A/N: I'm BAAAAACK. It's been a minute, but it can't be helped. I've been busy with work and other things. This story came to me out of the blue one day after I re-read a story I wrote years ago called Convergence. So if you haven't read that, I suggest you do so before reading this one, since it's the sequel and I don't want anyone to be lost.

I started writing this back in February and then took a few breaks from it but now it's finally done so I can post it. Many thanks to my partner in time, Purplemint Patty for helping me fine tune some details. Any errors are my own but there's only so much research out there on the "dark ages" of Medeival England.

So here we go.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of "Doc" Emmett Brown or Dr. House or any other fictional characters herein. This is just fiction. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

If you love something so much, let it go.

If it comes back, it was meant to be;

If it doesn't, it never was - Albert Schweitzer

Chapter One

Princeton, New Jersey, 2005

Althea sat in the campus coffee shop on her break, drinking her latte as she stared out the window. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry outside, yet inside, the coffee shop was quiet, despite how busy it was. It seemed everyone was on some kind of phone or computer device.

The door opened and she watched an older man walk in. He was tall, thin, with white hair and it made her think of Emmett. It was then that she actually smiled. How could she have forgotten about Emmett? She had been living with Greg House since he brought her back from her life in the seventeenth century five years ago and she had been happy.

Then the infarction happened and he changed. Everything about him changed and he pushed her out of his life once he hired Dr. Allison Cameron and fell hard for her.

Emmett Brown, the older man who'd served as her friend and the Blacksmith at her father's castle never even entered her mind. Until now.

Gathering up her things, she went to the back, put on her apron, and went back to work, but the thought of Emmett continued to plague her mind.

Would he remember her? Would he even want to see her? And what would she even say to him after all this time?

Part of her was happy she was older, not the young, naive seventeen-year-old she had been when he met her.

No, she was different now. Greg had seen to it that she climatized to her new way of life, and the time she was now in. He got her a GED and a job working in the campus library/coffee shop while she lived in the spare bedroom of his apartment. And for that, she was grateful. But, as her father always said, all things must come to an end, and her time with Greg was up. He had moved on from her, and she was anxious to move on, herself.

Once her shift was over, Althea went to the library and used the computer. She found that Emmett wasn't teaching Physics anymore and had retired, even though she knew he was on the younger end of retirement. Too exhausted to do any more searches, she gathered her things and went back to Greg's. He wasn't home when she got there, so she locked up and went to bed.

XXX

"Why the long face?" House asked her the next morning.

"Beg pardon?" she said as she poured him a cup of coffee and topped up her own.

"You look like you lost your best friend."

"Maybe that's because I have, Greg," she snapped.

When he arched his eyebrow at her, she sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired. I didn't sleep well last night."

"How come?"

"Because I'm just waiting for when the day comes that you're going to ask me to leave."

"Why would I do that? I told you you can stay as long as you want. It's not like you can support yourself working at Starbucks, and the library doesn't pay well, either. "

"You have Allison now. I'll just be in the way. I understand."

"Cameron has nothing to do with you."

"Why do you call her Cameron?"

House shrugged. "Doctors usually call each other by their last names. Cameron is hers."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It's always been that way at most places I've worked. Anyway, that's not the issue here, is it, Althea? There's something else bothering you."

She knew he would eventually drag it out of her so she let out a defeated sigh. "I miss my old life. I miss my Father, my sister and everyone at court."

"I get that, but you can't go back there now."

"Why not?"

"I told you why not. It's not safe."

"I've been gone for nearly five years."

"In this country, you'd have been declared legally dead after seven," House pointed out.

"Yes but we're talking about time travel so I could go back whenever I wanted. I should think people would be happy to see me."

House sighed and poured himself another cup. "You want to see Emmett Brown, right? In hopes that you can sweet talk him into taking you back to your time. Or to his bed. Whichever comes first."

He was almost expecting the slap across his face and he braced himself when it came, but it still stung.

He gave his head a shake and rubbed his cheek. "I guess I deserved that. But I'm not apologizing for speaking the truth, and the truth hurts, kiddo."

"You never apologize, Greg. That's part of the reason I'm leaving. Now, you can give me Emmett's phone number or his address, please, and I'll be on my way."

"What makes you think I know where he lives?"

Althea gave him a look. "Don't treat me like I'm some simpleton. I know very well that you still keep in touch with him, even though he's retired."

House smirked and pointed at her. "Ah-ha! So you have looked into him. There's no way you would have known that."

"So what if I did?"

He shook his head as he pulled out his phone and wrote down Emmett's number and his address. "I'll never know what you saw in that old guy but who am I to judge?"

