Marty stared out the church’s stained glass window. He couldn’t see anything, but he could imagine what was waiting for him. About a hundred police surrounding the building, waiting for him to take a step out and arrest him. He hoped Doc and Clara were all right. And what was he going to do about the kids. Marty looked over at the boys who laid sleeping on the bench. They reminded him of something, maybe him and his brother when they were younger, but their faces looked familiar too. They’d been through so much already how could Marty turn them down? Maybe Doc would let them come to the present with them.

 Marty shook his head, already formulating one of Doc’s explanations as to why two children from the year 2020 couldn’t live in 1985. But Marty wouldn’t be able to tell them they could not come along. He’d let Doc explain in the way only Doc could: through paradoxes and temporal displacement and other selves. Whatever he needed to say.

 Still, Marty had to admit he had a soft spot for the boys, especially the younger one, who reminded Marty much of himself. When he was little, Marty had always tagged along with his brother and Dave had always hated it. His mom made Dave take Marty along to the movies with his friends and, while Marty wanted to be around his older brother twenty-four/seven, Dave wanted nothing to do with his younger sibling. A few years older now, they were close, but Marty didn’t look up to him as a role model anymore.

 In the old 1985, the one Marty remembered, Dave worked at a Burger King. His parents couldn’t afford to send him to college and so it seemed his brother’s life was really going down hill. Marty really didn’t look up to him then. Now, in the foreign 1985 (at least to Marty), Dave worked as a an Assistant Retail Sales Manager (whatever that was). He seemed less like his cooler, older brother and more like his original pencil pusher father (albeit he didn’t take the same abuse). Still, he wasn’t someone Marty, with his creative personality and his dreams for musical stardom, could look up to. He felt like the odd-man out in his family.

 As far as he remembered, Marty had always looked to Doc as a father figure. He was the one who had always pushed him to go after his dream and achieve his accomplishments and he related more with the Doc. Doc was always doing something new and although Marty did not know for what purpose his inventions served (or had any understanding of what they did) Marty felt that, like himself, Doc had a creative passion and a drive to accomplish something. Every now and then Doc would talk about some big invention he was cooking up that would replace the automobile, the telephone and the printing press as the greatest invention of all time. Though Marty had his doubts as to whether Doc would succeed (now he was certain he had) he had always looked up to his friend as someone who was always reaching for the stars and never gave up hope no matter what obstacles barred his way to success.

 All inventions had their drawbacks and every successful invention changed the world somehow. But Doc’s time machine could really change the world by altering the future and that was dangerous. In the wrong hands such a device could completely screw up history. But with Doc looking after the machine Marty was certain they would have no problems (none that Doc couldn’t find some way to solve). Still, Marty wouldn’t be surprised if Doc took the whole time train apart when they returned to 1985 and put an end to time travelling for good. Marty wouldn’t blame him either. After all the problems they were forced to correct and all the paradoxes they nearly caused Marty was ready to put the proverbial fork in time travelling himself.

 It was getting late and Marty wanted to head out early the next morning. He laid down on the hard bench behind the bench the boys laid on and closed his eyes. Doc would be able to take care of the boys, Marty was sure. All Marty was worried about was making it to the train with little incident. He would hate for Doc to have to save him when Marty was the one who was summoned to the saving. Time travelling sure could get complicated, Marty thought and within minutes sleep had taken him.

“Come on! Get up! Let’s go! Come on!”

 Marty shifted in his place on the hard bench. Last night he had had a horrible dream that he went back to the future and was being pursued by his own son for arrest.

 “Come on! Wake up! You said you were going to take us away!”

 Away where? Marty opened one eye to look at the owner of the voice. A small boy with blonde hair stared back at Marty with eager eyes. Now both of Marty’s eyes shot open and he sat up. “It wasn’t a dream!”

 “What?” the five year-old asked. “You said we were going this morning. Look! The sun’s up. Let’s go!”

 The boy pointed to a stained glass window and the bright light shined through it. Marty rubbed his eyes and slowly stood. “Jeez, did I sleep. Hey, kid, what time is it?”

