Disclaimer: I don't own Back to the Future.

Author's Note: Doc meets Clara Clayton. This will not cause problems, will it? Read and review!

Chapter Eight

Friday, September 4, 1885
9:50 AM PDT
Hill Valley, California

The remainder of the day again passed remarkably fast. Doc and Chris proposed that they focus especially on the attaching of the cars to each other, and no one had any problems with that. The one overbearing problem, though, was still the question of how to get the two time machines through the time barrier in the first place. Chris had thought up some plans, and so had Doc, but they were all rejected one by one.

First, Chris had made the suggestion of riding the car down a steep hill. While that would certainly be able to get them to eighty-eight, if the hill was steep and long enough, the others soon pointed out that they would never find a smooth enough surface. The car would be rattled and the inhabitants along with it, and what was worse, the rough terrain wouldn't be good for the time machine. Then there was the issue still of them riding down a hill in the first place and the risks that that might bring. Doc especially, after toying with it for a moment, dismissed the idea and came up with the plan to use ice instead. After the lake froze over in winter, they could then slide across it and the smooth surface up to eighty-eight. This plan was given no consideration at all and the others gently reminded their friend that it was September now, winter was thus still months away, and that if nothing happened they were going to get shot by Buford Tannen on Monday. That also scratched some of the other long-range plans they could come up with.

As the night fell, no consensus had been reached. Marty had suggested that they would get some horses to tow the DeLorean up, and Doc had at first been lukewarm about the issue – after all, if it didn't hurt there was no use in not trying it out – but Chris had rejected it outright, considering it too implausible that a horse would come even remotely near eighty-eight, and that had been that. And then Mike had, after long thinking, come up with some wacky scheme involving a catapult or some other elastic device in which the time machine would drive back before being shot off either into the sky or forwards. This plan was rejected for being too wacky, too dangerous, too out-of-control and even too complicated as Doc wasn't sure they would be able to build a catapult or even acquire enough elastic material in time. Then Ann and Marty came up with some variations on the previous plans, all of which fell through. The latter eventually suggested that they could just send another message through Western Union, which some in the stable eagerly agreed with until Doc and Chris reminded them that this would mean getting one of the time machines (or both) stored somewhere that would last hundred years for their friends to pick up, and then there would still be the issue of how to get all of them out, and things might get worse. Then Western Union might become suspicious about yet another long-distance letter being sent through its services, and it might alter history. But the most important objection perhaps was that their murder by Buford Tannen still hadn't been averted, and this meant that at least in this timeline, either they were all (or some of them) still going to get murdered on the seventh, an unpleasant prospective, or secondly that even if they all survived, there would be six of them affecting hundred years of history (which the premature deaths of Calvin, Doc and Chris had prevented from occurring in the original timeline) and causing so many alterations that they would have to be extremely careful in order to still have their friends being the people they remembered. That prospect made Marty's idea sound less attractive even to him, especially when he considered the long-term ramifications of living his life out in the Old West, even if it was just in one timeline.

Nevertheless, this left them without a plan for getting home and with severe concerns as they all went to sleep. In the overall depression that overwhelmed them all after an uneasy night's rest (or more accurately, lack of night's rest) Doc was the one to suggest that they would all go along with picking up Miss Clayton. Eventually they considered it as being too much, though, given how many of them there were, and it was decided that just Marty and Calvin would go along with Doc. And thus, around 9:30, they headed over to the train station, and started waiting patiently. Or at least, Marty and Calvin were waiting patiently, while Doc was restlessly pacing around. However, after a while, his pacing ceased, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face as he stared at the train schedule, one that he kept up as the distant sound of the train approaching could be heard.

"What's the matter, Doc?" Marty finally asked. "Is something wrong?"

The inventor shook his head. "Nothing's wrong, Marty… far from it. In fact, I think I may have a solution for this whole mess we're stranded in."

The teen had to puzzle that out for a while, staring at the train and remembering the problems they had, and Calvin had the idea a second faster than his twin did. "The train?" he asked. "You think we should… we could use the train? To push the time machines up to eighty-eight?"

"It might be possible" Doc replied. "In fact, as far as vehicles of the period go, it is the only one that even remotely could do something like that. And I don't think the DeLoreans are going to make it on their own power, nor will we be able to let nature do its work. From what we've discussed about the horses, pulling the cars also isn't an option, but if we could get a train to push it up… it might be the only option we have of getting something arranged before Monday."

