Chapter 1

It was another typical day at the Legacy House. Another strange artifact was on it's way to be analyzed. Derek knew his houses reputation for deciphering strange languages was the only reason Sloan was sending this to him, and not keeping it in Peru where it was found.

"So Derek," Came Sloans voice over the phone, "Think you can handle this one?"

"I believe so William. We'll give it our best effort. But I don't know if we will have any better luck than Peru house had." he answered. "Did they come up with anything at all?"

"No, they are completely stumped, I'm afraid" Sloan paused,"I know Father Callaghan is no longer with you, is Alex any good with these ancient languages?"

"She has some fluency," He said blandly, know full well Alex could handle it, "as I said, we will do our best. When will it arrive?"

"They sent it yesterday, it should be there sometime today. Let me know when you get it?"

"Will do, my best to your family," Derek smiled at the remembrance of Williams wife's ire at him staying abroad for so long recently.

Sloan grunted darkly and hung up the phone.

"Well, I had better research those ancient languages," Alex got up to leave, she was slightly miffed at Sloan's implication that she would not be able to do the job.

"I'll give you a hand Alex." Nick grinned and followed her out.

Derek was smiling himself as they left. He went back over Sloan's phone call in his head. Was Sloan giving permission for Philip to be brought in? Or was it wishful thinking on his part. Derek had promised not to interfere with Philip's life at the Church. The few times he had seen him recently , Derek had to admit he looked extremely happy with his work. No, he would not bother Philip with this unless it became absolutely necessary,and with Alex around, that was not very likely to happen. His thoughts returned to the case at hand, but Derek had a strange feeling about this one.

* * *

That very same day a certain parish priest found himself not being so joyful about his job. The regional Cardinal was coming by for his annual visit and many things needed to be done. The sisters were in a frantic state as they rushed to get the last minute details ready, and to make matters worse, food seemed to be disappearing out of the kitchen on a daily basis.

Philip had been holed up in his office going over the financial reports for the year, (he had drawn the short straw) and it was his job to explain them to the Cardinal when it came time. He had been excused from his other duties for the next two days so that he could make sure they were in order. He had even had to forego his soccer practices with the children.

Philip sighed and looked at his watch, it was now 2:00 am. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. I need to get some sleep soon, he thought before Sister Margaret finds me asleep in my chair again. He had been mortally embarrassed when the good Sister had woken him up from sound sleep the morning before, although she didn't say anything, she looked at him reproachfully all the next day. She had even made it a point to make sure he ate dinner that night.

How many sleepless nights did I have like this when I was at the Legacy? He mused, allowing a smile to reach his face , remembering his friends. A rumbling crash interrupted his musings. Philip started, it had come from downstairs, near the kitchen. He scrambled out of his chair, and ran down the hall. He practically slid as he turned the corner to the kitchen area. A small figure darted out of the shadows and headed for the door. Philip ran to cut it off.

The slight figure nearly outdistanced him as he got to the door, he grabbed for an arm. As soon as he made contact with the intruder, he knew there was something wrong. The arm was thin under the tattered clothing. He took her other arm and looked at the face. The second their eyes locked, time stood still. Philip received impressions of hunger, loneliness, and fear. He willingly let his calm and strength flow into her. For some reason he knew it was a girl now. Her eyes ceased to dart around like a caged animal and she looked up at him. Philip saw intelligence return to those wild eyes, he was about to speak to her when the sound of running feet distracted him.

"Hey!" came a shout from down the hall.

With a wild motion the girl broke free of Phillips grip and she pushed him away, right into the approaching Father Andrews. The two men fell in a heap. Before Philip could regain his feet, she was gone.

"Who was that?" Father Andrews asked and he helped Philip to his feet.

"Someone who needs our help," Philip answered. "She's also the reason we're missing food. She's been stealing it t' live off of."

Father Andrews nodded thoughtfully. "You think she'll come back?"

"I hope so," Philip replied.

"You look tired Philip, go to bed, you can finish the reports later." Father Andrews smiled. It was well known Philip worked all through the night unless you forced him to go to bed.

" I think I will," Philip rubbed his eyes wearily. "Good night Charles"

"Good night Philip." With that he left.

Philip walked the short distance to his room, he couldn't get his mind off the haunted eyes of that girl, but the second he lay his head on his pillow, he was sound asleep.

* * *

The girl ran, she had never come that close to getting caught before. It seemed that for the first time since she could remember, a touch felt good. The mans aura was pure white, something she had not sensed for quite some time. She ran until she reached her "home", the tunnel under the park in the sewer drain. She sat down and ate the meager bit of food she had taken. She suddenly realized she was able to think clearly again. Since that man had touched her, she could think clearer and remember more. She no longer wanted to live like this, but how long had she been here, and who she was, was still a mystery to her. She would see him again, maybe he would help her. With those comforting thoughts, she ignored her grumbling belly and fell asleep. This time she would remember her dreams.

* * *

Alex looked at the computer screen and frowned. Since she had received the artifact yesterday, she had made absolutely no progress on translating the inscription at all. In fact, she was running out of ideas to try. Nick had gone to bed at about 3:30 am, and Alex was beginning to wish she had too. Maybe Derek would come up with something. The precept was out all day yesterday on Luna Foundation business, so today he was going to try to see if he could get something with his sight. Alex sighed, maybe she should go to bed until then. Yawning, she got up and turned off the computer, and left the room. She didn't see when the artifact , once the lights were off, started to glow an eerie green.

* * *

The morning fog was thick enough to cut with a knife, as of 10:00 it was still blocking out enough sun that the residents of San Francisco were colder than they had been for weeks. Sweaters were put on to stave off the cold. The girl woke up shivering, she had neither sweater nor jacket. How she had survived until now was a mystery, even to her. Today she would go see that priest again, she needed to know who she was and where she had come from. As to why she didn't.t know, she had no answer. He was kind, maybe he can help me.

She climbed the ladder from the sewers and headed in the direction of the church. For a week, she had been getting food out of the dumpsters in the rear of the building, until she found a door that was habitually left unlocked. Then she had gone in and located the kitchen. As she walked towards the church, she became aware of many people heading in the same direction as herself. In her tattered attire, no one gave her a second glance, she felt every bad thought tossed in her direction like a blow.

When she got to the church, she was dismayed to see a large crowd gathering by the entrance. The three attending priests were there on the steps as if waiting, including the one she sought. His aura glowed as brightly as ever,but even she could tell he looked tired. She backed into the shadows, maybe today was a bad day, she should come beck. As she backed to beat a hasty retreat, she didn't see the grounds keeper come up behind her and tripped right into him. Startled, she screamed, but no sound came out but a ragged rasping sound.

Father Philip Callaghan was tired, he had gotten up early after a restless night to finish the financial reports for the Cardinals visit today. He couldn't get the girl from last night out of his mind. There was something about her. Something he needed to find out. For some reason, he was sure he would see her again. Father Andrews had told all employees what she looked like so they could question her about the theft of the food. Philip hadn't liked that idea, she was obviously scared and alone. The last thing she needed was another ordeal. He sighed as the car containing the Cardinal approached.

