathy showing in his compassionate green eyes for his best friend.

Carla nodded her head as she placed a hand on Andrew’s upper arm,

"She could. She is rather stubborn, Andrew but Tess is right about one thing: This is an assignment, and she does have to go with us, no matter what."

The following morning, Andrew considered it a miracle in itself that they had all made it to the car.

Monica had several nightmares during the night, that had brought both Carla and Andrew out of sleep on each occasion, as they had tried to soothe her through them, which left the three younger angels exhausted and emotionally drained the following morning. What was ironic to Andrew was the fact that Tess had not gotten up once, so he would have thought she had a good night’s sleep at least, but her mood that morning had been anything but cheerful. Andrew had emerged from his room that morning to Tess’ sharp tongue snapping at his friend,

"Don’t start, Monica! Not another word about it-you hear me?"

He had stopped his dearest friend from racing back to her room with tears in her eyes and had managed to calm her once again and had even persuaded her to eat a little breakfast. He had to chuckle to himself as he remembered the last vacation the two of them had spent together in the cabin a few years ago when she had joked about being a handful for he and Tess, and he had to admit, this was one of those days where she indeed was just that.

Now, though the four angels were all in the car, Tess and Monica weren’t even speaking to each other, and Monica had wordlessly gotten into the back seat with Andrew, while Carla had sat up front with Tess. Andrew decided that arrangement worked well as not only was Tess at patience end with Monica but also with his protectiveness of her, which she just continued to roll her eyes about, so Carla appeared to be the only one on her good side at the moment. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen their supervisor in such a foul mood and he was beginning to wonder if there was more to this than he knew.

Turning his attention to his best friend, he watched the pensive expression on her pale face as she pretended to watch the scenery. Reaching for her hand, he found it cold and trembling and he sighed softly as he wrapped his other arm around her shoulders, pulling her close,

"It will all be fine, baby girl," He whispered in her ear, before she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I’m trying, Andrew," She whispered back to him, her teary brown eyes meeting his,

"I really am. I don’t mean to be this much trouble, but I can’t help it…I’m scared."

"I know you are," He replied, his green eyes filled with compassion for her plight at the moment,

"But I’ll be right there with you and you know God is watching out for us too."

"I know that, I do…but we didn’t know the Titanic was going to sink when we boarded it either," She shuddered at the memory and felt his arms tighten around her, and once again she was eternally grateful for his friendship.

"Try not to think about that, sweetheart," He coaxed gently, kissing the top of her head,

"This is a different ship, and a different time altogether."

Carla smiled from the front seat, listening to the conversation in the back as Andrew tried to console their friend and she was pleased that her former supervisor had such a loving and caring friend in Andrew. Turning her attention to Tess, she decided if he was working on Monica’s spirits, maybe she could work on Tess’,

"So, what is this assignment about, Tess?" She asked curiously.

"You’ll know when the time comes, Angel Child. It’s serious though, Carla, but the first thing we have to do is get that angel in the back on board before we can concentrate on the logistics of this, and I just hope God grants me with infinite patience on that one," With a sigh, she smiled her first smile of day at the young angel beside of her,

"I’m glad you’re going to be with us, baby. We’ve missed you."

"I’ve missed you guys too," Carla replied, blushing a little,

"I got kind of used to having you three around."

Tess chuckled as she pulled into the pier’s parking lot,

"This is it, baby. We’re here and just in time too. We need to get boarded in the next fifteen minutes. Our luggage was sent over yesterday, thank heavens, so that only leaves us with one problem," She glanced impatiently into the rear view mirror,

"Let’s get this over with."

The four angels got out of the car and began walking to the pier where they were to board the "Sea Princess", Andrew and Monica lagging behind a little as he held tightly to her hand.

"Lets go, you two," Tess snapped as Carla winced,

"We don’t have all day."

"What is up with her today?" Andrew muttered under his breath, frustration at Tess’ attitude beginning to eat away at him, but he forced it back for his best friend, who was walking with him as bravely as she could, until she stopped short at the ramp which would take them on board the ship. Tess and Carla were already halfway up it, but now the young Irish angel seemed paralyzed with fear,

"C’mon, sweetie, you can do this." Andrew encouraged, watching worriedly as she seemed to pale even further.

"I…don’t feel very well…" Monica mumbled, breaking away from him and dashing over to a trashcan.

Andrew regretted having her eat that morning, as he heard her getting sick, knowing her fragile human stomach when she was this worked up about something. Approaching her, he rubbed her back gently until the moment passed.

"I can’t do this, Andrew," She gasped, tears running down her face,

"I just can’t."

Tess frowned as she turned around on the ramp,

"All right, I’ve been nice enough," She muttered, starting to descend the ramp once more, but Carla stopped her.

"You go on board, Tess," She urged, deciding that Tess’ temper with Andrew and Monica this morning would only make this worse,

"I’ll help Andrew, all right?" Not waiting for an answer, the young Caseworker hurried back down the ramp, turning around once to make sure Tess was indeed boarding. Seeing that she was, Carla breathed a sigh of relief as she approached her two friends, knowing she needed to be a little more aggressive than Andrew was able to be with his best friend,

"We’ve got to board, you two," She stated firmly, seeing the helpless look on Andrew’s face as Monica continued to protest. Turning her attention to her former supervisor and friend, Carla placed her hands firmly on her shoulders,

"Monica, let’s go. I know you’re scared, but you have got to board that ship. I know you don’t want to abandon an assignment the Father has given you, so you need to push these fears aside for the moment, all right? We’re right here with you and we have every confidence that you can do this, so let’s go." Taking Monica’s trembling hand firmly in her own and watching as Andrew did the same with her other hand, all the while shaking his head at the spunk of the youngest angel.

Somehow though, Carla’s words worked, and though there were tears, the threesome was soon safely on board, just minutes before they were set to sail. They were led to their adjoining staterooms by the steward, and only then did Andrew breath a sigh of relief. He watched protectively as Monica sat down on the edge of the bed, still shaking, but trying to calm herself down.

The door to Tess’ suite opened and she surveyed the three angels,

"Glad you could join us, Miss Wings." She remarked dryly, before turning and walking back to her room.

Andrew counted to ten and then to ten again as he saw the wounded look on Monica’s face. Approaching her, he reached down and ruffled her hair gently,

"It’s okay, sweetheart," Looking at Carla, who also looked concerned over Tess’ attitude, he added,

"Stay with her a minute, Carla, please. I need to talk to Tess."

Carla nodded, noticing the way his tone was carefully managed and she knew he was furious and was fairly sure this was not going to be pretty. She watched as he knocked first and waited for Tess to bid him enter before he went in and closed the door behind him.

"I think we need to talk." He stated firmly, eyeing his supervisor coolly,

"What is going on with you today, Tess? Ever since you got this assignment, you’ve been more than a little disagreeable, don’t you think?"

"You baby her way too much, Andrew," Tess retorted, slamming her suitcase down on the bed,

"I know she is your best friend, but when she is acting up like this-."

"Acting up?" Andrew flared back at her, his expression incredulous at his friend’s words,

"She’s terrified, Tess! This isn’t some assignment she isn’t in the mood to do! This is about her fear of water and boats that sink, like the last one did and that is very real to her and to me, for that matter. You weren’t on board Titanic when we were holding on for dear life to the stern of that ship and watching freezing cold water approaching so fast it took our breaths away!" He drew in a deep breath, trying to calm his frustration at the older angel,

"Your attitude with her right now is not helping. She is here and I think she will be okay given a little time, but you have done nothing but snap at the two of us since last night and I have tried to keep my mouth shut, but I can’t any longer, Tess. Now what is going on? This isn’t like you at all-."

"Don’t you take that tone with me, Mr. Halo," Tess glowered, crossing her arms in front of her as she looked at him,

"Yes, I know it seems that I am being tougher than you like on that little angel in there, but there are things about this assignment, you don’t know and the fact is that Monica and Carla could be in a lot of danger if they aren’t thinking clearly and right now, Monica is not thinking clearly. You telling her it is okay to be afraid is not helping!"

"What am I supposed to say, Tess? That her fears are irrational, because they certainly weren’t back in 1912! And what kind of danger? What is going on, Tess?" He was beyond frustrated with her now, even though he was beginning to understand that her attitude with the Irish angel was out of concern for her safety.

"I’ll tell you after the boat docks in the next harbor tomorrow evening and our assignment boards-that is your need to know basis," She retorted, her dark eyes flashing with so many emotions, Andrew could not even begin to decipher them all,

"In the meantime, I suggest you find a way to calm Monica down unless you want me to do it for you. If she gets herself into trouble on this assignment, because she isn’t thinking clearly, the consequences, Andrew, are extreme. Are you hearing me, Angel Boy?"

Andrew nodded his head, fear beginning to well up inside of him, both for Monica and Carla as well as the nature of this assignment. They were angels after all, what could possibly happen, even in human form?

Tess’ face softened then for the first time since this assignment had been announced,

"Baby, I’m worried about her is all…she and Carla, and you’re the only one I would tell this to, as I don’t want them to be frightened by knowing that I’m worried. Special Forces would normally handle this assignment as the evil is so great, but the Father feels confident that we can handle it and He doesn’t make mistakes. Angels do, however, but we can’t afford them this time, Andrew-the risk is too great."

"You’re starting to scare me, Tess and I don’t even know what is going on!" He exclaimed, trying to control his impatience and barely succeeding.

"You don’t need to know yet, Angel Boy," Tess sighed softly as she moved to give him a hug, feeling the tension in his body,

"You’re assignment till tomorrow is Monica and you need to do whatever it takes to straighten her out. She needs to get her head out of her halo for this one, baby and I cannot stress that enough. I’m sorry I’ve been so short with you, baby, but for as many assignments as I have under my belt, this one is not one I’m looking forward to and I’m going to need you for this one, Andrew. Carla is tough, but not as experienced, as I’d like to see, so I need you and Monica at your best, regardless of what it takes. Now, get it done, Andrew." Releasing him, she turned back to her unpacking, not wanting him to see the worried tears in her eyes.

"Any luck talking to Tess?"

Carla leaned up against the railing some minutes later beside of Andrew and stared at him as he looked out to sea. The large ship had set sail not that long after the four angels had finally boarded and now after having heard some of the yelling between her two friends, after Monica had decided to take a nap, Carla had decided to go check and see if Andrew had any luck talking with their supervisor. From the slightly fearful look in the older angel’s identical green eyes, Carla’s heart flip flopped.

Blonde wisps of hair blowing in his face from the wind as he stared at the ocean, Andrew kept his gaze turned away from Carla, but spoke anyways,

"I’m now more confused than ever, Carla…"

"I heard some of the yelling going on in there before you left," She spoke up, gazing out to sea with him while leaning over the rail, hands folded,

"You all right, Andrew?"

"Yeah," He replied quickly, glancing at her,

"What about Monica? Is she still resting?"

"Yes, and I think she’ll be okay," The younger angel replied, nodding her head,

"What did Tess tell you about the assignment, Andrew?"

Sucking in a deep breath and his heart pounding loudly, wondering whether or not he should tell her what Tess had told him earlier, Andrew let out the breath slowly and looked down at the water below them as if intent at watching the ripples. He was silent for a moment before he finally gazed at the youngest angel nervously,

"She…she told me that there was a lot at stake here, Carla…That Monica had to basically have her head on straight for this assignment or things won’t go well at all, to put it mildly. She’s worried about both of you, and now I hate to admit it, but she's scaring me…"

Frowning in confusion, the other angel rested a gentle hand on her friend’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze,

"Anything else?"

"She just told me that I’m to work on setting Monica straight today, until tomorrow when our assignment comes on board…"

"Well, she’s sleeping right now, but it wouldn’t hurt to go back to the stateroom, Andrew," Carla replied, removing her hand from his shoulder,

"If Tess tells you to set her straight tonight, then set her straight. Monica appeared to had calmed down some after you went to talk to Tess, but I think we should both go back now, okay?"

Turning away from the water, Andrew nodded his head in reply and took the youngest angel’s hand in his own, giving it a squeeze,

"I’m glad you’re here with us, though. Tess was right, we have missed you."

Smiling gently back at him, Carla returned the squeeze as they headed back to the rooms where their other friends were staying in. But the memory of Andrew’s words to her about Tess’ worries about them, rushed back to her and her heart pounded loudly in her chest with fear of the days to come.

*****

Carla and Andrew returned to the stateroom their friends were currently occupying and both angels flinched as they heard yelling coming from outside of the door. Releasing his friend’s hand and leaning against the half-open door to listen in on what was being said, Andrew felt anger once again surging through him at Tess’ words.

"Miss Wings, I have had it almost up to here with you now!" She was yelling, while Monica’s muffled sobs were heard, too,

"I know that I am being tougher than I usually am with you, but Monica…you have got to a hold of yourself and chill out! I don’t need to hear you crying every time I turn around and hearing you say that you don’t want to be on this ship; I don’t need your pouting and stubbornness, either! I know that you don’t want to be here, but tough call, Angel Girl. The Father directed you to be here and that’s where you’re to be the next few days and no matter what Andrew says, or how he babies you, Monica, you need to get a hold of your halo these next few days-"

"Why does she keep doing this to her, Carla?" Andrew whispered fiercely as he glanced at the youngest angel beside him, who’s own green eyes were wide,

"It’s one thing to be tough with her, but another to just yell at her!"

He turned back around and was about to head into the room to break up this argument when he felt a firm grip on his arm and he whirled around to see the face of Rose. His eyes widened as he saw his former supervisor, now almost speechless. What was she doing here?

"Rose??" Andrew and Carla gasped at the same time. Turning to glance at Carla, Andrew stuttered,

"What…what are you doing here, Rose?"

"Honey, you don’t have to look at me like I’m going to attack you," Rose tried to calm him down a bit while placing a hand on his arm before shooting a look into the room to make sure that she hadn’t been noticed by either Monica or Tess,

"Calm down, Andrew."

Sighing loudly, Andrew closed his eyes and tried calm himself down as much as possible, although he was still feeling anger for the way Tess was treating his best friend. He wasn’t the type to be rough with Monica, and although there had been more than one time when they had nearly been at each other’s throats, both of them had totally regretted it afterwards and their arguments always ended with one of them apologizing. He just couldn’t tell Monica to not be afraid of this, when so many years ago they had been on a ship so similar to this very one; and it didn’t help that he himself was a little scared, too.

"What are you doing here, though, Rose?" Carla asked, breaking into his thoughts.

"I’m here to remind you of something, but I’m also here on this case with you four," She stated, looking back and forth between her two friends, one of them who was her former charge,

"Andrew, I have been told that you are not to go in there and stop Tess right now from telling Monica like it is…"

"What?!" He cried out, his eyes widening,

"But Rose-"

"Angel Boy, let me finish okay?" She firmly demanded, although her eyes still carried love and concern like they always did,

"Do you remember the last time we were all together when I told you about something called ‘tough love’?" Seeing him frown slightly, but nod his head reluctantly, the elderly, red-haired angel continued,

"Think about that in this situation, honey. You know that Tess loves Monica with all her heart, just as much as she loves you; and I know that you want to jump to Monica’s defense every time Tess gets rough with her or if something happens that you feel shouldn’t happen. But you must remember this, sweetheart: There comes a time when you have to be stern with those you love, and sometimes that means your best friend who happens to be Monica. This assignment is not going to be easy for any of us, you two; it will all start tomorrow afternoon, and after that…Monica has to have her head on straight and if not, we all will fail this assignment before we know it."

Noticing that neither angel had spoken and that Carla was looking at Andrew with the same look that she was, Rose’s eyes filled with sadness for all of them and she grasped her friend’s hand tightly in her own,

"Angel Boy, I know you love Monica. Right?"

"Of course I do, Rose," He snapped, the anger in his voice coming out unintentionally. Sucking in a deep breath, immediately regretting his tone of voice, he shamefully whispered to his friend,

"Sorry…"

"It’s okay, Andrew," She reassured him, squeezing his hand tightly,

"You have every right to be angry, you know? But you must remember that there is such a thing as ‘tough love’, and right now, that is what Monica needs at the moment and Tess is giving it to her, and I know that she comes out harsher than you do, but sometimes that is the only way. I’m sorry to have to say this, Angel Boy, but things WILL have to change in the upcoming days between you two and I know that will be hard-"

"HARD?" He burst out, tears immediately filling his eyes as he pulled away from Rose’s grasp on his hand,

"You’re asking me to…you’re practically telling me to change my friendship with my dearest friend and you say it’s gonna be HARD?"

"Honey, take a look behind you for a second, okay?" Rose continued gently, as if he hadn’t snapped at her to begin with. Gently taking his arm and turning him around, she placed her hands on his shoulders as they gazed at Monica and Tess. All three angels watched as Tess placed her hands on the younger, Irish angel’s shoulders as she sobbed and her voice grew gentler. They couldn’t tell what she was saying, but Andrew once again felt a lump form in his throat; he knew that his supervisor had calmed down towards his dearest friend, but just the thought of having to possibly take any harsh tone towards her, just to pass an assignment and not have everything screw up, was almost too much for him to bear.

Feeling the gentle squeeze of Rose’s hands on his shoulders as they watched Tess leave the room and head towards the connected door to her own suite, Andrew almost felt like he was gonna burst as he heard Rose whisper,

"That, Andrew, is tough love."

Andrew wandered around the boat deck an hour later, debating on whether to go and check on Monica. He had wanted to give her some time after Tess left in the hopes that she would pull herself together, because he just wasn’t sure he had it in him to be harsh with her. The little Irish angel could melt his heart with a look, and knowing that when she was upset, she looked to him for comfort, made it nearly impossible for him to consider doing anything but comforting her.

If her fears were unfounded it would be easier, but after Titanic, she had every reason to be afraid, yet on the other hand, Tess had said those fears could cost her in some way. He just wished he knew how. She was worried about Monica and Carla, but why? Was the price higher than a failed assignment?