 The boy shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno.”

 Marty glanced at his watch. It said eight o’ clock AM, but Marty wasn’t sure it was accurate. The sun was up, so Marty decided he shouldn’t delay any longer. Doc would be worried about him if he didn’t show up soon.

 “All right, kid,” Marty patted the boy on his head. “Let’s go. Where’s your brother?”

 “Outside, waiting,” the boy confirmed. “Come on!”

 Marty saw the older boy sitting on the bottom step of the stairs which reached to the church’s door. His brother sprinted to his side and shouted: “We’re going!”

 The older boy stood and glanced back at Marty. “About time. You know you’re not supposed to sleep when the sun’s up.”

 “Who said?” Marty asked.

 “I did,” the older boy said and began walking away from the building, his younger brother on his heels.

 Marty paused. “I don’t think we should go out in the open. I thought you said you knew some hidden passages or something.”

 “Don’t worry, bub,” the older boy said simply. “No one’ll see you.”

 Marty jogged to catch up to the boy. “How do you know?”

 “We’ve been keeping away from cops all our lives,” said the older boy. “I can spot one coming from a mile away! There’s none around, so we’ll be okay.”

 “My brother’s real good at spotting the police,” the younger boy confirmed. “We’ve never been caught.”

 This didn’t seem to make Marty feel any better. “Well, isn’t there an alley we could go down or ...”

 “Listen, buster, this is my show! I know what I’m doing so just follow along and keep quiet!” the older boy snapped.

 Marty looked hurt. “I’m just --”

 “My brother doesn’t like adults,” the young boy explained. “Because they were the ones who ran the orphanage and they’re always doing something bad to us. He says we can’t trust them.”

 “Lucky for you I’m not an adult,” Marty smiled. “Maybe you’ve gotten a bad rap from older people before, but I’m not out to get you.”

 “That remains to be seen,” the older boy said coldly. “People just don’t go around dressed like cops. I’ve got my eye on you, buster.”

 “Call me Marty,” Marty said. “That’s my name.”

 “Lucky you! You have a name!” the older boy frowned with displeasure.

 “I think Marty’s a cool name!” the younger boy said. “I wish my name was Marty!”

 Marty really hated having to tell the kids they weren’t coming (well, not so much the older one). After all, they were helping him get back to Hill Valley. But there was nothing he could do, unless Doc miraculously agreed to it and, of course, Marty knew that wasn’t happening. He liked the younger boy, too. You didn’t find that sort of innocence in adults and Marty could remember back to a time when he was so pristine.

 The boy’s brother, on the other hand, had grown up much faster. He had taken the roll of the patriarch and had taken the responsibility of learning how cruel and harsh the world really was in order to protect his younger sibling. The kids needed some guidance, but they needed it from someone in their own time, not some happenstance time travellers.

 “You sure you know what you’re doing?” Marty asked.

 “You want to get to Hill Valley or not?” the older boy demanded.

 “Yeah! Let’s get out of this crummy place!” the younger boy cheered. “Right, Marty?”

 “Yeah,” Marty nodded. “Let’s keep going.”

 Doc hunched over the back end of the time train, coupling the box car he had managed to purchase (with a bit of coaxing and a lot of ancient dollar bills) to it. He had had to use the DeLorean to tow the box car to the forest. That night he had worked on the time train’s temporal mechanisms in an attempt to allow the box car, which he had now finished connecting to the train, to be carried into the present with the train. It seemed, by the time morning had come, Doc had succeeded and it would be simple to store the DeLorean inside and carry it back with him.

 Now all Doc worried about was Marty. Doc rubbed his greasy hands off on his tan pants and walked to the side of the train. Clara sat in the doorway and watched him as he approached her.

 “I think I’ve waited long enough, Clara,” Doc decided. “Marty’s been gone all night. What if he’s in serious trouble?”

 “I don’t know,” Clara shook her head. “But I don’t think it’s very safe for you to go searching for him. What if you’re arrested. What will I do? How will I get you free?”