"This is a pretty isolated area, though" Calvin remarked. "I doubt the trains come through so often. And even if there's a train coming tomorrow or even on Sunday, which I don't think, how would we get hold on one to push the DeLoreans up?"

"That's a good question" Doc considered, as the train neared the station and started slowing down significantly. "Let me think about that. We might, in the end, have to go for an unconventional approach… a dangerous one, yet a calculable risk."

"You want us to hijack the train?" Marty exclaimed, causing some heads in the area to turn in their direction. Calvin instinctively gave his brother a firm nudge in the side.

"Borrow" Doc clarified, as if that meant a world of difference – and perhaps to him it did. "It is a risk that one can oversee, and we wouldn't hang around to get caught anyway. The question is, though, where we could find a place to actually push the DeLorean up in the first place. These tracks are fairly curvy, and the trains of this era are likely not that fast. About the second aspect Chris and I could likely do something by minor modifications to either fuel or engine or both… probably the fuel, we wouldn't have time to tamper with the engine… but the first will be a difficult one to resolve. Likely, we will need a long stretch of straight track, and I'm not sure where to find it. Perhaps the one out by the ravine might be fitting… if it is already there in this time period, of course…"

"Let's save that for later, Doc" Calvin urged. He pointed up at the train, which had come completely to a halt and where people were moving around inside preparing to get off. "The train's here and we have a guest to pick up, after all."

"Of course" their friend muttered in response, and they walked over to the train doors. They shifted open gradually, apparently manually, and the first people began to step out. A few other people also moved closer from the platform, as they were apparently waiting for someone too. Several men and women came by, and Calvin was so busy watching them that he had almost forgotten what they'd come for until he heard a soft yet audible gasp near him.

As he turned towards the stairs of the train and saw the woman standing there, his first instinct was to do the same thing Doc had done and gasp. This lady bore a stunning resemblance to Susan Clayton-Brown, Chris' wife. Certainly, they weren't duplicates, as this woman was dressed in nineteenth century attire, had a slightly different face, wore her hair (which was brown rather than blonde) differently and had slightly darker eyes. She also appeared to be a few years older than Susan was. But that was about it, as far as the changes went, and from the way he was gawking, Doc was feeling the same thing.

The woman stared right back at Doc, and it took roughly ten seconds before she got moving after the people still in line behind her had made rough noises that she should hurry up. Even then she only reluctantly moved, staring at the inventor in front of her with fascination even though she'd never seen him before.

It was then that Doc came to his senses. "Excuse me, ma'am" he whispered softly. "Would you happen to be miss Clara Clayton? The new school teacher?"

The woman nodded, keeping her eyes locked on Doc's face. "That's right" she replied, just as soft.

Doc nodded, then awkwardly extended his hand, which Clara took. "Emmett Bro- er, Wayne at your service, miss Clayton" he told her. "We are here to pick you up – my assistant, Clint Eastwood, and his cousin Lewis." Marty had, after long deliberation, finally gone with the last name of his favorite singer as his first name, which seemed to pass smoothly here.

Clara blinked, as if noticing Marty and Calvin for the first time just then. "That's very gentlemanly of you, Mr. Wayne" she replied.

Doc almost blushed. "Well, the town wanted someone to pick you up and help you get home, and I was available at this moment and willing to do it. And you may call me Emmett."

"Thank you, Mister Wayne – Emmett" Clara replied. "And you may call me Clara, if you wish." They continued to stare at each other.

At that point, Marty and Calvin exchanged uneasy glances, and the former decided that it had just about gone long enough. He cleared his throat, and both Doc and Clara appeared to come to their senses. Clara took her bags, with Doc hurriedly taking some for her. "We've got horses parked nearby" he said. "We will have you at the place you are supposed to be before you know it."

