TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, THE TENTH SEASON

Episode 1001

"On the road again"

Prologue

A big red Cadillac parked by the coast road and a thin woman went out of the car. The sun was just rising and the first birds of the morning started to cross the sky and to wake the silence, only broken by the sound of the sea waves. The woman walked to reach the sand, taking her shoes off as she had always loved.

"Some things never change, huh?" a voice she knew and loved dearly made her smile and turn. "Old habits die hardly…"

Monica then threw herself in her old mentor’s open arms and hugged her tightly. "I’ve missed you so much, Tess…"

"I know, baby. I’ve missed you too! How was your time off? You were sent to a very different part of God’s country…"

"A very different indeed!" Monica then recognized another angel that was coming to meet them. "A time for thinking about a mistake the first time, a time for learning about what I’ll be doing from now on this time. Besides I was in a forest this time… a forest so green and so close to a river that seemed to be humming all the time…"

"That was the idea, Monica," Sam told her. "The Father is pleased with the inner peace you found in the forest and He knows you are ready now to face this new part of your life…"

"You’re giving me my first assignment then?" the Irish angel asked with the same enthusiasm she had shown ten years ago when she had known she’d be starting casework.

Tess chuckled at her excitement. "And your first charge, baby! Though you had a good practice with Gloria…"

"Isn’t she my charge then? I thought…"

"It was the most obvious option, yes…" Sam interrupted, "but we think about someone else. Gloria is now assigned to a research section of casework and she’s doing a wonderful job there…"

"So, who is my charge? Do I know her?" Monica asked.

"You rescued her," Sam added, "that’s why it is pretty obvious she’d be a natural charge for you." Monica turned to see Tess, who was smiling. Then another angel appeared, an angel she still remembered well.

"Kelly?"

The older angel smiled and went to hug her. "Yes, Monica! Who would’ve thought, huh? I was supposed to be teaching you about traffic rules and now…"

"Well, it was about time that you two were back in business," Tess interrupted. She walked to Monica again. "Sam’s going to tell you about your assignment now, baby girl. I just came to say hello. I wanted to see you getting your first charge too, but I gotta go now…"

"So soon, Tess?" Monica asked with a clear note of disappointment.

"Yes, baby. But you know where to find me…" Tess hugged the little angel, unable to control the trembling of her voice. "You’ll do great, Miss Wings."

Chuckling at the term of endearment she had so gotten used to, Monica felt tears crossing her cheeks. "I’ll try not to disappoint you, Tess. And I’ll see you soon."

After a long second, they pulled away. "See you soon, Kelly," Tess told the other angel. "Sam…"

"Tess…" the supervisor replied.

The dark skinned angel had started to walk when Monica’s voice was heard again. "Tess?"

"Yes, baby?"

Monica bit her lip before she decided to speak, to ask the question that has been lurking around her mind since that day she had been promoted. "Where’s Andrew?"

Tess smiled and turned to see Sam. "He is on assignment, Monica," the male angel replied. "You might see him eventually…"

Monica lowered her head and said nothing.

"See you soon, Miss Wings," Tess repeated and disappeared.

***

Part 1

Sam, Monica and Kelly observed through the window pan of the hospital room the frantic movements of doctors and nurses working over someone’s bed, someone they couldn’t see. On the opposite corner, crying quite desperately there was a middle aged woman. Her hands were joined as if she was praying, but by the look in her face it was obvious she was far from being able to even think.

"She’s Alexandra Miller. That’s your assignment, Kelly," Monica started to explain. "The boy on the bed is her son, Frederic. He’s just 15 and he won’t make it to be 16…"

"Pretty well, Monica," Sam interrupted. "Tess’ right. You’ll barely need me…"

Monica smiled with the compliment and turned her attention back to her charge.

Kelly asked then. "Do I have to ask why I am assigned to her?"

"Not really…" the Irish angel placed a hand on her shoulder. "You know how it is like to lose a child, you’ll know how to help her…" Monica saw how tears were shinning on Kelly’s eyes. "God wants you to let her know she will see her son again even if his time on Earth is coming to an end".

