They entered the hospital and began to walk in, hoping to avoid the front desk altogether. However, they were quickly stopped. "Excuse me?" a nurse said sternly. "Can I help you?"
Landon smiled politely, giving a small. "We're just visitors. We're here to see my sister's newborn."
He frowned. "I'm sorry, but I think you need to sign in..." Val's lower lip trembled, and she cleared her throat. "Can we sign in after? Apparently..." She swallowed, holding back tears, and struggled to get the words out. "I'm sorry... but... the baby doesn't have long to live. We just... we need to see her before she goes.." The nurse blinked and cocked his head in sympathy. "Oh, I'm sorry..."
Landon put his hand on her shoulder, nodding sadly. "It's true... they've tried everything but it just.. hasn't worked."
"Can we please just go in?" Val said tearfully, anger staining her voice. "We gotta go see her before she.." She held back a sob and turned her head into Landon's chest, her shoulder's shaking. The nurse sighed. "Hurry," he muttered, gesturing over his shoulder.
They got through, and Val instantly dropped her facade, wiping away the fake tears from her eyes and pulling away to stand up straight. "I think the pediatric's lounge is fairly close to general care," she said as if nothing had happened.
They approached the nursery, where through the window were dozens of newborn babies, each with a timer on their wrist. Val's expression softened, but she refocused. "We're going to go in. Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," she said, turning the door handle. They entered the nursery, and Val approached on of the babies, hovering over them. She paused before frowning. "Landon..." she said slowly. "Come look at this."
She picked up a baby's wrist gingerly and pointed to the timer. "Look." Up close, it now looked more like a tattoo than a timer. The numbers weren't moving.