As Clara nodded gratefully at that, Calvin frowned deeply. He knew Doc was generally a responsible person, but the looks he was casting at Clara were making him somewhat worried. Looking at Marty, he could guess his twin thought the same thing. Sighing, he headed towards his own horse.

oooooooo

They brought Clara home without incident, and even though Doc and she had shared a short conversation at the house – with the former letting slip about the fact that he was a scientist – everything else went fine as well. When they got back to the stable, in fact, the first thing Doc brought up was the train idea they had come up with, and added the fact that they had safely delivered Clara home only as an afterthought. Chris did think the plan was fairly risky, but eventually admitted that they had limited their options enough for it to be necessary. The two of them then went on a separate visit to the train station, and returned twenty minutes later with the news that the next train wouldn't come until Monday morning, and that if they wanted to make it capable of pushing not one but two time machines, they were going to have a long stretch of work up ahead.

That news, of course, didn't make the time travelers especially happy, but they all realized that it was unavoidable to a certain extent. Doc subsequently proposed the track leading up to Shonash Ravine as a location, and he, Chris and Mike went out there to check it out. There, they found a new problem – there was no bridge, and it wouldn't be finished until 1887.

At the sight, Mike hesitated for a while, and then turned towards his father and their friend. "I know that if we get the cars back to the future before we hit the edge of the ravine, none of this will matter," he said, "but are you sure we should risk it? I mean, what if something goes wrong… and it might not even be possible to get the time machines up to eighty-eight before plunging into the ravine."

"It might not," Doc admitted, "but that's a matter we'll have to calculate, and quite frankly, a risk we might have to take. As you noticed before, we don't have many short-term options, and Buford Tannen is still on the loose as well. If we get the fire in the train's engine hot enough, acceleration should occur at a sufficiently fast pace to narrowly get us back to the future with two DeLoreans and the remaining gasoline. Of course, this will have to be calculated precisely, not only for if it is possible, but how the resources we have will be deployed best."

"Of course" Mike deadpanned.

His father looked insulted. "Mike, all science comes with its risks. I agree with Emmett that this is our best option, and unless you've got any other idea, which you probably don't given all the thinking we did about it yesterday, we have to take it. Therefore, what we have to do to make sure, to the best of our capabilities, that nothing will go wrong, is plan. Plan to the utmost detail. Didn't Marty and Calvin tell you about all the work Emmett and I did when we had to help them get home from 1955? Of course, only Emmett got Marty home, while I got Calvin to our 1985… but that's really beside the point. And it may not even have been the exact Calvin we know either due to the complexities of inter-dimensional travel, but never mind that."

Mike sighed. "I guess so, Dad. I just figured that, you know, it sounds really risky. Isn't there another track we can try this on?"

"Do you know of any?" Doc challenged him.

"No…"

"Then there isn't." Emmett Brown sighed, pacing up and down. "We just have to take everything into account. We will need to load the time machine onto the track as close to the switch as possible, and of course, we need to get sufficient combustion materials for the engine. That, however, shouldn't be a problem."

"I made an experiment with Calvin a few days ago when we were trying to resolve our lack of gas in the DeLorean" Chris explained. "It's basically our own version of Presto Logs. They involve organic material which is chemically treated to burn hotter and longer, thus making the train go faster. I'm sure we could whip up a few for the train's engine, and that should be able to get us home on this particular stretch. Of course, in our calculations, we'll need to take our individual weight into account, as there are after all six of us."

"Of course" Mike echoed. "Do you think those logs are safe?"

"I would guess they are, yes" Doc replied. "Either way, Mike, I don't think we could or should go back now. We have just three days to go until Tannen shoots your father, Calvin and me, and there isn't any possibility that we might be able to create another plan in time for us to get back home by Monday. So, unless you have any suggestions, this stunt, dangerous as it might sound, is our best bet. I don't want to go on the run and have to watch out for Buford Tannen everywhere we go while simultaneously attempting to get the cars up to eighty-eight. For better or for worse, this is what we'll do, and we will stick to it."

ooooooo

After returning home, the three time travelers went off to work on getting themselves home. One group under Doc was working towards a model of Monday's plan; after all, with so much riding on their journey home, they couldn't afford to leave anyone unaware of exactly what would happen. The other group worked on the presto logs, so that by the evening three of them were ready for use. Of course, they weren't incredibly easy to create, and they did need a substantial amount of chemical material, so that fact significantly slowed down the work process. Nevertheless, they were done eventually. Chris and Doc also started brainstorming the details of their plan, and eventually found that though it possessed a certain risk, it was quite possible for them to succeed.

