Prologue

1 year later...

30-year old Erin Graham smiled brightly as she leaned against the wooden fence of the arena, watching as her 13-year old daughter, Andrea, rode on top of her brand new horse, Mandy. Trotting at a slow pace, while kicking the heels of her feet against the horse's sides, Andrea let out a high giggle as she bounced in her seat. Turning to face her mother off to the side of the arena, the long-blonde haired teenager lifted one of her hands and waved cheerfully as her horse continued trotting.

Waving back at her daughter's gesture, Erin leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. Silently walking into the ring, the older woman, who looked young for her age, watched as her young daughter continued riding on her horse. Smiling at the thought of how much Andrea had grown since she had given birth to her, Erin shook her head, Wow, how time has passed, she thought to herself as she turned her gaze up to the sunny, blue sky, Thank You, God, for Andrea. Although getting pregnant at 18 was not part of my plan, especially before marriage, I could never imagine life without my Andrea Monica...

Smiling at the thought of how she had named her daughter after 2 very special angels - one of whom who had helped her out when she was only 16 years old and a high school junior - Erin knew that she would never forget them, no matter how long she lived.

Especially Andrew.

Turning her head, her shoulder-length, strawberry-blonde hair blowing into her blue eyes, the woman suddenly let out a gasp as she saw an all-too familiar figure standing on the other side of the fence, his friendly green eyes watching her. Rubbing her own eyes to make sure this was not her imagination, and soon finding he was still standing there, Erin's eyes lit up as she ran towards the entrance of the arena and to her old friend.

Her voice high with both surprise and excitement, she called out as she continued running,

"Andrew?!"

*****

Andrew smiled as his old friend ran towards him, like if she was 17-years old again. Letting out a laugh as she finally neared him and threw her arms around his neck, the Search and Rescue angel nearly fell off his feet at the force of her embrace. Stroking her short hair as he held Erin tightly for a moment, he finally released his hold around her and smiled brightly.

"What are you doing here, Andrew??" the woman cried, her blue eyes sparkling with happiness as she folded her arms across her chest, smiling at her friend,

"Is this just a 13 year visit, or..."

Her smile fading as she suddenly remembered who Andrew really was, Erin lifted a hand to her mouth, her eyes growing wide at the possibility of this unexpected visit.

Noticing the change in her reaction, Andrew rested a reassuring, gentle hand on his friend's shoulder while smiling at her,

"Erin, I'm no longer an Angel of Death," he explained softly, "I quit 13 years ago and wanted to be moved to Search and Rescue. I don't know why I'm here, though..."

"Search and Rescue, Andrew?" Erin repeated, a confused expression on her face,

"Does that mean that you search for people and rescue them when they're in trouble?"

"Exactly, my friend," Andrew replied, turning his attention to the young teenager who was riding her brown eyes in front of him and Erin. Leaning against the fence, the angel watched Andrea ride, a smile of how much his friend's daughter resembled her mother spreading across his handsome face,

"How old is she, Erin?"

"Andrea's 13," Erin replied, leaning against the fence beside her old friend, happy with his presence beside her now,

"Her birthday is Christmas Day; she's always enjoyed getting 'special attention' on that day. But I can't say I blame my girl," Laughing softly, she continued,

"But, I am a single parent, Andrew, so I want to give her as much attention as I can. Her 'father' unfortunately is the man that raped me in high school and I became pregnant the year after the last time I saw you...But I don't regret having Andrea. Not for a minute. She's my little angel..." Chuckling at the amused expression on the blonde angel's face, Erin playfully punched his arm, smiling,

"I named her after you and Monica, Andrew: Andrea Monica Graham."

Before Andrew had a chance to respond, however, a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Turning his eyes to Andrea, who was still out in the ring, Andrew watched, horrorstruck, as Mandy obviously saw something nearby and reared up on her hind legs, swinging them in the air. Andrea's ear-piercing scream tore through the field as she suddenly felt her small body tumbling off of her horse. Her trembling hands still holding onto the mare's reign, which was a mistake on her part, Andrew and Erin let out a scream as they watched the large animal tumble over, too, with Andrea. The mare pinning the girl down underneath it's weight, the Search and Rescue angel and Erin immediately ran into the arena, the mother's voice screaming out.

"Andrea! Andrea!"

Andrew neared the teenager first and felt a pulse on her wrist. Noticing how faint it was, the angel turned to his hysterical friend, eyes desperate, yet ready to help,

"Erin, I'll help her. Go call 911!"

"Andrea, can you hear me?" Andrew pleaded once Erin had raced off to the house to call for help. His hand moved to stroke the blond hair away from the girl’s face,

"Andrea?"

Hearing her name from somewhere far away, Andrea struggled to open her eyes against the pain that seemed to engulf her entire body. She squinted against the tears as she looked up into the face of the man who was looming above her, his green eyes full of love and concern,

"W-who are you? What happened to me?" She tried to move, but cried out in pain that seemed to be coming from everywhere.

"Shhh," He said softly, his hand coming to rest on her head,

"Don’t try to move. You had an accident and fell off of your horse. My name is Andrew and I’m a friend of your moms’."

"Andrew?" She whispered, trying to catch her breath,

"The angel, Andrew?"

Andrew smiled down at her, surprised at her recognition,

"Ah, so she has told you about me, has she? It’s all lies, Andrea, I promise you that," He teased, trying to put the frightened child at ease.

A pained smile crossed her face, before she whimpered in pain once more,

"I’m named after you…you and your friend, Monica."

"Yes, your mom told me and I consider that to be a great honor and so would Monica." He looked up to see Erin coming through the yard and back towards the arena.

"Will I meet her too? You guys work together, right?" Andrea closed her eyes for a moment, allowing the feeling of his hand stroking her hair to soothe her.

"Well, we used to, but we haven’t worked together in the last 14 years. Right after I last saw your mom, Monica got a promotion and our other friend Tess, and I switched jobs too, so we don’t see each other anymore as often as we’d like," Andrew watched her closely, wanting to make sure he kept her talking until the ambulance arrived.

"You must miss her," Andrea uttered weakly, swallowing hard as her mouth was so dry.

"Everyday." Andrew replied, a note of sadness in his voice,

"It’s been a long time since I’ve seen your mom too. She was a very special friend to me-still is."

Erin looked nervously at Andrew as she knelt beside of him and her daughter, trying to keep her emotions in check so to not frighten Andrea anymore than she already was,

"The ambulance is on its way," She remarked softly, reaching for her daughter’s hand,

"How are you doing, baby girl?"

"It hurts, mom," She said softly, her eyes filling with tears once more.

"Andrea and I were just getting acquainted," Andrew informed her, wanting to keep Andrea calm a little longer,

"You’ve told her about me."

"Of course I did," Erin replied, never taking her eyes off of her daughter,

"I used to tell her stories of the angels before I would tuck her in at night. She loved hearing about you, Tess, Monica and Adam." Hearing the siren from the distance, she muttered softly,

"Thank God."

Moments later, the paramedics were loading Andrea into the back of the ambulance as Erin and Andrew prepared to go with them. Before they climbed in though, Erin grabbed hold of Andrew’s arm and waited until he turned to face her,

"Is she going to be alright, Andrew?" Her blue eyes were shimmering with unshed tears as she looked into his, trusting him to tell her the truth.

Andrew was quiet for a moment, taking in the lovely young woman that the teenager had become and seeing the love and pain in her heart she held for her daughter,

"I don’t know, Erin. Her leg, where the horse fell on her, looks bad, but we’ll have to wait and see what the doctor’s say."

"I can’t lose her, Andrew, I can’t," She whispered frantically, tears spilling onto her cheeks that she tried in vain to hold back,

"She’s all I have and she means everything to me!"

"Erin, listen to me," Andrew reached over to take her face into his hands,

"You have to be strong for her now. I don’t know what the Father has planned, but Andrea is very frightened and she needs your strength. You have to do that for her."

Numbly, Erin nodded as she and Andrew climbed into the back of the ambulance before it raced off to the hospital.

***

Nearly two hours later, Erin was still pacing back and forth in the waiting room as she and Andrew awaited some word on Andrea’s condition. Andrew had tried to get her to sit down, but that had only lasted for a moment before she was back up and pacing again, and he had given up. He was worried as well and wondering what was taking so long and he was tempted to go and ask the nurse. But before he could, a doctor approached them and he stood to his feet, getting Erin’s attention. As she joined him, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders for support of whatever news they were about to get.

"Miss Graham, I’m Dr. Thatcher. I’ve been in with your daughter. Would you care to sit down?" He asked, indicating the chair behind her.

"No, please, tell me about Andrea. Tell me how my baby is." Erin held onto Andrew tightly, fear racing through her. Was it so bad she needed to be sitting to hear the truth?

"Well, thankfully, most of her injuries were mild, save one. Her right leg, I’m afraid is badly crushed." He spoke the words slowly, regretfully, hating what he had to tell this young mother.

"But you can fix it, right?" She asked, tears filling her eyes once more.

"I’m afraid not, Miss Graham. Andrea’s leg is beyond repair-the bones were literally shattered when the horse fell on her. What I need is your consent to amputate her leg before any infection sets in, which could cause more problems."

Andrew caught Erin as her legs gave out from underneath her and quickly got her to a chair,

"Erin?"

She looked at him through dazed eyes before she seemed to revive herself once more and looked up at the doctor,

"There is nothing you can do to save it? She rides horses and runs track-she cannot lose her leg!"

"I’m afraid there is no other option," The doctor said softly, kneeling in front of her,

"We need to move quickly. Damage this bad could kill her if an infection sets in. Please, Miss Graham, I need you to sign these papers so we can take care of Andrea."

Erin starred at the pen he held in his hand, then took it slowly as if she was in a dream, and signed her name to the papers he presented to her. Once it was done, the doctor laid a gentle hand on her knee,

"I know this is hard, but you are doing what is best for your daughter."

Erin nodded her head as he stood and quickly walked away. Feeling Andrew’s arm around her, she turned to him,

"If you don’t mind, Andrew, I’d like to be alone for a few minutes."

