A/N: It's quiet out there, but I'm gonna keep posting anyway because I'm proud of this story and I was really inspired to write it. So I'm just going to keep posting whether anyone's reading in or not, in hopes that in time, more people will come across it, read it, and enjoy it. So here we go :) If you're enjoying this, by all means, gimme a shout out. And hit that alert button if you haven't already so you don't miss future chapters. I love and appreciate all of you :)

Chapter Two

Althea stirred and slowly opened her eyes. The room was dark and quiet, save for the fire and the soft ticking of the various clocks around the room. She looked over to see Emmett stretched out asleep on the chair nearby. At first she thought she was dreaming but when she glanced outside and saw the snow still falling, she realized it wasn't a dream and she glanced back at Emmett. He hadn't aged that much since she saw him nearly five years ago. His hair was much shorter and he looked like he'd lost weight.

"Emmett…" she whispered, using her foot to nudge him.

"Huh! Wha!?" He startled awake and knocked his teacup on the floor, shattering it. "Damnit…"

Althea pulled off the wool cap and the scarf from around her neck. "It's hot in here…"

"Yes, well…I had to keep you warm. How are you feeling now?"

"I think I'm okay."

"Can I get you some tea?"

"Tea would be nice, yes. Thank you," she said with a smile, which caused his heart to flutter.

"Okay, don't get up until I sweep up the glass."

She giggled. "I'm sorry I startled you."

"It's quite alright," he said as he went to turn the kettle on and grab the broom/dustpan.

A few minutes later, he returned with a cup of chamomile tea, which he knew she liked, and handed it to her. When their fingers touched as she took the cup from him, she felt a twinge of something familiar and she tried to ignore it.

Emmett felt it too, and once he swept up the glass, he sat back down with a fresh cup of tea for himself.

"So, now I ask the burning question," he said with a chuckle. "What brings you all the way out here?"

"I was hoping you could help me."

"Do what?"

"I want to go back to my own time," she said, suddenly looking sad. "I miss my Father, Emmett. And my family, and I want to go home."

Emmett sighed and put his cup down. "Althea…that's a very bad idea."

"So you've said."

"Surely House said much the same."

"He did."

"And yet you came all the way up here anyway."

"I thought a mere telephone call was too impersonal."

Emmett smirked. "I see living with House has rubbed off on you."

"I suppose it was inevitable."

"I noticed you didn't have any other belongings."

"I left them at a bed and breakfast in town."

"How long have you been here?"

"A few days."

Her stomach rumbled loudly and Emmett arched his eyebrow. "Hungry?"

"I guess so. What time is it?"

He glanced at one of the many clocks in the room. "A little after six. I'll make us something."

"You can cook?"

"If you want to call it that, sure."

He found a frozen pizza and put it in the oven. "How long were you planning to stay here in town?"

"Until I can convince you to take me back to my own time," she said with a sweet smile.

"Well, we'll have to see about that."

"I guess we will," she replied.

"You should call House. I'm sure he's concerned about you."

Althea cocked her head to one side. "Why would he be concerned? Wait, did you call him?"

Emmett looked serious. "You didn't give me much choice, Althea. You were freezing and you were unconscious. He's the only man I know that would help me. And besides, no emergency vehicles would have made it out here in that snow. The nearest hospital is in New Haven, over an hour away."

"It already started snowing by the time I started walking here."

His eyes widened. "You walked all the way here? From where?"

"The Locust Tree B&B."

"Jesus, Althea…that's three miles away!"

"It didn't look that far on the map," she said, looking sullen.

"Ever hear of a taxi?"

"I don't have a lot of money with me, and it wasn't that bad out when I started walking."

"How did you even get out here…to Canaan, in the first place?"

"I took a bus. Are you done with the interrogation, Dr. Brown?"

He blinked. She'd never called him that before and he realized he had been a little harsh but he couldn't help it.

"For now," he said as the oven dinged to let them know the pizza was ready. "Saved by the bell," he grinned as he grabbed some oven mitts and pulled the pizza out.

"Is there wine?"

He glanced over at her. "Wine? With pizza?"

Althea shrugged. "Some habits I never lost, I suppose," she said.

"Like your accent."

She frowned as he handed her a plate with two slices on it. "What about my accent?"

"It's still very noticeable, yet not as thick as it was when…" his voice trailed off.

"When you met me in 1666," she prompted.

"Precisely." Eager to change the subject, he went to the fridge and found a bottle of white wine. "I don't usually drink, but for some reason, wine doesn't seem to bother me."

"Yes, I remember one particular New Year's Eve party," Althea giggled as he poured her a glass.

"I'd rather not," he sighed.

"Can't remember, is more accurate, I think," she smiled into her glass as she took a sip. "However I'm sure you can remember my eighteenth birthday."

Emmett cleared his throat and took a long sip of his own wine before they took their plates back into the living room.