The Cardinal came up the steps and smiled at the three waiting there.Father Andrews smiled back and welcomed the Cardinal to their humble church.

"Humble my foot!" He laughed at them. He stopped and looked at Philip closely. "You have been working this one too hard Charles, he looks like he's going to fall on his face."

Philip blushed severely, this was his first meeting with Cardinal Aranna and he wanted it to go well He opened his mouth to speak in his defense when a frightened cry rang out.

Heads turned towards the sound and everybody saw a figure in rags trying to break away from the groundskeeper and run.

Philip started, this was the girl from last night. Without realizing what he was doing, he headed towards the commotion. Before he could get there, the girl broke free and tried to run. She tripped over a tree root and fell, gashing her knee open. The groundskeeper reached for her as she tried to get up.

"Enough, Kevin!" Philip's tone stopped the man in his tracks. "I'll take care a this."

Kevin nodded and backed away. A knot of curious onlookers started to gather. Although she was hurt the girl tried to run away, the fear evident in her eyes.

"Easy, little one" Phillips words stopped her in her tracks. "I won't let you be hurt."

The girl stopped and stared at him, the desperation in her eyes and face broke Philip's heart. He knew he had to help her. He held out his hand to her. She stared at him for a moment before her trembling hand found his. Unfamiliar sensations rippled across Philip's mind. The girl was empathic! He sent reassurance and love back to her and he felt her relax.

He started to lead her to the church when he felt her stiffen, "It's Alright, I won't let anything happen t' you," she relaxed a little.

The Cardinal was smiling as Philip led the obviously nervous waif into the church. He looked into Philip's eyes as he passed and nodded to him as if to say,"this is the real work for a priest, go do your best'. Philip was relieved, but now she was in the church what was he going to do with her.

"I'll get something for her to eat, Father Philip," came a quiet voice from the hallway as he led her into his office. The girl tensed again, ready to bolt.

"Tha' would be appreciated Sister Margaret, " he looked down at her bleeding knee. "And something t' clean this knee off with too would be welcome."

Sister Margaret smiled at the girl and went out on her way.

Philip set her on one end of the couch,and let go of her hand. He was completely unsure of what to do next. The girl glanced around the room and then stared strait into his eyes.

"What is your name? Mine is Philip." He smiled kindly, she was still frightened.

The girl sadly shook her head and looked pleadingly at him.

"Do you know it?" Philip was startled, what could cause someone to not know their own name?

The girl again shook her head. She stared at the ground dejectedly. Philip softly tilted her chin to look up at him.

"Don't worry, I will help you find your name." He said softly.

He answering smile of joy was all the assurance he needed. He knew he was doing the right thing.

By the time Sister Margaret came back, Philip realized that the girl couldn't talk, she hadn't uttered one sound. He remembered Rachel telling him about a trauma case where the patient lost all of his memories in a car crash. Maybe she was a similar case.

With Sister Margaret's help, the girl had only accepted her presence when Philip told her to trust the Sister, he got her to eat while he treated the cut. Then she allowed Sister Margaret to take her to a bathroom to shower. As Philip was rummaging around for an old pair of sweats and a shirt for her the Cardinal came into his room.

"How is the poor thing" He asked.

Philip started, the Cardinal was in HIS room. "Yer Grace," he stuttered , caught completely off guard.

"Relax son," The Cardinal laughed, "I don't bite. I certainly won't scold you for doing Gods work!"

Philip relaxed. "She's scared of everybody and anythin'. I think she's been through some terrible trauma, she canna speak at all. She must have been on the streets for a long time."

'Poor girl," The Cardinal sighed, "She seemed to calm down remarkably around you , though."

Philip blushed again at the implied compliment.

"Don't sell yourself short, my son. I can tell you have a rare spirit, " He paused. "I hope you intend to help her?"

"All I can." Philip quiet response set the Cardinal to smiling again.

"Good, I'm glad you have joined us full time. You make a wonderful addition to this church" As he left he glanced back "Oh, and don't worry about the financial report, I told Father Andrews to brief me."

Philip grinned ruefully and went along to the Sisters quarters with the clothes.

* * *

Alex sighed as she walked into Derek's office, The precept had been up for an hour already and had called a meeting once everybody was up and coherent. Alex was the last to come in. Nick was reading the paper, quoting sporting results to Derek and Rachel, who had come in for the meeting from town.

"Well, now that we're all here, lets begin. Nick, Alex any progress yesterday on the artifact?" Derek handed Alex another cup of coffee while he spoke.

"Not a single thing," Nick sighed, "we tried everything language, code, backwards, forwards and sideways."

"Even upside down," Alex added ruefully.

Derek merely nodded, something was distracting him.

"Derek, what's wrong?" Rachel beat the others to it. "Did you have a vision?"

Derek smiled faintly, oh how well they know me he thought shaking his head.

"Yes, I did." He paused "It was very vague about circumstances, but a young girl was in it along with the artifact. I saw ghosts surrounding the artifact and the girl was screaming but making no sound."

"Do you think the artifact is dangerous?" Nick leaned forward in his chair.

"Yes Nick, I do. The girl in the vision is also important, I don't know how, but she is." Derek sighed, "We must find her. But for now, lets keep working in the translation."

The four Legacy members went on their way, gearing up for another grueling session. Derek couldn't shake the feeling something big was going to happen.

Chapter 2

Philip knocked tentatively on Sister Margaret's door, within seconds he heard her voice tell him to come in. He entered her quarters and found her drying the hair of what looked like a very pretty teenager. She was tall, had longish strait black hair and bright blue eyes.

"She cleaned up very pretty, I think." The older woman smiled at him.

"Tha' she did, Sister." Philip smiled approvingly at the girl who blushed. He held out the sweats to her, "I thought these might do until we can get her some properly sized clothes. Maybe later today I can run down and see about tha'."

Wrapped in a robe, the girl took the offered clothes on slipped the sweatpants on, then she got up and went into the bathroom and came back wearing the shirt, she held out the robe to Sister Margaret with a shy smile. The Sister smiled back and neatly hung it up in her closet.

"Tell you what Father, I will take her shopping for clothes if you cover for me with the Cardinal." She watched the girl for her response. "If you want to go with me that is."

The girl looked up at Philip who smiled encouragingly at her, she nodded shyly to the sister. While her aura was not as strong as his, there was a kindness in it that she felt she could trust. New clothes, she hadn't had new clothes since, then she sobered, she couldn't remember when. She remembered nothing but the last few days. Her smile fell.

Philip noticed he abrupt mood change and knelt down next to her, tentatively he laid his hand on her shoulder. She looked miserably at him, a tear running down her cheek. He gently brushed it away with his other hand. Sister Margaret knelt on her other side.

"It's o.k., " he murmured to her, "We will help you ."

Finally all the emotions broke free of the tight grip she kept on them and she started sobbing. He pulled her into a gentle hug, she buried her face in his chest and wept until the tears would come no more. Sister Margaret talked soothingly and stroked her hair. When she couldn't cry anymore, she looked up at them and smiled anxiously. They both gave her supporting looks.

