Chapter 10

Saturday, February 1st, 1986

Hill Valley

6: 02 P. M.

Josephine opened her eyes. She stretched, yawned, and patted the head of her fledgling, curled up beside her. Well, another day in paradise, she thought sarcastically.

She got up and looked around their home. A side tunnel of an old abandoned mine wouldn't have been her first choice, but it was the best she could do at the moment. She still wasn't completely recovered from her accident, so leaving Hill Valley was out. And besides, her sister was out there, somewhere. She never wanted Lacy to find Jennifer. The teen was all she had left for love.

Josephine looked at her "child" and smiled. Jennifer was a short girl, with brown hair that had once been fluffy but was now dull and stringy. Her brown eyes were quite pretty, but marred by her deep cynicism. Jennifer considered life a necessary evil to be lived, not something to enjoy. She also harbored a deep hatred of men, which Josephine could understand easily. After all, having to become a prostitute at ten after both your parents die. . . . It wasn't hard to see how she would develop that attitude. She did have her soft side, though. Josephine adored her. It was so nice, having someone to be with, especially after Emmett. . . .

Emmett. Josie frowned as she thought of him. She had thought of seeking him out once she had fully healed, but had vetoed the idea. She knew that one of two things had happened: 1. Emmett had learned of her death and had destroyed himself, or 2. He had attempted the trip to Switzerland on his own after giving up on her. Either way, she'd never see him again. Even their blood-link had been destroyed. The thought made her want to cry, as it always did. Somehow she held her tears back.

Jennifer came awake with a slight start. She noticed Josie's depressed look immediately. "Hey, Josie, why so blue?" She had never been able to call her vampire creator "Mom". It brought back too many bad memories for her.

"Just thinking of a friend I lost a while ago," Josephine sighed. "It hurts to know I'll never see him again."

Jennifer patted her on the back. "It's okay, Josie. We've got each other, right? We don't need any guys to boss us around."

Josephine smiled and pulled her into a hug. "No we don't. And no one's ever going to separate us, I assure you. Ever."

Saturday, February 1st

8: 49 P. M.

"Hurry up, kid! I think we're reaching a breakthrough in the realm of time travel! I want to start work on the car as soon as possible!"

Marty beat his wings harder and caught up to the eager Doc. "I can't help but look around, Doc," he said, cruising along. "Flying always gives me a thrill. I still can't believe I can do it."

"After almost a month of it?" Doc reached out and ruffled Marty's hair, which was quickly smoothed back again by the wind. "I can understand how you feel though, Marty. It never gets less exciting. I love flying. It's the most wonderful sensation in the world."

"You've got that right." Marty did a back flip, just for the hell of it. "Do you really think we're getting close?"

"All my instincts tell me we are. The flux capacitor appears to work, the time circuit controls definitely do. All we need is to run more preliminary tests on the capacitor, add on the last of the electronics, find a suitable power source, and test. If it works, we rescue Josephine from her fiery demise and disappear forever into the past."

"How far back are we going, Doc? Got a specific time in mind?"

"Not really, no. We'll have to be careful, though. We can't take a chance on affecting history. No matter how badly we want to. The consequences could be disastrous."

Marty sighed. "I still wish we could stop Biff from getting his hands on the almanac."

"You're not the only one, as you saw when we rescued those homeless people."

"Tell me again why we can't. I still don't understand."

"We would effectively erase ourselves from existence. You're not thinking 4th dimensionally, Marty. We would be changing the time in which we lived in. We wouldn't be compatible anymore. There would already be people with our identities there. So we would logically not be able to exist in that world. Our spots would already be taken, as it were."

"That sorta makes sense, but still. . . ."

Doc patted him on the back. "I'm sorry, Marty. I don't want to take those kinds of risks. Even if it were possible, we couldn't. We have no idea where to start. We should focus on escaping, not change."

They landed just outside the cave's mouth and headed in to do their usual work on the DeLorean. Edison greeted them with his usual happy barks. As Marty knelt down to pet him, though, his sensitive nose picked up a somewhat familiar scent. "Hey, Doc! You smell that?"