"Erin, I am so sorry," He whispered, tears in his green eyes,

"If I could have done more-."

"Oh Andrew, I don’t blame you. You saved her life, of that I’m sure, but I just need a few minutes to come to grips with this. You understand, don’t you?" Her eyes pleaded with him as tears coursed down her cheeks.

"Yes," he replied softly, rising to his feet. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze,

"I’ll be back in bit."

Andrew walked down the long corridor, fighting his emotions and unsure of where he was headed. His heart ached for his friend and for her daughter and what they were going through. He knew in his heart that there had been no more he could have done, but he still wished it could have been more.

Seeing the chapel, he opened the door and walked inside slowly, sliding into a seat in the front row and bowing his head as silent tears fell from his eyes,

"Oh Father, please help them," He whispered,

"And please help me to be able to help them." Miserably, he covered his face with his hands, trying to get hold of his emotions once more, but before he could, he heard a gentle voice call out his name. It was the gentlest voice he knew and he would recognize it anywhere.

"Andrew?"

At the sound of her soft voice, Andrew slowly turned around in his seat at the pew and found himself looking into the gentle, brown eyes of Monica. The Irish angel stood just behind him, a hand resting lightly on the back of his seat and a sad look displayed on her face.

"Monica?" Andrew finally gasped out, surprise evident on his face as he scooted over to make room for his best friend,

"What are – I mean, what…"

"What am I doing here?" the younger angel finished for her friend softly as she sat down beside the other angel whom she hadn’t seen in a year,

"I think you know the answer to that, my friend. I’m here to help the Graham’s, but I’m also here for you, Andrew. You know I can’t not see that look on your face and just ignore it…and you know that I’m always happy to see you again, no matter what."

Turning his teary, green eyes towards his dear friend, Andrew wordlessly reached his arms out and wrapped them tightly around Monica’s shoulders. Feeling her embrace him back, the angel let out a soft sigh as he remembered the last time he had seen and held his friend: At the cabin in the mountains exactly one year ago.

"You know it’s not your fault, right, Andrew?"

Monica’s question startled the angel out of his thoughts and he released his hold on his friend, looking down at his feet,

"I just wish I could’ve done something…MORE, Monica," he answered sadly, feeling tears threatening his eyes again. Still looking at the floor, Andrew turned all the way around, folding his hands as he continued,

"There must have been something more I could have done so that Andrea wouldn’t have to have her leg amputated. Especially like this, Monica! Andrea will never run in track again, may never be able to ride Mandy any more and who knows what else?? I’m a Search and Rescue angel, Monica; I’m supposed to HELP the person in trouble, not make things worse – "

"Andrew, she’s ALIVE now because of you," the other angel interjected, taking his hand in her own and looking sadly at him,

"She’ll have to have a leg amputation, but you saved her life. Even Erin agrees with that! You saved her ‘little angel’…"

Gulping back another round of sobs, Andrew didn’t say a word or do anything, even after Monica squeezed his hand gently. Hearing her sigh softly, Andrew felt his friend tug on his hand and then stood up. Pulling him with her, Monica finally spoke up,

"C’mon, my friend. It’s time to go meet up with Tess; she’s with Erin at the moment…"

Nodding numbly, Andrew reluctantly allowed his friend to lead him out of the chapel and back into the hospital corridor and main lobby, both angels’ hearts heavy over the turn of events that occurred that afternoon.

*****

Several hours later after the surgery on Andrea, Dr. Thatcher finally arrived back into the waiting room to announce that her surgery had been a success and was now put in her own private room so she could heal and rest. Much to the relief of Erin, along with the 3 angels, Andrea was still asleep and it gave her mother some time to think on how to explain that the doctors had had to amputate her right leg…

The doctor, having only allowed Erin and Andrew to visit the teenager right now, led the two friends towards Andrea’s hospital room on the third floor and softly opened the door. The lights in the room were dim as the two humans and one angel entered; equipment was set up around the small room and surrounding Andrea’s still body.

As Erin took in her precious daughter – her only daughter – the young mother clutched Andrew, who stood beside her, for support. Just the very thought that Andrea had now officially had to have a part of her body amputated sent shivers up Erin’s spine. How was she going to break the news to her little one? How was she going to take it?? And would Andrea REALLY be all right?

Questions rang in her mind and fear tore through her being as Erin followed Andrew to the two chairs beside the bed and sat down. Not even noticing that Dr. Thatcher had left the small room and had closed the door behind him, lights still dim, Erin silently lifted up a quick prayer,

God, please…give us strength in the days to come.

Andrea slept soundly through the night as Erin and Andrew rotated their watch over the young girl with Monica and Tess. Andrew had tried to get Erin to sleep for a bit on the cot a nurse had generously brought to Andrea’s room, but his friend refused, wanting to be awake should her daughter wake up. But it wasn’t until early the following morning that Andrea did awaken.

"Mom?" She murmured groggily as her eyes opened and she took in her surroundings and came to realize she was in the hospital.

"I’m here, baby," Erin rose quickly to her feet and reached for her daughter’s hand,

"I’m right here."

"What happened? Why am I in the hospital?" The girl’s eyes held fear and confusion as she looked up at her mother for the answers.

Andrew walked up behind Erin and laid his hands on her shoulders to offer her support in the words he knew she would have to say, but remained silent.

"Do you remember falling off of Mandy, honey? She got spooked by something in the arena and bucked. You fell off of her and she fell on top of you." Erin’s voice trembled though she struggled to put control into it.

"Is Mandy okay?" Andrea asked, her eyes flashing worry.

"Oh God, she has no idea," Erin thought frantically, as she swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump that had formed in her throat,

"Yes, Mandy is fine, sweetie. It’s you who was hurt." She reached up and stroked her daughter’s blond hair away from her face.

"Hurt?" Andrea tried to focus on how she was feeling. Her body felt sore and tired and there seemed to be a dull ache in her upper right leg,

"My leg is broken, isn’t it? It kinda hurts."

Erin drew in a sharp breath as she felt tears fill her eyes,

"It was badly broken, baby…the doctor’s…well, they were unable to fix it." Seeing the confusion in her daughter’s eyes, Erin forced herself to continue on with the truth, knowing that there was no way to prolong it,

"Andrea, sweetheart, they couldn’t fix your leg, so they had to amputate it."

Andrea’s eyes widened in horror as they gazed down the bed. She could see the outline of her left leg, but her right one…

"No.." she whispered, the color further draining from her already pale face,

"No, mom, no!"

Unable to control the tears, they now fell onto Erin’s cheeks as she reached to cradle her daughter in her arms as she began to cry as well,

"I’m so sorry, baby girl. But there was nothing that they could do and if they didn’t remove it, you could have died from an infection. I’m so sorry, Andrea, I’m so, so sorry…"

"I wish you had let me die then," The teenager sobbed, heartbrokenly,

"I would rather have died than to have to be a freak!"

"You don’t mean that, Andrea," Andrew spoke up softly, his tender heart breaking at Andrea’s words and tears.

Andrea glared up at him, noticing him for the first time,

"Aren’t you an angel? Why didn’t you stop this, Andrew? What kind of angel can’t stop something like this from happening?"

As hurt filled Andrew’s green eyes, Erin shook her head adamantly,

"No, Andrea, it wasn’t Andrew’s fault. You surely would have died had he not been there, but your leg was not within his control. He’s an angel, not God Himself."

"Angels are supposed to help people!" Andrea sobbed angrily,

"And he didn’t do that! God sends them to help people! You always told me that, mom! Why didn’t he help me?"

"I did what I could, Andrea," Andrew whispered, reaching a hand over to touch the girl’s hand, but she pulled it away sharply.

"Get out of my room! I don’t want to see you! It’s your fault this happened to me, Andrew! What good is an angel who can’t even help?" Overwhelmed, Andrea buried her face in her mother’s shoulder and cried as though her heart would break.

Fighting tears, Andrew backed up slowly, before turning around and exiting the room, closing the door firmly behind him.

Tess and Monica looked up as they saw Andrew come out of Andrea’s room, but he didn’t acknowledge them though as he walked past them down the hall.

"Get going, Angel Girl," Tess said, both of them noticing the look on their beloved friend’s face,

"I’ll go see how Andrea and Erin are holding up."

Monica finally caught up to her friend as he walked outside of the hospital into the bright sunshine. She could clearly see the look of torment on his handsome face and the tears that glistened in his eyes and her heart went out to him.

"Andrew?" She said simply as she approached, laying a hand on his arm.

Slowly, he turned to face her, the tears he had been holding back, flowing now that he was with his best friend and he knew he could hide nothing from her,

"She blames me, Monica. Andrea blames me for the loss of her leg."

Nodding her head in understanding, the younger angel wrapped her arms tightly around him, offering what comfort she could,

"She’s hurt and confused, Andrew and looking for someplace to put her anger," She whispered, her hand running through his blond hair,

"You know that as well as I do, my friend. Only better that she gives you her anger than Erin. They need each other right now and it would break Erin’s heart if her daughter blamed her. I know that doesn’t make it any easier on you and I’m sorry for that, but Andrew, you did what you could. You DID rescue her and one day she will realize that, once she is no longer angry."

Andrew sighed softly and after a minute, pulled away from her embrace, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead as he did,

"Thank you. For being here and for knowing what to say when I need to hear it."

"There’s nowhere else I would be if you needed me, Andrew. You know that." Came the gentle reply as she wrapped her arms around his arm,

"How about we take a walk and I’ll buy you a cup of coffee?"

He managed a smile as he nodded his head,

"Is the coffee to make me feel better or you?" He teased gently, though his green eyes were still deeply troubled.

As they started walking, she chuckled softly,

"You of course! I’m just along because the company is so good."

"Yeah, okay," He replied, giving her a side-long glance that told her he didn’t believe a word of it, at least the coffee part, but he did find comfort in her gentle presence as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they crossed the street,

"You’re a good friend, Angel Girl."

Monica smiled up at him, in her heart knowing that he would need her friendship in the hard days yet to come.

