Chapter 16

Monday, September 14th

1: 49 P. M.

It took three hours to explain the entire story to their dumbfounded hosts and to assure them that they were in no danger. Doc 2 had plenty ask about their natures and powers. Marty 2 just stared at them bug-eyed. Clara seemed interested in how not to get bitten. It was quite an exhausting experience for the vampires, and being out in the sunshine didn't help matters. So it was really no surprise to them when Jennifer finally fainted. The vampires got their alternates to leave them alone for a little while and brought her inside the mine.

As Josie revived Jennifer with a little of her blood, she muttered sadly, "Well, that's the end of that."

"Of what?" Marty asked, wincing a little. The pain hadn't quite faded away yet. He suspected being awake in the sunlight had something to do with that.

"Of us going back to the good future with them. There's no way they'll take a bunch of vampires with them. Did you see the way Clara was looking at me? She was scared out of her mind!"

The revived Jennifer nodded her agreement, tears welling up in her eyes. "Any money says they'll destroy our car for parts, then just leave us here."

"I don't think I'll make that bet. But maybe living here won't be all that bad. We could take up my other self's business when they leave. And with all the animals roaming around the countryside, we'll never be short of blood."

"What about Clara?" Marty probed. "I think it's common knowledge Doc 2 and her are an item. How do you explain her getting replaced by Josie and Jennifer?"

"Theatrics," Doc explained. "I'll pretend that we had a fight, and that she left. Then I'll fake falling in love with Josie." His choice of words earned him a look from the she-vampire. "Jennifer can pretend to be her daughter. Josie and I can get properly married, and we'll all live happily ever after."

"You make it sound so easy," Josie told him, sitting down by Jennifer. "It'll be much harder than that, of course. Although," she conceded with a grin, "I would love to make our family official."

"Personally, I don't give a f**k where or when we live, as long as we're together and away from Biff. It would be great to go to the nice future, but I could get used to living in this time too."

Doc shrugged, then sighed. "They're probably waiting for us out there. Jennifer, do you want to stay in here, or do you think you can face the sunlight again?"

"I'm better. I'll go out with you guys." They emerged from the mine, ready to face their judgement.

Clara was the first to speak. "I suppose I should apologize for what I said at breakfast. I didn't realize your were trying to have some, Josephine."

It took a moment for the vampires to get the joke. "You mean you're all right with this?"

"It's going to take some getting used to, but then everything in my life currently does," Clara smiled. "It's really no more incredible than time travel or having two Emmetts around."

"And vampires or no, we would never strand you in a foreign time," Doc 2 said firmly. "True, I need time to get used to the idea, but I'm not so cruel as to do that. Frankly, I'm quite fascinated by your condition and would love to question you further. But getting ourselves back to the future must be our top priority. Let's get your car into the sunlight. I didn't detect any major differences in design, but my eyes aren't as good as yours in the dark."

Monday, September 21st, 1885

Hill Valley

7: 13 P. M.

It had taken Doc 2, Marty 2, and Clara a day or two to fully accept the fact they lived with vampires, but eventually everything had been straightened out. Doc and Doc 2 had done a few tests with Doc's DeLorean, and Doc 2 had deemed it a fit recovery vehicle. A few repairs were made to both cars to make them fully operational and time travel worthy. Doc 2 and Marty 2 had closed up shop in town and announced they were moving to New Jersey with Clara. The townspeople had responded with a nice party for them. Marty 2 delighted in telling everyone how Buford had crashed it and "freaked" at the sight of him.

And now, the big day had arrived. The time circuits were set, and both vehicles were fully fueled for time travel. A thick chain connected Doc 2's DeLorean to Doc's, so it could be towed through temporal space. All the necessary luggage was packed, and everyone was raring to go. There was just one more detail to be taken care of. "Doc?"

"Yes Martin?" Doc 2 replied, giving the DeLoreans a final double-check.

"What about this?" Marty held up the almanac, which they had all forgotten about in their excitement. "I don't want to take it back to the future with us. What if Biff gets his hands on it again?"

Doc 2 frowned, then looked at his own Marty, who was playing with Edison. "Marty?" Marty 2 looked up. "Martin just asked what we should do with the almanac. I'm going to leave that decision up to you, as you were the one responsible for bringing it here. What do you want done to it?"

Marty 2 looked at it disgustedly, then got a brainstorm. "Why don't we bury it and leave it here? Nobody will be able to use it if they find it. And if anything happens to these guys--" he indicated Doc and Marty "--and we need it, we can find it fast."

