Author's talking (so listen dammit):

Here's another one from me. I thought about this because even though a lot of CC takes place in a convent, and they're supposedly religious people, we never get to see any confessions. There aren't too many fics out there dealing with this either, so I decided to give it a shot. It's a good way to make stories centered around other characters than just C & R, and the confessional of the Magdalene order can indeed be an interesting place. Bear in mind I'm not a catholic myself (and hardly consider myself very religious), so if my confessions are a bit off, you now know why. Characters might be OOC too, but they kinda need to be for the story to work.

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Tales from the Confessional

By Shnoosh

Chapter 1 – Lust vs. Wrath

"Forgive me father, for I have sinned." The familiar words from inside the confessional came from a woman. "It has been a month since my last confession."

"And what does your heart need forgiveness for?" The baritone voice coming from the priest's side was slightly muffled.

"Are you alright, father?" She knew this priest's voice very well, and it sounded a bit... different somehow, as if it was clogged. "You sound a bit strange today."

"It's alright. I'm just recovering from a cold, and my voice hasn't returned fully to normal yet."

"Oh, okay..." The various priests had confessional-duty on different days, and she knew who had when. She used this to plan her own confessions, so she would always confess to the same priest. Father Abrams was a kind man, and even though the priests all took the same vow of silence, it gave her a sense of security, that it was always him who sat here with her, when she poured her heart and her sins out. It was a very ordered way of going to confession, but she was a very orderly nun.

"So," came the priest's voice once again. "What's on your mind?"

"Well, I became very angry with one of our exorcists." The nun took off her glasses and held them in her hands, which she rested on her lap. It made the world slightly more fuzzy. Not to the point where she couldn't see, but definitely enough so she wouldn't be able to read very well. "Rosette... trashed... another jalopy this week... that's five in this month alone, and the expenditures for her recklessness are only increasing. I think, I lost my temper completely, when I reprimanded her... I very nearly slapped her... In fact I had already lifted my hand to strike, and the only thing which stayed my hand... was that she appeared almost afraid... of me." She lowered her head a bit, slightly shameful of her own actions. "I don't want her to be afraid of me. It's just... so hard for me to control my anger around her... I mean she's a very nice girl, and she means well with her actions, and I know she's carrying a lot of pain with her, but sometimes... sometimes I just want too kick her out of the order... she's starting to cause greater damage than the demons I send her out to stop, and she always says that she will be more careful the next time, but she never is. I can even sense, that the populace of the city are actually beginning to become apprehensive about the order and what we're actually doing. If it gets much worse the council will probably force me to take drastic measures, and I just... I don't know what to do about it... she just won't listen to reason."

"Yes...Rosette can be very... costly... and taxing... and being patient with her can be quite the challenge." The priest answered, she could hear his sympathy for her situation, after all Rosette's 'maintenance cost' was getting quite infamous within the order. "Anything else...?"

"Yes..." Her voice began to quiver slightly. "I've had... thoughts... again..." She hesitated.

"And..." Sensing her reluctance the priest gently encouraged her to continue.

"Impure... thoughts... In fact... highly impure thoughts..." She could feel the adrenalin rush throughout her, as her cheeks changed color to deep red.

"I see..." Came the calming voice of the priest from the other side.

"It's about... a man..." The nun continued. "A man within our order... he's a militia class exorcist... one of our very best... Well, maybe even THE best..." Her lips formed into an embarrassed smile, he truly was a fantastic man.

"Go on..."

"Well, he's tall... handsome... gentle... honest..." She could feel that she was getting carried away, as her hands began to fidget with her glasses. But it was nice... letting it all out. "He's always calm, and it just feels like he has complete... control over everything he's doing, like he's almost incapable of acting rashly... or without sense." She again halted her voice, noticing that she was beginning to think about him again... think about him in that way.

"And this man... what do you think about... when you think about him?" The priest asked.

Oh, this was easy, her thoughts were already way ahead of the priest. Well, it wouldn't be easy for her to speak about it under normal circumstances, but inside the little stuffy room, she could get caught up in her own fantasy, and she only had to remove the barrier between her imagination and her voice, in order for it to flow out freely. "Well... he comes into my office... he doesn't have an appointment, so I ask him what he's doing here..." Her breathing became a tiny bit heavier. " He doesn't answer... simply looks... hungrily... at me... with his blue eyes... he comes closer to me and... then he says he's just here to see me... I don't know how to react to his stare... so I simply... wait... for him to do something..." She closed her eyes and bit her lip slightly. "then... he wraps his arm around my waist, and lifts me up to sit on the desk... he stares directly into my eyes and says... that he's been thinking about me... that he can't stop thinking about me... that he knows it's wrong... that he shouldn't be feeling this way... but he simply can't..." The sister swallowed heavily, making a gulping sound. "Control himself... that somehow I've made him... lose... that calm he carries with him always... I try to say something... to break free... to stop him... to tell him that he must get a hold of himself but... he drowns my words... in a... kiss... and..." She was almost lost in her thoughts now, her reason tried to tell her that she was a nun, and she shouldn't be feeling this way, much less blurting it all out, but her body told her, that she was a woman. A woman who was still young, as it was only last year she crossed the 30 year line, a woman whose desires had been repressed by the rules of the order and her own beliefs, a woman who most definitely could hear the ticking of her biological clock. "I simply... can't... resist... I start to touch him... and I stop caring about rules and regulations and sin and salvation... He touches me too... and I like it... He forces me to lie down on the desk, still kissing me... and I wrap my arms around his back and my legs around his waist... he throws all the paperwork, and even the phone on the floor... and starts to undress me... frantically... and then..." In that instant her reason snapped back into place, and she caught her own words before they had a chance to escape her lips. She was breathing heavier her face seemed to have heated up close to boiling point, her hands were sweaty and she had almost crushed her glasses. "Uh... I'm... I'm sorry... I know... It's very wrong..." Her voice was still shaken with excitement. Dammit! What was she, some sort of lovesick teenager? She should be able to control herself better than this, why did he... affect her like this...

