I am not that educated when it comes to nursing (hope to be soon though ;) ) so please disregard any inaccurate information as this story is indeed fictional and will have more to do with The Beatles in a few chapters time. Thank you!

"I've met someone." He says.

I choke on my wine.

"What?"

"I really didn't mean for it to happen!" He continues. "But well there was this business trip and she was there and I think I had a little too much to drink and before I know it-"

"Please enough." I practically beg. I have a feeling I know who it is too. I had been warned about her the minute she stepped into the cosmetic surgery ward a few weeks ago. She was new and hungry apparently as she started making goo goo eyes and twirling her dyed hair around most of the male doctors. The other nurses told me she had been hanging around my beau quite a bit, but I shrugged it off letting the feeling of trust and love invade my brain. Then there was this conference and somehow she got a ticket to join along.

Man how stupid could I be?

"Listen Matilda, I'm really sorry." He says to me. "I didn't mean for it to happen, but I think.."

"You found your true love with a girl oh, twelve years your junior right?" I say. Now I am pissed.

"I..I"

"Save it." I exclaim getting up. "Message through loud and clear. Have a nice life together. Don't worry I will stay in my little section of the hospital and not intrude on your love nest!"

I storm out of the restaurant trying to brush the tears out of my eyes. I will not let this get to me. I peek over my shoulder to see him still in the restaurant pulling out his cell phone. Probably to call her. Mission accomplished. I hail a cab and get in. Thankfully the cabbie doesn't speak English well and I just sit and try to keep calm trying to remind myself that just because I was now officially single after a year of being with a man who I thought was the one, shouldn't discourage me.

It's a bright night in New York City. Everything is illuminated as it should be. As we turn, we reach the White edifice that is the Dakota. The home of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. I sigh. I had been a Beatles fan since I was thirteen years old. I often wonder to this day what it would have been like if Mark David Chapman hadn't killed the man. Would the world be a different place? Would he help achieve some sort of peace that we still hadn't be able to achieve? Most of all, what would the music be like?

I think about Yoko too. John and Yoko indeed were one of those power couples. Not the ones that sing true love, renew their vows every year, then divorce after maybe a decade because of some irreconcilable difference or because someone couldn't keep it in their pants. But a couple that set the example of love. They had their battles, their low points, but instead of throwing their hands up and say the hell with it, they fought the storm together. Too bad no one else seems to be taking that kind of advice these days.

The apartment fades out of sight and go back to my personal brooding. Ten or fifteen minutes later the cab pulls up to my apartment, charges me probably more than it would have cost for the ride and I head inside. I go to my mailbox and check it. Sure enough, bill, bill, advertisement, bill, junk magazine, newspaper. I wave to the security guard and head up to my little home away from home. Hitting the light I am greeted by a "mew" and a streak of white jumping off my counter.

"Hey Rigby." I say petting her. Her full name is Eleanor Rigby. Rigby when she's good. Eleanor Rigby when's she bad. I found her and her brother Rocky lurking outside the hospital on my way home one night. Eleanor was a scrawny little thing with big eyes. Rocky was a tiny bit bigger, but not by much and a black and grey tiger stripe. My heart went into overdrive and I took them home with me. My landlord charged me a big ass deposit to keep them, but it was worth it.

Except for now that Rocky is tripping me as I get into the hallway. The little pig, he wants his dinner and now Rigby is following suit.

"What, you can't give me a minute to drown my sorrow's now that I've been dumped?"

They both look up at me with that look that says obey us or we'll tear this place apart.

And trust me, they'll do it too.

"Alright, alright." I drag myself over to the cupboard and pull out their kibbles. Once I have fed their majesties, I head into my bedroom and change. Just as I finish, my cell goes off. The caller ID says: Mom. Great. Time to face the inevitable.

"Hey mom." I say answering the phone.

"Hey honey, how are you!"

"Fine." I say.

Pause.

"You don't sound it. What's up? Something with Josh?"

I grit my teeth. Unfortunately, no matter how much she can get on my nerves, I can't not tell her.

"He and I broke up tonight."

She gasps though I can tell its a fake one.

"What happened?"

"Uh, he...uh...cheated on me."

"Oh my god." She says. "Are you okay?"

I know that's truly sincere. I am lucky that I do have a mother who genuinely cares about her children.

