THE BABY AFFAIR.
The characters of Early Edition donot belong to meetc.I have no clue about hospital rules or visiting hours which may be mentioned in this, atleast not in America. Please forgive any mistakes. This is only my 2nd EE fanfic,please read and review!
PART I:
Gary Hobson entered his office whistling. He was just setting down his cup of coffee on a table when his friend and partner in business Marissa Clark entered the room. "You seem to be in a good mood today! Did the paper give you a day off or something?" she commented. "You could say that," replied Gary. "Except a kid who breaks his ankle running a victory lap after winning a running race, there is nothing in the paper."
"When does that happen?" asked Marissa. "Oh just about an hour later. After that I am free as a bird, for today at least." Gary replied cheerfully and sipped his coffee. Marissa sighed. It was about time that Gary got some time off. He was always helping someone or the other, always on his feet. And what did he get for his efforts, nothing, not even gratitude.
Then an idea struck her and before she had even completed her thought, she had spoken out loud." Why don't you come with me to buy a gift for my cousin Esther's new baby? You can even come with me to visit her in the hospital." Gary replied as soon as he had found his voice, "No way! Come on Marissa, you know how I feel about little babies, especially right now! Besides I don't even know Esther, I've met her only once." Marissa couldn't help it. She burst out laughing as she remembered the incident that had taken place just a few days ago. Gary had just saved a young mother from accidentally dropping her baby and killing it. In the process of saving her, he had gotten her milkshake all over himself and she insisted on helping him cleaning it. She had given the baby to Gary to hold while she fished in her bag for napkins when the boy had decided that he didn't really like his lunch and promptly threw up on Gary.
Marissa finally stopped laughing and tried once more over Gary's protests. "Come on, I do need help choosing something for the baby, a girl. And like you just said, you are free."
Two and a half hours later, Gary wondered how he had gotten himself into this. He had successfully saved the teenager with nothing more than a scrape on the knee. But right after that Marissa, who had accompanied him, had dragged him into a big store and set him to the task of finding the perfect gift for her cousin's daughter. After ages trying to decide whether to buy a soft stuffed toy or a rattle, she finally bought both. Then they went to the baby clothes section of another store and Marissa was still deciding what to buy. Just then a young woman passing by stopped and asked Marissa if she wanted to buy the small pullover that she was holding, "If not, I would like to have that for my newborn niece." Immediately Marissa said, "of course you can have it." The woman smiled broadly and within minutes they were both in deep conversation on various types of clothes for baby.
Gary wandered down the aisle, looking at all the baby paraphernalia around him. He was going to choose something to give Esther for her baby. After all, he couldn't go empty handed.
Inspecting a small, multicolored scarf, he didn't see the young woman standing in the middle of the aisle till he bumped into her. She didn't even hear his apology and seemed to be listening or waiting for something. Shrugging his shoulders, Gary skirted around her and went towards Marissa. He figured that he had given her enough time to chat. If they didn't find something and leave for the hospital soon, visiting hours would be over. As he approached her, he could hear her telling her new 'friend' the hospital where Esther was and heard the other exclaim that her sister was in the very same place. They both were exclaiming over the coincidence when Gary reminded Marissa about the time. She nodded and said quickly to the other woman, "I have to go now; maybe I'll meet you in the hospital sometime." She already had chosen something with the other woman's help. They went to the cash counter but before they could hand over their purchases, the woman Gary had bumped into earlier rushed ahead of them. She had bought a small yellow scarf and matching socks. She asked the cashier if she knew about any place where clothes or baby stuff could be bought for lower prices, because, she confided in the girl across the counter, "I can't afford too much of these things and babies seem to need so much!" The girl smiled and told her that there was a place down the road where people donated their old things for the needy; they were mostly second hand but in good condition and were available at very cheap prices or even free. Finally the woman left and Gary and Marissa got their turn and the gifts were wrapped and paid for. As they left the shop, the fleeting thought came to Gary's mind that the woman he had bumped into had been listening to Marissa's every word.
Gary and Marissa walked briskly down the street and were at the hospital entrance when a man called out to Gary that he had dropped his paper. Gary looked back and saw it lying a few feet from him and went to pick it up. He was about to put it back in his pocket when a headline towards the bottom right of the page jumped out at him. He looked at it and gasped. "8-day old baby kidnapped from hospital." The first line of the article said, "Yesterday morning, in a daring daylight attempt, a young woman posing as a nurse stole ten-day old Marie Barrett from Country Cook Hospital at 11.15 am in the morning."
Without reading further, Gary looked at his watch, 11.10. He turned to Marissa who was waiting at the entrance. He grabbed her arm and pulled her inside towards the elevators. Luckily one was just opening. As soon as the man inside stepped out, Gary pulled Marissa inside it, hurriedly pushed the close button and the one for the fourth floor. He did not hear Marissa's anxious voice questioning him about his sudden hurry. Within moments they were rushing towards Esther's room. Gary only paused to ask an orderly the way to room 409. Fear clutched Marissa's heart when she heard this. She had tried to ask Gary what the matter was in the elevator but he had not replied. She had realized that it had to be something to do with the paper.