If I Fell│John Lennon/Beatles FanFiction

Chapter 73 - 27.Aug.1966

Chapter 73

August 27, 1966

My head was pressed against the warm glass of the car window. Neil had collected me from the airport just like Paul promised he would, and we were now making our way to the house Brian had arranged for the boys to stay in while they rested in Los Angeles. And I gripped the seat as Nell drove, not knowing how in the hell he managed to drive on the wrong side of the road without hitting every damned thing in sight.

The last time I was in L.A., I'd ended up with my head in a toilet for most of the visit, and we discovered I was pregnant with Maggie. Now I was twice drunk, once hungover, and a bit delirious from having barely slept on the plane. 

"Have I ever told you how bloody wonderful you are?" My head ached from the first hangover, but I was still a bit bevvied up from the second flight and my second round of heavy drinking.

"Once or twice before." Neil smirked, his hair a tousled mess, but he looked rather sharp in his pressed suit. "Mostly when you're completely pissed, Liv."

"Well, you're wonderful, Nell. The boys are so damned lucky to have you. I should tell you more often." I perked up and lifted my head. "I will tell you more often. From now on. When I'm sober as a judge, mind you."

"Like you, too. Especially when you're like this," Neil said, still smiling. He pulled the car up a long driveway, and despite the sun beginning to set, I could clearly make out a massive home nestled in the hillside. "Does John know you're here? Cause Paul was bein' a bit secretive about it all. Shoved me out of the house earlier without tellin' anyone."

"He indeed does not know." I twisted the bottom of my hair around my finger.

"Think it wise to surprise him?" Neil kept his eyes on the curved driveway as he pressed the brake and brought the car to a halt. "They've all been a bit...testy this tour."

"Oh, I think it beyond daft to surprise him." It was part of the reason why I'd been downing drinks—that, and my utter fear of flying paired with the awful feeling of leaving my baby behind. I'd only be away from Maggie for a handful of days, but leaving her had been next to impossible, and something I was only able to do with the assistance of a pill. It was only the second pill I'd taken, and damn if it hadn't helped me settle down and make things less complicated...though they still made my head spin a bit. 

Paul sat on the front stoop of the house, smoking a cig and looking at nothing in particular. He popped up when he saw us and opened the car door for me.

"Christ, Liv," Paul said as he reached for me. I stumbled out of the car and shoved sunglasses over my eyes despite the ever-darkening skies. "You smell like a bloody liquor cabinet."

I grinned at him as I wiggled my brow. "And you're practically starkers, Paul. What a way to greet me."

He was only wearing tiny white swim shorts, and his skin was bronzed from the beautiful Los Angeles sun. Despite that, he looked burned out, ready to go home...like this tour had done him in, and it seemed maybe it truly had.

"Holy hell, you're out of yer mind, aren't you?" Paul said as he chuckled.

"I'm a married bird, Paul. I'm not even lookin' at yer impossibly long legs." I closed one eye. "Not. Even. Looking."

Paul turned his attention to Neil. "Ta mate," he said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, steadying me, "for not lettin' her wander off at the airport, never to be seen again."

"She damn well tried," Neil said offhandedly as he stepped out of the car and grabbed my luggage from the back seat. "Think a few members of the press snapped pictures of her arriving."