The lights on the tree were twinkling and the fireplace cast a soft glow over the room. Outside, snow was falling and the muffled sound of it hitting the windows only made the two angels inside feel that much warmer and more content. Cuddled up on the sofa, Monica was cradled against her husband’s chest and her eyes sparkled as she watched the fire leap and crackle.
Paul and Alex had retired early, feigning exhaustion from the busy day, but in truth they wanted to give the two angels a little bit of privacy. Over Thanksgiving, Monica had accidentally let it slip to Alex that she envied the life that the two agents shared together; the normalcy and stability that their house and the farm provided them with. It was something that had stuck with the woman and although she knew it was a small thing, she had told Paul that she wanted the two angels to be able to feel like the farm was theirs for Christmas. If that meant going to bed a little early, then so be it. Truth be told, the sly look in Paul’s eye had let Alex know that spending a little quality bedroom time with her was anything but a hardship.
As Andrew’s arms tightened around her Monica let out a tiny, contented sigh and smiled. "It’s been a wonderful Christmas," she said quietly, not wanting to break the peaceful mood.
"Our first as husband and wife," Andrew replied, "and the best I can remember… well, not counting the first one," he continued with a little wink.
That brought a laugh from Monica and the sound went right to his heart. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to hear that sound. He kissed the top of her head and sat up a bit, shifting so that he could reach behind the pillow he was leaning against. Monica looked at him with an adorable mixture of confusion and annoyance. She didn’t appreciate it when her pillow moved.
"What are you doing?"
"Just getting a little something," he said as he pulled his hand free. He held a small box wrapped in shiny red paper and tied with a slightly crumpled gold bow.
"Andrew?"
"Go on. It’s for you," he grinned as she just stared at it.
"You already gave me my presents. You shouldn’t have gotten me so much," she protested as she took the package.
"Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I wanted to," Andrew said, smiling as she held the box to her ear and gave it a little shake. "Monica, just open it," he continued with a laugh.
She looked up at him happily and then pulled the bow off and carefully placed it on the coffee table before slowly unwrapping the package, careful not to tear the paper. Andrew was fairly certain he was going to go insane before she finished opening it, but at last the paper was off and she was taking the lid off of the plain white box. There was red tissue paper inside and Monica pulled off the top layer to reveal what lay beneath.
Her eyebrows crinkled together as her fingertips brushed lightly over the ornate brass key before lifting it up and feeling it’s weight in her hand. "It…it’s beautiful, Andrew," she said, at a slight loss for words.
"It’s actually sort of a joint gift," Andrew said, ignoring Monica’s barely hidden confusion. "It’s from the Father and I."
"It is?" Monica asked, turning the key over and looking for some hidden meaning.
Andrew finally chuckled and closed his hands around hers. "Yes, angel. It’s the key to our house."
Her eyes grew wider than he had ever seen them, and the expression on her face was one he knew he would never forget. It was filled with disbelief and joy and pure love.
"Our house?" she whispered.
"That’s right. And if you are agreeable, we can go there right now."
She immediately nodded and closed her fingers tightly around the key, suddenly afraid it might disappear if she didn’t hang onto it. Then she flung her arms around Andrew’s chest and hugged him tightly. "I love you so much," she murmured, "and not just for this."
"I know, sweetheart. Now close your eyes."
She looked into his face once more before squeezing her eyes tightly shut, and before a heartbeat had passed they were standing, still wrapped in eachother’s arms.
"You can open your eyes now," Andrew said, and she didn’t need to see his face to know that he was smiling down at her.
She opened her eyes slowly, and nearly burst into tears when she saw where they were. "The cottage," she managed to say around the lump in her throat.
"I hope you don’t mind that you didn’t get to pick it out," Andrew said, sounding slightly worried. "I think that God would have let us decide on anywhere we wanted to be, but this place just felt right. We spent our honeymoon here and…"
"It’s perfect," she said, letting her tears fall. "Perfect… and you’re perfect, and I am the luckiest angel in the universe," she said as she flung herself against him.
