Work Text:
It was with a newfound nervousness that Doc, accompanied once again by Marty, sped off across the desert in the DeLorean, now with more provisions and a full tank of gas.
He had no idea where they would be going—even the tiniest town could prove to be dangerous, depending on who would be the one to spot them. And yet, Doc knew they would have to visit towns to restock on supplies and refuel the car; he didn’t want to overuse their connection to U.N.C.L.E., since they were already compromised.
After driving until the sun went down, Doc parked the car to take out a map, flashlight, and compass, opening the gullwing doors to let in the fresh night air as he attempted to navigate outside, spreading the map over the hood of the DeLorean.
“Where even is the next town?” he wondered aloud.
“I dunno,” Marty replied, from inside the car.
Doc gave him a look through the windshield.
“Marty, it’s late—you should be asleep.”
“I don’t wanna,” he said, through a yawn.
“…You’ve got some conflicting signals there,” Doc observed. He placed the compass and flashlight as paperweights on the map and walked back over to Marty. “What’s wrong, Marty? Do you need a blanket? Thanks to those guys back there, you can have a sleeping bag, too, if you like.”
Marty shook his head, and Doc noticed that the boy was trembling again.
“…You’re afraid of getting bad dreams again, aren’t you?” he realized. Indeed, Marty’s night terrors had been certainly intense the two occasions Doc had seen them.
Marty just nodded now, and Doc gave him an understanding look.
“You need sleep at your age, Marty,” he said, getting back into the driver’s seat. “But I understand being afraid of more nightmares. Do you want to talk about them?”
Marty hesitated.
“Fire—lots of fire,” he said, after a while. “And things falling and breaking… Everyone is yelling… And then it’s dark, and…” He shut his eyes, trembling. “No one’s there.”
Doc felt another fresh wave of guilt wash over him—the poor boy kept reliving his family’s last moments in his dreams.
“That must be very scary,” he said.
“Uh-huh,” Marty agreed. “Kept yelling, but no one answered.”
“Well, Marty, I’m right here,” Doc promised. “I’ll always be right here when you wake up.”
Marty looked at him in surprise.
“You won’t try to give me away again?”
“Marty! I wasn’t…! That wasn’t why…!” Doc stammered. “It was like I told you before—you would have been safer if you’d gone with those other men. That’s the only reason, I swear it!” He sighed. “I can’t promise that I won’t try again, because I don’t want you to get hurt—but I’ll try every other option first, okay?”
Marty gave him a dubious look.
“Really, Marty,” Doc continued. “If anything happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do. You know, you’re my best friend, too.”
“I am?” Marty asked, perking up at last.
“Yeah! …In fact, you’re the only friend I’ve ever had, really…” he sighed. “I guess I’m not a very likeable person—and after everything I’ve done, I can see why.”
Marty shook his head.
“And you don’t?” Doc asked, with a wan smile.
“Nope,” Marty replied, without hesitation. He clambered over to Doc’s side and hugged him again.
Doc hugged him back, and then gently placed him back in the passenger seat.
“You really do need to get some rest, Marty,” he said. “Can you try to close your eyes and sleep? I promise I’ll be right here.”
Marty hesitated.
“Can you tell me a story?”
Doc blinked in surprise, but then smiled—grateful that all of the Jules Verne books he’d read in his youth could, at last, come in handy.
“Sure thing, Marty; I’ll tell you my favorite when I was a kid—it’s called 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”
And Marty settled down, listening to Doc’s recounting of the classic tale, drifting off after a while. Doc paused his story, got a blanket from the provisions, and gently draped it over Marty. He was about to resume his attempt at navigation, but then thought better of it; he folded up the map and sat back in the driver’s seat.
“Goodnight, Kid,” he said, quietly.
And he kept a watchful eye out, determined to keep any nightmares at bay.