That evening turned into a short one as they were all relatively tired from the day's events. They were out of lots of food sorts anyway, as Chris and Doc hadn't bought new groceries or anything for more than a few days in advance, being confident that they would soon be taken out of the past. Calvin had argued with them about the issue, and now saw himself be proven right as they were indeed short of a full meal. Nevertheless, they continued to muddle through just fine, so there was little to be worried about.

While the evening didn't end very late, the next morning didn't begin very late either, as roughly near 7:30 Doc and Chris were at Calvin's bed, rousing the poor boy. His twin brother appeared to be just as tired as he was, and yet they eventually decided to spare a few minutes for the model their friends had set up. When they did, though, they were fairly impressed.

It was, of course, an amazing piece of work. Not incomparable to what Doc had built on his own in 1955, and with less tools at their disposal, Doc and Chris had created a model railroad, several miniature trees next to them, shacks, sheds, signs, and even a windmill. All had been colored, where that wasn't yet the case already, in its natural colors. This, of course, fell into irony when Doc and Chris started falling over themselves in explaining that they hadn't built it to scale or anything so it really wasn't that much of an effort.

Marty eventually rolled his eyes, good-naturedly. "It's fine, Doc, Chris" he assured his friends. "It's a great piece of work, and in any case it does the trick."

"Yeah" Ann chimed in, apparently genuinely impressed for once. "I don't think I could have created something like this. Just look at all the details you put in there! I wouldn't know any way to reproduce this."

"Thank you, thank you" Doc replied. "We only put a few hours into this, though, with only a few unnecessary refinements. But anyway… which of us should demonstrate the railroad? You, Chris?"

"All right" the other inventor replied. He put the train down on the spur at the station. "As you can see, here we've got the train about to pull out of the station. Here," with that he referred to a stretch of spur on the other side of what looked on the map like a fortress of some sorts, "we'll put the DeLoreans tomorrow, making sure that nothing will be harmed – which will be formidable task of its own. Then Monday morning, we all board the train. Roughly at Coyote Pass we will head upfront, seize control of the mechanic's area by pulling guns at him, and then we push the cars up with the locomotive. It couldn't be simpler."

"Simply pulling guns at him?" Calvin repeated. "Are you sure?"

"I know, it might alter history, and there are accidents possible with guns" Doc agreed. "However, as I told Mike yesterday, we really didn't have another option available until after Monday, and that's no option for various reasons. Thus, I am afraid you are stuck with our train plan, and that involves the hijacking of the locomotive and leaving so many people stranded… I might want to go into the station sometime before we leave and warn the staff to have a spare train ready. Of course, that would be casting suspicion, and even though we're planning to leave this era, it's better to be safe than sorry. We have masks, too, so we can hide ourselves using them if all goes wrong."

"It's probably necessary" Mike chimed in, softly. "Not wise, perhaps, not right… but necessary. We have to do it to get home, and we really need to go there."

"You're right, you're right" Calvin agreed. "So, what's next?"

Chris practically beamed at the question. "Ah, watch!" he exclaimed, pulling a lever which caused the train to start rolling over the rail track. "Train coming up at the switch track… throw the switch… push up the DeLoreans…. Pushing the DeLoreans up… up to eighty-eight…" In the latter lines, he attempted to get over to the end of the track, but because he narrowly didn't as the others were all standing in his way, the toy DeLoreans both fell down on a pillow, the train following immediately thereafter.

"Now that's instilling us with confidence" Ann remarked.

Doc frowned at her. "This was a minor, controllable mishap, one that obviously wouldn't be replicated in real life. We have calculated the fuel necessary for pushing both vehicles and the amount we have, counting both the Presto Logs and the regular fuel left in the tanks, and we think it's sufficient to get us to eighty-eight before we hit the edge of the ravine, provided we place the DeLoreans extremely close to the switchtrack. Now that will be a nuisance as well, considering how close the wagons will be, but it will presumably turn out fine."

"Perhaps we should just put the cars on the track before the switch" Marty suggested. "The engineer will see there are strange cars on the track, stop the train, and in the confusion we'll seize control of the locomotive."

"Possible" Chris agreed. "Possible, but too risky, and too unnecessarily complicated in my opinion. I'm sorry, Marty, but I'm afraid that we will have to put it further down the track… and take the risks. We can reasonably presume we will hit eighty-eight before the end of track sign, though, and there might be a narrow margin of error there as well."

