Disclaimer: I don't own Back to the Future.

Author's Note: And there we go with the final few chapters for 'I'll Be Back In Time'. Won't be much longer, I promise. We start with Clara having to make a heavy decision.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Saturday, December 24, 1994
08:00 PM PST
Hill Valley, California

The tensions remained high throughout the evening, although they were at least partly eased during dinner. As usual, Jennifer had cooked a very tasty meal, and even Clara, who at first seemed wary of 20th Century cooking devices, complimented her on her work. Besides that, she remained quiet through the entire dinner, and Marty realized why. His friend's wife just didn't want to say anything that made her decision clear, because she was clearly not looking forward to making that decision at all.

After dinner, Marty had offered to show Jules and Verne around the house and Jennifer had tactically gone to work in the garden, leaving Doc and Clara alone with their thoughts. Marty had at first doubted he'd be able to stall the boys long enough for their parents to make their decision, but it soon turned out that worries weren't necessary. After showing Jules and Verne his stash of video games – mostly older leftovers from his own youth in the '70s and '80s – he promptly had them occupied for what might last throughout the night. Especially Verne seemed to be very interested in playing all the games (although it did take some time for him to get accustomed to how they worked), although Jules, too, was interested, but more in the technology behind it than in the actual game itself.

It was nearing 8 PM when Jennifer called for Marty and the kids to come back to the living room, which Marty nervously did – although not after having a struggle with Jules and Verne to get them away from the video games. When he arrived there, he noticed that Doc and Clara were both intensely staring at him. He nervously sat down as Jennifer and Jules and Verne did the same.

"So…" Marty began reluctantly. "Did you make a decision?"

"I believe we have, but it's not set in stone yet" Doc said carefully.

"Emmett and I had a long talk," Clara added, "and well, he pointed out to me that one of the main reasons I was uncomfortable with a move to the future was that I would be very nervous in such a strange, foreign environment. I wouldn't be able to relax anymore. However, considering how we have to watch out for every step back in 1895… well, it could hardly get worse than that in the Twentieth Century. This very trip demonstrates that time travel is dangerous, and living in a time we were never supposed to be in could cause even more disasters than that. And to think that we would be raising another child… even if we were able to change things back again if something went wrong, there's still the risks, and the subsequent stress. I don't think I can handle that."

"Additionally, I told Clara about everything that is available in this time" Doc said. "I showed her around your laundry machine and your dishwasher, and explained how they worked… sorry for that, Jennifer."

"It's all right" Jennifer replied, smiling. "I don't mind you using our appliances. You're our friends, after all."

"And after that, well, I couldn't bring myself to ignore the advantages of the future anymore either" Clara said. "This time period has so much freedom and advancement, and considering that Emmett and the boys all like this era, and that we could visit the 1890s any time we wanted to with the time train… well, the advantages outweigh the drawbacks. By far."

"So?" Marty replied, knowing inwardly what his friends had decided but wanting to hear it for himself.

"We're moving back" Doc said. "Now, before you start cheering, it's not set in stone, as I said. When she came to her decision, Clara insisted on the right to be able to change her mind if there turned out to be good reasons for that, and I had no intention to withhold such a right from her. Furthermore, moving back will be very, very complicated. Integrating my family in the 20th Century… heck, even reintegrating myself in this era after such a long absence… it will be very difficult, to say the least."

"I can see that" Marty replied, unable to keep the joy from leaking into his voice anyway. "I'll try to do anything I can to help you, of course. I can imagine it would be expensive…"

"Very much so" Doc agreed, wincing. "Selling the garage would help cover that, though."

Marty's jaw dropped. "You're going to sell the garage?" he whispered, horrified. "But where will you live? I… I mean… you live there! You won't have a place to stay without it, you… you…"

"Marty, please, stop acting so dramatic!" Doc interfered. "I know I lived there for years, and I have some fond memories of that garage. But in the end, it's simply a provisional home which I never bothered to move out of because I didn't have the finances or the urgent need to seek another place. Now, I need to move. I've got a family, I'm responsible for them, and I can't fit us all in that small garage."

"I guess so" Marty murmured. "Still, it's hard for me to think of you living anywhere else but that garage. It's so… so you. Even in 1955, you were living in the mansion that garage belonged to when I stayed there. To think of all those times I've went over to your place the past years, thinking about you…"

Jules and Verne had been silent, contemplating their options, but now Jules piped up. "You mean we're going to move to 1994, father – Dad?" he asked. "Or perhaps 1995 instead?"

"That might be an option" Doc considered. "However, I'm not sure if it's the best one. For one, Marty would still miss me all these years up until now, and since I'm going back anyway I wouldn't want to put him through that when I can avoid it. Furthermore, I'm a stranger to this time period too. Certainly, I've been to the future several times now, but I don't think I ever visited the 1990s before. If I'm going to introduce my wife and children to the 20th Century, I'd better introduce them to a period I know. Therefore, I've decided that when we move, we're going back to the 1980s."

"To 1985?" Marty said, stunned. "I don't know, Doc, but if you've been gone for just a few days and then return with a wife and children… well, it sounds like it'll be extremely complicated for you to explain all that."