He gently stroked her hair and felt her heartbeat against his. It was the feeling he loved most in the world. "Well, maybe second luckiest," he whispered. He held her tightly and waited for her emotions to calm down before speaking again. "I know it isn’t the same as what Paul and Alex have. We can’t come home here every night, and there may still be times when we’re apart… but this place is ours, Monica. Forever."
"Every time I think that you have made me happier than I could possibly be, you do something else to make me feel even more blessed," Monica said with awe in her voice.
"Well you do that every single day that we’re together, Monica, so I guess that’s only fair."
She looked around the room at the Christmas decorations that graced the room, and the fire crackling in the stone hearth. "I still can’t believe you did this… I can’t believe you even knew how much…" she looked up at him through misty eyes.
"I knew there was something missing, Monica, but Alex helped fill in the gaps," Andrew admitted.
Monica remembered back to Thanksgiving and their ride through the woods. He had been trying to make her tell him what was wrong and she had managed to distract him. Apparently not for long.
"I didn’t want you to feel bad just because I was being greedy," she said softly.
"Greedy? Monica you ask for so little from me and I want to give you the whole world!"
He led her to the sofa and they sat down in nearly identical positions to the ones they had been in at the farm. The lights were low and Andrew stroked her hair as he waited for her to speak.
"I know you want to give me everything," she said finally, "but you can’t always do that… and that doesn’t make me love you any less. Just having you hold me is all I really need."
"But look around, angel. This was something I could give you… and I’m so happy that I could. You were sad that we didn’t have a place to call home here on earth, and that doesn’t make you greedy. Please promise me that you’ll talk to me if something about our relationship is making you upset. Even if I can’t fix it, I want to be there for you to lean on. Better or worse, baby. Remember?"
She grinned and reached up to touch his cheek. "This is definitely part of the ‘better’," she said lovingly.
Bending his neck he caught her lips with his and kissed her gently. "The best," he murmured. "Just seeing your face when I told you what the key was for… I’ll treasure that moment forever. Sometimes I think that being able to make you happy is the greatest part of being married to you."
Monica’s eyes took on a little twinkle that was more than a reflection of the tree lights. "Oh it is, is it?" she said.
His eyes widened at her implication and then he chuckled low in his chest. "Well, maybe not quite the greatest."
She moved up his chest so that they were face to face and stared down into his deep green eyes for a long minute, memorizing the tiny flecks of gold within them, and they way she could see herself reflected in their dark centers. It struck her suddenly that she looked perfect when she saw herself though his eyes. Her heart ached pleasantly and she realized just how much more there was to their marriage than met the eye. A perfect union, mind, body, heart and soul.
Very slowly she lowered her head and softly pressed her lips to his. His mouth opened almost instantly but then their tongues slowly found eachother and the kiss continued on, long and languidly until they were both gasping for breath. Andrew's hands were tangled in her hair, and hers were gripping his shoulders tightly, desperate to feel his warm skin next to hers.
"What do you say we start making some memories, right here, right now," Andrew said with a crooked grin.
Her answer was another kiss and he quickly scooped her into his arms and carried her up the stairs to their bedroom. The covers were already pulled back and there were candles in the windows just like on their honeymoon. Monica let out a tiny sob when she saw them and then buried her face against Andrew's neck.
"I love you so much, Andrew. You're never going to forget that… right?"
"Never in a million years, angel," he whispered as he tenderly laid her down on the bed.
She was propped against the pillows and when he backed away she didn't move, except to follow him with her eyes. Very slowly, he undressed, watching her as he took his time doing what she normally broke speed records in. Her chest was moving up and down with every breath, and by the time he stood naked before her, her eyes were enormous and filled with passion. She held out one hand to him and he took it and held on tightly as he joined her on the bed.
"It looks like someone is a little overdressed," he commented as his eyes raked up and down her body hungrily.