"Do you feel better now, child?" Sister Margaret asked her. The girl nodded and wiped her face on her arm. "Good, will you stay here while I brief Father Philip on what he needs to do, then I'll come back and we'll go get you some clothes. O.K.?"

The girl nodded once more and went over to the window and looked out. Sister Margaret led Philip out of the room and down to his office.

"I don't know if I'm stepping out of bounds here Philip," She started uncertainly. Philip was shocked, she never used just his first name, ever. "But I remember you saying a colleague of yours at the Luna Foundation was a Doctor of some sort?"

Philip nodded. "Doctor Rachel Corringan, she's a psychiatrist."

"I don't know if you want to, but maybe you could see if she can help with this girl, there is something special about her and I want to help." The Sister looked up into his face worredly.

"It's a possibility, I don't know if she's available, though." Philip thought about it, should he call her, then a thought came to him and he smiled."I'll call her, she's got a daughter named Katherine who's a doll. She would be her friend."

Sister Margaret smiled at Philip." I didn't know if I was stepping out of bounds, you rarely ever see them anymore, I didn't know if you wanted contact with them, forgive my presumption."

"It's alrigh' Sister, we parted on good terms, I just don't get t' see them much. It was a good suggestion. I'll call today." he smiled reassurance.

"Good" She replied, "Then we are off shopping, by the way, I have no duties with the Cardinal today, get some sleep!"

Philip laughed softly as she left and picked up the phone.

* * *

Rachel sighed, she felt extremely useless at this point, Alex ,Nick, and Derek were all researching the artifact, trying to figure out the writing on the base, she was playing fetch the book from the library for them. It was getting boring. It was now noon and no progress had been made, in a few minutes Derek was going to try to use his sight on the object to see if he could pick up something. She sighed, she would have to leave soon to pick up Kat from the sitter, it was Sunday and she only worked a half day. Her Cell phone rang and interrupted her thoughts. With a sigh she pulled it out of her purse and answered it..

"Hello?"

"Hello Rachel," a familiar voice came, "It's Philip."

"Philip! What a surprise, I haven't heard from you in a while," at the sound of Philip's name the others in the room stopped what they were doing and looked inquiring at her, she shrugged at them. "Is something wrong?"

"No, everythin's going well here. I need your help on a matter and wondered if you had some time free." He sounded worried.

"Tell me about it. I have to go back into town to pick up Kat soon, I might have time to stop by," What could be so important for him to call her like this?

"Well, it's like this......" Philip proceeded to tell her the whole story about the girl. Rachel let him speak. "......and Rachel, I think she has some version of th' sight."

"I'll stop by after I pick up Kat and see, but if she's as untrusting as you say, she may not let me help her." Rachel ignored the curious looks from the others.

"I think if you brought Kat with you, tha' would go a long way t' establish trust with her, I think Kat will be good for her. I'll expect you later then?"

"Yes, I leave here in an hour, so it will be three before I can get there." She answered.

"Right, see ya then, Bye," Philip sounded relieved.

"Bye," Rachel hung up.

"Spill!" Alex peered up at her from the computer.

"Yeah, what did Philip want?" Nick chimed in with a grin.

"He found a homeless girl looting food from the church, they caught her this morning, she can't speak and doesn't know her name, Philip thinks she might have the Sight too," She replied sighing.

Derek nodded thoughtfully, was this the girl from his vision? He had a feeling he would find out soon. He put those thoughts out of his mind and went back to business,it was time for him to try his sight on the artifact.

"Nick, hand me the artifact, I'm going to try now." He saw Nick nod in agreement and pass the thing to him. As soon as he touched it, the familiar graying of his senses occurred. He saw many spirits being sucked down into darkness, flashes of pain and despair as those souls disappeared forever into a void. He felt hunger from the object, a hunger that left him breathless. He had to get out of there, get back before it noticed he was there. He tried to cut the vision off, but the key to the writing held him back, he mumbled the words. With a flash the hunger found him. "NO!" Derek cried out, and the hunger took him. The last conscious thought Derek had of himself was of being drawn into that void. He screamed.

To Nick, Alex and Rachel, it looked as if the second he touched the artifact he started shaking, they heard him mumble some words and then he screamed. The scream sent shivers down their spines. He was in trouble.

"Get that thing out of his hand!" Nick yelled, trying to reach Derek. Alex was closer, she grabbed for it and snatched it out of his hand. Derek fell to the floor and didn't move.

Chapter 3

Alex dropped the artifact and fell to her knees beside Derek. Nick was already there turning him over onto his back. Rachel ran to get a first aid kit and came back. It was obvious to all he had been attacked in his vision by something. Alex pondered the words Derek had spoken, they sounded almost familiar. Nick's eyes never left Derek's face while Rachel examined him. Finally with a sigh, she was through.

"Is he gonna be o.k.?" Nick anxiously looked from Derek to Rachel.

"Near as I can tell, he's in a deep state of unconsciousness. I can't wake him, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. If he doesn't come to in the next few hours, we will have to take him to a hospital for more tests." She was worried, there had been no responses of any kind from him.

"He mumbled something before he screamed, it seemed familiar." Alex shook her head.

"Nick, help me take him to his room" Rachel stood up, and helped Nick shoulder Dereks weight. Alex stayed behind to work on what she heard.

They carefully laid him in his bed and then Nick left the room. They both hoped that their precept had not taken any permanent harm. Nick looked back one more time at his friend and closed the door behind him, Rachel was staying to run some more tests. He was angry. What had happened? What had Derek seen that would send him into this coma-like state? He joined Alex in the control room, hoping she had some ideas.

"Nick I've found something!" Alex excitedly waved him over. "Dereks mumbling sounded familiar to me, so I ran a phonetic trace on the words he said. It came out to be Mayan!"

"But the writing isn't Mayan, we tried that already." Nick was puzzled, that was one of the first things they had tried the day before.

"I know, but look at the match up on the statue. One of the words fits exactly!" She matched one of Derek's spoken words to the writing on the artifact. The same number of characters was there. "it was the third word he spoke and the third word on the carvings."

"Your right, it fits. It's obviously some kind of translation from Mayan." Nick agreed. "Now what?"

Alex stared into space "Now I play word games until the rest of the letters fits."

Nick nodded, "The computer can help. I'll program the search parameters, you tell me exactly what you remember Derek saying, you were closest to him." Nick quickly got to work.

"I don't know, Nick," she frowned, "I only remember bits and pieces."

"Right now it's all we have," Nick was grim faced. Alex nodded and they got to work, knowing the life of their precept might hang on their finding out what happened.

* * *

Rachel was worried, she had been running every test she could think of, nothing happened. It was like his body was on autopilot. He breathed, nerves were fine, reflexes o.k., but he was not there. No spark of life,no animation was present. She would have to stay here, she couldn't leave now. Then she remembered. Kat! She had to pick up Kat and go see Philip. Maybe he could pick her up and bring both girls here. She thought, she picked up the phone and dialed the church.

