A/N: I just wanted to say that when Holly had any memories of Michael erased, memories of Scranton were also erased. That should clarify a point made in this chapter. Anyway, this chapter is still setting the story up, but things will be moving on shortly.

And we'll all float on, ok.
And we'll all float on, alright.
Already we'll all float on.
No, don't you worry, we'll all float on.
Alright, already, we'll all float on.
Alright, don't worry, we'll all float on.

- "Float On" by Modest Mouse

Holly knew that the upcoming weeks would be difficult, but she was determined to be strong. She had lost her family; she had lost her AJ and her baby. But as much as that hurt, she had to keep going. It was tempting to give up and just collapse into a pile of sorrow, but she knew she couldn't do that.

She got up every morning, determined to continue living her life. She went to work. She focused on her job. Sometimes she went out with friends. What she had lost was never far from her mind, but she didn't want to let that define her.

It was hard, but she managed to do it. Sometimes she missed them so much that it was almost unbearable, but she was able to get through her day-to-day life.

It was a few weeks later when Holly and her co-workers received the news. Even though Dunder Mifflin, or rather, what was left of Dunder Mifflin, hadn't been doing well for awhile, it still came as something of a shock. However, Holly suspected what the news would be by the look on their boss' face when they had all entered the conference room that day. And she had been right.

The entirety of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company was being shut down.

She ran into David Wallace after work that day.

"Holly!" he called out cheerfully.

She turned around and faced him. She smiled, "Hi, David."

"How have you been?" He asked. Holly wondered the same thing about him. The last she had heard, he had just been laid off and hadn't been doing so well. That had been several years ago, of course.

"I've been alright," she said, deciding not to share the details of her personal life, "The company is closing, though, so I'm out of a job."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," David looked concerned.

She shrugged, "Could be a good thing in a way. I get to have a new start, of sorts."

David looked thoughtful for a moment, "You know, Holly, I started my own business about a year ago."

"Oh, cool," Holly smiled.

"We do publishing. Manuscripts for novels, stuff like that. We've recently gotten bigger and have the need to hire a human resources rep. I sort of manage that stuff now, as well as the general overseeing of the company, and it's gotten to be a lot. I mean, if you're interested…"

"Where are you guys based?"

"New York. It would mean moving, of course, and I know it's a lot to think about."

Holly nodded.

"Here," David said, "I'll give you my number. Think about it for awhile, and then give me a call."

She reflected on David Wallace's offer for the next several days. It was nothing short of a miracle that she had been offered a new job on the very same day that she had lost her old one. David had sent her some information on his company, Recollection Publishing. It was legitimate; they were a small business that had been growing steadily recently. The fact was that this was a job, and she was in need of one.

Still, New York. It would be a big change. She had lived in New Hampshire her entire life, and while she had visited the Big Apple, she had never considered living there before. She was a small town girl, and the idea of moving into a big city made her nervous.

On the other hand, this might be exactly what she needed right now. It would be a fresh start. Maybe she needed to get away from Nashua. It represented everything in her life that was gone. She and AJ were no longer happily married, on the verge of starting a family. Now the reality was that she was a widow who was no longer going to be a mother, and every day she spent in Nashua was a reminder of that.

She suddenly decided that she would take the job. It would mean starting over in a whole new environment, but maybe that was exactly what she needed. She would call David in the morning.

A month later, everything was falling into place in regards to her new job. She had put her house on the market, and while it hadn't sold yet, she had found an apartment in New York. It was a few blocks from work, and the neighborhood seemed nice.

On that particular day, she stood alone in her now empty house. Everything had either been sold at yard sales or packed away to her new apartment. She stayed where she was for awhile as she recalled all that had happened in this house. She remembered AJ and their plans for the future; she remembered the life that she had thought she would spend the rest of her days living. She remembered that terrible night when the officer had shown up at the front door with the news of AJ's death, and she willed herself not to cry. This house held numerous memories, and she smiled as she recalled ones of days that she and AJ had spent together.

She stayed liked that for awhile and then walked through the front door for the last time. She sighed, got into her car, and began the drive to New York.

Soon enough, she fell into something of a routine at Recollection Publishing. She arrived in the morning and made her way to the back cubicle that was hers. David always greeted her with a smile, almost looking apologetic. Holly wondered what he had to be sorry for; he had given her a job, after all. His looking apologetic didn't make sense, and she often wondered if she was imagining it.

She handled paperwork about policies and procedures. Sometimes employees came to her with problems that they were having, and she would patiently listen as they spoke to her, offering suggestions when appropriate.

And at the end of each day when she returned to her apartment, it almost felt like home.