July 1965

On a rare morning where both of them had the day off, Connie and George were sat across from each other at the breakfast table. The remnants of breakfast were still there, empty plates scattered across the surface, the empty teapot in the centre of it all. That was the only problem with living with George, the fact that his large appetite meant that there was rarely any lefovers, even from her own plate, and the pancakes and bacon that morning was no different. 

The two of them were in silence, the only sound being the distant hum of the record player in the living room playing the new the Rolling Stones album, the two of them sat reading. George was flicking through his copy of the latest New Times issue, folding down the pages that featured Connie's articles, whilst she was reading the newspaper, circling features she thought were important enough to bring up in the next round table meeting for the magazine. George let out a quiet chuckle at something Connie had written, looking up over the magazine at her with a raised eyebrow. Hearing his laugh, she glanced up from the newspaper, winking at him, only making him laugh again. 

Setting the newspaper aside, Connie got up from her seat with a stretch, pulling the sleeves of George's jumper up her arms as she went to gather up the pots, carrying them across the kitchen to the sink. She couldn't be bothered to wash up just yet, since it was the chore she hated doing the most, so instead she filled the kettle back up to put it onto the hob to boil. 

"D'you want a coffee, Gee?" she asked without turning around, going to the cupboard that was home to their glasses and mugs. 

"Nah, I'm alright thanks, love," he said, shutting the magazine and placing it to the side.

Connie didn't notice him put the magazine aside. She's already turned back to the hob, fully focused on making her coffee.  George was glad she had her back turned, because he knew she would tease him mercilessly for staring at her, yet he just couldn't help it. He was captivated by her. He felt like he always had been, from the moment he saw her out of the bus window running down the street, and though there had always been things about her that he loved, like the way she fiddled with her hair or how she rolled her eyes whenever she laughed, his admiration for her had only grown in the year they'd been courting. 

That probably had something to do with the fact that they'd been living together for most of that time. Being best friends for nearly ten years only to suddenly decide they were going to not only be boyfriend and girlfriend but flatmates too could make or break most couples, but not them. Maybe that was because for the first few months of them being flatmates they also lived with Ringo, so it felt more like they were just best mates who also happened to share a bed and would be overly affectionate with each other. After moving into Kinfauns together though, a property that was entirely theirs, it felt as though their lives had officially been intertwined. It wasn't like they were just living in the flat that was officially in Connie's name, they were living in a house that was theirs, with their furniture, and their crockery, and their memories. It was like they were a proper couple, George and Connie, together after so long of wanting. 

George knew as he watched Connie make her coffee that there was no one else he could possibly want to spend his life with. She was it for him, and that realisation led his mind down the avenue of the rest of their lives. He was more than happy for the time being that she was his girlfriend, but what would the rest of their lives hold? Marriage, children? Those two things seemed far too bizarre to consider initially, except they were both in their twenties and all of their friends seemed to be settling down, and before he could stop himself he was stuck thinking of a similar future for them. 

"Con... When d'you think we'll have kids?" he asked, practically thinking out loud, not realising his thoughts were absurd until he heard Connie splutter on her coffee. 

"You what?" she exclaimed, setting her mug down on the side as she spun round to him, her face the picture of shock.

"When do you think we'll have kids?" he repeated, the smile on his face starting to disappear as he recognised the baffled look on his girlfriend's face. "I was just thinking, John and Cyn have Jules, Ringo and Maureen have one coming... Do you not want to start a family?" 

"I've honestly not thought about it," she confessed, moving back to the table as she took a seat next to him, her heart pounding ever so slightly as she noted how serious this conversation could end up. "I guess so? But not yet though. You don't want kids now do you?" 

"Well, not right now right this second," he shrugged, keeping his tone light to try and make the whole thing seem more of a joke rather than a deep talk. "Maybe soon though, couple of years maybe?" 

That took Connie by surprise. It had been the truth that she'd never thought about a family, and now faced with this conversation she wasn't entirely sure how to feel or what to say. She always knew it would be a possibility if she found the right person, but she'd barely allowed herself to think about either romance or children. Her career had always been far more important to her. 

George starting to think about that stuff scared her,  because as much as he was the right person for her, she didn't think their lives were in the right place for settling down. She enjoyed just being his girlfriend and for the time being didn't want anything to change. Change was inevitable, but while ever she could she just wanted things to stay still, or at least as still as they could be in the height of Beatlemania. There was so much chaos in their lives as it was with their careers and the madness of the Beatles, and Connie wasn't willing to add anymore chaos to that.

"Georgie, starting a family is a massive responsibility, if you want to add something new to our lives can't we just get a dog or something?" she pointed out. "Though even a dog would be a massive commitment given how much we both work and travel, it just wouldn't be fair,"

"You've got a point," George shrugged again. 

