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 thirteenth 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', and the twelfth 'In the Father's Arms'.

*****

It had been over a year since Olivia Thomas' death, and the time that passed did not seem to heal the pain that would curse through Daniel Thomas whenever he would look in the innocent eyes of the small boy he and his wife, Donna, had adopted. He could not help but feel lost, Olivia had been such a beautiful child; she was so strong and yet, she had an innocence about her that left her open prey to the ills of people like her ex boyfriend, Greg Munson.

Daniel and Donna had spent the last year fighting to keep Greg from taking their grandson away from them, the lawyer bills running into the thousands, and today, through a simple DNA test, Greg Munson had been proven to not be Brendan Andrew's real father, and the restraining order against him had been set. The anger and bitterness was something, which Daniel had not been able to control, but with Greg out of the picture, he felt at least some semblance of peace, but he still could not let go of the fact that Olivia had died, and she had been so young. This had broken his heart and he still felt as though a part of him had died the night that she had given birth to that little boy and was taken away from them.

His other daughter, Christina had said it the best, he thought sadly as he sat down that evening to read the newspaper. She had once said that Olivia was her sister in all the ways that mattered. Ever since the funeral and up until this point, he knew that she had tried to spend as much time with him as she possibly could. The family had pulled together under such tragic circumstances, but today, they continued to hold tightly to one another. His and Donna's son, Bryan, was also aware of what was happening within the family, and he was well aware that his father was encompassed with grief and sadness.

Daniel smiled when he thought about his kids, and even Lindsey would visit him when she would come during her breaks from the work she did in New York City. Lindsey was Christina's best friend and over the course of the years he had known her, she had become someone who was like a part of their extended family.

As he put in the CD Lindsey had given him during her last visit, her gentle, but emotional voice soon filtered through the dining room where he was now sitting. As he listened to the music, Donna came into the living room and rested her hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Daniel?"

"Yeah?"

"When are you going to take Chrissie's advice and get counseling?" Donna asked sadly. "It's been over a year since Olivia died, and she wouldn't want you to be unhappy. Do you remember what Andrew said?"

"I know, it's just hard," Daniel said as he sighed deeply. "It hurts, Donna."

"I know it does, we lost a child," she whispered sadly. "I know how much that hurts, because it hurts me too. But, Olivia's baby is now with us, and we've fought so long and hard for the right to raise this boy in our family."

"It's just going to take a little more time," Daniel said softly.

"Chrissie called earlier, Laura's birthday is tomorrow, and we're supposed to be there at 1," Donna said. "You feel up to going?"

"Yeah, I figure if we don't Laura will be crushed," Daniel said softly.

"From what I've heard, Laura's really been having a rough time lately," Donna said. "Chrissie said that the school's called three times in the last two weeks. They said that Laura is in a depression, but I don't believe that. How can little kids get into depressions?"

"That's a question for our daughter," Daniel said softly. "But, you know, Laura hasn't been herself lately. There's something going on with her, now that you mention it. I have no idea what it is, but maybe in time, she'll open up and tell someone."

"Maybe, but I just don't know," Donna mused. "I sometimes wonder if she's hiding this stuff away to protect us."

"Perhaps she is," Daniel shrugged his shoulders and glanced back down at the newspaper. "You know, she and Olivia were very close."

"I know," Donna said softly, but opted to change the subject when she could hear the music softly playing in the background. "That reminds me, I heard that Lindsey was back in town. I ran into Edith at the store some days ago, and she said that Lindsey had gotten a recording contract, and that she is now doing some serious studio work out there in New York," Donna said.

"I heard about that, she's doing really well with the music, and the kid's got talent. How old is she now?" Daniel asked.

"She's ten years younger than Chrissie, so now she's 25," Donna said. "Edith said that she and Kevin were getting ready to go to the Bahamas in August. She also said that Tom was going to come back and house sit for them while they're gone."

"What is Tom doing these days, I haven't seen him in awhile?"

"Edith said that Tom's 20 now, and he's been coaching little league in Hudson Square, and I hear he's been making pretty good money working with kids there," Donna said.

"I heard that he started to play guitar for a heavy metal band, do you know if anything ever came of that?"

"No, I think he quit, there was a dispute some time ago about him dying his hair blue or something," Donna said smiling. "You know how strange kids these days can be."

Daniel nodded and smiled slightly. "I think Lindsey and Tom turned out OK. They've had their trials and tribulations in life, but they're both really strong."

Donna nodded and smiled. She knew that Lindsey would always come by the house and try to talk to Daniel whenever she would come back from New York City, but she was well aware that something was simply not setting right with him.

"Well, I'm going up to bed, could you turn everything off before you come up?" Donna asked.

"Sure Honey, I'll be up in a few minutes," Daniel said softly as he opened the newspaper and began to read. Right at the top of the page, the headline read:

School Shooting Claims Four Lives

Three Students and One Teacher Dead After Teenagers Open Fire in Crowded Cafeteria.

Sighing sadly, he began to read the article.

Never in its history has Southside Independent School District reported any incidents of school violence. This record was sadly shattered Tuesday morning when two boys: Terry Fields (16) and Bruce Freedman (15) entered the busy cafeteria of Southside High School carrying handguns and opened fire killing three students and one teacher.

Jason Reynolds, the principal of the school reported that other students, as well as Sophomore Level English teacher, Elise Kilgore, eventually stopped the boys. 'It's a sad day for all of us,' Reynolds said bowing his head. 'We sympathize with parents, teachers, students and community in the wake of this tragedy. If not for the quick thinking of Miss Kilgore, there would probably have been more lives lost.'

Kilgore was said to have tackled one of the suspects and managed to pry the gun from the youth's hand. When asked why she tried to intervene, Kilgore shook her head and said, 'I couldn't have done otherwise, and besides that, adrenaline is sometimes a very frightening thing'.

The two boys responsible were immediately taken into custody following the shooting and are being held without bail at an undisclosed Juvenile Detention Center. According to the District Attorney's Office, they are pulling out all stops to have Fields and Freedman tried as adults, creating a landmark case, as this has never before happened in this particular county. As of press time, the two boys are currently undergoing psychiatric evaluations, but sources close to the families were said to have remarked about how the two of them were often seen alone at school, and were considered outsiders. Further, rumors circulating around the school reported that they had planned this assault for weeks as a way of getting even with the popular kids for having rejecting them.

The families of the victims have requested that the names of their children not be publicly disclosed until after the funerals take place, but two of the victims families have made it known that there will be a candlelight vigil at the 'United Methodist Church of Southside' tomorrow evening at 8 P.M.

Sighing sadly, Daniel laid the paper down on the table and walked slowly out of the room. His head was positively spinning when he crawled into bed some ten minutes later.

*****

It was now pretty late in the evening at Christina and Jeremy's house and as Christina sat in the living room; she found her thoughts drifting. Laura had already gone to bed, but she wasn't sleeping very well, and had already been downstairs to get a drink of water and to ask about when her dad was coming home from work.

Jeremy was working late, and Christina was sitting on the sofa looking down at some of her case files. Ever since the school shooting in Southside, she had gotten two more cases already and it looked as though she would get even more before the smoke cleared. The entire town of Southside was overcome with grief about the shooting, and Christina's office was getting inundated with calls simply because all the counseling centers in Southside were completely filled to capacity with new cases from the high school.

Christina was tired, perhaps only a little bit troubled with her own worries, but her thoughts were constantly drifting, from one thing to another and then back again.

She glanced around the room and when her eyes came to rest on a framed photograph, she sighed sadly. It was actually one of the snapshots from her and Jeremy's wedding. Normally, she wouldn't be sad when she thought of her wedding day, but that photograph happened to be of her, Jeremy and Olivia. Whenever she remembered Olivia, her thoughts almost instantly turned to the well being of her father. Back when she and Jeremy had gotten married, her family had been so happy, but today, she would get tears in her eyes whenever she would think about Olivia.

She could not help but admire the girl, she had lived through and endured so much, and through it all, she had somehow found the will to keep living. "She was an amazing person," she whispered under her breath, as she laid the rest of the file on the coffee table and stood up to stretch out.

She immediately could tell that she had been seated for too long because as soon as she did stand, her knees buckled slightly, and she fell back against the cushions. Instead of trying again, she grabbed a pillow from the corner of the sofa and hugged it to her chest as she continued to look outside through the sliding glass door. She sighed with contentment as she made herself comfortable, her eyes closing somewhat as she rested her head.

She must have drifted off to sleep because the next time she opened her eyes, she could hear that someone was ringing the doorbell. She sighed deeply but slowly managed to get up off the couch and walked towards the front door in order to answer it. As she peered through the small glass hole in the center of the door, she gasped in astonishment and quickly swung the door open.

"Andrew?" She whispered in profound shock and disbelief when she saw her friend, and Angel of Death, standing on the other side of the now open door, two police officers were standing behind him, one of them holding his arm firmly so that he would not crumple to the ground in a heap. It was obvious to Christina that he was exhausted, simply from his weary looking face, as well as the despair that seemed to outwardly radiate from him.

Sighing sadly, she continued to stare at her friend. He truly looked as though he had been living on the streets for months, his hair was completely disheveled, his entire face looked sunken in and dirty, the clothing he wore reeked, and his face showed the start of a beard. Then there were his eyes, those green eyes that always showed the utmost compassion and love were now void of any emotion, and seeing that alone almost made her want to cry.

"Officer?" She asked, as she looked up into the eyes of one of the policemen, a question looming as Andrew stumbled into her arms, his face burying against her upper arm, and shoulder as the tears began to stream from his eyes and she could feel the moistness through the t-shirt she wore. She wrapped her arms around him and held tightly to him, her arms not only trying to console him, but also trying without much success to keep him on his feet.

"We found your friend downtown, Mrs. Lowery, he was completely out of it," one of them said. "He insisted that he knew you, but we didn't really believe him, so we took him to the station and your husband, Jeremy, confirmed that he is, in fact, your friend, so we brought him here. He looks like he's been pretty roughed up and is in need of a bath, but we figured that you would be able to take care of him."

"Yes, I'll do my best, thank you, gentlemen," Christina said softly, as she clumsily managed to help Andrew inside. As soon as she was able to help him to sit down on the sofa, she returned to the door, closed and locked it. Within moments, she had returned to the sofa and wrapped her arms securely around his now trembling body. "Andrew, can you hear me?" She asked weakly.

"Christina," he moaned and looked at her, his eyes filled with fear, and this was something that she could not comprehend, not in him. In all the years she had known Andrew, she had never seen him looking as lost and alone as he did at that moment and her heart nearly broke when she looked at him.

This can't be happening, she thought frantically, where are Tess and Monica, and do they know about this? The questions raked havoc on her emotions, but she found herself trying without much success to comfort her friend.

"It's OK, I'm here," she said softly all the while holding him in her arms. "I'll do everything I can for you, I think you know that, don't you?"

He nodded wearily. "Christina, I'm trapped," he spoke weakly, his voice hoarse, his emotions once again taking hold of him.

"God made you a human?" She asked gently.

He nodded, "yes."

"It's OK, Andrew, there must be a reason, and you know I'll do whatever I can to help you," she tried to reassure him, but all the while, she did not know what had happened or could even begin to understand why it was her friend was looking as bad as he now was. "Do you know where Tess and Monica are?"

He shook his head.

"Adam?" She asked, and all the while he continued to shake his head. "What about Raphael?"

When no answer emerged, Christina sighed deeply. "Is there another angel who you know of who might be able to help us?" Upon hearing her question, Andrew looked at her, the look in his eyes a depiction of a lost puppy, and she knew this look all too well. He thought she would cast him aside, but instead she reached over and touched his dirty face. "I won't leave you alone, Andrew. I was just thinking that maybe God has a reason for this, and that one of your friends could enlighten us," she paused and looked at him after some seconds passed. "Why don't you go and take a shower then and I'll get some of Jeremy's things out for you?"

He nodded numbly as he looked down at his lap.

Once she had helped him to the bathroom for his shower, she handed him some fresh clothing and closed the door to the bathroom. Once she could hear the water running, she went back into the living room and sat down on the sofa. "Father," she began to pray. "I have to know what happened to him. Please, send me some help."

"Christina Lowery?" A deep voice resonated through the room and she turned around and saw someone she had never seen before standing in the living room.

"W-who are you?" She asked, feeling the sensation of intimidation overwhelm her.

"My name is Sam and I was sent here to help you, help Andrew," he explained.

"What happened to him, can you tell me?" Christina looked at him, her sad eyes pleading with him for answers to the questions she was not certain she was capable of asking.

"Andrew was given an assignment about five days ago. It was in the neighboring town, the same community where your husband's family lives," Sam began. "It was at the high school, Christina, you probably heard about it."

"Yes I did, there was a school shooting there on Tuesday. Three kids and a teacher were killed, and now two of the children who witnessed this tragedy are now in my care," Christina whispered. "Let me guess, Andrew couldn't cope with it, could he? I mean; is that what happened to him, did he walk away from his job when he had to take one of those kids home?"

"No, he didn't walk away this time, but yes, he was deeply hurt when he had to take a 14-year-old victim home. After this happened, he did somehow get a little distanced from the Father and I am guessing that it happened over the course of the assignment," Sam said softly as he sat down next to her. "You know that just like God sends angels to people to help them with their lives, well, there's another force out there that takes hold of people's free will as well. This is specifically what happened with those two boys. They gave into ideas of revenge and restitution, thus loosing track of themselves and who they really are."

"Are you trying to tell me that they gave into forces of evil?" Christina looked at him.

Sam nodded, "in a way, yes. You see, Christina, an angel in human form can be hurt by those forces just as a human being can, and God gives all of us the strength we need to fight it when it tries to tempt us, but after Andrew was sent to try and help, and then eventually had to take one of these poor souls home, he found that his own weakened spirit was doubly susceptible to this, and therefore, he is now trapped in human form, unable to seek help from the Father."

"But, he was always so filled with faith, and hope?" Christina looked at him all the while trying to digest the words Sam was telling her. "I don't understand how Andrew can become weakened by this. Are these forces still there?"

"Christina, the forces are always going to be there, and most people who have a conscience are able to fight them, but as an Angel of Death, Andrew was considerably weakened by what he saw, and it has basically stigmatized him. It isn't to say that he is giving in to these 'forces', but right now he's in a great deal of pain, and he feels as though he failed God."

"You mean, he was sent to one of those boys, before this whole thing happened and he was trying to convince him to not go through with it?" Christina asked. "This is similar to what my feelings were like after Ted Gordon killed himself."

"Exactly, and now Andrew feels as though the Father is disappointed in him, that he didn't try hard enough or something," Sam said softly. "I gave Andrew a choice, I told him, 'you can either come here, and try to make heads or tails out of this and get some help from your friends, or you can go to God's country to work through this on your own'."