Sighing softly, he headed back to her stateroom to check on her, trying to get himself into the right mind frame and saying a silent prayer to the Father that she had pulled herself together. He knocked softly on her door before opening it and saw her sitting on the bed, her knees pulled up to her chin and her head resting against them. His heart broke for her, but he struggled to push it aside, remembering Tess’ words of concern for her safety.

"You hanging in there, Angel Girl?" He asked softly as he closed the door behind him.

She looked up at him, her brown eyes red-rimmed and clearly showing her fear at being on this ship,

"Not really," She whispered miserably, longing for the safety of his arms, but for some reason he appeared to be keeping his distance.

"You need to get over this, Monica," He stated firmly, crossing his arms in front of him.

"I’m trying, Andrew, but-."

"No, I don’t think that you are. You’re worrying about things that happened nearly 100 years ago and you need to stop it right here and now," His voice was stern as his green eyes flickered.

"I can’t stop thinking about it!" She cried out, not understanding his sudden change of attitude with her.

"And I’m not going to stand here and watch you fail this assignment for all of us while you sit here and feel sorry for yourself. These are fears, Monica, nothing more." He saw the hurt that filled her eyes and he wanted the ground to swallow him, but he kept reminding himself of Tess and Rose’s warnings.

"No, Andrew, they are more than that! You know that!" Shakily, she got up from the bed and approached him as tears made their way down her cheeks,

"You were there…you were there…"

Seeing her moving to wrap her arms around him and wanting nothing more himself, he stopped her by taking hold of her arms firmly,

"You need to knock this off, Monica. I’m not going to feel sorry for you anymore about this when we have work to do. I’m disappointed in you, Angel Girl; you know there are things at risk with any assignment, yet here you sit thinking of nothing more than yourself. You were Carla’s supervisor, for goodness sake, and what kind of example are you setting for her now, huh?"

"Why are you doing this?" She whispered, tears flowing freely as she looked up at him,

"I…thought you understood…"

"Not this time, Monica and you’ve carried on about this long enough and I’m out of patience for it, okay?"

An angry retort on the tip of her tongue, she stopped herself before it escaped her lips. Despite everything, she had vowed to never speak another hateful word to him in anger, and though she didn’t understand this at all, she was not going to back down on that promise.

"So, I suggest you think about this long and hard, Monica. We don’t have the time to console you when we have work to do," He continued, hating every word that was coming out of his mouth at the one angel he loved with everything in him,

"So stop acting like an inexperienced little Caseworker, whining about being on a ship and you’ll cut us all a break."

Monica stared at him, his words cutting her to the core as her lower lip trembled madly. Unable to stand it a moment longer, she covered her mouth with her hand to hold back the sobs as she brushed past him and hurried out the door of her stateroom, not bothering to close it behind her.

Andrew starred at the ceiling as tears filled his eyes, the look on her face still lingering in his mind and he wanted to sob at what he had just said to her,

"I’m sorry, baby girl…I’m just so sorry." He whispered miserably.

"You did the right thing, Andrew," Rose said softly as she approached him, seeing the torment in his eyes.

"The RIGHT thing, Rose? The RIGHT thing?" He cried out, slamming his hand up against the doorway,

"Since when is it right to hurt your best friend like that, huh? I love that little angel with my entire heart and I just stood here and told her she disappointed me, she was setting a bad example-everything I DON’T believe for a minute! What she is is afraid with good cause to be and I just belittled those fears, Rose! I hate this assignment right now and I hate myself even more!"

"Andrew, listen to me," Rose stated firmly, taking his arms,

"You did what needed to be done. This assignment who is boarding tomorrow, is not just troubled, all right? He could easily cause a great deal of harm to Carla and Monica-."

"Well, it looks like I beat him to it with at least one of them, huh, Rose?" He replied tearfully, not really understanding what she was trying to tell him as he was unable to see past the hurt he had just caused,

"I need to be alone, Rose, though all the time in the world will never justify for me what you and Tess wanted me to do." Turning around, he walked out the door Monica had gone through minutes ago, closing it behind him.

***

Carla had searched nearly the entire ship after speaking to Rose, hoping to find her former supervisor. The young, blond-haired angel was fighting back her own emotions at the way things had gone so far. She understood the fact that Monica needed to be thinking clearly, but she never would have suggested putting Andrew up to laying into her like that as she knew that was painful for both of them. But Tess had been convinced that there was no other way to get the Irish angel out of the frightened, dark recesses of her mind, other than to have Andrew lay it on the line for her.

She sighed as she wandered down to the cargo hold of the ship and her eyes soon came to rest on the angel she had been seeking. She noticed that Monica’s eyes were dry, but that she was trembling, and Carla instantly knew that was from what had happened with her dearest friend and once more she shook her head, knowing that there had to have been a better way to handle things.

"Hey Monica," Carla smiled gently, as she approached her friend, watching as Monica gave a faint smile in return, though her eyes were filled with deep hurt,

"You know, there is a beautiful sunset out on deck. You should see it instead of sitting down here by yourself. It would probably do you some good, besides, I think the Father planned it with you in mind." She winked and smiled as her friend forced a small laugh,

"C’mon, lets go and take it in, shall we?" She extended her hand, hoping Monica would accept it if for no other reason to maybe get her mind off this giant mess.

Monica hesitated for a moment before nodding her head numbly,

"I’m sorry I’ve been such an idiot, Carla," She began shakily, but she was cut off immediately.

"Monica, listen to me, okay? I’ve only heard the stories of what happened in 1912, but it seems to me like it would be a hard time to forget. What you do need to remember though is that this is a completely different assignment that we don’t know a lot about yet. What we do know though, is that we have God on our side, so what is there to fear, right?"

"You’re right," She whispered with a soft sigh, trying not to think about her exchange with Andrew as the pain of that was just too raw right now.

"So, no apologies for being afraid, okay? Just trust Him, Monica…He’ll get us through this; He always does. Besides, if any demons show up on this ship, I’ll be the one freaking out," Carla winked again, and watched as Monica gave a laugh.

"I’m not convinced you’re afraid of anything, Carla," Monica replied, still feeling a little shaky, but a little better at the same time.

"Well, I’m not too crazy about spiders now that you mention it," She chuckled, as Monica stood to join her.

"Let’s go check out that sunset," Monica said softly,

"I could use it right about now."

Carla nodded her head, knowing now that her friend would be all right as far as the ship was concerned. What she was worried about was the situation between her and Andrew, when she had a feeling Monica’s fears could have been alleviated with a conversation as simple as the one they had just had, with no hurt feelings involved. She didn’t want to step on either supervisor’s toes, but it seemed to her that now instead of one frightened angel, they now had two who were hurting desperately when it all could have been avoided.

So what were they going to do about that?

On the other side of the ship, Andrew stood at the bow, staring off into space. His eyes were red and swollen from crying and now he could do no more; his blonde hair blew lazily in the night breeze as he stared out at the sunset and his heart broke at the memory of the last time he and Monica had watched the sunset together…the time not too long ago when they had been given a week-long vacation from the Father to just enjoy each other’s company. It had been a week to remember and although the memory of it caused a smile to always cross his face, now it brought a new fresh batch of tears to his green eyes.

He looked down at his hands, which were clenched tightly together in front of him so hard his knuckles were turning white. The angel sighed deeply as he kept his head lowered; his mind traveled back to just a few hours ago when he had left Rose, and his heartbreaking words to Monica. How could he have done this? And not with a guilty conscience??

Inside of him, he knew that this wasn’t the Father’s order; it couldn’t have been. Couldn’t he have gotten through to her without sounding the way he did? And couldn’t he have done it without breaking her heart?

"Father, why?" He whispered, his voice cracking with emotion as he lowered his head again,

"This can’t be Your will, can it?" He looked up at the star-filled sky and his heart thudded after receiving no reply from his Creator.

"And what if it is His will, Andrew?"

Tess’ voice caused Andrew to turn out, his green eyes flashing with anger and an angry retort on the tip of his tongue. Couldn’t those two leave him alone for a while, if not at least for the rest of the day?

"I don’t wanta talk to you, Tess, all right?" He hissed, his eyes narrowing as the tears made their way down his cheeks,

"Haven’t you and Rose done enough? Now I just want to be left alone for the rest of the day, is that too much to ask?"

"Rose knew that you shouldn’t be left out here by yourself, Baby," Tess replied, her voice although firm, held love,

"And neither should I. It’s getting dark, and since Carla is with Monica at the moment, I thought I’d come to you-"

"I don’t want to talk to you, Tess," He repeated, his eyes never leaving his supervisor’s face. Backing away from her a step, the younger angel seethed,

"Just stay away from me right now, okay? After what you told me to do to Monica, how can I forgive you and Rose for that? How can I forgive MYSELF for that?!"

"Now don’t you start with me, Mr. Halo," Tess’ voice was starting to lose its patience and she folded her arms across her chest, taking a step closer to her friend. Although she loved her "Angel Boy" dearly, as much as she loved Monica, sometimes Andrew’s mouth got the better of him and developed an attitude like hers,

"You have not been told what the Father’s plans are yet, and I don’t think I should tell you of all angels that He’s in control. Rose was correct, you did do the right thing and yes, it was His will that you set Monica straight; we all love that baby girl, and I know all too well that it hurts to get tough with her, but God knows what He’s doing-"

"And so He told you that it was okay for me to snap at her like that, is that it, Tess?" He raised his voice, glaring at her.

"Andrew-"

"I don’t want to hear it anymore! Okay?! It couldn’t have been His will! Somewhere inside of me, I know that it wasn’t…I could have done it without hurting her feelings, but NO! Andrew had to get tough with her, and chew her out when I don’t have hard feelings towards her at ALL!" He snapped, walking away from the railing and brushing past Tess. But before he left her, he turned back around, hurt shining in his tear-filled eyes,

"I just hope you and Rose know what you’re doing…and if you know what’s good for either of you, you’d stay away from me the rest of this trip…"

Turning on his heel, he rushed away, leaving the older angel staring speechless after him for the first time.

*****

Monica lay awake in her bed late that night after all was quiet on the ship. Although her eyes were now dry after endless hours of sobbing and also confiding in Carla, the Irish angel tossed and turned at past 2AM, finding it difficult to sleep. She couldn’t get her mind off of Andrew, and his words to her that afternoon. Her best friend was in the very next room and although she still loved him with everything in her, just the thought that he was so close to her caused her lower lip to tremble all over again.

Suddenly feeling tears well up in her eyes all over again, Monica crunched up her pillow and buried her face into it, sobbing all over again. Would her heart ever heal? And would Andrew ever tell her why his feelings for her had changed so drastically after such a short period of time??

All these questions, and more, ran through the little angel’s head and soon, she had cried herself to sleep.

But as she slept restlessly, her mind traveled to dreams of the Titanic and 1912…dreams that were both pleasant and unpleasant.

(Monica’s Dreams)

Choking on a sob as he saw a young woman jump off the back of the ship and into the icy Atlantic, Andrew lowered his head and buried his face as much as he could in Monica’s soaking hair. Keeping his arm around her shoulders tightly, he tried to whisper as reassuringly as possible into his best friend’s ear.

"We’re going to be okay, Monica…" his voice trembled as he spoke. "We’re going to be okay…"

No words coming from her mouth, but feeling her nod her head, Andrew raised his head and bravely looked around him, his heart breaking at all that he saw. The screams of the human beings tumbling to their deaths as they either jumped or fell and the loud crashes of expensive items in the ship, Andrew no longer decided to hold back the sob in his throat.

"Oh God…please help us…" he sobbed as tears streamed from his green eyes. "Please, Father…"

But, suddenly, before the frightened angel could continue his plea to the Father above, he and his two friends heard a loud rip like no other tear through the air. The rip obviously coming from the sinking ship…

The noise sounding louder and more horrific than any he had ever heard before in his existence as an angel, Andrew suddenly felt his heart leap into his throat and his stomach do a somersault as he felt the stern quickly come down to the dark ocean. Landing with a loud splash and more screams coming from all around, the Angel of Death heard Monica let out an ear-piercing scream. Gripping his friend from behind as tightly as possible and holding onto Jack’s hand with the other, Andrew slightly turned his head and finally noticed what had caused this sudden occurrence.

The ship had torn in two.

Hearing Monica yell out loud, her voice shaking like never before, Andrew lifted up the exact same thought in his head.

"Father!! Help us, please!!"

Just as the words escaped the younger Irish angel’s lips, the trio and everyone else still on board the ship, suddenly felt the stern of the ship lifting again…only this time coming faster and faster…People continued to jump as they felt the stern of the ship coming up faster than ever thought possible…

*****

"Monica!" Andrew shouted above the roar of the angry crowd, who was still trying to talk their way into being released from this part of the ship,

"Monica!"

"Andrew!" Monica cried out, hearing his voice. He was all right! Sobs began to tear through her as she turned around in the crowd, making her way back to where she had heard him. A moment later, her eyes came to rest on her best friend, the worry in his eyes for her apparent.

Two seconds later, she was in his arms, her arms wrapped tightly around him as painful cries emerged from her lips. She felt his arms wrap just as tightly around her as his hands ran through her brilliant auburn hair.

Tears coursed down Andrew's cheeks as he held her close to him, saying a silent prayer of thanks for her safety. After several moments, he was finally able to find his voice to speak,

"I've got you, Angel Girl," He whispered reassuringly into her ear.

*****

"We have to get out of here!" he screamed as he pulled his friend towards the door, Jack right behind them after tossing the last pair of handcuffs and keys into the ocean water. As he followed the two angels out the door, a sudden gasp came to his throat as the trio came upon a large rush of water coming straight at them like a mighty roaring lion.

Nearly paralyzed with fear, he felt Andrew’s hand tug him on the arm and his voice screaming through the hallway.

"RUN!!"

Still holding onto his best friend’s hand and the other dragging Jack behind him, Andrew turned a small corner and raced as fast as possible down it, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest and his entire body shaking with fear. Letting go of Jack as he soon realized that his friend was finally back to the land of the living, the angel, however, kept a tight grip on Monica’s as she screamed louder than ever before as the huge rush of water, like an ocean wave, came up behind them.

Before any of them knew what had happened, however, the rush of water came down on them, sending the two angels and one human to the water with a splash. Lights flickering all around them as the trio was dragged farther down the ruined hallway, water coming from all directions, Andrew suddenly felt a hard and sharp jab as he found himself slammed up against another one of the shut iron gates, followed by two more bumps and shouts right beside him.

Quickly pulling Monica away from the gate as the water continued to rush at them at full force, Andrew kept his arm wrapped around her and turned his eyes towards a small staircase right beside them, leading upwards.

"Up there, you two!!" he cried in fear as he helped Jack free himself from the gate and rushing water. "C’mon, Jack! Give me your hand!!"

Grasping onto his friend’s shaking hand tightly and, with all of his strength, followed the two up the stairs, his body still shaking. But, as soon as he looked up, fear came to his heart once again as he realized that they weren’t out of danger yet.

"NOO!!!"

Monica’s scream tore through her as she grasped the iron gates with her hands and gave them a good shake, her soaking auburn hair swinging into her face and practically sticking to her shoulders. Glancing over at Andrew and Jack, who had appeared beside her and were soon shaking the gates with their hands, also, Monica looked, horrorstruck, behind her and then at her feet.

The raging water that they thought they had escaped from, was quickly coming up the small staircase towards the trio. Water already splashing at their ankles, Monica lost all of her control as she rattled the gate as loudly as she could, her voice ringing loudly along with Andrew and Jack, hoping for a miracle that someone was down here and would help them…a crew member or whoever!

"Somebody!! Somebody, please!!! Someone help us!!!"

(End Monica’s Dreams)

"Somebody help us! Please!!"

The next thing Monica knew, she was being shaken awake by an urgent pair of strong hands and she heard her name being called,

"Angel Girl! Monica, wake up! It’s just a dream, honey, it’s just a dream…"

Not paying attention to whom was shaking her, but finally finding it in her to open her brown eyes, Monica jerked awake and threw herself into the arms of the figure sitting on the bed beside of her. She wailed as the tall figure held onto her and gently stroked her hair,

"It’s okay, it’s okay…It’s just a dream, I’m right here…"

Finally after several moments of holding onto the one who had woken her out of this nightmare, Monica slowly pulled back as she recognized the voice. Andrew’s voice…Her heart in her throat, the Irish angel who was still in a daze after what she had just seemed to relive in her dreams, gazed up at the face of her best friend, who’s eyes now held deep love and concern for her.

"Andrew?" She whispered tearfully through blurred vision.

"Yes, it’s me-" He stopped in mid-sentence however, as he suddenly remembered just what he was doing….and suddenly knowing full well why Monica’s voice sounded shocked. The tortured memory of what had happened earlier that afternoon came back to him like a punch in the face, but instead of getting up off the bed like Tess or Rose probably would have wanted him to now that his dearest friend was all right, he found himself frozen in spot. He continued to hold onto her hands, which were still shaking, and they stared into one another’s eyes, both not sure what to say.

Trying to stop the tears that were still filling her dark eyes, Monica struggled to speak,

"I…wouldn’t have thought you would…be here…not after earlier…"

Even in the darkness, Andrew could see the deep hurt in her eyes and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat,

"Monica, about earlier-."

Unable to bear the thought of any more harsh words, the Irish angel cut him off through sobs,

"I’m sorry, Andrew…I’m sorry I disappointed you…I’m trying, I swear I am and I was doing better…until that dream…that dream of being back on board Titanic! Please don’t…please don’t be angry with me…please…"

A small cry escaping his lips, he drew her to him and held her as tightly as he dared, his hands working into her hair as she let out heart-wrenching sobs against his chest,

"No, sweetheart, no," He uttered tearfully,

"I’m not angry with you…I was never angry with you…that was all a mistake. A horrible, terrible mistake and I am so sorry, baby girl…just so sorry…"

Still not understanding, Monica clung to him desperately, her hands clutching his t-shirt tightly,

"I didn’t mean to be so much…trouble…and you don’t need to ‘baby’ me…but…I just want to know…you’ll be here for me…I’ll do better, Andrew…I promise I will…I promise…"

"Monica, sweetheart, listen to me," He pulled away, her words tearing at his heart, as he took her face in his hands as she continued to cry,

"Please listen, okay?" Seeing her nod, even as another sob escaped her, he continued through his own tears,

"This assignment is apparently going to be difficult and dangerous, for you and Carla especially, though I don’t know why yet," His voice trembled as he struggled to make her understand,

"Tess and Rose…they thought the only way to get you thinking clearly was by being hard on you…me especially, Monica, because you’re my dearest friend. I did what they asked, but Monica…it was wrong, I know it was wrong…and hurting you like that…I knew in my heart that there had to be another way. Nothing I said was the truth, Angel Girl…none of it and I hate myself for hurting you like that." Pulling her back into his arms, he held her as she cried, his own tears falling from his eyes.

