The next morning, James, Linda and Ringo were all sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast when James cleared his throat. Last night he had decided something. He was going to tell Linda. Everything. He couldn't ever have her back until she knew the truth. Not really back anyhow. And so he was prepared to tell her everything.

"Linda," James started, "I've got something to say. The *prince*-" Ringo cleared his throat warningly-"and I aren't who you think we--"

"James!" Ringo nearly yelled, "Linda, excuse us for a second."

Ringo grabbed James by the collar and dragged him out of the room, a fairly amazing feat, considering that James was a dead weight. As soon as they were in the guest room, Ringo let go of James, fairly slamming him into the wall.

"What are you doing?" Ringo hissed.

"Look," James said, "we have to tell her."

"Bloody right we do!" replied Ringo.

"You don't understand!" James protested, "This is LINDA! I've known her as long as... well... I love her... You wouldn't understand anyhow. You've probably never loved anyone."

"Shut-up." Ringo said, "You're a criminal and most likely a murderer too. I know more of love than you ever could."

"Then you'll understand when I tell you that I must tell Linda. She's the only thing that ever went right in my bloody life, and I ruined that too. I just cannot lie to her."

"What's one more lie worth? You've told so many."

"You don't understand--I can't-- I have to--"

"Besides, what good could it possibly do her? If the woman doesn't die of shock, think of it. She thinks her husband is safe. If you tell her that you're not him and suddenly she remembers he's out in the battle field, as far from safe as it can be. Do you want that for her? Good way to show you care." Ringo turned and started towards the door, "Your choice."

James stood, awestruck.

As Ringo passed the door, he kicked himself mentally. How could he have said all that to the kid? Rotten thing to do. Sure it was true, sure it was probably the only way to keep the secret, and yet he wished that he hadn't needed to say all that. He sighed. Still, the insults hit home, and Ringo found himself wondering about Maureen yet again.

James paused before going back to the kitchen. He couldn't stand lying to Linda, but he equally couldn't deal with letting Linda suffer like that. But still... no matter how happier she'd be with the lie, he had to tell her. It wasn't something that Ringo could possibly understand.

James ran after Ringo and caught up with him.

"Look man, I'm telling her," he said, shocking Ringo. And without giving Ringo a chance to respond, he went back into the kitchen.

Ringo, speechless, followed.

James walked into the kitchen.

"Lind---"James voice was suddenly cut off, as if he had been strangled. Ringo peered into the kitchen.

"Shit."

In the kitchen stood two men, both men whom Ringo knew, though they might not have ever met him in this world. Slightly in front of the other stood the James McCartney of this world, know as Jim. Both James and Jim stood frozen, staring at each other. Linda also seemed frozen, as it were.

For Ringo, this wasn't nearly the shock it was to the others, as he had been halfway expecting it all along. What surprised him was the man who stood slightly behind Jim, obviously the prince. He had been expecting an image of himself. What he saw wasn't that. Instead of an image of himself he saw someone entirely different, but not entirely unfamiliar. George Harrison.

Jim pulled out a gun and aimed it first at James and then, slightly uncomfortable at the prospect of shooting someone that looked so much like him, at Ringo.

"I can explain!" Ringo interjected before anyone had the chance to speak.

* * *

"You expect us to believe that rubbish?!" asked Jim, still holding the gun on Ringo.

Ringo spread his hands, "It's the only story I have."

"Whether you believe it or not, it's true," James said.

"But.." Linda said, "what--" she turned to Jim, "They knew about the mission..."

"Actually we didn't," said James, "until we met you."

"Oh!," exclaimed Linda, "Jimmy... I told them. I'm so sorry.. I--I thought they were you and the prince."

"Certainly not," said George rather haughtily, looking at Ringo.

Though it took a while, eventually Jim believed Ringo's story. With a lot of energy, everything finally got sorted out and no one was shot. James left for the kitchen. Jim and Linda went back to their bedroom.

"So you're a prince?" Ringo asked George as they headed off to the guest room to talk.

"What else would I be?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Trust me."

James poured himself another glass of wine. At least they had wine. It wasn't until Jim showed up that James realized how much he had hoped that Jim had been dead. He was slightly mad at himself for thinking that, and equally mad at Jim for not being dead. And so he lost Linda again... well, technically he'd never really had her in the first place. Still...

Linda walked into the kitchen, "Jim fell asleep."

