Chapter 10

Saturday, July 18th, 1987

Hill Valley

8:14 P.M.

Doc whistled happily as he left the hardware store. Doc-2 had sent him to pick up a few parts for his DeLorean, unable to go himself because of Verne. Never one to waste a trip, Doc had taken the opportunity to grab some stuff for himself. Armed with a new set of tools, he felt good.

He felt even better when he heard a voice behind him purr, "Well, hello handsome." Must be Josie, disguising her voice, Doc laughed to himself. "Hey, sweetie," he replied, turning around.

To his shock, it wasn't Josephine. There was a complete stranger behind him, with milk-white skin and long black hair. Her smell was that of a fellow vampire. Her ice-blue eyes looked him over, and apparently liked what they saw. Looking at her, Doc had a mild sensation of deja-vu. He was feeling much the same way as when he had met Clara -- this gal was cute, but she was no Josephine.

The gal sashayed up to him, smiling seductively. "Well, where have you been all my life?"

Uh-oh, she's hitting on me. Better put a stop to this. "Excuse me, I thought you were my wife, playing a joke on me," he said politely.

The woman deflated almost immediately, looking startled. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't see a wedding ring, so I thought you were available."

"It's all right, my wife and I don't wear rings. I figured I'd best let you know before you got your hopes up."

"Yeah, uh, thanks," she stammered, turning red. "I'm sorry again, I don't usually hit on married men." She made to walk away, then frowned and looked back. "You look familiar, though. Aren't you Dr. Brown? The one everyone says is crazy?"

"That's me," Doc said. "Who are you?"

"Mysteria Jones, I work in the courthouse as a night janitor." She blushed. "Clara's a lucky gal, you know. You are quite handsome." A bit playfully, she added, "Got any relatives I can snap up?"

"Sorry, the only one in this country is a sister, and I don't know much about my German relations," Doc said, smiling nervously. She seems nice, but she's making me nervous.

"Too bad. Well, I'd better get going -- they're expecting me at work. It was nice meeting you. And sorry again for hitting on you."

"Don't mention it." They went their separate ways, Doc rolling his eyes. I've never really considered myself a ladies man. Now I have three lovely women who have expressed interest in me. He frowned. Mysteria. . . . I've heard that name before. . . . He thought it over for a few minutes, shrugged, and walked on.

Saturday, July 18th

8:27 P.M.

Doc-2 was waiting for him at the door of their new house. "Thank you," he said, gratefully accepting the parts. "The DeLorean's been acting a little funny again, time-circuit-wise. I'm hoping to head off any potential problems."

"Good idea. And you're welcome, the trip was good for me too. I wanted to get some new tools." He blushed. "And I got told I was handsome by a woman too."

Doc-2 chuckled. "That's a first. Don't go thinking any bad thoughts now."

"Of course not, I love my Josie. I made sure to cool down this other lady's amour right away." Verne chose that moment to begin crying upstairs. "How's life with two young children?"

"Exhausting," Doc-2 said, waving Doc in as he headed upstairs. Doc followed, curious about how "he" would handle a baby. "Jules has been an angel of a big brother so far, so that's one less thing to worry about, thank God. But neither Clara nor I have gotten much sleep -- or anything else, for that matter -- lately. Poor Clara asked for the night off, in fact." He shrugged helplessly. "With all she's been doing, how could I not give it to her?" He picked up Verne and rocked him. "Don't cry, Vernie, don't cry. I wish you could tell me what you want."

"His bottle. He's hungry."

"Oh, tha--" Doc-2's eyes bulged out of his head. "How did you know that?!"

"I'm telepathic, remember? I simply read his mind."

Doc-2 nodded and fetched Verne's bottle. "Congratulations. You are the luckiest father on earth. In fact, your family will be the luckiest family on earth. You'll never need to guess what your baby needs. I wish I had a telepathic connection to my kid." He popped the nipple into Verne's mouth. "That better, Vernie?"

Verne certainly seemed to think so. He sucked away happily on the bottle. Doc smiled. "To be that age again. When the wonder of the world is new and fresh, and your only worry is when the next bottle will come."

"Feeling cynical about being grown up?"

"Yeah, I guess a little. Haven't you ever wished for a life with no responsibilities?"

"Who hasn't?" Doc-2 rocked Verne in his arms, humming a lullaby. "But I'm sure you'll change your tune once Josie delivers. There's no better responsibility than a child."

Doc smiled. "I'd agree with that. So, how do you think the girls are doing?"

Saturday, July 18th

8:31 P.M.

"There you go, Mystie. Should make you feel as good as new."

"Thanks." Mystie gulped down the bottle of blood and medicine. "Stupid migraine. We really need more vampire doctors."

