October 26, 1885
12:30 PM PST

Emmett Lloyd Brown smiled, just as he and Clara Catherine Clayton stepped into Holt's Diner. He just began to ponder over of how, exactly a century in the future, he would conduct his first temporal experiment. Or would it actually be his second temporal experiment? In 1955, he quite assisted in sending Martin Seamus McFly back to 1955.

"Are you feeling all right, Emmett?" Clara asked, softly. She then motioned towards a booth, as she added, "Let's sit over here. It's still hard to believe that you're really... from the future. Also, your friend is the descendant of Seamus and Maggie McFly."

"Yeah, and there is baby William," added Emmett. "According to Marty, William is... or will be... his great-grandfather. Apparently, there's also quite a strong resemblance - which is a little surprising. I didn't think George McFly looked all that much like Marty."

"At any rate," Clara replied, softly, "I was just thinking that I could go for the fish fry. This place quite serves good fish, and not just on Friday. With it, I'd simply like a glass of lemonade." She glanced around, as she added, "It's a little hard to believe it's quite been... two and a half months. It seems like almost yesterday, when you saved..."

"I can understand just what you mean," agreed Emmett - as he did, in fact, share the sentiment. He also began to feel nervous, as he really planned to do something major to celebrate the occasion. Would he be able to go through with it, though? "It's a..."

"I'm so glad that the barbed wire salesman was sitting behind me," continued Clara. "I mean, I really cannot imagine what my life would be like - had I not given you another chance. In fact, I believe it was destiny. I think it was meant to be. This is just so..."

"For that, I am eternally grateful," agreed Emmett, huskily. "I just wish Marty could... I know he'd rather be in 1985, but I was just... It might quite take up to five years, in order to complete the... time machine. This one, I am simply going to be... be building from scratch. I had thought of a substitute that I could use for the... the transistor."

"Why don't we discuss it, later?" suggested Clara. "After all, we are in a public place - and it... Well, I'm so happy that I listened to the barbed wire salesman. It was rather obvious how sincere you were, and I felt... Well, I knew I had to do the right thing."

"And you did, Clara," agreed Emmett, smiling. He then swallowed, as he decided that this might be the perfect opportunity. "Anyway, Clara, there was a good reason why I asked you to eat out today. Today is a rather special day, and I decided that I..."

"That sounds nice," Clara replied, softly. "Say, wasn't this the day that you completed your... time machine? I guess, in a sense, it was also the day that everything really... started. It was simply the day that the first time ever travel trip occurred, and... Only that it's not, since that's a whole century into the future... Golly, it's very confusing."

"It sure confuses even me," Emmett pointed out, in a near whisper, "and I'm the one who invented time travel. Let's not think about that, right now." He pulled out a small box, and opened it, as he asked, "Clara, will you... Will you, uh... marry me?"

Emmett's heart began to race, as he could hardly believe that the words were out. As he took one look at Clara, though - he saw that she really had a big smile on her face. She also had tears in her eyes - which Emmett suspected were, in fact, tears of joy.

"Oh, Emmett!" gushed Clara, cheerfully. "Emmett! Oh, I sure was waiting for this day to come. To be honest, I was wondering if I should actually be... be the one to ask. I didn't wish to be forward, though. Emmett, I'd be more than happy to marry you. It's like a dream come true! Oh, I would really be happy to become Mrs. Emmett Brown."

"Well, I'm so happy that you accepted," Emmett replied, softly. He began to wonder if he really was dreaming. He reached for Clara's left hand, as he began to slide the ring onto her finger. "You really made this day even more special to me. I'm so ecstatic."

"Wow, isn't that very touching!" exclaimed another feminine voice. Emmett looked up, as he saw the waitress standing next to them. "Well, congratulations! I'm quite happy to have witnessed the event. At any rate, what could I get the two of you to eat?"

"We'll have two beer-battered fish dinners, please," Emmett replied, cheerfully. "Yes, the schoolteacher and I have now officially taken the next step in our relationship. In fact, I can hardly believe that the day has actually come. I simply used to think that I would... remain being an old bachelor. Oh, yeah, we'd also like two cups of coffee."

"I certainly do wish you two the best of luck," the waitress replied, smiling. "This would be the beginning of a new life. I still remember the day when I got married. It was just a very glorious day for me. Well, your meals should be ready in about half and hour."