Doc sniffed the air. His eyes widened in surprise. "Great Scott, vampires!" he whispered. "Apparently we have new neighbors."

"But I thought we were the only ones who knew about this place," Marty whispered back.

"The mine has a lot of side tunnels I've never explored, in here, Marty." Doc extended his fangs, sniffing cautiously. "I'm going to do a danger assessment. It might be a soulless vampire."

"What's that?"

"A vampire like us, only with a Biff-like personality. I've only met one or two, but those meetings were enough." Doc started stalking the smell, Marty close behind.

At the same time, a recently refreshed Josephine and Jennifer both lifted their heads to smell the air. "Uh-oh," Josie said, vamping and growling. "There's more than toxic chemicals around."

"Vampires," Jennifer agreed, also vamping. "Think they're soulless? Or guys?"

"Maybe, but it's no excuse to attack them if they're men. If they're soulless, that's a different matter. Let's check 'em out."

"You bet, Josie." They headed down to the main cavern.

Doc paused and listened carefully. "They're heading this way. Get ready to fight if need be, but stay back and let me take the first offensive."

A few feet away, Josie overheard a voice. "Yup, there they are. Hang back before I attack, then jump in."

The older vampires drew closer to each other, preparing to attack. Finally Josie leapt, snarling, fingers bent into claws. Doc was knocked over, but gave back as good as he got, kicking and biting. They rolled around on the floor for a minute, then Doc pinned Josie. Still growling, they glared into each other's faces.

The noise caught in both their throats. They lay there for a moment, staring in total shock. It can't be. . . . Doc was the first to speak. "Josephine?" he whispered.

"Emmett?" she whispered back.

There was another silence. Then Doc grabbed Josephine in a paroxysm of joy. "Josie! Oh, God, Josie. . . . I thought you were dead. . . . Oh, Josie, are you really there, or am I hallucinating? Can it really be you?"

"It's really me, Emmett, I'm right here," she murmured as she kissed him deeply. "I've missed you so much. . . . I thought maybe -- maybe you'd killed yourself, or left me forever. . . . Emmett, I'm so glad to see you!"

The 2 young vampires gawked at the scene. "Uh, Doc, you want to introduce me?"

"You don't have to bother with me," Jennifer said, glaring at Marty.

"Jennifer, be nice," Josephine scolded slightly. "This is Emmett, the man I met in the mental asylum." Smiling sappily at him, she added, "My one true love."

Doc hugged her hard. "Oh, Josie, I'm so glad to see you." He looked back at Marty with a big grin. "This is Josephine, Marty. My creator."

"Oh, so this is the infamous Marty!" Josephine grinned. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Likewise," Marty said, smiling politely. "But Doc always told me you were dead."

"That's what I truly believed. What did happen, Josephine? I thought being burned to death was basically the end of a vampire. How on earth did you escape the crematorium?"

"It wasn't easy. . . ."

Flashback

Tuesday, November 26th, 1985

Hill Valley

5: 42 P. M.

Josephine awoke abruptly to searing heat. What the -- where the hell am I? she wondered, opening her eyes.

She nearly screamed in horror. All around her were large flames, burning anything and everything in the room to a crisp. She was in a crematorium! Desperate, she struggled to her feet. Her body was already alight, but at least she wasn't dead yet. She dashed to the door and started pounding, hoping that someone would see and free her. Unfortunately, the normal attendants had left the fire alone for a few minutes, figuring the person inside wouldn't mind. She glanced down in terror as the flames burnt her skin practically to ash. She would die in just a few minutes if she didn't do something. . . .

She grabbed the door and started twisting it. Even in her weakened state, she was strong enough to wrench it off. She bolted out of the chamber, then dropped and rolled to put out the flames. Before anyone could see her, she had vanished out a window.

Josie collapsed by the wall and looked at herself. Her skin was almost completely blackened, and here and there it was burned completely away. All the hair on her body had been scorched off. Her muscles were burnt, her blood cooked. She was half-blind from the damage done to her eyes, and her sense of smell was impaired. Basically, she looked like a living barbeque.

