Borrowed Time: Saving John Lennon - A Beatles Fanfic

Chapter 19 - I FOUND OUT

December 3, 1980

It was a bright and sunny day outside, but Holly was stuck observing it through the large windows of the Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro.

Hours earlier, Holly had awoken long before John or any of his housemates. She stuffed a few of May's borrowed outfits into a small travel bag, and then with a few taps and scrolls on her phone's screen Holly was no longer in Los Angeles, and no longer in 1974.

Various announcements came through the airport speakers in a string of different languages. She had about six hours to kill before her flight to New York, and as she snacked on a few french fries, Holly thought back to the previous night and her conversation with John.

She smiled at the memory of him resting his head on her shoulder, and for a brief moment she missed him. His mood that night had been a bit more subdued than it had the rest of the visit. Mentioning that he missed Yoko seemed odd with how happy he appeared to be with May, but Holly knew that John's eighteen months with her would end with him going back to Yoko.

Holly let out a small sigh. The thought of Yoko brought her back to the situation at hand. This visit would be her first meeting with Yoko, and she had no clue how Yoko would react to her.

This visit also had the most riding on it. John's potential death was only a few days away, and Holly couldn't help but feel nervous about it. She wondered what was going on in the lab back home, curious if any of her minor changes had sounded any proverbial alarm bells.

When Holly arrived in New York City it was early in the evening. She was exhausted from her travels, but as the Dakota building came into view from her cab Holly's heart started to beat a little faster. She was excited to see John but had no real way of contacting him just yet. She decided to check into the Olcott Hotel down the street, get a good night's sleep, and then work on contacting John tomorrow.

••••

The next morning Holly woke up to a chilly December day. Her first stop was to buy a winter coat and gloves and then she headed to the Dakota building.

There was a small crowd standing around, likely hoping to catch a glimpse of John. Holly considered approaching one of the doormen by the large gate to ask if they would relay a message to John, but that thought died as quickly as it was born. Those men must hear that kind of thing all the time.

It took two hours, but Holly's patience finally paid off. John and Yoko came through the opening in the large iron gates and walked onto the sidewalk a few yards away from Holly. People pulled out cameras and shouted his name, holding out pens and paper.

"John!" Holly shouted, but her voice blended in with the others. "John! It's Holly!"

One of the doormen stood guard next to John and Yoko making sure no one crowded them, and Holly walked up as close as she could. John's back was to Holly, posing for a photo with a fan. When he turned back, Holly reached past the doorman to touch John's arm.

"John!" she called out.

The doorman immediately grabbed her hand, and John turned to see who had touched him. His head tilted and a smile grew across his face.

"Whoa, whoa, it's all right!" he said to the doorman. "Leave her be. I know her!" and he moved to stand directly in front of Holly.

Somehow Yoko hadn't noticed the small commotion, and she was still standing at the curb waiting for their car to arrive.

"Christ, that took long enough, didn't it? I suppose you came now just to hear my new album?" John had a big smile on his face, but Holly couldn't see his eyes through the tinted lenses of his glasses.