"God's country? What is this place?" Christina asked.

"It's a place between Heaven and Earth, and angels are sometimes sent there when they make mistakes or need time to reflect on assignments," Sam said softly.

"A punishment?" Christina asked. "Like a child being sent to a corner?"

"No, this is just a place where they can reconnect with the Father. Andrew chose to come here, I suppose that he knew that you and your family would help him when he needed it the most."

Christina could say nothing; she simply nodded.

"Andrew does not know what he must do here, and I happen to know that it will take time for you to help him, but do be patient, Christina, the Father knows of the love that you have for His angel, and He has confidence that you will help Andrew in a way that we cannot."

"That's a great deal of pressure, Sam. I mean; what if I fail?" She asked weakly.

"You and your family have been Andrew's friends through everything, even through the loss of your sister, Olivia, so when you consider how much love is in the heart of you and your family, the Father and I both know that Andrew is in very capable hands. You must simply accept that." With that, Sam was gone and Christina was once again alone in the living room.

As she stood up, she could hear the water being turned off and she figured that eventually Andrew would join her in the living room. Sighing deeply, she stood up and went into the kitchen. At this moment, she figured that the best thing she could do for him now would be to make him some soup and send him straight to bed.

*****

As he came out into the living room and entered the kitchen, she immediately noticed that physically, he looked better, but his eyes were still without their usual spark. She pulled a chair out from the table and offered him her hand. Taking it, he allowed her to help him sit down. Once he was seated, he looked at her. "Christina, I"

"It's OK, I'm really glad you're here, and I'll do anything to help," she sat down next to him and rested her hand on his. "Do you want to talk about anything?" She asked. "You always told me that to talk about things helped."

"No, I can't," he whispered.

"In time then," she said gently. "Why don't I get you something to eat, and then I'll show you where you can get some sleep? I think that will do you the most good right now." She could see that as he was sitting there with his head now resting in his hands and his entire frame hunched over. It was obvious to her that he was not going to speak of what had happened and all she could do was be patient with him.

She got up and went to retrieve the soup and brought it over to him. She handed him a spoon and sat down next to him, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder.

Instead of eating the soup, Andrew could only sit there and stir the contents of the bowl, his eyes filling with tears as he eventually dropped the spoon and watched as it landed on the side of the bowl. Within seconds, he began to weep bitterly, his hands covering his face, the tears streaming down his cheeks.

Christina wrapped him in her arms and held tightly to him all the while unsure if what she was capable of doing that would actually help him, but somehow feeling as though she was making a difference to him.

"It's OK," she offered weakly pulling him into her embrace. "Come on, I don't think you can eat anything right now. You need to rest."

"Christina…"

"I know, Andrew, but everything will be OK," she said gently and brushed her hand through his blonde hair. "You're not the only one who harbors job related pain, believe me, I've had more than my share lately." She smiled sympathetically and stood up. Once she offered him her hand and he was able to stand up, she led him to their guest room. Once He was in bed and she had tucked him in, she turned off the light.

"No," he whispered weakly.

"What is it, the darkness?" She asked wondering if it was possible that he could be afraid of the dark.

"Y-yes," his voice was hoarse and she turned the small bedside lamp back on.

"Is that better? I mean, if it's too bright, I have an extra nightlight in Laura's room, and she grew out of that some years ago, but I can go get it," she said gently.

"No, it's fine," he whispered softly.

"Are you going to be OK?" She asked, not certain she wanted to leave him alone.

"I think so," he said softly and Christina stood up.

She walked towards the door, but when she reached the doorway, she could see that Laura was now standing in the doorway and she was looking at her mother with complete surprise and sadness evident in her eyes. "Mom?"

"What is it, Laura?" Christina could feel the tears in her eyes as her daughter came into the room, her arms wrapping around her mother.

"What's happened?" Laura asked weakly.

"Andrew'ssick honey," Christina said softly. "He needs some rest."

Laura glanced over and began to stare at the angel lying on the bed. She could feel her eyes filling with tears and she walked slowly towards where he was. "May I stay here with him for a few minutes? I can't sleep anyway and you look as though you don't want him to be by himself."

"Yes, that's OK, but try not to bother him," Christina said softly. "Do you want me to bring you some water?"

"No, I already drank so much that I feel like I slosh when I try to walk," Laura smiled weakly as her mother left the room and she went over to the chair to sat down next to the bed. Her eyes were sad as she regarded the angel, but she reached over and gently brushed the hair from his eyes. After a couple of seconds, she noticed that he had slowly opened them and was now looking up at her. "Hi, Andrew," she said softly.

He licked his dry lips and spoke. "Laura, is that you, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep," she said softly. "My mom said that I could sit with you."

"So, you're my babysitter now?" He asked, but smiled weakly at her.

"No, it's just that I just couldn't sleep, and Mom said that you were sick, and needed a little TLC," she said smiling shyly. "I heard you and her talking downstairs when I got up to get a drink of water, but then I went back to bed and I couldn't go back to sleep." She yawned, and covered her mouth with her hand.

"You shouldn't worry about me," he whispered.

"But, I do," she said softly. "You're my best friend."

"Laura, I don't know if I'm capable of being anyone's best friend right now," Andrew whispered.

"Everyone doubts once in a while," she said and smiled weakly at him. "You're entitled, too."

Andrew sighed deeply but eventually, he nodded and closed his eyes.

Laura remained in the chair next to him for about half an hour, but then she felt herself becoming so tired that eventually, she got up, went to the other side of the bed, and crawled over next to him, her head coming to rest against his shoulder. She lay there for a few minutes all the while she could feel his soft breath against her cheek. There, next to her dearest friend in the world, Laura Lowery finally fell asleep.

An hour later, Jeremy opened the door to the guest room and found his daughter and the angel asleep in the room, his daughter lying on top of the covers, her head resting against Andrew's chest, and a gentle smile playing on her lips, but the chilly air was causing her to subconsciously shiver.

Jeremy smiled weakly as he reached for a blanket that was in the corner of the room and covered her with it. The task done, he kissed his daughter's forehead before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Moments later, Andrew woke up, his eyes widening when he saw Laura snuggled up next to him with a blanket over her. He smiled weakly and lay back down against the pillows. As he managed to get comfortable, he put his arm gently around his friend and he, too, drifted off to sleep.

*****

Hours later, the morning sun streamed through the window, and Christina tapped lightly on the guest room door. Laura heard the persistent tapping and opened her eyes, she could feel the gentle hold Andrew had on her and she crawled slowly out of bed trying to keep from disturbing him. She reached the door and opened it and looked up to see Christina's concerned face.

"Good morning, honey, happy birthday," Christina began and Laura smiled weakly up at her mother.

"Please don't get mad, Mom, I didn't mean to bother him, I just fell asleep here," Laura said softly.

"I'm not upset with you, sweetheart, and I don't think you bothered anyone. Your daddy said that when he came in to check on Andrew last night that he found you asleep next to him. He was the one that brought you the blanket," Christina said softly. "Now, why don't you go downstairs and see what your daddy is cooking up for breakfast. I'm sure you can catch the last of the cartoons," she said smiling. "I know how much you love to watch Saturday morning cartoons."

Laura smiled and nodded as she left the room. Christina sat down in the chair she had occupied the night before and folded her hands. "Father, please give him your strength, I don't know what to do right now and I don't know if what I am doing is going to help." She stopped whispering her prayer when she heard Andrew shifting on the bed. After a few minutes passed, he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Hi Andrew," she said softly once he sat up in bed.

"Christina?"

"Yes, do you remember what happened last night?" She asked. "The police found you downtown and brought you here. Are you OK?"

He looked down at himself and then back at her. "I'm trapped," he whispered.

"I know," Christina said softly.

"He doesn't love me anymore, I failed," he whispered.

"How can you say that?" She asked weakly.

"I just did," he whispered.

"ButyouI mean; you're an angel, Andrew," she whispered softly. She reached over and brushed his hair away from his eyes. "Please, don't deny Him now, I just know that He wants to help you, but you have to tell Him you need His help."

"How do you know this?" He asked, his voice having traces of anger in it and she could feel herself involuntarily shivering when she could sense the coolness of his words. Hearing them almost made her begin to cry.

"Becausebecause, you told me," Christina said softly, "and I have always believed you."

"Maybe, you shouldn't," he said softly.

"You helped me make sense of things after Ted Gordon died, and you helped me when Jeremy and Laura were in that accident. Why would I stop listening to you?" She asked weakly as she brushed her hand gently through his hair. "You're one of my best friends, Andrew, and I don't want to hurt you, it looks as though you have already been upset and hurt enough these past few days."

"You don't understand what I've been through," he said softly.

"Maybe I would understand if you would just tell me," she said softly. "Just because you've lost your faith, doesn't mean that I will too."

"I haven't lost my faith," he snapped.

"Then why are you angry with me? You tell me I shouldn't believe your words today, but these were the same words that gave me so much comfort when I was little."

Andrew crawled out of the bed and walked towards the door. Before he reached it, he turned around and faced her. "I think I've worn out my welcome here, maybe I should go."

Christina looked at him. "You would go, just like that, wouldn't you?"

He replied by walking out of the room and not looking back. Christina could feel the tears now streaming down her face. "I pushed him, I know I did," she whispered under her breath and shook her head sadly. "Now, he's gone, and it's all my fault."

"Christina," Sam's voice entered her thoughts and she looked into the coal black eyes of the man now in the room.

"You came back to scold me, didn't you? I screwed everything up, didn't I?" She asked softly.

"No, you didn't, and that's not why I'm here," he said gently as he came over and sat down next to her. "You see that his faith is dwindling, that these forces we spoke of really had their way with him. It's going to be hard to reach him now, but the Father knows that you will, just don't give up."

She nodded and once Sam was gone, she wiped her hands over her eyes and left the room.

*****

Andrew wandered aimlessly through the park a few hours later. His mind was a flurry of memories as well as ideas and thoughts about what Christina had said to him. He knew that he had hurt her, but his soul was so full of pain that he didn't know what to do, or where to go next. On top of that, none of the other angels had come to find him, and he was left feeling lost and abandoned by them.

As he sat down on a bench, he could see children playing around him and he continued to watch them for some time. Eventually, he could see a young woman standing near the fountain, her eyes watching the ducks swimming nearby, but she continued to throw stones into the water. What made him watch her, he did not know, but it was as though he knew her from somewhere. Where specifically, he was not sure.

After some time had passed, he noticed that she turned around and started to walk towards where he was seated, her sad blue eyes looking around as though they were going to bare holes into whomever it was who would be caught looking at her.

She eventually looked down at the ground, apparently unable to even meet anyone's gaze, and after a few moments, she looked over at where he was sitting. He could tell that her eyes began to fill with tears, and it was obvious to him that she was carrying the same despondency in the recesses of her heart as he did.

"Hi," she said after she sat down on the neighboring bench, her voice was soft, but the sadness she carried so gut wrenching that Andrew found himself wanting only to look away, but discovering that he was not able to do so.

"Hello," he finally found his voice, but it emerged more or less as a forced squeak.

As the bells of the nearby church chimed, the woman's attention diverted to them and she felt herself begin to tremble as she regarded the tones, which now resonated through the park. "Not in the mood for a sermon, huh?" She asked as he sadly glanced in the direction of the church.

"I guess not," he said simply.

"My name's Elise Kilgore," she said softly.

"Andrew," he replied.

"You're not from around here, are you?" She asked.

"No, but one of my friends lives nearby," he said softly, all the while hoping that Christina would still consider him a friend even after the horrible manner which he had behaved. Sighing sadly, he glanced over at the fountain where the ducks were now swimming, but he found himself feeling sadder as he reflected on the friend who had stood by him through everything and how he had walked away from her entire family. "What about you?" He asked trying to break himself free from all the painful feelings that were raging havoc on his emotions.

"I live here, but my most of my family lives a couple of towns over," she said. "You know where Southside is?"

"Mm-hum, my friend Jeremy's family lives there," he said softly.

"If you'll excuse me for saying so, somehow I get the impression that you feel about as miserable as I do," she said softly.

"Why is that?" He asked.

"No reason," she hedged softly but when she looked at him, she sighed deeply as she began to contemplate how this kind man seemed interested enough to ask her such a question, that perhaps she could give him an honest answer. "That's not exactly true, I just haven't the strength to analyze it."

"Why, is it really so horrible?" He asked.

"Let's just say that when you experience something like I did, then yes, it is horrible, and heartbreaking, dreadful, awful, tragic," she said softly, the adjectives rolling off her tongue as though she had been sitting with a dictionary in her lap and all the while attempting to decipher her emotions. Sighing sadly, she found herself starting to relax in his company. There was something outer-worldly about this man, but at the same time, there was also an innocence she could not fully comprehend. "Did you see the newspaper yesterday?" She finally asked him.

"No, I didn't," he said softly.

"Did you hear about the school shooting?" She found herself asking.

"Mm-hum, I did," he said sadly and his eyes began to brim with tears as he remembered what he had witnessed and how the two boys had refused to listen to his words, thus the resulting factor being them committing this heinous act.

"I was there," she said softly, her voice filled with agony and sadness. "I saw everything that happened."

"That must have been very difficult for you," he said softly looking at her for the first time since she had sat down.

"Difficult? No, difficult is trying to find a bathing suit that fits, this was absolutely repulsive," she whispered. "Ever since it happened, I've been questioning why, or what I could have done differently. I don't know anymore, but I do know that I'm seen as some kind of hero, but I'm not, I'm just a person who did what I had to do. The day after this happened, my doctor had to put me on some kind of sedative or something to keep my emotions in check. Have you ever laid in bed at night and wondered what was going to happen next, or if you were going to be able to overcome all the things that have been dumped on your plate?"

"Yes, I have," he whispered.

"What did you do about it?" She asked, and he could tell that she really wanted to know the answer to this question.

"I used to pray," he said softly.

"Used to? I guess you know how I feel right now better than anyone. I mean, why would God allow this to happen? Why would He abandon us to fight this terrible thing alone? I used to pray, I would pray for my family, for friends, for my students, but do you know what it got me? Nothing! Nothing but sore knees," she said bitterly.

Andrew continued to listen to her, his thoughts drifting as she spoke, but he found himself becoming intrigued by her words. Finally, he looked at her. "Are you doing anything right now?"

"No, I just came here to think," she admitted.

"Would you like to have a cup of coffee or something?" He offered.

"OK," she said softly. "Why not?"

Together they got up off the bench and left the park.

*****

Christina came down the stairs to see Laura and Jeremy in the kitchen. "Hey, where's Andrew?" Jeremy asked.

"He's gone out," she said softly. "I guess he needed some time to himself."