*

"Are you ready?" Monica asked Kelly right before they got into Frederic’s room. The little angel could easily say how hard the assignment would be for her charge.

Kelly nodded. "It’s just that I can’t help but feel all this so fresh…"

"I know. That’s why Alexandra needs you." When they got into the room they were properly dressed as a doctor and as a nurse. "Mrs. Miller?" the woman turned to see them. "I’m Monica and this is Kelly. We’ll be with you and Frederic from now on, and…"

"Fred is not making it, is he?" Alexandra asked Monica directly. She had been told a specialist would be meeting her, someone that knew how to treat people with relatives that were dying.

"No. He is not," Monica replied honestly. "But we’ll be helping you all the way till the end."

"It’s so hard to let him go…" the woman said swiping her tears away.

"I know," Kelly said softly, placing a hand on the woman’s shoulder. "Believe me, I know it first hand…"

*

Monica was later standing by the nurses station, checking on some notes when she saw Kelly walking slowly, her spirits obviously by the floor. "I can’t do it, Monica…" she declared. "I see Alex and I see myself on that day when Jesse died…"

Monica circled her charge’s shoulders and walked her to the waiting room. "But you do know that Jesse lives forever now… and Alex needs to know that too."

"Yes, but I’m finding it so hard to let her see that without actually telling her I am an angel!" Kelly was pacing from side to side and then turned to face her supervisor. "I guess I had forgotten casework was so hard…"

Monica smiled at Kelly’s expression and a minute later they were both laughing openly. "Some cases are just harder than others, but you’ll do it just fine…"

"That was my line some years ago!" a male voice said and they turned to find Adam coming to meet them. "Is this my lucky day or why do I get to find an angel I hadn’t seen in months?" He hugged Monica. "How are you doing, sweetie?"

"Adam, long time no seeing! I’m just fine!"

"Fine?" he said observing her from head to toe.

"Just fine!" Monica assured him.

"You got your promotion and you’re back in business, right?"

"Yes! Adam, this is Kelly, my charge," she introduced them.

"Nice to meet you, Kelly!" Adam shook hands with her. "And where’s Tess? And Andrew?"

"Tess is in the choir now… She got a promotion too…" the Irish angel explained.

"And my pal? I haven’t seen him in a long time either!"

Monica felt a knot forming in her stomach, a deep sadness getting hold of her heart at the mere mention of the blond angel. "I don’t know, Adam… I haven’t seen him… I thought that maybe you…"

"Nope… You know? I’ve been assigned to this hospital almost entirely for the last five months… I haven’t seen many friends lately…"

This piece of news gave Monica more of that sadness she had come to associate to the angel of Death’s memory, knowing that the minimal hope she had of Andrew being the one handling Kelly’s assignment had now diminished. "Then I guess we know who will be the angel by Fred’s bed, Kelly…"

***

Monica knocked softly on Fred’s door that day late in the night and got in when she had no reply. Alexandra was leaning over her son’s bed, carefully refreshing his face while the poor boy’s lips trembled with the fever.

"It’s because of the last chemo," Monica offered gently, checking on the boy’s IV. "Kelly told me she gave him some paracetamol. That will help…"

Alex let herself fall on the chair by the bed, replacing the piece of white clothe on a bowl with water. "Is he in much pain?" she asked taking her son’s hand.

"I’m afraid so, Alex…" Monica said placing the back of her hand on the boy’s forehead. "At this stage of his illness, the body is trying to fight the sick cells with all its systems and that causes the pain and the fever…"

"I don’t want him to suffer…" she said, big tears starting to cross her cheeks. "But a part of me just wants him here for as long as possible!"

"I know…"

"Do you have kids, Monica? Are you married?" Alex met the angel’s brown eyes and the despair in her voice caught the new supervisor off guard.