"Thank you, ma'am," Emmett replied, smiling. Turning back to Clara, he added, "I can't even begin to tell you just how much this means to me! Before I met you, I had pretty much resigned myself to remaining single. Well, I'm quite happy to be proven wrong."

"I'm sure glad that I decided to teach here," Clara replied, softly. "I can still remember the day we met. The snake had spooked the horse, and..." Her eyes then grew wide, as she gasped, "Wait a minute! Since you're from the future, does it just mean that... Did I fall into that ravine? I mean, before you came back in time - and... rescue me."

Emmett gasped - as the question made him feel very uncomfortable, to say the least. He knew he would have to tell her the truth, sooner or later. Still, he hadn't expected it to happen like this. He certainly hoped that the special moment wouldn't be ruined.

"I'm afraid so," Emmett replied, in a near whisper. "I'm very sorry that I didn't tell you, sooner - but... Well, I was very uncertain of how... you would take this. After all, this must be a... I just figured finding out that you had originally died wouldn't be... be..."

"I understand, Emmett," Clara replied, as she managed a small smile. She looked more than a little uneasy, though. "I don't blame you, in the least. Indeed, this is unsettling for me - and I... I wonder if... the other me... felt much pain. I sure felt terrified, and I... Did you know anything about me, when you were in the future? This is just so..."

"Well, I knew that the ravine was named after you," Emmett replied, softly. "I guess it won't happen, now - especially since there's now talk about actually naming the ravine after 'Clint Eastwood'. I have some mixed feelings on the whole thing, to be honest."

"I can imagine so," agreed Clara. "He was your friend - and, as far as everyone else is concerned, the young fellow is dead. I'm sorry for the time that I got on your case, as it was... I was being real unfair towards him, and I shouldn't've been so self-centred."

"That is all in the past," quipped Emmett. "At any rate, I did not know anything about you - except that you were a schoolteacher. I didn't know your first name, or even if you were male or female. I didn't even quite make the connection, when I heard that you were coming to town. I'm so glad that I did manage to rescue you, and it's so..."

"We should maybe just change the subject," suggested Clara, as she looked obviously uncomfortable. Emmett could not blame her. "Anyway, even if we might never be able to have children... Well, I'm looking forward to starting a new life with you - and I..."

"This sure is exciting for me, too," agreed Emmett. "By the way, I figured that I would build my new time machine into a steam train. I can maybe find a way to use steam as a... As I mentioned before, plutonium is rather hard to obtain in this era - and there is no Mr. Fusion to use. So, as such, I'm thinking that it might be possible to use steam."

"I would love to see the future," gushed Clara. "Even if I do feel quite apprehensive, I would... If this is a real possible solution for us to start a new family, then I'm all for it. I do regret not being able to raise them in this era, but I guess it would be for the..."

"I'm glad that you're open to the idea," replied Emmett, softly. "I understand that this must be a little hard for you, but... Well, having children in this era could start a chain reaction that would disrupt the very fabric of the space-time continuum - and that..."

"I quite know what you mean," agreed Clara. "Especially if the children get older - and they wish to get married, along with starting their own families." With a sudden laugh, she added, "I can't believe this! I'm already talking about becoming a grandmother! In fact, now that I think of it... What if I end up actually not liking the future, though?"

Emmett swallowed, as he thought of Marty - and how the teenager sure would've felt about being stuck in 1885. For that matter, even being stuck in 1955 wouldn't exactly be Marty's idea of fun. In fact, Marty might just consider it to be his worst nightmare.

"I really don't wish to force you into anything," Emmett replied, softly. "If necessary, we might be able to come up with an alternate solution. Perhaps, we could just move out of Hill Valley - and I could just make occasional trips to the future, to visit Marty."

"That's what I love about you, Emmett," Clara replied, coyly. "You are so patient and understanding - even in times when I might quite act, uh, not-so-lovable. Well, thank you so much for taking me out to dinner. This has been a wonderful treat, indeed."

Emmett smiled, as he gazed into Clara's lovely brown eyes. The hundred year reverse anniversary of his time machine completion was shaping up to be nice. He quite felt as happy as he could be. It rather felt a little like living on the edge of the century. Being trapped isn't always a bad thing - and, indeed, it can even be a blessing in disguise.