Derek
There's nothing but white walls and plane décor.
They want me to tell them how I feel, but how can I say anything other than empty.
Emptiness is what I see.
Everyday I open my eyes to see color, something other than neutral colors and a splash of green.
I'm not crazy...
Well maybe little, but I'm only crazy about the people I care for.
No one here can seem to understand that I'm not crazy, that I don't belong here.
Sure, maybe I didn't take my mother's murder well. Drinking and getting arrested was not good, but get me therapy.
Don't leave me in a mental institution.
" How are you doing today, Mr. Jackson?"
Derek shifted in his seat, not wanting to talk to one of the many counselors on staff. One thing is for sure that he desperately wanted to get out of here.
" Don't call me that." Derek mumbled. He didn't like the formalities.
"Okay, How about DJ? You're a Junior right?" The counselor looked in his file as if he was checking to see what his name was.
Derek scoffed, frowning at the man. "You know my name." Derek thought to himself.
" I go by Derek. Just Derek."
"Derek, my apologies." He apologized. " How are you, Derek? Let's talk. You know the more you don't say the more likely you stay longer. Let's think about that as we move forward. We are only trying to help."
"I just want to see my girlfriend. That's it. That's what you can do to help me." Derek said simply.
All he wanted to do was lay eyes on Adrienne to make sure she was okay. Things did not end well the last time they saw each other. He's hoping that when he does see her, he could explain his actions, and promise to see a therapist weekly. He hoped she could forgive him and him to be there for her and for the baby.
" Your girlfriend? Her name is Adrienne right?" Derek wondered how he knew her name. " I spoke to your father. He tells me you two spend a lot of time together. Possibly the root of your anger."
Derek furrowed his brows. He didn't like the fact his father was prejudging her. He never met her. If he did he would see that Adrienne is truly the love of his life. Yes, Adrienne is going through a lot of pain, but as her man he wanted to fight for her. It's not like his father did the same for his mom...or Derek, who unfortunately couldn't.
" She's not the cause of my anger. Adrienne is the sweetest girl I know. She's innocent and loving...All I want to do is protect her and love her like she deserves." Derek explained.
The counselor wrote some notes down before continuing. " Sometimes Derek, people get angry at unfortunate events and when we can't contain our anger we tend to lash out. Have you ever lash out at Adrienne?"
Derek thought about the time, the couple of times he's scared Adrienne by grabbing on her or accidently pushing her. It's only been a couple of times but a couple times too many. He then thought about the dream he had. He couldn't imagine not being there for his child. He never wanted Adrienne or his baby to see him that way. He didn't understand why he got so angry. He wasn't like his step father was he?
"I've had my moments. I didn't hit her but...I didn't mean to." Derek became a little teary eyed. No matter how much he tried to put up a front, he is truly devastated that his life has come to this. He started to believe that maybe he could never live a happy life with Adrienne or with anyone.
" Is this why you all won't let me see Adrienne? You think I'm going to hurt her? I promise you I wouldn't. Not on purpose....She's pregnant, man." Derek cried.
This session has escalated much faster than the counselor anticipated, but was so glad it did, after days of silence. There was a long journey ahead for Derek. No one thought that keeping Derek from Adrienne would solve anything, however Derek's father made an effort to keep him away from her.
For hours, on and off, the counselors worked with Derek with his anger. It was long and draining having to express his feelings while also grieving the loss of his mother. Derek must say that he started to feel a little better. If only he could see his love.
________
Adrienne
" How about Harper for a girl...ooh what about Alex, it goes both ways for a boy or girl?"
Emery and Adrienne were discussing baby names while hanging out in her hospital room. Well Emery was, Adrienne just listened. Her friends were hanging out with her for the day while her parents went to go check on the little ones and run a few errands.
"Let's go, in your face James. Tyler, your punk ass next." Kevin laughed.
The guys had brought their PlayStation and were playing 2k in the sitting area.
" I don't Em. This should be something Derek and I talk about." Adrienne said softly. She was trying to get into but could get in the spirit of having a baby right now. "Besides I don't know what I'm having yet."
" I know it's silly. Just making suggestions. Plus the doctors know what you're having already, they're just waiting for the all clear to tell you."
" Yeah, I'm supposed to meet the new doctor later today. I didn't expect this to escalate to me getting a new doctor. I kind of feel bad for Doctor Green."