"I-I… No, I’m not married… nor I have kids…"

"Isn’t there someone you love so much that you are afraid of not seeing him anymore?" Monica’s sharp intake told Alex she did have someone. The Irish angel held the woman’s gaze for a minute until she softly accepted. "Yes…" She was in fact thinking about a special someone she was afraid of not seeing anymore.

"I just don’t know how I am supposed to spend the days without seeing Fred anymore! Without his laughter, or his jokes, or his comfort… or even his loud music…" Alex was now swiping at her tears. "When his father died, ten years ago, he became my reason for living, and now…"

Monica walked and pulled the woman into the hug she so needed. And Alex’s sobs broke the angel’s heart and she cried. She cried for the woman that was about to lose what was the most important part of her life, but she cried for herself too, for the emptiness she felt in her heart at that time, when someone was missing in her own life.

***

After leaving Alex, Monica walked to the open balcony of the highest floor of the hospital. The night breeze was warm and gentle. It had rained in the afternoon and the smell of summer was all around. She closed her eyes when a soft breeze touched her cheek, the sudden sensation remembering her of her first assignment with tornados, when everything was over and only the smell of recent rain could say it had been such a long day. That time, when she had closed her eyes, a warm presence had appeared at her side, reassuring her that her assignment was over for the day…

For a brief second, she felt that presence again, that warm, comforting sense of peace, and she opened her eyes to see Kelly walking slowly towards her. "Beautiful night, isn’t it?" the caseworker commented. "Makes me remember why Jesse loved the stars so much…"

"So did Andrew…" the supervisor commented. "He was always teaching me about constellations…"

Kelly looked at her, so lost in the stars and the memories of early days that she felt really sorry for her. As much as Monica was great doing her job, it was obvious she felt something was just not whole in her life. Her hazel eyes had that hint of loneliness that inspired a deep tenderness in whoever looked at them.

"Kelly…" Monica asked some time later, "I’ve always wondered… How did you know that Andrew was coming for Jesse that day? I mean… it seemed you knew…"

"… that he was an angel of death?" the caseworker interrupted her. Monica nodded. "Yes, I knew. I knew him. He had worked with me sometimes. He and Henry, I think you know him too. Andrew was often the angel of death assigned to my cases when needed. Until, well… I got Jesse and he was assigned almost exclusively with another angel…" she chuckled.

Monica smiled at Kelly’s remark but her eyes remained fixed on a distant star. "You miss him." Kelly’s words made the little angel come back to Earth.

She gulped before she could speak. When words finally came to her mouth, her eyes were shining with tears. "He was always there for me. He was my best friend, my biggest supporter. I mean, Tess was always there for me too but being my supervisor, she was supposed to be somehow strict with me. On the contrary, Andrew was always…" she took a deep breath and blinked to fight the tears, "I knew I could find peace and strength in him, deep understanding and support and comfort… I just feel so lonely without all those things."

The last words were nothing but a mere whisper, and Kelly could feel how deep her supervisor was feeling them. Monica and Andrew’s relationship had almost become a legend among the angelic realm for it had not been something so deep ever before. After nine years together, it was hard to think about Monica without thinking about Andrew too, but truth was that when Monica had been promoted to supervisor, they had taken different paths, as hard as it was believing so.

Suddenly both angels heard other footsteps coming closer and they turned to see Adam meeting them. Monica turned her face slightly away to dry her eyes as tears had almost run along her cheeks. "Nice night, isn’t it?" the male angel said lifting his head to watch at the stars too. "It’s hard to believe this is someone’s last night…"

"Fred?" Kelly asked.

"Charles J. Spencer… I’ve just taken him Home…" Adam explained.

The caseworker sighed in relief, yet she asked, "When is it going to happen?"

Adam met Monica’s sad eyes and felt pretty uncomfortable. "I don’t know, but he doesn’t have much time… It can be any minute now…"

"Poor Alexandra," Monica commented.

"You better go and check on him…" the angel of Death told Kelly, who wasted no time in going back to her job.

***

Orion’s belt was very clear on that part of the world, and a tall, blond guy stopped his walking to take a minute to look at it. The shinning line of stars seemed to have hypnotized him and had his thoughts wandering far away.

