Real Love: Chapter Eleven

[lovely_rita_mm]

Real Love
Title: Chapter Eleven
Authors: lovely_rita_mm & jenny_wren28
Starring: The Beatles (specifically John Lennon) and Maggie Sue
Rating: R for language, sex, & implied drug use.
Disclaimer: We don’t own any of the Beatles, this obviously never happened, and much to the real Maggie’s disappointment, is a complete work of fiction.

It's a good thing the other Beatles are fine with John's reconciliation with Pete. Because otherwise it would be AWKWARD and there would be FIGHTING. Yep, none of that happens. Totally. ;-)

Previous updates are located HERE.


Chapter 11

The door downstairs slammed, startling Maggie out of a deep sleep. She pried her eyes open to try to get a look at the clock - it was 4:45 am. This didn’t surprise her - the Beatles often recorded until the wee hours. Maggie didn’t mind staying up late, but she had limits, and waiting up until 5am for John to get home was one of them. Especially while pregnant. Usually her husband was quiet when he came in, but the slamming door must have meant another fight. They were more and more frequent these days, something that made the pit of Maggie’s stomach ache every time she thought about it. She wanted so badly to keep this band together, but it was looking like a split might be inevitable. Shades of Brian and the inevitability of his death still haunted her - after all, he’d only been gone a year.

Maggie wondered what the fight had been about this time. John had been complaining about the outro to the current song they were recording being “dreary,” so maybe the row had been with Paul.

She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and fished for her slippers. Grabbing her robe she headed downstairs, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“Luv, I woke you. I’m sorry.” John looked up apologetically, as she shuffled into the kitchen. “I’m making tea. Do you want a cuppa?”

“Sure. Decaf, please.”

John banged cups and kettles around noisily and inefficiently.

“Was it Paul and “Hey Jude” this time?” Maggie asked, unable to contain her curiosity. She lowered herself into a chair and watched him bustle around the kitchen.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on - you guys must have had a fight or you wouldn’t be so upset now.”

“I’m not upset, am I?” he said, clearly lying.

“Usually you don’t bang doors and make tea at five in the morning. You just come right to bed.”

John looked at Maggie for a moment. There was no point hiding it from her. “It wasn’t Paul, it was George. Actually, it was both of them.”

Maggie sat silently and waited for him to pull his thoughts together.

“It started with Paul. You know he’s working on Mary Hopkin’s album. Complete shite.”

“John!”

“Oh, you don’t like it either, admit it.”

“I like “Goodbye!”

“You like Paulie’s girlish rendition of “Goodbye,” not Mary’s. Which is only slightly less girlish.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Fine, guilty as charged. Get on with the story.”

“Paul wants it released by the end of this month, but I wanted Pete’s album out then too.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Yeah. George said I cared more about Pete’s album than the current Beatles one.”

Maggie held her breath.

“And that we already had a drummer, and his name was Ringo, and not to forget it.”

“That seems a little unfair. I don’t think you’re trying to replace Ringo in the Beatles,” Maggie said, a little uneasy about where this was all going.

“Well, I denied wanting to replace Ringo, didn’t I? But George brought up some old interview where when asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world, I’d said he wasn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles.” John put Maggie’s teacup down in front of her and then set his own down harder, causing it to slop over the sides. He grabbed a towel and mopped at the table, agitated. “Some two year old, smart-ass comment that I’d already apologized for. That I didn’t mean. And George brings it up again. So then Ringo gets a hurt look on his face and leaves. Says he’s out of the band.”

“What? He quit the band?” Maggie looked up in shock.

“Yeah. And then George says that if Ringo’s out, he’s out too. And Paulie is just sitting there with this look on his face, his band falling apart his ears. I couldn’t take it. I just left.”

“John, you have to fix this.” Maggie felt the panic rising in her stomach. The Beatles couldn’t fall apart two years early. She calmed herself by trying to remember that Ringo had originally quit the band around this time, but had come back. Maybe it wasn’t too late to fix things. Maggie gripped John’s hand. “You have to apologize to Ringo.”

“Why should I bloody apologize - it was George set him off, wasn’t it?”

“Maybe Ringo does think you’re trying to bring Pete back into the band.”

“Why would he do that? Ringo’s one of me best mates.”

“So was Pete, once upon a time.”

“Christ, that’s going to follow me forever, isn’t it?” John put his head in his hands. “What a fucking mess.”

“John, if you can make up with Pete, than you can make up with Ringo. It’ll be ok.” Maggie paused. “What about Pete and Mary’s albums - did you resolve that?”

“No.”

“I think you’d better let Paul go ahead with Mary’s album. It’s less controversial. And you need to sort things out with the others. I’m really glad you’ve become friendly with Pete again, but you have to make sure the others don’t think you’re throwing them over. Then release Pete’s album.”

John put his head down on the table, heavily. “It was so much easier when I was ignoring Pete’s existence,” he said in a muffled voice.

“Welcome to being a grown-up,” Maggie said.

“I suppose a grown-up would apologize to Ringo.”

“Yep. And George.”

“Guess I’m not one then. If anything, George owes me an apology for starting this mess.”

Maggie sighed. George was her best friend. It was going to be tough to be in the middle if they continued to stay in a fight. “First things first. Talk to Ringo.”

“I’ll go over there tomorrow.”

“That’s my man. Now, why don’t you come to bed. It’s late. Or, early.”

“Bed - that’s a grown-up thing, isn’t it?”

“You sound like a man with something to prove.”

