One Shots #VariaSquad

He's Family

The waiting room is quiet, as one generally expects a hospital waiting room to be. It is so perfectly silent and still that it's almost like a scene from a movie, right down to the girl sat in the corner, nervously bouncing her leg. 

To complete the filmi scene, the automatic doors whir open with a quiet whoosh and in rushes a man who's harried demeanour is both completely fitting for the setting and a complete contradiction to the atmosphere. He doesn't bother to look left or right as he all but runs for the desk. 'Can I help you sir?' asks the woman behind the desk. 

'I uh, I got a phone call about a patient; I'm-I'm listed as a contact,' he stammers, clearly panicked. 

'Okay, can you give me the name of the patient?' Before the man can answer, another voice sounds out from behind him. 

'What are you doing here?' demands a taller man. 

The man at the desk clenches his fists, closes his eyes briefly and lets out a breath before answering the receptionist, 'Alia Bhatt.' The receptionist taps at the keyboard in front of her, looking at the screen as the taller of the two men comes closer, repeating the question. 

Again, he's ignored, the first man choosing to give his attention to the receptionist. 'It says here we called the next of kin, her sister?' the woman says, the statement clearly more of a question. 

Before he can answer, tell her that it'd been her sister who'd called him, there's a hand on his shoulder, turning him around to face the man he's been steadfastly ignoring. 'I asked you what you're doing here Varun.' 

The man who's now been identified as Varun looks from the taller man's face to the hand that's still on his shoulder before lifting a hand and pinching the man's sleeve between his thumb and forefinger and removing it. 'If you want to keep your hand attached to your arm Kapoor, I suggest you refrain from touching me again,' he warns, voice dangerously low. 

'Is that a threat?' 

'No Ranbir, that's a promise,' he says, not letting the other man get a word in before he turns back around to explain to the receptionist. 

But he doesn't get the chance. Again, he's turned around, this time rather more abruptly. 'Who the hell do you think you are? You come in here, pretending you have any right to be here and then, on top of that, you think you can get away with threatening me?' 

Varun takes a deep breath in through his nose, letting it out in a long, slow exhale before speaking. 'I've told you once and I'm telling you again, you want to keep your hand, keep it off of me,' Varun warns for the second time, shrugging Ranbir's hand off and again turning away. 

'You act so tough but we both know you can't take me. And even if you could, you wouldn't; Alia wouldn't approve,' Ranbir taunts. 

This time, when Varun faces the man, it's of his own volition, anger written all over his face. 'Yeah well, maybe you haven't noticed but Alia's not here right now. And, considering you're the reason she's in a hospital room right now, pushing me isn't advisable. Because you may be older than me Kapoor but I can take you. After what you've done to my best friend, don't think for a second that I won't.' 

Before Ranbir can respond or a fight can break out, a distraction arrives in the form of a small, dark-haired girl coming thorough the doors that lead to the treatment rooms and, on spotting Varun, rushes over. After a very brief conversation with the woman behind the desk, convincing her that she doesn't need to call security, she puts a hand on Varun's arm, alerting him of her presence. 

He turns, relieved to find Shaheen there, and completely forgets the argument he'd been having. 'How is she?' he asks. 

'Shook up, probably in pain. Stubborn as a mule. Refusing to tell anyone anything.'