A 'Touched by an Angel' story

By: Yvette Jessen

© 2001 not intended to infringe on any previously held copyrights.

Please Note: This story is the fourteenth in a sequence of stories, which I have written, which are centered on my character, Christina, her family and friends. The first one is entitled ‘The Innocence of a Child’, the second ‘A Little Girl’s Wish’, the third ‘The Senior Prom’, the fourth 'Stealing Second', the fifth 'Another Halloween Night', the sixth 'An Overdue Appointment', the seventh 'Homecoming', the eighth 'Solitary Without Hope', the ninth 'Making the Grade', the tenth 'Till Death Do Us Part', the eleventh 'Olivia's Battle', the twelfth 'In the Father's Arms', and the thirteenth 'The Healing Spirit'.

*****

The morning dawned bright, the late autumn rain leaving everything crisp and inviting, almost as though it was how things were supposed to be for this special day. Christina crawled out of bed, her face radiating joy for the first time in such a long time, she found herself feeling happy for no apparent reason at all.

As she came down the stairs, she could hear the voice of her daughter drifting through the house from the living room and she wondered whom it was Laura was talking to. As she came into the living room, she could see that Laura was seated on the sofa and when she entered the room she could see that Laura was deep in conversation with her longtime friend, Andrew.

"Good morning," Christina said smiling warmly at her daughter as well as at the angel who had come to mean so much to her over the years. "Hi Andrew, it's so wonderful to see you again."

"Hello Christina, did you sleep well?" Andrew asked causing her to smile. He always looked out for her and worried when she was not sleeping right or when things were too stressful for her.

"Wonderful, I had the most amazing dream," Christina said smiling. "I haven't slept so nicely in such a long time, perhaps it has something to do with me waking up and finding that you have come back. It's always so nice to have you here."

"Maybe you should stay longer, Andrew," Laura said smiling brightly and leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

When he began to chuckle, Christina looked questionably at her daughter. "What did you tell him, you know the rules, no keeping secrets from your mother," she said good-naturedly.

"Since when?" Laura asked, her face the depiction of innocence. After a few moments passed she smiled impishly. "OK, I just told him that you're usually in a better mood when he's around."

Christina looked at Andrew for confirmation, and the angel nodded, his eyes, all the while, shining brightly.

Laura smiled weakly at her mother. "I'm just kidding, anyway," she offered and looked at Christina. There was no denying the love that emanated between mother and daughter, and even though Christina and Jeremy adopted Laura some days after they had gotten married, no one could deny the overall warmth that always seemed to embody Christina and Laura Lowery.

"Andrew, do you want some coffee or anything?" Christina offered and Laura looked stricken, as though she suddenly realized that she had forgotten that he was a guest in her home and that she had forgotten to tend to his needs.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to ask," the twelve-year-old girl mumbled as she attempted to stand up, her injured legs somehow prevented her from doing so and she fell back against the soft cushions on the sofa. She looked at Andrew with traces of sadness as well as dismay in her dark brown eyes.

"It's no trouble, you two. I've already helped myself actually," he smiled warmly at both of them, causing Laura to relax somewhat, but the sadness was still evident in her eyes. "Laura and I were just discussing some of the things that have been going on with her at school since I was last here, weren't we?"

The girl nodded.

"Laura, I'm heading into the kitchen for some cocoa, would you like me to bring you some orange juice while I'm in there?" Christina asked trying to be careful with the way she phrased this particular question. She had known for some time that Laura was often overly sensitive about her disability and often would try to do too much just to prove to others that she was capable.

"Thanks, Mom," Laura said and it was obvious that the young girl was grateful that she would have some more time alone with Andrew to talk.

Christina went into the kitchen and Andrew looked at Laura, the same concern was in his eyes, and he figured that Christina's questions and reactions came from the concern she had for Laura.

"OK, out with it," Andrew said trying to look demanding, but he only succeeded in causing Laura to begin snickering.

"You're not all that hot at being demanding, Andrew," she giggled. "I'd give it up if I were you."

"OK, then Laura how about another tactic? Please tell me what's wrong?" Andrew asked deciding that the direct approach was probably the best. "I know you pretty well and I can tell that something is really bothering you. Will you talk to me?"

"It's nothing, I've just been thinking about the dancing again, and I wonder what my mom and dad would say if I told them I wanted to take lessons," Laura said and she pulled a small brochure out of her pocket. "One of the teachers at school said that she teaches handicapped kids arts and crafts after school, and she said that there was a dance class there too. She told me that if I wanted to, I should give it a try, but it costs a small fortune and I'm not sure I want to ask my parents for so much money."

"How much is 'so much'?" Andrew asked.

"Well, I checked in my pocket money, and I discovered that I would need at least $130 more to do the course. It costs $150, so I guess it's not really possible anyway," Laura said softly. "I'll try not to worry about it anymore."

"What would you say if Tess, Monica, and I were to try and help you raise the money for the class?" Andrew said after a few moments of thinking.

"Would you? I mean, could you really stick around and help me?" Laura asked, her eyes brightening considerably.

"Well, it will be a lot of work, but let's wait and see what happens after we go to the church for Brendan's christening and then we'll talk about it some more," Andrew suggested. "I want to help you fulfill your dream."

"You're really an angel, in more than one sense of the word," Laura said and she threw herself into the arms of her friend. He could see the tears streaming down her cheeks and he brushed them from under her eyes.

"Well, I never really had a chance to tell you how proud God is of you for all the help you gave me when I was so sad the last time I was here," he said. "Besides that fact, I never managed to get you a birthday present."

"You're the greatest," she smiled. "I can't believe this, you're the best friend I've ever had."

"You're mine too," he smiled as he ruffled her hair. "When the Father sent me to your mother when she was 10-years-old, I think He did me a favor too, because your family is so special to me."

*****

The church was full when they arrived for the service some three hours later. Jeremy had let them out and Laura was walking inside, her hand holding tightly to Andrew's. The angel could see that the young girl's walking had gotten progressively worse in the past months since his last visit. He closed his eyes, all the while feeling the Father's reassurances that he would be able to stay longer and help Laura. As he was made aware of this, he wondered if Christina and Jeremy had noticed the plight of their daughter as well.

Laura stumbled more and more as she walked, and her frustrations were becoming more and more evident, the once cheerful young girl started to become more and more distant and everyone could see the trouble she had when she would try to walk. It was becoming more and more apparent to anyone who would look at her that she was having difficulties staying on her feet.

"Laura, sweetheart, are you OK?" Andrew finally asked her as they entered the sanctuary and she had stumbled yet again almost falling if not for the strong hold he had on her hand. She had tears streaming down her cheeks as they were making their way up the center aisle.

She stopped for a moment and shook her head sadly. "It hurts to walk, Andrew," she whispered as the tears streamed from beneath her eyes and when she tried to walk again, she stumbled this time nearly falling onto her knees.

"Can you feel your feet at all?" He asked her gently.

"N-not really, it's like they're asleep, but at the same time, it hurts to walk," she could feel the tears continuing to fall and she stubbornly wiped her hand over her face.

"Let's sit here, then," he suggested as they passed a group of pews near the back of the sanctuary.

"B-but, you have to be in the front with Monica and Tess for Brendan's christening. You have to fulfill your promise to Olivia," Laura objected as she tried to stay on her feet. "I wanted to sit with you. I'll be OK, let's just keep going." She bit down on her lip and continued to walk slowly towards the front. Andrew took her hand and continued to walk alongside her.

The angel looked at the pale face of the young girl as she concentrated on remaining on her feet. "Put your arm around my shoulder, Laura, that will help to steady you."

"No, I'm going to do this on my own," she said stubbornly, and continued to walk towards the front of the church, but although her hand still held tightly to his, every so often her knees would buckle. Right before she reached the pew where her family was supposed to sit, she collapsed to the floor, the tears streaming down her face, the pain from walking too much to bear. She looked helplessly up at him as he reached her side.

Andrew, rather than try and ask her if he could help, simply reached down and picked her up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way. Once there, he sat her down in the pew and then sat down next to her and once they were comfortably seated, he looked at her earnestly. "You're going to see a doctor as soon as possible, and I'm not going to take 'no' for an answer, Laura."

The girl nodded numbly, her tears blurring her vision. "I'm not ever going to dance, am I?" Her heartbreaking question emerged, but it was more or less a mumbled response to Andrew's statement. As she spoke, the bell began to chime indicating the beginning of the worship service.

Andrew reached over and squeezed her now trembling hand. "You will dance, Laura, and I'll do everything I can to help you fulfill that dream."

The girl nodded numbly, but as the service progressed, she sunk deeper and deeper into her own misery.

Near the end of the service, Andrew, Tess, and Monica stood up; Daniel approached the three angels and ceremoniously rested the small boy in Andrew's waiting arms. As the minister baptized the child, Andrew held him in his arms, his eyes bright as he felt the love of the Father washing over the three angels and the human child. As the ceremony ended, Andrew stepped away from the altar and returned the little boy to Daniel and Donna.

As he returned to his seat, he could see the silent tears streaming down Laura's face. Without any words, he sat down next to her and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. She looked up, but said nothing.

As the bells chimed again and the minister read the benediction, Robert Davies stepped up and began to play the opening chords for 'The Lord's Prayer' and Rachel began to sign the words as the congregation began to sing. The service ended, but for Laura, she was unable to enjoy it because her sadness overrode everything else.

*****

Afterwards, Monica and Andrew helped Laura to leave the church, and as they came outside, Christina and Jeremy had managed to get the car and they drove up to the front door and Laura was able to crawl into the backseat with Andrew.

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Jeremy asked gently as soon as they were comfortably seated in the car.

"I was scared, I thought it was going to get better," she whimpered as she buried her face against Andrew's shoulder.

"We'll take you to the doctor first thing tomorrow morning," Christina said softly as she tried to reassure her daughter from the front seat.

Andrew stroked her hair gently as she looked up and into his sympathetic green eyes. "You'll be with me, too, won't you?"

"I'll be with you the entire time," Andrew promised her.

Laura began to weep bitterly. "I'm so scared."

"We all know that, honey," Jeremy said as he started the car. "But, no one is going to make you go through all of this by yourself. You've got me and your mom, and Andrew is also here, so you have nothing to be afraid of."

"Laura, we want to help you, but you have to tell us when something is not right. I noticed that your walking was getting worse, but I didn't know that you were suffering so much pain as a result. If I had known I'd have taken you to the doctor before now," Christina said gently and looked at Andrew. "During her last visit, the doctor told us that she would have good and bad days, I just didn't know that it had gotten so bad until we were in the church today."

"I-I didn't want anyone to feel sorry for me," Laura said softly and sniffed.

"We all know that, sweetheart, but asking for help doesn't mean that we will start pitying you," Andrew scolded her gently as he brushed her hair from out in front of her eyes. "You should know that by now."

She nodded numbly and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm still scared," she mumbled and rested her head on Andrew's shoulder. The angel responded by gently stroking her head.

Ten minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of Donna and Daniel's house. Christina got out of the car and opened the backseat door. Laura tried to get out, but when she was on her feet, her knees buckled and she sank to the ground, the tears still streaming down her face.

Tess and Monica pulled up to the house at that time and the two angels got out of the car. "Andrew, what's happened?" Monica called out once she and Tess had approached where they were standing and Andrew had gotten out of Jeremy's car.

"She's having trouble walking," Andrew said as he watched while Jeremy carried his daughter inside the house and Christina approached them, the worry evident on her face, but she greeted the three angels with a warm smile.

"Just come inside when you guys are ready," she said softly and ran to catch up with Jeremy and Laura.

Andrew nodded and as soon as his friend had disappeared inside, he looked at Tess. "She's going to be OK, isn't she?" He asked.

Tess nodded. "I think so, she's going to need even more physical therapy and the Father wants us to help her get into that dance class."

"Do you think she will be able to dance?" Monica asked. "Right now, she can barely walk. How are we going to help her dance if she cannot even stand without it hurting her?"

"If her spirit wants to dance enough, that little baby's going to dance," Tess said looking sternly at Monica. "I can tell you this, Miss Wings, either Laura will dance, or she will never be able to walk again," she took a deep breath before she was able to continue. Laura's plight was obviously leaving its impact on all three of the angels. "There's a lot more riding on that little baby taking that class than just sheer will. She will have to dance in order to allow her muscles to heal from the accident." She looked at Monica and then at Andrew and sighed deeply. "God doesn't want to see that little girl suffer any more than you, Angel Boy, but we have to trust in Him and know that He is completely in control of all things."

"I'm going inside to see how she's doing," Andrew said.

"You do that, and tell them that we're sorry but we have something to tend to. And Andrew, don't forget to keep the faith, baby," Tess said. "Come on, Miss Wings, we've got work to do."

"What?" Monica asked.

"We have a job to do at the county hospital," Tess said.

"Don't we have time for one cappuccino?" Monica asked giving Tess her best 'wounded' look.

"Not on your life, Miss Wings," Tess said as the two of them went to get into the car. Monica looked back over towards Andrew before she and Tess drove away. He shrugged his shoulders, walked towards the front door, and went inside.

*****

Once inside, Laura was sitting on the sofa. She was watching the family and friends moving around the house, but she sat alone, not really wanting to speak to anyone. After some time, her grandmother brought her a bowl with fresh fruit and ice cream. She accepted this without a word, but eventually lost her appetite and returned the bowl to the coffee table.

"You going to eat, Laura?" Donna asked gently as she sat down on the opposite side of the table.

The young girl shook her head, "I'm sorry grandma, but I'm not hungry." She looked up and could see her cousin, A.J. running through the house. Bryan and Rachel's son was now seven and it seemed as though he was successful at getting into everything that he could find. He had the curiosity of a cat, and he smiled brightly as he came over to where Laura and Donna were sitting.

"You gonna eat that, or what?" A.J. asked eyeing the ice cream in front of Laura. The small boy could clearly see that his cousin was sad, but he could not fully understand why.

"Go ahead," Laura said without any energy and A.J. snatched the bowl from off the table and took off through the house carrying it.

Donna smiled gently at her granddaughter. "Laura, do you want to talk about anything?"

"Not really," Laura said softly. "I just wasn't in the mood for ice cream, I guess."

"I think that you are so independent that you would have preferred to have gone to get it yourself, huh?"

Laura nodded. "Andrew said that I shouldn't feel ashamed to accept help from other people, but I do. It's embarrassing, and I feel like an incompetent. I want people to like me, not because they feel sorry for me, but because they really, truly like me. I don't know anymore if anyone likes me or if they just feel pity for me because I can't walk like everyone else."

"It's not at all easy for you, is it sweetheart?" Donna asked.

Laura shook her head. "I just want to feel loving and loved. I don't feel either right now, I feel like nothing but a burden."

"You're not a burden, Laura," Donna said gently. "You're so loved, and we all care for you so much. Look at Andrew and all that he tries to do for you. I think he would take down the stars from the sky if it meant making you smile."

"The only reason he probably does anything for me is because he's friends with my mom," Laura whispered under her breath.

"Now wait just a minute, that's not true, and I think you know that," Andrew's voice emerged as he came over and sat down next to her. "Laura, what I do for you, I do because I care so much about you. Nothing is going to change that. I'm friends with your mom, but I'm also your friend."

"You see?" Donna said softly.

Andrew smiled. "Donna, Tess and Monica had something to tend to, but they wanted me to tell you that they will see you before we leave."

