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Chapter Three

Marty McFly rubbed the back of his head trying to regain his vision. His eyes desperately searched the deck. The DeLorean was gone. There was only a trail of smoke left behind in the air.

"Aw Christ! Jesus Christ!"

Clara and Jules arrived with the passengers. Doc and Jennifer ran outside. Einstein barked from within.

"Oh no. What happened?" Clara cried as she climbed aboard.

Marty could barely stand up. His head throbbed. "They hit something and it just went…they didn’t mean to…it just went up and…it’s gone."

Jules helped Helga and Fabrizio inside to get warm. They couldn’t comprehend anything they had seen in the past few hours. Despite the horror of Titanic’s demise, the vanishing of the flying car was absolutely absurd and unexplainable.

"Where are they?" Jennifer looked out towards the stars and smoke in horror.

"You see, when you first disappeared after Jack vanished from the picture, we went to go check on your birth so we showed up several days before you were born. But neither you, your mother, nor your grandfather Dawson even existed. So we had to go back further into your family’s records. And we were able to trace everything back to your great-grandmother and father. Then we also noted that the di Rossis were also missing." Doc paused for a moment. "There’s more. We also recorded a television special with a man named Brock Lovett detailing his dive missions and retelling the story of Rose Dawson Calvert who apparently was Rose DeWitt Bukater. Something happened and only Rose survived, so we came back to 1912 to rescue them."

Marty was now on his feet. Jennifer grabbed him by the shirt. "Do you mean to tell me that you lost my teenage great-grandparents in 1968?"

"Yeah, kind of."

Jennifer fainted and fell back. Luckily Jules just emerged from the cabin in enough time to catch her. They carried her back inside.

Marty coaxed her awake. She was fine, but disoriented. "You all right?"

"Yes."

"Heavy stuff, huh?"

She nodded and even managed to laugh. He hadn’t used the word heavy in years.

They carried her back in and set her down and tried to explain everything to Helga and Fabrizio. Unfortunately, Helga could not understand a single word they were saying and not one of them could translate for her. Fabri tried with a multitude of hand gestures, but failed to communicate anything but his own panic and bewilderment.

Doc and Clara sat out on deck alone.

"April 4, 1968. One horrible day to another."

"Well, they must be okay somehow because if something did go wrong even after they were there for years it would have altered the future. Right?"

"Yes, that is right." He got up.

"Where are you going? Emmit?"

"To check our plutonium supply. Most of it was on the DeLorean!"

*****

The Brown Mansion was silent. It was nine o’clock in the morning on April 5, 1968. Rose DeWitt Bukater slowly opened her eyes and sat up. Looking around she realized the strange events of the day before had not been a dream. She groaned. Surrounded by people dying and helpless to being stranded in an incomprehensible situation.

Being lost at sea was one thing. Being lost in time was another.

Luckily Jack hadn’t been a dream. He was there on the couch with her, sleeping under her. Lost in thought she rested her head back on his chest listening to his heartbeat. In this great and awful situation she had something so wonderful and so precious. She was thankful for him and they would pull out of this together. Even when sleeping he lit the room far better than the sunlight. She brushed his hair out of his face.

Then she realized there was no one else in sight. The house was empty. Something was most assuredly wrong. Besides being blasted fifty-six years into the future. Getting up slowly, making sure not to wake Jack, she wandered through the house.

"Hello? Anybody here?" She looked towards Jack again. Still asleep. "Hello? Doctor Brown?"

She walked back over to the sleeping Jack. On the coffee table next to them she saw a note.

Small emergency. Very sorry to leave you like this, but there have been several major issues to arise while you were sleeping. You have free use of the bathrooms and guestrooms if you prefer a more comfortable place to sleep. There has been food left out for you on the kitchen table. Your old clothes and clean ones have been left out for you too. DO NOT USE ANY APPLIANCES OR MACHINES AND DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE UNTIL WE RETURN. ANYTHING YOU SAY OR DO OR INTERFERE WITH CAN HAVE SERIOUS REPERCUSSIONS ON FUTURE AND/OR PAST EVENTS.

She put it down, heeding the warning. She went to the kitchen to look for the food. Roast beef sandwiches and cold milk. She hadn’t eaten in ages and now she could say that with all honesty.

Not thinking she inhaled her food within minutes. Remembering herself she brought the food back to Jack. She rubbed his hand softly.

"Jack?" He didn’t budge. She waited another moment. "Jack? Wake up." She almost didn’t want to wake him he looked so peaceful and angelic. Like a baby almost.

She leaned over and kissed him. He did nothing for a moment and appeared to be sound asleep and unaffected. Then he raised his eyebrows. He kissed back and felt for her shoulder. After several moments Rose pulled away. Jack opened his eyes, overwhelmingly relieved to see her face.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty."

"Could you do me a favor, Rose?"

"What would that be?"

"Do that every morning."

"That can be arranged." She grabbed the plate and glass off the table. "Now eat something."

In the same manner as Rose, he inhaled the meal. She just watched and laughed. "A bit hungry then?"

"Just a little." He put the empty plate back down. "Ah, dammit!" The swelling on his wrists had gone down, but they were very stiff now.

"Come on." Rose helped him up and led him into kitchen. She rummaged through the cabinets for a pot. "We’ll soak your wrists. Just heat up some water first." She turned on the faucet in the sink.

"This runs pretty smoothly."

"Maybe water systems are more efficient in the sixties." She turned the knob once by accident. "Wait a minute." She wriggled her hand under the flowing water while turning it with the other. "We don’t even need to heat the water. It does it by itself! See look." She pointed. "H. C. Hot and cold! It adjusts too!" She twisted the knob again.

