A/N: Nope, not an update. Well, sorta. This was really bugging me. At first, I thought it would be OK, but then it just started nagging at my mind. I realised Doc would almost never react like that, especially not to Marty. That's why I've edited this chapter to make it seem more natural.

In response to GuesttotheFuture: Wow, I didn't know that. Hehe, I suppose I should have researched that, but I just thought that the idea of Marty being a little hyperactive with sugar would be amusing. Thanks for clearing that up!

...

Marty stood at the top of the stairs in horror. He hadn't meant it! It was an accident, he never meant to hurt her like that! First he'd broken one of Doc's projects, then he'd had a fight with the scientist's wife and now he'd pushed her down the stairs!

It was a complete accident. She had asked her what was wrong when Marty had gone to get his coat from where he'd left it upstairs and he'd began ranting about Doc. Clara had argued that Marty was acting rashly and an argument had ensued.

At the bottom of the stairs laid Clara, a gash on the side of her head. She had a broken wrist and was trying to get up. Doc had heard the crash and Clara's scream and had run over. At the sight of Marty at the top of the stairs and his injured wife at the bottom, his mind went into overdrive. "What happened?!"

"I didn't mean it!" Marty exclaimed. His eyes were wild and scared. "It was an accident!"

Doc knelt down and helped Clara up gently. He guided her over to a chair and sat her down, getting the first aid kit.

Marty darted down the stairs and towards the front door. He couldn't bear the thought of being there any longer. Doc called for him to wait, but he was already out of there and running towards his truck. He jammed the keys into the ignition and drove off quickly.

The roads were congested and most of the cars were at a standstill. Streets were blocked for as far as Marty could see. It was already getting dark and there was plenty of traffic on the roads leading towards Lyon Estates. Marty wanted to get home quickly, so he decided to take a detour down a small country road running around the edge of Hill Valley.

There were no street lights on this particular section of road, so it was pretty dark. As Marty drove round a corner, something ran out in front of the car. He swerved to the left in an attempt to avoid it but his truck rolled over, off the road and into a ditch.

Marty had been thrown from the truck through the windshield and his headlights had been shattered, meaning that there was now no light. Both of his legs were trapped beneath the vehicle's engine. He tried to move, but pain shot through his legs, indicating that they had been crushed by the weight.

He was lying in a ditch, trapped beneath a car with no headlights and he didn't have a radio or anything with him that he could use to call for help. He was stuck.

"Help!" he shouted, trying desperately to attract someone's attention, but his attempts were in vain. "HELP!"

Realisation dawned on him: he wouldn't be getting out of this mess for a while. Tears began welling up in his eyes and spilling down his cheeks as he started to sob. He was stuck here. As if to make matters worse, it started to rain. The cold water ran down his neck and after discovering that one of his hands was broken too, he could barely shield himself. He was freezing, but perhaps the biggest concern was the fact that the ditch was beginning to fill up with water. It was already getting harder to keep his head above water.

Thankfully, that rain just seemed to be a shower as it soon stopped. Half of Marty's head was engulfed in water and he had inhaled some of it. He coughed periodically, trying to rid himself of the water in his lungs.

He didn't know how long he'd been there, but soon he heard the wheels of a vehicle approaching. His hopes immediately skyrocketed and he shouted out. "HELP!"

He heard the car pull to a stop and someone got out. He heard footsteps and soon a flashlight was shone in his face.

A woman gasped. "Oh my gosh... MATT!" she shrieked, presumably at her husband. "There's a young man here who's injured. Go and call for help!"

A shout of "On it!" came from where the car was before Marty heard it drive off to go and find a phone. The woman knelt in the ditch beside Marty.

"What happened?"

"I-I was driving home from a f-friend's house and something ran out in f-front of my truck," Marty tried to disguise the sobs in his voice, but he couldn't stop crying. "I tried to av-avoid it but my truck flew off the road a-and I got knocked through the windshield,"

He felt the woman run her hand underneath his head, holding it out of the water. He started coughing again as he tried to clear his lungs of water.

"What's your name?" the woman asked.

"M-Marty, Marty McFly,"

"Well Marty, you're gonna be fine," the woman ran her thumb across his cheek.

Marty was still shaking, but as the fear of not being found began to recede, he became aware of a dull pain in his left side and as he shifted slightly, he yelped.

"Stay still, sweetie," the woman said. "You're hurt, but an ambulance should come soon."

Soon enough, a siren could be heard and Marty was aware of blue flashing lights. He could see that the fire department had arrived as well. After some ropes were tied around the truck, he felt the weight get lifted from his legs.

Four paramedics ran forward and carefully lifted him onto a stretcher. He was loaded into the ambulance and an oxygen mask was placed over his face. The fatigue soon caught up to him and he passed out.

It took a week for him to wake up. Both of his legs were broken badly, he had three cracked ribs, a concussion, his left wrist was broken and he had had some internal bleeding. His parents and girlfriend had visited him a lot, but one day he received the one visitor he had been waiting for.

Doc stood in the doorway, an expression of concern and worry painted across his face. "Marty?"

Marty looked across to him. "Hey Doc, c'mon over,"

Doc accepted the invitation and placed himself in a chair by the teen's bedside. "How are you doing?"

"Not too great," Marty murmured. "I still have to have this ridiculous IV in and I can't lie on my back at all. The doctors said I'm gonna need a wheelchair when I get out of here,"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Doc replied, squeezing Marty's hand. "I'm sorry you got into this mess,"

"It's my own fault. Instead of just waiting in traffic I took a country road that was dark and had loads of blind corners," Marty sighed. "I haven't been driving that long so I don't know what I was thinking,"

"It wasn't your fault," The scientist said gently. "It was an accident. Your truck can be replaced, you can't,"

Marty shrugged a little. "I s'pose. I'm still gutted that it got written off, though."

Doc ruffled his hair lightly. "Well I'm sure we can get you another one when you're better,"

Marty nodded slightly. He realised that his recovery was going to be difficult, what with both of his legs and one of his wrists broken. His legs still hurt a lot and the idea of him hauling himself in and out of a wheelchair was a pretty embarassing one. He'd played wheelchair basketball at school before (they had had to do it as part of a PE lesson) but being confined to one for about a month was upsetting.

Doc noticed his expression and ran a hand across Marty's face gently. Marty leant his head into the touch; it was comforting to him. The scientist shifted so he was sitting beside Marty on the bed, one arm around the teenager. Marty leant against the scientist. He managed to relax and almost felt like drifting off again. Doc rubbed his arm gently.

The pair sat in silence like that for a while, and when Doc moved to get up, he realised Marty had fallen asleep. He didn't want to leave, and since Marty's parents had told the nurses he was allowed to stay overnight as Marty's legal guardian, he didn't have to.

He carefully kicked his shoes off and pulled the blanket up over both of them, staying in a sitting position with Marty lying against him. He was mindful of the teen's injuries as he made sure they were covered with the blanket as he too drifted off.