A 'Touched By An Angel' story

And Sequel to 'Blowing Smoke', 'The Watch and the Star',

'The Hero', 'Christmas Wishes', 'In Need of Answers'

And 'Unspoken Whispers'

By: Yvette Jessen

It was late in the evening as eight-year-old Brittany Harrows sat alone in her room. The weather outside was getting worse, but she was alone, her arms wrapped around the teddy bear that her friend Adam had given to her some years ago. She had not seen her best friend in over a year, not since that horrible event where her father had come back and had been responsible for the death of a young boy she had gone to school with.

A bolt of lightening flashed across the sky, thus causing her to reach for the bedside lamp and attempting to turn the light on. When no light came up she held all the more tighter to the teddy bear, her eyes filled with fear. Her thoughts drifted back to Adam. She had not seen him in such a long time; his gray eyes had always been filled with vitality and love. She missed her friend so much, but she knew that all the wishes and hopes in the world would not bring him back. He had not been back to see her in over a year. This was devastating because even after her father had been sentenced to fifteen years in a maximum-security prison, her angel had not come back to be with her. It was not just that her father was responsible for the loss of Matthew's life, but that Adam did not come back to offer her or her friends moral support, and that was a time in her life when she really needed it.

She was now in the third grade, her class all the more mixed, and not very many of the children from her favorite first grade class were still at the school. Megan had moved away, Sean was still there, but they had drifted apart over the course of a school year, and he seemed more interested in cars than in remaining friends with a girl. Brittany's life was still as lonely as it had been before. The one thing that was now missing in her life was Adam and she was left to conclude that the reason he had not come back was because of her. She could feel the sadness envelop her whenever she would think about him, but tonight, this emotion was mixed with fear, as she did not like storms at all.

It had been some years ago that she had finally gotten over her fear of the dark, but the fear she had of storms still existed. She covered her ears with her hands as she tried to shut out the sounds of the storm around her. Another bright flash of white light caused her to begin crying, her soft voice emerging in hiccups. She could feel the tears streaming down her face as she began to speak. "God, it's me, Brittany. I'm so scared, my mom is asleep, my grandma is away, and my uncle is in New York. Please help me."

"He will," a voice was heard and she looked up not recognizing the voice as it emerged.

"W-who's there?" She managed to stammer when she heard the strange voice of the man who was now standing in her room.

"It's Scott, Brittany," a young sounding masculine voice emerged once again. "Do you remember me? We only met briefly; it was about a year ago. It was when I was sent to work with your friend, Adam."

"I-I remember you, but where's Adam?" She asked.

"He's on assignment right now, but we were told that you needed someone with you tonight," Scott said softly. "Adam asked me to come see you and so I told him that I would."

Brittany looked up at him and could see that he was glowing, and seeing this calmed her considerably, especially since he seemed to be the only source of light in the house. As he stood next to her bed, she was able to take in his appearance. By human terms, he looked to be only 20-years-old; his dark brown hair had grown out and was lightly brushing his shoulders. His eyes, a pale blue color, were filled with kindness and love. At this moment he was dressed in stone wash jeans and a black turtleneck shirt. A medallion hung from a thin silver chain from around his neck, and engraved on it were the words 'God Be With You'.

The young Angel of Death sat down on the bed next to her as he stopped glowing, and a second bolt of lightening lit up the room, the light silhouetting him, but it frightened her and she covered her ears with her hands waiting a few seconds for the rumble of thunder to pass.

"I'm so scared," she said softly.

"I know," Scott replied, his voice filled with his gentle assurances. "Why don't we talk until you're able to go back to sleep?"

Brittany nodded. "Why does it do that?"

"Well when the clouds bump together, the light travels faster than sound and the lightning seems like it is faster than the thunder because you see it before you hear the thunder, but in reality, they are simultaneously happening," Scott shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't like it," she whispered. "My mom said that on the news there's a hurricane coming."

"Yes, I heard about that, but do you know what?"

Brittany shook her head, her eyes wide with innocence.

"Adam has told you many times that God is always with you, Brittany, that He loves you and that you have nothing to worry about or be afraid of. He will be here with you, always, even when an angel is not present. He would never abandon you, and just because it's been awhile since you have seen your friend, Adam, you must know that he loves you very much and he thinks of you as much as you think of him."

Brittany looked up at him. "Scott, why did Adam not come?"

"He's been having a rough few assignments, I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but Adam's been feeling really lonely lately. The thing is, he won't let Andrew or me get close to him; and everything's just business as usual. That's why he asked me to come here, because he's afraid to get to emotionally involved with things again, he's afraid that it will only make his job harder."

"But, I thought he was my friend," Brittany whispered, the dejection evident on her face.

"He is your friend, Brittany, and he's going to need you now more than ever. He's going to need to know that he is special and important to you. I have had a chance to know and understand him better during this past year, and the one thing I understand about him is how hard this job is on him. He told me about this one time he was sent to help a girl deal with her father's death, and he didn’t know how to relate to her. He was made into a caseworker recently, that is, he was made into an angel like Monica and didn't know how to cope with this. He realized later that this was an answer to a prayer he had. He wanted more than anything to be seen as someone special to his assignments, but something happened to him, and now he's having a really rough time with this."

"What can I do?"

"Just be his friend, Brittany," Scott said softly. "Sometimes an angel needs to know that they are making a difference, that they are special."

"He hasn't been here in over a year, I thought he had forgotten about me," Brittany said softly, her eyes filling with tears as she looked at him.

"Just be patient, he'll eventually come and when he does, then you can tell him how much you've missed him. At this time, he will need to hear it. He needs to know that he is special to you, that he matters."

"He does," Brittany said softly as she hugged her teddy bear, her eyes filled with sadness.

"Try to go to sleep, and tomorrow Adam will be here and you will have the chance to tell him how you feel," Scott said softly and once the little girl had fallen asleep he stared down at her as she slept. Father, is this little girl going to be able to help Adam? The young Angel of Death asked the stillness, his voice filled with his own innocence as well as an overwhelming doubt that an eight-year-old child would be able to help his mentor.

Brittany has the power of love in her heart, she will be able to help Adam find his way back Home to Me, of that I Am certain. The Father's reassuring voice emanated his thoughts and the young angel nodded.

*****

Adam was, at this moment angry, he had been trying to do his job to the best of his abilities, but yet, at this moment, he felt completely cut off from the Father. He had been, over the course of the past two weeks tempted to fall, the demon named Hallie literally giving his weakened soul a run for the money. Adam was tired, he wanted more than anything to just go Home. He needed to get over all of the events of the past days, but when Tess appeared, he knew that he was not about to get Home, in fact, he felt all the more trapped.

"Angel Boy, how are you doing?" The wise angel asked once she had spotted him sitting on the ground and had gone over to where he was.

"Hi Tess," he whispered once she had reached him.

"Where's Scott?" Tess asked; her voice filled with concern. She did not like seeing this particular angel alone, especially now that she had heard about how horrible Hallie had been to him.

"He went to see Brittany," Adam said softly, as he looked around to see if the demon had returned to continue her onslaught on him. When he saw her standing nearby, he could feel the anger rising inside of him and he could almost detect the evil thoughts going through the mind of the demon. She may look the age of seventeen, but the experienced Angel of Death knew that she was anything but innocent. With anger in his eyes, he regarded her, his words filled with irritation "You stay away from her, you hear me, Hallie?"

Hallie looked at the angel with raised eyebrows. "Why Adam, I didn't think you cared for anyone, much less a little rich girl in Virginia."

As he was about to stand up, Tess reached over and rested her hand on Adam's shoulder. "Calm down baby, right now, you need to remember that evil is for evil's sake and no other. She's only here to antagonize you and from the looks of it, she's succeeding. It's OK, Angel Boy, just relax, she's just trying to get a rise out of you."

Adam nodded, but looked at her, with helplessness shadowed in his gray eyes. "Oh, Tess what am I doing?"

"You've had some really hard assignments lately, baby, and Sam and Andrew both know as well as I that you are now in desperate need of a break. You've been letting her run you ragged for the last months, and yet, your faith is strong, isn't it?"

He offered her a weak nod, but his eyes clouded over whenever he contemplated the internal torture that Hallie had so often subjected him to. "I won't ever fall, Tess, you know that, and the Father knows that, but my confidence since Matthew's death is gone."

"I know honey, and I know that that little boy meant something to you, but the Father loves you, Adam. Brittany adores you, as well as all those people you have helped this past year, but now baby, the time is right for you to work through your own pain in this regard. The Father will give you some options, you can go join Scott in Virginia and help Brittany's family prepare for the hurricane, or you can go Home, and find your healing in the Father's arms."

"I want to go Home, but somehow, I know that Hallie will probably go and try to hurt Brittany, and you know I couldn't bear anything else happening to her, she's already been through so much these past months. I will go to Virginia, Tess; I just don't know what I'm going to say to Brittany when I get there.

"When the time comes, you'll know, but I think you know better than anyone that it will probably be better for you to take care of this now and then try to leave all of this behind you."

Adam nodded. "I know you're right, Tess, it's just so hard."

Tess reached over and touched his shoulder. "I know it's hard, you've had a rough time lately, and everyone knows that you are doing your best to heal." She took a deep breath and looked at him, her eyes filled with love. "Adam, you're an amazing angel, not too many angels have said it, and sometimes I've even been reluctant about giving out compliments, but you are special to me and I know you're going to be OK."

