"Heart rate slow but strong and there's a large bump on the back of her head. I wonder where it came from?" Someone muttered as I felt a hand lightly touching the back of my head.
"What matters to me right now is why I had to carry her back here to Baker Street. She wasn't exactly light and besides why not just leave her at the nearest hospital? " Another voice asked and I bit back a gasp as the hand pressed a little too hard on my head.
"Holmes, how can you be so cruel? She's injured and it wouldn't be right to leave her on her own." The other voice scolded and I would have nodded if I had been able to lift my head.
"You are a soft touch, Watson. We are not here to pick up everyone we find lying in the gutter." The second voice pointed out, his footsteps moving close to where I lay. When I felt a tug on the collar of my slightly dirty white shirt my chocolate-brown eyes shot open, finding one man standing over me and the other kneeling at my side. It took my eyes several seconds to clear though once they did I realized that these were the two men I'd run into minus the hats. "See, she's fine."
"W..who are you two?" I whispered, trying to push myself into a sitting position using my elbows. Seeing this the man with the neatly trimmed moustace kneeling beside me gently pushed an open palm against my left shoulder, pushing me back until I was lying again. "Where am I?"
"I'm Doctor John Watson and this is my collegue Sherlock Holmes. You're at our apartment, 221B Baker Street." He answered as his collegue stepped away from me, moving towards a table in the middle of the room. "We never got your name, Miss?" John asked as I reached into my pocket for my wallet only to pause when I noticed it was empty.
"Huh? I was sure it was in here somewhere." I muttered, sitting up slightly as I quickly shoved my palm into my right jean pocket. Watching me search both of my jeans pockets for a few seconds, Sherlock finally spoke.
"Is this what you're looking for, Miss Katherine?" The black haired man asked and I narrowed my eyes, noticing for the first time the black wallet I always carried between his fingers. Without even a glance at me Sherlock opened it, extracting the plastic identification card inside.
"Hey give that back!" I yelled, or coughed to be more accurate as I made another attempt to climb from my resting place. I only succeeded in landing on my face, leaving me with a sore nose and a bruised ego as Watson helped me up off the carpet. "Thief." I muttered, rubbing the end of my nose as Sherlock headed my way.
"Actually I'm a detective." Sherlock informed me and I rolled my eyes towards the ceiling as he reached my side. "Now why did you find it nessisary to run into us, Miss Katherine?" He asked and I shook my head, holding my right hand out for the card he'd taken.
"Why is that any of your business, Holmes? Now hand that back before I..." I blinked the instant he held the card directly at my face, inches from my nose.
"Before you will do what?" Sherlock asked, holding the card just out of reach when I made a grab for it again. Growling I tried to stand only to have Watson shake his head, eyes narrowed slightly at Sherlock as he kept a hand on my shoulder.
"Holmes, please give the young lady back her...whatever you took from her." Watson sighed and after a pause Sherlock actually complied, though I saw just the hint of a smug smile as he handed it back to me. Quickly stuffing it back into my pocket in case he tried to take it a second time I glared up at the detective who stood over me.
"Thank you, Watson. I'm sorry I ran into you both but I was being chased and it seemed like the smart thing to do. The running away not the running into you. Especially when one of them tried to shoot me." I answered, leaning against the back of the couch.
"Why were they after you? Did you take something from them?" Sherlock asked me and I growled, climbing from the couch despite Watson's effort to keep me seated.
"How dare you accuse me of being a thief when you stole my wallet!" I shouted, swaying a little as I narrowed my eyes at him. More or less on my feet I tilted my head back slightly to stare at him, arms crossed against my chest. "You have a lot of nerve."
"I did not steal your wallet. It slipped from your jeans as I was carrying up into our apartment. I merely retrieved it to find out your identity, nothing more. You should be thanking me for carrying your...I suppose curvy self up an entire flight of stairs." Sherlock replied, meeting my gaze without moving. After a few seconds I sighed, holding my hand out and he handed the wallet back.