Donna smiled at the angel and nodded as he looked at Laura as she sat on the sofa and looked back over at him, her sadness evidently showing, but she finally caught herself looking away, her shyness made her unable to meet his gaze. "We cannot show you with our words how much you mean to us, Laura," he eventually said, his voice gentle. "God gave you your parents to help you through everything you must face. He didn't do this as an act of pity; it was an act of love. Whenever someone does something for you, then you should try to accept it as the gift that it is. Don't ever believe that you're a burden to us. It is through the love we all hold for you that we do those things to help you."

The young girl nodded weakly, her eyes filling with tears, and she looked at him. "You mean, you really do care for me and you don't consider me to be a burden to you?"

"Not at all," he said softly. "In fact, I would tell you that you are a very remarkable girl."

"Even though I couldn't walk down the aisle at the church?"

"Laura, you're always going to be a special friend to me," Andrew said softly. "You keep the faith that things will work out, and I promise you, things will work out. You know I told you at your mom's house how much I appreciated the support you gave me when the Southside school shooting happened and I meant it, Laura. You did a lot for me when this happened, and I never once said or implied that it was because you felt pity for me. Or did you?"

She shook her head. "I wanted only to be there for you."

"Well the same holds true for me; I'm here to help you, and that's really what friendship is about, to help one another when times get difficult."

Laura looked at him and could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks. "I feel so helpless," she said softly.

"I know you do, but that's why God gave you a family, and friends," Donna said gently as she glanced over towards where Andrew was sitting and when he nodded, she smiled at the young girl.

*****

The following morning, Laura opened her eyes to hear that someone was tapping lightly on her bedroom door. She started to crawl out of bed, her legs somehow agreeing to work with her this time and she could see that the door had opened, and Andrew was standing in the doorway. "You awake?" He asked, his voice gentle.

She nodded numbly. "Yeah," her voice emerged as a whisper.

"Are you OK?" He asked.

Laura shook her head. "I'm so scared, Andrew."

"I know," came his gentle answer. "Your parents are downstairs having breakfast. When you get dressed, then I will help you go down, OK?"

"OK," she said softly as he stepped out into the hallway.

Once the door closed behind him, she managed to slowly get dressed and as she was putting her tennis shoes on, she managed to open the door. "I hate this," she whispered. "I feel like such an imbecile. It's horrible."

"You're not, sweetheart," Andrew said. "You just need to get to a doctor, and maybe have some more physical therapy, and then you'll be fit as a fiddle in no time."

"You believe that?" She asked weakly.

"I believe in you and I believe that the Father wants to see you walk again as much as you want to do so," he said gently. "You just hold on to that and things will work out."

"You'll help me, won't you?" She asked weakly. "I mean; if you're here, then I know that it will happen."

"You do this for you, sweetheart, not for me," Andrew smiled. "But, I will definitely be here for you. Are you ready to go downstairs?"

Laura swallowed the golf ball sized lump that had formed in her throat and nodded. With his help, she managed to get to her feet and attempted to walk towards the door. After stumbling a little, they reached the door and stepped out into the hallway.

As soon as they reached the stairs, Laura looked down and then back up at him. "Andrew, I don't know if I can make it down the stairs without falling."

He looked at her and nodded, her face did look unusually pale and he was uncertain whether it was from fear, or from her physical state. He reached down and picked her up in his arms and carried her down the stairs. She wound her arms around his neck and held onto him until they reached the landing and once there, he smiled at her as he put her securely back on her feet. "OK, can you make it to the table for breakfast?"

"I think so, thanks," Laura smiled weakly and with all the confidence in the world, she started to walk towards the kitchen. "You know what, Andrew?"

"No, what?"

"I think I'm really lucky," she said stopping and turning to see his eyes looking down at her. "I know that I couldn't get through today alone, in fact, I think just knowing that you're here, helps make me not feel so afraid."

"You have nothing to be afraid of, Laura," Andrew said gently. "You're never alone."

The young girl nodded and continued to walk towards the kitchen, her knees buckling and frustrated tears began to stream down her cheeks as she once again fell to the floor. "I hate this," she muttered as Andrew offered her his hand and she accepted it. "It's getting worse every day."

"I know," he said sympathetically. Once they reached the kitchen, Laura could see that Christina was seated at the table and was sipping her morning cocoa. She smiled weakly as they came into the kitchen and they both took seats at the table.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully.

"Where's Daddy?" Laura asked.

"He has early shift at the precinct house," Christina said softly. "How did you sleep, Laura?"

"I didn't, I kept thinking about going to the doctor, and I tossed and turned all night long," Laura whispered as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Christina said getting up from the table. As soon as she reached the door and opened it, she could see that Billy Hudson and Johnny Fields were standing outside. "Good morning, boys."

"Hi Mrs. Lowery, is Laura at home?" Billy asked.

"Yes, but unfortunately she won't be in school today," Christina said.

"Her legs, right?" Johnny asked. "I mean, we noticed something was wrong. She's in P.E. with us and she'd been really having trouble in there. Is she gonna be OK?"

"I think so," Christina said softly, "Where's Ricky? I haven't seen him in awhile."

Billy sighed deeply and looked up at her. "Didn't Laura tell you? His family moved to Chicago two weeks ago, and he won't be back."

"No she didn't tell me," Christina said softly. "Perhaps she had other things on her mind. It's hard when a good friend leaves, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but luckily Laura is now our buddy, so we're still the three stooges," Billy laughed, a false imitation of the classic comedy trio.

In her training as a psychologist, Christina could tell that this was Billy's way of handling something painful, but she opted to not speak of this, instead she offered them a warm smile. "You're so silly. So, do you boys want to come in?"

"Yeah, if we can, school doesn't start for another twenty minutes," Billy said, "but I think if we stay too long, we'll miss the bus."

"Oh don't worry about the bus, I'll get you both to school," Christina said backing away from the door so the two boys could come inside. "Laura, you've got company," she called out as they came into the kitchen.

Laura looked up from her cereal as the two boys came into the room. "Hey guys."

"Hey, " Billy said as soon as he sat down, but within seconds his eyes came to rest on Andrew who was seated on the other side of the table. "You're back?"

"Mm-hum," Andrew nodded. "How are you, Billy?"

"Wow, this is so cool, I mean you guys are really friends?" Johnny asked as Christina left the room. "Laura, does your mom know that he's uh…?"

"Yes, she knows," Andrew, offered smiling at the two boys.

"This is so cool? You come back for anyone?" Johnny asked.

"No, I'm actually here to help Laura," Andrew said.

"Man, you must be special to have him come and help out," Billy said looking at Laura and noticing the fear etched in her eyes about the pending day. "Hey, you're gonna do it, I mean you got him around, he won't let you get hurt." He looked at Andrew. "Will you?"

"No, I won't," Andrew said.

"Hey, where's your weird friend?" Johnny finally asked.

"You mean, Adam?" Andrew asked.

"Yeah, dude he was weird, like something straight out of 'Star Trek'," Johnny said, his eyes shining brightly, his reaction caused Laura to start giggling.

"Well, he's on assignment elsewhere," Andrew said.

"You're really an angel?" Billy asked. "Right?"

As the boy spoke, Christina returned to the room and she stood in the corner and listened to his words.

"Yes, Billy, I am," Andrew said softly.

Billy nodded as he looked down at his lap. After some seconds passed, he glanced back up at Andrew. After a few moments, he shrugged his shoulders and excused himself to use the bathroom. Johnny was staring after his friend and shook his head sadly as soon as Billy was gone.

"What's wrong with Billy?" Laura asked. "I've never seen him like this."

"He's worried," Johnny whispered. "His little brother is really sick."

"What's wrong with him?" She wanted to know.

"He's got Cystic Fibrosis," Johnny said softly.

"Andrew, what's that?" Laura asked, her voice beginning to tremble when she looked at Johnny and could see the fright in the young boy's eyes.

"It's a terminal illness, Laura, it is often fatal," the angel answered.

"He thinks…?" Her voice trailed and she looked at him.

Andrew nodded sadly. "Johnny, did you talk to his parents? Do they know that Billy's worried, that he's afraid?"

"Yeah, but they seem to be concentrating everything on Chuck," Johnny said softly. "I mean, I don't blame them, but Billy's been feeling left out of the loop in his family for a long time now, maybe that's why he teased you so much before. That was when the diagnosis came out. Ricky moving out of town didn't help either, because they were really close, much closer than I was to him," he said looking at Laura.

The young girl nodded. "What can we do to help him?"

"All you can do is be his friend, and be there for him," Christina said gently.

"Mrs. Lowery, I'm scared, not just for him, but also for Laura. I don't want to lose all of my friends at once," Johnny said softly.

"You don't have to be afraid for me. I'll manage, but I hope that you'll help me a little," Laura said smiling weakly at her friend. "Johnny, maybe you should ask God to take all that fear away."

"He would listen to me?" Johnny asked.

"Yes, He would," Andrew said gently as Billy came back out into the room.

"Sorry about that, I just had something in my eyes," Billy said softly and shrugged his shoulders. All of them could see that the boy had been crying in the bathroom, but none of them said anything about it. Instead, Christina reached for her purse and smiled at them. "We'd better get going, Laura's appointment is in twenty minutes and you boys need to get to school."

*****

After dropping Johnny and Billy off at the school, Christina drove downtown to the large medical building adjacent to the county hospital. Once there, she and Andrew helped Laura out of the car.

"Are you OK, Laura?" Christina asked.

"Sure," her voice emerged and she looked at Andrew. "I'm more scared for Billy than I am for me. Mom, why do kids like me get so sick?"

"I don't know, sweetheart," Christina said softly.

"It doesn't seem fair. I mean; I don't know Chuck all that well, he's three years younger than Billy," Laura said softly. "I think Billy's hurt by all of this just because they are really close."

"Andrew, do you know how much time Chuck has left?" Christina asked as they slowly walked towards the glass doors leading inside. Laura looked up at him as well.

"No, I don't," Andrew answered, "but he's not the reason I was sent here."

"Andrew, would you help Billy the same as you helped me?" Laura asked weakly. "He's really nice, but I think he's hurt because of Chuck. He won't talk to me though. He hides it away with jokes and stuff."

"I'll do what I can," Andrew said gently.

Laura smiled gratefully and when they reached the elevator, she looked at them. "Did you notice that I managed to get to the elevator without any problems?"

Andrew smiled and nodded and Christina pressed the button with the arrow pointing up. "You are really special, you think of others ahead of yourself."

"I just think of my friends," Laura said as they got into the elevator and rode up to the fifth floor. "Mom, do you think that we could maybe do something special for Billy and his brother?"

"I don't know, maybe," Christina said smiling proudly at her daughter.

When the elevator reached the fifth floor, the doors opened and they stepped out into the long hallway. Laura looked around the hallway, but eventually followed her mother and Andrew towards the door leading into the office. As they opened the door and walked inside, Christina approached the counter and gasped when the person seated behind the desk looked up and made eye contact with her.

"It's you?" The woman's voice emerged, the surprise evident and Christina could only nod numbly as Valerie Gordon's question emerged.

"Hello, Mrs. Gordon," Christina said softly.

"What are you doing here?" Valerie asked.

"My daughter has an appointment, her name is Laura Lowery," Christina said softly.

"You got married and have kids?" Valerie asked.

"Yes, I got married almost six years ago, and Laura is my adopted daughter," Christina said.

Valerie consulted a chart and after some moments, she nodded. "Yes, I have her name here, but I had no idea that it was you that would come here."

"Mrs. Gordon, everything is OK," Christina said softly. "Everything happened a long time ago, and I'm not angry with you or anyone else."

The woman at the desk nodded. "I'll tell the doctor that you're here."

She got up from the desk and went back into the office. Christina returned to the waiting room and sat down. "I don't believe it, this is really a small world."

"Who is that woman?" Laura asked.

"Her name is Valerie Gordon, I haven't seen her in over seven years," Christina said softly and looked at Andrew. "I never thought I'd see her again."

Andrew nodded, "maybe I should leave, if she sees me, she may not be able to digest all of this."

"No," Laura objected, "Andrew, you can't go, you promised me that you would be here for me through everything."

The angel smiled, and knowing his young friend was right, remained in the room. He glanced over at Christina. "What is it?"

"I just wonder if she still blames me for what happened to Ted," Christina asked. "I mean, it took me so long to get over this, and seeing her again is really strange for me."

"I know," Andrew said sympathetically. "Perhaps, she has allowed the time to heal her heart."

"I don't know," Christina said softly as Laura's name was called and the three of them stood up. "I guess we'd better get back there. Are you ready sweetheart?"

Laura nodded, she was caught up in a moment of fear, but with Andrew holding her hand, the three of them managed to enter the office.

*****

"This can't be happening," Erin Hudson whispered. She had taken her youngest son to the emergency room that morning and things were not looking good. Chuck was getting sicker and the doctors told her there was little if no hope left. The damage was too great.

"You need a cup of coffee, Mrs. Hudson?" A voice emerged and she looked up and could see a young Mexican man standing before her. In his hand, he held a cup of coffee and he carried a warm smile on his face.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"My name's Raphael," the man said. "Is there someone I should call for you? The boy's father, perhaps?"

"No, he wouldn't be able to come, he's at work, and right now we can barely speak to one another without the equivalent of World War III breaking out," Erin whispered. "Somehow, Chuck's illness has managed to tear everything, that is even a semblance of a family, apart."

"I'm sorry," Raphael said as he ran his hand through his dark brown hair. "Do you have any other kids at home?"

"Yes, my older son Billy. He's in the seventh grade now and is supposed to be in school right now," Erin sighed deeply.

"How's he holding up in all of this?" Raphael asked.

"I guess he's fine. He's pretty much like his dad. He's the type of person who would rather keep his emotions to himself than to actually talk about them. Sometimes that makes me totally crazy, but I can't change him."

Raphael smiled weakly. "Don't give up, Mrs. Hudson, somehow things have their ways of working out."

"Yeah, but Raphael, you don't have a kid with a terminal illness, so when you do have one, then you can tell me that things will work out. Right now, I don't think they ever will," As she stood up, she started to walk slowly towards the door leading inside.

"Don't push it," Tess' voice resonated in his mind. "I know we have to hurry, but she has to take it at her own time."

"I know, Tess, but she is the one that Laura needs," Raphael whispered under his breath and he turned and could see Tess standing next to him. "How can I reach her? She seems so caught up in her own problems. The other thing is she doesn't seem to believe that her older son has the same troubles she does. I mean; she does not seem to be the type that would worry that there are other people out there who have them as well."

"I know baby," Tess said. "But, keep in mind, Raphael, Erin Hudson is the key to everything. She is the ballet instructor who God wants to help Laura Lowery walk again, and she must learn to live with the fact that Chuck is going home, and very soon." She waved her hand over towards the reception desk. Adam was seated on top of the desk, a sad smile on his handsome face, but the expression in his eyes were a depiction of concern and caring. No one in the room could see the tall, gray-eyed Angel of Death, but Raphael could, and rather than say anything, he simply nodded and followed Tess down the hall.

"Chuck's really going to die?" Raphael asked.

Tess nodded. "Yes, baby, he is, but don't you worry, there will be angels surrounding him, his momma, as well as Billy and Laura. In God's good timing, everything will work out."

"I know, but how it will work out is hard to determine," he said.

*****

"No, I don't believe it," Christina whispered as the doctor spoke to her. He had called her aside to speak of Laura's condition, and Andrew was outside waiting with Laura.