"The sin of lust..." The priest still sounded calm. "Can be a very hard one to keep in check. Often it will spring to life within us, whether we want it to or not, and of course we must try to do our best to quell it, but..." The tone became a bit more serious. "We must always watch out not to get blinded by one sin alone and use all of our virtue to fight that single one. There are seven deadly sins, which all must be taken into account, and we cannot focus on only one..."

"But, father? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you seem preoccupied with having thoughts of lust, which is something we all have from time to time. But at the same time... you almost gave in... physically... to a much more severe sin... namely the sin of wrath."

He was right, she had completely forgotten... she had almost... hit... Rosette, and she didn't want to consider what the girl might have thought of her if she had. She actually really liked Rosette, despite her reckless behavior, and she didn't want the young exorcist to think too badly of her. A little fear was alright though, it made it easier to keep the wild nun in line. "So what... should I do...?"

"Be aware of every one of the sins, what's really dangerous is that they use each other in this way. Consider that we are under attack on seven fronts. If we deploy all of our defense in the fight against one we lose some or all of the others... knowing the balance in this fight is essential, because we cannot expect ourselves to be endlessly vigilant at all times. Sometimes we even have to allow ourselves to let go, otherwise we might end up unwillingly giving in to a much greater sin."

It did sound very reasonable, but the nun had never actually heard this before, always believed that every sin had to be fought back, but maybe nobody was strong or virtuous enough to actually do so, maybe she needed... to let go... if only just a little... "I think... I understand, father."

"Good." He continued by reciting part of the Roman absolution rite. "Through the ministry of the order may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

The words were well known to her, and they seemed to calm her a bit. "Amen."

"And do a single Rosemary decade, as it will help you in finding the right path to take."

"Only one...? That seems like awfully little." Came the nun's slightly surprised response.

"Well, you haven't truly committed any sins, merely thought about it."

"I see father, thank you."

"See you in a month?" The priest's voice was friendly and lighthearted.

"Yes father." She put on her glasses again and stepped out of the confessional. Maybe he was right... maybe she had been... repressing herself too much, and then taken her own frustrations out on Rosette. Well, her job was also quite the stressful one, she was the one in charge, and everything that went wrong was ultimately her responsibility, she could really use some way to relieve that stress...

Immediately her cheeks flushed brightly again, and she became very aware of the vast impurity of her own thoughts. Coughing nervously, in order to brace herself, the flustered head nun quickly corrected her attire, so she would look presentable, trying to calm her heated emotions.

And she had only just come out of the confessional...

She walked hurriedly down the aisle and out of the chapel, heading towards her office.

A few seconds after she had left, the door to the priest's side of the confessional opened, and out stepped a man in his mid-to-late twenties with blonde hair, blue eyes and a smile across his lips. He looked very pleased with himself. He pocketed the handkerchief he'd used to muffle his voice, and closed the door behind him. He had been aware of sister Kate's schedule, and had offered to take the seat in the confessional for about an hour around noon today, where he knew she would go to confession (she was very predictable once you knew her routines), allowing the assigned priest a break, which he had welcomed with gratitude. Father Abrams, who should be back shortly, was a nice man alright, but he didn't exactly posses great deduction skills. The blonde man had been curious for some time to hear what the head nun said during confession... and what a confession this had been...

His smile widened even further.

Tall, handsome.

He found it very hard to disagree with her on that.

Gentle.

Sure... he could be that... no problem.

Honest...

Ah well... three out of four wasn't so bad after all.

Ewan Remington began to walk out of the chapel whistling a merry tune. Man! Did he EVER hit the jackpot, when 'The Boss' assigned him to work within the Magdalene order.

Maybe he should drop by sister Kate's office now.

You know... just to say 'hi'.

THE END

Ladies and gentlemen... Playa Remington has just entered the game, so please review and tell me how you think he performed in this little fic.

Even though this is a oneshot, I don't consider it finished yet, since there HAS to be other confessions to write about, and I will update as soon as I get more ideas.