She managed to slink off to a small patch of sick trees in the cemetery. She was so weak, and so thirsty. . . . Spotting a rat, she grabbed it and drank it dry. It wasn't much, but it helped. She made herself a little nest in the dead leaves and let herself sink into another healing coma.

Saturday, November 30th, 1985

Hill Valley

6: 43 P. M.

Josephine lay against a tombstone, trying to get up the energy to hunt for food. The last few days had been a haze of feeding on what little blood she could find and resting. Her body was healing excruciatingly slow, and she was beginning to wonder if she would ever heal at all. No vampire she had known had survived a trip to a crematorium. And with the only blood sources available to her small animals, she was considering giving up and going into coma permanently.

The noise of running footsteps caught her ear. She turned in it's direction to see a girl in a skimpy outfit, with multiple welts and bruises on her body. She was being chased by a guy in a sleazy outfit, with many gold chains and rings. Must be a prostitute and her pimp, Josie reasoned, slowly starting to stand.

Suddenly, the girl turned and ran full tilt towards her. Josie had no time to move before the young hooker was sprawled across her lap. She looked at the vampire with a look of disgust. "Yuck, who the heck--"

"Can I help you?"

The girl screamed in horror and scrambled to get away. Josie grabbed her ankle and held on. "Wait a sec, kid, I can help you!"

"You're a horribly burned corpse! You're not even supposed to be alive!"

"But I am alive, and I'm in a generous mood. Want to make a deal?" Josie grinned, very happy that events had turned this way. If all went well. . . .

"What sort of a deal?" the girl panted, eyes still shining with fear. Josephine got a better look now at the various injuries decorating her body. It made her blood boil.

"Simple. You help me, I help you. You assist me in healing, I get rid of your pimp."

The girl's eyes grew round. "You couldn't get rid of Jerry. Believe me, some of the older girls have tried."

"Believe me, none of those girls were like me."

Jerry caught up to them, looking totally out of breath. "There you are, you little b*tch," he snarled, grabbing the girl's arm tightly and yanking her roughly to her feet. "You're gonna be so sorry you ran." He slapped her full across the face, taking no notice of Josephine at all.

The girl looked down at the prone vampire. She inclined her head, praying the hooker took her up on her offer. The girl glanced back at Jerry, then nodded. Josie smiled and stood up. Jerry, in astonishment, dropped the girl back onto the ground. Before he could get any of his bearings, Josephine had vamped and was on his throat.

The prostitute watched in astonishment as Josie drained the life from her pimp. Before her very eyes, some of the severe scorching on the vampire's body healed, and small stubbled hair grew on her head, dirty blond in color. She tossed the body aside and looked back at the hooker. "You don't know how much that meant to me. What's your name, by the way?"

"Jennifer," the girl breathed. "Jennifer Parker. What are you?"

"A vampire by the name of Josephine Grey. One who had a bad run-in with the local crematorium." She looked down at her burned body. "Jennifer, I need help. I haven't been getting enough blood to heal my body. And due to my weakened state, I'm not so great at hunting on my own anymore. So I'm offering you a deal. Help me get the blood I need, and I promise to shelter you from all this. No one will ever touch you again if you don't want them too, now that you're under my protection. Do we have a deal?"

Jennifer looked a little skeptical, but stuck out her hand. "Deal, Miss Grey. I don't know what to make of all of it, but it's gotta be better than the life I'm living now."

End Flashback

Doc looked at the girl behind Josephine, who was regarding him and Marty very suspiciously. "And I take it this is Jennifer?"

"Yes," Josie smiled, slipping an arm around her. "Stuck by me through these past two months. She helped me like no one else could at the time, and I repaid her with immortality. We're very close."

Doc held out his hand. "Very nice to meet you Jennifer."

