How I Been

Part 4.6- UPDATED SO RE-READ

Jamal was woken up the following day after Hector's parole hearing around 11AM. The specialist was finally in the building and wanted to have a consultation with Jamal before the surgery. Around 11, Hector was supposed to be back in his cell, so Jamal called him while he waited for the doctor to come in.

"Good morning, daddy," Jamal groggily greeted as he got up to take care of his hygiene.

"Morning, baby. You just woke up?" Hector asked, staring at the screen.

"Yeah," Jamal replied, yawning. He entered the bathroom, opened his hygiene bag, and took out his toothbrush.

"Oh, okay. You ain't hear from the doctors?" Hector asked, concerned. Jamal shook his head as he began brushing his teeth. He wasn't worried; they were supposed to come in a few hours, and he wasn't feeling sick or dizzy, so he didn't mind.

Jamal brushed his teeth, listening to Hector hum. After he finished and rinsed his mouth, he grinned and asked, "You wanna keep me company while I shower?"

"Don't start no shit you can't finish," Hector laughed, but he reluctantly agreed to keep his boyfriend company.

The shower was quick or at least it felt quick. The couple talked about anything and everything. Jamal shared that he couldn't wait to get home to use his own shower because the hospital one was disgusting.

As Jamal was drying his body, he heard a knock on his door.

"Baby, that might be the doctor," Jamal said, relieved.

"Mmm, go see, puss," Hector encouraged.

Jamal hurriedly dried himself and picked up a fresh gown from the little closet the hospital provided. He told Hector not to be ignorant while the doctor spoke, if it really was the doctor.

Jamal opened the door, and to his relief, it was a doctor, a new one, accompanied by his old one.

"Hi!" Jamal chirped, suddenly feeling shy.

"Hello, Mr. Clark. I'm Dr. Williams. I'm sorry it took me so long to get here," the tall white man said, smiling charmingly at Jamal. To be honest, he was very attractive. Jamal was pulled out of his bubble by Hector's humming.

"Oh, it's okay! Thank you for being here," Jamal said, stepping aside to let the doctors in.

"Okay, we scheduled your surgery for 4 PM that's in about five hours. Before then, I need to run some more tests on you. We will have you monitored, and the babies will be placed in the NICU until we determine it's safe for them to go home with you. Are you okay with that?" Dr. Williams asked.

"Hell yeah, he okay with that," Hector piped in. Jamal laughed and tried to lower the volume.

"Hector, shut your ass up," Jamal whispered. "Yes, I'm okay with that! I need them out today. I want to see my babies," Jamal said, smiling at the doctors.

"Okay! I'll be back here in 30 minutes, and we'll begin prepping you for surgery," the doctor said, offering goodbyes before leaving Jamal and Hector alone again.

"Well, I was excited, but now I'm nervous," Jamal admitted. His anxiety was spiking. He was finally being released to have his babies, but that meant facing the harsh reality of one of their deaths. And who knew how the other two would be outside of his womb? They were premature, after all. He didn't know how he was going to handle surgery or if he'd even be okay. It was a lot of unknowns, and he was definitely starting to feel it.

"I'm nervous too, baby. But I have faith in the doctors. You're going to be okay. I love you," Hector said, trying to lift the mood, but he knew when Jamal started spiraling, it was hard to turn him around.