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rogeriswater · 1 month

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Don't Leave Me Now

xlii

This work contains fictionalized versions of real events and people. Most details won’t be accurate to real life.

tags for this chapter: mentions of abuse and murder

December, 1969

~m.r~

This was to be my first Christmas spent without Billy since I first met him. When he got into the accident, which he caused because the dumb twat decided to drive drunk, he sent someone to the hospital. He came out unscathed surprisingly, but he did send someone to the hospital. Thankfully, the person made a full recovery. Unfortunately for Billy, he has to spend several months in jail. Honestly, it was nice to have him out of the house. I did go to visit him on occasion, but our visits weren't very long.

I wasn't the only one taking full advantage of Billy's incarceration. Roger was over at my house quite frequently now while he had the opportunity. Sometimes he would even stay over for days on end. Judy was sure to suspect something when she realized there would be days where her husband wasn't home, but it's not like she ever came knocking on my door asking about him.

I think Olivia was starting to suspect something too. She would always eye Roger suspiciously whenever he came walking through the front door or whenever she saw him during a morning after he stayed the night. That being said, she never brought anything up to me.

Speaking of Christmas, it was a particularly special one because it was Victoria's first. Mary offered to host Christmas dinner this year, even inviting my family. She was anxious to meet my family, especially my mother. Despite everything I've told Mary to about my mother, I think she still wanted to make a friend out of her.

I was in the kitchen making dinner, and Roger was helping me. While he's been here, Roger has fallen into the role of a husband more than Billy ever has, and Roger and I weren't even married yet. He's been here for almost a week now. "Roger?" I say his name.

"Yes, my darling?" Roger asks, not taking his attention away from the vegetables he was cutting.

"You've been here for a week now"

"I suppose I have"

"Isn't Judy wondering where you've been this past week?"

Roger shrugs. "As far as she knows, I'm staying with David" He puts down the knife and turns to look at me. "Do you want me to go?"

"Of course not" I'm quick to tell him. "I've gotten rather used to having you here. It's like we're already—"

"Married?" Roger finishes for me. He puts his hands on my arms and begins to rub them. "It's been great, hasn't it?"

I can't help but smile in agreement. "It has been amazing having you here. I only wish you could stay here forever"

Roger moves his hands from my arms to wrap his arms around my waist. "I could stay, y'know? You just have to give me the word"

"Then stay" I ask him in a whisper, indulging in the fantasy just for a moment. Though we both knew that he couldn't stay.

"I will, darling" He said, leaning in to kiss me softly. We made out for several minutes until we decided that we had to resume making dinner. "Oh, I was hoping to run something by you, sunshine"

"And what is it you wanted to run by me?"

"I got a call from Ron Geesin the other day" Roger began to tell. I was a bit familiar with Ron Geesin. He was a composer.

"Yeah? And what was this call about?" I press my lover for the details.

"He asked if I would like to collaborate on a soundtrack for some documentary film"

"Really? And what did you tell him?"

Roger puts the knife down again and reaches to place his hand over top of mine. "I said I'd only do it if I could do it with you"

My heart swelled at his heartwarming response. "Then what did Ron say to that?"

Roger smiled, lacing his fingers together with mine. "He would love to have you along on it"

"Oh my darling, I would love to" I tell him. "But you know, you could've done it without me. You don't have to do everything with me, y'know"

"That's where you're wrong, darling. You see, you aren't just my lover and my future wife, you're my creative partner" Roger insists. "And I would die before I work on any project without you by my side"

Saying I was his creative partner was one of the most intimate and romantic things he's ever said. And I believed every word of it. From what David, Nick, and Rick have told me, on days where I couldn't be in the studio, Roger was extremely difficult to work with, but whenever I was there, he was a lot more at ease. "So, this documentary," I began to ask as I was curious. "What is it about?"

"It's about the human body" He answers. "That reminds me, there is something else about it I'm compelled to mention"

"And what would that be?"