"Mrs. Lowery, according to the results of the tests we ran this morning, and from what I have been able to see regarding Laura's condition, her legs don't appear to be healing properly. I know this isn't the news you wanted to hear, but that is, essentially, what is happening to her. When her physical therapy ended, she was obviously not ready for it to end. I suggest that you and your husband get her back into treatment as soon as possible. I know you thought that everything was going to be OK after the therapy ended, but the point of this is, she's going to have to go back, and it's going to be even harder for her because of the time that has lapsed between her last trip and today," the doctor said gently.

"Will she be able to walk again?" Christina asked.

"I wouldn't be placing any bets on it," he replied shaking his head sadly. "I'm terribly sorry, Mrs. Lowery."

"Doctor, is there anything else Jeremy and I could do to help her?" Christina asked.

"Aside from Physical Therapy, there's not much, but I think you might want to consider taking her to the 'Community Service Center', there they have programs for handicapped kids, as well as a place for terminally ill children and adults. I don't know if this place can help Laura, but it might give her the sense that she's not alone in all of this. My daughter, Katie, as well as my receptionist, Valerie, both volunteer there, and I'm certain that they will do whatever they can to help you, all you have to do is ask."

"It's not a bad idea, we'll give it a try," Christina said and stood up. She walked out of the office and down the hall towards the waiting room. When she stepped out into the large room, she could feel the tears in her eyes, but stubbornly wiped them away.

"Mom, what is it?" Laura asked as soon as she looked up and her eyes met those of her mother.

"You have to tell her the truth, Christina," Andrew said softly.

"You were taken out physical therapy too soon, honey," Christina said softly. "The doctor has suggested that you go back, but he also told me that there exists a possibility that you won't be able to walk again."

Laura looked at her mother and then at Andrew her eyes filling with tears. "No!" She screamed, her voice filling the empty office and she began to weep bitterly. "That can't be true, no." She wanted to run away from her mother, but when she tried to stand, she crumpled to the ground in a heap, her fists beating against the carpeted floor as she continued to cry.

Andrew got down on the floor next to her and wrapped her in his arms. "It's OK, sweetheart, shhhh."

Laura continued to weep bitterly, her face meshed against Andrew's chest. "I won't walk again."

"Christina, did he suggest anything else?" Andrew asked all the while he stroked Laura's hair.

"Yes, he said that I need to ask Mrs. Gordon about the 'Community Service Center'," Christina said softly. "He said that maybe we should consider getting her into a class or something. Then she can meet other children who face this kind of obstacle."

Andrew nodded and looked down at the girl now crying in his arms. "Laura? Come on sweetheart, it's OK, everything's going to be fine. Remember what I told you? God wants you to walk again, and you need to put the emphasis on that and not on what the doctor has said." He took her chin in his hands and made her look at him. The sadness in her eyes overpowering, but he offered her a gentle smile as he brushed the tears from beneath her eyes. "No person can determine what will happen in the future, Laura, only God knows."

The girl nodded numbly, but continued to bury her face against Andrew's chest, the tears falling from her eyes and dampening his shirt. He could do nothing except rest his hand on her head and stroke her hair.

At the same time, Christina approached the receptionist's desk. "Mrs. Gordon?" She asked causing the other woman to look up from the paperwork before her.

"What can I do for you?" Valerie asked noticing Christina's tired expression.

"The doctor suggested that I talk to you about the 'Community Service Center'," Christina began. "He said that you did some volunteer work there and that if we had some questions about it, we could ask you."

"Yes," Valerie nodded. "That's true, I've been working there now and again since Ted's suicide." Valerie sighed sadly as she thought of her son, but after a few moments, she glanced over and could see Christina's unhappy expression. Valerie smiled weakly, part of her was still angry with Christina, but instead of launching a verbal assault, she simply stood up. "I'll come out into the waiting room and talk to you and her about it. I think it's better that she hears this, too."

"Thank you," Christina nodded as she returned to her daughter and Andrew.

Moments later, Valerie came out into the waiting room, but she stopped suddenly when she saw Andrew seated on the floor near the young girl. "Andrew?"

"Hello Valerie," Andrew said softly as he looked up and his eyes met those of the woman he had met over seven years ago.

"What are you doing here?" Valerie asked weakly.

"I'm visiting my friends," he replied.

"He's truly our friend," Laura said almost at the same time, her voice emerged weak as she tried to wipe the tears out of her eyes.

Valerie decided it better to not reply, and instead she made every attempt to get over the shock of seeing the angel again. She finally sat down next to Christina. "OK, the community center has classes in all kinds of things for all age groups. It provides counseling, as well a variety of services for children and adults. I have to be honest, some health providers will cover the costs of enrolling in these classes, but it's very rare for that to happen. In Laura's case, I would not hold my breath." She smiled weakly at the young girl. "Laura, what kind of class would you like to take?"

"Dancing," Laura whispered.

"I don't know if that's possible," Valerie said. "You can barely walk. How about something like ceramics, or maybe acting?"

"No, if I have to take a class, then I want to dance," Laura looked at Andrew and then once he nodded at her, she glanced back over at Valerie. "I want to learn ballet."

Christina looked at Valerie. "Mrs. Gordon, are there dance classes at the community center?"

"There are, but the teacher has not been motivated to teach for the past couple of months. It's a touchy subject there, but her youngest son is very sick and we don't know how much time he has left," Valerie said softly and glanced over at Andrew. The angel simply shrugged his shoulders and waited for someone else to speak.

"Like Billy's brother," Laura whispered sadly after she saw Andrew's discomfort. She reached over and took the hand of her friend.

"Listen, why don't we go have some lunch, and then we can drive over to the community center this afternoon?" Christina suggested trying to lighten the somewhat somber mood. "Perhaps, there is something at the center that you can do that will make you feel better."

Laura nodded and Andrew helped her to her feet. As they left the waiting room, Valerie watched them, surprise evident in her eyes, but she stared after them until they disappeared down the hall.

*****

Erin Hudson was sitting in the kitchen at home when the door opened that afternoon and Billy walked inside the small apartment.

"Mom? Are you here?" Billy called out.

"Yes, Billy, I'm in here." Her voice drifted back into the living room and he came into the small room and went over to the refrigerator and opened it, his hand reaching for a carton of milk.

"How's Chuck doing?" Billy asked as he opened the carton and poured himself a glass.

"Not good," Erin replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "I think you should know that he's not going to be coming home."

"Butbut you said that he was supposed to, that he would be able to come back and play on Tom Miller's little league team," Billy objected. "Why won't you tell me what Cystic Fibrosis really is? Why won't you talk to me about it and tell me what's going on? He's my brother. I mean; I heard someone talking about this at school, they said it was some kind of terminal illness. You made it sound like it was a cold or something, but I have a feeling it's something much worse."

"I never said that it was a cold," Erin said sadly. "I guess I didn't want to burden you with this, but Billy, Chuck is dying, he's not going to ever be able to come home."

"Andrew," Billy muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"N-nothing," Billy said softly. "I'm going over to Laura's, is that OK?"

"Yes, tell her mother 'hello' for me," Erin said softly.

Billy nodded and turned away, but not before she could see the tears now streaming down his face. Rather than speak to her about what had happened, he fled from the room, the front door slamming some ten seconds later.

Erin sighed sadly as she went and began to make herself a cup of coffee. Moments later, her gaze came to rest on the refrigerator and she could see drawings that both her sons had done when they were younger.

I hate this stupid disease, she thought bitterly to herself. Why does it have to rob me of my son? Why is God so cruel? The questions drifted through her consciousness one after the other as though a cyclone was blowing through her mind. This had been the hardest day she had experienced since her younger son had been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. She blamed herself, in the worst way, Erin Hudson blamed herself.

She glanced over and could see the drawing on the refrigerator door, it was one Chuck had done during Sunday school back when the family had gone to church regularly. It was of an angel, a beautiful auburn headed woman sitting on a white fluffy cloud, her hair blowing in the breeze, her white gown silhouetting her. Erin always liked the picture because her own hair was red, and it reminded her of the days when she had danced for a ballet troupe. She had been a dancer before she even met the boys' father and had gotten married, and there was something special about dancing that made all the difference in the world.

Today, she taught dancing at the community center, but during the last month, she had quit. She could not bring herself to work around children, not when one of her own was sitting at home and suffering from a terminal illness.

Erin pulled the paper off the refrigerator, the magnet holding it, fell and landed with a thud against the kitchen floor. She looked down at the paper. "Where are the angels now?" She asked the silence of the apartment, her voice encased with bitterness. "Where are they when we really need them?" She began to tear up the paper and allowed the fragments of it to drift onto the floor.

The pain was too much, it was getting harder for her to keep up this stance in front of her older son. Billy was right, he had a right to know what was happening, but how could she tell him, when she herself, could not even understand why it was this had to happen. I'm a parent, she thought bitterly as she took the cup in her trembling hands and took a long sip of the now lukewarm liquid. I should die before my children, not the other way around.

Unseen by her, Raphael was in the kitchen watching her, he leaned down and collected the fragments of paper in his hand. As he looked down at the scraps of paper, his sad brown eyes beheld her and within seconds, Monica appeared next to him and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. Both angels stood unseen by the miserable woman.

Monica could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched the woman standing there. "How are we going to get her to help Laura?" The Irish angel asked, thus breaking their silence. "For some reason, I just know that if Erin were to help another child, it might help her broken heart to heal."

"I don't know," Raphael replied. "Erin is really angry right now, and I am not

certain if either one of us will be able to even reach her. She's losing her son, and if she doesn't take control of her life, now, she'll not only lose herself, but she will run the risk of losing her other son as well."

"How do you mean?" Monica asked.

"Billy's slipping away," Raphael replied sadly. "He's hiding his pain because he doesn't want to hurt his mother, but what he is doing is hurting himself. If Erin doesn't try to reach out to her older son, she may find herself losing everything."

"And if she doesn't reach out, then Laura's dream of dancing will not come true, either," Monica nodded sadly.

The two angels continued to watch as Erin finished the coffee and walked slowly out of the kitchen.

*****

Christina, Andrew and Laura returned to the house some time later and they were all three surprised to see that Billy was waiting outside for them. Christina could tell that something was not right with her daughter's friend, his face was a depiction of the utmost pain. She remembered what she had overheard Johnny saying that morning, and she nodded sadly.

Andrew got out of the car and quickly retrieved the crutches that the doctor had prescribed to Laura. Once he handed them to her, he watched as she steadied herself on them and instead of worrying about what she could or could not do, she managed to get over to where her friend was seated on the front step. Andrew watched as she sat down on the doorstep and smiled weakly at him. "Hi Billy."

"Hi," the barely audible reply emerged, but the boy did not even look up.

"What's wrong?" Laura asked when his head remained down.

"I was just waiting for you to get home," the boy replied.

"Oh, well, my mom and Andrew took me over to the Community Center, that's why we're late," she said as she tried to make eye contact with him. After a few moments of awkward silence passed between them, she spoke again. "What is it, you don't look happy?" Laura watched as Andrew and Christina came over to where he was seated on the front step, but within seconds the two adults disappeared inside.

"No, it's nothing, I just wanted to bring the reading assignment over for Mr. Roberts' History class," Billy lied, his eyes shadowing over, but he chose to ignore his conscious and not overburden his friend. "What did the doctor say?" He asked trying desperately to change the subject.

"I'm supposed to start Physical Therapy again, and my mom is trying to get me signed up for dance class at the community center, but Mrs. Gordon said that the dance teacher quit, so who knows if I will ever get to dance at all." Laura shrugged her shoulders. "No big deal, but I didn't really expect things to be as bad there as they were, but life goes on."

"Yeah, life goes on," Billy spoke, his words emerging bitter. "Listen, Laura, I gotta get home, my mom will probably send out the search party if I don't. Do you think your mom would mind if I use the bathroom before I go? It's just that I was waiting for quite a while out here."

"You didn't have to wait, you could have called tonight and given the assignment to me," Laura said, but she reached over and rested her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Billy, I know you're sad because Ricky moved away, but if you need Johnny and me, we're always around for you. OK?"

"You're really amazing. I mean, you really did forgive me for treating you so badly, huh?" He asked.

"That was ages ago, and yeah, it's OK," Laura said. "Besides, you helped me with my science homework a few times, and I'd have made a big splash if I hadn't have gotten the help."

"Is that all I'm good for, science?" He asked, trying to smile.

"You're really funny too, you make me smile when I've had a bad day, but sometimes I want to return the favor," she said smiling impishly.

Billy nodded and walked slowly inside leaving Laura sitting on the front step.

"God, please take care of him, he's my friend, and I don't want to see him sad," she spoke softly and glanced up to see Monica standing next to her. "Hi Monica. Did He send you to here to help Billy?"

Monica smiled but shook her head. "No, actually, we're here for you."

"But I think Billy needs your help more than I do," Laura objected. "I got my crutches now, and I can at least move around without Andrew having to carry me. I mean; I like it when he carries me, but I don't want to give him a hernia." She paused before she could find her voice again and continue speaking. "Monica, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure you can," the angel answered as she sat down next to Laura.

"Is Chuck really going to die?" Laura asked.

Monica nodded, "yes, I'm afraid he will, but Adam's with him and he will take very good care of him."

"I believe it, but what about Billy? He looked so miserable when we drove up and I know that even though I've got problems, but this must be killing him. The last thing I want to do is overburden him with my troubles," Laura said softly.

"You don't overburden your friends, Laura," Monica said gently.

"Maybe not, but I don't know how to deal with this if Billy won't talk to me. I mean; if I tell him that Heaven is wonderful and that God gives good hugs, then he's going to think I've gone and flipped a gasket," she whispered.

"You still remember that experience you had when you were in the hospital, don't you?" Monica asked smiling.

"Yeah, how can I not? It was wonderful, but still, people here don't understand it," Laura said softly.

"Then all I can do is suggest that you pray some more," Monica said. "God will always listen to you, Laura."

"I know, but I don't think Billy knows that."

"He will," Monica said softly and nodded. As she spoke, Billy came back outside, waved at her, and walked in the direction of the baseball field located at the end of the street. A few moments later, Andrew came outside and after giving them a slight smile, he began to follow the boy down the street.

"What's he gonna do?" Laura asked weakly.

"I think Andrew is going to try and talk to him, just as you asked of him," Monica said.

"It's nice to know that angels always keep their promises," Laura mused.

"Always," Monica confirmed and offered Laura her hand.

As the young girl accepted it, they both stood up and went inside the house. Before the door closed, Laura looked at Monica. "You want to try some of my favorite drink?"

"It depends, what is it?"

"Chocolate cocoa a la mode," Laura said confidently. "Mom gives it to me when I've had a bad day. It's chocolate milk, with chocolate powder and then whipped cream with chocolate sprinkles."

Monica offered a weak smile, a mocha latte probably would have tasted better, but she could not help but to become somehow energized with the young girl's enthusiasm. Eventually, she offered a slight nod and the two of them went inside.

*****

Billy had reached the park by this time, and as he sat down in the bleachers, he sighed deeply and looked out across the playing field. From a distance, he could see Tom Miller standing on the mound. He knew Tom just because Chuck used to play in the outfield on his little league team. He only knew of the 21-year-old man through Chuck, but he had been to their apartment a few times, once after Chuck had been taken to the hospital, and later after the boy had to quit the team. Tom had even given Chuck an autographed baseball from the time he had played for the state championships in college.

