Thanatos crept down the hospital corridor, doctors and nurses passing him without looking up. It was a good thing no one could see him; he didn't particularly enjoy talking to doctors anyway. He always disliked hospitals, with their bleach-white walls and the nurses' painted sympathy, but he always tried to put off visits to children's hospitals in particular. He had never liked having to take kids to the underworld, even now, when the child mortality rate was much better than in Greece. But still.
He silently let himself in to room 206, where a mother and father crowded around a young girl. She was pale and thin, no older than five, and so unbelievably frail that it almost pained the god to look at. Her mother and father flanked either side of her, holding each of her hands. A grandmother stroked the girl's soft blonde hair. A doctor stood by, staring at his watch. Everyone was silent, save for the pained sniffles of a family trying to hold back tears. Somehow, their little girl was smiling.
"Mommy, daddy, granny, It'll be okay." She looked around at her family, and then at him. It was rare dying people could see him, and it sent a chill down his spine. "There's an angel here to take me to Heaven."
Thanatos was about to say something, but at that moment his Ipad dinged. He hesitated for a moment, but was too relieved to put off this job to ignore the message altogether. He silently slipped back out into the hallway, finding a Skype message from his boss.
"Thanatos, come see me immediately. It's urgent." Short, sweet and to the point, but when it was 'urgent', it was never a good thing. Even more worrying; Hades rarely ever interrupted him while he was on the job. He sighed a bit, putting away his apple device and stepping away from the room. He stopped for a second, then turned around and stuck his head back in. The girl was still there, barely alive, her parents crying over her. She looked at him, smiled again.
And he was glad to whisper to her, "Not yet."
Within the hour, he was kneeling in front of his lord's throne. The place was barren, cold, lifeless. Homey to him, but too quiet. Of course it would be, Persephone was with her mother this time of year. His wings fluttered behind him. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
Hades rolled his eyes. "Stand up, Thanatos." He staggered to his feet, and Hades growled, "You know exactly why you're here," He was unsure whether to crack a joke or not. Sure, he'd known Hades for thousands of years, but he seems serious this time. He scrolled through the last few weeks of his work. Was it the girl in the car crash? The kid who caught measles? Ebola? Who had he killed that he wasn't supposed to?
"I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate." Hades sighed deeply, pausing a moment beofre finally, sternly speaking.
"Thanatos. Stop sending me selfies."
Whatever tension was in the room drained immediately, as the god of death burst into laughter. "/That's/ what you called me in for, Hades?"
"I'm serious, Persephone is getting suspicious." He sounded a little nervous and a little annoyed at the same time, and that only made Thanatos laugh harder.
"Come on, Hades, does your wife really dislike art that much?"
"You send me like three a day! I'm serious Thanatos!"
"What are you going to do, fire me?" Hades sighed and rolled his eyes again.
"Get out of here, Thanatos. I swear to my brothers I'll block you if you send me any more of your selfies."
The god grinned, spreading his wings. "We'll see about that." And with that, he took off.
And there was no way he was going back to that hospital.