The Silenced Drummer

Chapter 13: Together For Now

John knocked at the door to the hotel room.

"George? Ringo? You two in there?"

"Yeah, j-just one moment..."

John sighed, taking a step back. Paul was next to him, gaze fixed on the floor.

They both could tell that, by the sound of George's voice, he had been crying.

The sounds of footsteps making their way to the door were almost impossible to make out. Swiftly, the door opened wide.

John and Paul were taken aback by what they saw.

George's eyes were red and wet, and his shirt was soaked in an area on his chest, and the two Beatles knew all too well why.

Taking a moment to rub his eyes, the youngest Beatle spoke.

"S-so... h-how was your t-time out?"

"Uh..." John started.

"Probably went better than..." His voice went quiet, "w-what ever went on here..."

Paul sighed.

"Are you going to let us in?"

"Oh, yes," George said, stepping to the side.

Silently, John and Paul walked, both spotting the other Beatle on the bed. George shut the door and slowly made his way towards his bed.

John sat on his bed, yawning.

"It's been a long day," he said tiredly.

"Yeah," Paul agreed as he sat beside him.

When George laid down in his bed, Ringo rolled over and buried his face in the guitarist's neck. The television was off, so it was completely silent inside the room.

"Um..." Paul started, wanting to break the uncomfortable silence.

"John?"

"Hmm?" John said as he laid back onto the bed. Paul was not far behind in copying his action.

"D-did you really mean what you said? About being there for me?"

John wrapped his arms around Paul and pulled him in.

"Of course I do, Macca," he replied in a soft voice.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

John slowly ran his fingers through the bassist's hair, sighing at how soft it felt. Paul closed his eyes, allowing himself to bask in John's touch. However, the guitarist's mind was much more active than his.

No matter how hard John tried, he could not shake the feeling that someone was purposely watching them at the park earlier. And the footsteps...

'Yer just being paranoid, calm down,' he thought.

He turned his head over to look at George and Ringo on the other bed.

Like him and Paul, George and Ringo were cuddling each other. The guitarist could only imagine how they felt, especially Ringo.

Out of the four of them, he knew that Ringo was the one who suffered the most, and it only made him more sad just by thinking about it.

John turned his gaze towards Paul again, closing his eyes to bask in the moment as well.

George sighed as Ringo's grip on him loosened a bit. The drummer's breathing became measured as he slowly sat up on the bed.

"Ringo?" he asked.

No answer. 

Ringo couldn't answer it anyways.

Slowly, Ringo got up from the bed and went to a drawer. He opened it and got out a pair of pajamas.

George understood what he was doing.

The eldest Beatle walked over to the bathroom, turned on the light, and shut the door.

George sat up and sighed. 

John and Paul noticed Ringo's actions as well.

"George?" Paul asked.

George looked over at him.

"W-what did you two do w-when we were gone?"

"N-nothin'. Nothin' besides... he... we cried..."

Paul pulled away from John and they both sat up.

"I t-think I speak for us all w-when I say... that... we are a-all tired now..."

"Yer right, John," George said.

"A-anyways... after Ringo is done g-getting dressed, w-we should all probably get r-ready for bed," Paul said, voice shaky.

"Yeah, that would be for the best..." George said as he laid back down on the bed again.

"So... John?" Paul asked.

"What?"

"We're not going to h-have another concert for a week, b-but after that..." Paul paused, "d-do ya think that Ringo will... be able to handle it?"

John was quiet for a moment.

"Maybe," he said.

Sighing, he laid down on the bed, pulling Paul down with him.

The bathroom door opened and Ringo walked out, wearing a matching pair of light blue pajamas.

He walked past John and Paul and laid down next to George.

"I'll go," Paul said, getting up from the bed.

George was about to get up himself, but he supposed that Ringo would like him to have company for a little longer.

He sighed, looking over at Ringo, not knowing what the future held for either of them.