Break Me One More Time [McLennon]

in which john has a nightmare

     It wasn't until around five in the morning that Paul went back to bed.  His mind wasn't nearly quiet enough to allow him to get some sleep, though. As soon as his head hit the pillow, his mind began to wander.

     He thought of Cynthia first. Back in the twenty first century, not too long before Paul had ended up in the sixties, Cynthia had passed away. It was all Paul could think about at first, but then his thoughts wandered over to Julian and he squeezed his eyes shut.

      No, he thought. This can't be happening. Oh, how could I have been so stupid as to not think of this before?!

     If John never married Cynthia, Julian would never be born. Paul didn't know if he could handle that. Julian had always been like a son to him, even after Paul had children of his own. And he would never even exist....

     Paul made a mental note to have a serious talk with Barney about Julian next time Barney came around.

     Paul's thoughts were interrupted when John grunted into his pillow and whispered something that sounded a lot like, "No, stop!"

     Paul looked over at John and he made out his silhouette in the fading darkness. "John?" He said. "Are you awake?"

     No answer. Apparently not. But John turned into his back in his sleep and released a shaky breath. "Please, stay," he said.

     Paul looked at him, brows furrowed in confusion. He never remembered John having a nightmare in the time they knew one another - at least, never one like this.

     "No!"

     Paul propped himself up on his elbows and looked at John with a concerned expression. "John, wake up!" Paul shouted.

     John's eyes flew open and he slowly and he breath heavily for a few moments, then turned his head sideways. "Paulie?" He said. He sounded frightened. He looked so...vulnerable.

     Paul frowned. "Yeah, I'm here,"

     John nodded. "Okay, good..." He said. "Sorry. I just...I had a bad dream." Really vulnerable.

     "Alright," Paul said. "Don't worry about it. Just go back to sleep, yeah?"

     John nodded again and closed his eyes.

      Paul laid back down and listened carefully until he heard the sound of John's snoring that told him his friend was asleep once more. His mind was racing... That nightmare had been...strange, to say the least. And what made matters worse, Paul had a sneaking suspicion that the nightmare had had something to do with him.

~~~

     John and Paul met George at Mimi's house the following evening and headed inside. "Mimi!" John called from the sitting room. "We're here!"

     Mimi walked into the sitting room. "Hello, boys," she said and smiled, although her smile was particularly directed at Paul. "It's good to see you. I'm just finishing up dinner now, it'll be ready in a few minutes. We're having meatloaf and beans. If you need to wash up before dinner, you should so so now." Then she turned and left.

     Paul was hit with a sudden realization... He was a vegetarian, but he hadn't been in 1961!

     "What's wrong, Paulie?" George asked.

     "Oh, uhm, nothing," he said. "I don't want to seem rude or anything, to Mimi that is, but...I kind of, erm...can't eat meatloaf."

     John furrowed his brows. "Why....?" He questioned slowly.