"Alright I guess I should be thanking you, Sherlock then. Thank you as well, John for looking after me so well. I really don't know why those two men were after me...what now?" I told them, noting that now Sherlock was rubbing his chin with the fingers on one hand. "Are you going to make fun of me again? I know I'm kind of curvy but I don't think that really matters does it?"
"You say you are innocent but I know that's a lie." Sherlock said completely ignoring the comment about my weight and I blinked, eyes widening as he paced the room. "You took something from them didn't you?"
"How did you know that?" I asked, slightly confused and he raised a finger into the air. With that same smug smile he removed something from his jacket pocket and I stared at the tiny statue clutched in his palm.
"I saw this in your pocket and it seems a strange item to be carrying around with you. That leads me to believe that those two men that pursued you were looking for this. The only question is why?" Sherlock said, fiddling with the statue and I shook my head.
"It's a long story but the fact is I caught them trying to steal it while I was touring a museum. I grabbed it instead and I was all set on giving it to the authorities until I saw something in one of the thieves' jacket pockets. I thought it looked like a gun so I made the choice to run away." I told them, ignoring the sudden dizziness. "I know how that sounds but it's the honest truth."
"There are a few things I'd like to clarify with you, Miss Katherine. First you said they were planning on stealing this statue. How could you possilby know that?" Sherlock asked as I moved to a chair resting near the table. Sitting I looked up to see both men staring at me.
"I saw one of the men, younger than me, looking around the area as the other man stepped towards the display. The younger man looked kind of nervous, his eyes keep darting around the room and that made me suspicious. It wasn't until I moved closer to the display that he noticed me and he turned to alert his collegue. The other man, startled by my presence, dropping the statue and it rolled to my feet. Once they saw me bend to pick it up the older man pointed to me and I remember thinking that I needed to keep it away from them. I don't know why I thought that at the time." I explained, rubbing the bridge of my nose with my thumb.
"So you didn't see the gun you only assumed that the older man had one on his person?" Sherlock asked and I groaned, more from his casual attitude then my headache.
"Look I might not have seen the gun at first but when they cornered me in that warehouse I saw it for real. I mean the man practically shoved the muzzle of the gun in my face, threating me if I didn't hand the statue straight to them. Do you believe me now, Sherlock?" I answered and he gave me a tiny nod, walking the length of the room as I coughed.
"Miss Katherine, do you know where the men are now?" Sherlock asked me, now standing at the window and I shook my head. "Then we must find them. This is exactly the kind of case I needed and just in time too."
"So they can finish what they started?!" I shouted, rising from the chair with my eyes narrowed at him. "If that statue hadn't glowed when it did I wouldn't be lying dead with a bullet hole in my forehead. Now you want to let them finish the job?"
I stepped towards Sherlock who just watched me, occassionally blinking until I reached the window. "Miss Katherine, please calm yourself. It won't do you any good to get worked up." Watson told me and I turned my head raising my eyebrows at the doctor.
"Look so far today I've been chased, threatened with a gun and knocked into a wall. Then I fainted and I wake up here. I think I'm allowed to be a little upset don't you think?" I replied as Sherlock watched on, silent. Knowing he wasn't going to help me I turned towards the open doorway intending to leave under my own power until Sherlock nodded. "Wait so now you believe me?" I asked him and he shook his head after a moment leaving me very confused.
"When you say that you have no clue as to what this statue is, that I do not believe. However I believe that you were being honest when you say you're not a thief. So Miss Katherine I will take your case if you make one thing clear to me." Sherlock said and I nodded, feeling a weight lifted from my shoulders as he held the statue between his fingers. "Why were those two men willing to commit murder just to obtain it?"
"I had an idea why but if I'm right...well, it sounds crazy and that's the last thing I want you both to think." I stopped talking them, crossing the room to reach the paper strewn on the table. Picking it up I glanced at the date only to feel faint and if I hadn't felt a strong arm gripping mine I think I would have passed out again. "1884?"
