YES IT IS Stories: Girl Talk

Authors: pennylane_fic, jenny_wren28 & lovelyrita_mm

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.

September 1966, right before Pattie and George leave for India.

For Jean

"I'm exhausted!" Pattie exclaimed, as she dumped her bags on the floor next to a small table.

"I am too," Maggie Sue groaned before dropping into the chair next to Pattie. "Exactly how much stuff do you need for this trip?"

"We are going to be gone for over a month." Pattie smiled in explanation. "I just can't wait! And George is really looking forward to having a holiday, poor boy."

"It's been a long summer, hasn't it?" Maggie said in agreement. She'd only been on the latter part of the summer tour with The Beatles and it had worn her out. She didn't know how the boys had managed to get through the whole thing, especially since the tour had been one disaster after another, starting with the drama in the Philippines. Maggie had remembered enough about what had happened there to fill the band in before they'd left – but it hadn't done any good. The band had tried to assert itself, their tour management hadn't listened, Marcos had been snubbed, and things in the Philippines went sour anyway. It was a lesson. You couldn't always change the future, even with foreknowledge of it. It was not a happy thought for Maggie, who still very much sensed John's death waiting for him in 1980.

Then there was the traveling, the performing, the hotel rooms that were more like prisons – and the endless press conferences. The press conferences were particularly brutal for John, who was taken to task for some offhand remarks about the band's popularity he had made in an interview many months ago.

John's comparison of the Beatles and Jesus had happened before Maggie had come back to 1966. With no way to undo what had already been done, she could only watch the fallout in horror. When the story had broken in late July, the start of the American tour was only a few short weeks away – and the Beatles were in a bad position. They couldn't cancel the tour, but there was a growing fear that there would be attempts made on the Beatles' lives - or worse. Worse, at least for the investors, being poor concert attendance.

When this time bomb had initially exploded, the boys had all looked accusingly at Maggie for not warning them that it was coming. Maggie had sighed and wondered if it was going to be this way every time something bad happened. She wasn't omniscient or a magical fairy who could wave a wand and make the bad things disappear in a puff of smoke. All she had was a working knowledge of the future and a rough timeline. And no access to the internet to double-check the dates of when they might expect things to happen. There was also no telling how her presence here had changed the timeline. Nor was she sure she wanted to empty their lives of any surprise about their futures. Even if she were given the power to protect them from bad things, she wasn't sure it was right to do so all the time.

Still it was hard to see the reporters hounding John, wanting their pound of flesh. The assault continued, despite Brian's public press conference, until John left for the second leg of the tour. There was no respite in America, and if anything it was worse. None of this had done anything for John's temper, or his drinking. Several times Maggie, helpless and an ocean away, had listened on the phone as John had been reduced to tears over the constant barrage of questions and accusations. Every day ended with him being frustrated and beaten down. Maggie knew that John was intensely vulnerable inside, but he kept up the sharp, funny exterior so well, it was almost a surprise to see those soft insides revealed.

Brian had finally thrown his hands up and sent for Maggie to fly out to join the tour. With her arrival, John's mood had improved. She'd been able to reassure him, and the band that it would all blow ever eventually, and that someday it would be nothing more than joke on a Simpsons episode. John smiled when he remembered having seen that particular Beatles parody episode during his brief visit to the future. With Maggie's arrival, John got some of his old spirit back and even started being cheeky in the press conferences again. She was glad – she'd hated seeing him so subdued and unlike himself.

In the end, they'd all gotten through the tour in one piece. The last part of it, with John back to being himself, had even been fun. John and Paul had knicked their disguises from the NY hotel and the band had had fun sneaking around with them in some of the other hotels they stayed in. Finally, with the last stop on the tour completed, they all headed home, ready for a well-deserved break.

John had gone off to film "How I Won the War" (at Maggie's urging), Ringo was hanging out at home, Paul was considering doing a film score and taking a trip to Africa, and George and Pattie were planning on a long vacation in India.

Since John had had to leave so soon after getting home from tour, it was left to Maggie to fill their close friends in on their engagement before they announced it to the press and the world at large. Maggie wasn't looking forward to that announcement one bit. The Gatebirds gave her hell already, and she knew this would only make it worse. Still, the most awkward meeting, Cynthia, was over with, so telling the other "Beatle Women" should be relatively easy in comparison.

Of course, it had been hard to find a good time to meet for tea, between Jane's filming schedule, Pattie's vacation, and her own trip to see John in Spain, but they'd managed to find an afternoon when all of them were free. It was essentially the last possible day to have the tea before everyone went their separate ways. In fact, Ringo was going to swing by the cafe to pick her up at 6, so they could go to the airport together. Ringo wanted to pay John a visit as well, so it had made sense for them to travel together.

