After checking Mt Bethel's exact location in the atlas, Donna transported herself there. It wasn't long after that before she found St Pat's and was walking into the sanctuary.

Though she felt very weird about doing so...she hadn't been in any church in almost a year. Before she'd found out she had magic, let alone before everything had gone to hell and back with her mother and...Tompkins.

She'd be lucky if this Flanagan didn't throw her out the minute he heard about how she'd spent the last seven months or so...but she had to try.

She looked around the room, seeing no one at first she slipped into a back pew and sat down, wishing she didn't feel like she was committing some terrible sin just by being here. She tried to pray but she'd forgotten how.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, back in Tampa

NT had tried to sleep when Ariel suggested it but she couldn't.

She caught wind of the recent notes from Donna and decided to do something about it. It just wasn't safe to let Donna go transporting all over the globe without some kind of protection, and NT didn't like that she had felt so out of place that she had to run to another location.

One quick moment, and NT had entered the church at Mt. Bethel.

Looking around, she saw Donna way at the back, head down, probably trying to pray.

NT could sense the desolation in her, and she knew all too well what that was like.

Creeping silently down the aisle, NT made it to the back and sat down right next to Donna.

Tapping her on the shoulder, she said, "I'm sorry if you're feeling neglected - I didn't mean to, you know. It's just that I'm upset about my missing friends and we don't need you going missing either you know. if you were feeling this left out or out of place you should've told me sooner. You know I'd let you hold Mia any time you want, and nobody wants you leaving even if there's a lot going on right now, OK?"

Donna nodded. "I know. I just...I have to talk to somebody who--who isn't already mixed up in this, you know? And I'm not running off like Miranda did, I'll be back at your mother's right after this." she whispered back.

* * * * *

At St Pat's...

Uri glanced at the clock. _It's at least an hour before confession,_ he said to himself, and decided that he had better check the source of the voices. He looked out the side door and saw two girls sitting in the back, talking. He hung up the albs, then strolled toward the back of the church.

"Good afternoon, ladies," he said, as kindly as he could. "Welcome to St. Pat's. Can I help you with something?"

The younger appearing of the two girls spoke up. "I'm here looking for Father John Flanagan."

"Oh! He mentioned something about someone coming for him. I'm Father Sanchez, but you can call me Uri. Why don't you two follow me?"

He walked toward the front of the church, with Donna and NT following closely behind. As he climbed the altar stairs, the girls stopped and looked at each other.

"Come on, it's OK. Jesus doesn't bite," he said, grinning widely.

They followed him as he retraced his steps across the courtyard. He opened the back door of the rectory and held it for them. "After you, ladies."

The girls walked in the door, faced the stairs, then looked at each other and Uri. "Right up the stairs and to your left," he said. They seemed reluctant to move. "We don't bite, either," he said, walking around them and leading them up the stairs.

Uri led them into the living room. "Flan? You got visitors."

As they followed Father Uri, Donna whispered to NT, "I've just got to talk to Father Flanagan and..." she swallowed, "NT, maybe you'd better go back and tell your mother and Ameh I'm okay. I...I don't want you getting too upset and when I s-start talking about...about everything..." she bit her lip.

Flan saw the girls standing there behind Uri and smiled. He had been expecting someone a bit older. He dogeared the page he was reading and helped himself up to his feet with his cane. "Hello! One of you is Donna, and one of you isn't. Have I got that right so far?"

"I'm Donna, and this is NT." Donna managed a slight smile at that, though it didn't last. "I...just wanted to talk. I haven't been to church in a long time and..." she trailed off, wanting to continue but not sure how.

"Haven't been to church in a long time, dear? You don't have much of a long time not to have been to church." Flan smiled, and noted the confused look on the three faces looking at him. "Oh, never mind. Make yourselves comfortable, ladies. Uri, why don't you see what we've got out in the galley?"

Uri smiled and went off to the kitchen.

Flan lowered himself into his chair. "Now, Donna, dear, and was it NT?" The other girl nodded. "Nothing you say will go beyond the four walls of this room. You may share anything you want with me, and I promise that I'll just sit here and listen. I may ask you some questions, but that's only because I want to understand your situation fully. I'm not going to make any judgements about you as a person; as far as I'm concerned, you're a lovely young woman with a lot on her mind. All right?" He smiled.

