Chapter 3
THE next thing Jennifer recalled was that she found herself in bed in a dark room. Looking around she noticed a figure of a male in the shadows. "Dad." she asked, "Is that you?" "There, there." said the figure-it sounded more like Marty than her father, "Just relax. You've been asleep for over an hour now." "I had the worse nightmare." said Jennifer, "I dreamt that I went someplace to buy Marty a get well gift and when I returned home, nobody knew who I was-not even Marty. It was terrible." "Well, you're safe and sound now." said the figure, "Right next to good ol' Doc Brown's lab." "Doc Brown's lab?" exclaimed Jennifer as her eyes popped wide open. The lights came on as she sat up. She looked over to see that the figure was Marty. "Marty !" exclaimed Jennifer. Marty ignored here as he called out "Doc! She's awake." Doc came into the room wheeling in a strange contraption. He was also wearing a strange helmet. "Very good." said Doc. He took a suction cup that was attached to the machine and stuck it on her forehead. "I'm gonna read your thoughts." said Doc, "You've come from a far away place." "No." said Jennifer. "Not another word." said Doc, "You're here to sell Avon products." "No." said Jennifer. "Not another word." said Doc, "You're a descendant of mine from the future." "I'm from this year." said Jennifer yanking off the suction cup from her forehead. "I went back into to time to buy a get well gift for Marty." she went onto say, "And when I came back here to the present, nobody knew I am-not even Marty. Now, I need your help to tell me what I did to change history so I couldn't be born." Doc gave Jennifer a hard stare. Then, he said "My God! Do you know what this means?" He reached for the strap from his funny helmet saying "It means, after all these years, this damn thing still doesn't work!" He removed his helmet from his head and set it down on a table. Jennifer got out of bed and went over to her purse nearby and produced a picture. "All right." she said, "I'll show you two that I'm telling you both the truth." She showed it first to Marty then to Doc. "This is a picture of me and Marty." she said. Marty looked at her in disbelief. Then, Jennifer pulled out the brooch that Marty gave her a couple of months ago. "Remember this, Marty?" she asked. "No, I don't." said Marty. "It's the brooch you bought me for Christmas." said Jennifer, "You went back in time to spend six months in the Navy just to save up enough money to buy it." Doc gave Jennifer a hard stare. "He hasn't been allowed to time travel since that incident in 2015." he said. "What incident?" asked Jennifer. "Never mind that." said Doc, "Never mind that." Then, she remembered. "Is that the incident where Marty bought that Almanac?" she asked. "Great Scott." exclaimed Doc, "You know all about that?" "Yes Dr. Brown." said Jennifer, "I know that Marty bought the Almanac so he could win at gambling, that you talked him out of it, that old Biff." Doc and Marty looked at each other in disbelief. "This is nuts." said Marty. "That's not all." said Jennifer, "I know that old Biff overheard your idea, Marty. And that he got the book, stole the time machine and went back in time to give it to his younger self in the past." Doc and Marty looked at each other again. This time, they were startled. "Now wait a minute." said Marty, "Wait a minute. How could old Biff get the book and steal the time machine?" "He's right." said Doc, "Right after I put the book in the garbage, me and Marty returned to 1985. And he hasn't been in the time machine since. And I haven't been back to that year either." Jennifer was puzzled. "Dr. Brown." said Jennifer, "You and Marty go straight back to 1985. You went to Hilldale to pick me up because..." "Great Scott!" exclaimed Doc, "Are you saying that you were riding with us?" "Yes." said Jennifer, "You had to take me with you two. I saw the time machine and you couldn't leave me behind knowing the fact that there was a time machine. Once I was in the DeLorean, you used that sleep inducer on me. When I woke up, I was in my future home." She turned to Marty saying "Our future home, Marty." "You're my future wife?" asked Marty. "Yes." said Jennifer. Doc nodded in disagreement. "Doctor Brown." said Jennifer, "Don't you remember picking me up after I found myself there?" "No." said Doc, "I don't." "But you did." said Jennifer, "You and Marty followed the police car that took me to my future home, told me to meet you at the front door. And as I did, I ran into my future self and passed out." She turned back to Marty saying "The next thing I remember was you waking me with a kiss on the porch swing of my house in my own time. I thought I had the worse nightmare until you saw our future home. That's when I realized that it wasn't a dream after all." "Jennifer." said Doc, "You said we followed the car that took you to your future home and that you passed out?" "Yes." said Jennifer. Doc turned to Marty and said "If what she said is true, it would've taken two of us to carry her away from her future property." "Just like it took the two of us to get her into the car after we rendered her unconscience." said Marty. They both turned to look at Jennifer as Doc said "Long enough for Old Biff to get into the car and drive back to the past with that damn book." Then Doc said to Jennifer "Can you tell us what happened after you returned with us back to this time period?" "Well, Dr. Brown", said Jennifer, "I don't remember. I was asleep the whole night but what I learned from Marty, we came back to an alternate 1985. Marty's father was murdered, his mother was married to Biff, and Biff became a billianare as a result of making his entire fortune from that book. You and Marty left me behind to go back in