Chapter 18

He swung open the door and the stale air hit him in the face like a wall. It had been a long time. The overhead light flickered to life and he stepped into the room, looking around blankly at the painted walls with their flowered border, and the white wrought iron bed with its pink bedspread and mountain of pillows. He set his beer bottle down on the floor and shook open the plastic garbage bag he was carrying. Then, with one motion of his arm he swept everything off the dresser and into the bag. A collection of little treasures from smooth river stones to a porcelain horse smashed against each other but he wasn’t concerned. No one was going to miss them.

Moving on to the bed, he started shoving the pillows into the bag. His hand froze in midair when he picked up the last one. He dropped it and picked up the doll that was lying facedown on the bed. The painted eyes stared at him accusingly and he squeezed until a feeble crying sound emerged. A stab of remorse hit him in the center of the chest before he tossed the doll into the bag and covered it with the remaining pillow.

He picked up his beer and took a long drink. Things were moving on. Debby Pearson had invited him over for Sunday dinner. He saw the pity in her eyes and he welcomed it. The tourist season was almost over and the nosy Irish woman and her boyfriend would be moving on. They weren’t going to find Faith before they left, and then she would be left alone again with only him visiting her in the dead of the night.

*****

Jake finished putting the last of his paperwork in the tall filing cabinet and let the drawer slide shut with a satisfying clang. It had been a long day at the end of an even week and he was happy to see the end of it.

Greg Tate had been pounding on his door before noon, with a bruised face and a battered ego, telling him that he needed to go up to the old Danvers’ cottage and arrest everyone there. Listening to the man rant was particularly difficult since what he really wanted to do was drive up to the cottage and shake the man’s hand. It had taken almost an hour before he’d been able to convince Tate that there was nothing he could do about a man protecting private property. Watching the annoyance spread across his face had been the only satisfying part of his day.

He glanced at the picture of Faith that still hung on the bulletin board beside the door. The sweet little thing should have been about to start school. He shook his head as he thought about it. Maybe it was time to take another trip up to the cottage after all. If they had found Faith maybe he could convince them that he could help her. He certainly had no interest in sending her back to her father anymore. No, that wasn’t an option as far as he was concerned, but he wasn’t eager to see the child taken away either. Monica seemed like a nice enough woman, but his mind turned to his own wife. He put his hat on as he shut off the light and locked the door. Jennifer had always said she wanted a little girl. After three sons, maybe this was their chance.

The crisp night air was refreshing and Jake nodded to the other people who were walking through the town. He had just started his car when the squeal of tires and blaring music made him turn his head. Great. Friday night and the kids were starting early. He flipped on his siren and took off after the speeding car.

It was a short-lived chase, but the speeder managed to take out a mailbox and a planter full of flowers before finally giving up and screeching to a halt in a cloud of dust and burnt rubber. Jake was out of his car, citation book in hand, ready to give the usual lecture. Then he saw who the driver was and he flipped the book closed and clenched his jaw. Greg Tate was behind the wheel and he looked like he was at least three sheets to the wind. The sheriff smiled inwardly. A night in the drunk tank would be just perfect, and he had a feeling that Monica and her friends would be happy to hear about it.

*****

Monica awoke early the following morning to the sun streaming in through her window and the sound of the birds outside announcing the gift of another day on the mountain. Faith was still fast asleep next to her, so the little angel climbed out of bed carefully and dressed quietly before running a brush through her long auburn mane.

As she descended the stairs, she could hear murmurs coming from the living room and it seemed that Andrew and Tess were engaged in a serious conversation. Monica almost debated retreating back to her room, having a feeling already that she wasn’t going to like the discussion at hand. Tess had already made a plethora of references to needing to find out where Faith belonged and the Irish angel had made it a point to remain relatively silent during these little sessions. She was in no hurry to lose the child, but also not cocky enough to stand up to Tess, all the while knowing that her supervisor was indeed right. It was just that she didn’t want to admit that was so.

Andrew looked up and smiled as he saw her enter the living room but Monica knew him well enough to be able to see the concern and nervousness that lingered behind it.

"Good morning, angel," He greeted her warmly, noting the suspicion that was in her eyes.

"What’s going on?" She decided to get right to the point as she was feeling a bit braver with the news that Greg had been arrested last night.

"What’s going on is that you have a job to do today," Tess informed her, her tone making the already suspicious look on Monica’s face turn to one of defensiveness, "We need to get to the bottom this assignment. As no answers are being provided to us, then it is up to us to find the answers. We’ve been making an awful lot of assumptions about this child and her family or lack thereof, and it is time we knew some truth."

"So what is my job then?" Her words held a hint of anger and she felt Andrew’s hand on her shoulder to calm her.

"Your job is to drop the attitude and get some answers out of Faith. She responds well to you and if anyone can find out what else there is to this story, you can."

"Faith doesn’t discuss her past easily, Tess and you know that," Monica argued, "She’s been through enough already."

"We are not her home, Monica," Her supervisor stated sternly, "And the sooner you face up to that the better off you will be. I know you love her, we all love her, but there is a plan for her life and we are not it. You need to talk to her. Today."

"She’s your assignment," The words were out before Monica had time to think about them and she wished she could either reel them back in or vanish from the room entirely, especially when she saw the look that came over Tess’ face.

"That certainly hadn’t made any difference to you before now, Miss Wings. You went out looking for ‘my’ assignment, you found ‘my’ assignment and now you can question ‘my’ assignment. She is not my assignment only when it is convenient for you," The older angel had crossed her arms in front of her and was staring down the younger angel with a look that could have frightened a much braver angel than Monica.

"Tess.." Andrew began carefully. He didn’t want things to get out of control and they were quickly heading in that direction. Battles of wills between the two female angels were rare, but rarely pretty.

"I don’t see why I have to be the one to upset her, Tess," Her expression was stubborn which was conducive to the fact that she wanted no part of this.

"Because I am the supervisor and you are the caseworker, that’s why. And if that isn’t enough for you, that child adores you and would tell you just about anything you asked her to. So whatever issues you are having with this, I suggest you get over them by the time Faith gets out of bed," Tess forced herself to lower her sharp tone, seeing that her charge was blinking back tears though her expression remained slightly angry.

"Fine," Monica stated even as she walked to the front door and opened it.

"Monica, where are you going?"
Andrew was beside of her in an instant, his green eyes flickering with concern.

"Just for a walk," She replied quietly, "I need to clear my head and decide upon the least hurtful way to get Faith to tell me everything."

An instant later she had walked out the door, closing it behind her and he turned to Tess expectantly.

"Why is she being so stubborn about this?" She sighed, knowing that the tone she had taken had not helped much, but they had been sitting here long enough with no idea of where else to go and she had never been very patient with waiting.

"I think you know why," He replied softly, glancing out the window in time to see his friend vanish into the woods, "Ever since everything happened, she has had a hard time with any kind of separation. From you or me…Paul," He looked at her pointedly, "And now Faith. She doesn’t want to lose at anything anymore, Tess. She doesn’t see right now that unless we find out what God’s plan is, that Faith loses as well."

Tess nodded her head but was unable to respond before Faith came down the stairs, a cheerful smile on her face at first until a puzzled look crossed it.

"Good morning, sweetie," Andrew greeted her with a grin as she returned the gesture with a grin of her own.

"Good morning. Where is Monica?"

"She went for a walk, baby and will be back soon," Tess explained, forcing her own cheerful tone, "Are you hungry?" Seeing Faith nod her head enthusiastically, she smiled, "Then how about I get you some breakfast and then you and I take a little walk down to the lake?"

"What about my dad?" Her eyes held fear as she spoke the words in a whisper.

"I happen to know for a fact that he is not going to be trying to find you right now," The angel informed her as she held out her hand for the child to latch onto, which she did, "So, cereal today?"