 “Don’t worry, Clara. I won’t let that happen,” Doc said. “But I have to go. If Marty is in trouble, the sooner I find him the better.”

 “Then I’m going, too,” Clara climbed down the train’s steps. “I won’t let you go alone. If you get arrested, we’ll be arrested together.”

 “Clara, please,” Doc placed his hands on her arms and pushed her back towards the train. “I need you to watch the train.”

 “Emmett!” Clara cried. “You can’t go alone.”

 “Clara, listen --”

 “Hey, Doc!” Doc’s argument was interrupted by a familiar voice.

 Then, from the forest, appeared a figure and as it came closer Marty’s face became clear to Doc.

 “Thank God!” Doc rushed up to Marty. “Marty, where were you?”

 “My walkie-talkie broke!” Marty explained. “I didn’t want to try to find my way back to Hill Valley at night and the police were all over the place.”

 “Thank goodness you’re all right,” Doc sighed with relief. “Now we can return to the present.”

 “Yeah, let’s go!” a new voice squealed, and now a small boy appeared by Marty’s side.

 “Hey, kid, I thought I told you to wait back there until I talked to my friend,” Marty pushed the child away.

 Doc gasped and said: “Marty, do you know this child?”

 “Uhh, yeah, Doc. He and his brother helped me get back to Hill Valley. I didn’t know that Greensward place at all. I never would’ve gotten back here without their help.”

 “Yeah!” the younger boy smiled. “So are we going now, or what, Marty?”

 “Hold on a second, pal,” Marty said. “Let me talk to my friend in private, all right?”

 Marty led Doc away from the boy and to the side of the train.

 “Marty! What are you thinking?” Doc asked. “Did you promise these boys we’d take them with us?”

 “They wouldn’t help me get back to Hill Valley if I didn’t,” Marty shrugged his shoulders. “Listen, Doc, I know what you’re going to say, but I promised I’d ask anyway. I mean, what harm could it do if we took them back to 1985 with us? They’ve got nothing going for them here. Maybe we could help them get adopted or something.”

 “No!” Doc shook his head. “There are too many dangers! We can’t have children from a future that might not exist running around in the present!”

 “What do you mean a future that might not exist?” Marty asked.

 “I told you that the future isn’t written,” Doc explained. “This reality might not even exist. It is merely a reflection of what the future will be like if every person in the world continues on the same path they are headed now and that’s not one hundred percent certain to happen. Those children might not even exist thirty-five years from now!”

 Marty looked at the boy. His older brother now stood beside him, watching Marty’s and Doc’s every move. “They look pretty real to me, Doc.”

 “Marty, you know I can’t allow it,” Doc shook his head. “There are too many possible complications. I’m afraid you’re going to have to tell them that they can’t come.”

 “I had a feeling you’d say that,” Marty admitted. “But I can’t bring myself to break their hearts, Doc. You tell them. I mean, they don’t even know that we’re going to the past. Hell, they don’t even know I’m from 1985! They just want to get as far away from here as they possibly can.”

 Doc patted Marty on the back. “All right, Marty. I’ll do the honors.” Doc stepped up to the children and crouched down to look at them. “Boys, I’m afraid I cannot allow you to come with us.”

 “What? Why not?” the younger boy demanded. “Marty promised!”

 “Because they’re liars!” the older boy answered. “Grown-ups are liars!”

 “I’m sorry, but it’s just too dangerous,” Doc stood. “I’m afraid you’ll have to remain here.”

 “That’s not fair!” the younger brother cried. “You said you’d help us, Marty! You promised! You said you’d take us away!”

 “I told you. I told you, scab,” the older boy shook his head. “You can’t trust old people. They don’t care about us. They only care about themselves!”

 “But you promised ...” the younger boy trailed off.

 Doc returned to Marty’s side. “Doc, isn’t there something we can do?” Marty asked. “I hate to leave them like this.”

 “We have troubles of our own, Marty,” Doc said. “It’s best that we leave now before the police find us. We’ve caused enough trouble in this time as it is.”

