"Happy birthday Marty!" Lorraine said as she entered her son's room. George and Linda followed close behind.

There was no movement from Marty.

"Marty?" Lorraine asked her son. "Come on, up you get!" She shook her youngest son awake.

"Uh...oh....um....Mom? What time is it?"

"20 to 11," Lorraine smiled. "You've already wasted half your birthday..."

"My birthday?" Marty was suddenly wide awake. "Yes, it is my birthday!"

"Happy birthday sweetheart," Lorraine hugged Marty. "My little boy's 18 years old! It doesn't seem 5 minutes ago since that evening I gave birth to you in the back of that taxi. When our car broke down on the way to the doctor's, and that taxi driver stopped by a minute later. You're named after the taxi driver, Marty - and of course our schoolfriend Marty Klein."

Marty smiled. He'd heard about his birth lots of times, but when his mother got started on her stories, there was no stopping her. In both timelines - the original, nerdy George and the cool, author, George - he'd been born in that taxi, and named Marty after the taxi driver. Of course, he hadn't been named after Calvin "Marty" Klein in the original timeline!

20 minutes later Marty had showered and dressed. He walked excitedly in the living room. On one of the armchairs was a pile of presents.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!" Marty's family sang as they bought in a chocolate birthday cake. "Happy birthday dear Marty, happy birthday to you!"

"Thanks guys!" Marty smiled as he blew out the candles.

"Make a wish!" George called.

"And look at all this mail!" said Lorraine. "Apart from a few bills for Dad, they're all for you!"

Marty smiled as he opened his cards. The first was from his brother Dave in Los Angeles. Dave hadn't been able to get the time off work, but had sent Marty some money.

"Great! I can get that new album I'm after," Marty grinned. The next card was from his grandparents, whom he would see tonight. There was to be a big family meal at Marty's favourite restaurant, with his parents, Linda, grandparents, uncles and aunts. On Saturday, he would be having a big party for all his friends at school.

Marty unwrapped his presents once the cards were opened, and placed on the windowsill, mantelpiece, anywhere that would hold them. Linda had bought him some CDs, his friend Steve had bought him the exact same CDs Linda had ("Thanks anyway!") and his parents had bought him a signet ring with his initials engraved into it.

"It's a little something for you to remember your special day with," George explained. He got out a record. "Here you are," he said as he gave it to Marty. "This song was number 1 when you were born." Marty looked at the sleeve. It was called This Guy's In Love With You by Herb Alpert.

"Looks like I have a new tune to learn," he chuckled as he put the song on.

Once everything was opened, Marty hugged his family. "Thanks everyone," he said. "Wow, 18! Hey, I'm an adult now!"

There was a knock at the door. "Hello?" Jennifer called as she came in.

"Jennifer!" Marty smiled again as he went to greet her.

"Happy birthday," she smiled back as she gave him his present. It was an envelope. Marty opened it to find a card from Jennifer. He opened it up and two tickets fell out.

"What's this?" he asked as he picked them up. His eyes lit. "2 tickets to see that Paradox movie? Hey, thanks Jen!"

"I know you've been wanting to see that for ages," she said. "So I got us tickets for its first performance in Hill Valley." The time travel movie starring Michael J Fox was opening today for the Independence Day holiday tomorrow. The plot was very similar to Marty's adventures in 1955, so of course he really wanted to see it.

"Hey Jen, want to join us for my birthday lunch?" Marty asked.

"Sure," she smiled back. As everyone went to the table, Lorraine smiled at George.

"They make such a cute couple," she said.

"Well, our little boy's a big man," said George. "You know what that makes us now, Lorraine? OLD!" he grinned.

"Oh, George!" she grinned back as they sat down to lunch.

"Emmett? Is everything ready?" Clara asked.

"I can't find his card!" Doc moaned. "It's not where I left it!" He looked franticly for Marty's birthday card.

"Here it is," Jules called. "By the dog food."

"How on earth did it get there?" Doc wondered aloud as he took the card from Jules. "Never mind that now."

The front door opened and Ritchie came in. "I saw Marty's truck on the way over, he should be here any minute," he informed Doc.