"Yeah, I guess you're right" Marty said. "But boy, we will never come up with a really easy plan, will we? First that scheme with getting us home through the lightning bolt at the clock tower, then the ones in the future, and in the world you came from… anything goes wrong and we would have been toast."

"Not really, because things did go wrong, and we pulled out fine" Doc pointed out. "In 1955, the DeLorean stalled for a while, and the cables weren't cooperating with me either." Chris nodded at that, recalling his own memory of the incident – which was after all the same – all too well. "And in the future, there was the issue of Jennifer showing up and having to be knocked out, and in turn your son appearing earlier than intended. Everything did turn out fine in the end. Finally, we had various mishaps in the alternate world as well, and Chris, Mike, Calvin and Ann must have had many more. It wasn't easy, but we managed to pull through and survive it all."

"All right, you made your point" Calvin said. "Marty's just saying that the plan we've got sounds pretty risky. But I suppose life would be boring without risk."

"That is very true" Ann agreed. "But also very discomforting. And even if everything turns out fine and we all make it back to the future – which, I would think, is far from a given either in such complex time travel situations with multiple cars – then we still have to get the cars off the track."

As the others pondered that and Doc was about to make a comment, presumably scaling that issue down to size as well, there was the distinct sound of a knock on the door. Doc walked over to tell the person at the door off, while Marty wondered who it could be – after all, Calvin had told him the blacksmith stable didn't receive that many customers, and they had put out a sign saying that they were closed for a few hours. That left personal acquaintances, which in this time period limited itself to Buford Tannen (who was hardly an acquaintance, but who probably wouldn't bother to follow the instructions the sign gave him), the McFlys, or…

"Emmett?"

"It's Clara!" Doc hissed, nearly panicking. "I – we – quick, let's cover the DeLoreans!"

"Clara" Calvin muttered, under his breath. "Just perfect." Marty had to agree with the sentiments – he didn't know Susan's ancestor yet after having only seen her for one day, and he was not even acquainted with the ravine that bore her name in the realities his friends were from, but nevertheless he was familiar with Doc Brown, and if he would act anything like how Chris normally acted around Susan, they were in deep trouble.

After they put some blankets and boxes on the DeLoreans, with Doc constantly keeping post at the door to ensure Clara wouldn't come in until they were ready, the stable finally opened.

"Sorry we took so long" the inventor apologized. "We were just… playing. With some model railroad."

Clara nodded. "I hope I'm not disturbing anything…"

"You aren't, don't worry" Doc cut in again, before either of the others could say anything. It wasn't, though, as if the others had anything to say – Marty, Calvin and Ann were just watching the scene with a wry look on their faces, while Chris and Mike were gaping at this woman who resembled Susan so much. "As I said, we were toying with something minor."

"I see," Clara replied. "Well, Emmett, I was just walking through town, underneath that huge banner about tonight's town festival, and then I noticed the stable you had mentioned you worked in. I really hadn't meant to disturb you, it's just that I was in town anyway to see where the festival would be held, and I was curious where you lived."

"Well, that would be here then" Doc muttered, somewhat shy.

"That's right" Mike said, drawing Clara's attention to him. Her eyes widened as she noticed there were three boys who looked like 'Clint Eastwood', and there was another man who looked a lot like Doc. "We were just taking a break from our regular work to play with the railroad, but we might be busy later… we will have to work all day to get the job finished."

Clara blinked. "All day?" she repeated. "Surely not tonight… after all, tonight is the night of the town festival. You could hardly miss such an important event."

"Well, ma'am, we're really busy right now, like Mike said," Chris began, "so I'm not sure if we can make some time for…"

"Ah yes, of course, the festival" Doc then interrupted. "I'm sure we can take some time off, as we just did. Having different surroundings will also help us, uh, clear our minds."

"So, then I'll be seeing you tonight at the festival?" Clara asked.

"You can count on it" Doc assured her.

Clara nodded. "Then I really have to go now," she said, sheepishly. "Mr. Wayne, Mr. Eastwood, Mr. Eastwood, Miss, Emmett…" The others gave her curt, nervous greetings in return, and Marty was sure Clara was aware of the eyes burning into her back as she turned to exit through the stable door. Doc stared after her for a while, but as he turned to the group he noticed that now, all eyes were focused on him.

