If Only You Knew

Don't Stop

Lee's POV

Once the small struggle of getting two car seats and diaper bags onto the 7th floor was over, I was able to relax. I plopped down into the thick pleather chair, exhaling a heavy sigh as I caught my breath. My nana immediately went to Junior's car seat to pick up the crying child.

"You tired?" My papa rasped from his hospital bed.

Like always, I had to fight my tears as I gave him one good look over. He lay in the bed with tubes and wires everywhere. He looked so pale, so wrong. This was all wrong, it absolutely killed me to even have to do this.

"Very. How you feeling?" I asked once I stood, dusting off my jeans.

"I'm ok. Give me my baby." He looked to my nana. He held his hands out, reaching for LJ who was still crying while a pacifier sat on his tongue.

"What's the matter, fat man? Who did it?" He spoke once the baby was secure in his arms.

"Be careful, Michael."

"I got this. The other one sleep?" He made eye contact with me.

"No. He stopped crying right before we got in here." I explained as I took my other son from his car seat, feeling that he was wet.

After noticing the frustration on my face, my nana offers to change him for me. Of course, I obliged with no pushback because I was tired.

Lester has been in New York for the past three days and the twins have been showing their asses since the day he left. At our last doctor's visit, they let me know that they were teething. I understood that they were uncomfortable during this time but damn, they wouldn't be quiet for anything.

LJ continued to fuss as he sat up on my papa's lap. His little lip quivered making me swiftly scoop him from his great grandfather.

"I know baby, I know. You want your toy?"

I gave him his teething toy, which thankfully was still pretty cold, and watched him slowly calm down once the cool sensation hit his mouth.

"It must be nap time." Nana spoke from the bedside hospital couch bench.

She was now bouncing a fussy Legend whose cries were growing louder as his little hand gripped her shoulder as tight as he could. She patted his back a little and at first, it calmed him down but he was quickly back to weeping.

"I'm sorry, y'all. I know you asked me to bring them but I didn't think they'd be acting out like this." I sincerely apologized as the embarrassment crept in.

"Stop all that. They are fine, I wanted to see the lil ones." Papa fussed before letting out a big cough.

Nana was at his side in the blink of an eye, giving him water from one of his many bedside cups. Once his breathing was regulated he laid back down and gave me a warm smile.

"Hey, little girl." He joked reaching out for me.

I took his hand, feeling how dry it was. Looking down I noticed that his skin had a vapid appearance, his veins were evident as they poked through his thin flesh. My eyes burned as I sniffed, trying to keep it together for everybody in the room.

"Look at me."

I looked up, to see his sunken eyes. I'd never seen his face so chiseled, he looked so feeble. There was room for my nana in the bed, and I knew she'd laid in here with him plenty of times.

"It's gone be alright. I'm taken care of, you just get them together. Linda, let me see the baby." I laughed as I wiped a little bit of the snot that threatened to leave my nose.