July 1968

Connie was sat on their bed, her aching back propped up with several pillows as she balanced a typewriter on her knees precariously. She'd been working from home all month and so far it had been fine, but after writing at the kitchen table her back was hurting so badly that she'd decided to try and work from bed. In theory it was a good idea, though her focus was elsewhere as she couldn't help but stare down at her large stomach. Every so often when the baby would kick she'd see her stomach bulge out as if its foot was poking out, and she could hardly keep working on an article about summer fashion trends when she was so amused by that.

"You're already such a little nightmare," she muttered quietly with a small smirk, letting out a laugh as she felt another kick. "I feel like you're messing with me cause I said I'd be able to juggle you with working. D'you even sleep or are you just constantly awake? Doesn't bode well for a few months time really,"

The last two months had gone by so slowly, and as much as she loved being pregnant, Connie had started to get really tired. Sometimes she was still asleep when George had left for the studio, and the few days she went into the office she found herself counting down the minutes to go home and lay down. She could hardly sleep at night though, struggling to get comfortable given her much bigger form, and the lack of sleep mixed with other weird symptoms like the intense heartburn made her emotions a wreck. Sometimes George would come home from the studio late at night feeling guilty for leaving her alone only to find her curled up on the sofa crying at whatever was on the television.

It wasn't all bad though. They'd still not officially announced anything about the fact that they were expecting, but they'd not really been bothered about it. Occasionally when a photographer sneaked a picture of Connie whilst going to work some newspapers would speculate, but most of them just called her fat, which she found surprisingly amusing. It also helped that a few of her friends had already been pregnant, so Connie found herself spending her days off with Maureen or Cynthia just because they'd already been through it all already, getting as much advice as possible from them both. Even with all the changes that had come, she still loved being pregnant, and as terrifying as she found what was coming, she was genuinely excited.

The secrecy the Harrison's had enjoyed over the last few months probably wouldn't last further than that night though, as for the first time since they'd gotten home from India the two of them were going out in the public eye with the other Beatles for the premiere of their new film Yellow Submarine. The band hadn't had as much involvement in the project as they had for their other films, but Connie was still excited all the same. It was an excuse to get out of the house for once, even if it meant people finally finding out about the baby.

The baby, who hadn't yet stopped kicking.

"Well, doesn't really matter if you are a little shit, I love you anyway," she said with a small smile as she stroked her bump. "Obviously don't tell your Dad I called you that, but we both love you so much already. You've got the greatest Daddy ever, you're a real lucky kid cause he's the best. He'll be your favourite parent for sure, but I'm gonna try my best too. I never really saw this stuff happening to me, but now it is and I promise I'm gonna do my very best to be the best possible mother for you,"

Referring to herself as a mother opened up the inevitable rabbit hole that was thinking about her own Mum, a thought process Connie had tried to avoid in the past few weeks. It was always hard thinking about her Mum, knowing that since she died when she was so young she'd missed out on so much, but ever since she found out she was pregnant the thought of her Mum always brought her to tears. Not just because it brought back all the emotions of her death and Connie's fears that something similar would happen to her, but it was hard thinking that she'd probably have so much advice to give her. She'd probably be so thrilled for it all, and maybe if she had her Mum around Connie might not be so scared about what was coming.

"My Mum would be so excited to meet you," Connie said quietly, trying not to cry even though she knew it was inevitable. "I always said she'd love your Dad, but god kid, she'd love you so much, I know she would. I wish you could meet her, I wish she was here so she could tell me if I'm doing things right. I know we've got your Grandad, but he's as clueless as I am, and I know he wishes she'd be here to meet you too,"

Connie was so caught up in her emotions she didn't hear the front door open and shut, and she didn't notice the footsteps coming down the hall. She did, however, hear George's cheerful calls of greeting, and she instantly set the typewriter aside off her knees and began to wipe her tears away. She hated that George sometimes came home to her being upset thanks to her disastrous hormones, but that day in particular she really didn't want him worrying about her. After a long day of press and a busy night ahead of them, the last thing George would need was to deal with an emotional mess.

That was too late though, since as soon as he was in the doorway he noticed her red eyes and the stains of tear tracks, and he was immediately rushing to join her on the bed. He sat down at her side, taking her hand and kissing her cheek, using his spare hand the rub away what was left of her tears himself.

