AN: Welcome all readers! Before you go on reading, please keep in mind that these characters are only partially based off of the actual Beatles, their family members, lovers, and friends. Although I take many details out of their biographies, they are different in some ways. One of the biggest differences is that Joan Lennox (based on John Lennon) has a British father and an American mother, just like Jude in Across the Universe, and she gets the chance to bond with both parents during her teenage years, whereas John Lennon only really got to know his mother at that time. Also, almost all characters are gender reversed versions of the real life people involved. The following shows a list of characters mentioned in this chapter and the real life person they're based on:

Joan Lennox: John Lennon

Paula McGuire: Paul McCartney

Gina Harris: George Harrison

Rhiannon Steel: Ringo Starr

Laurence "Laurie" Edwards: Linda McCartney

Yuki Ogawa: Yoko Ono

Christian Warren: Cynthia Lennon

Harold Edwards: Heather McCartney

Stanley Edwards: Stella McCartney

Martin Edwards: Mary McCartney

Jenna Edwards: James McCartney

Jessica Warren: Julian Lennon

Shannon Ogawa: Sean Lennon

Daniella Harris: Dhani Harrison

Disclaimer: I don't own Across the Universe or anything related to the Beatles.

Prologue

December 1980

The past week had been one of the worst in Paula McGuire's life.

It all started the morning of December 9, as Paula had been sleeping in after another long day at the record studio in London. She'd been working on getting the final version of "Keeping the Spring" through, which was scheduled to be released as a single in the early days of 1981. As usual, her husband Laurie Edwards, an American photographer, had accompanied her, taking pictures of her and her band mates and offering words of encouragement when it started getting tough.

And it was Laurie that woke her up that morning, shaking her shoulder rather roughly as opposed to his usual gentle manner, and saying, "Paula, get up. There's something major on the news that you must see."

"If it's something about the pot incident from last spring, then I don't want to hear another word about it, Laurie," Paula grumbled, hiding under the sheets to ignore her husband.

"It's not that, Paula. It's about Joan," Laurie said. His voice sounded very urgent.

"Joan?" Paula asked, now sitting upright on the bed. "What trouble could she possibly get into these days?"

Joan Lennox was Paula's friend and former band mate from the Belles, one of the most successful girl groups of the sixties, which also consisted of Gina Harris and Rhiannon Steel. Having faced many hardships since childhood, including having to be brought up by her uncle after her parents divorced when she was five and then losing her father when she was seventeen, she always appeared to be two different people to Paula. She tended to either be a delightful free-spirit, with a wicked sense of humor while also being philosophical about pretty much every question life had to offer, or a cold bully who could lose her temper at any moment. Her bad side unfortunately resulted in her disastrous first marriage, which involved many disagreements with her first husband, Christian Warren, the constant ignoring of her daughter Jessica, and cheating on both her part and Christian's as the Belles' fame increased.

Around 1966, Joan met Japanese artist Yuki Ogawa, and the two of them ended up starting an affair and getting marrying in 1969 and engaging in political activism and highly experimental music projects that started becoming a higher priority to Joan than her work with the Belles. This became one of the many factors leading to their breakup at the end of the decade. But in spite of the many troubles that followed her afterwards, Joan was now leading a stable life for the first time in years, having been fully settled in New York City with Yuki and their five-year-old daughter Shannon, and looking happier than Paula had ever seen her before. She'd dedicated most of her time to raising Shannon in recent years, but had been working on an album with Yuki for several months, having only released it a month before.

Because of this, Paula couldn't understand what news Joan could be associated with that had Laurie looking so worried. And upon seeing all three of her youngest children already huddled in front of the television, which was tuned into the BBC news, it became clear to her that it was much more serious than she could have imagined.

Martin had his arms around little Jenna, who had her head buried in her brother's night shirt while whimpering quietly, while Stanley, who at the age of eight was the oldest of the children present, kept his eyes glued to the television set with a sad expression on his face. "Poor Shannon," he whispered.

Shannon? Paula thought, thinking of all the reasons why the little girl could be featured in the news. What happened to her? Was she kidnapped, or diagnosed with a terminal illness?