Jennifer hung back, scowling. Puzzled, Doc looked back at Josie, who smiled sheepishly. "She's not too fond of men. Like I mentioned, she's a former prostitute." She looked curiously at Marty. "How on earth did you make it to Switzerland and back to get him?"

"I didn't have to. He came to me." Doc related all that had happened to him since his awakening as the two younger vampires eyed each other. "I hope you aren't upset with me for my behavior."

Josie smiled. "With my sister and Biff, I think I'd make an exception for what you did. But what are you doing here?"

"Working on the DeLorean. I picked up right where I left off before. Marty's been assisting me, and we're starting to make some real progress."

"Emmett, that's wonderful! Does that mean we can get out of this sh*thole?"

"With any luck at all, and we seem to be having plenty of it," Doc said sappily, pulling Josie close again. Both younger vampires rolled their eyes at the display.

"Do we really have to live with two men, Josie?" Jennifer complained, shooting a venomous look at Marty. "You know what they're all like."

"Emmett's different, Jennifer," Josephine said sternly. "You don't have to interact with them if you don't like, but it'll be much more pleasant for all involved if you do."

Jennifer just shrugged. Josephine and Doc headed back towards the car, chatting happily. In the haze of joy over being together again, they were oblivious to the young, depressed vampires.

Sunday, February 2nd, 1986

Hill Valley

5: 23 A. M.

Marty and Jennifer settled down at opposite sides of the mine as their internal clocks informed them of sunrise. Casting one last nervous look at each other, they went to sleep. Josephine watched the scene a little worriedly. "Why don't they want to be with each other? We're all going to be together from now on. I want them to be friends."

"They only met today," Doc rationalized, letting her snuggle against him. He had really missed feeling her warmth against his body, their breaths mingling softly. . . . "Give it time. They both have their own social problems to deal with, of course. Jennifer hates our sex, and Marty needs time to trust others. I had to be patient when we first met. He was scared of everyone else on the planet. He felt like he was the world's whipping boy. I got him to open up to me, but it took a few weeks before we became truly close." Doc suddenly looked at Josie, a question forming in his mind. "Josephine, Marty and I created a blood link two days before I had to change him. But it's still there, strong as ever. Ours is gone. Why?"

Josephine sighed. "I think because I nearly died, it got snapped," she explained sadly. "I know that, if we had still had it, all this would have never happened." She glanced around at the mine they had fashioned into a home. "Actually, us not knowing about the other seems to have been a good thing, so far as it went. We have a family now."

"Very true," Doc whispered, holding her tight. "Is the bond permanently broken? Or would it be possible to -- revive it?"

"I don't know. No one's ever tried before."

"Then let's," Doc said, nibbling her ear. Her unique smell -- a fresh summer rain -- her silky body, her very presence was exciting him. He licked her throat, then allowed his lips to slip to her mouth. She responded eagerly, pressing her hips to his tightly. Doc murmured a naughty something unintelligible to human ears and started to undress her.

She stopped him gently. "A side tunnel," she purred into his ear. "It's private, and we won't startle the kids."

Doc nodded, eyes already glowing brightly. Snickering like naughty schoolchildren, they dashed into one of the tunnels.

A hour later, Doc finally relaxed, panting. "Forgotten how good this could be," he breathed, kissing his partner.

"So had I," Josie murmured, licking him. "And it worked. I can feel you again." She pressed her hand to her chest, feeling her triple heartbeats. "You and Jennifer. Makes for a good combination, I think."

"Same here with you and Marty." They cuddled together, relishing each other's body heat. "I'm sure they'll grow to like each other. Jennifer seems like the type who is secretly a big softie."

"She is," Josie grinned. "It's just that, all the abuses she's suffered at the hands of her clients. . . . She thinks all men are sex-hungry, sadistic beasts. I've tried to tell her that I knew one man personally who wasn't like that, but she won't listen!"

"Like I said, give it time. Everything will work out eventually, and we'll be able to escape to the past." Doc's brow furrowed. "For some reason, I can't get it out of my head that I've seen Jennifer before somewhere. It's not the fact she's a cynical former prostitute that's bothering me -- it's her face itself. I know I've seen it somewhere, but I just can't put my finger on it!"