"What's wrong, love?" he asked gently, and she hated that this was normal now.

"I just... I really miss my Mum and I wish she was here so I might not feel so clueless about what to do when the baby actually comes," she explained, trying not to cry again, especially as George moved to hug her properly, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and the other around her bump. "And now I feel like an idiot crying all the time, I don't know what's happening to me but I feel so pathetic. You married a scouser who'd just break people's noses without a second thought and now I start crying at the tiniest things, you must feel so conned,"

George tried not to laugh at her last comment, purely for how ridiculous it was. He pushed a kiss to her forehead before she buried her face into the crook of his neck. It didn't matter how long they'd been together, gestures like that still took him off guard, still making him feel so utterly overwhelmed that she loved him and wanted to be with him. Gestures like that made his stomach flip with how much he loved her, the butterflies still going mad inside of him.

"Con, I didn't marry you cause you used to get in fights, though it was quite sexy if I'm honest. I wanted to marry you cause I love you, and that's not something that's gonna change, ever," he told her. "You're the most beautiful, amazing woman I could have ever dreamed of, I don't care if you've been a bit more emotional lately, it's only natural given you're having a baby in less than two months. And... Well, I can never understand how hard it is not having your Mum around. I wish I could have met her, but you know that just because she's not here in the physical sense doesn't mean she isn't here spiritually,"

"Life flows on within you and without you," she quoted weakly, letting out a sad laugh as George stroked her hair, letting out his own laugh.

"Exactly," he smiled, knowing that even if she was joking she'd at least picked up that part of Indian philosophy. "I know it doesn't make things easier all the time, but just think about what we learnt in India. Life is the only constant, flowing through us all, our bodies are just temporary suits that one day we all have to take off, but our souls stay on,"

"I do like that metaphor, that it's like taking your suit off before bed in the most extreme sense," she said quietly, and he nodded. "It's still shit. Thinking about it in that sense makes it a little easier, but I just wish she was still physically here, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know," he sighed, hugging her tighter. "Wherever she is though I know she'd be so proud of you, love,"

"You're so lovely," she whispered to him, sighing as she looked up at him from where she'd previously nuzzled her face into him. "I'm sorry, I didn't even ask you how your day was, how was all the press stuff?"

"Oh, it was the same as usual," he shrugged casually. "Are you still up for the premiere tonight? If you're not-"

"No, I am so up for it," she nodded enthusiastically, pushing her emotions aside as she sat up slightly with a small smile. "I love a good Beatles film, especially one I haven't had to write,"

"Speaking of things you've written," he said with a sudden grin, and it was only then that she realised he was hiding something inside his jacket.

It wasn't really a surprise as to what it was when he pulled the hidden object out from his jacket, but Connie gasped all the same as he held the book out to her. Not just any book, her book. Her book that she'd worked so hard on, that had taken years of living in London to be confident enough to write. It had only been published a few days before, so it was still so surreal that it was an actual thing that George was holding, even more surreal to think that people had actually read it and liked it. The few reviews she'd seen of it had all been positive, but if anything she didn't care what other people thought of it, she was more bothered that she'd actually done it.

"Y'know there's like three copies in the kitchen," she pointed out to him with a laugh as George flicked the cover open.

"Yeah, but I wanted to go out and buy my own copy," he shrugged, until he got to the dedication page at the front. "'For George, who encourages me beyond his knowing. With thanks to John, Paul and Ringo for not bothering me while writing'. I'm sure they're all flattered,"

"Well I thought if I gave them a shout out they'd stop bothering us for one of them to be godfather," she laughed, staring at the book in awe. "I still can't believe it's real, that it's not still just a messy bunch of papers, it's so weird,"

"It's amazing," he grinned, leaning over and kissing her cheek again. "I love you,"

"I love you too," she smiled.

***

The two of them were meant to be getting ready to go to the premiere, but George had gotten distracted by how beautiful his wife was. Connie was sat at the dressing table in their bedroom, dressed only in her bra and underwear as she applied her makeup. Her left hand was applying her mascara whilst her right hand was resting lazily on her large bump, a simple gesture that just seemed so loving. She'd thankfully not noticed that he was staring, as he was stood by their full-length mirror adjusting his suit, but he couldn't take his eyes off her.

