'Till the end of times -Roger Taylor

1975.1

The tour was finally over. As exciting as it was being on the road, both Rory and Roger were longing for proper sleep in a proper bed and a proper shower. They had been sleeping in tiny bunk beds on a tour bus and for what concerned showers, they had to turn and hope that the hot water was enough for all of them.
The bunk beds were fine for the nights after the concerts when they would fall asleep even on a rock, but as the time passed, it got more and more uncomfortable and annoying. The space was little and as soon as someone moved in the middle of the night, everybody else would wake up. Especially if that certain someone was Brian. Rory was shocked he could even fit in the bunk bed.
And as if the lack of comfort of the bus wasn't enough, in the last few days Rory had been feeling like shit. The first thing she felt in the morning was the urgent feel to throw up. At first, she didn't think much of it and associated it to the stress of being on the road for so long.
But when that sickness didn't go away the first couple days she was home,she started getting worried. She couldn't recall when she had her period for the last time.
She had been staying at Roger's for a couple of days because, in the time she was on tour, her dad had moved in and it was not comfortable for her to stay in that house with her twenty-something year-old parents.
Roger was out with the guys, working on their next album and Rory was feeling a little better than that morning when Roger left. She put on a sweatsuit and walked to the pharmacy that was just down the road. She asked for a pregnancy test. Rory didn't really know what she was doing and, most of all, what she would do afterwards, but pregnancy was the only plausible reason for her ongoing sickness.
Her hands were shaking when she opened the box. She was home alone and she really wanted her mum there with her. Rory followed the instructions and placed the test on the bathroom sink, walking up and down the bathroom, hoping not to be pregnant. After what it felt like hours, she took the test in her hands and saw the second line. Pregnant. She was carrying Roger Taylor's baby in her belly. She leaned against the wall, letting herself fall on the floor. She couldn't breathe. What was she going to do? So much for swearing not to change the past. What would Roger do?
Roger came home a few hours later. Rory was sitting at the kitchen table, looking at the pregnancy test, hoping that the second line would disappear, as well as the baby in her stomach. As egoistic as it sounds, she wasn't even sure to want children in her own time, leave alone having one with Roger Taylor, the rockstar, in a time that wasn't hers. It was all but a stable situation. As far as she knew, she could go back to the present any moment. If that happened, what would be the consequences? She would either go back pregnant and have to find the Roger of the future because she could not raise a child by herself, she didn't make nearly enough money, or leave the child with Roger in the past, not being able to see them grow up.
When she heard Roger's keys opening the door, she hid the test in her pocket and tried to swipe away the tears.
"Baby, I'm ho-" Roger stopped, seeing Rory crying in the kitchen.
"What happened, love? Why are you crying?" Roger asked, worried, kneeling in front of her and taking her hands.
Rory started crying again. She couldn't do it.
"Baby, talk to me. What's wrong?"
She wiped away the tears with Roger's shirt she was wearing.
"I think you might want to sit down for this"
"You're worrying me, Rory" he said, sitting on a chair in front of her and taking her hands into his.
"You don't want to go back now, do you?"
Rory shook her head, freeing herself from Roger's hands. She put a hand in her pocket and took the test, sliding it on the table towards him.
"Roger I'm pregnant"
At first, Roger had no reaction. His face was completely blank. He stood up and, without saying a world, he walked out. Rory heard the noise of the car engine starting and driving away.
She put her head on the table and started crying again. She didn't want that baby but she thought that if Roger was going to be by her side, everything would be just fine. But Roger had left and she was not even sure if he was coming back or if she was supposed to stay at his place anymore. She knew that it was not right for her to force him into staying, but she really hoped he would. How was she going to raise a child? Maybe it was time to start looking for a way to go back, or at least try to.
Hours passed before Roger came back home. Rory was still sitting at the kitchen table. She had finally stopped crying and fell asleep with her head on the table. She thought that maybe that was the right time to wish to go back to her real life, but she fell asleep too quickly for the thought to be clear in her mind. She woke up hearing the door shutting and Roger walking in. She didn't want to see Roger.
Rory stood up before Roger could get into the kitchen and started walking to the guest room.
"Rory..."
She kept walking, ignoring him.
"Eleanor please, listen to me"
She turned, crossing her arms on her chest. Her eyes were red for all the tears she cried and she had a slight headache.
"What do you even have to add? I think that the stunt you pulled earlier was pretty much self explanatory"
"Rory I'm sorry. I shouldn't have walked out on you. I was scared"
"And you think I'm not?"
Her voice was broken but no tears came out.
Roger couldn't reply.
"I'll tell you how scared I am. I don't even want this kid, hell, I'm not sure I even want kids in general. This is the most scared I've ever been. I'm scared that something will happen and I will go back to my life with this baby still inside of me and won't have the money to raise them, or worse, I fear that I would go back after this baby is born, leaving them behind to you and not be able to see them ever again. That's what I've been thinking since I saw the second line on the test. But, unlike you, I don't have the option to walk out on them."
She felt the tears filling her eyes again. Roger walked towards her and hugged her. She let go of all of the tears again.
"I'm scared of having this child, I'm scared for the exact same reasons as you are. I'm scared that, if you go back with them, I would be an old man by the time they're born, or that, if you leave them behind, I won't be a good enough of a father. I want to do this with you. And I know I shouldn't have left, but I swear on my own life that I'm never going to walk out on you or our baby"
Rory nodded and Roger kissed her forehead, moving one hand from the waist to her stomach.
"I'm going to be a dad" he said and Rory swore she saw tears in his eyes.
"Yeah, you're going to be an amazing dad"
"I have to tell Brian" said Roger, letting go of her and walking over to the telephone.
"No Rog. We're not supposed to say anything before the third month, y'know not to jinx it"
Rory was not someone who believed in good or bad luck. She never aree if she walked under a ladder, spilled salt or opened an umbrella inside. But this time she wanted to be cautious and to not call bad luck on her child.
"I guess you're stuck here with me then" he said before kissing her.
Roger kneeled in front of her, kissing her stomach.
"Hey little bean, this is your Dada. Can you hear me? Me and Mommy can't wait to meet you and we will love you very very much"