But it wasn't Shannon's name that Paula heard coming out of the lips of the solemn-faced reporter on the television, in the alarming sentence that would change her life forever:

"Reports of the murder of Joan Lennox have so far been devastating for many residents of New York City, and we can already hear a group of mourners singing some of her most famous songs through a gathering that's taken place in Central Park. We have yet to get a statement from Yuki Ogawa, Joan's now widowed husband, but reports on this horrific incident will continue to be reported as the day goes on. As Joan loved to say, 'Don't rest a minute, because justice will come soon.' "

As soon as she heard this, Paula could feel her body trembling, and a wave of warmness running through her head. "No," she said softly. "This can't be happening. Perhaps this is just another nasty prank of Joan's, like when she ducked into a tidal wave and remained hidden underwater during our first holiday together to make us believe she'd drowned. Maybe that's all…"

And before she knew it, she fell on her knees onto the floor and began sobbing hysterically. "No!" she cried out. "Oh, God, why? Why did this have to happen to Joan of all people? Why, oh why?"

Laurie ran over to her, embracing her while the children looked on at their mother with much more worry than before.

But Paula took little notice of this. Instead, she felt herself being transported back to that awful afternoon when she was fourteen and had been called into the headmistress' office to get the news that her father had just died after a six month battle with lung cancer. Back then, she'd experienced the same sensation as she did now, and would have fainted if the school secretary hadn't helped her over to a chair. It had been as she was seated that she'd buried her head in her hands and burst into a hysterical sobbing fit, with Miss Anderson and the secretary doing nothing besides staring sadly at her, only going on to give a series of apologizes once Paula had calmed down a little.

However, in several ways, these were two very different situations. Paula had known her father would pass away sooner or later, with the long hospital visits she made with her mother and sister serving as constant reminders of how much weaker he was becoming each day. Joan, however, had been at her best these past couple of months. Her long phone calls to Paula provided her with detailed accounts of her latest songs, from "Beautiful Girl" to "Let Us Begin Again", how much help Yuki was always giving her, and all the small things Shannon was learning to accomplish. "Yuki says she's singing almost as well as me now," had been part of her latest account. "If you heard how well she could sing 'Our World', I swear it would blow your mind away."

And yet, just like Paula's father all those years, Joan was now gone. As problematic and unstable as she'd sometimes been, she was still one of Paula's best friends, and would go as far as possible to live out her mission to hate no one and bring a little peace for everyone. And yet, some evil person out there failed to see how good she was deep down, and had decided to end it all for her.

Paula's thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Laurie had picked it up, and upon hearing who it was, the look of pity on his face increased, and he answered in a slow and gentle voice. Good old Laurie, Paula thought. He always seems to know the right thing to say to people during times of trouble. If only I could be just as calm right now.

"Paula, it's Yuki. He says he just got back home from the hospital, and has something important to share with us," Laurie said.

Paula immediately got up and took the phone from Laurie. There was a time when she wouldn't have been willing to utter a word to Yuki, with the only reason for her being civil to him being that Joan loved him so much. Yuki tended to be reserved towards most people, sometimes treating those he disapproved of with coldness and arrogance, although he was often deeply devoted to anyone he cared about, including Joan and now Shannon. But now, he appeared to have gotten more empathetic over time, and some even regarded him with as much fondness as they had for Joan.

"Hello?" she asked once she had the phone in hand.

"Paula? Is that you?" Yuki asked.

"Yes, Yuki. I…I can't even begin to express how sorry I am about what happened. Joan me-meant as much to me as she did to you, and I intend to he-help you in any way I can," Paula said. Her voice was still shaking a little from all the crying she'd done.

"I know," Yuki said, speaking in a very low voice. "I saw what happened to her with my own eyes, and I'll never be able to forget how awful it was."

"Of course, you won't. You can never forget something like that," Paula said. "Laurie said you had something important to share with us. What is it?"

"I'll be starting to arrange Joan's funeral tomorrow," Yuki said. "If all goes well, it should take place on the twelfth. It would mean a lot to me if you, Gina, and Rhiannon would all show up, as I'm sure Joan would have felt the same."

"I'll be coming for sure, and I think Laurie will too. Where will the funeral be taking place?"

"At St. Mark's Episcopalian Church here in New York. We all know Joan wasn't religious, but one of her biggest wishes was that she'd be buried beside her mother, seeing as how she'd spent the last days of her life so close to us. She figured that when the time came, being buried in a church was a small price to pay if it meant she could rest beside one of the people she loved the most."