Adam nodded as Tess disappeared and Hallie came closer to him, her gray eyes filled with spite, and she rested her hands on her hips. "You believe that?" She asked, her voice filled with sarcasm, but what it was missing was a sense of confidence that he had often detected whenever he heard her speaking. Somewhere, she had lost her usual edge in her assaults, but yet Adam did not seem ready to ask her what was wrong or why her voice sounded different. Right now, he was too angry with her to give her any mind.

"Yes, Hallie, you may think I am crazy, but I do believe it, and if I ever see you near me or my friends again, that light which you so despise will come and it will cover you to such a degree that you will never find your way back to the darkness again," Adam said. "Now, in the name of the Father, be gone!"

He turned away, and although he could not see whether she had disappeared, she was still standing in the meadow. She watched his retreating back, but this time she did not follow him. Instead she stood there and stared after him as he disappeared in the distance, her eyes now looking down at the ground.

She had been created as an angel, yes it was true, but her heart had been won over by Monique over the course of time. If she had told anyone what had really transpired, she would probably have been laughed at, because Monique had told her that she was Monica, and the young, naïve Hallie, had believed it. Soon after that, she had lost her connection to the Father.

Today, it had happened again, this time, she had lost her connection to the darkness as well; she had been cast out of darkness because she had something all the other demons did not have, a conscience. The guilty feelings she carried were literally torturing her. She had tried to cry out to Adam for help, but he was so angry with her, that he had turned away. She really did not blame him, she had done everything that she could have to prolong his pain, and now she regretted it from the deepest core of her being.

She looked around the meadow where she was standing, the sun had not risen as of yet, but she stared down at her dress, the black fabric on one of the sleeves was ripped on one of the arms, her dejected gray eyes void of any color.

"Adam, please forgive me," she whispered under her breath and glanced skyward, but after awhile she shook her head hopelessly and began to walk in the direction of the small town, her dejection growing with each step.

*****

Once he was certain that Hallie had disappeared, Adam smiled weakly. Tess had been right; he was not at all responsible for what had happened to Matthew and what had led to his passing. Today Adam realized completely for the first time that the little boy was now in the best place imaginable, he was comfortingly wrapped in the arms of the Father.

Adam stood up and for the first time in a long time, he watched the sun come up and instead of reflecting on the guilt that had been encasing him for the past year, he was able to let it go, to feel completely at ease. Hallie was a figment of his past and now that she was gone; he would never have to lay eyes on her again, and could rest easy. What he did not know or see was that she had stopped walking towards the town and was now standing there watching him, her face filled with indescribable agony.

"You failed," the sounds of the underworld emerged and she covered her ears trying to block the hissing sounds that dwelled up from within her soul. She was trapped on earth, without any sense of identity and when she looked down at herself she could see that she was now in the form of a human girl, her face covered with bruises and blemishes. Seconds later, the realization dawned on her that she was lost and completely alone.

"Please, don't leave me here," She pleaded with the stillness, her gray eyes filled with fear. "I can't bear it, please! I don't want to be alone for the rest of eternity." When no answer emerged, Hallie sat down on the ground, as the dawn of a new day began and she looked up to see that someone tall and intimidating was now standing next to her. "W-who are you?"

"My name is Sam, Hallie, and regardless of what you believe, you are not alone," the voice of the intimidating angel emerged and she shrank back in fear as the light engulfed him and she could feel the terror grip her. "Don't be afraid. The Father knows what has happened, and He has forgiven you, but you have been separated from His light and love for a long time, and now, you know that it is time for you to come back to the light, but Hallie, it will be your choice as to whether or not you accept the Father's forgiveness."

"I don't know how to ask Him anymore. I don't think that after what I have done that He could possibly love or forgive me," she said still feeling the extent of the rejection she felt at that moment.

"Deep inside, you know that He has, and that He loves you dearly," Sam sat down on the ground next to her. "However, with that in mind, you will be put to the ultimate test as to whether or not you are ready to return to the Father's service."

Hallie looked up at him. "I don't know if I can do anything, I'm so scared."

"Evil thrives on fear, Hallie, but now you need to learn that the power of love is the greatest tool used by anyone to overcome and defeat that fear," Sam began. "You will have a chance to do so, and your place in all of this, if successful, will teach an Angel of Death how to forgive, not just another, but also himself."

"You mean I have to see Adam again?"

"Yes," Sam said simply.

"I can't face him, Sam, please, not yet," Hallie said weakly. "I'm not ready, I was thrown out only today, and all the things I did…" She looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand, but when she saw that he was shaking his head, she could feel the tears in her red, puffy eyes.

"You have a conscience, Hallie, and there is no place in the Father's Home for guilt, you must overcome that first before you will be ready to return to the Father's loving arms. You will have to face the angel who you feel the greatest sense of guilt over before you will be allowed to come Home, or walk with me. Yes, you will be taking a chance, but more importantly, you will be running the risk of rejection, however, this will be a part of what you really need to understand, the power of forgiveness." With that, Sam was gone and Hallie realized that she was now standing on wet field, all alone, and the rain was pouring relentlessly down on her.

"No, please don't go," she wept, her voice filled with fear, but when she could no longer see the angel standing next to her, she could feel the tears streaming from beneath her eyes. "Please, someone help me…" As her cries faded, she sank to her knees and tried to keep the tears at bay.

"Hey, lady, what are you doing out here, don't you know this is private property?" A man called out, and rushed over to her. When he reached where she was sitting, he extended his hand and roughly grabbed her shoulder, but before he could speak further, she passed out onto the cold, wet ground.

"Hey, Steve, could you give me a hand, the girl's out cold?" The man called out, and his friend came over and the two men towered over where she lay.

Glancing off in the distance he shook his head. "The storm is getting worse, we'd better get her up to the house."

"Yeah, I think maybe you're right," came the response, as the man picked her limp body up in his arms and carried her towards the large mansion. "I hope Mrs. Livingston doesn't have any objections with this, you know how these rich people are."

"I don't think there will be any problems," Steve said. "At least I hope not, but with this weather, it would be totally rude of these folks to turn this girl away. I don't know what has happened to her, but I do know that she must have been through something, her face is bruised and she looks as though she is not going to survive another day if we do leave her out here."

"Then let's get going, and hope for the best, that's probably all that we can do anyway, and chances are, the Livingston family won't mind. Over the past few years, they have become pretty human. I guess they are case in point that people can change."

Steve nodded and they carried Hallie towards the front door.

*****

As the two men reached the door, one rang the bell as the other held the unconscious girl in his arms. Seconds later, Holly opened the door and looked at them. "Gentlemen?" She asked as they looked at her.

"Mrs. Harrows?" One of the spoke, the surprise evident in his voice upon seeing that she was the one opening the door.

"Come on in," she said. "I sent the staff home, because of the weather, and I think you should let the crop workers know that they too should get home to their families. The weather report is getting bad, we are directly in the path of the hurricane."

"OK, but we just found this girl out in the field, she looks a wreck," Steve said. "Can you help her?"

"Bring her inside, we have a guest room upstairs. Do you know where it is at?" She asked as she went to retrieve some linins. "Just follow the hall to the first door on the left, that's after you climb the stairs. It shouldn't be too hard to find."

The two men did as she instructed and she went to find a nightgown and some dry towels. Once she found those things, she returned to the room and could see that the girl was lying on top of the bed and the two men were gone. Within seconds, the girl's eyes had opened somewhat; she was sitting up, and was taking in her new surroundings.

"Hello," Holly said softly, and the girl froze as she stared at the woman who was now coming into the room. "No, don't be afraid, you're safe here. Some of our crop workers found you out on the field. Do you remember anything?"

The girl shook her head as Holly came over to the bed and sat down next to her. "I brought you a nightgown and some towels to dry your hair. I'd get an electric hair dryer for you, but the weather has been just horrid and it might be dangerous. Here, let me help you."

Hallie consented and allowed Holly to help her take off the dress, dry herself with the towels and put on the nightgown. Once she was dry and in the nightgown, Holly took her hand and helped her get into the bed. "I would guess the worst is behind you now, but you may be susceptible to pneumonia, but don't worry, I'll make sure you get some medical supervision."

"T-thank you," Hallie finally found her voice and managed to speak.

"Shall I sit with you for a little while, you still look afraid," Holly said gently as she reached over and brushed some of Hallie's hair from her face. "You know, you're a very pretty girl. How old are you, seventeen, or eighteen?"

Hallie shook her head.

"I'm going to get you some salve for those bruises, I'll be right back," Holly went into the adjoining bathroom and retrieved a bottle of ointment. Once she returned, she sat back down on the bed. "Here we go; this should help ease the pain a little bit." With a gentle hand, she began to smear the cold salve across Hallie's face, and when the girl reached up to touch the cream, Holly shook her head. "No, don't touch it, you might get some of this in your eyes and that would not be good."

Hallie nodded and rested her hands on her lap. As soon as Holly had finished, she realized that the cream was helping to alleviate the pain that she felt. "It feels better."

"Well, it should," Holly said smiling as a bolt of lightening was seen from the window, and practically lit the entire room. "I need to go and see how my daughter is doing, but I'll be back."

Once she helped Hallie to lie down, she watched for a few moments as the girl drifted off to sleep. As soon as the girl was asleep, she slipped from the room, but did not see that Andrew had appeared and was now standing next to the bed and was watching over the girl as she slept.

