October 3rd, 1986.

2:30pm

Despite being a hundred years apart in terms of origin, Marty had always gotten on well with Clara. He'd noticed over the past few months that she and Doc really did have a lot in common. Thier enthusiasm for science, love of books and just their general personalities fitted together like a well-designed jigsaw puzzle. Doc had made it clear to her that Marty was like family to him, and she'd welcomed him with open arms. Jules and Verne were like younger brothers to him, too. It really seemed as though he fitted in better with the Brown family than with his own.

Currently, the pair were walking through the streets of Hill Valley town centre, collecting odd bits and bobs for various things, be it household or scientific.

"I need to stop off at the baker's, newsagents, hardware shop and the grocer's." Clara looked at the piece of paper she was holding in her hands. She looked at the young man walking beside her. "Thank you for helping me out with this, Marty,"

Marty smiled. "It's no trouble at all, ma'am,"

Clara laughed. "Marty, I told you, you don't have to address me as that anymore, please just call me Clara,"

Marty chuckled. "Alright, Clara,"

Clara smirked. "Better,"

Marty looked at the list in her hands, before looking back at her. "How long will Doc be away?"

"Another week," Clara responded. "He's over in Britain helping somebody with some vehicle modifications. He said he'd be back by the eleventh,"

Marty nodded. "And neither Jules nor Verne have driver's licenses, well, not yet anyway,"

"Exactly. They were too busy with their video games anyway,"

"Are you sure they can be left at home?" Marty asked.

"They're fine," Clara waved aside the question. "Einstein's with them anyway,"

The town wasn't too busy for a Saturday morning. There were a few people out jogging, walking dogs, having a coffee at the local cafe. The pair walked into the baker's, where Clara bought two loaves of bread, an iced bun and two jam tarts for her kids. She'd asked if Marty wanted anything, but he insisted that he was fine. With the items stored in a carrier bag, they walked over to the newsagents.

As always, the queue waiting to post parcels was massive, due to the fact that an elderly lady was trying to compare the different ways of posting a parcel the size of a DVD. Frustrated groans came from several people in the queue as they were delayed even further. Marty hid a small smirk as he walked past them, glad he wasn't standing in that queue.

Clara bought the stamps she needed and collected the parcel. It was rather large and heavy, so Marty offered to carry it for her. He took the parcel in both his arms and sank slightly under its weight.

"Thank you," Clara smiled. "It's some spare parts for one of Emmett's experiments, goodness knows what they'll do,"

"Probably something crazy and dangerous," Marty chuckled. "Most of what he builds usually is,"

Clara laughed at that, before heading to the hardware store. "Marty,"

"Yeah?"

"You're more likely to know what any of these are," she showed him the list of equipment. It was clearly Doc's handwriting as it was scrawled, messy and barely legible. "Would you mind getting them for me?"

"Sure thing," Marty set the parcel down and took the list. "I'll be back in a minute,"

Clara smiled, waiting outside with the parcel while Marty entered the shop. It was fairly small, packed from floor to ceiling with boxes, tools, trays of bolts and other such things. Glancing at the piece of paper, Marty read the list:

-¾" wrench

-4mm bolts 25pk

-500ml spray paint can - black

-1-litre bottle coolant (cheapest will do)

-4mm crosshead screwdriver

Marty grabbed a basket and began picking out the things from the list. He was just reaching up for the coolant when Biff walked in.

"Oh hey, Marty!" The repairman grinned. "Funny seeing you here!"

Marty held back a groan as he answered. "Hey, Biff." He wasn't entirely used to this type of Biff. Sure, it was much better than the 1985A Biff or even Biff from the original timeline, but that didn't make him any less annoying.

Biff grinned and grabbed two bottles of coolant, handing one to the young man. "Here you go! I saw you couldn't quite reach so I got it for you!"

"Thanks, Biff," Marty smiled weakly, before getting the screwdriver and going to pay for everything. Another reason why he hated being only 5"4', others had to reach things on shelves he couldn't quite get to. He grabbed the shopping bag and went out to join Clara.

"Good," Clara ticked off another thing from her list of chores and began heading back across the town square towards the grocer's. Marty stuffed the parcel into the bag with the hardware stuff and followed her.

The grocer's had boxes and boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables on display outside, with various prices per pound for each item painted on the box. Clara took some paper bags and started filling them up.

The greengrocer, Mr Davis, soon came out with a fresh crate of oranges. "Good afternoon, ma'am," he nodded.

Clara smiled in return. "Good afternoon,"

"Hey," Marty waved, grinning. One by one, Clara handed the grocery bags to Marty while she continued getting more. The teenager was starting to become a little overburdened with the sheer amount of things he had to carry. Soon, thankfully, Clara had paid for everything, taken half of the bags herself and the pair were on their way back to Marty's truck. He shoved the bags in the back and got into the driver's seat, Clara joining him.

Automobiles were still something that fascinated Clara, even after having been around them since December. Doc had shown her how they worked but even then they were incredible. As Marty started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, she made sure her seatbelt was fastened and gripped the seat.

Marty shot her a glance out the corner of his eye. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm still not quite used to the motion of these vehicles, though," Clara replied. She kept her vision firmly on the road ahead as Marty drove back towards the Brown family home. Upon arrival, the pair got out and collected the bags from the back of the truck as Marty locked it, then they walked up to the front door. Clara opened it and they both set the bags down in the kitchen.

Jules approached the young man. "Martin, I require your opinion on something. Would it be more beneficial for me to use the personal computer in order to continue to develop my research into the microbiology of bacterium, or for my sibling to waste his time playing meaningless interactive video simulations?"

Marty's face went blank for a moment as he tried to work out what on Earth Doc's eldest son just said. "Well, how long have you been using the computer?"

"Three hours now. Verne has not used it today, yet he demands that he should be the one to utilise it currently," Jules replied without missing a beat.

"Well, why not save the work you've already done and then let Verne play the game for a few hours?" Marty suggested.

"I told you!" Another shout came from the stairwell and Verne's smug face poked around the doorframe. "See! Marty agrees with me!"

The young man laughed. "So I'd say it's your turn now, Verne,"

"Yes!" The younger Brown sibling disappeared upstairs again and Jules let out a groan.

"Perhaps the reason you usually favour Verne is because you yourself are a younger sibling,"

Marty shrugged and started helping Clara put the groceries away. "Perhaps, but you two are seriously like younger brothers to me, so I feel somewhat responsible for making sure you're both happy,"

Jules sighed. "I suppose I will have to agree with you."

Marty ruffled his hair, to which Jules protested loudly. "Exactly."

Clara smirked at seeing the boys interact. Marty did have this sort of older brother charm to him when he was around her kids. Maybe that's what made her see him as one of her own.