In Your Atmosphere (Paul McCartney/Beatles Fanfiction)

Chapter 40 Remember that I'll Always Be in Love with You

Marisol awoke disoriented after a fitful sleep, blinking around the room in confusion for a few seconds. Music was playing somewhere, and girls shouted from the street. And Melody was not in the bed next to her. She sat up with a start, imagining Jane arriving while she slept and leaving with Paul and her baby, going to Liverpool without her. She practically flew out of the room and down the stairs.

The living room was empty. She raced into the kitchen. A middle-aged woman turned from the kitchen sink, her gray eyes sweeping over Marisol.

Marisol took a step back, conscious of appearing in her nightclothes in front of a stranger in Paul's house. She clutched at the neckline of her gown. "Oh. Hi, I was looking for Paul?"

"He had his brekky an hour ago. Will ye be needing summat?" the woman asked, frowning.

"Thank you, no. Where's Paul?"

"I reckon ye'll see him in the music room."

Out of breath from racing back up three flights of stairs, Marisol clutched at the doorframe of the attic room. Paul was sitting at the Spinet piano with Melody on his lap, plucking out a tune. An empty bottle of milk was on the floor beside them.

She stood there catching her breath, watching her daughter bang both hands onto the keys with a shriek. Paul kissed the top of the baby's head and Marisol's heart lurched at the sight.

She must have made a sound that caused Paul to turn and notice her. "She's coming along quite promising on the piano, Mamacita."

He swung his legs to the other side of the piano bench, facing her. "I've spoken with my Dad. He doesn't want us making the journey with the babe," he said in a voice that brooked no argument. "He took the express train, with my stepmom and stepsister. They'll be here by noon, and they might stay through Friday."

"I'll miss my flight..." she began, then stopped herself. It was clear she wouldn't be taking that flight. She slid down the doorframe and sank onto the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. She was at his mercy for the next few days at least, until she could figure out how to compromise with Paul and get her life back.

"Ma ma ma ma," Melody said from Paul's lap, reaching her arms to Marisol.

"Da da da da," Paul corrected her, but he kissed the top of her head again and set Melody on the floor, smiling as he watched her crawl across the rug to Marisol.

She picked up her daughter and kissed her cheek, breathing in the milky sweet smell of her. She felt her diaper, noting it was dry. "You changed her?"

"Of course."

"And fed her?"

"Mari, come on. I'm her father. I do know how to take care of her basic needs, don't I?"

"And you came in and took her out of bed while I was sleeping."

"Yeah, you were out like a light."

"You're saying I didn't hear her wake up?"

"You dragged a pillow over your head."

Marisol scoffed. "Did not."

"You did." He smiled as Melody made a crowing sound. "She covered her ears when you cried, din't she, Cheerios?"

"Why do you call her that?"

Paul pointed to a glass bowl lying upside down on the carpet. "She ate a whole bowl of Cheerios and threw the bowl across the room when it was empty. Girl has a temper like her mother when she's hungry."

"You should have woken me. I was terrified when I found her gone. I thought..."

"You thought what? What could happen to her in my home? You're going to need to get used to sharing. New rules."