Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Everything belongs to Across the Universe.

A/N: Hopefully, you all know Molly and Phil 'hitched up' and she was pregnant by the time Jude returned to Liverpool. The setting is recently after Jude and Lucy reunited. Just hopefully someone likes this story...

Liverpool, July: 1971

"What do you mean, you were fired?" Molly snapped back her husband, Phil, being taken aback as soon as the news was registered. Her mind began racing of the current financial problems and the future ones being administered from their child, Eleanor. Phil shrugged.

"My boss just told me it was my time to let go. And plus, I don't see you doing any work around here. Oh no, it's just the house work, yeah?" he told her, trying his best to keep his voice down for their daughter whom had been sleeping upstairs. He took off his coat and threw it over the chair in the dining room. It was the only vacant chair that wasn't overly stacked with unpaid bills. "Don't mind me, I'll just do everything here."

Molly fumed. As stubborn as she was, she couldn't possibly answer that with sympathy. "What the hell am I supposed to do? We have a child, Phil, a child!" Phil simply rolled his eyes and turned his back. "And you're okay without having a job? We're already in debt as it is! Don't tell me we haven't had this conversation before! You've always ignored it."

He began to have sudden interest with the tabletop, searching for the right words to say. Molly was right on this one. It almost seemed like every night they would have this conversation about their payments and how much they already owed. There was no way around it. Once Eleanor was born, their lives had been made a sudden turn in debts and they just couldn't get around. As ignorant as he was being, Phil could manage to see the problem. Unfortunately, he knew he had to give in eventually or even give up. It was just making both of them even more frustrated as it was.

"Molly, listen, I'll find another job." He finally turned to her. "I will. Promise, but in the meantime. I... I don't think this is working out." Phil casted a serious stare toward her. "You know, as in, being together." She stood wide-eyed and took the blow of abandonment.

She felt degraded. Her thoughts were already ticking away of misplaced future events. "You're... You're leaving? You can't leave. What about Eleanor? I can't... I can't take care of her by mysel--" She was interrupted by Phil.

"I'll take her with me. Simple as that. I'm sorry, Molly."

"W-Wait, can't we just talk about this? You can't raise Eleanor by yourself! You can barely take care yourself as it is!"

"Molly, this has to be done. There's nothing else I can do for you. If we want our relationship to last, this needs to be sorted out. It just seems you need a little time to yourself and your selfishness."

"Selfishness!?" Molly burst out, allowing tears to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Yeah, of course. You're always on about yourself. Couldn't get one to talk about someone else for a change, yeah? You know, once Eleanor was bor--"

"Don't even start! You're the one that's about to take her away from me!"

"There you go again, Molly! Just for once, can you just think of someone other than yourself!?" Phil spat out, leaving Molly in a daze.

Warm tears began to trickle down her cheeks. Molly felt her knees give out as she made a dramatic collapse onto the nearby chair in the corner of the combined living and dining rooms. She was speechless. Molly placed a trembling hand on her lips of a dismayed face. She thought about what the last statement was, and Phil's word was now going into motion. She couldn't believe what was really happening. It happened all too fast. As she searched constantly for a last statement, Phil went to his child's room, woke her up, and carried the three-year-old down the stairs as she slept in his arms.

"So, you're... you're really going, then?" she asked, removing her hand. Phil nodded, taking his coat with the available hand.

"I'll be back tomorrow for our things," Phil stated, monotoned, "Molly, don't cry. I know it's for the best. I'll always love you. I think we both just need sometime to ourselves."

She couldn't help but cry. Molly didn't know what was for the best. They couldn't talk it out? Her husband was leaving along with her very own daughter. Their daughter was young and she didn't know how long it would take before she'd see her again. She wouldn't even get to see Eleanor grow up. The sleeping toddler was completely unaware of what was happening and sleeping solemnly in her father's arms.

To Molly, Phil was a bastard. He wasn't going to come back to her nor was Eleanor from the looks of the situation. She was abandoned once again. She almost couldn't believe that this was her second time this came about, but this time, it was a bigger blast of emotion. Her own blood leaving her life and her husband taking the advantage of leaving. She hated him for it. In her mind, she was kicking herself. Molly was beyond mad that she was apart of the problem.

Finally, the little click of the door closed as the two departed. Molly let out a loud sob into her hands. They were gone. In a matter of minutes, her world shifted. 'What about the bills? What if I lose the home? I can't pay for this by myself.' were all the questions filing through her head at the moment. She turned to the nearby window and pushed a curtain back to view Phil and their daughter leaving the property in his car. The street lights glaring upon the car, giving himself a shadow.