"Quick, places everyone!" Clara ordered, closing the curtains. She, Doc, Ritchie and Verne hid in the living room. Jules turned off the lights and waited by the front door. A few seconds later, there was a knock.

Jules answered the door. "Oh, Marty," he said, quite seriously. "What brings you here?"

"Hi Jules," said Marty. "Is your dad in?"

"I think he's down in the lab," Jules told him. "And Mom is. And Verne."

"Right..." Marty replied, suspecting Jules was not telling the truth. "Can you take me to them?"

"If I must," sighed Jules and led Marty into the front room. He turned on the lights.

"SURPRISE!" the others called as they jumped out from their hiding places. "Happy birthday Marty!"

"Hey, thanks!" Marty laughed.

"Were you really surprised?" Verne asked eagerly.

"Oh, yeah, I really was," Marty told him. Clara came in with a cake with 18 candles. The Browns started singing Happy Birthday to Marty, just like his own family had.

"And now for your presents. This one is from all of us." Clara gave Marty a parcel. He unwrapped it to find an autographed photo of Jimi Hendrix.

"Wow!" Marty was impressed. "Where did you get this?"

"Let's just say Mr Hendrix and I are old friends," Doc grinned. "No, I used the DeLorean. I went to his last concert ever and somehow got past the security."

"happy birthday Marty," said Ritchie and he gave him his present. Inside was a copy of the Hill Valley Telegraph, dated July 3rd 1968.

"It's from the day you were born," he explained. Marty looked at the headline.

"What a happy world I was born into," Marty said with a hint of irony.

"And this last present is just from me," Doc said. "Come down to the lab. Clara, we'll only be a few minutes. Why don't you cut the cake?"

"I think Marty should co the first cut," suggested Verne, "like we do on our birthdays."

"Good idea," agreed Doc, and Marty cut the first slice to cheers from the others. Then Doc led Marty down to his lab.

"This type of present can't be bought," Doc said as he walked up to the train. "I have to show it to you." He gestured for Marty to get into the train.

"Where are we going, Doc?" Marty asked.

"Put this on," Doc said, giving his friend a blindfold. "I don't want you to glance at the time circuits."

"Um, OK," replied Marty as he put it on. He heard Doc type in a date, open the lab doors, fly the train up to 88 and then the three sonic booms.

Doc landed the time train in the woods behind what would be his house in 1986.

"OK, take off the blindfold," he told Marty. Marty was a bit puzzled.

"Doc, we're at your house..."

"No, no, this isn't my house yet. I did some checking and the owners are on vacation for 3 weeks, so it's a good place to hide the train."

"When are we, Doc?"

"July 3rd 1968. The day you were born."

"Really?"

"Yes. I thought you might like to experience it for yourself. You know the rules with time travel, though?"

"Yes Doc. No interfering with past events. I learnt that the hard way. I just want to take a look around," Marty said, amazed. He hadn't been to the 1960s before. He suddenly noticed Doc had disguised himself - to avoid being recognised, Marty correctly guessed.

The time travellers headed into town. They crossed Eastwood Ravine on the Eastwood Road Bridge (built 1965) and headed towards Courthouse Square. On the way, they passed the future site of Hilldale; the Beechwood Surgery, where Ritchie worked in 1986; and Hill Valley Elementary.

"Wow," Marty said, amazed. "Look at it. It looks really small."

"The extension hasn't been built yet," Doc told him, "although if you were 5 years old it would look pretty big around now."

Marty agreed, thinking back to when he was 5 - just 5 years away from now, actually.

A police car drove past, startling the time travellers.

"I think it's off to arrest that murder suspect," Doc told Marty. "I think it was around now they got him, if my memory recollects."

The two finally arrived at Courthouse Square. Marty was surprised as to how much it had changed since the 1950s, and yet also how little. The Essex was still there, and the three films showing were A Peck Of Trouble, Interlude and The Death Of Tarzan. Marty had seen the last one on TV before but hadn't thought much of it.