Doc 2 smiled proudly. "Now that's thinking fourth-dimensionally. Good idea, Marty." Marty 2's lips quirked upwards at the praise. "You and Martin can go out and find a suitable location for burial."

"Sure thing, Doc. We'll be back in a sec." The Martys left through the back, talking eagerly about getting home.

Doc, sitting on a table and swinging a leg idly, watched them go with a slight smile. "They've gotten very used to each other these past days. Anyone who wasn't a party to our secret might even think they were normal twin boys."

"Marty's done a lot of growing and changing during this trip," Doc 2 agreed, tightening a wire. "With any luck, it will lead to a very bright future."

"Speaking of the future, what will you do once we get back?" Doc asked, leaning forward, an interested expression on his face.

"Clara and I will move into my home for a little while, then get married and look for a bigger house. A garage is no place for a married couple. I'll return the unused portion of my plutonium to the government as well, which will mostly likely give us a small nest egg to live on for a bit. I'm practically broke back home."

"Are you going to look for a job?"

"I run a small repair business from my van. 'Dr. E. Brown Enterprises -- 24 HR. Scientific Services.' I also occasionally publish articles in magazines and sub at the local college. Lately Marty's been pestering me to sell some of my inventions, so I might go into that line of work as well. Or move into the country and make good use of my black-smithing skills." He opened the Mr. Fusion generator on the back of his car and threw in an apple core he had found somewhere. "What about yourself? What will you do once we return to 1985?"

"Josephine and I have decided we want to make our 'family' official. Once we get used to the fact we're going to be in the good future, it's off to Reno or Las Vegas to falsify documents and get married." He chuckled. "Under her name, of course. I don't want to raise any unnecessary suspicions about you."

"That's very kind of you. Have you thought about the possibility of meeting our reality's Josephine Grey -- if we have one?"

"Josie doesn't think her double, if she exist, will suspect anything. After all, there's more than one Josie Grey in the world. Having that be her married name will help too." He leaned back and returned to Doc 2's original question about their future in 1985. "After getting married, who knows? We might travel the world, or settle down in some small town." He paused, a wistful expression appearing on his face. "Although if the Hill Valley of your world is as peaceful as you've described it, I'll be sorry to leave it behind."

"I'm going to be sorry to see you go," Doc 2 admitted, surprising his vampire double. "It's nice to have someone else to talk to who thinks like me."

"That's because I am you," Doc snickered.

"Not really. Not totally, in any case. You have a different view on life, different ideas than myself. Our DNA may be the same -- mostly -- but our life experiences have been very different. And it's those experiences that define our personalities."

"The whole 'nature versus nurture' argument," Doc agreed, hopping down from the table. He was nervous about going back to the future, and it showed through his almost constant motion in his waking hours. "It's been enlightening, discussing theories and problems with you. Judging from their reactions, our respective 'familes' feel the same way. Your Marty is even teaching my Martin how to hoverboard."

"It's a strange friendship, but a good one. You'll have to contact us every once in a while to let us know how you're doing." Doc 2's lips quirked upward. "We can be pen-pals."

Doc returned the smile, but was prevented from answering by the arrival of Clara and Josie. Clara was twisting a portion of her dress in her hands, while Josephine had a comforting hand on her shoulder. Doc could sense his soon-to-be wife was nervous too, but she was hiding it well. "There's nothing to worry about, Clara," Josie was saying as they walked in. "Trust me, people adapt quickly to any situation. I've had to change for the times so often I've lost count. It won't be as hard as you think."

"Anxious?" Doc 2 asked, not needing to ask about what. "I am too. I've been away from the bustle of 1985 for over a month. It'll be an adjustment for me too."

"Yes, but I'm going 100 years into the future! Hearing about it can be frightening -- what will living there be like?"

"Don't worry about it," Doc 2 said soothingly, going over and kissing her. "I'll be there to guide you every step of the way. And once I get the DeLorean fixed, we can visit this time whenever we want. You don't have to leave it behind completely."

Doc felt obligated to say something too. "In a way, my group is just like you," he offered. "We've never seen this future ourselves. We'll be completely dumbfounded too."

"It can't be that different," Clara argued.

"If there's a God, it will be," Josie said. "Take it from a woman who's over a millennia old. You'll adapt quickly." Clara managed a smile for her.

The Martys returned, Jennifer tagging along behind this time. "Everything's all set, Doc. The almanac's buried in the backyard, under one of the trees. We're ready to get out of here."

