Okay, so I'm kind of not a Catholic— not sure what I am, to be honest... I was never raised with any religion... anyway. I used Wikipedia and what I've learned on TV to describe both the church, and how the confessional went (you'll understand what I mean when you read this chapter), so if I get anything majorly wrong, I apologise. Tell me and I'll try to fix it.

And sorry about how off-topic this chapter goes, too! It's a little different than my usual stuff, centering around Adriana, an OC. But I need us to get to know her a little more before I give her a real plot, right? So.... yeah.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Assumptions

Adriana stopped dead in her tracks, hand raised to knock on Dr. Cavanaugh's office door. She heard her colleague's voice; she was on the phone, or in the middle of a meeting. She lowered her hand and looked at the file held under the opposite arm. She supposed that the file could wait. She turned to go, but what startled when she heard Jordan, "Well, kinda, yeah!" loudly through the door.

She froze. She hadn't intended to eavesdrop, it just sort of... happened. She deduced from what she heard of the conversation (Jordan's half, that is) that they were talking about having children. She was listening to a very private conversation! And yet she couldn't make her feet move. She knew as well as everyone else that Jordan was marrying Detective Hoyt; and she figured that was who she was talking to until she heard her exclaim, "James!" in a scolding manner.

She listened for another half a minute before turning around and walking as fast as her feet could carry her back to her desk. Luckily for her, neither Bug nor Nigel was in the Bullroom to see her slam the file noisily down on her desk and flop into her chair, eyes wide with worry and guilt.

She'd missed a lot of the conversation, but had picked up on several key words; 'pregnant,' 'avoiding,' 'procreation' and 'inevitable' being ones she was sure of. She also knew that Jordan was talking to someone named James.

"Oh. My. God!" she said rather loudly as she came to her own conclusions on what was being talked about over the phone in Dr. Cavanaugh's office. There was only one conclusion that someone could come to! Jordan was pregnant... and it wasn't Detective Hoyt's baby!

And so Adriana was cursed with the secret. An hour later (after three cups of coffee, two rationalizations and a lengthy argument with herself in her head) Adriana finally felt brave enough to bring the file (an autopsy report she needed Dr. Cavanaugh to look over for her) back to Jordan's office. She knocked politely and entered, handed her the file and asked if Jordan could read it over for her.

"Yeah, sure," Jordan agreed, giving Adriana a small smile. Adriana did not smile back. She just turned on her heel and left stoically, trying her hardest not to blurt out that she knew that Jordan had been unfaithful and was paying the price.

She was breathing hard when she got back to her desk, and was nearly in tears. She had never been good at keeping secrets; and this was not an easy one to keep! Adultery... she shuddered. One of the Ten Commandments had been broken by her colleague. She was raised a Catholic, and though she was not as religious as her parents, she still agreed with the Ten. Some things were old fashioned, but cheating on one's spouse was one thing she found absolutely unacceptable. And cheating on one's spouse-to-be was just... honestly, it was cruel.

She'd met Detective Hoyt in passing. She didn't know him well, but had heard that he was a kind man and a caring one. He was good-looking and had beautiful dimples when he smiled. He strived for justice, and always closed his cases. Why would anyone jeopardise marrying such a good man? Jordan had never seemed like the type to do such a thing; but Adriana didn't know her all that well.

Bug's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Are you alright, Dree?" He used the affectionate nickname he used to use when they were kids and he babysat for her and she was upset. Adriana looked up at him, wide-eyed, but close-lipped. She was afraid of accidently letting the secret slip out.

He sighed, and gave her an apologetic look. "Come, Dree... it's nothing to be ashamed of. It all happens to us sooner or later— well, technically at the same time, but— never mind." She had no idea what he was talking about. "When I turned thirty, I felt like my life was over..."

Of course! Her birthday. Of course Mahesh still remembered that her birthday was tomorrow, even after all these years, and even though she herself had almost forgotten. Thirty! She wasn't afraid to turn thirty. It was just another chapter to her life to begin. He obviously thought she was upset about her age.

He was still talking. "But, really... some of the best things happen after you turn thirty! I met Lily when I was thirty. It's not the end of being a twenty-something... it's the beginning of being a more knowledgeable and mature person." She nodded, attempting a smile.

Seemingly satisfied with his comforting of her, Bug went to his desk and pulled a clear container of annelid-like creatures squirming around their damp prison out of his desk drawer. She got up from her desk and quickly wrote a note that she was going out to lunch— she hadn't taken hers yet— and left the Bullroom. She slipped the note under Dr. Macy's door and left the morgue in a hurry, not stopping to say hello to Emmy or Lily as she passed them.