*****

Brittany woke at that moment and sat up in bed. She could see that Scott was no longer present, but when she saw that her best friend was sitting next to her bed, she smiled weakly. "Adam?"

"Hello, sweetheart," he said as he stood up in order to sit down on the edge of the bed. Once he was comfortable, he smiled gently at his young friend.

"It's been so long since you were last here," Brittany said softly, her voice filled with sadness but she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder. "I thought you were mad at me," she said softly, her voice filled with sadness.

"What ever gave you the idea that I was angry with you?" Adam asked gently.

"You haven't been back here in a really long time," came her innocent answer.

"No, Honey, I was never angry with you. This past year has just been so hard, but I'm here now and I have not forgotten how special you are to me." Adam brushed her hair out from in front of her face. "You've grown, but you're still as pretty as I remember."

Brittany shrugged her shoulders. "Where have you been, Adam?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you, but that's behind me now," Adam said as he smiled weakly. "I will tell you this, I feel much better, more at peace than I have felt in a very, very long time."

Brittany looked up at him, he did look happy now, and this seemed to contradict the more somber mood that encased the description that Scott had offered the night before when he had come to see the little girl.

"Adam, are you sure everything's OK?" Brittany asked; her voice filled with uncertainty.

"Yes, it's fine sweetheart," he said gently. "Come here and give me a hug, it's been so long since I last saw you, and I was so worried about how you've been doing."

"I guess I'm OK, but now my dad is gone," Brittany said softly.

"I know, I heard," Adam replied in kind.

"It was so horrible, Adam, I kept asking God if you could be here for me and help me, but you never came, and I thought…" her voice trailed and she looked up at him. "…I thought you didn't love me anymore."

The angel shook his head sadly as he tightened his hold on her. "Oh Brittany, I have always loved you, from the very first day we met, and that's not ever going to change, I will always be your friend and I will always be there for you when you need me."

The little girl sniffed and nodded as she crawled off his lap and went over to the closet to get something to wear that day, but when she reached it, she turned around and came back over to him and wrapped her arms around him as far as they would go. He picked her up and held her tightly. There in his arms, she could smell the scent of wildflowers in his jacket and could feel his hand as it brushed gently through her hair.

"I missed you," she whispered, her face buried against his shoulder, and he smiled as the door opened and he turned around to see that Holly was standing in the doorway, her eyes filled with joy upon seeing him again.

"Hello, Adam, I didn't know you were back," she began. "I wanted to tell Brittany that school has been cancelled today because of the weather. It's gotten bad, there's going to be a hurricane coming through, and we may need some extra help to get the planks of wood over the window. Would you be able to watch out for Brittany while we're getting the windows covered?"

"Of course, Holly," he smiled as Brittany turned her head and saw her mother standing there. It seemed as though she was waiting to say something else, and so the child remained quiet, her arms holding tightly to her best friend.

"There's something else, Adam, and I know that it's asking a lot of you, but there was a young girl brought up to the house earlier today, and we have no way to get a doctor up here to take care of her. The weather has been like a thorn in our side on all counts, and from out here, we're pretty much cut off from the rest of the world. I was just wondering if there was something you could do to help us."

The angel nodded, "I don't know what all I would be capable of doing, but if you want me to sit with her, I will."

"She looks delirious, I don't know what's wrong with her, but I thought maybe if you were nearby, it might help, because she looks totally messed up. She's been through something, but I don't know what," Holly said softly.

The angel looked at Brittany, but after a few moments, he nodded, and with the child still in his arms, he walked towards the doorway where Holly was standing, and he smiled gently at her. "Try not to worry, I will do everything I can to help you and your family. That's why I'm here."

"You're the greatest, Adam," Brittany said smiling broadly as they left the room, and Holly led them down the hall to the other room.

*****

Once they had reached the room, Adam lowered his friend to the floor, and slowly entered the room. Brittany stood in the doorway next to her mother and watched as the angel went inside.

The room was dark, as he slowly approached the bed and could see that a mass of dark hair covered the girl's face. When he leaned over and could see her better, he immediately recognized her and shook his head in denial as he spoke. "Hallie!"

The girl's eyes wearily opened and she looked up to see that his gray eyes were bearing down at her. "A-Adam?" Her voice cracked, and she could feel the tears streaming from beneath the lids.

"What do you think you're doing here?" He asked. "Is it not enough what you have done, now you show up here to torment my friends? I thought I told you to stay away from here."

"I…" her voice trailed off and she shook her head as though she, herself, was also in denial. She opened her mouth with the intention to speak, but she realized almost instantly that she could not tell him about the dialogue with Sam. She wanted the Angel of Death to forgive her, but not feel obligated to because she had spoken to Sam. She licked her dry lips. "Adam, please…"

"I know you're playing this role so you can hurt me or those I love again," he said stubbornly, but instead of allowing her to play on his sympathy, the wounded angel turned away from the girl on the bed.

"Holly, you've got to get her out of here." He said, but rather than offer any sort of explanation behind his abruptness, he simply left the room, his eyes shadowed with anger and frustration. When he stepped out into the hallway, Brittany looked at her friend as a new emotion of fear encased her, specifically when she could see the resentment in his facial expression.

"Adam!" Holly stared after him but when he didn't speak further, she turned back towards the door. Slowly, she stepped into the room, but turned around after a few seconds and faced her daughter. "Brittany I want you to go find Adam. See if you can find out what has gotten into him, I'm going to see if I can get her to talk, maybe she can shed some light on things."

The little girl nodded and began to walk down the hall in the direction of where she had seen Adam going.

Once Brittany was gone, Holly closed the door and approached the bed where the girl was now sitting up, the sadness enveloping her. Behind her, she did not notice that Andrew was still standing in the room and he was observing the events taking place. "I must say, I have never see him react to anyone in this way, before," Holly said softly as she sub-consciously glanced back over towards the door. "I take it you know him or have met him somewhere before."

"Yes," came the small answer.

"You know who he is, don't you?" Holly asked.

"He's an Angel of Death," Hallie whispered.

"Yes he is, he's also my daughter's best friend in the world. Yet, he hasn't been back for a while now, not since one of the boys from Brittany's class was killed last year. The fact is, with the storm and the weather outside, I suppose I thought for a moment that maybe he was here for another reason."

Hallie shook her head, but instead of commenting on Holly's words, she asked something that came as a surprise to the woman. "Are you going to make me leave?" The question emerged, the fear obvious in every word, but the acceptance, which was meshed in the wording, seemed to somehow tug at Holly's emotions.

She shook her head. "It would be inhumane of me to make you leave. The weather is getting worse and worse by the minute and chances are, this is probably the only place that is safe for any of us will be the cellar, but tell me what's your name?"

"Hallie," came the weak answer.

"Just Hallie or do you have a family name?" Holly asked.

The girl shook her head. "If I told you the truth about me, you probably wouldn't believe me anyway."

"Try me," she replied, her voice filled with kindness. "We have angels for friends, so chances are, your story couldn't be any wilder than that.

"I can't," came the soft answer.

"Well, then the question I have for you is: Does this have anything to do with how Adam just reacted to you?" Holly asked.

The girl nodded. "Yes, but please don't make me leave, I have to be here, I have to find forgiveness before I can go Home."

Holly nodded as though she understood, but there was an overwhelming confusion in her features as she regarded the girl. When she looked down at her, Holly could see that the young girl's eyes were filled with regret and guilt. Seconds later and she noticed that Hallie's face was still covered with bruises. "Did someone beat you up?"

Hallie looked down at the floral print blanket that covered her, and instead of speaking, she could feel the emotions getting the better of her and she began to weep softly.

"It's OK, Hallie, just calm down. I'm not going to make you leave, but I want to know the truth, and all of it."

"I-I can't tell you," Hallie said softly. "All I can say is that I'm trying to find my way back Home."

"You're lost then, is that why Steve and Earl found you out in the field?" Holly asked weakly.

Hallie nodded, but no more words emerged, she could feel that her human body was weak, and Holly reached for her hand and helped her to lie back against the pillows.

"You just get some rest now, no one is going to hurt you here, and if you need anything, let me know, OK, my name is Holly."

"Thank you," Hallie whispered as she closed her eyes and drifted out of consciousness. Holly left the room slowly, closing the door behind her.

*****

Brittany walked through the hallway, she had been looking for Adam for the last ten minutes, but when she couldn't find him, she had given up and made her way back in the direction of her room. "God," she began to whisper under her breath as she opened the door to her room. "I need your help."

"He knows, Brittany," Monica's voice emerged. "He knows that you are worried, sweetheart, and that you don't know where Adam went."

"No, he just left the room where that girl was sleeping, and when I tried to catch up with him, he disappeared and didn't come back," Brittany said sadly as the tears streamed from beneath her unhappy eyes. "Monica, does Adam still care for me anymore?"

"Yes, of course he does, but he's got a lot on his mind, a lot of pain still left in his heart," Monica said softly.

"That's what Scott said last night," Brittany said softly.

"Scott is right, because it's true, Adam is coping with a great deal right now, but that doesn't mean that he loves you any less than he did before," Monica took the forlorn child's hand. "Come with me, I'm going to introduce you to someone, a girl named Hallie"

Brittany nodded and she walked down the hall with the beautiful angel. "Monica, do you think that in all of this that Adam is mad at me?"