That morning, Doctor Green expressed to Adrienne, Diane, and Jason that a new doctor would be brought in to take over my case. He felt bad for triggering Adrienne's anxiety and wanted to remove himself before things got worse. It didn't matter that Adrienne protested against this change. She felt that now she knew that it was Doctor Green's hands that reminded her of the attack, she thought she could get over it since she was used to him.
" I'm sorry Em. I know I'm not being a happy camper, I just have a lot on my mind that's all."
Emery gave Adrienne's hand a squeeze and a sympathetic grin. Adrienne didn't have anything to apologize for but she still managed to say I'm sorry every ten minutes.
" You can stop apologizing, girl, I understand. You have a right to feel what you feel. You spent so long being silent and now you can let everything out in the open."
Adrienne looked down at her fingers that were toiling with the hospital gown she was wearing. Her growing bump was roundly poked out on display. Even under different circumstances she wouldn't have been able to hide the fact she was pregnant for long. Maybe everything had to come out the way it did. Regardless, Adrienne was in a state of mind of beating herself up over every little thing.
" Don't pity me, please. I get enough of that from my parents." Adrienne said softly before looking back up at Emery. She wasn't just saying sorry for how she's been acting these past few days, not even for the past two weeks, it was beyond that.
"I don't understand how you can be so nice to me...so present... After months of me being a selfish bitch towards you..."
" Adrienne..." Emery tried to interrupt but Adrienne wanted to finish.
" No Em, I haven't been a good friend to you." Adrienne confessed, her voice rising to over talk Emery. The boys quieted down hearing the girls voices rising.
" Stop this guilty shit you got going on, Em. I see what you're doing and it's not like you. Let's be honest, you deserve better than what I've given you. I've ignored you, I had an attitude with you, all because I selfishly wanted my way. So you found a friend in Ashley. So what you have James to confide in because dammit Emery, you deserve to have someone in your corner too. I've hurt you, Em, not the other way around and I'm so sorry for how I treated you, Emery. I really am." Adrienne felt relief after saying I'm sorry and meaning it. Spending so much time in this hospital room caused her to reflect on her life. She practically almost died from loss of blood during surgery only three days prior. She couldn't fathom leaving this earth without telling the people she loved that she appreciated them.
Emery wiped her eyes, now being the one to play with her own fingers processing what was said. She really appreciated Adrienne's words. It did put her mind at ease knowing that Adrienne still sees her.
" I appreciate you saying that." Emery said softly before speaking up again. " The reason why I can be there for you because once a upon a time you were there for me when my parents died. You were there when I was getting bullied and you were there when I found out my grandmother had cancer. You were a great friend to me even when I pushed you away so many times, so...I can't help but want to be there for you." Emery sighed then placed her hand over Adrienne's stomach. Instantly she felt the baby kick causing her to smile. Adrienne placed her hand over hers.
" I can't promise that this won't happen again." Adrienne said honestly. She wanted Emery to understand that Adrienne had a long road ahead of her. There might be a time where Adrienne will neglect her duty as a friend. It is never intentional. Yet, it was about time took responsibility of her own actions
" Hey well, friends fight and they drift apart. It's inevitable." Emery shrugged, causing Adrienne to look at her with sadness. " But too bad, I'm your sister because I'm not going anywhere."
Adrienne and Emery laughed together as they hugged each other. " I missed this." Adrienne spoke between laughs.
" We're always here when you need it." James said as he and the guys joined them after giving them their much needed time together.
" You know Kev clown ass can always get you going." Tyler joked as the two began to playfight each other.
" Nah all she gotta do is look at your ginormous head and get to laughing." Kevin joked back. " But on the real, whatever you need we got you. Especially until Derek gets back."
At the mention of Derek's name, her laughter and smile slowly dropped. She missed him dearly and was very concerned about him. Everyone was all hush hush about anything involving him. She wished everyone would just tell her like ripping it off like a bandaid.
"Can you at least tell me if he's okay? Something serious had to happen for him to not come and see me. He's either hurt or locked up somewhere because ain't no way."
"He's okay as far as we know." Kevin said simply not wanting to give anything away without the permission of Ms. Diane. They were respecting her decision to hold off telling Adrienne until Jason's team get more answers. Everyone just looked at each other trying to see if they should say anymore.
" It has something to do with Harry doesn't it? He's been adamant about Derek staying away from after what went down and his dad never liked me much because of all the time and money Derek was spending on me." Adrienne ranted.
They all didn't say anything. " Hello," Adrienne taunted. They still didn't say anything.
