All In Good Time - A Time Travel Beatles Fanfiction

Track 23 - Tell Me Why You Lied

It was only a fifteen minute drive home from the record store, but Lainey decided Paul had some explaining to do before she took him home with her and told him "This is where you live now."

Paul drove with one hand on the wheel and the other midway up Lainey's bare thigh, his fingers warm against her skin, tapping out the rhythm along with a Sam Hunt song. He was a graceful and confident driver, except when he was distracted by the scan feature on the radio and groaning with pleasure over the number of available stations, the quality of the sound, and what he referred to as "vast improvements in recording technology."

"Turn right," Lainey said, indicating a narrow, tree-shrouded road. A few minutes later they were parked at the end of a gravel road, the buzz of insects almost masking the sound of water splashing only yards away.

"Shoes off."

"Yes ma'am."

Sandals and shoes were left in the Jeep, and Lainey pointed at Paul's dark grey jeans. "You'll want to roll those up."

He bent to the task, and when he straightened she took his hand and led him through the reeds to the edge of the water, shockingly cold at first, but soon refreshingly pleasant. They worked their way carefully over the slimy rocks until a few yards from shore they climbed onto a large, water-smoothed boulder and dangled their feet in the water.

"God, look at that lover's moon."

Lainey took Paul's chin in her hand, pulling his attention to her face.

"Okay Romeo, now's your chance. Tell me why you stole my ring and why you lied to me. And it better be good or I'm leaving you here, in the middle of the James River, a long way from home."

"I didn't exactly lie to you, Lainey love. I wasn't sure you'd come back to me, so I had to nick the ring to see you again. You see, I knew you wouldn't voluntarily give it to me. You left me no choice, really."

"I cried for weeks over you."

"I'm sorry babe. I got here as fast as I could."

She stared at him, letting his words sink in. "How did you get to 2012?"

"Simple, really. I used one of the pictures I took of you in Weston-super-mare."

Her gaze fell to the ring. "Show me."

He flipped the ring open and she peered inside, amazed to see her own tiny smiling face inside the locket.

"And how do you think you're going to get back?"

"The same way you got to 1963. By putting George's picture back in the locket."

"Wait a minute...how did you get to Virginia, to my father's record store?"

"I knew George was planning to visit his sister in Illinois on our two week break. His first visit to the States, and he's been talking about it for months. So I flew over with him."

"You were serious about driving from Illinois today?"

"Absolutely."

"By yourself?"

He picked up a loose stone and skipped it across the water. "George is with me."

"What? Where is he, exactly?"


"He's back in the record store, in 1963. But it was near closing time. I told him not to wait around, that if I found you I might not be coming back for some time. But..." He reached over and scooped a handful of stones from the water. "...if it works the way it worked for you, when I go back, he'll still be standing right where I left him."