But Faith shook her head as she tugged Tess towards the kitchen, "Pop Tarts."

Tess was unable to help chuckling, "The little princess has spoken. Pop Tarts it is."

Andrew watched them go with a sigh, wondering if Tess was planning on talking to Faith after all. He could only hope, just as he could only hope that Monica would soon find her way back.

*****

Monica brushed a stray tear from her cheek as she continued walking through the forest. She knew in her heart that Tess was right, but admitting it was difficult for her. Faith was finally happy and to disrupt that felt wrong, no matter how right the reasons. She knew that the little girl couldn’t stay with them forever, she just wished that they could enjoy the time they had for this assignment and that the Father would just drop His plan in place around them.

She didn’t like to question God, but she had seen no indication of where Faith should be at this point. Jake had given no insinuation about wanting to care for her long term if she was "found", and her father was out of the question. No one else had come forward as being interested.

She sighed as she came to the little cabin where she had first found Faith and she summoned her courage to walk inside it once more, searching for anything they might have missed. But it seemed that Faith had survived by the grace of God alone. There were no hints of food in the cabin, just the tattered blanket on the cot where she and Faith had left it. A spider scurried across the toe of her shoe and she shuddered slightly. Not that she was afraid of spiders, but it was a reminder of the conditions Faith had lived in for the months following Easter.

She emerged back into the sunshine and gazed around her sadly. She knew she would have to apologize to Tess when she returned and she only hoped that another lecture would not follow the apology. She hadn’t meant to be so difficult, but the difficult situation itself had caused her to be just that.

Feeling remorseful, she dropped to her knees and closed her eyes, "Father, forgive me for questioning You. I know You have a plan for Faith, but could You please show me what it might be?"

She opened her eyes and sighed once more as she glanced down at the earth before her and frowned. The dirt somehow seemed different in this place; looser and she looked over at the few rocks that were scattered over it looked almost deliberate, not as if God had placed them there. She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the confusing thoughts but even as she did, a coldness crept over her that she didn’t understand.

*****

"Are you sure my daddy won’t find us, Tess?" Faith questioned uncertainly as she held tightly to the angel’s hand.

"I’m positive, sweetheart," Tess consoled her as they continued on their walk around the lake. She was actually glad to finally have the opportunity to get the child out into the sunshine as she had been forced to remain inside for far too long, "So you and I get to enjoy this beautiful day that God made."

Faith smiled happily as she turned her little face up to the sky, "Thank you, God, for this beautiful day," She offered up sweetly and Tess felt a small twinge of guilt as the action reminded her of something another a little angel might do.

"I suppose you saw a lot of beautiful days while you were living in the forest, didn’t you?" Tess began the conversation she needed have carefully, not wanting to cause the child to withdraw.

"Yes, most of the time. Sometimes it rained when God needed for me to have a bath," She replied with utmost seriousness.

Tess chuckled softly, "Yes, God does have a way of giving us what we need, doesn’t He?" She watched as Faith smiled once more before she continued, "Sweetheart, I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about this man you met while you were in the woods. Can you tell me what he looked like?"

Faith’s eyes widened at the request as she stopped walking, "He scared me."

"Did he try to hurt you?"

"He wanted to take me to my father and I never want to go back there, Tess! Never, ever!" Her green eyes had clouded with tears, "You won’t let him take me back to him, will you?"

"Of course not, baby," Tess squeezed her hand reassuringly, "But if he tried to hurt you I need to know. Can you tell me anything else about him?"

Faith was silent as they resumed walking, obviously pondering something. Suddenly she stopped walking once more and looked up at the angel, "He looked scary, Tess. He didn’t look like you do."

"Well, I’ll take that as a compliment, Faith," She laughed, but the little girl was still very serious.

"No, he didn’t look like anybody I had ever seen before…he looked like sunshine, but it was dark…"

*****

Andrew paced the floor in the living room worriedly. Monica had been gone for the better part of an hour now and where he wanted to give her the space she had more or less requested, he still wasn’t comfortable with her being out there all alone where she could easily get lost.

He knew Tess had upset her, but he also knew her well enough to know that she was undoubtedly sorry for the tone she had taken with Tess. However the fact that she was feeling remorseful on top of feeling upset, in addition to worrying about losing Faith was enough to have him climbing the walls.

Unable to just sit still any longer, he headed for the front door, deciding Monica had been out in the forest for long enough and it was time she was found and consoled if need be. His hand was reaching for the knob when a voice from behind him caused him to stop.

"Andrew? We need to talk."

Chapter 19

A little more digging, then a flash of dirty color. Pink. Her heart caught in her throat as she continued pawing at the earth, the rock discarded as her hands removed handfuls of soil, still damp from last night’s rain. She could feel the dirt underneath her nails, but she ignored the unfamiliar feeling as she moved quicker, the splash of pink growing wider and a moment later a strangled cry had escaped her lips as she fell back on her hands.

She couldn’t hear anything over the pounding of the blood in her ears, and she couldn’t stop her hands from shaking. It was more than just a sweater. Her fingertips had brushed against bone and she felt as if they had been burned. The remains of what had to have been a child seemed to mock all that she knew to be true as her breathing came in short, panicked gasps, her wide eyes filled with horror and confusion even as they refused to leave what was lying before her.

The pink sweater was missing two buttons.

"No," She uttered aloud, trying to catch her breath, "No, Father, this can’t be… this can’t be!"

She stumbled to her feet and ran back towards the cottage faster than she had ever run before. Branches and thorny underbrush slashed at her face and legs but she never slowed down, and she was still running full speed when she burst into the yard and up the porch steps.

Her breath was coming short and fast but she barely hesitated as she flung the door open and ran into the house. The sight that greeted her was one that made her blood suddenly run cold.

"Adam? Adam what are you doing here? We don’t need you!" she insisted. "Andrew, I need to find Faith. Where is she? Where is Tess?"

The blond angel of death reached out for her but she was already moving past him and into the kitchen. "Monica," he said gently, "angel, slow down."

She refused to look into his sad eyes. "No! Where is Faith!"

Andrew pushed his hands into his pockets and nodded towards the side door. "She’s out on the dock with Tess."

"Monica," Adam tried to stop her.

"Don’t touch me! Leave us alone! We have all the angels we need already!" Monica shouted and she yanked open the door and ran outside, finally feeling some relief as she saw Faith in the distance. She was wrong. She had to be wrong.

"Faith! Tess!" she called out as she approached them. "Oh! You two had me worried!" She fell to her knees in front of the child and pulled her close.

"Monica?" Faith was worried. She had never seen the angel so upset.

"It’s all right, sweet heart. Everything is all right."

"Monica," Tess’ voice was somber and it cut through the small bit of peace that the Irish angel had managed to shroud herself with. "I think Faith has some things you need to hear about."

The younger angel shook her head in denial. She didn’t want to know. She wanted to be wrong more than anything she had ever wanted in her entire existence. More than being free of McArthur, more than changing David’s heart, more than anything.

"Faith, can you tell Monica what you just told me? About your first day here?"

The little girl pulled away from Monica’s warm embrace and gave a little half-hearted shrug. "It was Easter," she said slowly. "I forgot to hide my sweater after Sunday school and daddy saw me wearing it. He said we were going to breakfast, but he was mad. He brought me here."

"Sweetie, you don’t have to…"

"Monica!" Tess tone was sharp, and the younger angel lowered her eyes and concentrated on the small face in front of her.

"He started to hit me and I tried to run away, but I couldn’t run fast enough and he caught me," her voice had grown softer. "He said he was gonna leave me up here and no one would ever find me. I don’t remember much more," she said, but her eyes told a different story. She remembered more than she wanted to. "I hurt all over and I was lying on the ground and then I was asleep and when I woke up he was gone… and the man was here… but he was gonna take me back home and I didn’t wanna go! I ran away… and he couldn’t catch me." She looked up and met Monica’s eyes, then reached out and brushed away the tears she saw there. "He said no one would find me, but you did."