"…How are you holding up here, Baby?" Tess whispered as she walked softly into Andrea’s hospital room and sat down beside Erin. The young mother’s eyes were still filled with tears as she looked down at Andrea, who had fallen asleep before Tess had entered. Erin’s blonde head was laid on top of her daughter’s bed, while one of her hands still held the teenager’s…and she looked to be anything but fine right then.

At the sound of the angel’s voice, Erin slowly lifted her head up off the bed and gazed sadly into Tess’ compassionate, brown eyes,

"I’ve done better, but Andrea’s surely doing worse than me. Tess…I can’t believe…"

Laying her hand on the young woman’s shoulder gently, Tess gave it a loving pat as she tilted her head to the side, watching Erin turn away from her,

"You can’t believe that this happened, right, honey?"

Nodding her head, her short blonde hair bobbing against her shoulders, Erin replied in a whisper,

"That, and I can’t – can’t believe that Andrea is blaming Andrew for all of this…I just can’t even put my finger on the reason why she thinks Andrew’s to blame, Tess. I know he’s not, but – Andrea obviously thinks so. I don’t blame her for being angry, but…why at Andrew? I’m so confused, Tess; will Andrea ever overcome this and soon realize that this is what happened and that she’ll have to accept it one way or the other?"

Draping her arm around the human’s shoulders, Tess gently gave Erin a squeeze before speaking, purposely changing the subject at hand and not answering the question,

"You look like you could use a nice hot cup of cocoa, Baby, or at least something to eat. How about I go down to the cafeteria and get us something nice and warm while you stay here with Andrea?"

Offering the dark-skinned angel a weak smile, blue eyes still filled with sadness and tears, she softly replied with gratitude in her voice,

"I’d like that, Tess. Thank you…"

Giving Erin’s shoulders a final squeeze, Tess stood to her feet as she returned the smile for one of her own.

"It’s not a problem, Baby. Tess will take care of everything and I’ll be back in a few, okay?"

Nodding without speaking or looking up, the young mother turned back to her sleeping daughter, who seemed to be having some sort of bad dream. The teenager was stirring fitfully in her sleep, while even her face held a look of slight fear. Erin nearly felt her heart break in two as she watched her "little angel"; oh, how she wished she could take all that pain, hurt and fear away from her girl…

But, she knew that was only in God’s hands, and it seemed to Erin that wasn’t part of His plan for them. At least not then, that is.

Then what IS the plan, Lord? Erin silently lifted up a prayer as she kept her eyes on Andrea as she seemed to stop stirring as much as before. I wish You could let us in on what Your plan for us is, God; for some reason, I have this – this feeling that something will happen in the next few days. Something that isn’t part of the plan. But – I leave us in Your hands and I trust You to take care of my baby, no matter what. Amen.

As she finished her prayer, however, Erin gulped a she looked back down at her daughter. Her heart began pounding wildly in her chest a she gave Andrea’s hand one last soft squeeze, her mind once more filled with jumbled thoughts. WOULD something happen in the next few days?? If so, then what was it?

Although she knew that God was always in control, Erin just couldn’t rid her mind of these thoughts as she felt herself grown weary and tired; her blue eyes closed shut against her will, causing the human to fall asleep at her daughter’s side, still holding her hand in her own.

The following week, Andrea was released from the hospital and allowed to finish her recuperation at home. The teenager was sullen and quiet as she had been the whole week in the hospital, unwilling to accept what had happened to her. She would still not even look at Andrew, so the angel tried to keep his distance, though it broke his heart and instead, he tried his best to be there for Erin.

Monica had assumed the role of Andrea’s physical therapist, teaching her to get around right now by using the crutches and would later help her in using prosthesis once her body had healed enough from the amputation. Surprisingly, the girl had taken to Monica, despite the fact that she was an angel as well and Monica knew that this was her chance to be able to help not only Andrea, but Andrew as well.

"Monica, please, can we stop now? I’m so tired," Andrea moaned, her arms aching from learning to use the crutches.

"Of course you can. It’s time we took a break anyway, Andrea," The angel smiled at her young friend, knowing she was still tiring easily after the ordeal she had been through. She also had a sinking suspicion that Andrea was fighting off depression as she often slept for long hours at a time, but she was doing all she could with Tess and Erin’s help to make sure that didn’t happen,

"You’ve worked hard today and deserve a break."

Relieved, the girl made her way slowly back to her bed and sank down on the mattress, her eyes staring off into space for a moment,

"I still can’t believe any of this, Monica. I still cannot believe that I only have one leg," Her sorrowful eyes looked up at the angel,

"Why would God let his happen to me?"

Sighing softly, Monica sat down on the bed beside of her and reached for her hand,

"I wish I had the answers for you, Andrea. But I do know this-that with God there is always a greater plan than what we can see. That’s the part you have to believe."

"And the greater plan was that God wanted me to be a freak? Look at me, Monica, I’m a one-legged freak show all on my own…" Tears began to slide down Andrea’s cheeks.

"That is not true, Andrea and you shouldn’t talk like that. You’re a beautiful young lady. Who you are had nothing to do with your leg. It’s what’s inside that really matters." Monica gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Why did God send me a defective angel then? Mom said Andrew was a Search and Rescue angel…well, he may have searched, but he didn’t rescue me. He should have known what was going to happen and stopped Mandy from getting spooked!" The teenager’s eyes flashed with anger at the mere thought of Andrew.

Monica struggled to remain calm, though it took everything inside of her to do so upon hearing her best friend being put down, even by an angry 13 year old,

"Andrea, Andrew did what he could. Sometimes, assignments don’t work out the way that angels want them to and this is certainly the way that Andrew feels. He wishes with all his heart he could have done more to help you and I think if you would just give him half a chance, you would see-."

"No!" Andrea snapped bitterly,

"I don’t want him anywhere near me! Heaven knows, I might lose my other leg!"

Monica blinked back tears, knowing how deeply hurt her friend would be if he knew what she had just said,

"Andrew is one of the best angels I know, Andrea. He has been there for me every time I’ve ever needed him. Now, I know you’re angry, but Andrew didn’t do this to you."

"But he didn’t stop it, Monica. The one time I needed him, he failed me and now I’m stuck going through the rest of my life as a freak. I’ll never forgive him for that, Monica, never." Andrea fought back tears as she struggled to lie back on the bed. Her eyes filled with gratitude as Monica rose to help her,

"Where’s my mom, Monica?"

"I’ll get her for you," Monica offered, once Andrea was situated. Not wanting to leave the girl alone, Monica opened the bedroom door and called for Erin. When the young bolted up the stairs, the angel smiled, not wanting to alarm her,

"She’s fine, Erin. She was just asking for you."

Erin nodded her head, feeling her heart slow down a bit,

"Thank you, Monica," She smiled weakly at the angel she had come to call friend and headed into her daughter’s room.

Monica walked slowly down the stairs, knowing Andrew would be hoping for some word that Andrea was willing to give him a chance, but Monica was starting to wonder if that would ever happen.

"How’d it go, baby?" Tess asked, as she and Andrew looked up, seeing her walking into the living room where they sat.

"Fine, Tess. She is progressing nicely, but she still tires easily. I think it would help her considerably if she would let go of some of that anger she is carrying around." The Irish angel sank down on the couch next to Andrew and sighed softly.

"Anger at me, you mean," Andrew muttered, not meeting the eyes of his friend.

I’m so sorry, Andrew. I tried to get her to understand, but I’m not getting through to her. I’m not sure of what else to do." Monica’s eyes were filled with grief as she tried to meet his gaze.

"Maybe you aren’t trying hard enough!" He snapped, his frustration at the situation getting the best of him,

"You are after all, the Angel of Truth." Realizing what he had done, he shook his head, still not looking up as he didn’t want to see the hurt his words had caused,

"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that."

Monica lowered her head to hide the tears,

"If there is something else you think I can tell her to convince her it wasn’t your fault, Andrew, just tell me. I’ll do it."

Seeing Andrew not respond, Tess drew in a deep breath,

"I think it’s time a few angels had a breath of fresh air. What do you two say?"

Silence prevailed for a moment, before Andrew rose to his feet,

"I think that is a great idea, Tess, but I’d prefer my breath to be alone if you don’t mind."

Without another word, he turned and headed for the back door.

Monica drew in a shaky breath, her pained eyes meeting with Tess’,

"I feel like I’ve done something wrong…"

"You haven’t, baby," Tess replied soothingly,

"I guess Andrea isn’t the only one who is angry right now. Seems our Angel Boy has some things to work out for himself as well."

Though she heard Tess’ words, Monica’s gaze still lingered on the door her best friend had just exited, wanting to follow him, but for the first time in her existence, finding herself afraid to.

"Where’d Andrew take off to? Andrea's asleep and I thought maybe he could watch her…"

Erin’s voice called out as she descended the stairs and into the living room, looking at Monica and Tess, who were sitting side by side on the couch. The younger of the two angels looked to be lost in her own world, while the older, dark- skinned angel seemed to be trying to get Monica to look towards her.

Looking up at the sound of the young woman’s soft, yet sad, voice, Tess met eyes with Erin and sighed. Scooting over, the angel patted the seat next to her, which the young mother gratefully accepted with a soft sigh of her own and turned to face Tess,

"He wanted to be on his own for a while, Erin. He left about a half hour ago and it looks like what had happened to Andrea is taking a toll on our Angel Boy as well…Andrea’s anger at him has made him angry and it looks like he doesn’t know what to do."

Letting out another sigh, she continued speaking, her voice sadder than ever,

"That baby up there needs as much support as she can get and I know that Andrew could help her if she would just come to accept that Andrew did as much as he could and that he did save her life – "

"But she WON’T accept it, Tess!" Monica interrupted loudly, her voice rising against her will,

"She’s already told me that she doesn’t want Andrew near her; she told me that if he does come near her, heaven knows she might lose her other leg, Tess!"

"Andrea SAID that??" Erin cried, her blue eyes filled with horror as she stared at Monica,

"Oh, Monica…How could my baby girl say that kind of thing about ANDREW? I don’t get this…What else did she say to you?"

"She basically told me that she can never forgive Andrew and that it’s her fault that she’s a ‘freak’ – " Monica started to explain, but was interrupted by the sound of his voice at the doorway. Whirling around at the sound, Monica paled as she saw her best friend looking at her, a look of horror on his handsome face.

