Kate could barely catch her breath as she climbed the stairs to Millard's mansion. Dizzy from alcohol and exhausted from running she wondered how long she had been gone. It felt like only a few minutes and Kate hoped that she could quickly retrieve the note that was left behind for Leopold, before he had a chance to read it. Despite Millard's more than obvious aversion to her relationship with his nephew, Kate returned to the house. She could not imagine her life without Leopold and was not about to allow Millard to destroy their marriage. Somehow they would create a life for themselves, on their own, as it should be. Kate tried to turn the handle of the ornate door, but was stunned to find it locked. Calling out for Leopold and Otis she knocked on the door repeatedly.

"Someone let me in, please!" she begged repeatedly with growing urgency. She continued pounding on the door until her knuckles were reddened and sore, but there was still no response. "Leopold…where are you?" Kate shouted through the door. She wondered if he was out searching for her and Millard had ordered the doors locked, as his final act of renouncing his nephew. She peered through the windows, but the rooms were darkened.

It would not matter how long Kate tried to get inside or how desperately she continued to call for Leopold; he was not there and would never be. Kate was oblivious to the fact that she had indeed jumped from the bridge and no longer existed in 1876. She had not been cognizant of the sights and sounds of the modern city all around her as she ran blindly to Millard's home. Kate had traversed time physically, but her mind had not yet caught up with her physical being. Gradually, familiar sounds began filling her consciousness as a bone chilling, icy sensation slowly crept through every cell in her body. She refused to turn and look toward the street, as the realization of what she had done slowly became an unbearable reality. After several long and agonizing minutes, Kate forced herself to turn her stare toward the sounds she could no longer deny.

She exhaled a ragged breath and felt as if she had hit hard. "No! Oh God no!" Kate cried out; shaking her head in denial as automobiles sped by and electric streetlights illuminated the darkness. It seemed impossible to her that she could have no memory of climbing the bridge or jumping. All she could remember was fleeing toward the bridge and now, running back to Millard's. She banged on the door in desperation, calling out for Leopold. "Oh God…help me." Kate begged, as she leaned her body against the door; paralyzed by the shock and disbelief at what she had done.

"I have to go back…I have to go back." Kate cried; wiping away the tears streaming down her face. Her first impulse was to return to the bridge, but she had no way of knowing if the portal was still open and did not want to leap to her death. She knew there was only one person who could help her return to Leopold. "Stuart….I need Stuart." Kate whispered to herself. She was certain he would help her return right away, hopefully before Leopold would even know what she had done. Weighted down by her heavy Victorian garb and ignoring the inquisitive stares from late night pedestrians, Kate began to run toward her old apartment building.

Stuart did not expect Kate to take him up on his offer to come back, but he could not completely rule it out either. If she were to return home, he assumed she would arrive back on the night she had left. But, as with most science, it could never be exact and there always remained a margin of error. When midnight had passed and there was no sign of Kate, Stuart congratulated himself on a job well done, although it was a bittersweet victory. Stuart could not deny the fact that he would miss Kate.

With the finality of Kate being gone, Stuart thoughts went to Charlie, who had been languishing in the apartment the last few days; lonely, depressed and emotionally ill equipped to begin to pick up the pieces of his life. Charlie was afraid to go out, paranoid that the police would be watching his every move. But within the last few days, Detective Jensen was busy investigating a rash of murders downtown and suddenly; missing marketing executives no longer took precedence.

Stuart needed to get out of the apartment and clear his mind, at least for an hour or so. Things at the university were not going well. In fact, they could not get much worse. He was able to finally convince Charlie to go out and grab a bite to eat. They walked several blocks away to the local all night diner, sitting in a booth next to the window. They were both preoccupied and there was little conversation. Stuart was quite content to watch the attractive new waitress refill the salt-shakers at the counter, while Charlie made trails in a pool of ketchup with his uneaten fries. Stuart finally worked up the nerve to walk over and talk to the attractive blonde, as Charlie stared vacantly out the window. He took notice of an oddly dressed woman scurrying awkwardly past the diner. Charlie was quite certain he had finally gone mad; because he would have sworn that woman was his sister. He blinked hard a few times, as if that would somehow obliterate what had to be a hallucination. He knew it was impossible that it was Kate, but yet he felt inexplicably compelled to go outside and see for himself if his brain had played some sort of cruel trick on him. He quickly bolted out the door and watched the mysterious woman in the peculiar clothing begin to cross the street. Impulsively, Charlie yelled out Kate's name and watched incredulously as she abruptly stopped and slowly turned in his direction.

