Trixie tilts her head as she silently observes Sister Hilda. In the years she has known her the Sister has always been bubbly, and witty. For months she's fallen uncharacteristically quiet, and subdued.

"I had hoped I could chalk up all of this to the strain of our work. Somehow the look in your eyes tells me that it is not that simple."

Sister Hilda exhales. "Follow me. There is something you should see."

Trixie's anxiety rises as she follows her friend, and colleague through the hallways of Nonnatus. In the safety of the Sister's quarters Trixie's heart races as Sister Hilda takes a seat at the desk.

"I find that some things cannot be cleansed from our souls with prayers, or hymnals. The weight of omission is an albatross that I can no longer carry on my own."

Trixie's heart races as her colleague places a familiar object in her palm. Her throat suddenly feels dry, and her eyes threaten to betray her as she carefully considers the weight of vows her colleague has taken. The room is enveloped in silence as Sister Hilda removes pieces of her ensemble. The moments pass like entire centuries.

Trixie prays her powers of observation fail. A familiar object leads to a routine assessment, and a troubling conclusion. Trixie places the object on the desk in front of her colleague. She crosses the room, and takes a seat on the end of the bed. She chews on her cuticle as Sister Hilda reapplies her tunic.

"I had desperately hoped my training, and assessment were wholly inaccurate, and even perhaps delusional."

Trixie meets her glance, "I assure you they are not. The answer to my question only leads me to further questions."

"The answers that I can offer are completely inadequate."

Trixie stares at the wrinkles etched into Sister Hilda's face. A pair of blue eyes fixate on plain, sensible shoes.

"I cannot be naïve enough to say this is a miracle, can I?"

"No," Sister Hilda shakes her head.

"Nor, can I, knowing you lend credence to you being a willing participant in the matter. Though my faith in humanity desperately wishes you are only human, and I am erring in my line of thinking."

Trixie is met with silence. She purses her lips as she searches for the right thing to say. Except the right thing in this situation fails to exist.

"Trixie, please say something."

"I want to ask when, and how, but those answers are increasingly obvious."

"Yet everything I know seems to be in question."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"To who? When? This is not a subject I wished to discuss. Quite frankly it was one I was not even willing to think into existence for some time."

"There are some things that even years of training cannot make you numb to."

"Not when you are experiencing them from the inside out."

"What are you going to do?" Trixie asks bluntly.

"My faith, and my rationale have offered little illumination on the subject."

"I see."

"Also I am fairly certain that Sister Monica Joan has known for some time."

"Some days she doesn't even know what she knows."

"Yet there are some things that cannot escape her. I had hoped this would escape me. I am by no means a spring chicken. I had hoped the lack of odds for such an event were in favor of showing mercy upon me."

"At some point, I am going to postulate sooner, rather than later you are going to have to bring yourself to terms with this."

"There are some sins even this tunic cannot conceal."

Trixie envelopes Sister Hilda in a hug, "But they are not your sins to hide, are they?"

"No. Even though I certainly feel enough guilt, and shame to tell me otherwise."

"Why didn't you come to one of us?" Trixie releases Sister Hilda from her grips, "When this happened?"

"And re-traumatize all of you? It hardly seemed like a tale that needed to be retold."

"We failed to protect Cynthia."

"At this point it is really neither here, nor there," Sister Hilda points out.

"I think the life that is preparing to join us in the months to come would beg to differ."

Sister Hilda falls silent. Trixie searches her face. Her heart rate quickens as her fingers once again wrap around the pinard horn. She listens intently. Her heart sinks deep into the pit of her stomach.

"Even if you can't bring yourself to tell anyone else at this point you need to see Doctor Turner."

"I'm not sure I…"

"I will go with you."

"But not today."

Trixie nods in agreement, "Okay."

"We should return to our inventory before someone notices we have abandoned it."