Title: Leap of faith.

Summary: Kate took it. He was way too precious for her.

Rating: T

Kate woke up with a smile on her face.

She was honestly surprised that Stuart's invention even worked, after all the time she had spent laughing at him and his strange ideas.

But thanks to those ridiculous ideas, she had finally managed to come across, dare she say, the person of her dreams? Time travelling was a tricky business and she didn't understand all the technicalities. To wrap her mind around the fact that there would be no Stuart if he hadn't gone back in time, he wouldn't even be born, and to think that his ex-girlfriend was actually his ancestor, well all of that was mind-boggling.

Anyway, who cared?

She had Leopold.

Taking a deep breath, she finally yawned and opened her eyes-

-to a stark white ceiling.

She blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice.

What on earth-

"Ah, Kate, you're awake. Good morning! How are you feeling today?"

She turned her head to the right to be met with a perky brunette in a nurse uniform, smiling as brightly as in a toothpaste commercial and twice as much fake.

"Erm, where am I? What. . . happened?"

"Your brother will be visiting soon, Kate. Wish you a good day."

She didn't miss the slightly alarmed look the nurse gave her, before scurrying away as fast as it didn't look like running.

"Wait! My brother?" She was horrified. Her brother wasn't supposed to be HERE! "Where is Leopold?"

The panicked look in the other woman's eyes did nothing to soothe her nerves.

She pushed herself off from the bed to inspect her new surroundings. She became more and more unnerved by the realization that she was most probably, to put it nicely, in a mental asylum.

And with her effects lying around in the room, it seemed that she was there for quite a while.

Her mind whirled. Just a week ago, she had travelled back in time to be with the Duke of Albania and her past few days were a mini-tornado, what with all the arrangements to be made for an impromptu wedding.

And now, here she was.

She didn't understand anything. She didn't like it. So she did what was supposed to calm her mind.

But the pacing didn't do her any good this time.

"Hey!"

She was thankful that her brother arrived when he did. She basically threw herself at him.

"Charlie, what's going on? What's wrong? I am NOT supposed to be here." She clung to his shirt. "Where is Leopold? Why?"

He took a deep breath.

As he slowly pried her fingers off his shirt one by one, he started, "Sweetheart, there is no Leopold. Please, you were doing so well for the last few months, you were about to be released and you started this again?" The defeat was clearly evident in the normally upbeat voice of her brother.

"What. . . what are you talking about? What do you mean there is no Leopold? You saw him, you talked to him, you took dating advice from him, heck we even had dinner together! How could you forget his "I am accustomed to stand when a lady leaves the table", and all those speech about "result of reflection and study?" " She was on the verge of tears. "I. . . I don't understand! Where's Stuart? He will-"

His lips thinned. "He is not coming, Kate. Get over him already! You deserve someone much better than him."

She was repeating herself a lot today.

"What?

Kate stared at the garden, unseeingly. She looked calm, but after what she gathered from the conversation with her brother, she was anything but. Apparently, she has gone insane with shock after Stuart broke up with her and she had started pretending that she was in love with Leopold, his ancestor and the Duke of Albania.

Apparently.

And she was stuck in this place for the last eight months, supposed to be discharged the next day but she had blotched that up with her early morning outburst.

She glanced at the calender.

Tomorrow was the day she had received her promotion. And also, the day she had left the modern world.

Her jaws tightened.

She would get that discharge certificate by hook or by crook.

"Miss?" A timid voice calls from the door. "It is time for your checkup."

She rose with a new-found determination.

She was NOT going to blow this up.

The doctor was rather surprised at the lucidity she had shown at the interview after morning fiasco. Apparently, the last time she had a breakdown was a month ago and the effects lasted for three days. She tried to eavesdrop on the doctor's conversation with Charlie.

". . . these are some residual effect. . . will be alright. . . continue medications. . . contact immediately. . ."

Straightening up as she heard the door open, she greeted her brother with a smile.

He hugged her after closing the door.

"I'm so sorry about what happened today, Charlie. I don't know what came over me." She felt her heart break about lying to him. "I guess. . . I can't give up on Stuart yet."

"Hey, take it easy, sis. It's okay, you are going home tomorrow."

She looked into his eyes. "I am?"

He nodded with a bright smile on his face.

Her heart cracked a little bit more.

She hugged him.

"You do realize you don't have to cancel your job for my sake?" She said, without removing her eyes from the "fresh creamery butter" advertisement, one which was glaringly without Leopold. "It's important Charlie, you can go. I'll be fine." She felt him fidget beside her. "It's just a few hours." Switching off the television, she turned towards him. "Come on, up you get."

Charlie was visibly torn. "You sure?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not. Just go now. Shoo!"

He heaved a sigh of relief and pecked her on the cheek. "You are the best sis ever!"

She grimaced. "Yeah. I agree."

Not.

She waited till he rounded the corner, then jumped into action. Sifting through her wardrobe, she found the grey dress she wore that day.

She was ready in record time.

Looking carefully, she bolted-but-not-quite out of the doors.

She waited in the dark till the receptionist went to take the timed toilet break.

Perfect.

Flagging down a cab, she quickly mentioned the destination and glanced around one last time before getting in.

Everything was the same. Well, everything, except the absence of Charlie and Stuart.

Even the jam.

She made her way towards the garter.

One feet.

Two feet.

She checked the watch.

The spot where the breach would be closing in a few seconds.

"Ma'am! Wait! This is not right!" Rest of his words were lost in the frantic blowing of his whistle.

Balancing precariously, she took a deep breath.

"MA'AM!"

And she took the leap of faith.

Thanks for reading. Review please?

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