Resurrection Hour - Hidden in Ice(Nanowrimo)

Chapter Thirty-Six

Soon, they had the lock broken open and were staring at a satellite phone and even a CB radio. Xavier's face split into a huge grin. "Bingo!"

Hannah wasn't quite as ecstatic. She wanted to hear the dial tone first before she got her hopes up. But that still didn't solve their predicament. The cabinet didn't have the codes to the doors.

Xavier picked up the phone and held it to his ear.

"Is there a dial tone?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Oh, thank god." She let out a sigh of relief. Maybe now they could get a hold of someone who could get them out of here and stop the pandemonium upstairs. "Who you gonna call?"

"Ghostbusters?" he said with a grin.

She slapped his shoulder and chuckled. "No, seriously."

"I'll try emergency services."

For the first time since everything happened, she felt a wave of peace wash over her. They were going to get out of this. They were going to go home. And she'd have a chance to finish living her life. Hopefully Cheryl was holding on upstairs, and they were still safely in the backroom.

"This is Xavier. We need help at the Finley's Research Station. A virus has taken over the base, and we are losing people. Please send armed forces to extract us from the base."

He paused a moment, seemingly listening to the voice on the other end, and suddenly the energy in the room shifted and she couldn't say why. "We're in the bomb shelter in the basement." He listened again. "No, we are trapped down here. We can't find the code to open the door."

Not much else was said before he hung up the phone and turned to face her, pulling Hannah into his arms. "There, sweetheart, help is on the way."

"Isn't that what they said before?" she asked. "And they never came."

"They said we should hear from them within 24 hours."

She pushed away from him, needing her space. "So help isn't on the way?"

"They have to follow procedure and protocol. They said they'll let us know soon what the ETA will be and what to expect."

"Are you sure?" Something didn't feel right in her gut. And her woman's intuition was often right on the money.

"Come on, let's relax and have a drink," he said, pulling her towards the couch in the lounge, tripping slightly over his feet. "We can have some fun while we wait."

She grinned wryly, despite the fears rushing through her. "You really are a lightweight, aren't you?"

He sat down and pulled her onto his lap. She didn't have the strength to fight him this time and settled comfortably on his lap. "What are we doing, Xavier?" she asked.

"I want to make you forget your worries for a little while," he said, slipping his hand behind her neck and running his thumb along the tender spot below her ear. "Did you know you have a freckle right here?" he asked, kissing it.

She shivered at the warmth of his lips against her skin and couldn't prevent a moan from escaping. It had been so long since she allowed a man to touch her before coming up here that she'd almost forgotten what it felt like. She'd never wanted it...couldn't stand it after what happened before. But Xavier never made her feel evil or worthless, unlike her family or other people they knew.

Wanting to forget all about the predicament she was in, she straddled him. She needed this...needed to know that she was more than her past mistakes and more than her present losses.