Pattie had dragged Maggie out shopping before heading for the cafe, because she'd wanted new clothes for India and she thought Maggie could use a few things for Spain. The day had been spent in search of perfect outfits while the conversation had been filled with gossip. Or rather, Pattie would gossip and Maggie would nod at the appropriate intervals. Either way, Maggie still marveled over the fact that even though she wasn't in her rightful time period, some things were universal. Gossip and girl talk being one of them. Of course, the difference was here, the gossip was about music legends.

Pattie's head was buried in a menu, and Maggie was trying to nudge the bags out of the way, when Jane and Maureen arrived together.

"Look who I found waiting outside?" Jane said brightly.

"Oh, sorry, Mo," Pattie said, "I didn't think you might be standing around outside waiting for us!"

"Not a problem," Maureen said smoothly, sitting down at the table.

"It looks like Mary Quant exploded in here," Jane exclaimed as she wrestled with her chair and the shopping bags impeding it.

"Just a few things for my trip," Pattie said airily as she carelessly pushed some of the bags out of Jane's way with her foot.

"Did you buy anything, Maggie?" Mo asked.

"I'm not sure my figure is made for Mary Quant, to be honest," Maggie admitted. Nineteen sixties styles were not her favorites, but she didn't have much of a choice these days, so she did her best to find a few dresses that worked with her personal sense of style. Being a Beatle girlfriend had had its perks – and one of them was that designers wanted to dress you. As far as they were concerned you were a great advertising billboard for them. Mary Quant herself had made a few things for Maggie in the past, and always had something in her size tucked away. It made it more fun to shop, since Maggie knew she wasn't built like Pattie, who could pull anything off the rack and make it look good.

Tea and assorted pastries were finally ordered and the conversation turned away from fashion and towards India.

"When do you leave, Pattie?' Jane asked conversationally.

"In two days! I'm so excited!"

"I bet George is too," Jane replied. "Is his sitar all packed?"

Pattie shrugged her shoulders and look apologetically at Maggie, "I don't really know actually! I was out last night. Maggie, do you know?"

"Not yet, he's still practicing – he wants to impress Ravi Shankar when he gets to India. Last night he was polishing it, so it would look nice!" Maggie smiled back at Pattie. Then she wondered if she should have claimed ignorance. Was it awkward that she knew so much about George? Pattie didn't seem to mind Maggie's friendship with her husband, but to an outside observer, in the sixties, she knew it had to look a bit odd. Maggie could never get past the odd dynamics between men and women in the 60s. In her own time, most of her friends were guys, some married, some not. It simply didn't matter in 2006.

"You saw George last night, did you?" Maureen asked seemingly casually.

Pattie had been out with friends, and John was in Spain, so George had had Maggie over for dinner. It was innocent; Maggie knew that, Pattie knew that, and John and George knew that, but clearly Maureen didn't. Or had Pattie said something to her?

Jane saved her from having to answer Maureen by interjecting, "George showed me a few things on the sitar once, but I think I might just stick to the guitar. Or better yet, acting." She looked at Maggie with a questioning smile. "Maggie, has George given you any lessons?" The conversation was quickly turning a bit uncomfortable.

"It turns out, I'm pretty hopeless at sitar, and he gave up trying to teach me pretty quickly!" Maggie answered a bit chagrinned. "Like you, I'll stick to the guitar."

"Better not try the drums either," Maureen said quickly, trying to make a joke, but coming off bitchy and paranoid instead. "Ringo's off the market. For lessons, I mean."

An uncomfortable silence ensued where Maggie debated the merits of informing Maureen that she already knew how to play the drums, but thankfully, the eternally sweet Pattie filled in the empty space.

"I'm hopeless at music in general," Pattie smiled at them warmly. "I'll stick to modeling." She made a few dramatic poses, pretending to be modeling for a camera, which made them all laugh.

"Jane, you should come over and play guitar with us more often," Maggie said, trying to ignore Maureen's increasingly icy demeanor.

Before Maggie's trip to the past, she'd been unaware that any of the Beatle wives or girlfriends had been musical. It was as if only the Beatles themselves were allowed to claim that particular talent in the history books and biographies. It was fascinating to her to find out that Jane actually played guitar.

"I wish I could," Jane said ruefully, " but my filming schedule has just been crazy. Paul's always complaining that I'm not home enough as it is. But I love acting too much to stop. I wish Paul got that. It's not like he's never away with the band. And I'd never ask him to stop doing what he loved for me. Sometimes I worry we just want different things." Jane frowned.