"I was told a little bit about the film and what was to be in it" Roger said and it sounded like he was trying to approach the topic with caution. "And it was mentioned that there's going to be a love making scene" I could see where this conversation was going, and to be honest, it both intrigued me and made me a little apprehensive. "Now, you don't have to agree to this, but I was thinking that maybe you and I could..." He trailed off, obviously too flustered to finish.

"Film the love scene?" I finished for him. I rubbed at the back of my neck. "Wow, Roger, I don't know. You know that I think it would fun to do, but given the circumstances of our relationship..."

"I know, I know, but just hear me out" Roger says. "We could do it, but no one would know it would be us. It would just be our silhouettes and we can use fake names"

I chew my lip in thought. I suppose if no one was to know it was really Roger Waters and Maggie Robinson of Pink Floyd filming a love scene for a documentary, I didn't see the harm in it. "It would be fun. Not only the filming it part, but the thrill of no one knowing it would be us" I said.

Roger grins, slinging his arm over my shoulder. "That's my girl"

......

I went outside to go fetch the mail. As I stood at my mailbox taking, I noticed Frank walking towards me. "Hi, Frank" I greeted my neighbor.

"Hello, Maggie!" Frank greets me back. "I saw you out here and I figured I would just check in on you. You know, with Billy being in jail and all"

"I'm handling it rather well, to be quite honest" I see no reason to lie to Frank. He's shown me that he can be trusted.

"Perhaps that's because Roger has practically been living with you since Billy has been gone?" Frank questions me. My eyes widen when Frank says that. Perhaps we haven't been as discreet as I thought we've been. "Don't worry, my dear. I won't say a word to your husband"

I give him a smile. "Thank you, Frank"

Frank began to walk back to his house. "Oh!" He said, remembering something as he turned around to look at me. "There was a fellow here earlier. He stared at the house for a bit, looked like he was contemplating whether to go and knock on the door"

"Really?" My curiosity was piqued. "What did he look like?"

"His hair looked quite messy and he was wearing brightly coloured clothes" Frank explained. "He didn't turn around so I didn't see his face"

"Thanks, Frank"

Frank gives me a smile. "You should come over for dinner one of these nights" He extends an invitation to me before he heads on home. I open up the mailbox and reach inside of it. I take the mail out of it and walk back up to the house, looking through what I got. Nothing apart from cheques and bills, as usual. However, there was one piece of mail that caught my eye. It was a blank envelope, void of any sort of address. It wasn't empty though. I could tell there was a letter inside. I open up the envelope and I reach for the letter within it. I unfold it and begin to read it.

Shining star,

I do hope I put this in the correct mailbox. I don't want some stranger reading words meant for you. I hope you've been doing well. I heard you had a baby girl. I bet she's beautiful, just like her mother. Anyways, I wanted to write to you let you know how much I miss you. I miss the others too, but I can't bring myself to send them a letter either. But I couldn't not write to the shining star herself. I would like to see you — just you. And no, I promise this isn't me coming on to you. I love you, but in a way you love a sister. If you want to see me, meet me at the date, time and place I have included in this letter. Please, don't bring anyone else. I'm not ready to see them yet. If you don't show up, I understand and I hold nothing against you.

Your dear friend, Syd

I was in awe the entire time I was reading the letter. I can't believe Syd wrote to me. I honestly thought after all that happened that he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. But I guess I was wrong. I was still shining star to him. Do I tell Roger about the letter? It seemed like Syd didn't want anyone knowing he reached out to me. Still, I didn't keep anything from Roger (except for the details about the abuse I have suffered at the hand's of my husband). Besides, Syd was Roger's best friend. He deserved to know that Syd wasn't at least dead.

"Everything okay, sunshine?" Roger asks as he comes up beside me. "You look like you've seen a ghost"

"I guess you could say that" I say.

