Magical Mystery Tour

Shake it Out

  "You know that drives me wild luv" I sighed as I woke up to Paul running his fingers softly over my stomach.
"You know that's why I do it luv" he smiled before kissing me. I became completely lost in him in that moment, his soft touch, the warmth of his kiss; I could've stayed like that all day.
"Good morning," he said finally with a smirk.
"And you said I make a good alarm clock" I laughed.
"You do," he smiled pulling me close to him and rolling so I was nearly on top of him. "But I think you need the nice wake-up call this morning, are you ready for everything?"
"I think so..." I said laying my head on his shoulder. 2 weeks had passed since New Years, the interview I'd been dreading was mere hours away. I knew I had to go through with it.
"You can say no to all this at any point...I'll understand," Paul said sensing my anxiety over the situation, he stroked my hair softly.
"I think I have to do this Paul," I said pushing myself up to look at him "I don't want any of this putting a strain on us if I have to break the silence...I will"
"Are you scared at all?" He asked quietly.
"A bit. There's always been an amount of fear over anything dealing with my sister, I'll face it though....are you?" I asked back.
"Honestly?" Paul said. "I'm terrified..." His voice was meek and timid, I'd heard him speak like that so seldom that I worried when he did. I caressed his cheek; he held my hand to his cheek and closed his eyes.
"It'll be alright," I said finally "It's your turn to trust me"
I couldn't deny I felt the same fear he did, we'd talked a great deal about it all, I hadn't been able to sleep a couple nights before it all. There was the fear, Daphne or Thomas would lash out...if not personally, but publicly. There was the fear of what would happen to my mum and Lucy...I disbanded that fear quickly realizing Lucy would be out of the mess in a few months and that nobody would hurt her. Security around me would be a bit tighter apparently after all this was released, which I wasn't happy about, however, Paul begged; he was close to tears when he asked.
"I just want to hold you a bit longer," he said finally. I rested my head on his chest, happy to oblige his request. His heart was pounding; he managed to calm down as we lay there in silence.

"Tilly Darling," I was greeted at the entrance of the large building where I'd be interviewed by my agent. Malcolm hugged me warmly "I trust your move is going well?"
"Oh, yeah...spending my last night in my old flat tomorrow, nearly everything is moved to Cavendish" I said.
"Good good." Malcolm smiled "And Mr. McCartney! A pleasure to finally meet you!"
Malcolm extended a hand to Paul; Paul smiled and shook his hand.
"Call me Paul, no need to be formal" he smiled.
Malcolm became serious as he faced me. He put his hands on my shoulders lightly
"Tilly luv," he said "You know you don't have to do this, we can find another way to smooth things over"
"I think I do Malcolm...I don't think there's any other way to smooth this over. Can't hide forever now can I?" I said.
"Alright lovey, I'll support ya' whatever you decide," he said keeping an arm around my shoulders.
Paul held onto my hand as Malcolm walked at my other side.
"Ready luv?" Paul asked about to open the door. I bit my lip and breathed deep. I looked to Paul who was watching me, a smile on his face, that although there was a hint of fear behind it...gave me the strength I needed.
"Yeah, I am" I smiled back.

"Mr. McCartney!" a very well dressed man said as we entered his office; he shook Paul's hand "And Miss Beckham, good to see you both again"
I recognized him as the reporter from Paul's party, the one who'd written about us first being a couple. I loved his article, he was very kind.
"And I don't believe we've met," he smiled as he turned to Malcolm and extended a hand.
"Malcolm. Malcolm Henderson, I'm Miss Beckham's agent" Malcolm said amiably as he shook hands.
"Pleasure to meet you; I'm Roger Finn, glad to have all of you here. Do make yourselves comfortable" he said motioning to a large couch. Paul quietly helped me out of my coat, I was trying to hold everything together, it was the hardest thing I'd done yet.
"Care for a cuppa?" Roger asked smiling as Paul and I sat together.
"I'd love some," I said quietly. Malcolm stood nearby. After some small talk, Roger began. He turned on his tape recorder. My heart leaped into my throat. Paul laced his fingers with mine, which calmed me more than I thought it could.
"Well, let me just start by saying what a pleasure it is to have both of you here," he said.
"Pleasure to be here" Paul smiled.
"I trust the New Year has been treating you both well?"
"Fantastic!" I said "It's been relatively calm, I'm very nearly moved in"
"Really! She's moving in with you Paul, might put a cramp on Beatle Bachelorhood don't you think?" Roger joked. Both of us laughed.
"I'll manage....it was my idea anyway" Paul grinned.
"Right then, there's a reason you're here today...Tilly, you called me a few weeks ago and I have to admit, I've been curious about that call since then" Roger said calmly.
"Well, I need to clear the public's view about something...it's not going to be easy for me either" I said more seriously. I noticed there was a photographer on duty that day, it honestly didn't faze me until that moment, and even then it wasn't a problem really.
"Alright, and what would that be?"
"The accusation that Paul hits me," I said plainly.
"Well, Miss Beckham...much as the paper that printed that article is a bit of rubbish, it isn't hard to understand where the accusation came from, you were sporting a bit of a shiner at the premiere of Magical Mystery Tour"
"Yes, I was. It was from the day before...when we were visiting with my family for Christmas...my older sister specifically" I said gripping Paul's hand for dear life.
"Really..."
"Um...you remember when I said I tend to keep my family life private?" I asked shaking.
"I certainly do," Roger said.
"Well, there are reasons. And, much as I'm scared to talk....I need to tell why I don't talk much about my family life"
"You indicated that you come from an upright and proper family"
"There's nothing proper about what I saw on Christmas" Paul bit out angrily.
"Alright Tilly, are you willing to tell us about your family now?"
I took a deep breath "I am..."