"Who am I to judge the fact that Cameron is almost half your age?" she shot back as she snapped up the piece of paper with Emmett's info on it and quickly left the room. House merely shook his head and chuckled to himself. She could still give as good as she got, and he always admired her for that.

XXX

Althea was relieved that Emmett hadn't moved very far away. In just a few hours on the bus, she found herself in the small town of Canaan, Connecticut. House found her a bed and breakfast near Emmett's, in the event that things didn't work out, and told her she could always come back. She really hoped that wouldn't be the case, however.

Nervous to just show up on his doorstep, she spent a few days exploring the town, only to find there wasn't much happening. There was a lot of wealth and beautiful neighborhoods, but not the exciting nightlife that New Jersey had.

The weather had been getting colder each day and on the third day in town, she gathered up enough courage to go to Emmett's. She still had no idea what she would say, or what he would say to her. What seemed like a short walk to his place on a map turned out to be much further than she anticipated. It had started snowing on the way, and by the time she arrived at his home, there were at least a few inches of snow on the ground and she was shivering. It was a huge property on several acres of land, and there was even a second house which looked like a garage, which she assumed was his workshop.

She pressed the doorbell and waited. When there was no answer, she used the knocker and rapped loudly on the wooden door. When there was still no response, she peeked in the side window but the house looked empty. "Oh come on!" she muttered as she trudged across the snow to the smaller house, hoping maybe he was in there. When there was no answer, she found a dry spot behind the house and curled up, hoping wherever he was, he'd be back soon.

XXX

Three hours later, a 4X4 pulled into the driveway and parked in front of the guest house. Emmett got out and was about to head inside when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. Approaching cautiously, he moved slowly, trying to figure out what, or who was curled up by the door.

"Who's there?" he called out.

The figure let out a soft moan and shifted. He could've sworn he heard someone speak his name but it was so soft that he wasn't sure. He took a step closer and nudged the figure with his foot. "Who are you and what are you doing on my porch?"

Again, the figure moaned and shifted. "How long have you been out here?"

"A l-l-long t-t-t-time."

Emmett crouched down and pulled back the hood to find the one person he never thought he'd see again. "Althea?"

She closed her eyes and slumped against the wall and he gasped. "Great scott!" With the strength he didn't know he had, he quickly picked her up and carried her back to the main house where he placed her on the living room couch in front of the fireplace.

He started a fire and took off the pathetic excuse of a winter coat she wore and replaced it with a heavy sweater and then a thick comforter. He couldn't believe it was her. She looked like an angel lying there, eyes closed, and a little pale. He knew he'd have to do something else to warm her up.

"Althea…" he whispered as he took her hand in both of his. It was ice cold and he became worried. He had no idea how long she'd been out there and it was well below freezing. After twenty minutes, she was still asleep and he became frantic. Not knowing what else to do, he called the only person he knew that could help.

"House!"

"Emmett? What's going on? Did Althea make it there okay?"

"Yes, Althea is here but she's not waking up."

"What do you mean she's not waking up?"

"I came home and found her waiting for me outside. I don't know how long she's been here but it's below freezing and snowing. I've got her in front of the fire with a warm blanket but she's still ice cold. I don't know what else to do."

"Does she have a pulse? Is she breathing?"

Emmett placed his fingers to her pulse points and was relieved to find that she did indeed have a pulse. "Yes."

"Good. Are her clothes wet?"

"No."

"Okay. Do you have anything else you can use as a warm compress?"

"I have those magic bags."

"Perfect. Warm them up, not too hot though, and place them on her neck, chest and groin area. Do you have anything on her head?"

"Something on her head? Like what?"

"Don't you have a wool cap or something?"

"Oh, yes." He ran to the coat closet and pulled out the wool hat and a scarf.

"That's really all you can do for now. Keep an eye on her. If she stops breathing, call 9-1-1. Do you know CPR?"

"Oh God…"

"Emmett! Stay with me. Do you know CPR?"

"Yes."

"Has she been responsive at all?"

"She answered me when I found her and then she passed out.."

House's voice was stern but calm. "Emmett, listen. You need to calm down."

"Calm? You expect me to be calm at a time like this?"

"It's Hypothermia, but you've done everything you can. She'll be fine, she's young and in good health. When she wakes up, have her drink something warm, but nothing with alcohol or caffeine. Then call me. Got it?"

"Got it. Thanks, House," Emmett said and then ended the call. He put the kettle on and made some tea, hoping it would somehow calm his nerves. He brought it into the living room and sat in the armchair next to her as he sipped the tea and waited for her to awaken.

A/N: There are 18 chapters to this story and I'll try to post every few days so this will take awhile. All comments/reviews are appreciated and if you don't want to miss future chapters, be sure to add this story to your alerts. I love you guys!