Roger takes notice of the letter in my hand. "Who was writing you?" I hand the letter off to Roger so that he can read it for himself. He takes a minute or two to scan over the letter. When he's finished, he looks up at me with sorrowful eyes. "Syd is okay?" I knew that Roger still felt a bit of guilt about kicking Syd out of the band and practically abandoning him.

"It would seem that he is" I nod. At least, I hope that he was. Honestly, I couldn't really tell from the letter.

"Are you going to go see him?"

"Should I go see him?"

"I think you should" Roger tells me. Of course he would want me to see him. I think Roger needed a bit of closure on Syd and he was probably hoping that I could give him that closure. "But, I can't force you to. It's your decision"

"I think maybe I should too" I said, taking the letter back from Roger. "I feel like I owe it to him"

"After you see him, promise me you'll tell me everything"

"I promise"

"So, when does Syd want to meet up with you?"

I look at the letter again, specifically where Syd left the details of the date, time and location. It was dated for... tomorrow. "It says tomorrow" I say, looking up at Roger. "He wants to meet me tomorrow"

...

Tomorrow snuck up on me rather quickly. I could tell Roger desperately wanted to come with me, but he wanted to respect Syd's wishes. I arrived at the spot that Syd wanted to meet me at. It was an art museum. I patiently waited in the front lobby, watching the front door intently as I waited for Syd to walk through. And then I saw him. He saw me as well. We stared at each other awkwardly for a minute or two, before I got up and walked over to him. "Hi, Syd" I said.

He managed to smile at me. "Shining star" Syd spoke, his voice quiet. "I can't tell you how happy I am that you showed up"

"Well of course I did" I said, returning his smile. "I missed you and I was rather surprised you contacted me, to be honest"

"Well, I promised I would write to you, didn't I?" Syd took me by the hand. "Come on. Let's look around as we talk"

...

Syd and I spent what seemed like hours just walking around the gallery, looking at all the art as we talked. Afterwards, we settled at a cafe within the gallery to eat. We ate in silence for several minutes until Syd broke it. "How have the others been?" He asks me.

"They've been quite well. Nick and Lindy got married, Rick and Juliette are pregnant. Do you remember my friend Clea? Well she and David are sort of not officially engaged" I explain to Syd.

"And what of you and Roger?"

"You can keep a secret, can't you?"

Syd chuckled. I think that's the first time I've heard him laugh since I first met him. "You know I can, shining star"

"Victoria isn't Billy's. Roger and I screwed around way back on New Years and I got pregnant after that"

"So Roger is actually Victoria's father?"

"Yes" I nod, taking a sip of my tea.

Syd smiled and reached over to place his hands overtop of mine. "I'm really happy for you both. You deserve happiness. You deserve each other"

I smile at his kind words. "Thank you, Syd"

"Promise you'll invite me to the wedding?"

"Something tells me our wedding isn't happening for quite a while" I say with regret. Syd gives me a questioning look, like he wants me to explain. "It's a long story and one I'd rather not talk about. How about you, Syd? Anything exciting I should know about?"

"I have an album coming out next month" Syd tells me.

My eyes light up at the news. "Really? That's great!"

"Roger and David even helped a bit on it"

That bit of news took me by surprise. "They did?" I asked. How come neither of them told me? Especially Roger. "When was this?"

"Back in July" Syd explained. "I would've asked you too but Roger said you were heavily pregnant and needed your rest"

"You know I would've helped, Syd" I said. Him not asking me to help wasn't bothering me as much as him lying to me about not having seen anyone else since he left the band. "Why did you tell me you haven't talked or seen the others when you clearly have?"

Syd frowns, clearly ashamed that he fibbed to me. "Well, I didn't work with them for very long and I might have been a bit difficult towards them"

"No matter, I can't wait to hear it"

"Does Roger know you were meeting me today?"

"He does. He was the one that convinced me to see you today, not that I needed to be convinced"

"He doesn't hate me, does he? For the person I've become?"

