Tomorrow Never Knows - Chapter Four

Authors: lovelyrita_mm, jenny_wren28, & pennylane_fic

Starring: The Beatles and Maggie Sue

Rating: M for language, implied sex (though none of it is explicit) & implied drug use. Characters used in this story are either our creation, or are historically-based (ie, The Beatles).

Disclaimer: We don't own any of the Beatles, this obviously never happened, and is a complete work of fiction.

A few days later…

"So what do you think, Mags, do I keep the mustache or not?"

Maggie and George were both seated cross-legged on the floor of George's music room, guitars resting in their laps.

Maggie stopped strumming her guitar, as she contemplated George's question. "I don't know, I kind of like it on you." She giggled, "I'm not sure about Paul's though." George laughed at that. Of course, he enjoyed any dig at Paul these days.

"Whose idea was the whole mustache thing anyway?"

"Paul's," George replied. "He said it would be like taking a vacation from ourselves."

Maggie suddenly flashed back mentally to her own time. Did George just inadvertently quote a Seinfeld episode? There would be another George on Seinfeld someday, she remembered. She missed the TV shows she had grown up with, though she looked forward to experiencing them again someday.

"Paul also has that scar on his lip from the accident he had, and the mustache was to cover that up. So vain." George shook his head in mock disapproval.

"All of you Beatles are vain," Maggie challenged him, though it was with a smile. "You and your fancy clothes and your hair having to be just so." She reached over and ruffled his hair up. It had grown quite long lately. George tried in vain to smooth it again before looking her up and down.

"And there's you in your sad, plain jeans. And quite shocking I might add. A proper lady would wear a skirt," he threw back at her.

"What? They're comfortable!" Maggie stated, looking down at her attire in protest. "And no one ever said I was a proper lady."

"Isn't that the truth," George snorted. "Besides, you wear too much black. You need more color!"

"It's slimming!" she protested. "You know, just because I don't dress like a circus clown in plaid pants and striped tops like you guys do…" She stuck her tongue out at George. Plus, she thought, I don't wear as much black as some people. Stupid Yoko. Maggie cursed silently again. "Let's change the subject. What songs are you working on right now?"

"Let's change the subject again," George groaned. "I dunno, I'm so uninspired these days. Yet Lennon/McCartney keep pumping out the hits. They're unstoppable. They probably have our whole next album done already. We're starting on it right away, you know. Paul has some daft idea about a bus tour movie, and now there's talk of a cartoon. They're sending people into the studio to observe us, even." He sounded bitter. Running his fingers over the fretboard of his acoustic guitar, he plucked out a melody that was very nearly "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Maggie remembered when he'd played an early version of the song for her last year. It seemed he was still working on it. She knew it would be finished in its own time and it would be wonderful.

"Don't stress about it. The music will come when it's ready." Maggie smiled encouragingly.

Maggie knew the next album would be Magical Mystery Tour, and George had only really had one song on it, and it wasn't one of her favorites, though it wasn't bad. Yes, she loved the album, but the movie had indeed been terrible. Maybe with a scriptwriter and a director the movie could be salvaged. She was pretty sure she could talk Paul into listening to her – Paul knew she had Linda's ear, and he was still wanting to make a good impression her.

Maggie smiled inwardly. She was so gratified that Paul and Linda's feelings seemed mutual. Linda had flown home to New York not too long ago and Maggie knew that she and Paul were already missing each other. Maggie hadn't seen much of Linda after the party; she'd spent nearly every minute with him. He'd had even taken her to the airport, so Maggie hadn't really gotten to say a proper goodbye.

It was because of this that Linda had called Maggie once she'd gotten home, full of apologies.

"I'm a terrible friend! I'm so sorry I blew you off for a guy."

Maggie had to try and keep from laughing. "Yeah, but it wasn't for just a guy, it was for a Beatle!"

"I'm a terrible friend!" Linda protested.

"No, it's fine, Lin, don't worry about it. You and Paul make a great couple, I was happy that you two hit it off."

"Maggie, he's engaged. To your friend, or did you forget that? Oh my God, I slept with an engaged man. I'm a terrible person."

"Paul's not engaged yet, Linda. And you're not a terrible person. It's pretty hard to resist those Beatles. I came close to sleeping with John when he was MARRIED, if it makes you feel any better," Maggie confided.

"But you didn't."

"Well, no, but married is way worse than semi-engaged or whatever Paul is…"

"No, but you didn't actually sleep with him, did you? Wait a sec; you fooled around with John when he was married? I thought you didn't meet John until after he was divorced."

Oops. Maggie kicked herself mentally. Slips were inevitable. Fortunately, this one was with Linda. How much should she tell Linda? Linda was a close enough friend that Maggie wanted to tell her the truth, but maybe over the phone wasn't the best idea. Perhaps part of the truth would work.

"Actually, John and I met once before, in '64. We were at the same party, and we spent the evening talking. We were very attracted to each other, and ended up kissing, but ultimately, I just couldn't go through with it. I couldn't do that to Cynthia. John put that poor woman through enough." It was the truth, even if not the whole truth.

"I never knew that!" Linda exclaimed.

