Chapter 2
Seth waltzed through the double glass doors, flowers in hand and a spring in his step. He'd been feeling all light and fluffy for the past 6 hours eagerly awaiting for the sun to come up so he could see his wife and take home his son.
He shuffled past a man pushing a woman in a wheelchair, nodding his head in a greeting and practically skipping past the front desk.
"Excuse me, sir?"
Seth turned around to see the receptionist beckoning him back to the desk.
"Do you have an appointment with us?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry," he said spinning around and retracing his footsteps. "Seth Cohen, I'm here to see my wife, she's on the 3rd floor."
"Let me check, one moment please." Leaning against the desk, he listened to the clicking of her nails against the keyboard and took in his surroundings. Doctors and nurses were bustling through the white halls as patients sat quietly in the waiting area, scanning magazines and staring mindlessly around them. His eye caught a clearly shaken man who kept glancing at the clock on the wall. His knuckles had become white from clutching the tiny pink teddy bear in his hand.
Seth smiled unintentionally as he glanced down at his own palm holding an identical teddy bear. The only difference was that his bear was blue. This man had obviously been to the corner store beside the hospital.
"Mr. Cohen?"
Seth turned abruptly to the woman, who was now smiling kindly at him.
"Go right up."
"Thanks," he said with a smile, before turning on his heel and gliding down the hallway towards the elevator.
A group of EMTs shoved past him towards the stairs, and he had to catch his balance on the guard rail against the wall.
"Damn," he muttered as he bent down to pick up the bouquet of lillies that had fallen from his hand. The elevator door flew open and he caught a glimpse of more hospital workers rushing after the EMTs as the doors closed shut.
He whistled and tapped the number 3 button. Settling back, he glanced over at the woman beside him.
"Hi," he said. She barely glanced up.
He was a little antsy, unconciously swaying back and forth as he glanced back at the woman.
"For my son." He held up the teddy bear in unnecessary explanation and grinned. The woman raised her eyebrows and began tapping her foot as they reached the 3rd floor.
"I gotta go," he said turning back as he stepped out of the elevator. "Gotta see my wife....and my kid."
Her unpleasant face disappeared behind the elevator doors, and with a shrug, he continued to whistle as he strolled down the hall. His tune slowly dwindled as he heard a commotion coming from the open door at the end of the cooridor. The same door he'd left his wife and child in only hours earlier. The gifts fell from his hands as he dashed towards the entrance.
The next few moments seem to happen in a blur.
All he could really recall was the sound of medical jargon as he first caught sight of his wife, the technicians now carrying her onto a stretcher. He caught glimpses of her as the doctors fussed around her. A dark red stain covered the right side of her face and blood was encrusted into her dark hair. Her hand fell limp as they placed her onto the stretcher.
Mouth gaping, Seth continued to stare in horror.
"We need to get her into surgery now! Wha--Get him out of here!"
Before he knew it Seth felt a pair of arms lace through his in an attempt to pull him out of the room.
"Wait! That's my wife!" he yelled frantically struggling to shake himself free. "Summer! Hey--oww! What are you doing, get off--SUMMER!"
He felt himself being dragged away and tried desperately to get to his wife as they wheeled her out after him and rushed in the opposite direction.
"I'm going with her!" he shrieked at the exiting doctors. "Get off! Let me go!" He was now out of breath and panting as he continued to struggle against the hold on him.
"Easy, guy!" The man holding his right arm loosened his grip as he tried to calm Seth down. "There's nothing you can do for her right now, just let the doctors handle it."
"I don't get it," Seth said, more to himself as he felt the tears brimming in his eyes. "What happened, what's going on?"
"I'm not sure," the man said calmly. "She was unconcious and had a nasty head wound when the nurse came in to check on her just a few minutes ago. It's possible she may have tripped and hit her head on something solid. We're going to do our best to stabilize her."
Seth stood staring at the direction of where his wife had gone, his eyes glazed and glassy.
"Um," he started choking back a sob, "Where's my son?"
"Huh?"
"My son," he repeated. "We were supposed to take him home today, I would like to see him, please."
The man stared blankly at Seth, a confused expression on his face.
"Uhh, are you okay? I know this trama may come as a shock to you, but I believe you are mistaken. Mrs. Cohen was here getting over an allergic reaction to penecillin."
Seth blinked back a tear and wrinkled his eyebrows.
"What?"
"I'm sorry sir," the man said apoligetically as he flipped through the clipboard in his hand. "But according to our records, Mrs. Cohen stayed overnight due to a severe allergic reaction.
Seth shook his head violently at the insanity of this man. "No, No no no no! I have a SON, I was in the delivery room early this morning, I SAW my son being born!"
"Again sir, you can check the records yourself, but according to this chart, Mrs. Cohen was not here for a pregnancy. We don't play with things like this, these records are never wrong. She did not have a child last night sir, she was here due to an aller--"
"Nooooo....no! His name is Dominic! He was right in this room! I want to know where the hell my kid is!"
"Please calm down sir, I'm sure that due to the immense emotional strain you're in right now--"
"You're telling me I imagined the birth of my son!"
The man paused a moment before giving him an apoligetic look.
"It's impossible, sir. I'm sorry."
