September 22, 1996

3:20 pm

"Where are you going, young man?"

Doc stopped his older son from heading out the door with a hand on his shoulder. He had set off some of the scientist's alarms- the extra cologne, the slightly nicer shoes, the tucked in t-shirt.

"Ummm… out?"

"Out where? With whom?"

"With Stephanie? To the movies?"

"Is that a question or an answer?" Doc frowned.

"With Stephanie. To the movies." Jules answered a little more firmly. "So, see you later, Dad." And he headed out the door.

Three seconds later, Doc was standing at the door to the kitchen. "Carla! Carla, did you know that our son was going on a date?"

She looked up from the cucumber that she was chopping. "Out on a date with who?"

"A young lady by the name of Stephanie. When did he start dating?"

Carla laughed, drying her hands and patting her husband on the cheek. "Oh, Emmett, don't worry about it. He's plenty old enough to date and he's a gentleman like his father." And with that she went back to chopping vegetables.

Ten minutes later, Doc showed up at Marty's door. Marty opened it at the knock holding a cranky baby and was taken aback by Doc's outfit. He was wearing the hat he had bought in 1955 during Marty's second trip, price tag still attached and as hideously conspicuous as ever.

"Doc? What's going on?"

"No time to talk Marty, we've got a serious problem on our hands, a big issue!" Doc frantically gestured as Marty let him into the house. He collapsed on the sofa and took a deep breath.

"Jules has a girlfriend," Doc intoned, as if this was the end of the world itself.

Marty was rather perplexed by this.

"So? Good for him." He handed the baby to Doc and headed to the kitchen, bringing then back glasses of water and exchanging one of them for his child back.

"Great Scott, Marty! Good for him? My oldest child is on a date and you say 'Good for him?'"

And suddenly the problem was clear. "Doc, please don't tell me that you went to spy on your son's date wearing that hat."

Doc seemed to suddenly remember that he was wearing the hat in question and snatched it off his head. "What?" He fidgeted slightly. "No!"

There was a second before he caved. "Well, maybe! I might have tried. But it was dark in the movie theater and I couldn't find them."

"Doc, did I ever tell you that that is the most obvious and conspicuous hat I have ever seen?"

"What? But it worked perfectly back in 1955!" Doc looked at the hat fondly.

Marty rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever Doc. Look, Jules is going to date. He's old enough now. So will Verne, eventually. It'll be okay."

"It will not! I lived to the ripe old age of 55 without having more than a handful of dates and look at me now!"

"Doc, you invented a time machine and then traveled back in time and got married in 1886. That's not exactly the normal dating process."

The inventor sighed. "I suppose you're right, Marty. But this is my oldest son we're talking about!"

"Doc, don't worry about it." Marty supressed a smile. "Ask him how it went, give him your opinion on the girls he brings home when he asks about it. You'll get used to it, eventually."

"Fine." Emmett Brown stood and jammed his atrocious hat back on his head. "But don't expect me to be happy about it."

Marty McFly laughed as Doc left his house, wondering when the scientist would find out that his son had been dating Biff Tannen's second daughter for more than a month.

Eh, not entirely happy with this, but I can't make you all wait any longer for this, so here it is anyway. I think there will be five or so chapters left.