* * *

At that precise second, Philip Callaghan was bored to death. His quiet afternoon gave way to the arrival of Bishop Douglas, his direct superior, demanding to know where he was, and why he wasn't doing his assigned duties. His booming voice had woken Philip from a dead sleep. Once up, the Bishop had berated him for sleeping in the middle of the day. Both Father Andrews and Father Quinlan tried to explain but the Bishop was having none of it. The Cardinal arrived, and to Bishop Douglas displeasure, said that he had told the young priest to get some rest. That had lead the Bishop to call a meeting to discuss new policies the church should adopt, and since the Bishop did most of the talking, the others were bored silly. Then the phone rang.

Father Andrews answered it. "St.Barts, Father Andrews speaking, how may I help you?" He listened for a few seconds and then held the phone out to Philip. "It's Dr. Corrington, she sounds upset!"

"Rachel? What....." Philip listened to Rachel with growing horror as she told him what had happened to Derek. "No, don' worry Rachel. I'll go get Katherine and meet you there, are Nick and Alex alrigh'?"

"Yes, they are looking into it now, but Philip, I really need Katherine to be here. Something weird is going on and I don't want her alone," Rachel was slowly calming down.

"I'll get her now. Don' worry," He repeated, "See you soon, Bye."

Father Quinlan was worried, whatever was going on was bad, it had been awhile since he had seen Philip so upset. Even the Cardinal was leaning forward in his seat, waiting to hear what happened. Philip put down the phone and turned to them.

"A colleague of mine at the Luna Foundation was injured in an accident, I need t' go," He got up to leave.

"You don't have my permission t' go! What do you think you are doing, leaving in the middle of a meeting with His Grace here!" Bishop Douglas was furious.

There was shocked silence all around. Before anyone else could speak, Cardinal Aranna stood.

"You have MY permission, a priests first duty is to his flock, then to the churches boring meetings. Go and help your friends, this discussion can wait." He smiled kindly at Philip and motioned for him to leave.

Philip escaped while he could. He ran to his room, changed clothes and called a taxi, as he went down the stairs to meet it, he almost ran into Sister Margaret and the girl, coming back from shopping. The girl was now dressed in blue jeans, new shoes and a cream colored sweater. Their smiles faded when they saw the look on his face.

"Father, what is wrong," Sister Margaret looked concertedly at him.

"There was an accident at th' Luna Foundation, Dr. Rayne was injured, I need t' go pick up Katherine and take her there." Philip said as he moved towards the door. "Would you look after th' young lady for me while I am gone?"

Sister Margaret was about to say yes when the girl latched on to Phillips arm and refused to let go. She communicated by gesture and facial expression that she was going with him. Philip smiled at her.

"I guess I'm no leavin' without ya then?" He saw her determined look and gave in. "Well, you'll at least get t' meet Katherine and Dr. Corrigan."

The two walked out as the taxi pulled up. It was a short ride to Kat's school, Rachael had called and told them that he was picking her up, so there was no problem collecting her.

As soon as the two girls saw each other ,they were friends. Kat could sense she was like her in many ways and at Phillips request didn't ask her any questions that couldn't be answered with a shake or nod of the head. Philip then told Kat something was wrong and he was taking her to her mother on the island.

"It's not MOM is it?" She asked, suddenly afraid.

"No, Katherine, I don't know exactly wha' happened, but we'll know when we get there." Kat felt the girls hand tighten on hers and she felt her sympathy and reassurance. The rest of the trip went in silence.

* * *

When they finally arrived on the Island, Rachel was waiting, she swept Kat into a hug and told her something had happened to Derek. Kat immediately demanded to see him, she just knew she could help her mom make him better. Rachel smiled and noticed Phillips shadow for the first time.

"She's my new friend mom, "Kat spoke up and dragged the shy girl to meet her mother,"She can't talk or remember who she is. Are you going to help her?"

"I'm certainly going to try if she'll let me," Rachel held out her other hand to the girl who, with an encouraging smile from Kat, took it. Rachel led both girls into the house. Philip followed as far as the doorway, when he spotted Nick going into the Library. He went up the flight of stairs and was greeted by the sight of Nick on the top of a ladder, stretching to reach a book from the very top shelf. Philip steadied the ladder as it wobbled. Nick grasped the book and jumped down.

"Thanks Philip," he said, and turned to go.

"What happened Nick?" Philip followed him into the control room.

"We were trying to decipher this writing on the bottom of this artifact, Derek tried to use his sight to see what he could find out. He said something and then just collapsed! " Nick glanced up at Philip's worried face.

"What do you make of this ,Philip?" Alex handed him a copy of the characters found on the artifact. Philip frowned, it looked somewhat familiar.

"I've seen this before," he murmured and looked at the other piped Alex held out, "This is the Mayan word for demon or soul taker. What else do you have?"

"Nothing," Alex took back the pages, "that was the only word I heard Derek say clearly"

"I remember seeing something like this in a book in Dereks study, I remember using it t' decode that Mayan urn three years ago." Philip looked up to see Kat and the girl enter the room. As soon as his charge saw the artifact her eyes opened wide and she started backing away from it. Philip strode over to her and held her as she trembled.

"What's wrong, little one?" He asked

"She saw a ghost, she showed me." Kat spoke up.

Everyone in the room was dumbfounded. Philip frowned and looked at the girl, he knew she must have some form of sight, but this was incredible!

"How do you know that munchkin?" Nick asked Kat as he picked her up.

"She got the Sight like me, silly." Kat giggled at him. "She let me see it too."

Alex looked thoughtfully at the two girls, not quite believing them, but knowing they weren't lying either. She had the Sight, not as powerfully as Kat and Derek, but she sensed nothing from either the artifact or the girl. Then the girl held her hand out to Alex. As soon as she gripped it , Images flowed, and she knew what she saw was true.

"What's her name, Philip?" Nick asked, holding his hand out to her.

"She can't remember hers," Kat piped up.

"No?" Nick looked quizzically at Philip who nodded. "Everybody needs a name, how about we find you one until you remember yours?"

The girl smiled and touched his hand, she felt his anger over the fact he could not protect Derek, but she sensed a deep love for his friends and she knew he would go to any length for them. She smiled up at him and nodded.

"How about Jade," the name was out of Phillips mouth before he knew why he had said it.

"I think Jade is lovely," Alex agreed. "What do you think?"

The girl smiled, for some reason the name fitted her like it was her own, heck, it might even be her own!

"Then Jade it is," Nick approved.

"What Jade?" Rachel came into the room after checking on Dereks condition.

"We named her Jade, mom. Isn't it a pretty name" Kat told her.

"A very pretty name, for a very pretty girl." Agreed the psychiatrist. She noticed the girl blush at the praise.

The strident tones of the Legacy phone cut in on their respite. With a groan Nick set Kat down and answered it. It was Sloan.

"Nick, it's Sloan. Let me speak to Derek." the voice sounded far way. Nick put it on the speaker.

"That may be a little hard, Derek can't come to the phone right now," Nick answered, dreading telling Sloan what happened.