"Oh my God…" Charlie whispered in disbelief as he stared into Kate's eyes. His heart pounded as he broke out in a cold sweat. Charlie pushed the diner door open, as he watched Kate closely; afraid she might vanish if he looked away even for a second.

"Stu…get over here." He yelled into the diner.

"In a minute." Stuart responded, rather casually.

"No…not in a minute. Get over here….now!" Charlie's voice had a sense of urgency that even Stuart could not ignore. He walked toward Charlie, looking a bit perturbed. "Hey I was just about to get her number."

"Do you see what I see?"

Stuart looked in the direction of Charlie's pointed finger. His eyes widened at the unexpected sight of Kate. "Huh…how do you like that?"

"What? That's all you can say?" Charlie responded; bewildered by Stuart's nonchalance over Kate's mysterious appearance. He did not wait for an answer and began walking quickly toward her with Stuart following slowly behind. Kate was a pathetic, but beautiful sight; her eyes red and swollen from crying, her hair and clothing disheveled. She stood transfixed to her spot on the pavement, her mind still awhirl. In a moment, Charlie was reaching out to touch her arm…still needing proof that she was indeed real. Neither could find suitable words to say at such a moment. Charlie embraced his sister; confused as to how she was able to come back and more importantly; why.

"Hey Kate" Stuart said, greeting her almost as casually as if she had just returned from the mall. "Didn't think you'd take me up on my offer."

Charlie released his hold on Kate as he turned around. "Offer? What offer?" He asked. Kate and Stuart looked at each other, neither responding to Charlie's question. "Would someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Charlie asked again; this time clearly angry that he had been left out of some sort of shared secret.

Kate quickly revealed the details of her life since jumping from the bridge one short week ago. So much had happened and it sounded much more like a script from a period film, although they knew it was all true. Charlie's joy at having his sister return was abruptly interrupted by Kate's final words; "But, I have to go back…right away."

"Go back?" Charlie asked, his expression mirroring his obvious dismay at the thought of Kate leaving him again.

"I made a mistake, Charlie. I'm sorry..I'm so sorry." Kate apologized repeatedly as she looked into her brother's sad eyes; which appeared to be on the verge of tears. She turned toward Stuart, who had stood silently observing their emotional exchange. "Stuart…please get me back. Leopold doesn't know where I am."

Stuart didn't respond immediately; he didn't know how. He didn't know how to tell Kate that his work had gone missing from his office at the university when he had returned from lunch several days ago. His superiors, who believed it was the property of the department, had confiscated it. They believed the discovery was far too monumental and historic for one person to claim the credit. But to Stuart, it was stolen because of intellectual greed and by the very people he had trusted the most. Without it, he didn't know when the portal would be open again and it would take years to recreate all his calculations.

"Stuart! Please…answer me. He's probably looking for me right now."

"Kate..I….uh…" Stuart stopped abruptly. He couldn't do it. He couldn't tell her that she probably would never go back. That she would probably never see her husband again. So instead, he did what he thought best at the time; he lied.

"I have to work on it. I have to be sure it's open."

Kate breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you! Oh..thank God" she cried out as she hugged Stuart.. "You're going to do it right now?"

"Uh…yeah. Right now." Stuart said softly, one lie leading into another.

"OK…I'll wait for you by the river. On the first bench…you know the one."

"Yeah." He knew the one. The same bench he and Kate would sit on and talk for hours early in their relationship. Stuart walked away, feeling guilty and disgusted by his cowardice.

