September 7, 1885
8:30 AM PST
Doc was stunned, as he watched Marty disappear to 1985 in the DeLorean and the train fall over the ravine. Doc then did his best to float the hoverboard that Marty sent to him and Clara backwards, until the two of them were a about a third of a mile away from the ravine. Clara was hanging onto him him tightly, as if she was scared for her life.
'I am terribly sorry that I slapped you, Emmett,' Clara said, blushing. 'I can now see that you were telling me the truth. I really will miss Clint Eastwood, even if I had barely known him. So is that young man a relative of yours, or something? The two of you seemed very close. He even did seem a little jealous of us, come to think of it.'
'No, not really,' replied Doc, sighing. 'We just happen to be very close friends. He is also a descendant of Seamus and Maggie McFly - and his real name is Martin McFly, even though everyone calls him Marty. I think it's really not so much that he was jealous of us, but he was anxious for us to return to 1985.'
'So now that Marty has taken the time machine back to the future,' Clara said, slowly, 'you are now trapped here in the past. Now I really feel bad for not having believed you yesterday.'
'Being trapped isn't always a bad thing,' Doc said, softly. 'I mean, I do have you again. Some people might say I'm crazy, but I've always wanted to visit this era. Maybe you and I could both start a new life here together. I shall really miss Marty a lot, though. Gee, I sure wonder how he's going to cope without me. Then there is also Einstein, who is my dog back in 1985. Albert Einstein will become one of the great scientists in the future.'
'So tell me, Emmett,' Clara said, coyly, 'what is the future like? I mean, how is the future different from now?'
'Oh, goodness,' Doc replied, 'I'm not ever sure what to began telling you. It will be like something nobody in this era could really imagine. Not even Jules Verne could predict the future as it actually turned out.'
The look was back on her face, as Clara quietly said, 'You know, Emmett, you should have just taken me back to 1985 with you. I have always dreamed of visiting faraway and unusual places. You really should've just told me about the time machine.'
'I just didn't think it would be right,' Doc said, quietly, 'because you don't really belong in this era. Although, come to think of it...' Doc was unsure of what to say next. After all, how was he supposed to explain to Clara that she was supposed to fall into that ravine and die? He then remembered that, last night, Marty did suggest that they could take Clara back to 1985 - and Doc had rejected the idea. He just said that he did caution Marty about causing a disruption of the continuum for his own personal benefit - therefore, Doc himself should do no less. At the time, he didn't even realize that it would be safer for the continuum to bring Clara back to 1985 with him.
'Are you feeling all right, Emmett?' Clara asked, with concern. 'You have this worried look on your face.'
'I'm trying to think of how to tell you this,' Doc said, quietly. 'Remember how I had saved you from the ravine?'
'Yeah, you really did save my life,' Clara gushed. 'I could have fallen over, if you weren't there to save me.'Just then, a shock of horror spread across her face. 'I guess that actually is what happened to me, before you went back in time. Good grief! I can't believe it. Say, you're not going to throw me back over, are you?'
'Oh, goodness, no!' gasped Doc, horrified. 'Please don't even suggest such a horrible thing! I guess, what I really meant to say was, Marty did suggest that I bring you back to 1985 with us - and I should have listened to him. Then when I went to say good bye to you, you even begged me to take you with me. How could I have been so dense?'
'I'm sure you were just meaning to do the right thing,' Clara said, reassuringly. 'I guess we no longer have a time machine to go back to 1985. Maybe we could leave Hill Valley, if that would be safer for the continuum.'
'Well, we could do that,' Doc said, quietly, 'but maybe I could start working on another time machine. I would have to think of what to build it from, though - and how to generate 1.21 gigawatts of electricity.'
'What on earth is a gigawatt?' Clara asked, with confusion.
'It's a measurement of electricity,' Doc explained. 'Unfortunately, the only power source in this era that would be capable of generating 1.21 gigawatts of electricity is a bolt of lightning. You never know when or where it is ever gonna strike. Except for the time Marty came back to 1955, and he had that flyer mentioning the precise time that a bolt of lightning would strike the clock tower.'
'You mean the same clock tower that the festival was held at the other day?' Clara asked, stunned.
'Yeah, it would be that one,' replied Doc. 'It's so amazing, isn't it? It's almost like that clock tower inherently contains some sort of cosmic significance. Almost like it's the junction point for the entire space-time continuum. On the other hand, it could just be an amazing coincidence.'
'Oh, Emmett, you have got to be joshing me,' Clara said, laughing.
'I'm not lying, you know,' Doc replied, stunned. 'It seems like, in every time period we visited, something happens to the clock tower that is of great significance.'
'So how did you power the time machine?' asked Clara. 'It obviously wasn't always a bolt of lightning.'
'Well, I had attached a Mr. Fusion generator onto the time machine that just sent Marty back,' explained Doc. 'That was a device that was invented in the early 21st century. Before that, it required plutonium. I am certain it would be next to impossible to obtain plutonium in this era.'
'I don't even know what plutonium is,' Clara said, puzzled. 'Well, perhaps you will think of something. It would be very interesting to see what this 1985 is like. So you'll take me back, even after I slapped you last night?'
'Nobody is perfect, honey,' Doc said, softly. 'Anyway, it was partially my fault, too. I should have listened to my young friend when he suggested bringing you back. He usually has difficulty thinking fourth dimensionally - but, in this case, what he suggested was right on. I wish I had realized that right away.'
'I never wanted to believe that you would lie to me just to take advantage of me,' Clara said, quietly, 'and I even cried myself to sleep last night. Still, I couldn't figure out why you would tell me such an unbelievable story like that - and expect me to believe it. I should've known you weren't that kind of man.'
'Please don't fret anymore, honey,' Doc whispered, as he wrapped his arms around Clara. 'I love you so much, and we should maybe have our wedding soon. You really are one in a googolplex.'
'I'm not sure what a googolplex is,' Clara said, coyly, 'but thank you! I really love you a lot, too.'
Doc and Clara sat on the ground, while they cuddled and kissed for awhile. Doc then looked up towards the sky. The light streaked across the sky, leaving a trail in its wake. For a minute, Doc thought that maybe Marty found a way to return from the future to get the two of them. Then he realized it was just a shooting star.