Maggie knew that Jane's career was going to get in the way of her relationship with Paul – but she didn't want to discourage it. Jane had a right to a career – and Paul and Linda were destined to be together.

Maggie and Linda had met over the summer and had hit it off. They'd kept in touch through letters and Maggie was really looking forward to the day when Linda and Paul would be a couple. Though she wasn't sure where that would put her and Jane, Maggie still tried to have a sympathetic ear because even though she and Linda were close, she genuinely liked Jane too.

"George made me cut back on modeling jobs when we got married," Pattie sympathized.

"I don't mind so much – I needed a break from it anyway – but with him away so much, I get bored."

Maggie was starting to get indignant for both of them. "You should mind, Pattie! You were…I mean, are at the top of your game! You're a great model – why should you have to cut back just because you're married? And married to a man who is away half the time! It just doesn't make sense. And Jane – you should do what makes you happy, and if acting is it, don't give it up for a man. It's just not fair, none of it!"

Done with her outburst, the girls sat there in shocked silence.

"Sorry, I just feel strongly about it." Maggie mumbled a bit embarrassed by her strident tone of voice. After all, wasn't she an accomplished and modern 21st century woman? Hadn't she given up her career for a Beatle? Really, she was no better than Pattie. Maggie had known she had limited choices with John. She could stay in the past with him, or stay in the future without him. He'd impulsively tried to stay with her in the future, but that was robbing posterity of his music, so that was no option either. Either way she sacrificed something. Was it smart that she'd chosen herself?

To make up for that choice, she'd promised herself that she would never be a quiet 60s wife. And she'd told John this in no uncertain terms, which had somewhat surprisingly amused him. She knew he had fairly chauvinist underpinnings, so she was a bit taken aback when he'd been so lamb-like about the whole thing. He'd promised her that he wouldn't stand in the way of any career she chose to pursue. Maggie had known that John had supported Yoko's head for business – but she hadn't expected him to do the same for her so easily, and so soon. Maggie swore to herself that somehow she would have a career, that she'd find a way to use her brain and her hard-won degree.

The problem was she just hadn't figured out how yet.

There'd been no time to really look into her options – it had been a constant whirlwind of activity around the tour and their engagement. When John had left and the quiet had set in, she'd used the time to think. What did she want? Did she want to stay in astrophysics? How happy had she been there? Was her PhD a goal to be accomplished, or was it something she'd be unhappy without using? Could she get involved in research in the 60s? Other women had done it – would she have to start all over on a degree? She had no credentials in this time. She wasn't sure she could face writing another dissertation. And she was quite confident the topic she'd chosen for her first one wouldn't even exist in this time. A lot had changed in astrophysics in 50 years. Maybe, she thought, she could theorize a bunch of stuff that wouldn't be proven for decades, and make herself famous that way! It was a thought. Of course that would also bring about unnecessary and unneeded attention her way, and goodness knew she didn't need scrutiny of her background. So, in her logical way, she decided to mull the problem over in the back of her mind. She was better when she let her brain work things out in their own time.

In the meantime, she changed her focus to the Beatles. She'd made a list of every problem she foresaw for them, including their lack of money sense, their lack of education, how easily they were impressed by charlatans. Then, as scared to death as she was to do it, she'd marched into Brian Epstein's office unannounced and given him the list, as well as an earful of carefully phrased fears regarding the band. He'd been surprised, but also taken her seriously. She still couldn't figure out where she got the nerve to pull a stunt like that. Normally just the idea of talking to Brian made her nervous. For some reason that man always had her worried, as if he was constantly watching her and evaluating her, determining her worth. Plus he was so very prim and proper, and she was anything but!

While she felt she'd made strides, she was, in the 60s, not what she was in her own time. She had no job, and was living off John, who was more than happy to support her. Her dependence on him bothered her, but what could she do? Her money and life savings, as well as her paycheck were 40 years off in the future.

Pattie looked at her thoughtfully. "Well, maybe I will talk to George about it, while we're in India. Honestly, I'd hoped to be pregnant by now, and then modeling would have been out anyway. But with no baby on the horizon… it's silly to stop when I'm not even pregnant yet, isn't it?"

Maggie was sure George wouldn't be thrilled that she was pumping his wife full of 21st century feminism, but frankly she didn't care what he thought. If Pattie loved modeling, she shouldn't have to give it up. Plus, Maggie knew the sad truth - that Pattie would never have those children she wanted.

"I, for one was happy to give up hairdressing," Maureen said tartly. "The kids keep me pretty busy – I'm not sure I'd have time for anything else!"