"Well, you have to take into account the fact that vampires don't get sick all that often. There's not a lot of demand for us in the medical profession."

"Even so. . . ."

Dr. Gardner smiled. "I understand what you're saying though, Mysteria. It would be better if all vampires could quickly get medical care. I'm actually treating a pregnant vampire here in Hill Valley."

"Really? Wow." Mystie leaned on the bar, looking thoughtful. "I hope it's going well. I've never heard of a vampire pregnancy before."

"It's going as well as can be expected. I don't want to say any more than that -- patient-doctor relationship, you know. Although, I have to admit, I think you two would get along quite well."

Mystie chuckled. "You'll have to introduce me the next time you see her."

"I don't know when--"

"Dr. Gardner?"

"Well, speak of the devil! Hello Josephine, I didn't realize you were here."

Josie waddled over with Clara. "Clara and I are having a 'girl's night out,'" she told her doctor. Noticing Mystie, she added, "Are we interrupting?"

"No, it's fine," Mystie said with a grin. "I believe you wanted to introduce me, Dr. Gardner?"

"Of course. Josephine, this is Mysteria Jones -- she works at the courthouse. Mystie, this is Josephine Grey, the woman I was talking about earlier, and her friend, Clara Brown."

Mystie turned red. "Brown?" she squeaked. "As in Dr. Brown?"

Clara looked puzzled. "Yes, I'm his wife."

"Oh good Lord. . . . Look, I'm sure he's going to tell you about it anyway, so let me tell you straight out. I met your husband earlier today, and I tried to hit on him. I'm really sorry, I didn't see a wedding ring. I wouldn't have done it if I'd known he was married."

Clara frowned. "Well, we did get married here in Hill Valley. I find it puzzling you wouldn't know that."

"It's totally my fault. I didn't recognize him at first. I'm really sorry, again."

Clara lifted an eyebrow, then laughed. "I guess I can forgive you. Thank you for confessing. And maybe that'll convince him he's handsome. He never believes me when I tell him."

"Now that's a first impression, Miss Jones," Josie teased.

"Please, call me Mystie." She eyed Josie's belly. "My congratulations on the baby. Dr. Gardner let it slip."

"Thank you. Did he tell you it was triplets?"

"No he didn't!" Mystie whistled. "That sounds wonderful. Although you're going to be very busy."

"I don't care. I can't wait to be a mother." Josie grinned over at Clara. "Besides, I'm going to have the best help in the world."

"Awww, how sweet," Mystie said. "Although now I feel even worse for hitting on a married man with kids."

Clara waved her hand dismissively. "Like I said, it's all right. I trust my Emmett, and judging from your embarrassment, you've learned your lesson."

"Oh, you bet. So who're the little ones in your family?"

"Jules Clint and Verne Calvin. Verne's a newborn, Jules is one." Noticing Mystie's surprised look, Clara added, "Jules Verne is Emmett's and my favorite author."

"He's mine too! What's your favorite book of his?"

"From the Earth to the Moon. My great passion is astronomy," Clara smiled.

"Mine's Around the World in 80 Days," Mystie smiled back. "I couldn't get over how great an adventure that would be."

"That's my favorite too!" Josie exclaimed, pulling up a chair. Soon the girls were involved in an animated chat about their favorite author. Chuckling to himself, Dr. Gardner went on his way.

Talk eventually turned from Jules Verne to his biggest fan, Dr. Emmett Brown. "He swept me off my feet," Clara sighed. "Emmett was visiting Oregon on a trip to study the trains for his latest invention. I happened to be coming to the town he was in for a teaching job. Our eyes met on the platform, and it was love at first sight. We dated secretly for about a year -- my parents didn't approve of him at all, and wanted to keep us apart. Then in October of 1985, we plucked up our courage and eloped together."

"How romantic," Mystie said. "He is a handsome guy. That cute mess of hair he has. . . ."

"His warm brown eyes," Josie added, smiling dreamily.

"The way he just lights up when he smiles," Clara nodded.

"Man, wouldn't it be great if we could clone him and each have our own?" Mystie joked.

Josie snickered. "Well, there's only the one, and Clara's got him." Mystie pouted.

Clara patted her on the back. "I'm sure you'll find just the right man for you someday."

"In the meantime, you could have us," Josie offered. "It's nice to talk to a fellow Jules Verne fan."

"I'd like that, Josie. I'd like that a lot. And don't worry, Clara, from now on I'll steer very clear of your husband."

Saturday, July 18th

9:45 P.M.

"You met her at the club? You're friends with her?!"

"She isn't that bad, Emmett," Josie said, trying not to laugh at his wild-eyed look. "She promised to steer clear of you -- and by extension, your double. She was genuinely sorry for hitting on you."