"What do you mean. Has something happened? Do you have a lead." His voice became concerned.

"Well, both actually. Derek tried to use his sight on the artifact and we think it overloaded him, he's sort of out of it right now. Just before he collapsed he muttered some language that seems to be a key for the translation of the writing. We got a good chance of breaking this wide open." Nick held his breath.

There was silence from the other side.

"Nick, until Derek is back, your in charge. Find out what happened and keep me informed. Anything else happens, you call me first thing. Alright?" Sloans voice was calm but heavily controlled. He was pissed.

"Will do. Nick out," with that he hung up the phone.

"Alright Nick, what now?"Alex queried.

"Now we keep looking and see if we can't translate that writing. Philip do you think you can find that book again?" Nick yawned and stretched.

Philip stayed until it was time for the last ferry to go. While he was working with Alex and Nick, Jade and Rachel were getting to know each other. Rachel quickly learned that Jade remembered nothing but a searing pain in her head and then living on the streets. Kat bounced from watching Derek to watching her mother try to help Jade remember her past. Nothing seemed to work, although Rachel suspected her not speaking was not from trauma, but from physical reasons. She was about to call it a day when Philip showed up at the doorway.

"I'm headed back. Jade, do you want to stay here with Kat and Rachel, or go back with me?" he waited for her response.

Jade walked over to him and took his hand briefly, she then smiled up at him and let go. Philip smiled back and turned towards the door.

"Now mind Rachel, Jade, and stay out of trouble" He walked out of the room.

Jade knew she had to stay. there was an evil growing in this house and she felt if she left, something bad would happen. When she touched Father Philip's hand she managed to convey this to him. She also felt his reluctance to leave, but knew his duty to his church had to come first. No, she would stay.

Chapter 4

Nick had finally had enough, Derek was still out and Alex was working herself to death trying to translate the inscription. Rachel had taken Kat and Jade to bed and had come back to help Alex. Nick had to get away and think. He was missing something, but he couldn't think of what. Damn, why did this happen. there must be some clue somewhere for us to find. Philip had not been able to find the book he remembered seeing three years ago. They had searched together for hours to no avail. Nick smiled when he recalled Philip and his discussions that afternoon, it was good to see his friend again. A scream cut through his thoughts and sent him racing back into the house.

* * *

"I got it Rachel , I got it!" Alex cried jubilantly. She had just found the right key to the puzzle. With every correct letter translated to it's correctly symbol the ancient Mayan words were revealed.

"Let me see," Rachel peered over Alex shoulder.

"Hand me the artifact, I want to make sure this is right," Alex was peering at the translation and making mental notes, she was almost there.

Rachel handed her the artifact just as Alex murmured the words. With a flash of power the creature inside the statue burst forward with a yell. Rachel and Alex felt their souls detach themselves from their bodies and float towards a black void, they could hear the souls inside the void crying out to them. Another cry pulled Rachel back for one last look at her world. Kat was there with Jade, the creature wanted their souls too. Rachel tried to go back but with a burst of blackness, she fell into the void. The last thing she heard was Kat's scream.

* * *

Kat had woken up to a sense of evil permeating the house, she quietly got up and noticed Jade too was awake. The fear in the other girls eyes prompted Kat to grab her hand. Together the two girls ran for the control room. They were too late. Jade saw, and Kat through her, her mothers and Alex's souls leaving their bodies and being dragged into a big black hole. Kat screamed as the thing, still hungry reached for her. Jade threw her arms around Kat and let her thoughts of her new friends love for her repel the creature. With a howl of pain it reseeded into the artifact. The power surged one last time through the house, killing all power and disrupting every electronic device therein.

* * *

Nick ran through the now dark house towards the control room, all electronics were down. He skidded into the room. The sight that greeted him was not good. Alex and Rachel lay unconscious on the floor. He ran to them, both had pulses and seemed to be outwardly all right.

"The thing in the statue took their spirits," Nick whirled around at the sound of Kat voice from the corner. Both girls were huddled there, crying.

He moved over to them and hugged them both. Kat was shaking violently and Jade was blank. Suddenly Jade got up and moved towards Alex and Rachel. She touched both tenderly on the cheek. Nick carried Kat over and Jade looked up at him. She reached out and took Kat from him and took her out of the room. Nick carried first Alex and then Rachel to their rooms and lay them on their beds. He then went to Kat's room and found the two waiting for him. The three huddled together until they fell asleep.

* * *

Philip yawned as he opened the back door of the church, he knew everyone would be asleep so when he spotted lights on in one of the meeting rooms he went to investigate. There sat Bishop Douglas, waiting .

"Welcome home Father." His voice was practically dripping with venom "So how are your "friends" at the Luna Foundation. All went well I hope?"

"No" Philip answers warily, not wanting this discussion to happen. "Dr. Rayne is still in a coma-like state and th' others are verra upset."

"You included?" The Bishop probed.

"Yes, he is a friend," Philip was beginning to wonder where this was going.

"I want you to know I'm going to lodge a formal complaint to the diocese about your negligent and disruptive behavior. When you came to this church as a full-time member, you assured me you would be putting your full attention into this. Now I find you are sneaking off at every frivolous opportunity to socialize with those 'friends' of yours." The Bishop stood up to leave.

Philip was speechless at first, then he began to feel the unfamiliar stirring of anger. The events of the last day had left him exhausted and he was in no shape to handle this rationally.

"Frivolous! You call what I dealt with today frivolous? I have a good friend lying in a near death state, and tha's frivolous?" He was losing it. He could feel his temper rising.

The Bishop gave him a condescending look."I looked for a Derek Rayne in all surrounding hospitals to pay my respects, there was no one admitted to any hospital by that name. I can only assume you are lying to me."

Philip knew if the Bishop didn't leave right now he was going to do something he would regret. To his intense relief the Bishop gave him one last smarmy smile and departed. Still furious, Philip didn't know what to do. He needed to get some air. By the time Philip got back from his walk, it was 3:00 a.m. He lay down on his bed and was instantly asleep.

* * *

That night Jade dreamed. In her dream she saw Father Philip pick up the translation and walk towards the statue. He touched it and read the words of Alex's translation. The demon howled as it took his spirit,and with a wild cry, it was free. All the souls it had taken over the many years of it's existence had finally amounted to enough power to free itself to wreak havoc on the world. As she watched it came for her until screaming she woke up.

Nick also had a terrible dream of a demon coming for his soul. he awoke with a start to notice both girls were awake as well.

"Nick," Kat whispered. "Jade and I had a bad dream."

"So did I, kiddo." Nick whispered back.

"Do you think we had the same bad dream?" Kat looked up at his face.

"Considering what's been going on here, I'd say so." Nick sighed and peered into the dark. Power was still out, so he lit a candle. The three huddled together again, until again, they fell asleep.

Jade dreamed again, this time of a book bound in black, she saw it open and an incantation took the hungry beast away. Jade knew that come morning she would have to find that book or all would be lost, and her new family would be destroyed.

