𝓐𝓼 𝓦𝓮 𝓛𝓪𝔂

Ch. 21: Behold

"Nevaeh Grace & Halo Elijah. Keeping it biblical I see, I love it - I'll leave you two alone for a spell to bond but I'll be back to check on him. We'll do the hearing test in the morning when Veronica gets in. In the meantime enjoy your boy...Peace out" he chuckled as he headed for the door. We sat in silence as I continued to feed Halo, Maurice just watching and swooning at the sight. He checked his watch for the time, then pulled his phone out. I seen him scrolling before he put the phone to his ear & waited.

"S'up Erica" he said after a brief wait. "I know it's late but I was calling to tell you your nephew is here...Yeah, she did so good. Fighting sleep as we speak" he chuckled as he looked over at me, seriously losing the battle with the sandman. "So far so good. He's going to sleep too...Yeah y'all can all come in the morning, I called everyone earlier but no one picked up....Bet, I'll see y'all later...Love you too...Bye" he said as he hung up and put his phone back into his pocket. He stood up & took the baby outta my arms.

"Go on to sleep Babe, I got him" he said before he placed a sweet kiss to my forehead. I was thankful for him & that despite the fact that our son had a mix of both of our big ass heads, I didn't need stitches. So this sleep I was about to partake in was about to be some of the best I've had in months! I lowered the bed flat & laid down on my stomach as gently as possible. He laughed at the little shimmy I did before I got comfortable. I seen him sit down on the the lil' bed area he would be sleeping on for the next few days, holding our son on his lap.

That was the last thing I saw before everything faded to black from me closing my eyes & drifting off to sleep. I was awaken by a nurse that came back to check on me & the baby. I looked over at the clock and saw that I legit was fucking some sleep up. It was a little before midnight when I went to sleep & now it was close to 8AM. I glanced around the room confused before it finally registered in my brain where I still was. I seen Maurice off to the side, his nose was red like he had been crying & was trying to hide it from me once he seen me looking at him. He patted Halo's back, who he held close to his chest. The baby was whimpering & kinda fighting his sleep but that wasn't what seemed to be bothering Maurice.

"What's wrong boo?" I innocently quizzed in almost a panic noticing his behavior. I sat up quickly & swung my legs over to the side of the bed, ready to get up. Dr. Johnson came over seemingly out of thin fuckin' air to me with a look on his face that I couldn't read. So between that & Maurice I was shook.

"Ok, y'all are making my nerves fucking bad...What the hell is wrong?!" I asked again raising my voice as my irritation grew quickly. My eyes darted back and forth between the both of them just waiting for some kind of response.

"We did the NHS while you were sleeping, Maurice wanted you to rest" he paused & I could feel my stomach sinking quickly. So much so that I was starting to physically feel ill at the impending news..."Denise, Halo failed his screening. Now it's still early so it could very well be fluid on his eardrums...or..." he responded as he gripped his clipboard. I felt like all of the air left my lungs & I felt faint, so I stayed seated to try to regain my composure.

"Doc, are you saying my baby is deaf? Like...You're telling me my son can't hear?! Won't hear?!?!" I stood abruptly & damn near ran over to Maurice. He didn't resist & handed our son over to me. Sensing that I needed to be close to him to process the news. I cradled my precious boy & wondered why? After all the losses and all that it fucking took to finally get to this point. Why Lord? I looked up from my baby searching Dr. Johnson's face for something...Anything but he still was un-readable.

"I can't answer that truthfully right now, Denise. There were a few spikes during his screening but not enough to pass...I know this news isn't what you both wanted to hear but at this moment they are what they are...We have to act diligently for Halo's benefit, that way if it's something other-"