"Oh, Syd, of course not. You were Roger's best friend, and he worries about you all the time"

Syd nodded, grasping his cup of tea tightly in both hands. He looks down at it. "And promise me you'll continue to take care of him? He really needs you, shining star"

"I promise"

...

Syd and I eventually parted ways. I wasn't sure when or if I'd ever see him again. At least now I knew that there was an album of his I should be on the lookout for. I bet it's brilliant. I made it home right at the same time I saw Judy walking up to her front door. "Hi Jude" I greeted her.

Judy looked over at me. "Hi Mags" She greets back, crossing her yard to come over to me. "How have you been since Billy's been..." She hesitates, almost like she's unsure if she should say it or not.

"Locked up?" I finish for her. "I've been getting by. Luckily, I have Victoria and Olivia to keep me company"

"That's good. It's been quiet for me lately. Roger has been staying with David for whatever reason" Judy explains with a roll of her eyes. "He'll spend time with David, but not his own wife" Okay, so Judy didn't know that Roger was actually staying with me. "Where are you coming back from?"

"Just visiting a friend. You?"

Judy smiled and I see a flash in her eyes, almost like she was hiding something. "I was also visiting a friend" The two of us don't exchange another word as we both enter our respective homes. As soon as I walk in, I hear the giggles of my daughter coming from the living room. When I go to investigate, I see Roger sitting on the couch bouncing Victoria in his lap. I don't dare disturb this wonderfully adorable sight. I just lean against the wall as I watch my daughter and her father bond. It couldn't explain in words just how happy Roger seemed when he just looked at Victoria. How proud he was to call her his daughter.

"How was the meeting with Syd?" Roger asked without even looking my way.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked.

"I've told you before, sunshine, I can always sense your presence. It's our lovers intuition"

"It was nice seeing him again" I tell my lover. I set my things down and join him and my daughter on the couch. "Syd did mention something to me though"

"Yeah? What did he say?" Roger asks, looking towards me.

"He brought up how he has a new album coming out next month, and he let it slip that you and David helped him with it"

"Damn it, Syd" Roger cursed under his breath.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, putting my hand over his knee.

"I didn't want you to feel like you were left out" He begins to tell me. "You were pregnant, darling, and it was hard enough watching you tour when I desperately wanted you to rest. You're not mad at me, are you?"

"Of course I'm not, my love" I assured him. "How could I be mad at you when you were only looking out for my well-being?"

Roger smiles and leans in to kiss me. "I'm glad you understand. Promise me next time you get pregnant, you'll sit that tour out?"

"If it'll make you happy, then fine, I promise"

...

Victoria was put down for the night. Roger and I were getting ready for bed when the doorbell rang. The two of us looked at each other. We weren't expecting anyone this late. I leave the bedroom to go answer the door. I was quite shocked to find that it was my mother. I was also shocked when I saw her face all swollen and bloodied. "Mum, what happened to you!?" I ask her.

"Oh, I just fell—" She started with her excuse but I stopped her.

"No, you didn't fall down the stairs, mum!" I snapped at her. "Don't lie to me"

Mum sighed. "It was Steve. He got drunk again and took his anger all out on me"

"Come on, let's get you inside" I said. I wrap my arms around my mum and bring her into the living room. She settles on the couch while I go to fetch her blankets. Roger finds me. "Rog, can you fetch some towels? One warm and one dry?" He didn't even ask me what was going on. He just fetched what I needed him to fetch for me. I go back to the living room with the blanket for mum. "Here" I said, wrapping the blanket around her.

"Thank you, sweetheart" Mum said. Roger came back with the towels in hand. He was just as shocked as I was to see the state my mother was in.

"Francine, what the hell happened to you?" Roger asked her.

"Who do you think happened?" I asked Roger. I took the wet and warm towel from Roger and started dabbing my mum's face with it to get off the blood. "You're staying with me, mum"

"Oh, sweetheart, I don't want to impose" mum insisted.

