Somewhere in Between

Creating and Recreating Moments

Santu's eyes darken and she clenches her fists in anger. Her breathing gets bad and they can see her jaw tensed, as she tries to keep in control.

"Aap M-maddam s-sir nahi ho." She manages to stutter out, and both Cheeta and HM watch painfully as her eyes start to tear up but she refuses to let them fall.

"Cheete, mujhe Karishma madam ne kuch kaam diya. Mein nikalti hun. Tu inhe lekar thane chale jana." They don't understand what happened to her suddenly, and watch helplessly as she quickly makes an excuse and hurriedly walks away.

Urmi is frozen in her spot, but Cheeta springs into action immediately and follows her.

"Umrila ji hum ek minute mein aaye. Hilye ga mat!" He says and runs away, but the warning seems unnecessary because HM is too worried about her little sister to go anywhere.

CC runs after SS, calling her name. They are near the main road when he catches up to her and stops her. He's not surprised to see tears in her eyes but it still alarms him all the same. It hurts him to see her in pain, it always has. But when she looks at him, her eyes are conveying just a simple request and he understands. Of course, he does.

He gives her a teary smile and tries to convey all the support and comfort he can provide her.

She nods in understanding.

"Aapko kuch bhi chahiye ho, ya sirf baat karni ho, ya gussa bhi karna ho, aap hume call kar lijiye ga, Santu ji. Hum KM ko bata dein ge ke aap quarter chali gayi." CC simply offers her, knowing exactly what she needs.

"Nahi Cheete. KM ko bol mein aati hun. Aaj meri night duty hai." Santu tries to protest, not wanting to seem weak. Not wanting to let her emotions get in the middle of her duty. Duty came first.

"Santu ji, Santu ji." Cheeta stops her and makes her look at him, making her hear the concern and care in his voice. "Night duty hum kar lein ge. Aap jaiye. Hum shaam ko Billaute ko bhejte hain aapke laptop aur saman ke saath."

"Lekin cheete-" Santu tries to argue but he gently cuts her off.

"Haseena di hoti toh aapko suspend karke bhi aaram karne bhej deti." CC reminds her, making her understand that her health was more important to them than anything, especially to her seniors and older sisters. "Toh Karishma di aapko is halat mein kese duty pe rehne dengi, Santu ji?"

A fresh set of tears flood her eyes. The mention of her Haseena Di was enough to crumble her resolve.

"Cheete..." she sobs out.

She grabs his wrist, gripping it tightly just to ground herself.

He gives her all the time she needs to compose herself.

Then hails a rickshaw to take her home.

She squeezes his wrist once again as a silent thank you and his worried eyebrows relax just a little bit at the gesture.

_

Later, in the quarters, when SS lets herself cry in peace. She cries till her heart's content. And she complains. Complains to the chipping paint on her ceiling. Complains to the four walls of her small quarter. Complains to the empty space in front of her. Hoping that somewhere, somehow, her Haseena Di would hear her and realize how upset she was with her. How upset she was that she left her.

How upset she was that HM wasn't there to scold her, to console her, to ask her for updates every morning and listen patiently even when she talked about her carpenter problems instead of the case updates.

How upset she was that HM wasn't there to protect her, to take her side when she made a mistake, and gave her confidence to face her biggest problems.

How upset she was that HM promised her. She promised her that they'd spend the whole day together. They would go on beat and have chaat and hang out together.

How upset she was that HM broke that promise and so many others.

How upset she was that because of HM, she didn't even get to eat chaat today when she was really craving it.

And when the chipping paint, four walls, and empty space didn't answer her pleas with a comforting hug and a pinch on the cheeks like HM used to, she cried harder.

When she is too exhausted to cry anymore, Billu shows up at her door with her stuff and another bag full of things. He tells her a few horrible jokes until she is able to give him a small laugh and he smiles in victory. Then he drops off everything and leaves.

Her small smile finally becomes genuine when she opens the bag and finds that her whole MPT family had sent stuff to cheer her up. KS and PJ had sent her a tiffin full of her favorite foods so she won't have to eat from the mess hall. PJ had even sent a box full of laddoos all for herself. Billu had sent her his favorite mystery novel to read. Cheeta had sent her at least four different flavors of ice cream. And KS had also sent her headphones and music player and... a hoodie.

Not just any hoodie. Santu realizes.

Santu knew immediately that it was one of HM's old academy hoodies, that Santu would borrow as pajamas whenever she stayed over at their place.

Santu always complained that she didn't have a sister to steal clothes from and HM would simply shake her head, smile, and open her cupboard to let her take whatever she liked. And Santu always liked this specific hoodie. It was soft, baggy, perfectly worn out. It always smelled like HM's ittar. And when she curled her fingers around the hem, she could feel the small embroidered H.M. initials that she had stitched in so that it wouldn't get lost in the shared laundry at the academy. And just like that, it became Santu's favorite piece of clothing to steal whenever she came over.

Knowing how fiercely protective KS was about all of HM's belongings, Santu felt even more loved by this gift. She didn't even know KS knew about this hoodie or why Santu liked it.

(A/N: if it wasn't clear KS didn't send her the hoodie)

She put on the hoodie and immediately felt a sense of familiarity, of comfort, of safety. Almost like the fabric was an armor that her protective big sister had left for her. And wearing it made her strong enough to face any pain.

Santu surrounded herself with the gifts, with the love of her family and felt better than she had in a long time. Feeling like herself again, she pulled out her phone and started texting Cheeta. Not to thank him, obviously. But to complain that he sent all her favorite ice cream flavors but forgot mango.

_

A/N: That concludes Chapter 5. Thank you all for reading and commenting! And supporting this story so far!

I know the pacing of the show's timeline is slow in this story. Don't worry, I won't write one whole chapter for each episode. But up until this point, it's just been Urmi and the MPT team, so I wanted everyone's emotions to be given extra time and exploration. Like Santu's feelings in this one. Once the episodes become more about case-solving and the actual mission, the pacing of this story may change too. But obviously, there will still be plenty of banter and Kareena scenes.

Again, I appreciate you all for all the support. Let me know if you like reading other characters' feelings and interactions, like Santu's part in this one. I am also open to suggestions if there is a specific pair interaction you'd like to see.