"What?" he asked, innocently, in a way that made it somehow appear both faked and genuine.

Chris sighed. "Emmett, what is going on between you and Clara?"

The inventor blinked. "Nothing" he replied, sounding just as innocent. "She was just coming by to see where our shop was, after I'd told her about it yesterday, and then she reminded me of the festival. It is important to take some time off, after all, and we did go in the original timeline, the one Marty came from. Additionally, we wouldn't want to miss such an important event in Hill Valley's history."

"Nonsense" Chris snapped, sounding slightly frustrated. "Emmett, I know you very well – I am you."

"From an alternate timeline" the local inventor corrected him. "An alternate dimension even, as we found out recently."

"Even so." Chris paced up and down somewhat before returning to look at Emmett. "I know what I felt for Susan, and Clara is a lot like her. You can't start, or even consider, a relationship with Clara, not in 1885. I know that must hurt and I am well aware what love at first sight feels like, it's just that…"

"Nonsense" Doc now said. "I am well aware that Clara looks like Susan, and of course I am slightly attracted to her – how couldn't I be. Yet, I have no inclination of starting a relationship with a woman I met less than twenty-four hours ago, in a time period so far from my own, with all the danger to the space-time continuum that it would entail! My only goal is to go back to the future with you."

"Well, that's good to hear" Chris replied, softer. "I was getting worried that meeting Clara would give you crazy ideas. She might or might not yet fall into the ravine, and unless we have concrete evidence of the time she fell, I think we are able not to act against it. We cannot save everybody when we go back in time… and anyway, perhaps we have already saved miss Clayton's life and we're just unaware of it."

"Perhaps" Doc repeated, also softer. "Chris… I know that Clara Clayton is a woman we – I don't think it's just me alone – are personally invested in because you are married to her indirect descendant. However, that doesn't mean that we can or should save her. Perhaps we already have, perhaps we haven't, we will find out in due time, but I fully agree that we shouldn't make active moves towards saving her from her fate as long as the exact nature of that fate remains unclear to us. That is the unfortunate truth of time travel."

"Well-spoken, Doc" Mike agreed. Marty blinked at his counterpart speaking up – after all, Mike, being Chris and Susan's adopted son, would also be heavily inclined to save Clara, and thus he hadn't expected him to defend that course. "We can't save everyone, not here in 1885, not back home, not in any time period. If we tried to save anyone who died a non-natural death in world history, the task would cost us a year and we'd be erased – well, I suppose we might not, but you might – before the week or even the day was out. Heck, we, uh, we alternates still might end up erased anyway if you guys never get born – after all, without you, who would come to save us from the clutches of Biff Tannen and bring us to this dimension?"

"That's a very good question, Mike" Chris complimented. "I hadn't thought about it that way yet, but you're right. I suppose that some sort of temporal immunity might still persist, because we as natives of a different dimension theoretically shouldn't be affected by what happens in this world… but we could be catapulted back to our world of origin, doomed to die at the clutches of Biff Tannen there. Then again, since our world of origin was created by time travel from this dimension, or at least, that's the working hypothesis, we might yet get erased anyway. We would really require some more theoretical work on that before coming to a definite conclusion… what do you think, Emmett?"

Before her friend could speak up, Ann intervened. "As interesting as this might be, guys, I don't think you should discuss theoretical problems here" she said. "There's no one suggesting that we go jumping around the space-time continuum saving people, so the point is moot for now. I think our concern should be getting us all home." She looked at Doc with the skepticism obvious on her face. "But you really agreed with that festival plan to get us some rest?"

"Mostly, yes" Doc replied. "We need rest, especially after the work we've already done and need to do this afternoon, and in advance for the following days… day, rather. And of course being at this founding moment in the history of Hill Valley fascinates me."

"I'll agree with him there, Ann" Marty spoke up. "There's no way I could be here around that clock, given our history with it, and not attend the moment when it was started. If we have to be stuck here for a while, then at least we should have some fun. And this is way cool." Calvin nodded in agreement.

"Fine" Ann finally agreed. "But don't look at me if things start getting out of hand."

As she turned away, Marty shrugged without worry. They were just going to a town festival, after all – besides Doc having another friendly chat with Clara, what could go wrong there? Nothing, could it?

He soon turned out to be very, very wrong.