***Dear Rings I send this postcad from me to yu becase I can't send it from yu to me. Glade yu are beta. hav fun in Australea. Lil xx***

Lily looked over the card clutched in her fingers. On the front was a picture of a girl and boy kissing like in the Pears soap commercials. All cute in the olden days not a photo, a painting, pretty but olden days looking. She ripped it up.

"Now why'd you go and do that for!" Richard frowned at her over the pile of postcards that lay all over the kitchen table "Give it here!"

"No!"

"Now Sweets!" Richy smiled indulgently at Lily as she blushed. She blushed again .. always around these boys she blushed. She liked him calling her that; He knew it, she knew it. She always blushed like red lollies.

"No, you are not my boss!" Lil pouted, lifting the two halves above her head.

"What are you- ten!? Give me the ripped to shreds postcard Lily" Ringo clicked his fingers and Lily grumpily handed over the remnants of the postcard. Richy laid them out on the table in front of him, pushing them together into the proper position. "Dear Rings..." He began to read "Awwww, I love my nickname you know"

"I know. As I love mine" Lily tinkered with the postcard to her left, it had a picture of the Eiffel Tower. Richy must have brought it back from Paris?

Was it Paris, or Spain?

Lil flipped the card over in her hand and looked at the writing on the back and made out the Eiffel bit and saw a big letter P, yep Paris... or was it Portugal......?

"We're here to help each other, don't rip up the postcards Lil."

"Why are we writing on all your blank postcards anyway?"

"Why not?" Ringo shrugged a none-the-bother shrug.

"Well you could keep them in an album or somewhere safe; and look at them"

"Boring! I may just have to have a kip now" Richy fake yawned and his blue eyes twinkled at her. "I think Australia is with an 'i' then an 'a' on the the end of it" Richy wrote the word again, correctly, on a sliver of the card in a free corner. Richy leaned over toward Lil "There. See"

"You are so smart"

"It was written on every damn thing- in Australia. When I was bound for Australia. And when we read papers in, funnily enough, Australia. Some things have to seep in the old noggin from time to time I suppose" Richy stubbed his cigarette out, shifted his chair about and patted his lap "Come here"

"Yes papa"

"You are being rather unruly today, I should give you a right paddling"

"Yes papa. Right you are papa. I like me paddling papa" Lily grinned evilly. Smirking as Richy moaned under his breath. "How are things....? Looking up?" Lily giggled as she wiggled.

"Why you little...." Richy tickled Lil to make her scream and they mucked around as is what usually occurs when Richy visits.

Chat, try and learn to write better, and muck around.

Sometimes, if Lily was extremely lucky, she got a kiss but Richy turned out to be shy in that department but he was still moved by her as she sat on his lap. He seemed to keep his distance and she was ever so grateful he was so gentleman-like. Not that the other boys weren't gentlemen-like but Richy just resisted sexual urges a little more fruitfully.

"Look what you've gone and done" Richy humped his hips upwards. Lily bounced and squealed and tried to leap up and escape his wild bouncy hips. She squealed again "You're a naughty one. I am trying to be all business-like and such. Then you go and sit on my lap, and it all goes to ruddy pot"

"You told me to!" Lily poked her tongue out and sat right back down on his lap, wiggling a little deeper "When does Mo come back down from Liddypool?"

"Tomorrow afternoon"

"Well that's a long time to be riding that thing, I could take care of it for you, I don't mind"

"Lil...."

"It's just a bl-"

"Please don't say it Lil. I know what it is and I know you are happy to oblige but in my mind I can't function like that. Sex, lu- sorry Lily... with you ..."

Lily scowled at his near use of the endearment- luv.

Richy continued "I would think I was hurting you, you know. I know you don't worry and the lads have had nice times but I don't want to cross a line with a friend and not ever be able to look her in the eye again" Richy reached forward and piled the postcards up "Do you understand?"

Lily stopped being silly and sat on Richard hugging him quietly, nodding into his chest as he hugged her back.

"I think we are better writers now. Should give that boy Lennon a run for his money and write our own novel!" Richy lifted Lily's chin and pecked her lips "I adore you heaps Lily don't ever think I don't and someday your own prince charming will ride up on his steed and love you more than anyone in this whole world and I'll be right happy for you"

Lily sighed and time ticked by ... Her own prince charming, a lovely dream, but would it ever happen? Could she ever open her heart to a person, a prince charming, tell him all her secrets when he professed his love and adulation only for him to run. Run away from her horrid past.

Richys blue eyes crinkled as Lily sat back up, a grin forming as she slipped back over to her chair on her side of the kitchen table. Richy stood to put the kettle on.

They were ok and learning to read and write better, with her, was grand. Using a lot of the Beatles song lyrics had been a brilliant idea of Lils as they both knew the songs and they could sing them as they looked at the piece of paper carrying the words.

Their writing was getting neater now and they had purchased a dictionary to learn even more.

"Why didn't you learn to write in school?" Lily questioned, all this time and they just ignored the whys and wherefores. Just realised they both had missed schooling when reading one another's correspondence that they had sent to each other.

Crossed out words and scribbly writing, showing the other, their deficits. Paul, Geo and John never bothered or teased but it was grating that their writing was neater and unmarred... and not messy with words crossed out or scribbled over.

"I got sick- A lot...Was in hospital for many a birthday I was" Richy passed Lily her cup of tea and sat back down across the table with his own "My mum was told three times I was going to die"

"Oh my, that poor lady!"

"I know, I put her through hell. Me Ma, stepfather and grandparents too of course" Richy twirled the ring his granddad had given him "but I'm much better now"

"You are indeed"

"Was a tad worried when I was in hospital the other day" Richard smiled shyly "Thought I was out of a job too"

"Oh with that Jimmy coming in for you... Oh no! He would never replace you. He isn't you and the lads love you and all the fans do too. Is it true, what Paul said?... You get the most mail?" Lily started writing on the Eiffel Tower postcard 'with love from Paris' slowly, carefully printing the letters neatly in red pen.

"Yeah funny that, we all thought Brian was having us on when he wheeled in the cart load of mailbags and half was mine! Right chuffed though... What did you write?" Richy took the postcard Lily offered him "With love from Paris. Very nice... and neat. Ten out of ten- a gold star for miss Lily!" 

A/N: Short and Sweet like Richy xxx

Although he's is sending everyone an eyeful of a package in this shot!