"I..I didn’t know what I had done…to make you say those things…" She whimpered, wrapping her arms around his waist,

"Why is Tess doing this? I don’t understand…I don’t understand…"

"You didn’t do anything," Andrew whispered, fresh tears in his eyes as he felt her entire body shaking,

"Oh sweetheart, please stop crying…please?"

"And just what is going on in here?" Tess demanded as she switched on the light, her expression not at all happy as Rose appeared behind her.

Andrew pointed a shaking finger at her, while still holding onto Monica, who had buried her face against his neck as if she now wanted to disappear altogether, with his other hand,

"Not a word, Tess. You got that?" He uttered, his voice hoarse with emotion, as he once again wrapped his other arm around his friend.

"Andrew," Rose interjected, her eyes pained,

"We’ve been through this, honey-."

"No," He replied, his voice holding a tinge of anger,

"You two have been through this…I just made the mistake of listening to you which has made things ten times worse."

"You’re treading on thin ice, Mr. Halo," Tess countered, though she felt sick at the pain on his face and the pain in her Angel Girl’s sobs.

"Andrew is right!"

At the sound of Carla’s voice, both Tess and Rose turned around to see the youngest angel standing there, a rare look of disgust on her pretty face.

"Andrew is exactly right," She repeated, more calmly this time, knowing without a doubt that this was the right thing to do,

"Ever since this assignment came to be, Tess, you have done nothing but badger Monica, which is easy for you to do as you are the only one who even knows what this assignment is about-you and Rose. And as if that isn’t bad enough, you decide to pull poor Andrew, her best friend, into this and you want him to do it your way. No offense, but your way is not the only way," Carla eyed both supervisors, her green eyes, though angry, also showed her love for them. Walking over to her two friends on the bed, she laid a hand on Andrew’s shoulder and one on Monica’s as she continued speaking,

"Your way consisted of taking one painful thing-the memory of a ship sinking and exchanging it with words that were even more painful than those memories were. Tess, every time I’ve turned around the last 24 hours you were either picking on her or arguing with Andrew. Her fears are REAL, but she is trying and was doing quite well earlier tonight. She even took in a sunset with me on the deck," She smiled down at her friend, who Andrew was still rocking in his arms,

"By then, she was hurting more over the words Andrew had said to her; words you two put him up to saying to her. It was not the right way and it certainly wasn’t God’s way. He said she needed to be thinking clearly, but He never said hurting her and yelling at her were the way to go about it. It did indeed make it worse, because I might be wrong, but I think she would rather the ship hit an iceberg than to think her best friend had turned against her."

The room fell silent for a moment, with no other noise other than Monica’s quiet weeping and Andrew’s soft whispers to her.

Finally, Tess nodded her head, her own eyes filled with tears,

"You’re right, baby…I know you’re right…I’m just so worried about this whole thing is all and-."

Carla shook her head,

"Not tonight, Tess. I know you are worried about the two of us and that is the reason for your actions towards Monica…but there has been enough to deal with tonight. Let’s let tomorrow take care of itself, okay?"

Rose approached the two young angels on the bed, her blue eyes holding her sorrow. Softly, she kissed the top of Andrew’s head,

"I’m sorry, honey, for putting you to that. I guess I underestimated the damage those words would do to both of you."

"It’s okay, Rose," He replied softly, managing a smile for her as his former supervisor gave Monica’s hair a loving stroke.

"I’m sorry too, babies," Tess added remorsefully, after hearing Carla’s words now feeling terrible over her actions the last 24 hours,

"I was wrong in the way I handled this, with you especially, Angel Girl. Anger never was the way to get through to that sensitive heart of yours, but my own fears in this caused me to forget that." She looked worriedly at Andrew when Monica did no more than nod her head.

"She’ll be okay, Tess," He reassured her as he reached for his supervisor’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze,

"She’s had a rough day…we all have, but tomorrow will be better."

Tess wrapped her arms around both of them, lovingly kissing the tops of their heads,

"I’m sorry for what I did, Angel Boy. I should know by now that your way with her is usually the best way. You two get some rest and I’ll see you in the morning." She walked back to Carla and Rose, raising an eyebrow at the youngest angel,

"And just when did you get to be so smart?"

Carla chuckled as she threw a wink at Andrew over her shoulder as the three of them departed, leaving the two friends alone once more.

Andrew sighed softly with relief as he turned his attention to his friend, whose face was still buried in the nape of his neck. He noticed that her tears had stopped, though she refused to let him go,

"You okay, little one?" He asked gently, smiling when he realized he hadn’t called her that since the assignment with the Hendricksons so long ago.

"I think so," She whispered shakily, giving a small sigh,

"I’m just so glad you aren’t angry with me."

"I never was, sweetheart," He replied, pulling away gently to look into her exhausted and swollen eyes. Getting up from the bed, he took her hand and pulled her to her feet, leading her to the door that went out onto the deck of the boat. She followed tentatively, clutching his hand tightly in her own.

Bringing her over to the railing, he stood behind her and wrapped his arms securely around her waist as he gazed up at the full moon that lit up the ocean, which rippled gently beneath them.

"It’s beautiful," She whispered softly, leaning back into him as she felt him kiss the top of her head.

"It’s a whole other time, sweetie. It’s warm out, the water is rippling, unlike that night when it was so still and even if something were to happen, which it won’t, that water down there is a whole lot warmer," Hearing her laugh quietly, he smiled as he turned her to face him once more,

"And even if it did happen again, which it won’t, you have my word that I will not attempt to put you on any lifeboats without me. I want you right here with me."

Wrapping her arms around him, she reached up and kissed his cheek,

"I love you, my friend."

"I love you too and I’m sorry about earlier," He whispered, before a thought struck him,

"You know, what did surprise me is that you didn’t fight back today. I felt like a monster as it was, but when you didn’t even come back at me with that Irish temper of yours--."

"I made a promise to you, Andrew, remember? The day you went to get Carla from Kathleen and Denise, that I would never speak another hateful word to you in anger and I meant that," She replied. Seeing a tear form in his eye, she smiled mischievously,

"Oh, I wanted to, don’t get me wrong."

Andrew laughed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he led her back inside,

"You need to get some rest, Angel Girl. You’ve had two long nights and I think tomorrow will be a long day."

Sitting down on the edge of her bed, she reached for his hand, her tired eyes pleading,

"Stay with me? Please? If I have another nightmare, I don’t want to be alone."

"I wasn’t going anywhere," He replied softly as he walked around to the other side of the bed and sat down, waiting as she curled into his arms. Arranging the blanket over her, he rested his cheek against her head, accustomed to this arrangement when she was afraid or hurting.

"Good night, Andrew," Monica murmured, already drifting off as she listened to the sound of his heartbeat.

"Good night, little one," He whispered lovingly in return,

"And only the sweetest dreams tonight, Angel Girl."

The next afternoon, at half past 12, the "Sea Princess" had stopped at a small island and all of the passengers disembarked to get their feet back on solid ground for 2 hours and also to sight see. The five angels walked down the plank, Monica holding tightly to Andrew’s hand, taking in their surroundings. After the past night’s events, everything seemed to be back to normal for the five friends and although they were all nervous to be meeting their assignment that afternoon, they were also looking forward to site seeing…especially Carla, since this was her first trip on a ship.

"When do we meet this assignment, Tess?" Andrew asked as he swung Monica’s left hand playfully and winked at her, grinning as she giggled.

Glancing at her young charge over her shoulder, the older angel replied as she walked beside Rose,

"Very soon, Angel Boy. Very soon…"

Turning from where she stood on Andrew’s other side, Carla grinned somewhat nervously, but at the same time tried to hold herself together for the next few hours before they had to return to the large ship,

"So…what do you guys wanta do first? I overhead some humans saying on the way down the plank that they have some amazing ice cream-and coffee, too- in one of the stores on this small island."

"Mocha lattes?" Monica piped up, her brown eyes widening with a new-found excitement,

"Oh Tess, Rose…can’t we get one, please??"

Rolling her eyes skyward, Tess shook her head and continued walking towards the street, where small stores were off to the side,

"Oh, Lord, like that’s all she needs this afternoon…"

Laughs were heard among the friends and Andrew shot a smile over at Carla, who winked at him, silently thanking her for bringing a laugh to him and his friends…but deep inside, he knew that the minute they set eyes on their new assignment, things would change.

Maybe even forever.

*****

A half hour later…

30 minutes later, Monica walked outside of "Starbucks", holding a hot cup of coffee in her hand and savoring the delicious smell of it. In her other hand, she held a small bag, which held a magazine that, would hopefully give her some interesting reading material later. The minute she read the heading on the front of it, she was hooked: "Do Angels Exist?"

"So, where to next?" Carla’s voice broke in and Monica looked up while taking a sip of her favorite drink.

"Well, Angel Babies…" Tess started, the happiness and fun that was in her this last half hour suddenly leaving, she exchanged a look with Rose before turning back to her three younger charges,

"Before we continue…It looks like it’s time to meet our assignment."

His heart pounding loudly in his chest, Andrew reached out for Monica and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders as Tess pointed to a tall male figure just a few feet ahead of them; he had short, brown hair and dark eyes and he appeared to be as normal as any human being came. The five angels watched as the young-looking man walked inside one of the many stores and disappeared into it. Although he looked to be harmless, Andrew suddenly felt a twinge of anger towards this fellow and he had to hold his tongue from saying anything that would give away what he was thinking and feeling.

"His name is Philip," Rose continued, her blue eyes both sad and scared. She looked from Andrew to Monica and then to Carla, love in her eyes for all three of them,

"He’s a very troubled and angry man, you three. He’s also been convicted of a heinous crime several years ago: Murder."

"What?" Monica whispered, clinging tightly to Andrew as her best friend still had his arm around her,

"He’s a…a…" Her voice trailed off suddenly as her eyes filled with horrified tears.

"Murderer, Angel Girl," Tess finished for her, her eyes once again holding that sternness from the day before,

"We’re not here to try to convince the police that they shouldn’t have released him from prison; we’re not the FBI. We’re here to try to help this soul before he does goes after another innocent life and claims it…"

"Tess, he couldn’t…" Andrew whispered, his own eyes fearful and now filled with hot tears of their own,

"He wouldn’t harm Monica and…Carla-right??"

Looking down at her feet, not exactly what to say to try to reassure her "Angel Boy" when she knew that even she couldn’t be reassured, Tess couldn’t find her voice. Rose noticed this and turned to her former charge, gently taking his hand in her own and squeezing it.

"We don’t know, honey," She uttered, her voice strained,

"The Father told us that it’s a possibility. He prays on women-young and old-and he’s been doing this for most of his life. God has wanted you all to have your heads on straight just in case, Andrew, and-"

"I don’t feel so good…" Andrew suddenly interrupted, his face paling as he released his hold on Monica and backing away from his friends,

"I-I’m going back to the ship. Go on ahead and finish sight seeing without me…"

"Andrew-" Monica started, her voice choked up as she reached for him.

"No, sweetheart, not now," He whispered, a look of both regret at how this afternoon was turning out and also just plain terror,

"I’ll see you all in a few hours…"

Without waiting to hear any replies from his best friend and the others whom he loved with all of his heart, Andrew took off as fast as he could towards their ship, his stomach churning with each step. Rose’s words echoed in his head over and over again; what was going to happen to his best friend and Carla?? He loved the young Irish angel more than his very life, and he had come to love Carla very much over the course as the last several months after she had helped them all out in such a way that Andrew was forever grateful to her.

Would that psycho really try to go after his two friends? And if he did…what could he do to stop him?

*****

Not allowing her friend to be left by himself on that ship after he had left, Rose stepped up to the door of the closed door in the stateroom. She had left Tess, Carla and Monica a half hour ago, ordering them to continue sight seeing and to not think too much of their assignment, the older former supervisor had went after Andrew. She had to talk to him, and she had to talk to him now.

Without bothering to knock, the red-haired angel turned the knob of the door and pushed it open. She poked her head inside, and upon not seeing her young angelic friend, Rose frowned and walked in further, closing the door behind her.

"Andrew?" She called out, but didn’t hear anything. She raised her voice slightly and called again,

"Honey, are you in here?"

This time, she was greeted by the slight sound of weeping coming from the closed bathroom door and Rose practically flew to it, opening it without knocking, knowing that it was Andrew. Spotting her former charge on the floor beside the open toilet, arms wrapped around it and his head lowered while tears streamed down his now pink face, Rose’s heart filled with pain at the sight.

"Sweetheart, are you all right?" She choked out, trying to hold back a round of tears of her own. She rarely cried, but when she saw her friends in as much pain as her and Tess’ "Angel Boy" was right now, Rose sometimes couldn’t hold it in. The older angel had come to love this angel with her whole heart ever since he decided to switch to Search and Rescue, and after coming to know Monica and Carla almost 9 months ago, those other 2 had won another piece of her heart, while Andrew always held the first piece.

Rushing over to him, the supervisor knelt down beside of him and rested a hand on his back, rubbing it gently as tears fell from her eyes against her will. Noticing that her friend had just released the remainder of what was in his throat into the toilet, the older angel whispered,

"Honey?"

"Rose…" He croaked out, his head still lowered.

"Shhhhh…" She soothed, gently wrapping her arms around his shoulders while still sitting on the hard floor of the bathroom,

"Andrew, are you all right, Angel Boy?"

Shaking his head wearily, Andrew replied as she sat in his friend’s arms, his head pounding with a headache after having puked out that afternoon’s lunch,

"Why didn’t you tell me earlier…Why, Rose…?" He choked out, feeling too dizzy to pull away from his former supervisor.

"You guys weren’t ready to hear about Philip yet, honey-"

"Oh, and we’re ready to hear it now, I take it?" He wearily demanded, lifting his head from Rose’s shoulder and looking into her own tear-filled, blue eyes,

"Now this news will be on all of our minds for the rest of this trip, Rose…Why?"

"Andrew-"

"Will you just answer me, please?" He demanded, his eyes, although filled with sadness and horror, holding anger,

"Rose…"

"It was the Father’s orders to not say anything yet, Angel Boy," Rose whispered compassionately, her voice filled with the utmost patience. She knew that he was feeling hurt, scared and angry, and the older angel didn’t blame him for those feelings. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, remembering that He had told her and Tess something else about their assignment Philip…and that He wanted her to deliver this news.

‘Why me, Lord?’ She questioned Him silently, opening her eyes and raising them to the ceiling.

"Because he needs to hear this from you. He still feels some anger towards Tess, My angel, and you need to tell him the rest."

Finally turning back towards her friend, who she had taken back into her arms, Rose lifted up prayers for strength from up Above as she whispered to Andrew, her voice sad and her heart wishing she didn’t have to do this,

"Honey…there is still something that you need to know. About Philip…"

Andrew looked at Rose through bleary eyes as he heard her words,

"Something else?" He uttered, his eyes pained, wondering what else there could possibly be.

"And just let me begin, Andrew, by reminding you that the Father has us all in the palm of His hand," Rose continued softly, looking into his eyes,

"Even though this human has free will, there is nothing he can do that the Father cannot heal."

"What are you saying, Rose?" Andrew cried out, his expression distressed,

"Do you know what is going to happen?"

"No, Angel Boy, I do not. I only know the danger involved, both to the female humans on this ship, two of those right now being our friends," She drew in a deep breath,

"Philip is not only a convicted murderer, Andrew…he often sexually assaults his victims prior to killing them…"

Andrew was on his feet immediately, his eyes flashing pain,

"Tell me I’m not hearing this, Rose!"

"I’m sorry, honey, but you need to know the whole truth and this is the truth. This is why it is so important you are all thinking clearly and are being careful."

"Rose, Carla and Monica are my friends….Monica…she’s my best friend and the thought of her in any pain this man may cause…" He choked out.

"Andrew, no one is saying that anything will happen, to either of them, only that the risk is there and that you need to be prepared. Carla and Monica are smart angels, honey, just not as seasoned in these kinds of cases as Tess and I would like, but they have all the skills that are really needed," Rose ran a hand through his blond hair with a sigh,

"We just have to make sure they use them."

"I need some air, Rose," He muttered, heading for the door,

"I need some time to take this all in before Monica and Carla return later."

Rose nodded her head in understanding as she rose to face him,

"I know you’re worried about them, Andrew, but try not to let it show to them. If they know you are frightened, it could very well scare them. God is in control, Andrew, you know that."

Giving his head half a nod, the handsome angel turned and walked out the door unto the deck.

***

Monica sighed softly as they walked out of yet another store and she was growing weary of shopping when there were other questions she wanted to ask. But Tess seemed to be deep in thought and after the last few days, the last thing the Irish angel wanted to do was provoke her. Carla too, seemed on edge and Monica once again heart Andrew’s words to her the day before come flooding back to her,

"You were Carla’s supervisor, for goodness sake, and what kind of example are you setting for her now, huh?"

Though the angel held no ill will towards her friend for his words to her yesterday, there was a part of her that believed the things he said. After all, even Andrew had to have believed them on some level, as he was not one to lie. Now, clearly able to see Carla’s fear, the older of the two angels pushed her own frightened feelings aside.

"Tess," She began tentatively as the threesome walked down towards the beach, the wind catching her auburn hair and blowing it across her face,

"Is there anything else we need to know about this assignment? I don’t mean to question, it’s just that, well, you haven’t said a lot."

