"John," I whispered as I shook him gently. I was already up and ready since I woke up an hour early.

"Hmm? Oh, hello, luv," John answered as he slowly opened his eyes. "'Felt like I just went to sleep fifteen bloody minutes ago." He stretched his arms and looked at his watch.

"Seven-thirty already?" he said. "It's way too early to do anythin'. Who has a photo shoot at nine in the mornin'? It's just daft."

"Well, you're the one with the daft photo shoot apparently. Better to have it done and over with in the morning though. You don't 'ave to worry about it in the evening."

"That's true too, but I'm still sleepy. Goodnight." He pulled the blankets over his head.

"And you were doin' so well about waking up without a fuss," I teased him. "C'mon now, the world is waitin' for you."

"Yeah, it can keep on waitin'. I'm stayin' here."

"They can't and don't want to wait forever, y'know. They want to see your cute, little face in the morning, John. No one ever sees ya before noon anyway, besides me and sometimes Paul, George, and Ringo."

"But I don't mind it when it's you or them. I'm tired and I have to be awake for people I don't even know."

"You're not the only one who has to go through all that. Paul's up and about now if that makes you feel any better."

"That's Macca's problem, not mine. He's always the first one to be ready for these things; he's made being charming an art form."

"Aw, come on, it's not so bad," I replied. "Let's go, John Winston Lennon. It'll be all over soon, and then you can have your fun afterwards. I promise."

"All right, all right, Paulina Pearl Lennon," John said playfully. "I'm doin' this for you, luv!" He sat up and gave me a smile.

"There, that's a start. Next step is to actually get out of the bed."

"I'm gettin' there, I'm gettin' there," John replied. He lay back down, rolled out of bed, landed on the ground beside my feet (did that impact hurt? I wondered), looked up, gave me a grin, and went back to sleeping.

"Okay, John-John, let's go," I said. "Jeez, the things I do for you. I think if anyone else was your sister, she wouldn't put up with this," I said, smiling as I lifted him up.

"That's because no one else is my sister except you," John said, smiling back as he got to his feet. "Thanks for the help, luv. 'Don't think I don't appreciate it because I do. I'm just playing around."

"I know," I told him. "You just get ready while I go check on the others."

I walked out of our bedroom and into what could be called the living room. Paul was casually sitting in one of the chairs, reading a newspaper when he noticed me walk in the room.

"Hello, Paulina!" he said. "Lovely to see you again after ... Well, five minutes!"

"Lovely to see you again too! 'Haven't seen you in a while, have I?"

"Any luck at all?" he asked.

"Whew, he's finally out of bed, yes," I answered. Paul smiled. "George is still sleeping then?" I continued.

"Still sleepin', yes, but he doesn't look as pale as he did the night before," Paul said. "I wouldn't wake the poor lad now. He needs his rest. And Ringo will be out in a minute."

"Oh, that's good. Did you want to have any breakfast or something to eat now?"

"It's all taken care of, luv," he said. "Tea will be 'ere in a little bit."

I nodded appreciatively. After I chatted with Paul for a few minutes, John and Ringo joined us in the living room and we ate breakfast. Soon afterwards, Brian stopped by and told the three lads that time was running short and that they should be on their way now. So John, Paul, and Ringo had to get ready to leave.

"We'll be back before you know it," Ringo said. "'You sure you'll be all right here?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm all right. Nothing should be a problem," I said. "You three enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you, and I hope so," John commented. "I'll see ya later, luv. Take care of yourself and George."

"I will, John," I said after I gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you all later!"

After they left, I peered into George's bedroom to check up on him. I saw he was still in bed, sleeping peacefully.

Well, at least I thought he was sleeping. I came closer to his bed, and a few seconds later, just as I was able to see his face slightly concealed by the covers, he opened his eyes.

"Paulina? Is that you?" he said sleepily.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I wanted to see how you were doing, that's all," I said.