"Ask your mom or Jason." James concluded.
Like clockwork, waltz in Jason and Diane looking fresh and in a better mood then when they left that morning.
" Hey my baby." Diane kissed Adrienne on her forehead and went to put down her things just to be stopped by Kevin.
" Ms. Diane, How are you gonna threaten to whoop me and not come in and give me a kiss?" Kevin scrunched up his face and folded his arms in disappointment.
"Yeah you said you were going to put your foot up our asses." Tyler cosided, making the same face. James subconsciously joined in after realizing he didn't get a greeting.
" Uh uh I was her bonus baby first," Emery hopped up from where she sat and pushed Kevin out the way. " Move, let her put her stuff down so she can give me some lovin. That's what she was going to do anyway."
Diane rolled her eyes and went to put her things down. Just for her to turn around to all four of them waiting. " Have five kids just to gain four more. Come here girl." She gave each of them a kiss on the cheek and her attention while Jason checked on Adrienne.
" Why the long face, sweetheart? How are you feeling?" He kissed her forehead and let his forehead rest there for a minute. " Hmm? We weren't gone too long were we?" He inquired.
" No, you guys weren't gone long. I enjoyed spending time with them." Jason lifted his head away from hers to get a good look at her.
"But?"
" But I'm just missing, Derek, that's all." Adrienne gave him a small smirk to show she really was okay.
Jason had this glint in his eye that Adrienne felt like it was indication that he knew something. " Grandma made you some food"
For a second Adrienne forgot about her sadness as her mouth watered at the sight of containers of food. " She said to start with the chicken noodle soup first then you can have the pot roast, carrots, and potatoes for dinner. I say just eat the chicken noodle soup because the pot roast is too heavy but anyways... here." Jason opened the soup that was still warm. Mama Rose remembered when Adrienne enjoyed her pot roast dish so much a couple weeks ago. Back then Adrienne wasn't eating much but she sure did eat three bowls of that with no problem.
"You need some fruit and veggies in your system so she made you a fruit salad and this cucumber salad as a snack in between meals." He showed it to her and Adrienne instantly smiled, her stomach grumbling in hunger.
" Ooh y'all leave me alone." Diane laughed. " Ugh I hope the boys are not going to be this needy when they become teenagers." She joked.
She came over to the other side of Adrienne and sat on the bed. " Look at you being all excited about food. I'm so happy to see it."
" Can I eat the pot roast now instead of the soup Please?" Adrienne asked knowing that Jason literally was apprehensive of her having it anyway. Jason was over
"Nice try. You eat that soup first, like your Momma Rose instructed." Diane said, giving her that motherly look.
" Mhmm, she thinks she's slick. I outta take it away" Jason said from across the room. He was putting the rest of the food in the small mini fridge they had in a corner.
" No daddy, please don't take it away. I'll eat the soup."
Diane smiled at the two as Jason came back with a bottle of water. " No sierra mist?" Adrienne teased.
" Alright now Adrienne." Jason said sternly. " Between you and your mother, I don't know who's worse."
" What were you guys talking about? It seemed like Jason and I busted a bubble when we came in."
" Derek." James confessed. Diane knew it was coming. Jason and her didn't mean to withhold information on Derek, It was just, Adrienne was really sensitive right now and they didn't want to cause a panic.
" I'm sure you are worried." Diane started. Adrienne's eating began to slow a bit. " Well, Derek's mother died the day before your fight."
Diane wanted to say one thing at a time. " She died? Was she sick? He must be devastated. He planned on calling her to make things right."
" She wasn't necessarily sick...She was in recovery actually. Helena says she was more than likely clean for a little over 8 months. "
Adrienne's heart broke for Derek, she already can guess what happened. " She was murdered?"
Everyone nodded softly." Yes honey she was."
Adrienne pushed her food to the side. She was going to finish it but in the moment she wanted to grieve. She never met the woman nor did she ever speak to her. In fact for months she didn't know her name or the reason why Derek shuttered at the mention of her name. Yet she grieved.
" It's going to be okay, baby." Diane consoled her.
" I just want him to be okay." Adrienne cried. " Did you see him?" She asked the guys. She recalled a couple days ago when they left to go check on him.
" No, they wouldn't let us. He's in a mental facility." Tyler explained.
Adrienne gasped. " He must feel all alone in there"
" Don't make yourself sick. Try drinking some water." Jason suggested. Everyone was saddened due to Adrienne being sad. They all felt pain for Derek. Life wasn't being fair at all.