"Yeah, it just sucks."

"Well, that guy was such a self absorbed jerk anyway!" Mom exclaims.

And here we go.

I say nothing.

"Always acted like his shit didn't stink and so bossy! I really don't know what you saw him."

Josh had met my mom a few months ago. Needless to say he had a tendency to fluff his feathers a bit and mom didn't like that. I was ready to smack him a few times too at that meeting.

"I don't care if your some doctor!" Mom continues. "Just a rich little brat who got through med school on daddy's money."

That wasn't a lie. Josh's father was a Vice President at some Fortune 500 company. He had gotten a lot that many of us had to fight for. I am still paying off student loans for my nurse's degree and I got that 8 years ago!

"I am so glad he is out of your life!"

I stare at the Beatles lithograph on my wall and mouth "help".

They just stare at me with those cheeky smiles and bright eyes of young men in their twenties.

"And he acted so high and mighty-"

"MOM!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but really I won't lie I am very happy he is gone." She said. "I had been hoping this day would come."

I needed a way out. Suddenly a lightbulb.

"OH CRAP! Mom I gotta go, Rocky just gobbled down his dinner and now he is puking it up on the rug! I love you, I'll talk to you later!"

"Okay, okay go take care of him, love you too bye!"

I hang up and throw myself down on my bed, tossing my cellphone aside. I can't say that my mother wasn't right about Josh. He really was an arrogant prick. He had his sweet moments, no lie and he didn't abuse me, but a lot of our relationship was mostly about him and his needs. Mine were met occasionally. He wasn't even that great in bed to be honest either.

I turn over and again look at my Beatles lithograph.

"You guys didn't like him either huh?" I said with a laugh. I like talking to my litho. When the cats are too preoccupied with their cat things, I turn to the Beatles like I did when I was a kid. I could be holed up in my room listening to their music for at least four hours straight. I spent one summer watching a Hard Day's Night and Help! every single day. When Yellow Submarine was re-released I was given the album and the video as a gift from my grandparents. Everything about the Beatles I wanted to learn and I had the books to prove it. Every picture, every lyric, every quote. Their words, their lives were a part of me.

I often wonder what it would have been like to be a part of that generation instead of being born in the 80s. I know it would be drastically different as my mother told me as she was growing up in that generation. Would I be a nurse like I am now or would I join the flower power generation and run off to Woodstock. Of course, would I be a Beatles crazed schoolgirl? Would I ever meet them?

I sigh and close my eyes. Well as they said "Tomorrow Never Knows."

"She is not getting an epidural!"

"Sir, your wife is in a lot of pain and its wearing her out."

"An epidural can cause my wife's blood pressure to drop or hurt the baby!" He said. "Or didn't they teach you that in nursing school!"

"Mr. Fredricks, an experienced anesthesiologist will administer it, he's been doing it for years. Yes with anything there is a risk, but she needs rest if you want her to be able to start pushing later on."

"We are having a natural birth and that is it! No meds, no surgery, nothing! And where the hell is the obstetrician! I am paying a shitload of money to have the delivery here and the damn doctor is too busy to show up when we get in!"

We? Didn't know the husband was also in labor too.

"Dr. Bettaman is on her way." I answer.

"She'd better get her soon that way I can talk to a professional instead of just a third rate nurse!"

A scream pierces there as Mr. Fredricks wife is in the throws of another painful contraction. I run in with the husband at my heels.

"Alright Danielle, just breathe." I whisper to her. "It'll only be a moment."

"It hurts so much." She sobs. She has tears running down her face. I smooth her hair back as her husband takes her other hand. She is sweating hard.

"She can't be in this much pain and not be ready to push!" He yells.

I do a check.

"Still five centimeters." I said.

"You are wrong!" He yells.

You wanna come see?

Suddenly Danielle leans over and vomits on her husband's shoes. Instant Karma's going to get you. Thank you Mr. Lennon.

"Aw shit!" He curses jumping back.

Danielle heaves and continues to cry.

"I'm sorry Tom." She utters. "Please, please let me have the epidural."

Tom just looks at her annoyed then looks at me.

"Well you gonna clean this?" He said. "And no you are not getting one. You are going to have the baby the way smart women do, naturally!"

I ignore him for a moment to help his wife calm down. I grab a towel and wipe her mouth a little.

