Written: July - December 1998
Word Count: Approximately 600 words
Background Notes: The following stuff was all written in late October 1998, in the twenties. (Heh heh.) Near as I can figure from my handwritten notes, and the stuff below, this was the nixed scenario:
While at Jules’ house in the future, for the story of what happened with Doc, Jules unexpectedly knocks Marty out with a sleep inducer. Doc is aghast, and asks his son why he did that. Clara responds that it was due to Marty that Doc vanished. They didn’t want him to hear this and feel guilty about it.
Now, obviously, from what you see below, I wrote things out in this way. But at some point in the game, I decided to cut it. I think this was because I had a “Marty gets hit with the sleep inducer part” later on in the story, and having it twice was beating a dead horse. (In the final story, I simply sent him out of the room during the talk.) I don’t know when I cut this part out, at what point -- if it was when I was revising the story after I finished writing it, or before then. The parts marked “GAP” are just that -- gaps. The paragraphs are clumped together as they were on the pages I typed in, and I didn’t alter my voice at the time, tho some sentences I would SO write differently now. You will also notice a few times I stop in mid-sentence. I avoid this like crazy when typing, but it seems to happen when I hand write out stuff, because, often times, I don’t have the luxury of knowing when I can stop writing. I probably wrote some of this in class at the time, or at work.
This pisses me off, though, because I seriously had no recollection that I wrote this out until I found the handwritten parts in the file. GRRRRRR. And this isn’t even the big scene I remembered cutting, either, which means this story has some serious differences to it in the evolution.
And now, the writing itself. (What little there is.)
...Marty didn’t stir at all in the transfer. When he was strapped in the passenger seat, Doc turned to his family, standing on the sidewalk.
“Thanks for all your help,” he said sincerely.
“Thank you for coming back,” Clara said. She stepped forward and hugged her past husband, kissing him quickly on the cheek. “Please succeed.”
“I will,” Doc promised, hoping that would prove to be true. His life and future were at stake.
“Be careful,” Jules said seriously. “Don’t take unnecessary risks. The space-time continuum is also in the balance.”
“I know that, Jules,” Doc said.
GAP
Marty’s eyes had fallen closed. Doc unbuckled his seatbelt, then shook his friend hard again. After a minute, Marty cracked open his eyes.
“Sit up,” Doc said.
Marty looked at him as if Doc was speaking a foreign language. Doc grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away from the back of the seat.
“What’re you doin’?” Marty mumbled, his expression as he looked at Doc reminiscent to a kid who had just been rudely awakened.
“Trying to wake you up,” Doc answered. “Come on, get out of the car.”
“I’m too tired,” Marty groaned, his voice hardly audible. He leaned forward, resting his head on the dashboard and closing his eyes.
Doc wasn’t planning to give up. “I know,” he said, not without sympathy, “but there isn’t any time to rest now.”
Marty didn't say anything. Doc wondered, idly, if there was anything around to reverse the effects of the sleep inducer. “Marty, this is important,” Doc said, allowing the frustration and urgency he was feeling seep into his voice. “I need to talk to you.”
“Later....” came the whispered reply.
Doc had an idea. He leaned back out of the car and shut Marty’s door. After circling the car and shutting his own, Doc headed for the supermarket. The place was busier than he expected. Doc located the aisle of soft drinks, and selected one that boasted “Three times the caffeine content of Jolt!” Doc figured soda would be easier to get into Marty than a cup of strong coffee. He purchased a six-pack for $125, and a can of dog food for Einstein.
Doc returned to the DeLorean 15 minutes after leaving it. After opening the dog food container--
GAP
Not surprisingly, Marty was sound asleep. Doc took the smelling salts from his coat pocket and ran them under his face again. Finally, Marty opened his eyes again. Doc wasted no time. He quickly grabbed one of the soft drink containers and opened it up.
“Here,” he said, pushing it in Marty’s face. “Drink this.”
“I’m not thirsty....” Marty mumbled, turning his head away from the beverage.
GAP
[Scratched out, for some reason, this line at the top of the page: Doc had Marty drink the entire bottle.]
Doc set the container outside the DeLorean. “Marty,” he said, louder than necessary. “How do you feel?”
“Tired...” Marty yawned.
Doc believed it would be 15 - 20 minutes before the drink hit his system. He collected Einstein’s empty dog food can and the soft drink container and loaded them into Mr. Fusion. Then he paced around near the DeLorean, taking this delay as a time to brainstorm potential solutions to the problem at hand.
First, we gotta figure out when my future self went, Doc realized. The beepers were definitely an option. If neither Clara, nor Jules, found them before destroying the lab and it’s contents....