Monica had been shaking her head and willing herself not to cry all the while Faith was talking, but she couldn’t hold on any longer. A sob broke free and she pulled Faith into her arms and stood up, holding the girl as tightly as she could.

"Monica, where are you going?" Andrew and Adam had followed her out to the dock, and once again Andrew tried unsuccessfully to grab onto her arm.

"We’re going inside," she choked out. "It’s too sunny, and Faith isn’t wearing any sunscreen."

"Angel," he whispered.

"She doesn’t know, Andrew! She doesn’t know and she’s not ready to know!" She turned to Adam, careful to keep Faith from seeing him. "Go Home, Adam. Please… go Home…"

The older angel of death looked at her with remorse. "I’m sorry, Monica," he told her. "I truly am," and then in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

*****

The rest of the morning was nothing if not quiet. Monica had seen to it that Faith was busy coloring under Tess’ watchful eye before she gone outside. She had said nothing to either Tess or Andrew and any attempts to speak to her had been met with nothing more than a shake of her head.

It was close to noon as Andrew made his way down to the dock to where his friend had been for the past two hours. The breeze, now tinged with the essence of fall, blew through his blond hair as he approached her carefully, his heart aching at what he saw.

Though she never looked up at him, her eyes were red rimmed from tears and at his very presence, her chin trembled as if longing to break down into fresh sobs.

He knelt down in front of her and reached for her hand, saddened by the fact that it was limp in his own, "Are you all right?" It was a question he didn’t need to ask as he already knew the answer, but he had to start somewhere.

At the gentleness and love in his voice, tears welled up in the brown eyes before she looked down, trying to maintain some semblance of control over her emotions, "No," She whispered, "Not really."

He nodded slightly, wanting and needing to know what she had found out that morning before she had come racing back into the cottage, but he didn’t want to push her, "I’m sorry, angel. I know how hard this is…"

"I found a grave," Her broken whisper interrupted him and he lowered his head briefly, already knowing the rest of the story just from those few simple words, "It was a child. She had a pink sweater…it looked a lot like Faith’s…"

Andrew’s eyes widened slightly at her words, but only briefly, for a moment later, she had covered her face with her hands as choked sobs shook through her. She knew the truth and no matter how much she wanted to deny it, she was unable to. He slowly eased himself in beside of her and pulled her close, relieved when she didn’t pull away, and his hand stroked her hair as she wept up against his chest.

Though they had all found out the same truth at roughly the same time, he could only imagine how it must have felt to find out the way she did. He had heard it from Adam and Tess had put it together by Faith’s words. Monica had seen the cold, cruel truth and thinking about that he held her a fraction tighter.

"I’m sorry," He whispered once more, kissing the top of her head and wishing more than anything he could have spared her that reality. He knew that Jake needed to be called and taken to the grave, but it could wait. Faith, the once human child, was not going anywhere.

"What did Adam say?" Monica finally uttered tearfully, not sure if she really wanted to know, but knowing on some level that she needed to. On top of that, based on the things Faith had said in the past, she already knew pretty much what must have been said.

"He was sent to take Faith Home, but when he mentioned the Father, she became terrified and refused to go with him," He explained softly, never releasing his hold on her.

"He killed her," She whispered, her voice catching in her throat, "It all makes sense now... all the things she said. Her chocolate rabbit was the last thing she had eaten…" Her voice broke and she buried her face against his chest, "Andrew…"

"I know, angel, I know," He soothed, closing his eyes briefly. He hated the pain she was in at the moment and he understood it all too well. He had seen this many times before; innocent children murdered by the hands of those who were supposed to love them. It was the part of his job he liked the least, but it had never been Monica’s job. Hers was usually to help the living and that was what she thought she had been doing this time as well; it was what they all thought they had been doing this time.

"Sweetheart, you know that once Faith understands, she will never hurt again," He offered, wanting to do anything to try to help her forget the images she had seen today.

"She doesn’t even know, Andrew! How do we tell her that her father killed her and then expect her to go with someone else of the same name?"

"The name is as far as the similarities go, angel, and you know that and we will help Faith to understand that. She knows we would never hurt her or lead her into anything bad and the trust that has developed will help."

"I know, but…"

"But what?" He asked gently, resting his chin against the top of her head.

"I just…I just thought we were saving her from her father," Her voice was barely audible, "but that wasn’t the case at all. We were too late, Andrew. We were too late."

He closed his eyes briefly, hating the desolation he heard in her voice, "But not too late to send her to the arms of the Father who loves her and would never hurt her, angel."

*****

Tess looked up as Andrew came in through the door, his arm wrapped securely around the little angel’s shoulders. She could see the distress still lingering in her charge’s eyes and she knew how to alleviate at least some of it, "Faith just went down for a nap," She offered softly.

Andrew led his friend over to the sofa so she could sit down as his eyes met with the supervisors, "She found Faith’s remains this morning."

Tess nodded her head as she wordlessly took Monica’s hand, "We’ll need to call the sheriff then. He’ll need to know."

Monica looked up, remorse evident in her dark eyes, "Tess, about this morning-."

"It’s forgotten, baby," Tess was looking at her closely, trying to determine how rattled the little angel was by what she had seen.

"I shouldn’t have said the things I did," She whispered sadly, "I’m sorry."

Tess caught the younger angel’s chin in her hand, "Enough, Angel Girl. You were upset and I knew that and should have been more sensitive. Besides, you hadn’t even had your coffee yet."

A tiny smile emerged, "No, I hadn’t and maybe I need to do that now," She released Tess’ hand and slowly walked through the kitchen door.

Tess watched her go and then turned to Andrew. "I don't often question the wisdom of God's ways, but I can't help but wonder about Him putting that little angel through this," she said as she shook her head.

"I've been thinking the same thing, but Tess… can you think of a better angel to soothe Faith's fears and lead her to accept God as her Father?"

"No. You're right about that."

"And as hard as this is… I think she's been given something too. She's had a glimpse of the innocence she thought she'd lost forever, and I don't think she'd wish that away, even to avoid the pain she's feeling right now." Andrew looked towards the kitchen. He believed what he had spoken but that didn't mean he didn’t want to take her pain away.

Tess saw what he was thinking and moved to his side. "She'll get through this, just the way she's gotten through everything else. She's strong, that one." She smiled proudly, "and she has the strength of the Father behind her."

He nodded and walked over to the phone. "I guess we can't put this off any longer."

Chapter 20

Sitting at the kitchen table, and looking out the window at the beautiful sunny day, it was easy to believe that everything that had happened since sunrise was nothing but a bad dream. Monica knew otherwise. A brisk wind blew across the lake stirring up choppy waves that glinted and sparkled in the sun. She had been hoping to teach Faith how to swim. It was a silly little dream, but giving it up still hurt, no matter how happy she knew Faith was going to be for all eternity once she was in the presence of God.

Looking up as Andrew entered the room, she forced a weak smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. "I’m sorry I keep pulling away," she said, referring to the fact that she hadn’t spent more than ten minutes in the same place with either him or Tess.

"It’s all right. I understand that you need a little time to yourself. Just remember who you can come to when you don’t want to be alone."

A real, though teary, smile crossed her face and she nodded wordlessly.

"I just got off the phone with Sheriff Benson. He’s on his way up here right now. Unfortunately Greg was released about an hour ago."

Monica just lowered her eyes. Nothing about this assignment was going to surprise her anymore. "Andrew… I don’t think I can go up there again," she said slowly.

He sat down next to her and placed one hand over hers. "You don’t have to. I’ll take him. You just stay here with Faith and Tess."

The gratitude showed in her face and she squeezed his hand. "I think I’m going to need that time to think of what I need to say to Faith. I thought it would be hard to get her to open up about what had happened to her, but this is so much harder." Her voice was soft and strained sounding.