For his part Nick was trying to stay awake and guard the little ones. He had not been able to shake the feeling he should have been there for Rachel and Alex, now they were lying in a near coma same as Derek. He would protect these two even if it meant his death, he was not about to let anything happen to them. With that thought Nick fell asleep.

Chapter 5

Philip awoke to the sound of someone softly calling his name. With a groan, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Then he realized there was someone else in the room, with a start he turned to face them.

"What?" He began

"Philip, we hate to wake you but Bishop Douglas is downstairs. He called a meeting to discuss what he said were 'important matters' before the Cardinal arrives." Father Quinlan said gently.

"Sister Margaret and the others are stalling him with other things so we could wake you." Father Andrews handed Philip a cup of coffee as he spoke.

Philip took the coffee and sipped it as he got up, he was so tired. Last nights ordeal had left him even more exhausted than he was the day before, obviously he must not just feel the lack of sleep, his condition did not go unnoticed by the two in his room either.

"Philip, you look terrible. Are you felling alright?" Luke Quinlan was worried, he had never seen Philip Callaghan so run down.

"I'm fine, Luke, truly. I'll be down in a minute." He smiled ruefully at his two friends. "Let's just say th' Bishop had a few words for me last night and I didn't get a whole lot of sleep."

Father Andrews looked even more concerned as they left. What had the Bishop said to upset him so much. With a sigh, Charles Andrews had a terrible feeling he was going to find out.

Philip was downstairs and dressed in only a few minutes. He appeared neat and tidy just as the Bishop called loudly for him.

"I'm here," Philip quietly arrived ,coffee cup in hand, and sat in a seat at the table. The others were already seated.

"Well, now that you have graced us with your presence, I guess we can begin." Bishop Douglass mood hadn't improved any since last night. "I went over the financial report myself yesterday, who had the handling of it this year?"

"I did Bishop Douglas," Philip spoke up.

"I might have guessed," he said icily. "It is incomplete, sloppily done , and totally indecipherable. I was rather hoping that after our 'talk' last night you might have shown a little more effort and finished it."

Philip felt his face flush and his anger from the night before began to return. He hadn't lost his temper in some time and certainly no one here had seen it before. He knew he had to stifle it as best he could or things would get really unpleasant, and he couldn't afford that.

"Furthermore," The Bishop continued. "It seems you have lost your charge, apparently she didn't come back with you. Did you lose her, or in your carelessness just leave her at wherever it was you went yesterday?"

The utter shock on Charles and Luke's faces did nothing to blunt the implied criticism the Bishop hurled at Philip. "What did he think he was doing?" Luke saw the look on Philip's face and was scared, he had never even seen him so much as raise his voice, what would he do in this state? Luke hoped Philip could control himself, but he wouldn't blame him if he couldn't.

That was it. Philip had had enough of this, to even think he would do that to someone! Leave her indeed. He stood up , anger flashing in his eyes. He saw even the Bishop recoil away from him as his anger hit the boiling point. In a last ditch effort to regain some control, he spun on his heel and strode from the room. He barley noticed the shocked looks of the other residents as he made for the door. If he didn't cool off, he was going to do something very un-priestly to his Bishop. He pushed open the door and strode outside, it was raining. Wonderful! Now I'll get pneumonia! He thought as he made his way to the bench in the garden. He sat down and waited for the turbulent emotions to recede.

The second Cardinal Aranna stepped into the church for day two of his visit, he sensed the tension in the air. Something had happened, and it wasn't good. He followed the sounds of raised voices, and soon heard Luke Quinlan arguing with Bishop Douglas.

"You have got to be kidding, Philip would never lie, he would never abuse any child, nor would he shirk his responsibilities at this church! Go ahead and lodge your complaint, I have a few of my own!" Luke's quiet anger spoke volumes to The Cardinal. He swept into the room.

"Ahh, Bishop Douglas just the person I was looking for." He breezed in like he had heard nothing.

"Yes, your grace?" He stopped what he was about to say to Luke and turned his attention to the Cardinal.

"There is some sort of crisis at St. Catherine's, I need you and your well known sensibilities to handle it. I know I can trust you to fix the problem equitably." He smiled vacantly at the younger Bishop.

"Of course, I will leave immediately!" the Bishop puffed up and walked from the room to his car.

Cardinal Arnna then walked to the phone and dialed up St. Catherines. "Hello, Joyce. This is Cardinal Aranna, I need a favor. I need you to invent a crisis over there to keep Bishop Douglas busy for the next day or so." He paused listening. " Yes, that would be fine, two days should do it. I promise I will make this up to you. You too, Bye."

Fathers Andrews and Quinlan gaped at him in astonishment and then both burst out laughing. Cardinal Aranna joined them briefly.

"What did he say to Philip?" The Cardinals question stopped the laughter immediately.

"He said Philip lied to him and dumped the girl at first opportunity. He also told us he's written out a formal complaint against him for 'willful disregard of his duties'" Charles Andrews sighed.

"Where is Philip now?" The Cardinal was concerned.

"We don't know, I think the Bishop made him mad. He chose to leave rather than do something stupid." Luke Quinlan remembered the look on Philip's face and shuddered, he didn't want to ever be on his bad side when he finally blew.

The Cardinal saw the looks on their faces and nodded. He had better make sure Philip was calmer, something was telling him Philip would need all of his strength for something very soon.

"I will find him, make sure the Bishop has left and the take the morning off. I think we all need the rest." With that he moved out towards the front door.

"He went towards the garden, Your Grace." Sister Margarets voice stopped him. The look on her face was one of deep concern. "He was deeply upset by something and walked outside without even a jacket!"

He sighed, this was not good, he thanked the Sister and took the proffered jacket. Putting his own on he went out into the rain to the garden. He found his newest charge sitting in the rain on the garden bench, elbows on knees, face in his hands.

"I have brought you a jacket. Do me the courtesy of putting it on." He said gently.

Philip, startled, jumped to his feet. He woodenly took the jacket and slipped it on. He opened his mouth to speak, but the Cardinal waved his hands.

"Come with me." He turned and walked back into the church.

Philip had no choice but to follow. His anger had faded and he realized he was shivering with cold. The second the door closed behind him her realized how foolish he must have looked, sitting out in the cold rain. He was also dripping water all over the floor. Before he could do anything more, Sister Margaret and Sister Grace came forward with towels and a steaming cup of coffee for them both.

"Go get out of those wet clothes and take a hot shower, we can talk later," The Cardinal dismissed him kindly.

Philip looked up at all the concerned faces and blushed, he really hadn't meant to cause a fuss. Luke escorted him to his room, he had to open the door, for Phillips hand were shaking from cold. Peeling off the soaking clothes, he stepped into the hot shower and sighed. This was definitely better. On the way up to his room, Luke had recounted the way the Cardinal had gotten rid of Bishop Douglas, Philip had been torn between laughter and awe. Laughter had won out in the end and Luke had laughed with him. It had been quite a morning and it was only 10:00.

* * *

It was quite a different morning for the three at the Legacy house. Jade had woken first and got up to check out the power situation. It was still off, no phones either. With hesitant steps she went to the control room. The artifact lay on the floor where it was last night. Jade saw the spirits of Rachel , Alex, and a man who must be Derek floating above it. She sighed, they were not really there, but seeing them made her breathe a little easier.