"No, you didn't wake me up at t'all," he said. "I was already awake. 'Couldn't get back to sleep, actually."

"How do you feel? 'Still have a sore throat?"

"Well, I feel all right except me throat still hurts a bit, but it's much better than last night."

"That's great, George," I said cheerfully. "I just don't want you to get worse."

"I won't get worse. I feel better. At least I can talk now without sounding congested," he said. "Um, do you mind waiting for me a bit? I have to wash up and change, but I'll be back."

"Sure, of course I don't mind," I said. As I waited in the living room for him, I worked on one of my landscape drawings for my art class. Getting the perspective right makes it a fun challenge, but landscapes were never my favorite things to draw in the first place.

A little while later, George entered the room, ready to take on the day. "I'm back! Just like I promised!" he said.

"'Happy to see me, I presume?" I asked.

"Oh, Cloud Nine doesn't know the half of it," he answered with a smile. "'Mind if I join you? What are you workin' on?"

"Just one of my landscapes. You can watch if you'd like," I answered. With that, he pulled up a chair and sat next to me at the same table I sat at yesterday with Ringo. George watched me draw buildings, clouds, sky, and sun. He then looked out of the sliding, glass doors of the hotel room and compared the outside scene with my drawing. The sliding, glass doors of the suite led to a small balcony.

After glancing up and down, he commented, "Hey, that's just outside 'ere! Your drawing looks just like it."

"Thank you," I replied. "But, I don't know, something seems to be missing from it. It evokes nothing, even with the sunshine and sun highlights."

"Well, I can fix that," he answered. He got out of his seat, went to one of the glass panels of the door, and pressed his hands against it, leaning his weight on them. Seeing that the glass door was sturdy enough, he leaned his back against it, crossed his arms, and crossed his right leg over his left, making sure that his right boot tip was touching the floor.

"How's that for an improvement?" he joked.

"Actually, it's perfect!" I said. "Oh, but I can't, George. It's supposed to be a landscape picture."

"No one said it was only a landscape scene. You still have the landscape even if I'm not here, right?" he questioned.

"But you'll have to stand there for a while. Are you willing to do that? I can understand if you don't want to--"

"I might as well make myself useful since you're taking care of me," he replied with a smile. "Anything to help out a friend."

"Thank you so much, George. It's gonna make the picture much better. And I can give this to you after I turn it in to my professor. It'll be the drawing I promised to do for you."

"That'd be great!" he said. "So, you want me to do anything special for the drawing?"

"Well, it's you and your drawing," I said. "How do you want it to come out?"

"Anyway you do it, I know it'll come out splendid," he said.

"Thanks, George, but don't flatter me too much. I don't deserve it," I said. "Okay, hmm, I think I have it. Just stay in that position, crossed arms, crossed legs, all that. Just turn your head to your right and make it look like you're looking down, like you're looking outside."

"Like this?" he asked when he adjusted himself.

"Just remember to look casual. Try not to look posed. Look like you just happened to be standing there and I drew you."

With George in that position, I modified my drawing to include him in it. I don't know if he knew it or not, but he had this little, pensive smile on his face, which was perfect. It wasn't a malicious smile, but a sincere smile. It made it look like he was happy where he was, which was on top of the world; but he still looked humble enough to admit he was human. The whole idea of the picture was symbolic.

After I sketched him in, I said he could stop posing since I could draw in the details afterwards.

"I'm going to draw the rest from memory now. 'Gives me good practice."

"Are you still going to work on it?"

"Yeah, I can finish it now if you'd like."

"Yeah!" he said as he quickly resumed his seat next to me at the table. I completed the picture in half an hour, and I couldn't believe George sat there the whole time, just watching me draw.

"I wish I could do that," he said, amazed at the picture I handed to him. "Thanks for drawing it for me."

"No, no, thank you," I answered. "You're the one who improved the picture even when you didn't have to. Thank you." Then I turned to him seriously. "But are you feeling sick still?"

