It was the first week of Advent, and it was busy inside the sanctuary of the church. All the ministers' families, were busy decorating the sanctuary with Christmas decorations, with the entrance to the worship room adorned with a large open chest with an open call for a toy drive.

With Kaitlyn and Alex busy taking care of the babies in the families, the speaking children were talking to each other about their plans for the holidays. The ministers, for their part, were deciding how the Christmas Eve service would be planned and who would be giving the sermon ... they weren't sure how they would top the one given by Samantha and Ashleigh the previous year, which set the congregation on fire.

At about three in the afternoon, a phone was ringing. Ruthie pulled her phone out, It was Annie.

"Hi Mom, what's up?" asked Ruthie.

"Just wanted to see how you and the other parents are doing," said Annie.

"We're all good," said Ruthie, "and the kids are fine. How's the home front?"

"Well, let's see," said Annie. "Lucy and Roxanne are looking into adopting a child together. My grandchildren are as rambunctious as ever. And me ... well, I had a mammogram this week. It came back negative, but for a woman my age, an annual scan is mandatory."

"I'm only 32, and don't have risk factors," said Ruthie, "but Hope and Felicity are both 43. They had their first scans earlier this year. I can understand their pacing back and forth while they were waiting on the results. They both came up negative, too, but they know it's something they'll have to do every year for the rest of their lives. They don't like it, especially the pain, but they want to live to see their babies make it to eighteen, at least."

"Do you self-examine?" asked Annie.

"I shower every day ... I check once a week," said Ruthie. "If I thought I had a lump, even a small one, I'd make an appointment ASAP. I don't want to die on my kids for that ... all five of them."

"I've been meaning to ask this," said Annie, "but you put a lot of trust in Felicity in letting her have primary custody of the four children you have with Peter. I know about the stunt Heather and James pulled earlier this year. That must have been a shock. Did you agree with how Felicity handled it?"

"Definitely," said Ruthie. "I would have done pretty much the same, except I would have grounded them for a couple months longer, over the summer holidays. But I can tell you, Mom, since then, my daughter and son have been very well behaved. They love Felicity, but they also respect her. And they've helped her more with the household duties, they've even helped with the preparation of meals. They learned their lesson, and I'm proud of them. Okay, Mom ... what's the situation with Dad?"

"Well, he's spending three days a week with Tiffany and Wanda," said Annie. "I guess Tiff's parents have finally made peace and have agreed to do everything they can for their daughter. I'm still trying to get over the fact Eric has a daughter that isn't mine. But Tiffany has a lot of spunk. I've been asked to babysit on the nights Eric and Wanda go out together, alone."

"Wait a minute," said Ruthie. "They're actually dating?"

"I'm not sure what's with those two," admitted Annie, "but if they're trying to be friends, I'd say good for them. If they decide they want to be intimate, it's none of my business, but I hope they have an exclusive relationship. I still haven't really forgiven him for being a womanizer, and I hope he's learned from his irregular path."

"You committed adultery too, Mom," pointed out Ruthie. "Don't be the pot calling the kettle black."

"I'm not!" said Annie. "Yes, what I did was wrong, just like when I fooled around when you were seventeen. But it's a learning experience. I guess I did it because I was fed up with him. Something tells me you would have cheated on Peter even if you didn't find out he was fooling around with Felicity. And it would have been with any woman. If Lisa hadn't given you the opportunity, you would have found someone else. Maybe a lesbian member of the choir."

"You're right," admitted Ruthie. "But that weekend with Lisa was my awakening. The sex was great ... but she is so beautiful, and how she managed to put her life back together after being raped in her, what was it, 11th grade ... well, I couldn't help but be attracted just for that reason. Well, Lucy and I married her and Brigitte last year, and from everything I've seen since then, they are very happy as a married couple. I'm glad things turned out the way they did ..."

At that moment, three people walked into the sanctuary. Ruthie recognized the teenager as Charlotte. She presumed the adults with her were her parents.