Jeremy looked at her, and he could tell that there were traces of disbelief all over his wife's face. "Christina, what is it?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "Last night I wanted to be there for him, and help him, and this morning, I blew it." She sat down at the table and rested her head in her hands. "Jeremy, I know what happened to him, I was visited last night by a very intimidating angel. He explained a few things to me, but everything is so hard right now. I feel so lost and I feel like Andrew doesn't care anymore," she said softly.

"Mom, last night he told me he felt like he wasn't able to be a good friend," Laura said weakly. "Does this have anything to do with what happened?"

"I think so, but I'm not sure anymore," Christina said.

"Do you think he'll be here for my birthday?" Laura asked as she looked down at her hands. "I asked God if some of my friends would come, but I never thought much about it and now..."

"Laura, no matter what happens today, we're going to make sure you have a wonderful birthday," Jeremy promised. "Paula called last night, and she's bringing the crew with her. You know they will make sure you have a good time, sweetheart."

"I talked to your grandparents, and they plan on coming, and even Lindsey is here in town, so you will have a lot of friends around."

"Yeah," Laura said softly. "They are all nice, but I have no friends my age." With that she got up and left the room, her sadness evident.

Once she was gone, Jeremy looked at Christina and shook his head sadly. "I sometimes think that it would have been better had Andrew not come last night at all," he said softly. "If he doesn't show up for Laura's party, she's going to be crushed. You know she adores him, but now, she's feeling so alone, and I don't know how to reach her."

"I know, but you know something, I have a funny feeling that if anyone here is going to be able to help Andrew find his faith again, it will be Laura," Christina said softly, her eyes filling with tears and as they streamed down her face, she looked at him. "I always hoped that I would make a difference to Andrew, but now I can't, I guess I'm not as important to him as I once was."

"Don't ever underestimate yourself, sweetheart," Jeremy said softly. "You make a bigger difference then you can even imagine.

*****

Elise and Andrew sat in the local diner, each holding a coffee cup. As she finished her cup, she smiled at him from her side of the table. "You've been very nice, Andrew," she said softly. "Can I see you again?"

"I don't know," he said softly, but when he saw her hopeful eyes, he eventually nodded. "If you want, we can meet again at the park tomorrow afternoon."

"That sounds really nice," she smiled weakly at him and got up. "Today, I'll pay for the coffee, tomorrow maybe you can."

"OK," Andrew said softly as she got up.

"I'm sorry, but I really have to go now," she smiled weakly before leaving, and Andrew watched her as she disappeared through the door.

"Trying to save the hopeless, Andrew?" A voice emerged and he looked up. Paula Davies was standing near his table and she carried a loving smile on her face, but she approached where he was still seated and sat down at the table in the spot that Elise had vacated.

"Hello, Paula," Andrew said softly.

Jeremy's older sister looked at him as though she was trying hard to determine what was going on with him. After a few seconds passed, she shrugged her shoulders, got up, and sat down next to him as they could hear the sounds of silverware being dropped and plates being stacked back in the recesses of the kitchen. After the restaurant was once again silent, she looked at him. "That's a pretty lucky woman," she said softly.

"What do you mean?"

"I guess you know that Elise teaches at the high school, the same one where the shooting happened," she began. "I heard that she was nearly killed when those two boys decided to open fire there and if one of the victims hadn't have pushed her away, she would be dead now, too," Paula said.

"That's where I knew her," Andrew said softly.

"You were there?" She asked weakly and once he nodded, she reached over and took his hand in hers and held it tightly, squeezing it every so often. "I'm sorry, Andrew, I'm so sorry. I guess it's as hard for you to comprehend this as it is for all of us."

"Paula, I need some time alone," he said softly.

"No, Andrew, you don't, and I think you know deep down inside that that is the last thing you need. You've been alone through so much already, now you have a family, and we're always going to be here for you," she reached over and rested a motherly hand on his shoulder. "Come with me, Vincent, Robert, his fiancé Loren, Simon and Brittany are there. You need to know that we love you, and that we'll always be here for you when you need us."

Andrew looked away and was about to leave the table when Paula reached over and grabbed his hand. "I can't make you understand, Paula, please let me go."

She shook her head. "I won't, not yet, I mean; you must understand, what happened wasn't your fault. Andrew, those boys were sick, they were emotionally unable to comprehend what it was they were doing. They didn't have the loving family that would go to the ends of the Earth for them, they were hurting, and now, so are you." She released his hand and touched his face. "You have a family here, and before you do anything else, please try not to hurt us anymore."

"Christina, you mean?"

"She only wanted to help you, but there's someone else who does too, and that's Laura. Now she believes that you're mad at her. She thinks you're angry with her for trying to comfort you last night."

"I'm not," he said weakly. "Can you explain that to her?"

"No, I can't, because you have to find the courage to tell her that yourself," Paula said softly. "That little girl adores you, Andrew, she doesn't completely understand violence and hatred anymore, but she does understand friendship, and needs to know that her best friend won't leave her side especially not today, which also happens to be her birthday. She's been wishing for her grandfather to find peace ever since Olivia died, and now she says the very same prayers for you, all the while not understanding what has happened or why you're upset."

Before he could say anything to her, she got up and walked slowly away leaving him alone.

*****

Laura was devastated when Paula returned and told her that Andrew appeared to have no intention of coming to her birthday party, so much so that she fled the living room and went upstairs to be alone in her bedroom.

As she sat on the floor and looked around the empty room, she could feel the tears of pain streaming down her cheeks. She knew she wasn't the most popular kid in school; she was often teased and tormented because of her disability. That accident, ever since that stupid accident, she was deformed. She often thought that she was not worth anything, simply because all the other kids belittled her and called her 'the cripple'. Junior high was quickly becoming a nightmare for her, and even at school, she was alone much of the time. If the teachers even did give her the time of day, it was only to direct words of pity at her.

Today, she could not help but remember how she had invited a bunch of the other kids in her class to come to her birthday party and at first, they seemed enthusiastic about it, but in reality, they didn't want to come and had tossed the invitations into the garbage.

This painful realization that none of them had the intention to coming to her party at all, shattered her already wounded heart, and in her soul, she felt completely lost and alone. Now that Andrew had come back, she discovered that he didn't want to come either, and the feeling of love was as alien to her as it had been when she was being physically and emotionally abused by her birth parents.

First, she had lost Olivia, someone she considered to be a very good friend, and as much as she tried to stay strong about it, she was in so much pain. No one seemed to even be aware of the extent of the pain she was in. It had been over a year, but yet, it felt as though it had happened only two days ago.

On top of that, she worried almost endlessly about her grandpa, and how she wished that she could confide in him, but she knew that he was hurting too. She remembered how Daniel had been unwilling or unable to even speak two words to her. Now, she simply tried to avoid any sort of conversation with him.

Sighing sadly, she slowly stood up and went to open the door to her room. Once out in the hallway, she crept quietly down the stairs, through the living room, and outside.

As she made her way in the direction of the park, she could feel her legs beginning to hurt from the strain exerted on them, but the tears that were streaming down her cheeks emerged for other reasons. She had started to ignore the pain her legs caused when she would try to walk, but now the emotional anguish was so intense that she found herself simply allowing the tears to fall. No one seemed to notice the pain she carried inside, they always seemed to be far more worried about everyone else.

Laura found a secluded bench and sat down. She could see that some of the other neighborhood children were playing around the fountain that was situated in the middle of the park. Eventually, they looked over, spotted her, and were now coming closer.

"Look guys, it's the cripple," one of them said loudly, and the others began to laugh as well. "I heard she has her birthday today, I wonder how many people are coming for it. Marcie said that all the kids who got invitations trashed them."

Laura remained seated for some agonizing seconds, but when one of the boys started throwing mud in her face, she stood up with the intention of running away. As soon as she managed to get to her feet, it seemed as though her feet had picked this moment to refuse to cooperate with her and she fell back onto the bench.

She struggled once again in order to get to her feet, but as she tried to push herself off the bench, she could feel her body lurching forward and falling hard onto the ground. Instead of helping her by preventing her fall, the boys backed away and laughed when she landed on the sidewalk, the concrete cutting her knees and causing them to bleed. The children continued to laugh and one of them even began to kick dirt into her face.

She tried without success to keep the mud from splattering in her eyes, all the while trying to get up, but she couldn't. "Go away," she cried, the tears falling freely.

The boys responded by speaking of the most painful thing they could find to hurt her. "Hey Laura, why don't you go back to your real mommy and daddy and let them really teach you a thing or two. I'm sure they can tell you that you're as big of a looser as we think."

"Stop doing this!" A voice interrupted the boy's words and Laura looked up to see that Andrew was now standing some three feet away from her, and he was regarding the boys not only with the utmost sadness, but also a trace of frustration. When he looked at her, she could see the guilt that seemed to embody him, but after a few seconds, she covered her face with her hands and allowed the tears to continue streaming down her face.

"Who's gonna make us? You?" One of the boys said as he tried to buff himself up so that he would look tougher and more intimidating than he actually was. "She really is a looser to have to have a grown up defend her."

"It is only through cowardice in a group of children, which gives them the strength to hurt someone who isn't like they are. Do you kids not have something better to do than to go and pick on this child?" Andrew asked, keeping his voice level, but he carried a look of absolute horror in his eyes as he regarded the lack of caring that seemed to exist on the faces of the boys.

"She's a nothing," one of the boys said.

"Yeah," chimed another. "Let's get out of here guys, she's not worth our time."

As the boys left her on the ground, Andrew got down on his knees in front of her and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Laura, are you OK honey?"

She shook her head and looked up at him. "They're right," she whispered softly, the pain emerging in her words, "I'm a nothing."

"No, they aren't and you are not a nothing, Laura," Andrew could feel the tears now streaming down his cheeks as he looked at her. He could see that she was now looking at him with unsuppressed surprise.

"Why do you cry, they didn't hurt you?" She asked weakly, her voice unusually soft, but filled with the existing pain she carried deep in her heart. "You're just like them, anyway. You don't want to be with me either, you probably hate me and think I'm a cripple, too." Her words emerged filled with so much pain. She struggled to get to her feet but when she did, her feet gave out and she ended up on the ground again, the blood smearing across the concrete.

Laura's sorrow tugged at Andrew's already wounded heart and he could feel the guilt encompass him as the tears continued to stream down his cheeks. "I don't, Laura, you know I care for you. I care so much, that when I saw what I did some days ago, you were all I could think about."

"What happened to you?" She asked weakly. She was still on the ground, her hands all the while rubbing in the dirt, her face a depiction of the utmost pain, her knees still bleeding.

Andrew leaned down and picked her up gently in his arms. As he held her, he could feel the emotions getting the better of him and with her still in his arms, he sat down on the bench and she remained on his lap. With a handkerchief, he wiped it gently over her knees and removed the pebbles from the ground that were now caked on her injured knees. "Laura, I can't talk about this right now, it's too hard for me, but this morning, I got upset with your mom, and I said some things that hurt her, things I didn't mean to say. That's why I didn't want to come, but then Paula told me that today is your birthday." He reached over and brushed her hair from her eyes and offered her a gentle smile.

Laura nodded numbly, her face filled with sadness, and she found herself looking away. "Nobody wanted to come to my party, anyway. All the kids threw my invitations away and said that nobody in their right mind would come." As she spoke, she looked down at her legs with scorn in her eyes, and as she continued to speak, she told Andrew something that completely caught him by surprise. "The doctor said that my legs will never be normal again, that I will walk weird for the rest of my life." She looked at him sadly. "You know that ever since I was really little, I wanted to be a dancer when I grew up, and now I'll never dance, I'll never even walk right."

She began to cry in earnest as soon as she finished speaking. She pulled a small photograph from her pocket and showed it to him. On it was a photograph of a ballerina, and she ran her hand over the glossy picture. "Every time the kids call me a 'cripple', I remember how much I used to love dancing, and I think about something that I will never ever be able to do. My parents don't know about this, I never told them," Laura said indicating the picture, "but it was the one thing that I wanted to live for when I was being hurt by the Cantus." She ripped the photo down the middle and tossed the two pieces to the ground. "Now, I have nothing left."

"Why didn't you tell Christina and Jeremy about this?" Andrew asked gently.

"'Cause Dad felt bad about the accident, and Mom felt guilty about it," Laura said softly. "I didn't want them to think that I was mad at them for me being messed up this way." The tears streamed down her cheeks. "That's why I wanted to be with Olivia, because she knew how I felt, and she knew how much I dreamt of dancing. She even told me that she admired me for having a dream and holding onto it. She just didn't know that that was the only thing keeping me alive."

Andrew nodded and for the first time since his experience at the school, he could see the pain in this little girl's eyes. He glanced skyward, but his heart stopped him from reaching out to God, and instead, all he was capable of doing was to wrap her in his arms and hold her tightly.

Laura looked at him after some moments. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "You've been sick, and I probably shouldn't have told you all of this stuff."

"No, Laura, I'm really glad that you did," he smiled gently at her as he brushed her hair away from her face. "I must admit something to you. I'm more grateful than you probably even realize."

"Why?"

"Because, you're still my friend, and I don't really know how many of those I even have left," he said softly.

"My mommy loves you," she said softly. "And I love you, so that's at least two people, but there are probably a lot more who think you're really wonderful."

Andrew nodded and hugged her, the tears streaming down his cheeks, but the truth of the child's words had started to work their magic of healing his wounded spirit.

*****

Christina walked outside onto the patio at this moment, she could see that her family was all inside the house, but she found herself needing a few moments to herself. She did not want anyone to see just how saddened she was with all the problems that introduced themselves to her during the previous night.

"Father, I tried so hard, maybe too hard to help Andrew, but he's my friend, and I just hope that he will still see me as that even though he may not be happy with me right now," she whispered.

"He does, Christina," a soft voice interrupted and she looked up.

"Monica?"

"Hello," the Irish angel smiled as she sat down next to her. "I've been sent to keep an eye on things. How are you doing?"

"I guess OK, I met Sam last night," Christina smiled weakly. "He's nice, but very intimidating. Anyway, he shed a lot of light on things for me, but still everything's so hard. This entire community is stricken by the events of last week, but right now I have so much on my mind, I don't even know what to think anymore."

"I know, I have been working out at the school, and have been trying to help the kids. You'd be surprised at how many people can't afford to get counseling when something like this happens. They are dealing with it as best they can, but it's not easy for them to comprehend at all."

"I can believe it," Christina said softly. "I have a couple of these kids in therapy now, and what they have spoken of has positively horrified me. I can't believe what is happening in schools these days. I mean, this sounds really like I'm ancient, but when I was in school, the greatest concern was something like whether I had enough pencils in my backpack for math class, or whether Jerry Stewart was going to ask me out on a date. I mean, it's horrifying what is happening, and I feel so helpless."

Monica smiled compassionately. "I know, and the wee ones are not doing all that well at understanding this, and I can only do so much, but this is so hard for the classmates of these kids who died."

Christina smiled weakly. "I have a couple of days off, so if you guys need a little help, maybe I could come out there with you and pitch in."