"No, I think he's just hurting, and once he finds the healing he needs, then he will be the same angel you have always known." Monica offered the little girl an encouraging smile, and led her to the door of the room that Holly had just come out of.

"Monica, what are you doing here?" Holly asked when she noticed that her daughter was once more in angelic company.

"I was sent here to help your family get ready for the storm, but I am also here to help Adam," Monica said softly. "He needs to find forgiveness, Holly, and it looks as though the Father wants you and Brittany to help him."

"Me?" Brittany looked at Monica with disbelief in her eyes.

"Yes, He knows you have a gentle spirit, Brittany," Monica said. "Sometimes it is through the innocence of children that gives the grown ups, and even the angels the courage to swallow their pride and try."

"Are you referring to Hallie, Monica?" Holly asked.

"Yes, Holly, she is more than what she seems," Monica began, "but unfortunately, that is all I can tell you, the rest will come in time."

Brittany nodded and without another word, she walked slowly into the room and when she saw the young girl asleep, she approached the bed and sat down. She took a deep breath as she regarded the young girl sleeping on the bed, her eyes filling with confusion as she stared down at her. "You're just a kid like me," the little girl whispered.

Hallie shifted on the bed and slowly opened her eyes. "W-who's there?"

"My name's Brittany, I live here," came the answer.

"I've heard about you, you're Holly's daughter, right?" Hallie moaned.

"Yeah," Brittany said as she shrugged her shoulders. "And your name's Hallie, right?"

"Yes."

"Is there anything I can get for you?" Brittany asked.

Hallie shook her head, her eyes closing. "Brittany, if you get a chance, would you ask Adam to come and talk to me? There's something very important that I need to tell him."

Brittany shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know if I can, he left here earlier and was so upset. I couldn’t find him anywhere. I guess he's unhappy about something, and I'm afraid to even ask what it is."

"You're afraid to hurt him?"

"A little bit," she whispered. "It's weird, he's changed somehow, I mean; he's not the same as he was before."

"How do you mean?"

"I don't know, that's just it, I mean, he just seems different is all. I want to tell him that I love him so much, but…" she could feel the sadness enveloping her.

"If you feel this way, then maybe you should tell him the truth, Brittany," Hallie said softly. "If he's your best friend, he would be worth it, right?" Brittany nodded as Hallie continued to speak, her voice barely above a whisper. "I never had a best friend, and I don't think I even deserve to have a best friend, but if you love him, you should tell him how you feel, so that he can make things right again."

Brittany looked at the girl. "You know, everybody deserves a best friend."

Hallie shook her head. "No, I don't, I don't even deserve compassion, not after what I've done, but yet you and your mother have given it and it's so kind of you."

"What did you do that makes you feel so bad?" Brittany asked.

The despondent girl shook her head. "I'd rather not say."

"Why not, you seem to have been rather successful at gaining the pity of a sensitive little girl?" Adam's voice emerged and he appeared in the room, thus causing them to both turn and face him. "I see you're still good at playing on the sympathies of people, nothing has changed."

"Adam, please don't be angry with her; she's very sick," Brittany spoke, her voice filled with pain and she looked up at him, but she could see that he was not about to stop, his voice was filled with anger and hostility.

"She's not sick, Brittany, this is all a part of her act," Adam said shaking his head.

"No, it's not a game," Hallie began to plead with him as she reached out to him, but all the while, she could feel the tears streaming from beneath them. "Adam, I'm sorry, please forgive me." As her voice began to break, she began to whimper. "I just want to go Home."

Adam shook his head. "It's just another trick, you are nothing more than a master of deception."

"No, not anymore," Hallie continued to whimper and she looked away from him briefly to see that Brittany was watching this exchange with the utmost fear and sadness in her eyes. She was seeing her best friend angry, and this was something that she had never seen before, nor was it something that she wanted to see.

"Adam," the little girl began to cry openly, but when he seemed not to have acknowledged her, she eventually crawled off the chair and fled from the room, her tears falling from beneath her sorrow filled eyes as she left.

Hallie watched as the little girl left, her heart aching for the little girl. Somewhere deep inside of herself, she knew exactly how Brittany was feeling.

Instead of speaking to her, Adam turned away and stared at the door to the room. He had left her alone again, and he could feel the guilt overwhelming him as he slowly started to walk towards the door

*****

In the hallway, Monica stood watching as the little girl emerged from the room and ran by without looking back. Holly started to follow her daughter, but before she could, Adam had emerged from the room as well, thus causing her to stop.

She looked at him, and realized that he did not look like the confident and strong angel she had come to know, and through the love of her daughter, had become devoted to. She could see that his sorrow-filled eyes were now watching the movement at the other end of the hallway.

The two angels and the human woman watched as the door to Brittany's room opened and closed until finally the Angel of Death continued to watch, his facial expression anxious, his eyes filling with tears.

"Adam, there's something I really need to tell you," Monica began as he started to walk in the direction of Brittany's room.

"Not now, Monica," Adam said sadly as he made his way down the hallway. "I can't bear anymore."

Before Monica could speak further, Adam was gone, and she looked at Holly. "I have to tell you the truth, this can't go on like this any longer. We are all here in this house, and we have to live together, and survive this storm in one another's company."

"Which storm do you mean, Monica?" Holly asked sarcastically. "I don't mean to sound rude, but I really don't know what to do, my daughter is frightened, we've got an angel copping an attitude, and you show up out of the blue trying to say something, but not saying it directly. What is happening here?"

"Holly there are two other angels here, one is a fallen angel, but this fallen angel is trying to find her way back to the light. She needs to find forgiveness before she will be able to overcome the guilt the past has literally encased around her. Hallie was a demon before, but she found her conscience, and now she is trying to find her peace. You are helping, but the one who must find forgiveness, is Adam."

"You mean to tell me that there's a demon in my house?" Holly looked at Monica as if the angel was cracking up.

"No, Holly, Hallie was a demon, but she's not anymore, in fact, she's dying, and without forgiveness, she will never find her way back to the light," Monica said softly as Andrew appeared in the doorway.

"Hallie will be going Home soon," he began. "Right now, she needs to make that journey in peace, not in guilt. She needs to find this and very soon. The only thing that is keeping her alive here is how successful she will be in forgiving herself, but she cannot even begin to do that, unless Adam helps her by forgiving her."

"She must have really hurt him, for him not to want to forgive her," Holly said softly.

"Yes, she did," Monica said softly.

"I don't know what to say," Holly said softly but she looked at Andrew. "You're going to take her to Heaven?"

He nodded as Monica spoke. "Andrew will be handling her transition, Holly."

"You mean she really is going to die?" Holly asked.

"Yes, she will," Andrew's gentle answer emerged.

"Then what I am doing is completely useless, isn't it?" Holly asked softly. "I've tried to get doctors and medication out here, but it's all for nothing if she's going to die."

"No, it's helping to prolong her life, so that maybe that will give her and Adam the time needed in order to reconcile," Monica said softly.

"Either that or it will prolong her suffering," Holly said softly as she walked away leaving Monica and Andrew standing in the doorway looking inside the room. Eventually, the Angel of Death returned inside the room and Monica was standing in the doorway uncertain as to what it was she could do that would help in this situation.

*****

Brittany closed the door to her room and went over and sat down on the floor her eyes filling with tears. She was so scared but as she looked out at the field that stretched out in front of her window, she could feel the tears streaming down her face.

As she looked around the room, she found herself staring at the teddy bear that was resting on the bed. She remembered how Adam had given her that teddy bear, and what it meant to her that she had it. She had named the bear, Adam, after the friend who had given it to her, but she wondered in the back of her mind if Adam and her were drifting apart like what had happened with Sean. At that moment, her fragile heart was broken, but she did not know why.

The storm raged on outside, but for some reason, she could sense that there was an even bigger one happening in her own house, and she could do nothing to stop it. The pain was about to swallow her up, and she wanted to talk to someone more than anything, but didn't know whom she could talk to or confide in. Her thoughts returned to the words Hallie had said to her. If you feel this way, then maybe you should tell him the truth. If he's your best friend, he would be worth it.

She closed her eyes, but moments later, she opened them when she heard Adam calling her name and she turned around to see the angel standing in her room. Instead of speaking, she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks, her voice cracking as she tried without success to say his name. "Adam?"

"Brittany, are you OK? Did she hurt you?" He asked; his voice filled with sadness.

"N-no, b-but you scared me in there," she whispered as the tears tumbled down over her cheeks and she tried without success to wipe them away.

"I didn't mean to, I was just trying to protect you," he said softly.

Brittany shook her head, and it was obvious that she did not understand what he meant or why he was saying these words. "From what?"

He shook his head. "Oh sweetheart." He said softly as he came over and sat down on the floor beside her. Once he was seated, she could feel his hand resting comfortingly on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Brittany, I didn't mean to frighten you," he began.

"You're not the same as you were before, you're angry, and unhappy all the time. What happened to my best friend?" Brittany could feel the tears streaming from beneath her eyes. "You are always strong and loving, but today, you got mad at that girl and I don't understand why. I mean; she's just a kid like me."

"No Brittany, she's not," Adam said softly.

"Yes she is. Did you look at her face; she was beat up, like my daddy used to do to my mommy. Oh God, she looked terrible, Adam, and she wishes that she had a friend," Brittany's sensitive words emerged and she reached out towards him. "I thought I lost you that I was no longer worth being your friend."