"She told you WHAT?"

"Angel Boy…" Tess began, standing to her feet, Erin following her, an incredibly sad look on her face,

"Andrew, I’m sure that Andrea is just angry and she’s taking it out on you, Baby. She – "

"She thinks of herself as a ‘freak’, Tess and she thinks that she’ll only end up losing her other leg if I come near her…Isn’t that right, Monica? Isn’t that what she told you up there?"

Gulping at the hurt and somewhat betrayal in his voice, Monica silently nodded, listening as Andrew continued.

"But then, she’s able to TALK to you, Monica…she thinks of you as a friend now!" Andrew cried out, his anger getting the better of him as he stood still from where he was still standing in the doorway,

"She’s able to talk to you three, but not me! I don’t get this…I just don’t get this…"

Turning on his heal, the angel once more walked through the door, leaving the door wide open behind him. Erin, Tess and Monica watched with sad eyes as their friend walked over to the sidewalk and just stood there, not moving. They watched as the angel folded his arms across his chest and bent his head down low, his shoulders drooping.

Knowing that her old friend was hurting at Andrea’s past words and her accusations to him, Erin sighed softly as she walked towards the open doorway, speaking to the two remaining angels over her shoulder as she walked,

"I’m going to go talk to him. Tess, Monica, will you go up to Andrea in case she needs you? I’ll be right back…"

*****

"…Andrew, won’t you come back inside?" Erin whispered as she stood on the sidewalk beside her friend, a hand resting gently on his right arm,

"I know that Andrea is angry right now, but – "

"I can’t right now, Erin," Andrew replied in a pained voice, head still bowed to the concrete sidewalk,

"I want to comfort her and reassure her that everything will be okay. I want to be there for her. Although it’s only been a few days since the accident and since I’ve met Andrea, I – I’ve come to care a great deal for that little girl…"

"I know you have, Andrew," Erin said in a gentle, yet sad, tone as she rubbed his upper arm softly,

"And I know that what you heard Monica say about what Andrea told her must hurt deeply, but…please don’t let that stop you from trying again, my friend. You’ve been able to help countless people, myself included, and I know that you can help her, too. Please, Andrew?"

Watching as her friend stood still beside her, Erin held her breath as she waited for the angel’s reply.

*****

"…How you doing, Baby Girl?" Tess gently asked 15 minutes later as she watched Andrea slowly open her eyes from her sleep. Her long, blonde hair was tangled and a royal mess as it lay spread out across her pillow. Reaching a hand out and stroking the bangs away from the teenager’s face, Tess gave her a gentle smile.

"Did the nap help a little bit, Andrea?" Monica questioned gently, a gentle smile on her own face filled with some sadness, too.

Rubbing her eyes and looking at the angels beside her, Andrea gave a deep sigh before slowly speaking,

"I guess, Monica…I just still wish this was all a horrible dream. I’m never going to be able to go back to school looking like this or run in track again…this is how I’m going to live the rest of my life and I wish I was dreaming all this…"

Gently squeezing her young friend’s hand, Monica looked into Andrea’s blue eyes sympathetically,

"Andrea, you have to know that everything will be okay. We’re all here for you right now. Tess and I, your mother, Andrew – "

At the sound of the angel’s name, Andrea yanked her hand away from the Irish angel’s soft grasp and glared at the two beside her bed, her mouth turned down into a scowl,

"Don’t say his name. It’s HIS fault that I’m in this position and you know that, Monica…so, please don’t try to get me to believe that Andrew will take care of me because I know he won’t. He’s no angel at all and I don’t want him as my friend – "

Before she could continue speaking her anger, however, a movement at her doorway caught her attention and Andrea drew in an angry breath at the sight of her mother coming in with Andrew beside her. The blonde angel held onto Erin’s hand as she brought him into her room. Both human and angel held hesitant looks on their faces, and her mother held a look of hopefulness on hers.

Glaring at the Search and Rescue angel in her room, Andrea’s voice rang out through the room, unlike any she had ever knew she could speak,

"What is he DOING here, Mom?! I told you – "

"Please, sweetheart," Erin gently interrupted, bringing Andrew closer to the bed, her hand still holding his,

"Please…give Andrew a chance here. I know that he can help you, honey – "

"HELP? HELP?? I don’t think so, Mom! Get him out of here! I never want to see him again! You know it’s his fault that this has happened to me! I never want to see him again; I hate him! Just get him out of my room!!"

*******************************************************************************************

"Andrea, please," Andrew interrupted softly, his green eyes filled with pain,

"Just give me a chance to try to help. Why can’t you do that for me?"

"Because I’ll never trust you, that’s why!" The girl snapped at him, refusing to even look at him directly,

"All my life growing up, mom told me what a wonderful angel you are, but the way I see it, you sure had her fooled! This is your fault, Andrew! For all I know, it was you who spooked Mandy! Maybe she realized you were an angel-animals can sense things, you know! You’re probably the reason this happened in the first place!"

"Andrea!" Erin looked at her daughter sternly, though her eyes held grief at what her daughter believed about her friend.

"No, mom! I want him out of my room and out of my life! The only thing I’m glad about is that he is no longer an Angel of Death and I don’t have to worry about him coming for me when I die! We’d probably get lost and wind up at the other place!" Andrea’s voice was laced with sarcasm as she turned her head away to hide tears,

"Just get him out of here, please! Monica, please make him leave as my mother won’t!"

The Irish angel’s eyes widened at what this teenager was asking her to do, but she need not have worried about it as Andrew had heard enough. She watched as he released his hold on Erin’s hand and walked dejectedly out of the room. Turning back to the girl in the bed, the angel tried to plead with her,

"Andrea, this isn’t Andrew’s fault and deep in your heart, you know that."

"She’s right, baby," Tess admonished softly, watching as Andrea slowly began to calm down, now that Andrew had left the room.

"No, I don’t know that at all," Andrea uttered, tears filling her eyes as she looked at her mother, who was still looking heartbroken,

"Mom, why did this have to happen to me? Why did it?" Tears spilled onto the young girl’s cheeks as she whispered the words.

Erin sighed softly as she sat down on the edge of her daughter’s bed and drew her into her arms,

"I don’t know, baby, I don’t know." She whispered, rocking Andrea gently in her embrace.

Monica watched for a moment, before she turned and walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs, her eyes searching for her friend whom she knew was hurting deeply. A quick check of the house told her he must be outside and she headed out the back door, immediately seeing him standing at the arena, his arms folded over the wooden fence. She hesitated for a moment, feeling very unsure of herself for some reason, but she fought it back and slowly made her way over to the fence.

"Andrew, are you okay?" She asked softly as she stood beside of him. She looked up into his face, but he refused to make eye contact with her.

"Am I okay?" He repeated the question aloud, his voice tinged with anger,

"My friend’s daughter hates me and you’re asking if I’m okay? Of course, I guess you wouldn’t understand though as Andrea loves you. So no, Monica, I guess you could say that I am definitely not okay."

The younger angel was quiet for a moment, his attitude towards her confusing her,

"Have I done something to make you angry with me, Andrew?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"Don’t be silly, Monica. You’re just being your usual sweet self and no one, not even an angry 13 year old, can obviously resist that," He replied, hating himself for how he was feeling, yet too angry with the situation to stop the words from coming.

"You’re not being very fair, Andrew. You’re acting like this is my fault," She whispered, wishing he would at least look at her.

"Are you saying it’s my fault?" He asked bitterly, finally turning to look at her,

"Do you agree with Andrea that I’m the reason she lost her leg? Is that it, Monica?"

"No!" Monica cried out, her eyes welling up with tears,

"You know me better than that! I would never think any such thing. But I don’t understand why you are treating me like I’ve done something wrong here. Andrew, stop feeling so sorry for yourself and you’ll see the truth."

"You don’t understand anything about how I’m feeling!" He snapped at her, preparing to walk away.

"No, you’re right, I don’t, but only because you won’t tell me. All I know is that somehow you’re acting like I’m the enemy here, Andrew and I’m not. If you would just talk to me and let me help you through this…"

"I don’t need your help, Monica," He replied as he strode purposefully around the side of the house and vanished from her sight.

Monica stared after him until she could see him no longer, her vision blurred by tears. She had come out here with the intention of helping him, but she somehow felt that she had made things worse, though she couldn’t understand why.

Sinking down against the fence, the angel buried her face in her hands and wept.

Andrew stormed into the barn a few minutes later, rage and guilt burning through him, most of it rage. Although he knew he had no right to be so angry with Monica, that didn't stop the angel from feeling it inside of him. After all, it was Monica who was the sweet one in the bunch and was able to befriend Andrea in a heartbeat...while he was left out in the cold feeling like a failure and on top of that, Andrea didn't even want him in her room or her life.

Letting out a deep sigh as he tried to calm himself down, Andrew headed towards Mandy's stable, where the beautiful mare stood looking at him as he neared. It seemed as thought, that from the look she gave him, Mandy was able to look into his soul and see how he was feeling.

Hesitantly reaching a hand out to stroke the horse's mane, Andrew gave a sad smile as she allowed him to and gently nudged him with her nose. Blinking back tears, the young angel continued stroking Mandy as he softly spoke,

"You're not afraid of me, are you, Mandy? It doesn't seem like it right now...What WAS it that spooked you out the other day, girl? Hmmm?"

"Sometimes horses think they see something in the distance and get spooked, Baby."

Startled at the sound of Tess' voice, Andrew whirled around to find his former supervisor heading towards him from the entrance to the barn. His heart still pounding, the blonde angel turned back towards his new companion standing in the stable and continued stroking her with both hands. Shooting a quick glance over his shoulder at his friend, he spoke quietly,

"What are you doing here, Tess?"

Coming over until she was standing directly behind her "Angel Boy", Tess tilted her head to the side as she answered his question,

"I'm here because I want to know what happened between you and Monica back there, Baby. I came outside to check on you and found Angel Girl sitting by the arena, sobbing her heart out - "

"Is this going to turn into some guilt trip, Tess?" Andrew unintentionally snapped as he whirled around to face the other angel,

"Because if it is, I've got enough to feel guilty about, if you don't mind, Tess!"

