"Sir? Can you hear me?"
Light splashes of water bring him back, his consciousness recovering in slow measure. Blinking heavily he straightens, his mind still fuzzy.
"You had fainted. Are you feeling alright?" The familiar voice asks, sending him a new sense of awareness.
"Um... yes. Sorry about that," Arnav murmurs, completely confused as to how it had come to this point. The only time he faints or comes close to it is when his insulin levels decrease dangerously but he mentally notes that he had taken his medication and had eaten well today. This however, wasn't a case of his threatened health, but simply a result of shock.
"It is completely fine, sir. It can happen to anyone," The nurse assures him sympathetically, helping him up from the seat. Arnav thanks her, regaining his composure.
"Dr. Patel is handling the case, right? I'd like to meet him,"
"Of course. I would have to first ask about your relation to the patients in hand?"
"Nandakishore is my cousin,"
The nurse writes this down, before looking at him again.
"And Ms. Gupta?"
Arnav opens his mouth halfway before staying silent for a lack of a response.
What is his relation to her? Who is he to her?
It seems as if he has known her for an eternity, and yet does not know her at all. He can't even imagine what his life was before she came along, and yet he cannot seem to put a label to their unlikely bond.
Memories of thoughts, words, actions from the past few weeks flood his mind, reminding him of just how multi faceted the reality really is.
Are they friends?
As they walked together towards the exit stairs of the restaurant, Khushi stopped, as Arnav turned around questioningly.
"Whatever happened between us or will happen," She says, meeting his gaze, "But in this case we are together,"
Arnav's lips curved in a slight smile characteristically and he held out his hand promptly.
"Okay then,"
She looked at him with wide eyes, joining her hands in his within a moment or two.
A spark flew at that seemingly innocent interaction, marking the beginning of something new.
~
Are they enemies?
"You don't possess the thing that one needs to be Arnav Singh Raizada," He stated cockily, adding to her confusion.
"I've said it before," He continued, before raising his hand to her head, "That thing is called a brain."
Khushi looked up in sheer indignation. He turned to walk away when she spoke in a rigid voice, surprising herself.
"No Mr. Raizada. I possess something that can never make me be like you,"
His jaw clenched and he turned around to face her once again, curious to know what she had to say.
"Ive said it before," She said smoothly, repeating his earlier statement back to him.
"It's called a heart." Khushi retorted, tapping the left side of his chest twice.
~
Or lovers?
"Where were you?!" Khushi demanded.
His eyebrow lifted in slight surprise. She strode towards him in large steps, stopping to stand right in front.
"What are you looking at? And why are you standing so silently? Why didn't you tell anyone when or where you went?" She continued on, her worry stricken hazel eyes giving everything away, "Do you know how much I tried to call you? Do you have any idea-"
"Why?" He interrupted, his voice steady and calm, "Why does it matter to you if I leave?"
"It matters to me!" She replied in an instant, angry at him for all the right reasons, "I'm so worried. I-"
"For me?"
"Yes, for you!"
~
Arnav returns from the memories to face the nurse who is waiting for an answer. He then remembers a significant change that is soon to happen – her sister's marriage to his cousin brother.
"She's family," He finally replies, watching as the nurse writes it down, before asking him to follow her.
He follows her upstairs and through the hallways, every second adding to his anxiety. He suddenly feels a strong vibration in his pocket, forgetting that he had put his phone on silent. Taking it out he looks at the screen, only to see eight missed calls from his Di.
"Chote! Why weren't you picking up? We are so worried, neither NK bhai nor Khushi ji are picking up either and they have been gone for so long-"
"NK and Khushi have been in an accident. I'm at the hospital right now," He blurts out, not knowing how else to let her know.
"Kya?!" (What?!)
"Di, please stay calm, and tell the others that everything will be alright..." It is more of an assurance for himself.
"Hey Bhagwan! (Oh my God) We- we're coming!" Anjali cuts the call after telling her brother to take care.
The nurse goes inside a cabin and is soon joined by a mid aged man dressed in a spotless white doctor's coat.
"Dr. Patel, pleasure to meet you,"
"Arnav Singh Raizada. Nice to meet you, Dr. Patel," He shakes his hand in formality.
"Please come in, Mr. Raizada,"
The men go inside the spacious cabin, every nook and cranny of the room sparkling clean and minimalistic in design, similar to the rest of the building.
"How are they doing, doctor?" He asks, his nerves still on edge. The only person who can calm him is nowhere near him, rather she has become his reason of restlessness.
"It's nothing to worry about. With the right procedures, the patients will get better in good time. Fractures are quite common and very treatable, fortunately."
"That's good," Arnav replies, lost in thought, "How are they now?"