He loved her more than he could even comprehend, and he was proud of her beyond measure. With all the changes she'd had to go through over the past few months he was in admiration for how she'd taken it all in her stride. Even with the changing hormones and nerves she mostly stayed her usual fearless self, going through intense pregnancy symptoms and still working full time as well as have a book published. She was as beautiful as she was impressive, and it was moments like that were George liked to consider just how lucky he was. He'd loved how her body had changed over the last few months too, but he loved how she'd embraced it all even more. Even how she was sat just then he could see the faint purple stretch marks around her stomach, marks that she'd never had before due to her slim build, but she seemed almost proud of them. It was as if she'd spent that long wanting to fall pregnant that she loved any sort of physical reminder, and he loved it just as much.

"You've tied your cravat wrong," Connie pointed out with a slight smirk, glancing at him in the mirror as she set aside her makeup.

"Maybe you should do it for me?" he suggested with a small wink, making Connie roll her eyes.

Connie wondered if George had done it on purpose. He usually tied his tie wrong whenever she was around, but she'd never complain, loving it when he asked her to fix it. She got up, heaving herself up from the chair as she moved over to him, her hands instantly going to the cravat he'd put on and undoing it. Whilst she neatened it George put one of his hands on her stomach as he leant in and kissed her cheek.

"D'you mind?" she muttered sarcastically, though as soon as she was finished sorting him out she put both of her hands on top of his. "You look very funky,"

"I try my best," he laughed, intertwining his fingers with hers, edging closer to her as he rested his forehead against hers. "Though I'm sure no one will be looking at me compared to you,"

"I know you're trying to compliment me, which is very sweet, but you're right," she sighed, though she struggled to stay serious about revealing the pregnancy when she felt a small kick against where their hands were. "Though I don't think someone wants to stay hidden,"

"We should probably start thinking of names," he said as she pulled away from him, going towards the wardrobe and flicking through for something suitable to wear.

"I've already been thinking," she confessed with a small laugh. "How about you choose first names and I'll choose middle names? Cause I've already kinda set my heart on them,"

"I mean, okay," he laughed, sitting down on their bed as he watched her frown slightly as we tried to find something to wear, something that was fancy enough but still fit. "What are these middle names then?"

"Well, you can veto them if you hate them, but if it's a boy, Samuel, and if it's a girl, Bryony," she suggested, glancing over at him as she bit her lip, watching as he realised where she'd gotten those names. "Samuel was Brian's middle name, he told me once, and Briony sounds like Brian but I also think it's pretty. I just thought it'd be nice to have a reference to him, cause I sometimes think about where we'd be without him, not just you and the lads but if he'd not invited me as press to that concert... What do you think?"

"Yeah, love, yeah," he nodded, his voice sounding thick and a little shaken. "I think that's a great idea, he'd be proper honoured. He'd be really happy for us, y'know... I still miss him sometimes,"

"I know, me too," she smiled sadly. "But remember what you told me earlier, life flows on,"

"Yeah," he nodded, sighing as he pushed his emotions aside, going back to the topic at hand. "I was just wondering, if it's a girl, would you want to name her after your mum?"

Connie thought for a moment, biting her lip again, before she shook her head. At the same time she pulled out a black dress with an empire waist, decorated with small floral accents. She used the dress as a distraction from the thought of her mother, holding it up to the mirror as if to finalise her choice of outfit before she shrugged, deciding it would do.

"I think my Mum would want the kid to have it's own name," she told him after a moment as she pulled the dress on. "I remember she once told me my Dad originally wanted to name me after his mum, but she felt like it was just making me inherit a legacy to live up to. I know it'd be a nice gesture, and I know it sounds daft considering the middle names would be in honour of someone, but..."

"No, it makes sense," George nodded, getting up from the bed and helping Connie zip up her dress. "Are there any names you like then?"

The two of them then relayed names at each other whilst Connie finished getting ready. As she put on a pair of earrings and her locket, slipping on a pair of flat shoes, and styling her hair back into neat curls, George called names out to her. Considering she'd not even started to think about first names it sounded daft but none of them stood out to her. Either they were just fine, or they sounded wrong.

