Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, or any other characters or places belonging to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Author's Note: Wow. I haven't written a fan fiction story in over two years, and certainly none as long as this will be. This is my first Sherlock Holmes fan fiction, and I am extremely nervous. I can't write Sherlock Holmes. I can't channel his "voice". For this reason, this story will be told from the POV of Ann, except for the epilogue which will be told from Watson's POV. This prologue is mainly back story, but some of it will be pretty important later on.

Prologue:

"I cannot believe I'm about to do this."

What had I been thinking? Besides the fact that it was crazy, it was huge, momentous, and absolutely terrifying. Okay, I'm not exaggerating, but it was not all that horrible.

I mean, I had done it before.

Still, that doesn't make this any less insane. I have no doubt that this is the craziest thing I'm ever going to do in my lifetime.

I guess I'll just put it out there. I'm talking about time travel. Ridiculous, no? Well it is. It absolutely is. Part of me still doesn't believe it's possible. But only a little part, because like I said, I've already done a bit of time traveling.

I suppose I should tell you the story about how I got into this mess. My name is Ann Stephens and I live in New York City. I moved here after college about 3 years ago. Well, I've wanted to work in book publishing since middle school. It has never been some big passion of mine, but I wanted to do it for the sole reason that I hate everything else. So, when I went to college, I declared an English major. I moved to Manhattan afterwards and got a job at a bookstore whilst completing an internship. I did that for about a year before I got a starting position at a book publishing company. I make enough to keep from getting a second job, and to pay the rent at the shittiest apartment complex you can imagine.

I'd never admit it to anyone, but I really do not like my job. For the most part, I read submitted manuscripts and show my boss any good ones I come across. At first, it seemed like a dream job, but it got really old, really quickly. I mean, it isn't horrible, but I've been there for two years and haven't made any friends. The job itself is decent (I've read a few good stories), and I am super proud of myself for getting into the profession I wanted only a year after getting my degree. But, still, it sucks.

Well, anyway, about six months after I had started, I was eating alone at star bucks (It had been my birthday that month and I was treating myself to overpriced coffee and a muffin). Then some guy came up to me and asked me who I was. I told him, and he told me his name was Jason Lewis and then he sat down. He started talking to me about high school and what he was doing now. I am horrible with both names and faces, so while I was smiling and nodding and pretending I knew what the hell this guy was talking about, I was desperately trying to remember who he was. It finally clicked. He was a friend of my best friend in high school. We talked for a while and exchanged information promising to hang out sometime.

I never expected to hear from him again, so I was pleasantly surprised when he called later that week. Before I knew it, I had my first real friend in the city. It's Jason that I have to blame for this. This time traveling crap is all his fault. He is a science genius.

As it were, about a year ago he admitted to me when we were out with his other friends that he had been musing on time and time manipulation. He was kinda drunk so I let it go. Then about six months ago he brought the topic up again. He believed that time travel was possible, and he believed that he had found a way to do it. I was less than supportive. I told him that hours and years were just words used to show the passage of time. That time cannot be measured or stopped or thrown in reverse. That you can't make calculations in a way that would give you any kind of results.

He told me that not only did he have the calculations, but that he was making a machine that would make time travel possible. Yes, a machine. How cliché is that?

But then he shared some news with me that was far more upsetting to me at the time than some crazy quest to build a time machine. Jason had been given several grants from universities and private companies to research something about gene manipulation. I'm not sure exactly what he was doing, you'd have to ask him. I'm a complete science idiot. But only about 10% of the money was going towards the gene project. Jason was misappropriating funds to go to his time study and the construction of a machine that I was sure would do nothing.

I was very upset, but I let it go, because what could I do? He was my best friend, and although I did not agree at all with what he was doing, it wasn't like I was going to rat him out.

I was scared though, because Jason wasn't the only person I knew in the city.