She went to the garage and got in her car, then proceeded to drive around the still slightly unfamiliar city until she found herself outside a church. Perfect, she thought, wondering why her aimless driving had led her here. She debated whether or not to go inside; the place look friendly, so she pulled into a parking space and put a couple quarters in the meter.

She sighed, walking into the nearly-empty church. There was a man in the back right corner, his head bent forward as he muttered words of prayer. She was past him silently, then hovered by the front pew uncertainly. She was once again startled by a voice addressing her.

"You look lost," said the friendly voice. She turned around and saw the man speaking. He was a priest, older than her by a few years, with dark hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing a small smile, and laugh lines in the corners of his eyes that made him look kind, but wise.

"I..." Adriana paused. "I don't come here, I'm sorry, I just... I had no other place to go." Her voice sounded feeble to her own ears. Sad, and worried, and pained. The priest nodded.

"That's alright." He smiled at her warmly. "Our doors are always open to newcomers." He gestured to a confessional. "Do you wish me to lend you my ear?" Adriana nodded eagerly. She really needed to get her secret off her chest.

She got into the confessional and kneeled, head bowed slightly. The priest opened the little slider so that there was only screen between them. Adriana sighed.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned," she started, letting the words come naturally. "I eavesdropped on a private conversation by accident today. I didn't mean to overhear, but what I learned was awful— and hard to keep to myself. But I don't want to spread rumours or tell anyone my friend's secret, but I fear I may have to lie to people I love and respect in order to keep it."

"Eavesdropping is never a good idea," sighed the priest, "It only makes the heart heavy and never does much good to anyone. Tell me, what did you overhear that was so horrible that you felt the need to come to a church?"

"A friend of mine is getting married, and I heard her talking to a man on the phone that was not her fiancé. They were talking about... I mean, I think..." Adriana paused. "I heard some things that lead me to the conclusion that my friend might be pregnant... and that her fiancé is not the father."

"You believe that your friend has committed adultery, and you feel guilty about knowing this?"

"Yes, Father. I don't want to lie to protect it, but I know that my friend's fiancé is a good man, and I feel horrible. I practically lied to my best friend, too, by letting him think that I was upset about my birthday tomorrow, because I'm turning thirty. I didn't actually say that, but I still feel badly about it."

"You can't be sure that what you overheard was the truth, but even if it was, you have no obligation to lie for your friend. If you feel that strongly over it, I suggest you talk to her."

"Yes, Father." This priest was a lot more easy-going than most she had met. He didn't tell her to say ten Hail Mary's and ten Our Father's as another priest would. He was actually thinking about her problem.

"God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church 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," recited the priest. He paused for a moment before saying, "Though I'm not sure you actually committed one. You didn't actually lie to your friend, and as far as I'm aware, eavesdropping isn't a sin unless it was intentionally violating the privacy and trust of another person." He paused again. "I never really thought about it."

Adriana almost felt like laughing. Never before had she met a priest who was so easy-going. She felt nice talking to him, and wasn't sure she had even committed a sin anymore. If a priest said your sin might not even be a sin, why should you think that your sin was a sin?

"Uh... thank you, Father." She smiled, feeling much better about the whole thing after having talked about it with someone. "I should really have talked to my friend when I found out what I found out. I may have been mistaken, too, since I only heard one side of the conversation— I appreciate you taking me when I don't even belong to this church."

"No problem at all, ma'am. St. Inez welcomes all who seek guidance."

"You know, I like it here. Maybe I'll come back on Sunday."

"I'll keep a look out for your face in the crowd."

The priest even walked her to her car. She smiled and waved good-bye, then drove back to the morgue, feeling much, much better. All she really needed was to talk about it, get it off her chest. Sighing, she parked and entered the building, ready to get back to work.

In the hallway, she passed Nigel who smiled and winked at her as he always did. She found out soon enough not to be offended or think he was up to something; Bug had told her that was just his way of saying hello. She scurried off to her desk and he entered Dr. Macy's office.

"Dr. M., I need some time off," Nigel said, closing the door behind him. Garret looked up from his paperwork and took off his reading glasses. "You see, I need to fly to England... can I take a week?"

"Why do you need to fly to England?"

"My father's dying." Garret's eyes softened, and he gave Nigel a sympathetic look. "It's cancer. He wants me to say good-bye. Plus I need to tell him and my brother about Kate, and it'd be a good idea to do that in person..."

"Sure. Take as long as you need, Nigel," Garret interrupted, "But I expect all your paperwork to be up-to-date when you get back." He said the last part jokingly, while still keeping the kindness in his voice as best as he could. Nigel nodded, grinning.

"Thanks, Dr. M." He stopped then bit his lip. "I really appreciate it."