"Don't worry about it, Emmett. It doesn't matter if or when you've seen her before. The important thing is that we're all together." She pulled him down to kiss him. Doc shoved the bothersome thoughts out of his head and concentrated on enjoying Josie.

Wednesday, February 5th, 1986

Hill Valley

6: 59 P. M.

Marty looked on silently as Doc and Josephine cracked up over a joke she had just told him. He could feel the love Doc held for her through his link, and it hurt. He scowled and kicked a rock by his feet. Why did things always have to turn out crappy for him? He had expected Josephine's return as a joyous event, where he finally got a proper family after 12 years. He and Doc would remain as close as ever, while he and Josephine got to know each other. Sure, Doc and Josie would spend time together, but things wouldn't be changed too drastically for him. Instead he got a woman who simply made Doc forget about him. And brought baggage of her own, besides. Damn it, why am I the one who always gets the short end of the stick? Doc said he loved me. That he cared about me. Then he dumps me in 10 seconds for some floozy who didn't even try to find him when he thought she was dead.

On the opposite side of the cave, Jennifer slouched against the wall. She should have known her thing with Josephine wouldn't last. The vampire had used her, she believed. Just so she could go throw herself into the arms of a man who had essentially abandoned her to the elements. Jennifer didn't believe the "I thought you were dead" story. She knew what men were like. And having Josie say they had to live with two of them! . . . Well, "disgusted" would be putting it mildly. Why do I trust people at all? she wondered angrily, glowering at the two. None of them really care for me. I'm just somebody they can have their fun with, then drop like a hot rock the minute someone new comes along. I thought you were different, Josephine, but apparently I was wrong!

The loving couple both frowned. Marty and Jennifer had been rather cool towards them both lately, and now through their respective links, they could tell the teens were very upset. Josephine looked at Emmett. They probably want attention, she thought, shielding her thoughts from them. We have been ignoring them lately.

I know. I was simply so happy to see you I guess I sort of forgot about Marty. We'd best make amends. They parted, sending a mental message to each of their fledglings. Marty? Can we talk?

Sure. The noncommital tone to Marty's mental "voice" worried Doc.

What's wrong? I know I haven't been paying much attention to you, but--

Holy shit, you finally noticed me. Do you even remember what my name is? Doc drew back, further startled by Marty's heavy sarcasm. I know what I am now, you bastard. I was the replacement. I was the kid you could use for whatever you needed until you got your precious Josephine back! I see it now! Some unlucky kid comes along, you decide you could use his help, you twist his mind around a little, then dump him the minute you get what you want! I shoulda known! I should have known you didn't really love me! You were just using me, you -- you -- you!

Marty, that's not true at all! Doc "shouted" back, horrified by Marty's accusations.

Oh yes it is! I fall for this shit every time! Nobody gives a flying f*** about me! You know what? Take her! It's obvious you don't need me anymore!

With that, he stomped out of the cave and flew off. He was followed closely by Jennifer, who had had a nearly identical conversation with Josephine. The 2 older vampires stared at each other. "Boy, that's a reaction I didn't expect," Josie muttered, shocked by their attitudes. She looked at Doc. "Are you mad at me? I'm not mad at you, but I definitely won't blame you if you are. I know how much you care about that kid."

"Apparently I'm not showing it very well," Doc mumbled, looking like he was about to cry. "We'd better go after them. The last time Marty was out, it became the time I had to make him into a vampire."

Josephine looked slightly reluctant. "I think we're the last people they want to see right now. And I'm sure they can take care of themselves."

"Don't tell me you're not worried."

"I'm terrified," Josie admitted. "I don't want anything to happen to either of them. But it's not like we can't quickly find them -- Oh, shit," she whispered, her tone changing to fear. "They've blocked us out completely."

The 2 older vampires stared at each other a moment. Then they both bolted out of the cave.

Wednesday, February 5th

7: 04 P. M.

