No More Lonely Nights - A Fan Fiction

No More Lonely Night - Chapter Fifty-One

April 5, 1964.

London, England.

PAUL: Today's the day... the day I ask the single most important question I will ever ask anyone in my entire life. I hardly slept last night just thinking about it, hoping that I am making the right decision. I know I am making the right decision, but it is still a bit nerve-wracking to think that by the end of the day, I'll be engaged. I hope I will be anyway; I highly doubt that Allie would say no.

"And as always, I see you are awake," I heard her say. "You're always awake before me."

"I couldn't sleep last night," I replied, kissing her forehead. "I was rather restless."

"Are you all right? Feeling okay?" Allie's voice was full of concern.

"Yes, love, of course I am. I'm fine." In reality, I was beyond nervous and literally scared to death at the thought of what I was going to be doing later on today. "Just one of those nights, you know?"

She nodded but didn't look entirely convinced. "If you say so," was her response as she sat up in bed. She leaned over and kissed my cheek. "So what's on the agenda for today, hmm?"

I shrugged. I couldn't exactly come out and say, "Oh, I'm going to ask you to marry me." No, that wouldn't do. "I don't really know, love. I guess we'll find something to do. No filming today."

"You appear to be getting tired of that movie already," Allie mused, trying to decide among four different dresses. "Is it really that... oh, I don't know... time-consuming?"

"It's just boring, really. I feel like a robot when I say my lines and not like myself. The Paul that is onscreen just isn't the real me." I turned to see which dresses she was considering. "The green one," I said. "You know I love that dress on you."

"Well you should love it, you bought it, as I recall."

"That was certainly a long time ago, wasn't it?" I buttoned up my crisp white shirt and reached for one of my ties.

"I wouldn't really say that two years is a long time, Paul." She kissed me on the end of my nose. "It's not like it was fifty years ago or something."

"I know, I know." I straightened my tie and reached for my suit jacket. "We could just go out and about in the city today. You haven't seen much of London, have you?"

"Not really. I'm usually hiding in the hotel room away from the fans when we're here. Hopefully none will ambush us today." Allie turned her back for a few moments to retrieve her white sweater, and I took that opportunity to reach in my jacket's inner pocket and make sure the little black box was inside. It indeed was, and I took a deep breath as I felt the velvet outside surface. I hoped I could go through with this without either breaking down and crying or making a total idiot of myself.


ALLIE: Spring in London is an absolutely amazing season, truly. I'm astounded at how everything is so green and alive, and how flowers seem to cover every available surface. We've been wandering the streets for a couple hours just looking around, searching for nothing in particular, looking at nothing in particular. We're just together, that's all that matters in my eyes.

"I'm rather surprised the fans aren't out in full-force hunting the four of you down," I mused. "A bit unusual."

"I'm glad they're not bothering us," Paul replied. "I love having moments of peace, seeing as they are getting harder and harder to come by." He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "I don't much like being interrupted when I'm with you, even if it is the others doing the interrupting."

"I can say the same." I looked up at the flowers spilling from a row of windowboxes above my head. "I can't get over how everything is blooming. It is absolutely stunning."

"You know where we need to go take a walk? The gardens over at the Palace."

"I assume you mean Buckingham Palace?" I still felt a bit naïve when it came to British culture at times.

"Yes, love, that's the one. It's the only palace around here." He smiled and squeezed my hand. "Usually the gardens aren't open to the general public, but I am me, after all. I don't think it will be an issue if we wander through them."


PAUL: I'd actually already gotten permission (it helped to be a Beatle at times; I simply had Brian send word that I was coming to the Palace to show my girlfriend the gardens) to go to the gardens previously, so it wasn't an issue for the two if us to be on the grounds. I had actually thought of asking the question there because this time of year, with all the blooms and foliage, it's a literal fantasy world on the grounds. I don't have an exact spot picked out yet, but I'll find one, that part won't be hard. The hard part will be making my voice work at the moment it needs to do so.

"This is absolutely beautiful," Allie said, her voice filled with a sense of awe. "I'm so thankful we were allowed to come up in here."

"I'm finding that being a Beatle does have its advantages, much as I don't enjoy being famous at times," I replied. I was looking for the perfect spot for us to stop so I could ask my question, but it was rather hard to choose just one. We walked a bit farther before I saw it- a pristine white gazebo, overlooking the lake in the center of the gardens. A trail of light lavender wisteria was climbing up the structure, and a ring of bushes bearing pink roses edged around the little white gazebo. There was a bench inside as well so we could sit- well, I wouldn't be sitting for long, but I had to make it seem like we were stopping to rest. "Want to go over there and sit for a few moments?" I asked, pointing out the gazebo. "I'm getting a bit tired from walking."

"All right," Allie replied. I led her over to the small structure and stepped inside, sitting on the wrought iron bench beside her. My pulse was racing in my chest and I could feel my hands starting to shake. "Are you okay?" she asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You're shaking."

I took a deep breath before speaking. "I need to talk to you," I said, the tone of my voice quieter than I meant for it to be.

"Is everything okay?" Allie asked. "What's wrong?"

"I don't really know how to say this..." My voice trailed off and I stopped for a moment, trying to think of the right words to use. I'd had a speech all planned out, but in the actual moment, what I was going to say had been forgotten thanks to my extreme nervousness. I reached for her hand and held it in both of my own. "You know I love you," I began, trying to keep my voice steady. "I love you more than anyone else on the face of the earth."

"I know you do," Allie said. "But honestly, Paul, what's wrong? You're acting nervous about something."