Roy's Records and Lou's Cafe were both still around, but Ruth's Frock Shop had been replaced by a bookstore and the Western Auto shop was currently empty.

"I believe a clothes shop moves in soon," Doc reminisced. Marty looked at the clocktower. Yep, it was still stuck at 10.04pm, and the broken ledge was still there.

"You interested in that clocktower, huh?" a familiar voice said to them. Marty and Doc turned around. It was Terry, Biff's mechanic in 1955 and the "Save the Clocktower" guy in 2015.

"Lightning struck that thing, almost 13 years ago, stopped the clock at 10.04," Terry explained. "I was there, you know."

No you weren't! both Marty and Doc thought to themselves.

"Ah, Terry, just who I wanted to see." Marty froze. He definitely recognised that voice! He didn't really want to turn around...

"Oh, Mr McFly!"

Doc and Marty looked around, and their suspicions were confirmed. George McFly stood there with Marty's siblings; Dave, currently aged 6, and Linda, 2.

"Terry, have you got any free time? My car is broken and since the baby is due any day now..."

"Understand completely, Mr McFly." He got out his diary. "I have a slot free in an hour time, that OK?"

"Sure," said George. "Let me just drop Dave off at his grandparents and..." He saw Doc and Marty walking off.

"Calvin? Calvin Klein?"

Marty knew he would have to turn around now.

"Uh...yes?"

"Hey Calvin! How...on earth do you look so young?"

"Oh, I'm not Calvin. I'm Calvin's younger brother....." Marty tried to think of a name.

"Alan," Doc whispered.

"Alan Klein," Marty told George.

"He never mentioned you," George said, slightly confused. "Oh well. Dave, Linda, this is Alan, a friend of mine."

"Hello," Dave smiled.

"We're off to Grandpa Arthur and Grandma Stella's, aren't we?" asked George. "My wife is having a baby soon so I'm dropping these two off with the grandparents for a few days," he explained.

"Really?" Marty asked. "It's Calvin's birthday as well today," he added with a knowing grin.

"Really?" It was George's turn to ask this question now. "I didn't know. We haven't seen him for ages, do you have his address?"

"Er, no, you see, he lives in..... Buenos Aires and he's recently moved house...and I can't remember the new address."

"Oh," George seemed to accept this. "Well, next time you see him, say George and Lorraine say hello."

"Will do," said Marty as he and Doc quickly walked off.

"Why Alan, Doc?" Marty asked.

"It was the name of the eldest son in the play Time And The Conways," Doc explained. "It's a play about time, and I saw it on my own 18th birthday. Of course, it had only been around for a year then."

After a few more minutes looking around town, Doc decided that they should head back to the train. The incident with George McFly had been too close, and he didn't want to risk anything else happening.

Doc was in the middle of telling Marty about his own 18th birthday party when a cat started running towards them. Seconds later it was followed by a huge Bull Mastiff. Unseen by the time travellers, the dog chased the cat straight into the path of Marty. The cat ran between his legs.

"What the...?" Marty muttered, before the bull mastiff tried to go through them as well. Unfortunately it didn't fit, and it accidentally knocked Marty to the floor.

"Marty? Are you OK?" Doc asked, helping his friend up. He noticed Marty limping slightly.

"I think I twisted my ankle or something," Marty told Doc. "I should be - ow!" Marty tried walking on his right leg, but it hurt him too much.

"You can't walk back to the train now," said Doc. "I guess I'll have to support you, and we can hobble back."

"Maybe we should catch a bus or something..." Marty suggested.

Doc shook his head. "What if by going onto a bus, we stop someone going on who should have? He could meet his wife there and a future President of the United States may not be born."

A taxi drove past and started slowing.

"You all right there?" the driver asked.

"We're fine," Doc told him. "My friend just hurt his ankle, that's all."

"Let me take you to a doctor," the driver said. "It's just down the road. I think you'll have to get that seen to. It looks nasty."

"Please Doc," said Marty. "It hurts a lot."

Doc sighed. "OK, but only if the queues aren't that long. We can't leave the train unattended for too long."

"What?" asked the driver.