"You wouldn't mind?" Monica asked.

"No, maybe it could give me a better idea of how Andrew is feeling right now. Maybe then I can better understand what has happened to him and can help him as well as those kids. I mean, Sam told me that he was there when it happened, so maybe this will help me help him," Christina said softly, but for some reason, as she spoke those words, she somehow did not believe them.

"Perhaps you have already helped more than you know," a voice emerged and she turned around and her eyes met those of her long time friend. Laura was standing next to him and she was tightly holding his hand.

Christina smiled weakly, but instead of saying anything to him, she turned back and looked at Monica. "I still want to help, that is if I'm needed."

"That would be absolutely wonderful," Monica said enthusiastically. "Now, I hear there's a certain wee girl who has her birthday today. Why don't we go inside, get your knees taken care of and you can show me what you received?"

Laura giggled and reached out to take Monica's outstretched hand. Together they went into the house leaving Christina and Andrew standing outside on the patio.

Christina found herself only able to look away once they were alone. She sighed deeply, but could feel the tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.

"Christina?" Andrew walked slowly over to his friend once the sliding glass doors closed and they were alone.

"You don't have to say anything, Andrew," she began, feeling the tears in her eyes. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was push an issue with you, but I didn't know the extent that you were hurting, I mean; you never told me anything. I was left only to assume how you felt based on information I got from Sam," she said softly. "Everyone had all this confidence that I could have helped make things better, but now, I'm only good at making a mess of everything." She turned away unable to meet his piercing gaze.

"I know you did what you could, but you didn't make a mess of anything. I did." He rested his hands on her shoulders and turned her around so that she would face him. "Will you forgive me, Christina? I'm really sorry that I hurt you."

She nodded numbly, but could feel the tears still streaming down her face. Andrew took both of her hands in his, led her over to a chair, and they both sat down. "Tell me what happened, please," she finally managed to find her voice.

Andrew nodded as he began to speak. "I had been sent to work with Bruce Freedman about five days before the shooting happened. I had become a substitute teacher for his History class, and during the first day, I met Bruce and talked to him. He was a lonely young man, sad much of the time, hurting more than I imagined any child could endure. He often talked about Terry whose father was more or less an outdoorsy type who was really into guns and hunting. I talked to Bruce for a little while that afternoon and tried everything I could think of to get him to open up. Once, I noticed how he would sit and draw pictures in class, and when I saw one, I noticed that it was a building on fire. I knew then that time was running short for these boys when I noticed that the building depicted in his drawing was an exact replica of that very school. In retrospect, I realize that what he was doing was drawing pictures of what he perceived to happen on that day." He sighed deeply as he looked at his friend.

"What happened next?" She asked weakly.

"He asked me when we talked the following afternoon if I ever thought about revenge when people were unkind? He wanted to know if someone had ever hurt me leaving me with the only option of trying to get even with him or her," Andrew self-consciously shuddered, but he looked at Christina and continued to speak. "He left some time later and as an angel, I was able to follow him. First, he went to see his friend, Terry, and I saw that they had stolen a couple of guns from the boy's father and all they spoke about was how much they wanted to go and get even with those snobs who made their lives so miserable. Christina, I could only stand there and watch them as they began to make their plans for carrying this out. After that, he came home and simply locked himself in his room. He wouldn't talk to anyone. As I watched him, I felt awful because I could do nothing to help persuade him against this."

"Remember free will, Andrew?" Christina asked when he stopped speaking and the tears streamed down his cheeks. She reached over and rested her hand gently against his face, thus causing him to look at her. "They chose to do this act, you weren't responsible; you only tried to help. They had a choice whether to accept your help or not."

Andrew nodded numbly, but his face was filled with misery as he continued to speak, his voice cracking. "I know, but I saw the boys again on Monday when they came to school. Their demeanor was none too pleasant for me to watch, but this was something that I had grown used to when it came to these types of cases as well as manic depressed individuals. I wanted to reveal to them who I was, but I was told under no circumstance would I be able to do so until they were ready, and at that moment, they were simply not ready. So, I had no choice but to wait. On Tuesday morning, I arrived at the school, and was immediately sent to the cafeteria."

"God knew that something was about to happen?"

Andrew nodded. "Yes, He did and I was on stand-by. I had been reassigned, and after I got there, I saw Adam and Henry, as well as a number of other Angels of Death. I was told that my new assignment was to be Holly Johnson, a 14-year-old girl who had turned down Bruce for a date." He took a deep breath, the tears streaming down his face as he looked at her unable to find the words to continue. Christina reached across the table and took his hand, her squeezes gently probing him to speak further.

"At that moment, Bruce and Terry came into the cafeteria, each pulled a pistol out of their belongings and began to open fire. It was terrible, the students were screaming, some crawling under the tables either to protect themselves from the rapid gunfire or shield themselves from the hysteria that had overtaken the place. Holly stood there for some seconds in shock, she was unable to even move to protect herself and I could do nothing but stand there and wait. I know she was too scared to move, and I could only watch as Bruce aimed his pistol right at her and..." Andrew stopped speaking his head bowing and he began to weep bitterly all the while shaking his head.

Christina got up, came over to him, put her arms around him, and held tightly to him as he continued to weep, his arms wrapping around her as he allowed himself to cry in her arms. "I know it's so hard for you, Andrew, but this will help you heal, and I think you know that," she whispered as she rocked him in her arms and he cried.

When he managed to find his voice again, he continued to speak, his voice weak and somewhat forced, but he remained in the arms of his friend. "Holly fell to the floor…"

Andrew's Flashback

Everything was happening so quickly, Holly had collapsed to the floor, her hands covering a wound near her heart, her eyes filled with fear and agony as she slipped out of consciousness. The sounds no longer mattering to her, but Andrew approached and rested his hand gently on her shoulder.

Holly, my name is Andrew, and I'm an angel. I was sent from God to be with you, he whispered directly to her soul as he crouched down beside her, his green eyes regarding her with love and understanding.

It hurts so much, the girl whispered. I'm so scared. Her words were emerging garbled, her pain obviously intense and her fear encompassing her as she lay there on the floor of the cafeteria in a pool of blood.

Andrew could feel the tears in his own eyes as he sat down beside her and held her in his arms. God loves you sweetheart, and He's here with you right now. Don't be afraid, I'll stay with you until you are once more in the arms of the Father.

I'm going to die? Holly asked weakly.

Andrew's tender heart just about broke when he heard her words, but eventually, he nodded. Yes, you will, the bullet punctured your left lung, Holly. I know you're in so much pain, but it won't be too long now and your pain will be over forever. Just relax and don't be afraid.

I'll try not to, but it's so hard.

I know sweetheart, but God is right here with you, and neither He nor I will abandon you. We're going to stay right here with you.

You're very kind, she whispered as she looked him directly in the eyes and could see the tears streaming down his handsome face. She reached up and brushed the tears from under his eyes, thus smearing them away. This is so very sad for you to see, isn't it, Andrew?

Andrew could only nod.

You know, I always knew that God's angels were wonderful, even though you are the first angel I've ever met, she said softly. Please, don't be sad about me, Andrew, I believe in Heaven and in God, and I know you give me no reason to be afraid, but I'm also a little bit sad that my family may not understand why this has happened to me, especially, Heather, my twin sister.

You're a very courageous girl, Holly, he said softly, his sadness beginning to overwhelm him. I cannot believe that one so young has so much courage and faith.

Well, then we're even because I can't believe that I have such a cute angel as you watching over me, she smiled weakly noticing that he was now blushing slightly. You're even more charming when you blush like that.

Andrew could do nothing but grow even redder. You have a wonderful sense of humor.

She shrugged her shoulders, but within moments the pain caused even her humor to dissipate leaving a young and frightened teenager lying on the floor near him. He could tell that she was scared and he reached over and began to brush her hair gently from her eyes.

After some moments, she looked at him, the fear taking over and her terrified blue eyes regarded him. Andrew, you're not going to leave me, are you?

No, Holly, I won't, I'm right here, he replied gently.

Please talk to me, I'm so afraid; I've never been so scared before. I'm really going to die, just because one of those boys was mad at me.

Mad at you? Why would he be mad at you? Andrew asked her gently.

Bruce asked me out on a date and I had to decline. You see, my parents didn't allow me to go on dates until I would turn 16. I would have gone out with him otherwise, but I didn't want to sneak around behind their backs. That would have hurt them, and they are good people. Her voice faded and she looked into the eyes of the angel who was with her. Andrew, Why didn't God stop this from happening?

He did not want to interfere with free will, Andrew said softly.

He's sad that this happened, isn't He?

Yes, He is, and He knows that you're afraid. Holly, I will remain with you the entire journey home. He smiled gently at her and wrapped her dying body in his arms.

As the life force drained from the young girl, she looked at him. I feel weird, Andrew what's happening? I keep seeing some strange light, it's so beautiful...

Focus all your energy on that, Holly, God is calling you home.

Flashback End

"She called you cute and charming?" Christina asked.

He nodded and smiled weakly as his face turned a brighter shade of red. "Until the end, that beautiful child maintained her sense of humor and the love that was in her was so special. She even greeted the Father with a witty comment about how His light must have created an outrageous electric bill."

Christina giggled. "He laughed, didn't He?"

"I don't really know, because as soon as I fulfilled my promise to her, I had returned here," he said softly.

"You never got any assurances from Him that you did your very best and that He loves you?" Christina asked softly. "It's no wonder you have been so sad about all of this. Andrew, what you needed the most, you denied yourself because of guilt." She got down on her knees and looked up at him, her hands squeezing his. "You have been harboring this guilt since those two boys did what they did. I know you were assigned to Bruce, but he made the choice, Andrew, he chose to listen to those other voices in his dwindling consciousness rather than to the voice of love that emanated from God through you. There was really nothing else you could have done without interfering with Bruce's free will. Now, I understand how hurt you were, and it's truly no wonder you feel that God doesn't love you."

Andrew could do nothing but nod.

"You have to tell Him how you feel. Let Him restore you to who you truly are," she said gently. "All those times when I had to ask Him to guide me, to forgive me, to help me. Well, now you must take your own advice and simply talk to Him."

"I don't know if I can," he said softly. "I feel so hurt right now."

"Then this is truly the best time to do so, my friend," she said gently. Taking his hand in hers, she pulled him gently forward until he managed to get on his knees as well. Seconds later, she looked at him. "Shall I?"

Andrew, feeling shame encompassing him, nodded numbly.

"Father," Christina began to pray, one of her hands still holding tightly to the hand of her friend. "Andrew and I are here, and we have come before you to thank you for helping me to say the right words that brought us to this point. We thank you for sending Sam to help last night, and for giving me the courage to do whatever it was I could do that may have helped. Please Father; help my friend and your angel, Andrew. He feels so badly about what has transpired at the school, and he needs to know and understand that he is not at fault for any of it. Please restore him as he is so dear to us, to me, to my family, and we all love him so very much. Please, Father, shower him with your everlasting love and give him the strength he so desperately needs in order to overcome the pain this tragedy has caused him. Let him know, please that he has done everything he could to help those boys, and that this is a fallacy in mankind, but not in him. I thank you for the gifts you have given us, and I thank you for Laura and her unconditional love not only that she bestows on your angels, but also on us. I love you."

Andrew closed his eyes and after a few moments, he glanced skyward, and after he whispered something under his breath, Christina remained on her knees and watched as her friend stood up and began to glow with the radiance of God's love. She smiled weakly as she saw him change from that of a hopeless man to the radiance of God's glorious messenger.

As his glowing dissipated, Andrew stood up, reached down, took her hands in his, pulled her to her feet, and embraced her. "I am forever grateful to you, my friend," he whispered, and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

Christina could feel the tears now streaming down her cheeks, and she embraced him with all the strength she possessed. The words would simply not come, but deep down inside, she knew that Andrew would be OK now and that she had truly done something right in bringing about this transformation in him. With a thankful heart, the two friends went back inside the house.

*****

Laura was laughing and smiling when Christina and Andrew returned inside. The entire Davies family had arrived, as well as Daniel and Donna. Tess had also arrived, as she had been sent there the moment her angel boy had found his faith again and the three angels would continue with their assignment of working with the grief-stricken people of Southside in the wake of the tragedy, which had befallen them.

Tess was singing a soulful rendition of 'Happy Birthday' to Laura, and Simon had joined in singing the harmony. Robert had brought his guitar and he played a little bit of backup for it while his fiancé, Loren joined them in clapping and laughing.

It looked as though the entire family was once again happy contrary to the situation in Southside.

Once they came in, Laura waved to Andrew to come sit next to her, and he obliged her. As soon as she was alone, Christina sat down in the corner. She was feeling rather good now that the misunderstanding with Andrew had been resolved, but now her gaze kept falling on her father, who, although appeared to be happy, was carrying that typical contemplative look on his face. On his lap sat Olivia's son, Brendan, and every so often, Daniel would glance down at the small boy.

At the same time, Christina noticed that Brendan was now looking around the room with wide-eyed curiosity. He seemed to like the music that was playing as it resonated through the house, and he carried a small smile on his chubby little face.

The little boy had barely begun to start talking, but he would babble in his own special way, and Monica even began to dub him as the 'Thomas family cherub'.

As the singing wound down, Tess came over to Daniel and smiled warmly at him. "How have you been doing, Daniel?" She asked gently as the little boy reached his hands up to play with the angel shaped earrings she was wearing.

"OK," he replied as he ran his hand through his now gray hair. "Things are kind of crazy these days, aren't they?"

"In our work, every day is pretty much the same, a little crazy, but a blessing all the same," Tess said chuckling.

"I guess so," he smiled weakly. "It must be wonderful to make a difference to so many people."

"Well, a lot of the people we have met have made a difference to us, as well," she said honestly. "God's children are all so special and unique, and you are one of them, Daniel."

"I don't know if I'm all that special. But, I do what I can," he said softly.

Tess' expression changed somewhat and he could see that she was none too pleased with what he had just said. "Now, I want you to know that I may not have always been around here during the last year or so, but I can plainly see what is going on with you and all I can say is you've got to allow yourself to heal, baby. Olivia is happy now, and she's doing well, but you're the one who is still hurting."

Daniel nodded, "I guess I am. Every time I look at Brendan, I remember her, and how strong she was. I just can't get used to the fact that she's not with us anymore. She was like my baby."

"I know, honey, but did you think about the fact that maybe she is still with you? A small part of her is watching over you and she will wait until the day that she will see you all again," Tess said gently patting his hand gently. "You've got a beautiful family, Daniel, you have a daughter who helped my angel boy find his faith again, and that was not an easy task for anyone, whether it's an angel or a person."

"Chrissie is very special," Daniel said softly. "She's grown into a beautiful woman, and one with so much love to give."