"Um, sorry, Mom, can I call you back? A few congregants popped in here, and I think they need help with something."

"Of course, Ruthie," said her mother. "Your work always comes first."

As soon as Ruthie hung up, she walked up to the family. They looked dishevelled.

"Guys," said Hope, "you look terrible! What happened?"

"Our house was firebombed," said Charlotte. "All we have are the clothes we are wearing, and six data sticks where we back up our files on a daily basis. But we have nothing left."

"We need some more details," said Shelby. "Mr and Mrs Bakerson, I'm sorry this happened, but we need to know what led up to this, so I, as Senior Pastor, can know how we can help you."

"About two hours ago, I got a phone call from a creepy person," said Charlotte. "They gave me all sorts of anti-trans slurs. But then, they called me by my dead name ... and that a bomb had been planted. We had two minutes warning. Dad grabbed our cell phones and chargers and put them into a tote bag. Mom grabbed the data sticks and put them in her purse. I grabbed my purse, and we ran out. Thirty seconds after we exited, our house blew up, and several neighbouring houses had their windows blown out."

"Have you called the police?" asked Peter.

"Sure," said Mrs. Bakerson. "I told them to meet us here. Reverend Connor, Major Connor, I'm not sure what we should call you ..."

"Shelby," said Shelby. "We're all on a first name basis, unless there's a reason why we have to use our professional titles."

"Okay, Shelby, thank you," said Mrs. Bakerson. "We need a place to stay until we can find a temporary house."

Heather and James were about to suggest they try a long term stay hotel, one that was like an apartment with was once known as "efficiencies." But it occurred to both that that was the first place terrorists would look, to finish their stated mission to murder Charlotte.

"Well, this is something we don't advertise," said Rod, "but in the basement of the church, next to our offices and the executive chapel, we have a few apartments for people in danger, Mostly women and children who are running from domestic situations and need a safe place until they find an alternative space. We can open up a couple of them for you. One for you parents. One for Charlotte. We'll make sure you get fed, as long as you agree to attend services, which you have anyway. That will last two weeks. Hopefully, that will be long enough for things to settle down, after which we can put you in one of our safe houses downtown, near our downtown campus. And you can stay there rent free until your house is rebuilt."

"That is way too kind of you," said Mr. Bakerson, "but thank you. Just give us our keys. We won't disturb your other guests, unless they want the company."

"I just have one question," said Rita. "How on earth did they find out your dead name? I thought when you change the sex on your birth certificate, the original records are destroyed."

"On the public record, yes," said Felicity. "But there are backups. And you just grease the right palm in Vital Statistics, and you'll get what you want. It's not as if Charlotte was in the closet all these years. She came out as a girl at four. This would be a known fact, so a bad actor would work from there."

She turned to Charlotte.

"This isn't your fault, Charlotte," she said. "Nothing justifies terrorism. And we won't tolerate any of our congregants being bullied. You're welcome to stay. In fact, if Shelby is alright with it, I think we should let you stay up to, and over, the Christmas holidays. We like you all."

Shelby thought about it.

"You're right," she said. "We'll let you stay until January 15."

"Thank you," said Charlotte. "Just one thing ..."

"Yes?" asked Tamara.

"Brenda is on her way to Saint Louis. She's concerned about me and wants to spend the weekend with me to make sure we're safe. Can she stay in my unit?"

"Sure," said Rod. "But you're fiancées, and not married yet. So while she's here, no sex. Shel and I know you two are intimate, Rita told us that, and we don't mind you are, but we don't want to disturb the other families staying here. After all, they're escaping sexual violence. But other than that, she's more than welcome. Oh, I see the police are here. Over here, officers. This is Charlotte Bakerson, the target of the attack. These are her parents. They're prepared to make a statement."

As the family was taken aside to be interrogated, Ruthie got another phone call. It was Eric.

"Dad, hi," said Ruthie. What's up?"

There was ten seconds of silence. Ruthie dropped her phone.