"No, I feel fine," he responded. "Me throat barely hurts. I'll live. I'm not even coughing anymore. I can sing. See." To prove his point, George sang the chorus of "Do You Want To Know A Secret." It sounded all right, but there was a chance it could become worse.

"You should get some rest then if you're still a bit sick," I advised.

"But I'm fine. I promise you, I am."

"George, just because you feel fine doesn't mean you are. I'm worried about you."

"Aw, that's sweet of you," he said. "I know you want me to be okay, but, Paulina, I am. I feel better knowing that I have someone who cares for me."

"And that's sweet of you, George," I said with a smile.

"Okay, what do you want to do now while we wait for the other lads to come back? Hmm," George pondered. Then, it hit him: "We could go outside!"

I was surprised. "Outside? But won't you get torn apart by the fans? Are we even allowed to go out?"

"We could just stay inside the hotel. We could even stay on our own floor. There're plenty of guards around. Just walk around with me, Paulina. It'll be fun!"

I figured he didn't want to stay cramped up in the hotel suite for so long. But still ...

"Aw, c'mon, Paulina," George said, egging me on.

"But, George, I have to study for my physics exam. I only have the two chapters to study, and then I'll be finished, okay?"

"Okay, okay," George reluctantly agreed. "I'll help. I'll go over it with you." He looked over at my physics book. "What do you have to know?"

"Well, I have to know about gravity, velocity, and force, basically."

"Oh, that should be easy for you! You're smart! Why do you need to study?"

"George."

"I know, I know, I'll help you," he kidded. "'You have any notes that I can quiz you on?"

"Yeah, there in my book 'ere," I told him, handing my book to him.

"Whoa, you have to carry this thing around at school?" he asked, eyeing the book carefully. I nodded. George looked at the book, looked at me, then looked at the book again.

"Here's more proof to show you I'm all right!"

With that declaration and my physics book in hand, he bolted out of the suite.

"Hey! I need that!" I called out, but it was too late. I knew it. I knew he wanted me to go after him, so I thought I'd humor him. I quickly grabbed the room key from my bedroom, and shut the suite door behind me. Neil was right; there really were less guards outside now than last night. They were probably wondering what George and I were doing, but I didn't mind; as long as we were having fun, the idea of a couple of twenty-year-olds running around a hotel floor was all right with me.

I heard George's laughter down the hall. He waved to me, then dashed off down another hall. I ran after him.

"Hi, Paulina! 'Finally cared to join me, huh?"

"I just want my physics book back!" I said laughingly.

"Aw, you don't need this!" he said over his shoulder.

"This is your definition of 'just walking around' then, George?"

"Okay, so not exactly what I meant, but isn't this better than walking anyway?" After he said that, he almost tripped, which got the both of us laughing.

"Ahh! You're right there behind me!" George exclaimed, rounding another corner.

"What, you didn't think I could run as fast as you?" I remarked with a smile. We rounded another corner and finally ended up in front of our suites.

"You're exhausted already?" I asked as he was trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah, I--Uh, oh," he interrupted himself. "I didn't--"

"I did, George. Never fear." I took out the room key from my pocket and opened the door. George stumbled in and handed my book back to me.

"Thank you, George. I was getting a bit worried there." I placed the book on the table.

"About me or the book?" he asked slyly.

"About the book, of course! It has sensitive binding," I said, just to tease him. I went to go put my room key back in my bedroom, but when I returned to the living room, George had disappeared. I heard a click, which was the front door of the suite closing due to his departure.

He went back out there again, I thought to myself. One more time, I retrieved my room key, and followed George out the door, but this time, not running.

In addition, I didn't hear any laughter down the hallway or any footsteps. It was silent. Maybe he was hiding in one of the hallways and I had to find him. I turned the corner to another hallway, but it didn't help much. George wasn't there. Maybe he was moving to a different hiding spot every time I got closer to him. So I walked briskly down the hall but stayed as quiet as possible.