Diane wiped Adrienne's eyes and nose with a tissue. A snot bubble had formed, but Adrienne didn't see the bother. She accepted the sip of water so she wouldn't create a fuss. Once she was done, she pushed the food tray aside and got situated in bed to lay down.
" I just want to lay down for a while. The baby keeps moving around." Adrienne whined.
" You don't want to try and use the bathroom first." Adrienne shook her head no as she closed her eyes. The tears kept coming and they burned like acid. She was tired of crying but it was her only release. "You want me to lay with you."
Adrienne accepted her mothers persistence as she let her crawl into bed with her and cuddle her. " We should go." Emery spoke, wiping her own tears. Seemed like all she ever did was cry nowadays. " Hope you feel better soon girl." She squeezed on her covered feet to let her know she was there.
" We'll try and see him again, Adrienne, we promise." Kevin as he tapped her leg.
They all said their goodbyes and their love you's in their own way as they strickled out the door.
" How can I be this baby's mother and I can't even get myself together." She cried. Diane and Jason let her get her emotions out as they consoled her. " It ain't fair."
Adrienne cried some more. " I'm tired of crying." She tried sucking it up as she began to hiccup uncontrollably.
" I think I'm going to be sick," She announced. She sat up straight trying to suppress the sickness. Jason got the trash can and held it to her mouth. Diane held her hair and patted her back as what Adrienne just ate came right up.
Nurse Angela, Doctor Green, and the new doctor had knocked and walked in right when Adrienne finished.
There wasn't much of a greeting as all of them went right into caring for Adrienne. Nurse Angela went to dispose of the trash can while Doctor Green grabbed a cloth for her to wipe her mouth with and the new doctor grabbed a cup for her to gargle.
" Are you still feeling a bit squeezy still?" The new doctor asked. The new doctor was a woman, who stood around 5'7 or 5'8 feet tall. Her skin was of a deep umbre tone that had a natural glow. Her teeth were white and perfect as she smiled genuinely and confidently. Although wearing scrubs and a lab coat, her curves showed gracefully through her clothes. She didn't have to say much as Adrienne already felt comfortable around her, not due to the fact that she was a woman but because it already seemed like she understood. Her aura reminded her of how she felt when she first met Nurse Angela.
" Just a little." Adrienne sniffed as her sickness and emotions began to subside.
" Can we give her 1 mg of Abadine, please? That should help soothe your stomach." The new doctor said to Nurse Angela.
" Certainly, Doctor Moore." Nurse Angela teased. Doctor Moore blushed.
" I did say please." Obviously the two had an inside joke that they had going on.
" Oh boy. This will be interesting." Dr. Green Chuckled then brought his attention to Adrienne. " Adrienne, this is Doctor Stephanie Moore. She's the new doctor I was telling you about."
Doctor Moore greeted Diane and Jason with a handshake then Adrienne. " Doctor Moore is actually the hospital's President, so she is now my boss."
Doctor Moore rolled her eyes playfully. " Enough with this boss talk. You and my mother are getting on my nerves with that."
Adrienne smiled at the two, realizing that Nurse Angela was her mother. " Nurse Angela is your mother?" Diane asked.
" Unfortunately." Doctor Moore giggled. " I'm only kidding, Yes that beautiful woman is my mother."
Once the laughter died down, Doctor Green explained that Doctor Moore will now be the head of Adrienne's case and that he would be her number two. Her treatment will remain the same, she'll just have two doctors.
"I would like to check to see how the baby is doing. May I touch you?" She asked. Adrienne nodded her head as she watched Dr. Green leaves to get an ultrasound machine.
Dr. Moore felt around her belly before putting on her stethoscope to listen for the baby. " Heart beat is a bit faint but present. This will be a little cold sweetie." Dr. Moore announced before raising her gown a little to squeeze some petroleum jelly on her.
Dr. Green and Doctor Moore gear for a second as Dr. Green started the ultrasound process while Dr. Moore looked over Adrienne's heart again. " You think you'll be up for another pelvic exam?"
" Umm she had one yesterday" Jason spoke not wanting to get all riled up again after she just calmed down.
" Of course we don't have to have one if you don't want to. I only want to do a exam to match what is being described on the chart."
"It's okay Daddy." She reassured him. " I'm up for it but it does make me nervous. I give Doctor Green a bit of a hard time."
