Borrowed Time: Saving John Lennon - A Beatles Fanfic

Chapter 4 - COME TOGETHER

It had been almost a month since their initial conversation on the back patio of Tyler's house. The day after that conversation, both had come into work looking over their shoulder, albeit figuratively. They expected at any moment to be called into an office, their private conversation somehow picked up on. But the day went by completely unremarkable, as did the next day, and the day after that.

Once they realized they were in the clear, they began meeting up regularly, each time delving a little bit farther into their growing plan. It was Holly that had first brought up John Lennon, and Tyler seemed optimistic about it.

"Well your Lennon idea is looking better and better," Tyler said after taking a sip of his fountain soda. The pair were meeting today at a roller rink while Tyler's kids skated. "I think it's something I could keep from setting off any alarms with the timeline monitors."

Holly's curiosity was piqued. "So how exactly would you even know if I tried to change anything?" Holly asked. "If I go and wipe out the Holocaust wouldn't everyone just simply have that event erased from their memory?"

Tyler laughed. "Well, yes and no. All of us who will be monitoring your time jumps will be immune to any changes in the timeline, as long as we're inside the lab. If you were to go prevent the Holocaust, the rest of the world would never know it happened in the first place, but we in the lab would know. Not only that, we would be alerted that it had been erased."

Holly's eyes were as big as saucers. "That's incredible."

"Yes, well that's why it's so important to make sure that what we decide on is something I can keep out of the timeline monitoring," Tyler explained. "That way no alarm bells go off when you make the change."

"So, that's it?" Holly asked incredulously. "We're gonna go with John Lennon?"

"Unless you have a reason not to."

Holly shook her head. Her entire life had been peppered with all things Lennon. She had come in this world only hours before he had left it. She grew up in the shadow of being born on December 8, 1980 - the same day John Lennon died.

She remembered asking her mom about John Lennon, wanting to find out more about this famous musician that left the world as she was entering it. Her mom had pulled out a VHS copy of A Hard Day's Night and popped it in the VCR. With that, Pandora's box had been opened, and from then on Holly spent her days wanting more. More music, more information, more of everything Beatles related.

Holly had been surprised to find herself leaning towards George when asked who her favorite Beatle was, but the draw to John was always there. She may have had a teenage crush on George, but John created some kind of orbital pull which Holly couldn't get away from.

On her 19th birthday Holly had made her first trip New York City, and she felt her skin tingle as she walked into Strawberry Fields. Knowing that particular section of Central Park had been John's favorite gave Holly a sense of belonging; a sense of connection to him. From that point on she made a point to visit at least once a year, many times using her birthday as an excuse to go mourn John with other people who felt the same as her.

Holly had periodically wondered how different things would be if John had survived. It was one of those "what-if" questions that most people wonder in regards to various events in their own life.

"Do you need a refill?" Tyler's voice shattered Holly's trip down memory lane.

"Hmm?"

"Your soda," Tyler motioned to her cup. "Do you need a refill? I'm gonna go fill mine."

Holly brought the straw of her cup to her lips and took a sip. "No, I'm good. Thanks."

When Tyler returned they continued their discussion, deciding that Holly would be in charge of the "how," and Tyler would be in charge of making sure her travels wouldn't raise any red flags.

Saving John Lennon had suddenly jumped from a lifetime of wondering "what-if" into an actual, real possibility.