The Monster's Little Angel

Chapter 26

It was a dark night as Archer sat in his office, only now finishing up on some work - some of that work was legal and the other half not so much. He began to stack the rest of his papers when he looked up to see a picture of Monica. He smiled slightly at it, her face glowing with a bright smile on her pale pink lips.

In the photo Monica was wearing a pale yellow sun dress. Over the dress was a much darker yellow, cotton cardigan. Her blonde hair was straight and neat, her smile wide, and her cheerful grey eyes were sparkling. Lastly, in her hand, she was holding up a deep purple stick with baby blue tips on each end, with the word preg written in cursive, baby blue letters. The stick she was holding was nothing other than a pregnancy test - a big positive sign clearly showing on it.

The day that the picture was taken was on the day Monica told Archer that she was pregnant. And he remembered that day so well. I mean, how could he ever forget it.

Archer was peacefully sitting at his desk, on a warm, lazy Sunday morning. The sun was bright, birds were chirping away to their heart's content, and everything was just calm and perfect.

As he was about to finish up, his office doors slowly creaked open and Monica's head popped in through the door's gap. A warm and gleeful smile was plastered on her pale pink lips as she looked over at Archer.

"May I come in, Archie?" she asked, a hint of excitement in her tone.

Archer smiled at his wife's cheerful mood, wondering what had her so excited.

"Of course, come in my sweetheart," he replied, opening his arms for her to rush into them.

She gladly ran into his open arms, seating herself on his firm lap. She instantly placed her soft lips upon his rough ones, igniting a fierce passion in him. Archer immediately kissed back, placing his hands firmly on her hips. Monica wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling into the kiss.

Eventually, the two love birds split apart and Monica held up a deep purple stick. Archer stared at it in confusion, wondering what the heck his wife was showing him. He scanned over the strange stick, reading the baby blue cursive letters that spelt out Preg. He then looked over at the other side and noticed a big positive sign.

Archer looked up at his wife, eyes wide with realization while she smiled happily at his reaction. His throat went dry as he opened his mouth to ask the obvious question.

"Monica, i-is this a p-pregnancy test?" he asked, managing to get his words out.

Monica excitedly nodded her head as she replied, "Yes, you silly. What else could it be?"

Archer began to smile, which soon became a grin. And before anyone could stop him, he lifted Monica out of his lap, standing up in the process, and spun her round and round. Monica giggled at his actions, happy to know he was just as excited as she was.

Archer smiled at the memory, remembering every detail so vividly that he was sure that it would be a hard day to forget. But as the happiness of that memory clouded his mind, flashes of Monica's dead body came into his thoughts and soon the wonderful memory was replaced with hatred towards the man that killed her. . .

Edward.

Just the thought of him had Archer's blood boiling. His name was like a potent poison in Archer's mouth and he wanted nothing more than to spit it out - or better yet - make Edward pay for what he did. Not only did Edward kill his wife - the woman he loved with every fibre of his heart - but he also kidnapped and mentally scarred his daughter. It was hard to believe that him and his mortal enemy were ever childhood friends.

Archer laughed as Edward crashed his new red bicycle into a tree. They were only eleven years old and had been friends since kindergarden. The two of them were always up to some type of mischief and they were closer than brothers, despite not being related.

As Archer laughed at his friend's misfortune, Edward got up and started walking towards his friend, a little limp in his walk. The pained expression he wore was very noticeable and Archer immediately rushed to his friend's side.

"Are you okay, Eddie?" he asked with concern.

Edward looked at Archer as he placed Edward's arm over his shoulder and led him towards the house. "I don't think so. My foot really hurts. I think the bike fell on it or something." Edward answered, a hint of fear in his tone.

"Don't you worry Eddie, I promise everything will be just fine." Archer assured as he opened the back door and helped Edward inside.

Archer's blood was boiling with rage at the old memory. He cursed inside his mind how he should have just chained Edward to that stupid tree with his stupid broken foot and left him there to rot. How he could have trusted that shit head was beyond him.

Just as he was about to yell out in rage, he felt something gently paw at his foot. He looked down to see Major scratching his paw against his foot. He then looked up to see Quinn standing at his door, comfortably clothed in her pajama top and cotton shorts.

"Dad, what are you still doing up? It's already past midnight," she stated, walking over to her father.

Archer smiled warmly at her as he quickly stacked the last of his papers and stood up, petting Major on his head in the process. "I was just about to go to bed. The question is, what are you doing up young lady?" he teased.

"I was getting water when I saw Major moaning in front of your office door. The door was closed so I knew you were still in there and decided to check on you," Quinn replied.

"Let's just both go to bed. I'm sure we're both tired right now." Archer smiled as he placed his hand on the small of Quinn's back and then began to lead her out of his office and up to her room with Major following close behind.