When the Clock Strikes Twelve

::12::

   "Marty, what are you doing, saying you're gonna meet Tannen?" Doc asked.

   "Hey, Doc, Doc, don't worry about it," Marty replied, taking Rosie's hand from where she had her arms crossed. Even through her frustration, she couldn't deny the fact that him holding her hand was the most comfortable feeling. "Monday morning, 8:00 am. We're gonna be gone, right?"

   "Theoretically, yes. But what if the train's late?" Doc replied.

   "See," Rosie said, turning to him with her voice full of sass. "I love you but you've gotta stop getting yourself into trouble."

   "I love you too. Late?" Marty said, ignoring the rest of her statement.

   "We'll discuss this later," Doc replied, noticing Clara behind him.

   "No, we'll discuss it now," Marty said.

   "Thank you for your gallantry, Mr. Eastwood," Clara said gratefully.

   "No. Hey, ma'am," he replied, tipping his hat with the hand that wasn't holding Rosie's. She leaned her head on his shoulder, exhausted. Even though she was mad that he had put himself in danger, she was still proud of him.

   "Had you not interceded, Emmett might have been shot," she said.

"Marty-Uh, Clint, I'm gonna take Clara home," Doc said.

"Good night, Doc, Clara," Marty and Rosie said goodbye.

"You set him straight Mr. Eastwood. Glad somebody finally got the gumption to stand up to that son of a bitch," a man said, pulling Marty and Rosie aside. As others began to greet him, he felt overwhelmed. One man handed him a holster belt. When they turned around, Seamus McFly was in front of them.

   "You had him, Mr. Eastwood. You could've just walked away, and nobody would've thought the less of you for it," Seamus said. "All it would've been was words, hot air from a buffoon. Instead you let him rile you, into playing his game, his way, by his rules."

   "Seamus, relax. I know what I'm doin'," Marty replied.

   "He reminds me of poor Martin," Maggie said.

   "Who?" Marty asked as Rosie linked her arm in his. The four continued to walk forwards.

   "Me brother," Seamus responded.

   "Wait a minute wait a minute. You have a brother named Martin McFly?" Marty asked.

   "Had a brother," Seamus replied. "Martin used to let men provoke him into fightin'. He was concerned that people would think him a coward if he refused. That's how he got a Bowie knife shoved through his belly in a saloon in Virginia City. Never considered the future, poor Martin, God rest his soul."

   "Sure'n I hope you're considerin' the future of yourself and Ms. Locke here, Mr. Eastwood," Maggie said.

   "I think about it all the time," Marty said once she left, before turning to look at Rosie, who gave him the widest smile.

   "Sweetheart, just so you know, I never believed in reincarnation but now I'm starting to rethink it," she joked. Marty rolled his eyes, grabbing her hands in his.

   "Come on, let's go home. It's been a long day," he said. As the two walked to Doc's house, they were unaware that their friend was not yet there.

"How do you think Doc's doing?" Rosie asked once they arrived, noticing that he was not.

"I don't know," Marty replied, sitting down and removing his hat and jacket. Rosie sat next to him, still wearing her uncomfortable dress.

"I hope it's going well," she said.

"I can't wait to go home," Marty said, looking at the roof of the house.

"Me too," Rosie replied, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Are you glad we did this?" Marty asked.

"Did what?" She replied.

"Time travelled," he clarified. Rosie thought about it.

"I couldn't have asked for anything better," she said. "I remember my parents dying in a car crash and living with my aunt and uncle. But now, I can remember them staying home during that storm. I can make all of these great memories with my mom and dad now. I didn't have that before."

"Yeah. My parents seem so... in love now," Marty said. "That wasn't the case the first time."

"And most importantly, we've learned so much," Rosie said.

"Like?" He asked her.

"Like, we belong together in the grand scheme of things. We aren't just your typical high school relationship."

"Come on, princess. When has anything we've ever done been 'typical'?" He asked. She laughed, looking at him with love and appreciation.

"You're right," she said, lightly punching his arm. He leaned down and captured her lips into a soft kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too," he replied.

Meanwhile, Doc and Clara were having their own moment, sitting under the stars with Clara's telescope.

"And that crater in the middle northwest, the one that's out there all by itself like a star burst?" Clara said.

"Uh-huh?" Doc replied, intrigued.

"That ones called Copernicus," she said. "Listen to me, I feel like I'm teaching school."

"No, no, no, please continue the lesson," Doc said. "I never found lunar geography so fascinating. You're quite knowledgeable."

"When I was eleven, I had diphtheria. I was quarantined for three months. So my father brought this telescope and put it next to my bed so I could see everything out the window," she said with a sigh. "Emmett, do you think we'll ever be able to travel to the moon the way we travel across the country on trains?"

"Definitely, although not for another 84 years and not on trains," he said, which Clara found oddly specific. "We'll have space vehicles-capsules sent aloft with rockets, devices that create giant explosions, explosions so powerful that they-," he said as if he were telling a story to a small child.

"That they break the pull of the earth's gravity and send the projectile through outer space," she said. When she finished, she smiled widely. "Emmett! I read that book too. You're quoting Jules Verne, the Earth to the Moon.

   "You've read Jules Verne?" Doc asked, coming to the realization.

   "I adore Jules Verne," she replied.

   "So do I. Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea- my absolutely favorite. The first time I read that when I was a little boy, I wanted to meet Captain Nemo!"

   Clara laughed. "Don't tease, Emmett. You couldn't have read that when you were a little boy. It was only published ten years ago," she corrected.

   "O-oh, yes, we'll, I meant it made me feel like a boy. I never met a woman who liked Jules Verne before," he said.

   "I never, ever met a man like you before."

   The two stared at each other, before leaning in for a kiss.

   Later that night, Rosie and Marty were tucked under a thin blanket, cuddling and fast asleep. By looking at the young couple, you wouldn't be able to tell that they were in the wrong time, or in the wrong clothes. But you could tell that they were made for each other. And that was what mattered in the end.