Borrowed Time: Saving John Lennon - A Beatles Fanfic

Chapter 1 - THE END

December 8, 1980

Holly stood in the crowd, as she had been for the past hour, trying to blend in with the handful of fans that were outside of the Dakota. She cupped her hands over her mouth and breathed out, slowly trying to warm her fingers. Glancing at her watch, Holly looked around anxiously. She could practically taste her own heartbeat, it was so strong in her chest.

Over the past hour she had idly chatted with a couple of people as they all mingled on the sidewalk in front of the Dakota. People seemed excited, hoping to catch a glimpse or get an autograph. A few held on to copies of the new album, sharing their opinion of the new songs with each other.

"Any minute now," Holly thought to herself.

The limo pulled up to the curb right on time. Holly wandered a few yards away from the entrance, attempting to distance herself from the crowd. She knew she needed to be out of the way and utterly inconspicuous when it happened. The limo sat motionless for a moment, then the door opened a few inches and immediately closed again.

"Come on, come on," Holly whispered under her breath. "We went over this. No changing shit!"

Finally, after a good 60 seconds, which seemed like an eternity, the limo door opened again. Yoko stepped out first. She quickly glanced side to side and made room for John to step out of the limo. Holly watched as Yoko looked directly into John's eyes, and then turned and made her way towards the alcove of the Dakota's entrance.

John lingered a bit behind Yoko, as the fans and commotion were wont to make him. Holly could tell he was trying to look for her in the crowd without making it obvious. She had the overwhelming urge to shout his name, but stopped herself.

It was only six hours earlier that she had sat with him in his apartment seven stories above and had their most recent conversation to go over the final plan.

Even though Holly was a good distance from John she could still see that he was hesitant; a bit stiff. This man, who she had technically only met a few months ago, was trying his best to follow her plan - a plan created by a girl he had known over half his life.

John's eyes darted around as he moved towards the building. His steps were small, almost timid as he approached and walked past the small crowd of fans. Doubtful that anyone other than her noticed, Holly still worried that any change to the timeline could cause unwanted repercussions.

"You got this," Holly whispered, as she closed her eyes apprehensively.

The initial sound was louder than she had anticipated, yet the sounds that followed were somehow softer, more muted. Holly opened her eyes wide after the first shot rang out and the screams began. She saw John's body stagger under the momentum of being hit, and she gasped involuntarily. She stifled the urge to run towards the chaos; to run to John. She couldn't risk being seen, being stopped, and most importantly being questioned by the police when they arrived.

The sound of yelling, feet scuffling on pavement, and cries were all Holly could hear. Craning her head forward, she tried to get one last look into the alcove, but John was no longer within her view. She could only see the throng of people now surrounding the shooter. Holly knew she needed to leave because the cops would be there momentarily. She would have to wait to find out if all of her months of planning had been worth it.

As more people were making their way towards the Dakota in response to the gunshots and commotion, Holly had made it even farther down the block towards the Olcott hotel where she had been renting a room for the past week. She needed to know that their plan had worked and John was still alive. The TV and radio would be her best bet for information at this point.