About a week after I had moved here, I met this guy on the bus who was about five years older than me. I thought he was a little weird and creepy. But most of my friends in the past had been weird. His name is Thayne West. After about a 45 minute bus ride, I gave him my phone number. I didn't know anyone in the city, so I thought it would be smart to make a friend. Well, he called me a lot, and we hung out a few times, but he just makes me uncomfortable every time I'm around him. It isn't helped by the fact that he is really into me and I never thought of him like that. He's definitely one of those friends you have that you don't know why you're friends with them. Still, if I ever needed a guy to pick me up somewhere, I know he'll help me out.

Well, I'm only mentioning him because his job is basically to keep a lookout on research grants in the city and make sure they are being used accordingly. Ironic, no? Thankfully I'd never introduced Jason to Thayne. I wasn't too worried though, because the guy who kept the books on Jason's team was pretty f*ing amazing.

This leads me to about six weeks ago where the fun really starts. Jason came over to celebrate the fact that he had sent a hat back in time. Yes, like the article worn on the head.

I didn't believe him in the slightest, so he took me to the New York convention complex. This was apparently where they had been conducting their research. He'd rented out a room in the basement. The complex used to be really nice until about five years ago when a new convention center was built in Manhattan. This complex was nice enough, but it was in its declining years. Several rooms had been blocked off, and the maintenance staff had been cut in half. I believe, this is how they had managed to construct what looked like an elevator in the conference room with no questions asked. Plus there were no other basement rooms in use. Other than the machine, a medium-sized conference table with chairs, and what I shortly found out was a small closet, the room was empty.

Jason told me that there was usually someone there at all times, but tonight they had taken a break to toast to their success. There were five members of his team total (This does not include his gene team. That was a completely different group of people that I have never met). Jason's team consisted of himself, 2 other scientist, and 2 other guys that did everything else: fixed the books, ordered supplies, and pretty much made sure they didn't end up in prison. The next time I would come here there would be papers and plans all over the place, but for now it was clean and quiet.

He sat me down on one side of the table before sitting down on another side himself. Then he began to give me the basics of how it worked. The first is that nothing can be changed. No matter how you try, nothing you can do will change what already is.

The second is that two things can exist simultaneously: the past object, and the present object sent to the past.

Then he offered to give me a demonstration. He told me to go into the closet and do whatever I needed to in order to convince myself that is was absolutely empty. Well, the closet was absolutely tiny. There was only enough room to stand. There was nothing in it, and the walls and ceiling were smooth. There was no other opening. I was convinced.

Then he told me to sit back down and pick something that I wanted to send back in time. I decided on one of my shoes. After one minute, he told me if I were to go look in the closet now, my shoe would be in there. I would have my two shoes that I was wearing, and the one I had sent in the past. I felt no apprehension as I walked to the closet door, because I was absolutely sure there would be nothing in it. I opened it…

There it was, exactly as he had said. I had two identical right shoes. Scuffs in the same place. I had my irrefutable proof that time travel was possible. I'm sure if I wanted to I could have come up with another way that my shoe could have ended up there, but I've never been one for conspiracy theories, and I didn't think my friend would lie to me.

Jason didn't say anything to me. He just let me stand there and take it all in. He interrupted me after four minutes though.

"I need your shoe."

I looked at him.

"What?"

"I need your shoe. The original one. The one you're wearing right now. When we sent back the hat, we calculated five minutes exactly. I plan to do the same for your shoe, and time is running out quickly. Give me your shoe."

I handed him my right shoe and he placed it in the elevator. He closed the elevator door and checked the calculations on his remote. He then pressed a button. All was still for a moment. He then opened the machine's door. It was empty.

To make this a little easier to understand:

Minute 1-I finished checking closet

Minute 2-Shoe appeared in closet

Minutes 2-5 I stared at the shoe dumbly

Minute 5- Shoe taken off foot and stuck in elevator

Minute 6-Shoe sent back in time

The shoe was in the past from the beginning of minute 2 to the beginning of minute 6. It was in the past for a total of 5 minutes.

