Yes It Is, Chapter Fifteen
Title: Yes It Is
Authors: pennylane_fic, jenny_wren28 & lovely_rita_mm
Starring: The Beatles 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.
Did John catch Maggie Sue in time or are they meant to be forever apart???
Though it would be a pretty crappy story if we ended it like that, don't you think... ;)
So, dearest readers, turn off your mind, relax and join Maggie Sue on another one of her Beatle adventures.....
Previous updates located HERE!
Chapter Fifteen
John opened his eyes to blurred spots of color. He was disoriented until he realized that his impaired vision was just the result of having had his eyes squeezed tightly shut. As his vision cleared, he saw the most beautiful sight standing before him.
Maggie, tears frozen on her face, stared at him in complete confusion.
“Oh no! What have you done?” Her eyes were wide and her voice was full of fear as she stared at him, feeling her heart beat rapidly behind her rib cage.
“What have I done? What have you done?” John asked grabbing her arm, afraid to let her go again.
Shaking her head as she tried to reject this reality, Maggie began to panic. “No, no, no, this wasn’t supposed to happen! You… you shouldn’t have done that.” she accused, pointing a finger at him, her hand shaking as it hung in mid air.
“I shouldn’t have done that? How am I in the wrong here? How could you just leave me like that?” John counter-accused, not seeming to have yet realized the predicament they had put themselves in.
Letting her arm drop, Maggie looked at him. A headache was beginning to form behind her eyes and suddenly all she felt like doing was giving up and crawling back in his arms. She knew that would be giving into her fantasy once again - and that was what had gotten her into this dilemma in the first place. “I had to. I’m so sorry, but I had to. At least I thought I did,” she whispered. Yet, her words began to falter even as she spoke. Overwhelmed by emotion, she automatically switched on her analytical side. “John, there was no logical way for us to stay together in your time.”
“Fuck logic!”
“John, it’s not that easy. You’re a Beatle, you’re an icon - I can’t be the person who makes you give that up, but I can’t live with an icon, and everything that it entails. I’m not that strong.”
Licking his lips, he looked at her dejected form. “Well, now I’m just John,” he stated quietly.
Feeling her tears threaten to brim over once more, Maggie swallowed thickly. “I’m so sorry. I’m so very sorry.”
As her eyes trailed to the floor, John reached out for her. With gentle fingers, he tipped her chin upwards, forcing her to look at him. “What for? I’m the one who choose to come here to be with you.”
Maggie frowned. “Wait, you did that on purpose?”
“Well, if you wouldn’t stay, and I can’t live without you, then there was only one solution, wasn’t there? It’s not the first one I would have chosen, but then I don’t feel like I really had a choice in the matter, did I? I don’t think I’d ever be a whole man again if you left me for good. It’s like you said, self-preservation is a hard instinct to overcome. I’d rather give all that other stuff up for the rest of me life then to lose you forever.” Smiling, John hesitated only a moment before taking a step forward. “So, it looks like I’ll have to stay with you in the future. Or rather, the present.” He winced, now finally understanding how Maggie had felt these past couple of weeks. “Bloody hell, I’m confused.” he smiled wryly. “Look, I don’t care, just so long as I get to stay with you.”
She felt herself want to give in again, to let out shouts of approval as she threw her arms around him. But she restrained herself so she could ponder his words. While the idea seemed sound for the first few seconds after it was said, Maggie couldn’t help but wonder how John would do in the future. A future where he was no longer famous and was forty years out of the loop on everything. Absolutely everything was different now. She had been thrust into his world, but she had had the benefit of a youth misspent on absorbing everything she could about the Beatles. He wouldn’t have that luxury. He would have to start from scratch and there was no telling if he would be able to break into music again, or even adjust to it all.
At the very thought of that, Maggie felt herself inwardly groan.
By staying with her, the Beatles were no more. There would be no more albums, no more interviews or concerts and the world would be cheated out of some of their best work.
Oh no, Paul!
If she allowed him to stay, she would be breaking the promise she had made him and the trust she had worked so hard to build with him. This could conceivably destroy him. She would be stealing away his best friend, and his lifeline until Linda came around. Maggie froze as another thought berated her. What if Paul never met the love of his life because of this?
