Chapter Three

Chapter Three: I Want Mummy 

Sarah was rushing toward the hospital entrance when a small figure collided with her legs.

She instinctively caught the little body before it could fall.

Looking down, her breath caught.

A boy, no older than five or six, stared up at her with the most familiar eyes she had ever seen. Round chubby cheeks, button nose, and a face that made her heart squeeze painfully in her chest.

He looked exactly like her son.

Sarah shook the thought away. It was impossible.

"What's wrong, little one?" She knelt down to his level. That was when she noticed the unusual flush creeping across his cheeks.

She reached out and pressed her palm gently to his forehead.

Her eyes widened.

This child was burning up.

Alex Reed felt something cool touch his head.

He forced his heavy eyelids open, his vision swimming as he tried to focus on the blurry figure in front of him.

"Hot...hot," he murmured, his tiny voice barely above a whisper.

"Sweetie." The woman's voice was soft and warm. "Where are your parents? Your temperature is dangerously high."

Maybe it was because he reminded her so much of her own son, but Sarah felt a sharp pang in her heart looking at him.

"Mummy...hot," Alex whimpered, his small fingers curling around Sarah's sleeve as he looked up at her with pleading eyes.

Sarah was stunned.

Then, slowly, she smiled. "I'm not your mom, little one. Do you know your parents' phone number? I can call them."

He answered by wrapping both arms tightly around her neck.

"Mummy," he called softly, his voice muffled against her shoulder.

Sarah exhaled slowly, a strange wave of emotions washing over her all at once. The fever was too high to wait any longer, and there was no parent in sight.

She called Madam Cassy and explained the situation.

Then she carried the boy and went to find a doctor. Even in his feverish daze, Alex would not let go.

His small fingers clutched her like she was the only steady thing in the world, and he kept murmuring the same word over and over again.

Mummy.

Sarah's heart softened completely.

Fine, she decided. I'll wait.

Just as the IV drip finished, the hospital room door swung open.

Sarah glanced over without thinking.

Then she stopped breathing.

Those legs. That silhouette. That face.

It was him.

The same man she had crashed into at the airport.

Nathan stepped forward, his sharp gaze cutting across the room until it landed on his son, curled against a strange woman like she was his entire world.

His brow furrowed.

"Is he your child?" Sarah asked carefully.

"Yes." His voice was cold and flat.

Sarah straightened quickly. "I found him at the airport. His fever was high so I brought him here for an IV drip. He's not allergic to the medication, I already checked."

Nathan's dark eyes settled on her face.

He studied her for a long moment, searching for any trace of deception. There was none.

Her expression was completely sincere.

He stepped forward to take Alex from her.

But the moment Alex sensed movement, his grip tightened like a vice.

"My mummy," he mumbled in his sleep, burrowing deeper into Sarah's neck.

Nathan went still.

Alex never did this.

His son was always quiet around strangers. Guarded. Unmovable. Yet here he was, clinging to a woman he had barely known for a few hours.

"Alex." Nathan's voice softened. "It's time to go home." He gently patted the boy's head, relieved to find the fever had calmed.

Alex blinked slowly.

His hazy eyes focused on his father's face, and his little mouth curved into a pout.

"Daddy."

Nathan reached for him but he refused to move.

"I don't want to leave Mummy," he declared, tightening his grip around Sarah's neck with surprising strength.

Sarah shifted awkwardly. "Little one, I'm not your mom. Your dad is here. Your mum is waiting for you."

Alex's eyes immediately filled with tears.

His bottom lip trembled. His expression crumpled into something so devastatingly pitiful that even Nathan felt it.

"Mummy..." Alex sniffled, staring up at Sarah. "Are you leaving me?"

His face said everything his words didn't. if you abandon me, I will cry right here and I will not stop.

Sarah caught Nathan's darkening expression and panicked slightly.

She looked down at the boy still fastened to her like a koala. "Hey, little one. Look at me carefully. I. Am. Not. Your. Mommy. Go to your daddy."

"No!" Alex's voice cracked. "You ARE my mummy!"

Sarah looked helplessly at Nathan.

Nathan's grip tightened on his son's hand, his voice low and firm. "Alex. Let's go."

"I don't want you!" Alex cried. "I want my mummy!"

Nathan's expression darkened another shade.

His gaze slid to Sarah, cold and suspicious.

Who exactly was this woman?

The tension in the room was reaching its peak when the sharp click of heels echoed from the corridor.

Then the door burst open.

"Alex! Alex, my baby — how are you?!"

Emma rushed in, her face streaked with tears, hands frantically reaching for the boy. "Let Mommy check you over. Are you alright? Where does it hurt?"

Her performance was flawless.

Alex's expression changed instantly.

His face scrunched up with pure, undisguised disdain.

"You're not my mommy," he said flatly. "Go away."

Emma's eyes flashed with fury.

If Nathan wasn't standing right there...

She reined herself in. 

Forcing a trembling smile, she pulled him firmly into her arms. "Alex, baby, are you confused? The fever must be making you say strange things. I'm your mommy, sweetheart."

"No you're NOT." Alex squirmed violently, pointing one small accusing finger across the room. "SHE is my mummy."

Emma looked up and the world stopped.

The color drained from her face so completely she looked like a ghost of herself. Her heart slammed against her ribs so loudly she was sure everyone in the room could hear it.

Sarah.

Sarah was supposed to be dead.