Sucking in her breath sharply, Tess bit back a sharp reply of her own and settled on stern instead. Placing her hands on her hips, she studied her younger friend before replying,

"First of all, Mr. Halo, that is no way to speak to someone, especially someone who is only concerned about you. Secondly, this is NOT some 'guilt trip', Andrew; I'm stating what I saw! Now you can choose to be stubborn to me and not tell me anything or just get it out of you, Baby! It will help to talk about it and you know that I CAN listen..."

His green eyes not meeting hers as she spoke, Andrew finally gave a deep sigh as he finally spoke up, his voice filled with frustration,

"Yes, Monica and I had a fight. I was the main one who did the yelling, but..."

"But what, Angel Boy?" Tess gently pushed, resting a sympathetic hand on his arm, seeing the hurt in his eyes.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Andrew finally allowed himself to say what he was feeling, his voice now icy and filled with rage rather than frustration,

"But I couldn't help it, Tess! Andrea hates my GUTS! You can't deny that fact, Tess; she HATES me! And I know I can't do anything about it! But, Monica - she...she's able to befriend my friend's only daughter just like that, Tess! How do you think that makes me FEEL?? Monica's the sweet, innocent one and is able to calm Andrea down by just the sound of her VOICE! That sickeningly sweet Irish accent...it makes me SICK, Tess! Excuse me for saying so, but that is how I feel! You and Monica are now friends with Andrea, while I'm the enemy!! I swear...I almost believe that Angel Girl is doing this because SHE thinks I'm to blame for what happened to Andrea, too - "

"Is that how you really feel about me, Andrew?"

At the sound of Monica's voice, Andrew and Tess both whirled around to find the young, Irish angel standing at the entrance to the barn, her face pale and streaked with tears. Paling himself, Andrew gulped, unable to move as his friend spoke.

"You really think this about me, don't you? I - I can't believe it, Andrew! I mean - I thought you were able to tell me everything, but now these last few days, I find out you CAN'T! Aren't we best friends, Andrew?? I don't understand how someone I've considered my best friend for nearly my entire existence could say that stuff about me behind my back! I just don't get it..."

Without waiting for a response from either angel, Monica turned on her heal and dashed out of the barn.

*****

That night, as everyone had finally gone to bed and were asleep, Andrea managed to get out of bed to put part of her plan of escape in motion...a plan she had been thinking of all day long.

Glancing at the alarm clock, which read 1:30, the troubled girl fumbled around beside her bed for her crutches and uncomfortable stumbled out of her warm bed. Placing the crutches under her arms and using them the way Monica had shown her the other day,

Andrea and carefully headed towards the door of her bedroom and finally managed to nudge it open without letting go of the crutches.

Thank goodness mom's bathroom is upstairs and not downstairs, or else I'd have one heck of a time getting to what I need to get at, she grumbled to herself as she made her way to the upstairs bathroom down the hall from her own room.

Careful not to awaken her mother, who was sleeping right next door where the bathroom was connected to the room, Andrea hobbled on her crutches towards the open door. Not turning any lights on, the teenager fumbled with the handle of the vanity hooked to the bathroom wall and if finally opened with a creak. Cringing, she looked around to make sure no one had waken up and finding they hadn't, the girl turned her attention to the open vanity door.

Okay, where are they? She thought to herself as she raised one of her hands and fumbled through the many aspirins and pills, squinting to make out the name on each bottle, Tylenol, mom's medications...Where ARE you, darn it!

Finally, her eyes came to rest on the bottle she was looking for and immediately grabbed it. Sticking the small bottle into the front pocket of her pajamas, Andrea slowly and carefully closed the vanity door and hobbled back to her own bedroom, knowing that this was what needed to be done.

"Why am I tiring so easily, Monica?" Andrea asked two days later after their therapy session. The teenager lay back against her pillows and looked at her friend with a sigh.

"Your body is still adjusting to all it has been through, Andrea," The angel replied softly, managing a smile, though her mind was elsewhere. It had been two days since the blow up between she and Andrew and she had spent most of that time trying to avoid him. Today, Tess and Erin had decided to get some grocery shopping done and Andrew, knowing he was not needed or wanted with Andrea, had decided to go along, leaving Monica and Andrea alone for a bit. The angel’s heart was heavy with grief, but she wasn’t about to discuss what had happened with Andrea, for as sweet as the girl was, her feelings towards Andrew were anything but.

Andrea nodded her head and then looked at Monica curiously,

"You know, in all the days we’ve worked together, you’ve never told me what heaven was like. I mean, you’re an angel, so you know, right?"

Monica sat down on the edge of Andrea’s bed, smiling once again,

"Oh yes, I do know what heaven is like, only there are not words here on earth or in heaven to describe it. I can tell you that it’s the most beautiful place I have ever seen and there is no where else I would rather be."

"When I was a little girl, I’d always try to imagine it-the streets made of gold and the bluest sky ever, everybody being happy and no one being in pain…is it sorta like that?"

"’Sorta’, yes, but it is so much more," Reaching over, the angel gave Andrea’s hand a gentle squeeze,

"So, what shall we do? Are you tired?"

"Yeah, a little, but what I really want is a soda," She motioned towards the water glass on her nightstand,

"I’d just like something a little different than water."

Monica hesitated only for a moment, before standing up,

"I’ll be right back with your order," She teased gently with a wink.

Andrea giggled, before looking at her much more seriously,

"Thank you, Monica, for everything."

"You’re quite welcome," She replied warmly, as she opened the door and vanished down the stairs.

With trembling hands, Andrea reached into her nightstand drawer and pulled out the bottle of tranquilizers she had stolen. Holding the bottle in her hands, she blinked back tears, before removing the lid and pouring all of the pills into her hand.

"I’m sorry, mom," She whispered, knowing the pain her mother would feel over her actions,

"But I’m not as strong as you. I can’t live my life like this."

Grabbing the glass of water from the nightstand, the teenager put the handful of pills into her mouth, and with little hesitation, she gulped them down with the water. Putting the glass back on the table, she hid the empty bottle under the covers and lay back on her pillows once more.

As she waited for Monica to return, she began to feel sleepy, almost like she could no longer keep her eyes open. Sighing softly, she closed her eyes as she whispered,

"Good-bye."

"Here we are," Monica chirped a few minutes later when she returned with the glass of soda, but seeing Andrea fast asleep, she smiled, putting the glass on the dresser.

Sinking down into the chair beside of the bed, the angel sighed softly. She had barely slept the last two nights, her mind unable to stop thinking that somehow she was losing her best friend. She was determined to not give up the friendship without a fight, and she was sure that once Andrea was feeling better, then things would go back to normal. Any other alternative was just too painful to think about.

Laying her head down on the bed, the weary angel closed her eyes, deciding to grab a short nap while Andrea slept.

When Monica awoke a short time later, she was immediately aware of the fact that someone else was with them-someone not human. Looking up, her eyes came to rest upon the heavenly visitor,

"Adam? What are you doing here?" Her heart began to pound loudly in her chest, trying to figure out what the Angel of Death could possibly want.

Adam’s eyes were filled with sorrow as he looked into hers,

"I’ve come for Andrea, Monica."

"What?!" She was on her feet immediately, her brown eyes clouded with confusion and panic,

"There must be a mistake! Andrea is fine-she’s just sleeping!"

Adam felt tears sting in his eyes at his friend’s pain, as he reached under the blanket and handed her the empty bottle.

Monica’s hand trembled as she took it from him, tears blinding her as she read what the pills had been, before her horror-stricken eyes moved back to the young girl in the bed, watching as Adam laid a hand on Andrea’s shoulder,

"No, Adam! Please, no!" She sobbed helplessly, knowing that there was no way to stop this from happening.

The heart broken angel watched as Andrea’s soul rose from the bed, smiling, and now with two legs, took Adam’s proffered hand. As they walked away from her, Adam cast one more regretful look over his shoulder at his weeping friend, before the two vanished from sight.

Anguished sobs tore from the angel as she backed up against the wall,

"What have I done? What have I done?" She whispered.

"Baby, we’re back," Tess announced, opening the bedroom door, her eyes immediately filling with concern at the sight of the weeping angel,

"Baby? What’s wrong, what is it?"

Crying too hard to speak, Monica held out the empty bottle that she realized she was still clenching in her hand.

"Oh sweet Father, help us," Tess uttered, calling for Erin before grabbing the phone to dial 911.

"Tess, what is it?" Erin asked as she followed by Andrew entered the room.

"Yes, ambulance, please," Tess stated into the phone, before looking at Erin and Andrew,

"She’s overdosed, baby," She handed Erin the bottle, watching as the color drained from her face as well as from Andrews’.

"What?" Erin cried out, racing to the bed, gently shaking her daughter,

"Andrea! Andrea! Wake up! Please, baby, wake up!" Tears streamed down her face, as she laid her head close to Andrea’s face,

"She isn’t breathing! Oh God, she isn’t breathing!"

Andrew brushed past her, attempting to initiate CPR on the teenager, but the minutes ticked by agonizingly as he struggled to get her heart beating once more, but all of his attempts were in vain. Breathless, he finally stopped, tears escaping his eyes as he turned back to Erin,

"I’m sorry," He whispered hoarsely,

"She’s gone…Andrea’s gone."

Erin let out a cry of pain that seemed to echo through the whole house, as she flung herself onto her daughter, holding onto her tightly, as if trying to give her the life that was within her. Her sobs came harder than any she had ever cried before, as she stroked her daughter’s hair.

Andrew watched helplessly as Tess approached Erin, before he turned, noticing Monica for the first time, crying in the corner of the room. Overcome with grief and anger, he approached her,

"What happened?!" He demanded, his stormy green eyes glaring in to her brown ones, which were reddened by the tears that would not end. When she didn’t respond as she was crying too hard, he grabbed hold of her shoulders and shook her,

"Answer me, Monica! How did you let this happen?!"