Marty landed in an alley, starting to cry. He couldn't believe that all this shit kept happening to him. If I knew how to kill myself as a vampire, I would, he thought, slumping down into the corner. Save me a lot of pain. Why can't I find one person who--

His thoughts were interrupted by Jennifer dropping down next to him. "Hey, what the heck are you doing here?" he demanded, wiping his eyes.

"None of your business," Jennifer snapped back.

"Considering it was your 'mother' that took Doc away from me, I think it is my damn business," Marty snarled.

"You're blaming Josephine?! It was all your precious Doc's fault! You men are all alike! You don't give a shit for what us women feel! I met so many perverts in my days on the streets. . . . You're all sex-mad @$$h0les! One of you tried to beat up one of my friends, it was a miracle the Dark Angels turned up in time. . . ."

Marty's eyes widened. "You're friends with Linda? Jesus Christ, how is she? Ever since we had to stop that punk from beating the shit out of her--"

Jennifer blinked in astonishment. "Wait a minute! You're one of the Dark Angels?? And you know Linda?"

"Linda's my sister," Marty whispered. "Yeah, me and Doc are the Dark Angels. We rescue people on the street. I could never hurt a hooker, not knowing my sister is one. And Dave's a drunk, so they're out too. . . ."

Jennifer cocked her head. Something about his manner convinced her he was telling the truth. "So you're that Marty McFly," she whispered, settling down beside him. "What was it like, living with Biff Tannen?"

"Not much better than your days on the streets, I bet," Marty said with a heavy sigh. "I mean, Switzerland wasn't so bad, even though I never really got close to anybody. Coming home was hell. Biff took any and every excuse to beat me up. His gang got in on a lot of it too." He showed Jennifer the scars crisscrossing his back. "That was 3-D. The same guy who shot me. I would have died if it hadn't been for Doc."

"Why don't you call him Dad?" Jennifer asked, getting interested in spite of her prejudice. "You two certainly seem close enough for it, judging from what I saw when you were the Dark Angels."

"I dunno. He's close enough to be my dad, but he isn't my real dad. Do you ever call Josephine 'Mom'?" Jennifer shook her head. "Same thing with me. It's still too odd-sounding." He glanced at Jennifer. "He's my only family now, though. I guess I'm jealous of all the attention Josephine's getting."

"Ditto," Jennifer mumbled. Suddenly she laughed. "Look at me. I'm on speaking terms with a guy. Josie wouldn't believe it."

"Maybe we should let them know where we are," Marty considered. "I don't feel as pissed at them anymore." Jennifer nodded, and they opened their links.

Instantly Doc and Josie were in the alley, hugging them so tight it hurt. "Don't ever do that again without warning me!" Doc said, trying and failing not to sound relieved. "Damn it, Marty, you scared me! I know you were angry at me, and you have every right to be--"

"Jennifer, why on earth did you turn it off?" Josie said angrily but thankfully. "You know how I get! You mean so much to me--"

Both teens hugged their respective "parent". "I suppose you do love us still," Marty said.

"I'm sorry, Marty. But you have to understand, Josephine is my soul mate. I know that seems like a overly romantic concept, but it's the truth."

"He's right. I've never met a man like him before, never been as deeply in love before. We're right for each other, Jennifer," Josie agreed. "Listen, why don't we show you two? Maybe you'll understand more then." Both older vampires allowed the younger ones to peer into their memories and see how much they meant to each other. Marty and Jennifer had to admit, if they had had a girlfriend/boyfriend they loved that much, they probably would have gone nuts upon seeing them again too. They responded with how abandoned they had felt when the two lovebirds had gotten back together.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Josie responded, hugging Jennifer again. "We'll tone down all the sappy stuff. You deserve our love too."

"That's right. We're a family, and woe betide anyone who tries to split us up," Doc said, his arm around Marty's shoulders. "All of us. Come on, let's go home and see if we can work on our relationships."

"Way ahead of you, Doc," Marty said, smiling at Jennifer. She smiled back. Things were getting back on track.