Seth waltzed through the double glass doors, flowers in hand and a spring in his step. He'd been feeling all light and fluffy for the past 6 hours eagerly awaiting for the sun to come up so he could see his wife and take home his son.
He shuffled past a man pushing a woman in a wheelchair, nodding his head in a greeting and practically skipping past the front desk.
"Excuse me, sir?"
Seth turned around to see the receptionist beckoning him back to the desk.
"Do you have an appointment with us?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry," he said spinning around and retracing his footsteps. "Seth Cohen, I'm here to see my wife, she's on the 3rd floor."
"Let me check, one moment please." Leaning against the desk, he listened to the clicking of her nails against the keyboard and took in his surroundings. Doctors and nurses were bustling through the white halls as patients sat quietly in the waiting area, scanning magazines and staring mindlessly around them. His eye caught a clearly shaken man who kept glancing at the clock on the wall. His knuckles had become white from clutching the tiny pink teddy bear in his hand.
Seth smiled unintentionally as he glanced down at his own palm holding an identical teddy bear. The only difference was that his bear was blue. This man had obviously been to the corner store beside the hospital.
"Mr. Cohen?"
Seth turned abruptly to the woman, who was now smiling kindly at him.
"Go right up."
"Thanks," he said with a smile, before turning on his heel and gliding down the hallway towards the elevator.
A group of EMTs shoved past him towards the stairs, and he had to catch his balance on the guard rail against the wall.
"Damn," he muttered as he bent down to pick up the bouquet of lillies that had fallen from his hand. The elevator door flew open and he caught a glimpse of more hospital workers rushing after the EMTs as the doors closed shut.
He whistled and tapped the number 3 button. Settling back, he glanced over at the woman beside him.
"Hi," he said. She barely glanced up.
He was a little antsy, unconciously swaying back and forth as he glanced back at the woman.
"For my son." He held up the teddy bear in unnecessary explanation and grinned. The woman raised her eyebrows and began tapping her foot as they reached the 3rd floor.
"I gotta go," he said turning back as he stepped out of the elevator. "Gotta see my wife....and my kid."
Her unpleasant face disappeared behind the elevator doors, and with a shrug, he continued to whistle as he strolled down the hall. His tune slowly dwindled as he heard a commotion coming from the open door at the end of the cooridor. The same door he'd left his wife and child in only hours earlier. The gifts fell from his hands as he dashed towards the entrance.
The next few moments seem to happen in a blur.
All he could really recall was the sound of medical jargon as he first caught sight of his wife, the technicians now carrying her onto a stretcher. He caught glimpses of her as the doctors fussed around her. A dark red stain covered the right side of her face and blood was encrusted into her dark hair. Her hand fell limp as they placed her onto the stretcher.
Mouth gaping, Seth continued to stare in horror.
"We need to get her into surgery now! Wha--Get him out of here!"
Before he knew it Seth felt a pair of arms lace through his in an attempt to pull him out of the room.
"Wait! That's my wife!" he yelled frantically struggling to shake himself free. "Summer! Hey--oww! What are you doing, get off--SUMMER!"
He felt himself being dragged away and tried desperately to get to his wife as they wheeled her out after him and rushed in the opposite direction.
"I'm going with her!" he shrieked at the exiting doctors. "Get off! Let me go!" He was now out of breath and panting as he continued to struggle against the hold on him.
"Easy, guy!" The man holding his right arm loosened his grip as he tried to calm Seth down. "There's nothing you can do for her right now, just let the doctors handle it."
"I don't get it," Seth said, more to himself as he felt the tears brimming in his eyes. "What happened, what's going on?"
"I'm not sure," the man said calmly. "She was unconcious and had a nasty head wound when the nurse came in to check on her just a few minutes ago. It's possible she may have tripped and hit her head on something solid. We're going to do our best to stabilize her."
Seth stood staring at the direction of where his wife had gone, his eyes glazed and glassy.
"Um," he started choking back a sob, "Where's my son?"
"Huh?"
"My son," he repeated. "We were supposed to take him home today, I would like to see him, please."
The man stared blankly at Seth, a confused expression on his face.
"Uhh, are you okay? I know this trama may come as a shock to you, but I believe you are mistaken. Mrs. Cohen was here getting over an allergic reaction to penecillin."
Seth blinked back a tear and wrinkled his eyebrows.
"What?"
"I'm sorry sir," the man said apoligetically as he flipped through the clipboard in his hand. "But according to our records, Mrs. Cohen stayed overnight due to a severe allergic reaction.
Seth shook his head violently at the insanity of this man. "No, No no no no! I have a SON, I was in the delivery room early this morning, I SAW my son being born!"
"Again sir, you can check the records yourself, but according to this chart, Mrs. Cohen was not here for a pregnancy. We don't play with things like this, these records are never wrong. She did not have a child last night sir, she was here due to an aller--"
"Nooooo....no! His name is Dominic! He was right in this room! I want to know where the hell my kid is!"
"Please calm down sir, I'm sure that due to the immense emotional strain you're in right now--"
"You're telling me I imagined the birth of my son!"
The man paused a moment before giving him an apoligetic look.
"It's impossible, sir. I'm sorry."