"Well, it stands to reason, look at who brought her up," Tess said gently. She smiled at Daniel with pride and honesty in her eyes.

Daniel nodded, "thanks, Tess."

At that moment, Paula came over to them, "hey you two want to come, or are you going to sit there and sprout mushrooms? We're about to cut the cake."

Daniel smiled and stood up; all the while Brendan was in his arms. As soon as he sat the child on his feet and he scampered after Paula, he offered Tess his arm, she smiled and wound her arm through his and together, they walked into the dining room.

*****

The following afternoon, Andrew went to the park to meet Elise. He had been told that this young woman needed an angel, and now that he was feeling better, he no longer found himself worrying extensively about things, and today Laura walked beside him. She had gotten a kite from her father for her birthday and wanted to try it out. As she stumbled along, she could feel Andrew's hand often on her shoulder, helping to steady her.

"Are you feeling any better?" He asked her softly as they walked. "You were so sad yesterday."

"I'm still thinking about the dancing thing, but I guess I'm OK," she said softly. "I can't forget how mean those boys were to me yesterday."

"Do they make you angry?"

"No, just depressed," she looked up at him. "Andrew, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, you can ask me anything you want," he said softly.

"Well, I heard about the shooting at school, and Mom told me last night before I went to bed that you were there," Laura shuddered unconsciously.

"Yes," he whispered. "I was."

"That must have been hard," she said softly and after a few moments of silence, she looked up at him. "You know something?" He didn't reply, but instead shook his head and offered her a gentle smile probing her to continue speaking. "Guns really scare me. I mean; some of the kids at my school like to go out and shoot things with them, but I don't like them at all."

Andrew nodded and smiled gently at her. "I'm not all that fond of them myself," he said honestly. "I have seen too many things happen when people use them, and sometimes it can be completely horrifying."

"Why do people hurt other people?" Laura asked.

"I don't know, maybe they are sad and lonely or perhaps because they have lost their faith," Andrew said softly.

"Did you lose your faith?" Laura asked. "I mean; you were really unhappy two days ago."

Andrew nodded, "I suppose I did, but the thought of hurting anyone never even came into my mind, even though I was in pain by what I had seen. It's really hard for me to explain."

"I think I know anyway, just because I would never want to hurt anyone either, but sometimes I think that my life isn't worth anything," Laura said softly. "I feel so lonely and even though I know you love me and God does too, I have no friends my age, and it's hard when the kids treat me like an outcast."

"I know," he said gently and put his arms around the girl. "But, you know that to me you're so special just as you are."

"Maybe, but I just want to be a normal kid again," she said softly.

"Normalcy is often overrated," a strange voice emerged and Elise came over and sat down on the bench next to them. "Hi Andrew, is this your daughter?"

Laura giggled, but Andrew looked at Elise with a warm smile. "No Elise, this is Laura, and she's one of my best friends. Laura, this is Elise."

"Hi," Elise said smiling at the young girl as she struggled down from the bench and went off to try and fly the kite. As Elsie watched the girl, she couldn't get over the fact that the small girl walked with a limp. "She walks as though she has trouble with her legs."

"She does," Andrew said softly. "She's often teased because of the way she walks, but it's been like this since her father and her were in a car accident almost two years ago."

"Something she can't change;" Elise nodded as she watched Laura managing to get the kite into the air. "You know, it's kids like this who are the ones who usually end up going and shooting up schools?"

"Not Laura, she may be hurt by her peers, but she would never do anything to hurt anyone else," Andrew said softly.

"What makes you so sure?" Elise asked weakly.

"I'm sure because I happen to know this little girl, I've known her since she was six," Andrew said softly as he turned and continued to watch his young friend. After some moments of silence, he turned back towards the young woman and spoke. "Elise, you said something yesterday that I would like to ask you about if that's OK."

"What?"

"It was something you said about prayer," Andrew said gently.

"What about it? Did you suddenly find religion since yesterday when we talked?" She asked as they continued to watch Laura with the kite.

"Perhaps I did," he began, "but I was just curious about why you stopped believing that prayer works?"

Elise shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, maybe just because life seems always to be so hopeless and I just wonder why it is that people put so much emphasis on things they cannot see."

Laura came running over towards them, the kite behind her, her limping evidently showing, but the smile that covered her face was filled with innocence as she stumbled, caught herself before falling, and continued to run towards them. When she reached them, she was smiling and holding the string to the kite. "It's the most perfect day, isn't it, Andrew? God must have given it to us because He knew I wanted to try this kite out."

"I think He did," Andrew said with a smile as she continued running, her stumbling steps filled with energy and she laughed when she saw the kite floating through the air, a large butterfly that followed her from up above.

Elise continued to watch Laura as she flew the kite around them. "How can a child like that be so happy?" She mused.

"She's not always happy, Elise, but the last thing she wants is pity. She may not be able to walk like everyone else, and she may belittled by her peers and not understand why, but that little girl has not given up on life even though she has lost more in her young life than most kids have," Andrew said softly. "Laura has a lot of strength as well as faith in God that He will see her through everything, and in many ways, He has, because she had been seriously abused when I first met her."

"Abused?"

"Yes, she has been through more pain and rejection than just about any other child I have met, and believe me when I tell you, in my work, I meet a lot of children who are not nearly as bad off as she was, but who find unhealthy ways to face their struggles," Andrew said. "Like those two boys out at the school."

"You maintain the faith that that deformed child will not do something to harm others? It's truly amazing to me to see someone who would able to look at her as though she is a normal child," Elise said softly.

"She is a normal child, and in the eyes of God, she will always be loved and cared for, even when other people falsely judge her as you, unfortunately, are doing," Andrew looked up and when Laura came over to where they were sitting, she wound the string and held the kite in her hands as she came closer. As soon as she reached them, she stumbled and fell but Andrew caught her and she looked gratefully at him.

"The wind's stopped blowing, and the kite won't stay in the air," she said softly as he helped to steady her. Within moments, she managed to sit down on the bench.

Elise stood up and started to walk away, but Laura's voice stopped her. "If you want to talk with him some more, that's OK, I can go. I'm hungry anyway, and my mom made some great chili for lunch."

The young woman turned back around and her eyes met those of the girl. "No, that's OK, I need to get home myself."

It was obvious that Elise felt uncomfortable in the presence of the young girl. Somehow, Laura could see the discomfort in the young woman's actions and this made her feel all the more self-conscious. With a final glance over towards Andrew, she began to walk slowly away, but stopped for a moment and turned back around to face the angel. "Andrew, I'll see you later at home, right?" Once he nodded she smiled weakly. "I know the way."

The child hobbled away and Elise was left standing near the bench. She continued to watch as Laura disappeared through the trees, her hand holding tightly to the kite.

"You're a teacher, and yet you cannot accept and look beyond the disability in that little girl." Andrew remarked softly. "How would you feel if you were a child such as this and everyone looked at you strangely?"

"I don't need a sermon in morality," Elise said softly.

"I'm not giving you one, but I ask simply that you understand that like most children, Laura is a product of her environment. Today, she lives with a wonderful family who loves her, and gives her the attention she needs. Her spirit is the same as it was when she was able to walk like you and me. This will never change, and she will continue to grow in faith and courage."

Elise looked at him, her eyes widening slightly, but as he continued to speak, the color faded from her otherwise stern face.

"Let me ask you a question, how many times did you actually talk to Bruce or Terry when you were at work? How many times did you tell them that they had done good work, or encouraged them to draw pictures to submit with their English essays?" He asked.

"Are you saying that I'm at fault for what those two boys did?" Elise snapped.

"No, I'm not," Andrew said softly as he shook his head. "I was at the school some days before the shooting happened, Elise. I was a substitute teacher there and I saw how the other kids treated them, and I saw how spiritually weak they both are. Today, they must face the repercussions of what they have done, and that won't be easy for either of them. Nor will it be easy for you, for the families of the victims, and for the community as a whole."

"Excuse me," someone called out interrupting them. "We need your help."

Andrew looked up and could see the sad brown eyes of one of the boys who had teased Laura the day before. "What is it?" The angel asked, his voice soft, but he was on his feet within seconds.

"Your friend, Laura, I-I don't know what happened, but she just saved Billy's life." The boy's words emerged, his eyes wide with fright, and he looked from Andrew to Elise uncertain as to what he should say next. "I think Laura's hurt."

Elise got up at this moment, and she followed Andrew and the boy to the front entrance of the park. There, two other boys were standing and Laura was lying on the ground, her eyes were closed and upon arriving, Andrew could see that Adam was now seated on the ground next to her. "I'm OK, Adam," Laura was speaking softly to the angel next to her.

"You're certain?" Adam asked.

"Uh-huh, I'm awake and everything," she smiled weakly, but hugged him. As their hug loosened, the young girl turned and was now looking up at the three boys who, only the day before, had tormented her about her disability. "Are you guys OK?"

"Yeah," the mumbled answers emerged from the boys as Andrew got down on the ground next to her and took her hand in his.

"Laura, sweetheart, what happened?" Andrew asked, his voice soft. He then looked at Adam hoping that his fellow angel would be able to enlighten him on what had transpired.

Before Laura could offer an answer, Billy spoke up, his voice wavering. "S-she pushed me out of the way. I didn't see the car coming, until she called my name and I turned around." The boy could feel the shocked tears streaming down his face. He looked at Andrew all the while shaking his head. "I-I think the guy was drunk, 'c-cause he was swerving across the line, and h-he nearly hit me."

Andrew looked at the young boy. "You're OK, now, aren't you, Billy?"

The boy nodded numbly and looked at Adam who was still seated next to Laura. The angel had his hands on the girl's shoulders, and the look of relief was shadowed in his gray eyes.

"Hey Mister," the second boy said and pulled on the sleeve of Adam's jacket causing the angel to turn around. "You a doctor or something?"

Adam shook his head. "No."

"She's gonna be OK, isn't she?" The third boy asked.

The Angel of Death smiled and nodded, his relief evidently showing. "Andrew, I think 'search and rescue' should be commended for that one, because it could have been much worse than it was," he said dryly, his words bringing a smile to Andrew's otherwise concerned face. "Since you're OK, Laura, I'm out of here, take care of yourself, you little munchkin."

"See you later, Adam," Laura said softly as Adam disappeared. She smiled weakly and once she looked at Billy, she could see that the boy was now staring at her and Andrew in complete awe and profound disbelief.

"Guys, that dude just disappeared into nothing," one of the boys said.

"He was an angel," Billy said weakly. "A-and I think you are one too," he looked at Andrew as he spoke. "We could see your friend. I mean, h-he was kind of weird, but he was glowing white light, but you could see him, too. Right?"

Andrew nodded, "Yes, Billy, I could."

"An angel?" Elise looked at the boys and then at Laura. "That's not possible."

"Yes, it is," Laura said as Andrew and Billy helped her to her feet.

The other two boys were both now staring at Andrew, but Laura's voice broke into their thoughts. "Why aren't you teasing me now?" She asked softly.

"I guess 'cause you risked your neck to save mine," Billy said smiling weakly. "No one ever did anything like that for me before and I never thought I was even worth it."

Laura smiled weakly. "I guess you could say that I'm just funny that way."

"No way, man, I think you're pretty cool, I mean; for a girl," one of the other boys said. "Will you forgive us for treating you so badly?"

"Sure," she said smiling weakly, "but I think I'd better get home, my mom will probably want to put some medicine on my elbows. I still have some birthday cake left over from yesterday, and my dad bought a big tub of ice cream. You guys want to come along?"

The three boys nodded and they walked towards the house. "By the way," the second boy spoke up. "I'm Ricky Peterson."

"My name's Johnny Fields," the third boy chimed, and the voices of the four children faded as they continued to walk through the park in the direction of where Laura lived.

Elise continued to stare after them until they had disappeared in the distance. "His last name is Fields?"

Andrew nodded. "Yes, Johnny is Terry's cousin."

"How do you know so much about those kids? I thought you weren't from around here," Elise asked.

"I'm not, but what Billy Hudson said was the truth, Elise, I am an angel," Andrew said as he began to glow. "My friends and I were sent here to help the people of Southside accept what has happened, and I was sent to take Holly Johnson to Heaven."

"Y-you mean, you're an Angel of Death?" She asked, her voice shaky.

"Yes, but I was also sent here to help you," he said softly.

"I don't believe it," she whispered.

"It's the truth, and God knows about what you did Tuesday morning. He knows that the events of what happened at the school weren't your fault, nor were they something you could have stopped in any other way than what you had done. He knows that you don't want to be recognized as a hero, but to many, that is what you are."

"But, Andrew, I'm not," she objected. "I can't be what they said."

Andrew took her hands in his and squeezed them gently. "Elise, I was there and although I didn't see everything that happened, I did see you push Terry away from a group of kids, and it was a very brave thing to do, especially when someone stops and considers how much danger it posed to you. I do have a question for you though, why is it that you believe that you are not a courageous or brave person?"

"I-I don't really know," she whispered. "I guess because I was always taught to help other people when they needed help, but I can't help but wonder why you asked me if I was interested in helping those two boys." Elise said softly, the tears streaming down her cheeks. "I see you now, and I feel so guilty because I didn't know this was going to happen."

"You have no reason to feel guilty, Elise," Andrew said gently.

"I honestly didn't know that they were going to do this, that my life was going to suddenly turn upside down over the course of maybe fifteen seconds." She sank to her knees, her hands covering her face as she felt the tears stinging her eyes.

Andrew got down on the ground beside her. "I didn't ask you anything with the intention of hurting you," he said gently as he wrapped her in his arms. Seconds passed and when she looked up at him, she could feel the unconditional love emanating from him and she relaxed. "I asked because I wanted to know if you had ever known what it felt like to be alone, to really feel the loneliness that children like Laura know. I was wondering if you truly believed that all children handle their pain in the same way Terry and Bruce did."

"I don't know anymore," she replied honestly as the embrace ended and once he helped her back onto her feet, they walked back through the gates and into the park. Once she managed to sit back down on the bench, she looked up at him as he stood next to her, his eyes filled with compassion as he regarded her.

"Tell me how did you handle your pain when you were a little girl?" Andrew asked gently as he sat down next to her.

"I used to listen to music. My best childhood memory was when my mother had bought me a tape recorder and I used to tape music from off the radio by holding it up to the speakers. I remember how we didn't have a lot of money, but we were always taught the golden rule, 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. It was a hard time, though. Andrew, I was teased and tormented as a child, and the other children used to do horrible things to me because I always had to wear my cousin's old hand-me-downs," she looked at him earnestly. "I never wanted to do anything that would hurt anyone, but sometimes it hurt so much that I wished that I could have done something to get even, but then I remembered that lesson, and the temptation would die away."