Checking on Kat and Nick,she found them still asleep,so she went in search of the book she had seen in her dream. It was the key to this whole thing, she knew it. She knew if she found the book, maybe there was a way to destroy the thing and retrieve the lost spirits. She followed her instincts and found herself in a private study. The book was here. Now all she had to do was find it!

Nick woke up and immediately became alert, Kat was just starting to stir, but Jade was nowhere to be seen. he waited until Kat was fully awake then the two of them went in search of Jade.

"I saw a book in another dream last night, maybe Jade saw it too and went to find it?" Kat rubbed her eyes sleepily as she walked next to Nick.

"Jade!" Nick called "Where are you, make a noise so we can find you."

Both heard the sound of several books dropping to the floor. the sound came from Derek's study. When they got there, they found Jade holding a Black bound book in her hands and she was smiling.

"What is that kiddo?" Nick asked taking the book from her. He opened the book to see the same writing as on the artifact and some other unfamiliar stuff as well. Then he saw the word Alex had translated from Dereks words and knew she had found what he and Philip had looked for all day yesterday.

Jade smiled at Kat, she couldn't speak to reassure her, but she could 'send' her emotions. Kat realized the book must be important, but could Nick translate it?

Nick was thinking the same thing, however. I sure wish Alex was here instead of me. Or Philip! He knew he had to try, telling the girls to wait in their room , he headed towards the control room to see what he could puzzle out from Alex's notes.

* * *

Philip walked down the stairs, feeling much better than he had. He followed the sounds on conversation and found the Cardinal talking with Luke and Charles. All three looked up as he came in.

"I was begining to get worried you had drowned in that shower" The Cardinal said lightly. The others smiled.

"It felt too good t' leave righ' away." Philip admitted. Then smiled as his comment set them to laughing again.

"Remind me not to get you mad Philip, "Luke smiled at him "I don't know how you contrlled yourself, I probbly would have decked him!"

Philip sighed. "I don't' do tha' very often, tends t' scare people"

"Scared me!" Charles stated, then he smiled "But don't worry, we'll keep the china locked up for awhile"

Philip groaned and the others chuckled at his reaction.

"Now Philip if you will indulge me I have to discuss something with you." The Cardinal dismissed the others with a smile and they left. "What is going on, Philip. I know of your ties to the Luna Foundation, but I too am puzzled as to why Dr. Rayne was not admitted to a hospital with such a severe injury. Something else is going on there."

Philip looked at the floor, he wanted nothing more that to tell the Cardinal about the Legacy, but he had made a vow not to. No matter how difficult it was he could not say a word.

Cardinal Aranna saw the conflict play through Philip's features, something was bothering him , but he could not tell him what it was. Curious.

"I'm sorry, I canna tell you." Philip said quietly, he would not lie to this man. Not ever.

"I thought as much from your silence. You gave a promise to someone, didn't you?" When Philip nodded, the Cardinal knew he could push no more. "I will respect it then. I know you have dealt with some disturbing things in the last few days, but I want you to know I understand."

"If I could tell ya , I would," Philip said faintly.

"I know, my son. I too have made vows to others that I will not break, I think we may have more in common then you think." The Cardinal rose "Go help your friends, I think they will need you today. The others here are more that capable of going over boring, stuffy reports."

Philip looked at him in shock, could he already know of the Legacy? Was he a part of it at some time? Philip knew an order when he heard one though, he would go back to Angel Island as soon as possible. There was something he needed to do there, and for the first time in a long few days, he sighed and the tension left him.

Chapter 6

Nick groaned and looked from the book to the translation. He was no expert in languages, but he had picked some things up from both Alex and Derek lately. He did know enough to know he was out of his league, though. He started to phonetically sound out the words on the translation, and felt a compulsion to grab the statue. So that was it! Nick now knew you had to read the incantation and touch the artifact to get taken. He struggled to stop reading, but the thing inside the statue had gotten stronger with every spirit stolen, he couldn't seem to stop himself no mater how hard he tried. When he reached the end of the incantation, he felt his soul slip away.

Jade knew when Nick succumbed to the demon, she held Kat ever tighter and knew there was nothing she could do but wait. Philip was on his way, she knew this, and then they would make their move. To distract Kat she pictured her family and asked to hear what they had been like. Kat understood her mental speech and told her about her father and brother. Both girls waited anxiously for Philip to come.

* * *

Philip stepped off the ferry and nodded to the captain, he then slowly walked up to the house and opened the door. There was no sound at all , everything was still and silent. An eerie feeling swept through him, and he knew something more had gone wrong . He carefully made his way to the control room and quietly slipped inside.

Nick lay on the floor, not moving. Philip went over to him and realized he was in the same state as Derek had been when he was last here. In one of Nick's hands was a piece of notepaper, Philip picked it up and read it. Before he had read it through once he started to feel a compulsion to say the words out loud. A tiny voice in his head screamed at him not do it, the compulsion was too strong, his hand reached for the statue of it's own volition.

"No! Philip don't!" It was Kat's voice.

Before his hand could get to the statue, a body hit his full force, breaking his concentration and knocking him away from the artifact. It was Jade, she had used her slight frame to her best advantage and knocked him out of danger. Philip sat up and both girls threw themselves into his arms.

"Mommy, it took mommy! " Kat wailed, trying not to cry.

Philip sighed, he should have expected that, seeing Nick alone here in the control room. It also must have taken Alex as well. He held Kat tighter as Jade went over and picked up a book from the floor. She handed it to him. It was the book he and Nick had looked for the day before. Philip quickly flipped through the pages until the familiar writing of the incantation of the Demon came into view. Philip read through it quickly. It was an ancient evil, one trapped many centuries ago. If it managed to trap enough souls, their combined force would set it free again. Philip realized it must be very close to succeeding if it was able to compel him so easily.

Kat and Jade watched and waited as Philip continued to read the book. Occasionally he would mutter something in the ancient language and then would fall silent again. Finally, an hour or so later, he closed the book and stood up.

"Will you be able to bring them back?" Kat looked steadily at his face.

"I think so, Katherine. The book gave me th' original incantations to put it back t' it's prison, along with some I'm not sure of." He sighed.

Jade reached out to both Philip and Katherine, she showed him her dream and the fact that she could link him to the demons plane of existence. Philip saw from her minds eye that if the demon got one more soul, it would be free. Her had to act and hope the incantations he thought would destroy the evil would actually work.

Jade slipped over and touched Nick's cheek, yes, she could get to the demons dream plane from here. Nick spirit was not too far gone that she couldn't follow it , but they had to hurry. With a sigh, she held out her hand. This seemed very familiar to her, like she had done this before. She pushed those thoughts out of her head and concentrated on the demon.

Philip opened the book and committed the passages he needed to memory, then he took Jade's hand and let her guide him. A room of darkness grew up around him, the demon waited in the center and beckoned Philip forward.