"Clara, are you ready?" Doc 2 asked his bride to be.

"Not really. But then I doubt I'll ever be really ready, so we may as well go."

Doc looked at Josie and her confident expression. "I'm ready. I feel like I was born ready." Oh, Emmett, I'm so excited. . . .

Me too, mein Liebe. Marty, Jennifer?

I'm shaking, Jennifer thought. I want to go, but I'm afraid this is all some great dream, and that I'm gonna wake up when we time travel.

I just want to get there as soon as possible. So I can see Biff waxing George's car. "Yeah, I think we're all ready," Marty said aloud, smiling inwardly at his thoughts.

"All right then. Everyone, get your luggage and we'll head off."

Within minutes, everything was packed and ready to go. Doc 2 took command of the front car, and everyone squeezed into the limited seating. "Doc, are you sure that this'll work?"

"Dr. Brown and I did a test. The chain should hold long enough to get us back into 1985 at least. We won't leave them behind." He accelerated carefully over the flatter stretches of the desert landscape. In the back car, the vampires crossed their fingers tightly. Good future, here we come.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Sunday, October 27th, 1985

Hill Valley

3: 40 A. M.

They arrived in darkness, an almost impenetrable darkness. Doc and his company strained their eyes, but even their vampire-enhanced vision couldn't make out much. All they could tell was that they were in a structure of some sort, one that spread out as it reached toward the sky. Doc 2 brought them to a stop and got out. "Damn," he grumbled. "It's pitch black out here. I can't see a thing!"

"Where are we, Doc?" Marty 2 asked.

"We'd like to know too," Doc agreed, getting out of Doc 2's DeLorean.

"Well, since we left near Clara's house -- no idea."

Jennifer sniffed. "I smell grass. Maybe we're in a field."

"Some field. There's paint residue here too," Josie reported. She listened closely, but only heard faintly the chirp of crickets and her company's heartbeats. She tried her eyes again and this time was able to make out another shape against the skyline. "And I think I see a tall building behind us."

Marty 2 laughed suddenly. "I bet we're in the football stadium! Would make sense, practically everything in 1885 Hill Valley was put in the same place as 1985 Hill Valley."

"I think you're right, Marty, even if you do have it back to front. The location of various businesses hasn't changed much over a century. Why should the school be any different?"

"What's a football stadium?" Clara asked wonderingly.

"It's an area for a sport with seating surrounding it," Doc 2 explained. "I'll show you later, in daylight."

"Okay then, we have a rough idea of where we are. Now how do we get out?" Josie wondered.

"Isn't there an entrance for the power mower or something?" Doc 2 asked Marty 2.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure there is," Marty 2 said. He frowned at his friend. "Doc, why'd we have to come back so early?"

"Imagine the stir we'd cause if we came back in daylight -- say 11: 00 A. M. The less people who see us, the better. Especially now that you and me have doubles."

"I'll go look for any exit," Doc offered. "I'll call you over when I find one."

"I've got a better idea." Doc 2 switched on their headlights. "I'll follow you in the car, that way everyone can see the exit as well."

"Ah, that is better." Doc took to the air, flying over to the bleachers. He dropped down beside them and started feeling his way around, investigating any and all gaps. After a moment his body was illuminated by the car headlights. Even though it was behind him, he had to squint his eyes at first. After many months of being in a world with very little sunshine and living from night to night, light hurt his eyes. He made himself bear it and kept looking.

He finally found the opening for the power mower, thankfully large enough for the DeLoreans to fit through. The others ran to join them, Clara and Marty 2 jumping into the front DeLorean. Doc and his family stayed outside, waiting as the others drove into the gap. With a smile, they spread their wings and flew out of the stadium, rejoining the group outside. Doc 2 saw them drop down in the headlights and immediately burst out of the car. None of them had ever seen the vampires fly before, and he was full of questions about this ability. "You never told me about wings! How on earth did you grow wings?!"

"I think Clara and Marty would appreciate it if you saved the questions for when we got back to your home," Doc said politely. Doc 2 frowned, but nodded. He walked back to the DeLorean, looking profoundly disappointed. The vampires chuckled softly and took to the air again, following Doc 2 as he bumped the DeLoreans back onto the road.

When they reached the heart of Hill Valley, Doc gasped. A thrill went up his spine as he saw the clock tower, the non-adult shops, the soft streetlights. The parking lot was still there, but it wasn't full of drunkards and motorcyclists. In fact, he spotted only one bum, sleeping peacefully on a bench. All around them, there were the soft noises of other human beings, sleeping or taking a late-night walk.