 Doc stepped up to the DeLorean and opened the front door. Until now, Marty had been eyeing the children who remained in place, unmoving. Now Marty looked at the car and said: “Hey, Doc, where’d you get the DeLorean from?”

 “It was a present,” Doc smiled.

 “From who?” Marty asked.

 Doc shook his head. “It’s not important. Marty, do me a favor and open the door to the box car.”

 “Box car?” Marty looked to the direction Doc’s eyes were pointed and now saw the box car that was attached to the back of the train. “Jeez, Doc, what’d you guys do last night?”

 Marty stepped up to the back of the box car and attempted to slide the door open. It wouldn’t budge. “Hey, Doc, has this thing got a lock on it?”

 “Let me see,” Doc left the DeLorean’s side and stepped up to the box car. Doc jiggled the handle then, but the door didn’t open. Then Doc pulled the futuristic switchblade from his pocket and held stuck the pick into the key hole. “Forgot to pick up the keys.”

 After a moment the lock was picked and Doc slid the box car’s door open. Doc returned to the DeLorean and got inside. Now, Marty saw, the children had disappeared. He really wished they could have helped the children, but the Doc was right. It was just too dangerous.

 Doc started the DeLorean’s engine and flipped on the hover circuits. The car floating in the air, Doc maneuvered the car in reverse until it was inside the box car. Then he turned off the hover circuits and climbed out. Marty closed the box car and Doc took the liberty of locking the door with the switchblade.

 “Shouldn’t be a problem now,” Doc smiled as he pocketed the switchblade. “Ready?”

 Marty nodded emphatically. It was about time they got back to the present. “Get in,” Doc said and Marty obeyed. Clara was already inside, sitting in the seat on the left wall of the train.

 “Clara,” Marty smiled as he sat in the seat opposite her. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

 “Well, thank you for helping me, Marty,” Clara nodded. “I’m sure Emmett couldn’t have done it without you.”

 “No problem,” Marty smiled.

 Doc entered the train, carrying with him some crumbled leaves, twigs and other forest debris. He dumped it into the fusion container and screwed the lid back on. He went to the back of the train and pulled another gray cube from the panel in the back. He placed it in the incinerator and set the destination time.

 “Last time departed was 1:08 AM Monday morning so I’ll take us back at 1:30. That should give us enough leeway between the time we left,” Doc said as he set the time.

 Then Doc switched on the time circuits. Bang! A spark exploded from the control panel and the lights on the roof of the train dimmed and faded out.

 “Damn!” Doc cried and placed his finger in his mouth.

 “Emmett, are you all right?” Clara stood and came to her husband’s side.

 “Fine, dear,” Doc pulled his finger from his mouth and shook his hand.

 “What’s up, Doc?” Marty was now by the scientist’s side as well.

 Doc opened the main panel and all three peered in. All the gizmos and chips that stared at Marty were like a foreign language. He wasn’t very mechanically inclined, especially with time travel mechanics. Doc peered in and looked around.

 “Aha!” Doc frowned and pulled from the cords a small fuse and examined it. “This fuse’s burned.”

 “Can you fix it?” Marty asked.

 “No need,” Doc decided. “I’ll reroute the current so it goes directly into the drive gear. It’ll only last one trip though, but I should be able to repair it better once we return to 1985. I don’t think we should wait around in this time any longer than we need to.”

 Marty nodded. The police were probably still looking for them. The Doc did as he had told them and closed the panel. Then he flipped on the time circuits and the front panel made a few whirling noises and the lights came on as before (thought the lights on the roof of the train remained off).

 Marty and Clara returned to their seats and Doc turned on the hover circuits. From his pocket he pulled a remote control which was labeled “BOX CAR HOVER CIRCUITS”. He pushed the “ON” button on the control and pushed forward on the train’s hover circuits. He watched the “REAR VIEW” panel and saw the box car float into the air along with the train. The train ascended higher into the air until they were out of the forest and Hill Valley was a blurred mass below them.