The interview lasted about an hour. Paul and I went outside for a smoke after awhile.
We stood alone at the back of the building. I was still a bit shaken from the interview.
"That was the hardest thing for me to do," I sighed wiping away tears from talking about my family life "If it helps us, it was worth it"
Paul put his arms around me and pulled me close to him.
"Tilly luv, you are amazing" he kissed my forehead "You didn't have to do this. You're much braver than you think"
I smiled up at him, he was everything I wanted, and I didn't think I could love him more than I did that moment. I ran my fingers through his hair, he pulled me close to him, I rested my head against his chest.
"I love ya' Tilly" he whispered

We returned inside to say our goodbyes before going back home, the interview had been emotionally draining, to say the least, all I wanted was to go back to what I could soon call our home and see my puppy. Roger was incredibly understanding, he was kind and seemed a bit empathetic over everything.
"Excuse me," a female voice called after us. I had expected a fan and honestly wasn't in the mood to deal with them at that moment. We turned to see our photographer for the afternoon; she was tall, blonde, and very pretty and spoke with an American accent.
"I just wanted to introduce myself," she said warmly extending a hand "I'm Linda Eastman, I'm here photographing the happenings on Carnaby Street, but I had to meet the newest addition to The Beatles circle before leaving"
"It's a pleasure luv," I said shaking her hand. I tried smiling, I liked her, she was incredibly sweet.
"You have an amazing story to tell Miss Beckham" she smiled. "It was a little hard trying to get photos without tearing up over your story, you're very brave" I saw Paul cock his head slightly.
"Were you at the party for Sgt. Pepper last year?" He asked.
"I was!" Linda laughed.
"I thought you were familiar" he smiled.
"It's good to see you again and a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Tilly," she smiled "I have to leave, however, another assignment, I would like to send you the photos I've taken today if you don't mind"

Later that evening, after returning to Paul's I sat at the piano in the music room. I'd had a shower, gotten into a very comfortable pair of silk pants and a t-shirt. There was a glass of wine sitting nearby me and 2 dogs curled up by the bench. I was remembering or trying to, a song Paul had shown me he'd recently composed. I'd loved the piano part to it and was trying to play it myself.
"Close" Paul smiled as he entered the room finally
"Bloody hell! Scared me half to death luv," I laughed "I hope I'm not murdering the part too much"
"Sorry 'bout that luv" he laughed. "Let me show ya'"
He reached behind me and set his hands on the piano keys, his chin resting lightly on my shoulder. He began hammering out the melody; I had been feeling a bit better over everything that afternoon and was beginning to feel fantastic. As I thought this he began singing;

"Lady Madonna, children at your feet
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet
Who finds the money, when you pay the rent?
Did you think that money was heaven sent?"

"That's new" I commented.
"Do ya' like it?" Paul asked.
"I do actually," I said "It's very catchy"
"Good, I need to demo it soon...we're supposed to be recording a new single" he said, his chin still resting on my shoulder. So many times, in moments like these, I couldn't believe all that had happened since September of 1967. I spent most of 1967 trying to land acting gigs, hopelessly infatuated with a man who would later leave me for my sister, battling everything else in my life...then I land one particular acting job, meet Paul McCartney himself and my entire life began changing. It all seemed like a dream, that I'd wake up at any moment, walk to the kitchen and put the kettle on wishing it would've never ended.
I felt Paul kiss my neck softly.
"You alright luv?" he asked. I closed my eyes and smiled on everything.
"Perfect," I said finally.  

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A/N:  I don't have a lot to say on this chapter, I didn't write the interview as it felt like I would be rehashing a lot of the story I'd already written (and some stuff planned for future chapters and part 2).  and an appearance by Linda!! As always, thanks for reading, voting, commenting, sending love

Soundtrack: Shake it Out - Florence and the Machine

"And I'm damned if I do, and I'm damned if I don't.
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope"

soundtrack note:  okay...usually, I let the music speak for itself...I've been reworking the chapter music for this from when I originally wrote it (this song came out after I finished this story), but probably THE MOST FITTING chapter song yet!