"Seriously, George, Harriet Harrison?" she laughed, raising her eyebrows. "It rhymes too much!"

"It sounds nice!" he pointed out, laughing defensively.

"It sounds daft," she muttered. "You keep saying girls names, it could be a boy! But now I'm scared you'll start saying names like Harris or something,"

"Oh, shush," he laughed, rolling his eyes. "You suggested Lawrence, that shortens to Larry, like that doesn't sound stupid with Harrison!"

"Y'know when Ringo and Maureen told us that they decided their boys' names after they had them so they didn't think too much about it?" Connie reminded him. "Maybe they had a point,"

They carried on suggesting names to each other until the car came to take them to the premiere, though on the drive to the cinema the name calling continued. It had gotten to the point where they were suggesting daft things just to make the other laugh, though occasionally the baby kicked Connie as if asking not to be called that particular name.

"Fine," George sighed eventually, leaning over in his seat and taking hold of her hand. "Our kid just won't have a first name, it'll just be called Unnamed Harrison-Lennon,"

"Unnamed Samuel Harrison-Lennon," Connie joked, though George let out a long sigh, running his hand through his shaggy hair. "What you thinking now?"

"What about Teddy?" he suggested, his tone serious as he turned to face her properly, especially as he saw her frowning. "If you hate it we can pretend I was just joking,"

"No, no I don't hate it, I love it," she told him, a small grin growing on her face. "It sounds nice, Teddy Samuel Harrison. I really like that. Maybe we should just hope it's a boy so we don't have to bother settling on another name,"

"Actually... I really love the name Josephine," he said quietly, as if expecting Connie to laugh, but instead she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Like the George Formby song? Empress Josephine?" she bit her lip, trying not to laugh.

"No, like Little Women," he said with a small shrug, ignoring the look of mixed confusion and amazement on Connie's face. "You took that book to India with us, and when you fell asleep on the plane home you left it out and I got bored so I read some of it, and I thought the name Josephine was really nice. I didn't say it before cause I thought you'd veto it,"

"That's really sweet, Gee, I never knew you read it," she grinned at him, leaning over and kissing his cheek before she looked down at her bump. "Y'know I really like the name Josephine too. We could shorten it to Josie,"

"So it's Teddy or Josie then," George grinned at her, placing his hand against her stomach. "It seems a bit more real now,"

Connie nodded, kissing his cheek again as she intertwined her hand with his on her stomach. He had a point, and she couldn't help but feel as though, for the first time, she realised this was their lives now. Even though she'd been pregnant for a while it felt as though things, like George had said, gotten real. It wasn't just the two of them anymore. It was herself, George, and either Teddy or Josie. They weren't just a couple anymore who could look out for their own interests, thy were about to be a family, and their lives were going to change irreversibly. It was a little terrifying, but it also made her feel really, truly happy.

Their peaceful moment wouldn't last for much longer, not as the car pulled up outside the premiere and the two of them saw the madness waiting for them. They were both more than used to Beatlemania and being hounded by press, even if it was still a little scary, but to Connie in that moment nothing seemed more overwhelming than getting out of the car. George noticed and let out a small sigh, squeezing her hand gently.

"You alright, love?" he asked quietly, though she wasn't looking at him, instead looking out of the car window at the mass of people as if she was searching for John, Paul or Ringo, or anyone that they knew. "I'm not gonna leave you at all tonight, okay? If it gets too much we can just go home. We can head back now if you're that worried about it?"

"No, I'm fine," she shook her head, offering him a reassuring smile. "People are gonna find out I'm up the duff eventually,"

"At least it's tonight, if the film's shit it'd be a nice distraction for the press," George joked, making her snort out a laugh.

With that he opened the car door, and the two of them got out. It was immediately chaos, just like every premiere they'd been to, and though George was always protective over Connie whenever they had to go out in the public eye, he wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, keeping her close as people surrounded them, fighting their way through the crowd to get into the building. It reminded Connie of the first premiere they went to together, where she was first exposed as his girlfriend, because everyone's eyes fell on her, and just like that first time when everyone saw them holding hands and immediately knew what the situation was, the same thing happened when people noticed her bump.