"I remember it like it was yesteryear," Althea said with a wistful sigh. "You looked so handsome that night, Emmett."

He watched her as she took a few healthy bites of her pizza and he slowly sipped his wine as he searched for something to say. But he couldn't think of a damn thing.

She was bringing up things that he had been trying for years to forget. He thought he might have even been successful, as it had been a long time since she'd entered his mind but now, looking at her, all those feelings he once had were now front and center and he knew he was in danger of them taking over again.

"You're awfully quiet tonight, Emmett," she said softly as she sat back against the arm of the couch and curled her legs under her.

"I just can't believe you're actually here."

"Nor can I."

"Tomorrow we can go to the B&B and get your things to bring back here. The house will be quiet since I usually spend my days in the lab in the guest house."

"What are you working on?"

"I'm sorry, but that's classified."

"Classified?"

"Correct. I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," he said with a wink and a smile.

"You don't have it in you to kill anyone, Emmett. Least of all, me."

"You got me there."

"Will you show me your lab?"

"We'll see."

"It's good to see you Emmett," she said softly. "I was worried you'd turn me away. Or not speak to me at all."

"You didn't give me much of a choice, lying unconscious on my porch in the freezing cold. Which reminds me, you really should call House and let him know you're okay."

Althea rolled her eyes but nodded. "Where's your telephone, then?"

He blinked. "You don't have a cellular phone?"

"Nope. I cannot afford one. House gave me something called a burner phone, but I ran out of minutes."

"I thought every kid and their dog had one," he muttered as he went to the kitchen and brought her a cordless phone. "Hit the directory button and scroll down, his number is saved in there."

"It pleases me to know you two still kept in touch."

"I owe him a lot and vice versa. We're not close, but we have a mutual respect for each other. That's more than most people have for the man, from what I've heard."

"He's making a name for himself as one of the best diagnosticians in the country. If not the world."

Emmett nodded and took their empty plates to the kitchen to give her some privacy.

He tried not to eavesdrop and poured himself another glass of wine, as he felt he was going to need it.

He returned to the living room with the half empty bottle and she gestured to her glass for a top up just before she ended her conversation.

"Everything alright?" he asked as he turned the fire down low as it had gotten quite warm.

"Yes, I guess so. He told me I gave him quite a scare and called me an idiot for not checking the weather report and dressing accordingly. I just wasn't thinking about that. The cold never really bothered me before."

"Yes, but I highly doubt it got as cold in medieval England as it does here on the east coast."

"No, that's true."

"And you were sitting out there for I don't know…a couple of hours?"

"I suppose so, yes."

"Well then I'm afraid I'll have to side with House on this one. But I'm not going to call you an idiot."

"I appreciate that."

Emmett sighed and looked out at the snow. It had stopped for the time being. "I'm assuming you'll need something to sleep in tonight? And you can sleep in the guest bedroom."

"Thank you. This is a nice house. It's big for just yourself."

"I had an apartment in Jersey but it just didn't provide enough privacy and it wasn't big enough for all my things. So when I retired, I needed a bigger place and somewhere secluded. This house came available and it was perfect, so I jumped on it. Come on, I'll give you the ten cent tour."

Althea looked confused. "Ten cent tour?"

Emmett chuckled and got up. "It's just an expression. It means a quick tour."

"Oh, I see," she said as she followed him upstairs. He led her to a bedroom on the top floor at the front of the house.

"I hope this will suffice," he said as he opened the door and stepped aside so she could go in. "You have your own bathroom. That door connects to it, there," he said, pointing.

"This is lovely, thanks."

As she explored the bedroom with its slanted walls and arched ceiling, Emmett left and returned with some clothes and towels. "These will be big but should be comfortable enough to sleep in," he said as he handed her a couple of large shirts.

"Thank you, Emmett."

"Is there anything else you need?"

"No, you've done more than enough already. I'll probably just take a hot bath and go to bed. I'm exhausted."

"Still cold?"

"A little, but a bath will help."

"There's some bubble bath in the cupboard and I have a robe if you want one."

"That would be nice."

After he brought her the robe, there was an awkward silence for a moment, which he broke by clearing his throat. "My house is your house, so feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen and make yourself at home."

"Again, thank you, Emmett. I was really…apprehensive about even coming here. I didn't know if you'd want to see me."

He looked sad for a moment and she felt a little guilty. "I would have thought you'd have forgotten about me," he said, softly as he looked down at the floor.

Althea stepped closer and laid her hand on his soft cheek. "That would be quite impossible. You are a very difficult man to forget, Emmett Brown." And with that, she reached up and softly kissed his cheek. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Althea," he said softly, still feeling the tingle of her lips on his cheek as he went to his own room.

Once the door was closed, Emmett leaned back against it and sighed deeply. It was going to be a long, sleepless night.