And then there was Julian. There was no way she was going to deprive that little boy of his father. If for nothing else, he was going to go back for Julian.
She smiled inwardly as realization hit her. John was still willing to give all that up. All of that was nothing compared to her in his mind. He did love her. He was willing to walk away from it all just so he could be with her.
Turning her gaze to him, Maggie felt her heart race and her voice quiver. “No.”
John stared at her, struggling for a moment with what she had just said. “What?”
“No,” she repeated. “You can’t stay with me. We have to get you back right away.” She was beginning to turn frantic at all the possible events that could have happened while he was here. Time moved differently. She had to remember that, and the longer they waited… “Oh, no - what if we send you back and two more years have passed? Why did you have to grab me?”
Running her fingers through her hair, Maggie took in a deep breath, struggling to fight back the onslaught of tears. How could she take away Julian’s father? Paul’s best friend? Oh, she was the most selfish of all creatures! If only he hadn’t grabbed onto her! If only she’d never left!
“Luv,” John breathed, taking another step towards her, seeing the guilt swimming through her eyes. “I’ve been a Beatle for what seems like a hundred years. I could use a break from it.” She looked at him, about to open her mouth and tell him all the reasons why he had to return, but John stopped her. “I know,” he said seriously. “I know just what I’m giving up… I know who I’m giving up. But isn’t the reality that they all have to do without me in a few years anyway? And if I stay here, won’t I avoid 1980 all together? Am I a coward for not wanting to die? Besides, I want to see this future of yours where women can drive and vote!” he smiled at that, his excitement only growing at the possibilities that lay before him now. ”Do you know, I could walk anywhere I wanted here - total freedom?! No fans chasing me, grabbing at me.”
Maggie’s stared at him, watching the wonder spread across his face, watching the burden of Beatlehood lifted off his shoulders. He was nearly giddy with everything he could now do. She pictured him looking around him with wide eyes, trying to soak up each and every little detail that would now be new to him. She knew this feeling all too well. She knew the excitement that came with this brand new adventure, but she also knew the buzz would wear off. After all, he was now in a world where he couldn’t smoke indoors, or get drugs as readily and freely as he once did. And that was just for starters.
“No,” she stated firmly. “We have to get you back. You can’t just leave Julian, or Paul for that matter. They need you. The world needs you. As much as I want you to be ‘just John’ my John, I know that can’t ever happen. I’m a selfish creature, but even I can’t rob the world, or your loved ones, of this.”
Turning his attention back towards her, John felt his heart fall. She was serious about this. He was serious too; he didn’t want to return and have to deal with a broken heart again.
“I’m not leaving without you,” he stated. “We need to be together; if not for your sake, for mine. I love you, Maggie. I know you’re an independent lass, but I think that if we stick together, I can be the man you want me to be; I won’t cheat on you. And I won’t use drugs. We can make this work, we just have to try.”
Maggie looked at him doubtfully, cocking up one eyebrow.
“What? You don’t believe me?”
At the slight sound of hurt in his voice, Maggie sighed. She couldn’t do this to him. She knew what his future held, he didn’t. “I believe that you believe that you won’t cheat on me, and I believe that you will try to be faithful and that you will try to stay away from the drugs… And I do believe that you love me, and I know that I love you… and… I don’t want to leave you…” Maggie paused for a moment, fighting an eternal battle with herself and trying her hardest to find the best course of action. There was really only one decision that would work, and it really was the only one Maggie could see herself ever possibly being happy with. “I’ll…I’ll go back with you - it’s more important for you to be where you belong. I’m no one important here. We’ll just deal with the rest as it comes.” Swallowing, she reached for his hands, threading her fingers with his.
“That’s not true, you’re important to me everywhere. Promise me no more running away from me back to the future?” he asked, squeezing her hand gently.
Maggie nodded. “No more running, I promise.”
John looked at her doubtfully.
“You don’t believe me?” Laughter colored her voice as she looked at him.