Adam could feel the tears streaming from beneath his sad gray eyes.

When he didn't speak, she misinterpreted his action and looked up at him. "Please, don't hate me for telling you that I'm scared, Adam. I'm afraid for her, and I'm scared for me, too."

"I don't hate you, sweetheart, but there is so much you just don't understand about Hallie, so much that I don't yet understand myself. I can tell you this, though; I love you, I care for you so much that sometimes it hurts. That's why I stayed away for so long, because coming back here hurt me so much. I remembered Matthew, and what had happened to him."

"You blamed me, just like everybody in town does. They called me the daughter of a murderer, but it was my dad, not me, I didn't do it, I didn't even talk to him after he went to jail." Brittany's voice had reached a hysterical pitch by this time, and he could see the tears that were streaming from beneath her eyes.

"No, I didn't blame you, honey, I blamed myself, I thought that you knew that I had to take him to Heaven, that you blamed me for it, because I thought I was responsible for what had happened," Adam could feel the tears that were now falling freely from beneath his eyes and instead of trying to conceal them, he allowed them to fall.

Brittany looked at him, her eyes filled with sadness as she reached over and touched his face with her fingertips, thus trying to wipe the tears from beneath his eyes. "I thought you didn't love me anymore. I thought I had done something wrong that made you stop caring for me. I'm just so scared, Adam, I'm so scared."

Adam looked down at the little girl, his eyes filled with sadness and instead of turning away from her, he gathered her gently in his arms. As he held her against his chest, he looked down at her as she collapsed against him. He could feel her body trembling as she wept, but seconds later, she could feel that he had brushed his lips across the top of her head. "Forgive me, Brittany," he whispered as she wept in his arms. "Please forgive me for not having come sooner."

"I love you, you're my best friend in the whole wide world, and I thought I had lost you," the little girl sobbed, her voice barely audible, but the Angel of Death could understand every agonized word that emerged.

"I love you, too," he said softly as he continued to stroke her hair.

"Adam, please don't leave me," she whispered, her head resting against his chest.

"I won't, sweetheart, but I want you to do something for me, OK?" He said softly.

"What?"

"Just be careful around Hallie, OK?" Adam said softly. "If she tries to hurt you, I don't think I would ever be able to forgive myself."

Brittany nodded but by this time, she had forgotten about the girl, all that she cared about was being held in the arms of her best friend, and knowing, or at least hoping, that everything was going to be OK and that Adam was sitting there next to her and holding her tightly in his arms.

*****

The room was quiet as Andrew came inside. He had not spoken to Adam since before his last confrontation with Hallie, and it amazed the young Angel of Death that he had been sent to be an angel to someone who had once been a demon. Sighing deeply he approached the bed and began to run his hand gently through her dark brown hair. She remained asleep, but he looked down at her face. It was now puffy and swollen from an apparent attack and he glanced skyward for a moment as he began to pray.

Father, what am I doing here, how can I help her find peace?

You cannot fully help her find peace, Andrew, but your presence is needed. This little girl needs the love and compassion from someone, and right now, your gentle spirit is precisely what she needs. The Father's loving assurances encompassed him.

Monica has been trying to get Brittany and Holly to help Adam find forgiveness. Andrew's thoughts continued as he looked down at the girl on the bed. Will Hallie ever be an angel again?

Perhaps, but that is a hard question to ask right now. The question would be if Hallie wants to be an angel again.

Andrew nodded as he continued to brush Hallie's dark hair out from in front of her eyes. Talk to her, Andrew, give her some of your comfort, the Father's voice encouraged him and he smiled gently down at her. She had once been an angel, she had sung in the choir, she had once had a beautiful voice, but somewhere things quickly got out of hand, and now he looked down at her as she slept, her human body sick and dying.

"Hallie," he finally spoke, his voice soft, as he nudged her slightly in the hopes of her waking up.

The girl slowly opened her eyes, but her vision was blurred so she reached up and began to rub her hands over her face and trying without much success to rub the exhaustion from her eyes. "W-who is it?" She moaned.

"It's Andrew, I'm an angel, Hallie, I think you remember me," he said softly as he reached down and once again brushed the hair out from in front of her eyes.

She reached out a hand to him, her eyes fluttering. "I'm frightened…"

"I know, but you have no reason to be afraid, no one is going to hurt you," he said softly as he reached over and touched her shoulder lightly as a way of assuring her that he was there and that he would not leave her side. "Hallie, why don't you tell me what happened to you, how did everything change? How did you end up turning away from the Father?"

She shook her head. "I'm scared to."

"I think you know that you'll find healing if you do," he said softly. "You have no reason to feel shame for what happened, things just happen sometimes, and one doesn't always have control over them, but Sam told me that the Father has forgiven you, now you need to work on forgiving yourself. Sometimes you can find the healing through speaking of what has happened."

"You don't understand what happened to me," she said softly as the tears tumbled down over her face.

"No, I don't but I want to and it might help you if you were to trust me enough to talk about it. If not to me, you could talk to God about it, He'll always listen to you. But, the point is, you really do need to talk to someone about all of this," he replied.

"I don't deserve His love or forgiveness…" she cried, her voice filled with suppressed pain, yet when she looked up at him, her eyes were practically pleading with him to convince her otherwise.

"You do, now tell me," Andrew sat down on the edge of the bed and he looked down at her. "It's OK, you have nothing to be afraid of, when the time comes I'll take you Home, but you have a lot to do before that happens, and the longer you wait, the more prolonged your suffering may be." He looked imploringly at her. "Please, Hallie, tell me how this happened."

"It was Monique," Hallie said softly.

"Monique, huh?" Andrew nodded as though he understood. "Let me guess, she pretended to be Monica and somehow managed to trick you?"

Hallie nodded. "I felt so stupid for actually listening to her, but I felt so much shame that I couldn't bear to look at the Father without feeling disgraced. It was so terrible, Andrew, but then after I left, I thought that the more I did, the more I would be able to accept what had happened to me. I hoped that one day, I would stop missing Home, but I didn't, I never did." She took a deep rasping breath. "The whole time, I just wanted to come Home, but I didn't know how."

Andrew pulled her into his arms all the while holding her tightly in his embrace. As she continued to cry, he could feel the sincerity in her despondent words. "Shhhh, it's OK, Hallie, you're going to be taken Home very soon."

"It hurts so much, Andrew," she whispered.

"The physical pain?"

"No, all those terrible things I said and did to Adam, and knowing that I deserved every single word he said to me," she whispered.

"You didn't."

"Yes, I did, you know as well as I do that I did," she wept softly. "I only wish that Adam would forgive me. Not because I talked to you or Sam, but just because I really am sorry for what I subjected him to. It was so hard."

Andrew tipped her face up so that he would be looking into her sad gray eyes. "Try to forgive yourself, Hallie, the choice as to whether Adam will is going to be up to him. Now, why don't you rest a little? I think you really need to get some sleep."

"I can't sleep," she whispered, but instead of lying back against the pillows, she remained sitting rigid on the bed and held tightly to him. "Please, stay with me, I'm so scared."

"I'm not going anywhere, Hallie," Andrew said softly. "You have no reason to be afraid."

"Andrew, would you please, promise me that you won't tell Adam what I told you? If he is going to forgive me, I don't want him to feel pressured about it."

When he saw the fear in her eyes, he reluctantly nodded. "OK."

The girl nodded and allowed him to help her lean back up against the pillows. Once he covered her with the blanket, she slipped out of consciousness and he turned back towards the door. There, he could see that Tess, Monica, and Scott were now in the room.

"Adam's not going to be able to forgive her, Tess," he said softly as the three other angels came over to the bed.

"Maybe he will, Andrew," Monica said softly.

"No, she doesn't want him to know anything, but how can he forgive her, if she says don't tell him anything? If he just knew why all this happened, then maybe he would be better able to forgive," Andrew looked at them.

"This may be more of a test for Adam than it is for Hallie," Scott said as he took the necklace from around his neck and put it around Hallie's, this time the side facing up was 'God be with you'. "Maybe this will help."

Tess and Monica nodded. "It couldn't hurt," Monica said softly.

*****

The weather was getting worse and worse as the day progressed and Holly was starting to get worried about the situation they were in. She finally went into the cellar and began to spread blankets in the room. The room was small, but she figured that if there were any tornados that would come with this hurricane, that she would have everything ready, she just needed to let the angels, and her daughter know that this was happening.

She took a deep breath and went into the parlor to check the radio's report. The power had gone off once again, but the same men who had brought Hallie up to the house had provided them with batteries so that they could figure out what was happening with the weather.

"Holly, are you in here?" A voice called out and she recognized it as belonging to Adam.

"I'm here, Adam, I have been trying to get the cellar ready for occupancy," she said as he came closer to where she was, all the while trying to follow the sound of her voice. "You know, I think your, uh, talent would definitely come in handy right now, I can't even see my hand in front of my face. These lights keep flickering."

Adam reached out towards her and when his hand touched hers, he smiled weakly. "I think we do need to get into the cellar very soon, the weather outside is getting worse."

"Where's Brittany?" Holly asked. "Is she with you?"

"No, she's with Monica," Adam said and could hear the hail that began to crash against the nearby windows. "It's getting darker out there, maybe you should go into the cellar now and finish getting things ready."