"Like I told you, Adrienne. It's alright." Doctor Green spoke with a small smile. " Let's see what's going on with Baby Scott shall we?"
While Doctor Green did the ultrasound, Doctor Moore got acquainted with everyone. Jason and Diane had no problem in relaying that they were newlyweds. Doctor Moore expressed that she and her husband were married fifteen years and had adopted a daughter that was a little older than Adrienne about five years ago.
"Wow, fifteen years? That's wonderful."Diane beamed.
" Fifteen long years, I married my highschool sweetheart. Although we get on each other's nerves sometimes, I would not change it for the world. That Gavin has been the love of my life for years..."
" Uh Doctor Moore," Doctor Green Doctor Moore over to take a look at the monitor. Adrienne didn't have time to think much of it as Nurse Angela came back in.
" Ooh I am so sorry baby. This floor was out of Abadine so I went downstairs to the pharmacy and chile that girl started to talk my ear off." Nurse Angela handed the medication to Adriene in her hand.
"Will it make me sleepy?" Adrienne asked,
"It shouldn't baby." Jason handed Adrienne her water bottle that she was sipping on earlier.
" You might want a nap after all this anyway" Diane mumbled to Adrienne. " You okay?"
Adrienne nodded. " Well the baby heart rate hasn't improved since the surgery. The baby's condition has basically become stagnant." Dr. Green explained.
Dr. Moore sat in front of Adrienne putting on gloves to get started on the pelvic exam.
" I thought you said as Adrienne got better the baby would get better." Jason said.
" I thought so, Mr. Owens. With Adrienne eating and getting the necessary treatment she needs, I thought I would see some improvement, however the stress has become a factor."
" There's two ways we can go about this. Keep waiting to see if the baby will make an improvement with necessary monitoring or take the baby to incubate." Dr. Moore explained.
Adrienne sighed in frustration. " Okay sweetie, Knees up and open so I can see."
Nurse Angela handed her daughter what she needed to examine her. " Slight pressure."
Adrienne gasped and immediately grabbed hold of Diane's hand.
" I'm sorry" She apologized. " Stitches are intact, however she's about 2 centimeters dilated Sac still intact." she confirmed.
" Do you think Adrienne can handle another surgery?" Diane asked.
" Yes, she can. However its you guys choice whether to move forward now or wait"
Diane looked over at Jason unsure on what to do then looked at Adrienne.
" Tell you what, If you want to know what gender the baby is, Will end today on a positive note and resumer tomorrow afternoon." Dr. Moore suggested.
" Okay." Adrienne breathed. " What am I having?"
" It's a Girl!"
_________
" Yo Andre, Mothafucker guess what I heard?" An inmate named Ash taunted. Ash has been trying to get under Andre's skin since he's been in prison.
Andre didn't even have to speak when he went to prison. Everyone respected him just by his name alone. A crew tried to form around him since he was the big dog in the streets but he wanted no parts of it. He mellowed out with proper medication and wanted to stay that way in order to not cause trouble.
In his silence, it made other inmates want to cause trouble with him, especially since a lot of them had grievances toward him.
" Aye fool you hear me talking to you?" Ash continued as he pushed at Andre's shoulders.
" What" Andre said with gritted teeth. On meds or not, he was still crazier than a motherfucker, as he'd been called.
" I heard that your daughter got piped." Ash laughed. " and I mean triple pipped."
" What did you say?" Andre got up in his face to make sure he was hearing correctly.
" I said, your daughter, Your oldest got pounded, you feel me? I guess someone finally got to her. Spent so many years denying her now look at you." Ash laughed again but suddenly stopped as he felt his pipe being squeezed then released.
Ash groaned then tried to attack Andre but he was too slow as Andre punched him then stabbed him with a plastic fork he was eating with. The force of the stab was at Ash's neck which caused the bleeding to be immediate. Sirens began blaring as Ash got on his knees and held his wound.
Andre cleared his throat and waited with his hands behind his back as security came rushing over. Inmates that were around began to get rowdy.
" Let this be a warning, bitch. If any one of you mess with my family, I will kill you. You hear me? You're dead." Andre yelled as the guards pulled him away.
___________
Yes Dr. Green aka Anthony Edwards from ER is playing Dr. Mark Green in my book. Couldn't help it currently on Season 5 lol
Denise Boutte playing Dr. Stephanie Moore (Broken Fans know who this is)
CCH Pounder as Nurse Angela