⇢ CHAPTER 57

days. Four. Unbearable. Days.

There was barely any food or water for the group after the second day passed. The group had resorted to eating berries Holly swore she remembered wouldn't kill them. And although she had volunteered to hunt the animals, too, the group decided against it in case Holly lost herself in the woods. Not that Holly cared anymore-- and that's what worried the group. 

The minute Alexandra Caroline Grey died, Holly felt a piece of her die, too. After all, Lexie was the first person she became friends with after joining Seattle Grace-- the first person to silently wish she and George got together, the first person to be there for her after April left to move in with Reed, and the first person to be there when George died. The first person to listen to everything Holly said, which hurt more once Holly realized she didn't hear what Lexie's last words to her were. 

Her last words.

And it didn't help that Mark began to cry out for Lexie at night, clearly hallucinating her figure watching over him. It was the dehydration that caused such hallucinations, along with Jerry, Meredith, Derek, Cristina, and Arizona, who all began to think they heard helicopters coming to rescue the group before Holly would tell them to snap out of it. 

So while the rest of the group slept, excluding Cristina, who struggled with insomnia and paranoia, and Holly, who tiredly kept faith and prayed. She prayed-- prayed to the group to be saved or for her death to be quick, she didn't know how much more of the waiting game she could take.

"Please," Holly whispered, her dry lips separating as she inhaled and looked up at the sky before closing her eyes, "help them."

"Holly." A familiar voice called out, making Holly immediately open her eyes to see her dead almost-fiancee in front of her. It brought more pain to see him than it would relief, but at least he was there now.

"George." She whimpered, blinking as her eyes hurt yet no tears were able to form. She smiled lightly, attempting to sit up higher on the rock she leaned on.

"Holly," George smiled weakly, placing a hand on her cheek; and although she could see him do it, she barely felt it, "you gotta keep going, okay?"

"I..." Holly paused, speaking the first thing that came to mind instead of what she wanted to admit, that she felt no reason to keep going, "I've missed you." 

"I'm not here, Holly." George clarified as he crouched down to get closer, "You know I'm not."

Meredith, who was a few feet away from Holly, slowly opened her eyes upon hearing a one-sided conversation. Her eyes moved to Holly to see the redhead reaching out, attempting to grab something out in the air-- her hand looking as if she was caressing it.

"It looks like you are." Holly whimpered, reaching out to touch George's cheek and sighed sadly upon noticing she couldn't before shaking her head, remembering her current predicament, "I can't keep doing this."

"You won't have to for any longer." George admitted, placing a hand over hers before getting up, "Help is coming."

Holly's eyes followed George's figure as he began to walk away before she muttered, "No." He turned around at the sound of her beckon, "P-P-Please don't go." She shook her head, "Not again, come back."

George smiled tightly, his eyes meeting hers as he spoke, "I love you."

"Get back here, George O'Malley." Holly's eyes glossed with tears as she attempted to get up but the pain in her side prevented her from doing so-- either way, she straightened her posture, trying to appear strong although her voice wavered, "Please." 

"Help is coming." George attempted once more to get her to look on the bright side before walking away again.

"George!"

"Live, Holly." George turned around, making Holly see his figure begin to fade, "Live."

"N-No." Holly sobbed tearlessly, watching him disappear in front of her, "George, please." Upon seeing nothing again, she brought her eyes back up to the sky as she whimpered, "Come back."

✦✦

"Other than a head lac and a cut that needs stitching on her side, she's pretty much fine." The doctor at Boise Memorial commented as she nodded to a nurse, beginning to remove her gloves before she noticed Holly, her patient, mutter in her unconscious state. 

"Lexie!" Holly yelled as she abruptly sat up and opened her eyes, shocking the doctor and nurses that surrounded her, "I... I have to find Lexie."

"I'm sorry?" The doctor asked, placing a hand on Holly's shoulder to keep her calm and placed on the bed.

"Lexie." Holly clarified, her eyes darting everywhere around the room, "I..." Holly's eyes widened as she remembered where she needed to be before she brushed the doctor's hand off, "I have to get on a plane." 

"Ma'am," A nurse spoke calmly for her as she took a step in front of Holly to block her from leaving, "you can't leave--"

"I have to get on a plane." Holly repeated forcefully, squinting at the nurse in front of her.

"Ma'am," The doctor intervened, "you were on a plane--"

"I have to get on the plane, !" Holly yelled, trying to push the doctor away as the woman placed her hands on either side of Holly's arms, "Let me go!"

"Let's get the sedation ready." The doctor nodded at the nurse with widened eyes as she held onto Holly, who was fighting with all her might to make the doctor let her go.

"Just get me on the plane! I need to get to Lexie-- I can't... I..." Holly shook as delusion sat in before flashes of Lexie's corpse under the junk of metal plagued her mind, "I need to get to Lexie."

"She died." The doctor revealed as they began to restrain her to the bed, "I'm sorry, but she's gone." The doctor watched as Holly stopped fighting them, allowing the nurses to restrain her easier. The doctor saw Holly's eyes grow numb as she stared up at the ceiling, muttering something she didn't catch, "I'm sorry?"