"Oh, Mo – your kids are adorable too," Pattie sighed.

"I'm not sure I want kids," Jane admitted. "But Paul wants 10 of them. He keeps talking about getting engaged, and there we go with us wanting different things again."

"I'm not sure what I want either, as far as kids go," Maggie said, trying to change the subject off of Paul and Jane's doomed relationship. She knew they would be engaged soon, and that it wouldn't end well.

"Well, you're not even married to John yet, are you? So, no need to worry," Maureen said. "Not that that has stopped John in the past, of course…"

Once more, an awkward silence followed.

"Actually…" Maggie breathed in, thinking, here goes nothing. "That's kind of why I wanted to get together with you all. John and I are engaged. We're telling our closest friends first, before it gets announced to the press."

"Oh, congratulations!" Pattie gave Maggie a hug, as did Jane. Maureen was on the opposite side of the table, and stayed seated. It wasn't noticeable to anyone but Maggie that Mo had been the only one to not give her a hug or congratulate her.

Maggie and Maureen had never clicked. They had nothing in common whatsoever. Moreover, Maggie had read about Maureen and George's affair in a Beatles bio - and though, it was completely unfair and smacked of a double-standard, she'd always hated Maureen for sleeping with Pattie's husband. It had hurt both Ringo and Pattie - and had helped drive Pattie into Eric Clapton's arms.

Never mind that both Ringo and George had slept with countless women and had hardly been faithful to their wives. For that matter, she also doubted that Pattie had been completely faithful either. Maggie knew she was being completely unfair to Maureen. Maybe if they had clicked personally things would be different, but they hadn't. So now there was a slight underlying antipathy there – and plenty of passive-aggressiveness on Maureen's part.

Of all the wives and girlfriends, Maureen came off as the least secure. After all, Jane was an actress and Pattie was a model. Mo was just a hairdresser from Liverpool lucky enough to snag a Beatle. And here was Maggie, who seemed to have come out of nowhere and been immediately accepted by the Boys as no one else had ever been before.

Yes, Maureen was definitely suspicious, resentful, and to a degree, jealous of her.

"How did you and John meet again?" Pattie asked after hugs and congratulations were offered. "I don't think Mo ever heard the full story. And I only got it through George, and you know how the Boys are!"

Maggie shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Yes, she did know how the Boys were. In fact, she was the only Beatle Girl that could truly be considered to be on the inside of that tight little circle, despite the fact that Jane could play the guitar too. And she was never quite sure if she was resented for it.

In her own time, Maggie had had numerous male friends, and had been schooled and socialized side by side with them. They were her equals, her playmates, and her friends. But in the 60s, men and women weren't friends. They weren't even really equals. They didn't kid and tease and hang out, at least not without there at least being a hint that something "else" was going on.

Maggie loved the Beatles, but they were her friends, and only her friends. She had no particular interest in dating or sleeping with any of them. Except for John, of course, she mused to herself fondly. She had a great interest in doing both of those things with John quite a bit. But only with John.

But having the Beatles consider her their equal, or as equal as any outsider could be (she still wasn't a Beatle), put her on unequal footing with the other wives and girlfriends. The Beatles certainly didn't treat the rest of the wives and girlfriends the same way they treated her.

The other thing that made Maggie uncomfortable with Pattie's line of questioning was that she could never divulge to them the real way she and John had met. Maggie was tired of lying and of having to be careful what she said around the girls, or anyone for that matter. The Boys all knew (it was part of what bound them all together… Maggie Sue's BIG SECRET) so she could just be herself around them. This was harder. She'd never been good at girl talk and having to tell made-up stories didn't make it any easier. She wished she could just be truthful, but her story was so crazy, she'd been lucky to convince the Beatles of it, let alone anyone else. No, as far as the girls knew, she had been born in the 1940s just like them.

Forcing a smile on her face, Maggie began her story with fake enthusiasm. "Well, I'd always wanted to see London, so I just decided to take a vacation and see the sights!"

"Oh, how brave," Pattie sighed. "I wish I had the nerve to do that. I took a girlfriend with me when I went on that trip to…"

"We'll never get through it at this rate," Mo interrupted. "Go on, then." She turned and looked hard at Maggie.

"Right. Well, I was vacationing alone, which I know is weird, but I like traveling that way. I was near EMI when I suddenly felt sick. Something I ate maybe? British food doesn't always agree with me," she said apologetically and half-jokingly. "I went inside and I must have looked horrible, because they let me use the washroom right away and made me sit down for a while. I thought they'd throw me right out, figuring I was after the Beatles." Maggie started to relax into the story, embellishing a little for effect. And trying desperately to remember if she'd told the story differently before.