Donna nodded at Flan, then reached over and took NT's hand, patting it reassuringly. "NT...knows all about this, so I'm ok with her being here, if she thinks she can stand to hear it again." she sighed. Then Donna took a deep breath. "I guess where I ought to start is about a year ago--just after I turned thirteen that is. That's when I realized I was different...that I had what I guess you'd call magic. I can find things--or people. If you've lost something or you're looking for someone...I can sort of see where it is. Anyway, I was still trying to figure out why this was happening to me when...when Mom got arrested. They said she'd killed someone--her boss, to keep him from turning her in for stealing money. She admitted she'd taken the money--to pay off loan sharks--but she hadn't killed anybody. They were about to put her on trial for murder and...and it was looking like she'd get the--the death penalty...when... when *he* showed up." Donna's eyes filled with pain at this memory. "His name's Tompkins. Nathan Tompkins."

Donna glanced worriedly at NT, watching to see how the other girl took even mentioning that name. She herself felt sick but she had to get through this, she had to.

"He said he, he had heard about the case, and thought Mom was getting railroaded. He had friends, he said, people who could find out things...and they did and he got her cleared of the murder charge. But she still had to serve time for the embezzlement and that's when...that's when he said I could come live with him till she got out."

Donna sniffled, trying to keep back tears. What was coming was the worst part and it was going to be hell not only for herself but NT. She took another deep breath and made herself continue. "He got himself appointed my legal guardian. Actually both of them did--him and a woman named C-Christine Benson," she almost spat the name out as if it were poison, "his business partner, they said she was. Though I wasn't there very long b-before I could see there was more to it than *that*."

Donna rubbed at her eyes, burning now with the tears she was trying not to shed. "I hadn't been there but a couple of days when...when he said I had to, to pay him back for getting my m-mother off. I had to...do things for him. And then...with him. And her too."

Then the whole sordid story poured out in a rush, months of sex abuse and torture and being involved in kidnappings and a slew of other crimes.

"And now...now tomorrow...I have to go into a c-court and testify about all this. They're bringing my m-mother in too...and she d-doesn't know what he did to me yet. I don't know how I'm going to get th-through that, w-without l-losing it..." and she burst into sobs. "I d-don't even know if...you can stand to l-look at me now." she wept to Flan. "T-Tompkins did all this why am *I* the one who f-feels so d-dirty like I'll never be c-clean again--I t-tried to p-pray out there just now and I c-couldn't...God p-probably doesn't want anything to do with me now I ought to be locked up along with Tompkins and Benson and I..."

Her voice broke completely and she dissolved into helpless sobs. The more NT tried to calm her, the worse she felt and the more she cried, she didn't deserve all this kindness.

Flan felt terrible as he watched the young girl in tears. He struggled slightly as he stood up from his chair, and picked up a box of tissues from the corner of the table. He brought them over to where Donna was sitting and sat down beside her, putting his arm around her.

"It's OK, dear," he said calmly. "You're with friends here." He said a silent prayer for her, and for himself.

Over a few minutes, she composed herself, and Flan offered her tissue. She dried her eyes and blew her nose.

"You poor kid," he said. "You've been through Hell, haven't you?" She nodded. "Honey, I understand how you feel. I've heard stories like yours far more times than I really care to say, and every young boy and girl that's told them has felt just like you do--dirty, disgusting, inhuman. But God never sees you as anything but beautiful. You are His child, Donna. He doesn't want you to be hurt, or to feel badly about yourself. He loves you. And so do I, and so do a lot of people.

"God wants to be there for you tomorrow, dear. He wants you to tell your story, to bring the truth to light. God hates lies, and violence done to young girls, and people taking advantage of others, and His Justice is swift and absolute. It thrives on the truth. People like this Tompkins character and this Miss Benson, they want you to believe lies. Lies about yourself, lies about your mother, lies about the way the world operates. The truth can't hurt you, dear, but it will hurt them."

"There's more to this than that, I know. You have been terribly abused and have come to believe the worst about yourself. And it just isn't true. I don't think you're disgusting; I think you're very beautiful, very intelligent and very talented. And God thinks so, too. After all, He created you and He doesn't make garbage. Once you're done with your testimony, you need to find help. You need to find someone who will listen to you and help you deal with what's happened to you, and to help you see the truth about yourself. I'm willing to help as much as I can. Will you let me?"