"That can't be right...it must be a mistake. I thought time traveller was a myth." I heard myself muttering as I paced the room once I was sure I wasn't going to pass out again. On either side of the room both detective and doctor exchanged a look of surprise as I stared past Sherlock, looking through the curtains at the city below.
"Miss Katherine, what are you mumbling about?" Sherlock finally asked and I turned around so abruptly I nearly slammed into Sherlock. "Calm down would you?"
"Sorry. It's just I know this is going to sound crazy but...I think that statue brought me here." I answered and Sherlock just raised his left eyebrow.
"Actually I carried you here." He pointed out and I sighed, brushing my jeans in an effort to calm myself. "Miss Katherine, are you feeling unwell?"
"I just need to sit for a few minutes." I replied, moving back to the couch only to find it already occupied. I stared as a basset hound stared back at me, head tilted to one side. "Um...hello?" I said to the dog who had the decency to shift over enough for me to sit beside it.
"That's Toby, the best nose in the British Empire." Sherlock told me as I gave the dog a head scratch. Giving my hand a lick he moved until he was sitting in my lap and I shrugged, patting Toby as Watson watched on with a smile. "So what were you talking about earlier? Something about time travel?"
"Yeah I know that sounds really strange but I'm pretty sure that statue brought me here, to 1884." I told him and Watson, the former raising both eyebrows.
"Forgive me for saying this, Miss Katherine but that doesn't make any sense. Why do you think you...travelled through time?" Waston asked and I rubbed my eyes, wishing I'd never even tried to stop those thieves.
"Look at my identification card, the one Sherlock 'borrowed' from me. Check the date of birth." I answered as I handed the card to Watson, returning to stroking Toby's fur as it seemed like the only thing stopping me from panicking. Bringing the card over to Sherlock I waited somewhat patiently as they studied the card. In just a few seconds they both looked at me, my attention on Toby who yawned.
"This is an excellent forgery, nothing more." Sherlock said, waving the card in the air.
"It's not a forgery!" I yelled and Toby whinned, making me rub his ears as a way of apologizing. "Look where can you make a card like that in London?" Sherlock went silent as he thought about my question and when he didn't answer I gave him a tiny smile. "I thought so. You don't have an answer to that do you?"
"I never said that, Miss Katherine." Sherlock protested, slightly annoyed as Waston's hand covered his mouth. "I just don't believe it's possible to travel from one time to another. Maybe in a book but not in real life."
"I couldn't care less if you believe that I was pulled here from another time. I won't be born until sometime in the year nineteen eighty-five so as of now I shouldn't even exist yet." I explained, giving Toby another head scratch when he nuzzled my hand with his nose. "Are you accusing me of lying again, Holmes?"
"Is that what I said, Miss Katherine?" Sherlock answered and I snorted, shaking my head after a moment. "Though it does sound like a story a child might make up. Or someone who needs professional help."
That last comment made me stumble to my feet nearly knocking Toby to the floor who yelped, quickly leaping to the floor the moment he felt me start to stand. Staring up at me with big brown eyes he whimpered and I softened, ignoring the pain in the rear detective long enough to kneel beside the Basset Hound. I gave his head a pat and he licked my hand before he made his way towards a pet basket under the window.
"As you can clearly see I'm not a child. Neither am I delusional, Sherlock. Please keep that in mind when you next decide to insult someone you barely even know." I told him, arms crossed against my chest. "Others might not forgive you so easily." I added, taking a seat on the couch again with a smug grin on my lips when Sherlock didn't answer.
Even Watson seemed slightly amused by Sherlock's silence, a tiny smile on his lips as the detective raised his eyebrow at me then his friend.
"I was merely allowing you to give your opinion while I made my own observations about you, Miss Katherine. You are in your early twenties, slightly overweight and 5'4."
"Just for the record I'm actually in my early thirties but, other than that, you're spot on." I said, resting my arm on the left side of the couch. My smile just widened when Sherlock and Watson both looked at me and that made me giggle. "The look on your faces right now."