"Well, I'm sure I'll find a way" Doc said. "And the way I see it, if you're going to move back to the future, why not do it with some style?"

Marty, Clara and Jennifer rolled their eyes. "How long will all of that take, Doc?" Marty asked.

"Why should you care?" Doc retorted. "After all, for you, it'll be like no time passes at all."

"Yeah, I guess so" Marty muttered. "That's just such a strange thought, you know. I can't believe that I – the me I am now, the one who never saw you again since 1985 until today - am going to be erased from existence."

"Well, if it makes you more comfortable, everyone in this world will be" Doc pointed out. "And anyway, this night shouldn't change. You'll still get visited by me, and I'll still make the same decision… at least, unless you, the new you that is, mess something up."

Marty chuckled. "When did I ever mess something up?" he asked.

"Don't get me started, kid" Doc replied, grinning. "It'd take me all night just to name all of them."

Marty rolled his eyes, knowing Doc was just teasing him. "As if you've never made any mistakes. Putting that almanac in the trash can back in twenty-fifteen wasn't such a great decision after all, was it Doc?"

"Let's just be glad that the result of our mistakes turned out well" Doc said. "You've got a good family, and so do I, and you're happily married." Jennifer slung an arm around Marty's shoulder at that. "And if everything turns out well, you and I will have another reason to be happy."

Marty nodded, and smiled brightly. For the first time in his life since 1985, he felt true happiness and hope, without any sour side to ruin it. Life was good, but now it would be perfect again – or at least, as close to perfection as one could get. And that was good enough for him.

oooooooo

The next year passed in a near-blur for Doc. He first visited Marty barely a week after he had returned to 1895 from 1994, choosing to go to their special day of November 12th 1985. He succeeded in startling the poor teen out of his wits while he was reminiscing in the Brown garage. After Marty had recovered, they'd had a great evening together in the garage, and Doc had given his young friend a rough summary of his visit to 1994 and an outline of his plans. Although Marty was unhappy to hear that his mentor wasn't coming back right away – as Doc explained, it would take time to get settled with his new family – he could also live with the hope that he would see Doc again very soon.

It would take to March until Marty saw Doc again, but then the inventor started coming to 1986 regularly. He'd help Marty sell the garage for a high price and find a nice, cheap-but-large house outside of town. After that the true work started, remodeling the place to fit his family. Marty came over occasionally to help, and thus the project continued throughout March, April and May, rapidly working towards completion.

Back in 1895, only a few weeks passed during that time, but in the end Doc started working on synching them closer together, finally matching the two time periods on May 21st 1986. Ten days later, on May 31st, nine days (or perhaps ninety-one years and nine days) shy of Marty's eighteenth birthday, the Brown family finally packed the last of their belongings and moved permanently to the future.

The Browns attended Marty's graduation ceremony from High School a few days after their return, which became a great opportunity for all of Hill Valley to get acquainted with them. Of course, they didn't know the time and place Doc and his family really came from. The inventor had worked hard on creating a viable story for his origins, and in the end it all fit together. In his fake family history, he had first met Clara Clayton on September 4th 1976, while she was living in New Jersey and he was attending a science conference there. Although it had been love at first sight, they could not live together due to Clara being busy studying for being a schoolteacher. They had soon come to the controversial decision to live apart on two sides of the country, but still get married, which they had done on November 12th, 1976.

The marriage had lasted throughout the next few years, and Jules had been born on September 25th 1977, with Verne following on October 29th 1979. Both boys had been conceived as a result of brief visits Doc had made to New Jersey throughout those years. By 1981, Clara's studying had finished, but they still hadn't been able to make the move due to housing prices. It wasn't until 1985 that Doc had really started to make arrangements for them to move back, which explained his long absence during that winter. Marty, of course, vouched for this entire story, but sulked about not even being included in the fake wedding Doc was planning in the Sacramento of 1976. He had only quit sulking about that when Doc promised to visit the future for him and take 2006 Marty back instead, who could then pretend to be Calvin Marty Klein in case anyone asked. That satisfied Marty, knowing that at least in about twenty-one years, he'd have the opportunity to attend Doc's marriage. It did cause some trouble with Marty's parents after they found out about Calvin's attendance at Doc's wedding, as they wondered where he had come from and why he didn't come over to Hill Valley to visit them, but they had been finally bought off with some story about Calvin's busy life in the Coast Guard.

Anyway, Doc managed to get his family settled into 1986 without any major difficulties, although Clara did have a lot of trouble adjusting. These troubles were bigger than they would've been because at that same time she was still pregnant, a state that would continue to develop throughout the year. By the time everyone was settled in, her due date of November 15th was nearing, and Doc was getting increasingly nervous around her.

However, he didn't think about his wife's condition all of the time. On November 5th, he and the family had a quiet party with Marty and Jennifer, remembering the 31st anniversary of the flux capacitor, and thus of Marty and Doc meeting. And on November 12th, in the afternoon, Doc finally called Marty over to visit him earlier than their intended meeting at 8 PM, as he wanted Marty to come over right away, and without Jennifer. When the confused teen asked why, Doc simply replied: "I've got something to show you…"