Chapter 7
Tuesday, April 21st, 1987
Hill Valley
10:52 P. M.
Josie ignored the sniggers of the janitorial staff as she came on-duty. Jill, however, took it upon herself to glare at them. "Get back to work," she snapped with authority. They did, whispering to each other. "I'm sorry, Josie. They're just a bunch of rude ignorants."
Josie waved a hand dismissively. "I've heard worse through the years about my appearance. I don't let 'em get to me."
"Glad to hear it." She smiled indulgently at Josie's expanding belly. "I can't believe this! First your sister having two kids within months of each other, now you with triplets! I'm surrounded by pregnant women lately."
Josephine laughed. "I couldn't believe it either. I thought I was too old to be a mother."
"Oh come on, Josie, you can't be that old."
"I'm definitely older than I look, Jill."
"Well, you weren't too old to get pregnant. And there's nothing wrong with being an older mother. Might be preferable. You've got more world experience."
You can say that again. . . . "I was just saying it was a shock."
"No doubt." Jill's face darkened. "You find the bastard who got you pregnant then split?"
"Not yet, but then I'm not really looking. Searching for him leaves a disgusting taste in my mouth."
"I guess I can't blame you there." She put an arm around Josephine's shoulders. "I'll be there for you if you need help."
"Thanks, Jill, I really appreciate it. Emmett and Clara promised to help me all they can, and so have the McFlys." She sniffled a little. "It's great to have friends and family like that."
"Well, you deserve it, Josie." They walked into the back room, where the old blood was stored. "Can I ask when it's due? You didn't tell me before."
"I'm not sure." Josie did a bit of quick math in her head. "I think early October."
"Wow. I'll look forward to seeing them then." She dug into her lunch bag and produced a milk carton. "Here you go."
"Oh, Jill, I told you, I don't want your drink," Josie protested, although touched by the gesture.
"Yeah, but I want to give it to you." She grinned mischievously. "Besides, who said this was my drink?"
Josie took the milk, feeling bad that she wasn't going to be able to drink it. "Thanks, Jill. You're a friend."
"No problem." She glanced at her watch. "I'd better start making my rounds. If you need anything, just holler."
"Okay, thanks again." Josie started on the blood bags as Jill went on her way.
Tuesday, April 21st
11:24 P. M.
Jill yawned, wondering if she could secretly catch a nap at her post. Josephine had left a little while ago, having cleaned out the unusable blood pretty quickly. Man, I wonder how she manages to do that so fast. I'm starting to think she drinks it, Jill thought, smiling to herself.
Suddenly, the phone on the wall rang. Jill blinked. What idiot would be calling at this hour? She shrugged and decided to let it ring. Whoever it was was bound to give up soon.
After the fifteenth ring, she grabbed the receiver. "Look, the Blood Bank is open--"
"Is Jill Quinn there?"
Jill blinked again. She didn't recognize the voice at all. "Who wants to know?" she asked cautiously.
"It's Dr. Brown, Josephine's brother-in-law."
Jill relaxed a little. "Hi Dr. Brown. This is Jill. Kinda late for you to be calling, isn't it?"
"I know, but I only know you from Josie's talk about work. I'm glad I caught you. Listen, myself and the rest of Josie's friends are planning a surprise shower for her in a few days. We'd really like your help, seeing as you're her closest coworker."
"I'd love to help," Jill said happily. "She's one of my best friends. A lot better than the old girl who came and disposed of the blood. When can we get together and plan?"
"We're hoping to have a meeting around 7:00 P. M. tomorrow night at my house. Can you make it?"
"Yeah, I haven't got anything on my plate. I'll see you then."
"Okay. Thanks."
"You're welcome. Bye."
Back at home, Doc hung up with a grin. "Jill's in," he told the two teens. "I told her to go to my other self's house at 7:00 tomorrow."
"Great. What's he going to be doing?"
"He just told me he'd be sure to make himself scarce. Clara seemed pretty happy about planning a baby shower, though, so I'm sure everything will go smoothly."
"Yeah, hopefully. But how are we going to keep Mom from knowing what we're doing?"
"I'm hoping your other selves can help out there. I'll call them in the morning and see what we can do."
Wednesday, April 22nd, 1987
Hill Valley
7:30 P. M.
"Oh, Emmett, I can't believe this."
"Believe what?"
"This magazine suggests playing a game where a woman has to put a -- a -- come look at the picture, I don't want to say it."
Doc wandered over, confused as to what was making Clara so upset. She handed him her magazine, looking quite disgusted. Doc looked inside and gasped, stunned. "Is that a -- on a banana?!"
Everyone made faces. "Ugh, another friend of mine had that game at her shower," Jill shuddered. "I refused to play. Just seeing that made me want to throw up."