 Doc pushed the accelerate lever and they chugged forward. He turned the steering wheel and the train about-faced. Then Doc pushed forward on the accelerate lever again and the train zoomed forward, gaining speed. The walls rattled again and Marty looked up with worry in his eyes. Was this thing really safe? It made him wish they had the good old DeLorean time machine back, but that was a thing of the past. It was a shame, too, because Marty had grown pretty attached to the old car.

 Blue light engulfed the exterior of the train and Marty could feel them changing times. It was the same feeling you got when you went down a steep hill very quickly in your car and your stomach seemed to laugh (or scream) with delight.

 At the moment the train had hit 88 miles per hour and 2020 was once again a distant time.

Three sonic booms sounded and then the train appeared in the sky, hauling the box car behind it. Doc turned the wheel and the train spun around so it now faced the forest which they had ascended from. The train floated across the sky until the forest was below them and there was a clear path. Then Doc pushed the hover lever back and the train descended into the forest and landed with a bump. Doc climbed out of his seats and opened the doors to the train and everyone climbed out.

 Stepping out of the train, Doc stared up at the night’s sky, a few white stars staring back at him, and smiled. “It feels good to be back home again.”

 Clara placed her hand on Doc’s elbow. “Don’t you think we should be heading home soon, Emmett?”

 Doc was pulled from his reminiscence and looked at Clara. “I’ll have to repair that fuse first. I should have the proper materials at my lab. We’ll get a good night’s rest and then return to 1886.”

 “Hey, Doc, if you need any help moving, give me a call,” Marty placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’ll bring the truck over.”

 “Uhh ... Yes, Marty of course,” Doc nodded to the teenager.

 Clara looked at Doc anxiously but Doc shrugged his shoulder as Marty stepped away from them towards the back of the train.

 “Guess you got a new DeLorean, huh Doc?” Marty smiled. “You going to make that one into a time machine, too?”

 “I sincerely doubt it, Marty,” Doc followed him. “I really should’t have a flying car in 1985. Then again, you never know when it can become useful ... I’ll probably end up dismantling the train as well.”

 Clara smiled at those words and Marty said: “Yeah, I don’t blame you, Doc. Once you guys get moved into 1985 you won’t even need a time machine anymore, right?”

 “Well, acutually, Marty --” Clara began.

 “That’s right!” Doc interrupted. Clara looked at him with perturb but Doc didn’t avoided her stare. “I’ll leave the train in the forest until the morning. This way no one will see it. I’ll take us back to my place and you can take your truck home.”

 Marty nooded as Doc moved quickly to the box car door. He pulled out the electronic switchblade and picked the lock. Then he slid the door open and, in the corner of the box car, sat the two future children.

 “Great Scott!”

 Marty looked over Doc’s shoulder. “What’s the matter, Doc?” Seeing the children Marty’s mouth fell open. “What are they doing here?”

 The older boy stood. “Is the trip done already? I thought you said you were going far away!”

 “Yeah. We couldn’t have gone very far,” the younger boy stood.

 “I thought you told them they couldn’t come!” Marty looked at Doc.

 “I did!” Doc returned.

 “He did,” the older boy nodded. “But we thought we could come anyway. Just because you took us with you didn’t mean you’d have to watch over us. We can take care of ourselves. Come on, scab.”

 The two boys climbed out of the box car.

 “Hey, hold on,” Marty jogged after the boys. “You guys can’t go.”

 “Why not?” the older boy demanded.

 Marty looked at Doc. Obviously this wasn’t his field of expertice.

 “Listen,” Doc approached the children. “Tomarrow, after I’ve repaired the train I have to return you to where you came from.”

 “Return to where?” the older boy said. “We didn’t even go anywhere!”

 “I don’t think there’s any other way to explain it to them, Doc,” Marty was now by the scientist’s side. “This train is a time machine and we’re in the year 1985.”

 The two boys looked at each other with awe. Then smiles spread on their faces and they both burst out laughing.

 “You don’t have to believe us, but it’s the truth, and we’re sending you back to 2020 after Doc gets the time train fixed,” Marty told them.

 Doc climbed into the box car and got inside the DeLorean. He started the engine, turned on the hover circuits, and back the DeLorean out and settled it on the ground.

