New York, 5th of June 2013

Katherine fumbled with her keys under Edward's gaze. He wasn't directly staring at her but rather at everything in the inside of her car. She, however, did not doubt that he could easily notice if she was trying to make a run for it or trying to call the police on her phone. His blades were visible, as if a constant threat - your life is on the line, Katherine, do as he says and you will be fine. If he truly believed himself to be a fictional character and had no knowledge of the world he was in, whether it be because of an injury or him being completely disillusioned, perhaps there was a way to get herself out of this predicament.

"What sort of device this?" Edward pressed the button for the stereo which triggered her iPod to continue playing in the car and take him by surprise. The man moved back in his seat, his eyes wide in shock as he quickly hit the button again to stop it. His voice was somewhat panicked, "What was that?"

She just stared at him, her mouth open. Her brain could formulate no thoughts other than to register that she was truly in disbelief of this man. It wasn't possible for someone to wake-up and just forget about modern technology. Even technophobes, however much they disliked it, knew of computers and television and iPods. Katherine closed her mouth and managed to start her car, she glanced to the side to see him waiting for an answer and then turned her gaze forward again.

"Is it a shanty machine?"

Katherine didn't bother to reply, instead she pressed down on the accelerator and saw from the corner of her eye that the man was gripping the seat. If she wasn't scared for her life, she would have laughed at him. It was like taking an animal for their first drive. He seemed to quickly get a grip of himself, staring out the window in awe of all the passing lights and people.

"What manner of machinery is this? Where... Where exactly am I, lass?" He turned to face her, "Lass?

Katherine glared ahead. She did not intend for her voice to be so shaky, she wanted to be angry not scared, "My name is not lass, its Katherine and don't play nice with me now. You just threatened my life before! You can find your answers elsewhere."

Her eyes set on the road ahead of her, she pressed the button that lowered the windows to let some air in. She didn't want to notice his shock as he saw the window on his side move downwards and stop at a certain point. Good, she thought, let him never find the answers he seeks. Katherine's eyes widened in revelation and her lips twitched upwards. Having this mad-man in her car was a gateway, if he truly didn't know anything she could drive him to the police station and he wouldn't have the slightest clue. Just like that, she could be rid of him and go home and pretend that this ordeal never happened. It could be done easily, she could take him in and tell an officer what had happened. They would lock him up and take him far far away from where she was.

"Katherine… How did you lower the glass and how is it that you are navigating this land-ship so well in the midst of a storm?" His voice was softer and curious.

Scoffing at the term 'land-ship', Katherine rolled her eyes and replied rudely, "I'm magic."

"You're a witch, then?"

A wicked grin managed to make its way upon her lips, "Yes, yes I am. Don't try anything. I'll burn you with my mind."

Katherine muttered the word 'Incendio' under her breath. He sneered, his brows were furrowed and he moved a little closer to the window. Edward kept his mouth for some time as she drove to the nearest station she knew of. Katherine thought him a child, a terrible child with hidden blades and a murderous gleam in his eyes. She forgot he was injured, she could tell the police that perhaps he had gotten into a bar fight or something. The truth he believed was not substantial, 'Oh yes, officer. He said he jumped off a ship and hit his head and woke up in Times Square. Real moving stuff, right?' – It was silly to even thinking about. They were coming closer to the station, about fifteen minutes away if traffic was kind to her. There was a tight feeling her stomach, if her plan failed she did not want to think about what would happen to her.


Edward sat silently as the woman navigated her land-ship. It appeared that she didn't want to be around him as much as he didn't want to be around her. He didn't care though, all he need was her to help get him back to the Jackdaw and then he would be free of her. Turning his head just the slightest, he noted that she was decent looking – auburn hair and green eyes. Perhaps she could do more than help him locate the Jackdaw, she could warm his bed too. He smirked at the woman, though she did not notice him. Edward could easily manipulate her, make her believe that if she helped him there would be some reward at the end and that he was grateful.

He only really needed to use her to figure out where he was and how he could get back home. It was a task that most likely would not take long if the woman cooperated. Somehow he had a feeling that she wouldn't cooperate easily. His mind jumped from his current dilemma to the structures they passed. He really was somewhere else, he had never seen houses that were so… square with so many windows. Edward's jaw clenched as he noticed a line of land-ships waiting in a line, one behind the other. It was too strange, this place he was in. It seemed populous, like a colony of the British – where were the redcoats patrolling the area? Actually, he didn't care so much that they weren't in sight, it was better for him that they weren't wandering around. Pickpocketing would be easier.