Paula couldn't help but smile at this. Back in their early days as the Belles, Joan would have shaken in horror at the suggestion of a church burial, given how ardent of an atheist she'd been back then. But some time with a guru in India, which had resulted in a spiritual awakening for Gina, had given Joan a more universalist approach to religion and spirituality (it helped that Yuki was a Buddhist), although she remained slightly skeptical about organized religion. And of course, the bond she'd developed with her American mother in her teenage years had been carried on as she became famous, up until her death from breast cancer in 1976 in an apartment only a couple blocks away from where Joan and Yuki currently lived, so it was possible that she'd added being buried beside her into the updated version of her will.

"All right, then. Joan always liked having the final say, I guess. Is that all?" Paula said.

"For now, I guess," Yuki said.

"Okay. And if you don't mind telling me, have you told Shannon what happened yet?"

"No. When I got back, she was fast asleep. I intend to tell her what happened first thing tomorrow. I'd thought she'd already be asleep when Joan suggesting going back, and I said this to her to try convincing her to go out to dinner with our record producer. But she wouldn't listen; she just had to go home to say goodnight to Shannon. And at the end, she got shot before we could enter the building."

"Wow. All that just for your daughter. How sad that must be," Paula said.

"Yes, but the past can't be undone. Sooner or later, we'll all have to move on," Yuki said.

…

Three days later, Paula and Laurie arrived in New York City along with all four of their children, including Harold, Laurie's eighteen-year-old son from his first marriage, who'd been away at the University of London upon hearing the news. They hadn't wanted the kids to come at first, fearing that the funeral would traumatize them, but they were all determined to come, especially Stanley, who was probably the closest to Shannon out of all the others. And at the end, Paula reluctantly convinced Laurie to have everyone in the family come along.

Upon making it to St. Mark's, one of the first people Paula saw standing around the church steps was Gina Harris. She was wearing a black overcoat and hat, and kept looking around the place while her daughter Daniella, who at twelve already looked a lot like her mother with her light brown hair and small height, took immediate notice of the McGuires' presence. "Mum," she said, placing a hand around Gina's shoulder. "Paula and Laurie are here."

This was enough for Gina's focus to return, and the first thing she did was dash over to Paula and hug her. "Oh, Paula. I was almost worried that you wouldn't be showing up at all. Rhiannon and I both got here within a day, and we were almost convinced that all those reports of you being indifferent towards Joan's death were true."

"Gina, I thought seventeen years of fame had already thought you to never trust the media," Paula said. "The reporters practically stormed into our house, and when Laurie couldn't get them to go away, I simply told them that it was all sad and a drag. I couldn't come up with anything better to say because of how overwhelmed I was. As for why we're late, that's what happens when you must plan arrangements for six people in New York. Not one of the kids was willing to stay behind."

"Well, I always knew your kids were complete angels," Gina said with a smile. "Daniella has also been a dear this whole time. When reporters came to our place, she was the one who spoke to them, explaining that I couldn't give a statement at the time because I was spending a full day in meditation, which I actually was. I can't even begin to describe how much it calmed me down after getting the news, since I felt like I was on the brink of an emotional breakdown. By the second day, I was very relaxed, managing to both give a proper statement and get Daniella and myself over here."

"I'm glad you found a way to help yourself," Paula said. "Do you know how Rhiannon's doing?"

"Pretty well, given everything that's happened. She was the first of us to get here, and has been an immense help for everyone involved in this incident. She even agreed to share a hotel room with Jessica so that she wouldn't have to pay for one herself. However, none of her kids showed up. They're either busy or too upset to come along with her."

"Good for her," Paula said.

Gina then turned to Laurie. "And how are you doing, Laurie?" she asked.

"I'm adjusting, just as I believe everyone else is," Laurie answered. "Paula was in such a bad state when she heard the news that I don't think she would have handled it well if I hadn't been around, but she's slowly getting used to it. Same with the kids. Jenna couldn't sleep at all that first night, and we had to let her stay in bed with us because she kept worrying that Joan's killer would come after us next. The others didn't have it any easier, but have done their best to stay strong."

Stanley nodded slowly as his father spoke. "Yeah, Dad, but how long do we have to wait to get in the church? I bet Yuki and Shannon are probably sure we won't show up by now."

Laurie smiled. "You got a point there, chap," he said. Then, turning to the others, he said, "So, shall we walk in and face this?"

"Let's do it," Paula said.

And with that said, they all walked into the church together. Since it was early, it wasn't very full yet, but there were already several people present. They found Rhiannon sitting alongside Jessica around the middle of the church. Rhiannon waved at them, but Jessica didn't appear to acknowledge their presence. All she did was stare at the coffin that was already in the center of the church with a glare on her face. Her relationship with her mother had always been strained because of all Joan had done when she was little, and her relationship with Yuki was even worse. In fact, if it hadn't been for the birth of Shannon, she probably wouldn't have been visiting them as often as she now did. And so far, there was no sign of Christian at all. No statement had been released from him at all, with all attempts to reach him being failures.