With an exaggerated sigh, John rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, obviously mocking her. “I believe that you believe you won’t run away, though you’ve left me twice now. It was quite a long, lost weekend without you last time!“
Reaching out, Maggie smacked him on the shoulder, laughing at him. John easily caught her wrist though, pulling her into a kiss. As John dipped her back, kissing her deeply, he tried to pour everything he felt into that kiss, solidifying their commitment and trying his hardest to reassure her that he wouldn’t hurt her. To show her that they were both making the right decision.
Begrudgingly, they broke away from each other, looking into one another's eyes for a few seconds, and trading familiar emotions. Nodding her head, Maggie straightened and as she took him by the hand, they turned to stare at the picture.
Only, the photo was gone. In fact, in her confused emotional state, it was only now that Maggie realized they were not standing inside of EMI. Maggie recognized the room they were in as the new office she'd been shown during the orientation for her new job. The job she was supposed to officially start after her vacation. It was just a week ago that she'd stood in here for the first time - but it felt like a lifetime ago.
“Where’d it…? How did we…?” Maggie licked her lips, feeling a sense of panic swell within her as she looked around the room. When he saw her alarm, John looked around him and felt immediately panicked - where was EMI?
“Where are we?” John whispered, confused.
“Somehow we ended up in my office in Washington D.C. Maybe it’s because I was focused on going home? How are we ever going to get you back now? There’s no EMI, no picture of you to focus on.” She waved at the blank wall in front of them. She said all this more to herself than John, as her mind quickly ran through every possible scenario. The thought of home was the only logical explanation that belonged in this impossible equation.
Looking at the wall and the spot Maggie indicated, John frowned. “Well, what if we just concentrate on the wall instead? Maybe it’ll still work.”
Maggie frowned. There wasn’t much else they could do. But as they looked at it together, focusing and trying to get back to the sixties, nothing happened. No matter what they did, whether it be taking turns or focusing in a combined effort, they stayed where they were, solidly in 2006.
“I’m thinking that we’re stuck here in the future,” John stated, turning to Maggie. He didn’t look too upset over the prospect. “It was your plan all along wasn’t it? To lure me here with promises of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll?”
Maggie shrugged. “Well, it worked didn’t it?” She grinned at him suddenly, “You wanton hussy you!”
Grinning, John wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “That’s my line, luv.”
Maggie felt herself smile as well, but only for a minute. The reality of what was happening was starting to sink in. She was starting to really hate reality. "What do we do?” she asked, her voice growing slightly worried. She was finding that she was too tired to care as much as she should have. After all, with the possibility of going back being taken away from them that meant that they didn’t have to deal with the consequences of their actions like she thought they might. It was no longer her fault that Julian had no father and Paul had lost his best friend and writing partner, right? She’d tried to get him back… shouldn’t that be enough to satisfy karma? But more importantly, would it satisfy her guilt for being secretly glad that she got her wish? She was going to get John, just John, all for herself. No Beatles, no fans, and yet there would still be music, and it would all be hers. No one could blame her for this, right?
Steering her away from the wall, John dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I think it’s time to make good on those promises of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll!” he announced loudly. “Let’s go back to your flat.”
Maggie shook her head. “Apartment.”
“What?”
“Apartment.” she repeated. “I live in America, it’s an apartment. And I think I can make good on at least one of your three requests.”
“Well, as long as at least one of them involves you getting naked, I won’t complain.”
Maggie laughed, vowing to put aside her worry and guilt for at least a couple of hours. “I think that can be arranged.”
Without hesitating, John dragged her forward. “Great! Let’s go!”
****************
Authors' Note: And the time travel ping pong has begun! Woohoo!!!
OH NOES!!! What will Maggie Sue do???? How will she return John to the 60's??? How will his disappearance affect modern music??? But most importantly what will John think of Rap!?! Find out all this and more on Wednesday or Thursday (yup, we're posting earlier!)
Much love to you all and all your darling comments & support,
Penny Lane, Jenny Wren, Lovely Rita
Continue to Chapter Sixteen
Want your own bound and printed copy of Yes It Is (and associated short stories) and Tomorrow Never Knows? You can get them from Lulu.com. You can also download a .pdf from Lulu for FREE!!
