"Hanna! I need you to get here quickly! It's an emergency!"
Hanna jumped to her feet the minute she heard the panic in her best friend's voice. Liza never got this worked up unless it was an absolute emergency.
"Wait, where are you going?" Hanna heard her date ask as she turned to walk off. Shit, she had forgotten he was there.
She didn't even want this date to happen, but here she was stuck with a man twice her age who only talked about golf and hookers. She was going to kill Liza when she got home. It was her idea the whole time and Hanna didn't even want to do it. Come to think of it, why had Liza insisted so much? This man was clearly not Hanna's type. She stored that question away to answer at a later date.
"I have to go Seth. Family emergency." She left him sputtering behind her as she hurried from the restaurant, ignoring the stares she was getting. She was used to stares. She had been getting them since she hit age 15. Dirty old men, jealous old ladies, and horny guys.
If she had to be completely honest with herself, she knew she could be defined as beautiful. Wavy black hair that brushed her waist, brilliant blue eyes that could pierce a person with a single look. She had high, firm breasts that stood proud on her chest, right above her narrow ribcage. Followed immediately by that was a tiny waist with full child-bearing hips. She ran almost daily so her legs were nicely toned.
Yes, Hanna thought she was quite beautiful, and she often used this beauty to her advantage. Recently however, she just couldn't bring herself to ensnare any men. She guessed her conscience was just beginning to finally bug her. That's why she couldn't believe it that she agreed to this blind date that Liza had set up. The only reason she finally agreed is because she needed to get out of the house. All she ever did anymore was sit around watching movies and playing games.
This wouldn't be so bad except, Hanna had a two year old son; Joshua. This made the movies and games slightly less appealing. I mean, there are only so many times you can watch Veggie Tales and play Candy Land before you want to rip your hair out.
"Not that I don't love the kid, but sometimes I just need to get out."
Telling herself this was what finally convinced her to go out. However, she made Liza swear to not let anything happen tonight with Josh. Seems like she didn't stick to the one rule laid down for her to follow.
As Hanna rushed to her car, her cell phone began buzzing in her hand. She answered the phone at the same time as she climbed into her car. Clicking her seat belt, she answered.
"Hello?"
"Hanna! I forgot to tell you that we're in the hospital so that's where you need to go." Her friend's voice came from over the line. The hospital? Oh God, this just kept getting worse.
Without saying goodbye, Hanna clicked the phone closed and took off out of the parking lot. Praying she didn't get stopped at any lights or by any cops, she sped as fast as legally allowed to get to the hospital.
The hospital was on the other side of town, and held a lot of good memories for Hanna. She had worked there for 2 years, since Joshua was born. Everyone there absolutely loved the dark-haired little boy. Hell, half of them helped to deliver him and take care of him. She hoped that those good memories weren't about to get ruined by what had happened to Josh.
"Please let him be okay. Please let him be okay. Please let him be okay." She kept repeating in her head. Over and over. She couldn't keep her mind from wondering to what kinds of horrible things could have happened. What if he broke something? Or ruptured something? She couldn't handle losing him. She loved him so much. He was all she had left from her disastrous teenage marriage. What would she do if she lost him?
"Stop!" She commanded herself. It didn't help to think about what-ifs. She was almost there now and would see what had happened.
Pulling into the parking lot, she had trouble finding a parking place. The hospital was busier than normal for 9 at night. Usually there were fewer people. Barely remembering to lock the doors as she rushed out of the car, she ran through the doors to the reception desk.
Laurie was there tonight and made as if to greet Hanna.
"Please, I just need to see my son." Hanna said, breathless.
Laurie nodded somberly and stood up to lead Hanna to the appropriate room. Immediately, Hanna took this as a bad sign. Laurie never did anything that she didn't have to do. The slightly overweight brunette was very sweet, but extremely lazy. If it was something small, Laurie wouldn't have led her, she would have just told her the room number.
As they got nearer to the room, Hanna started to notice something odd. There didn't seem to be very many people around. The hallways were deserted. What was more odd is the fact that when they got to room 119, it appeared as if the lights were off. Opening the door, Hanna saw that they were in fact off.
"What'sā" Hanna started to ask Laurie, but at that moment, the lights were turned on and her question was cut off abruptly by a loud noise coming from the room.
"SURPRISE!"
Hanna turned in shock as all of her coworkers jumped out from behind medical equipment as the lights were turned on.
She turned to see Laurie laughing at the dumbstruck look on her face. "Today's your two year anniversary with us and we wanted to let you know how much we love you and love having you here. It was all Liza's idea." She explained.
At that moment, she heard a squeal from the level of her knees.
"Mommy!" Joshua yelled as he hugged her around the legs.