Day 11 - Collapse
A/N: Seven days' worth of adrenaline finally wears off. A short, alternate ending to Part I.

His jaw fell open. "…You're alive!"

Am I hallucinating?!

Come to think of it, was his heart always pumping this hard?

Blinking to clear his vision, Marty crudely wiped the sweat and tears from his face. He had to force his brain to construct a coherent sentence, for it was practically buzzing with questions. "But…how?! I-I never got the chance to tell you!"

He's really here…? He listened to me?

Marty watched on in fascination as Doc produced a familiar, yellowed letter from the inside of his suit, passing it to him with a smile. Still not trusting his brain, he hurriedly unfolded the paper, his eyes widening even further as he read through a very familiar plea. "…What about all that talk…about the s-space time continuum? S-Screwing…up?…Up…"

His field of vision suddenly shrank, a hot sweat breaking out on his forehead.

A sense of horror came over him as he heard himself audibly slurring, but for some reason his lips wouldn't respond. He tried to massage his jaw, only for his arms to stop cooperating as well. But I haven't had anything to drink! Alcoholic or not!

Part of his brain was screaming at him; that something was horribly wrong and he needed to be concerned.

So why wasn't he scared?

Geez, am I having a stroke?!

Half of his brain was frightened.

But the other half was too tired to give a damn. I just…wanna…sleep…

And having been finally satisfied that Doc was indeed still among the living, he welcomed that feeling with open arms. I need a vacation after all this.

The world was moving in slow motion as he vaguely registered Doc's face morphing into concern, his lips moving soundlessly as he began to stretch his arm out towards him.

One of his knees cracked loudly as it suddenly buckled.

His body felt like lead.

Why is the ground rushing at-

Owww….

His head hurt.

It felt like the individual cells in his brain were screaming.

I'm getting tired of waking up like this.

Attempting to pry his eyelids open was like breaking through superglue. He'd barely moved an inch before his body loudly protested, the brief surge of wakefulness rapidly vanishing. Just…wanna…sleep…

This is nice…

"…rty?"

He thought someone was talking to him, but he couldn't hear much over the powerful roar as blood pounded through his ears.

"Marty?"

Shut up, I'm tryin' to sleep here!

He vaguely heard himself groan as he shifted his position. His limbs felt stiffer than concrete, and he found himself struggling to lift a hand to pat the furry creature sitting-

Furry?

What the hell?

He realised his face was not just cold, but also wet. Something was loudly slobbering in his ear, their drool barely touching the top of his skin. Einstein?

Oh my God!

Doc!

Marty's body seemed to snap into autopilot. His eyes flew open as he bolted upright, flinging himself halfway to a standing position before someone forced him back down. It's the terrorists holy shit they've kidnapped us and I'm gonna die and Doc is still dead why I tried-

"Marty!"

Everything front of him was moving too fast for his fatigued eyes to process. A white blob faded in and out of his vision, and he barely heard the frightened squeak from his throat. I'm dying! I must be dying! Or dead already!

"Marty, relax! It's me! It's Doc!"

No, I can't be dead, 'cause Doc's not dead.

Right?

Hands were gripping his shoulders, yet he still couldn't see who was holding him. He felt his body falling sideways again, his head colliding with a pillow of some sort.

"It's me!" The scientist reiterated. "I mean, of course you know it's me, I-I mean I'm the real Doc! The one from 1985!"

The young man fought to gain control his rapid breathing, quickly losing the sudden burst of energy as he flopped back into the couch beneath him. So I'm not dreaming then? He's alive?

"It's alright Marty, we're home. I mean, we're back at my place," Doc explained hurriedly, the shadows under his eyes now a prominent feature. He was still dressed in his radiation suit, and it didn't escape Marty's attention that there were a few more holes in the outfit than he would've expected. "You're safe and I'm safe, Marty."

Marty couldn't catch his breath. The room was beginning to tilt violently, and it wasn't until his head slammed back into the pillow that he realised he'd fallen over. Blood pounded behind his eyes and roared powerfully in his ears, his body trembling uncontrollably. I must be dying.

He didn't remember saying anything, but Doc had rushed to his side while shushing him gently. "It's alright, Marty. Your body is just reacting to the amount of stress you've been under," Doc delicately brushed Marty's sweaty hair away from his line of sight. "I know it's a scary thing to experience and it won't last forever, but you need to do your best to relax."

Relax? Marty knew he couldn't muster the power or breath to speak, but he hoped Doc got the message through his panicked expression. Relax, Doc?! How the hell am I supposed to do that right now? I can't even breathe properly, dammit!

This time he knew he hadn't spoken aloud, but Doc still seemed to know exactly what he'd thought. "I am alive and well, Marty. Einstein is here too, and I think he'll be a good 'cuddle buddy' for you right now."

No no no, Doc! I gotta make sure! T-They could've followed us home or-

Marty was drawn from his hyperventilating state by a familiar canine nuzzling his head into his neck, with Einstein jumping on top of his trembling body. He could feel the loyal dog's heartbeat as Einstein licked his face lovingly. His fingers began entwined within fur, his breathing slowing as he slowly started to regain control of himself.

How the hell can a dog have healing powers like this? All he did was sit on me!

Not that I'm complaining, though…It's so good to see you again, Einy.

When was I this sleepy again?…

He thought he heard Doc chuckle. "Sleep well, future boy."

Future boy…

Yeah, that's me.

More like tired boy right now, though.