"You’ll find the right words, Angel. You always do."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, and then they heard the sound of a car in the distance. Andrew glanced at Monica as he stood up, but she kept her eyes focused on the lake.

"That must be him. I’ll be back as soon as I can."

She sighed and looked up at him at last. "I’m sorry you have to see it too… I just…" she trailed off helplessly.

"Don’t even think about it. I’m sorry that you had to see it in the first place." He reached out and gently touched her cheek. "Why don’t you go check on Faith? She’s probably waking up right about now."

"Yes, you’re probably right."

They walked out of the kitchen together and Tess watched as Monica quickly made her way to the stairs as Andrew went to the front door. He had it opened before the sheriff could even knock.

"Good afternoon, Sheriff," Andrew motioned him into the house. "I’m Andrew and I think you know Tess."

"Yes, thank you. Good afternoon." He tipped his hat to the older angel and then his serious eyes scanned the room.

"Monica is upstairs," Tess answered his unasked question. "She’s the one who discovered it." Even Tess was reluctant to call it a grave. The word was so cold and bleak sounding, nothing like the cheerful girl she had come to know over the past weeks.

Jake’s expression turned even more grim. "I’m sorry about that. I guess we’d all hoped for a different outcome. Frankly I thought…" he shook his head. He had obviously been completely mistaken about Faith living with them.

"I suppose you know who did it," Andrew said, his tone not allowing for any answer other than ‘yes’.

Despite that fact, Jake shook his head, although the muscle in his jaw tensed. "You know I can’t make any assumptions," he said gruffly.

"A man is innocent until proven guilty," Tess repeated the oft-said phrase, "but I think you know in your heart what the truth of this case is."

He jerked his head in a nod. "I won’t stop until I prove it," he said with finality.

The two angels said nothing, but shared a glance. That was as much as they could hope for. They knew the whole truth, but knowing it and proving it were two different things.

Andrew took a breath and walked towards the back door. "Follow me," he said over his shoulder.

Jake gave another nod of his head to Tess and then followed the angel of death out of the room. Tess watched the two of them leave and then looked towards the stairs. Her heart went out to the Irish angel, and she sat down on the sofa heavily, wishing there were something more she could do.

Monica stood outside the bedroom door, trying to mentally prepare herself. She didn’t want Faith to see the distress she was still feeling in her heart and she could only hope to mask it enough to get through what she knew would be the first of several conversations with Faith. There was no way she could bring herself to tell the child yet that her father had killed her and she was caught on the bridge between two worlds. No, that would have to come later as she was still digesting that one herself.

Finding Faith’s body had drudged up unwanted memories for her of the other deaths she had seen all too recently that should not have been. She had been fighting back images of finding Josh and her glimpses of Craig lying motionless in the stall in the barn. Now she was faced with one more injustice that she had seen and she was having a more difficult time than she wanted to admit.

She drew in a deep breath and opened the bedroom door, immediately facing Faith’s large green eyes, "Did you have a nice nap, sweetie?" She smiled as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Yes. Are you better now?" She peered up at the angel inquisitively.

"I’m much better," Monica supposed that wasn’t a lie; at least she wasn’t crying as she had been the last time Faith had seen her, "I was just upset over hearing about what your father did to you," She watched as a small shudder went through the girl and she reached out to pull her closer, "But it got me to thinking, Faith. You do know that you have another Father who loves you very much."

"But I don’t want another father," She whispered with a little shake of her head, "I just want to stay here with you, Tess and Andrew. You’re my family now."

The little angel closed her eyes briefly, wishing she could tell Faith that was so and that was the way it would be forever. As it was, she had little idea of how to reply and she wondered if attempting this conversation so soon had been a mistake, "I call God ‘Father’, sweetheart, because He is the Father of us all," She heard herself saying.

Faith scrunched up her little face, "Why?"

"Because He created everyone. He created the whole world and all the people in it and he loves us more than we could ever, ever imagine."

She appeared to ponder this for a moment before she spoke up again, "If He loves me so much and is my Father, then why did He not answer my prayers when my daddy was hurting me? I kept asking Him and asking Him to make it stop, but He didn’t."

Monica blinked back tears, thankful that Faith was still snuggled close and couldn’t see them as she replied, "But when the man showed up, Faith…did it hurt then?"

"No," She whispered thoughtfully as if considering it for the first time.

The angel’s voice became choked as she forced out her next words, "Then He did answer your prayers, honey. He did…" She could feel the tears stinging at her eyes and she knew she needed a few moments alone, "You know, I’ll bet Tess has fixed you some lunch so why don’t you go and see her?"

"Are you coming too?" She asked, pulling away and looking up at the angel.

"Soon," Monica forced a smile, "You go on ahead."

Faith nodded and headed towards the door, but turned around once more to add, "I wish you weren’t so sad today, Monica."

"Me too, Faith," She admitted truthfully before the little girl left the room and headed down the steps.

*****

Tess had left Faith with a peanut butter sandwich and cartoons to go upstairs to check on her charge, having been informed that Monica was "sad" and the older angel decided to take the opportunity with Andrew with Jake to try to fill in a bit.

"Angel Girl?" She walked in the door and watched as the little angel lifted her head in surprise and wiped at the tears that had fallen, trying to cover the fact that they had been there at all.

"I talked to her, Tess, I did, but I couldn’t tell her the whole truth yet," She began in a rush and Tess felt another stab of guilt over the tone she had taken earlier with her sensitive charge.

"Funny, I don’t recall asking that question," She mused as she sat down next to the younger angel and reached for her hand, "The one I would prefer to ask is how you are doing, if that is all right with you."

Monica lowered her dark eyes and shook her head, "I don’t really feel like talking about it, Tess, at least not yet."

Tess gave a nod and squeezed Monica’s hand, "And that is perfectly fine as well, baby. It’s a lot to take in, even for me, but I’m sorry you had to see what you did." Her voice was gentle and in response, the younger angel leaned into her slightly.

She was quiet for a moment before speaking up softly, "I don’t know how Andrew does his job sometimes."

"You need to put his job into perspective, Monica," She replied, releasing the little angel’s hand to wrap her arm around her shoulders, "Yes, he sees pain in his assignments sometimes and it breaks his heart. But he also sees their joy when they go Home and their suffering is over, which is what will happen to Faith eventually."

Monica nodded her head but chose not to reply, so Tess continued, "Faith is worried about you, baby."

"I..I can’t go down there yet, Tess, please. Tell her…"

"I’ll tell her you were feeling a bit worn out and decided to take a nap," She finished for her, not missing the look of gratitude in the brown eyes as she stood up and watched as Monica moved up onto the bed and rested her head against the pillow. While she knew her charge would bounce back relatively soon, she always hated to see the look of defeat that was now present in her expression, "We’re here for you, baby, and while Faith needs to go Home soon, it does not have to be today."

"Thank you, Tess," Monica whispered, managing a small smile before she closed her eyes and escaped into sleep.

*****

As Andrew led the sheriff through the woods he felt his steps growing slower the closer he go to the cabin. It was an unconscious action on his part; he simply didn’t want to see what was waiting there. Dappled sunlight streamed down through the tall trees, and the sounds of birds above and small animals scurrying through the underbrush brought the forest to life. If not for the grim sight that awaited them it would have felt like a pleasant hike. He shook his head. Surrounded by such beauty and life it was hard to imagine the harsh and brutal death that had been dealt to Faith.

Andrew taking Jake to the grave. Andrew feeling that horrible surge of anger, but this time it is tempered with something else. He is grateful to feel God’s presence working through him and it steadies him. He is still angry, but the desire for vengeance has faded.