"Great job, Andrew," a voice behind him made him jump. "That girl was a difficult case…"

"Five years, Sam?" the blond angel commented with the supervisor. "Why? Such a short age…"

"She had no much of a chance, Andrew. Even if she had gotten a transplant…"

"I know," the younger angel interrupted not really being in the mood of discussing a hard assignment so recently. "It just hurts…"

Sam had understood the angel’s state of mind and kept silence for some minutes, just taking the time to watch at the stars too. Then, he announced, "I know you’ve been working all day, but you have one more case tonight, Andrew…"

"Don’t tell me…" he said. "Another kid?" Sam nodded and Andrew growled, but sighing deeply he answered, "All right. Let’s go…"

***

Adam and Monica were still on the balcony, only the noises of the ambulances coming to the front door breaking the silence, when the angel of Death got the call. Checking on his golden watch —one just like the one Monica now possessed— he announced, "I have to go."

Monica was about to ask if it was Fred when the beeper she had gotten as a doctor started to call her. Adam had vanished when she ran to the hospital, and she found two doctors in Fred’s room while Kelly just hugged the crying mother. "He has a ‘Do not resuscitate’ order," the angel stated calmly and the woman nodded. Hearing that the doctors that had tried to help the boy just left the room.

"This is the end, isn’t it?" Alex asked quietly, her voice barely audible through the sound of the monitors and the machines.

"Yes, it is. But it is also the beginning of a new life for him, Alex. In God’s presence. And he won’t have more pain…"

Something in the angel’s voice touched Alex’s heart and she freed herself from Kelly’s hold to walk to her son’s bed and take his hand. "It’s ok, honey," she murmured softly, "I’ll miss you but I’ll be fine knowing you are not sick anymore. Go Home, Freddy. Rest in peace…"

All the three, Alex, Monica and Kelly watched how the boy squeezed his mother hand one last time before the frantic beeping of the heart monitor changed into a constant sound.

And it was then when Monica and Kelly saw that hand. The hand of a blond angel caressing Fred’s forehead, comforting him and helping the soul to get free of the dying body. The hand the Irish angel knew so well. Her heart started to beat faster, even before she dared to rise her eyes.

Monica covered her mouth with both hands to drawn a sob, this time her tears running out of her eyes immediately. For a second that seemed eternal for her, her eyes found a pair of green eyes that were fixed on her. There was the understanding, the peace and the love she was missing so much, and all those emotions washed her deeply. Then she saw him turn to Fred, and helping him rise, they looked at the scene by the bed one last time before they disappeared into the shinning light.

***

Part 2

"Freddy…" Alex sobbed over her son’s lifeless body. Monica and Kelly saw he crying and after turning to see her supervisor, the caseworker walked to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He’s in God’s hands now, Alex…"

"How do you know?" Alex asked.

"I do know," Kelly offered softly. "We do know." A warm golden glow surrounded both angels. "God sent us here to let you know that Fred will be alright and so will you…"

"You are an angel…" Alex stated softly, still not believing what her eyes saw.

"Yes", Kelly said. "And God wants you to know that one day you’ll be meeting your son again but meanwhile you have to finish what he started on Earth…"

"His choir?" Alex was referring to the choir his son had started at he local church, which was full of poor children that, having nothing more to do, would’ve ended up like drug dealers.

"Yes. That choir must go on. They can do a lot and teach so many people what a goal truly is… and you can show them that not even death can make you lose your dreams…"

Monica left her charge talking to Alex, making plans for the weeks to come when the woman would visit offices and make calls to be sure the choir would be in the world contest they had been aiming to. She closed the door behind her and walked along the corridor, her mind whirling with the events of the day. Her first case as a supervisor… If caseworking had been hard, supervising wasn’t one step behind.