"Come to me, " It rasped "Your soul is the last one I need. Join with me and become immortal!"

Philip began to recite the first passage, The effect on the demon was encouraging. It howled and started to shrink away. Philip poured all of his strength into the banishment. He started on the second phrase when the demon started to fight back.

Kat watched as Philip's eyes closed and his face became expressionless, she could feel the evil in the air around her. As she watched Philip's face started to frown,as if he was concentration really hard. Then she saw his face slacken again. For the first time, she consciously tried to use her sight. What she saw made her gasp, the beast had Philip up against a wall, even though he was fighting the beast, she could see he was losing, his light dimming while the beasts darkness grew. His exhaustion from the past few days had weakened him immensely, he was still holding the beast off, but was slowly slipping away from her.

The demon gave a howl of victory and pressed the advantage. Nothing could stop him now! Then without warning another presence filled the room with light. The figure of a little girl walked forward calmly and wrapped her arms around the faltering Priest, his dimming light was quickly replenished. The demon howled again, this time in rage as the priest and the girls combined strengths beat him backwards towards his own void. The love the two exuded sickened the beast, and with a final howl , it disappeared into a void it could not escape from.

Tired to the bone, Philip used the last bit of strength he possessed to open the void where the demon kept all the spirits it stole, and freed them. Then with a sigh, he felt Kat's spirit go back to her body and he fell into darkness.

Jade recovered first, maintaining the bridge for her two friends had taken a toll on her ,but she was more worried about Kat and Father Philip. She smiled when Kat started to stir, smiled even harder when Nick made an involuntary movement. Soon, Nick sat up and looked at the two girls. They beamed at him and ran into his embrace.

"Nick!" Kat shouted as she got up and hurried to him. If he was alright then her mom would be too!

"Hey there girls, looks like we made it," He laughed at their exuberance. "Did you two free us?"

Jade shook her head and pointed to where Philip was, it was then she realized he hadn't gotten up yet . The smile left Jade's face and she ran to where Philip lay Kat and Nick right behind her. Nick pulled Philip over onto his back, with relief he saw he was breathing. Jade cradled Philip's head in her lap, she owed him everything, she would not let him go.

A commotion at the door interrupted them. Derek was there looking very confused, he was comparing notes with Alex and Rachel who also looked confused. They stopped just inside the door and froze. Derek walked brusquely over to Nick as Kat ran to her mother.

"What happened?" he stared at Phillips motionless form.

"He , Kat and Jade freed us. We all woke up but he didn't," Nick's voice was hard.

Jade had put her fingers on Philip's temples and concentrated, she found his essence easily, he was not hurt, just extremely tired. He would be fine. She pulled away from him and smiled up at the anxious faces around her.

"Jade says he's just sleeping," Kat smiled too.

The others relaxed , Derek and Nick carried Philip up to his old room and put him on the bed. They would let him sleep himself out. When they joined the rest downstairs, Kat and Jade filled everyone in on what they missed, Jade using her 'gifts' , as Rachel called them, to show pictures of what happened. Rachel was at first scared that Kat had attempted something so rash, then admiring as Derek pointed out that if she hadn't, they all would have been lost forever.

The rest of the evening was spent in quiet celebration, before all very tired parties went to sleep that night. Kat nestled safely in her mothers arms, with Jade firmly ensconced in a chair by Philip's bed that no one could talk her out of.

* * *

Philip awoke with a start, immediately confused as to where he was. Then it hit him, he was in his old room at the Legacy house. He sighed, hoping against hope that it wasn't too late to get back to the church before morning. The last thing he needed to do was give Bishop Douglas more fuel for his fire.

After showering, he put on his shoes and went downstairs. Voices from the living room wafted up to him.

"I'm sorry Cardinal," Derek's voice stopped him cold in his tracks."Taking into consideration the experiences he had in the church before he got here, I am even less inclined to wake him."

"I know Dr. Rayne, but it HAS been two days, I am starting to get a little worried," The Cardinal sounded sad.

"We are as well," Derek answered, "And please, call me Derek."

Philip was in shock. He had been asleep for two days! He was about to announce his presence when Nick beat him to it.

"Speaking of the devil," Nick grinned at his astonished expression, "here comes ole Rip now."

Philip blushed again, the hopeful looks in both the Cardinal's and the others eyes warmed him.

"Boy, you blush more different colors than anyone else I ever saw!" The Cardinal noted amusingly.

Philip blushed deeper to his great embarrassment.

"We have noticed that on occasion , too." Nick drolly added. He saw Philip blush another shade and started laughing, the others quickly joined in.

As they were laughing, Philip regained his composure.

"Two days?" He croaked out. "Are ya all serious? I've been asleep two days!"

"Yup," Nick laughed

Philip sighed and sank into a chair, "Then why am I so tired?"

Derek grin faded as he saw how exhausted Philip still was.

The Cardinal looked over his young friend and was concerned, what had caused a man like this to exhaust himself so completely. What had he had to do to help these people? Right then he realized Philip would do anything for his friends welfare, as he did at the church.

Alex got up and dragged Philip with her. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" He replied accepting the inevitable.

"To get you something to eat!" She replied

"I know better than to ask Derek, " The Cardinal spoke up as soon as Philip left the room , "But I want you to know, I think some important work is happening here, and I will support anything you need Philip for."

Derek looked at him in surprise, what did this man know? Derek just nodded, the last thing he needed was to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he trusted this man and didn't say anything.

* * *

Jade looked out over the sea at San Francisco, she met with Derek yesterday, and with his sight he was able to unlock more of her abilities, but her past was still a mystery. Derek had told her that he would help her do anything she wanted to do, her life was now her choice. He had even offered to let her stay here at the house.

She pondered what to do with her life next. Maybe go to school, she had no idea if or when she had ever gone, maybe she needed to learn how to talk with her hands like Rachel had begun to show her. She knew that even if she left, she would come back here again. This was where she belonged. She owed Father Philip for all this, if she never found out her past, she would always consider him her family. Nick had also thanked her quite nicely for saving them all, and took her for a ride in his Mustang. That had been fun! Yes, she would come back, but for now she needed to live a real life, yes that was what she wanted. In the morning she would ask Derek for help getting into a school.

* * *

The next morning Philip was on his way back to his church, the Cardinal had left the night before, telling him to stay and rest. As far as the church knew, Philip had come to the Island and fallen ill, it was not exactly a lie, but Philip couldn't exactly tell them he had exhausted himself fighting a demon! Jade was all set on going to school, he felt a more than a little empty when she announced through Derek that she was leaving to go to school, but she had to lead her own life.

As Philip got out of the taxi and headed for the door, it was thrown open for him. Luke Quinlan and Sister Margaret waited for him with smiles of their faces.

"We were beginning to think you weren't coming back!" Luke teased, still grinning.

"Are you feeling better, Father? The Sister asked quietly as she peered up at his face, he still looked tired to her.

"Stop fussin'" Philip grinned back at them, "I'm doin' just fine , thank ya."

The other two saw that he meant it and their veiled concern vanished, they escorted him to his office and Philip got back to his work.

The End

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