“Maybe so, luv. Maybe so.” With that, John pulled her out of her chair and into his arms, where he gave her a long kiss. It was amazing that even after being together a few years, he could make her knees weak.

* * *

John looked over his shoulder uncomfortably at the handful of fans assembled in front of Ringo’s house. He banged on the door again. “Christ, Ritchie, let me in. There’s fans.”

“Go away,” Ringo called from inside the house.

John rattled the door. “Come on, I’m here to apologize, you stupid git. Let me in.”

The door opened. “You certainly have a funny way of apologizing.”

“Can I come in?”

“Suit yourself.”

With a last look at the few fans lingering near Ringo’s drive, John followed Ringo inside the house and to the downstairs bar.

“Drink?” Ringo asked.

“Sure, whatever you’re having.”

Ringo poured them both scotch and cokes and sat next to John one of the stools.

John opened his mouth, but Ringo cut him off. “Look, John. I’m just not playing that well lately. And I’m kind of the outsider here. You and Paul and George have been writing and recording song after song. I’m just feeling unloved and out of it, and the rest of you are really close. And now you’re recording with your old drummer on the side. It’s always been you three. Or four even. I’m just the drummer you brought to fill an empty spot.

“What? I always thought it was you three,” John said, taken by surprise at Ringo’s words.

“I’m not sure how you could think that, when I’m always the one off playing chess while you three make music.”

“I don’t know,” John said. “I guess I’ve always just felt a bit apart...”

“If you’ve ever felt that way, Johnny, it’s because you set yourself apart. You’ve always done just as you pleased, whether it be vacationing with Brian, or falling in love with a girl from the future, or...”

“Or making an album with my old drummer,” John finished for him. “Look, Ritchie, it’s never been about replacing you as a drummer. Christ, this was never meant to hurt anyone. Maggie made me see that I owed Pete something for sacking him without ever another word. No, worse, having someone else sack him. Sitting in with his group just kind of happened. And once I got a taste of recording...”

“Recording without us...” Ringo interjected with a sad note in his voice.

John shook his head. “Without Paul, if you want the truth. You know what he’s like. It was just...freeing.”

The two men sat quiet for a few minutes.

“Is this an end?” Ringo finally asked.

“No, not an end - working with Pete was just a break. From Paul, from the Beatles. It was something new.” John swished his drink around and then quickly downed the rest of it for courage. He looked over at Ringo. “Rich, I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings,” he said sincerely.

“You are?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m not sure I’ve ever witnessed John Lennon say he was sorry for anything.”

“Sure you have. I had to apologize for that “bigger than Christ” stuff, didn’t I? And publicly.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t really mean it. John, this is...big.” Ringo gestured with his hands.

“It’s Maggie. Don’t tell anyone she’s made me gone soft. My reputation as a tough Teddy Boy will be in tatters.”

“I think making up with Pete has already put a good dent in that.”

“Do you think it was the right thing?” John asked, suddenly insecure. “I ask you since you weren’t his bandmate like George and Paul were. You’re impartial.”

“I’m not sure I am that. But overall yeah, I think it was a good thing. But maybe you should have talked to Paul and George first, to warn them. You kind of sprang your reconciliation on all of us. It put them in a bad spot. They didn’t have time to decide how they should be treating Pete.”

“Sometimes I feel like I can’t win.”

“Welcome to being a grown-up,” Ringo said with a grin.

“Did you talk to Maggie?” John accused.

“No, why, did she say the same thing?”

“Yeah.”

“Smart lady.”

“Are we ok?”

“Yeah. But I still think I need a break. You said you needed one - well, maybe I understand that too.”

“A break, but not an end?”

“No, not an end.”

* * *

John found Maggie curled up in the den with a newspaper.

“Hello, luv,” he said, sitting down heavily. He pushed the paper aside and wiggled under her arm til his head was in her lap.

She grinned and bent down to kiss his forehead. “Sorry, John, you’re going to have to share lap space for a while.”

He smiled up at her and patted her stomach gently. “I don’t mind.”

“How did it go with Ringo?”

“Ok. I think we’re ok. He still wants a break though. Said he’s taking the family to Greece or something.”

Maggie froze for a second - “Wait, Greece? Oh, yes, this is good, very good!”

“What are you on about?” John sat up before her bouncing up and down dumped him on the floor.

“Octopuses, remember?” Maggie said excitedly.

“We’ve discussed octopuses before, then?”

“Oh John, yes, when we first met! I told you all that Ringo wrote a song about octopuses which was responsible for my early love of the Beatles!”

“If you’re saying he writes this song in Greece then I suppose I’d better let him go.” John thought for a moment. “Do you think if he didn’t go and wrote a song about octopuses, that you could just disappear on me?”

“Well, it happened in ‘Back to the Future.’ Sort of.” At John’s blank look, she explained, “It’s an 80s movie.”

“Ah. Then I will hold onto you very tight and not let you go ‘til you have your octopus song.” John moved closer to Maggie and wrapped her in his arms.

“And my love of the Beatles?”

“And that.” He kissed her head.

“And my love of one particular Beatle?” Maggie said.

“Yes, that too,” John smiled at her. “We all love Ringo.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N

Hooray for Ringo! Can the band hold it together long enough to finish the White Album? Stay tuned!

Also, if you're not familiar with the song "Goodbye," which Paul wrote for Mary Hopkin, check it out. I adore it!

Click to view

Thanks for reading - chapter 12 is in the works, we'll be back with it not too long from now!

Continue to Chapter Twelve

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