"Companions? Is that what you call 'em now?" she stated contemptuously, and would have snorted, had she the nose for it.

"I don't believe you understand--"

"I understand all right! You promised, Rich! I guess that was a lie too," the girl started to cry.

"No..." Ringo sighed inwardly. He somehow always managed to get in the wrong place at the wrong time, "There's been a mix up, you see, I'm not--"

"Shut up!" sobbed the blonde, "The only mix up here was me ever letting you back into my life! You're rotten!" With that, the girl jerked the car around and started back.

"I should drop you right now, Rich Starkey! I would..." she paused to sob, "If only you didn't make me love you so much."

Ringo stayed quiet, a long experience with women backing him. One wrong word and... well, to put it lightly... John had once loused up a conversation like that and he was lucky to have lived to tell the tale. Actually, he had ended up marrying the girl, and technically that was a fate worse than death...

Ringo looked out the window and saw James duck behind some foliage as the car drove by.

"--and honey, I understand how you are sometimes. I know that some guys are just--just--"

"There he is!" Ringo pointed at James and the girl pulled the car over. It seemed that she wasn't half as upset at him as she professed to be.

Ringo jumped out of the car and walked brusquely over to the bush.

"James," he hissed, "I found a ride." Then he did a slight double take. What was he doing? James was no friend of his... Why hadn't he gone with the girl? James could take care of himself, he didn't need help. And still... He pushed the thought to the back of his mind. You did what you had to. A guy couldn't change his nature, and he couldn't leave his mate, or at least a semblance of him alone to get lost or even die on this strange world.

James grimaced. Going with this idiot? But...a ride was a ride... and this looked like a remote place... The public was much easier to manipulate when they were within reach. So, without a word to Ringo, he got in the car.

Ringo noticed a name on the license plate: TAMMY1. Thanking the powers that be for vanity plates, Ringo got back into the car.

"Tammy, this is James McCartney," he introduced them, praying that James wasn't famous on this world too.

"But Rich--" Tammy said, obviously expecting a... different.... type of 'companion,' "Never mind--Nice to meet you, Mr. McCartney."

"James please," James replied, flashing a winning grin.

Tammy blushed and smiled back and Ringo felt a pang of jealousy over a woman that wasn't, never had been and probably never would be his.

"I'm--new around here... so I'm afraid you'll have to show me around," James said to Tammy apologetically.

"Oh, no problem at all," Tammy waved away his apology with a giggle, apparently having forgotten completely about her earlier fight with Ringo.

"If you're sure you wouldn't mind being seen with someone so much your lesser..." James trailed off, grinning superficially at her.

"Don't worry about it," Tammy finished, turning back to the wheel to hide her flushed face.

Ringo snorted slightly, surprised at James's sudden friendliness. Someone of the opposite sex could do wonders for a person's apparent character.

"So where are we headed... Rich?" James asked.

Ringo squirmed slightly, "Home. Right, honey?"

"Dear, I thought I told you, I have to work late tonight. I'll take you as far as the market. You'll have to walk the rest of the way, if you don't mind terribly. I'm late already, and it's a nice day for a stroll," Tammy explained.

"Sure," Ringo replied with such certainly that James started to wonder just how many worlds Ringo was familiar with.

They drove along with more or less no conversation. Tammy had the radio on to an awful station that played what Ringo could recognize as polka.

Luckily the drive was short, and the music soft.

"See you tonight!" Tammy said, smiling as she drove the car off, leaving James and Ringo on the sidewalk.

"Don't bet on it," Ringo retorted softly to the back of the car.

James gave a slight salute to the retreating car, "Thanks for the ride, doll, see ya' 'round..."

Ringo started to walk away, and James turned to follow him, mostly out of reflex. Ringo stopped to survey the crowd of people that meandered around the streets of the market, which seemed to be basically a lot of shops in close proximity.

Many of the people were wearing dark glasses, giving them a sense of vagueness. The fashion trend seemed to be straight cut pants, and a variety of T-shirts and shirts. The hair was mostly worn long, on both women and men, making Ringo feel slightly more at home, and James a little less at home. Nondescript was the best word to describe the public here. No one was strikingly beautiful, no one was hideous, no one wore a formal suit or dress, making James in his business suit, stick out.

Perhaps it was his seemingly odd attire that made a woman turn from her shopping to look up at James.

James returned the woman's glance. She was blonde, with shoulder length hair. She had blue eyes and a laid back manner. As she turned to look at James, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped slightly open. She walked quickly towards them, and as she passed Rich, James saw recognition flash across his face. He wondered briefly if they knew each other, but the thought fled his mind as the woman approached him. He looked again at her, and, like lightning across a night sky, his mind was lit with memories of this woman. He knew her-- and well. His throat choked up, and he couldn't speak, for want of the words for a moment, so it was the woman who spoke first.

"Paul?" the girl asked, her voice slightly trembling.

"Linda?"James replied, his voice harsh and unbelieving.

On to Chapter 13

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