{Writers note: I know that humans can't become angels, but for the sake
of this story, a human is going to become an angel.}

       Andrew sat in a chair just outside of Sam's office, waiting to be called in. Monica and Tess were long gone on an assignment and Andrew had been told to stay behind.  As he looked around the room he began to wonder what this assignment was.  The only piece of information he was given was that it was being classified as "special".  To find out more,
he had to wait to talk to Sam.

       At long last Sam emerged from his office and stopped infront of Andrew. "I suppose you're curious about your new assignment" he said.
 
    "Well, yeah, I am," he said, nodding. "I mean, I have never known the details of an assignment to be so hush-hush before."

    Sam laughed softly before responding. "The reason the details were so 'hush-hush' as you put it, was
because He wanted to make sure that you could handle it."
 
    "Handle it?" Andrew asked. "Why wouldn't I be able to 'handle it'?"
 
    "Because. This assignment is a little different than most. It  involves you bringing someone home...someone you know quite
well...someone you met a long time ago and nearly fell in love with."  Sam stood there quietly, studying the expression on Andrew's face. "I'm just guessing here, but judging from the look on your face, I think  you know of who I am referring to."

    Andrew just nodded, trying to absorb what he had just been told. He looked up at Sam in disbelief. "How can it be time to bring her home already? She can't be more than what...25?"
 
    "Yes, she is young. But God thinks that she would be of better use to us up here."
 
    "Better use to us? What does that mean?" Sam chuckled, it was plainly obvious that Andrew was still infatuated with this girl.
 
    "Andrew, she is becoming one of us."
 
    "An angel?" Sam just smiled and nodded in response.
~~
 
    Kari Waters stared up at the darkened ceiling of her bedroom. She was thinking again and she didn't want to do that. All she wanted to do was fall asleep. It had been a rough day and she was anxious for it to be over so she didn't have to deal with it anymore. Or, at least not for another year. After what seemed like an eternity, sleep finally kicked
in and the day's events faded away...
 
    Early the next morning, Andrew entered her bedroom and just stood there, watching her as she slept. He knew that she would be startled when she saw him, but he was hoping that she'd be happy, too. His feelings for her had not changed in the five years since he had seen her last. Sam was wrong when he said that Andrew had nearly fallen in love
with her. The truth was, he *had* fallen in love with her, and he still was in love with her. He could only hope that she still felt the same.

    After an hour or so, Kari began to stir, it was as if she felt another presense in the room. Sitting up quickly, she began to reach for the phone when suddenly, her eyes were able to focus and she looked at him with disbelief. "It can't be..." she whispered. "Andrew?"
 
   Andrew smiled at her and replied, "hi Kari." Kari looked at him still very stunned. It had been finve years since she had last seen him. Since Lizzie. She had been 20 years old then and had been so worried about her little sister. At 17, Lizzie Waters was the girl who had it all. Beauty, brains, a devoted boyfriend and a loving family.

    Until that day when she came home in tears after what was supposed to be a routine checkup. She had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and from that day on her life and been her own private hell. Kari had done everything she could to help her sister, but the diease quickly spread and eventually Kari and her father had decided to hire outside help. That was where Andrew had come in.  He was from a service that Mr. Waters had hired to help Lizzie with the things that were once commonplace and mundane. As Kari watched Lizzie grow weaker and weaker she remembered watching the same thing
with her mother years before.
 
    Mrs. Waters had died when Kari was 6 and Lizzie was 3. The cancer had run in the family for generations. So far, Kari had been lucky, but Lizzie hadn't been. Andrew was there to take her home, although none of
them (except Andrew) had known it at the time.
 
    Looking at him now, 5 years later, Kari still remembered the day she found out that he was an Angel. The Angel of Death, sent to bring her little sister home. She had found out he was an angel accidentally, on the day of Lizzie's death. She had walked into her bedroom just in time to see him light up and explain who he was and what his purpose was.

    At first Kari wanted to pull Lizzie away from him and take her out of that house. The thought of losing her was too much to bear. But then she looked over at her and saw the peacefulness on her face. She decided then that she had to let Lizzie go. It was the fair thing to do. Andrew had told Kari to sit by her sister and hold her hand. He would give them
enough time to say goodbye. Kari complied and tearfully said goodbye to her sister. When it was over, Kari closed Lizzie's eyes and wept over her body. That was when it happened. The strangest thing. Andrew came back.