She immediately moved to rip her clothing off, but he stopped her with a kiss and his hands around her wrists.
"Don't rush, baby. We have all night," his breath was hot against her ear and it sent a shiver running down her spine and straight to her core.
"I don't think I can wait all night," she replied with a gasp as he lowered one hand to fondle her breast through the red sweater she wore.
A moment later and he had pulled the sweater over her head and deftly removed her bra. "Luckily for you, neither can I," he smirked.
She started to giggle, but then his fingers were tweaking at her sensitive nipples and the little laugh turned into a moan. She reached up to draw him down for a kiss, and that was all it took to fully ignite the fire between them. They kissed hungrily, tongues snaking in and out of one another's mouths, breath hot and moist between them, and words of love constantly in their hearts.
Monica's small hands kneaded his shoulders and then worked their way down chest and then lower still until she was grasping him in both hands and stroking him with a purpose. His head snapped up and he groaned as he felt himself throbbing hard against her hands. Her name was on his tongue as he kissed his way across her jaw and up to her ear.
"You have no idea what you do to me," he growled. "you make me feel things I didn't even know existed." He didn't give her time to reply, but instead kissed her hard, tongue plundering her mouth as he felt her stroking him faster and faster.
He left her mouth and moved to her neck and then her shoulders, touching every inch of skin and ignoring the one hand that had moved back up to press against his shoulder in an attempt to direct him lower. A second later and she was talking again, but only murmurings really, repeated words of love and pleas to urge him on. The sound of her voice alone was an aphrodisiac and soon he was giving in to her demands and taking first one nipple into his mouth and then the other.
She started shaking her head from side to side when he slipped two fingers inside her hot center and stroked the soft spot just inside her entrance. He smiled against her breast when he felt her hand fall away from him as she tensed and arched into his hand. She was nearly gone and he brought her back from the edge slowly, and then inched his way down her body before she even knew what was happening.
"Andrew!" her cry filled his ears as he lapped at her already sensitive nub. She was so close and he knew it wouldn't take much to send her tumbling into oblivion.
"You don't want me to stop, do you?" he asked playfully.
"No!" she exclaimed, her dark eyes popping open and staring down at him.
"I didn't think so," he said with a smile and then carefully sucked the small ridge of flesh into his mouth and flicked at it with the tip of his tongue as he pushed his fingers into her all the way.
Almost instantly he felt her tighten around them and she called out his name as she shuddered against his hand and mouth. Barely giving her time to recover, he kissed his way up her body, ending with her mouth. He didn't know how he was managing to control himself other than the fact that watching her in ecstasy was such a joy to him. Very slowly he pressed into her yielding flesh, groaning at the feel of her, still shuddering with aftershocks.
Her hands on his face made him open his eyes, and the sight before him nearly brought tears to his eyes. She was smiling a perfect, contented smile, and her eyes were shining with tears.
"This is our first time in our house," she whispered. "The first of thousands of memories… and you're the one who's given that to me."
She pulled him closer and met his lips in a soul-touching kiss as she began to move against him, slowly at first and then faster.
"Monica…" he gasped as he broke from their kiss, "I can't hold back…"
"Then don't." Her fingers were running over his back, urging him on, and she moved faster and harder to match his rhythm.
All restraint was gone as he drove into her, moving closer and closer to completion with every whispered 'I love you' from his wife. Finally he reached between them and carefully rubbed his fingers over her still throbbing little nub. Her cry as she fell over the edge again was what pushed him over, and he gave himself over to her with a shout that was muffled against her soft shoulder.
They continued to move together as they slowly came back to earth, and Andrew rolled them both over so that she was lying on his chest, still joined together.
"Every time…" she whispered. "Every time is more perfect than the one before," she said, completely awestruck. "How is that possible?"
"Love, Monica… that's how." He brushed her damp bangs away from her forehead and kissed it tenderly. "Merry Christmas, wife."
"Merry Christmas, husband," she answered with a tired grin, and within minutes they had both surrendered to sleep.