"I got lost on the way out, and bumped into John. And, so here we are!"

"Just like that." Maureen said, rather flatly.

Maggie tried not to panic. Did Maureen not buy the story? Certainly she couldn't suspect Maggie was a time-traveler – no one could possibly come up with the truth. More likely they thought she was an opportunist, out to snare a Beatle.

"Oh, come on, Mo – you know what John is like. He takes fancy to things rather suddenly," Pattie said, jumping to Maggie's defense.

"I couldn't believe it myself," said Maggie rather truthfully. "I still wasn't feeling well, so he took me up on the roof for some air, which only partly helped." Maggie grimaced. It still embarrassed her that she had vomited in front of John Lennon. "After I'd recovered a bit, he took me into the studio and introduced me to the rest of the band. Never in a million years did I see that happening!" This was the easiest part of the story, because it had really happened that way. And it was also believable in its own way. It was actually completely in character for John to suddenly decide to introduce a bird he'd just met to the rest of the Beatles. And as John had been single and unmarried at the time the story was supposedly taking place, it hadn't even been scandalous – just spontaneous.

Pattie sighed and leaned her face on her hand. "That's so romantic!"

"All except for the vomiting," Maggie corrected her.

Pattie giggled. "Well, it didn't seem to have scared him off!"

"I know – he even held my hair back while I threw up! I mean, a Beatle! John! It was very surreal."

"I suppose you were a fan before you met him?" Jane smiled. Mo raised an eyebrow at this. Maggie knew Maureen thought she was onto her.

"Of course! But who isn't?"

"Was John your favorite, then?" Maureen asked.

"He was! Which is fortunate for me, I suppose!" Maggie said smiling sweetly at Mo.

"Yes, it would be kind of awkward otherwise, wouldn't it?" Maureen offered. The girls all looked at her. "I mean, if it'd had been one of our husbands." Maggie wasn't sure if she was making a joke or not.

She was once again aware that she did have a unique relationship with all of their significant others, especially Pattie's husband. Pattie was too sweet to feel threatened by it – she was a social butterfly and somewhat of a free spirit. Maggie very much liked her and how unconventional she was. But she never knew how comfortable Pattie was with Maggie's relationship with George. She and George were very close – but being each other's confidants was as far as it went. She admitted that it might look bad – at least to someone like Maureen who might be paying attention to such things. She doubted Pattie minded (or at least hoped that was true).

Jane was terribly self-possessed and was busy with her acting career. And Paul had hardly fawned all over Maggie when she'd first arrived, in fact he'd been quite nasty to her at first, so Jane never seemed concerned about Maggie's relationship with Paul.

"Oh, Mo, stop it!" Pattie giggled. Maureen's passive aggressive jabs seemed largely lost on Pattie, and for that Maggie was grateful. "I think Maggie's got her hands full with John! He's demanding, from what I hear!" Maggie remembered reading somewhere that Pattie and John had had a fling. Sometimes a memory of Beatle biographies was a curse. None of this had happened yet. Pattie and John hadn't hooked up. Maureen and George hadn't hooked up. It wouldn't happen in this timeline. No Maureen and George, and NO John and Yoko. None of it.

"I hope you have a good time watching John film his picture," Jane said smoothly changing the subject. "It'll be fun for you to see a movie set!"

"Are you leaving for the airport this evening?" Pattie wanted to know.

"In just a few minutes," Maggie said. And then casting a surreptitious glance at Maureen continued, "Actually, Ringo was going to stop by here to pick me up on his way to the airport."

"Hello, ladies!" Just like that Ringo materialized next to the table. He leaned over and kissed his wife and then looked up and smiled across at Maggie. "Ready to go, Mags?"

Maureen glared at her, not even concealing her malice towards Maggie.

"Yep!" Maggie hopped up from the table, glad to be leaving. Mo was poisoning her good mood. She hugged Pattie and told her to have a good time in India, and hugged Jane, wishing her success on her new film. Then, knowing she'd chastise herself later for being so childish, she waved mischievously and winked at Maureen as she took Ringo's arm. Let Mo think what she wanted. She was tired and didn't give a damn any more.

* * *

A/N:

Oh NOES! What will Maggie Sue do???? She's friends with Jane and also friends with Linda! Should she interfere??? More importantly.... Does Edward Cullen like her? No wait, wrong story....

Also - our apologies to the real Maureen (and any Maureen fans) for the liberties we took with her character - we're sure she was a lovely person in real life.

Also, we'd love to know what you think so far, so please drop us a line. :)