    He had come to tell her how sorry he was and that Lizzie was fine and had sent the message for Kari to move on with her life and not to die along with her. It was an odd thing to happen, because he had never done anything like that before, but he had wanted to see her, just once more. And the message from Lizzie had given him the perfect excuse.  Now
here they were 5 short years later. Kari looked directly into his eyes and simply said "It's been a long time."

~~
     "So let me get this straight" she began. "You came here to take me home, eventhough I'm perfectly healthy and you can't even tell me WHY?"
 
    "I'm sorry Kari. The truth is, I don't even know when or how it is going to happen. I've just been sent here to bring you home." Kari looked at him and then looked away.
 
    "What if I'm not ready yet? What if I don't want to go?" Andrew sighed, this was the part of the job he hated.
 
    "Kari, I'm afraid that you haven't got a choice."
 
    "I figured as much. You have no idea, at all, how much time I have left?" she asked.
 
    "I'm not sure, but I'm guessing between 24 and 48 hours." Kari looked at him wide eyed.
 
    "That's all? Boy, when He wants you, he certainly doesn't give you much notice."

    Andrew shrugged helplessly. He wanted to make this easier on her, he just didn't know how. All he could do was be with her when the time came. And he would be. He would be with her forever, if she would have him. "How do I tell my dad goodbye?" she asked him. "I mean, what do I say? 'Dad, I'm saying goodbye to you because I'm going to die
within the next two days' is a little harsh, don't you think? Not to mention that he'd probably put me in a mental institution."

    "Kari, just tell everyone goodbye. I know its hard, but you have to trust me on this. Everything will be explained to you and everyone else soon." Kari looked at Andrew with tears in her eyes. She sat down on her
couch and sighed heavily.
 
    "I don't want to die, Andrew. I'm only 25 years old. I feel like there is so much in my life that I want to accomplish. I want to get married and have children and build a real life of my own. And now you're here and you're telling me that I can't have any of those things. I'm sorry but that's not fair."
 
    "I know its not, Kari. And I really wish that I could change all that for you. But I can't. I've been given my assignment and I'm powerless to change it. All I can do is try to make it a little easier on you. And I will. I promise you, I will."

~~

    "Kari, it's time." Andrew's voice was solemn in the dark room. It was almost three in the morning, two days after he had arrived in her bedroom. She had made her rounds and said goodbye to friends and family, got her will in order and tied up the loose ends in her life. She was also more at peace with the situation now. Knowing Andrew would be with
her made her feel better. She knew that she was going to a better place and she would be able to be closer to Lizzie. She rolled over on to her side and looked at Andrew.
 
    "Can I make one last request?"
 
    "Go ahead." Kari sat up, and turned one small light on so that she could see his face clearly. She wanted to see his reaction to everything she was about to say.
 
    "Andrew, before I die, I have to admit something to you. I'm in love with you. I have been since you were here the first time to take  Lizzie..." Andrew looked shocked for a second and then looked at Kari, feeling the tenderness and love he had never thought possible.
 
    "Kari, I'm in love with you also...but I don't know how right it would be to do anything about it."
 
    "Why not? I'm dying in a while, right? Why can't I have one more moment of earthly happiness?" Andrew laughed softly and didn't respond. "What's so funny?!" she demanded.
 
    "Nothing. It's just...well, Angels are allowed to make love."
 
    "They are?" Andrew nodded. "Then why won't you...?" Andrew sat up and pulled her to him.
 
    "I wish it were that simple. But it's not. It's two angels making love as opposed to a human and an angel. It just wouldn't be right." Kari nodded. "I'm sorry..." he said.
 
    "Don't be. I really do understand. So, it's time huh? What's gonna happen?"
 
    Before he could respond there was a loud explosion. Kari had forgotten to turn the gas stove in her apartment off and something had set it off. Kari looked at Andrew with frightened eyes. This was definitely scary. All of a sudden he was standing up and glowing. He held out his hand to her and smiled. "Come on Kari, let's go home."

    Taking one last breath, she followed Andrew. Until suddenly, it was all white."Where am I? Andrew! Andrew! Don't leave me!" Kari felt herself  beginning to panic and she fought herself to remain calm. After all, she had gone here with Andrew and she knew everything would be okay. After walking blindly for a minute or two, she came across what looked like an
office. "Where am I?" she said out loud.
 
    "Pergatory." A voice from behind her said. She turned to the sound and saw a man, another angel, she assumed.
 