"I know, and God knows that as well, Elise. He is so proud of you, not only because of what you did at the school, but also that you didn't react to things in the same way Bruce and Terry did," he smiled gently as he rested his hand on her shoulder. "No one could have expected you to save the lives of those who were killed. There is however, one thing that I can guarantee; those who went home to be with God last Tuesday will never suffer pain again and today they possess the strength to forgive those who robbed them of their lives here on Earth."

"You were really there Tuesday, I mean; you were not there as a teacher?" She asked weakly.

"Not as a teacher, but like I told you a few minutes ago, I was there as Holly Johnson's Angel of Death," he said softly. "Before then, I was sent to the school to try and help Bruce Freedman, but I was unable to convince him that God loves him, now he must face what will come about here, and he has chosen to turn away from this same love, which could have helped him."

"Is that why you were so sad yesterday? Was it because you felt as though you had failed?" She asked.

"Yes," he said softly nodding his head. "Laura and her mother are the two people I credit for helping me find my faith again. They were the ones who reminded me that God loves all of us, whether we are angels or people, He will always love us and that will sustain us as long as we accept it."

"Is that why you were so certain that this little girl would never do what Terry and Bruce did?" Elise asked.

"Yes, that's why," Andrew said softly as he ceased to glow.

"Thank you for reminding me of that," Elise said softly. "I had thought that He had abandoned me, but maybe it was me who had abandoned Him."

"He loves you, Elise," Andrew said softly. "He loves you so much."

"For the first time in a long time, I actually believe it," she said.

Andrew smiled but looked at her. "We still have some unfinished business that needs tending, though."

"What's that?" She asked weakly.

"I still owe you a cup of coffee," he smiled gently, but his eyes were now twinkling.

Her worried face melted away and she offered him an embarrassed smile. "Strange that you should mention that, I had forgotten all about it. Angels really drink coffee?"

Andrew smiled and nodded. "Actually, one of my best friends loves mocha lattes."

"Then they've got good taste, because that happens to be my favorite, too," Elise smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

*****

Monica rang Christina's doorbell the following morning, and as the door opened she looked up and could see Jeremy standing in the doorway, a towel in his hand and he was rubbing it through his dark brown hair. "Hey, Monica, come on in. Christina will be down in a few minutes; she's still getting dressed. You want a cup of coffee?"

"Sure," she smiled and once she had entered their house, she followed Jeremy through the hallway and into the kitchen. Once inside, she sat down at the table while Jeremy pulled two mugs out of the cabinet and poured them each a cup. He returned to the table and sat down next to her.

"So you guys are helping the kids out at Bob and Simon's old school?" Jeremy asked, breaking his silence and looking at her.

"Yes, there's a lot that needs to be done," Monica said softly.

"I guess so," Jeremy mused.

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

"Sure I'm fine, I just think sometimes that I must be getting old," Jeremy mused shaking his head. "You know, I work with the cops, but yet I never really thought that such a thing can happen at a high school. You know, I went to school in Southside once upon a time?"

"No I didn't know that," Monica said softly.

"Yeah, Paula and I grew up there and we both attended school out there, though not the school where the shooting happened, but it's weird for a community to have something like that happen," Jeremy said softly. "I went to my 20 year class reunion last year and got to see all the people I graduated with. It was like traveling back in time or something, seeing some of those guys was on the one hand interesting, but on the other, it was freaky. Some of those guys looked as though they were 20 years older than me." He chuckled and continued to speak. "I mean, Monica, doesn't it ever get to you guys having to work with people when things like this happen?"

"Sometimes, seeing children hurting is as hard for us as it is for Christina," Monica said as she took a sip of her coffee.

"That's just it, they're kids. They're supposed to be going on dates to seeing bad movies, and stuffing their faces with popcorn, not getting their hands on guns and going out and shooting up schools. This world is becoming a very frightening place."

"But, in some ways it's beautiful," Monica said softly.

"Yeah, in some ways, but it scares me, Monica," he said honestly. "Paula and Vincent's boys went to school there. Today, Robert and Loren are trying to work with self-awareness workshops. They want to make kids aware of things, specifically the dangers of drugs and alcohol, but also about self-esteem issues. I guess they, more so than anyone else, can see the importance of this kind of thing. People are forgetting to teach their kids about morals. I mean, it really bugs me, we don't have prayer in schools, but yet guns are there, and children are not learning morals from their parents. I mean; you'd be surprised at how many kids I see at the precinct house getting booked in and they are so young, and most of the problems stem from them hating themselves." He took a sip of his coffee. "You know, I hear about those three kids that died out there, and I think how horrid it must be for their families."

Monica nodded. "There are angels with them, Jeremy."

"I know," he said softly, "but it doesn't stop the questions from buzzing around in my head. The main one being, 'what are we doing that is so wrong?'"

"Perhaps you should not be asking yourself that question. After all, you are doing nothing wrong," Monica said as Christina came into the room.

"Good morning, Monica," she said.

"Are you ready to go to the school, Christina?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know," she said softly, the uncertainty evidently showing in her voice. "I hope that I'll do OK with this. I've never worked with larger groups of kids before, and these are teenagers, so it's going to be a bit harder."

"Keep the confidence," Jeremy said softly.

Christina smiled weakly and nodded as Monica stood up. The angel rested a comforting hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "You're doing very well, Jeremy. This incident does not mean that you're not a wonderful father."

Jeremy smiled weakly, but nodded as Monica and Christina left the room. "Love you, Jeremy, see you tonight." Christina called out as they made their way towards the front door.

Outside on the sidewalk, Monica looked at Christina. "Are you sure you want to help with this? It may be hard for you to cope with."

"I know, but when I told Peter about it, he said that he would send a few more people out to the school to help us, so maybe it won't be so bad," Christina said as they got into the car. "Are Andrew and Tess already out there?"

"Tess is working with the Johnson family, and Andrew's at the school," Monica said.

"Monica, do you really think that I can make a difference to those kids? I mean, if they hear that I'm a psychologist, they might clam up," Christina said softly. "I just don't know what I can do that will help."

"Just wait and see, I think you will surprise yourself," Monica said softly.

Ten minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of the school and they both got out and looked around.

*****

Andrew was standing next to Elise inside the front hallway of the school. He was seeing the school for the first time since the shooting occurred and he was taking in the place all the while contemplating the assignment he had been given.

"Andrew?" Elise said his name her words emerging in the form of a question. She could tell by looking at him that he was thinking about what had happened and what his role in all of this had been. The young teacher rested a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I'm OK, Elise," he said unconvincingly.

"You know, it was hard for me to come back through here last Wednesday, so I can imagine how it must be for you to walk into this place and not being able to act normally about it," she said, her voice soft, as though she had the same exact feelings he did.

"Miss Kilgore?" A voice interrupted them and she looked into the soft eyes of tall lanky boy.

"Yes, Zachary?"

"I was just wondering if I could have an extension on my essay," the boy mumbled.

"Yes, of course you can, I was going to tell your class today that the essays will have a week extension," Elise said softly. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine, as long as no one says my last name, everything is just rosy," Zachary said softly, the bitterness etched in his voice was filled with sadness and pain.

"You're not at fault for what happened, Zachary," Andrew said softly.

"Sure tell that to half the football team, the chess club, the people in the science lab and the cafeteria ladies," he said bitterly and walked away. "Thanks, Miss Kilgore," he said over his shoulder as he walked through the cafeteria and sat alone at a table in the corner of the room.

Andrew looked at Elise. "Bruce's little brother doesn't have it easy does he?"

"No, I guess he doesn't," Elise sighed deeply as they looked over and could see that Monica and Christina had arrived and were coming across the crowded room to join them.

"Hi Andrew," Christina offered once she and Monica had reached where they were standing. She turned to Elise and smiled. "I'm Christina Lowery."

"Elise Kilgore," came the reply.

"I read about you in the paper," Christina said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Thanks," Elise said as the first bell rang. "I guess I'd better get going, I have to teach a class, I'll see you later."

With that, the teacher was gone, and Christina looked at Andrew, a question looming.

"She doesn't consider herself to be a hero, Christina," Andrew said softly, his gaze still on Zachary.

Christina nodded and her gaze followed that of her friend and she looked at him after a few moments. "Andrew, who is that boy, he looks familiar?"

"His name is Zachary Freedman, he's the younger brother of my former assignment," Andrew said softly.

"He looks so lonely," Christina said.

"I think he is, but he won't let anyone get close to him, and the kids here are angry and hurt by what his brother did," Andrew said.

"Guilt by association," Christina nodded as though she understood. "Maybe I should try," she mused.

"The Father thinks that's a good idea," Monica broke her silence. "Andrew and I are needed in the counseling office."

Andrew nodded and squeezed the hand of his friend. "The Father has the utmost confidence in you, my friend, as do I."

"Thanks, I wish I shared your optimism," Christina said softly.

"Give it your best shot," Monica said softly.

Christina nodded and started to walk over to where Zachary was seated. The boy was hunched over a notebook and she could tell that he was busily writing. She smiled weakly as she sat down across from him. "Hello, Zachary."

The boy looked up. "Who are you?"

"My name is Christina Lowery," she said smiling gently. "I'm actually here as a visiting psychologist."

He closed the notebook he carried and looked up at her. "I don't need a shrink."

"How about a friend? I think everyone could use one of those," she offered.

"Who would want to be my friend?" He asked bitingly.

"Well, if you give me a chance, then I'll be your friend," Christina said softly.

The boy looked at her and started to stand up, but something stopped him and he eventually plopped back down in the chair and looked at her. "You know who I am?"

"You're name is Zachary Freedman," Christina said calmly. "You're a wonderful chess player, and you won last year in the citywide championships in the 'junior' division."

"How did you know that?" He asked.

"Because, I have a husband who reads the newspaper every week, and he shares the most interesting articles with me," she said. "You know, Zachary, you're not at fault for what your brother did."

"How can you say that when everyone else around here thinks I'm related to Satan?" He asked weakly.

"Because you are not defined by your brother anymore than I am defined by mine," Christina said and looked earnestly at him. "Have you had any time to talk about how this has affected you?"

"Who could I talk to? My parents?" He asked bitterly.

"You can talk to me, Zachary, I'll listen to you," she said. "That's why I'm here, I want to help."

"You know what happened?"

"Tell me, it might help," Christina said gently.

"My parents both work, they didn't have time for us. Bruce was mad because I was getting all the glory for the chess championships. After I won, he was getting angry all the time, and since then, I was avoiding going home. Mrs. Lowery, the reason that my brother did this was because he was jealous, there was no other reason. He wanted to do something that would make people take notice of who he was; he didn't want to be my big brother anymore. He wanted to have friends, and go out on dates, but he's so pushy that people withdrew from him."

"Now they're doing that with you, aren't they?" Christina asked.

He nodded as the tears escaped from beneath his eyes. "Bruce is my brother, but I hate him, I hate what he did! He ruined my life simply because he had to have the attention and couldn't accept that someone else was getting it. I hate him!" The boy's emotions were beginning to get the better of him, and he began to throw the books across the room, the tears streaming down his cheeks, and he found himself loosing complete control of his emotions.

Christina stood up and went around the table to him, as she did she could feel the corner of a book hit her on the arm, but she managed to dodge the other books in order to reach the boy. "Zachary, you don't hate your brother," she said gently as he flung the last of the books across the table. "He's going to need you."

"Why? So that I can be dragged down right along with him?" Zachary snapped. "I don't want it, I was doing fine before he did this, and now no one here wants anything to do with me. My family is so wrapped up in Bruce's situation and my parents think I should have known that he would try this."

"You couldn't have known what would happen, Zachary, only God knows what would have happened," Christina said softly.

"God? You want to talk about God?" He asked bitterly. "Nobody around here wants to talk about Him at all. He might as well not even exist."

Christina looked at him and as she did, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the small crystal angel that Andrew had given her. Holding it tightly in her hands, she looked at him. "About ten years ago, I thought God had abandoned me, Zachary. Then my friend gave me this figure and every time I look at it, I am reminded of God, and this is so special to me because it won't allow me to forget what He means to me."

Zachary looked at her. "Then you're preaching to the wrong person, Mrs. Lowery, because I don't believe in God anymore, I lost my faith the day I lost my brother." Before she could say or do anything, he snatched the figure from out of her hand and threw it against the linoleum floor. The object shattered into thousands of pieces and she could only stare after him as he ran out of the room, through the doors leading outside, and disappeared in the distance.

Christina could now feel the tears streaming down her cheeks and she looked at the splintered glass of her most valued possession shattered on the floor in front of her. Shaking her head sadly, she realized that the fragments of glass somehow represented the shattered spirit of the boy who had destroyed the gift she had received from her friend.

"Father, I know this was a reminder of your love to me," she began to whisper, all the while sitting in the chair of the empty cafeteria. "It hurts me so much to loose something that is so special to me like this."

As she continued to whisper, she did not notice that someone had gathered the various fragments of the angel together and had slipped them into a small bag. "It's a lost cause, your figurine," a slightly accented voice emerged, breaking into her thoughts.

She looked up after she finished her prayer and her tearstained face met the soft blue eyes of another boy, this one wearing thick-rimmed glasses and looking the part of a scientific genius. He smiled weakly at her, his eyes filled with understanding.

"I'm Joshua McFarland," the boy introduced himself and Christina was left to think that he came from England or Scotland.

"Christina Lowery," she said softly. "Excuse me for saying so, but aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"I am, actually. I work in the counseling office during first period," he said showing her a white badge on his shirt. This had his name on it and said that he was a student assistant.

"You're not originally from here though, are you?" She asked.

"No, I'm an exchange student from Glasgow," he said. "I'll be here for about a year, and then head back."

"You're from Scotland?" She asked.

He smiled and nodded. "I got here about three weeks ago. Anyway, Andrew and Monica sent me to find you and bring you to the counseling office. I suppose because they figured it would be hard for you to find since you haven't been out here before. I think they are needing some help with some of the younger kids here."

"You seem rather calm about what happened, weren't you here when the shooting happened?" Christina asked weakly as she stood up and followed the boy.

"Aye, I was, but not in the cafeteria," he said. "I was coming back to the cafeteria when I heard the shooting starting and then saw what happened. You see, Mrs. Lowery, Zachary is my best friend and we had been together for a meeting of the 'Chess Club."

"How do you feel about him since this happened?" Christina asked.

"My feelings for him don't change, but his feelings towards himself and 'is brother certainly have," Joshua answered sadly. "He's really hurtin' because of what 'is brother did, and I think he's ashamed of who he is related to, but ye can't very well change that, family is family, but a friend, now that's a gift, that is."

They continued to walk towards the counseling office. "Did you tell Zachary about how you felt after all this happened?"

"Aye, I did," Joshua said softly as he opened a glass door and held it for her so she could walk through. "One can only do so much, though and then God has to come in there to help the spirit. I can only pray for my friends, and hope that he will have the time to allow 'is spirit to heal."

"That's beautifully put, Joshua," Christina said softly.

