Tomorrow Never Knows - Chapter Nine
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.
"I'll just have to stay home," Maggie said firmly, as they walked away from Brian's office. There would be no trip to Wales for her. She would stay home and save Brian, and not have to sit through a weekend of meditation with some hokey religious leader she didn't respect.
"Luv, you can't stay home," John said gently. "Brian's just going to shut off his phone if you ring him every hour to make sure he's still alive. He made it clear that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. But maybe he'll listen to Peter. "
Peter Brown was her second in command at Apple Corps. In her timeline he'd been a personal assistant to both Brian and The Beatles, taking over a lot of Brian's duties after his death. He'd also been heavily involved in Apple. Peter didn't have any idea that she was from the future, and much as she did trust him, Maggie preferred as few people as possible to know the truth. It was too risky. Hopefully they could convey their concern that Brian was in danger without having to delve into the sticky subject of time travel, and how or why they had such specific fears about Brian.
----
"Hello!" Peter looked up from his work, surprised to see Maggie and John at his office door.
"We need to talk, Peter. Do you have a minute?"
"Yes, of course. Come in." Peter jumped out of his chair and ushered them into guest seats, before closing the door.
"It's about Brian." John said, cutting to the chase as usual.
"What about him?"
Maggie cut John off before he could blurt out something that would need too much explaining. She tried a different tactic. "We're concerned about his drug use."
"Drugs?" Maggie could understand his confusion. It was a bit odd to see a Beatle concerned with excess drug usage.
"Yes. We know he takes a lot of pills. Surely you know the little coughing motion he does to hide popping them in his mouth? Or the secret pill pockets in his suits?" Maggie said.
"How do you…" Peter started and then stopped. "How could you possibly…" Peter had known for some time that his boss took a great deal of pills. He hadn't thought too much about it – he was hardly in the place to criticize or tell Brian what to do. Plus, nearly everyone associated with the Beatles took drugs in one form or another.
"How could I know about his suits? Let's just say that Brian doesn't have as many secrets as he thinks he has." Maggie could certainly name more than one skeleton in his closet.
John continued, "Never mind that. We're here because we have reason to believe that Brian is in danger."
"Danger? From what? How do you know?" Peter looked alarmed.
"A pill overdose. Can we just call it a strong hunch?" Maggie asked.
"You think he's going to overdose on pills."
"Yes. And soon. This weekend. He's… well, he has a problem, and he won't admit it," Maggie said. "I just have a really strong feeling that something bad is going to happen to him. It's not so much of stretch, is it? You know how he can be."
"Yes, I do know," Peter said softly. "I would do anything I could for Brian. How can I help?"
Relieved that she wouldn't have to play the time travel card (at least not yet), Maggie asked Peter to check up on Brian throughout the weekend. She also explained how badly Brian had taken John and Maggie trying to talk with him and warned Peter that Brian might think they had put him up to it. They encouraged Peter to be subtle, but that if he sensed something amiss to act on it as soon as possible. Peter gave them reassurances, and told them to have a good weekend trip to Wales. It would be easy for Peter to keep an eye on Brian, as he'd already been invited to spend the weekend at Brian's country place in Kingsley Hill. It would all be fine.
----
That night, Maggie slept fitfully, finally waking up a start at 4am. Maggie saw that she was alone in bed. She was only momentarily puzzled by John's absence; she could hear the soft sounds of the piano from somewhere else in the house. Evidently John hadn't been able to sleep either. Maggie got up, and wandered out of the bedroom, following the music.
She found John in their music room, playing a melody that sounded a lot like the one she associated with the as-yet-unwritten "Imagine". When John saw her standing in the door, rubbing her eyes, he stopped playing. "Sorry, luv, did I wake you?"
"No, I was having trouble sleeping." Maggie noted the smoldering cigarette butt in the ashtray next to the piano, a sure sign that John was stressed as well.
"Worried about Brian?" he asked gently. She nodded wordlessly.
"Come here, luv," he patted the spot next to him on the piano bench.
Maggie padded over, bare feet chilly against the wood floor. She sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder, absorbing his comforting warmth. "What were you playing? It was pretty," she asked.
"Oh, just something I made up. I'm not sure what to do with it yet, though."
Maggie wondered if he'd still write Imagine later on or not. She loved the melody, but wasn't sure she agreed with the lyrics. She wasn't sure John did himself, as the lifestyle he'd led at the time hardly conveyed a lack of possessions, for one thing. She also hated the whole "Saint John" persona, which she suspected was at least partially due to his untimely death, which had practically made him a pop-culture martyr. If only she could save him, there was a chance he could be "just John", wasn't there? He'd always be famous, always be a rock icon, but she didn't want him to be infamous just because he was cut down in his prime. Maybe if Brian heeded her warning, maybe if she saved him, she'd feel like she had a real chance of saving John.
Maggie sniffed, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. It was all too much sometimes. The responsibility. The burden of her knowledge of the future. The uncertainty of how things would turn out now that she'd interfered.
"Oh, don't cry, luv. It'll be ok."
"I'm just so scared," she managed, tears streaming down her face now. Scared for Brian, scared for their future, and scared for all she was single-handedly changing.
"Don't be afraid."
As John spoke those words, he remembered the little song he'd written for Maggie after their last big fight. He'd written it as sort of an apology to her, to reassure her of his love. He knew his mood could turn on a dime, making him part Jekyll, part Hyde. He loathed that nasty side of himself, but sometimes it appeared without warning. Though he felt a song was an inadequate gesture on his part, even though it was heartfelt, he'd been gratified that his tentative offering had been greeted with such surprised pleasure.