"Mum, he could've killed you!" I snapped at her. I didn't mean to snap at her, but I was just so frustrated that she always came up with an excuse as to why Steve hurts her, or that she always excuses what he did.

"What do you want me to do about it, Margaret?" Mum asks me.

"Press charges against him" I beg her. I could see my mum considering my words. She wanted to do it, I could tell that much, but she was also scared. "Mum, I promise you'll be safe from him"

Mum sighs. "Alright"

Roger stays with my mum while I go to phone the police station. I dial the number and wait for an answer. "Hello?" I spoke when there was answer. "Yes, I'd like to report an assault. The victim is my mother, Francine Turner, and she'd like to press charges against her husband, Stephen Turner" I was quite pleased when the officer on the other end said he'd like to go through with the arrest. I gave up the address to the officer. When the call was over, I hung up and made my way back to the living room where Roger was tending to my mum's wounds. "Good news, the police are on their way over there to arrest Steve now"

"Do you think I made a mistake?" Mum asked me. "Maybe you shouldn't have called the police"

"I think you made a mistake marrying him" I tell her honestly.

"Sunshine, now is not the time for that" Roger warned me.

"No, no, Roger, my daughter is right" Mum said. She sighed as Roger cleaned up the last of her wounds. "Perhaps it's time I look at divorce" I couldn't even begin to describe the weight that had been lifted off my shoulders when my mum finally said that.

...

About an hour had passed since I made the call to the police. Roger offered to stay up with my mother while he insisted I try to get some rest. Just as I had made myself comfortable in the bed, the doorbell rang. I sighed, bolting out of bed as I went downstairs to answer the door. I opened it and was greeted by the sight of a police officer. "Can I help you, officer?" I asked him.

"Sorry to interrupt your night, ma'am, but I'm just following up on a call you made earlier this evening" the officer explained.

"Yes! Please, come in" I invite him inside. The officer nods and steps inside the house. I walk him into the room where my mum and Roger were. "Officer, this is my mother, Francine"

The officer became visibly upset at my mum's injured face. "Mr. Turner did quite the number on you, ma'am" He commented.

"Did you arrest him?" Mum asks.

"We did" the officer confirms. "Turns out, Stephen Turner has quite the history of warrants dating so far back as to twenty years ago" I can't say that fact shocked me. A man as violent as my stepfather was sure to have some criminal history to him. "Now, we won't just be charging him for your beating, Mrs. Turner, but for murder charges as well"

There was quite the audible silence after the officer said that. It was so quiet, you would be able to hear a pin drop. "I'm sorry, murder!?" I asked. "When did he kill someone?"

"It was back in '46" the officer explained. I almost couldn't believe it. My stepfather turned out to be a goddamn murderer. I could say I was surprised, but I really wasn't. I'm just glad my mother didn't turn out to be one of his victims, or my siblings, or even me. And who knows. It could've been a matter of time before my mother ended up dead because of him. The officer thanked us for our time before leaving. I closed the door and looked at my mum, who seemed just as surprised as Roger and I both were.

"Did you know about that mum?" I asked her.

"I had no idea" mum said. I believed her. "Oh, sweetheart, had I known, I would have never brought him into our home. I never would've..."

"Married him?" I finished for her, to which my mum nodded. This was a lot to take in for one night and it all felt so overwhelming. I excused myself, saying I was going to head back to bed. My head started to spin and before I knew it, I blacked out and fell to the floor.

...

When I finally came to again, I was in my bed. Roger was sitting beside me, patting my face with a cold wet towel. "You gave me a scare there, sunshine" Roger said. He leaned forward to kiss my forehead. "You just passed out. I thought I was worried, but Francine pushed me out of the way and wouldn't let me near you"

"Well, she did used to be a nurse" I said.

Roger smiled and chuckled. "But she wasn't being a nurse, sunshine. She was being your mother. The only way I could get her to calm down was to go check on Victoria"

"I can't believe Steve actually killed someone" I said, still trying to wrap my head around the fact. "If he had killed my mum..."