Jake is disgusted by what he sees. He has already contacted the county coroner and told them to meet him on the road. He doesn’t want to have to involve the visitors any more than necessary. Andrew asks about Greg Tate, and again Jake is disgusted that the man was released before he got word from the angels. One of his deputies was actually the one to release him from custody, and that same deputy is on the lookout for him now.

However, he admits that just finding the body isn’t enough to prosecute the man. The best they can do to start with is hold him for forty-eight hours and hope that an autopsy makes things clearer. Andrew wants to know how much clearer they need to be. Jake reluctantly tells him that if they can find proof of past abuse then it will go a long way towards making a case against him. Andrew knows the truth about the abuse, but he’s still sickened at the thought of how much faith suffered in her short lifetime.

Chapter 21

Monica rolled over and felt the cool breeze blow the hair back from her face. She blinked a few times, suddenly wondering what had woken her. A second later and she knew. She heard a car, and it was getting closer. Her heart grew heavy once again. It was probably someone from the sheriff’s office… probably someone to take the little bones away. She wearily got out of bed and looked out her window.

The little angel felt every part of her body stiffen and her hands began to shake. It wasn’t someone from the sheriff’s office. It was Greg. For a moment she let the fear overtake her, but then it was as if some hidden spring of strength and purpose was suddenly unleashed. She flew out of her room and down the stairs, running into the living room so fast that Faith and Tess both looked up from their book.

"What is it baby?" Tess asked when she saw the look on Monica’s face. She knew it wasn’t anything good.

"Tess, please take Faith in to the kitchen and stay there," Monica answered as she heard a car door open and close.

"Monica, what is going on?" Tess stood up, her hand still firmly gripping Faith’s. She followed the direction of Monica’s gaze and looked over her shoulder. Gregory Tate was making his way up the dirt path to the front door. "Monica, I don’t know what you’re planning, but whatever it is…"

"Please, Tess, take Faith into the kitchen and wait there."

Monica’s voice was surprisingly stern, and Tess’s eyes widened. She couldn’t ever remember being ordered to do anything by the little angel. One look at Monica’s face and she quickly shelved all the arguments she was about to make.

"Come on, Faith… I bet we still have some ice cream left," she said, as she led the worried looking little girl away.

Monica could only spare them a quick glance to make sure they were in the kitchen before she ran to the front door and flung it open. She wasn’t going to let him in the house. She was going to go to him. She slowed her pace as she reached the middle of the porch, and stared down at Greg who was still making his way to the stairs.

"What are you doing here?" her tone was sharp and hid none of her feelings.

"Well, you’d be surprised what a useful thing a police scanner is," Greg said, cloaking himself in false innocence. "I hear you have half the county out looking for me. Seems you dug up something out in the woods. I’m just praying that it isn’t my poor daughter," he was playing up the grieving father role for all it was worth, despite the fact that the little angel had seen another side of him just the day before.

"You know exactly what I found, Gregory Tate," Monica’s voice was suddenly strong, much stronger than she felt. "I know what happened… I know everything."

Greg’s face changed and his eyes hardened as he finally dropped his act. "Lady, you got here three weeks ago. You don’t know anything. You don’t know me, you don’t know this town," he sneered.

She walked forward until she was standing at the edge of the stairs. "That’s where you’re wrong. You see, I’m not a lady, Greg, I’m an angel, and I know the secrets you never told a living soul. I know how you beat your wife to death. I know how you terrorized your own daughter. You should have been her loving father here on earth but instead you taught her to fear you, to fear any man… even to fear God Himself, but your power over her is gone." Her voice was filled with emotion and her eyes shone with both tears and righteousness.

"What? What are you babbling about?" He moved closer, and was about to reach up and pull her down the stairs when suddenly the light of God shone out from the Irish angel and he stumbled backwards.

Where most people who saw that light were comforted and put at peace, he felt nothing but fear, the greatest fear he had ever experienced. He put his hand up to his face to shield his eyes from the sight, but he couldn’t seem to completely look away.

"Are you afraid now, Greg? Do you know now how Faith felt each and every time you hurt her when all she wanted was for you to love and protect her?" Monica asked, feeling love and strength flow through her body even as she knew that the man in front of her saw only the awesome and overwhelming power of God.

He stared at her, stricken, his eyes still unable to comprehend what they were being shone. "Wh—what are you going to do to me? Don’t hurt me! Don’t!"

Monica felt her heart clench within her breast. "I imagine that Faith begged you for the same thing. Did you listen to her?"

"I—I didn’t know what I was doing… I didn’t know…"

"Yes you did. You knew exactly what you were doing. You were wielding power over a defenseless woman and child who loved you. You showed them no mercy, but you ask for mercy from God?"

"Oh.. God, yes, please… I’m sorry!"

Monica shook her head and her eyes narrowed. "You aren’t sorry. You are only sorry that now you fear you may be subjected to the same fate as your wife and daughter. But God doesn’t work that way. He is merciful even to those who aren’t. But you will get no forgiveness from Him now, and you never will, until you can be sorry for someone other than yourself!"

Greg stood up straighter, gaining confidence that his life was not about to be taken. "Why do I need his forgiveness?" he countered, suddenly disgusted with himself for showing such weakness.

The Irish angel felt anger enter her heart, and for a split second she realized exactly what Andrew had been dealing with for the past year. "Someday, Gregory Tate, you will wish you hadn’t asked that question. Someday you will be begging for forgiveness, and I just wonder whether it will be too late."

"Too late for what, Angel?" he shot back, and her eyes flashed when she heard that gentle endearment come from his lips.

"Too late to save yourself," she answered, and as the words left her mouth she felt God’s power subsiding, and an instant later she heard shouting from the woods.

"Monica!" Andrew. Of course it was Andrew. He must have sensed what was going on.

The angel of death suddenly appeared at the edge of the woods, with Sheriff Benson close at his heel. As soon as Andrew saw that Monica wasn’t alone he seemed to find an extra burst of speed, and Jake was breathing heavily by the time he caught up. Greg made no move to leave, just looked at everyone coldly, as if trying to decide what card to play next.

Jake made that decision for him when he slipped the handcuffs off his belt and took two long strides to his side. "You have the right to remain silent," he said as he roughly turned him around and snapped the cold steel around his wrists.

Monica wasn’t even able to comprehend what was being said. The adrenaline subsided and all she could do was sag against Andrew as he wrapped his arm around her waist. She looked up at him and was surprised at what she saw there. His eyes were filled with such an incredible pride and love that it momentarily snatched her breath.

"You heard me?" she whispered.

"I told you once that you’re stronger than you think you are," he said as he pulled her closer, "and you just proved it."

But in response she shook her head and lowered her eyes, only now seeing and hearing what it was Jake was saying.

"I’ll be in touch and the coroner’s office will be out to take care of the little girl’s…" His voice trailed off momentarily as he looked away, "Well, you know."

"Thank you, Sheriff," Andrew replied, watching as Monica pulled away and wordlessly went up the steps to the cottage.

*****

The evening in the cottage was a quiet one at least where the little angel was concerned. Andrew and Tess kept Faith amused, though the child was more than aware of Monica’s more silent disposition. She continually brought the angel each picture she had drawn and though Monica always made a fuss about how wonderfully colored it was, Faith still knew things just weren’t right.

Tess shook her head when her young charge headed upstairs after Faith to put her to bed and stay with her until she fell asleep, and the older angel found herself wondering if Monica would even venture back down tonight. "Today has been a hard day for one little angel," she remarked, a trace of sadness in her voice.

"Yes, it has," Andrew agreed as he let out a sigh. He had watched her protectively when the Coroner’s vehicle had arrived and the men had ventured into the woods under Jake’s supervision. She had watched it all, but had never uttered a sound.

"I would have thought she would have felt at least a little better after being able to reveal herself to Gregory Tate, but if anything, it seems to have made things worse. Yet she is refusing to talk about any of it."