"Thank you," he said as they entered the lobby of the counseling office. "Here we are." Joshua said smiling broadly.

When Christina saw Andrew waiting for her, she smiled weakly and looked away, her thoughts still on the object Zachary had destroyed in his fit of anger. She looked around the office, and for a moment, it seemed to be rather quiet, but the angel walked over to his friend.

When he saw Christina's unhappy face, Andrew could immediately tell that something was wrong, but as soon as he noticed Joshua holding a small bag with fragments of glass inside, he immediately knew what had happened.

Instead of speaking of this, he looked at the boy. "Thank you Joshua for going and finding her. I feared that she would have gotten lost when she had finished talking to Zachary."

"No problem, Andrew," Joshua said softly and quickly excused himself.

"That's a nice boy," Christina said softly once they were alone.

"Yes," Andrew confirmed. "He's wise beyond his years."

Christina nodded and numbly followed them into the back office, her thoughts still centered on Zachary and the small angel figurine he had destroyed.

*****

Zachary was still running by this time and as he reached the open lot situated on the side of the school's property, he found a place to sit and plopped down onto the soft grass. He looked around where he was now seated and sighed deeply. He did not even want to think about what had just happened, nor did he want to think about the angel figure he had destroyed. He was so filled with bitterness and anger that part of him wanted to simply end his life and be done with it.

As he sat there, on the ground, he began to think about suicide, but his feelings of incompleteness seemed to dominate everything that was happening to him. He glanced around and could see a young couple walking along the water that separated the school's grounds from the neighborhood. He sighed deeply as he glanced down at his lap.

"Hey, don't I know you?" The young man called out, and he approached the boy.

"Maybe," Zachary mumbled.

"Loren, I know this kid, his name is Zachary, he's a whiz in chess," the voice of Robert Davies emerged and he and the young woman with him sat down. "Man, what a pleasure it is to meet you. My name's Robert, and this is my fiancé, Loren," Robert said.

"Hi," the boy said, his voice void of energy.

"Why so sad?" Loren asked as she sat down on the ground next to him, her beige skirt becoming damp from the dew on the grass, but the young woman did not seem to mind, and she smiled warmly at the boy.

"You wouldn't understand or care," the boy muttered.

"Try us," Robert said softly. "You will find that we understand far more about people your age than you think."

"How can you?" Zachary asked. "After the chess thing happened, I lost everything. I should have let that other guy win, then my life as the perpetual loser would at least guarantee that my stupid brother wouldn't have done what he did."

"Zachary, I know that you may not believe this, but neither Robert nor I believe that you are responsible for what happened at the school," Loren began. "You have the right to make the best of everything for yourself. You're grieving what has happened, but for different people and reasons, but never believe that you are at fault."

"They do, though, I mean the media people, our parents and even the other kids at the school," he said. "I wish I could just move out of the state and change my name."

Robert looked at Loren and shrugged his shoulders. "You can't run away from your problems, Zachary."

Loren smiled gently. "You know something? I know how you feel," she said as she laid a compassionate hand on the boy's shoulder. "You feel as though you drove Bruce to do what he did, but you know what really drove him? I think it was a mixture of pride, ego, jealousy, and anger. Your brother could have been happy for you, for what you accomplished, but instead he reacted out on painful emotions he carried. This doesn't excuse what he did, but it does perhaps, explain a little bit as to what compelled him." She smiled gently at him. "But Zachary, this has nothing to do with you, it's all about him."

"Did you ever hear about something called 'free will'?" Robert asked.

The boy shook his head.

"Well, let me tell you about it. 'Free will' is part of each one of us. It's a gift that we are given by our creator."

"Are you talking about God?" He muttered. "'Cause, it seems like every time I turn around, someone is trying to shove this religious nonsense down my throat."

Loren shook her head. "Zachary, Bob and I do workshops with young people, we're going to do one at your school in the coming days, which is why we are here in the first place. We don't try to shove God or any philosophy down anyone's throat, we tell you about learning to love yourself, about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and we try to show kids that each one is special and unique in their own way. If that's how you define religion then, OK, we are trying to convince you of a philosophy. But, you must understand that that philosophy is one of love; unconditional, lasting, special, and empowering. This is something that we believe young people of today could definitely use a few dosages of. Especially, in the wake of such a tragedy."

Zachary sat and listened for a moment and then stood up to leave. "I'd like to stick around and chat, but I guess I'd better get back to the school before I get suspended for skipping or something. Trouble with my parents is the last thing I need right now."

"All we ask is that you think about what we just told you," Robert said softly. "We don't want to push our feelings on you, but you're a talented kid and you're really smart. A year ago this month, you made the city of Southside proud, so just keep this in mind with whatever you decide to do, people may think of what your brother did today, but they will remember you and your gifts tomorrow when the sun rises again."

*****

Andrew, Monica, and Christina worked through the morning and into the early afternoon when the door to the counselor's office eventually opened and the last of the kids walked inside. It was a girl, and she looked around the room nervously as she made her way towards the desk where Monica was seated.

She smiled weakly. "Hi, my name's Heather Johnson, and for some reason, someone sent for me here, I guess someone thinks I should talk about my twin sister, Holly."

"Of course," Monica said and she stood up and went into the back room where Andrew was seated. "There's a wee girl outside in the lobby, Andrew, her name is Heather, and she's Holly's twin sister. Do you think that you can handle talking to her?"

The Angel of Death sighed deeply, but nodded. "Go ahead and send her back. I'll talk to her."

Monica nodded and left the small office. Within moments, Holly's mirror image was standing in the doorway, her timid blue eyes sought those of the angel seated behind the desk. "Thank you for seeing me," she began.

"It's OK, Heather, come on in," Andrew said gently as he stood up and went to sit down in a corner chair. "My name is Andrew."

"You're new here?" Heather asked.

"Yes, you could say that," he smiled gently at her. He could see that she looked as though she was about to jump out of her skin. "Try to calm down, I don't bite."

She nodded and after a few moments, she began to speak. "That sounds like something Holly used to say to get people to relax."

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes, she used to make jokes about everything, but most of the time they were just funny jokes not said with the intention of hurting anyone," Heather said softly. "She tried to always be nice to people, she was even nice to Bruce Freedman and Terry Fields, but look at what it got her…" She looked down at her lap all the while trying to hide the tears from him.

"Heather, you don't have to hide your sadness from me," Andrew said gently as he extended a tissue to her. "It's OK to cry. In fact, it's probably the most natural thing you can do at this particular moment, and I happen to know that it would be next to impossible for you to go on without having grieved what you've lost."

She took a deep breath and tried to keep the tears at bay. "I just can't believe that this has happened. I should have been with her; she was not just my sistershe was my best friend. I should have been with her…" her voice trailed and she took a staggering breath before she was able to continue. "I feel like I've lost a part of myself that day, it should have been me."

Andrew stood up and went over to her, the tears streaming down his own cheeks, but he sat down beside the young girl and rested a gentle hand on her trembling shoulder. "God wouldn't want you to believe that you should exchange your life for that of your sister."

"She believed in Him," she whispered. "S-she was always more faithful than me, she was always so strong. She used to check out books about God and Heaven when we would go to the library, and she would read them from cover to cover, and then she would ask me about whether or not I believed in angels or in God and Heaven. I guess now she knows better than all of us whether or not they even exist." The tears continued to roll down her cheeks, her hand trying without any success at rubbing them away.

"Do you believe in those things?" Andrew asked.

"I don't know what I believe anymore," she said softly.

"Heather, do you think that your sister was alone when she died?" He asked gently.

"I think she was," she whispered. "So do my parents."

"She wasn't," Andrew affirmed gently, but when he looked at her, he was no longer sure if she had heard him speak. He could only conclude that she was completely lost in her own thoughts and emotions.

Heather shrugged her shoulders, but as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks and after a few moments, she took a staggering breath. "I hate those boys. I don't understand why they had to do this, why did they have to destroy so many lives?"

Andrew remained seated and he looked at her. She looked so lost and alone, and as an angel, he wanted to tell her that she should not hate anyone, but he also knew that she needed to get those emotions out in order for her own spirit to heal. "Heather," he finally said her name, his gentle voice causing her to look up and into his compassionate green eyes. "Your sister was not alone when she died."

"Who was with her? Another kid or one of the teachers?"

"No, sweetheart, God was with her," he said gently. "And I was with her."

"You were?" She whispered.

"Yes, I was. God didn't want Holly to be by herself during this time any more than you would have wanted her to be alone," he said gently. "That's why He sent me, I'm an angel." As he spoke the room illuminated with light, and the young girl stared at him in complete shock, but at the same time, she backed slightly away from him uncertain of what to say or do. It was obvious to him that she was overwhelmed by his revelation, but she was also frightened. "Heather, you don't have any reason to be frightened. God sent me to Holly to help her so that she would not be afraid," Andrew continued.

"Yyou're an-an angel? I-I mean; from God?" She stammered.

"Yes, I am, I was sent to be with your sister when she died," he said softly. "She wasn't alone, I promise you. I was with her the entire time and I did everything I could to help her. Afterwards, He sent Tess to be with your family because He knows that your sister was so loved by you all. Now, I am here again to help you."

"Y-you're here to help me?" She whispered.

"Yes, sweetheart, I am," he smiled gently.

"I-I remember Tess, she came from the funeral home to talk to my parents during the wake," Heather mumbled. "She's an angel too?"

"Yes, she is," Andrew replied.

"I t-thought that I was forgotten," she whispered. "My parents were so sad about Holly that I felt like no one cared for me anymore. Then when they would look at me, I could tell that they were thinking only of Holly. Don't get me wrong, I was not now, or ever jealous of my sister, but I also know that when they see me, they are thinking about Holly. I'm a constant reminder to everyone here of my sister, and I know she should be remembered, but that doesn't make anything easier for me. I just feel even more lost."

"Being a twin is sometimes not easy, is it?" Andrew asked.

The girl shook her head. "No, and since her death, I feel like part of me is gone. I'm only 14, and Holly and I were best friends. She knew as much about me as I did her." Her voice began to crack as she spoke. "Andrew, what am I going to do without my sister? How am I going to go on?"

"God will help you, Heather," he said gently.

Heather nodded, but she could feel the tears streaming from beneath her eyes as she covered her face with her hands and continued to weep, her words emerging in garbled bunches of syllables, the grief overwhelming her, and she finally looked up and could see Andrew was still glowing, his eyes regarding her with the utmost compassion. He inched closer to her and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder, thus causing her to look up.

"I was…" she took a deep breath and sniffed, the emotions getting the better of her, and she looked at him and tried to speak.

"Shhh," he whispered soothingly. "Just let your feelings out, Heather, allow yourself to cry."

The girl broke down and began to cry uncontrollably, her words emerging in hiccup like sobs, her body shaking. "I…was…s-supposed…to meet…her...t-that…morning."

Andrew wrapped his arms around her and could feel her trembling under his touch. As he continued to hold her, he brushed his hand through her hair, but the tears brimmed from beneath his eyes and eventually streamed down his cheeks. He continued to hold her and she eventually buried her face against the soft jacket he wore, her face meshed against his right shoulder. He brushed his hand gently through her hair.

After some moments of crying, she looked up at him and could see the tears streaming down from beneath his eyes. She reached her hand towards his cheek and brushed it over his face, thus wiping the moisture away. "This is very sad for you, isn't it?" Her question emerged, weak, but still filled with the utmost sadness, which she still carried.

He nodded and smiled gently at her. "You know, your sister asked me the very same question."

"How did you answer?"

"I nodded indicating that it was," he said softly.

"It hurts, Andrew," she whispered. "I don't know if I will ever get over this, I mean; I miss her so much, it feels like someone took a part of me and ripped it away. She was my best friend. Why did God have to take her away?"

"He didn't want Holly to suffer," Andrew said softly. "Everything that He did was not done to make you sad, Heather; God loves you so much, just as He loves your sister. And one day, you will see her again, I promise."

Heather looked around the office and then back over at him. "You're really very kind," she said softly, as she looked down at her lap and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I should go now, but it's so strange, I don't want to, I somehow feel closer to Holly just in knowing that you're nearby."

Andrew reached over and tipped her chin up so that she would be looking at him. "When I took your sister to Heaven, she told me that she feared that you and your family would not understand why this happened. I wish I could tell you why it happened, and I did everything I could to prevent it, but there was only so much I could do."

Heather nodded and looked at him. He was still glowing, the light still filling the room, and somehow this made her feel a little better, but the pain was still there, she was still suffering as a result of this.

"Heather, I'm so sorry this happened," Andrew said softly. "I did everything I could to convince Bruce to not go through with it, but he was hurting so much that I had to eventually accept that he was out of reach. Holly asked me if God was sad that this happened. After I affirmed that He was; I was unable to even face Him."

"Why?"

"Because at that time, I felt as though I was a failure," Andrew said softly. "This is why I was saddened with having to lead Holly home. It wasn't just because of you and your family's profound loss, but because I felt as though I had not only failed God, but your sister, you, your family, and the families of the others who died that day."

Heather looked at him, her sad blue eyes meeting his compassionate green ones. "I don't think you did," she whispered, the tears still streaming down her cheeks. "But still, I'm really sorry this was so hard for you."

"As am I for how hard this has been for you," Andrew said gently.

As they sat in silence for a few moments, Heather found herself trying to get her emotions in check. "How long will it be for me to get over this?" She finally asked.

"I don't really know. I don't know how much help I can offer, but as long as I'm here, I'll do whatever I can to help you. Heather, after I go, God will always be there to help you through it, all you have to do is ask Him."

Heather nodded numbly but after a few moments, she shook her head. "I wish…"

"What is it?" Andrew asked gently.

"I just wish I knew why this happened? Why did they have to do this?" She asked weakly.

"I wish I knew the answer to that question," Andrew said gently as she stood up.

"I don't think anyone will ever really know," she whispered sadly, but when her eyes met his, he could see so much grief still lurking in them, and he stood up as well.

"Heather, are you sure you're OK?" He asked gently.

The girl could only nod numbly, but after a few seconds, she looked into his eyes and could do nothing except shake her head. Eventually, she collapsed in his arms and cried until she had no more tears left to shed.

*****

Ten minutes later they emerged from the office, Heather's face streaked with tears, and Christina came over to her and rested her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Heather?"

"Yeah?"

"My name's Christina, I'm a friend of Andrew's," she said gently.

"Are you an angel too?" The shy words emerged from the teenager and she looked at Andrew and then back at Christina.

"No, I'm not," she said smiling weakly. "I came here to help you and your classmates adjust to what has happened. I wanted to let you know that I'm here if you need me."

Heather looked at Andrew and shrugged her shoulders. Seconds later, the door opened and Zachary walked into the office and when his gaze came to rest on Heather Johnson and then Christina, he backed towards the door and ran out into the hallway.