Roger put the towel down and cupped my face. "But he didn't. She got out of that house and did something about it before he could, and quite frankly, I'm proud of your mother for doing that. You should be too"

"I am"

"Get some sleep, sunshine" Roger tells me. "I'll join you in a few minutes" He leaves the room. My eyes begin to feel heavy and I close them, letting sleep overtake me.

...

I head into the kitchen the following morning where my mum is already cooking breakfast. Roger was with her, talking to her as he sipped on his morning tea. As soon as my mum noticed me, she stopped to greet to me. "Morning, Maggie" she said.

"Morning mum" I greet back, sitting at the table with Roger. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"There's some throbbing in my face but I'll be fine" mum said. She placed plates full of food in front of Roger and I. "But overall I'm relieved"

I smile up at mum. "I'm really glad to hear that, mum"

She leaned down to press a kiss to the top of my head. "I met my granddaughter this morning. She's perfect"

"Where is she?"

"She woke up crying, needing a nappy change. After I changed her, she went right back to sleep" mum explained. "She'll probably be hungry when she wakes up again"

"Victoria loves to sleep it seems" I say with a giggle.

Mum smiles at me and touches my cheek. "She gets that from you, sweetheart. Now your brother on the other hand, poor thing had terrible colic. Would not stop crying"

"And what was Ronnie like as a baby?"

Mum chuckled as she waved her hand. "Veronica was happy as long as you gave her a toy to keep her occupied"

"Franny, are you still coming over to my mum's for Christmas?" Roger asked my mum.

"Oh, of course, my dear!" Mum said, clapping her hands together. "I can't wait to meet the woman who raised such a sweet boy" My mum's words made Roger blush and nearly choke on his tea.

"Mum, you're gonna end up choking my boyfriend!" I warned her.

"If he does, I know how to save him. I am a nurse after all" mum said. We all sat down and ate breakfast together. Just as I finished my plate of food, I could hear Victoria crying. I could tell from that cry that she was hungry. I excused myself to go feed her.

I got to Victoria's room and picked her up out of her crib. I sit down with her and pull my nightgown down so that she can latch on and start feeding. At some point the door opens and Roger walks in. He crouches beside me and whispers in my ear. "You better save some for me" he jokes.

"Roger!" I scold, playfully hitting his arm. "Don't be naughty in front of Victoria"

Roger chuckles. "It's not like she can hear me" He looks at Victoria and gently strokes the top of her head. "Your mum was telling me how she'd like to return to nursing"

That news made me perk up. "She should. She loved being a nurse and taking care of people. Steve made her quit"

"Sunshine, this whole thing got me thinking and there's something I need to ask you" Roger told me.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"Well, I know Billy has a temper and some nights I can hear him yelling at you" Roger begins to tell me. My stomach drops. I can tell where this is going. "And I just have to know. Has he ever hit you?"

"Roger..." I say, but he briefly cuts me off.

"And please, don't lie to me"

I didn't want to lie to Roger, but in this case, I had to. "Roger, he's never physically hurt me before" I manage to speak like it's the truth. "And if he did, you know you're the first person I would come to"

"I know" Roger says with a sigh, taking my hand in his. "I just worry and the thought of anyone hurting you like that, not just Billy, makes me sick to my stomach" He brings my hand up to his lips and kisses it. "I'll always protect you, Maggie. From Billy, or anyone else that dares try to hurt you"

And that's exactly what I was afraid of. I've witnessed Roger punch a fan just for saying crude things to me before. What would happen if I told him what Billy did? He would kill him! And I can't lose Roger by having him locked up for murder. That's why it was best for everyone if I just kept my mouth shut about Billy's physical abuse towards me.

#roger waters #roger waters x ofc #roger waters fanfiction #pink floyd #pink floyd fanfiction #maggie robinson #dlmn #my oc

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