"She will, Tess," He sounded completely convinced and Tess looked at him skeptically, "She always does, no matter which way things go. She will either reconcile it all in her heart and then explain it to us, or she will be unable to reconcile it and then she knows she has to start talking. One thing she has never been, Tess, is a closed book."

She chuckled softly, "I suppose you are right about that. Monica is never quiet for long and though at times I seem annoyed by that fact, I know it is really a blessing. It was far too quiet around here tonight, but I decided not to say anything about it, though I have never been very good at just waiting."

He elected not to remark on that being the statement of the year, if not the decade, "Right now, that is all we can do." He replied instead, though in his heart, he hoped the wait this time would not be terribly long.

*****

Monica tossed and turned in her bed, feeling grateful that Faith always slept so fitfully. Glancing at the clock once more, she sighed before throwing back the covers and slipping soundlessly out of bed. Her bare feet made scarcely a sound on the hardwood floor as she left the room and walked down the hall to the room next to her own.

Giving a soft knock, she waited a moment before easing the door open and her dark eyes met Andrew’s through the soft light that the moon streaming in through the window provided. She wasn’t surprised to find him awake. She had expected it.

Her expression nearly undid him as he moved over slightly and a moment later she was in his arms, head nestled up against his chest. There were no tears, only a sadness he could feel with his entire being.

"Talk to me, angel," He urged softly after giving her several minutes and not hearing a sound from her.

"I was angry, Andrew. I’m still angry," She whispered, never once moving from the safety of his embrace, "When I went out to talk to Faith’s father, I didn’t go to try and convince him of God’s love for him. That was never an option. I felt glad that he was afraid of me. I wanted him to be afraid, just like Faith had been afraid and you told me once that making people afraid of me was not the answer-."

"Whoa, Monica," He interrupted firmly with a shake of his head, "At that time you were mentioning the whole human race being afraid of you and there is a difference. Greg needed to understand that Someone else has more power than he does and the Father gave you the words to be able to do that. God was with you, sweetie, you were not out there alone just speaking your own emotions, even if it felt that way. I’d venture to say that God isn’t all that happy with him at the moment either."

He felt a little of the tension leave her small body as she listened to his words, but as she spoke up once more, he knew that there was more on her heart, "I’ve never spoken the truth like that before, not with that kind of anger. The words…they felt like my own..."

"Even if they were, angel, when you lit up," He grinned softly as he coined Paul’s phrase, "that was God standing behind you. Even He knows that sometimes ‘God loves you’ isn’t what some people need to hear. Greg didn’t care that his wife and child loved him, so what did it matter if he knew that God did as he isn’t ready to accept that and maybe never will be."

"He wasn’t even sorry," She uttered tearfully and she felt him hold her more tightly.

"I know, but once he is convicted, he’ll have plenty of time to become sorry and maybe then God will be able to do some work in his heart." He felt her nod her head and he knew she was beginning to accept things as they were, regardless of how hard it was to do so.

"He can never hurt her again," Monica whispered after a moment and though there was sadness behind the words, he could also hear the very beginnings of joy at what she knew Faith would eventually experience, "Does Adam still want to be the one to take her Home?"

"I think he would like to, but he hasn’t been told yet if that is the plan. She has to accept it first."

"I hope he can. I need to apologize to him."

"He understood, angel," He reassured her and she closed her eyes, hearing his term of endearment for her being used as it should be, and not in the venomous way Greg had spat it at her.

Feeling herself beginning to drift off to sleep at long last, she offered one more thing, "Thank you, for always being here when I need you."

Andrew smiled as he kissed the top of her head, "It’s always a pleasure, Angel Girl. Always."

Chapter 22

She was warm and comfortable and her heart felt so light. Strong arms were cradling her close, and the presence of God was all around. She never wanted to wake up. The warmth of God's love filled her heart and He spoke to her without words. The sun rose a fraction higher and her dark eyes opened and watched it. Another beautiful day had begun and she had new understanding within her soul. However horrible and devastating things were, God still made each day perfect it its own way. He wept over the actions of some of His children, but in the end He found a way to right even the most grievous of wrongs. This time He was going to use her for that purpose.

A soft sound made her look down, and she saw that sometime in the night Faith had crawled in between herself and Andrew. She was curled up on her side, but one hand was outstretched. That small hand held a fistful of Monica's nightgown in its grasp while the other one held tightly to the doll the angels had given her.

Monica gently touched the girl's pale cheek and was not surprised when she found herself staring down into trusting green eyes. She smiled and playfully tapped Faith on the nose.

"You're smiling today," Faith murmured sleepily.

"Yes, well I remembered that I have a lot to smile about," Monica replied. "For one thing, I have you here with me, and that's a blessing I haven't been counting enough."

"I'm a blessing?" Faith scooted herself closer to Monica and tucked her head under the angel's chin.

"Of course you are. I am just so grateful that I've been given this chance to know you."

Faith tilted her head back and looked into Monica's face. "I'm glad too," she said, very seriously. "I used to miss my mama all the time." She bit her lip, and continued more slowly, "I still miss her, but now… it doesn't hurt as much now that I'm with you and Andrew and Tess. I was so lonely before you came."

"I know you were, and I'm just sorry that we weren't here earlier." The angel's words held a double meaning, known only to herself and the green-eyed angel of death who had just opened his eyes.

"You're here now," Faith countered. "That's good enough," she insisted with a bright smile.

Monica glanced at Andrew, suddenly feeling a little bit overwhelmed. She knew that she couldn't respond to Faith with the 'and we always will be' that she knew the little girl was hoping for. At the same time, she didn't feel ready to tell her why. As usual, Andrew gave her a little smile and jumped to her rescue.

"It looks like someone's been sleepwalking," he teased as he let his long fingers tickle Faith between the ribs.

She giggled helplessly, before quickly chasing her own fingers over Monica's stomach. "Monica was here first, so she was sleepwalking too!"

"All right! All right! I give!" the Irish angel laughed.

The three of them let out the last of their laughter and lay back on the bed, happily worn out. Monica was about to reluctantly suggest that she and Faith take a little walk, but Andrew spoke before she got a chance.

"It looks like it’s going to be a nice day… maybe one of the last warm days before fall," he said slowly. "We should go swimming."

Faith turned to look at him. "But I don’t know how."

"I’m sure that Monica could teach you," he replied, and he raised his eyes to meet the Irish angel’s.

Monica drew in a sharp breath. How had he known? It had been such a silly wish and she hadn’t told anyone, but as usual Andrew knew her inside and out.

"Would you, Monica?" Faith asked, oblivious to the silent communication taking place over her head.

"I would love to."

"Then I suggest we all get ready to go," Andrew grinned as he got up and scooped Faith up into his arms, much to her delight, before he spun her around and then deposited her back on her feet. She then scampered off to Monica’s room to change her clothes, having no doubts that there would be a swimming suit for her in the dresser.

The angel of death watched her go before turning around to find Monica looking up at him. She had gotten out of bed and now was staring at him with a teary grin on her face, "What?" He questioned, his own smile never leaving his face.

Walking to him, she stood up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek before wrapping her arms around his neck, "I love you," She whispered into his ear, before she pulled away and slipped from the room.

*****

Faith proved to be an excellent student and surprisingly didn’t have any real fear of the water, despite her story about almost "drowning". The angels now knew that drowning would have been impossible, given the fact that she was between worlds, but as Faith didn’t know that, it was a great relief that she had no real fear.

They swam and played until weary and now sat on the edge of the deck, towels wrapped around them and Faith positioned between the two angels once more. Tess had declined the invitation to join them, but had promised them a special lunch upon their return.

The oldest angel had been understanding and cheerful that morning and Monica knew Tess was being supportive of the fact that Faith needed to be told the truth and soon.