"Nothing," Doc told him as he helped Marty into the taxi. The driver drove them to the Beechwood surgery. Doc offered to pay the driver, but the driver refused the money.

"Glad to help out," he said. "That's my reward."

"Well, thank you Mr...er..."

"Martin Challis, and I'm glad to be of service." Marty didn't hear this, he was too busy trying not to think about the pain. "Well, get better soon," he said as he shut the cab door. He drove away as Doc helped Marty into the surgery. Luckily there was no-one there. Dr Govan, the new doctor, was just "shutting up shop" so to speak.

New! Marty thought. Dr Govan would have retired by 1986, allowing Ritchie to take over.

"Nothing serious," Dr Govan said after a few minutes of examining Marty's ankle. "You just need to keep your weight off it, and it should be fine by tomorrow."

"That's a relief," Marty admitted.

The surgery was a lot closer to the train than where Martin Challis had picked them up, and there was now only about half a mile to go, including the bridge crossing. However Dr Govan's diagnosis meant Doc was not willing for Marty to walk any more.

"We'll just have to hitch a ride with someone," he said to Marty. "We can't risk any more damage to that foot."

"What am I going to tell everyone in 1986?" Marty asked.

"Just tell them you did it walking home or something," Doc suggested.

Eventually a car pulled up. "Finally," Doc muttered. The driver wound down the window.

"Hey, Alan!"

Oh God, Doc thought. Of all the people who could have stopped, it had to be the McFlys.

"Oh, uh, hi George," Marty said. "Uh, this is my friend, uh..."

"Professor Von Braun," Doc said quickly, thinking of his father when he chose the name.

"Hello. Lorraine, this is Calvin's brother, Alan."

Marty said hello to his mother - once again. He was amazed as to how big she was. He had been quite a small baby! Lorraine looked bigger here than she had in old family photos Marty had seen from this time.

"Hi, uh, can you drop us off at Hyams Road, please?"

"Sure," George said, and Doc helped Marty into the car.

"What happened?" George asked, and Marty quickly told him. "Yeah, that happened to me a few years ago," George admitted.

"So where are you of to? Marty asked.

"Well, we're dropping the car off with Terry to get it fixed," George explained, "and then we're off to the doctor's for a check-up. The baby's due any day soon."

"Sooner than you think," said Marty with a smile. But there was bad news ahead. There had been an accident on the Eastwood Road Bridge, and it was closed to traffic.

"Damn," muttered George. "Sorry guys, but we'll have to take the long way. You're not in a hurry, are you?"

"No, not at all," said Doc with a hint of irony. George drove the car back down the road and through Courthouse Square. He took the other road out of town, past Lyon Estates and heading towards where the Lone Pine Mall would be built within the next year or so.

They were driving through open country. "The old bridge is a bit further up," Lorraine told the time travellers. "It should only be...oh my God!"

"What's wrong, Lorraine?" George asked. Marty froze. He thought he knew what would happen next!

"I think it's coming, George," Lorraine told her husband. "I think the baby is arriving!"

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely! I felt this way when Dave was born, and with Linda, so I'm sure!"

"We'd better get you to the hospital!" George started panicking a bit. Get a grip, George, he thought. You've been through this twice before, everything went fine.

The car started making strange noises.

"What's wrong, George?" Lorraine asked.

"I think the car's broken down, Lorraine," George told his wife.

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely! It did this a few weeks ago, remember?"

The car spluttered to a halt. George tried his hardest, but it wouldn't move one inch.

"George!" Lorraine almost screamed. Marty and Doc didn't know what to say. Marty had a strange sense of deja vu, as if he had been here before.....of course he had! He was born here!

"Don't worry," Marty smiled. "Help will be on the way soon." He remembered that a taxi would drive past and the driver would help deliver baby Marty.

George took his wife's hand. "Don't worry honey, you'll be fine," he said calmly. He quickly got his wife onto the back seat of the car and laid her down. "It's going to be all right."

"Marty?" Doc whispered so George and Lorraine didn't hear. "You know the story of your birth, right?"