"I know, it just took me by surprise," Doc said. "I thought you might feel threatened by her."

"Emmett, I'm carrying three of your babies. No woman threatens me."

"Gave you a fright, didn't she Dad?" Marty gently teased.

"Well, I get the feeling that if I hadn't put a stop to it right away she might have tried to marry me tonight," Doc complained. "She seemed sweet enough once we got past her attraction to me, but the beginning was -- honestly -- a bit scary."

"You weren't flattered at all?" Jennifer asked.

"All the woman I could ever want is right here," Doc said firmly, putting his arm around Josie and pulling her close. "We don't need anything happening that doesn't need to happen."

"Exactly," Josie smiled, kissing his cheek. "And like I said, she promised not to do it again. So, how was little Verne tonight?"

"Adorable," Doc grinned. "An absolute doll most of the time. Jules was great too -- we played with his blocks together for a little while, and I read him a story before bed. My other self informed me we're going to be a very lucky family due to our telepathic abilities with our children."

"I suppose it will be a blessing to make the crying stop faster," Josie chuckled.

"I wonder if they're thinking anything now," Jennifer said, curious. "What does a fetus think about in the womb?"

"Don't ask me. I don't know where to begin reading their minds at this stage."

"Probably wondering if there's any more to life than the big pink thing they sleep and move in," Marty suggested.

"Or maybe if we've finally gotten names for them," Jennifer said, grinning mischievously.

Marty groaned loudly. "I have looked for a name everywhere. Nothing has clicked with me yet. Why don't one of you pick the name instead?"

"Come on, Marty, we want you to do this," Doc said. "You'll find something."

"When the kid's 18 maybe."

"The right name will come to you when it comes to you."

"You're instilling me with a lot of confidence, Dad," Marty said sarcastically. "How do you know it'll come to me in time?"

"I just do. Sometimes, you have to trust in fate."

"Well, let's hope fate brings in a lot of blood at the office today," Josie said. "I'm feeling particularly peckish."

"We've noticed," Jennifer deadpanned.

"Hey, I am eating for four now."

"She was only kidding." Doc pulled Josie closer. "You can drink from my veins anytime."

"You're desperate for sex, aren't you?"

"Josie, when I first met you, I was a 65-year-old virgin. I don't fancy going through another long fast."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to risk it. No sex until the babies are born."

"You won't even drink from me?" Doc pleaded. "I promise I won't bite back if you don't want me to. I just want to be close to you again." He gave her a puppy-eyed stare. "Please?"

"Okay, okay," Josie grinned, sinking her fangs into his neck. Doc sighed with pleasure.

Jennifer pulled Marty into the garage. "Why don't we leave them alone for a little bit. It's obvious Dad's been waiting for this for a while."

"Yeah." Marty glanced back. "What do you think it's like, drinking another vampire's blood? I've only drunk from the neck once, and that wasn't so great."

"I don't know either. They seem to enjoy it at any rate."

Marty cocked his head, looking curiously at Jennifer. "Did Josie ever drink your blood before you got changed?"

"Yeah, a couple of times. You?"

"When Dad and I were doing our blood-link." Marty smiled. "I was so scared of getting bit, I almost pissed my pants."

Jennifer giggled. "Well, I wasn't too eager about it the first time either. Josie nearly had to hypnotize me to get me to relax."

Marty turned his attention to Jennifer's neck. He slowly licked his teeth. "Well -- uh -- do you wanna try it?"

"What, chomping on each other?"

"Why not? We know we like each other. I'm getting tired of having to tip-toe around it."

Jennifer chewed her lip, frowning. "Me too, but we promised not to tell Mom and Dad yet."

"I know, but this isn't the same thing. How could they find out? The fang marks would heal almost instantly. We'd be safe."

Jennifer considered that. "I have kinda wondered what you taste like," she admitted with a slight blush. "Okay, but you go first."

"Sure thing." Marty extended his fangs and pulled Jennifer close. His nose led him to a spot near her carotid artery. Taking a deep breath, he bit down. He felt Jennifer start in his arms, then sigh and relax.

Although he wasn't that hungry, Marty discovered that he felt very relaxed while drinking Jennifer's blood. So this is what Dad gets out of it, he thought with a small smile. When he finally removed his fangs, Jennifer gave him a silly grin. "It feels even better than when you're a human," she informed him, rubbing her head against his shoulder.

"I liked it too," Marty smiled. "Now do me."

Jennifer was about to when -- "Marty? Jennifer?"

"Looks like they want us," Jennifer sighed. "We'll try again later."

"It's a date." They went back in, trying not to laugh about the secret they held together.