 “If this isn’t the future, then how come you guys have flying trains and cars?” the older boy asked.

 “The car came from the future,” Marty explained.

 Doc climbed out of the DeLorean and walked up to Marty. “Forget it, Marty. Let’s just get the kids back to my place. I and Clara will watch over them until I can finish repairs on the train. Get in.”

 It was a tight fit. Clara and Marty had to practically share the passenger seat and hold the children on their laps. Doc took the car back to his lab and parked it outside by Marty’s truck and they all climbed out.

 Marty took his keys from his pocket and headed toward his truck. “Doc, if you need any help with the kids, I’m free after school tomarrow. Me and Jen can look after them. She’s pretty good with kids.”

 “Thanks, Marty,” Doc said as he ushered the kids towards his home. “But I hope to have the train completed by then. Hopefully I’ll have all the necessary instruments I’ll need here.”

 “Sure thing, Doc,” Marty climbed in his truck, started the engine, and backed out of the driveway, disapearing in the streets’ shadows beyond.

 “Emmett, why didn’t you tell Marty we’re not staying in 1985?” Clara demanded after he was gone.

 “Clara, please, not now,” Doc headed toward the garage’s door. “I’ve got a lot of things to do. Get the kids.”

 Clara rounded up the kids who had been examining the playing in the DeLorean, pretending that they were driving it.

 “Don’t do that,” Clara commanded. “What if you accidently start this beast? You could get hurt.”

 “I’ve drifted a car before,” the older boy said as she led them to Doc’s lab. “It’s not that hard.”

 Clara was flustered by that comment. She hadn’t done anything in a car before and here, a seven year-old boy knew more than she did. She really hated the future and to wait anther day for her husband to repair the time machine would be torture. She couldn’t wait to return home to a time when things were so much more simple.

 Once inside, Clara closed the door behind her. “So this is your home in 1985?”

 Doc nodded as he rushed to a shelf and reached up to a pull a box down. He pulled it open and began searching through the mess inside.

 “What a dump!” the older boy blurted out.

 “Well, it could use a woman’s touch,” Clara agreed. “You actually lived here, Emmett?”

 “Yep,” Doc nodded and pulled a tool box from the box. “Let’s see.” Now he opened the tool box and dug through that. “Aha!” Doc pulled a bag with a few different fuses inside. He dumped them into his hand and sorted through them. “Damn! It appears that that particular fuse hasn’t been invented yet.”
 Doc stood, his brain going a mile a minute. “If used the AGU fuse I could reroute the electrical current ... Perhaps add a few more attachments and have the repairs done withen twenty-four hourse.”

 “Twenty-four hourse?” Clara asked.

 “Perhaps less,” Doc thought. “It depends on how easilly I can make the future technology and technology of 1985 work together. This is all theoretical. If I can’t get it to work I may have to come up with another plan.”

 Clara lowered her head. She hated being stuck in the future, but soon they would be gone. She looked at one of the many clocks Doc had in his home. They all said it was 2:11 AM. She yawned. She had slept some in the train, but not much. She had been worried about Emmett until he had returned to the box car a few hours earlier. Then, as he was working on the train, she found it even more difficult to sleep.

 “Time for bed, boys,” Clara declared.

 “Bed?” the younger boy asked. “We just woke up.”

 “Well, it’s two o’ clock in the morning here and that means it’s time for bed,” Clara said. She looked around the room. On the left wall was a small, twin bed and on the right wall was a queen bed. Clara led the boys to the smaller bed. “Can you share the same bed?”

 “Ew, no!” the younger boy grimaced.

 “Well, I’m afraid you’re going to have to,” Clara said.

 “But we’re not tired!” the older boy objected. “We already went to bed last night! Why do we have to go to sleep again?”

 “You just do,” Clara placed her hand on the back of her head. Now she looked at Doc. “Aren’t you coming to bed, sweet-heart?”

 Doc shook his head, still digging through the tool box. “Not yet. I want to get everything together. Tuck in the boys and you go to sleep yourself. I won’t be long.”

