Muhafiz-E-Khan (Tere Bin MeeraSim FF)

6 - Gussa

They parked outside the hospital, towards the back of the carpark. The large plaque crowned the burnt brick building, which was inscribed with 'Nazia Khan hospital of Hyderabad.'

She was about to get out and go with him, when he looked at her, questioning, ''Tum kahan ja rahi ho?'' Despite being a question, his voice was equally telling her to stay put. (Where are you going?)

It has taken just shy of three hours to drive from Karachi to Hyderabad, so she needed to stretch her legs. Also, she was unable to ignore the feeling of guilt that burdened her heart, knowing that the bullet that hit Nawaz had her name written on it. ''Andar. Tumhare saath,'' she snapped, leaving no room to negociate. (Inside, with you.)

''Tumhara hospital hai. Anwar ko pata chal jayega ke tum University nahi gyi,'' he reminded, pausing to look at her as she grabbed her purse, reading to go regardless of his lecture. (It's your hospital. Anwar will find out that you left University.)

She would go, her own eyes needed to see Nawaz to believe that he was not in a critical state- and she wondered if she trusted anyone to keep the truth from her. ''Nahi, the staff won't say anything if I tell them not to. Nawaz sahab ke kamre ke bahar bhi koyi nahi hai? Haina?'' (There's no one stationed outside his room, right?)

Salaar had confirmed on the phone that there were no armed men. There was just the nurses, and a nice room to himself. But there were many other patients with watchful eyes, probing the girl which caught everyones attention- her name was enough to ring alarm bells.

''Poora Hyderabad us shooting ki baare mein baat kar raha hai. They'll recognise us and tell Anwar that we came back,'' Murtasim explained. More honestly, he didn't want her to witness his weakness, the mask of coldness that would drop in the hospital ward. (All of Hyderabad knows about the shooting.)

There bitchy air returned when she asked, ''Are you scared of my baba?'' She almost enjoyed the idea of his obedience since she didn't receive any from him.

''Are you scared of being alone?'' He shot back, his hand resting on the door handle.

She huffed, flicking the hair back off her shoulder, unable to hold his intense unwavering gaze- he could read through her. ''There's an small entrance at the back. There will be less spectators than the main entrance.''

''Agar Anwar ko pata chal jaye to?'' He asked, getting out the car, and slipping the keys into his trouser pockets. Meerab would be staying close then, and her presence bought more peace than he cared to admit. (And if Anwar finds out.)

''Main keh dungi ke maine Nawaz sahab se fir milna tha,'' she suggested. (I'll say that I wanted to meet Nawaz again.)

He contemplated it for a split-second, and realised that didn't need her to be a scapegoat. ''Nahi, aise mat karna Meerab,'' he warned. ''I don't need your help. I bought you here because I wanted to see my baba.'' (Don't do that Meerab.)

She shrugged, figuring that the odds of getting caught were next to none.

Being inside the hospital almost felt like that eventful night again, but she wore sandals instead of those sparkly herls, so keeping upto his pace was no challenge- and he was close besides her.

The crisp white walls and chemically smell of disinfectant caused a slight bought of nausea, her ears rang with a boom of the gun on her birthday, causing her to halt- her throat consisted until she gasped in panic. She was suddenly fixed put on the spot as the visitors continued in perpetual motion.

So she looked, watched as he walked off with a painfully pattering heart. There was a view of his toned back, of the wide expanse of his shoulders, his neatly trimmed hair at his nape that curved beneath his ears, hinting at a preference for precision and care - then he twisted when he realised that she was lacking besides him.