Kate was ecstatic at the thought she would soon be reunited with Leopold. She was not tempted in the least to return to her comfortable life filled with modern day conveniences. She was so consumed with love for him that if she ever had doubts about leaving her life behind, they were now obliterated. A life with Leopold was worth so much more than a cell phone or television. The only pain she felt was leaving her brother behind, again.

"Charlie, come with me. You can be an actor there. You should see the theatres."

Charlie remembered that one desperate night when he went to the bridge and contemplated jumping. He might have taken Kate up on her offer had he not been so in love with Patrice. After months of worshipping her from afar, he finally stood a real chance. He couldn't imagine leaving Patrice now. He wanted to beg Kate to stay. He wanted to tell her that she might die young and he would never know what happened to her. He wanted to tell her that he needed her; she was the only family he had. But, he understood why Kate needed to return to Leopold and he took solace in knowing that she would be loved and cherished.

"I'll be OK. You need to be with Leopld."

They walked arm in arm toward the river and were soon sitting on the bench. Kate chattered away, telling Charlie all the details she never had a chance to the first time she left; such as how to access the funds from her sizeable bank account. Charlie didn't want to tell her that if he touched one penny of it, he would most likely land in jail. He thought it best not to bring up the complicated mess she had left behind.

At least an hour had passed and Kate grew increasingly impatient. She couldn't rid her mind of the image of Leopold frantically searching for her. She asked Charlie to call Stuart to see what was taking him so long. Charlie didn't want to hurry Stuart along. He didn't want to cut short the last moments he would have with his sister. Having her back one last time was somewhat of a miracle and he wanted it to last. He reluctantly dialed Stuart's cell and was disappointed that he answered.

Stuart had returned to the diner to continue his efforts at wooing the waitress. Without thinking, he answered without looking at the caller ID.

"Yeah?"

Charlie walked closer to the river.

"When are you going to get here? She's getting antsy."

"Listen Charlie……I'm just going to have to tell you the truth.. She can't go back." Stuart said bluntly.

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean it's done…over. I'm officially out of the time travel business."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I really can't talk about it. But…things have changed. I can't get her back."

"You mean…tonight?"

"No, I mean….ever."

"Ever…as in never?"

"Yeah…never."

"So you lied to her?" Charlie could feel the heat rising up from his neck.

"I couldn't tell her. I just couldn't do it. I didn't think she was going to come back. What the hell did she do that for?"

"She said she made a mistake. Oh man..this is bad…she's sitting here waiting for you. Oh my God. Stu…how are you going to tell her?"

"Maybe you should tell her."

"Me? How did I get involved in this?"

"It's like telling a woman that her husband just died. I think this sort of thing should come from a family member."

"Oh really. Well…I'm the family member who's going to have to help her through this. This was all your doing. You got her into this, now you get her out."

Whether it was Stuart's guilt over his past indiscretions or his residual feelings for Kate; he easily surrendered. "Fine…I'll do it. She already hates me…can't get much worse…can it?"

"It's about to." Charlie hung up and looked over toward Kate. She smiled and waved at him. She looked so blissful and so unaware of how her life was about to change forever. Charlie walked back and sat next to Kate, instinctively putting his arm around her.

"Is he on his way?"

"Yeah…..he is." Charlie answered as a feeling of dread swept through him.

"Oh good…I can't wait much longer. Did I tell you we're moving to England?"

"Yeah…you did." Charlie smiled at Kate and held her a bit tighter.

While Charlie and Kate waited for Stuart, Leopold arrived back at the river. After he had not found Kate anywhere near the bridge he returned to the hotel, certain she would be waiting for him there. Leopold ran the entire distance swiftly, envisioning Kate in her flowing white nightgown and her lovely face illuminated by the glow of the fire. But, it was not to be. The suite was empty and the staff had not seen her since they both left earlier that day. Leopold returned to the river; dejected but not without hope. Still clutching Kate's glove, he sat on a bench in almost the exact spot where Kate waited. They could feel each other's presence and were both tricked by the naïve innocence and optimism of new love to believe that they would not be in each other's arms that night. They had no way to know that love did not always conquer all.