Tess sighed softly as she indicated for the other two angels to take a seat at a nearby picnic table. She and Carla sat on the bench, while Monica hopped up to sit on the table. The supervisor was quiet for a moment before she spoke, exchanging looks with each of them,

"Philip was not only convicted of murder, babies, he was also convicted of rape prior to the murders."

As Carla’s eyes widened, Monica laid a hand on her shoulder as she struggled to remain calm,

"What is he doing out of prison, Tess?"

"He was acquitted, Angel Girl, based on a technicality. In this day and age, if law enforcement makes one little mistake, someone like Philip can go free, regardless of the evidence held against him. Fact is, every pretty, young female on the Sea Princess is at risk because of a technicality, and that includes the two of you. But we need to remember that even someone like Philip is a child of God, and because of that and the risk he poses to others it is all the more important that we reach him before he claims anymore victims."

"But Tess," Carla said, her voice showing her nervousness,

"Surely the Father wouldn’t let anything happen to us, right? I mean, even though we are in human form, we are still angels."

"There is a reason for everything, Carla," Monica replied softly,

"If using a messenger is the way to reach Philip, then so be it."

Tess shot Monica a look, trying to figure out this sudden change in her Angel Girl. She knew Monica had to be afraid, but there was no indication of that fear now,

"That’s right, Carla. We just have to see what happens. But I want the two of you to be careful, do you hear me? The Father does have a plan but that doesn’t mean you two don’t need to be on your guard. You two have as much free will as Philip does and I don’t want you making any poor judgments." Seeing them both nod, Tess rose to her feet,

"All right, we should be getting back. We’re due to set sail soon."

"I’ll meet you two back there," Monica replied, hopping down off the table and brushing at her skirt,

"I want to grab another coffee."

Tess looked as if she may argue over her Angel Girl going off alone, even here in the daylight, but she nodded her head,

"Don’t be long, baby and decaffeinated, all right?"

"Of course," Monica managed a smile as she turned and headed back in the direction of Starbucks.

"Are you sure that was a good idea, Tess?" Carla asked worriedly, glancing back over her shoulder at her former supervisor.

"I think she needs a few minutes to think, Carla," Tess replied, her eyes showing worry, not just for Monica and Carla, but also for Andrew, who she knew had been hit hard with this assignment,

"Something is on her mind; I know her like the back of my halo. I just wish I knew what it was and I hope she’s back before Andrew realizes I let her go. I get the feeling he still isn’t very happy with me."

***

Minutes before the ship was due to set sail, Monica flew back up the ramp, almost laughing at the fact that this time she was running to get back on board this boat, when the first time Andrew and Carla had all but dragged her.

She hadn’t meant to lose track of time, but she had needed the time to think and to prepare herself for this assignment. She was more frightened than she would ever admit, but for some reason, her best friend’s words from yesterday would not leave her alone.

"I’m disappointed in you, Angel Girl; you know there are things at risk with any assignment, yet here you sit thinking of nothing more than yourself."

She shook her head, trying to clear these words from her mind, yet all the while determined that they not be true going forward and if that meant pushing her fears aside, then so be it.

As she hurriedly headed towards their suites, she immediately became aware of loud voices coming from inside-two in particular.

"What do you mean you let her go off by herself?" Andrew ranted, unaware that the subject of his concern had quietly opened the door and was watching the scene through horrified eyes.

"Angel Boy, will you please calm down?" Tess replied, trying to remain as patient as she possibly could,

"She just went for coffee and I’m sure she’ll be here any minute, Andrew!"

"You’d better hope she is, Tess," He replied hotly, his green eyes glaring at her,

"First you and Rose tell us we have a convicted rapist and murderer on our hands and then you let Monica go off by herself on the same island he is on! So, I guess if neither one of them show up here, we know what must have happened, huh Tess?"

Unable to stand it another moment, Monica stepped forward, her brown eyes distressed,

"Stop it, Andrew! Stop it both of you!"

Both of the older angels froze for just a moment, seeing the look on the Irish angel’s face, but a moment later, Andrew spoke up,

"Where have you been, Monica?"

"Exactly where Tess said I was," She replied, her voice now more gentle, seeing the fear in his eyes,

"I wanted a cup of coffee before we set sail, Andrew and I come back to find you two at each others throats."

"From now on, you take someone with you, Monica," He retorted, his concern making him sound angry when really he was so relieved to see her safe and unharmed,

"You got that?"

Monica was quiet for a moment, trying to think of how to say what she was feeling without hurting his feelings,

"Andrew, you aren’t my keeper on this trip, my friend. I know you’re worried about me and about Carla, but I am capable of taking care of myself. I may not always act like I am, but I am."

Seeing the look on her Angel Boy’s face at her Angel Girl’s words, Tess headed towards her room,

"I think I’ll leave you two alone to work this out." She said softly, before closing the door behind her, leaving the two friends staring at each other in comfortable silence.

"Monica, I didn’t mean it like that…" Andrew stated, keeping his distance from his best friend as he stared at her, watching as her brown eyes held both firmness and love for him, but there was also something else in her eyes that he couldn’t quite discern. Some hurt it looked like…

"I know that, my friend, but I’m telling you the truth. It isn’t your duty to protect me right now; I can take care of myself, and I know that you’re older than I am, but that doesn’t change the facts," Monica stated, her voice holding the most conviction she had ever heard come from her own mouth ever since they had got their new assignment the other day,

"And…"

"And what?" Andrew interrupted, his eyes suddenly showing nervousness. His friend had seemed to change so suddenly in the last five minutes, and he was getting more confused by the minute.

"Andrew…You know that I’m not angry at you for what you told me the day we set sail-"

"Angel Girl, MUST we bring this up again??" Andrew cried out, unintentionally interrupting her as he turned around and walked around to the other side of the room, his back to her,

"You know that I didn’t mean any of it, and I told you what happened…"

"Don’t you mean it? At least some of it?" Monica whispered, causing her best friend to flinch and then to turn slowly towards her. She didn’t miss the shock and hurt in his green eyes and she felt a twinge of guilt at her words, but she had to get this out; she had to get her feelings of what he had said to her out in the open and there wasn’t a better time to do that than the present.

"What?" Andrew gasped, his eyes widening and tears springing to them against his will,

"Monica-"

"No, Andrew, I need to say this," Monica held up her hand, fighting back her own hot tears that threatened to spring to her brown eyes,

"And I believe that I SHOULD say this."

"But Monica-" Andrew started, but his friend interrupted him.

"Andrew, please stop interrupting me; you know that I don’t like that, so please be quiet for a few minutes while I say what I need to say." Almost immediately regretting her suddenly harsh words to him, and guilt tearing through her as she saw the tears rolling down his cheeks, Monica pushed the guilt aside for a moment as she spoke what was on her heart,

"Andrew, I know that you would never lie to me, unlike what I have done to you in the past. That’s why I believe that you had to have meant some of the words that you said; so why are you trying to say you didn’t mean it now? You had to have, Andrew-"

"Monica, that’s not true!" Andrew suddenly shouted, walking back over to her and grabbing her arms firmly while trying to meet her eyes. But much to his disappointment, she refused to meet them,

"You know that isn’t true-"

"No, I don’t know that," Monica then unintentionally snapped, her heart pounding loudly in her chest as she pulled out of his grasp,

"You did mean it. I know you did. I am a disappointment to you and I know that you probably also meant to tell me that I’m not worthy of being your best friend either-"

"Monica!" Andrew interrupted, backing away from her as if she had slapped him across the face. The pain that he had felt when Brianna had slugged him in the face some months ago now came to the surface again at his best friend’s words.

"-So I would appreciate it now if you let me be while this assignment goes underway, all right, Andrew? I don’t need your help with this; Carla and I will do just fine and this is OUR assignment, not really yours. Tess warned US, not you." Finally meeting his tear-filled eyes once again, Monica lifted her chin and with as much strength as she could muster, turned on her heel and left the room. But as she did so, Andrew watched as Carla appeared in the doorway, her identical green eyes darting from Andrew to Monica’s retreating figure and back again. And then, as she shot a look of sympathy towards him, Carla took off after her former supervisor in the direction she went in, leaving Andrew standing in the middle of the bedroom with a look of sheer devastation on his handsome face.

*****

"Monica, why did you SAY that to him??" Carla cried after her supervisor as she followed her out onto the deck, but she felt even more irritated as Monica ignored her, not even turning around,

"Monica, will you stop walking and turn around? PLEASE??"

"Carla, I just want to be alone-" The older angel stated without turning around to look at her younger friend.

"Oh no you don’t," Carla reached out and grabbed the Irish angel’s arm, whirling her around to face her. Yes, Monica was older than her, but the little spunky angel had a way with people and angels that she had to admit that Monica sometimes lacked, no matter how much she had tried to reassure herself that they were equal. But then she would be lying to herself,

"Monica, you’re coming with me right now and I’m NOT taking no for an answer you got that?" She snapped, her eyes flashing with anger at what she had just witnessed between her two friends, one of who had done nothing wrong except worry about them.

Noticing that Monica didn’t argue with her at the sternness in her voice, Carla kept a hold on the older angel’s arm and in silence, dragged her back down to the cargo hold where she had found her the other day after Andrew had done what Tess and Rose had asked of him. Once they were down there, Carla released Monica’s arm before she had a chance to wrestle away from her. Looking straight into her brown eyes, Carla started talking.

"Monica, I overheard what you just said to Andrew back there in the stateroom," She began firmly, crossing her arms in front of her,

"What has gotten into you in the last few minutes?? I thought you believed and trusted him-"

"Of course I trust him-"

"And don’t start lying, Monica," Carla seethed, her green eyes narrowing,

"That will get you nowhere, Monica. Remember what happened last time?" Seeing that had stopped Monica from saying anything further, Carla continued,

"Monica, remember that night when you had the nightmare about Titanic? The same day that Andrew said those things to you?" Seeing her former supervisor flinch and open her mouth, the little angel interrupted before she could get another harsh word in,

"Didn’t you even pay attention to what all of us were saying while you were clinging to Andrew like he was a life preserver? Well, let me refresh your memory, Monica; Tess and Rose wanted him to do what he did. It wasn’t Andrew and none of it was his fault! Yes, those two were wrong-terribly wrong-to order him to say those things, but I thought you realized that he didn’t mean them! I thought he was your best friend-"

"So did I," Monica whispered, lowering her brown eyes to the floor.

"Monica, don’t do this…" Carla uttered, tears now threatening her green eyes, which she knew had started to hurt Monica from the first day they met because her eyes were so similar to Andrew’s,

"He IS your best friend and he loves you more than his own life! He doesn’t mean the words he says if it’s out of anger or if someone tells him to say it. He does make mistakes, just like you and me and everyone else angels included, but can’t you see it in his eyes that he would never WANT to hurt you? Huh?"

"Well, he did, and I believe that he knows that some of the words he told me ARE true," Monica then snapped, backing away from Carla,

"That’s it, end of story, Carla! And until he admits that some of it was true…I can’t see him again. It’s too painful, and since this is just our assignment-"

"And that’s another thing, Monica!" Carla shouted, grabbing a hold of Monica’s arms once again and giving her a stern look,

"What the heck is wrong with Andrew being concerned for us?? He’s been worried in the past for us, and yet you’ve never attacked him like that-"

"This isn’t his assignment, Carla! That’s why it’s wrong!" Monica’s Irish lilt lashed out and she glared angrily at Carla. The youngest angel flinched against the look, but decided to not let her words get to her. She still had more to tell her and she was determined to not let Monica leave before she was finished.

"And so now you’re God??" She shot Monica a glare back at her, her green eyes the sternest she had ever made them,

"God told us that he wanted us to be very careful, but Andrew, Tess and Rose wouldn’t BE here if it wasn’t their assignment, too! Maybe Andrew’s here to help us; and you know he can do that. I know you believe that he can help us deep down inside of you-"

"Not anymore, Carla," Monica lowered her voice, but continued to keep her eyes narrowed at her former charge. Brushing past her, the Irish angel rushed out of the room, ignoring Carla’s order to get back; but before she exited, she turned back around, anger in her Irish voice,

"And by the way, Carla…I was the supervisor before you ever were. So you had no right to talk to me like that."

Shocked beyond words at Monica’s departing words to her, Carla started to tremble slightly and she backed up and into a nearby chair. Lowering herself into it, the angel rested her head into her hands, allowing herself to finally cry. How did things get so out of control so quickly?

*****

Upon hearing some of the words that Monica had just spoken to Andrew a few minutes ago, Tess took a deep breath and headed back towards the door that connected her room to the other one. Hesitantly opening it, just a crack, all the while not sure if she should go to her younger friend, Tess poked her head in briefly and her heart thudded as she spotted her "Angel Boy".

He was sitting on the bed, his legs curled up to his chest and sobs shook through his human body. Tess’ heart broke as she saw this, and usually she would have gone over to him and take him into her arms and allow him to cry there. But now…

Now, things weren’t the same as they used to be and she sighed sadly as she realized this. Guilt churning through her, the older angel lowered her gaze and turned away from her sobbing friend and closed the door quietly behind her.

Late that night, Monica tossed and turned in bed once again; sleep evading her as her mind traveled over the events of the day. Giving up, she flung back the covers and got up, walking over to the door that separated her room from Andrew’s room. Her hand lingering on the doorknob, she sighed softly as she dropped her hand back to her side, tears burning in her dark eyes.

She knew she had treated him badly today to an extent. She had never meant to lash out at him like that, but fear and frustration had been surging through her veins at such a rapid rate, the words had been out before she could even think of whether she should say them or not. She did firmly believe some of the things he had said to her that first night, because she could see the truth of them in her own heart and she knew enough about the truth to know that it could hurt. And it did.

Walking over to the window, she looked out over the ocean, and felt a slight knot in the pit of her stomach at the reminder that she was still on board this ship and she knew that fact added to her short temper today. Ships, murderers, rapists; what more could possibly be added to their already full plates?

A knocking at her door, caused the Irish angel to nearly leap out of her skin, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. But a moment later, she heard Rose’s voice calling her name. Flinging the door open, Monica saw Andrew’s old supervisor standing there, a rare look of fear in her blue eyes.

"Rose, what is it?" Monica asked, the fast beat of her heart never slowing.

"Have you seen Carla, Monica?" Roes asked worriedly, hoping with everything in her that Monica knew exactly where the youngest angel was.

"Not since earlier this evening," Monica replied with a pang of guilt as she remembered how she had left her former charge in the cargo compartment of the ship,

"She’s not in her room?"

"No, honey and its nearly 2:00 in the morning. I’ve done a quick search of the lounge and restaurant but I haven’t been able to find her. I wanted to make sure she was missing before I alarmed any of you-." Rose wrung her hands nervously, the action of seeing the older angel this worried, completely unnerving Monica.

"No, Rose, no! You don’t think—" Monica’s hand flew to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears.

"I don’t know, Monica," Rose replied, trying to keep her voice as calm as she could despite the panic she was feeling,

"Go and wake up Andrew and I’ll get Tess. We’ll meet outside on the deck in a few minutes."

Nodding her head, the Irish angel, who was now trembling madly, quickly changed into jeans and a sweater. Skipping shoes altogether, she ran over to Andrew’s door and with no hesitation this time, opened it. Approaching his bed, she reached down and shook his shoulder gently,

"Andrew? Andrew, wake up." Her voice shook with fear as she waited for him to open his eyes.

Groaning softly as he had just fallen asleep after sitting up feeling miserable about the day’s events, he slowly opened his eyes. Seeing the stricken look on Monica’s face, he sat up immediately,

"Monica? What is it? What’s the matter?" All thoughts of their argument from earlier now fleeing his mind, he awaited her answer.

"Carla…she’s missing, Andrew! Rose can’t find her-," She choked out, watching as he immediately got up and pulled on jeans over his shorts and a t-shirt over his head,

"We’re supposed to meet she and Tess on the deck," She added, her voice scarcely a whisper as she thought about her words to Carla earlier that evening and how she had heard her crying before she had been out of earshot.

Andrew nodded his head, his thoughts in turmoil over Carla’s disappearance as well as his feelings for Monica at that moment. Not that anything had changed for him, but she had been firm about not wanting his help earlier and that kept him from comforting her now, though he could see she was falling apart at the seams,

"C’mon," He directed, opening the door that led out onto the deck and waiting for her to go through it before he followed her. Seeing Tess and Rose already waiting, worry visible in their eyes, he followed Monica over to them.

"We should probably split up into pairs," Tess instructed gently, seeing the concern in the eyes of her younger charges.

"We’ll check the lower deck and cargo area," Monica heard herself saying, praying Carla would still be there where she had last seen her.

"Meet back here in say, an hour?" Rose added, watching as the two other angels nodded, before she and Tess hurried down the deck.

Andrew and Monica hurried down to the lower deck, where he followed her down to the cargo area. He was unsure as to why his friend was heading here first, but decided not to question it.

Monica approached the area where she and Carla had argued that evening, seeing no sign of the younger angel,

"No, no, no," She whispered, tears falling from her eyes, as she slammed her hands down on top of the crate, her shoulders trembling,

"She was here earlier," She whispered, unable to turn around and look at him as guilt surged through her.

"In the cargo area?" Andrew asked, his expression confused as well as worried about the youngest angel,

"What were you doing down here?"

"Arguing," Monica replied in the same shaky whisper,

"She was trying to tell me what a fool I was being and I didn’t want to listen, but what else is new?"

"Monica." Andrew began, but she cut him off in mid-sentence.

"I left her down here after telling her she had no right to speak to me that way," She covered her mouth with her hand to try and hide the sobs of regret that were bound to escape,

"She was crying and…I just walked away…Oh dear Father, I just walked away!"

Andrew stared at her back with an incredulous look on his face,

"You know who we are dealing with on this assignment, and you left her down here by herself?"

"I wasn’t thinking straight," She sobbed heart-brokenly.

"No, you weren’t!" He fumed, reaching over and taking her arm, forcing her to face him,

"What were you thinking, if you were even thinking at all?"