Jennifer, Josephine, and Marty were stunned, to say the least. "Are we dead?" Jennifer whispered. "Is this heaven?"

"Smell that air," Josephine said, taking a deep whiff. "It's barely polluted."

"People are sleeping! At night!" Marty marveled. Then a thoughtful look appeared on his face. "Hey, I wonder if Marty 2's family lives at the same address my family used to. He told me that his McFlys were pretty much the same as mine when it came to who was born when and stuff like that."

"Maybe so, maybe not," Doc shrugged. "I doubt you'll get to see, however. As my other self said, the less people who know about us, the better."

After a fairly long drive, during which the vampires were bowled over by how different this Hill Valley was to home, they reached Doc 2's home. Doc noted it was the same garage he had lived in back in Hell Valley. The Burger King beside it was still open for business though. He and his "family" landed carefully away from the lights, not wanting to attract attention. Doc 2 got out of their car and unlocked the garage door. He and Doc undid the chain connecting the two cars, then drove in the first DeLorean and pushed the second in next to it. "Well," Doc 2 panted when everyone was inside, "welcome to my humble abode."

"It's certainly you, Emmett," said Clara with a smile, looking at the mess of mechanical parts and other junk.

"This reminds me of before I got thrown in that sanitarium," Doc said, examining the remains of some experiment. "I feel right at home. In fact, I remember starting one or two of these--"

A loud barking from inside the main body of the garage caught everyone's attention. Edison immediately answered, trotting over to the door and yapping. "That must be Einstein," Doc 2 said, unlocking the door leading into the house.

"Einstein?" Doc felt a pang. "It'll be good to see him again. When I found him after my return--" he blinked back tears as the memory came up, still painfully fresh in his heart. "Edison was the only survivor."

Both Martys patted him on the back. "It's okay, Dr. Brown. I'd get upset too. Einstein's sorta like my dog."

"Thanks," Doc smiled. They followed Doc 2 into the house. Einstein and Edison immediately ran over to each other and sniffed each other curiously. "Edison, that's your father. That's Einstein."

Edison didn't seem to care. He gave a yap and ran off, Einstein in pursuit. Chuckling, Doc gave his attention over to the rest of the room. It was far neater than his had ever been, with all the things he had treasured still in their places. The furniture was newer and cleaner, and there was a wrecked something built into the wall. The bookcase facing it looked completely out of order, too. "What happened here?"

"I accidentally blew up the amp," Marty 2 blushed.

"I built Marty an amplifier for his 15th birthday," Doc 2 explained. "He used it and it overloaded." He looked at Marty scoldingly. "Marty, I told you not to hook up to it!"

"Yeah, but you told me after I'd already blown it up." Doc 2 looked confused, but that quickly changed to annoyance as he realized what Marty had meant. "I wouldn't have done it if I'd known. The thing blew me clear across the room and into your bookcase!"

"Great Scott! Marty, are you all right?" Doc 2 nervously gave Marty 2 a once-over. His thoughts were rather cryptic to the vampires: Damn, what if that car accident simply aggravated an injury that was already there? I don't want a life stuck in that dump Hilldale for my best friend!

"Yeah, Doc, I'm fine. I'm great."

Doc folded his arms, looking at Doc 2 with a faint smirk. Doc 2 looked back. "Yes?"

"Don't think you're his father my ass," Doc said simply. "What do you call what you just did?"

"Concern for my best friend's health," Doc 2 protested, although he was just beginning to blush.

"What the heck is he talking about?" Marty 2 asked, puzzled.

"You probably notice I treat Martin like my son. I once asked Doc if he felt the same way, and he said no."

"Liar," Marty 2 told Doc 2 with a grin. "It's really obvious, Doc. Even Dad makes jokes about it."

"It's not that I think I'm your father," Doc 2 said, his blush becoming more apparent. "It -- it comes naturally to act that way around you."

"Which means, subconsciously, you think it."

Doc 2 was spared from having to reply by Marty looking in his bookcase. "What's this folder?"

"My old theories," Doc 2 said, glad for a distraction.

"Yeah, I flipped through them when I was putting them away, Martin." There was a brief pause as he realized what he had just said, but Marty quickly recovered. "Some of them are really funny. I really liked the one about the fingernails, Doc."

Now both Docs were blushing fiercely. "I'm a scientist. My job is to make up theories about things I see in the world in an attempt to explain them."