"Don't be afraid," he said again, to Maggie, and playing the opening chords, sang...
Don't be afraid,
It's just the wind and light.
Don't be afraid,
This house is very strange.
In the morning we'll be gone, don't be afraid.
We'll watch the dawn till the sun comes up,
Drinking coffee from our favourite cup.
Girl, you've been good to me so don't be afraid tonight.
Don't be afraid,
It's just the cats at play.
Don't be afraid,
They do it night and day, how very strange.
They've gone by the morning so don't be afraid of me.
We'll dream around till the dawn comes up,
Drinking coffee from our favourite cup.
Girl, you've been good to me, don't be afraid tonight.
Don't be afraid,
Don't be afraid…
Noticing that she was still sad, and wanting to make her laugh, he started making faces, and singing in a silly voice...
Don't be afraid,
Mr. Hyde, he's really gone away
Won't be back till next full moon
So we can bill and spoon
In June and croon, be-woon, be-woon, be
Can you stand it?
He laughed at his own silly rhymes, and she giggled at him in spite of herself.
Giving up on the piano, he kissed her. "Let's go back to bed, luv," he whispered.
"I'm not sure I can fall back asleep," she protested.
"Good!" he winked at her. "I wasn't thinking of sleeping either."
----
Friday, August 25, 1967
Though it was late summer, Maggie shivered a bit as she stood on the Euston Station train platform with John's hand tightly gripping her own. It felt a far cry from when Cynthia had stood here in her place. Then, John had been so unaware of her presence that he'd hopped on the train, not even noticing that she'd been left behind.
Maggie almost wished that she could be left behind. She still didn't want to go, and her worries about Brian continued to nag her.
"Brian will be okay, Mags," George said, reading her mind. He'd come up behind her, and put a friendly arm around her shoulders, giving them a quick squeeze. "Morning, John." He nodded to his bandmate, who was standing on Maggie's other side. John nodded back.
"Is Ritchie here yet?" John asked George.
"I think he's saying goodbye to Mo – she doesn't want to leave the baby yet, so she's not coming."
"I figured as much."
"She has the baby with her though, if you want to go say hello."
"I think I'll do that." John kissed her on the cheek. "Don't worry, I'll be right back!" Maggie couldn't help thinking of poor abandoned Cynthia again.
Once John was gone, she turned back to George. "You were saying everything was going to be okay?"
"It will, I know it."
"How can you? Nothing feels certain anymore. I wish I could believe that it was, George. I just… I feel like I shouldn't be going away like nothing is wrong!"
"What do you think you could do if you stayed, exactly?"
"I don't know, I just..."
George was quiet for a minute. "Do you want to know what I think? I think you're just using Brian as an excuse because you don't want to go."
Maggie's eyes widened. "I'm not..."
"Just admit it. You think this is stupid and you don't want to go. Just say it." George demanded.
"I…"
"Say it!"
"Fine," she exploded finally. "I don't. But I told you I'd come and I'm here, aren't I? What else do you want?" She was so frustrated and tired. It sometimes felt like the demands on her emotional energy were endless. The Beatles were… well, they were the Beatles. They were used to always getting their way. No one ever told them 'no'. The staff at EMI came and left at whatever crazy hour the Beatles wanted them to. Mal and Neil fetched and carried without question, even if it was in the middle of the night. The wives and girlfriends became nocturnal, so they could stay on the same crazy schedule as their Beatle did. Still, George was her friend, wasn't he? Wasn't this different? She wasn't sure anymore.
"What do I want? How about I want you to respect the things that are important to me, even if you do think they're bloody stupid." With that, George walked off, leaving Maggie standing alone, blinking back her tears.
---
George continued his silent treatment of her as the weekend progressed.
Sad that she had hurt him, Maggie really tried. She knew that he was watching her, even if he wasn't speaking to her, and so she was careful not to roll her eyes during the Maharishi's lectures. She sat on her hands, rather than ask questions that might expose her scorn. She gamely tried to meditate, even though her mind was racing with a thousand worries. No matter what she did, though, her heart just wasn't in it. During her hours of meditation, she tried to focus on whatever positive thoughts she could grasp at. Surely she couldn't give up all hope that Brian would listen. He knew that she was from the future, he had to know she was being truthful. The question was would he let pride and vanity (not to mention addiction) cloud his sense?
During their Sunday afternoon meditation, a worried face peered into their room. As soon as she saw him, Maggie's stomach dropped.
She knew.
She knew as she watched the man hold a whispered conversation with the Maharishi. She knew when the Maharishi turned around with a solemn expression on his face. She knew before he said anything. Any hope she'd held on to was now completely lost to her. She had failed.
She hadn't saved Brian.
And if she couldn't save Brian, then she had no control over the future at all. Could she really save anyone in the end? There was no real reason to believe that she could.
Maggie knew she would mourn Brian's loss keenly, but there were also fears that were deeper and more personal, and they left her besieged with doubts for the future. Despite her best efforts, would Maggie lose John to Yoko?
Or worse, would they all ultimately lose John to a crazed fan with a gun?
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A/N:
Sniff.
If you haven't heard it, "Mr. Hyde's Gone (Don't Be Afraid)" off the John Lennon Anthology is adorable. You can find it on youtube.
Thanks for reading! The next update will be next Sunday! We love comments, so please tell us what you think!