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It was a difficult existence, being on the run—even moreso now that Biff had put in a report about having seen Doc at the diner. The hunt for the fugitive scientist had increased with vigor, and it seemed that every town they visited had wanted posters all around town—alarmingly, these newer posters had stated that a monetary reward would be given for credible tips that led to any sightings or proof of his presence—of course, the posters stressed that he was wanted alive rather than dead, but Doc was sure that overzealous bounty hunters tended to have itchy trigger fingers.
Again, he found himself wondering what the full bounty would be for bringing him in—and once again, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
Marty found the posters confusing; he didn’t know why Doc’s face was on them, only that Doc was upset about it.
“You look fine,” the boy said, innocently unaware of the true meaning of the posters.
“Oh, Marty…”
“Yeah?”
Doc shook his head, not sure how to explain it. One thing that he was sure of, however, was that California was too dangerous to be in right now—bounty hunters from all over would be looking for him.
He had driven the DeLorean back out to the desert long enough to hide it in one of the sandstone caves.
“That’ll keep there until we return to it… if we return to it,” he said. “The next thing we need to do is hop on a train out of this state!”
He took Marty by the hand to lead him away, but Marty pulled his hand away, looking very upset as he stared at the DeLorean.
“Marty? Come on!”
“No!” the boy exclaimed.
Doc was both confused and concerned—when it came to traveling, Marty had always been agreeable, no matter where he decided to go. This was the first time he was showing any resistance to going anywhere (aside from into U.N.C.L.E. custody, of course).
“Marty, what on Earth’s the matter?”
Marty just whined and pulled away from Doc, staying by the car.
“Marty, you don’t have to walk,” Doc said, with a wan smile. “I’ll carry you—how does that sound?”
Marty whined and shook his head again. He was on the verge of tears now.
Doc now knelt beside him, pulling him into a hug. Marty only returned it half-heartedly.
“Can’t you please tell me what’s wrong, Marty?”
“I… dunno…” Marty admitted.
Doc sighed.
“Marty, I don’t understand—we’ve been traveling for four months and you’ve never complained. What’s different now?”
Marty shook his head, still not sure. But it was as he looked back at the DeLorean that Doc finally realized something. Yes, they had been traveling together for four months, but all that travel had been done with the two of them in the DeLorean. The silver car was the closest thing to a home that Marty had left now—the one of the two constant rocks in the last tumultuous four months, the other, of course, being Doc himself.
Doc gently tightened his hug, trying to help Marty feel a sense of security in this time of an upsetting change.
“Marty, everyone is looking for me here. Well, they’re looking for me everywhere, but especially here, because Biff turned me in.”
“…I hate him.”
“I’m not too fond of him myself,” Doc agreed. “But we need to get away, Marty—and get away fast. The DeLorean isn’t going to be fast enough; we need to take a train.” He sighed. “You remember I told you it was going to be tough, being on the run with me? I know you need stability, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to give you that.”
“What’s ‘sabillyly’ mean?”
“Things that you can count on to stay the same and comforting,” Doc said, with a smile. “And it’s an important thing to have.”
Marty blinked.
“…That’s why you wanted to give me away to those two guys…? Sabillyly?”
Doc nodded.
“Well, stability and safety. That’s why, I promise; those were the only reasons—it was for your own good. See, Marty… with all those people after me, the only stability I can give you is that I will take care of you no matter where we go—I don’t know where we’ll go or how we’ll get there, but as long as I’m able to, I’m willing to be your guardian. And as your guardian, I’ll be there to look after you. That’s the whole truth.” He sighed. “Now that you understand, I’ll ask you again—are you sure you still want to stay with me, or shall I call those two men from U.N.C.L.E. and have them find you a home with more stability?”
Marty immediately hugged Doc again, this time with all of his strength.
“Alright, Kid. Let’s get out of here and make tracks to… well, somewhere.”
“Okay,” Marty said.
The journey ahead was long and uncertain—but they would travel it together.