Kate lay awake that night, listening to Leopold's steady breathing. Questions slid around her mind as she continued to grasp what Leopold had told her. You could see Charles again…next portal. She sat up quickly and parted the blinds, looking into the star-studded sky.

How could this work? She scolded herself. People will take one look at you and faint dead away…you were last seen leaping off the Brooklyn Bridge. Charlie and Stuart would understand of course, but how would you feel if someone you hadn't seen in months…someone you thought was DEAD, suddenly appeared. She shook her head slightly and slid her coat on.

The rustle of her coat woke Leopold, who sat up slowly. His eyes, which seemed to sparkle constantly, fell on Kate. "You couldn't sleep, Kate?" he asked, his voice low with concern. She smiled at him.

"I've had a lot to think about, I guess. I mean…I have a chance to see my brother again, even if it does mean skipping forward 100 years. There are just a lot of questions unanswered, Leopold." Leopold looked thoughtful, and opened his arms. Kate slipped into them and nestled her head on his shoulder.

"Perhaps I can clear up a few questions for you, Kate," Leopold murmured into her hair. So Kate spilled to Leopold what she'd been thinking. All the while, Leopold stroked her hair with a small smile playing on his face.

Although Kate loved the duke with all her heart, that smile infuriated her. It always showed that he knew something that she didn't, and was just bursting to tell her. "Leopold…" she said, firm but sweet, gazing up at him through soft eyes.

Leopold was ready. "The next portal opens the day after tomorrow," he said in a quick, low tone. "If we choose to go, we will return from wherever you leapt. Charles and Stuart will be there, as they were when you'd left. The only thing that may have changed is the fact that Stuart and Charles will have known you've been gone. I shall remain as who I was…Stuart's friend. I'm quite positive…completely positive, actually…that the portal will be opened 5:00am."

Kate wrinkled her nose and grinned wryly. "And if not, we'll go plunging to our deaths." Leopold chuckled and kissed her head.

"Ah, but we'll plunge to our deaths together, my Katherine," he said teasingly. Kate looked dubious, then broke into a grin.

"Sold!"

The next morning, Kate and Leopold set to work. Kate requested her seamstress to sew a pair of trousers. Her seamstress flashed her mistress a strange, vague look. Kate told her that she and Leopold were going riding.

Meanwhile, Leopold poured over the diagrams and sketches, calculating. His good friend, Otis, looked over the duke's shoulder with a puzzled expression. "My Duke, have you lost it yet again?" Leopold looked up with a pleased smile.

"Perhaps I have, Otis. Perhaps I have." Leopold laughed heartily, his smile fading at the worried face of his friend.

"Leopold…Forgive me, but I must say, how did you come upon Duchess Katherine? She's quite a handful, as you could be at times, but how? You could have chosen the richest of them all, yet the first penniless young blonde that stumbles in, figuratively speaking, you choose as your wife. She lacks the etiquette of our time. I know I've closely monitored each of your meetings, but you slipped this one by. How? Why? Please answer me that, Leopold!"

Leopold bit back a smile. Dear Otis, you have never been more right, she's not from our time. Now she is…Leopold looked Otis straight in the eye. "A simple twist of fate, Otis. A simple twist of fate."

Otis frowned slightly. It frustrated him when Leopold gave answers like that. And as for Miss Katherine…she sure was different. Leopold was full of secrets, and Otis was determined to uncover them.

Later on, as Kate chatted lightly with the cook, Leopold swept up and took her gently by the elbow. "I apologize, but I must steal my wife for a moment." But to Kate, his eyes said much more. As Kate hurried alongside Leopold, she watched him whip out his pocket watch.

Leopold leapt gracefully onto his waiting horse, and held his hand out to Kate, who grasped it. For a moment she stood, just relishing the feel of his warm, strong hand in hers. She was then eased onto the horse. With a quick cluck of his tongue, the horse trotted off, Kate's head rested on Leopold's shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

Silently tying the horse up by the bridge, Leopold took a basket out of the saddlebag with a heart-melting grin. "I don't suppose you expected us to leap forward 100 years and not be hungry, Kate"

That was all Kate could take. She swallowed back tears, but to no avail. Tears cascaded down her cheeks, and she sniffed inaudibly. Leopold, a smile still on his face, raised his eyes to Kate's. The smile faded instantly, and he dropped the loaf of bread he held.

"KATE!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side. "Kate, what happened? You're crying!" his gentle finger wiped tenderly at each tear. "Tell me what's wrong!"

Kate sighed softly. "Leopold, for years I searched for Mr. Right, but to no avail. Then suddenly, POOF! Some duke from the year 1876 comes into my life, and my life is changed forever! I don't know why you came into my life. When Stuart said…you'd left…I felt desolate, like I'd lost something major in my life. And I almost did!"

Leopold was quiet, and held Kate for awhile, breathing in her scent. Soon, Kate was asleep in his arms. Leopold fell asleep himself. A low hissing sound awoke him, and he shook Kate gently.

"Kate! Kate!" he said urgently. Kate stirred and her blue eyes flicked open, eyelashes framing her tear stained face. Leopold smiled warmly. "Come dry your tears, my Kate. You don't want your brother to see you crying."

Kate got the point, and with Leopold's encouragement, cautiously climbed the treacherous height to the top of the Brooklyn Bridge. Once she was sure Leopold was safely in her arms, her heart rate slowed. She gazed down at the swirling fog below, then at Leopold, who nodded calmly. Kate took a deep breath, tottered to the edge, then whirled and threw her arms around Leopold, kissing him firmly. She then raced and leapt off the Bridge.

Before she hit the mist, she craned her neck to see Leopold come rocketing down after her…then darkness.