The truth was what the Irish angel was silently considering at the moment as Andrew patiently answered all the questions that Faith peppered him with. He seemed to know what it was his best friend was thinking about as he kept shooting concerned glances at her over the child’s head, as if to make sure she was all right.

Gazing up at the clear blue sky, Monica smiled as she felt the sunshine on her face and the wind gently blowing through her still dampened hair. Faith noticed her actions and smiled, "You are thinking about something happy, aren’t you?"

"Yes," Monica replied softly, saying a prayer for guidance in beginning to open the door, "I’m thinking about heaven."

"Heaven?" Faith scrunched up her face in confusion, "Why?"

"Don’t you ever think about how wonderful it must be?" The little angel persisted lightly, "How beautiful it is and how there is nothing to be afraid of there and about how you get to live with God?"

Andrew watched the exchanged quietly. He knew how much his friend valued her time at Home as they all did, but after a few assignments over the last year, Home had been a refuge for her like never before. Now she was trying to get Faith to see the security she felt there without actually telling the little girl she had been there many times before.

"How do you know it is like that?" Faith asked skeptically.

"Because God promises that it is, little one," Monica replied, looking over at her and smiling, "It is the best place you can ever imagine…even better than you can imagine and God never breaks his promises."

"Not ever?"

"Never."

Faith fell silent for a moment and Andrew felt himself holding his breath. Monica was trying so hard to lay some ground work and he didn’t want her disappointed, plus it would help ease Faith’s anxiety when the truth became known.

"So…when I die, I don’t have to be afraid?" She looked up at Monica and then over at Andrew as if she expected the answer to come from him this time. It nearly took his breath away.

"No, sweetheart. There is absolutely nothing after this life to be afraid of. You will never be alone on the way to heaven and never alone once you get there. Your heavenly Father will be waiting for you with open arms to love you for the rest of eternity." Andrew explained gently, knowing she was soaking up every word like a sponge.

"That’s an awfully long time. Are you sure? Maybe He’ll get tired of me and stop loving me like my daddy did…"

"He never will, Faith," Monica stated as she wrapped her arm around the small shoulders, "He will love you forever. He already does."

"But He hasn’t even met me yet. Maybe He won’t like me at all." Her expression was one of concern and the two angels exchanged a glance over her head.

"He does know you, honey. He knows every single one of us as He created us and He is taking care of you right now." The little angel’s heart was racing, wanting with everything in her for Faith to accept what she was saying.

"He gave me you and Andrew and Tess," She whispered, her eyes growing wide, "Wait. Is my mama in heaven?"

"She certainly is, Faith," Andrew replied warmly as he met his eyes with hers as she looked over at him once more, "She misses you and will be waiting for the day you are with her again."

"I miss her too," She stated softly with a little sigh before she smiled, "She used to french braid my hair. Monica, can you french braid?"

"As a matter of fact, I can," the little angel replied with a grin, "So what do you say we go and shower and change, I’ll braid your hair for you and we can enjoy the lunch that Tess is making?"

Faith nodded her head happily as she jumped to her feet and began skipping up the dock to the house. As the two angels rose, Andrew wrapped an arm around his friend’s shoulders and looked at her with concern, "Are you ready for this?"

Monica nodded her head as she smiled up at him, "It will be hard to let her go, but I know where she is heading from here and there is nothing sad about that. I think she is nearly ready and that is what is most important."

He hugged her tightly to him as they began walking up to the house, feeling the rush of pride for her once more. She had come so far in a year’s time and though not completely the same, she was now even more beautiful in his eyes and in the eyes of the Father as well.

*****

Inside the house, Tess was surprised when the phone rang. She knew that the only person it could possibly be was Sheriff Benson, and she hadn’t thought that they would hear from him so soon.

"Hello?" she said as she picked it up.

"Hello. Is this Tess?" Jake’s southern twang seemed amplified through the phone-lines.

"Yes, good afternoon, Sheriff."

"Well, it’s afternoon anyway," he responded with some bitterness.

Tess picked up on it and wished for some way to ease the man’s distress. She had quickly seen that this case was something he had never wanted to deal with. He had been sheriff for a long time without ever having to call the county coroner about a child, and he had hoped to continue that record.

"Whatever you have to tell me, Sheriff, it isn’t your fault. You can only do your job, and unfortunately sometimes even doing your best can’t prevent a tragedy."

Silence from the other end, and then, "Thank you, ma’am. Sorry to be so obvious about it."

"It just proves how much you care. There’s no shame in that."

"Yeah… well, thanks just the same." He cleared his throat before he continued. "I just got off the phone with the coroner and I thought you’d want to know. They aren’t finished, but the preliminary autopsy showed signs of a pattern of abuse." He paused, giving Tess a chance to digest that news, not knowing that she was already well aware of Faith’s history. "It’s not what I’d normally like to hear, but in this case, it’s enough to hold Tate over for trial. I’m gonna be sending some men up to go over that cabin with a fine toothed comb… get prints, you know. I just wanted to warn you. You might be able to hear them back there."

Tess moved into the kitchen and turned her back to prevent Jake from hearing the sounds of Faith and the other angels entering the house, laughing and talking. "I appreciate you calling to tell us. We all do."

"I’m sorry to be making this call at all," Jake replied, "and I’m real sorry that you all had your vacation interrupted by this."

Tess thought about the past weeks they’d spent with Faith. Things weren’t going to have quite the outcome they had hoped for, but the girl’s appearance was definitely more of a gift than a burden.

"Don’t you worry about it, Jake," Tess said, using his given name for the first time. "Sometimes God has a plan that we can’t understand at first, and I think this was one of those times."

There was another moment of silence while he thought about that. "Maybe you’re right, ma’am. You let me know if you need anything, and I’ll keep you informed about what’s going on."

Tess turned to watch Monica walking back down the stairs, and took note of the look of resolve on the little angel’s face. "Actually, I think we’re going to be heading on pretty soon, but thank you. We’ll be watching to see what happens."

Monica tilted her head in question as Tess said a few more words and hung up the phone. "Who was that?"

"Sheriff Benson, baby," Tess answered, not sure how much Monica wanted to be told.

The younger angel just nodded her head, not asking for any details. "I think it’s time, Tess," she said as she looked into her supervisor’s eyes. "Do you think you could get Adam here after lunch? I’m going to take Faith for a walk, but when we get back…" she trailed off and pressed her lips together as her emotions surged.

"I’ll take care of it, Angel Girl," Tess said as she grabbed Monica’s hand and squeezed it tightly. "You just do what you do best. Tell that girl the truth, and God will lead you both the rest of the way."

Chapter 23

Everyone was cheerful and talkative over lunch, and the three angels prolonged it, knowing that it would be their last bit of time to spend with Faith on earth. Tess had pulled Andrew aside and let him know of Monica’s intentions and he paid particular attention to the little angel, looking for any sign that she needed help. She gave none. In fact, she was more relaxed and at peace than he had seen her in days.

As they each pushed back from the table Monica took Faith’s hand in hers. "I was thinking that the two of us could go for a little walk," she suggested. She glanced at Andrew and Tess playfully. "Just us girls."

Faith, her mouth still full of cookie, nodded, her eyes bright and happy. "Yeah, just us girls!" she said as she hopped down from her chair.

Tess reached out and ruffled Faith’s hair as the girl passed. "You stay close to Monica," she said.

"Don’t worry, Tess. I will."

Andrew didn’t say anything, but he touched Monica’s shoulder as she stood up, and she looked down into his face. She didn’t need any words to hear what he was telling her.

Hand in hand, Faith and Monica left the cabin. Faith started to pull Monica down the driveway, figuring that they were going to walk down the old dirt road, but the angel squeezed her hand and led her towards the forest. Faith started shaking her head and looked up, fearfully.

"I don’t wanna go back in there. Can’t we walk somewhere else? Please?"