"What did he want?" Heather asked after a few moments of silence passed.

Christina shook her head, all the while remembering the angel figurine that Andrew had given her. Before she could even offer an answer, Joshua ran into the office completely out of breath. "Andrew, Monica, did either of you see Zachary in here just now?"

"Yes, he was just here," Monica said.

"He needs your help," Joshua said. "He left this letter in my locker just now and I have this feeling that something is not right."

"What is it?" Andrew asked and Monica looked at the young boy with surprise evident on her pretty face.

"He's suicidal," Joshua said, fright in his eyes. "He stuffed this in my locker along with the note." The boy held a chess piece, it was a knight.

"That's the piece he used when he won the chess championships," Heather whispered. "I remember when it happened. But, I don't understand, what does it mean?" she asked looking over to where Andrew had been standing some three minutes before, but to her surprise, the angel had disappeared. She could do nothing but after she recovered, her gaze came to rest on Christina.

"Where did Andrew go?" Joshua finally asked, the disappearance of the angel taking him aback.

Heather looked at Monica and then at Christina without even answering Joshua's inquiry. "Why would he leave his most prized possession in your locker?"

"I'm telling you, he's suicidal, I can see the signs, we've got to help him," Joshua said. "He blames himself for what happened here, but I kept telling him it wasn't his fault."

"Don't worry, we'll find him. Joshua, can you tell us where his favorite place to go is?" Christina asked, her voice filled with urgency.

"But, I don't understand how that can be of any significance," Joshua objected.

Monica smiled weakly and looked at the boy. "From my experiences, people who want to commit suicide usually go to a place where they feel the most at peace in order to carry out their intended plan."

The boy nodded as he began to speak. "All I can remember about his favorite place is that right after I got here, he took me out to this old abandoned farm about ten minutes away from here. I don't know much about this place, but I recall seeing an old run-down warehouse next door and behind it we had sat next to a small lake."

"I know of this place," Heather said softly. "It used to belong to a family that moved to Southside after World War II, my grandparents used to tell us stories about it. There were a bunch of legends going around town when I was a little girl, they said that this place was haunted."

"Can you two show us how to get there?" Christina asked.

Joshua shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't, see I don't know the area all that well, I only remember that it was down the road from here, and that there was an old rusty mailbox in front of it."

"Heather, do you know how to get there?" Christina asked.

The young girl nodded numbly. "Yes, I can show you."

They left the office, the two school kids opting to leave their belongings there. As they came outside, Heather looked at the sky and from somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she could hear a whisper resonating there. Not sure what it was, she shrugged her shoulders and hesitated before walking towards the others.

"Come on Heather, we've got to hurry," Joshua said urgently as he came over to where she was now standing and breaking her out of her reverie.

"I know," she whispered. "I just thought I had heard something." Dismissing it, she followed them to the parking lot and the four of them climbed into Christina's car.

*****

At that moment, Zachary stood near the water's edge, his sad blue eyes filled with tears as he looked out across the lake. The one chance he had to talk with Christina and apologize to her before leaving the school and coming out here, and who was in there? Heather Johnson, the one person who reminded him and his conscious of everything that had transpired.

Joshua had told him that he was his best friend, but somehow he didn't believe that he even deserved a best friend, not after the way he had behaved. Joshua was one of the few people who knew of his struggles with Bruce, and Zachary often wondered if anyone would ever remember that he was just as hurt by Bruce and Terry's actions as they were.

What did it matter any more? He was considered a nothing, and when people at the school looked at him, it was all the more difficult for him to even understand what had happened. He brushed his hand through his short brown hair and stepped towards the water. The chilly air of the late November day ruffled his hair, and he got down and began to remove the shoes he wore.

Behind him, Andrew stood in angelic form, and was unseen by the youth. "Please don't do this, Zachary," he pleaded, his voice not heard by the boy, but the pain shadowing his handsome features. "Think about what you're doing. Please, Father, I don't know if I can do this. It's so soon after everything else that has happened here."

"Zachary, are you here?" A voice called out breaking Andrew's concentration on his prayer. It was a female's voice, and he turned around and could see Heather Johnson coming down the path. The group, upon arriving had split up and Heather happened to be the person who had found him first.

"What do you want?" Zachary asked weakly.

"Please don't do this," Heather said softly.

"What do you care if I do this or not, my brother murdered your sister?" he asked bitterly.

His hostile words hurt her, and she could feel the tears once again beginning to stream down her cheeks. "Maybe I shouldn't care at all, but I do. I'll tell you the truth, I hate what your brother did, and I even said that I hated him, but that doesn't mean I hate you. No amount of hate is going to bring Holly back," she said angrily. " I'm still so hurt by this and I'm angry. But, what good is that going to do? My sister is dead, and the only reason is because Bruce never even stopped to ask Holly why she didn't want to go out with him."

"Why couldn't she?" Zachary asked. "Bruce said that she was being a snob."

"My sister was anything but a snob," Heather said angrily. "The reason was because our parents did not allow us to date until we were supposed to turn 16. Holly wanted to go out with him, not because of pity, or something else, but because she really liked him. She even asked our parents if they could bend the rules just once so that she could do something that would help make him feel special." Her voice was soft as the final sentence emerged. "Holly believed that every person in this world was special, and she believed that God gave each one of us gifts to balance things out."

"What does this have to do with me?" Zachary asked.

"Maybe nothing, and maybe I'm telling you because even though I am hurt, and angry, and miserable; I still like you. It is not easy for me to say this to you, but the truth is; I don't want to see you get any more hurt than you already are. If you kill yourself today, you'll show the world that you're an even bigger coward than Bruce was."

Zachary looked at her, his surprise evident. He had always seen Heather as the shyer of the two Johnson girls, and now she was speaking with assurances and confidence that he had never heard before.

"Look, I know that nothing I say or do will make things easier for you, but what you do here will leave an impact, and it will be no different than running and sticking your head in the sand," Heather looked around where they were standing and then back at Zachary. "What do you think? I mean; do you really want to throw everything away. I mean, Holly always said that life is a gift from God."

"God again?" Zachary asked, this time his voice did not emerge angry, instead it was as though he had been waiting for her to say something about religion, simply because he felt inundated with it.

"God is always there, and it's taken me a great deal of time to realize it," Heather said softly. "Let me ask you a question, do you believe in angels?"

"Angels?"

"Yes, angels."

"First you're telling me that I would be stupid to kill myself, and now you're asking me if I believe in angels. Why?"

"Because, I truly met one today," she whispered as she sat down on the ground. "He talked to me, and let me cry on his shoulder because I miss Holly so much."

"I don't know if I believe in them or not," Zachary said softly.

"Would you believe me if I told you that there's one here right now?" Heather asked. "He's waiting for you to decide whether or not to do what you are planning to do."

"What would happen if I did?" Zachary asked.

"He would have no choice but to take you to Heaven," she said softly.

"I don't think I deserve that," the boy answered.

"You deserve to know God's love, and you deserve to know that an angel would be very sad if you decided to end your life without giving it a chance," Heather said softly. "You are not defined by your brother's actions any more than I was defined by Holly's. Just think about it before you do anything. I mean; there are a lot of people who care for you, but the one that cares the most is God. If I'm angry with Bruce for what he did, that doesn't mean that I am angry with you. OK, it's going to take some time, but please understand, Holly was my best friend, and to forgive Bruce and Terry for what happened will not be easy for me, but I'm going to try."

Zachary looked at her and then reached for his tennis shoes. As he did, she released the breath she was holding, turned, and could see that Christina, Joshua, and Monica were now approaching. Once the teenager had the shoes on, he got up off the ground, turned away from her, and walked slowly towards them.

Heather was left sitting next to the water's edge, her eyes filling with tears. As she watched them reach Zachary. Joshua greeted his friend with a hug and a clap on the shoulders, all of them apparently thankful that Zachary had made the choice to live.

Heather covered her face with her hands and began to cry, her relief evidently showing as they walked back in the direction of the school. Christina lingered behind and walked over to where she was sitting on the ground.

"Are you OK?" She asked gently approaching Heather as she sat on the ground.

Heather shook her head. "I don't know, I guess so."

"You know, you saved a life today," Christina said softly. "That's a pretty special gift."

"Perhaps, I never really thought about it," Heather said. "I never looked at this kind of thing as a gift, I simply spoke my mind, something Holly said I should do more often. I always thought I was too blunt for my own good."

"Don't mistake honesty for bluntness, there is a slight difference, you know," Andrew spoke causing them to turn around.

"You're really here?" Heather asked.

"I've been here since before you arrived, Heather," he smiled gently at her and nodded. "What you did was so special, you cannot even imagine how moving your words were. God is so proud of what you told Zachary. Your words encouraged him to keep living."

"I didn't realize that he was in as much pain as I am," she whispered.

"There are a lot of people here who are hurting because of what happened," Christina said. "People who you probably wouldn't think could be hurting, but who are. My husband, who grew up in Southside, his nephews who attended Southside High School when they were younger, people involved with the church and the community, and even those two boys are affected by it." She took a deep breath before continuing. "However, of all the people this tragedy has affected, I imagine the one with the greatest cross to bear is you, because she was your twin; and I know that there's a connection between twins that is strange and sometimes uncanny. It's something that other people forget about or don't even see. You know, a little over a year ago, I lost my little sister, Olivia. She's was not my birth sister, but she was my sister in all the ways that mattered. She had been adopted into my family when her own had cast her aside, and she truly had a place in all of our hearts. She died a little over a year ago after giving birth to my nephew. Today, my parents are raising this child for her because she is not here to do so."

"You lost a sister?"

"Yes, and though I'm twice your age, Olivia was only 21, but she was beautiful, and she had the same kind of strength that you describe being in Holly," Christina said softly. "At the same time Olivia died, I learned that the father of one of my patients was like you, he was a twin, and he lost his only brother when the two of them had been younger, just a few years older than you. Through this type of situation, he had to learn to live without his twin in his life. He chose unhealthy methods of coping, an arrogant attitude as well as cruel words, thus resulting in him hurting those around him. I can't even begin to understand how it must feel to loose a twin, but, I do know how it feels to loose a sister."

"What happened to him?" Heather wanted to know.

"Well that depends on before or after he had some divine intervention," Christina said smiling weakly. "Before, I couldn't even talk to him without feeling my temperature rise, but after, he seemed to finally understand what his attitude was doing to his family."

"You helped him?" Heather asked looking at Andrew.

"His son helped him more than I did," Andrew said blushing slightly.

Heather smiled after a few moments passed, she nodded after noticing his red face. "You know something, Andrew? You really are cute when you blush like that."

Andrew's face grew redder and Christina had to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle the giggles. As soon as he recovered, he looked at the girl intently. "Where did you hear that from?"

"My sister told me," Heather said. "I can sometimes hear her words in my mind. I have been able to do that ever since we were little, but I didn't realize that I was still capable until we were at the school and I heard her words again. This is the first time since her death that I actually can, and you know what? She's right, you really are charming when you blush like that."

Christina continued to giggle and Andrew covered his face with his hands.

*****

Three days later, Christina walked inside the small church and joined Lindsey in one of the pews. "You know, ever since the Southside incident, I somehow feel as though I had completely forgotten about you and the fact that you had come back here."

"Don't worry about it, Andrew popped in some days ago and explained everything to me. He said you really had a lot on your plate and from what Jeremy told me at Laura's birthday party, I can completely understand how hard it must have been for you," Lindsey said smiling warmly.

"I know, but I try really hard to not forget you, you're my best friend," Christina said. "I guess you're heading back to New York City to finish your CD project, huh? It's a pity, you can't get back in a few months for Brendan's christening. Andrew will be coming back here to fulfill his promise to Olivia and I'm really glad that he's going to be here."

"You doing OK now?" Lindsey asked softly, her concern evident in her words.

"I think so, but it still makes me sad to think about everything that's happened," Christina said. "I know she's happy, but still I wonder if my dad is ever going to get over this."

"You know that Tess came by my parent's house last night to see Tom, and from what he told me, she has managed to break through your dad's shell and I think he's going to be OK. When I left there this morning, I saw him in the front yard playing with Brendan and he looked really happy, so I'm certain things will be OK with him. I mean, leave it to Tess to get people to look at the big picture."

Christina smiled slightly as she released a sigh of relief. The two friends sat in silence for some moments until Andrew came down the aisle and cleared his throat. This caused the two of them to turn around and they smiled when they saw him.

He sat down next to Christina. "It's been a long time since I've seen the two of you in one place," he said softly. "It's so nice to see you both together."

"It's nice for us too," Christina said. "We're glad you're here too, right Lindsey?"

"You bet," Lindsey said smiling broadly. "Hi Andrew."

"How are you doing?" Andrew asked looking at the younger of the two of them.

"Great," she said. "I got a recording contract, and started my first CD. It's going to be called 'The Heavenly Playground'; it will be a bunch of songs about God and positive thinking. Robert and Loren even said that they might be able to incorporate some of them into their workshops."

"That's so great," Christina said. "I love the idea so much."

Andrew smiled. "I think you're doing great things with your music, Lindsey. But, that brings to mind one question, will I get a copy?"

"Do you want one?" She asked.

"Yes, of course, that's really a silly question," he smiled at her.

"Autographed?" Lindsey giggled.

"That would be an honor to me, you know that," he said gently, but after a few moments, he looked over at Christina and smiled. "Before I forget, I have to give you something before I leave. I have to say good-bye today, but I also wanted to thank you because during these past few days, you've not only been an angel to me, but also to a lot of those kids out at the school." He pulled a crystal angel from his pocket and handed it to her. "I thought that you might like to have this back."

"H-how did you know that Zachary had broken it?" She finally managed to find her voice and whispered accepting the small figurine he offered.

"When you came into the office three days ago, I become aware of the fact that you looked really unhappy, and then I noticed that Joshua had come in behind you, and I immediately recognized the contents of the small bag he had been carrying. It became clear to me that Zachary must have smashed the figure in a fit of anger when you had gone to talk to him. I think that was why you were so miserable."

"I guess you know that I couldn't forget about it, but it sort of did slip my mind when we had to go out to the lake to find Zachary," she said softly. "I didn't want to mention it to you because I felt so badly about it."

"Your heart was always in the right place, Christina, and I have known that from the start of all of this," Andrew said gently.

Lindsey looked at them. "I must have missed a lot these past few days."

Andrew squeezed the shoulder of his younger friend. "All that you missed was discovering an even more profound reason that Christina is a blessing to others, especially to her friends. Lindsey, did you know that she and Laura helped me in a way that very few people actually could have?"

"Well, tell me Andrew, don't keep me in suspense. What happened?" Lindsey pleaded with him. "I'm all ears."

Andrew smiled and cleared his throat before beginning to speak. "After the shooting happened, I found myself trapped in human form, and was wandering around the city…"

The End

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