"Well, see if I care!" Molly choked, toward Phil who was far down the road. She wiped the tears with the tips of her fingers as she headed straight upstairs to her and her ex-husband's room. She threw herself onto the bed and burst out with fresh new tears. She began making crude remarks at Phil for leaving and herself for letting him go. Of course, these screams were muffled by her soon-to-be wet pillow.

After fifteen minutes of babbling and loud sobs, Molly picked herself up, gasping for air. She realized it wasn't worth it to waste away with sadness. She needed to talk to someone. Someone trustworthy. The situation, in her mind, just was beginning to get worse everytime she thought of him. Molly could barely even mention his name in her own mind!

She went back downstairs, her face beat red with lack of air and her eyes bloodshot. Making a quick turn into the kitchen, she picked the phone up off of the reciever. Molly turned the keys over, dialing someone she knew she could talk to--her own mother. It was a bit crazy, but who else was there? The phone rang three times before someone had picked up.

"Hello?" answered the familiar motherly voice.

"Mom? It's Molly." she said, sniffeling straight into the phone.

"Is there something wrong, sweetheart? It wasn't that Phil kid, I hope." her mother answered, immediately.

Molly rolled her eyes. "Actually, it is." She paused. "He left me tonight." Tears began to build up in her eyes again.

"Oh no, honey, I'm sorry," her mother said with a sound of concern. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, you can stay here, if you'd like. You're brother is over at a friends, so there'd be an open room tonight."

Molly shook her head, even though it wouldn't be visible for the reciever's end. "No, Mom, I couldn't."

"No, I insist. You sound like you need someone there, hun. It doesn't do any good if you keep it bottled up like that."

"I know, but I think it would be best if I just stayed alone for tonight. Mind if I drop by tomorrow?"

"Not a problem, honey. You may stay as long as you like."

Molly thought about it for awhile and rubbed her forehead. "I'll give you a call if I'm coming, alright?"

"Alright. I'll see you soon."

"Bye." She hung up.

Molly stared at the phone for awhile before she stood up and went to the dining room again. The phone call was a bit pointless. She just arranged a meeting with her mother that probably would never take place.

She felt alone. The silence began to kill her. Her husband and daughter were off and she didn't even know if she would even talk to either of them again. Molly figured she might have over reacted a bit. But, Phil also over reacted. He was quick in his decision about leaving.

Molly felt it was more planned than anything else. But, why did he decide to take Eleanor? Did he feel he was a better guardian? Was he cheating on her? Was it because she wasn't enrolled in work? All these questions swirled around her mind as began cleaning up the dining room table, tears forming when thoughts of Phil or those certain questions came about.

"Damn it!" Angry as she was, Molly couldn't stand the thought of being left behind twice. She ended up throwing the unpaid bills across the room, hitting the wall and freely scattering on the floor. She choked up on her tears and sat down next to the table on the floor. Loud sobs came from her as held the back of her hand to her nose, to keep it from running and to muffle herself.

A few minutes went by to the point she began choking again from exhaustion and lack of air. Molly ran out of tears in the process of thinking what she would do then. Phil was gone nearly an hour now and she couldn't help herself not to think of him. She needed to get him out of her mind and get her life back on track.

Her mind actually began to sidetrack to Jude. His life -- from what those letters he sent -- was going great in America. He even went back a second time (and she hasn't seen him since!). 'Maybe if I go to America, things would get better. I could get my mind off of Phil for awhile and I could see Jude.' Molly thought as she stood up, taking a gasp of air. She was sure she could get a job there anyway to pay off these debts, but was she so sure she could get on a boat quickly? Plus, the exchange of money between England and America. She'd have to work twice as hard. The trip to her mother's didn't sound like a bad idea now. She might have to stay there longer than she thought.

'I probably should write Jude a letter first... just to let him know I'm coming. Hm, the return address is somewhere around here.'

Flipping through a drawer in the kitchen, she found the old American letters. With it's postage stamps and address directed to Liverpool. 'Jude Feeney' it read along with the return address. Jackpot. Molly was almost too confident that her plan would set her straight.

Okay, so, I hope you guys like the story thus far. I tried to make it as realistic as possible and stick to Molly's sarcastic, strong person as she was (from the little that we've seen her). And Phil... Well, I just don't know. He has two lines in the entire movie...

Anyway, I just hope you like it. o.o;; Review, if you can! It was be totally cool if you did. :D