"It's alright Danielle, it happens, it's normal." I said. "We'll take care of it. Just keep breathing."

I looked over at the fetal monitor and saw the contraction beginning to pass.

"Alright almost gone now." I said then I looked into her eyes. "Danielle, tell me honestly, do you want the epidural?

"Excuse me, did you hear what I said?" He yells. "Don't be filling ideas into my wife's head! Danielle I mean it, if you have the epidural, I am not going to forgive you! Do you want to endanger our baby? Have some special needs child?"

You gotta be kidding me.

Danielle looks at him with tired yet scared eyes.

"No." She whispers then grips her stomach. "But Tom-"

"No buts! Ride it out!" He urges. "

Finally the contraction passes and Danielle lies back down, completely spent. I then grab some disinfectant and some towels to clean up the vomit.

"Jesus Christ, I can't believe this." Tom Fredricks is whining in a chair near the bed removing his soiled sneakers. "Five hundred bucks down the drain."

I hold out a trash bag to him to throw his sneakers and socks in.

"We'll get you something for your feet." I said.

"You'd better!" He yells. "And Dr. Bettaman better be here within an hour or else we are going to a different hospital with much better staff! And I am reporting you to your supervisor about trying to convince my wife to harm our baby!"

"Tom, no." Danielle cries quietly from the bed.

"Quiet Danielle be a good girl." He coos. "I'm taking care of everything. My son will be born where we sit fit!"

I rub my forehead.

"I'll be back in awhile to check on her." I said.

"Oh no you won't!" He yells behind me. "It will be Dr. Bettaman or we are gone! And I want another nurse too who knows how to keep her mouth shut!"

"Yes sir." I grumble.

I head back to the nurse's station and collapse in a chair.

"That Mr. Fredricks is one nasty S.O.B." My friend and fellow nurse Charlotte says to me.

"Nasty is giving him a compliment." I said. "Probably emotionally abuses his wife. Didn't know he is an expert on child birth. I thought he was just some engineer."

"Can't please 'em all."

"Nope."

"Heard about you and Josh."

Gee news travels fast.

"It's in the past." I said. "Let him frolic in the tulips with her for all I care."

"You know she's just some trophy wife in the making."

"Must be nice to have such an ambition." I said. "I fear for the next generation of women."

"Oh you know its all that media, Kardashians, Jersey Shore, and all such wonderful influence."

"I should just go up there now and get my chest inflated, my lips puffed, and my gut sucked in."

"Dye your hair as blonde as possible and you'll be a shoo in."

I sigh.

"I am going to get some air." I said. "Mind watching over Danielle Fredricks? She is really suffering and the husband has apparently accused me of brainwashing his wife into wanting an epidural. I have been banned from the room."

Charlotte shakes her head.

"Go on honey." She said.

When I get out there I take a nice deep breath. The air is crisp. I love this time of year. I pull out my mini Ipod and earbuds and hook them up. I close my eyes.

"It's been a Hard Day's Night

And I've been working like a dog

It's been a Hard Day's Night

I should be sleeping like a log..."

Perfect song to match my mood, unfortunately there is no one I get home to that will make me feel alright. Except my cats, but I don't that's what the Beatles meant.

The music stops abruptly and I look down to see my ipod fell off my scrubs and to the nice pavement, great.

I reach down to get it when my hand collides with another. I look up to see a man with thick, but short dark hair and green eyes looking down at me. He is wearing a lab coat and a cigarette is dangling from his mouth.

"Thanks." I say taking the ipod.

"No problem." He says. "Beatles fan huh?"

I hmmph with a smile.

"Die hard." I answer.

"Not bad." He says. "I am more of a Stones guy myself."

"Don't tempt me, I make an argument about the Beatles vs. Stones that will last hours."

He laughs.

"Love to." He says. "But I gotta be up in the OR in twenty."

OR huh.

"Really?"

"Yup!" He says smiling. "Assisting in a heart transplant!"

He is clearly excited and petrified.

"Ah, you're going to be working on that kid."

There had been a young boy who had made headline news about needing a new heart, but how the family had no money. They lived in rural upstate NY, but the boy was intelligent and had a strong spirit. His community had gone insane raising money for him to have the surgery and he was brought here to my hospital because we had some of the best cardiologists in the world.