Monica stopped and wrapped her arm around Faith’s shoulders. "We aren’t going to the cabin, sweetheart. There’s something else I want to show you. You know you can trust me, don’t you?"

Faith’s mouth puckered up as she considered the angel’s words, but then she nodded her head. "Yes… I trust you…"

She smiled. "Good. Then come with me, and don’t worry, I won’t let go of your hand."

They walked through the woods and very soon they came to a clearing. It wasn’t the same one that Monica and Andrew had picnicked at that first day, but somehow Monica had known where it would be. It stretched out in a nearly perfect circle, and the long grass was strewn with wildflowers. The deep blue sky was so clear and pure that it seemed as if they just reached up they would be able to brush it with their fingertips.

Faith’s expression had gone from apprehension to childish joy as soon as she stepped foot in the field. She smiled up at Monica before dashing off to pick flowers, with the angel right beside her the whole time. The little girl finally sat down in the center of the clearing and began sorting her flowers into three groups.

"One for Tess, one for Andrew and one for you," she explained. She was only a little startled when Monica suddenly pulled her close and kissed the top of her head.

"Lie back with me and look up at the sky," Monica said as she lay down, hands behind her head.

"It’s really pretty," Faith said. "Blue’s one of my favorite colors."

"Mine too."

As they were lying there, a large maple leaf fluttered through the air to land on Faith’s chest. She picked it up and twirled it between her fingers as she looked at it.

"Summer’s almost over."

"Yes it is," Monica agreed.

"You’re going to be leaving," she said very softly.

Monica turned her head to look at the child. "Yes, we are."

Faith rolled over and threw one arm across Monica’s chest. "You’ll take me with you, right? You aren’t going to leave me? You aren’t going to make me go back to my father?"

The angel took a deep breath and sat up, still holding Faith in her arms. "We aren’t going to leave you, Faith, but you can’t come with us, either."

"But why? I love you! You love me too, don’t you?"

"I love you so much, Faith… you can’t even imagine," Monica said, blinking rapidly to keep the tears in check. "But there’s Someone else who loves you even more, and He’s waiting for you. He’s been waiting for a long time now."

"Not my father! I won’t go back there!" Faith cried.

Monica pulled away and held Faith at arm’s length. She looked deep into her eyes, and she could feel God’s love beginning to flow through her body. "Not your earthly father, no. Your Father up in Heaven," she said gently.

"Heaven? But… I don’t… I don’t understand…" Faith was sniffling and Monica brushed away her tears.

"Faith, I am an angel. I was sent here to find you and to send you to your real Home. To the Home that has been yours since the day you were born."

"Home to Heaven?" Faith repeated, as she stared at Monica, who had taken on the light of God. Monica nodded, praying that the little girl wouldn’t ask about her own death. Instead her little eyebrows furrowed and she looked at Monica sadly. "That man… in the woods… I was afraid of him, but he was an angel too, wasn’t he?"

"Yes he was. He was sent to deliver you from your father on earth to your Father in Heaven."

Faith’s voice dropped to a whisper. "Is God mad at me for running away?"

Monica’s eyes widened. "Oh, no! Faith, He loves you so much, and He just wants to have you with Him. That’s why he sent me, and Andrew, and Tess." She leaned forward and kissed Faith’s forehead. "He loves you so much that He sent three of His angels to help you."

Faith threw her arms around Monica’s neck and held on as tightly as she could. "I used to pray that mama would come back as my guardian angel. I guess God sent you instead."

The Irish angel squeezed her eyes shut, and swallowed hard around the lump in her throat. "I’m very glad He did," she whispered.

They held each other for a minute before Faith spoke again. "Do I have to go right now? Are you going to take me?"

Monica still had her eyes closed, but she answered, "Yes, sweetie… now… but I won’t be taking you. The man from the woods… his name is Adam. He’s one of my friends, and he’ll take you Home. It’s something he’s been wanting to do since he first saw you."

"Can’t I say goodbye to Andrew and Tess?"

Monica opened her eyes, already knowing what she would see. Standing at the edge of the woods was Adam and Andrew and Tess. Each one was clothed in white, and the light of God was shining all around them.

"Yes, you can definitely say goodbye," she replied, and she stood up with Faith in her arms and turned to show the girl what she was looking at.

"They’re beautiful," Faith said, awestruck.

Monica managed a little chuckle through her tears. "Yes, they are."

Faith turned her head to look again at the angel who had first found her. "I’m going to miss you," she said as she kissed her on the cheek, "but if you’re an angel you must be in Heaven all the time. I’ll see you again, won’t I?"

"Not all the time, Faith, but yes… you’ll see me again."

Green eyes turned solemn. "Then I’m ready, Monica. I’m ready to go Home."

Monica turned the little girl lose and watched as she approached Tess and wrapped her little arms around the angel, "You made the best cookies ever, Tess. Can you bring me some in Heaven?"

The older angel smiled down at Faith as she hugged her, "I think that can be arranged, baby. You have a beautiful journey, sweetheart. Adam will take good care of you and God is waiting for you with open arms filled with love."

"Thank you, Tess," She whispered before she turned to the blond angel of death, tears that were both happy and sad trickling down her face, "I love you, Andrew," She said softly and he knelt down to be at eye level with her.

"I love you too, honey. Your heavenly Father cannot wait to hold you, Faith. He’s been waiting a long time to be able to do that."

"I want to hug Him too and thank Him for rescuing me," She replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

Andrew closed his eyes briefly as he embraced the little girl one last time, before he opened them to gaze over at Monica. Her tears were falling unashamedly, but he could feel the two emotions she was feeling in his heart; happiness over knowing where Faith was going and what awaited her and grief that even regardless of that, this was another goodbye.

The little angel wiped at her eyes as Faith turned back to her and wordlessly ran back to her for one last hug, before Monica took her hand and led her over to Adam. She reached out for the angel of death’s hand, her dark eyes conveying the apology she had been waiting to give and she smiled tearfully at the warmth in Adam’s eyes.

"Want to come along?" He asked her, smiling at the way Monica’s eyes widened. She turned to Tess but didn’t even have time to ask.

"Go on, Angel Girl," Tess told her gently, tears lingering in her own eyes, "Enjoy your trip."

Andrew felt tears burn in his eyes at his friend’s happiness as Faith took each of their hands, her little face shining with happiness and contentment. He was eternally grateful to Adam for inviting the little angel to go along, as he knew how much easier this would make it for her as she would be able to witness first hand the certain joy that was about to take place at Home.

The two remaining angels watched as the threesome disappeared into the radiant light of God before the light faded and it was only moments before Monica reappeared in the field and Andrew watched her closely for any signs of grief or despair but there were none. Her brown eyes were shining with happiness though a few tears still lingered there.

"How was your trip, angel?" He asked her softly, moving to wrap an arm around her waist. He had seen many a reunion in heaven, but for a young caseworker, it was a rare thing to be asked to cross the bridge from life to Life.

"Perfectly beautiful," She replied in a hushed voice that was still filled with the reverence of what she had seen and heard, "She was a little afraid at first, but as soon as the Father smiled at her and spoke her name, she ran into His arms."

"You did well, Angel Girl," Tess stated with a smile, a hint of pride in her eyes for her charge, who had been faced with so many difficult situations of late. The older angel knew that God was preparing her for more diverse assignments and though there had been times when Tess had doubted His wisdom, it was obvious that Monica never had. "Are you two ready to move on?"

Andrew glanced down at his friend as she replied softly, "Yes." Though this place held many happy memories for her, only the Father and quite possibly Andrew knew that she would be in no hurry to return. This was still a place where a child had died, and her best friend had lost his temper and she knew it was time now to leave the past behind and move forward to wherever God chose to lead them.

As soon as the single word was spoken, the three angels vanishing from the clearing, leaving only silence and the beautiful day the Father had created for one little girl to find her way Home.