"I don’t know…I don’t know…" She shook her head, unable to meet his angry eyes,

"I’ve made a mess out of all of it…I know that…"

"I can’t believe you! It was one thing to be angry with me, but with Carla? Who was only trying to help just like she always does?" Andrew snapped, his fear now fueling his anger.

"I was just so confused!" She cried out, breaking free of his grasp to cover her face with her hands,

"I was trying not to be afraid of all of this and maybe I thought…"

"Maybe you thought what?" He demanded. Not getting an answer, he pulled her hands away from her face, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"Andrew, please…" She begged, her mind flashing back to that terrible day on a porch so long ago when he had been so angry with her.

"You thought what?" He repeated sternly, waiting for her to answer.

"Maybe I thought that the only way to not be afraid was to stop relying on you so much!" She sobbed miserably. As she saw him lower his hands that had held her wrists, she flinched as if afraid, until she saw him lower them to his side.

The look was not unnoticed by Andrew however, and he immediately knew what she was thinking about. There was only one other time he had ever felt this much anger towards her and the consequences of that day had been disastrous. He knew she had forgiven him for what he had done that day, but it did not go undetected that now, caught up in this moment of anger, she had a brief moment of fear, as if once again, he would raise his hand in anger to her, something he vowed would never be repeated.

Tears burning in his eyes, he turned away from her,

"Come on, we need to keep looking."

Trying to control her tears, Monica watched him start to walk away from her,

"Andrew…" She choked out, watching as he stopped, but didn’t turn to face her,

"I’m sorry…just so sorry about everything…" Seeing him nod his head, she could feel in her heart what he was feeling; so special was the connection that they shared, even in moments such as these. She hadn’t meant to feel that moment of fear, but his anger had been so real, she had been unable to help it.

Blindly wiping at her eyes, she hurried to catch up to him, hoping that somehow they could not only find Carla, but make things right between them before this night was through.

***

Carla listened as the argument between her two friends caught fire, before they left her alone once more. The crate was dark, and whatever Philip had given her human body with that injection, caused her to be completely immobile. Only her mind was able to function, along with her eyes, which now flooded with tears.

Just a few minutes after Monica and Andrew had left the cargo hold in the lowest deck of the ship, Philip walked easily back into it, a smile on his face about how it was so easy to have captured this young woman. She was the perfect target, and after he had found her sitting by herself earlier that afternoon crying to herself, he knew that it was time. He had seen her earlier on that island with her four friends, and the blonde girl had caught his eye immediately, along with the auburn-haired female; but she had been on the arm of another blonde-haired man, which made Philip all the more angry. He would find a way to get her, too, no matter what it took.

After all, as he always said, "The more, the better."

Coming over to the medium-sized crate that was set up against the wall in the room, Philip placed a hand on it before reaching into his pocket and taking out the key he had stolen earlier. Putting it into the lock on the side of the crate and unlocking it, Philip smiled at the site the young, blonde girl sitting where he had left her. Spotting the tears in her eyes, but relief filling him that she still wasn’t able to move or speak, Philip placed his hands on the edge of the crate and grinned mischievously at her.

"So sweetheart, you ready to do what I brought you here for?" Seeing the tears rushing down her cheeks and the fear evident in her green eyes, Philip gave her a fake sympathetic look,

"There’s no need to be frightened, Carla. That is your name, isn’t it? That’s what I heard your other little friend calling you before I found you, honey. Now come on, I don’t want to waste anymore time…"

He bent down into the crate and as if she were a feather, lifted the frightened human angel out of it, ignoring the pleading, frightened look in her once strong green eyes.

*****

One hour later…

"Any luck finding her?" Rose weakly asked as she and Tess met up with Monica and Andrew some time later. But immediately she knew that was a stupid question to ask, considering Carla wasn’t with them.

Not sure of what to say, Andrew sadly just shook his blonde head, hurt, fear and anger flashing in his green eyes all at once. Finally finding his voice, the angel replied quietly,

"We looked everywhere…She-she’s nowhere…"

Noticing the tears that had immediately sprung to her friend’s tortured green eyes, Tess put her feelings of insecurity towards him aside and took a step towards him. She noticed that there was more on his mind than just Carla’s sudden disappearance and his earlier fight with Monica, and the older angel was determined to get to the bottom of it,

"Angel Boy, we’ll find her. I know we will." Not sure of what else to do, Tess’ heart pounded as she reached her arms out to her young friend, but much to her disappointment, Andrew pulled away before she could even touch him.

"Not now, Tess," He whispered, refusing to meet either her or Monica’s eyes, even after Tess saw her "Angel Girl" shooting a pleading look to him. Again, the angel wondered just what had gone on between them this past hour, and she suddenly wished that he had gone with Rose to search for Carla, instead of having him go with Monica,

"I-I’m sorry, you guys…but I don’t feel so good again. I’m going back to bed…"

Without waiting for a reply from his fellow angels, Andrew turned around and headed back inside the warmth of the ship; but before he had even touched the handle that lead back to inside of his own room, Rose had appeared behind him and laid a hand on his arm.

"Honey?" She whispered, watching as he turned to face her.

"Rose, I just wanta go back to bed…" He uttered, forcing back another round of tears,

"I really don’t feel good…"

"Physically or emotionally, Andrew?" Rose questioned, tilting her head to the side and without receiving a reply, she continued,

"Andrew, you know God is looking out for all of us-"

"Then where did Carla disappear to, hmm?" He choked out, his eyes finally meeting his former supervisor’s blue ones,

"And where is He when Monica and I really need Him now more than ever? Things weren’t pretty between us this past hour, Rose…I think you should already know that. I basically lost my best friend on this trip, and He isn’t doing anything to help. Plus, things aren’t going so well with Tess and myself…And on top of that…Where IS Carla?"

"Andrew, you haven’t lost Monica," Rose tried her best to reassure him, but seeing him shake his head, the older angel kept a grip on his arm and spoke before he could open his mouth,

"I know that you guys had a fight this afternoon, but whole thing can be repaired-with HIS help. All you have to do is ask him to take your anger at her away; I can tell that she’s no longer angry, just by looking at that little angel. You both need each other now more than ever, especially with Carla missing. Angel Boy, Monica loves you-"

"Like I believe that anymore," Andrew retorted, turning his gaze away from her and back towards his bedroom door, grasping the doorknob,

"Now if you’ll excuse me…I’m going to bed."

"Andrew, this anger is going to tear you up before you know it, if you don’t hand it over to the Father," Rose tried to stop him from going into his room, but she was stopped as her younger friend held his hand up.

"Good night, Rose," And without any further words, shut the door in her face.

*****

The night dragged on forever for Andrew, as he was unable to sleep once again. He wasn’t surprised, though; after being woken up just several hours ago by Monica with the news of Carla’s disappearance, Andrew didn’t think he’d ever be able to get back to sleep after that. Now, at around 4AM, the Search and Rescue angel found himself wandering the decks of the large ship once again, keeping his eyes on the lookout for Carla. Yes, he had told Rose that he wanted to go to sleep, and that wasn’t exactly a lie; he really was wiped after that day’s events. But he just needed to be by himself, too, and although he still felt sick to the stomach, Andrew couldn’t just lay in bed wide awake while his young friend was missing.

Sighing heavily, he walked over to the railing and looked out to sea, recalling his words to Monica earlier. His words of anger. He remembered the look in her brown eyes and watching her remember his actions on the Erin’s front porch so long ago; yes, all had been forgiven since then and not too long ago, he was finally able to forgive himself.

But none of it was forgotten, and sometimes Andrew wondered if Monica still held a fear for him in her heart…a fear that he might lash out like he had done before and strike her again. Resting his head in his hands, the angel forced himself to breathe properly even as his heart pounded loudly in his chest and fear overcame him. How would everything end by the time this assignment came to a close?? And more importantly…

Where was Carla?

*****

"Monica, you have got to get a hold of yourself!" Tess raised her voice at half past 6 the next morning, watching as her young charge paced back and forth in Andrew’s empty bedroom. She and Rose had been woken up some 15 minutes ago to Monica’s cries, hearing her cry out that Andrew was now missing.

And much to their shock, Andrew’s room was indeed empty.

Now, Rose looked back and forth between her two friends and then at the empty bed. Where had he gone at such an hour? Sure, she wished that he had stayed, especially with Carla missing, but she knew that he could take care of himself and he probably had gone out to get some fresh air. But knowing Monica, she was sure the younger angel was thinking that all in the same night, her two friends were now gone…one of them being her best friend.

"Tess, Andrew’s missing! And so is Carla!! How can you be so calm about this?!" Monica snapped, turning around and facing her supervisor and Rose. Her fists clenched and unclenched and her breathing was coming out heavy,

"I yelled at BOTH of them today and before I could even apologize, they both could be-"

"Angel Girl, chill out!" Tess cried out, suddenly pointing the doorway where Andrew was suddenly standing, his mouth open as he had overheard Monica’s words,

"Look, he’s right there, Monica…"

Whirling around at her supervisor’s sudden words, Monica turned wild eyes to Andrew and choked on a sob as she saw him standing in the doorway, still dressed in jeans and an old t-shirt. Forgetting all of the anger of that past day spoken by both of them, Monica took off at a run towards her best friend and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist while burying her face against his chest.

Rose and Tess watched this, and the red-haired Rose frowned worriedly as she saw her young former charge start to raise his arms and embrace her back, but stopped as he realized what exactly he was doing. The angel lowered his arms back down to his sides, but his green eyes never left Monica’s head and he watched as her shoulders shook every sob while only continuing to hold tightly to him.

*****

"…So, I wonder what that beautiful voice of yours sounds like, sweetheart?" Philip mocked as he finally made it to his destination. He was still in the lowest deck of the ship they could possibly get, so as not to get caught by anyone; but now they had entered a deserted room and he laid the angel, who was still unable to move or speak, down on a couch.

Philip placed his hands on his hips and he observed Carla, whose eyes shone with the most fear he had ever seen. The human smirked at her as he towered over her, tilting his head to the side,

"Oh now come on, don’t look so scared. I’m sure you’ve done this before, my love."

Not wasting any time, the human undid his belt and tossed it onto a nearby chair, his eyes never leaving Carla. But just as he was about to do the unthinkable, a loud noise sounded from somewhere near the human and he jumped in annoyance. It sounded like his pager.

Grumbling to himself at the interruption, Philip took out his pager and glanced at the flashing numbers on it; his eyes then grew mocking again as he stuck the beeper back into his back pocket and faced Carla again,

"Well, sweetheart, looks like we’ll have to finish this up some other day." Standing to his feet, Philip headed over to the door, but not before grabbing a nearby key,

"Now don’t go anyway, you hear?" He winked at her and as he let out a laugh at her predicament, the human who was known for doing this kind of thing to any given female, walked out the door and closed it behind him, locking it tightly.

Carla’s heart pounded loudly in her chest as she heard Philip lock the crate once more and then his retreating footsteps as the tears flowed freely from her green eyes. She had never felt so afraid in her entire existence, with this inability to move, not to mention what had nearly happened a few minutes ago.

Doing the only thing the angel was able to do at that moment, she offered up frightened prayers to the Father in her mind, and felt a surge of hope as she felt His love warm her terrified heart. This situation might be horrific, but at least she knew she was not alone.

****

"Andrew, please…please…"

Rose felt tears fill her eyes at the younger angel’s pleas to her friend, before she took Tess by the arm,

"Come, Tess. We need to go and report Carla’s disappearance to the ship’s authorities so they can be on the look out for her.

Still not feeling his arms around her, the Irish angel broke away from her best friend and turned away, stumbling blindly away from him. Placing her hand on the back of the chair across the room, she continued to weep, wondering how things could have gotten so out of hand so quickly on this assignment. The entire two days had been nothing short of a nightmare, and now it seemed as if she had lost Andrew as well,

"I’m sorry…" She sobbed, her head lowered as she continued to repeat those two words over and over again, too distraught to even begin to say what else was in her heart.

Andrew listened to her words and her tears as his own filled his green eyes. Struggling to find his voice, he finally managed to choke out the words,

"We need to talk, Monica." As he moved to sit down on the small sofa that was in the room, still feeling the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Watching as she continued to cry, he drew in a deep breath and spoke once more, this time his voice gentler,

"C’mon, Angel Girl."

"I…didn’t mean what I said earlier," She whimpered, still not moving or looking at him,

"I didn’t want to need your help…those things that Tess and Rose put you up to saying…I believe them, Andrew…I was setting a bad example for Carla by not trusting in the Father and thinking about myself…just like I was yesterday. I know…I know you say none of it was true, but…I can see the truth in those words…even if you didn’t mean it as truth…" She hesitated for a moment as more sobs shook her small frame,

"I…I think sometimes I rely on you too much, and in doing that, maybe I forget who I am, not to mention…making it so hard for you…"

"How so, Monica?" He responded softly, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Because then you feel responsible if I get hurt, or…I make you feel responsible if I get hurt, because I’m so used to you being there for me. There is so much at risk this time and I didn’t want you feeling responsible if anything happened to me…so I thought I could relieve you of that pressure by telling you I didn’t need you…but then tonight, when I didn’t know where you were…" She covered her face with her hands as she shook her head,

"…I knew I was wrong. Maybe I didn’t want to admit that part of what God gave me, in your friendship was someone to look to when I didn’t feel strong. I know He is always there, but sometimes I need that immediate reminder that I see in your eyes so often, that He loves me…that He loves me enough to give me a friend that I always want to have in my corner…"

Getting up from where he sat, the tears now glistening on his face, he approached her and gently laid his hands on her shoulders,

"Monica…look at me, sweetheart, please." As she finally turned to face him, he saw the anguish in her dark eyes,

"Regardless of any angry words we may say…you always have me in your corner, okay? Nothing changes that, Angel Girl; nothing at all." Seeing the uncertain look in her eyes, he did what they both longed for and opened his arms to her, wrapping her in the shelter of his embrace as silent tears shook them both.

"I’m so scared about Carla…" She whispered a moment later, after she had calmed down a little,

"How could I have left her like that? She must be so afraid, Andrew…she was afraid earlier when Tess told us about Philip, and now…"

"Shush," He whispered, his own fears racing through him. Firstly, for Carla, but also for Monica. If Carla could disappear that quickly, what was stopping the same thing from happening to his best friend?

"She’s tough, sweetheart. We both know that and the Father is watching out for her, wherever she is."

"I have to find her, Andrew…I have to…it’s my fault she’s gone…and Carla never meant a bit of harm to anyone…"

"Monica, no," He pulled away a little to take her face into his hands,

"If Philip has her, this is the fault of his free will, okay?" Seeing her nod her head uncertainly, he searched her eyes as if looking for something,

"Monica, earlier, when we were downstairs…I know I was angry, but you didn’t think that I would ever again…" His voice trailed off as pain filled his green eyes.

"Oh no, Andrew…no," Monica whispered, thinking back to that terrible moment and how she had felt,

"My heart knew you would never repeat anything like that again, but I think in the middle of that argument, my mind…I’ve only seen you that angry with me one other time and…" She looked at him helplessly, not knowing how to explain and not wanting to hurt him.

"You can’t forget, can you, baby girl?" He whispered shakily,

"I saw this brief look of fear in your eyes…fear of me, Monica and I don’t want you to ever be afraid of me."

Reaching up, she took hold of his hands, which still cupped her tear-streaked face and held them tightly in her own,

"I had forgotten, Andrew. I don’t think about that time, not ever, but when you were so angry, and you had a right to be, it just all came flooding back. But I am not afraid of you, Andrew. I know in my heart that horrible day will never be repeated, because you promised me it would never be," Seeing him nod his head, she wrapped her arms around him tightly once more, her still trembling fingers running through his hair,

"I need you to promise me something else too, please?"

"Anything, Monica, you know that," He whispered, a little bit of relief flowing through him. For though Carla was still missing and he was worried sick, at least he once again had his best friend to get through this mess with.

"I don’t want you blaming yourself if anything happens to me," She whispered gently, feeling a slight shudder go through them both at the thought,

"There is nothing God cannot heal and if something terrible does happen, then I’m going to need you, and if I lash out at you, know that I don’t mean it, but that I’m just afraid. Please promise me, Andy, please?"

"Mon’, nothing is going to happen to you," He uttered, unable to consider any other alternative.

"We don’t know that," She replied, feeling surprisingly calm now as she pulled away again to look into his eyes,

"But I do know that there is nothing I can’t get through with God and with you. So please, promise me if you can."

Feeling tears escaping his eyes once more at the bravery she was putting behind her words, even though he could feel the fear in her, he nodded his head,

"You know I will be there for you, no matter what happens," He uttered, his hand brushing through her hair.

"Then that’s all I need to know," She whispered, her eyes never leaving his.

Thinking about her words, the Search and Rescue angel pulled her into his arms once more, holding onto her as tightly as he dared, afraid that if he let go, something terrible would happen to her. Something terrible that could be happening to Carla right now.

Feeling the tightness of his hold on her, Monica hugged him back just as tightly as she rested her cheek against his shoulder, wishing she could stay this way forever, but knowing in her heart that was not part of the plan.

****

Later that morning, Rose wandered into the dining room of the ship, her eyes coming to rest on Philip, who was seated at the bar. Hearing words floating down to her heart, she nodded her head as she approached him and took the vacant seat next to him, ordering herself a glass of juice. She saw Philip glance at her and she cleared her throat calmly,

"I remember seeing you on the island yesterday," She remarked, waiting until he had looked at her once again.

He shrugged his shoulders as he took another drink of his martini, deciding not to respond.

"I was wondering if you remember my friend? A little blond lady, small features, big, green eyes? She ‘s missing and I was just wondering if you might have seen her this morning?" Rose asked, taking a sip of her juice as the bartender set it in front of her.

"Lady," He chuckled, casting an amusing glance her way,

"There are probably a hundred women on board this ship that fall into that description."

"You’re probably right," Rose sighed worriedly, not wanting him to dismiss her too quickly.

"Maybe she has met some tall, dark and handsome stranger, I don’t know. It just isn’t like her to not let her friends know where she is."