"S..She asked for…something to drink," She managed, her grief-stricken eyes now holding fear as well,

"When…when I came back, she was…asleep…I thought she was asleep, but then…Adam…Adam," Unable to continue, the angel wrestled out of his tight grip and ran out of the room. Tears blinded her as she flew down the stairs and opened the front door, stumbling onto the porch, before she released sobs of the deepest pain she had ever felt in her existence.

Anger boiling inside of him, unlike any he had ever experienced before, Andrew glanced from Andrea’s still body to the doorway where Monica had just departed and although he felt he shouldn’t, he ran after the angel. Leaving the door to the once alive teenager’s room wide open, where Tess was trying comfort Erin who was beyond hysterics, Andrew tore down the stairs and out of the house where he soon found Monica leaning against the porch railing. Sobs tore through her being as she wept, not noticing that he was right beside her.

"WHAT just happened in there?!" he barked, not recognizing his own voice. He knew he shouldn’t be doing this, but somewhere inside of him…he felt differently,

"Okay, so you ‘got her a drink’…THEN what happened, Monica?? Didn’t you realize that this was all a trick so she could kill herself? Huh?"

Still not receiving responses from the sobbing angel, Andrew felt himself grabbing a hold of Monica once again by the shoulders and giving her another shake,

"Answer me, will you??"

"Andrew, stop it!" Monica cried out, once again wrestling away from his tight grip, tears flooding her eyes like rain both at her own guilt and also at her best friend’s words,

"Please! It…I – I didn’t know…I didn’t KNOW…"

Once more covering her face with her hands and leaning against the porch, Andrew took a step closer to the angel and grabbed hold of her shoulder roughly, turning her around to face him. Having trouble meeting his icy glare at her, Monica trembled underneath his grip, that feeling of fear towards him rising within her again…

"How could you not have KNOWN, Monica??" Andrew shouted, tightening his hold on her shoulder, seething with anger as he spoke and his green eyes flashing,

"Huh? You are just so naïve, Monica! You think that people mean everything they say, just like you believed that Andrea ‘wanted a drink’. Well, now you know that she didn’t!! And how could you not have known that she was DYING when you returned? You could have saved her life and instead, you DIDN’T! You thought she was asleep, so you didn’t help her, Monica!! How COULD you – "

His words tearing through her and causing her tears to come even faster, Monica suddenly felt her own anger rise within her and before she knew what she was saying, she snapped heatedly back through her tears,

"Why are you blaming ME for all of this, Andrew?? YOU couldn’t even save her leg when she fell off of that horse that day! And, because of that, she hated you! And…I don’t exactly BLAME her!!"

Right as the words came out of the angel’s mouth, her eyes widened as she looked into Andrew’s own angry gaze.

On his part, Andrew suddenly felt an even more stronger anger build inside of his being towards Monica, who was staring fearfully at him, and before he even knew what he was doing, he raised his right hand and with all of his strength, struck Monica squarely across the face. The slap mainly coming in contact with her mouth, Andrew felt a sting on his hand as he brought his hand back down.

Letting out a gasp as she felt the slap against her face, Monica kept her head turned away from Andrew’s, shocked at what had just happened. Placing a trembling hand against her face, a red mark already showing on it, she turned tear-filled, brown eyes back up to the angel, not knowing what else to say. Shock and horror tore through her and she felt herself speechless.

Oh God…what have I done…Andrew thought horrorstruck to himself as he glanced down at the hand that struck the face of the angel he had always considered a friend in front of him. Sure, he was furious at her, but slapping was so unlike him and he knew that was uncalled for…

His heart pounding loudly in his chest, Andrew silently looked back over at Monica, his thoughts all in a whirl along with his fear racing through his body. My God…what have I done?

*****

Officer Jonathan Masters turned onto the street of the Graham’s house and quickly spoke into the hand-held walky-talky he held in his hand and turned towards his partner, Officer Kyle Wells,

"The house is right up here. From what the woman on the phone had told us, the girl overdosed on sleeping pills and – "

Before he could continue with his explanation to his partner, Officer Masters pulled his car to a halt at the scene in front of the Graham’s household. Two people, a male and a female, were arguing on the steps, both looking extremely angry at one another. Before he could comprehend what was going on between the two, the male had raised his right hand and struck the woman across the face, nearly knocking her over. But she remained standing, the pain on her face was unmistakable.

"Did you just see that, Kyle??" Jonathan demanded, both officers unbuckling their seat belts and jumping out of the police car, guns already drawn. Running over to the couple, Jonathan shouted over the sound of the ambulance sirens coming closer to them,

"Hold it right there!! Police department!!"

Both angels turning at the sound of the cops, Monica’s heart pounded in her ears as she saw one of the officers, who had spiky, brown hair and stern blue eyes, come up to Andrew and grab hold of him, pulling him away from her.

The other officer turning towards her, he asked the question that she knew would change the relationship between her and Andrew forever,

"Is this man hurting you, miss? Because if he is, we can take him into custody so he won’t hurt anyone any further."

Not knowing what she was doing, her mind still confused over what had just occurred right then and her face still hurting over the slap, Monica gave her head a nod and raised her trembling voice,

"Yes, he was. I’d like to press charges against him, if I could."

"Very well then, miss," Officer Masters replied, jerking Andrew’s arms behind his back and snapping a pair of handcuffs on his wrists,

"Sir, you are under arrest for assault. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…"

"Monica!" Andrew gasped, fear overcoming him as he realized what his actions had just caused and what his supposed best friend was now doing to him. Tears falling from his green eyes at the feel of the metal clamps on his wrists, he turned frightened eyes to the Irish angel, who’s eyes held so much pain and fear and betrayal that he wasn’t what she was feeling more,

"Monica…I – "

"Shut up!" Officer Wells yelled, grabbing hold of one of Andrew’s arms while his partner grabbed the other. Before taking him away and into the police car, both hands cuffed behind his back, the cop turned back towards Monica, sympathy in his eyes, yet seriousness,

"We’d like you to come down to the station later on this afternoon so you can make a statement, miss. Will that be okay with you?"

Numbly nodding her head, not even believing what she was doing, Monica gave a quiet, "Yes…"

Nodding in return, the officers dragged the other angel away and roughly shoved him against the police car, ordering him to spread his legs. Everything moving in slow motion for the Irish angel, she watched as the cops searched her friend over for knives or guns or anything else illegal and then shoved him in the back of the police cruiser. Her heart breaking at what she had just done, but also Andrew’s actions, she continued to watch as the police cruiser drove away with Andrew in the back seat, and then the ambulance soon taking the police’s place.

Before the ambulance arrived and parked into the driveway, Monica knew that there was only one thing that she could do at that moment. Leave.

Leave and never come back.

Closing her tear-filled eyes, her heart shattering into tiny pieces, the angel disappeared from the Graham household.

Later that night, Tess sat with Erin at the dining room table, trying to help the young woman sort through the details of Andrea’s services, which would be held in three days. Tess knew it was taking everything inside of Erin to hold herself together long enough to work out the details that needed to be worked out and her heart went out to her for the loss she had just experienced.

On top of that, Tess was beginning to get deeply worried about her two angel babies, neither of whom she had seen since that afternoon. She knew that there had been tension building up between the two of them and she was than a little concerned with their disappearance right when Erin needed them the most.

The sound of Erin dropping her pen onto the table, brought the older angel out of her thoughts as she turned her eyes to her friend,

"Baby?"

"I just can’t believe I’m sitting here planning my baby’s funeral," Erin whispered, tears spilling from her eyes once more,

"I mean, how did this happen, Tess? Monica was supposed to be watching her and Andrea manages to take an entire bottle of sleeping pills? Why did I still have them in the first place? Oh God, why didn’t I throw them away?" Folding her arms on the table, Erin rested her forehead on them and began to cry.

Feeling tears in her own eyes, Tess got up to go to her, but stopped when she heard a knock at the door,

"I’ll get it, baby," She said gently as Erin raised her tear-streaked face.

Opening the front door, Tess smiled at the sight of Katherine, Erin’s best friend. The young woman’s eyes were filled with grief as they met with Tess’,

"I got here as soon as I could, Tess. Where is Erin?"

"In the dining room, baby and she needs you right now," Tess said softly, following Katherine into the other room.

As Erin looked up and saw her friend, her sobs came harder as she rose from her seat, and within moments, Katherine had pulled her friend tightly into an embrace, the two women crying together.

"I’m so sorry, Erin. I’m so terribly sorry. I don’t know what else to say…" Katherine wept, holding tightly to Erin.

"Your just being here helps…" Erin choked out as she buried her face against Katherine’s shoulder.

"I’ll be here as long as you need me, Er, I promise." Came the whispered reply.

Both women and angel started when the phone rang and Tess hurried to answer it, hoping it might be some word on Andrew or Monica’s whereabouts.

"How did this happen, Erin? What happened to Andrea?" Katherine uttered as she pulled away from her friend.

"Sleeping pills…" Erin whispered shakily, running a hand through her tangled blond hair,

"She took the whole bottle. Monica was supposed to be watching her, but for some stupid reason, she left her alone long enough for her take them. Oh Katherine, I’m trying so hard not to be angry, but it’s so hard! I want to blame someone, I want someone to be angry at, because I AM just so angry!"

"Babies, I’ll be back," Tess said softly as she came back into the room, pulling her coat on,

"Andrew’s in a bit of trouble. Don’t worry, he’s fine, but I need to go get him. Katherine, you’re staying, right?" Seeing her nod, Tess hurried past them on her way to the door.

"Tess, he is okay, right?" Erin asked tearfully, not thinking she could take any more heartache today than what she already had.

"Yes, baby. Now don’t you worry, he and I will be back soon…"

********

An hour later, Tess had paid the bail to get Andrew released, though he was informed he could not leave town. He had sullenly nodded his head and had wordlessly followed Tess outside. His emotions were in a total turmoil after all that had occurred this day and he wasn’t at all sure of how he was going to explain everything to Tess. His anger had faded to a dull ache and though he didn’t think he could ever forgive Monica for what she had done, he was pretty sure she had to be feeling the same way.

"How’s Erin holding up?" He asked softly, once he and Tess were in the car and headed back to the Graham house.