Confused yet?

To be honest, I didn't really care about the math of it. I was too busy looking at a smirking Jason. I put the shoe that was still in my hand back on my foot and sat back down. I had so many questions, but before I asked him, I said one word.

"Congratulations."

His smirk faded into a genuine smile. Then I started grilling him. He gave me so many answers, most of which I couldn't understand. However, there was one thing I understood the importance of. The closet. I'll explain to you why in a minute.

Jason and I then left and went out to celebrate. He told me that they were going to try time traveling on living animals in 2 days when they got more of their power source in. I know it's something that ends in -ium, so I think it may be radioactive, but I'm not sure.

I asked him if I could be there on Friday when they ran the test. He seemed thrilled that I wanted to be involved with this and assured me that I should be there. I think he was looking for assurance that what he was doing was a good thing. And that since I had been so skeptical, my approval really mattered to him.

Of course, two days is a long time to think, especially since what had happened and what was to come was the only thing on my mind. During this time, my attitude about the entire project pulled a 180. How could they be so reckless? Did they not know how dangerous they were being? And I didn't care if he told me you can't change the past, I believed that if I traveled to the birth of George Washington, took out a gun and shot at him, he would die and America would be very different today (Not that I would do that, because, you know, I'm not down with murder).

It then became my intention to go to the convention center on Friday and speak to Jason privately about it. Despite how outraged I had become about the whole project, I was scared to talk to his team members. Who was I to tell some complete strangers that what they were doing was morally wrong? Hell, I'm sure these guys don't even want me there at all. How pissed would they be at Jason for spilling this huge secret to me?

Well, when I showed up on Friday, the entire room was in complete disarray. There were files and papers an the table and floor. There were cages with frogs and worms and other various small animals. Jason introduced me to everyone else, and if they were upset, they didn't show it. In fact, a couple of the guys seemed just as excited as Jason that I was there. Whatever.

I won't bore you too much with the trials. We started with the worms, and when they came through the process alive, we went on to slightly bigger animals, finishing with a mouse. They all remained alive.

Jason then informed me that they were going to repeat the test Wednesday on dogs if the autopsies from today's animals came back positive.

I asked to speak to him alone, and we stepped out into the parking lot. I told him about all of my anxieties about this whole thing. Not only about what could happen in history, but what could happen to the animals he's experimenting on. It could turn their brains to mush, or cause tumors or paranoia. Who's to say it won't up and cause their heart to explode?

I kept my best from sounding irrational, because I knew he would take anything I had to say to heart if I did. I also knew that this was a scientific breakthrough and tests had to be run.

He did his best to try and tell me that they had already taken this into consideration. I knew that he had, but I still didn't think they we being safe enough. I mean, after only one test they were already moving on to dogs. At this rate, how long before they starting human experimentations? I figured not long. And I was right. Jason told me that if all went well, they would try it on a living human being in 2 weeks, provided they could find someone crazy enough to do it.

I guess that's the perk of having a project that is underground, you don't have to adhere to any regulations.

He invited me back on Wednesday because he thought I might feel better about it if I could supervise everything going on. He assured me that everyone wanted me there because "I was a part of this now." I agreed to come back against my better instincts, because I knew I couldn't just forget about this whole thing now. Later that night when I was trying to fall asleep, I realized that I was an accomplice.

We did the dog trials on Wednesday, and the dogs seemed healthy and happy afterwards. They were checked out by a vet and seemed to have no medical problems. Even though it was a success, I finally lost it with Jason. I told him that I couldn't allow him to try this on a human being. It wasn't ethical, and it was not okay. I threatened to turn him in or take a bat to his precious machine.