"I remember you now," He smiled, and Rose was surprised at how charming he could look,

"You were on the island with another older lady, the little blond and the one with the auburn hair, who had a boyfriend. Saw you all coming out of the coffee shop. That blond fellow is one lucky man," He observed, finishing off his drink and preparing to leave.

Rose felt a knot in the pit of her stomach, not missing the look in his eyes as he had mentioned Andrew and Monica,

"If you see my friend, would you let me know, please?" She asked, watching him closely.

"Yeah, sure. I just hope no psycho has her, you know? You might want to let your other pretty friend know to be careful, in case that is what is going on around here. If that were the case, then no female is really safe. When did your friend disappear?" He asked, laying the money down on the bar for his drink.

"Last night," Rose replied, her heart pounding loudly in her chest.

Philip gave a low whistle,

"I hope you find her soon. I’ve read about this kind of stuff, you know, and it seems that the longer it takes to find someone, the less chance you have of finding her alive. Hope that is not the case with your friend."

"My friend has God on her side," Rose answered, watching as he shrugged once again.

"I guess that remains to be seen," Philip replied, as he began to walk away towards his stateroom,

"Good luck, lady."

As he walked away, Rose got up from her chair with a heavy heart. She was sure now that this man had Carla, and was fairly sure who he had his sights centered on for his next victim and though she knew she had to pass on that news, she wasn’t looking forward to bringing anymore pain to her friends. She wished she was wrong, but it certainly seemed to her that Philip has his eye on the little Irish angel that her former charge loved with all his heart.

Late that night, Monica wandered around the ship and down back to the cargo hold where she had last set eyes upon Carla. She knew that she probably shouldn’t have gone alone, especially since Andrew was still worried about her and having a serial killer on their hands, but the little Irish angel had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that she just had to go back down there…as if clues of Carla’s disappearance were nearby.

Gently opening the wooden door with a creak, Monica stepped inside and took in her surroundings. Gulping, she walked further in, but suddenly her brown eyes caught a glimmer of something and she frowned, her curiosity piqued as she walked shakily towards it. But as she saw what had caught her eye, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, feeling like she was going to hurl.

It was Carla’s necklace…the gold necklace with the angel holding a candle at the very end.

Reaching a shaky hand down to grasp it, her eyes blurred with tears, Monica then suddenly noticed a small slip of paper fall to the ground. Leaning down, the angel picked it up with a trembling hand, her heart pounding loudly as she read the words that would forever be imprinted in her memory…

The words about Carla’s whereabouts:

*****

For Whom It May Concern:

If you would ever like to see your little friend Carla alive again, I suggest that you listen very closely to this letter. I promise you that you will not get her back for yourselves, but she will be alive if you pay attention.

By tomorrow night, if that little auburn-haired female that I saw the other day is not mine, then Carla will be dead. Slashed. GONE.

Got it?

Now, listen carefully. I know that you really like this blonde girl, so you know what you should do, correct? Good. Have that precious girl taken to the cargo hold tomorrow night to wait for me, and then your friend won’t die, but if you refuse to…I’m sorry to say that it’ll be your loss for your little friend.

See you tomorrow.

*****

"…It’s not signed," Monica uttered shakily as she re-read the letter, her hands shaking madly,

"He-he has Carla…Philip-I know it’s Philip…Oh dear God, he has Carla…"

"Monica!"

Andrew’s voice suddenly caused her to jump and she whirled around, coming face to face with her best friend’s horror-struck face. Their eyes suddenly meeting, the angel trembled as Andrew practically ran over to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her as if afraid to ever let her go again,

"Monica, don’t you ever do that to me again! I was worried SICK about you-"

"Andrew…" She whispered, trying to get a hold of her emotions as she clung tightly to her best friend, tears streaking her face,

"Andrew, I-"

"Angel Girl, something could have happened to you for all we know!" He cried as he only continued to hold her tightly, his hands running through her brilliant auburn hair,

"Please, baby, don’t scare me like that again…why didn’t you have someone with you?!"

"Andrew, you have to see this-" She started as he finally pulled back gently and took her by the shoulders. Starting to hold up Carla’s necklace and the ransom note, she was then interrupted as Andrew continued.

"Monica, we need to get back up to the staterooms before they start searching for TWO missing females instead of ONE," He wrapped his arm tightly around her shoulders and was about to drag her out the door when Monica suddenly pulled back and shouted.

"Andrew, listen to me!"

Stopping in his tracks, eyes wide open at her outburst, Andrew tilted his head to the side,

"What?"

Monica immediately held up the necklace with the angel on the end so that her friend could see it and her eyes then filled with more tears as her lower lip trembled,

"Andrew, doesn’t this look familiar to you??"

Squinting to make out the object on the end, Andrew took a step closer towards her again and grasped the necklace in his hand. Suddenly gasping, the blonde angel whispered,

"This is Carla’s…"

"Yes, it’s Carla’s, Andrew…and take a look at this!" Monica wailed as she shoved the note into his hands. She shut her mouth as her best friend began to read the scrawled writing on the white piece of paper and through blurred vision, watched as Andrew’s green eyes widened and then filled with tears of their own all over again.

Before she could speak however, she heard Andrew cry out tearfully,

"Oh no you’re not!"

"Andrew, I HAVE to," She whispered through tears as she took a step towards him as he dropped the paper to the floor and slumped down onto a chair,

"I have to…He has Carla, I know he does…"

"You think it’s Philip?" Andrew uttered as he shook his head, which was still rested in his hands.

"I KNOW it’s Philip," Monica took the seat beside of him and took his hand in his own, which was still shaking madly,

"Andrew, Carla’s in trouble-"

"And so will you!" He snapped back, leaping up from his seat and pacing back and forth, making Monica dizzy,

"I’m not about to let you give yourself to that creep-"

"I’m not doing it for HIM!" Monica stood up, too, walking over to her friend and fellow angel, who she knew was on the verge of a nervous breakdown,

"I’m doing it for CARLA, Andrew! Carla! You know, little blonde angel who we’ve all come to love over the course of the last few years! I can’t just LET her stay where she is and let her be killed-"

"Angels can’t die, Monica," Andrew snapped back again, tears trailing down his cheeks at the very thought of what was going on all around them. He was worried sick about Carla and didn’t want anything else to happen to her; but Monica…He would never be able to live with himself ever again if she used herself as bait to help save Carla and then ended up getting hurt. No, he couldn’t allow this,

"You hear me? Angels can NOT die-"

"But their human bodies can, Andrew! You know that-"

"Monica, I can’t allow you to do this!" He shouted once again, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Why are you being like this?!" She shouted back, staring at him through tear-filled eyes,

"Don’t you even CARE about Carla, Andrew?! She’s our friend-"

"How can you even ask me that, Monica?" Andrew demanded, his voice lowering, but the tension and shakiness never leaving it,

"HOW? Do you even REALIZE what you’re saying here?! It’s like you’re asking me to chose between two angels who I love with all of my heart-you and Carla. It’s like being asked, who do I want to die? You or Carla?"

"I didn’t mean it like that, Andrew…" Monica lowered her voice and hesitantly took a step closer to him. Reaching shaky arms out, the Irish angel wrapped them tightly around his waist one more time and was relieved when this time, he embraced her back just as tightly. Hearing his soft sobs against her shoulder, Monica couldn’t hold back her own and she buried her face against the nape of his neck,

"Andrew, I’m as scared as you are…But Carla…"

"I love that little angel, baby, you know that…" Andrew whispered tearfully as he only held her tighter,

"And I love you, Angel Girl…sometimes I think too much-"

"There’s no such thing as ‘too much’, Andy," Monica uttered fearfully as she refused to let him go,

"And I know you love her as much as you love me; I do, too…"

"I can’t allow you to do this, sweetheart…I just can’t…"

"You have to let me, Andrew…What if it’s part of the assignment?" Monica whispered, never raising her voice again as she clutched him tightly, her voice muffled against his shoulder blade,

"I know in my heart I have to do this…"

"But what if it’s not?"

"But what if it IS, Angel Boy?" Monica used the nickname that Tess and Rose called him, hoping it would reassure him that she was in no way angry with him for his fears over her and Carla,

"I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to her…"

"Just like I wouldn’t be able to live if anything happened to YOU, sweetie," Andrew uttered as he finally pulled away, but kept a grip on her shoulders,

"Monica-"

"Andrew…He asked for me to do it," Monica laid a finger against his lips and silenced him as she met his tear-stained eyes with hers,

"And I will. I must. Carla needs me. Plus…"

"Plus?" Andrew repeated fearfully, almost scared of what she was going to say.

"I know that you’ll find me, my friend. We have such a connection; you always know when I’m in trouble, or if I need your help, and same goes with me. You’re always able to help me, and I know you can do it this time. Andrew, I TRUST you. Okay?" She whispered shakily, as she took his face into her hands and stared into his green eyes.

Feeling himself breaking down all over again, Andrew reached out and without any words spoken, took his best friend back into the safety of his arms and holding her with all of his strength. Monica then knew that considering there were no arguments coming from him, that he had finally come to the conclusion that this was the right thing…

No matter how much they all hated it.

*****

The next morning, at half past 10, Tess and Andrew stood on the deck of the ship, away from all the mayhem going on around them and the older angel’s face was read with fury as she listened to what her younger charge was telling her about what had happened the night before.

"I finally gave in, Tess-"

"You did WHAT?!" Tess shouted, her eyes widening with horror and anger filling her face,

"Andrew, do you even realize what you just did??" Without waiting for a reply, she continued her rant,

"How could you be so stupid, Mr. Halo?! I thought you were one of the smart ones in this bunch! How could you allow that angel to do such a thing, huh?!"

"Why are you yelling at me?!" Andrew shouted back, pain filling his eyes at what his supervisor was saying to him,

"What if it’s part of the assignment-"

"The Father would’ve TOLD me if it was, Andrew!" Tess snapped back, grabbing him firmly by the shoulders and giving him a shake,

"Now you are to go back to that stateroom and tell her that she’s not going to do it or I will! You get what I’m saying??"

Feeling himself shaking with anger all over again and finally breaking free from his supervisor’s hold, Andrew glared through tear-filled green eyes at his so-called friend,

"You’re calling ME stupid, Tess? I can’t believe you these days-"

"Don’t you DARE take that tone with me, Angel Boy," Tess warned as she narrowed her eyes at the younger angel, who’s own eyes were burning into hers,

"I’m the supervisor here and I’m giving you orders-"

"And I’m not taking them," Andrew backed away from her once again, but before he turned around and left, he shook his head at her and spoke up again,

"You know, Monica practically called me selfish last night because of my refusal to let her go and get Carla, but we have settled things. But now it looks like we know who’s being the selfish one these days, hmm?"

Monica fastened Carla’s necklace around her neck with a heavy sigh, her fingers tracing the outline of the angel holding the candle. Her heart was heavy with her decision and though she had put on a brave front for Andrew, truth was, she couldn’t be more terrified. But she had to go through with it; after all, she had been the one to leave Carla alone in the cargo hold to begin with two days ago after their argument and it seemed to be the right thing to do. Maybe the first right thing she had done since setting foot on this ship.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door to her stateroom was flung open and she swallowed hard, seeing the look on her supervisor’s face.

"The answer, Miss Wings, is NO." Tess snapped as she closed the door behind her and crossed her arms in front of her.

"I don’t recall asking a question, Tess," Monica replied calmly, as she remained sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You can mind that smart mouth of yours as well, Monica," She fired back, her concern over this entire assignment fueling her anger,

"You are not doing this! I forbid it!"

"You ‘forbid it’? Tess, I’m not asking for your permission in doing this. This is my decision and I’ve made it," The Irish angel never raised her voice as her eyes steadily met Tess’.

"Monica, I don’t know what your problem has been since this assignment first came up, but I’m sick of it now! You have been more difficult than usual and--."

"I’ve been difficult?" Monica relied, her voice now having more of an edge to it,

"Every time I’ve turned around on this trip, you’ve been jumping down my throat about something! I can’t win with you anymore, Tess! Why is that?" Getting up from the bed, her dark eyes showing anger mixed with hurt, she confronted her supervisor for the first time since this had all begun,

"When I’m afraid you yell at me, and when I’m trying to help Carla, you yell at me! She needs my help and I’m the only angel who can give it to her. Why can’t you see that?"

Furiously, Tess approached Monica and took her firmly by the shoulders and gave her a shake,

"I said you are not doing this, Monica! I can’t believe Andrew even told you it was all right! For your best friend, he certainly doesn’t seem to care what happens to you!"

"He does care what happens to me!" Monica snapped, trying to escape Tess’ grasp,

"He was the only one, other than the Father that I needed an okay from on this, Tess and I have that!"

"The Father said this was fine?" Tess’ angry eyes glared at the young angel, but Monica didn’t back down; not this time.

"He hasn’t said no," She replied firmly.

"That isn’t a ‘yes’, Miss Wings! You are not doing this and that is final!" Giving her charge one final shake, she let her go, though she continued to meet her fiery gaze.

"Just try and stop me, Tess," Monica replied, her own voice controlled.

Not even realizing what she was doing as her anger surged out of control; Tess reached up and slapped Monica across the face.

Stunned for just a moment, the Irish angel reached a hand up to her burning cheek,

"Get out, Tess."

Tess starred at her friend, horrified by what had just happened,

"Angel Girl…"

"I said, get out," Monica repeated, her voice trembling.

"And now I’m saying it," Andrew stated, trying to hold back his anger as he came into the room, having witnessed what had just occurred.

"I didn’t mean to-." Tess whispered, watching as Monica turned away.

"Just go, Tess, all right?" He replied angrily,

"You’ve done quite enough for one day. Her decision was painful enough and you have added to that pain. Now, leave her alone!" Furiously, he held the door open, ignoring the tears in Tess’ eyes as she turned and walked out of the room.

Turning his eyes to his best friend, who had her back turned to him, he approached her with tears in his eyes,

"You okay, baby girl?"

Monica started to nod her head, but changed her mind,

"No…not really…"

Gently, he turned her to face him and reached to take her hand from her cheek, his eyes sparking anger at the angry red mark, but his anger faded as he saw the tears shimmering in her eyes. Running a hand through her hair, he rested his hand upon the back of her head and pulled her close as she began to cry.

"What is happening to all of us, Andrew?" She whimpered as she buried her face against his chest, her cheek throbbing.

"I don’t know, little one. I think we are all just afraid and maybe forgetting who we need to be trusting in all of this," He sighed softly, knowing how much Tess had just hurt her, not so much physically, but emotionally,

"I’m so sorry, sweetheart. You’re shaking like a leaf, baby."

Gently, she pulled away from him, wiping at her eyes with a trembling hand. Looking up at him, she managed to find her voice once again,

"Tell me I’m doing the right thing, Andrew."

His heart broke, seeing for the first time the deep fear in her eyes,

"It’s right to want to help a friend, Angel Girl, but I’m not going to tell you I want you to do this. I will support your decision and help you anyway I can, but I’m certainly not glad you are going through with this."

She nodded her head sadly, as she gazed at the clock seeing she only had a few hours left before her plan was to go into action. Turning back to him, her eyes clouded with tears once more,

"I will tell you where I am once he has me…just promise me…promise me you’ll find me, Andrew…promise me you’ll find me!"

A sob escaping him, he wrapped her up in his arms once more, holding her so tightly he was afraid he may hurt her,

"I will find you, baby girl….I will find you!"

"I’m so scared…" She whispered, clinging to him tightly.

"I know…so am I, but the Father is with us, sweetheart, always." He whispered, trying to reassure himself as well.

"Will you stay with me…until it’s time? I just want to feel safe until I know I can’t anymore," Monica uttered, looking up into his eyes hopefully.

"I’m not going anywhere," He replied softly. Feeling that she was still shaking, he led her over to the sofa so they could sit down. As she curled into his arms, he held her tightly, his fingers soothingly running through her hair as with his other hand, he covered her with a blanket.

No more words were exchanged between the two of them as they had said all they needed to say.

****

"Oh Tess," Rose shook her head in disappointment as her friend told her what had transpired between she, Andrew and Monica.

"I hit my baby, Rose," Tess whispered, her voice scarcely audible,

"I don’t even know how it happened. I’ve probably lost them both now…"

"Their capacity to forgive is greater than you think, Tess," She replied,

"But it will take time and right now, we need to be concerned with Monica’s decision to help her friend. She won’t change her mind, you know, so we need to accept it as Andrew has."

"If anything happens to that baby girl, Rose…" Tess shook her head unable to continue,

"I’ve been so afraid for her and that’s what has caused me to lash out at her and because of that, Andrew and I are at odds…"

"The Father is keeping watch over His angels, Tess. He knows of your fear for them, but they don’t. They only have seen your anger, not the love that is driving it. Maybe you need to see Monica again before she does this, not to change her mind, but to seek her forgiveness."

"I’m not sure Andrew will let me anywhere near her right now, Rose."

"You let me take care of Andrew. He’s afraid as well and the stakes in this are high for him as well as you know how much he loves that little angel and Carla too. I think with a little encouragement, he will see we all need to work together on this."

"I hope you’re right, Rose. I hope you’re right." Tess whispered as she turned her eyes to the heavens,

"Oh Father, forgive me."

Two hours later…

Early that evening, Andrew sat with Monica in the cargo hold a few minutes before Philip was to arrive for her and his heart was pounding loudly in his chest. The angel tightened his arms around his dearest friend and laid a soft kiss on her head as she only snuggled up closer to him, burying her face in his chest. Both friends were too nervous to check the time, but they knew that it was almost time for Andrew to leave…something he didn’t want to do at all, and something Monica was having trouble comprehending.

Finally, she gently pulled out of his protective arms and she put on a brave front for her best friend,

"I guess it’s time, Andrew…"

"Baby, I’m so sorry you have to do this," He choked out through tears as he looked into her frightened, brown eyes,

"I wish there was another way, Monica…"

"But there isn’t," She whispered back, her voice barely audible as frightened tears flooded her eyes and rolling down her cheeks, one of which was still throbbing from Tess’ hand earlier,

"You should go now, my friend."