Jack removed the bandages and shoved his hand under too. "Holy shit…this is incredible." They each exchanged looks of childish delight.

"Here." Rose adjusted the water to the desired temperature. "Be right back, keep your wrists under there." She left momentarily.

Jack was even more surprised by Rose than he was by the magically changing water temperatures. For someone who had lived a more or less sheltered lifestyle she was either very self-sufficient or damn clever or both. He figured both.

She came back in and read him the note.

"So we’re being held hostage in here? What happened?"

She knew him for mere days, but assumed he had no intention whatsoever of following Doc’s instructions. No matter how loyal, trusting, and trustworthy he may be nothing would ever keep him fenced in, at least physically.

"Don’t even think about it."

"Think about what?"

"I’m reading you like a book, Jack Dawson. We’re staying here until further notice. You heard what everybody said. Horrible consequences. Serious repercussions. We are not supposed to physically be here."

"Yes we are. We’re just supposed to be in our seventies."

He shut off the water and stretched his wrists.

"Jack you’re impossible. This isn’t a little fun. This won’t get us into just a little bit of trouble. And this will probably be worse than being up to our elbows in horse manure kind of trouble. We don’t what’s happened in the last half a century. We don’t know modern customs. We’re lost in more ways than one. Altering time and space! I know you’re too smart for that. This time it’s absolutely no!"

"It might not be the wisest of ideas, but I figured we should go find a library and do some research I’d like to know what happened or wasn’t supposed to happen to us. Where we stand the Titanic’s been under water for fifty-six years. We were on it and we don’t even know the full details."

"I don’t imagine we would with only twenty-four hours of time after the initial disaster."

"Yes, but this is going to drive us crazy if we don’t find out. No matter how upsetting the facts may be. We might be here for days. I have to know. And I know you do too."

"Oh really?"

"I read you like a book Rose DeWitt Bukater." She sighed heavily. "Or what is it nowadays? Mrs. Dawson?"

Rose ambled out of the kitchen in a daze. Jack followed. "That’s right." She turned to face him. "We are married…or we will be. Helga and Fabrizio are an old couple. They’ve only known each other for days, well not now definitely. We’ve been married for many years. We have children…grandchildren…"

"Jennifer." Jack thought aloud.

"Great-grandchildren."

"We’ve known each other for mere days, but…" She him grabbed by the arms. "Remember how you said you love not knowing what will happen?"

"Yes."

"And besides everyone warning us of the serious complications involved in knowing one’s future…this is one forewarning I can really handle. It’s so simple. It should be because…I…I love you!"

"I love you too!" He pulled her close almost jumping in celebration.

"I’ve known it for days. I love you like I’ve never loved anyone else before."

"I loved you from the moment I saw you up on deck that afternoon." He kissed her and whirled her in the air.

After she was back on the ground, Rose jumped back into Jack’s arms knocking him back onto the couch and landing on top of him. Despite being so far away from her own time and world she never felt more at home.

A few minutes later she broke apart from him. She sat up thinking.

"What’s the matter?"

"The library!"

"Library…"

"You wanted to go to the library and look for information on the Titanic." Her comment didn’t seem to be registering. "You were very intent on it before."

"Sorry my mind was…was just somewhere else."

"Something wrong?"

"No, everything’s perfect." He smiled.

"Then what were you thinking about?"

"It’s not for a gentleman to say." She pushed back down giggling and got up.

"Well, if you’re going to have such rude thoughts about a lady I might as well take a bath to get away from you for awhile."

"Would thou leave so unsatisfied?" he said trying to be theatrical.

"Why yes. It’s all part of my charm. Now control yourself buster, we’ve got work to do." With that she closed the bathroom door. "Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night!"

"Hey no crossing plays!" He fell back on the couch smiling, folding his hands behind his head. All the horror could be swept away with her smile. Things were crazy and awful, but they would eventually be all right with her by his side. She was something he never wanted to let go of.

After Rose finished washing up in the super convenient bathroom. Jack took his turn. While Jack was in the shower Rose went out the garage to inspect the time machine.

She felt strange in her new clothes. Both the denim jeans and the blouse belled out at the ends. The sandals barely covered the tops of her feet. The jeans were tight up and down her legs and the colors on her shirt were wild: bright pink, orange and yellow.

She checked the back again. There really wasn’t a back seat, but a little space for miscellaneous items where they found the clothes. On the floor she found a little box with a headset attached. She thought the headset appeared rather dinky looking. Inside the box she found a little plastic card with two holes.

"The Pinheads. The Power of Love." She read the titles. She slipped it back in its spot and closed the box. She grabbed the knapsack where she found the clothes and put the box inside.

Under the hood she found a briefcase full of dollar bills from different years and a yellow chest marked Pu.

When she came back into the house she found Jack dressed and ready to go. They left a note for Helga, Fabrizio, and Dr. Brown. They told them that they must know what happened and would be back shortly.

"You look very…1968. Or at least I would have to assume." Jack wore similar pants and blue collar shirt, much thinner than the ones he was used to.

They both realized that although they were safe from the tragic event of the Titanic in a world that had long since recovered from it, they were not safe from the pain and horror of that night. Last night. They were terrified of what they’d find, but they would do what they set out to do. The next trip would be the one home. Consequences be damned.

They borrowed the bikes they discovered in the garage and rode off towards town to find a library.

So much more awaited them then they could have ever anticipated.

Chapter Four
Stories