Disclaimer, Author's Notes, and Dedications: I have mentioned that this story (as are, well, ALL my stories) is Mary Sue, right? I'm not forcing you to read 'em. And I believe I classified this story as "Sci-Fi/Fantasy" as well. *ahem* Anyways, back to business. BTTF in all its Great Scott-ed (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist ^^) glory is copyrighted to the Bobs. Lisa is mine. I would like to dedicate this chapter to Flaming Trails, who was so kind as to allow me to use her idea. Thank you! In-joke alert!! 7:55PM was the time I typed that line. ^^ Oh, and I don't know German. I got the wording from Dictionary.com/Translate, so, if anyone who speaks/understands/can spell German can help me out with the wording and/or spelling, please do so. Incidentally, according to imdb.com, Mickey's Christmas Carol came out in 1983. That is all.

Lisa found herself in Doc Brown's garage. It was in its usual state of disarray, as always. The sound of numerous ticking clocks echoed through the building. Though a series of lights were illuminating the interior, she could tell it was night from the lack of sunlight coming through the windows and from the fact that the clocks she could read showed 7:55PM on their faces.

She looked around the place, unaware that she wasn't alone. Pinned to a bulletin board was a newspaper article reading: BROWN MANSION DESTROYED. That, at least, told her that it was after August 2, 1962, which was the day after Doc's house had burned down. He had told her he had to move into his garage after the accident.

The place wasn't exactly meant to lived in, but it was all Doc had left. He had managed to salvage some of his belongings from the house and bring them to the garage. Lisa, however, didn't meet him until long, long after the accident.

Lisa heard a sound behind her and turned around quickly. She saw Doc Brown lying on a couch, moving around as if coming out of a deep sleep.

"Sorry," Lisa apologized. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Doc ignored her. Strange. She walked slowly around the furniture until she came to a pile of...well, junk on the floor. She couldn't go around, so she tried to step over it.

Her foot went through the debris.

More than a little astonished, Lisa tried to touch the wall she was standing beside, and her hand went through that as well.

"Weird…" she whispered.

Then she heard another sound, this one not in Doc's voice.

It was her own.

Lisa continued on and saw herself curled up beside Doc, sound asleep with one of his long coats draped over her as a makeshift blanket. Lisa finally looked at herself – she who was not asleep on the couch – and saw that all colors on her body were washed out. It was as if she were a ghost.

"If I'm there," she said to herself, pointing at the one sleeping against Doc and assuming, quite correctly, that they couldn't hear her since she wasn't even solid enough dent the piles of trash on the floor, "and here," she pointed to herself, "…am I just an observer? I think…"

She paused and, acting on an impulse, looked at the garage floor.

Yep. There was The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, and the television was playing Mickey's Christmas Carol.

She smiled. She remembered this. She remembered this, indeed.

It was December of 1984, very close to Christmas, the second Christmas they had spent together. She and Doc had settled on the couch to read a little before they watched the movie (which, incidentally, had rerun later that night according to the TV Guide). Lisa, being Lisa, had made herself comfortable by curling up on the couch and laying her head against Doc's chest, using one of his coats as a blanket. The scientist hadn't protested; in fact, he had adjusted his position so she'd be more comfortable, and they stayed that way as he read her passages from The Time Machine.

Lisa didn't remember ever seeing the end of the movie that night, and had concluded she must have fallen asleep before it ended. And here, she saw, that Doc had drifted off as well. Neither of them had woken until the next morning.

At least, that's what she thought.

Doc opened his eyes and looked down as Sleeping-Lisa shifted a bit in her sleep. He smiled softly and gently stroked her hair. She sighed a little, but didn't wake.

For the first time, Lisa knew what Doc was thinking and feeling during this…

He was perfectly comfortable having her sleep against him. Warm feelings of utter contentment washed over Waking-Lisa (for, as far as she was concerned, she was awake). It made her smile even more. It felt like…like…

Like family.

Lisa hadn't had a family since the incident. Doc had been the first person to fill that void in her hearts after…after. Doc was hers, plain and simple. Doc was hers.

Doc had never had a true family (back then…). Lisa had been the best thing that ever happened to him. He was quite certain of how Lisa fit into his life.

"Ich liebe dich, meine Tochter," the scientist whispered to Lisa's sleeping counterpart as the waking one listened intently. "I don't care if you're beyond my species. In my heart, you're mine."

He blushed a little, as if whatever he had said had been embarrassing, and he was glad Lisa was a sound sleeper and couldn't hear him. He fell asleep shortly after that, leaving Waking-Lisa to her own devices.

Lisa had been sleeping soundly. So soundly, in fact, that she didn't know that had happened. Now, however, she did.

Ich liebe dich, meine Tochter, she repeated in her mind, not understanding the language he had been speaking. The only languages she could understand were the languages of animals, and, unfortunately, the human animal wasn't included in that.

What could it mean?

Being insubstantial, and yet all her powers seemed to be intact, there was only one way to find out.

Lisa shut her eyes and concentrated, casting her mind into Doc's. She "pulled up" his most recent memories and reviewed them. The words…were German…

"Ich liebe dich, meine Tochter. I don't care if you're beyond my species. In my heart, you're mine."

"Ich liebe dich, meine Tochter."

"I love you, my daughter."

Intense happiness coursed through every pore of Lisa's being. She opened her eyes and grinned uncontrollably. She had known he loved her, of course, but actually hearing him say it (even in another language) was another matter.

Lisa searched his mind again, shutting her eyes tightly in concentration, in the area of his brain that knew the language.

After a moment, satisfied with her search, she opened her eyes and came to stand right beside the sleeping scientist. She knelt down so they were nearly face-to-face and spoke to him, stumbling a little over the pronunciation, even though she knew he couldn't hear her…

"Ich liebe dich, Vater."

"I love you, Father."

End part four.