Borrowed Time: Saving John Lennon - A Beatles Fanfic

Chapter 17 - HELLO LITTLE GIRL

March 27, 1974

Holly looked around trying to make heads or tales of where she was. Her heart was still racing, her breathing heavy. She certainly was not expecting to leave under those circumstances nor with such little preparation.

This most recent visit had been different than the others. She felt as if she had gotten closer to John. Holly had been prepared to stay for a few extra days simply because she was having such a good time. Now she was left with an unsettled feeling in the back of her mind.

The drug bust by Sgt. Pilcher was not supposed to occur that way, nor on that date. This change must have something to do with Holly's visits - there was no other explanation. With this realization it would be logical to assume that there could be other changes as well.

Holly took in a deep breath to try and clear her mind. Simply by smell alone Holly could tell she was near the ocean. She had programmed her jump to take her to the preplanned location of Hawaii. Looking around Holly saw numerous cargo boats and ships all docked and floating in place.

Making her way down the dock, Holly came to a large parking lot. It didn't take very long to get from that parking lot to a main road, and from that main road she was able to flag down a taxi to take her to the airport.

Unfortunately the first available flight to Los Angeles wasn't until the next morning, so Holly purchased a plane ticket and then booked a room at the hotel next to the airport.

She had nothing other than her handbag and its contents. Her large bag with all of her clothes and other personal items had been left behind at Paul's home, five years ago. Feeling exhausted and a bit defeated, Holly popped in the hotel gift shop and bought a new flowy, floral dress - very beachy and very Hawaiian. At least she would have a clean outfit for tomorrow.

••••

The following morning Holly was en route to Los Angeles. The plane ride took a little over five hours, and not long after landing, a taxi dropped Holly off outside of the Oceana Hotel on Ocean Avenue. The day was young, and Holly knew where John would be. Should be. She was still concerned over the change in the timeline during her last visit.

Could it have been a fluke? Did it affect things that occurred afterwards? Holly thought to herself.

She let out a sigh and shook her head. There was no sense in worrying about any of that until she needed to. Her hotel was about five minutes from the house that John should be staying at. She knew later that evening John would be in a recording studio along with Harry Nilsson. Holly also knew that this period in John's life was fueled by drugs and unpredictability.

Walking towards John's rented Santa Monica home, Holly could hear the ocean waves crashing. The sky was a crystal blue and the weather was absolutely perfect. John's house was easy to find even though it was rather unassuming. It was sandwiched between the ocean and an extremely large park, which separated the beachfront homes from the neighborhoods more inland.

There was no gate nor any noticeable security so Holly simply walked up to the main door and pressed the buzzer attached to an intercom. There was no answer.

Even though it was already 4:00 PM, Holly knew there was a very good chance that John and everyone else in the house might still be in bed sleeping off hangovers. Holly decided to buzz again. After a minute a female voice came over the speaker.

"Yes? Who is it?" the voice asked.

"Hi. My name is Holly and I'm here for John. He should be expecting me." Holly tried her best to sound confident.