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/lovely_rita_mm
Authors: pennylane_fic, jenny_wren28 & lovely_rita_mm
Starring: The Beatles 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.
Did John catch Maggie Sue in time or are they meant to be forever apart???
Though it would be a pretty crappy story if we ended it like that, don't you think... ;)
So, dearest readers, turn off your mind, relax and join Maggie Sue on another one of her Beatle adventures.....
Previous updates located HERE!
Chapter Fifteen
John opened his eyes to blurred spots of color. He was disoriented until he realized that his impaired vision was just the result of having had his eyes squeezed tightly shut. As his vision cleared, he saw the most beautiful sight standing before him.
Maggie, tears frozen on her face, stared at him in complete confusion.
“Oh no! What have you done?” Her eyes were wide and her voice was full of fear as she stared at him, feeling her heart beat rapidly behind her rib cage.
“What have I done? What have you done?” John asked grabbing her arm, afraid to let her go again.
Shaking her head as she tried to reject this reality, Maggie began to panic. “No, no, no, this wasn’t supposed to happen! You… you shouldn’t have done that.” she accused, pointing a finger at him, her hand shaking as it hung in mid air.
“I shouldn’t have done that? How am I in the wrong here? How could you just leave me like that?” John counter-accused, not seeming to have yet realized the predicament they had put themselves in.
Letting her arm drop, Maggie looked at him. A headache was beginning to form behind her eyes and suddenly all she felt like doing was giving up and crawling back in his arms. She knew that would be giving into her fantasy once again - and that was what had gotten her into this dilemma in the first place. “I had to. I’m so sorry, but I had to. At least I thought I did,” she whispered. Yet, her words began to falter even as she spoke. Overwhelmed by emotion, she automatically switched on her analytical side. “John, there was no logical way for us to stay together in your time.”
“Fuck logic!”
“John, it’s not that easy. You’re a Beatle, you’re an icon - I can’t be the person who makes you give that up, but I can’t live with an icon, and everything that it entails. I’m not that strong.”
Licking his lips, he looked at her dejected form. “Well, now I’m just John,” he stated quietly.
Feeling her tears threaten to brim over once more, Maggie swallowed thickly. “I’m so sorry. I’m so very sorry.”
As her eyes trailed to the floor, John reached out for her. With gentle fingers, he tipped her chin upwards, forcing her to look at him. “What for? I’m the one who choose to come here to be with you.”
Maggie frowned. “Wait, you did that on purpose?”
“Well, if you wouldn’t stay, and I can’t live without you, then there was only one solution, wasn’t there? It’s not the first one I would have chosen, but then I don’t feel like I really had a choice in the matter, did I? I don’t think I’d ever be a whole man again if you left me for good. It’s like you said, self-preservation is a hard instinct to overcome. I’d rather give all that other stuff up for the rest of me life then to lose you forever.” Smiling, John hesitated only a moment before taking a step forward. “So, it looks like I’ll have to stay with you in the future. Or rather, the present.” He winced, now finally understanding how Maggie had felt these past couple of weeks. “Bloody hell, I’m confused.” he smiled wryly. “Look, I don’t care, just so long as I get to stay with you.”
She felt herself want to give in again, to let out shouts of approval as she threw her arms around him. But she restrained herself so she could ponder his words. While the idea seemed sound for the first few seconds after it was said, Maggie couldn’t help but wonder how John would do in the future. A future where he was no longer famous and was forty years out of the loop on everything. Absolutely everything was different now. She had been thrust into his world, but she had had the benefit of a youth misspent on absorbing everything she could about the Beatles. He wouldn’t have that luxury. He would have to start from scratch and there was no telling if he would be able to break into music again, or even adjust to it all.
At the very thought of that, Maggie felt herself inwardly groan.
By staying with her, the Beatles were no more. There would be no more albums, no more interviews or concerts and the world would be cheated out of some of their best work.
Oh no, Paul!
If she allowed him to stay, she would be breaking the promise she had made him and the trust she had worked so hard to build with him. This could conceivably destroy him. She would be stealing away his best friend, and his lifeline until Linda came around. Maggie froze as another thought berated her. What if Paul never met the love of his life because of this?