"She isn’t doing too well, Andrew," Tess replied, sending him a sidelong glance as she turned the car off the main road and pulled over onto a deserted street,

"You want to tell me what is going on? Why were you arrested?"

The angel leaned his head back and let out a deep breath, his green eyes filled with grief,

"Monica and I had a fight…" He began softly before shaking his head,

"No, that isn’t the right word, it was much worse than that…"

"You were pretty hard on her up in Andrea’s room today," Tess replied softly, her eyes never leaving his face.

"What did you expect, Tess?" He asked, trying to keep the anger from his voice that he felt resurfacing,

"Andrea died in her care, because she left her alone!"

"And you know as well as I do, that if that angel had any idea of what Andrea was going to do, she never would have left her," Tess scolded gently, not wanting to upset him to the point where he shut her out,

"So what happened when the two of you left the room?"

Andrew swallowed hard, still unable to believe the chain of events that had happened,

"She was out on the porch crying…I know she felt terrible, but I was so angry! I blamed her for what happened, for not knowing that Andrea was asleep and for not saving her," Seeing the look Tess was giving him, he shook his head,

"No, Tess, she should have known! Monica couldn’t have been gone that long and when she returns, Andrea is asleep and Monica thinks nothing of that?"

Deciding not to comment right now on what he was saying, Tess kept it to the facts,

"So what happened next, Andrew?"

"I guess she got angry and she blamed me for not saving Andrea’s leg, which is something I’ve been blaming myself for all along. Then she said that Andrea hated me and that she didn’t blame her, and then…" His voice trailed off as the anger on his face was replaced by total shame as he lowered his head,

"And then I hit her…"

Tess drew in a sharp breath, knowing that must have devastated Monica. She knew how much her Angel Girl loved Andrew and he loved her. How had things gotten so out of control?

"You hit her?" Tess repeated, watching as tears filled her Angel Boy’s eyes and she knew if he was sorry for nothing else, he was sorry for that.

"I…I don’t know how it happened, Tess. I was just so angry with her-angrier than I have ever been before, but as soon as it happened, I wanted to take it back-I swear I did. The look on her face…" His voice trailed off, as he ran his hands over his face,

"I kept thinking ‘What have I done?’ But before either of us could say anything, the police car that was coming with the ambulance was there and the two officers had seen me hit her. They asked if she wanted to press charges and she said yes and that’s how I wound up arrested."

There was silence in the car for several moments, both angels lost in their own thoughts, and it was Andrew who finally spoke up again,

"I don’t see how she and I are ever going to repair this, Tess. I know that I did some things that were dead wrong. I never should have gotten angry with her over her relationship with Andrea-she was only doing what she knew was right and I was jealous of that. But yet, I am still so angry with her-Andrea is dead because I couldn’t save her leg and because Monica left that room, and because of those two things, Erin has lost her only child!"

"You and Monica had no control over those things, Andrew," Tess said sternly, though she could tell by the look on his face that he did not agree,

"You saved her life that day of the accident and had Monica refused to leave that room today, Andrea would have known she didn’t trust her."

"Better lack of trust than dead though, don’t you think, Tess?" He asked, the anger gone from his voice.

Tess studied him in silence for a moment,

"I’m only going to say this once, Angel Boy, so listen closely. Friendship is a gift from God and over the last few days I have watched one of the strongest friendships I have ever known go rapidly downhill because of very human emotions. Anger. Guilt. Jealousy. Now we add betrayal to that and what you and Monica have is one big mess that could easily have been avoided had you just been open about how you were feeling. That angel was knocking at your door, pleading with you to open it, but you refused because you were angry and you decided she was the target of your anger. Now, I’m not saying she is completely innocent in all of this, because she most certainly is not. She did make a terrible error in judgment today and later she had you arrested. Now, the question is what are you going to do about it?" She drew in a deep breath, her eyes steadily meeting his.

"I don’t know yet," Came the reply as he looked away from her,

"We’re going to have to talk this out at some point and see if anything can be salvaged…"

"Well, there is only one problem with that, baby," Tess said sadly as she started the car,

"I was hoping Monica was with you, because you both disappeared at the same time. Since she is not with you, that means, no one but the Father knows where our Angel Girl is."

At the sound of the car door slamming out front and two pairs of feet walking up the front steps, Erin pulled herself up off of the couch, a tissue still clenched tightly in her hand and headed towards the front door. Katherine stood up, too, and followed her friend, tears still falling from her eyes. It had to be Tess back with Andrew; who else could it be? She just hoped that whatever had happened to her old friend, he was okay…

Erin neared the door as soon as the front door opened and the two figures entered. Both looked shaken up, especially Andrew. His blonde hair was a mess from running his fingers through it and his eyes were red and puffy from crying; his green eyes were staring down at the carpeted floor as Tess took hold of his hand and urged him to go forward. Closing and locking the door behind her, Tess finally faced the two humans before them as she still held her friend’s hand in her own.

Katherine watched as Andrew’s eyes finally looked up and he faced her and Erin. A look of surprise contorted his handsome features, along with regret, anger, pain and betrayal.

"Andrew…" she softly spoke out, breaking the silence. Coming somewhat hesitantly over to her old friend, whom she hadn’t seen since she was 17 years old, she shakily reached her arms out towards him and looked him in the eye.

Seeing her own pain in her blue eyes, Andrew gave in and walked over to the human and hugged her to him tightly. Raising his eyes to the ceiling, he allowed his tears to fall from his eyes as the two friends held onto one another.

Tess sadly headed over to where Erin stood, her eyes downcast and her blonde hair falling in her tear-filled blue eyes. Wrapping a supportive and sympathetic arm around her trembling shoulders, she ushered her back into the living room that was down the hall from the front door, all the while, speaking soothingly to her,

"Everything will be okay, Baby," she spoke, running her hand through the human’s hair gently,

"Andrew’s okay right now, at least physically, so let’s just go over here and wait for them. Okay? We all have a lot to talk about…"

Sniffling, she gave her head a shaky nod as she allowed the older angel to guide her back into the living room and gently ease her down onto the couch. Before sitting herself, Tess grabbed another tissue from the Kleenex box and handed it to the grieving mother.

Sitting down beside her, not saying anything more for the time being as they waited for Andrew and Katherine, Tess once again wrapped her arm around Erin’s shoulders and pulled her to her again, allowing her to sob at the loss she had just experienced.

*****

"…Andrew, what happened?" Katherine finally released her hold on her old friend and stared him in the eye sadly,

"What happened to you?"

Shaking his head and turning his gaze away from Katherine’s green eyes, Andrew softly spoke, but not looking up,

"I’ll tell you later, Katherine…I’ll tell you later…"

Sighing to herself and confusion written plainly on her face, the young human grasped Andrew’s hand in her own and ushered him back into the living room where Tess sat on the couch with her arm around Erin’s shaking shoulders. Taking a seat beside her sobbing friend, Katherine gave her shoulder a soft rub before breaking the silence again,

"I still don’t get this, you guys," she whispered, turning from Erin, then back to Tess and Andrew, who now sat down on one of the empty chairs beside the couch,

"You said that Monica was in charge of keeping an eye on Andrea, right, Erin?"

Sniffling and unable to speak, Erin broke into new sobs as Tess answered for her,

"Yes, she was, Baby. But…Angel Girl is no where to be found. Only the Father knows where she is right now, but…"

"But she’s gone," Andrew finally spoke up, a twinge of anger in his voice as he looked down at his hands, letting out a sigh,

"She’s gone…"

"And I hope she STAYS gone!" Erin finally burst out, raising her head off of Tess’ shoulder and angrily wiping away the tears from her sorrowful blue eyes,

"It’s that angel’s fault that my baby girl is dead! If it wasn’t for her…Andrea would still be alive!"

Feeling an urge to defend Monica, although he was still quite angry at her, Andrew gazed over at his human friend, sternness showing in his green eyes,

"Don’t blame it on her, Erin. Just don’t…Please…"

Three heads turning to face him, Tess’ showing shock, Erin’s showing remorse and Katherine’s just plain confused, Andrew lowered his head again into his hands, fighting back the tears from coming again. How was he ever going to explain how his anger had caused Monica to run away and for himself to get arrested that afternoon?? How would he ever be able to do it?

"Angel Boy."

Tess’ voice caused Andrew to look at through tear-stained eyes. His friend laid a hand gently on his knee and shot him a look that clearly read,

"They need to know what happened."

Giving his head a small nod, the angel turned back to the humans, eyes filled with mixed emotions and began to speak.

*****

"…I could never blame you, Andrew," Erin finally spoke up as Andrew finished re-telling what he had told Tess in the car, from the fight with Monica, to him hitting her, to himself getting arrested,

"As far as I’m concerned, Monica deserved that slap that you gave her!"

"Erin!" Katherine cried, her eyes widening in horror at her friend’s words,

"How can you say that?"

"I can say it because it was Monica’s fault that my baby died! She should have known that Andrea had overdosed on those pills!! As I told you earlier, Tess…she only went to go get her a soda and when she comes back, my baby is ASLEEP?? She should have known that she was dying and – she could have saved her life…she could have saved her life…"

Before Andrew could say anything more, although he wasn’t exactly sure WHAT he could say, since a lot of what Erin was saying, he himself felt, Erin rose to her feet and ran upstairs to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Shakily rising to his own feet, Andrew was just about to head upstairs, trying to find what words he could say to his hurting friend, when a gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks,

"Don’t, Baby. Not now."

Turning to face Tess and then Katherine who was still sitting on the couch, Andrew felt more tears well up in his eyes,

"But I want to help her, Tess. She – she’s my friend…"

"I know she is, Andrew," His former supervisor nodded as sadness shown in her brown eyes,

"But, I’ll tell you the truth. What would you say to her, Angel Boy? She just lost her only child a few hours ago and you yourself is confused and still angry; you’re not in any condition to go up there right now. Let her be for a while, Baby. Trust me."