Could she really not suspect what I was trying to ask? Maybe not, but I wasn't entirely sure. I waited a few moments before speaking again. "You're my life. I don't want to keep living my life without you in it permanently. You're the person that I want to stand by my side no matter what, the person that I want to be with for the rest of eternity." I stood from the bench and reached into my jacket pocket, pulling out the little black box. Allie gasped and put her hand to her mouth when she saw what was in my hand, tears appearing at the corners of her eyes. "Oh my God, Paul, you're-"

I went down on one knee on the cobblestone floor of the little gazebo and opened the box, revealing the ring. Allie let out a cry of surprise and buried her face in her hands for a moment before looking back at me, brushing away tears from her cheeks. I took her hand with my free one and looked up at her face, into the bright blue eyes that had captivated me since day one, and then spoke the seven words I had been waiting so long to let out into the air-

"Alexandra Elizabeth Morgan... will you marry me?"


ALLIE: Oh my God. I wasn't exactly prepared for this. I hadn't thought he would even be asking me this soon, seeing as we talked about this a bit over a month ago; I was preparing for the question to be asked maybe six months down the road, not now. I can't believe that it's finally time, though, finally time to make the biggest commitment of my life. It isn't like I have to think about how to answer this, of course. "Yes! Of course I will marry you, Paul," I managed before breaking down again. The happiness that was coursing through my body now was so strong, it was basically taking over everything else within me, leaving no room for any sort of negative emotions. "I've wanted this for so long..."

"I know you have, baby, I have too." He reached for my left hand and put the ring on, and I was astounded to see how large the diamond was. It was cut into the shape of a heart, mounted in gold with several smaller diamonds on the band. Goodness, it must have cost him a fortune. He pulled me to my feet and kissed me, wrapping me in a tight embrace a moment later. I buried my face in his shoulder and cried, but for once, I was crying tears of joy rather than sadness.

I was engaged to him- the fiancée of Paul McCartney, the one man that nearly every single female across the world dreams of being with, but the dreams of those millions of nameless girls are officially dashed. Whenever we decided on a date, I'd be his wife- Mrs. Alexandra McCartney. I could hardly imagine what it would be like to finally call myself his wife, to be with him for the rest of my life, never having to ever be apart again. I couldn't quite fathom what that would be like, truly. Never did I imagine that I would be so blessed, so fortunate as to be the person that one of the four most famous men in the world would choose for his own, and being chosen by the one that nearly every girl fantasized about... I still at times could not believe that he had chosen me, that he had still continued to choose me even as the band rose in popularity. He could have had his pick of any girl on the planet, and yet since February 28, 1962, he'd wanted me. Try as I might, even over two years later, I had yet to understand exactly what it was about me that he is so drawn to, but honestly, I'm not worried about that anymore. He loves me, that's all that matters- he loves me enough to want to make me his and only his.



PAUL: Part of me can't quite fathom that I am actually, truly engaged as of now. And not just engaged to any ordinary person- I am the fiancé of the most amazing, beautiful, precious woman to ever walk the face of the earth. That in itself is a huge honor, and the thought of being her husband in the not-too-distant future... I can't quite wrap my mind around that.

"I just... I just still can't believe it," Allie said quietly. "We're going to get married." She looked at the ring and smiled. "What made you decide on this particular one?"

I looked at her for a long moment before speaking. "I wanted to symbolize how I am literally giving you my heart by asking you to be my wife," I said quietly. "I looked all over London for a ring like this. Remember the day I told you I was going to lunch with George?"

"Yes. Wait, did he-"

"He and Delilah were actually out helping me pick out a ring. We went to seven shops before Delilah spotted this one."

"Paul, you shouldn't have gotten me something so... so exquisite. It must have cost a tremendous amount of money."

I put a finger to her lips to shush her. "Money is of no concern, really. I would have spent everything I owe in order to get you the perfect ring. You deserve the best of everything and I want to ensure you have the best. I would die before I would let you have anything subpar. I don't care what it is."

Allie nodded before embracing me again, and we stood quietly for quite some time just holding each other, both of us still trying to comprehend exactly what was in the future ahead of us. She was going to be my wife... the future Mrs. Alexandra McCartney. Nothing felt anymore right or anymore perfect than to know that we were going to be joined together in the bonds of marriage.


ALLIE: I kept crying in varying intervals as we made our way back to the hotel, unable to keep the tears of happiness from flowing. We walked into the lobby and ran straight into George and Delilah and Ringo and Vi, who were likely heading out for lunch. "There you two are! Where have you-" Delilah stopped mid-sentence when she saw my red, teary eyes and the smile that had yet to leave Paul's face. She then shrieked and grabbed George's arm. "Oh my God! Oh, you're engaged!" She threw her arms around me and I embraced her tightly, Ringo and George and Vi following suit with both me and Paul a few moments later.

"We are indeed engaged," was Paul's reply, and he was barely able to hide the pride in his voice. "And I can say that I am the single happiest man in the entire universe at this precise moment."

"Well of course!" Vi said, squeezing my hand. "I'm so happy for both of you! We all are!"

"That we are," Ringo replied. "Very much so. You'll tell us about it later, won't you? Vi and I were just heading to lunch."

"George and Delilah are coming with you?" I asked.

"No, we were actually heading out looking for you two!" George exclaimed. "We thought the rabid fans had snatched you up! But no, Paul was leading you away to pop the big question! Where did it happen, anyway?"

"The gardens at the Palace," Paul answered. "I had Brian get permission for us to be in there."

"That's just... I can't express it." George looked genuinely moved. "Congratulations to you both. I can't even put into words how proud I am of you, Paul, for asking this lovely woman to marry you. I know you two will be the utmost in happy." Delilah smiled up at him after he finished speaking. "I can echo all of George's sentiments," she said. "I am truly, truly happy for you both. Very much so."