"You will get Hallie too, won't you?" Holly looked at him intently.

Adam released a pent up breath but he nodded. "I'm angry with her, I think you know why."

"Monica told me," Holly said as she reached for his hand and when she caught it, she looked at him. "Remember what happened two years ago, Adam? It was during the time that my father was sick and dying. You had just come here to take him away and you know how I was treating my brother, do you remember?"

"Holly, I …"

"You remember, don't you? I told my daughter that she was not allowed to talk to my brother, and this hurt Hunter more than words could even say. It was devastating to him, but I was cruel and unkind. But, what I remember most was when Brittany was in the hospital and you had come to see her, and I… " She could feel the tears in her eyes, but she continued to speak, her voice bringing him back to that terrible day.

Holly's Flashback

"You're never going to believe it, but Adam took me to the most beautiful place, Mom," Brittany said softly. "It was a meadow filled with wildflowers, mountains and even a stream. He called it 'God's Country', and it was so pretty." As she spoke, Adam came into the room and in his hand he carried a stuffed teddy bear and a vase full of wildflowers.

"I knew he'd be back," Hunter declared when he saw Adam standing in the doorway with his gifts.

Brittany looked up and could see that the angel was now in the room and he carried a gentle smile on his face, she returned the gesture and even extended her hand towards him, but before the angel could approach the bed in order to give Brittany the gifts he carried, Holly turned around and glared at him. "Why are you here?" She demanded.

"I-I'm here to see Brittany," Adam managed to say.

"Well, as you can see, she's just fine now," Holly looked angry. "So you can just take off now."

"No, Mommy, he's my friend, he came here to visit me," Brittany began to cry, but when she saw her mother turn back and face her with unsuppressed rage, the small child sank back against the pillows, the fear taking control of her and she was unable to even say anything further.

"Holly, chill out," Hunter snapped at his sister. "Can't you see that Brittany wants him here, he's her best friend."

"This is my daughter, Hunter, so you can stow it with your advice," Holly said with the usual edginess in her voice and she looked at Adam and put her hands on her hips. "I don't want the Angel of Death hanging around my only daughter."

Adam looked as though she had just slapped him, the vase that he carried would have slipped from his hands and shattered on the linoleum floor had Samantha not taken it and the teddy bear gently from him. Once Samantha held the two objects, she watched as the angel walked dejectedly from the room.

She placed the vase on the desk, the teddy bear right beside it and after shooting Holly an angry glare; she left the room following him out into the hallway.

Holly's Flashback End

"It was so wrong of me to say those things to you, but Adam…" She tried to keep her sadness at bay in remembering this moment.

"Holly, you don't have to apologize anymore for that, it was a misunderstanding, and all was forgiven back then," he said softly.

"Yes, that's exactly the point I'm trying to make, you forgave me, Adam. Now tell me why you can't you find it in your heart to forgive that little girl?" Holly asked; her voice filled with sadness.

"You have no idea what she did?"

"No, none of us do, and we probably won't ever know, but I do know you and I know that you have a bigger heart than just about any living creature that exists. Adam, please, just try," Holly pleaded with him. "Maybe that's why we're going to have to live in the cellar together for an extended period of time; maybe God wants you to be there with her so you can find forgiveness."

Adam looked at her. "You have no idea what you're asking me to do, Holly."

"I think, I do, I'm asking you to simply hear her out. Forgiveness will have to come entirely from you, and that will always be your choice. I cannot make it for you, but because you're angry or hurt, does not mean that I will turn my back on someone who needs me."

The Angel of Death thought about her words. "You have a good heart, Holly."

"You helped me find it, you know?" She looked up at him. "Adam, let me help you find yours. I know it's there, I've seen it when you've spent time with Brittany, and when you sang to her to help her go to sleep. The point is, you're an angel, and being an angel means being an example to us as to how to forgive, and how to love one another." She could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks, but was grateful for the darkness that concealed her eyes.

Adam sighed deeply, her words hitting his already weakened spirit, but he nodded. "I guess I'd better go and get the others," was all he said and then within seconds, he was gone leaving Holly standing and staring after him.

"That was very nice, Holly," A strange voice emerged and she turned around to see Sam.

"Thank you, but please could you answer two questions for me?" Holly began to speak. "Who are you and just how many angels does the Big Guy think we need down here? I mean it's not like I haven't experienced living through these kinds of storms before."

"My name is Sam, and God always sends just enough angels to you," he said as he chuckled. Seconds later, he smiled at her before disappearing.

*****

Five minutes later, Adam had raced up the stairs, the weather outside was getting worse by the second and he called out to Brittany, the little girl he had left only a short time before having gone to speak with Holly in the parlor. As he called out the little girl's name, he could see that Monica had stepped out into the hallway.

"Where's Brittany?" He asked her, his voice frantic. "Her mother is getting things ready in the cellar, the weather is getting dangerous, and Holly is afraid that we're going to have to stay the night underground."

"I'll help you look for her," Monica said softly. "I have no idea where she is, but maybe we should go and see if Andrew has seen her."

"Where is he?" Adam asked.

"With Hallie," Monica said softly. "Adam, there's something really urgent that I have to tell you about her, and it's very important."

"No, tell me later, Monica, I have to find Brittany," Adam said, his voice somewhat anxious.

The auburn headed angel nodded numbly as Adam ran frantically towards the door to Hallie's room. This was where Andrew was, and he knew that he needed his fellow angel's help in finding the little girl. As he opened the door, he could see that Brittany was sitting on the bed and watching over the sleeping girl. As he came into the room, she looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears.

"Brittany, your mom wants you to come to the cellar, the weather is getting bad," he said as he came closer.

"Adam, she's dying," Brittany looked down at the body of the girl.

"That's not possible…" he said softly as he looked down at the figure on the bed. When he reached his friend, he shook his head, but he could see that her eyes were filled with tears, and somewhere deep inside of him, he knew it was true.

"Brittany is telling you the truth, Adam," Andrew said, his voice interrupting his fellow angel's words. "Brittany knows that Hallie is dying, she has been trying to keep her awake, but now it's just a matter of time."

"Demons can't die," Adam said softly.

"She's not a demon anymore," Brittany said sadly. "She's my friend."

Andrew nodded as he looked at his fellow angel. "I know she's hurt you, my friend, but now she's nothing more than a frightened girl trapped in this human existence and can only escape with forgiveness."

"You mean, me?" Adam looked at his friend shaking his head. "Andrew, I just can't."

"Yes, you can, God has offered you all the opportunity in the world to forgive her, but it has been your pride that has kept you from doing so," Andrew said softly. "You'll have to find this inside of yourself or you will never be able to get over what the events of the past few months have done to you," Andrew said. "Forgiving her will not only free her from this existence she is subjecting herself to, but my friend, it will free you from the pain you have been feeling since the last time you were here." Andrew reached over and touched the top of Brittany's head. "It will also provide the closure that this precious little girl needs. She needs to know that her best friend is an example to her as to how strong and confidant one can be."

Adam looked at Brittany and the little girl nodded, she had heard Andrew's words, and her actions were her way of acknowledging the truth in them.

Andrew offered his hand to the little girl and when Brittany accepted it, he helped her get to her feet. "I think we should go and let your mother know that you're OK."

Brittany looked warily at Adam, her eyes filled with sadness, but after a second she looked back up at Andrew.

"Adam and Hallie will be just fine, Brittany, but you and I should go downstairs and give them the time they need to talk," he said gently, and she nodded.

"OK, but I want my teddy bear," Brittany said and Andrew nodded as they left the room.

Once Adam was alone with Hallie, he looked down at her but after a second had passed, he glanced up to see the storm getting even worse outside the window. Seconds later, he looked down at her, his hand gently shaking her.

"Hallie?"

She remained unconscious, but he could hear the sounds of the hail pounding harder against the window. Finally, he shook the girl a little more intensely all the while hoping that she would wake up.

"Wake up," he encouraged her softly hoping that she could hear his words. "Come on, Hallie."

As she slowly opened her eyes, she could see that Adam was looking down at her with small traces of concern in his eyes. "Adam?" She moaned, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes," he said. "I'm here, I don't really know why, but I am."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"What for?" He asked, but before the answer could emerge, a bolt of lightning flashed outside and the window to the room shattered. Without thinking, he used his body to act as a shield against the fragments of glass, which were now flying into the room. "I'm going to get you out, it's too dangerous here."

Hallie said nothing, but she watched as he slowly stood up, fragments of glass falling to the floor. "Did you get cut?" He finally asked her.

"I don't think so."

Adam nodded and leaned over and picked her up in his arms. Seconds later, she felt her arms wrapping around him and holding tightly to him as he carried her out of the room.

"The others are in the cellar, so I'll take you there," he said, his voice void of any emotion, and she could somehow detect that he was only there with her because he had to be.

Instead of commenting on this, she nodded numbly, her head once again resting against his shoulder. "Adam?"

"Not now, please, it's hard enough for me to believe that I'm actually doing this," he said under his breath.

"I just want you to know that I'm sorry for all the things I did to you. I ask only that you please try to forgive me."

"I can't, not yet," he said, but he looked down at her, his eyes instead of being filled with anger, they were instead filled with hurt. "I have a hard time believing that you are even human, Hallie, much less that you would actually want to apologize to me for all of this."

"But, Adam, I am human, and I really am so sorry," she whispered softly.