Billy could tell that Tom seemed to really care for Chuck; it was the one thing the two of them seemed to share. Sighing deeply, the boy glanced around where he was seated and could see that Andrew was now walking across the playing field in Tom's direction.

"Hey Tom, how you doing?" The angel eventually called out causing the young man to look up.

"Andrew?" Tom smiled, his voice bordering on disbelief and shock. Billy watched as Andrew reached him and the two of them embraced, all the while smiling. "How you doing?"

"Fine, I heard you were coaching little league," Andrew said smiling as they started walking in the direction of where Billy was now sitting.

"Yeah, I've been doing that for a few years now, probably since graduating from high school," Tom said. "What about you? Are you back to save the world, or just to visit our little corner of it?"

Andrew flushed. "You definitely have a way with words, but I suppose it's been that way since you were little."

"Me, little? No that definitely sounds like an Oxymoron," Tom said chuckling and Andrew began to laugh. It was no secret, Tom was now over the six-foot mark, and his hair had darkened considerably as he had gotten older, but was still somewhat lightened from the time he had spent outside in the sunshine. He had definitely changed since Andrew had first met him, but his eyes were still exactly as the angel remembered. There was still a spark in them, and Andrew immediately noticed that there still existed a little 7-year-old boy in the spirit of the man who now was standing before him. This brought a smile to Andrew's face.

By this time they had reached the bleachers where Billy was seated and the two of them sat down. Tom immediately recognized the older brother of one of his former kids. "Hey, Billy, it's been awhile since I last saw you. How have you been?"

"OK," the boy muttered.

"Well, just so you don't think I'm being rude, this is my friend, Andrew," Tom said.

"We already know each other," Billy said, his voice edgy, and if one did not know the situation he faced, they would think his voice had emerged rude, but Andrew looked at Tom and nodded slightly. Tom returned the gesture indicating to the angel that he knew the story of Chuck Hudson and how tragic it was.

"Oh, OK, well, listen, Andrew, I have to get going anyway, Lindsey is supposed to call this afternoon, and I have to write another lousy History paper. It's really great to see you again, though," Tom said smiling warmly. "Oh and Billy, if you still want to join the team, you have my number, just give me a call and we'll arrange something. OK?"

"Don't hold your breath," Billy mumbled.

Tom sighed deeply, but looked at Andrew and shrugged his shoulders unable to say anything else.

"I'll come by later and see you, Tom," the angel offered and Tom knew that Andrew had every intention of explaining the obvious to him.

"OK, I'll see you later, then," Tom said smiling. As soon as he stood up, he wiped the dirt off his rear end and climbed down off the bleachers and returned to the playing field. Once he had collected his equipment, he waved to them and Andrew returned the gesture.

"It's nice to see him again, it's been a few years since I last saw Tom. He's really changed," Andrew said smiling as the cool breeze began to waft through his blonde hair and he brushed it out from in front of his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Billy asked.

"I made a promise to Laura, and I'm here to fulfill it," Andrew said simply.

"She's freaking out again, isn't she?" Billy asked. "Girls," he muttered under his breath.

"No, quite the contrary, actually. I would say that she's more worried about you, than she is about herself," Andrew replied calmly.

"I'm fine," Billy said. "I don't need some silly girl to worry about me."

"Are you really?" Andrew asked. "Or are you trying to be tough by hiding yourself away from those feelings that hurt?"

"What do mean?" Billy asked defensively.

"It wasn't a trick question, I meant just what I asked," Andrew said softly.

"What do you want from me?" Billy asked weakly.

"I want to help you, but I can't if you don't talk to me," Andrew replied. "Billy, I know about Chuck, in fact, Laura does too."

"Who told?" Billy asked, his voice beginning to crack.

"Johnny told us yesterday morning while you were in the bathroom. He's been worried about you," came the simple answer. When he saw a look of anger flash across the boy's face, he rested a comforting hand on Billy's shoulder. "Please, don't be angry with him, he only told us this because he knows that it is obviously a hard situation for you to deal with. Besides that, I would have eventually found out what was happening anyway."

The boy shrugged his shoulders but eventually looked into the eyes of the angel. "You're going to take my brother away from me and you want me to talk to you?" Billy stood up and was about to go. He would have succeeded had Andrew not reached out and grabbed his hand. Without looking at the angel, the boy continued. "Why do you do this, so you can laugh at me and tell me how silly I am for holding onto him?"

Andrew could do nothing to hide the shock and sadness he felt upon hearing Billy's words. He took a deep breath and began to speak, his words soft. "No, I have no intention of doing anything that would hurt you, I thought you knew that," he paused before continuing. "I cannot deny what I am, Billy, anymore than you can deny that you're in a great deal of pain. I can tell you only this; I am not here to take your brother home. There is another angel with him, and you know him."

"Y-you mean that guy who was with Laura after I was nearly hit by that car?" The boy asked.

"Mm-hum, his name is Adam, and he's taking very good care of Chuck, I promise," Andrew said gently and nodded.

"T-then, why are you here? W-hat do you want with me?" Billy asked, his fear evident, but his sadness overriding everything.

"I am here because Laura needs my help and she's my friend, too," Andrew said softly. "I also came back because of a promise I made to a girl named Olivia over a year ago. I promised her that I would be the godfather to her son, Brendan."

Billy could suddenly hear the theme for the famous movie going through his mind and he smiled weakly as he began to hum the music.

"You know, Billy, I know that you have a wonderful sense of humor," Andrew said as he heard the familiar tones emerging from the young boy. "But humor should not deny you the chance to feel what everything is doing to you, the impact that it leaves on you is hard, and I truly do understand."

"How can you possibly understand how I feel?" Billy asked, his voice still weak, but there was a trace of anger in it.

"I know that this is hard for you," Andrew said softly. "God also knows, and it saddens Him to see you immersed in so much sorrow."

"W-when I saw you yesterday at Laura's, I thought I was going to have a heart attack or something," Billy said, and he could feel the tears in his eyes.

"I know, but why did you come back today if I scared you so much? You know that Laura and her mom are friends of mine," Andrew said softly.

"I don't know," the boy answered. "Maybe…"

"Maybe you wanted to talk to someone, and you feared that with Laura's problems that to tell her how sad you are would be unfair to her," Andrew said as he took a deep breath. "It's a very unselfish thing to do, Billy, but I know that you need to be able to speak with someone, you have to get those feelings out. It became obvious to me when I saw how rude you were with Tom just now, and I could also tell when Laura tried to talk to you back at the house."

"I can't overburden her, Andrew, she's got all these problems with her legs. The last thing she needs is to hear how miserable things have been for me," Billy said softly.

"I know," Andrew said gently.

"No you don't!" The boy shouted abruptly. "No one understands, not you, not Laura, and not her mom. I mean; Chuck isI mean; he's my brother. I have no one left besides him." Billy started to stand up, but one of his legs was caught between the bleachers and he began to fall.

As if by impulse, Andrew reached over and grabbed the arm of the boy and tried to steady him. The boy glanced over and looked at the angel, his eyes filling with tears. After a moment of hesitation, the boy sat back down and began to speak once again, this time, his voice emerged considerably softer than before. "Chuck and I have always been close, Andrew, it's been that way since our parents got divorced. Today, after my mom came home from the hospital, she told me that Chuck isis dying." Billy could feel the angry tears streaming down his cheeks. "Why is God taking my baby brother away from me? What have I done to deserve this punishment? Is it because I picked on Laura?"

"Billy," Andrew said the boy's name, his soft voice causing the boy to stop hurling his devastating questions at him. "You aren't being punished for anything and your brother's illness is not because of mistakes you made in the past. None of this is your fault."

"Then why?" Billy spat out. "Why is this happening?"

Andrew took a deep breath before he was able to begin speaking. "Your brother is in so much pain right now, I think that you know that this disease will take him away from you." Billy looked at him trying to understand the implications of what the angel was saying. "Billy, you will lose your brother, but in your heart, his memory will remain with you always, and one day it will comfort you, because you will be able to feel and to know this. Today, it hurts because those feelings are so fresh and real to you, and to lose someone to Cystic Fibrosis is devastating, I know, because I have seen many children die from it." His eyes filled with tears as he spoke, causing the boy to look at him in surprise.

"My mom acted as though Chuck had a cold or something," Billy offered weakly. "It makes me so angry that she didn't tell me the truth."

"I know," Andrew said gently.

"Why didn't she?"

"I don't know why she didn't, but Billy, try to forgive her for it, she is hurting too. Chuck is her son, and this is never easy for a parent to lose a child like this," Andrew said gently.

"It hurts. I thought you were going to take him away from me," Billy said trying all the while to keep his emotions in check. "I thought I was being punished."

"I know you did, and seeing me now is probably hard for you as well, but Billy, I am not here to take him home, Adam is there with him, and he will take good care of your brother," Andrew said gently. "I was sent here because of the promise I made, but also because of Laura."

"What's up with her?"

"Well, Laura went to the doctor today and he said that chances are, she may never walk again," Andrew said softly.

"It's really that bad?" Billy asked.

Andrew nodded. "Yes, it is."

"Why didn't she tell me this when I saw her earlier?" Billy asked as he tried to wipe the tears from his eyes, but when they persistently streamed down his cheeks, he gave up the futile attempts. "I thought she was my friend."

"She is your friend, and I can tell you that she probably said it for the same reason you didn't tell her about Chuck. She knew that you were hurting and she didn't want to add to that pain."

"I can't believe it," he said weakly, his voice cracking. "Andrew, what am I going to do?"

"I cannot tell you what to do, Billy, but I can be here for you while you tell me how this whole thing makes you feel. I want to help, I will listen to you, and more importantly, God will listen to you. Try to put your trust, your pain, and fear in His hands, and I promise if you give it all over to Him, your spirit will heal, and you will know what to do," Andrew said gently.

The boy nodded, but instead of speaking, he could feel the tears continuing to stream down his cheeks. Andrew rested his hand on the boy's shoulder causing him to look up.

"Billy, it's OK to cry," the angel said gently.

"I-I just feel so lost," Billy tried to speak but his emotions got the better of him. The tears were still streaming down his cheeks, but eventually he was able to feel himself breaking down, the sobbing overwhelming him and if he could have possibly said any words to the angel, they had already died away. His body collapsed and if not for Andrew taking the boy in his arms, Billy would have fallen from the bleachers and landed on the ground below.

As he held the sobbing youth in his arms, Andrew patted his head gently with one hand, with the other he held Billy until he had cried himself dry. Once he stopped crying, the young boy looked at Andrew. "T-thanks."

"Do you feel any better?" Andrew asked gently.

"I think so," Billy said softly.

"Is there anything else I can do?" Andrew asked.

"Will you tell me what's up with Laura?" He asked weakly.

"She wants to dance, Billy," Andrew said softly. "Ever since she was a little girl, her dream was to be a ballet dancer, and now everything appears to be riding on its fulfillment."

"Everything? Even her being able to walk again?" Billy asked.

The angel nodded. "Yes, even that."

"Then maybe I can help, I mean; my mom, she's a ballet teacher, at least she was before she quit two months ago," Billy said. "Maybe I can ask her about it."

Andrew smiled and nodded before the boy crawled down from the bleachers but looked up at him before walking slowly away. "You won't be angry with me if she says no, will you?" Billy asked, his voice a depiction of his uncertainty.

"No, Billy, quite the contrary," Andrew said gently. "God is so proud of you, and He wants you to know that it takes a true friend to do what you are doing."

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "Then you must be an expert in that regard."

Once he walked away, Andrew glanced skyward. "Thank you Father, I'm grateful to you for sending me here and letting me deliver the message to that special young man."

*****

It was late in the evening when Chuck Hudson opened his eyes and glanced around the hospital room. It was dark outside, not even the light of the moon shining inside the room. He could see only the machines to the side of him, their lights flashing and keeping him awake.

"Are you there?" He whispered as he tried without any success to sit up in bed. His eyes closed once again and he waited. Waited to hear the assurances that he was not alone. This was the hardest part of being sick, he concluded, the pain was not so bad, he was used to it, but that creepy feeling of being alone was almost more than the nine-year-old boy could handle.

"Yes, Chuck, I'm here," Adam spoke, causing the boy to open his eyes.

"It's almost time, isn't it, Adam?" Chuck asked weakly. "I feel it inside, I can't fight anymore. Do you think Billy will understand?"

"I'm sure in time, he will," Adam said gently.

"What about my mom? I think she stopped believing in God after my dad walked out," Chuck said softly. "That was when we stopped going to church." The young boy sighed deeply. "It will be nice to stand up again and walk around. I want to play baseball again. Like I did before all this."

"You will," Adam said softly as Tess appeared in the room.

"Hello, baby," Tess laid a motherly hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Hi," the boy spoke. "What's your name?"

"My name is Tess," came the kind answer.

"Can you take care of my mom after I'm gone, Tess?" Chuck asked.

"God will take care of her, just as He will take care of your brother, and you," Tess offered the youth a gentle smile. "He's already got an angel looking out for her, so you don't have anything to worry about, baby."

"She does?"

"Mm-hum, that right," Tess replied and she looked at Adam. "How much time is left?"

Adam sighed deeply, "not much, less than a week."

The elder of the two angels nodded and turned to go. "You take good care of this little slugger, you hear me, Adam?"

"Yes Ma'am," Adam said smiling at Tess as she left.

"She's got you wrapped around her little finger, you know?" Chuck whispered once Tess had left the room and he looked up at Adam with a slight grin on his face.

"Now wait a minute, you have never had to work with Tess, she's one tough customer," Adam said. "I remember the first Thanksgiving I spent with her and Monica…"

As Adam spoke, Chuck drifted off to sleep and he smiled weakly as he glanced skyward. "Father, please don't allow this precious child to suffer much longer. He's been so brave, and I know he's holding on for the sake of his family, but no one should be that selfless." He could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks, and rather than wipe them away, he pulled his watch from his pocket, looked down at it without opening the golden cover, but eventually, he slipped it back inside his pocket, and closed his eyes.

He could tell that this was going to be a long week.

*****

When Laura and Andrew arrived at the community center the following afternoon, they walked inside to see children and adults all around the large open areas.

Christina had promised that she would come there as soon as she had gotten off work, but for some reason, Andrew could tell that the discomfort about seeing Valerie Gordon was still in the mind and heart of his friend. Rather than press the issue with her, he decided to go with Laura instead, much to the delight of the young girl.

As they could see when they entered, the entire center was a bustle with activity and Laura looked around the large open space somewhat intimidated. "It's bigger than I remembered."

"You were here only yesterday," Andrew said softly.

"I know, but I had a lot more on my mind then than I do now," Laura said honestly as a young woman came over and smiled at them.

"Hello, you must be Laura. My name is Renate Müller, I'm an intern here at the center," she introduced herself, her slightly accented voice filtered through the room and her green eyes shone brightly as she regarded the young girl.

"Hi," Laura said softly, her voice void of any enthusiasm.

Renate appeared to not have noticed the lackluster reaction of the young girl, and she turned and greeted Andrew.

The angel smiled and they followed the young intern through the large open space and into a small office. Once inside, Renate closed the door and walked around the desk in order to sit down at the mahogany colored desk near the window. She looked at them with kindness in her eyes once they had seated themselves and were comfortable.

"Since I will be working with you, Laura, maybe I should tell you a little bit about myself, and then we can decide which courses or workshops you would like to take. Is that OK?" Renate asked, her voice warm and friendly.