James filled his glass again. Unfortunately this wine was significantly weaker than any he had on his world. He couldn't even get rightly drunk.

"Aren't you going to even say something to me?" Linda asked angrily.

"Sorry," James mumbled.

"Sorry? That's all you can think of? You made me think that you were my husband! I could have..." she trailed off, unable to finish, and then something occurred to her, "How did you know my name? When we first met in the market..."

"I knew your double... a long time ago," He drained yet another glass of wine.

Linda paused. This guy was obviously upset about something, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Frankly, after what he had done, she really didn't give a damn. She walked out of the room, leaving James to his diminishing bottle of wine.

James sighed and filled up his glass again.

"But Lin, how could you have thought he was me?" Jim, having woken up, asked Linda when she returned.

"I'm not sure..." she said doubtfully, "there was something about him that reminded me of you.."

"He's my double, baby, of course he looks like me."

"Something else... not just the way he looked...it was the way he looked at me."

"I'll kill him!"

"No... not like that. It's almost as if he thought he loved me..." she broke off into a laugh, "but he doesn't even know me."

"It must have been something else. Don't worry about it honey."

She didn't.

"You've got to be kidding! Me, play guitar?" exclaimed Prince George.

"You're good too," added Ringo, "we are--were--are in a band together on my world."

"Look, I can believe the tripping through worlds thing. I'm willing to buy that you're from another dimension, and I can even believe the thing about you having met this other Jim on another world. But you have to be insane to think that I, a prince, would degrade myself and become a lowly minstrel!"

Ringo just chuckled quietly.

By this time James had gone through three bottles of wine and was working on his fourth. Jim and Linda had a surprisingly large amount of wine, and it probably wouldn't have been missed. No matter what anyone says, after three bottles of wine (no matter how weak), a person is not in the best state of mind. Perhaps it was that which caused James' mindset to be what it was. Regardless he was deep in thought, and not the pleasantest type.

Everyone hates me, he thought. That Ringo, I'd bet anything he's happy now. Probably laughing. Laughing at me. Just when I started to think that there might have been hope... some small chance for me...some ray of light. He comes back. The great high-mighty war hero comes back and dashes my hope. Damn it all, I still love her. Even now. Fuck romance! Life doesn't end happily ever after. Not for me. But maybe I can make it that way for her. Do one last thing for Linda. She doesn't want me here. No one does. Why stay?

James glanced over at the gun which Jim had left sitting out on the counter. People were far too trusting, he sighed internally. James started towards the gun and then stopped. No. He wouldn't make a mess on Linda's clean floors. She wouldn't like that.

James looked over at the unfinished bottle of wine, "C'mon," he picked it up and stumbled out the back door. Linda would be happy with Jim. He was her husband. And Jim...lucky man. He hadn't made a vital mistake. He hadn't thrown away the woman he loved, thought James. He was a better man. James had a brief flashback to a documentary he had once seen.

--and during the mating season, males compete for the females attention, in battles to the death--

"To the death," murmured James as he wandered down the street. Severely depressed and thoroughly drunk, it made perfect sense. He had lost. By all rights he had to die. They'd all be much happier without him.

George had long since lost interest in talking with Ringo, who laughed at nearly every statement he made. He was engrossed in a book. Ringo soon wandered off around the house to find James. He thought it was odd when James wasn't in the house, but assumed that he had stepped out to get some air. Then Ringo saw three empty wine bottles sitting on the table near James overstuffed wallet. This struck a wrong chord. James wouldn't leave his wallet out. Ringo looked once more around the kitchen, trying to see if he had missed anything. His eye caught something out the window and stepped outside to get a better look.

There was a large crowd gathered at a church down the street. It wasn't the typical churchgoers crowd, however. They were all talking, and there was a police car parked nearby. Ringo started towards there to see what the commotion was. Most of the people seemed to be looking up.... Ringo followed the gaze and suddenly stopped.

There was a man on the church roof, waving a wine bottle around and standing dangerously near the edge. There was a police officer closer to the center of the roof, apparently trying to get to the other man, but it wasn't working. Every time the officer took a step forward, the man took one back. At the rate they were going, he'd fall soon. The man, now on the very edge, teetered, losing his balance, and swayed...and caught himself. Ringo let out a breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding.

Suddenly suspicious, Ringo started walking towards the church again, and as he walked the figure on the roof became clearer and clearer until Ringo could finally make out who it was.

He broke into a dead run.

The man was James

On to Chapter 16

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