A/N: This oneshot establishes what else happened to Dana and Patterson after the events of Southeast ball, in which they had a Towards the Past marathon.


"Where we're going, I don't need...to drive."

With that, Doc Blue made the Mustang fly off the ground and it disappeared in the sky, ending the first Towards the Past movie. Dana smiled widely when that happened. "I never get tired of seeing that," she said as the credits rolled.

"Me neither," Patterson said. "So, why do you like the Towards the Past franchise?"

"It's an all-time classic," Dana answered. "Although I think Jaclyn deserved more screentime. It's obvious from the first movie that she and Michael trust one another."

"That reminds me," Patterson said. "My parents told me that since they loved the franchise so much, I was named after her."

"Wait..." Dana said, shocked. "You were named after Jaclyn Patterson?"

"They were kinda expecting a girl," Patterson explained.

"That would explain why your first name is a last name," Dana remarked.

"What about you?" Patterson asked. "Why did your brother started calling you 'Dana'?"

Dana hesitated. "It's a bit embarrassing..."

"You can tell me," Patterson said.

"Alright," Dana said. She took a deep breath. "My parents hate me so much that they never gave me a proper name when I was born."

Patterson looked shocked. "You're kidding me," he said.

"It's true," Dana admitted. "Then one day, before school started, Marcus used 'magical naming powers' to declare my 'official' name as Dana. He's the only one in Piedmont who calls me that. Everyone else in town calls me a freak."

"You're not a freak," Patterson said.

"That's not going to wash away years of suffering," Dana said, quickly wiping away tears from her eyes. "Underneath this confident tomboy facade is a living Cinderella, and as soon as I get back to Piedmont, the torture resumes."

"Come on, Dana," Patterson said. "You can't let past trauma affect you. It's like Doc said in the third Towards the Past movie: Your future hasn't been written yet. It's whatever you do with it, so make it a good one."

Dana looked over at Patterson. "You really think so?" she asked.

"Obviously," Patterson replied.

Dana smiled softly. Then she noticed she was holding hands with Patterson, their fingers intertwining. The two let go and looked away shyly.

Patterson cleared his throat. "So...onto the second movie?"

"Sure," Dana said, fiddling with a lock of her hair.

And so, after Patterson switched DVD discs, he and Dana began to watch Towards the Past: Part II. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he nervously placed his hand on her waist. They remained like that for the rest of the marathon, happily enjoying the movies (and eventually the animated series) and each other's company.

The End