Chapter 5

Sunday, April 12th, 1987

Hill Valley

5: 30 P. M.

As they waited for their update from Josephine, Marty turned to Jennifer. "Is our bet still on?"

"Hell yes. You'd better have your ten bucks ready."

"How do you know you'll win?"

"Because, you don't really want to. I know you still haven't thought up a name for a boy."

Marty had to give her that. "I wonder how Doc-2's doing. Must be nice to be trapped in the bathroom while Mom gets her ultrasound."

"It was really nice of him to do that," Jennifer said. "Considering how important it was to Dad." She shifted uneasily, wondering if she finally had the courage to tell Marty about her feelings. "Uh -- Marty, can we talk?"

Marty felt his cheeks flush. Something about the way she said it made his stomach twist. Has she noticed something? I thought I was keeping my feelings about her pretty well disguised. "Y-yeah."

Jennifer began blushing hard too. "Marty, I think -- I think--"

With no warning, a strange picture popped into their heads. Both teens jerked back from each other, wondering what the heck it was. Oh, it's the ultrasound, isn't it? Marty thought.

Yup. Isn't your sibling cute?

A bit weird looking, honestly. Is it a boy or a girl? Jennifer thought.

Dr. Masters thinks it's a boy.

"Ha!" Marty exclaimed. "Ten bucks, Jennifer!"

"Oh, keep your voice down," Jennifer told him, frowning. "Last thing we need is to attract attention from the guys at Burger King."

"You're just mad about losing," Marty said, grinning evilly. "But come on, how bad is it to lose to your own brother?"

Jennifer shut her eyes. Shit, he had to bring that up. Now how am I going to tell him? Thanks so much, other self, for suggesting that I just talk to him.

Marty frowned at Jennifer. "Jennifer? You okay? You've got a weird expression there."

"Well -- Marty, I don't know if this is the time to tell you this, but if I don't, I'll burst. I think I like you."

"We live together. You have to -- oh." Marty felt the blush coming back to his cheeks. "You mean like Marty-2 'likes' Jennifer-2."

Jennifer nodded. "I think so." She laughed self-consciously. "Look at me. A former prostitute who doesn't like men telling a boy she likes him."

"Jennifer, I like you too."

There was a slightly uncomfortable pause. Finally, Jennifer said, "Really?"

Marty nodded. "Unless we're just picking up stuff from our other selves." He nervously began to play with the edge of the comforter. "I didn't want to say anything. . . ."

"Neither did I." Jennifer sat up, pulling over another corner of the blanket to fiddle with herself. "I had no idea how you'd react." She sighed deeply. "So -- what now?"

"Damned if I know. Mom and Dad already have enough to worry about with the new baby. Hell, so do we. I don't want to burden them with our problems with 'liking' each other."

Jennifer reached over and took his hand. "Why don't we just take it slow for now and see where it leads us," she suggested. "Don't even have to tell Mom and Dad right now." Marty smiled at her and nodded.

Suddenly, the topic was shoved from their minds as the next ultrasound pictures came in. Marty gasped. "Holy shit!"

"Oh my God!" Jennifer and Marty stared at each other as if they were total strangers. "She's having triplets."

Sunday, April 12th, 1987

5: 41 P. M.

Doc groped for a chair, his eyes still fixed on the monitor. He felt almost as light-headed as the day Josie had announced her pregnancy. "Triplets," he murmured, finally finding a place to sit. "Great Scott, I never expected triplets. . . ."

Dr. "Wells" shook his head in obvious disbelief. "Multiples, it can't be multiples," he said to himself.

"Why not?" Doc asked, annoyed. "She's got as much right to triplets as the next mommy."

Josephine's mouth hung open as she stared at the monitor. "Are -- are they all healthy?" she asked.

"They all look perfectly normal," the nurse assured her, taking over the transponder and looking from one fetus to another. "Looks to me like two boys and a girl, but we can't be sure at this point."

Dr. Masters turned to Josephine. "Have you been using any fertility treatments lately? In-utero fertilization or the like? Those have a high incidence of producing multiples."

Josie shook her head. "These are all natural, honest. I haven't done anything to increase my fertility."

"This will probably be a high-risk pregnancy," the nurse said. "If you want, we could try a fetal reduction -- remove one or two of the fetuses."

Josephine gave her a withering stare. "I'd like to have all of my babies, thank you," she said coldly. The nurse involuntarily drew back. "What is the risk involved? I'd like to know what I'm getting into."

"We'll probably have to do a Cesarean section to deliver," Dr. Masters informed her. "And it's extremely unlikely you'll carry them to term. They'll have to spend time in the NICU."

"The Nick-you?" Doc repeated, puzzled.

"It means Neonatal Intensive Care Unit."

Josie went white. "But you just said the babies were all right!"

"If they're not carried to term, they're going to have a few problems once born. It's simply a safety precaution."

"But they're going to be okay? After their time in the NICU? I mean, how long will they have to stay in there?"

"Mostly likely until their original due dates." Dr. Masters smiled reassuringly. "But I'm sure they'll be fine, with a mother like you looking after them."

"Gods, I hope so," Josie murmured, looking back at the screen.

Dr. "Wells" spoke up. "I was not expecting multiples. I didn't even think to consider the possibility."

"Well, does it change anything about the way you're going to treat me?"

"It shouldn't. I want to see you more regularly for a while, though. Just to make sure everything's fine."

"How about the possibility of a C-section, considering her -- condition?" Doc asked.

"I don't think that'll be a problem either." Not in any big way, he thought, letting Doc and Josie read his mind. Being a vampire will probably help you concerning an operation.

"Thank God," Josie said, responding both to his voice and thoughts.

