The Doc was starting to grow despondent. It had been several hours now since his interrogators had left him alone in his cell, and a lack of anything to do had provided him with lots of time to think.

Initially he had thought only of ways to escape, or of ways that the Doctor might break him out; but such things were not his forte and he was unable to come up with anything realistic.

As time crawled by he found his thoughts repeatedly returning to the possibility that the Doctor was not coming back, and that he'd spend the rest of his life rotting in a prison cell for a murder he hadn't committed. This of course got him thinking about his family, and the prospect of never seeing them again.

So it was no big surprise that as the evening wore on the Doc found himself lying supine on the cot, one arm draped over his eyes, tears beginning to leak from their corners.

His one consolation was that Marty hadn't come with him and the Doctor on their trip to 1920. At least it was just him trapped here instead of Marty as well.

Thinking of Marty returned his thoughts to all the people he'd never see again.

For most of his adult life, the Doc had been alone. He'd gotten used to it after a while, and in all honesty hadn't expected that things would ever change. After all, who would want to associate with the town crackpot? Then he had met Marty, a very bright spot in an otherwise lonely life. The Doc had learned to appreciate what it was to have a friend. And then of course he had met Clara, and they had started a family together. Over time, loneliness had become a memory, and he had grown used to, and in fact cherished that he had people who loved him.

And now here he was, stuck in a jail cell in Vermont, all of that happiness cruelly ripped away from him.

The tears that were running down his face were soon joined by more tears, and before long Doc Brown had begun to cry.


A/N: I didn't intend for this chapter to be so short when I first started writing it, but I determined that it would have a lot more impact if I left it this way.

Reviews are always appreciated.