If I Fell│John Lennon/Beatles FanFiction

Chapter 88 - 28.June.1967

I blinked from my spot in the kitchen as I stared at John, trying to decide if him kneading dough was a hallucination caused by lack of sleep, but I finally said, "You let me sleep in."

"No need to thank me, Livvy." He winked in my direction as Maggie grabbed a fistful of flour from the open bag. "Anyroad, hard to wake someone who's snorin' louder than a bomb explodin'."

"You're a dirty, dirty liar. I don't snore."

"How could you possibly know? Could hear it in the entire house." His smile grew into a cheeky grin. "Maggie looked shocked by the noise."

I peeked at the clock, ignoring him. "I'm gonna be late." But even as I said it, I didn't make a move to leave. Instead, I sat down and took a sip of tea, hoping it might help wake me up.

John stepped away from the counter and placed Maggie on the floor. She toddled about, flour all over her hands, and played with a toy she'd rediscovered after spending the last two nights back in her old room. John sipped tea as he watched her, a robe wrapped tight around his torso beneath the apron, and a content smile pulled at his lips despite the early hour. He hadn't moaned or groaned, not even once, when I told him that I'd secured an appointment with my doctor a bit before ten in the morning, a time that had once been strictly sleeping hours for John.

"You've got time, don't get yer knickers in a knot 'bout it." He sat across from me and pushed a hand into his greasy hair, his light brown eyes on me. His look had changed so much in the last year, but his eyes were exactly as they always had been...beautiful, expressive, and easy to get lost in. "Ye'still feelin' ropey, then?"

"A bit, yeah." I took another sip of tea and grabbed an apple from the middle of the table for a meal on the go. "Sleeping yesterday helped...ta for that."

"Ye'look less horrid."

I pinched my lips, and immediately regretted thanking him. "How very kind."

"Still look a bit more than peaky, though." He rubbed his brow as Maggie giggled from across the room, having apparently found a cabinet filled with metal mixing bowls which she began pounding against the floor.

"Bang," she hollered as she kept giggling. "Bang, Mama."

"Good job, my sweet Maggie." I rubbed a hand over my skirt. "And I get the point, John. I look like I've been run over a handful of times. But I made an appointment, didn't I?"

He paused, his expression sober, as he looked at me. "Want me to come with?"

Yes. I was desperate for him to come to the appointment. Despite so many years passing since seeing my mother take her last breath in a hospital bed, the thought of going to the doctor alone still made me shudder. But instead of confessing what I wanted, I forced myself to shake my head.

"I can handle it myself, I think. Ta though."

He hummed in response, his eyes falling to the daily paper.

I gripped the teacup as I stared at him. "I won't be back right after the appointment, if that's okay. I've told Adam I'll meet up with 'im for a quick bite to eat after the appointment since I'll be in London anyway."

John's jaw clenched. "You're still seein' that bloke?"

"Christ, you make it sound like he's on the pull and chattin' me up." I tapped my foot against the floor. "He's me cousin, John. Course I'm still seein' 'im."

And this time, he didn't bother humming in response. I wasn't exactly sure what his problem with Adam was, though I had a few guesses. With another peek at the time, I pushed my chair back, stood, and took a final sip of tea as I shoved the apple into my purse.