"Let's just enjoy where we're at right now, alright?" She suggested, a smile on her face as she lent over to kiss his cheek gently, hoping that it would be the end of the discussion. "I don't think either of us are selfless enough for a family right now anyway," 

"Why would that matter?" he asked, frowning, and Connie sighed, knowing they were nowhere near the end of the discussion. 

"Because you're either touring the world or you're in the studio till God knows what hour, and you know I support you and I'm thrilled for your career, but if we're having a child we're a team, and I don't wanna end up like all the other women who have to give up their career," she explained, not able to meet his eye as she looked down at the table, biting her lip. "I love my job far too much to feel like I was willingly giving it up to start a family yet, and I don't want any kid of mine growing up feeling like they're side-lined or not as important as something else," 

George frowned, but that soon disappeared as he realised where her mind was. She must have been thinking of her own personal experience of childhood, and though he knew she had an abundance of happy memories, it wasn't all great. He lent over taking hold of both of her hands, and feeling him squeeze them gently in reassurance, she looked up, offering him a small smile. 

"Y'know, I had the greatest parents, but I also know what it's like to have to grow up with them both being absent," she continued, forcing back any overwhelming emotion as she offered George another smile. "Obviously mum had an excuse, being dead an'all, but sometimes I wouldn't see me dad for days on end even though he was meant to be my sole guardian. I don't begrudge him, I can't imagine how it feels to lose the love of your life, but I don't want any kid to ever have to be on their own with nothing but a record player to keep 'em company with no choice but to perfect their eggy bread recipe because no one was coming home to make tea. If we're having a child, I wanna do it right and do it properly, and not feel guilty that our own lives get in the way," 

"Yeah, I understand," he nodded, leaning over and kissing her cheek again. "You're right, love, and I am so happy with where we're at now," 

"Me too," she grinned. "I love you," 

With that, George pushed out his seat, beckoning for her to come and join him. She obliged, getting out of her own chair and going to sit on his lap, wrapping her arm around his shoulder as his hand took hold of her chin, pulling her face down to his, pushing his lips against hers. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip as their lips began to move in unison. They both knew each other so well, knowing exactly what the other wanted as they expressed their passions. It sometimes felt like when they kissed they were still expressing the unreserved desires they were still new to practicing after so long of lying about their feelings. 

Their kiss deepened, and George could've so easily swept her up into his arms and carried her back to their bed or at least somewhere they would be more comfortable. Except just as he was about to do so, a loud knock came at their front door, breaking the two apart. Connie let out a quiet curse, pecking George's cheek once more before getting up and going into their hallway. Part of him wanted to call her back, telling her it was probably nobody, but he already knew it was too late to suggest that, so he got up, following after her. 

George didn't manage to catch up to her until she had already opened the door, and he could tell by her joking scowl and exclamations of their guests 'bloody inviting themselves around' that it would be his bandmates at the door.

***
One of the things Connie had wanted in the garden when they first moved into Kinfauns was a pond. As a kid she'd loved going fishing with her dad, and so she'd always wanted a pond even though their garden in Forthlin road was tiny and hardly big enough for the large cherry tree they had. A pond was one of the things she'd mentioned to George about getting the day they put their signatures on the deeds to the house, however that night they'd both got exceptionally drunk and her fantasies escalated from something small where she could just keep a couple of fish, to a full-size swimming pool. 

"And it's gotta be in the shape of a fucking guitar!" she'd insisted drunkenly in a fit of excitement, making George gasp in amazement. 

In the end, a pool was a much more practical investment for them, especially on sunny days like that one, where all of the Beatles and their girls had come round to make the most of the good weather and each other's company, even if they had come round spontaneously. 

All of the boys were out by the poolside, and by the time Connie had gotten changed out of her pyjamas and George's jumper into a pair of shorts and a sleeveless shirt, a pair of sunglasses on her head as her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, she came down to the garden to see chaos. The wives and girls were sat off to the side at the garden table, watching the boys as Ringo and George were sat together on one sun lounger by the pool. John and Paul, however, were being themselves, messing around as John threatened to push Paul in, and as Connie heard the girls laughing at them she couldn't help but roll her eyes and thank whatever god was out there that they now had partners that could deal with them and their mischief rather than her having to put up with them all the time. 

"Alright, Lennie!" Paul called, waving enthusiastically as he saw her walking across the garden towards them all, except as he looked over to her he turned his focus from John who swiftly shoved him into the water. With a small yelp, Paul came to the surface, flicking his hair out of his eyes before exclaiming, "You bastard!"

"At your service," John shrugged with a grin to Paul before noticing Connie holding a whisky glass as she stood and watched them exasperatedly. "Bit early, isn't it, Con?" 

