Back to the Doctor

Return to the Future Part 5

"I know what you're thinking, but it isn't him."

Marty could hear the man's voice somewhere in the distance, but it was hard to concentrate over his headache.

"I know that, you think I don't know that?" An old lady replied. "I'm not so senile that… but he needed help anyway! Should I have left him in the driveway?"

Both the voices sounded familiar, but strange all at the same time, and he couldn't place either of them.

"If you're so worried, then call an ambulance, but get him out of your house, mom!" A door slammed somewhere, then everything went quiet.

Marty started drifting off again, the pounding in his head trying to drag him down into unconsciousness.

"It's going to be all right," the woman spoke again, and he felt something cold on his head. A cloth?

His eyes fluttered open and he saw the familiar silhouette and closed his eyes again. It was his mom, holding a cold cloth to his forehead, just like she used to when he was sick. Was he sick? He felt like he was wading through memories, trying to figure out what order they were supposed to be in.

"I had a really weird dream mom…" he started whispering and he felt the figure next to him go stiff.

His eyes snapped open as he suddenly realized when and where this was. This was his mother, but she didn't – couldn't – know that he was her son. He quickly sat up, ignoring the pain in his head and started at her with wide frantic eyes.

"I'm sorry-I-I-"

"You hit your head," she answered slowly, her watery eyes looking him over apprehensively.

"My head? I fell."

"You were spying."

"Uh…" He tried looking around for an escape. Could he just push her aside and jump out the window?

"My son helped me carry you in the house – though he thinks we should have left you. Why were you spying?"

"I was… it was… a dare," he finally squeaked.

She stared at him, making him feel uncomfortable enough to look away. She shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to stare, but you look just like him."

"… Like who?"

"My… son," she smiled sadly and stood up. It was a struggle for her to stand up and stretch out her bones. "Not the one who was just here, my youngest son. He… well it doesn't matter."

"No… tell me," he sat back in the bed, feeling slightly less panicky. Maybe he could still get some information after all.

"He went missing, oh, nearly thirty years ago now. I never knew what happened. George, my ex-husband, he wanted to accept his death and move on. But I…" she smiled at him sadly. "I just couldn't accept that my little boy was dead. Sometimes I still think he's out there."

"Maybe he is."

Lorraine looked at him strangely.

"I mean," he looked around nervously. "If you never heard any different. He might be alive, I mean… I dunno."

She sat down on a chair next to the window. "George kept saying, if he was alive he'd contact us, but he never did… so to George that meant he had to be dead."

"Nobody knew anything? Friends? … Girlfriends?"

She narrowed her eyes. "His girlfriend went missing the same day. I used to think maybe they had eloped. But I… I don't think I want to talk about this now. I'm sorry I brought it up."

"No, I'm sorry," he looked away. "I shouldn't have pried. I should go."

"You can stay until you're feeling better."

He remembered the Doctor, who would probably be wondering where he had disappeared to by now as well.

"I'm fine," he stood up too quickly and his head swam, for a moment he thought he might fall down and Lorraine must have had the same thought, because she was quickly on her feet to catch him.

She looked at him, confused, and in that moment Marty reached out and hugged her as hard as he dared, worried that he might hurt her frail body.

"I'm sorry you lost your son, but I'm sure, wherever he is, he appreciates the fact that you never gave up… I know I would."

"I…"

Marty pulled away and ran to the door, not bothering to look back. "I'm sorry if I was any trouble!"

"No… no trouble…" Lorraine sat down, feeling weak and utterly drained. It was like a ghost had just run through her life.

To Be Continued…

(Well, I couldn't not have the iconic "Marty hits his head and wakes up with Lorraine hovering over him" scene – and by golly I might do it again. Oh time travel is fun… I worried going into this chapter that people would be annoyed that I left Martha, Mickey and the Doctor facing off a robot, but I just couldn't resist the chance to explore Marty's relationship with his mother, which is complicated… to put it mildly. In fact, I liked writing this chapter so much I wrote this chapter before chapter four. Who needs robots when I have a mother and son to write about!)