Seeing the look on her younger friend’s face, the only thing Tess could do at that moment was gather him in her arms and hold him tightly for now. Raising her eyes to the ceiling, Tess sadly lifted up a silent prayer to the Father,

Dear Lord…You know what we need right now. There’s no question in my mind that You’re in control, but I’m so worried. Take care of Monica, wherever she’s at…and please look after Andrew and Erin in the days, weeks or months to come…

The morning of Andrea’s funeral was bright and sunny as Erin stood inside the church with Tess, Andrew and Katherine.

"What a beautiful day to bury my only child," She thought sadly, her glassy blue eyes looking at all the flowers as people began piling into the church.

"You holding up, Baby?" Tess asked softly as she watched Erin clutch Andrew’s hand tightly.

"As well as can be expected, I suppose," She whispered, watching in awe as her daughter’s entire class poured into the church, many of them crying or looking dazed.

"This is quite a tribute, Erin," Katherine said softly, watching as row after row was filled.

"Andrea had a lot of friends," Erin replied sadly, her eyes filling with tears,

"There are kids here from school, youth group and her riding club. Seems I always had a houseful of giggling girls," She sighed softly,

"I’m going to miss that sound."

Tess watched as Andrew’s eyes scanned the crowd, knowing exactly who he was looking for, but Tess had a sinking suspicion that Monica was not going to show up today, just as she hadn’t shown up in the last three days,

"C’mon, babies, we should take our seats. I think things are just about to get started."

Erin sat in the pew, her eyes set upon the casket, which she had decided to keep closed, as the minister began speaking about life and about death. She struggled to hold herself together, but it was becoming increasingly more difficult and when the minister called upon her to say a few words, it was all she could do to rise to her feet and walk to the front of the church.

The hand that held the words she had written two nights ago shook noticeably as she cleared her throat and prayed for strength.

"I want to thank you all for coming today. I know how much it means to Andrea to know she had so many friends. Andrea came into my life in a violent way. Most of you don’t know this, but I was raped, but believe me when I say that was the only bad thing about having Andrea. From the moment that little angel was placed in my arms, I was in love with her," Trembling, the grieving mother drew in a deep breath, trying her hardest to focus on what she needed to say,

"She was so active, all the time. She was on the Honor Role at school, worked hard with the youth group of this church and spent any leftover time riding her horse, Mandy. Andrea loved to ride. She said it made her feel so free, like the wind and when she would climb on a horse, any horse, they became one. I used to watch her ride, her blond hair streaming behind her and I would think about how lucky I was to have such a gift…" Erin lowered her head, the tears she had been trying to hold back, no longer willing to be silenced. She felt as if her legs were going to give out from under, but before that could happen, Andrew was at her side, wrapping his arm around her for support and holding her close to him. Gently, he took the paper from the weeping mother’s hand and continued for her.

"Andrea was a gift from God and she believed in God with all her heart. When she was little, she always wanted to hear stories of heaven and of the angels and I know that three days ago, my baby got to see both of those things. I know that there were angels with Andrea as she made her transition to the next life, the better life, just like I know that now she sits in the presence of God," A sad smile crossed his face as he continued,

"It wouldn’t surprise me if she were up there right now, begging Him for a horse to ride all over heaven. So, when you remember my daughter, please, remember her with joy in your hearts and not sadness. I know that my little angel would have it no other way."

Andrew shoved the paper into his pocket, so he could help the sobbing Erin back to her seat. Sitting down, he kept her close to him, even as tears for her pain and for his, coursed down his cheeks.

Before the service ended, one of Erin’s classmates came forward and sat down at the piano and softly began to play. The young girl was forcing back tears as her clear, lovely voice began to sing,

"Oh we never know where life will take us

We know it's just a ride on the wheel

And we never know when death will shake us

And we wonder how it will feel

So goodbye my friend

I know I'll never see you again

But the time together through all the years

Will take away these tears

It's O.K. now

Goodbye my friend

I'd see a lot of things that made me crazy

And I guess I held on to you

You could've run away and left, well maybe

But it wasn't time and we both knew

So goodbye my friend

I know I'll never see you again

But the love you gave me through all the years

Will take away my tears

I'm O.K. now

Good bye my friend

A life so fragile, a love so pure

We can't hold on but we try

We watch how quickly it disappears

And we'll never know why

But I'm O.K. now

Goodbye my friend

You can go now

Goodbye my friend"

Andrew lowered his head to hide the flow of tears that the song had caused, not only for Andrea, but for the one had called "best friend" for years. The vision of the pain on her face after he had struck her lingered before his eyes and he knew it was a look he would never forget. Deep in his heart, the angel felt that two deaths had been experienced this week-one of a human child and one of a friendship.

Tess watched her Angel Boy sadly, understanding all that he was feeling, for she too was deeply worried about he and Monica. She had devoted her time to Erin, knowing the young mother needed all the support she could get, but there wasn’t a moment that went by that she was not thinking of her Angel Babies. She was deeply concerned for Monica’s whereabouts, knowing the youngest angel had to be deeply hurt and alone. She been hurting that day Tess had found her crying by the fence and that was before things had taken that horrible turn for the worst.

"Stay close to my babies, Father," She said silently before the service ended. Looking over, she saw Erin holding onto Andrew in desperation, her broken voice repeating over and over,

"I want her back…I want her back…" and Tess’ heart broke once again for the pain Erin was in now, but hopefully, once this day was over, the healing could slowly start to begin.

"Lets go, babies," She nodded at Katherine to help Andrew with Erin as they all rose and headed for the limousine that would take them to Andrea’s body’s final resting place.

Epilogue

Two hours later at the large graveyard after everyone had departed their separate ways, and Andrea’s body was laid to rest, the sunny afternoon had turned to pouring rain, which totally matched how Andrew felt at that moment. Not bothering to try and cover himself up with an umbrella or hood, the angel stood beside the dark green tent, which covered Andrea’s newly dug up grave.

Looking up to the sky, which the rain was coming down in buckets now, drenching him, the angel let out a loud sigh as he closed his eyes, ignoring the tears mixed with the rain on his cheeks. Relieved that Erin had agreed to go to the car with Katherine and Tess, he knew that he would be able to do what he was going to do on his own and in his own privacy.

Lowering his head, the angel drew in a shaky breath as he reached for the small delicate object which hung around his neck. The object that he had worn ever since it had been given to him by Monica exactly one year ago…an object that defined her feelings towards him.

Lifting it up, the chain still hanging around his neck, Andrew held the locket in his hand, tears falling from his eyes, and slowly opened up the gold heart. At the sight of Monica’s smiling face and his own inside of the tiny gold heart, Andrew, with anger and hurt burning inside of him, he reached for the picture of the one he had once called "friend" – more like "best friend" – and tore it out of the locket, immediately tearing it into shreds and throwing the pieces of the picture onto the soggy grass. His gaze turning to his own picture, the angel scowled at his own smiling face and placed his palm over it; taking it into his fist and crumpling it up without a second thought, he threw it to the ground with Monica’s picture and used his heel to crush on the ground.

"I can’t believe I’m doing this, but…why would I still need it?" He thought dejectedly to himself as he raised his eyes to the stormy clouds briefly before turning to the plain gold locket still hanging from his neck,

"And why do I still need THIS? After all…It is over, Monica. What that inscription says…"

Confusion at his own thoughts tearing through him, Andrew gripped the gold chain and, although his neck screamed out in pain at the rip, he tore it from his neck and threw it as far as he could away from him and onto the soggy grass…just like the two photos.

Slumping onto his knees on the ground, Andrew turned swollen, tear-filled eyes to the dark sky one final time before burying his head into his hands and allowed himself to cry heart brokenly as the rain continued to soak him.

*****

Unnoticed to the weeping angel, Tess had been watching from a distance and had seen her friend tear the gold necklace off of him and throw it to the ground like a piece of junk, along with the two pictures that were once in them.

Tears welling up in her own brown eyes, she bent down the grass and ever-so gently lifted up the broken necklace in her hands. The chain was totally ripped and it looked to not be replaceable.

"Oh, Angel Boy…"Tess thought sadly to herself as she watched Andrew slump to the ground and began to openly sob,

"You may be ready to give up on your friendship with Monica, but I for one am NOT about to see that happen. Not for one minute, Baby…and neither is the Father."

Gently placing the broken necklace, whose heart no longer held that sparkle, into her heavy coat pocket with her gloved hand, the older angel headed over to her former charge and younger friend, Tess drew in a deep breath as she knelt beside him.

"Baby?" she whispered softly, waiting for him to look up, but he only shook his head, not saying a word,

"Angel Boy, please…Talk to me. Please?" Tess urged as Andrew continued to look away from her, but turned his gaze over to Andrea’s grave. His heart shattered into tiny pieces all over again at just the sight of it…

"I don’t know what to say, Tess…" he weakly whispered, shaking his head and lowering his pained, green eyes to his hands. The rain only continued to soak the two angels, but he didn’t care,

"What do you want me to say? I just don’t…" His voice breaking off, he only buried his head into his hands once again and let out another heartbreaking sob.

Knowing that he wasn’t in the condition to talk to her right now – and who knew WHEN he would be? – Tess just gathered her "Angel Baby" into her loving embrace and held his soaked body to her. Her own heart started breaking along with his; in a way, she did know how he was feeling. There was so much confusion inside of him, along with pain, betrayal, sadness and still so much anger. Mostly at Monica? It sure seemed like it to the older angel, but even she herself was starting to get confused over this whole nightmare…

Running her hand through her friend’s dripping wet, blonde hair, Tess lifted up prayers of healing for both him and Erin and also Monica…Her "Angel Girl", whom she had no idea where she was at the moment and what she was feeling. How could she know when it’d been days since she had ran away?

"Fther, protect all of them. I don’t know how long it’ll be before all is well again – maybe weeks, months or even years – but be with all of us. Thank You, Lord."

Tess knew that the Father was in control of this whole mess, but she just wished she had the answers to the unending questions in her mind and heart. She had a feeling things were going to get bumpier in the weeks or months ahead; she felt it in her heart. But what else could she do? She knew that God loved them all and would give them what they needed when that time came.

But all the older angel wished right then as she continued to hold onto her "Angel Boy", was that it wouldn’t have to be so hard…

THE END