He told me that they were having trouble finding anybody willing to go through with it. James, the guy who does the books was going to do it if they couldn't find anyone else. He was starting to get angry with me. He told me if I didn't want anyone else to do it, then I could do it myself. They were going to pay the person $10,000 for each trip. I should have slapped him for saying that. I wished I had. But instead I just left him to fume.

At home that night, I broke down. I started crying about the crappy position I was in. Did I call Thayne up and confess everything to him, or just forget about the whole thing and let some dumbass kill themself because they want to time travel. I just sobbed for hours. I'm not going to lie, I was PMSing pretty bad. It was about 11 o'clock and I still didn't know what to do.

Then the people who live right above me started having sex. Really, really loudly. This isn't an unusual occurrence, but that night it was more than I could take. I figured I needed to calm down, go to the living room and just watch TV or something. I pass by the bathroom, and the carpet squishes beneath my feet. I turn on the bathroom light, and there is an inch of water all over the floor. I took a quick look, and couldn't figure out where the water had come from. I then stood in the water and started laughing manically.

I made my decision about what I needed to do. The first was to get the fuck out of my apartment before I start breaking shit. So I went to grab my shoes and a sweater.

I know that a 25 year old female should not be walking alone on the street in NYC at 11 at night. But I didn't really care what happened to me at that point. As it were I didn't have any problems. I reached Jason's place about 30 minutes later.

When he opened the door and saw me, he looked nervous and relieved all the same (He later told me that he spent all day in a panic because he didn't know what I was going to do). He invited me in, and asked why I was there. I think he also realized that I was in a crazy mood. I asked him if he was serious about the money. That was the last thing I think he expected me to ask. He told me that yes, he was.

I told him I would do it.

I'll never forget how his expression changed from disbelief to confusion, and then to joy. He asked me if I was serious. I told him that I was. That I didn't care about safety risks or possible brain explosion. I just couldn't stand another night in my apartment. I spent the night on his couch. It was so uncomfortable I actually almost wished I was back at my apartment.

The next two weeks flew by. They continued their experiments on animals, and also on a human corpse. I wasn't able to attend these because of work commitments and the fact that I was looking for a new place. (And I didn't care to see a dead body)

Jason told me of the trials I was expected to do. Not only would I be going back in time, but they would attempt to bring me back to the present before the time when I would naturally rejoin them. I would also be sent through space as well. Actually, that is what they had already been doing. That is why everything always ends up in the closet instead of inside the elevator. Space is actually much easier to calculate because we have the stars as a reference point. But they would practice sending me other places than the closet.

If all of these tests go flawlessly, then they were going to do one big trip. They would send me back to an time and place of my choosing (No more than 300 years because then the language barrier would be too much) for six months. It was here that I said no. I wasn't going to be stuck in some place where I can't leave if I want to. I also have a job that I couldn't just quit. He told me they would give me $200,000. I thought about it overnight before agreeing.

I didn't allow myself to think about it too much in case I lost my nerve. But, actually, I was getting pretty excited about the whole thing. I guess I threw caution to the wind. I was already willing to accept stolen money for my own selfish reasons. There wasn't much else I wasn't willing to do by that point.

Well, finally they day came. I went back to the convention center after work. Everyone seemed very nervous. Except for me. I only thought about the money. I had been checked out by a doctor a week before, to make sure I didn't already have come tumors or heart problems or anything. When everything was ready, Jason started the stopwatch. After one minute he told us, "If you go through with this, you could be in that closet now."

That disturbed me. A lot. "You mean I could be in there listening to myself at this exact moment?"

"Yes."

Creepy. After four minutes, they asked me to step into the elevator. That one minute in the elevator was the longest minute of my life. Then there was this blinding light and the next thing I know, I'm standing in the closet. A few seconds later I hear Jason say, "If you go through with this, you could be in that closet now."

Then I heard the worst thing I ever thought I would. I heard myself speaking. I never thought that the sound of my own voice would inspire so much terror in me. "You mean I could be in there listening to myself at this exact moment?"