Once the two of them nodded, she smiled and began to speak. "I'm 21-years-old, and I'm originally from Berlin, but I am here as a student intern until the end of next year. I study at the university, as well as work at the hospital and volunteer here. I was asked to take your case and was told that you wanted to learn ballet, is that correct?"

"Mm-hum," Laura mumbled, "but I think it's impossible."

"No, nothing is impossible," Renate said softly as she looked at the two of them. "However, our dance instructor has taken leave and I do not know when she'll be back. I think until she returns, we can give you some courses that you might find appealing. Is there anything else you would like to do, gymnastics, or music, or art, perhaps?"

"I don't know, I never really thought about it," Laura answered honestly and looked at Andrew and shrugged her shoulders.

"Do you have a book of courses that are available?" Andrew asked.

"Yes," Renate answered and slid a small notebook across the desk towards them. "Should I leave you alone to look through it?"

Andrew accepted the notebook and opened it as Renate slipped out of the office. Once the intern was gone, Laura looked at him. "She's really pretty, but there's something I don't understand."

"What's that sweetheart?"

"Of all the people we told about the dancing, and aside from Mom and Dad, she's the only one who isn't an angel who doesn't think it's a dumb idea," Laura said softly. "Why?"

"Maybe you should ask Renate that question, yourself," Andrew smiled.

About ten minutes later, Andrew and Laura were still looking at the book, but Laura seemed to have not found anything, and she stared blankly at the print on the pages when Renate returned to the office. The intern held a cup in her hand, and once she sat down, she drank from the cup and waited patiently until they had finished looking through the book and had made eye contact with her.

"Did you find anything?" She asked.

"Not really," Laura said. "This sign language class looks like fun. My aunt knows sign language and I used to see it on TV when I was little."

"Well, let me see," Renate put on a pair of glasses and began to read the small print in the manual she had on her desk. "It says here that Rachel Thomas teaches this class three times a week, and that there are five other children in the class."

"Really? That's my aunt?" Laura looked at Andrew, the surprise evidently showing, but after a few moments, even that trace of happiness disappeared and she sighed deeply.

"Is there any other class you would like to take?" Renate asked once she had made a notation on the file and looked across the desk at the young girl.

"No," Laura whispered, her sadness about the ballet class evidently showing in her eyes. She slid the notebook back across the desk and Renate laid the file on top.

"Listen, you try not to worry about the ballet class," Renate said smiling. "We'll figure something out, even if we have to call out and ask someone from the New York City Ballet to come and fill in."

Laura nodded numbly as she and Andrew stood up. Renate looked at the face of the dejected young girl and she sighed as they left. As soon as they were gone, she rested her elbows on the desk and folded her hands. "What is it about this little girl?" She whispered to the stillness.

After some moments of silence passed she closed the file and stood up. As she did, she self-consciously glanced down at the scars on her own legs where the pins had once been and shrugged her shoulders as she looked out into the commons of the center, her eyes filled with sadness as she watched the two of them.

What a friend this man is to that little girl, she thought to herself shaking her head. Most people would simply have turned away, and she realized that many of her own friends had done just that when she was coping with the aftereffects of the fire that had ravaged her home when she was just a few years younger than Laura was now.

She could not forget this horrible event of her life, but she learned through it all that her life was a gift, and she tried with all her might to keep an optimistic attitude about it. She had to, she knew that there would exist many reasons for her to delve herself into self-pity, but she just couldn't allow this to happen, not when it was somehow the foundation of her entire belief system.

It wasn't so much that Renate believed in God, but she somehow believed that life was good, and no matter how hard it could be, there did exist such a thing as miracles. There was definitely something familiar and comforting about Laura's friend, she thought to herself as soon as she found the paperwork she needed and had returned to the desk where she had been working.

Once she sat down, she looked down at the file for Laura Lowery, even hopeless cases like this one needed something to hold onto, she thought somberly. When she looked back through the window into the common room, she realized that Andrew was now standing on the opposite side and was looking through the glass right at her, his green eyes intently looking into her own, and self-consciously, she looked away.

*****

Billy came home from school the following afternoon, his backpack hanging from his shoulders, and a somewhat hopeful look on his face. He had aced his math test, Laura was back in school, and everything seemed to be going OK. When he reached the front door and opened it, he was surprised to discover that a young Mexican man staring down at him.

"You must be Billy, my name is Raphael, your mother asked me to pick you up when you came home and take you to the hospital," the angel said softly.

"W-what's going on?" He stammered and looked into the dark brown eyes of the angel all the while shaking his head.

"Your brother took a turn for the worse this morning, and there's not much time left, I'm afraid," Raphael said.

"Y-you mean, Chuck is-going toto die," Billy whispered sadly.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Billy," Raphael said softly.

"I don't want him to go," Billy could feel the tears beginning to stream down his face. "He's the only person who really understands me."

"I know," Raphael said softly. "And I realize how hard it is for you, but he will be in a better place, and he won't hurt anymore, not ever."

"C-can we stop somewhere before we go to the hospital?" Billy asked. "I wanted to see if my friend, Andrew, would be able to come with me."

"Of course," Raphael said gently resting his hand on the boy's trembling shoulder. Billy dropped his backpack on the living room floor and the two of them left the apartment, Raphael took the key Erin had given him and locked the door once they were standing outside the small apartment.

A couple of minutes later, Raphael pulled the car up in front of the Lowery home. It looked empty, Billy thought as he crawled out of Tess' car and walked towards the front door and rang the bell. Please be here, he whispered under his breath, please.

When no one answered, Billy could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks and he ran back to the car and got in without saying anything.

"Nobody home?" Raphael asked gently knowing that it was time for him to get the boy to the hospital.

Billy shook his head. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Maybe your friend will be at the hospital," Raphael said softly as he started the motor, and drove them in the direction of the large white intimidating building in the city center.

"Maybe, but I'm doubtful," Billy muttered. "No one wants to hang around someone who's depressed all the time."

Raphael looked at the young boy, and after a few moments had passed, he diverted his attention back onto the street and he released a pent up sigh.

*****

Chuck was still holding on to life at this time, but Adam knew that time was running out for the brave little boy. His mother, Erin, had been seated inside the room since the morning and she was whispering to her son.

"Hang on Chuck, please," she whispered under her breath, but her pleas went ignored when his condition worsened. "God, why is this happening?" She began to shout at one point, bringing one of the nurses into the room.

"Mrs. Hudson," the kind-hearted nurse said, as she ran her hand through her now gray hair, but her dark brown eyes regarded the woman with compassion. "Would you like me to bring you a cup of coffee?"

Erin looked up and could see the name 'Tess' on the uniform of the woman and rather than speak, she offered a feeble nod.

Tess left the room once again, and Erin remained seated and held tightly to the hand of her youngest son. The tears continued to stream from her eyes and down over her face, as she tried without success to hold them back. For what seemed like an eternity, she simply sat and held the hand of her son.

Five minutes later, she could hear the door open and close, and Tess reentered the room, a blanket in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other. Once she placed the Styrofoam cup on the table, and had handed Erin the blanket, she turned to leave.

"Thank you," she whispered, but when Tess didn't nod or say anything further, Erin was left to assume that her mumblings simply had not been heard. Once the door closed again, Erin closed her eyes. She wanted to cry, but she did not know if she was capable of even doing that.

"You have to cry, Erin, it is the only way you will be able to heal," a voice emerged and she looked up and could see that Adam was standing on the opposite side of the bed.

The first thing she did was to take in his appearance. She knew that he was not a doctor, as most of them walked around wearing lab coats over their suits, and they all seemed to wear a plastic photo identification tags as well. This man had no lab coat, nor identification; he simply wore a beige colored suit, a crisp white shirt, and a tie that matched his outfit, but was a shade darker than his jacket and pants. When she looked up and made brief eye contact with him, she immediately noticed that aside from being handsome, he looked to be about 40-years-old, with gray eyes, and salt and pepper hair.

Once she looked away she could see that the door was now firmly closed and after a few moments of awkward silence, she glanced back up at him and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in," she whispered.

Adam could tell that the distraught woman was truly not in the mindset of accepting the fact that he had not actually 'come into the room', but that he had been there long before she had even arrived. He sighed deeply, this was the hardest part of his job, the waiting, and now he knew that he had not only been sent to this child, but that the Father also wanted him to experience the obvious effects that this had on families and friends of those who were dying.

Whatever the case, Adam trusted the Father completely, but this trust did not hide the nervousness that seemed to curse through him when the Father instructed him to make himself visible to the mother of his assignment. All this time, he thought that this was just another assignment. It never occurred to him that he was about to become more than just Chuck's Angel of Death, but that essentially he was going into a realm of Casework, something that his friend and fellow Angel of Death, Andrew, had often done, but this was something that he had never really done himself, well not for many hundreds of years anyway.

He looked over at Erin, she did not seem ready to even accept the truth that he was not only watching and waiting for the word about Chuck, but that he was also there to take care of her.

Adam came over to her and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder before he sat down on the corner of the bed. "Erin, I know you don't want to let go of Chuck, but you have to. You must understand that God is ready for you to be strong now, and that means to seek Him out, in order to help in this process."

"Y-you want me to let my baby die?" She cried out, her face streaked with tears. "How dare you?"

Adam was somewhat taken aback by her words and this was evident on his handsome face. He was unexpectedly overcome with guilt as the words of the woman shot like an arrow that went directly to the core of his being. Sighing sadly, he remembered how he had often made remarks about death in the past, but that was only in angelic company and all of his friends knew that this was simply his way of coping with many of his more difficult assignments. He was conscientiously aware that he would never ever make those same remarks to his assignments either directly or indirectly, but his sadness was evident when he saw that his attempts at being compassionate seemed to hit the ground like a lead balloon.

He could feel a tear in his eye and he knew that although he wasn't as loving as Andrew and Monica, he really was trying.

At the same time, he was uncertain as to what he was even capable of saying or doing that would not hurt her feelings or frighten her, especially now, when she truly needed him. He took a deep breath, the words, which she had spoken, were visibly leaving an impact on him.

"Erin, Chuck is in so much pain right now, and although he loves you and Billy so much, he does not have the strength to go on. He's been holding on for so long and now he needs to have God take care of him," Adam whispered and he took a deep breath as the woman glanced up and looked into his eyes.

"God?" She whispered, her voice cracking as she looked into the eyes of the angel.

"He prayed that God would send someone to help him find his way home, and I was the angel who was sent to do just that." As he spoke, Adam began to glow, the love of God encompassing him as he continued to speak. "I've been with Chuck since he was admitted here. I will be with him when he goes to be held in the arms of the Heavenly Father. But, Erin, he cannot let go until he knows that you and Billy are going to be OK."

Erin's lower lip began to tremble and she shook her head. "I-I can't, I won't."

"I know this is hard for you, but you must try," Adam said softly. "God will see you through afterwards, I promise you that, and He will help you and your other son accept and understand what's happened and why it had to be. You must trust in Him and in His perfect timing."

She shook her head. "My baby…" As she sat next to the bed, she looked down at her sleeping son. She wanted so much to cry, to just scream and let these horrible emotions out. As she blinked her eyes, she could still feel the physical pain that came from having shed too many tears already. Her eyes were still red and hurting from all the tears she had shed since arriving at the hospital that morning, what good would it do to shed even more?

Her thoughts shifted to her older son. Billy had known from the start that this was not easy for her, and as she thought of him, she realized how she had done everything she could think of to conceal the pain from him. In the process, she had kept the truth from him and the guilt overwhelmed her every time she even contemplated it.

Adam looked intently at her, his gray eyes filled with sadness, but his words emerged filled with love and understanding, thus bringing her back to the present. "I know that to hear these words is not easy for you, Erin, and I know that your faith has wavered since Chuck was diagnosed with this disease and your husband walked out, but, God wants so much for you to look to Him for the healing and the strength that your spirit needs. He will always be there waiting for you, and He will restore you."

"I-I…" her voice trailed and she looked up at him, her eyes filled with sadness.

"You don't have to say anything now," Adam said softly. "In fact, the Father already knows what you want to say."

"H-He…" her voice trailed and she looked up at him, the tears still streaming down her cheeks as she stared down at her hands. "I-I thought this was a punishment."

"No, it's not," Adam said gently as he felt the tears in his own eyes. "God doesn't make his children sick in order to punish them, He loves them, all of them. God loves you, Erin, and He loves Chuck and Billy, too."

"H-how much time?" She whispered, her voice etched with agony and fear. Fear of hearing the truth, but agony that simply emanates from not knowing.

"A few hours," Adam said softly.

"Is that all?" She asked weakly, her hands still shaking, but she managed to reach over and take the hand of her son.

"I'm sorry," he said softly as he squeezed her shoulder comfortingly.

As she felt the pressure on her shoulder, she released the hold she had on her son, and looked at the angel who was still seated in front of her. The tears were still streaming down her face when her body lurched forward and she found herself collapsing in his arms, this somehow taking the Angel of Death by complete surprise.

Her head came to rest against his chest, and he could feel her trembling as she wept, the tears dampening the jacket he wore, but he glanced skyward and after a moment, he nodded as he slowly raised his arms and wrapped them gently around her.

He could feel the tears streaming from beneath his own eyes when Erin Hudson remained in his arms, all the while sobbing, but her arms now held tightly to him as she continued to weep bitterly.

*****

Christina and Laura arrived at the hospital at that moment, they had come to arrange a schedule for the physical therapy. As the two of them got out of the car, they managed to walk inside the large building. Once inside, Christina went to the admitting desk to ask about the therapy for her daughter. Laura went and sat down in the waiting room, all the while she was watching people coming in and going out of the room.

In one corner, she could see the chapel and instead of waiting for her mother, she got up and walked slowly towards the large doors that would lead inside the small room.

Once she came inside, she could see a couple of other people seated inside, and they were in prayer. She went to sit down in one side of the room, her crutches thumping against the linoleum floor causing some of the people to stop their activities and turn around. She looked down at the ground when their eyes met hers, but after a few moments, she managed to sit down and bow her head.

"God, it's me, Laura," she began to speak, her soft voice barely above a whisper, but her eyes filling with tears as she continued her prayer. "Please take good care of Billy, Chuck, and their mom. If Chuck has to die, then please take good care of him and give him lots of hugs." She continued to whisper under her breath, but did not see that Tess and Andrew had entered the small chapel and were standing near the door listening as Laura continued to speak. Seconds later, Monica appeared and the three angels stood and listened to the words of their young friend.

"I know that Andrew wants to see me walk again and Monica and Tess probably do too, but I would rather that you help Billy. He's my friend, and I know he made mistakes in the past, but the deal is, with Chuck being so sick, it seems like everyone has forgotten Billy. I think it hurts him that we don't see how sad he is." Laura began to wipe the tears from her eyes. "If I could chose which prayer you answer first, than please let Billy be OK. I mean, walking isn't so important to me as it is for him to believe that you really love him."

The three angels continued to listen to the words, and Monica looked at Tess. "What are we going to do?"

"The Father will decide what we do in His own good time," Tess said softly. "But, I think both prayers of that special little girl will be answered."

Andrew said nothing, he could only nod as he wiped the tears away that were streaming down his cheeks.

As Laura continued to sit there observed by the angels, the door opened and Christina came inside.

"Laura, I got your appointment set for next week," Christina said gently as she sat down next to her daughter, all the while neither of them could see the three angels, who, in their angelic forms had been observing her.

