Break Me One More Time [McLennon]

in which we are introduced to tessa

The next morning when Paul woke up, he felt ten times better than he had the day before. He was thinking clearly and he was ready to return everything to "normal".

He got out of bed, got dressed, and went into the kitchen where he found George serving pancakes to everyone. "Morning, George," Paul smiled.

George looked up at Paul and he hesitated for a moment before he spoke. "H-hi, Paul.. Are you feeling better today? I made pancakes. There's plenty here if you want some.."

"I would love some pancakes," Paul nodded. "Thank you, George."

"So, you are feeling better, then?" John asked when Paul took a seat beside him and George put a plate of pancakes down in front of him.

"Yes, much better, thank you." Paul said, then dug into his pancakes.

Paul and John spent the day writing music, and Paul couldn't help but get the feeling that George and Ringo were giving him weird looks.. Maybe they were just concerned about him after what had happened two nights earlier? That was probably it.

"I think we should put Hold Me Tight on the album," John said.

"Sounds good to me," Paul smiled. "Do you think we should speed it up a bit? Make it more appealing to the public?"

"No," John shook his head. "I think we should record it just the way it is, the way it was meant to be sung."

And even though this was just another thing that Paul was going to see changed right before his eyes, he smiled. Because really, how could he disagree with that? How could he say that they shouldn't sing it the way it was meant to be sung?

They kept writing throughout the day, and all four Beatles ate dinner together, then watched some television in the living room.

"Did you hear about that new show that's starting in November?" George said.

"The one about the spaceman with a blue time machine?" John said.

Paul nearly burst out laughing.

"Yeah," John said.

"Yeah, I heard about it," Ringo nodded. "It's called Doctor...Doctor something."

It was taking absolutely everything Paul had not to fall on the floor laughing right then and there. It was also very weird for him to think about Doctor Who being considered new.

Hours later, when everyone was in bed and fast asleep, Paul was standing in the kitchen having a cup of tea because he couldn't sleep. He was feeling much better, yes, but he was terrified that the moment he closed his eyes the nightmares about John dying, about his mission failing, were going to return.

"Hi, Paul," Barney appeared, and Paul was taken aback. The last time he'd seen Barney, the man had looked unbearably exhausted. He still did, the circles under his eyes were still prominent and Paul couldn't help but take notice of the small bit of grey beginning to appear in his friend's hair again. Despite how tired Barney looked, though, he looked younger again. More like the man Paul had met when he first arrived in 1961. The smile that was spread across the man's face was refreshing. "How long has it been since you last saw me?"

"A little over a month," Paul said.

Barney nodded. "It's been two weeks for me.. Guess what happened today?"

"What?"

Barney's grin grew impossibly bigger. "Two weeks before her estimated due date, Lilly went into labor and brought seven pound, three ounce Kylie into the world!"