The woman, Katherine, sighed and kept her eyes ahead. He could tell from her rigid posture that she feared him or the very least, feared her life. An unwilling woman would not help him let alone sleep with him, he thought. He threatened her because she was being mad, saying things and going back on them. It had to be done, she had to understand that he needed to return to the Jackdaw. Edward needed to find Adé in Havana, he needed to return to Nassau and his friends. Moreover, what he needed now was for this woman to be willing to help him so that all those other things could be fulfilled. If feigning gratitude and making himself seem like nothing more than a lost traveller would get him that, it could be done.

"Katherine, I'm sorry for threatening you earlier." Edward said, his face clear of any emotion.

She scoffed, "You're just saying that because you think I'll burn you."

"No," He said firmly, "I know you're not a witch and I really am sorry for that."

"No you're not." The woman muttered, shaking her head.

"Believe it or not, lass. I don't normally threaten women, I'm not like that."

A raucous laugh slipped out of her mouth, "Are you saying that you're a gentleman of sorts? Wow. Yeah, I don't believe that."

He stopped himself for a moment, he needed to make her believe him – he needed her to offer herself and her aid to him without question. He lowered his voice and shifted in his eat so that he was looking right at her, "Look, thank you for this, Katherine."

Her impassive face revealed nothing so Edward continued, "I know you're confused, I am too but you were the first person to offer me any aid. Without your help, I would be stuck with nothing. I've got nothing else, lass. At least, not here."

Edward noted a change in the woman's face and eyes. Guilt, there was guilt in her eyes and her face gave away the faintest feeling of remorse. Did she believe him? Was his plan working? Had he not been trying to fool this woman, he would have grinned. He needed to make her feel worse for him, he would have to use his injury as a device against her. He winced, bringing a hand to caress a sore spot on his head. Edward saw that she was frowning as the land-ship came to a halt.

"Lass?" Edward looked at her, "What's happening?"

She huffed, "Well, shit. Looks like I've been driving in the wrong direction… I'll take a look at your head when we get to mine."

He nodded and offered her a smile before turning his face to the window to conceal his smirk. Katherine's eyes were still on the road, Edward wanted to laugh at how easy she was to manipulate. A few honeyed words and a sad story changed the woman's tune with ease. He scoffed quietly, now she was wanting to fix him. All he had to do was keep up this façade and she would be wrapped around his finger and pooling all her resources towards getting him back to his ship. Perhaps now she would even answer his questions about where they were.

"Thank you, Katherine."

"Yeah, look – just don't screw around with me again. If I bring you to my house and you decided you want to play the fool, I'll call the cops."

He sighed, "I won't. Can you tell me where I am now?"

She laughed, it was different from the last one. "New York. Uh, in America, in case you forgot."

"And what's the date?"

She looked at the shanty machine, "June the 5th, 2013 – 9:34pm, to be exact. Have an appointment or something?"

Edward folded his arms across his chest, she said the year was 2013 not 1717. He tried to open his mouth to say something, to reply but in this current moment he was the one stunned. How did this happen? No, Edward did not want to believe it. She was lying, she was a liar. If it was 2013… all his friends, Caroline… they were long gone. Edward released a panicked breath that caught the attention of the woman.

"You alright?" She didn't look overly phased by him.

Edward spoke freely with her, "I-I, I was aboard a ship and jumped off it in 1717… You just told me it's 2013 now. I… what happened to me?"

His breath quickened, his hands began shaking. It was not like him to fear much but this change in time and worlds was not something easy to accept. If his breath was quickening before, he was feeling at loss for it in this current moment. It wasn't possible to live in one day and wake up in another. This was not real, it couldn't be. Katherine seemed to notice him, stopping the land-ship again before unclipping herself from it. She rummaged through the back of it quickly and came back to her original position, leaning over and holding a bottle of sorts to his face.

"Hey!" She tapped his shoulder cautiously, "Edward? Look, here. Drink this, it's water."

He took it without question, throwing the lid down on his lap and gulping down whatever he could. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, as if she was expecting him to pass out. His body relaxed just the slightest bit.

"Holy shit. Did you just have a panic attack?"

Edward looked at her like she was mad, "Panic attack? What in the hell is that?"

"Uh, you get worked up and confused about something, you're mind goes through like a period of intense fear."

He stared at her, "Shite."

"Yeah, shit! I'm taking you to the hospital!" He grabbed her hand to stop her before she went for the wheel.

"No, lass. Just take me to your place and we'll deal with it there. They won't have any records of me in this hospital." Edward looked at her intently.

