Disclaimer: I do not own Back to the Future.
Author's Notes: Okay, this story take place in the same universe as Marty Wept and Farewell, Doc? Other then those two revisions, every other event that took place up to this point follows the events that took place in the Back To The Future Trilogy, as well as the vignettes I wrote for the trilogy. This will be the beginning novella for another AU. I tried to be mindful to not have Clara use language that didn't exist back in 1885. If I slipped on that, though, then feel free to let me know.
Note to Kristen Sheley, Flaming Trails, and other authors who may have speculated on this AU: My intention is not to rip anyone off. This will be uniquely my story, with my own plot twists and takes. This is the AU where Clara and Doc go back to 1985 with Marty, in the DeLorean.
September 6, 188510:30 PM PST
'I've at least gotta tell her good bye,' Doc said, with sadness in his voice.
'C'mon, Doc, I mean, think about it - what are you gonna say to her, I gotta go back to the future? I mean, she's not gonna understand that, Doc. How long I been with ya and I don't even understand it?' Then realizing something, Marty added, 'Doc, listen, maybe we could... I dunno, maybe we could just take Clara with us.'
'To the future?' asked Doc, 'You've reminded me, Marty, I'm a scientist so I must be scientific about this. I cautioned you about disruption of the continuum for your own personal benefit; therefore I must do no less. We will proceed as planned, and as soon as we return to 1985, we'll destroy this infernal machine. Travelling through time has become much too painful.'
'Doc,' Marty said, slowly, 'technically, Clara doesn't belong in this time, either. She was supposed to die in the Clayton Ravine, remember?'
'Great Scott!' gasped Doc. 'I forgot all about that! Well, how do we convince her that I'm from the future? Also, would it really be fair of us to take her away from the time period she is accustomed to, to put her in a foreign time period in the future?'
'Well, just show her the DeLorean,' replied Marty, 'and the time circuits. Also, if she loves you a lot, she maybe won't mind going to the future with you. She'll have you - and me - to help her get accustomed to the time period.'
'Marty, just out of curiosity's sake, why are you so insistent that I take Clara back with us?' asked Doc.
'Doc, I just want to you be happy!' said Marty, with tears in his eyes. 'I don't want you to have to choose between us. I remember how sad I felt when you tore up the letter, because I didn't want you to be shot by the Lybians.'
'Yeah, I remember how you were crying, after I tore up the letter,' Doc said, gently. 'Then thirty years later - just a few minutes for you - you were crying at Lone Pine Mall, because you were so distraught over the idea of losing me.'
'Yeah, I remember that,' said Marty, blushing. 'I also also really distraught when I found out that you were shot by Buford Tannen. Doc, I don't want to see you get that distraught over losing Clara - and, for that matter, I also don't want Clara to get that distraught over losing you. You really are such a special person, Doc.'
'Well, thank you, Marty,' said Doc, as he threw his arms around Marty, and they embraced. 'You really are such a caring young man.'
'Thanks, Doc,' Marty said, softly. 'I really do care about you. So, should we go get Clara, now? Think she's still awake?'
'Yeah, I suppose we should,' Doc replied. 'I'm not sure how she'd feel about living in 1985 - but I suppose that is best for the space-time continuum.'
'Right, that's exactly what I was thinking,' agreed Marty.
oooooooooo
About an hour later, Doc and Marty showed up at Clara's home. Doc knocked on the door, hoping that Clara would still be awake.
'Who is it?' asked Clara.
'Clara, it's me, Emmett,' replied Doc.
'And Ma-Clint,' replied Marty.
'Clara, we, uh, we need to show you something,' said Doc, after taking a deep breath.
'Can't you just tell me what it is?' protested Clara.
'You wouldn't believe me, if I just told you,' insisted Doc.
'Oh, alright,' said Clara with a sigh. 'This must be something really important, then.'
'Yeah, to say the least,' replied Doc.
Then Clara was a little worried. 'Are you okay, Emmett? You're not sick or anything, are you?'
'Oh, no, no, no, no! Not at all,' Doc protested. 'It's just that, well, you'll see when we get there. Just trust me on this, please.'
Then the trio started to head off to the train tracks, where the DeLorean was.
oooooooooo
'What in tarnation is this?' asked Clara, as she was looking at the DeLorean. 'I have never seen anything like this before! What kind of contraption is this?'
'Well, Clara, this is a, a time machine,' explained Doc. 'Come here, I'll show you how it works. First, you turn the time circuits on.' Doc did so, displaying the three panels. 'This readout tells you where you're going, this one tells you where you are, this one tells you where you were. You input the destination time on this keypad. Say, you wanna see the signing of the Declaration of Independence...' Doc said, as he typed in July 24, 1776, '... or witness the birth of Christ,' Doc added, imputting the date December 25, 0000.
'This is unbelieveable,' muttered Clara. 'I'm not even sure whether or not I should believe you, but you two seem so sincere. Plus, this contraption does look rather, uh, futuristic. I mean, I've never seen anything like this before in my life!'
'Well, Clara, how would you feel about coming back with us to 1985?' asked Doc.
'Well, I will miss my family back home in New Jersey,' said Clara, with a sigh. 'Maybe we could come back here and visit them, seeing that you do have a time machine. Other than that, though, I really can't stand to you leave you. So, please, take me back with you!'
Clara looked like she wanted to cry - and Marty sympathized with her. Doc really was a special person, one of a kind.
Marty put her arm on Clara's shoulder, and whispered, 'I understand how you feel, Clara. I have never seen Doc so happy, since he fell in love with you. That's why I suggested that we take you back with us. You two are a match made in heaven, despite the fact that you two are from different time periods. Who knows? Maybe God even allowed Doc to invent the time machine, so that he could meet you.'
'Oh, thank you so much, Clint!' exclaimed Clara, smiling. 'Maybe there are maybe of this world that I have yet to discover.'
'You're welcome,' replied Marty, smiling back. 'You'd be amazed by how much the world has advanced in 100 years. By the way, please, call me Marty.'
'Marty?' asked Clara, confused.
'Yeah, that's my real name,' Marty explained. 'Well, actually, it's Martin. Martin Seamus McFly. I'm the great-great-grandson of Seamus and Maggie McFly, so that's why I couldn't use my real name here. Marty is my nickname, though.'
'Oh, I see,' said Clara, trying to digest everything. Then, turning to Doc, she asked, 'How about you, Emmett? Is Emmett Brown your real name?'
'Yeah, that is my real name,' replied Doc. 'I saw no reason to not use my real name, as my ancestors, the Von Brauns, did not come to America until 1908. Due to the anti-German sentiments of World War One, my father had to change his last name to Brown.'
'World War One?' asked Clara confused.
'Yeah, two major wars break out in the early 20th century. Well, you'll learn about them, when we get back to 1985,' explained Doc.
'Believe me, Clara,' added Marty. 'You will have a lot of catching up to do - but, believe me, the 1980s is a totally awesome decade. You have awesome things like rock and roll music and video games.'
'Okay, now you've lost me, Marty,' said Clara, confused. 'It's like you're speaking a foreign language. Oh well, I guess I'd better head home and hit the sack, now,' replied Clara.
'Yeah, I'll take you back home, Clara,' said Doc. 'Marty, go back to workshop, and get some sleep, alright?'
'Will do, Doc,' replied Marty, hugging Doc. Then Marty skipped back to Doc's workshop, happy that his best friend has finally found true love, and they were all going back to 1985. He had Huey Lewis and The News' Power of Love going through his head, which was the best substitute for not having rock and roll in this time period.