time to get that book from Biff, when you two finally got the book, Doc was in the DeLorean, it was a stormy night, Marty burned the book, 1985 changed back to the real 1985 transforming around me. But back there in the past, you, Dr. Brown were in the DeLorean which was suddenly hit by lightening sending you back to 1885." "1885?" exclaimed Doc, "Jennifer, what year did we travel to, to get the book from Biff." "1955." said Jennifer, "November 12, 1955." "November 12, 1955?" exclaimed Marty, "Doc, that's the night you sent me back to the future." "Great Scott!" said Doc. At the same time, Jennifer began to remember something. "Dr. Brown." she asked, "Where's Jules and Verne?" Doc looked at Jennifer and asked "You mean those two boys that came with you?" "Yes." said Jennifer. "Their out there in the lab." said Doc. "Can I see them?" she asked. "Sure." said Doc, "Follow me." She did. In the next room was the old lab in Doc's old place-the same place that was next to the Burger King for years. The same Burger King that she was supposed to be working at by now. In the middle of the lab sat-not just one but-two DeLoreans. But the steam engine train and the limousine was gone. Jennifer looked at the two cars-startled. Two DeLoreans? she asked herself, Where's the time train and the limousine? Then, she saw Jules and Verne, safe and sound. "Jennifer." said Jules. The two boys approached Jennifer who embraced them. "Are two alright." she asked. The two nodded affirmatively. "Jennifer." said Jules, "Dad doesn't know us." Jennifer turned to Doc saying "Doctor Brown, these are your two boys, Jules and Verne." Doc looked at the boys saying "I don't know them. Who's their mother?" Jennifer went back to her purse and returned with a picture. "Right here." she said. Doc looked at the picture in disbelief. "Great Scott!" he said, "That's me with Mary Steenburgen. What am I, a stalker?" "No." said Jennifer, "That's your wife, Clara. And your two boys." Doc studied the photo saying "Mediocre photographic fakery. They shave the top of my 'wife's' head off."
"Dr. Brown." said Jennifer, "I'm telling the truth. And I need your help to find out what I did to change the past." Then tell me, alternate reality girl." said Doc, "Who's the President of the United States in your realithy?" "Ronald Reagan." said Jennifer. "Ronald Reagan?" exclaimed Doc, "In your reality too?" "Yes." said Jennifer. Doc and Marty looked at each other. "She's not really being imaginative is she." said Doc. Marty nodded in agreement. Then, Doc turned to Jennifer saying "I heard some practical jokes but this one takes the cake." He pointed to the door saying "Good night, alternate reality girl." Jennifer had to think of something fast. Then, it hit her. "Wait a minute, Dr. Brown." she said, "What about the jars of poison that you have." Doc paused for a minute before asking "What jars of poison?" "The jars of poison that you swiped froom Howard Hughes." said Jennifer. Doc stood there for one moment before asking "How did..." Stopping in mid-speach he looked at Marty before aproaching Jennifer to mutter quietly to her saying "How did you know that?" "Marty told me." said Jennifer. Doc looked at Marty again before saying "He doesn't know anything about this." "In my reality, he does." said Jennifer, "In your words 'a set of circumstances' necessitated it." "What set of circumstances?" asked Doc. "It's a long story." said Jennifer. "Then tell me this, alternate reality girl." said Doc, "If the me in your reality was in the Old West, how did you know about it?" "Marty told me." said Jennifer. "Marty?" exclaimed Doc. "How?" "You wrote him a letter." "A let..." said Doc, "Great Scott." He turned to Marty saying "Marty, I think it's getting late for you. You'd better get home." "Doc." said Marty, "It's not that late." "Just leave." said Doc, "I would like to be alone with her." "Doc." said Marty, "Are you sure?" "I'll be fine." assured Doc, "Don't worry. Good night." "Good night, Doc." said Marty. Turning to Jennifer, he said "Good night...uh? Your name again." "Jennifer." said Jennifer. "Jennifer." repeated Marty. He also said good night to Jules and Verne before leaving. After Marty left, Doc turned to Jennifer saying "Jennifer, there seems to be some truth in your story. I know not how. But, I feel it. And I would like to help you." "You would?" asked Jennifer. "Yes." said Doc, "But we'll do this first thing in the morning." "The morning?" asked Jennifer. "We have too." said Doc, "Your two young friends seems to be tired. I think a fresh start in the morning would help." Jennifer looked at the two boys and saw that he was right. "Jennifer." continued Doc, "You and the boys had a long day. All three of you need some rest. You'll all spend the night here. I'll set up two cots for the boys. I've got a couple of sleeping bags in storage. Jennifer, you could have my bed tonight. I'll sleep on the couch." Jennifer smiled saying "Thank you, Doc." "You're welcome." said Doc. After breaking out the cots and sleeping bags, Doc gave the boys some hand-me-down pajamas from the 1920's and '30's. Then, he gave Jennifer one of his old shirts. After the boys changed out of their clothes into Doc's lendings they got ready for bed. Doc grabbed a pillow from his room and went out to the couch. Jennifer went into Doc's room, closed the door and changed into Doc's shirt. Before retiring to bed Jennifer peered through the window. It showed the Burger King that she was supposed to be working there tonight. She saw Edda getting into her car and driving off. One moment a friend. The next moment, due to a bizaar set of circumstances, a complete stranger. Jennifer got under the covers and turned off the lights. It was going to be a long night.
End of Chapter 3