"Look, I don't want to talk to you about this right now," he said as he descended the stairs. "Everyone seems to want me to forgive you for all that you have done, but I can't, so let's just get into the cellar and leave this alone."

Hallie could feel the tears streaming from beneath her eyes. She knew that it was going to be hard for her to find acceptance from him. This human body was getting weaker, she realized and all the while she wondered if she would die before he would even talk to her.

Adam sighed deeply as he looked down at her, but something caught his eye as he carried her through the living room. Scott's necklace was dangling from around her neck, and the Angel of Death could feel a lump forming in his throat as he recognized the words engraved on the small medallion.

At the same time, he could not help but wonder what it was that Monica seemed so insistent on telling him. Instead of pondering either of these things for too long, he continued walking towards the door leading into the basement of the large mansion.

*****

The following morning, Holly, Brittany, Monica, Scott, Andrew, Adam and Hallie were still gathered in the cellar. The emotions of those gathered were still somewhat stilted; Adam had spent much of this time sitting alone contemplating the events going on outside of their small underground dwelling. Overhead, the storm seemed to be pounding and he wondered how long it was going to be that they would have to stay down there.

He could see that this was taking a lot out of Brittany, she would sit and just stare at the walls and it was obvious that this silence had somehow upset the little girl. Now she slept cradled in his arms, his eyes closed, but he did not sleep. There were too many conflicting thoughts cursing through his mind that made him unable to sleep at all.

On the other side of the room, Holly had woken up and she was now sitting and watching him. As she observed the angel's abrupt behavior of the days passed, Holly could only conclude that the storm in their cellar was more dangerous than what was happening outside. She was starting to believe that facing the one upstairs would probably be a much more welcome sight for her than to deal with the childishness of simply not speaking to one another.

Holly looked over at the young girl who was asleep on the makeshift bed they had set up in one corner. Hallie had slept off and on throughout the night, but Holly was convinced that few of them were able to sleep in these cramped quarters. She also noticed that her daughter had gone over and talked to Hallie during the night, and she smiled as she thought about how the two of them had spent the night whispering to one another like old friends.

After awhile, Brittany had gone back over to where Adam was resting, and she had fallen asleep in the arms of her best friend. Sighing deeply, Holly could easily tell that Brittany was now awake. The little girl was shifting all the while trying not to disturb Adam, who appeared to be asleep.

As she watched her daughter rub the sleep out of her eyes, Holly could see that, Monica and Andrew were still sleeping, the two angels wrapped in each other's arms. Scott was leaning against a wall, his eyes closed and on the other side, Adam was resting; his arms comfortingly wrapped around Brittany, the little girl's head still resting against his chest.

As Holly began to divide the fruit into small bowls, she looked up to see that Brittany had opened her eyes and when she noticed that her best friend was still asleep, the little girl crawled slowly away, retrieved a blanket, shook it out, and covered him with it. She leaned over and kissed his cheek before leaving her teddy bear resting in his arms. She looked back at him once more before joining her mother and helping her with breakfast.

"How did you sleep?" Holly whispered once Brittany had come over to where she was working.

"OK," Brittany said softly, but she looked back over at Adam as he peacefully slept in the corner. "He's tired."

"I know and he doesn't look much like himself either, does he?" Holly asked.

"No and he's not acting like himself either," Brittany said softly, but after a few seconds, she looked up at her mother. "Mommy?"

"What is it, sweetheart?" Holly asked.

"Did you notice that we're the only people here?" Brittany asked as she waved her hand around, indicating the other occupants in the small room. "They're all angels."

"I noticed that last night, too," Holly said as she handed her daughter a bowl of fruit. Once Brittany had sat down on the floor, Holly took a bowl as well and sat down next to her daughter and they began to eat.

"You think he's going to forgive her?" Brittany asked.

"I really don't know. Monica said she did some really horrible things to him, but he's an angel, and he should honestly have more strength to forgive than we do," Holly said softly.

"Yeah, but if he doesn't ask God to help him then how could he have it?" Brittany asked her mother softly.

"That's true, you're right, and I was thinking the same thing myself," Holly said softly as she looked around the room once again. "You know, I don't think it was an accident that we all ended up here in this cellar last night. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that there is a reason. Maybe God thought it would be a good way for Adam to face this, as well as find forgiveness."

Brittany shrugged her shoulders as she looked over at her best friend and could see that he was moving. "I think he's waking up," she whispered to her mother.

"You go sit with him, I'm going to see if I can pick up any news stations and see if I can found out how the storm is faring."

Brittany nodded as she finished the fruit and put the dish aside before crawling over to where Adam was leaning against the wall. As she leaned up against him, she pulled the golden watch out of her dress pocket and stared down at the cover. Adam sat and watched her as she opened the cover and held the object up against her ear.

"You still have it?" He asked.

"Yeah," she whispered hoping not to wake the other angels.

"Are you OK?" He asked after a few moments of silence had passed between them.

"I'm bored, actually," she said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess it's no fun for you to sit here and have to stare at these four walls," he said.

"It's worse when people won't even talk to each other," she said softly, but on the other side of the room, she could see that her mother was trying set the tuning knob on the battery powered radio, and appeared to be having very little luck in the matter. Against the other wall, Brittany could see that Hallie was still sleeping.

Adam rested his hand on her shoulder. "I suppose I haven't been very good about talking with people, huh?"

The little girl looked down at her lap. "I'm just a kid, what do I know? Besides, what does it matter anyway?"

"It matters a lot, Brittany," he said softly. "It matters more than you know."

She shook her head not wanting to believe his words.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Nothing, I just tried to help, but I failed," she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks. "You think you're always right, that you can be mad at someone or make mistakes, but you know what people say all the time?" Adam shook his head as the little girl continued. "They all say that I should 'forgive and forget', and it's always the grownups who say that kind of stuff, but they don't even know how to do it themselves. I guess, I thought you were different."

Adam looked at her, the brutal truth that she was speaking, striking a nerve with him. "You're right, sometimes grownups do forget." His eyes followed where she was looking and when he noticed that the little girl was staring at Hallie, he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and nodded. It was at that moment he knew what he had to do. "I'll talk to her," he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Brittany looked back at her friend, her voice soft, and she was not certain she had heard his words correctly. "You will?"

Adam nodded. "It's hard, Brittany, but I will talk to her, as soon as she wakes."

At that moment, Andrew had woken up and he came over to them, and spoke having overheard what Adam had just said. The look of relief that covered his face was unmistakable but he spoke, his voice filled with relief as well as a trace of urgency. "If you're going to talk to her, Adam, you'd better do it quickly. She's running on empty."

"I'll do my best, then," he looked down at Brittany, and smiled gently at her as he got up off the floor and made his way over to where the young girl was still sleeping.

Andrew and Brittany remained, and she looked up at him. "You think this will make things better; Andrew?"

The Angel of Death nodded. "I think it will, sweetheart, I really do."

*****

At that instant, Adam had made his way over to where Hallie was lying, his eyes filling with tears as he regarded the girl. For the first time, he noticed the pain and the bruises that covered her death-pale cheeks. He stared down at her for some moments all the while trying to get his emotions back into check, but eventually he lowered himself to the floor and Instead of just sitting down next to her, he gathered her frail body in his arms and held her tightly, his hand brushing through her matted hair.

As she felt herself being shifted, she opened her eyes to see him towering over her. "A-Adam, is that you?"

"Yes, Hallie, it's me, and everyone wanted me to talk to you, but I didn't want to," he said softly. "I realize now that the only way to let go of the past, is to face that part of it that I may not necessarily be comfortable facing."

"I don't blame you for not wanting to talk to me," Hallie said softly, her words somehow taking him by surprise, but they emerged barely above a whisper.

"Andrew told me yesterday that you were dying," he shook his head in disbelief. "I suppose, I didn't even know what to say to that. Deep inside of me, I didn't want to believe it, I mean…."

"…I actually didn't want you to know about it," she whispered interrupting him. "That's why I didn't tell you that I had spoken to Sam. I wanted to earn your forgiveness through sincerity, honesty, and love. I didn't want it this way…" her voice trailed as the tears began to stream from beneath her eyes.

"Shhh, calm down, it's OK," Adam said softly as he continued to brush her hair out from in front of her eyes.

"Adam, I was so scared that you wouldn't talk to me, but after trying, I realized that I didn't blame you for not wanting to. I wouldn’t have wanted to talk to me either." She looked up at him, her eyes filled with suppressed pain and remorse. "The truth is, I just didn't want you to feel sorry for me, that's why I didn't tell you about what had happened. I guess deep down inside, I hoped that you would have forgiven me without having known what my fate was going to be."

"That was what Monica had been trying to tell me," Adam said as the realization dawned on him regarding the two different times the auburn headed angel had tried to get him to talk about what had happened with Hallie. "I didn't listen to her, I suppose now, I should have."

"Would it have changed things?" She asked weakly, as she began to cough.

"It would have been hard for me to have tried without having known, but yes, Hallie, it would have made a difference," he said softly. "You remember that I was once your supervisor. I think this is why it was hard for me to talk to you about this without having known the truth. Yet, now I think you know that you have to tell me the whole truth. I want to know why it was you left? Please, tell me, was it something I did?"

"No, it wasn't you, Adam, I'm just scared to tell you, I'm afraid you'll think I'm stupid," she whispered looking down at her lap.