And then there was Julian. There was no way she was going to deprive that little boy of his father. If for nothing else, he was going to go back for Julian.
She smiled inwardly as realization hit her. John was still willing to give all that up. All of that was nothing compared to her in his mind. He did love her. He was willing to walk away from it all just so he could be with her.
Turning her gaze to him, Maggie felt her heart race and her voice quiver. “No.”
John stared at her, struggling for a moment with what she had just said. “What?”
“No,” she repeated. “You can’t stay with me. We have to get you back right away.” She was beginning to turn frantic at all the possible events that could have happened while he was here. Time moved differently. She had to remember that, and the longer they waited… “Oh, no - what if we send you back and two more years have passed? Why did you have to grab me?”
Running her fingers through her hair, Maggie took in a deep breath, struggling to fight back the onslaught of tears. How could she take away Julian’s father? Paul’s best friend? Oh, she was the most selfish of all creatures! If only he hadn’t grabbed onto her! If only she’d never left!
“Luv,” John breathed, taking another step towards her, seeing the guilt swimming through her eyes. “I’ve been a Beatle for what seems like a hundred years. I could use a break from it.” She looked at him, about to open her mouth and tell him all the reasons why he had to return, but John stopped her. “I know,” he said seriously. “I know just what I’m giving up… I know who I’m giving up. But isn’t the reality that they all have to do without me in a few years anyway? And if I stay here, won’t I avoid 1980 all together? Am I a coward for not wanting to die? Besides, I want to see this future of yours where women can drive and vote!” he smiled at that, his excitement only growing at the possibilities that lay before him now. ”Do you know, I could walk anywhere I wanted here - total freedom?! No fans chasing me, grabbing at me.”
Maggie’s stared at him, watching the wonder spread across his face, watching the burden of Beatlehood lifted off his shoulders. He was nearly giddy with everything he could now do. She pictured him looking around him with wide eyes, trying to soak up each and every little detail that would now be new to him. She knew this feeling all too well. She knew the excitement that came with this brand new adventure, but she also knew the buzz would wear off. After all, he was now in a world where he couldn’t smoke indoors, or get drugs as readily and freely as he once did. And that was just for starters.
“No,” she stated firmly. “We have to get you back. You can’t just leave Julian, or Paul for that matter. They need you. The world needs you. As much as I want you to be ‘just John’ my John, I know that can’t ever happen. I’m a selfish creature, but even I can’t rob the world, or your loved ones, of this.”
Turning his attention back towards her, John felt his heart fall. She was serious about this. He was serious too; he didn’t want to return and have to deal with a broken heart again.
“I’m not leaving without you,” he stated. “We need to be together; if not for your sake, for mine. I love you, Maggie. I know you’re an independent lass, but I think that if we stick together, I can be the man you want me to be; I won’t cheat on you. And I won’t use drugs. We can make this work, we just have to try.”
Maggie looked at him doubtfully, cocking up one eyebrow.
“What? You don’t believe me?”
At the slight sound of hurt in his voice, Maggie sighed. She couldn’t do this to him. She knew what his future held, he didn’t. “I believe that you believe that you won’t cheat on me, and I believe that you will try to be faithful and that you will try to stay away from the drugs… And I do believe that you love me, and I know that I love you… and… I don’t want to leave you…” Maggie paused for a moment, fighting an eternal battle with herself and trying her hardest to find the best course of action. There was really only one decision that would work, and it really was the only one Maggie could see herself ever possibly being happy with. “I’ll…I’ll go back with you - it’s more important for you to be where you belong. I’m no one important here. We’ll just deal with the rest as it comes.” Swallowing, she reached for his hands, threading her fingers with his.
“That’s not true, you’re important to me everywhere. Promise me no more running away from me back to the future?” he asked, squeezing her hand gently.
Maggie nodded. “No more running, I promise.”
John looked at her doubtfully.
“You don’t believe me?” Laughter colored her voice as she looked at him.