After a few more tests, Doc and Josie finally returned to the waiting room. Clara and Jules were eagerly awaiting the news. "Well, what is it?" Clara asked.

"Triplets," Josie said, still a little stunned, but smiling brightly.

"Triplets!" Clara was shocked. "Oh my God, Josie, congratulations! Marty and Jennifer will be so thrilled."

Yeah, Mom, that's cool. Our own three-for-one deal, Marty kidded her through the blood-links.

"Thank you, thank you," Josie said. "I'm so excited! I'm sorry, I have to go." She rushed to the ladies' room.

Doc chuckled. "The excitement's affecting me too," he said. "I'll be out in a moment." As he entered the bathroom, he was practically assaulted by Doc-2 shaking his hand. "Congratulations! I overheard the news. Triplets, amazing!"

"Isn't it thought?" Doc agreed. "We were all pretty much blown away."

Hey, Dad, what sex are they? Jennifer asked.

The doctor said it looked to be two boys and a girl. Doc frowned. You aren't still doing bets on the sex, are you?

Yup. Looks like I still won by majority. Marty's tone turned serious. Three new siblings at once. I don't know, Dad, one baby seemed hard enough.

You'll do fine, I'm sure.

I hope so. Where are we going to live? Can we really fit seven people into one garage?

Doc frowned. Good point. We will probably have to invest in a bigger house.

"What are you people talking about?" Doc-2 asked, feeling left out.

"Where we're going to live," Doc said. "There's no way we'll be able to fit ourselves plus three babies into the garage. Heck, if we didn't all share a bed, we might not be able to fit into the place ourselves."

Doc-2 stared at him. "You all sleep in the same bed?" he repeated slowly.

"Yes and what's so wrong with that? We all slept together when we were trapped in 1985-A. It's become habit. Trust me, if Josie and I want some private time, we can get it." He clapped his hands. "You better get out there, or else people will start wondering. I'll see you when you bring Josie home." Doc-2 nodded, and the two went their separate ways.

Sunday, April 12th, 1987

6: 17 P. M.

Josie waved goodbye to Doc-2 and Clara as they dropped her off. "Thanks for the lift. I'll see you later."

"Goodbye Josie. And congrats again," Clara smiled at her.

"Thanks." She went inside and sat down on the cot by the door. The smile left her face as she gazed down at her bump. Very quietly, she began to cry.

"Josie?"

Josephine jerked her head up. "Emmett! I didn't realize you were home," she said, wiping her eyes.

"I just got in. Had to dodge a few teen punks who might have seen me flying." He sat down beside her, frowning. "Honey, what's wrong? I was getting anxiety signals from you all the way home. That isn't like you."

Josie sighed deeply. "Emmett, remember when you asked me if I'd ever been a mother as a mortal? I told you the truth when I said no, but there's a longer story behind it. I didn't want to talk about it before, but now --" She shrugged. "Now that I know I'm going to have triplets, it's probably time I told all of you." She saw Marty and Jennifer near the "fridge" and called them over. "Back in my mortal days, I was part of Rome's upper crust. My early life was fairly happy and carefree. I had a loving mother and father, a sister, and a half-brother. I probably had other siblings, but I don't remember them well.

"When I got to the age to be married, Mother and Father chose another wealthy and respectable family. Although I didn't love my husband, I did like him, and I knew better than to protest the custom of the day. We got along fine, and planned a big family.

"But then, just one year into our marriage, my husband killed himself. I was immediately accused of failing him and of being a poor marriage candidate. I couldn't remarry, and neither his family nor my own would take me in. Of course, sexism being as it was in the past, I couldn't really support myself all that well. With nowhere else to turn, I finally gave myself up to the whorehouses."

Jennifer gave a soft gasp. "Is that why you felt so close to me when we met?"

Josephine nodded. "I understood your situation completely. I hated my life then. Especially when I saw my sister, Luciea – Lacey now -- heaped with honors. I wanted to kill myself at times, but I could never work up enough nerve to do it.

"Then, something wonderful happened. One of my clients got me pregnant." Josie smiled, her eyes faraway. "I had always wanted to be a mother, and I knew someone would help me if they saw I had a baby. I was right. I ran from the whorehouse back to my family, who took me in, albeit reluctantly. My pregnancy was uneventful -- well, except for Lacey's comments. When it came time for the birth, my labor was mercifully short. But -- but --" Josie's words were choked off by sobs.

"But what?" Doc gently urged, putting his arm around her.

"Oh, Emmett, I lost the baby! It was born dead!" She threw herself into his arms and sobbed into his chest.

Doc understood. "You're afraid you're going to lose the triplets as well."

Josie nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I don't know what happened to my child last time. Nobody could figure out why the baby was born dead, so they told me it was a punishment from the gods for being promiscuous. Nobody cared that I had to be promiscuous just to live. Nope, I had done a bad thing, and my punishment was losing my beloved baby." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "But what if it happens again? I don't think I could handle losing three at once. . . ."

Marty and Jennifer hugged her tight. "I'm sure the babies are going to be fine, Mom," Marty said comfortingly. "The ultrasound pictures Dad sent us looked great."

"We'll help you every step of the way, too," Jennifer agreed. "We won't let anything happen to them."

Josephine managed a weak smile. "Thanks kids. I really appreciate it." She squeezed them back.

Doc patted Josie on the back. "It'll be just fine. You've got two doctors looking after you now, as well as three vampires. Those triplets are in good hands." Privately over the link, he added, And as long as you're telling secrets, I think you had better have a talk with Marty and Jennifer over your fears about their abusive past. We don't want any incidents once the triplets are born.

You're right, Josie conceded. I owe it to them, especially after this little display of love. I'll talk to them tomorrow.