She wrapped her arms around herself, as if looking for comfort, as if trying to stop the sobs that she so wanted to release. She felt her heart suddenly too heavy, too full of sorry and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. How she needed someone to hug her, like Tess who was always willing to hold her and rock her like a little baby. Or Andrew. So perfectly gentle, so strong and so tender at the same time. She walked to the same balcony where she had been with Kelly and Adam, trying to pass unnoticed by the doctors and nurses. Once she was there, she reached inside her pocket and took what was her most precious treasure. She opened it and checked on the hour: 11:49 p.m., then closed it and stroked the golden cover delicately. It was all it took. Still caressing the watch, she started to cry, painful sobs that came from her very heart.

"It’s been a while since I wanted to check on my watch…" a voice said behind here, a voice she so wanted to hear.

Monica waited a second before she dared to turn. It was so good to be true… Closing her eyes, she turned and then opened them slowly. He was there. Andrew was there. Standing in the middle of the balcony, the light breeze moving his hair, his green eyes shinning as much as always. She couldn’t help but try to drown one more sob. "Andrew…"

"Monica…" he opened his arms inviting her and she wasted no time. She ran to him and hugged him tightly, feeling absolutely content of being in his arms. "Andrew…" she kept on saying, unable to believe he was there.

"Monica… angel, I missed you so much…" he replied, his face buried in her sweet smelling hair, her slim figure almost disappearing in his strong arms.

"I so wanted to see you again…" she sobbed, her eyes still closed, her arms refusing to release her hold on him. "Thanks, Father… thank You so much!"

"I wanted to see you too, baby," he answered kissing her head and blinking repeatedly to fight the tears he felt threatening his own eyes. "The Father knows how badly…"

They remained there, in each other’s arms for a good while, Monica sobbing silently, Andrew letting her find the peace she so needed and kissing her head and her cheek now and then. They never noticed Kelly’s presence, who had gone looking for her supervisor but when she saw them sharing the moment she knew Monica so longed for, she just left them alone.

There would be time to talk later. What counted then was that the little angel was on the road again.

Episode 1002

Part 1

"Ha! I so thank God Jesse was never a skate boy," Kelly commented to Monica and Andrew as they observed a group of kids and their skateboards.

"Hum… They can do some amazing things, you know?" Andrew replied, his eyes fixed on the boy in turn with the skate.

"Yeah, and some stupid things too," Kelly said again. "Way more stupid than breaking their shoes or their pants…"

"They’re kids!" Andrew told them showing the admiration for the kid flying more than 3 feet up the slide. "They are supposed to do that kind of things…"

"Risking their lives?" Kelly asked now visibly annoyed.

Andrew was going to reply when Monica interrupted their discussion. "But for some of them the time of flying like this is coming to an end. Sometimes you do need to keep your feet on the ground…"

"So… Who’s my assignment?" Kelly asked.

"He," the supervisor said looking at the boy who had finally lose the skateboard. "Jaime Richards. He really needs to keep his feet on the ground." She turned to see Andrew, whose attention was still on the boy’s abilities.

***

"So, you haven’t been assigned yet?" Monica asked Andrew some time later when Kelly had gone to start working on her assignment. They were walking along the park where they had first seen the kids, Andrew holding her by the shoulders.

"Nope… And I’m not complaining either! I’ve been working non-stop! A couple of days off aren’t that bad!" he replied.

"There’s not such a thing like a day off, remember?" she teased him.

"You sounded like Tess!" he scolded. "At least let me think I do have one!" He spotted a coffee cart not far from them. "Are supervisors allowed to have a mocha latte?"

"Of course they are!" she replied enthusiastically, making him remember the old days when he so loved to hear her childlike excitement about anything that had to do with coffee.

A few minutes later they were strolling again, a big cup of the foaming beverage in each one’s hands. "What would you say if I stay and help you while I am not called?" Andrew asked, his eyes following again the group of kids they had seen before.

"Oh, I’d love it!" Monica exclaimed, "but wouldn’t you prefer to have some rest? If you’ve been working so hard…"

He stopped and made her turn placing a hand on her cheek. "Nothing could be better than stay with you, sweetie," he said seriously. "Only God knows when I’ll see you again and I want to spend as much time as I can with you…"

Monica’s heart ached at the mere mention of them being away once more but she knew he was right. She too wanted to spend as much time as she could with him. "Thank you…" she murmured in a low voice.