"Mom?" Laura spoke. "Do you think God will answer my prayer?"

"Of course He will," Christina said gently.

"Will you be mad at Him if I never walk again?" Laura asked weakly.

"The question is, will you be?" Christina asked and when her daughter shook her head, she spoke again. "Why do you ask me this?"

"No reason really, but I've given up on ever walking again, and I asked God to take care of Billy instead of me. His brother is going to die, Mom, and all I can remember is Olivia," Laura said softly as she looked up at her mother. "Why does God want kids to die?"

"God doesn't want children to die, Laura, and when you think about it, the spirit and soul lives on forever, so that child doesn't really die, they just move to another place," Christina said softly. "I think it's kind of like your friend, Ricky. He and his parents moved to Chicago, and for some reason, you feel as though you won't see him again and the sadness is present because of the distance that separates you. I know it's not the same thing, but think of it this way. If what Andrew says is true, and we both know that it is, then when your physical life ends, you will move to another place, and that's Heaven."

"Are you saying Chicago is like Heaven?" Laura asked, smiling slightly at her mother's analogies.

Christina laughed softly, but smiled at her daughter. "Perhaps it is to those who live there, but no, what I'm trying to say is that even though there is a distance between you and Ricky, and soon there will be one between all of us and Chuck; you can always remember this person as being strong, or kind, or gentle and that will live on even after that person is physically no longer here. Essentially, death doesn't mean the end, Laura, and through it, you will one day discover that those who moved there before you did, will all be there waiting to welcome you when you arrive."

"But why kids, Mom? Why does God take children from here that haven't started to really live or experience life yet? I mean, I don't want to die before I experience my first kiss, or go to a slumber party, or stay up all night long watching old movies on TV," Laura said.

"I don't know why it must happen, either," Christina said softly. "I mean; look at how the loss of a child's life affects Andrew. I remember how he lost his faith less than a year ago because of the school shooting, and how it all seemed to stem from the death of a child?" Christina sighed deeply as she continued to speak. "Laura, God knows best and I don't think He will put one prayer ahead of another. Maybe you should ask Tess about it, but I don't think that you can exchange prayers, all prayers will be answered, and I think God keeps it that way so that the unselfish people, like you, won't go without."

Laura sighed sadly. "I want to dance, Mom, but I think it's impossible. Yet, I also hope that Billy will be happy again."

"I know you do, sweetheart, but you have no control over this," Christina said gently. "This must be between Billy and God. All you or I can do is pray that Billy discovers this so that he won't suffer any longer. And as for the dancing, I think our friends came back to help make that wish come true, so I think God intends to answer both of your prayers."

*****

Renate Müller left the Community Service Center by this time, she had heard from Valerie Gordon that Erin Hudson's son was still in the hospital, and she figured that before she would take the bus home, that she would walk over to the hospital and see how things were going. As she reached the front door, she gripped the handle and opened it in order to go inside. En route to the waiting room, she pulled her identification from her pocket and clipped it onto her jacket. Once she had done that, she pulled the strap to her purse up onto her shoulder and continued walking.

As soon as she reached the waiting room and went inside, she recognized that Laura Lowery was sitting next to a man she did not know and as she came closer to them, she spoke. "Hello Laura." She sat down on one of the plush chairs in the large open area.

"Hi," Laura offered and the man seated with the girl looked up at her, a question looming.

"My name is Renate, I volunteer at the Community Service Center," she offered.

"I'm Jeremy, Laura's father," the man spoke.

"Is everything OK, Laura?" Renate asked. The young woman knew that Laura was probably there to sign up for physical therapy, but she wondered if the young girl was truly OK considering everything that was happening to her.

"She's fine," Jeremy answered. "We came here because the brother of one of her friends is a patient here."

"I see," Renate said. "Yes, I'm here for the same reason, the son of one of my colleagues is also here. I suppose I mentioned it to Laura, and her friend, because this is the colleague that teaches the ballet class at the center."

"I don't want to think about that right now," Laura said softly as she got up, reached for her crutches, and hobbled away.

"Did I say something wrong, Mr. Lowery?" Renate asked once Laura had gone back into the chapel.

"No, she's just been worried about her friend, Billy, is all," Jeremy said as Andrew emerged from the chapel, all the while holding the door for his young friend. As the angel came closer it was apparent that he was worried. Instead of leaving the waiting room, Andrew came over and sat down next to Jeremy. "You holding up OK, Andrew?" Jeremy asked once the angel had sat down.

"I wanted to talk to Billy after he and Raphael arrived, but he ran off and I don't know if there's anything else I could say to him that might help," he offered shrugging his shoulders and refraining from mentioning Laura's prayers.

"You want a cup of coffee or something?" Jeremy offered as he stood up. "I was thinking about going to the cafeteria and getting something to drink and I thought maybe you might like to have something."

"That sounds really good right now," Andrew said as he rubbed his hands over his face. After a few seconds he glanced around where they were now sitting and finally his gaze came to rest on chapel door where Laura had disappeared some seconds before.

"I guess she went back into the chapel," Jeremy mused sadly. "She's so worried right now, but Christina is still in there, isn't she?"

Andrew nodded. "Yes," he finally spoke, his voice barely audible. He could not stop thinking about the prayer that he and his friends had overheard when Laura was in the chapel some hours ago. He rubbed his hands once more over his face all the while shaking his head and trying to hide the tiredness that suddenly seemed to overwhelm him.

"Maybe you should get Andrew a cup of coffee, Mr. Lowery," Renate offered sympathetically. "He looks as though he is about to drop."

Jeremy nodded and stood up. "That's a good idea, I'll be back in a bit, and you guys hang in there."

Andrew wearily nodded as his friend left the room leaving him and Renate alone. "Thank you," he finally spoke.

"It's nothing," she said offering him a warm smile. "Sometimes waiting takes more energy out of a person than one thinks."

"It sounds as though you have had more than your share of this kind of thing," Andrew commented. "I mean; the waiting."

"Perhaps I have," she smiled weakly and shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't want to say this in front of Laura, but the sad truth of the matter is, I'm here because the son of my colleague is dying, not because I'm working." She sighed deeply and pulled the identification card off the lapel of her jacket. She stared down at the object and then, after a few moments, she stuffed it back in her purse and glanced back over at him.

"Chuck Hudson?" Andrew asked.

"Yes, but how did you know?"

"Laura is good friends with his brother, Billy," Andrew said softly. "She's been praying for him almost constantly since this afternoon when they arrived here."

"Praying," Renate mused. "I don't know how much good that will do, but I suppose it can't hurt, huh?"

"Do you not believe in prayer?" Andrew asked.

Something about his question hit her and the young woman shrugged her shoulders. "You know, it's so funny that you would ask me this question. I don't really know if I believe in prayer or not, I don't even know if I believe in God. But, I accept those who do, and I figure that whatever people believe might help, then more power to them." When she saw the look of contemplation on his face, she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend you."

"No, you didn't," he offered. "But, I'm curious, what do you believe?"

Renate shrugged her shoulders. "I believe in being kind to people and I believe in being optimistic and hopeful. I guess, above everything else, I believe in the power of love."

"Yet you don't believe that that love is God?" Andrew asked.

"I guess it could be, but I never really thought about it," Renate said and glanced unconsciously towards the door leading inside the chapel. "It's funny, I hadn't really thought much about religion or prayer in a long time. I suppose not until you were at the center earlier today. There was something that seemed so familiar about you. It's weird, but it felt as though you knew me better than I even knew myself. As though I've always known you. Andrew, have you ever been to Germany?"

"Yes, but it as a long time ago," Andrew said softly his thoughts shifting and he remembered the time he had been sent to Auschwitz during World War II. He could not understand why it was, but any time someone even mentioned this country, he somehow remembered the negative and not the positive. Shrugging off these feelings he smiled weakly at her.

"Then, perhaps I was mistaken and I do not know you," she said softly as she looked down at her legs.

"Renate, if you don't mind me asking, why is it you were so positive towards Laura about her wanting to dance? She mentioned this while we were in your office and looking through that book and it suddenly struck me that you are one of only a few people who have been supportive of her dancing, and she was interested in knowing why. I suppose I am as well."

Renate looked down at her lap. "I am guessing that it is because I understand what a child goes through when they must struggle with such things." Before she could continue, Erin Hudson came down the hall and into the room. The older woman's tearstained gaze came to rest on them, and Renate stood up. "Would you please excuse me for a moment."

Andrew nodded as the young German woman got up and walked over to Erin. When she reached her, she rested her hand on the shoulder of the other woman.

"Erin, is everything OK?"

The woman shook her head, the tears still streaming down her cheeks. "I have to find Billy, Renate," she whispered. "It's time for him to say good-bye to Chuck."

"Don't worry, I'll help you find him," Renate said, but turned back around to face the angel still seated in the waiting room. "I hope that we can talk some more later, Andrew," she said, and once he nodded, the two women rushed down the hall in the direction of the cafeteria.

Andrew, now knowing where Billy was, simply stood up and walked towards the exit. As he was leaving, Laura came out of the chapel. "Andrew?"

"What is it sweetie?" He asked gently. "I have to go and find Billy."

The young girl nodded. "Can I come with you?"

"Of course you can," he said gently and extended his hand to her.

As soon as she managed to get the crutches situated, she managed to come over to him. Once she reached him, she took his hand and he squeezed it gently before releasing it and together, they walked towards the exit.

*****

Billy and Raphael were both seated outside on a bench adjacent to the hospital at this time, but the young boy seemed to be ignoring his angelic companion. All that the Mexican angel could do was sit, pray, and wait. Even though he was patient, Raphael found himself getting bored with the silence and he wondered almost constantly why he had now been sent to take care of the boy, and not the mother.

Since their arrival at the hospital, he had remained in the company of the young boy and if truth were known, he really had no idea why it was he was not with Erin. Father, I don't know what I can do to help them all, he thought sadly as his prayers continued. When he finally managed to look over at the youth, he wondered when or if Billy would ever be ready to make this step towards healing.

When the boy had finally said something, it was simply to voice his anger that he had to wait at the hospital for his brother to die and that he resented God for it. It had been this way since Billy had come home from school and Raphael had met him at the door of their apartment.

"You know, Billy," Raphael began. "Maybe it might help if you go to the chapel and pray."

The boy shook his head and stared down at the wadded up tissues that were clenched tightly in his fist. "What good would that do, my brother is dying? Besides, if He really cared, He would help Chuck."

Raphael sighed deeply and rather than argue the point with the young boy, he glanced up and saw Laura and Andrew coming outside, and were now walking over towards them. "Look, there's Andrew and Laura, maybe they've heard something."

Once they reached them, Laura spoke. "Hey Billy, we've been looking all over for you."

Billy glanced up and could see the girl as well as the Angel of Death had now sat down on the bench. "Hi," he finally managed to offer.

Andrew smiled compassionately at the boy. "Your mother is looking for you, Billy. It's nearing time for you to say good-bye."

Billy looked at Raphael and then at Andrew. "He's really going to die. I didn't want to believe it, but now I have no choice." He looked at Raphael, his eyes filled with sadness and bitterness. "And you said God answers prayers? I don't believe it anymore."

Laura reached over and rested a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, as she did, she lost her balance and began to fall down, her knees almost hitting the concrete and after a few seconds, she opened her eyes to the realization that Billy had stood up and tried to catch her before she had fallen and hurt herself. "Are you OK?" He eventually asked her once she was seated on the bench between him and Andrew.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she whispered. "The question is, how are you?"

"Fine," Billy uttered, the word emerged sarcastically and it gave a direct indication that the boy had about as much confidence as a pig would have in a slaughterhouse.

"Do you want me to come with you when you go and say good-bye?" Laura asked weakly. "I know it will be hard, but I'll come with you if you want."

"You'd do that?" Billy asked as the tears streamed down his cheeks and once Laura nodded he continued to speak, his words emerging sad. "I never really told you about what was happening in my family. How did you find out about it?"

"I guess because a few days ago Johnny told me about it. I suppose he knew that I was worried," Laura said softly.

"Just like I was worried about you," Billy said weakly. "I don't understand why you didn't tell me about your legs and stuff."

"I don't know why I didn't, I guess it's the same reason you didn't tell me about Chuck," Laura said softly. "I guess neither of us wanted to burden the other one with our troubles. It's weird how pride blocks people from saying what they really feel."

Billy nodded numbly, but looked at Andrew. "You were right, maybe I should have talked to her about all of this."

Andrew smiled weakly but continued to listen as Laura began to speak once again. "Did you pray for Chuck or for yourself and your mom, Billy?" She finally asked weakly, her voice barely above a whisper.

The boy shook his head. "I haven't been able to really make amends with Him since Chuck got sick. It hurts so much, Laura."

"He already knows that, Billy," Raphael said gently.

"I thought all this time that no one could possibly understand how I felt, but then after I left yesterday, instead of going home, I went out to the baseball field," Billy said softly looking at Andrew. "I remember that we talked, but to be honest, I don't know what to say or think anymore."

Laura wrapped her arms around her friend and held him. When he looked at her, she smiled weakly at him. "Billy, I'm going to tell you a secret and you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone else about it."

The boy looked into the earnest eyes of his friend, and after a few moments, he eventually nodded.

"I saw heaven, it was over two years ago. I was in a car accident with my dad, this is why I can't walk now. The entire side of the car was hit, my legs were crushed with the impact. The driver of the other car was drunk, and he walked away with barely a scratch. I was in a coma for, I guess, it was three days. I'd have to ask Adam about how long it was, because I don't remember very much, but while I was asleep, I died."

Billy looked at her as though she was crazy, but when his eyes met Andrew's the angel nodded his head slightly indicating that the boy should simply hear her out.

"During that time, I remembered seeing my family sitting around the dining table at my grandparents' house and they were all praying for me, my dad, and for Andrew."

"For you, too?" Billy asked looking at Andrew and once the angel nodded, Billy spoke again. "But, why?"

" I felt a great deal of guilt for what had happened," Andrew said as Laura continued her story.

"Before that happened, I had seen Andrew and my mom talking to each other inside the chapel, and Andrew cried in my mom's arms. After I saw everything, I got to see this beautiful light, and I met God."

"You're kidding?" He looked at her, anger flashed in his eyes simply because he thought she was making a joke at his expense. Then when he finally made eye contact with her, he realized that she was speaking the truth and he once again quieted so that she could continue speaking.

"I didn't know what it was. I didn't know if it was a dream or if it was real, but my mom called it a near death experience, and she said that a lot of people have them. I saw Adam later and he confirmed that everything was real, and that I shouldn't be sad about it because it was a taste of what was to come. For a long time, I could only talk to him or Andrew about it, simply because I was afraid that people would think I was crazy. I mean; to tell people that I met God might give them the impression that I was a few sandwiches short of a picnic." She giggled self-consciously but looked at him intently.

"Why are you telling me this?" He finally managed to find his voice and ask her.

"Because, Chuck has something wonderful to look forward to," Laura said softly. "I know that you and your mom are going to miss him, and the truth is, we're all going to miss him terribly, but he will be happy, Billy. He'll be with God, and even though he won't be here any more, we'll see him again one day."

Billy looked at her. "You mean, when we die?"

Laura nodded and rested her hand on his shoulder. "It's beautiful in Heaven; I only saw a little bit, but it was so wonderful and I know that Chuck will like it."