Marty laughed as he flipped through the pages. "Oh, man, Doc, Dr. Brown, these are great! Being able to tell how long somebody's going to live by their fingernails? All mammals speak a common language? A kid's sex can be determined before they're conceived?!"

"I got that one from you," Doc said, speaking for both himself and his counterpart. An idea popped into his head. He quickly banished it from his mind so Marty couldn't find it and walked over to his friend.

"Yeah? How?"

"The fact that you and your brother and sister were still born as you and your brother and sister." Marty looked confused. "You see, considering how you changed your parents' lives, it's possible your genetics could have been altered. I was half-expecting you to be a girl when I met you again."

"Weird." Marty and Marty 2 tried to picture themselves as girls. "I wonder what I'd be as a girl. Marta? Marlene? Martina?"

"Probably Sally. I asked Lorraine once. Being friends with George also meant being friends with her."

"Did you get to see me as a baby?" Marty 2 asked, sitting down on Doc 2's couch.

"I got to hold you once," Doc said, smiling as he remembered. "You were adorable. I couldn't wait for us to become friends. But then--"

BRING!

Everyone jumped. "What on earth is that?" Clara exclaimed, frightened. Josie's eyes went to the fire alarm, her face going very pale.

"It's my telephone!" Doc 2 said, locating it on the end table near his couch. "Hello? What? Now? Can't it wait until morning? Yes, it is 24-hour services, but I was asleep! Please don't get that tone with me, sir. Please, I've had a very tiring night." He sighed. "Thank you." He hung up, looking very peeved. "Someone a few streets over. His grandfather clock stopped working." He gave a snort of disgust. "Sometimes I think this is the adult equivalent of the prank phone call. The people of this town love to take advantage of my offer of 24-hour services and call me in the middle of the night with frivolous requests." He cast an apologetic look toward Josephine, in Doc's arms. "I'm sorry if that scared you."

"It's all right," Josie said with a brave smile. "I just don't like being reminded about -- what nearly happened." She pulled Doc closer, shivering a little.

"Well, I am sorry. And if it had been the fire alarm, you and Clara would have been the first ones out, I assure you."

Doc patted Josie's back comfortingly, then thought about what Doc 2 had said. "I wouldn't mind taking those night calls. It would help fill the night hours."

Doc 2's eyes widened. "What did you just say?"

"I said I wouldn't mind taking your night calls. Why?"

"You got an idea, Doc?" Marty 2 asked, as good at reading the older man as his counterpart was.

"I think I have a way for our doubles to stay in Hill Valley."

Jennifer's eyes grew round. "Really?"

"Yes. You only go out at night, after all. Why don't you take over our night-life? Dr. Brown can take these phone calls for me -- you'll get to keep that share of the income of course. The rest of you can just stay out of the public eye."

The vampires looked at each other with growing excitement. A chance to stay in a Hill Valley they'd dreamed of living in? How could they pass it up?

Clara, however, brought up a point. "Emmett, where are they going to live? The garage is barely big enough for two of us, least of all six!"

"We don't need a lot of space," Marty said. "Just enough to sleep in and fit a phone into."

"I'd let you live at my house, but I don't want my parents to know about this," Marty 2 excused himself. "There's gotta be someplace, though. . . ."

Doc snapped his fingers. "I've got it! The clock tower!"

Doc 2 gave him a strange look. "The courthouse is usually very busy--"

"Not the courthouse, the clock tower! There's a good amount of space up there. Certainly enough for the four of us to sleep."

Doc 2 looked a little doubtful. "Are you sure?"

"Positive! We've both been in that room. We'll all fit, I'm sure of it."

Doc 2 shrugged. "Well, if you're positive. . . ."

Marty suddenly snorted. "Oh, man, this one's priceless. You can certainly think them up, Doc."

Doc remembered his previous idea and went back over to Marty. "So, you find my theories funny, do you?" Marty nodded, mentally challenging him to do something about it. "All right then. Let's see how much you can laugh." He jumped on his friend and began tickling him unmercifully. Marty burst into hysterics, trying to roll away from Doc. Doc closed off all escape routes, sticking his hands under his armpits to get him at his most sensitive spot. "Oh no! No, stop!" Marty laughed desperately. "A little help here!"

Unfortunately for the kid, the others seemed perfectly content to stand there and smile. He decided he would have to fend for himself. He started tickling Doc in retaliation, grinning evilly as Doc started laughing hysterically too. "All right, all right, truce, kid!" he gasped out. They fell onto the floor and tried to regain their breath.