"Not when I've got to put up with you," she told him deadpan, heading over to the sun loungers and laying down on the one next to George and Ringo's flicking her sunglasses down onto her face as she sipped her whisky. "I'm actually doing research for work," 

"What, how much you can drink before you feel like you can put up with the Beatles?" Ringo asked jokingly, making George laugh as he lit up a cigarette, tossing the packet to Connie who lit up her own. 

"I wish, though I'd probably get hate letters for insinuating that you darling boys are intolerable," she said, taking a drag from the cigarette. "Nah, apparently not a lot of other magazines writes about cocktails because they don't want to be seen to encourage drinking but Ruby had this idea that she could write about cocktail recipes since it's getting to summer but she only likes fruity ones so she's been having me try out different ways to mix whisky,"

"Uncle Arthur'd shit himself with that, he thinks ice is enough of a mixer, remember how disgusted he was when you told him you liked it with ginger?" John called, laughing until Paul lent over and dragged him into the pool with him. Coming to the surface, he immediately began to splash Paul in retribution. "Wanker!"

"No, I take it back, the whisky is to deal with you lot," Connie muttered, rolling her eyes ever so slightly. 

The group of them continued to banter, and after a while Connie left the lads to go and talk to the girls for a while. That was how a lot of their meetings seemed to go, Connie trying to split her time between the lads she grew up with and their partners. Part of her was starting to get a little confused as to which group she truly belonged to, because she wasn't a Beatle. She might be their mate, but in the eyes of the public she was just George's bird, even if the rest of them didn't see it that way. Connie knew that her loyalties would always lie with the lads because she'd known them all long enough for them to be family regardless of her relationship with George, but she also knew she was an outsider to a lot of the stuff they would do, which left her with their wives. Not that it was a problem, because she loved all of the girls, but she couldn't help but worry that as they rose to greater fame she'd be classed as a Beatle girl for the rest of her life instead of their equal as she was so often used to. 

George was oblivious to all of that going on inside of Connie's head. Instead of knowing the building turmoil, he watched from a distance as his girlfriend laughed with the other girls, feeling the ache in his chest that he was so used to feeling whenever he looked at her. They'd been together well over a year, but the thrill of it all had never faded. As he watched her to the background noise of John and Paul still messing around in the pool, he realised that their serious talk earlier was still playing on his mind. He wasn't necessarily thinking about kids still, but the rest of it still stuck out to him. 

"Ringo?" he spoke up, keeping his tone quiet enough so it was just between the two of them. "When did you realise you wanted to marry Maureen?" 

"I dunno, didn't help she was knocked up," the drummer shrugged with a small laugh before glancing over to George, seeing how serious George actually looked. "I think I just thought that she was the right one for me, and that I loved her and wanted to be with her for the rest of my life, y'know?"

"Shit," George muttered, running his hands through his hair as he realised that was the exact way he felt about his own girlfriend.

"What?" Ringo asked with a frown only to follow George's gaze where he was watching Connie. "Oh. Seriously? Do you think you want to marry her?" 

"I mean, of course I do, there's never been anyone else I've felt this strongly about, and I've loved her practically all my life," George spoke, feeling as if he was confessing something really deep within him. "I just... Don't want to rush her or run into anything too quickly, y'know? I'm happy with where we're at right now and I know she is too, but I think... I think I know I wanna marry her," 

"Well then," Ringo said, a rather pleased smirk appearing on his face, clapping his hand on his friend's shoulder supportively. "Don't rush into it. You know what you and her are like anyway, you're both shit at talking to each other to the point that by the time you've figured out what you wanna say and how you wanna propose she'll probably ready by then anyway," 

George knew Ringo had a point, especially as he looked back over to Connie and remembered how long it had taken them to get to where they were at in that moment. He'd waited a long time to call her his girlfriend, and he knew that while ever he was with her, nothing else mattered. He loved her, and he knew that he would happily wait however long she needed to be ready for the rest, but he was also content in the knowledge that he one day wanted to call Connie his wife and for them to start a family together. He knew it was way off in the future, but he didn't mind the wait. 

***
Word count: 3201

***

Author's Note:
Hey guys, thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed this part! 

I wanted to come on and write a little author's note to say that I've just published the first few chapters of my new John Lennon fic, Nowhere Girl. I was thinking about the early days of writing In My Life and missed writing the  early chapters so I thought I'd give a new story a go! It's a little different to this story because I'm writing it in proper order so there's no flashback chapters but I'm loving my new OC, Robin, a lot. I'm a bit nervous about it so if you enjoy this, please go over and check it out and let me know what you think! 

Thank you all again for the ongoing support, see you next chapter!

~Olivia