Billy nodded, but could feel the tears in his eyes as he contemplated how horrible he felt about the pending 'good-bye' that he would have to say to his little brother.

"Billy, it's OK to be sad about him no longer being here," Andrew said gently. "Laura is not speaking of her experience to tell you that you should not feel grief about it. This is all a part of it, and we all know that it is painful for you."

"I know, but I don't know if I can say 'good-bye' without completely loosing it," Billy said brokenly.

"Then, we'll go with you," Raphael said softly.

Billy nodded and stood up. Once he was on his feet, he offered a hand to Laura and she took it and allowed him to help her stand up. As she leaned on Andrew for support, Billy gave her the crutches and the four of them went back inside.

*****

As Billy entered the small hospital room some ten minutes later, he could only stare at the still figure of his brother as he lay on the hospital bed as well as all the machines that seemed to be hooked up to his brother's body.

"Hey, Chuck," he said softly as he sat down in the same chair his mother had occupied earlier. "You look like you've got more machinery in here than in Mr. Harrison's Auto Shop class." His laugh emerged, somewhat hollow and when his younger brother did not even flutter an eyelash, the laughter died on his lips and he looked down and sighed deeply. "Oh what's the use? He can't hear me anyway."

He looked up and could see Raphael standing in the doorway. Behind him, Andrew and Laura were standing and waiting.

"He can, Amigo, and he knows that you're here," Raphael said. "Give it a try, talk to him, this is your last chance."

Billy nodded, his eyes once again filling with tears as he looked back down at his brother. "Do you believe in angels?"

Chuck remained still, but Adam spoke, his voice causing the boy to suddenly look up. "He does, Billy."

"It's you, I thought I'd never see you again," Billy said.

"Yes," Adam spoke. "But, you need to talk to your brother now, not to me."

"Yeah," Billy nodded numbly as he looked down at his brother. "Chuck, is there something you want me to do after you uh-go home?"

A few moments passed and then his eyes met Adam's. "He wants you to take care of your mom."

"I will," Billy promised, his voice cracking. "Anything else?"

"He said that you have to help your mother get back into dancing," Adam said gently. "He said that without the dancing, your mother will lose a part of herself once he goes."

"Yeah, I know," Billy whispered.

"You know what?" Erin's voice interrupted and he looked up to see that she was now standing in the doorway. Laura and Andrew stepped out of the way so she could enter the room.

"Nothing, Mom," Billy said softly.

Erin came over to the bed. "Renate and I were looking all over for you, and then Tess came and told me that you were already here." Billy nodded as his mother came over to him and took him in her arms. "Billy, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Chuck being so sick. I didn't want to hurt you, and I kept hoping that it was a cold or something, that it wasn't as bad as it is."

"I know, Mom," Billy said softly. "Andrew and Raphael explained a few things to me. But, it's so hard."

"I know, baby," Erin whispered. "Adam, are you still here?"

"Yes, I'm here, Erin," the angel came over to her and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You know him?" Billy asked looking at his mother in profound disbelief.

"Yes, he's been taking care of your brother," Erin said softly as she looked at her son. "I know it's hard for us to let go, Billy, but Chuck is in good hands and I think God will take even better care of him then we are able to."

"It's almost time," Adam said softly as he looked down at his golden watch. After a couple of minutes, he looked at Raphael. "Will you take care of them after we go, Raphael?"

"Yes, Adam, don't worry, my friend, Tess and I are here," the Mexican angel came over to Billy and Erin and rested a hand on each of their shoulders. When they looked up at him, he offered them a sad smile. "You need to say good-bye now."

Erin nodded as she looked down at the still figure of her youngest son. "You take care of yourself, Chuck, and tell your grandparents 'hello' for us. We love you so much and you've made me so proud to be your mother."

"Yeah, and you're the bravest little brother in the entire world, Chuck. If I could only be a tenth as brave as you are, then I would feel so blessed. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I've been thinking about joining Tom's team and when I do, I'm going to hit a homer for you," Billy said wiping the tears from his eyes. "Good-bye Chuck…" his voice trailed as the tears continued to slide down his cheeks.

"He wants you to know that he loves you both," Adam spoke gently as Chuck's spirit joined him. "He will wait for you in Heaven."

Within moments, Adam disappeared and the spirit of Chuck Hudson did as well.

Erin and Billy were still seated in the room next to the body of the young boy, and Raphael helped Billy stand up and they slowly left the room. "Where's Laura and Andrew?"

"They went downstairs," Raphael said softly.

Billy nodded and glanced back in the direction of the room where his mother sat. "Is she going to be OK? I mean; is there an angel with her, too?"

"Yes, Tess will be with her, and Monica will also help you help her fulfill that promise you made to Chuck," Raphael said gently.

"I can't believe he's gone," Billy said softly.

"I know, it will take a little time, but you will," Raphael said gently. "Billy, I want you to know that I think you are much braver than you give yourself credit for being."

Billy could only shrug his shoulders. "I don't know, but Laura will walk again, won't she?"

"I don't know the answer to that question, but I do know that if your mother goes back into dancing, then chances are, Laura will walk again, because Erin will make it possible," Raphael said gently as he led the boy back towards the elevator.

As the door opened, he could see that Christina and Jeremy were stepping out of it and they were walking towards the door to Chuck's room. Instead of following them or saying anything to them, Billy stepped into the elevator and the doors closed once they were inside.

*****

Renate walked into the large waiting room, her thoughts were a jumble as she sat and stared for some moments at the door leading into the chapel. Sighing sadly, she reached over to retrieve a magazine, which was lying on a nearby table.

Poor Erin, she thought sadly, for some reason she knew that Chuck had died during the time that had passed and she wondered if it was even possible for her friend to ever start dancing again.

"Renate?" Andrew's voice interrupted her thoughts and she looked up to see him standing in the doorway.

"I thought you were still upstairs," she said as he sat down next to her.

"No, I came back down with Laura after Billy had gone to say good-bye," Andrew said softly. "It was too hard for her to stand up in the hallway for so long. She's sitting in the chapel because she wanted some time alone."

"She's a courageous little girl," Renate said. "She has more strength and endurance than just about anyone I know."

"I don't know, perhaps you underestimate yourself," Andrew said softly.

"No, I'm not all that brave, in fact, I think I'm a pretty big coward," she smiled weakly. "Is Laura OK?"

"Yes, earlier today, my friends and I overheard her praying in the chapel. It was a beautiful prayer, too," Andrew said softly. "Did you know that she's willing to put herself aside for the sake of her friend, Billy. Not very many people do that, and when they do, it's really quite beautiful."

Renate nodded numbly, but smiled at him. "The question is, do those prayers ever get answered?"

"They do eventually get answered," Andrew said softly. "Renate, why did you stop believing?"

She looked at him. "I don't know, I mean I do, but it's very personal, and I don't know if I can explain it without you thinking that I'm telling my life story to a someone I barely even know."

Andrew smiled gently. "You can tell me, after all, I did ask."

Renate thought for a few moments, and then nodded. "When I was about 10-years-old, I was living with my parents in Berlin. We had moved into an older building, but the electrical system was not exactly safe. My father had taken a job there as Hausmeister, that is, he was the maintenance man." She took a deep breath as she continued to speak. "My father wanted to redo the entire place, all with new and modern equipment, and then they could rent the flats to elderly people or families with terminally ill children. I guess that's what got me interested in studying medicine and helping children like Laura. Anyway, it was right near the hospital, so it was a perfect location to make into a sort of hospice."

"It's a noble thing, what your father wanted to do," Andrew said. "You must have been so proud of him."

"I was, but at that time, I was really too young to even comprehend what was happening with the building, much less to even understand my father's desire to make something that was special and lasting. Anyway, the day the fire broke out, I had this strange feeling that something bad was about to happen, but I didn't really know what it was. It's weird, I know, but it's almost like a sixth sense or something."

"The system blew?" He asked.

"Yes, it did," she said and took a deep breath. "I realized years later that the building probably should have been condemned, in fact, after the fire, it was. The inspectors came in and were astounded by how many families had been living there." She took a deep breath and continued, her voice confident but at the same time, struggling to remember what had happened during that afternoon and all the while feeling the sense of sadness that her father's dream had been destroyed at the same time.

"I had been exploring the basement when it happened, a loud pop resonated through the building, and I could hear people screaming upstairs. The walls were not all that sturdy, and I figured that the people in the upstairs apartments were also very frightened. I remember how I had approached the door leading outside and upon touching it, I discovered that it was hot, and my hand was burnt." She opened the palm of her right hand and showed it to him. There was still a scar on it, but she continued to speak. "I realized that I was alone and trapped, the fear growing with each second that ticked by. I was so afraid, it was as though time was standing still for me, and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do."

"What happened next?" Andrew asked almost knowing the answer.

She glanced around the room and then back at him. "I don't think you'll believe me if I told you. I mean; I can hardly believe it myself, but yet, I'm almost certain that it did actually happen."

"Tell me, you'd be surprised at what I would believe."

Renate looked into the gentle green eyes of the man who was seated next to her before she continued.

Renate's Flashback, 12 Years ago

The fire ravaged the building, Renate was trapped in the basement, her frightened screams smothered out by the sounds overhead. "Hilfe," she cried, her German pleas for help mixed with her fear and pain when she had touched the knob to the door that would lead up the stairs to safety. She looked down the long hallway that extended throughout the interior of the large area beneath the building where she lived with her family. She could also see the sectioned off spaces belonging to each of the building's tenants.

"Mutti," she continued to cry out to her mother, her voice filled with fear, and her eyes clamped shut when she suddenly could feel the weight of a beam as it landed on her, trapping her beneath it, the weight centering itself on her legs. She screamed in agony as she felt the weight crushing them. "Please God, help me!" Her pleas emerged, her cries for help overshadowing everything. After some moments had passed, she closed her eyes once again, the loud sounds overhead making her all the more terrified.

"Renate, open your eyes, sweetheart, and you will see that you're not alone," a gentle voice suddenly encompassed her thoughts and eventually she managed to open her eyes. Before her stood a man, an angel, she guessed anyway, as he was bathed in radiant light, the golden hues of his hair shimmering and making her want to reach out and touch the beautiful strands.

"W-who are you?" She whispered.

"I'm an angel, Renate, I was sent from God to be with you so that you will know that you're not going to be alone during all of this," he said gently.

"C-can you help me?" She whimpered. "My legs hurt so badly."

"I know they do, sweetheart," he said gently and sat down on the ground next to her, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders as he moved slowly towards her and allowed her head to rest in his lap. "I am not able to move the beam, Renate, but I am here and I will stay with you."

"I'm so scared," her crying was etched in pain, and she reached for his hand. "You won't leave me?"

"No honey, I won't, I'm right here, and no matter what happens, you're never alone. God is always with you, Renate, and that's why He sent me," the reply emerged, the gentleness that emanated from his voice was as soothing as the light, which surrounded him.

"Are you my guardian angel?" She asked weakly.

"No, I'm not, I'm your Angel of Death," he said gently.

"I'm dying?" She began to cry uncontrollably as her question emerged. "I don't want to die, not without my mom and dad."

"No, no, you're not dying, not yet, but the possibility does exist, if the rescuers don't find you in time," he said softly his hand gently stroking her hair.

"I'm scared of dying," she continued to weep.

"I know you are," he continued to brush his hand trough her hair. "But, you have nothing to be afraid of, sweetheart. You have me with you and God's with you, and no matter what happens, He will always be there for you."

She continued to cry, more from the pain than from the emotions she was under. "It hurts so badly. I'm in so much pain, I wish it was over."

"Close your eyes, sweetheart, and hold on," the gentle voice of the angel emerged.

"I'm so scared," her voice was getting even more hysterical, and the angel continued to stroke her hair.

"Shhh, it's OK, I know you're afraid, Renate, but everything is going to be OK," he smiled weakly at her as he brushed her hair from out from in front of her eyes.

"W-what's your name?" She asked weakly feeling herself become drowsy, and her eyes closed.

"Andrew," he whispered and continued to hold her in his arms.

Ten minutes later, the rescuers found the unconscious little girl beneath the beam and they managed to move the heavy structure from her legs, bring her out of the basement, and transported her to the hospital.

As promised, Andrew remained with her, but nearly ten hours later when she woke up in the hospital, the first thing she noticed was that the angel was gone.

Renate's Flashback End

"It was you, wasn't it? I mean; you were there with me, weren't you?" Renate spoke once the story ended and she sat there looking at him.

Andrew smiled and nodded. "Yes, I was the angel who was sent to be with you that day." He looked at her, his question emerging once he managed to find his voice. "How did you figure this out, after all, it was 12 years ago?"

"I don't know, I guess I suddenly realized how strange everything was that had happened. I remember how you were watching me through the window after I had talked to you and Laura about the courses. It was odd, because I guess I figured that you were trying to decipher where you had seen me before; and that's why you were staring at me. However, I was also trying to do the exact same thing." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled weakly.

"You're not afraid of me, are you?"

"No, actually, I'm happy to see you again, it's like meeting an old friend that I haven't seen in many years," Renate smiled as she looked at him. "I do have one question though, are you really Laura's friend?"

"Yes, I am. You see, I have been friends with Christina, that is Laura's mother, ever since she was a little girl. I was sent here to help Laura fulfill her dream of dancing, but my friends and I are also here to help Erin and Billy."

"So, you really are an angel?" The young woman looked intrigued, but also a little frightened.

Andrew rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, his eyes seeking hers. "Yes, Renate, I am."

"You came here to lead Chuck Hudson to Heaven, right?"

"No, I actually wasn't sent to Chuck," he began. "My friend, Adam, was though."

"Another Angel of Death?" Renate asked.

"Yes," came the simple answer.

"I don't believe this; two days ago I wasn't even thinking about what happened at that rickety old building where I used to live, and now I can't get it out of my mind. I remember you were there in Berlin, and you wanted to help me. I was ten-years-old and I thought for so long that you were just a figment of my imagination, like a dream that encompasses my fantasy. When it was over and I got out of the hospital, I had to go into therapy, because I needed some help in coping. I suppose my parents were afraid that I had been traumatized by those events, and perhaps I was a little."

"I didn't come here with the intent to hurt you or to bring back memories that you had forgotten," he said.

"I know you didn't, you came back for your friends," Renate said softly. "I didn't expect to tell you that I remembered so much, but somehow I think you knew that I was trying to make this sort of connection and maybe that's why you talked to me earlier today, and that you came over to talk to me just now."

"Perhaps I did," he smiled. "Are you OK with my presence here?"

"Yes, I am," she began. "I'm grateful to you for being there for me during the most frightening and painful time in my life. But, I'm also so grateful that God sent you back here to help Laura, Erin, and Billy. For so long I didn't believe in God, I thought if I lived a good life, that I might understand this dream better, but I never truly believed, until now."

Andrew nodded as though he understood what the young woman was saying, and after a few moments, he spoke, his voice as gentle as she remembered it having been the day she had met him for the first time. "The events at the building were always perceived as a dream for you, weren't they?"

"Yes, and now I realize that it wasn't, so that means that God does exist, and I denied Him," she looked at him, guilt and sadness in her eyes. "Can He forgive me for that?"

"Yes," Andrew smiled. "He already has. You know, by living a good life, Renate, He knows that you always allowed your conscience to guide you rather than your ego. He's so proud of you for that, and He wants you to know that He does love you."

She nodded. "Then that means He will answer Laura's prayers."