"Mr. Nandakishore is in pain but he's awake," He then sighs slightly, "But Ms. Gupta is still unconscious. I believe her head injury has contributed to that,"
"I see..."
A sudden commotion sounds from outside the cabin, and the men go to see, only to be greeted by the very worried faces of the Gupta and Raizada family who have just arrived. The next few minutes are spent with Dr. Patel explaining the situation to them and reassuring everyone of their promised recovery.
"Hello hi bye bye, phati sari is already bonkers. Did she have to get hit in the head?" Mami exclaims, resting a hand on her own head, to which Nani gives a stern look.
"Hai re nandakisore... our bitiya will be okay, right Doctor? And NK babua?" Bua ji asks, pleading with her eyes.
"Yes, nothing to worry about. We will have to put Mr. Nandakishore's leg in a cast, it will heal naturally with the help of a few medications. It'll take about 6-8 weeks, maybe even less. He will be able to go home to rest much sooner however, with the help of crutches,"
"And Khushi bitiya?" Nani asks, vocalizing the question on everyone's mind.
"I'm afraid it will take more time for Ms. Gupta. She has suffered not one, but many fractures, along with a blow on her head. Her skull remains unaffected, fortunately, but we need to do some damage control for precautionary measures,"
Gasps of despair sound in unison as Payal lifts a hand to her chest and Akash steadies her, holding her as a tear flows to her cheek. Arnav hardens himself to maintain composure.
"Doctor, what is the remedy?"
"Ms. Gupta needs immediate surgery and an MRI scan to make sure the injury has not caused any internal bleeding or clotting inside. It is a mild blow but she needs plenty of rest after the surgery to recover, along with physical therapy to restore her strength,"
The families stay silent and digest all the overwhelming information given to them, still shocked at how events took such a drastic turn.
"You may meet with the patients shortly. I request you all to please maintain your calm in front of them. Such an accident can cause mental trauma as well. Give them your love and I assure you, the rest will fall into place," Dr. Patel says, tapping Arnav's shoulder twice and smiling empathetically.
The nurse leads them to NK's room, and Arnav watches through the glass as they sit around him, hug him, and shed tears. The nurse hands Arnav a few documents to sign for the surgery and scan but before he can finish filling them, everyone comes out of the room. Arnav quickly hands the signed papers to the nurse, standing up.
"What happened? Is he okay?"
"He's alright, Chote, says he wants to see you," Anjali says, her eyes still glazed with fresh tears.
Arnav makes his way inside without a word, clueless of how to face him. He was never good with emotions, what will he say now to his cousin who has always annoyed him endlessly, but who he also loves unconditionally?
"Nannav," Comes his soft voice, before he winces in pain.
"How're you doing, NK?" He smiles, sitting next to him.
"Great," He laughs, "Bohot kachcha," (Very ripe)
"Kachcha nahi, achha," (Not ripe, you mean good)
"Haan, wahi," (Yeah, that) NK holds his ear in a characteristic way, laughing as the two brothers embrace wholeheartedly.
---
"Did you guys meet Khushi?" Arnav asks Akash after coming out of NK's room.
"We went to see her, but she's completely unconscious," Akash replies, looking towards her room.
As everyone settles in seats and whisper words of prayer and reassurance to each other, Arnav slowly walks closer to where she lay, looking as peaceful as ever while his own mind fights a storm. He goes inside and takes in the sight of her, the giant mark of blood by the side of her bandaged head, her arms and legs wrapped in bandages as well. It crushes his heart, a part of him a bit relieved to know that her and NK are both on anesthetic pain reducers. He quietly sits next to her lying form, remembering the last time he saw her. The last time their gazes had met, she was smiling and blabbering like she always does, she was giving him those looks he could die for.
And now... it's all gone. Never in his life had he ever envisioned her like this – silent, unresponsive, lifeless.
"Damn it," He looks away in regret, cursing himself for letting yet another harm come her way.
"A-amma..."
Arnav turns to her, wondering if he had imagined it. He feels his heart race as her eyelids flit momentarily.
"Babu ji... Jiji... Bua ji..."
He can't help but chuckle. Leave it to Khushi Kumari Gupta to narrate the names of her entire family even at the state of bare consciousness.
What softly leaves her lips next stuns him.
"Arna- Arnav ji..."
He scoots closer, his gaze falling on her angelic face, on her still closed eyes. Her hand lays by her side on the bed, and with much needed courage, he takes her dainty hand in his own, releasing warmth.
"I'm right here Khushi," He whispers, not caring if she can't hear, "Nothing will happen to you. I promise."
---
A/N: I love that this is a show based fic! I do realize there was one character missing from this chapter – our villain. He will come back in the next and the story will go on from there.
Thank you all for showing interest in this tale. Hope I don't disappoint!
- Rain