Take a sad song and make it better

Chapter Seventeen

Weeks had passed and for a while things were pretty good for the happy parents to be.  It was now the end of August and Dot was around five months pregnant, her ballooning stomach growing everyday. Dot was pretty much confined to the house, not wanting anyone to find out about the pregnancy before she felt ready for people to know. She spent her days alone, cleaning the house and sometimes cooking meals for Mr. McCartney - he didn't ask her too but she felt like she owed him for taking her in and asking nothing in return- she took to reading some of the many books that graced the shelves in the various rooms throughout the house, sometimes she read aloud, thinking that maybe the babies could hear her.

Paul returned to school a few days after Dot had settled in, Jim picked up a few extra hours at work in order to provide for Dot as well as his two Sons, he also knew that they would need some extra money to buy essentials for the babies - although most would be second hand hand me downs from the rest of the family.

Mike continued on as if nothing had changed, and really for the younger boy nothing had, the only difference being that sometimes Paul would sit with his little brother in Mikes bedroom when Dot needed rest and didn't want Paul to annoy her with his incessant guitar playing, or sometimes Paul, John and George would squish into Michaels shoebox room to practice if they had nowhere else to go - Stu and Pete were never invited to these practice sessions, simply because Paul didn't want them to know about Dot and the babies.

The person who seemed to be affected most was John, Band practises and writing sessions were being cancelled and cut short by Paul in favour for Dot, John tried not let it upset him, after all it wasn't like Paul didn't have a good excuse, but John was beginning to feel like his relationship with Paul - If their infatuation with each could be called a relationship - was taking a back seat in Paul's life, like he was an afterthought, second best to his relationship with Dot. As much as the pair would have liked, there were no more nights cuddled together, only quick fumbles here and there before band practice and after gigs which John quickly realised would never be enough for him.

Days settled into a repetitive pattern, Dot woke up Paul - who now mostly slept on the bedroom floor - for school and prepared breakfast and a cup of tea for Paul and herself whilst he got ready for School, which they would eat together before dashed out the door and away for the rest of the day. Michael was generally the first one home in the afternoon, always checking in on Dot when he walked through the door, some days he would stay and keep Dot company for a while but mostly he dashed back out to hang out with his friends. Paul would be next home, usually coming straight home after School and would stay with Dot unless he had plans with John or George. Jim was always last home, arriving after dark from a long day at work but was always greeted with a meal prepared by Dot or Paul.

During this monotonous cycle, Paul and Dot got to know each other on a more personal level, having never spent this much time together. they each got to know the others little annoying habits which they realised they would have to get used to, seeing as though they were going to be spending their foreseeable future together. For example, Paul's near constant guitar playing which just about drove the younger girl mad during her first few days at the McCartney house. Also just how long it took Paul to get ready in the morning, Dot had always assumed that Paul woke up looking perfect. Not that Paul wasn't naturally very handsome, he was, but the time he spent on getting his hair just right and making sure his entire appearance was up to scratch right down to making sure his tie was straight and his school blazer was creaseless and sat perfectly on his shoulders.

Paul too had a few things to get used to with Dot, he found that she could become quite irritable, whether this was because of the pregnancy Paul didn’t know, but he quickly learned to give Dot her space after a few smacks on the head and a couple of choice words from her usually sweet mouth. Mood swings were another thing Paul, and the rest of the McCartney men, had to get used to, this was one thing Paul was sure was due to the pregnancy, the Doctor had warned them that twins could create an awful havoc with Dots hormones - even more so than a singular pregnancy - so they should try to create a calm environment for her. Tnd tried they did, but it seemed that those little babies were insistent upon turning Dot into a blubbering mess at the drop of a hat, and turning her from a happy and calm young girl into a fuming and dangerous monster. It was on one of these days filled with seemingly random mood swings that things started to go down hill.