That seemed to stir up emotions, excitement rising around them. For the fans that had gathered, they began to scream their names louder, some of them crying, others shouting congratulatory remarks at them. The press, however, seemed to scramble to be close to them, desperate to ask the two of them questions, which was a little ironic considering George had been doing press stuff all day. It was just as overwhelming as they'd expected it to be, the sheer noise of it all drowning everything else out, so Connie just let George guide her into the building to safety, rubbing her stomach gently as she felt the baby kicking.

"It's alright, kiddo," she muttered quietly. "This is normal. I mean, it's not really, but y'know,"

"Everything alright?" George asked her nervously as soon as they were through the doors, letting go of his tight grip on her.

Connie didn't get the chance to answer, not as they were immediately approached by John, Paul, and John's new girlfriend, Yoko. Connie and Yoko didn't know each other very well, they'd only really met twice before, but she got the impression that Yoko didn't like her very much. Maybe that was because she was John's cousin, and all of John's other relatives who'd met her didn't like her, or maybe it was because she sensed that Connie was annoyed at how John had finished things with Cynthia, but either way she'd come across as cold and a little judgemental. That was fine though, she didn't care what Yoko thought about her, deciding to just be civil as long as she was too.

Connie's main focus in that moment wasn't on Yoko though, as she merely offered the Harrison's a small, slightly snide smile, whilst John and Paul grinned at them, and after the busyness outside she felt herself relax considerably seeing her childhood best friend and cousin.

"You two caused quite the commotion," Paul noted with a small smirk.

"Yeah, wonder why?" John asked before he faked a shocked reaction as he looked at her stomach. "Who knew that Connie Harrison was knocked up?"

"Oh, fuck off," she muttered, rolling her eyes as George laughed.

"How is my future godchild anyway?" Paul asked with a wink.

"You're not going to be the godfather, Paul," George replied bluntly, and Connie tried not to laugh, losing track of how many times each Beatle had asked to be godfather.

"Besides, more importantly, why've you come alone?" Connie asked Paul with a teasing smirk. "I thought your new girlfriend would be coming with you, y'know, the lovely Linda,"

"Oh, shove off, Lennie," Paul replied with a smirk, and Connie couldn't help but laugh, especially as she noticed the slight blush growing on his cheeks at the mention of the woman he'd just spent time in New York with.

The five of them made to go off into the cinema to find where they were meant to be sitting, but before they had the chance a journalist had sprung up on them, separating the Harrison's from the others. As the over-enthusiastic journalist stood in front of them, a television camera man behind him, George immediately wrapped his arm around Connie's shoulder and she relaxed into his grip, wrapping her own arms around her stomach as if to hide it, though that was impossible.

"Hello, you two, just wondering if I could ask a few quick questions before you go in?" he asked in place of a proper greeting in a true Queen's English accent. "Obviously everyone's really excited for the new film, but there's something else rather exciting going on right now. I see congratulations are in order,"

"Yeah, cheers," George nodded, and even though he was fiercely protective he couldn't help but grin proudly.

"The two of you have been married for a while now though, why has it taken you this long to start a family?" the press man asked, and George felt Connie take hold of his hand and squeeze it tightly, as if she was trying to restrain herself.

"Do you really want us to answer that? Cause I don't think you want us to go into all the ins and outs of our sex life to be honest," she responded dryly, though she dared to smirk when she saw just how flustered both the journalist and the camera man were at her words. "Enjoy the film!"

With that Connie took the lead, nodding at George for them to go off where their friends had gone. He obliged, trying desperately not to laugh at her remark until they were out of earshot from the press man, but in all seriousness he knew she'd only responded like that as a defence mechanism.

"Well at least they can't televise that now," he muttered to her with a grin, his arm still wrapped around her shoulder as he pulled her closer, kissing her cheek. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just hate when people ask that sort of question, it's none of their business and they have no idea what's gone off with people," she told him, biting her lip slightly.

"I know, it's shit, it pisses me off too, but try not to let it wind you up," he said, turning her around to look at her properly, holding her arms as he offered her a a reassuring smile. "I love you. Don't let anyone get to you, cause I love you, and I love our little Teddy-or-Josie,"

"Well, we love you too," she grinned, leaning over and kissing him gently.

And she did love him, more than anything.

***
Word count: 4804

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