"Me too," Marty agreed. Nasty memories of Biff 'talking up' his lady friends there. Disgusting. He shook his head to clear the images from his mind.
Reminds me of my days on the street, Jennifer agreed, also shaking her head. "Jesus, people can be disgusting. . . ."
"I don't think Josie will want that at her shower," Doc said, closing the issue. "She's a lot more refined than that crap."
"So am I," Clara said, taking the magazine back, tearing the offending bit out, and throwing it in the trash. "The things people do in this day and age. . . ."
Natalie Brabant, another friend of Josie's from Darkness Falls, nodded with a wan smile. "Yeah, I know. All sorts of perverts out there, unfortunately." She brightened. "Hey, do you guys know the game 'Toilet-Paper Bridal Gown?' Maybe we could do a variation on that. Get some baby dolls and make toilet paper baby clothes?"
"How about a diaper race?" Jill suggested. "Pit the boys against the girls for changing a diaper the fastest."
"That's no contest, Clara would win in a second."
Clara chuckled. "I'll be a judge if you prefer."
"What sort of food should we serve at this thing?"
"Nothing fancy," Jennifer said, wondering how to bring up Josie's "dietary requirements."
"We know, Josie doesn't like rich food." Jill frowned. "Come to think of it, I've never seen her actually eat. . . ."
Clara coughed. "Josephine's rather shy about mentioning it, but she happens to have a medical condition that prevents her from eating solid food. Something to do with -- deformed stomach enzymes, I think."
"Really? That's too bad."
Doc shrugged. "She doesn't let it get her down. She's never complained about it, at any rate."
"But won't that be a problem now that she's pregnant?" Jill asked, worried. "Or have her doctors already figured that out?"
"They've got her on a special plan," Doc assured her, unable to keep from a slight grin. "She'll be fine, and so will the triplets."
"Great." Jill wrote something on her pad. "We'll have soup available for her, and what for the other guests?"
"I can bake a cake," Clara offered.
"And we can make sandwiches," Marty said. "And grab some juice for drinks."
"You concentrate on sandwiches, I'll get the drinks," Natalie told them.
Josie's voice poked into Doc's mind. How are you doing, honey?
Good, baby, good. How are you?
Kinda tired, to tell the truth. The movie's pretty boring, though. I'm getting more enjoyment out of watching the couple in front of us.
Why, what are they doing?
A picture of two punk teens nuzzling each other rather indecently appeared. Ooh. I see.
Josie "giggled." The more things change, the more they stay the same. I remember seeing young lovers doing that when the movies first came out.
That's nothing. The Town theater used to be the premiere necking place for teenagers in the 1950s here. There were a lot of ironic mumbles when it was turned into a revival spot.
I don't doubt it. Anyway, thanks for letting me go with Marty-2 and Jennifer-2 to see this. Even if it is not very good.
Hey, you deserve it. I'm sorry it's not what you expected it to be.
It's all right, live and learn. You guys all right at home?
Fine. Marty's still worrying about baby names.
Poor dear. I hope he finds something soon, I think he's liable to go crazy otherwise. I'll see you in a hour or so. Doc felt her kiss him before she left.
Clara gently nudged him. "Emmett, Jill just asked if you could get the decorations."
"What? Oh, sorry, I was thinking of something else for a minute. Yes, I'll gladly get the decorations."
"Great." The girls began discussing various locales to hold the baby shower at. Doc and Marty just sighed and smiled.
Saturday, April 25th, 1987
Hill Valley
8:30 P. M.
Josie carefully landed to the side of the blood bank, not wanting anyone to see her for obvious reasons. The bank was dark, the window shades drawn. Huh, Josie puzzled. It looks empty. That doesn't seem right, it's only 8:30. The janitors should be here. Maybe it has something to do with the fact my boss called me in early. Ah, the wonders of American jobs. Things were a lot simpler a few hundred years ago.She studied the darkened windows, then sighed. Well, the only way to find out what's going on is to go on in. She opened the door and stepped inside.
"SURPRISE!"
Josephine staggered back a step, startled. Inside the lobby was a fairly large collection of her coworkers and friends, not to mention her family. "Hi Josie!" Jill laughed, coming up and putting an arm around the stunned vampiress. "Got ya, huh?"
"What -- what is this?"
"What do you think? A baby shower! It took a little cajoling, but the boss let us have the place for a few hours. He really likes you, Josie. It was tough, setting this all up, but it was all worth it just to see the look on your face."
"Baby. . .shower?"
"Yeah. We all figured you deserved a party."
Josie looked like she was going to cry. "I never had a baby shower before," she whispered, chewing her fingers. "I don't believe this. . ."