    "Who are you? And where did Andrew go? Why did he leave me?"
 
    "I am Sam. You could say that I'm the one who does the leg work for God. I'm the one who handles the assignments of all the angels. Andrew had to leave for the moment, but he will be back shortly. I promise."
 
    "Angels? Wait a sec, what am I doing here?"
 
    "You, my dear have been one of the few...shall we say, chosen ones." Kari looked at him, puzzled. Chosen ones? What did that mean? "God has selected you to become an angel. Now, he doesn't do this very often, it's quite an honor really. But, He saw the sacrifices you've made in your life and He wanted to honor them. And this was the
best way He knew how."
 
    "I'm becoming an angel? Me? But I don't know anything..."
 
    "There's no need to worry. Everything you need to know will be taught to you. Believe it or not, heaven isn't much different than earth. Neither is hell, actually. Los Angeles is a good example of what the
finer points of hell are."
 
    "I'm so confused."

    Sam laughed.  "That's to be expected. Now, normally, I'd just pick an angel at random for you to stay with and study with. But Andrew has put in a formal request to be your trainer and under the circumstances I don't see a problem with it. However, what ever personal life you do have with him must remain personal. Otherwise you will be transferred somewhere
else."
 
    "Okay...I think...."
 
    "Andrew should be back here shortly. He'll tell you more."

~~

    "I am *so* sorry to keep you waiting this long, Kari. I had some business that I had to attend to, right away."
 
    "Huh? Oh, it's okay. I'm sorry. I'm sort of zoned out. I can't explain the feeling I have. It's like nervousness, but its not. It's, oh I don't know." Andrew smiled and sat down next to her.
 
    "Well, you generally won't feel any pain here. Occassionally on assingment, you will. But not as much as you felt when you were a human. I know that you have a lot of questions, but I think you'd rather take
the night off before beginning your training. Yes?"
 
    "Yes."
 
    "Come on, let's go."
 
    He lead her down a path to what resembled an apartment complex. The surroundings are completely familiar to those of earth. "Wow. This is nothing like the stories I've heard," she said, in awe.
 
    "Well, it's like this for two reasons. One, us angels have to know how to survive in the earth's environment. If we lived in one completely different from humans, we wouldn't know what to do or how to react to
anything. And the second is, people, that is, humans, do come to heaven, and we want them to be comfortable. And earth-like atmosphere's make people comfortable."
 
    "It sounds like I have a lot to learn."
 
    "You do. But I'll be there with you, the entire way." They go inside the apartment. There is everything that there would be on earth, save a radio and a television.
 
    "I guess there's no TV or radio here?"
 
    "Well, there is, but I get my fill of both on assignment. Eventually you'll see what I mean. Now, this is the livingroom, obviously. We do have toliet facilities up here, so don't be nervous about that and this is the bedroom. This is generally for one angel to occupy so I'm afraid that you're going to have to either share the bed with me or sleep on
the couch."
 
    "Sleep on the COUCH! Ha! What happened to chivalry?"
 
    "Oh yeah. Share the bed with me cause I'm not sleeping on that thing, its hard!" Kari laughed she felt amazingly comfortable. And she still hadn't forgotten her request from....when was it?
 
    "Andrew?"
 
    "Hmm?"
 
    "Does heaven run on earth time?"
 
    "Well, no. There is no time here."
 
    "Huh?"
 
    "There is no time. You'll get used to it eventually."
 
    "How do you know when to be somewhere. Do you have a pager or someting?"
 
    "Mmmm, you could say that. Come on, you just got here. Relax for the
rest of the day and tomorrow you'll begin the learning process."
 
    "Okay, but do I have to - -" She is interrupted by Andrew kissing her hard on the mouth. "Whoa, what was that for?"
 
    "It's the only way I know of to shut you up."
 
    "I think I like it."
 
    "Me too. Infact...." Andrew leaned over and kissed her again, his tounge gently probing inside her mouth. It had been a very long time since he had made love to someone. He wasn't even sure if he should be doing this on her first day there, but he couldn't contain himself anymore. He had been so tempted to throw caution to the wind when they
were together on earth but something had stopped him. Now there was nothing to stop him except..."Kari?"
 
    "Hmmm?"
 
    "Are you sure you're up to this? You've just been through an ordeal. I don't want to push you."
 
    "I'm fine. And I really mean that. I don't know why, but I am. And I won't wait any longer for that request that was never granted."
 