"Oh yes," Marty said, thinking back to the morning of his birthday when he had heard it once again. "A taxi driver will drive by soon and help deliver me."

"There's no taxis around," Doc whispered.

"Relax Doc. One will come any minute now."

"You're sure of this?"

"Yep. I'm even named after the driver."

"Really?" Doc hadn't known this. "We'd better keep an eye out for it then."

But 10 minutes later, the taxi hadn't arrived.

"It's late," Marty whispered. "Mom said it arrived within a minute or so."

Something suddenly occurred to Doc. "You said the taxi driver was called Marty, right?"

"Yeah."

"Great Scott! The taxi driver who helped us earlier was called Marty!"

"So?"

"Because he helped us, he probably didn't come up this way instead! He's probably doing calls at the other end of town now, because of us! We've changed history!"

"Oh my goodness, is that a head?" George yelled in excitement.

"So what do we do now?" Marty asked.

"Come near me again, George McFly, and I'll have you neutered!" Lorraine yelled through her tears.

"We need a doctor," George said, worried.

Doc approached him. "I saw a phonebox about half a mile back. Let me call for an ambulance."

"Would you? Thanks," said George gratefully.

"What about me, D...Professor?" Marty asked.

"You can't move with your foot like that," said Doc. "You stay here. I won't be gone long." He ran off towards the phonebox before Marty could say anything.

"Don't worry honey, help's on the way," George told his wife. Marty watched him take her hand. "You're going to be fine!"

Marty looked at his watch. It was 4.24pm local time. If he remembered correctly, it would be 40 minutes until he was born at 5.04pm.

"George!" Lorraine yelled. "It moved!"

Marty gulped. He was about to be born!

"Alan? Do you know childbirth?" George asked Marty nervously.

"A little," said Marty, thinking back to that video he'd watched in biology a few months ago in school.

"Good, because I'm gonna need all the help I can get!" said George. "When Dave and Linda were born, I just held Lorraine's hand in the hospital. The doctors did the rest!"

"George? Come here, please!" Lorraine sobbed. George quickly took her hand. "Everything's going to be OK, Lorraine."

Lorraine suddenly screamed. "It moved again!"

Marty suddenly took charge. "All right, I think this baby wants to come out now!" he said. "Or in 36 minutes time."

Marty quickly cleared some space.

"Push, Mom, push!" he told her, before realising what he'd said. Luckily neither George nor Lorraine had noticed. Lorraine started pushing.

"You can do it, sweetheart!" George encouraged his wife.

"Come on, Lorraine!" Marty told her. "Come on!"

Lorraine pushed her hardest. "Argh!" she screamed. "Dave and Linda weren't this much hard work!"

"You can do it!" George and Marty encouraged her. Lorraine screamed again.

For 20 minutes this went on, and the baby made no appearance. Lorraine was breathing very deeply and quickly now, and Marty felt slightly guilty for putting his mother through all this.

"The head!" Marty almost shouted with excitement. "I can see the head! A few more pushes and it should be out!"

George felt his heart beating rapidly. He was almost a father again! He looked at Lorraine.

"One big push for America," he said to her. Lorraine gave the biggest push she'd ever done in all her 3 pregnancies.

"It's out!" Marty said. "The head is out!" Lorraine sighed with relief. It was almost over.

"One more push, honey!" George said calmly. "Just one more push!"

A few minutes later, at 5.04pm, George and Lorraine heard a baby crying.

"Congratulations," smiled Marty. "You are the proud parents of a baby boy."

"It's a boy!" George told his wife. "Lorraine, we have a boy!"

At that moment Doc arrived back with the doctors. "Sorry I'm late, the phonebox wasn't working and...what in the name of Sir Isaac H Newton?"

The doctors quickly got to work. The umbilical cord was cut and they helped George and Lorraine into the ambulance, ready to take them to the hospital. Marty and Doc jumped in as well.

Lorraine smiled as George placed the baby in her arms. "He's beautiful," she whispered. "Thank you, Alan."

"You're welcome," said Marty, still trying to take it all in. George and Lorraine smiled at their baby boy.