"Well, you're having one now, whether you like it or not," Jill grinned. She steered Josephine into a chair. "And I expect you to enjoy yourself, sister."
Josie grinned. "Don't worry. I'm just still a little shocked, that's all," she admitted, rubbing her belly.
A strange woman wormed her way out of the crowd and presented herself to Josephine with a smile. "Miss Grey, I'm pleased to meet you at last. I'm Emily Smyth, Emmett's sister."
"Hello, Mrs. Smyth," Josie said, smiling and shaking Emily's hand. "I'm pleased to meet you as well. I didn't know that you--"
Josie quickly bit off the end of the sentence before she embarrassed herself. Emily finished it for her. "Were coming? Emmett invited me secretly. He wanted me to meet his sister in law at last." She cast an appraising eye over the bump. "If you don't mind me asking, when are they due?"
"Near the end of the year, six months maybe," Josie shrugged. "I can't be sure because it's triplets." She smiled down at her bump, then looked up at Emily curiously. "How are your kids?" she asked, secretly crossing her fingers. She hadn't heard either Doc talk about Emily much.
Luckily, Emily grinned. "They're fine. They send their congratulations as well."
"Thanks." Josie spotted her Doc talking with someone. "Emmett!"
Doc turned to her, looking quite pleased with himself. His expression turned briefly to shock at the sight of Emily, but he quickly regained his senses and resumed smiling. "Emmy! How great to see you!"
"Same here!" They embraced. "You've certainly been blessed, brother -- two pretty girls in our family."
"Tell me about it," Doc said as Josie blushed. "I couldn't ask for a better sister-in-law."
Clara wandered over, holding tightly to Jules Brown. "I think it was a mistake to bring him, Emmett," she admitted. Jules was passed out on her shoulder, thumb in mouth. "After all, he's really not used to being up this late."
"Oh, he is so cute," Emily gushed, tousling his hair.
Doc lifted him off Clara. "You want me to find him a babysitter and take him home?"
Clara winked at him. "If you could. I found a friend of ours hiding in the background." She nodded her head toward a far corner.
Doc didn't need it spelled out. He nodded and casually made his way over there. Doc-2 was lurking by the back door, ready to disappear at a moment's notice. "Your son needs his crib," Doc said with a smile, handing him over.
"I don't blame him, I'm pretty exhausted myself."
Doc suddenly gave Doc-2 a hug. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Inviting Emily. I miss my sister."
"That? I figured it was about time Emily met my spouse, offspring, and 'in-laws.' Besides, I haven't seen her in a while myself."
"That's not exactly what I meant. My Emily was killed in a drive-by shooting the year before I was committed."
Doc-2 turned red, embarrassed. "Oh. I'm sorry."
"It's all right. She didn't suffer, at any rate. She died peacefully." Doc looked at the ground, feeling a tad depressed. "You don't know how lucky you are."
"Oh yes I do. Ever since we met, and I let you move here with us, I see how lucky I am. But you're pretty lucky too, all things considered. Never forget that."
"Never have, never will." He glanced back toward the party-goers. "I'd better get back there. Will you be able to slip away all right?"
"Should be. And my Marty and Jennifer send their congratulations, and their regrets that they couldn't attend."
"For the best, really. That switch we pulled at the doctor's office was too dangerous to attempt twice. Send my regards back to them." They shook hands, then Doc rejoined the party.
The guests happily made merry, playing the games that the group had designed and piling presents at Josie's feet. Josie was crying by the time she finished opening them all. "This is all so wonderful," she whimpered, clutching a baby suit to her chest. "Thank you all so much."
Jennifer grinned at the pile. "Wow Josie, you did good."
"Yeah -- baby clothes, a bassinet, diapers -- w-you've got everything you need," Marty agreed.
"And then some." Josie got up and hugged Jill. "I can't believe you did this for me. This must have taken so much work. . . ."
"It did," Jill grinned. "But Marty and Jennifer are the real masterminds behind all of this. They had most of it planned out already. Your in-laws and I just filled in the details, really."
Josie pulled back, blinking. "Marty and Jennifer?"
"Yup. They really wanted to do this for you. You've got some great friends in them, Josephine."
Josie turned to face the two teens, who were blushing. Her lips curved upwards. "Yes, I do, don't I," she said, enveloping them in a hug. "You guys are the best. Thank you."
"No problem, Josie," Marty said. Mentally, he added, Do you trust us now?
A lot more than I did before. Emmett's right -- if you can throw this sort of thing for me, you're going to make wonderful big brothers and sisters.
Thanks Mom. Jennifer suddenly jumped and let out a soft squeal. "I think I just felt one of the babies move!"
Everyone immediately wanted to have a feel. Marty gave Jennifer's hand a squeeze. Mission accomplished, sister.