He kissed her forehead and pulled her into a tight hug. "No thank you. This is where I want to be…"

"Hey, guys!" Rafael interrupted them a minute later. "Nice to see you both!"

"Hey, pal!" Andrew replied letting go of Monica. "What are you doing here?"

"On assignment… The local church ins opening a kids’ club… We’re trying to get them out of the streets."

"That sounds lovely, but what are you planning exactly, Rafael?" the Irish angel asked.

"They are our main concern…" Rafael said pointing to the skaters. "One of them is my assignment."

"Not Jaime," Monica assumed. "He’s Kelly’s case". When Rafael showed his confusion, the new supervisor added, "Kelly’s my charge."

"My case is the blond one, Steven," the Mexican angel said. "He’s the leader of the group."

"He certainly is a leader," Andrew commented, "just look at what he does on the skateboard!"

"That’s the main problem," Rafael explained. "You haven’t seen what Kelly will face with Jaime…"

Both Monica and Andrew looked at each other. Then they followed Rafael to the edge of the park by the main street. Cars passed by at 60 miles at least, some barely horning by the stop sign. A minute later, Steven, Jaime and five more boys stopped at the sidewalk. "Okay, now… Are you going to prove yourself, chicken heart?" Steven asked Jaime. When the younger boy remained silent, he said, "I knew it. You just don’t have the guts. Hank, you show him!"

Another boy of around 16 years, long hair and an earring on the lower lip took his board. He waited a couple of seconds and threw himself into the full street, where now cars horned and tried to stop to avoid the kid that was skating among them and on the opposite sense.

"That’s crazy!" Andrew exclaimed. He had motioned to run and stop him but Rafael stopped him. Monica was simply out of words.

"Yep. But that’s what Jaime tries to do…"

***

A couple of hours later, Monica and Andrew were getting themselves all set in one of the rooms at the church. The had met Rafael and Kelly (who had also been assigned to the club) there and although they were not officially supposed to be working there, they had accepted to run a drawing and painting workshop.

"I still don’t know how Kelly’s supposed to get Jaime out of the street if she has to be here…" Andrew commented while he hung a painting on the wall.

"I’m not sure either, but I know the Father has a reason for us to be here…" Monica replied.

"Wow, you’ve been busy!" Kelly interrupted and they turned with proud smiles on their faces. Andrew then knew the Father had answered his question: the caseworker had come hand in hand with a little boy of around 7 years who looked for all the world just like his older brother, Jaime. "This is Erick," Kelly said," and we’ve just become best friends, right Erick?"

"I like your paintings," the little boy told Monica eyeing her carefully.

Andrew turned to see his dearest friend, who was smiling happily. "Thank you, Erick," the Irish angel replied, kneeling to be at the boy’s level. "Do you like to paint?"

"Yes, but only when Jaime does the drawing," he explained.

"Your brother paints, huh?" The kid nodded. "Then why don’t you tell him to come to the workshop? We’ll be starting tomorrow…"

"Can I come too?"

"Of course!"

"Erick!" Another voice made them all turn to see Jaime standing by the door. "Let’s go!"

The little boy ran to his brother, his eyes bright with excitement. "Hey, Jaime, there’s a painting workshop! Can we come tomorrow?"

Jaime took his brother’s hand quite rudely and eyed the angels suspiciously. "We’ll see…"

"Your brother says you draw very well…" Andrew offered trying to keep the teenager’s attention. "I think this is a chance you shouldn’t waste. It may change your life forever…"

"Andrew…" Monica tried to stop him..

"You know nothing about my life, man," Jaime reacted and pulled his little brother to leave the center.

Kelly turned to face Andrew and then looked at Monica. When the Irish angel just bite her lower lip and said nothing, the caseworker left the room.

"What?" the blond angel asked clueless.

"It wasn’t the best time…" Monica mumbled before she busied herself again with the paintings.