"Yeah." He said. "I got to meet him earlier today. We talked about baseball and a lot of things. He is smart kid, I really want to help him pull through. He definitely deserves a chance at a good life."

I smile.

"Every kid does." I say thinking about Danielle Fredricks unborn son. No doubt if she stays with that loser, her son is not going to have a happy childhood. The father was already ticked off that the baby was a few days late and was worried the baby was showing signs of laziness.

The surgeon to be rubs his head.

"Sorry, I am rambling." He says. "I am not going to lie I am nervous. I only smoke when I am anxious."

I shrug.

"Nothing wrong with that." I said. "This is a big thing. You're not human if you don't feel any emotions positive or negative."

"Living is easy with eyes closed." I song-quote Lennon again. "Unfortunately if we did that, we'd spend our lives bumping into everything."

Crappy joke, smooth move Matilda, but he actually laughs. Phew.

"True." He said. He gets rid of his cigarette and extends his hand.

"I'm William Redford." He said. "No relation to the Robert. Cardiology surgeon in the making."

I shake his head.

"Matilda Jameson." I answer. "No relation to the drink or porn star. I'm a Registered Nurse in Labor and Delivery."

"And Beatle fan Extraordinaire." He adds.

I chuckle.

"I'll take that."

He then looks at his watch.

"Time to go." He utters. "Wish him luck."

I eye him.

"Shouldn't I wish you luck?"

He shrugs.

"Yeah, but my life isn't in on the table." He says.

The Fredricks would have a healthy baby boy delivered by Dr. Bettaman, myself and two other nurses at 6:13am that morning sans epidural. Danielle would get to hold her baby and spend a few minutes bonding, but soon she was ready for a well deserved rest. However, within an hour of being born Mr. Fredricks was already demanding his wife begin breastfeeding. Thankfully, by then my shift was over and I grabbed a bus ride home for some rest myself.

After a few hours sleep I switched on the television to see my hospital on the news and William Redford looking exhausted, but beaming behind the main cardiac surgeon who had indeed dubbed the transplant a success and the boy well on the road to recovery. I had to admit that William was kind of cute. Definitely a Paul McCartney cute, not that the rest of the Beatles weren't just as cute.

I look at my litho.

"Don't give me that look." I said to the four young faces and got ready for another night shift.

When I got to the hospital I was surprised to see William standing outside.

"Hey Beatle Lady." He said to me.

"Hey yourself, don't you have a home?" I ask. "I figured you'd be sleeping for days after today."

"I thought so too." He said. "But I just..I dunno..I couldn't."

He laughed lightly.

"You should have seen it!" He said. "The minute we got the heart inside of him, it started beating so strongly! Everything seemed to fall into place, it was amazing!"

"I feel that way when I help deliver a complicated pregnancy." I mention. "The odds can be against you and you watch that tiny life in the NICU, but when you see the baby truly fighting and thriving, it brings such an excitement to your soul."

He looked at me with such softness in his eyes I found myself blushing.

"Surprised you're not a doctor." He says. "You truly love what you do, I can see that."

I tuck my hair behind my ear like a schoolgirl.

"Don't have the finances or the brains." I said. "I had a lot of help if the math and science got too complicated when I was getting my BS."

"Got by with a little help from your friends huh?"

My mouth drops.

"Hey just because I like the Stones more doesn't mean I know nothing about the famous Beatles." He said.

"I guess so." I answer. "Well, I gotta head in."

"Wait Matilda!"

"Hmm?"

"Listen, this may seem a bit straightforward, but do you think, you know that conversation about the Beatles vs. the Rolling Stones, think we could maybe have it sometime? Like over dinner?

Now I know my face is pink.

"Um, well. I say dipping my chin a little. "I suppose that could be arranged."

He is smiling. Oh God what a cute smile. And we arrange for a date a few nights when we both have the time. I tell him to get his ass home finally while I head into the hospital, definitely a little lighter on my feet than I was earlier.

Danielle Fredricks is having trouble breastfeeding. I try to explain to her that it can be hard the first couple of tries especially after having just given birth. Then of course almighty hubby comes in and boots me out of the room. I swear to God I feel like I stepped into the movie, "The Group." Great flick from the 60s, go see it.

With the exception of that wonderful experience, my night ended a better note than before.