With an exaggerated sigh, John rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, obviously mocking her. “I believe that you believe you won’t run away, though you’ve left me twice now. It was quite a long, lost weekend without you last time!“
Reaching out, Maggie smacked him on the shoulder, laughing at him. John easily caught her wrist though, pulling her into a kiss. As John dipped her back, kissing her deeply, he tried to pour everything he felt into that kiss, solidifying their commitment and trying his hardest to reassure her that he wouldn’t hurt her. To show her that they were both making the right decision.
Begrudgingly, they broke away from each other, looking into one another's eyes for a few seconds, and trading familiar emotions. Nodding her head, Maggie straightened and as she took him by the hand, they turned to stare at the picture.
Only, the photo was gone. In fact, in her confused emotional state, it was only now that Maggie realized they were not standing inside of EMI. Maggie recognized the room they were in as the new office she'd been shown during the orientation for her new job. The job she was supposed to officially start after her vacation. It was just a week ago that she'd stood in here for the first time - but it felt like a lifetime ago.
“Where’d it…? How did we…?” Maggie licked her lips, feeling a sense of panic swell within her as she looked around the room. When he saw her alarm, John looked around him and felt immediately panicked - where was EMI?
“Where are we?” John whispered, confused.
“Somehow we ended up in my office in Washington D.C. Maybe it’s because I was focused on going home? How are we ever going to get you back now? There’s no EMI, no picture of you to focus on.” She waved at the blank wall in front of them. She said all this more to herself than John, as her mind quickly ran through every possible scenario. The thought of home was the only logical explanation that belonged in this impossible equation.
Looking at the wall and the spot Maggie indicated, John frowned. “Well, what if we just concentrate on the wall instead? Maybe it’ll still work.”
Maggie frowned. There wasn’t much else they could do. But as they looked at it together, focusing and trying to get back to the sixties, nothing happened. No matter what they did, whether it be taking turns or focusing in a combined effort, they stayed where they were, solidly in 2006.
“I’m thinking that we’re stuck here in the future,” John stated, turning to Maggie. He didn’t look too upset over the prospect. “It was your plan all along wasn’t it? To lure me here with promises of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll?”
Maggie shrugged. “Well, it worked didn’t it?” She grinned at him suddenly, “You wanton hussy you!”
Grinning, John wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “That’s my line, luv.”
Maggie felt herself smile as well, but only for a minute. The reality of what was happening was starting to sink in. She was starting to really hate reality. "What do we do?” she asked, her voice growing slightly worried. She was finding that she was too tired to care as much as she should have. After all, with the possibility of going back being taken away from them that meant that they didn’t have to deal with the consequences of their actions like she thought they might. It was no longer her fault that Julian had no father and Paul had lost his best friend and writing partner, right? She’d tried to get him back… shouldn’t that be enough to satisfy karma? But more importantly, would it satisfy her guilt for being secretly glad that she got her wish? She was going to get John, just John, all for herself. No Beatles, no fans, and yet there would still be music, and it would all be hers. No one could blame her for this, right?
Steering her away from the wall, John dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I think it’s time to make good on those promises of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll!” he announced loudly. “Let’s go back to your flat.”
Maggie shook her head. “Apartment.”
“What?”
“Apartment.” she repeated. “I live in America, it’s an apartment. And I think I can make good on at least one of your three requests.”
“Well, as long as at least one of them involves you getting naked, I won’t complain.”
Maggie laughed, vowing to put aside her worry and guilt for at least a couple of hours. “I think that can be arranged.”
Without hesitating, John dragged her forward. “Great! Let’s go!”
****************
Authors' Note: And the time travel ping pong has begun! Woohoo!!!
OH NOES!!! What will Maggie Sue do???? How will she return John to the 60's??? How will his disappearance affect modern music??? But most importantly what will John think of Rap!?! Find out all this and more on Wednesday or Thursday (yup, we're posting earlier!)
Much love to you all and all your darling comments & support,
Penny Lane, Jenny Wren, Lovely Rita
Continue to Chapter Sixteen
Want your own bound and printed copy of Yes It Is (and associated short stories) and Tomorrow Never Knows? You can get them from Lulu.com. You can also download a .pdf from Lulu for FREE!!
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/lovely_rita_mm