I Will [Paul McCartney/Beatles Fanfiction]

thirteen

"Thank you for all this, Mrs. Dalton."

"Oh, please, Paul, how many times have I told you to call me Ruth?" Mrs. Dalton said amusedly. "And really, it's my pleasure. I always love finding excuses to cook more."

"Well, then it's my pleasure to give you an excuse," Paul replied.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Mrs. Dalton spoke up again. "So, Carmen, how're things at the Gazette going? Alvarez is still the same ratty man he's always been?"

Glancing at Paul with a small grin, she responded, "Yeah, pretty much."

He didn't even know how tense he was until he felt himself relax at her words. Letting Mrs. Dalton know she'd been fired (and therefore also about the camera incident) was not the best idea he had in mind, especially so soon.

"And Carlton? How's he doing?"

"He's doing well. Finally got a job at that one law firm he's been trying to get into for years."

"Oh, goodness! Tell him congratulations for me, then! Does he have a girlfriend or anything?"

Carmen snickered. "Nope."

"Then do me another favor and tell him he needs to get going with that," Mrs. Dalton chuckled. "And Paul, how about you? How's your band?"

"As well as ever," he replied. "It's good to be touring again."

"I'd think as much! It really helps keep a group together when you tour, yeah? Makes a lot of memories?"

"It really does."

As Carmen's other siblings began to quarrel at the other end of the dinner table, he sat as a mere bystander to the argument, simultaneously having an interesting conversation with Carmen and her mum about pineapples. He was really starting to love being with her family. They just gave off such a good vibe, like the town they lived in itself. He felt as though he belonged with them. That was a feeling he hadn't had about any of his past girlfriends' families.

The dinner blew by quickly (Mrs. Dalton was an outstanding cook, too), and before they knew it, the group had migrated to the living room, much to Carmen's protest. Paul was wondering why she kept trying to come up with an excuse to leave...until her mother got out the picture albums, causing him to burst into laughter.

He spent a long time that evening listening to the family's records and flipping through the pages of various photographs, each one seeming to get better and better, whether it was Carmen getting glasses way too big for her face or a clearly annoyed Carlton wearing overalls that were way too small, they were all hilarious and heartwarming at the same time. Mrs. Dalton and the triplets (most of the pictures were taken before they were born, so they were spared from the embarrassment) were enjoying them quite a bit as well.

After the picture albums were put away and they'd gone through every last record, Mrs. Dalton began to share stories of Carmen's childhood, which she was fully aware would embarrass her daughter even more, though all Paul did was smile the whole time. By the time the couple was getting ready to leave, Carmen's face was a deep red, yet Paul seemed to be able to do nothing but smile.

The family exchanged lighthearted and friendly goodbyes, and then they were out the door.

"Oh, my gosh," Carmen sighed as she, Paul, and Elizabeth walked back out to the car. "I'd thought she'd never stop with those stories!"

"Oh, come on, they weren't that bad," Paul chuckled. "You sounded like a great kid."

"Yeah, a great kid who said she wanted to be a tree when she grew up."

Once they arrived at the hotel again, Carmen gave Elizabeth a hug goodbye and the twosome got out of the car. They stood in the parking lot together until her headlights had disappeared around the corner, which is when they walked towards the entrance to the building.

"I loved your family," Paul told her truthfully. "Would you be interested in meeting mine once we stop at Liverpool?"

"I'd be interested," Carmen replied, "as long as your dad has some decent photo albums, so I can rub it in your face."

They shared a laugh together and fell into a pleasant silence, grinning at each other for just a moment. But that moment was all it took for Paul to gain the courage to lean in ever so slightly, an action to which Carmen received the hint and closed the gap between them.

***

Paul was on cloud nine as he entered his hotel room, smiling like an idiot. They'd finally kissed! And boy, was he happy. It sealed his belief that she was special; not meant to be one of the relationships he'd had that only lasted approximately a month.

He felt like nothing could drag him down, he was so elated.

Paul wanted to do nothing but be with Carmen at the moment, and planned to fulfill this wish after he called his dad to let him know he'd be coming. However, just as he reached the phone and threw his coat onto a nearby chair, it began to ring. That's odd, Paul thought. Who'd be calling my hotel room? Unless a fan found out the number...

He picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Paul?"

He swore that, at least for a moment, his heart stopped. And after it resumed it's beating, he felt his stomach churn and felt the smile drop from his face. What... Why would they be calling?

"Paul, are you there?" the caller's voice was shaky.

He didn't want to be forced from this beautiful land and this beautiful mood he was in, that Carmen and her family had put him in. He didn't want to go crashing back down into the abyss he'd fell into after his heart was shattered into a million pieces earlier that year. So why would this person be calling? Why couldn't they just leave him alone, leave him so he could finally be who he wanted to be and get better?

Feeling his shock be replaced by nothing but broiling anger, he made the decision in that moment to finish things once and for all.

Slowly, Paul moved the phone back up to his ear, his voice coming out low and expressionless. "Yeah, Jane. I'm here."

***

OH SNAP. PLOT TWIST.