"He will," Andrew affirmed and smiled.

Renate reached over and took his hand in hers and squeezed it. "When I offer my first prayer in over ten years, I will remember to thank Him for sending you to me."

Andrew smiled and nodded as the young woman bowed her head and began to pray. All the while, she held onto his hand and he smiled, his face slightly reddening when she thanked the Father for sending His beautiful angel named Andrew.

*****

Erin was still seated in Chuck's room and she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks when Tess entered some moments later and rested her hand on the shoulder of the woman. "It's over, baby," she whispered as she helped Erin to stand up and took her out of the room and they walked down the hall in the direction of the elevators.

"I feel so empty inside," Erin said softly and she looked into the kind eyes of the woman walking beside her. As they reached the elevator, the doors opened and Erin was left looking down at Laura's innocent face.

"Mrs. Hudson?"

"Yes," Erin spoke.

"Billy's downstairs in the chapel, and he asked to come and tell you that," Laura began, her voice somewhat nervous, but when she saw that Tess was standing next to the mother of her friend, she smiled slightly.

"Thank you, Laura," Erin offered and she and Tess stepped into the elevator, Laura hobbled down the hallway in the direction of Chuck's room. For some reason the little girl was convinced that she would see Adam again.

Tess watched as the doors closed and the two of them were inside the elevator.

"That's a special little girl," Tess said and Erin looked at her.

"I don't know Laura all that well," Erin said softly.

"You would get to know her in the coming weeks if you go back to teaching dance at the Community Center," Tess said. "Laura is there three times a week for sign language classes. She's taking lessons from her aunt, Rachel Thomas."

"I don't think I'll ever dance again," Erin said softly and after that, no more words were exchanged.

When they stepped out of the elevator some moments later, Erin left Tess standing in the hallway and she headed in the direction of the chapel, and once there, she opened the door and went inside. "Billy, it's time to go home," she said, her voice void of any emotion.

"OK, Mom," the young boy got up and walked towards his mother. Before leaving, his eyes met those of Raphael. "Thanks for everything, Raphael," he said softly as he left the chapel. Seconds passed and Erin too left the room, the door closing behind them.

Raphael looked towards the front of the room once he was alone and within seconds, Monica appeared and sat down next to him.

"Hey," he said smiling weakly.

"How is it going?" Monica asked.

"Not good, Erin looks as though she's given up on everything," he said softly. "I don't know if she will ever dance again.

Seconds passed and Tess walked into the chapel as well. "You know, Babies, we really have our work cut out for us."

"Maybe we should concentrate in Erin's healing more than on Laura dancing," Monica said softly causing her two friends to look at her. "I mean, maybe we're focusing too much attention on Laura and not enough on Erin and how hurt she must be right now. If Erin starts dancing again, and her spirit heals, then perhaps this will help Laura to find the fulfillment of her dream, but we shouldn’t help Erin solely because of the impact it could leave on Laura."

As she spoke, none of them saw that Christina had come into the chapel, the color draining from her face as Monica's words hit her. She stood in the room for some moments as she remembered the conversation she had had with Laura just hours ago. She cleared her throat, this caused the three angels to turn and look at her.

"I'm sorry," she offered. "I just came in here to see if Laura was still here."

"No baby, she went up to Chuck's room. I think she wanted to see if Adam was still here," Tess said.

Christina nodded and she looked at the eldest of the three angels. "Tess, is Laura going to walk again?"

"I don't know baby, but whatever happens, you should be extremely proud of that little girl. She's got more strength and courage than most of the kids her age possess," Tess said.

"That's true, and I am," Christina said. "Laura is a very unselfish person, and I hope that when I talked to her earlier today, that what I said was right."

"Tess, Andrew, and I heard everything, Christina," Monica began. "We were here when she prayed, and her words touched us deeply."

"She would really sacrifice everything for Billy, wouldn’t she?" Christina asked weakly.

"Yes, she would," Monica said softly. "But you were right, God doesn't take exchanges on prayers, and I think He has every intention of helping Laura to receive the answers to those prayers."

Christina smiled weakly as Jeremy came into the chapel. "Are you ready to go home, honey?" He asked once he saw his wife.

"I think so," she smiled weakly as she looked back at the angels. "Thank you for being here, I think it helps Erin and Billy to know that you are here, and that you care for them."

She turned and walked out of the chapel, Jeremy smiled and followed leaving the three angels alone once again. Moments later, Andrew and Renate entered the room, the young woman was speaking to him as though they were best friends.

"Hey, you guys, this is Renate, she's an old friend of mine," Andrew said making the introductions. "Renate, these are my friends, Tess, Monica, and Raphael."

"Hi," the young woman said smiling.

"Hello," Tess said smiling. "You work here, I think I have seen you around."

"Yes, but I also volunteer over at the Community Center. In fact, that's where I met Erin Hudson," Renate said taking a deep breath before continuing to speak. "I wanted to talk to you about the situation with Erin and her son. I mean; I know Erin pretty well, and I also know Laura. I want to help if I can, but do you know who I think will be able to make the biggest difference to her, and possibly get her back to teaching classes?"

"Who?" Raphael asked.

"Her son," Renate said simply. "I remember when I was going through rehab therapy, I found more strength through my mom and dad than I did anywhere else. This was when I was thinking that what I had experienced had been a dream. I had no idea that I could acquire strength elsewhere, but now something tells me that Billy is going to empower his mother and somehow, he will encourage her to teach ballet again and this will help that beautiful child whom Billy calls his friend."

Tess closed her eyes and then after a few moments, she opened them and nodded. "Babies, I think she's on to something here."

"Why didn't I think of that?" Raphael asked.

Renate looked at Andrew and smiled weakly, but after a few minutes, she looked at him. "Please don't be offended by my observations. I think you all have already helped Billy, you taught him to pray and gave him hope. No one could have asked for more. When I needed that extra help, God sent Andrew to help me. Now, he has sent the four of you to help that little boy. I may not have been present when you talked to Billy, but I did see him leaving with his mom just now, and this little boy had already started asking his mother about teaching dancing. He said that it was a promise he made to his little brother before he died."

*****

It was late when Billy and Erin pulled into the driveway of the apartment complex where they lived. Billy was still thinking about what had happened at the hospital and he could still not believe that his little brother was dead. It just didn't seem possible.

He could still remember hearing the words Adam said to him right before he had said good-bye. He had essentially promised not to give up on living and hoped that he would have the strength to keep his mother from doing the same.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" He asked weakly as they were getting out of the car. He had not spoken since they had left the hospital, and although she did not get angry when he mentioned the dancing, he could tell by looking at her that she was annoyed with it and did not wish to discuss it any further.

"What is it?" Erin's voice was soft as they walked towards the stairs that lead up to their apartment.

"I was just wondering if you saw Laura before we left the hospital?" Billy asked.

"That's the little girl on crutches, right?" Erin asked once they were inside and she had closed the door.

"Yeah, I'm worried about her," Billy said softly.

"I think we have other worries right now, Billy," Erin replied.

"No, I made a promise to Andrew," Billy said sadly. "Mom, Andrew's an angel, and he's friends with Laura and her parents."

"An angel?" Erin asked.

"Well, he's more than just an angel to me," Billy began. "He's been my friend through everything. When I was sad about what was happening with Chuck, he helped me to realize so much about what had happened and why. Mom, he's really a good friend, and he's as worried about Laura as I am. I think all the angels here are. They love Laura, and she's the reason they're here."

"What does this have to do with me, Billy?" She asked.

"Maybe nothing, and maybe everything," Billy said softly. "If it's important to me, shouldn't it be important to you?"

"You know it is," Erin said softly.

"Mom, I don't ask you to do very much for me, because I know that you're dealing with a lot of stuff since Dad walked out and Chuck got sick, but please couldn't you go back to the Community Center and teach ballet again? I mean, if you don't my best friend will probably never walk again," Billy said softly the tears now streaming down his cheeks.

"What are you saying?" She asked weakly.

"Andrew told me that if Laura doesn't learn to dance, than the muscles in her legs probably won't heal properly, and she'll be either confined to a wheelchair or she won't be able to walk without those stupid crutches. Her doctor sent her to physical therapy, that's why they were at the hospital today, but when they learned that Chuck was not doing well, they stayed," Billy looked at his mother. "I think even Chuck knew what had happened with Laura, and he asked me to promise him to convince you to start teaching dance again."

"You can't make such a promise, honey, only I can," Erin said softly.

"I know and I'm sorry, Mom. I mean; maybe it was wrong of me to make such a promise, but I did it for Laura…" His voice trailed and he sat down on the sofa in their living room.

"You really love this girl, don't you?" Erin asked.

"Yeah," Billy said and sniffed. "After Ricky moved to Chicago, she was always there for me, and then when Chuck got sick, they wanted to help me deal with it, but I pushed them away. Then Andrew came back, and I had someone who was like an older brother to me, someone who could help me understand why this was happening and be there for me when you couldn't."

"You know I always wanted to be there for you," she said softly.

"I know, and I'm not mad or anything, but after Dad left, I realized how lonely I was, and how I always thought that being strong meant hiding the emotions away," Billy said. "Andrew said that it was OK to cry, and to feel sad."

"That's what Adam told me when I was in your brother's room earlier today," Erin said.

"You talked to Adam?"

"Yes, he tried to console me. At first I wasn't very nice to him," she whispered.

"Johnny and I saw him that day I was nearly hit by that drunk driver? You remember, it was about three months ago, and I was pretty shaken up by it? Laura saved my life that day."

"I remember," Erin said, her voice soft and she looked down at her son. "You know, Laura saved your life, maybe the least I can do is help to save hers. What do you think?"

"It's going to be hard especially so soon after Chuck," he said. "But, maybe that's why God sent us angels."

"I think your right, that is why," Erin wrapped her arms around her son and the two of them cried in each other's arms.

*****

Five days later, Renate arrived at the Community Center and she smiled as she came inside. Andrew and Laura were already there and the young girl smiled at her when she came through the commons in their direction.

"Hi," she smiled at both of them.

"Hello Renate," Andrew said softly and Laura looked at the young German woman and nodded.

"I have news for you, Laura," Renate said. "Valerie Gordon called me at home this morning, and guess what class you're now signed up for?"

Laura looked at Renate uncertain as to what to say. After a few moments, she shook her head and waited for the young woman to tell her.

"Erin Hudson called the center this morning, and she said that she would start teaching ballet again. She said that you inspired her to do so."

"Me?" Laura looked at her, and then at Andrew.

Renate nodded. "Erin said that you saved her son's life about three months ago, and this was during the time when you and Billy weren't even friends. Now, she wants to help you with your life, and that means she's going to help you by teaching the class again. You were the first person we signed up for it, but now you have about 10 other kids who are going to learn with you."

Laura looked at Andrew and then Renate. "It was my prayer that Billy would be OK."

"We all know that," Andrew said softly. "Monica, Tess, and I heard your prayer in the chapel last night, but Laura, you should know better than to think that God would trade your prayer for that of another person."

"Billy will be OK," Renate said softly. "He has angels with him, as does his mom, and you."

"You know that…?" Laura asked looking at Renate.

"Yes, I do know, and you know what, I met Andrew a long time ago, and through his help, I found my way back to God. I always believed in love, but I just discovered that God is love, and that love will be with me always. Maybe that's why I wanted to help you fulfill your dream, because you're so very special, and inspiring to me."

"I am special?" Laura looked at her as Erin came through the room.

"You are," Erin called out and waved. Although the woman looked tired, she appeared to be more rested than she had been at the hospital. Once she reached them, she smiled weakly at the young girl. "You're the one wanting to learn to dance, correct? You come along and then suddenly you bring me out of retirement."

Laura smiled weakly and shrugged her shoulders. "How's Billy Mrs. Hudson?"

"He's fine," she answered. "He's been hanging out with Raphael these last few days and his friends have all been so wonderful about helping us get through this. They've been taking care of things for me so I could come over here and sign the contract to stay on permanently here."

"You really are going to help me?" Laura asked.

"Yes, I am, and I can tell you this, if Renate can get back on her feet; so can you," Erin said.

Laura reacted by throwing her arms around the surprised woman's neck and holding as tightly as she could. "Thank you."

"I should be thanking you as well as all our angelic friends," Erin said softly. "God really has intervened here, and I guess of all the times in my life, now is when I needed it the most."

Renate nodded and smiled. "Doesn't He always?"

Laura smiled brightly for the first time in months, but when her friends looked at her, she eventually nodded.

"Thank you, Father," she whispered as Erin and Renate walked over to the office to sign the contracts leaving her alone with Andrew. She reached for the angel's hand and began to speak once again. "I thank you not only for helping me start dancing, but also for taking care of Billy and his mom just like you promised."

*****

Three days later, Laura arrived at the Community Center with Christina, Jeremy and Andrew. The entire center was full of children, and Laura immediately recognized some of the children from her sign language class as also being interested in ballet. She was standing next to her parents and Andrew when Erin walked into the room with Monica behind her.

"Good afternoon, children," Erin began once the class had assembled and she had managed to get their attention. "My name is Erin and I'm going to be your ballet teacher, this is my assistant Monica. Now, she doesn't know anything about dancing."

Andrew grinned at Laura knowingly and the girl giggled.

"But, she does know about motivation, and inspiring you to go beyond what your own expectations are. This is just as important as dancing," Erin continued. "Your frame of mind, has a lot to do with what you are capable of accomplishing. So, even if Monica cannot dance, if she believes that she can dance, then she will. Now then, since many of you have had difficulties walking, we're going to take this class very slowly. If during the course of the class you experience any discomfort, then I want you to go see Tess immediately. I think most of you know Tess, since she works over at the hospital and helped with a number of your PT sessions. She's going to be here starting tomorrow and believe me, she'll know if you are experiencing any discomfort."

"No kidding," Andrew muttered under his breath causing Laura to begin to giggle once again.

"Knock it off, you two," Erin said smiling. She turned back to the rest of the class. "I have to keep an eye on Laura and Andrew," she began. "They're good friends with my son, Billy, and he's a pill."

"Just like you, Jeremy," Christina whispered to her husband from the back of the room.

"Hey, I have a reputation to uphold," he whispered back to her and they linked arms and left the room.

Christina smiled and looked lovingly at her husband.

"What's the secret?" Jeremy finally asked.

"No secret really, but I just know that everything is going to be OK, and that means more to me than anything. Laura's going to dance, and Andrew, Tess and Monica are going to be here to see her do it."

"It's gift what that little girl has," Jeremy said softly.

Christina nodded, but before they could reach the front door of the center, someone called her name and she turned around to see Valerie Gordon coming towards her.

"Hello, I didn't think I'd see you again. Laura was here the last few days, but I didn't see you with her," Valerie began to speak.

"I didn't want to make anyone feel awkward," Christina said honestly.

"Chris told me that you helped Ted as much as you could, and I didn't realize for a long time how much you had done for him. I wanted to say 'thank you', I guess I should have said this when you brought Laura to see the doctor, but my pride wouldn't let me. Then, when I met your daughter again, I realized just how much love you carried in your heart for her as well as how much you passed onto that little girl. She's really an inspiration to a lot of the children here, and you have every reason in the world to be immensely proud of her."

"Thank you, Mrs. Gordon," Christina began.

"No, it's Valerie, and I know that I will see you around the center more often, at least I hope so."

Christina smiled and shook hands with the woman before she and Jeremy left the center and stepped out into the bright sunshine.

The End

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