His heart breaking all over again at her words, Andrew lowered his head and gave his head a reluctant nod, knowing that the time was indeed near. Looking back up at the little Irish angel who was his best friend, the older angel wrapped his arms one last time around her and held her with all of his strength wishing he didn’t have to release her. He felt her holding onto him just as tightly and he laid gentle kisses on her cheeks and forehead, before finally pulling away.

Rising shakily to his feet, Andrew reached down and touched her cheek with his hand a final time, stroking it, before whispering,

"I love you, Angel Girl…Remember that I do until I find you and Carla, all right?"

Grasping his hand and giving it a tight squeeze, Monica met her eyes with his green ones and responded,

"I love you too, Andrew. And I’ll keep repeating those words in my mind until this is all over…whenever that will be." Lifting his hand to her lips and laying a soft kiss on it, Monica’s tears fell onto his hand and she rubbed her face against it one final time before letting it go,

"It’s time, my dear friend."

Nodding his head, Andrew turned away from her and headed towards the door, knowing that if he didn’t leave now, he never would.

*****

"Andrew?"

Andrew whirled around at the familiar sound of Tess’ voice and anger once again churned through his body. Ever since he and Monica had ordered their supervisor out of their room after she had hit their Irish friend, Andrew had tried those last 2 hours to keep Monica away from the older angel and he had succeeded…until now, obviously.

"What do you want now, Tess?" He snapped, folding his arms across his chest and shooting her a challenging look.

Flinching visibly at his harsh look, Tess kept a safe distance from her "Angel Boy", but spoke as bravely as she could,

"Andrew, where’s Monica? I really need to talk with her again before-"

"Well, you’re a little late for that now, aren’t you, Tess?" Andrew tilted his head to the side and scowled at his former friend,

"And even if she WAS here, why would you think I’d let you anywhere near her now?! After what you did to her when she was only trying to help Carla-"

"Angel Boy-" Tess started, but was interrupted as Andrew shouted back.

"And don’t you dare call me that anymore!"

"What?" She gasped out, taking another step back as if he had slapped her,

"Andrew-"

"I said don’t call me that! I’m nobody’s ‘Angel Boy’ anymore; not yours, not Rose’s and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t CALL me that anymore, got it?" He yelled into her face, once again ignoring the tears in her brown eyes,

"And after this assignment is over, you’re going to stay away from Monica! It was bad enough when I slapped her all those years ago-her best friend-but her SUPERVISOR?? Who did you think you WERE, Tess?!"

"Andrew, I didn’t mean it-" She choked out, covering her mouth with her hand as she heard the words from her younger friend about both him and Monica. His words tore to her very core, but before she could get another word out, the angel interrupted again.

"Didn’t mean it?!" He once again raised his voice as they stood in the hall outside of the staterooms, ignoring the looks from other passengers on the ship,

"Didn’t MEAN it?! Like I believe that! I overheard everything you said to her, and you tell me you didn’t mean it?"

"Andrew, I’m sorry, all right?!" Tess cried out, throwing her hands up in the air as tears fell from her brown eyes like rain,

"And I wanted to tell Monica that, but I’ve been unable to find either of you these past 2 hours and I just don’t get how you’re unable to forgive me! I was able to forgive YOU after you slapped her on Erin’s porch-"

"That’s enough, you two!"

Both Andrew and Tess whirled around and both drew in sharp breaths as they came face-to-face with Rose, who looked anything but happy. As a matter of fact, she looked rather disgusted for the first time since either of them had met her. His heart pounding loudly in his chest, both from fear of Monica and Carla, but also from what his former supervisor was going to say now.

"Rose-"

"No, Andrew, you’re going to listen to me, all right?" Rose demanded, her voice losing a bit of the harshness, although her eyes still held the same concern and love for him that they always did,

"Ever since this entire assignment began, you two have been at each other’s throats-whether it be you at Andrew’s or you at Tess’ lately, honey. You’re usually able to forgive your friends so easily, Angel Boy, why not now?"

"Didn’t I tell you not to CALL me that anymore?!" Andrew snapped, brushing past his former supervisor and storming back to his room, but Rose’s voice called after him.

"Andrew, is it so easy to throw away a friendship with Tess that has grown and blossomed over the coarse of the centuries??" She called out desperately, wanting more than anything to repair this friendship,

"Why are you doing this-"

"Why don’t you ask TESS that question, Rose?" Andrew hissed as he glared at the two older angels, before storming back to his room slamming the door behind him.

*****

Monica fidgeted in her seat as she glanced at her watch for the first time since Andrew had left and she gulped as she realized that it was now 9PM and that Philip was to arrive at any given minute. Just as she thought she was going to throw up, the sound of the door opening caused her to jerk her head up and she faced her assignment for the first time since seeing him on the island several days ago.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" He mocked, coming into the cargo hold and closing the door behind him, locking it tightly before turning to face her,

"I see you got my little note, precious?"

Forcing her lower lip to not tremble, Monica nodded numbly and faced him, her brown eyes meeting his dark ones,

"Where’s Carla…?"

Smirking at the Irish angel in complete human form, Philip walked over to Monica and stroked her hair, which caused her to flinch and pull back. She almost regretted doing that, however, as she saw the human man glare at her threateningly and before she knew what had happened, he had raised his hand and struck her squarely across the face-on the same cheek that Tess had slapped several hours ago.

Forcing back the tears at the pain on her face, but raised a hand to her swollen cheek, Monica couldn’t meet his eyes as Philip hissed,

"You said you would do whatever I tell you if it meant saving your little friend, am I correct, sweetheart?"

Nodding weakly, but still not meeting his gaze, which was filled with lust towards any female, Monica listened as he spoke again,

"Now…I’ll show you where Carla is, but remember that if you pull any tricks, things won’t look pretty for either of you-especially HER." Jerking her head up at Carla’s name, Monica then gasped as she saw Philip heading over to a nearby crate on the other side of the room and taking out a key. Unable to move, the Irish angel watched as the human who had kidnapped her friend put the key in the lock and opened up the crate…and revealed Carla inside of it, still and unmoving.

But her green eyes were wide open and they moved to Monica as the crate opened wide.

"Carla!" She cried, forgetting Philip’s warning and rising to her feet and was about to move towards her former pupil when she felt the man’s hand grasping her thin arm like a vise.

"Not so fast."

Andrew paced back and forth in his stateroom after leaving Tess and Rose out on the deck, his mind nor body able to rest. He couldn’t get the frightened look on his best friend’s face out of his head before he had left her in the cargo hold, and now he awaited any information from her, any feeling, anything.

"Father," He whispered, his exhausted green eyes filled with worry and fear,

"I know this voyage has been a mess, a terrible mess, but we need You now more than ever. You gave Monica and I gift of communication through our hearts that we are so thankful for. Please, Father, please, don’t let it fail now. I know You are watching out for she and Carla, but please allow me to help them when the time comes."

As he continued pacing and praying, he suddenly froze, instantly knowing that his friend was in pain. His heart pounded loudly in his chest as he tried to focus on her with everything in him,

"Monica, please…what is going on?"

****

Monica looked into Philip’s eyes, her jaw set in defiance,

"I just want to know she is all right."

"She’s comfortable, precious," He replied, allowing the lid of the crate that held Carla to fall back down, the sound of it causing Monica to jump,

"Now beautiful, where were we?" Smiling at her, he reached over to touch her face.

Monica struggled to hold her ground, despite the churning of her human stomach and her disgust, but as Philip brought his face closer to hers, she could stand it no longer, and turned her head sharply, knowing she was going to regret the consequences.

Pain exploded in her head as he backhanded her sharply across the other cheek, knocking her from her feet. Landing on the floor, she looked up at him through terrified eyes.

"You like it rough, is that it, baby?" Philip scowled, as he reached down and struck her again, causing her to see stars,

"I can handle it anyway you like it."

Her hand shaking madly, she reached up and wiped at the blood she could feel on her face from her bloodied nose,

"No…please…"

Her words were in vain though as he descended upon her, causing pain to erupt through her and she immediately knew she had made a terrible mistake. Carla was still trapped and she was fighting by this point to remain conscious.

But as abruptly as the attack had begun, it ended, and she gasped for breath, her pain-filled mind wondering what had caused him to stop. But her question was soon answered as she heard a knocking on the cargo hold door.

"Hello? Is everything all right in there?"

The female voice sounded young and Monica’s eyes widened in terror, prepared to shout out a warning to this girl, but before she could, Philip had clamped his hand over her mouth as he fished in his pocket. Fresh terror filled her as he pulled out a syringe and pulled the plastic protector off with his teeth before sinking the needle into her arm.

"It seems we have an unwanted visitor, sweetness, so we’ll have to continue this later," He informed her in a whisper.

Monica struggled to get away from him, despite the amount of pain she was in, but in a matter of seconds she became aware of the fact that she was losing all feeling in her limbs. Moments after that, she was unable to move at all with the exception of her eyes, which remained focused on her assignment.

Philip picked her up in his arms as her lifeless body sagged against him, and deposited her gently into a crate next to Carla’s,

"Now, don’t go anywhere, baby," He chuckled as he looked down at her,

"We have some unfinished business to attend to later."

Monica watched as the crate closed on her and she heard the click of the lock as she was left in the darkness she so hated. Tears now made their way down her battered face as she prepared to cry out to God and Andrew in her mind, but she stopped as she heard Philip open the door to the cargo hold.

"Is everything okay?" The young voice asked.

"Sure," Philip replied calmly,

"I was just trying to find something amongst my luggage is all."

"Wow, I’ve never been in one of these places before…"

Hearing footsteps, Monica knew the girl had stepped inside and her heart pounded in her chest as she heard Philip close and lock the door once more.

"What’s your name?" He asked, as both sets of footsteps drew nearer.

"Beth," She replied.

"Well, Beth, what do you say you and I have a little fun?"

"Father, no!" Monica’s heart cried out as she heard Beth give a startled gasp.

"Let me go!" Beth cried as the angel overheard her struggle.

"Not so fast, baby," Philip hissed in return.

"Father, please!" Monica’s heart cried out as her mind raced frantically. As a thought seized her, she felt anguished tears well up in her dark eyes,

"Father, if it be Your will that this happen to this girl, then so be it. But if not…Father, allow me to take this pain for her. She is just a baby, Father. If it be Your will, use me to spare her," The tears fell from her eyes, remembering the one other time she had been permitted to help a human in this way, but yet, she knew this time, it would have lasting consequences.

The answer came as she felt herself transformed into an invisible angelic being that only Beth would see. She approached fearfully as Philip was preparing to do the unthinkable, watching as Beth’s hazel eyes widened with fear as she struggled.

"Do not be afraid, Beth," Monica whispered, as the girl’s eyes darted to the angel,

"He cannot see me, but God has sent you an angel to spare you this pain. God loves you, Beth and it is not His will that this man violate you in this way." Her eyes filled with brave resolve, the angel covered the teenager’s body with her own, doing one last thing before closing her eyes.

She closed her heart and her feelings off to Andrew, knowing he must never know.

Soon after, it was finished, and Monica found herself back in human form, once again inside the crate, her bruised face aching, only this time, her heart and mind ached even more. She brushed it aside as best she could, knowing Beth needed help and soon and with all the strength she could muster, her heart cried out,

"Andrew…my friend, I need you…"

****

Andrew continued pacing, more consumed with worry than he had ever been over a fellow angel. He had cried out when for minutes straight all he could feel was the fact that Monica had been in pain, but then all had gone silent in his heart.

He was frantic, ready to go and find Tess and Rose despite all that had occurred earlier, when he heard the pain-filled words fill his heart,

"Andrew…my friend, I need you…"

****

Carla felt tears pouring from her eyes as she realized what had just occurred, having heard Monica’s words to Beth minutes ago and her heart grieved as it continued to pray for help, for all of them, now and in the days and weeks to come.

Soon after he had "heard" Monica’s plea to him for help, Andrew found himself rushing through the ship, looking for Tess and Rose. Although he was still quite angry at the both of them, he also knew that he couldn’t help his best friend alone and that he needed help from more experienced angels…plus the ship’s authorities.

Finally making his way out onto the deck, the angel was out of breath as he soon spotted the two elderly angels sitting on a bench hooked to the wall looking out at the ocean, which was crashing against the sides of the ship. The weather had picked up and it was getting windy and darker by the minute, but Andrew didn’t care; instead, he raced towards his fellow angels, blonde hair whipping through the air and into his green eyes as he ran.

"Tess! Rose!"

The two were startled out of deep discussion by the sound of Andrew’s voice and Tess immediately stiffened as she saw the younger angel running towards them. Sucking in a sharp breath, the mahogany skinned angel started to rise to her feet and leave before he neared them, but the feel of Rose’s hand on her arm stopping her caused her to sit back down reluctantly.

"Stay, Tess," Rose commanded,

"We do need to tell him what the Father just told us…we have to, my friend."

Feeling her heart pounding loudly in her chest, Tess reluctantly turned towards Andrew, who was now standing beside them, his breath coming out in short gasps,

"You guys…you have to…help me…Monica…"

"Honey, what’s wrong?" Rose furrowed her brow as she stared at her young friend, confused by his sudden change of attitude.

"I know that some of what I said…to you…was out of line earlier…but Monica-she needs our help…" He spoke heavily as his face flushed,

"We have to…help them both…"

"How do you know this, Andrew?" Rose frowned as her heart raced frantically. She knew that she had to tell her former charge what God had just told she and Tess, but how? And what would be the consequences if they told him now?

"You know the two of us have that…connection, Rose," Andrew continued breathlessly, still standing beside them, refusing to even sit down,

"She just told me…she needs me! I can’t…I can’t do this alone…We need to help her and…Carla. The ship’s authorities…them, too…Philip is hurting them now-as we speak!"

At the mention of Philip’s name, Rose sucked in a deep breath as she then realized that it was either now or never, and Andrew had to know right now…

"Andrew, honey, we have something to tell you," Rose whispered, rising to her feet and coming over to her younger friend, who looked terrified by what was happening. Reaching for his hand and forcing him to sit down, the older angel took a seat beside him and looked into his eyes,

"We just received from news from the Father…and I hope you realize eventually that we’re all sorry about this. But…He just told us that Philip was never our assignment; our assignment on board this ship was rather a little girl named Beth. We-we didn’t listen to the Father’s entire plan, Angel Boy, and we just assumed that…Philip was our assignment. He wasn’t-"

"What?!" Andrew cried, his eyes widening in horror as he climbed to his feet, looking at the two older angels,

"What did you just say??"

"Philip wasn’t our assignment, Andrew," Tess then snapped, her eyes although pained turned away from him.

Forcing himself to breathe and not snap back at his supervisor, Andrew closed his tear-filled green eyes and clenched and unclenched his fists before speaking loudly,

"Well, this is all the more reason to FIND them! Monica and Carla need our help now-"

"You two go on without me," Tess interrupted, rising to her feet suddenly and walking away from the two angels, although she knew she was hurting all of them by her actions,

"Since none of you need me anymore, I’m going to be on my way; good luck finding those two, Andrew."

"Tess! You can’t leave-not now! Why are you being so SELFISH?!" Andrew shouted after her, more fear rising in him by the second. But the other angel broke in again.

"Oh, yes I can, Mr. Halo," Tess turned around and faced her charge with emotionless eyes, although Andrew could see that she was fighting back tears,

"And I will. They’re all yours, Rose…" Without bothering to wait for a reply, she turned around and stalked away. Rounding a corner, she was out of the two angel’s site in almost a blink of an eye.

Almost feeling like his heart had stopped for a few seconds, Andrew stared at the place where his supervisor had once stood and he kept his eyes away from Rose the whole time before turning and sitting back down on the bench. The angel rested his head in his hands and tried to get a hold of his emotions, but the tears threatening his green eyes came despite trying to hold them back. As he started to sob quietly into his hands, he felt Rose’s gentle hand on his shoulder and he looked painfully up at her and into her blue eyes, which were also reddened with tears.

"Rose, I’m sorry…" He choked out, turning away from her again and back down at his hands,

"I’m sorry I was so hateful earlier…But Tess…How could she leave now?? Monica and Carla…"

Fighting to hold herself together in this situation, Rose nodded her head and although hesitant, reached out and drew her young friend into a warm hug for a moment,

"It’s all right, Andrew. I’m not mad at you. But Tess is also hurting right now, and she blames herself for not getting the right information on this assignment, Angel Boy; but right now, we need to put all of our anger towards her, and fear aside so we can help Monica and Carla. I know about that connection you two have, and it’s rarely ever not correct when you’re being told that she’s in trouble. So right now, you need to be strong, Andrew, so we can help those two little angels, all right?" Running her fingers through his blonde hair a final time, Rose released her hold on him and looked into his eyes seriously.

She then breathed a sigh of relief as she saw him nod his head slightly and whisper,

"All right."

*****

After another torturous hour, Carla was finally able to get some of the feeling back into her limbs and with as much strength as she could muster, which she knew was coming from the Father Himself, who was obviously hearing her prayers and pleading, the youngest angel started to move her right leg. It was painful, after having been crammed in this crate for so long and she was hungry and thirsty, but she pushed the pain aside to continue the task of moving.

Finally able to move her left leg after several more long minutes, the feeling in Carla’s body suddenly coming back even faster and she silently whispered a prayer of thanks to the One who was hearing and answering. Just as she was able to finally move all her other limbs, and feel the hard bottom of the crate, Carla shifted at the bottom of it and lifted her head to the top of the small enclosure. The angel breathed heavily once again, as it was hard to breathe in this thing, and she listened as Philip yelled once again at young Beth.

"I don’t know how you survived that, but you will be sorry!" He yelled as she heard the human strike the young girl across the face for what seemed like the millionth time that night.

‘Oh Father, please send us all some help! I don’t know how much more any of us can take, God…’ She silently pleaded, tears once again brimming in her green eyes,

‘Please Father…’

Just as she lifted the words to her Creator for help, however, the sound of pounding on the locked door in the cargo hold sounded loud and clear. And then the loud voice of a male…

"Ships authorities! Open up!"