It was in the rows that were closest to the center where Paula found Yuki and Shannon seated. Yuki was dressed all in black, with his head bowed and his lips moving without a sound being made, as if he was praying. Shannon was wearing a black jumper and a white blouse, and she was kneeling on the pews with her hands folded, but whether she was praying or just imitating the actions of the people around her was something Paula couldn't tell. However, despite how serious she looked, Paula smiled upon realizing that she had the famous Tom Baker scarf from Doctor Who wrapped around her neck. It had been a gift Joan had given her during a family visit to London, since Shannon was a huge fan of the show upon watching it on PBS and it was one of the few TV shows Joan let her watch (in large part because she'd secretly liked it herself since it first aired in the UK in the sixties). It was a sure sign that the little girl was inheriting her mother's sense of humor if she'd dare wear it to her funeral. Joan would probably be delighted.

Upon turning around to see the McGuires and Harrises close by, Shannon beamed and turned to her father. "Daddy, Paula and Laurie are here!" she called out a little too loudly.

"Quiet down, Shannon. I'm trying to pray," Yuki said in a gentle yet firm voice. But when he noticed everyone around them, he gave a small smile and said, "Welcome everyone. It's good to know that you all took the time to come pay your respects to Joan. I know we've had our differences in the past, but I think the fact that we can all come together in a time like this means a lot."

"Thank you, Yuki. I'm sure Joan would have been happy about it as well," Paula said.

Laurie then went over to Shannon and gave her a hug, telling her he was sorry for all she'd been going through. Paula followed suit shortly after, saying, "Hello, Shannon. How are you doing?"

"Okay. A little sad, but mostly okay," Shannon said.

"Are you sure?" Paula asked.

Shannon turned to see if her father was listening, and upon seeing that he'd returned to saying his prayers, she said in a low voice, "I mean, I try being okay when I'm around Daddy. He's been very sad about Mom getting shot, and almost doesn't say a word to anyone besides me. Sometimes, when I'm alone in my room and Daddy's not around, I do cry about it. But I try not to let other people know when I'm sad."

It took all of Paula's strength not to break down upon hearing this. She'd known that Shannon was quite bright for her age, but she'd never guess that she'd act so maturely about this. She seemed to be highly aware of how hard this was for her father, and was trying her best not to make him anymore sad than he already was. Any adult who saw this would be impressed for sure, and would probably praise her for how good she was, but Paula knew it was best to just let Shannon express herself as she wished without such reactions. Having four children made her understand this quite well.

"But can you tell me something, Paula?" she asked.

"What is it?"

"Do you think the dead can come back to life?"

Paula chuckled. Shannon's imagination was still as big as ever. "I don't think I've ever seen it happen myself, Shannon, but the world is full of mysteries. There are certain things people can never fully know, and one of them is what happens when we pass away."

"What do you think happens?"

Paula was left silent for a while. Then she said, "I think we all fall into a peaceful sleep, and that if we do awake, things are better for us than when we were alive. Maybe we'll see our loved ones who died before us, or maybe we'll become part of something bigger than this world offers."

"That sounds nice. But Daddy says that Mom will probably come alive again as the princess of England, since he thinks that anyone who's good when they're alive is born again as someone who's good and important."

This had been another joke of Joan's back in the day. She'd always said that if her life did go on after she died, then she'd want to spend it as part of the British royal family, because perhaps then she could help get things accomplished in Britain. "Because everybody knows the bloody royals are always so lazy," she'd added to emphasize her point.

"Well, me and your dad are just going to have to agree to go on with our different views," Paula said. "No one ever seems to agree on that question, but I think it's better to just let people believe as they choose instead of always fighting about it like some other people like doing.

"Me too," Shannon said. "So, can I talk to Stanley and the others now?"

"Go ahead, but be sure to stay quiet."

Shannon nodded, and turned eagerly to the other kids. Stanley instantly complimented her on the scarf, while Martin and Jenna asked her how she was. Gina and Daniella took seats next to Yuki, while Laurie remained close to Paula's side. Paula was left with nothing to do except reflect back on her time with Joan, especially during their early years of friendship, when she'd been convinced there was no one else in the world who had as much in common with her as Joan did.