She nodded, "Right.. Right. Crap, let's go to mine then."


Edward leant against a wall as Katherine opened the door to her petite townhouse, she noted that he was still shaken by the news of what year they were in. She thought that she would hate to see him on New Year's Eve if he was like this now. Perhaps that hit to the head knocked out his bearings and common sense, leaving him a man confused with the world he was in. As Katherine pushed open the door, she couldn't believe what she was doing. Just a mere hour ago she was planning on leading him into a police station and envisioning misfortune striking him but now she was leading him into her house like a damned lover. Guilt was a powerful weapon, she thought.

"Just go in and sit on the couch" She ordered him, pointing in the direction of the leather loveseat. She always hated that name, 'loveseat', it was so sweet that it was sickening. It was much to her surprise that the reluctant man silently obeyed.

She watched him from the door, his eyes growing larger as he took in his surroundings. Throwing her bag down and she went into the bathroom, her eyes not leaving the man until he was out of sight. The last thing she needed was a strange man going through her possessions or worse, stealing them. Katherine squatted and opened a white cupboard, sticking her hand in to grab a first aid kit. She rose and opened the cabinet to grab some aspirin as well. Taking the two things in hand, the woman left for the lounge area. She was not surprised when she walked on him bending over and touching things.

"Edward?" He stood up slowly, as if not caring if he was intruding on her life at all. "Do you want to sit? I can look at that head injury of yours."

He looked at her for a moment, "Aye."

Edward sat down and she went and stood by him, giving him warning before she endeavoured to touch him. "I don't know if it will hurt or not but I'm going to have to see. Don't stab me or anything."

Nodding silently, he sat straight as Katherine gently touched his head to feel for any lumps. He winced as she touched a small part of his lower head near his neck. She moved his hair out of the way and found some minor bruising. She took a sharp intake of breath at the sight of it, there was a reason she was a journalist and not a nurse, the slightest injury was a pain for her to see. When she looked down at Edward from where he stood, he started blankly ahead. She sighed, he truly did believe himself a character from the 1700s. Perchance it was a defensive mechanism, in order to supress a memory or something he may have created this whole new identity for himself to escape it. Whatever the problem was, he needed help beyond her own.

Katherine manoeuvred in such a way that she was now squatting in front of him. She smiled and hoped it comforted him enough that he wouldn't kill her. She spotted a cut on his forehead, not too large or too bloody but a cut, nonetheless.

"You have a small cut on your forehead that shouldn't be too hard to fix up but you do have some bruising on your upper neck, as you felt. I can give you an aspirin for it and maybe put some cream on it but I don't know what else I can do if it gets worse."

Edward nodded, still not fully taking in every word. She sighed and pulled out some antiseptic and a cotton bud from the first aid kit. Pouring the brown liquid onto the cotton bud, she changed her position as she brought herself closer to his face. This was the first time she really got a good look at him, he certainly looked the part of rugged pirate with his sharp features. His eyes, an ocean blue, were blank but still lovely, she thought. She bit down on her lip as the cotton bud met his skin, he flinched and met her gaze. Still looking at him intently, she dabbed it onto his cut again, this time he remained stoic. She placed the bud and bottle on the end table and moved back to the bruise on his neck, a gel that supposedly reduced the pain, in hand.

"So, you haven't got a place to stay?" She asked as she put some gel on his bruise, she saw his back straighten as the cold formula met his upper neck.

"No."

Katherine spoke softly, I hope I don't wake up a ghost, "Well, you can stay here for now."

He still didn't meet her gaze, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She rose and slowly walked towards the kitchen, standing on her toes to reach the spot where the glasses were in the cupboard. Taking it in her hand, she filled it up with water and returned to Edward, returning to her squatting position in front of him as she handed him the glass and a pill. "Take the pill down with the water."

"Aye." She watched as he took it down.

"Good. You can sleep on that couch tonight," she pointed to the larger one opposite him, "Tomorrow… we'll figure things, I'll take you to a hotel or something. I don't want you here any longer than you want to be here."

"Indeed, Katherine." There was a hint of disappointment in his eyes but the smirk on his lips confused whatever message he was trying to get across. "I won't bother you."

She narrowed her eyes, "You're sleeping on the couch. Understand?"

He nodded, grabbing her hand before she could get up and leave. "Lass," his eyes bore into her own, "I don't know how all this happened but I need to get back to the Jackdaw. Will you help me?"

Katherine stared at him, contemplating whether or not she should say anything at all but her mind was not at work as she stared into those eyes. "I'll… see what I can do."