You might need a cold drink after this one.

After giving both her son and her sister's son an earful of scolding, Batoulah ushered the two over to her office making a mental note to never give the boys their football any time they are around the hospital again.

She wondered why Hayra even let them come along with it since she was is about to take them to school. She waited in the office along with the two while they kept her company. They didn't mind one bit, especially Hayra's son who liked his aunt Batoulah because according to him, she's the cool one who gives him and his cousin all the junk he wanted.

Eventually Batoulah got lost in her trance, watching the two kids bicker around in her office, her eyes set particularly on Hayra's son. There was no denying that the boy is his father's son, judging from the way he looked exactly like Aasim.

"Mom, Hammad took your stethoscope" Came her son's voice, as he pointed an accusing finger at his cousin.

Hammad glared at his cousin, "Snitch" He muttered, making sure Batoulah didn't hear him so he won't get an earful of scolding from her. "Aunty B I just wanted to try it" He said, pouting slightly; the stethoscope on his neck bigger than his small size.

Batoulah threw her son a warning glare, "Your cousin did nothing wrong" She's starting to wonder where the boy got his stubborness and this will in him to look for trouble. His father isn't like that. If anything, his father is a calm man despite everything.

The boy looked down. He wasn't expecting her to say that.

Batoulah then turned to her nephew. "Tell me Hammad, do you want to be a doctor?" She asked, her voice soft.

The boy was quick to nod, a face splitting grin taking over his features. "Yes"

"Just like his parents" Batoulah muttered, ruffling the boy's hair slightly. "I have no doubts you'll be a great doctor"

"You think so?"

She nodded. "Of course. I know that"

Her son groaned from beside them, staring at the two with his face scrunched up. "We have too many doctors in this family" He stated, shaking his head. Kids often tend to choose a career path right from the moment they stared to understand the things around them like that, and in most cases they all have on career.

Medicine. Everyone wants to be a doctor.

That boy however, he was different. If anything, he hated medicine. Sometime, Batoulah tend to wonder where he got that attitude too. Certainly, he didn't get it from her, and she's sure it wasn't from his father either.

"What do you want to be then?" She asked, chuckling slightly at his antics. She had asked him that question several time as he grew up, yet he always have a different career that he wanted to be.

He tapped his chin, pretending to think about it. He then snapped his fingers, a grin taking over his features. "An astronount!"

Batoulah chuckled. The last time he said he wanted to be a pilot and now, that. But, she wasn't complaining. At a point, he once stated that he wanted to be a taxi driver.

The guy just loves to be behind the wheels. Yet she had no doubts that she wouldn't entrust her car to him until he's eighteen else, only the wheels will return to her. She has no doubts about that.

"Ugh" Hammad stared at his cousin as if he had grown two heads, "Why an astronaunt?"

The boy shrugged, "I don't know" He geuninely doesn't. He just picks up on things he thinks are cool then claim that he wants to be that. "But dude, they go out of space, how cool would that be if I were to go there?"

Hammad nodded, humming slighly, "Yeah and if you do, please send my regards to our grandparents"

This earned him a glare from his cousin. Batoulah chuckled at their banter. They remind her of when she and Hayra were kids, before their lives changed drastically.

Before she could dwell in the past, the door was opened and then Hayra came in with a soft smile on her lips. After saying her salaam, she spoke. "Come on boys, let's get you to school before you're tardy"

Hammad took off his stethoscope. "Momma, he said he wants to be an astronaunt" He pointed his finger at the other boy who threw him another glare.

"Really?" Hayra smiled at the boy, "Well, I think that's cool"

That earned Hammad a tongue stuck out from his cousin to which he shook his head and muttered, "How childish" Under his breath.

Hayra and Batoulah chuckled at the two, before they bid Btaoulah farewell and leave. The minute they were out, Batoulah sighed and headed over to her coat hanger. She took on the overcoat she had on and then shrugged on her white coat. She has a surgery later that day, so she would head to the lockers later to change into her scrubs.

Picking up her stethoscope, she headed out and started her rounds. An hour passed by before she was done seeing her outpatients and hence, decided to check on Zayn's father. She is not his doctor, as she isn't advanced enough to handle those kinds of tasks.

In simple words, he does qualify for it since she's a fellow but obviously for someone as high as Alhaji Danbatta, a bigshot doctor will be given to him for optimum performance.

Still, she thought of checking up on him at least for the sake of knowing Zayn.

The man is still in the ICU for as far as she knows, and when she went there, she couldn't spot any of his family members in sight. She knew the members of the family, given Hayra's relationship with them and on more occasions than one, she had met Sabrina and Hanif before.

But they weren't there.

"That's odd" She muttered to herself as she turned around to take a peek at the room, through the transparent window. A small smile made it's way to her face at the sight she saw. Until the actiosn registered in her head, and that had her staggering back with eyes wide as saurcers.