"No one does! Well, Paul does, because he was at the party and saw us, but no one else. It's not really a story we wanted to share with reporters, besides which, John was with a lot of girls when he was with Cynthia. It's not like I was special."

Except, as it turned out, she had been. Maggie smiled, happy and amazed that that man was hers now. Unless Yoko had her way. Her smile instantly turned into a frown.

"But you obviously were special."

"Still, after the party, that was it, really. He was married, and I…well, I didn't belong in his circle. I'm still not sure I actually do, to be honest. I didn't see him again for two years." Well, it had been two years for John. Only 24 hours had passed for Maggie, and she'd missed him for every one of those hours. Especially since she thought he was dead. Due in part to Yoko!

"Not until that day at EMI, when you got lost looking for the bathroom and he helped you." Linda recounted the official version of the story John and Maggie told about how they had met. "Did he remember you from that party?"

Not only had John remembered her, he'd written a song about the red dress she had worn, along with a slew of other famous songs about being lonely, unhappy, and in love.

"He did – I couldn't believe it – with the amount of women the Beatles go through, to remember one he'd kissed two years ago was really something." Of course, there was more to it than that – they'd shared a lot more than just a kiss. It had, after all, been John's picture that had drawn her back through time, and practically thrown her right into his arms. Maggie supposed their experience together in 1964, though brief, had been very much been memorable, and not just because of the amazing (if illicit) kiss they'd shared.

"Some people are just meant to be together," Linda sighed romantically.

Maggie thought of John and Yoko and hoped that wasn't always true. Though she just knew it was true for Paul and Linda.

"That's right – and maybe you and Paul are two of them." Maggie teased.

"But he's practically engaged," Linda groaned again.

"I love Jane, but she and Paul want completely different things. They're going to break up eventually. It's inevitable. Did I ever tell you about the dinner party we were at where Paul wanted the window open and Jane wanted it closed? One of them would open it, and then the other would get up and close it, but neither of them said a word about the window the whole night! Trust me, that sort of passive aggression is not a recipe for a sound marriage. "

"Wow, no, that doesn't sound very promising, does it. But I'm an ocean away, he'll find someone else, even if he does become single again." Linda moaned.

"First off, Lin, don't pine for him and don't try to pin him down. Play it cool. Make him come to you. I know he will." Maggie knew that Linda's bullheaded ways were what Paul would see to set her apart from the other girls. All these boys were looking for at heart was a woman that wouldn't treat them like a Beatle, and instead treat them like a man. History had once proved that if Linda made Paul chase her, she would get him in no time. "Didn't you two spend every second of the last few days together?"

"Yes," Linda sighed.

"Well then, don't give up hope! You're the one for him, I just know it!"

"Just like you're the one for John, right?" Linda quipped.

"Right," Maggie said quietly, hoping it was still true.

She and Linda had hung up, with promises to talk again soon. Maggie had wanted to confide her fears about Yoko to Linda, but she hadn't been able to vocalize them – not in a way that would hide the full extent of what Maggie knew.

Maggie felt more alone than she had in a long while. Who could she talk to? How much did she dare say to John? He was her soul mate, she knew that, and she knew she could trust him, but how would he react to learning that once upon a time, it had been Yoko who was his soul mate? Would he be angry that she had taken that away from him? After all, Maggie didn't share his love of the avant-garde. Yoko did. Maggie could never be for him what Yoko was. Of course, Maggie was a whole lot of things Yoko wasn't, but she didn't know if John could or would appreciate that, not having any idea that at one time, his future had been completely dominated by this other woman.

Not long after, George had called her to come by for lunch and guitar, and she'd gladly accepted his offer. She'd wanted to glue herself to John after the party, for fear that John would meet up with Yoko again, but sadly, she'd decided that she couldn't baby-sit him for the rest of their lives together. If she was going to win John away from Yoko, it had to be John making a real choice for her. Besides, if he really wanted Yoko, he'd find a way to sneak out to see her. Maggie didn't want to force John to resort to that kind of subterfuge. Nor did she want to issue any ultimatums about Yoko – usually the people that issued them were the ones that lost in the end.

Before leaving for George's, she and John had had a most satisfactory interlude on the floor of the kitchen, not something they'd done before, as it was a very cold, hard, Mexican ceramic tile. If John had any intention of going out to see Yoko while she was with George, Maggie wanted him too tired to do anything more than talk.

George and Maggie had had a nice lunch, and then strummed their guitars, playing their favorite contemporary (non-Beatle) songs, chatting as they did so. She felt so comfortable with George, yet she still could not get herself to bring up her fears about Yoko.

Finally George called her on it. "What's wrong, Mags? You seem down."

Maggie was silent.

"You know you can tell me anything," he prompted.

"I don't know how to tell you this."

He looked worried. "Start at the beginning."

Maggie had sworn she was not going to bring George into this. No one needed to get mixed up in the mess that she felt brewing in her head. No. Maggie just needed to play it calm and see what happened. After all, John and Yoko had just met. John wasn't going to give Maggie up for a woman he had met at an art gallery. Maggie and he had overcome too much for that. Everything was going to be okay and in no way, shape or form, would she get anyone else involved in a drama that might not even happen.