Suddenly, I heard a faint click. It sounded like a door closing, but there was no way George could've gotten back into the suites since he didn't have a key. What other door--

Realizing where George had scurried off to, I ran down to the end of another hallway and opened the door to the fire escape.

"'Nice of you to drop by," George said, sitting on the third to lowest step. "'Feel better?"

Wait, feel better? I was confused by that question. Shouldn't I be asking that of him?

"Um, what do you mean?"

"Sit 'ere next to me, luv," he said. I sat next to him on the step. "Do you feel better?" he asked me. "'Feel better knowing that I'm really okay?"

Oh, so that's where he was getting at. "I'm relieved to hear--and see--that you're getting better," I said, smiling.

"See? You stopped worrying about me after you found out I was all right. I'm happy about that. That means I did what I was supposed to do."

"Did what you were supposed to do?" I echoed.

"I know that you're here to take care of me, so I thought I'd do something for you. Return the favor, y'know? You were all concerned about me, so I wanted to cheer you up. I wanted to make you feel better. Did it work?" he asked.

"That is so sweet of you, again, George," I told him. "It worked wonders. Thank you for doing that for me."

"Don't mention it," he answered. "But I think I should really be getting back and getting some rest. I'm not fully well yet, even if I feel all right," he said. "C'mon, let's go back to the suite. I'll help you study for your exam like I promised. And no runnin' around this time, I promise." He smiled as he extended his hand to me.

I took his hand, and we walked back to our suite. As he set himself down on the couch, I pulled up a chair and handed him my physics book, which was previously on the table. George asked me questions from my book and helped me remember some facts and formulas from my notes. We spent the most time reading paragraphs over and over again since we both didn't understand everything mentioned, but we had a great time anyway.

After we finished, he said to me, "Was that all right? Do you need any more help on it?"

"Oh, no, you did an excellent job on everything, not just studying with me. Thank you."

"That's okay. At least I did some things for you today, which makes me happy," he replied. I smiled as I got up to put my schoolwork away. When I came back, however, I found George had fallen asleep.

Poor lad, exhausting himself, running around like that for my sake, to make me feel better, I thought as I sat beside him. I promised myself that I would do something for him then, something that could show my gratitude to him.

I sat beside him, watched him for a while before I heard some noise outside the door. Before I could get up, the suite door opened, and there in the doorway was Ringo!

I quickly but quietly rushed to him. "Shh, please. George's sleeping. But welcome back!" I whispered as I hugged him.

"Hi, Paulina!" he whispered back. "Ah, George's sleepin'. That's good. He's all right now, right?"

"Yeah, he's just resting now. He's doing much better than before. But how was everything? How are you?"

"Oh, everything was marvelous. Rehearsal's weren't so strict either. We played around most of the time, and the director didn't mind at t'all."

"Why're you all whisperin'?" Paul asked, entering the room after Ringo. Ringo pointed at George. Paul understood and nodded.

"Hiya, Paul!" I said softly, giving him a hug as well.

"Hello there, Paulina," he whispered back. "I knew I heard your sweet voice when I first came in."

"Thanks. How did things turn out for you today?"

"It was splendid! I had the wonderful opportunity of listening to me radio almost nonstop. 'Heard 'Love Me Do' so many times, I think I know all the words to it now!" We both giggled at that. Paul continued, "Oh, your brother's comin' soon. He was just followin' me a second ago, so he'll be here."

"And here I am," John said proudly as he walked in the door. Paul and I had to tell him to lower his voice because of George. John put on a feigned shocked yet smiling expression, then said to me in a softer voice, "Hello, luv!"

"There you go," I whispered back. I hugged him tight. "I was saving my best hug for you, John-John."

"Aw, thanks, luv, and this hug's 'specially for you," he said, holding me in his arms.

"How was your day? I missed you."

"I missed you too, Pearl. And you were right: Today wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," John replied. "Everythin' went rather well. And I bet you're excited to see the show then?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," I told him. "I wouldn't miss it for anything."