 Clara nodded. She had trouble forcing the boys to get into bed and when they finally did and Clara had found comfort in the other bed, the boys were up again as restless as ever. She heard them as they stood and ran over to her husband.

 “We can’t sleep!” the younger boy announced. “What’re you doing?”

 “Working,” Doc explained. “I’d like to have the train fixed by tomarrow evening so I can send you kids home to the future.”

 “Is this really 1985?” the older boy asked.

 “Novermber 4, 1985,” Doc nodded.

 “Where’d you get a time machine from?” the younger boy asked. “I’ve never seen one before.”

 “I made it,” Doc said and pulled some tools from the box. “Aren’t you tired?”

 “No,” the younger boy said. “We slept all night.”

 Doc sure was beat. He hadn’t slept a wink since Clara had been aprehended by the police in 2020 and he still couldn’t sleep, not with his brain formulating all sorts of ideas of ways to repair the train with 1985 parts. And, at the same time, it was trying to decide how he’d start dismantling the thing once he was finished with it. Which led his mind to wander to what he was going to do about his best friend and his wife.

 She didn’t want to live in 1985. She had agreed to it before, stating that it would be like living in a Jules Verne novel, and she would go anywhere with him. But now that they had been to the future, Clara didn’t seem so enthused as before. When they first arrived, Doc easilly spotted the disinclination in her eyes and it grew with every new futuristic sight they beheld. Doc could understand her worry, but why couldn’t Clara see the bigger picture? What if when they had children they grew up to be outlaws. It was a horrible thought, but it could happen. And then, what if they killed someone, say Marty’s great-grandfather. Then Marty wouldn’t be born and Doc would never end up in 1885 where he met Clara and so they couldn’t have children. What a paradox it could cause!

 Couldn’t she understand something so simple?

 Doc picked up some tools from the ground and stood. He turned and walked to a table and dumped the tools on top, the boys follwing him from behind as he did so. Doc turned around and looked at the boys.

 “So, it seems you’re not going to be sleeping much tonight?” Doc smiled at them.

 Clara sat up in bed and wearilly made her way over to them. “What are we going to do, Emmett? I haven’t slept all night.”

 “What is there to do?” Doc asked. “Except entertain them until they fall asleep. It’s not fair to force them to sleep after they’ve already had a good night’s rest.”

 “A lot of things about time travel aren’t very fair,” Clara said. “But I think you’re right.”

 Doc nodded and picked out a piece of paper from the table and found a pencil. “I’m going to write up some plans for the train. Do you mind watching the boys?”

 Clara nodded her head. She liked children, but not at two o’ clock in the morning when all she wanted to do was sleep. But after tomarrow the boys would be back in their own time and she and her husband could live peacefully in the year 1886.

“Yeah, Doc, I just got home,” Marty tossed his back pack onto the floor of his bedroom and sat down on his bed, holding his phone reciever to his ear. “My parents are at the Twin Pines Mall for my old man’s book signing so they won’t be home for a couple of hours. You can bring the kids over if you want? How’s the repairs to the train coming?”

 “Fine, Marty,” Doc said on the other line. “It won’t be long now, but the kids are driving Clara crazy. I just contacted her at home with the walkie talkie and she’s ready for a break. I’m going to go over there now and drop her and the boys over at your place.”

 “Hey, Doc, Clara doesn’t have to come if she doesn’t want to,” Marty said. “I can take care of the kids. I’ll call Jen and she’ll help me out.”

 “I don’t think Clara would like that,” Doc returned. “She’s already worried that something might happen to the boys and she wants to make sure we return them safely to their own time. But you’ll help her take care of them, right?”

 “Will do, Doc,” Marty nodded.

 “Great. We’ll be there soon,” Doc said and hung up.
 Marty returned the receiver to the phone. Maybe he’d better not call Jen after all if Clara was coming over. Anyway, it would just be for a few hours unil Doc got the train fixed and the boys would be back in their own time. It was a shame they couldn’t stay in 1985, but Doc was right. They didn’t belong and it would probably be best if they found help from someone in their own year.