She knew she had to do something, but it was like she's stuck there. She couldn't move nor tear her gaze away from the sight.

~*~

Zayn's didn't know what to think. So, he discarded that thought. It wasn't important to him one bit since he has nothing to do with Batoulah.

After that, Hayra said she has nothing more to tell him so the two went their separate ways. Though there was still that nagging feeling in him that there's still something she knows and she's not telling him.

He doesn't get it.

Why won't everyone just tell him what they know at once so he could have some peaceof mind. But of course not, they just have to drag him on and let him be in the dark for long for reasons he does not care about. They obviously enjoy amking life hard for him.

Sighing, Zayn drove back home to get that rest that he promised his sister he would get. He took a shower first, then crashed on his bed and surprisingly, he was out cold not long after.

He doesn't know how long he spent sleeping. But when he woke up, the sun was out high. Blinking numerous times to get rid of the sleep, he checked the time on his phone and realized it was half past 1pm. So, he got out of bed and went to the bathroom to perform ablution and say his Zuhr prayers.

When he was done, his stomach rumbled so he slipped into his flip flops and headed out, heading towards the kicthen to get something to eat. Thankfully, the refrigeration is still stocked with the food that his mom brought, so he microwaved it and sat on the a stool by the counter, eating it all in a matter of seconds.

Just as he went to fetch water, he heard the front door fumble and then, it opened. He froze in his steps, head whipping in that direction just in time the door was slammed shut. His gaze flickered to where a baseball bat rested, and he quietly padded over to pick it up; ears monitoring every step that came from the person that broke into his house.

He then raised it up, and was about to swing the person when the person turned and their eyes met. The person was quick to take a step away from Zayn, avoiding the hit that would without a doubt land him back in the hospital.

"Kamal?" Zayn asked, his eyes raking over his friend's bruised body as he dropped the bat; realizing he do not longer need. "How did you get in and why do you look like that?"

Kamal sighed, making his way over to the couch. "Getting your pin is easy, anyone that knows you could tell it's Kulsum's birth year" Though he tried to hide it, Zayn could see him limp slighly over there, indicating that something gruesome really did happen to him. "Can you get me a bottle of water first though, my throat feels dry" Kamal wheezed out, hand resting on the side of his stomach as he tried to hide the wince of pain.

Zayn eyes him warily, but nonetheless, made his way over to the refrigerator to get two bottles of water. One for him, and the other for his friend who clearly needs it more than him. Handing one of it to Kamal, he took the couch opposite him and watched as the man gulped it all while he was unable to take his.

He doubts he could with the condition Kamal is in. "Would you tell me now why you looke like that?" Zayn asked, immediately Kamal brought the empty bottle down.

"Geez man calm down" Kamal muttered, slipping his hand into his pocket. "I look like this while trying to decode what's here" He pulled out a phone, then handed it over to Zayn who was quick to take it from him.

He didn't need Kamal to tell him who it belonged to. He could tell from a single glance. Eyes wide, he asked without looking up. "How did you get this?"

"Your father had it" Every trace of lark on Kamal's face disappeared. He wondered how Zayn would take the news of what he just found out.

"What?" Zayn asked, looking up; his tone coated in disbelief. "He had you beaten up?" He couldn't believe his father could do that. Was the man that desperate to keep him in the dark.

"No" Kamal was quick to shake his head. "Your father helped me get that Zayn. Believe it or not, everything he did was to protect you from finding out the ugly truth"

"The truth of what?!" Zayn's voice rose. Protect him? How could they protect him by keeping him in the dark? He grew up all alone without his family for ten years! He doesn't need their fake protection.

Kamal wasn't fazed one bit by Zayn's outburst. Honestly. He knew it's nothing compared to what is about to come. "Zayn just check the phone and go through the messages. I've had the number decoded"

Zayn stared at Kamal for a second with doubt clouding his features but nonetheless, he did as he was told. He went through the messages, before his eyes landed on the unfamiliar number yet awfully familiar number. He was sure he had seen it before.

But where.

Kamal must've noticed the look on his friend's face so he spoke up, "It looks familiar doesn't it?"

Zayn nodded, but didn't say a word for the next couple of seconds. When he finally gathered his thoughts, he looked up and asked the question he had been yearning for the answer for years. "Who is it?" His voice was thick with so many emotions that he hadn't felt in so long.

Kamal gulped hard. He then took in a deep breath and stared at Zayn, wondering how he should put it in. He knew there's no going back the minute he utters those life shattering words, and because of that, he's beginning to doubt if he should tell Zayn or not.

"Who is it?" Came Zayn's voice again, low but still thick with emotions.

Kamal blew out a shaky breath. There's no going back now. "Your mother" His voice came out low. "She's the one behind it all"