Day 2 - Scream
A/N: Jennifer comforts Marty during a trip to the lake. Set a few weeks after Part III.

She stared numbly at the inky blackness above, taking in the individual sparkles of distant stars. Although it had been a long and fulfilling day with her favourite person in the world, she still found herself being paid a visit from her old friend insomnia.

Jennifer glanced at her watch, the dim light from the screen being enough to temporarily blind her night vision. Now that she'd learnt it was barely past two AM, she leaned back on her pillow in silent frustration. Only another four hours till I can watch the sun move instead of the damn stars…

She knew she wasn't the only one not sleeping. Although he would constantly deny it and try to change the subject, the bags under Marty's eyes seemed to be permanent fixtures these days, though whether his sleepless nights were due to nightmares or an effect of time travel she couldn't tell. If he was having nightmares, he certainly didn't speak about it.

A small whimper startled her. She leant on her elbow as she sat up, gazing around to spot the suspected animal wandering around their campsite. The lack of an obvious culprit disturbed her, and she was tempted to slide back into her sleeping bag when the same noise returned. Only this time, it was definitely a human noise.

Jennifer shifted to look at Marty, her heart sinking as her suspicions were confirmed. Oh, my poor love…

Marty was gripping the top of his sleeping bag with such vigour that she was surprised the seams remained intact. His sweaty brow was furrowed, eyes scrunched tightly with a collection of unshed tears behind them. Most of his mutterings were so mumbled that Jennifer couldn't make them out, but he was clearly witnessing something unsettling. His head jerked from side to side, his breathing growing faster by the second. "…N-No, Doc!…D-Doc!…"

Jennifer felt torn. She'd heard conflicting evidence on whether it was safe to wake someone in the grips of a nightmare, but the more distressed Marty became, the more determined she was to relieve his suffering. "Marty?"

He let out a strangled sob, arching his back as his arms flailed in front of him. "DOC! HELP! PLEASE!"

Doc? So he is dreaming about the time travel! "Marty, wake up!"

"N-No, you…Doc! Bastards…run!…" Marty's voice grew steadily louder. "DOC! DOC, NOOOOOOO!"

Jennifer couldn't bear it a moment longer. She quickly grabbed his collar and pressed her mouth against his ear. "MARTY MCFLY, WAKE UP!" I'll apologise for this later, I swear…

He gasped like a drowning man, panicked and unseeing eyes flying open as he tried to launch out of the sleeping bag. Jennifer bit back a curse as he inadvertently punched her, screaming as he fought with the bedding like it was a man-eating monster.

"Marty!" Jennifer shouted. She began pushing down on his shoulder blades with both hands while almost enveloping him in an embrace, attempting to stop him from hurting himself. "Marty, relax!" Wake up already!

It only took a few seconds for her to deduce that this strategy was not proving effective; Marty continued to struggle in his dazed state, without showing any signs of coming out of it. She decided to clasp his face in her hands, tightening her grip as she forced his gaze to meet hers. "Marty." You aren't going anywhere until you calm down, young man.

His breathing hitched, and she noticed the exact moment when the blinding fog in his eyes vanished, for a red blush of shame instantly appeared in his cheeks. He still couldn't control himself from hyperventilating, but his expression changed as he finally seemed to recognise her. "…J-Jen!"

"It's okay, Marty, just relax," She spoke softly, releasing his face gently and taking his hand in her own. He didn't respond as she gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You're safe. It's 1985. I'm here, we're at the lake, and everything's okay."

Whether or not he'd heard her was ambiguous. He kept staring past Jennifer at something unseen in the forest behind them, seemingly oblivious to the river of tears running down his scorching-red cheeks. His lips moved soundlessly, his pupils still darting around erratically. He's almost there…

She could've sworn her heart was physically aching. Jennifer had to keep biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying. There's no point if both of us are bawling our eyes out.

You have to hold it together for him.

He needs you now.

A few minutes passed before she decided to break the delicate silence, speaking cautiously. "Marty? Are you with me?"

While he didn't acknowledge her, Marty eventually removed his hand from her grasp. He let out an exhausted sigh, running his shaky fingers through damp strands of hair. "…Jen?"

"It's okay, Marty, I promise," Jennifer reassured him. "You're safe."

She didn't think it was physically possible for a human's face to be so red, yet once again Marty exceeded her expectations. He sniffed and leaned forward to bury his face in his palms, wiping at his tear-stained cheeks furiously. "…'m sorry, Jenny-"

I've had enough. Jennifer once again cradled her boyfriend's face, ensuring he could see the unshed tears in her own eyes. "Don't you dare be sorry, Marty McFly. It's okay. I just wanna make sure you're okay."

Marty's lip wobbled as he fought to come up with an answer, only to lean forward tiredly into Jennifer's waiting embrace. A tortured sob found its way out of his chest, and he didn't resist as Jennifer tucked his head under her chin. "Jenny…"

She placed a kiss on the top of his head. "I'm here, love."

"D-Doc…h-he got, th-they shot…" Marty could barely speak in, gasping out what words he could in-between hitches of his chest. He clutched Jennifer like a lifeline, his fingers digging into her pyjamas as he hugged her. "Doc-"

"Doc is alive, Marty. Remember?" She reminded him calmly. "Doc is alive, and so are you."

It took a few attempts before Marty could express the rest of his thoughts. "B-But it's…I mean, this…this…W-Why can't I just get over this shit?!"

Jennifer rubbed his back soothingly, allowing herself a few private tears as the man in her arms cried. Cries of desperation; of anguish; of an event that the universe said never happened.

Eventually they were both shaking, clinging rigidly to each other as they released their unspoken fears into the darkness.

My poor Marty McFly…