 A little while later Marty heard the knock on the door and opened the door to see Clara, Doc and the boys. The boys rushed in and the younger one grabbed hold around Marty’s leg.

 “Hey, Marty!” he smiled up at the teenager. “Is this your house?”

 Marty nodded a reply. The older boy was looking around at everything. “The past really stinks,” he said. “You have to use your hands for everything!”

 “It could be worse,” Marty said. “Hey, Doc. Clara.”

 Doc and Clara entered and Clara went straight for the older boy. “Now don’t be rude. You’re guests here, you know.”

 “How much longer until you’ve fixed the train, Doc?” Marty asked his friend.

 “Not long,” Doc decided. “The repairs are going fine. I should have it finished before the end of the day.”

 “That’s great news,” Marty smiled. “So you guys will probably be moved back here by tomarrow, huh?”

 Clara looked at Doc sharply, but Doc gave a simple not to Marty. She released an agitated sigh and returned to the older boy, motioning him towards the living room.

 “I’d better get back to the train now,” Doc said. “Clara has the walkie talkie, so if you need anything you can contact me.”

 Marty waved a goodbye to Doc and watched him climb in the DeLorean and, looking out each window for on-lookers, he turned on the hover circuits and floated away into the sky. Marty closed the door and turned to Clara. “Have the kids been keeping you busy?”

 “Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Clara smiled at Marty. “I used to take care of my younger brother. I suppose you could say I’m a naturaly mother. Now that I know I’ll actually have my own children, I can’t wait for the day to come.”

 “Kids are a lot of hard work,” Marty said and watched as the little boy ran around the room. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it.”

 “You’re going to have to,” Clara reminded him. “Besides, I don’t think anyone’s really ready to have children. But when they’re born, suddenly, you’re a parent.”

 “Yeah, well, that’s pretty far off for me,” Marty said.

 “Marty, I’m hungry!” the younger boy said as he searched the room. “You have anything to eat.”

 “Didn’t they have lunch?” Marty asked Clara.

 She shook her head. “Emmett doesn’t have much in the way of family meals in his home. Did he really used to live there?”

 “For as long as I’ve known him,” Marty said. “He used to have a lot of money, but I guess he blew it all trying to make the time machine. I don’t really know much about it since it all happened before I was born.”

 “He told me about some of it, but for some reason he doesn’t like to talk about his family much,” Clara said. “I wonder why?”

 Marty walked towards the kitchen and the younger boy followed behind him. “I think Doc’s naturally a secretive guy. He just doens’t say anything unless he thinks it’s important to say. Sometimes I wish Jen would take up the same dialect.”

 Clara looked at him sharply, obviously not amused.

 “Sorry,” Marty grinned. “I love her, I do, but you know the way guys think.”

 “Ignorantly?” Clara asked him.

 “That’s it,” Marty nodded and he entered the kitchen.

 He prepared some television dinners for the kids in the microwave. “It’ll be done in twenty minutes.”

 “Why does it take your stupid hydrator so long?” the older boy asked, looking at Marty’s microwave.

 “It’s not a hydrator, it’s a microwave,” Marty explained.

 A microwave? A hydrator? Clara shook her head. How could an entire meal be cooked so quickly?

 When the meal was cooked the kids sat down to eat at the dinner table. They yawned every now and then, obviously tired, but reluctant to sleep in the afternoon. Marty and Clara sat on the sofa in the living room.

 “TV?” Marty asked Clara.

 “Excuse me?” she asked.

 “I was wondering if you wanted to watch televison?” Marty picked up the remote and flipped on the television.

 “Oh!” Clara covered her ears as the sound from the television erupted into the room. She looked at the colorful screen with a picture of a horse running across it, straight towards the screen. Clara fell off the couch and ducked.

 “Hey, Clara, it’s okay,” Marty said. “It’s not real. It’s just a picture, see?”

 Then Marty turned off the television and the screen went black again.

At this point I decided to rewrite these chapters. The story just didn't seem to be going anywhere or accomplishing much ...