It was then that I fully appreciated the usefulness of the closet. I think they knew how awful it make me feel to hear myself. At that moment I wanted nothing more than to run out and kill the imposter. There were two of me right then in that moment. It was as much as I could bear. I did everything I could to stay still and silent. I could only imagine what would have happened if I didn't end up in the closet, but a corner of the conference room and actually saw myself. A few minutes later, one of his team members opened the door.

"She's alive!"

There was a general cheer of celebration. After a quick diagnosis to make sure I wasn't brain dead, they asked me to share my experience with them. I told them about the light. They said it must be a part of time traveling because there was no light on their end. I told them about how angry it made me to hear myself. They told me they expected that.

Afterwards, I was taken back to the same doctor. He was a nice older gentleman. I would have thought that he ran a family practice except for one reason: he didn't ask any questions. He didn't ask why I was there or anything personal about me. We pretty much chatted about current events. I would see him a lot from then until now. In fact, I saw him only this morning.

Jason ask me that night to start thinking seriously about my big trip. He needed to know where I wanted to go so he could start making preparations. It seemed likely that everything was going to work out.

I knew that I wanted to go to England. That was kind of a given. America in the past had its ups and downs. I also figured this was my one chance, so I might as well go crazy with it. But, I didn't want to live in some poor country where I'll die from lack of sanitation. I was also kind of imagining the Victorian era in the back of my mind. I actually knew a little bit about that time from what I had watched in "The Forsyte Saga", and read in "Sherlock Holmes".

Well, I had received the money from my first test and decided to wait until I got back from my trip to rent a new place. No use wasting money for a place I won't be living in for six months. But then, the most perfect rooms opened up unexpectedly. I knew that if I didn't rent them now, they wouldn't be there when I got back. So I did it. And they are extremely expensive. I spent most of the rest of my time here moving in a decorating. My sister and her boyfriend even came in out of state to stay with me for a few nights before I left. (Of course, I didn't tell them I was going anywhere. I wanted the least amount of questions possible asked.)

I told them the money came from an advance on a book I was writing. Which leads me to my job. I told my boss that I was leaving to write a book. She seemed really supportive and told me to come to them first to publish it. And then she told me that my job was always available to me if I ever wanted to come back. She was just really sweet about the whole thing. Even my coworkers who I've barely ever spoken to seemed sad to see me go. I guess I didn't realize how much I was liked there.

I completed all of my tests with Jason (ten in total). We had decided to send me back to January 3, 1894. It was just a random day with no significance. We weren't looking for special. My sole job was to observe and keep a journal of everything I do and see.

Last night, he showed me everything I was to take with me on my trip. He had gathered replica period clothing, and more difficultly, money. I never did ask him if the money was real or counterfeit. I didn't want to know, I guess. But he had given me enough to live decently while I was there. I had a suitcase for my clothes, underneath which, I lay a ton of tampons. Because tampons are a must have. I also brought along enough contact lens and solution for my trip, because I am practically blind without them. And I don't like glasses. I especially wouldn't like the glasses of the time. These are the only modern things I was allowed to take with me.

And that leads to now. I am standing in the conference room dressed in the most ridiculous dress I have ever worn in my entire life. I have bras and panties shoved in every fold of the dress to avoid detection from the team, because I am not a fan of Victorian day underwear. I have my suitcase beside me, and I do not feel at all prepared for what I am about to do. I have of course been studying up, but I don't think that's going to be enough for me. Jason has already wired me the money for this trip. I used a large chuck of it to pay off my rent for the next two years, and what was left was spread over a few accounts. It just isn't wise to keep a suspiciously large amount of money in one place.

"Alright Ann, if you could go ahead and step into the machine, we can do this".

I said my last goodbyes to everyone, and got a few "good lucks" in return. I stepped into the elevator, and James handed me my suitcase. He gave me one last reassuring smile.

The elevator door is closing now… a few seconds… a flash of light.