"John's met a woman," she blurted out. So much for her resolve.

George stared at her for a moment before breaking out into a smile. "Is that all?" George laughed in relief. "John meets lots of women. We all do. But trust me, he doesn't want any of them but you."

Maggie was silent again. Then she said, quietly, "What if I told you that this woman was his wife – his soul mate - in my original timeline?"

"His wife?" George looked thoughtful for a moment, and then a cloud moved over his face. "Is this the wife that talked John out of wearing a bullet proof vest on December 8, 1980? The woman who is responsible for John's murder?" He voice had risen and he was nearly shouting.

"Well, technically, she didn't murder him. That freak whose name I won't repeat was the one holding the gun. And in the initial timeline, neither of them knew he was going to be shot. But yes, after I…well… interfered, she was the one who talked him out of wearing the bulletproof vest. But now that I've come back to stay, we don't know what will happen anymore, do we? She's innocent. Of that, anyway."

"Who is this woman exactly?"

Maggie sighed and backed up. "Her name is Yoko Ono. She's a Japanese performance artist. In my original timeline, she and John fell in love, and John left Cynthia rather publicly for Yoko. She and John married and…" Here, Maggie paused before throwing caution to the wind and just telling George everything. "John brought Yoko into the studio, and she stayed glued to his side for your last several albums. Lots of people blame her for breaking up the Beatles. Clearly, you guys have and will have lots of other issues, but she was a very divisive force. It's why I've been so careful to not be that, especially in the studio. I try so hard to respect the boundaries. I love that you guys accept me the way you do. I'm… honored. But I don't want to be Yoko. I don't want to come between you." The tears were starting to come, making it difficult to talk.

George put his guitar down and moved next to Maggie. He put his arm around her and hugged her until she was ready to continue.

"None of you liked Yoko, in fact, hate would be putting it mildly towards the end there. After the Beatles ended, she and John did lots of controversial artistic and political things, made some crappy music together, and then had a son, which really isn't so bad, except that she tried to come between their son and Julian! And worse, she came between Julian and John."

Maggie sniffed and it took a second for her to be able to continue. "After John's death, she exploited his image and his art and was mercenary about everything to do with John. Of course, I'm more than slightly biased in all this," she said bitterly. "What if she and John are meant to be together? What happens to me? What happens to John on December 8th? And if John does stay with me, will poor Sean never be born? Oh George," she cried. "I'm so lost and I don't know what to do. I was hoping that John and Yoko would never meet, but he's just met her, and he's intrigued by her crappy, crappy artwork. He's this close to bringing home a piece of it for our bedroom. Which I don't want her anywhere near, by the way."

The tears rolled down her face, which she tried to hide by burying her head in her hands.

"He loves you," George said stubbornly. "The man drank himself unconscious on tour so he could remain faithful to you. He didn't slip it to even one groupie. And believe me," George said with a bitter laugh, "I wished he would have, he was so unbearable to be around! He wouldn't do that for just anyone, you know. I don't care what happened in another timeline. You are the one who is here now, and besides which, we know how much you care for John, and that you would do anything to save him come 1980. You are the one we want for John."

George tried to get Maggie to meet his eyes. "It's going to be okay. He's not going to fall in love with Yoko. She sounds horrible."

Maggie smiled weakly at him. "You won't like her. She steals your biscuits."

"That bitch!"

George was gratified that Maggie stopped crying long enough to laugh at his joke before she started crying again. He didn't know what else to do but let her cry. It wasn't his favorite shirt anyway, so he didn't mind it getting wet with tears. George thought Maggie might be over reacting a bit too - John would never throw Maggie over for this biscuit-stealing artist. John loved Maggie. Even if John hooked up with this Yoko, it didn't mean he would marry her. Pattie was George's muse, and though you couldn't call him faithful, she was the only one he could picture himself married to. It was just the way it would always be. Pattie and George, John and Maggie, and John, Paul, George, and Ringo. Whether he liked it or not, he knew his name would always be tied to that of his fellow Beatles. It was just the way it was. Some people were destined for each other.

Maggie appreciated George's sympathy, though she knew he thought she was overreacting. Well, maybe she was. But deep in the pit of her stomach, an uneasy feeling remained, and Maggie wasn't sure anything short of Yoko disappearing for good could make it go away.

A/N: Here is the "biscuit story", which is out of Geoff Emerick's book. Basically, John had a mattress hauled into the studio for Yoko (which you probably knew). They'd been in a car accident and Yoko was recovering. She would sit in bed in the middle of the studio wearing a nightgown and a tiara. But apparently the straw that broke the camel's back was the time George watched from the control booth as Yoko got up, tottered over to his stash of cookies (actually, digestive biscuits) and ate one, making George burst out with, "That bitch!!!" I guess you can break up a man's band, but if you steal his cookies, you've gone one step too far. That story always cracked me up because I could just envision it perfectly. (The Beatles were reportedly very territorial about their food, though they seemed to share everything else.)

Thanks for reading! The next update will be next Sunday! We love comments, so please tell us what you think!