"If we're going to get this all out in the open, you're going to have to tell the truth. I cannot find forgiveness if you cannot trust yourself enough to tell me what specifically happened to you. Now, I'm listening, so tell me."

Hallie looked at him. "Do you remember what happened just before I had gone away?" Once he had nodded, she continued. "I had become friends with Monica, and she was telling me about the time she served in 'Search and Rescue'. Well, soon after that, things started getting weird, I mean, 'Monica' started telling me about how great things were on the other side, and by the time I realized what was happening and it was too late. I wasn't talking to Monica, she wasn't the one who was telling me this stuff; it was Monique, and she had tricked me." She could feel the tears streaming from beneath her eyes as she relayed these events to him. "By then, I thought that I was too far away from God to actually be forgiven, so I stayed away. I hoped every day that I could come Home, but as more time passed, I became more and more convinced that it was too late for me." As she spoke, she began to cry, her tears falling freely and she looked up and tried without too much success to look into the eyes of her former supervisor.

"I wanted to come Home in the worst way, Adam, I swear it, but I couldn’t, I thought it was too late." She looked down at her lap as she shook her head. "All I ever wanted to do was to come Home and be with you, Monica, Tess and Andrew, but it didn't work. The more I longed for this, the more Monique was around every corner telling me that you hated me, and that I would never again be welcomed Home by the Father."

"So that's how it happened?" Adam asked gently.

Hallie nodded, the shame enveloping her. "Monique told me that in order to stay in that dreadful place, that I had to seek revenge on you for having abandoned me." As she spoke, she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks, her eyes now puffy and swollen. "I know now that it wasn't you who abandoned me, it was me who abandoned you." She looked up at him, the tears blurring her vision and instead of wiping them away; she allowed them to fall as her next words emerged. "Adam, I never stopped loving and respecting you. I just lost track of myself because I wasn't listening to the Father, much less to my conscience."

"You didn't completely stop listening to your conscience, Hallie. I would be willing to bet that that was what led you back to us. It was what gave you the extra courage you needed to tell me the truth," he said softly as he brushed the tears from her eyes.

She shook her head, but he brushed his hands against her face, and held it still so that she would be looking him in the eyes. "I-I just wanted to tell you how much I have always cared about you, and all those times that I had said things that hurt you, I knew they weren't the truth; they were never the truth." As she spoke, the tears continued to fall, and she tried to look away from him.

"Just tell me, Hallie, get all of this out," he said his voice soft, but filled with strength.

"I guess I just wanted to be near you, that's why I was always around, I wanted to witness how much strength you possessed. You helped me find all those things again, and I know what I did was so horrible, but I just wanted to…" her voice trailed off, and she could feel the emotions getting the better of her.

"Would you like it if I took you Home?" He asked gently after she began to weep once again.

"What?" She looked up, and when she did, he could see the extent of the pain that was on her face.

"I said, 'would you like it if I took you Home'?" Adam asked gently as he reached over and touched her face, his hand feeling the wetness of the tears that were falling from beneath her misery-filled eyes. "I'm sure Andrew won't mind, and I know that you and I both need to find peace in all of this."

"You mean; you would take me?" She asked weakly.

"Yes, it would be my pleasure to journey Home with you," he smiled gently at her as he brushed the tears from her eyes. "I forgive you, Hallie, I just ask that you forgive me for not giving you a chance to tell me these things. I know that I must have hurt you deeply when I got angry and I guess I initially believed that you had come here with the intentions of hurting Brittany," he said softly. "You have known all along how much I treasure that little girl; she's one of the most special friends I have."

Hallie nodded as she reached out to him. "Thank you so much, Adam." As she spoke, she rested her head against his shoulder and she closed her eyes for the last time. There, wrapped securely in his arms, she died, the peace enveloping her. When Adam looked up and could see the radiant spirit of the girl standing beside him, Adam rested her human body back against the bed. He stood up and went over to where she was now standing, her peace had been freely given to her, and the love that enveloped her, overwhelming.

"Adam, please tell Brittany that I said thank you when you come back, if I'm not able to," Hallie said softly as Adam put his arm around her shoulder and led her to the light.

"I will, Hallie, I promise," he said as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. From there, the two of them disappeared into the light.

*****

Moments later, Adam returned and had come over to where Brittany was sitting on the floor. "She went Home?" The little girl asked weakly as he sat down on the floor next to her.

"Yes, she's now Home, and at peace," Adam said softly and when he saw the tears in the little girl's eyes, he pulled her gently into his arms.

"Are you?" Brittany asked softly, her voice filled with sorrow.

Adam nodded as he regarded his young friend. "I am now, Brittany."

The small girl smiled weakly as her mother managed to get the radio tuned in. "It's amazing what has happened," the radio announcer was saying. "The Hurricane is behind us, it passed over giving us a lot of rain, but now the storm is behind us."

"In more ways than one," Holly said as she regarded the body of the girl on the makeshift bed. Sighing sadly, she went over to where Monica was sleeping and she reached over and touched the auburn head of the angel. "Monica, the storm has passed over, and we can go back upstairs now."

As the angel opened her eyes, she turned towards where Scott was resting; the young Angel of Death was also opening his eyes. He got to his feet and followed Holly, Andrew, and Monica up the stairs. Adam and Brittany remained in the room, their eyes both on the body of the young girl Brittany had befriended. "She's gone, isn't she Adam?"

"Yes, but she's Home, and it's where she wanted to be more than any place else in the world." He rested his hand on her shoulder. "She wanted me to thank you, though."

"Why?"

"I would guess that she saw something so wonderful in you that she wanted you to know how much it meant to her that you were there for her," he said softly. "Sometimes, you have seen the beauty that exists in someone long before I have been able to. I don't always understand why that is, but I will tell you this, both you and your mom are able to do this, and you take something that is often hard, painful, and ugly, and you turn it into something wonderful, priceless, and beautiful."

Seconds later, the room filled with light, and in the nimbus of light, stood Hallie. The young angel appeared to envelope the light, and she was smiling at them. Her soft hair was pulled back, her eyes filled with vitality and life and as she came over to where Brittany was now standing next to Adam, she extended her hands to the little girl. Brittany extended her hands as well, but she also sub-consciously backed up ever so slightly. The young angel looked serenely at her as she took Brittany's hand, turned her palm up and placed a small object in the hand of the little girl.

"I came back to thank you, Brittany," Hallie said softly. "You helped both Adam and me find forgiveness, and that gift is the most precious and beautiful of all."

"What's going to happen to you, Hallie?" Brittany asked softly.

"Maybe I'll be able to back and see you, but it probably won't be for a long time. I'll never forget you though, and when Adam comes to visit you, I'll try to give him messages to give to you," Hallie said softly.

Brittany looked at Adam and he nodded. Eventually, she looked back over at Hallie, the tears now falling freely from her eyes. "I'm going to miss you, you know."

"Yes, I do know, Brittany, and I'll miss you too, I never had real human friends before. I suppose, I had spent too much time hurting people, and I didn't know what it felt like to be capable of being there and helping you," Hallie reached over and brushed her hand against the side of Brittany's tearstained face. She could see that this farewell was very sad for the little girl, and she smiled gently at her. "Don't cry for me, Brittany, I'm Home, and that's a gift that God gave to me when he forgave me for all that I had done."

Brittany could not stop the tears from falling, and she looked up at the young angel. "Y-you're an angel again?"

Hallie smiled and nodded, but within seconds, she had disappeared and when Brittany looked over at the makeshift bed the wounded angel had used when she had been with then, she could see that the human shell she had occupied had disappeared as well. As the tears streamed down over her cheeks, she shyly looked up at Adam. "S-she's gone."

Adam wrapped her in his arms and picked her up off the ground. "Yes, she is," he said softly as they retrieved the teddy bear and the angel carried her up the stairs and out of the cellar. As they reached the light that was illuminating the parlor, Brittany looked down at the object that was now resting in her hand.

"What is this?" She asked weakly looking into the eyes of her best friend.

"That was the necklace that she was wearing when I took her Home," Adam said. "She gave it to you so that you will always remember her, as well as the message that God is always with you, even when you think you're alone, God is with you."

As he lowered her to her feet, he took the necklace and put it around her neck. As he finished this, he gave her the teddy bear and put his arm around her shoulders. As they walked towards the hallway leading to the foyer, she looked up at him, her bittersweet happiness overwhelming.

After a few moments, Adam turned to see the tears still streaming down the face of the little girl.

"You're going to miss Hallie, aren't you, sweetheart?" He asked gently as he brushed the back of his hand against her face, thus brushing the tears away. Feeling this, she nodded weakly as she looked up at him, and all the while, she was trying to will herself to not cry.

"Yeah," she whispered, her voice still filled with grief.

"You will see her again someday," he said gently.

"You think so?" She asked weakly.

"I know so," he smiled at her. "But, I think right now, we should join the others before they start worrying about us."

"Things are back to normal then, aren't they?" She asked weakly as he picked her up in his arms and she once more rested her weary head against his chest.

"I think they will be, yes." Adam smiled weakly as he kissed her cheek, his beard tickling the smooth skin along the contours of her face.

Brittany began to giggle, but she reached over and touched his face. "I love you, Adam, you're always going to be my angel, right."

He smiled and nodded. "Yes, but, do you know who my angel is?"

Brittany shook her head.

"I'm looking at her," he smiled.

The End

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