NT nodded as Flan spoke, and she began to relax. Maybe, hopefully now Donna would understand what she had been trying to tell her now that it was coming from someone with many more years of living than either of the girls had. If anybody could get through to Donna and help her realize she wasn't a piece of junk, this wise man could.

NT had fought to keep from exploding when Donna had recounted all she had been through with Nathan, and she'd tried so hard to tell Donna that she wasn't worthless and vile and all that, Nathan and Christine were at fault for everything, but it was as if Donna hadn't heard her and only cried harder and harder. How NT hated what this was doing to Donna, and if Christine or Nathan had been there, there would no doubt have been a scene.

Tears spilled down NT's cheeks as Donna sobbed, and NT didn't know how to make the pain go away. Unable to reach Donna, or haul off and slug Nathan and/or Christine, NT could only pray for God to get Donna and everybody else through this.

Then Flan had approached and comforted Donna, and NT made way for him and watched hopefully as he calmed the poor destraught girl with both his loving arms and kind words.

When he had spoken, and Donna calmed down a great deal, NT nodded and reached out to put a hand on Donna's shoulder. "He's right, Donna," she said quietly.

Donna sniffled as she felt NT's hand on her arm, and looked up at her and Flan. "I...I want to b-believe that...I want to..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "But I...I can't even p-pray anymore. I've f-forgotten how...I used to, those first weeks...I'd cry, beg, *plead* for God to...to let me die or...or take them. Just so it wouldn't hurt any more or I w-wouldn't have to keep hurting other people. But it n-never happened it never stopped...why? If God c-cares so much--if he loves so much...why?"

She took a deep breath, trying not to lose control again, she knew this was as hard on NT as it was on her.

Flan leaned against his cane and thought for a minute. "You know, Donna, there was a time that I thought I understood why God allows such terrible things to happen in the world. The only reason that I can fathom now is that He allows them to happen so that we understand just how much we need Him in our world, to watch over us, to call on Him when it seems that life is so terrible.

"Sin is a form of slavery. You were forced to do what you did; I'm sure that you would never have chosen to do those things out of your own free will. No, you were forced against your will. And yet, you came here today of your own will, which is a good sign. God has led you here out of the terrible things that have happened in your life, so that you will once again be free.

"And that's what you have to hope for yourself and for everyone concerned. Your testimony tomorrow will be a sign that you are no longer willing to be a slave to sin, but to be a free person in Jesus Christ. It is a sign that you choose life over death, good over evil. No matter what's happened before, Donna dear, God loves you and wants you to be happy. Can you believe that?"

Donna nodded, though she had stopped crying for the most part, her voice was still ragged and shaky. "Yes." she whispered softly. "I'm trying to, I really am. I remember...I remember how I used to feel in a church...that peaceful feeling, and the...the priest would t-talk about God's love the way you did. Only then I'd feel...something. Like I knew it was there. I...c-came here...hoping I'd find that again."

She took a deep breath, and managed a weak smile. "I think...I did, just for a minute, while you were talking. I think that's...that's what I needed to hear." She reached over and gave Flan a hug. "It's not...it's not going to be easy getting through these next f-few days. Like I s-said Mom d-doesn't know yet...about all of this. And not only that...*they'll* be there too. Tompkins and Christine. God help me not to lose it when I look at those two and their damned sneering faces--" she caught herself and looked apologetically at Flan. "I'm sorry I shouldnt've said that."

Flan smiled and chuckled. "That's quite all right, dear. I'm sure God will forgive what you say under duress. If not, I know a lot of people who are in trouble, myself included.

"Tell me, dear, is there something that I can do for you to help you over the next couple of days? I'll certainly pray for you and remember you in my Masses, and have the community here keep you in their prayers, but would anything else help?"

Donna sighed. "I...I don't know. Maybe just...is it okay if I came back here and we could talk some more? There's a, a lot of things I'm still trying to sort out."

Flan smiled. "Donna, my door is always open, and when you're here, you're family. That would make a pretty good marketing slogan, wouldn't it?"

The girls looked at him, and one another, confused.

"Never mind," he said. "I guess that means you're on your way for now?"

Donna sniffled and then nodded. "Thank you..." she whispered softly, a wan but warm smile on her face. Then on an impulse she stepped forward and gave Flan a hug. "Just...thank you." she said again.