"You two are insane," Josephine said, shaking her head. Doc 2 had no comments, but Doc spotted something in his eyes. Jealousy. I could never do that with my Marty. He wouldn't let me. Dr. Brown, you've truly been blessed. The thought made Doc want to tell his counterpart that he didn't know that for sure. That maybe his Marty would enjoy some tickling. But before he could say a word, Doc 2 had returned to "business" mode. "I think that we need some rest -- especially you, Marty. We have quite a bit to do in the morning."

"We have quite a bit to do right now. Come on, Emmett, I want to see more of this nice Hill Valley." She, Jennifer, and Marty flew out the window. Doc lingered for a bit, hoping to talk to Doc 2, but he was busy with Clara, showing her all the advancements of the 20th century. Filing away what he had to say for later, he followed his family.

Friday, November 29th, 1985

Las Vegas, Nevada

7: 30 P. M.

"Do you, Emmett Grey, take Josephine Jones to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"Do you, Josephine Jones, take Emmett Grey to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"Then, by the power vested in me, I pronounce you--"

"DRINK!"

The priest at the makeshift altar angrily turned to the old priest sitting behind him in a wheelchair. "You'll get your drink later! I'm doing a wedding!"

A younger priest, sitting beside the disheveled older priest, looked at the priest at the altar. "Ted, you sure we can conduct a wedding here in Las Vegas?"

"We're priests, Dougal. God's power extends all over the globe. We can do weddings anywhere we want." Ted smiled apologetically at Doc and Josephine. "I'm sorry about that. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Doc and Josephine kissed as a small crowd of onlookers applauded. By their sides, Marty and Jennifer looked on approvingly. "So this makes it all official," Jennifer whispered to Marty. "We've got birth certificates and all that, and Doc and Josie have a marriage license. We're all a family now."

"If this guy really is a priest," Marty said, looking at Ted suspiciously. "Where are you from, anyway, Father Crilly?"

"Craggy Island. It's off the coast of Ireland."

"DRINK!"

Josephine looked to share Marty's doubts. "Emmett, are we really married?"

"I read his mind, Josephine. He is a real priest, believe it or not." He looked over at Ted, who was handing a bottle of wine to Father Jack Hackett to make him shut up. "They all are. The weirdest bunch of priests in existence, but real priests."

Father Dougal Mcguire seemed to think of something. "Ted -- wasn't the money we're using for this vacation supposed to go to charity? Isn't that what Len told us?"

"Dougal, be quiet! And it is going to charity!"

"Really, Ted! Which one?"

"The -- the Foundation to Preserve Father Crilly's Sanity, of course. I just dropped off the money this morning. Would you know it, their office was right inside a gambling casino."

"Oh. Fair enough then, so."

Marty rolled his eyes. Not the brightest bulb, is he?

That's probably why Ted's making a donation to that charity, Doc chuckled mentally. But still, he did a nice wedding, and we have that to be grateful for.

Yeah, that's true. He gave Doc a big hug as the onlookers dispersed and Ted tried to keep Dougal from talking. "That was a great wedding, Dad."

"Same here, Mom. It feels really good to finally be a family," Jennifer agreed, hugging Josephine tight.

Doc patted Marty's head, relishing these brief moments when Marty would call him "dad." Once we get outside, you can call me Doc again.

No. I want to call you Dad. For a while now, whenever I think of my dad, I think of you. Now that everything's official, I really want to call you Dad. Because that's what you are.

Doc looked at him a second, surprised. Although he could feel it that Marty was completely sincere, he couldn't believe it for a moment. Then, slowly, he smiled and pulled Marty close. "Thanks -- son."

"You're welcome, Dad."

A sudden shout of, "CRILLY!" and Ted's terrified reaction to it was the vampires' cue to exit. As the left, Doc caught sight of himself in a mirror. He still looked every bit of 64, and his scar was still very apparent on his face. But his hair was neat and clean now, pushed back from his face, and he was clean-shaven. Once again, what really commanded his attention were his eyes. As usual, they were a liquid chocolate color -- but now they possessed a fresh spark, a sparkle that hadn't been there before.

He smiled and followed his new bride and family into the waiting taxi. He looked at them and recalled how, almost a year ago, the only happiness he could find had been in his dreams. Not anymore, he thought, kissing Josie. Things are finally right for me.

The End

Copyright 2003, Flaming Trails