Author's Note: Last chapter's MJF reference was the character of Dr. Benjamin Stone. Michael J. Fox played Ben Stone in the movie Doc Hollywood, although I took the liberty of changing him from a plastic surgeon to a general practitioner or whatever you call them. He was on his way to California…

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Chapter Ten – Confessions

Tuesday, April 9th, 1985
Hill Valley, California
2:26 PM

Doc had never actually been inside the McFly house before, but it didn't take a genius to figure out which bedroom was Marty's. As he peered nervously around the doorframe, he caught sight of Marty and Jennifer sitting on the boy's bed. From what his friend had told him about his mother's attitude towards dating, he was momentarily surprised that Lorraine had allowed them to be together unsupervised, but quickly came to the conclusion that Marty probably wasn't in the mood to get up to anything.

He simply stood in the doorway for a long moment, carefully examining his friend with his eyes alone. There was something a bit off, but Marty seemed to be physically fine, holding his girlfriend's hand as if nothing was wrong at all.

"Oh Marty, your mom isn't overreacting," Jennifer was saying. "She let you cut your own bananas."

"With a spoon!" Marty replied, rolling his eyes. "I swear, she doesn't think I should do anything remotely dangerous anymore…"

Jennifer smiled slightly, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "She'll get over it."

"Hey, Doc," Marty said abruptly, looking up without even a hint of surprise on his face at the fact that his friend was there. He released Jennifer's hand and stood up, smiling slightly. "You have no idea how great it is to see you."

Doc couldn't help but stare at him for a moment longer, and then rushed forward to embrace his friend in a tight hug. "Oh my God, Marty," he choked out as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

Marty returned the hug without hesitation. "Hey, hey, it's okay Doc, I'm okay."

"I thought I'd never see you again," Doc confessed in a whisper, drawing back slightly. There was something very strange about Marty, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it…

"We've been waiting for you, actually," Marty admitted as his friend released him from the hug at last. "I have something you both really need to hear."

Doc couldn't think of a single reason for Marty to need to tell them a secret of any sort – and a secret it would be, as Marty carefully checked to make sure none of his family was nearby and then closed and latched the door before turning to face the other two.

"You have to promise that this doesn't go beyond the two of you," Marty said seriously, his blue eyes holding an intensity that had not been there a week ago. "You have to tell no one, not my parents, not my siblings, not my other friends, not even that homeless guy that hangs around the courthouse. No one."

Doc and Jennifer shared a confused glance. "All right, we promise," Jennifer said, and Doc nodded in puzzled agreement.

Marty took in a deep breath, as if he expected them to take this badly. "Okay…this is going to sound really, really insane, and you're probably going to want that shrink to start in on me right now, but…I'm a vampire."

Doc's first reaction was to stare at his friend, absolutely stunned. Jennifer, on the other hand, managed a stammered, "You're a what?"

"A vampire," Marty repeated calmly, and to Doc's great surprise, his eyes now appeared to have a faint glow to them. He grinned at their astonished expressions, exposing the trademark pair of fangs, and rolled up his sleeve to reveal a strange tattoo on his right shoulder. It was almost circular in shape, consisting of two black arcs, and glowed faintly.

"Marty…" Doc began, and then had absolutely no idea what to say. How does one react when their friend admits to being a mythological creature? "How?" he asked at last.

Marty had never been much of a storyteller, but he adequately summed up his experiences over the past week, starting with his kidnapping, continuing through his Change, and ending with him being returned to human civilization. Doc and Jennifer remained mostly silent during it all, and Doc found that it actually didn't surprise him that much. So that's why Marty appeared to be a little off the norm, he decided absently as Marty explained the vampiric healing factor. It's because his "injuries" don't match the photos I saw!

"Marty, this…this is incredible," Doc said at last. "To think that vampires actually exist…!"

"But Marty," Jennifer said slowly, "does this mean that you're going to live forever?"

Marty winced at that, looking uncomfortable. "Ah…well…I can still be killed, yes, but not easily, and I'm never going to age anymore. I…don't want to leave you behind," he said quietly, looking down at the floor. "I asked Katherine if I could offer you the option of being Changed, but I can't. By clan law, I have to be a vampire for fifteen years before I Change anyone, and then I can only do it when the person in question no longer lives with their family. Sorry, Jennifer."

"It's okay," Jennifer replied, putting her arm around him. "I can wait as long as I need to."

"Fifteen years would be a good time to think about what being a vampire would entail," Doc agreed. "If it isn't urgent, that is."

"Yes," Marty said, very quietly. "I hope it doesn't come to that."

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Almost the instant Doc set foot in his garage, the telephone rang loudly. He quickly moved to grab the receiver. "Brown."

"Hello, Doktour," a familiar Arabic voice growled. "By now I am sure you have thought your friend is out of danger."

Doc felt a fresh chill down his spine. "What are you talking about?"

"You do not think he could escape us, do you?" the voice continued. "We let him escape, Doktour. As a gesture of good faith. We are not monsters, after all."

"So what do you want then?" Doc asked nervously.

"Continue on schedule, Doktour. Unreasonable delays will require additional…incentive. Your friend is not safe, not as long as we await our delivery."

Doc gripped the phone tightly, and then suddenly it hit him. Of course! It's so simple… "Yes," he agreed, much calmer than he had been, and feeling a new flutter of hopeful anxiety. "It may take some time to acquire the other materials I need without getting unwanted attention from the police…it should be ready by early autumn."

"We are glad you see it our way," the voice replied, sounding pleased with Doc's response. "We will contact you in September."

Click.

Doc let out the lungful of air he'd been holding in, and set the phone back down. Right, he thought, I have a job to do.

With new determination, he turned to his experiment.


To be continued in…Prince of Vampires: Space Zombies from Pluto.

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A/N: This chapter also has a non-BttF MJF reference in it. Since this is the last chapter, I'm going to say what it is here, so if you don't want to know yet, stop reading NOW.

This chapter's MJF reference is Marty's complaint about only being allowed to cut his bananas with a spoon. In Stuart Little 2, the Little parents debate if they treat Stuart like he's too small to do anything by himself. Mrs. Little says that she lets him cut his own banana, and Mr. Little's response is "With a spoon!"

The sequel to this story will hopefully be started soon, if my muses cooperate. Which they should. But then, I have been neglecting my other fanfics, so no promises.