"You know, he doesn't look much like an Arthur or a Sam," George said. Marty was surprised. He never knew he could have been named after his grandfathers.

"You're right," Lorraine said. "What should we call him?" They looked at Marty. "How about Alan, after the man who delivered him?" she suggested.

Marty was alarmed. If they named him Alan...it could cause a paradox! He wasn't quite sure how, but he knew Doc would be tearing his hair out if George and Lorraine named their third son Alan.

"Uh, no, that's OK," Marty insisted. "You don't have to do."

"I think it's a lovely name," George said.

"Um...hey, I know. Why don't you name him after my brother? It is after all his birthday as well today."

"Oh George, that's a good idea," said Lorraine, cuddling the baby. "Calvin McFly."

"Uh, Calvin never liked that name," Marty "reminded" them. "He always used his middle name, Martin."

"Good point. Plus that's Dave's middle name, Lorraine." Lorraine nodded her head in agreement. "Martin McFly," George said the name aloud. "Perfect."

"Wasn't your great, great uncle named Martin as well?" Lorraine asked.

"You're right," George said. "He was Great Grandpa Seamus' brother."

"Seamus," said Marty. "How about that for a middle name?"

"Martin Seamus McFly," George said the full name aloud. "The perfect name."

"Would you like to hold him, Alan?" Lorraine asked Marty. Marty took his 10-minute old self.

"Welcome to the world, kid," he said to the baby him. "And oh boy, when you turn 17, are you going to have the shock of your life," he whispered quietly. Then so his parents could hear, he added, "May you have a happy and long life, for all time." He tickled the baby's belly and then handed himself back to his mother.

"Thank you Alan," said George as they arrived at Hill Valley General Hospital. George and Lorraine were taken, with baby Marty, to the maternity ward - but not after saying a quick thank you and goodbye to Marty and Doc.

"You fellas want a lift home?" the ambulance driver asked. "My shift's over, I can drop you off as long as its not too far."

"Could you take us to Hyams Road, please?" Doc asked. The drive nodded. "Sure. Hop in."

They arrived outside Doc's future home a few minutes later. Fortunately, the accident on the bridge had been cleared and it was now reopen. Once Doc and Marty were alone, Doc helped Marty over to the train. "What did you think of that?" Doc asked as Marty sat down.

"It was weird!" Marty admitted. "I spent my 18th birthday delivering myself as a baby! And I held myself! Talk about the Twilight Zone."

Doc typed in the destination time for one minute after they left 1986. "And I found out my parents were thinking of calling me Arthur or Sam, after my grandfathers."

"I think your name suits you, Marty," Doc said as the train took off. "Now let's go home. I think we have some cake awaiting us."

"And that is all the about the time that I delivered a little baby," Marty told his 2 young children. He hadn't mentioned the baby had been himself, or that he'd done it in 1968, since his children were too young to understand. The kids had heard Marty talking about it though and wanted to know what had happened.

"Can we have another story please?" 6 year old Marlene asked eagerly. "That one was very good!"

"Tomorrow night, honey," Marty smiled as he kissed his daughter goodnight. "Night, MJ."

"Night Daddy," 5 year old MJ called back, already half asleep. Marty turned off the light and walked downstairs. After grabbing a slice of his 35th birthday cake, he sat down with Jennifer in front of the TV.

"Anything good on?" he asked. Jennifer flicked through the channels.

"Oh look," she smiled. "Paradox is on. Remember when you turned 18 and we went to see it?"

"Oh yes," Marty said, remembering, "once I'd delivered myself, of course."

The two settled down to watch the movie. "I can't believe it's this movie's birthday as well," Marty smiled as Michael J Fox's character drove around a mall parking lot. "After all these years, it's still amazing to watch."

"And so much like our own adventures," Jennifer grinned. Marty got up and poured himself 2 glasses of champagne. He handed one to Jennifer.

"Here's to a great time travel movie," he grinned. "May it be loved for all time."

"And here's to a great time travel hero," said Jennifer as she raised her glass. "May he be loved for all time."

Last Revised: June 4th 2004

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