Smiling for the first time in what seemed like ages, Carla said a "thank you" to the Father for answering the prayers for herself, Monica and young Beth, before opening her mouth and yelling out as loudly as she could, although her voice was weak and strained,

"Help us!"

Andrew watched, as everything seemed to happen quickly around him. The ship’s authorities rushed at Philip and pulled him off a young girl, wrestling him to his feet, and quickly placing handcuffs on his wrists. He watched as the girl was helped to her feet, her clothing torn and another man wrapped a blanket around her shaking shoulders, and the angel felt sick to his stomach at the thought that Philip had perhaps r*aped her. But he felt even sicker when he realized that though Philip had been on top of her when they had arrived, with his fist pulled back, there didn’t appear to be any marks on the young human.

"Help us!"

He and Rose turned quickly, hearing Carla’s weakened voice and the two angels bolted over to the crate where the cries were coming from. Andrew grabbed hold of the lock and gave it an angry tug, before turning to the officers,

"See if he has keys in his pocket?" He called out, glaring angrily at Philip as one of the officers searched him. He watched as the keys were found and tossed over to Andrew, and he hurriedly tried to find the correct one to open the lock.

Finally, one of the keys fit and with a "click" the lock was released and he and Rose hurriedly lifted the top from the crate, both of their eyes filling with tears as they saw Carla’s frightened and pale face looking up at them.

"Carla!" Andrew cried out, tears filling his eyes as he reached down and helped her out of the crate, alarm filling him as her legs nearly gave out from under her. He caught her up in his arms and held her tightly to him,

"Thank God, Carla. Are you all right?" He pulled away and brushed the blond hair from her exhausted eyes.

"I think so," She uttered, struggling not to cry, but losing the battle, as she was so glad to see them. Her arms, though weak, wrapped around him as tears coursed down her cheeks,

"It’s so good to see you both…"

"Sweet girl, you are a welcomed sight indeed," Rose replied gently, placing her hand on Carla’s cheek lovingly.

"Monica," Carla uttered weakly,

"You need to find her, Andrew…she’s here…" A sob rose to her throat as she thought about what she knew, about Monica taking not only beatings for Beth, but a r*ape as well, but she knew that Andrew would know the truth soon enough.

Andrew nodded his head and he and Rose helped Carla to a chair and Rose grabbed a blanket from one of the officers to wrap it around the angel’s shivering form.

Andrew looked at the remaining crates, having no idea of where to even begin,

"Baby girl, where are you?" He thought desperately, but no sooner were the words thought, did he hear the faintest of sounds coming from the crate next to where Carla had been and he fished in his pocket for the keys.

His hands trembled madly as he searched for the right key, giving a small cry of relief when one finally clicked into place. Throwing the lock to the floor, he flung the crate open, his eyes immediately filling with tears at the sight of his beloved friend.

Her brown eyes were filled with terrible pain and her once lovely face was bruised and bleeding, and she seemed on the verge of losing consciousness, though she was struggling to remain as alert as she could.

"Oh dear Father," Andrew whispered as he reached for her and with all the love in the world, gathered her into his arms and lifted her from the darkness of the crate,

"I’ve got you, sweet Angel Girl, I’ve got you," He whispered, his own voice catching in a sob.

Feeling her head resting against her best friend’s shoulder and a blanket being wrapped around her, Monica closed her eyes briefly in anguish. Though her physical pain was great, the ache in her heart was one worse than she had ever known and tears began to fill her eyes, as she weakly clutched his shirt, the injection that Philip had given her nearly two hours ago, beginning to wear off,

"Andrew," She whispered, her voice scarcely audible,

"Oh Andrew…"

"Shhh," He soothed, holding her tightly to himself,

"I know, sweetheart, I know…"

Carla watched the scene before her as tears fell from her eyes,

"No, Andrew, you don’t," She whispered aloud to herself.

Rose shot her a questioning look, but Carla just shook her head. Looking back up at Andrew, who with tears streaking his face, was whispering gently to his friend, the older angel approached him,

"We need to get them upstairs, honey."

Carla looked over at Beth, who had a confused look on her young, yet still frightened face,

"Beth," She said softly, her voice still shaking,

"Are you all right?"

Beth nodded her head as she approached Carla, her hazel eyes puzzled,

"The angel? I had an angel and…"

"I know," Carla whispered in return, as she reached for the girl’s hand,

"You had one when you needed one."

"That man, he was going to…" She shook her head tearfully, shuddering at the thought,

"She saved me and I want to thank her…"

"Maybe one day, you’ll see her again," Carla responded tearfully, before nodding her head towards the door,

"Are those your parents?"

Looking back, Beth blinked back tears as she gave the angel’s hand a squeeze before moving away to where her parents were waiting with open arms, relieved that their daughter was safe.

"C’mon honey," Rose said softly as she approached her once again and helped the youngest angel to her feet, keeping an arm wrapped tightly around her waist for support for Carla’s still shaky legs,

"Lets get you two upstairs and something to eat in you. We’re so glad you’re safe, Carla." Helping the angel along, Rose and Carla followed Andrew, who still carried Monica in his arms out of the cargo hold.

****

As Rose tended to Carla, Andrew sat on the edge of Monica’s bed and wrung out a cool cloth, his eyes filled with pain at the sight of her battered and swollen face,

"This may hurt, baby," He whispered regretfully, as he moved to gently wipe at the blood on her face, watching miserably as she winced as the last thing he wanted to do was to cause her anymore pain, which was another reason he was glad she had not asked about Tess.

Monica closed her eyes briefly as she felt the cool cloth sponging her face. She moved her fingers gingerly, realizing that now the effectives of drug had all but worn completely off, but in its place, she found herself beginning to tremble uncontrollably as her mind went back to all that had transpired in the last few hours.

"Monica?" Andrew’s green eyes filled with alarm at her sudden reaction and he wondered if her human body could possibly be in shock,

"Sweetheart, what…?"

Her eyes found his as she opened them once more. Ignoring the pain, she sat up and flung herself into his arms,

"Just hold me, Andrew, please? Just hold me…"

Wrapping his arms around her, he suddenly felt frightened, though he had no idea of why,

"I’ve got you, little one, I’ve got you."

"Tighter," She uttered tearfully, her cheek resting against his chest,

"Tighter and don’t let me go…please, don’t let me go…"

"Sweetheart, you need to get something in your stomach, you haven’t eaten or drank anything in over 24 hours," Rose gently ordered as she sat down beside the youngest angel in her stateroom and lifted a tall glass of orange juice to her dry lips. She smiled as she drank almost all of it greedily and the older angel then set it back on the night stand and gave Carla’s hand a gentle squeeze,

"You need anything else, Carla?"

Shaking her head weakly as she rested it against the pillows as she lay in bed, Carla replied,

"No…I’m just glad that’s over…"

"Yes, it’s over, honey…but things around here are far from over," Rose explained, lowering her blue eyes and sighing softly.

"I know…After Monica…"

"After Monica what, Carla?" Rose inquired, tilting her head to the side and frowning,

"Honey, did something happen after Monica came?"

Sucking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Carla nervously avoided Rose’s eyes as she contemplated the question. She had a feeling that her friend didn’t want Andrew to know about the attack, but what about telling Rose? The angel knew that she couldn’t lie about this, and if she told Rose that nothing happened to Monica, that would surely be a flat out lie on her part.

Finally meeting Rose’s gaze, Carla bravely spoke up,

"Rose…Monica saved Beth’s life back in there. I heard it…Philip-he…he tried to r*ape Beth, but Monica…she saved her by putting herself over that child. I don’t know if she wanted me to tell you, and I know that she doesn’t want Andrew to know, but I can’t lie about this, Rose…I know it’s forbidden…"

"Oh sweetheart," Rose’s eyes filled with tears as her face turned pale at the younger angel’s words,

"You know we can’t keep this from him-"

"Rose, Monica didn’t tell me straight out, but didn’t you see back there in the cargo hold after you two saved us that she didn’t say anything to him about it? I just have this feeling…" The angel whispered shakily, wringing her hands.

"Carla-"

"Rose, promise me that you won’t say anything to him," Carla ordered in her weakened state,

"I know how much Monica loves him, and I know that she didn’t say anything about this so that he wouldn’t get hurt or blame himself. Until Monica tells him herself…don’t say anything. Please, Rose?"

Rose met the caseworker’s green eyes, which were filled with hot tears, with her own and sighed softly before pulling her into a warm embrace, gently running her hands through her shoulder-length blonde hair,

"Okay, little angel…Okay."

*****

Tess stood silently at the edge of the cliff overlooking the mountains, her expression one of complete despair. After she had walked off of the assignment earlier that day after her "Angel Boy" had asked for her help, the older angel didn’t know where to go. She wouldn’t go to God’s Country, that was for certain, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to go Home until everything was situated with her and her friends and especially the Father.

So she came here.

Too upset to talk to the Father about her mishandling of the entire assignment from the very beginning, the elderly angel in human form stood still as a statue, looking out over the city and the trees and mountaintops. If only she had done things differently…then would things not have gone as they did?

"Oh Angel Babies…" She whispered quietly to herself, tears streaming down her cheeks as she thought of Andrew, Monica and even Carla,

"Please know that no matter what, I still love you…"

*****

Early the next morning, Carla knocked softly on Monica’s bedroom door and after not receiving a response, figuring that her former supervisor was still asleep, the angel walked into the room and her eyes immediately came to rest on Monica, who was sitting up in bed. Her hands were folded and she appeared to be looking off into space.

"Monica?" The younger angel called, walking in and closing the door behind her. After a good night’s sleep in a nice warm bed, Carla seemed to have gotten most of the strength back into her legs and Rose had allowed her to head over to Monica’s room and see how she was holding up. Her green eyes watched as the Irish angel lifted her head and stared over at her, her own brown eyes filled with sorrow and pain.

"How you doing?" Carla whispered, walking over and taking a seat beside of her on the bed. Laying a hand on one of her legs and giving it a friendly pat, Carla waited for a reply.

Shrugging her shoulders, Monica lowered her gaze,

"I’m glad you’re all right, Carla…" She uttered, her Irish voice filled with such a sadness that Carla had never heard from her before. There was a particular time when her former supervisor was incredibly upset about what seemed to be the end of her friendship with Andrew, but this was something totally different…this raw pain in her brown eyes was heartbreaking to see.

"I’m all right, thanks to you…and Rose and Andrew; you and he sure have a connection, honey, I'll tell you that right now," Winking to try and lighten the mood, Carla however failed miserably as she saw Monica’s eyes fill with tears and roll down one of her bruised cheeks,

"Monica? Monica…please, tell me what’s on your mind…"

"Andrew…" She heard her friend utter and Carla’s heart thudded as she heard her say the other angel’s name. She knew what was coming up and she wasn’t looking forward to finally hearing it. But she listened,

"Oh Carla…After Beth-" Choking on a sob, Monica forced herself to continue,

"Carla, I couldn’t sleep at all last night ‘cause I was wondering if this was the right thing to do…"

"What?" Carla asked, although she already knew the answer.

"Carla, Andrew can never know what Philip…what Philip did in there last night. I can’t bear to see him blaming himself again for this, when it’s not even his fault; it hurts to see that more than any physical pain Philip inflicted on us…Promise me, Carla…Promise me you won’t tell him," Monica pleaded, grabbing hold of her former charge’s hand and squeezing it tightly while looking desperately into her green eyes, which were too similar to her best friend’s,

"Please, Carla…"

Carla knew what she had to do, and as her heart broke into pieces over the situation they were all in, the angel nodded her head silently

*****

Several days later…

"Are you ready to go home today, Angel Girl?" Andrew laid a hand against his best friend’s back and he rubbed it gently while he watched her movements as she packed her suitcase.

Not meeting his green eyes, Monica turned around and sat back down on the bed, sighing softly,

"I don’t know, Andrew…I’m worried about Tess…"

At the mention of their supervisor’s name, Andrew felt a burning rush of anger rise within him once again and he closed his eyes briefly before sitting on the bed beside Monica. Taking her hand in his own and rubbing it gently with his fingers, he waited until she looked at him before he spoke,

"She’ll be fine…"

"I know you’re angry at her, Andrew," Monica stated, forcing herself to look into his eyes,

"I can see it, all too much."

"And what if I am?" He whispered back, his voice holding some anger in it towards the older angel who wasn’t with them as they spoke,

"I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t help being angry with her for what she did to you. And I’m still so worried about you, Angel Girl; I can tell there’s something else on your mind. Will you tell me?"

"I’m just still thinking about the other day," She replied, mentally kicking herself for not telling him about the attack on her and Beth, but reminding herself that it was for his own good and that he was to never know,

"It’s still on my mind, you know?"

Unable to stop the tears from forming in his green eyes, Andrew pulled his friend close to him and wrapped her up in the safety of his arms again, like he had done the night she and Carla were rescued. Feeling her holding onto him just as tightly, if not tighter, Andrew sighed deeply,

"Yes, I know, sweet baby…I know…"

But as he spoke those last few words, the memory of hearing Carla speak softly to herself that other night as Andrew had held her, rushed back into her brain and she silently told him as she closed her brown eyes,

‘No you don’t, Andrew.’

Late that afternoon, the Sea Princess finally nestled into the harbor from where she had originally set sail a week before and where 5 angels had begun this journey together, now only 4 prepared to disembark.

Andrew held tightly to Monica’s hand as they made their way along deck, behind of Rose and Carla, his eyes still flickering concern over his friend. While Carla appeared to be bouncing back from her ordeal, Monica had grown quieter in the days following their rescue. He knew she was worried about Tess and he sighed softly, wishing he could rid his heart of the anger he felt at their supervisor, but Tess had made so much of this trip a nightmare.

Her bouts of anger during the voyage, both directed at he and Monica, her asking the unthinkable of him in coming down hard on his frightened friend, even the harsh tones she had taken with Monica when she had thought he had been missing; Andrew couldn’t understand any of it. But the worst of it was still that moment when he had seen her strike his friend, and then Tess refusing to help rescue Carla and Monica, because of the fact that the assignment had been wrong from the very beginning. All of these things had hardened his heart towards Tess at the moment, but knowing had the right information been given, maybe this all could have been avoided in the first place really tore at him, especially when he looked into his best friend’s seemingly dulled brown eyes.

As they walked, a commotion up ahead caused the angels to stop as they saw the ship’s authorities leading Philip out from where he had been held prisoner. He was struggling and cursing, his hair disheveled and his eyes sparking with anger.

Turning to Carla, Rose gave her arm a small squeeze,

"I’ll be right back, honey," She said softly, giving her a reassuring look as she saw the slight fear in the younger angel’s eyes.

The three angels watched as Rose took on an angelic form and approached the troubled man,

"Hello Philip," She said softly as a soft glow surrounded the elderly angel,

"I guess you didn’t know you were entertaining angels this entire trip, did you?" Watching, as his eyes grew wide with confusion and fear, she continued,

"I’ve been asked to give you a message from God, about His love for you…"

Carla managed a smile as she heard Rose’s words and looking up, she could see that Andrew was listening as well, a thoughtful expression on his handsome face. Glancing over at Monica, however, she could see the Irish angel had shrank back when she had seen Philip, her gentle face now pale.

Slipping her hand from Andrew’s, she murmured something about meeting them at the car, before she hurried away towards the ramp, and Carla saw the deep despair in Andrew’s eyes as he watched her go.

"Carla, what is going on with her?" He whispered hoarsely.

Knowing that saying nothing was not the same as lying, Carla gave him an encouraging smile,

"Wait for Rose, Andrew. I’ll go and talk to her, okay?" Not waiting for an answer, the young angel, turned and followed her friend down the ramp and into the parking lot,

"Monica!" She called out, trying to catch up. When she finally did, she reached for the older angel’s arm and took it firmly into her own,

"You need help," Carla whispered, her eyes pleading,

"You haven’t asked God for it and you haven’t told Andrew. Let them help you, Monica, please?"

"I asked the Father to let it happen," Monica whispered in return, wiping at the tears in her eyes,

"What do I tell Him now? The pain is too great, I take it back?"

"You know the Father will help you, but if you are so set against that right now, then talk to Andrew. Monica, you know he can help you through this and you know he will if you just give him the chance. He’s worried sick about you…"

"I can’t do that to him, Carla. He didn’t want to let me go in the first place, but he finally gave in and to tell him what happened down there…it would break his heart, Carla…"

"Like it’s broken yours?" Carla replied softly, seeing the torment in her eyes,

"You can’t protect him, Monica and when it comes to you, with you needing help, he doesn’t want to be protected. He wants to be there for you, but you have to let him. You can’t keep what happened inside of you forever or it will one day destroy you. Even in angelic form, the psychological trauma of what happened to you is real and you have to face that."

"Carla, all I need now that I am off that ship is a day or two and then I need to get back to work. Then I promise you, I will be fine and we can put all this behind us."

"You don’t honestly believe that," Carla whispered, seeing Andrew and Rose approaching.

Monica looked at her friend as she wiped the tears from her cheeks,

"I have to." She replied simply.

Andrew’s eyes were pained as he and Rose approached the other two angels, and he saw his best friend wiping at tears. Laying a gentle hand on her shoulder, he looked into her eyes,

"Monica?"

"I’m okay," She replied quickly as she handed him the keys to the caddy, which Tess had left behind,

"You drive, okay?"

"Angel Girl, what is wrong?" He pleaded softly, taking her hand as she handed the keys to him.

"I’m just glad to be back on solid ground again, Andrew, that’s all," She stammered, knowing at least that much was true,

"Can we just get out of here, please?" Seeing them bringing Philip down the ramp, to the awaiting patrol car, she turned away and opened the door of the caddy.

He nodded his head, as the four of them climbed into the car, Rose and Carla in the back seat. As he put the keys into the ignition he felt a pang of guilt that Tess wasn’t here to drive them all back, and despite his anger, he wondered where she was and if she was all right.

As he pulled out of the parking lot, he reached across for Monica’s hand and blinked back tears as she seemed to grip his hand with all her strength and he wondered one last thing.

How long would it take before things were back to normal again and what kind of shape would they all be in when normal finally arrived?