This Boy - Mclennon

Chapter 28: There's A Place

~Paul's~

Two days seemed like an eternity while we waited for Mr. Edison to ring us back with the information of the trial. When he finally did call, he informed me that the first court date wouldn't be until October 20th, almost a month away. Mr. Edison told me he would call John to share the new himself, and I agreed. I waited for a phone call from John, but instead he showed up at my house. I was in the sitting room, with a sleeping Mike cuddled against my side. "Good evening, handsome." John whispered as he leaned in and gave me a quick kiss, sitting in the chair across the room. "You got the news, I suppose?" I whispered back, noticing Mike beginning to stir. John nodded, a smile spread from ear to ear. He stood up and kissed my forehead, leaning in and scooping Mike up into his arms. It was adorable to see how Mike clung to him, not waking up, just sleeping soundly on his shoulder. I watched him take Mike up the stairs to his room, as he did so I stretched and lied down on the couch.

"I have a surprise for you, m'love." John said quietly as he returned. He squatted down beside my face on the floor. "What's that?" I asked, yawning quite aggressively. "I got a letter in the post from one of me aunts in Scotland. 100 pounds!" John said giddily. "100 pounds?!" I asked. "Yes sir," John nodded, leaning in and giving me a quick kiss. "Let's go to Paris." John whispered against my lips. I shot up. "Really?!" I asked. "Yes my love! Mimi already paid for our flight there. She thinks it's a nice little vacation before the trial, not a damn clue in her mind that I'll be marrying ye." John continued, sitting up on the couch beside me. "That's wonderful!" I flung my arms around him. "When do we leave?" I asked, not even remembering how tired I was. "Tomorrow morning." John smiled smugly. "Jesus Christ, John." I said, I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. "I knew you'd be excited." John observed. "Of course I'm bloody excited, John! We're gettin' married!" I kissed him a few times. "Did you tell anybody else? Ritchie and George? Stu?" I asked, pulling my arms off of him and leaning against his shoulder. "No, love. I think I just want the two of us to know for now." John told me, taking my hand on his lap. "Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Let's get some rest m'love. Early morning." John said, pulling me up onto my feet. "I'll have to tell Gin in the morning." I said quietly, following him up to my bedroom. "If she's up," John started as he opened the door for me. I crawled into my bed. "We've gotta leave fairly early. You might have to leave a note." John continued, crawling into bed next to me. I felt the warm embrace of his arms around me, almost as if he felt the need to protect me at all times. "Wow. I can't believe this is happening." I whispered. "Shh, m'love. We have an early morning, I want you to get some rest." John told me, placing a kiss on the top of my head. Soon, we both faded into a deep sleep.

...

"Paul,"

"Paulie, wake up love."

"Paul!"

My eyes fluttered open to find John standing in the middle of my room with two bags. "I've already packed for you. C'mon, let's get goin'." I checked the clock, 4AM. "Jesus Christ, John. I'm not even bloody awake yet. Do we have time for a tea?" I asked. John shook his head and began pulling me out of the bed. "You can have tea on the plane, m'love!" He hurried me. I got dressed and wrote Gin a note.

Gin & Mike,

John and I have gone to Paris for a vacation before the trial.

Xx
Paul

We took a taxi to the airport and it took all of my might not to hold John's hand the whole way there. When we finally arrived at the airport, I had felt completely calm until I saw the plane. I hated flying. John saw my face change, and touched my hand briefly but reassuringly. "I've got you, love." John whispered. My stomach kept flipping and I kept feeling dizzy the more I thought about getting on the damn thing. We checked our bags, and waited for our boarding call. John handed me some water. "Drink this. You're as white as a bloody ghost." John observed. "I fuckin' hate flying, John." I mumbled, taking a swig of the water. Before he could answer, we heard our boarding call. "Shit," I mumbled as I stood up beside him, gathering my identification and carry on. "Passport." The old man grunted to John and I. John smiled and handed his passport to him. The man stamped it, and then handed it back. He did the same to mine, as he did so I felt as though I was about to puke all over the poor grumpy old man. We headed to our seats, thankfully John took the window seat. "Are you okay Macca?" John asked as I sat down next to him. "I think I'll manage." I whispered. It was still dark outside, I noticed as I looked out the window over John. The plane had few people on it, almost one in our row. The stewardess brought us a blanket, which John draped over both of our knees. "Please prepare for take off." We heard the pilot say over a raspy old speaker.