    "Well, that request is about to be granted....for as long as you'll have me."
 
    "Make love to me..." her voice barely above a whisper. She wanted him as much as he wanted her and now there was nothing to stop them.
 
    Andrew picked her up and began to kiss her again as he gently laid her on the bed. Kari opened her mouth slightly as they started exploring each other's mouths with their tounges. Just being there, with him holding her like that was making her excited. She could feel him growing more excited as the seconds passed.
 
    She slid her hand down and placed it on his erection. Andrew let out a soft grown as he broke the kiss and started kissing her neck downward to her collar bone. His hands fumbled for the buttons on her shirt, which he unbuttoned one by one as he kissed the area of skin that was revealed to him from the shirt.
 
    Once the shirt was completely opened, Kari moved so that Andrew could remove it completely. He then bent his head down toward her breast and began sucking the nipple through the bra. Kari moaned with pleasure as
he began massaging her other breast with his hand. After he got bored with the material of the bra, he reached behind her and gently undid its clasp. He removed the bra from her body as gently as if he were
undressing a baby.
 
    Sitting up, she undid the buttons of his shirt as they began to kiss feverently. Once his shirt was off she moved her head down to his chest to give him the same treatment he had given her. Eventually she pushed him so that he was laying on his back, no longer able to hide his excitment. Kari undid his pants and began feeling her away all over his
erection, placing her mouth on the shaft through the underpants. Andrew groaned again. It amazed him that he lived with out something like this for so long. But then again, maybe he had been waiting for Kari.
 
    After teasing him with the underwear for a few minutes, Kari reached up and started to slide the underwear down. She slid the underwear and pants off completely then started kissing her way back up, from his ankle, to the side of his knee, to the inner thight and finally to his penis. Once there, she took him in her mouth and began working on him.
He squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them again, his hands
clutching the sheet on either side of him. He felt himself growing harder by the minute as he watched Kari's head bob up and down.
 
    Finally, as he started to build toward orgasm, his breathing became labored and he struggled to speak. "Kari, if you...you'd better stop otherwise I won't be able to control myself." Kari didn't listen, she just increased the pressure of her mouth on him until he came. She held on to him the entire time and licked him clean once he was done. "Hey,I'm supposed to be the teacher here." He said as he pulled her up to his level then rolled her under him. "And the teacher says, turn
about is fair play."

    He began kissing his way down her body, his left hand massaging her breast. Kari moaned as he reached her glistening
mound. His lips had barely touched her when she jumped. Like Andrew, it had been awhile since she had made love to anyone. She had forgotten how good it could feel. And Andrew made her feel wonderful.
 
    Andrew wasn't in the teasing mood for some reason. He just kissed his way down her body and then buried his head in her wet curls, his tounge darting in and out and lapping at her. The sounds of her breathing becoming labored and her moans were keeping him as excited as she was. He removed his head from her cunt and inserted two fingers inside,
pumping them in and out, trying to drive her in to her climax. Finally, and with out much warning, Kari gave in and climaxed hard. Her screams of ecstacy were louder then they ever had been.
 
    Unable to control *himself* any longer, he positioned himself to enter her. He slammed into her, hard. Harder than he wanted to. He wanted to go slowly to prolong the pleasure for the both of them as long as he could. However, he found that he just couldn't control himself as he pumped into her hard and fast. Their moans grew louder, matching as they both came closer and closer to orgasm.  Andrew was almost at the edge, but was trying to hold on, to wait for Kari. Finally, he couldn't take
it anymore and began his orgasm. Kari followed shortly after and held on to Andrew as she came, as if for dear life.
 
    When it was over, Andrew pulled her ontop of him and kissed her hard. "Was it worth the wait?" he asked. Still panting, Kari nodded. Taking a deep breath, she smiled.
 
    "Yes. I love you, Andrew. And there has been no man in my life since you left mine all those years ago."

      "I know. Believe it or not, I was watching you. I couldn't show myself, but I was there."
 
    "I felt you, a few times. I don't think I was aware of it, but I remember several times, especially when it was late at night and I was feeling frightened by something, I knew that you or someone close to you was watching me. Making me safe."

     "There was always someone with you. Tess didn't approve at first, but Then she came to realize that true love knows no bounds. She was happy for us when she heard the news of you becoming an angel. Now, at least we can be together."
 
    "For eternity?" She asked, with tears in her eyes and a shy smile.

    "For eternity."

                                                                THE END
 
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