"Hey, can you please smile or at least talk to me? Why are you looking so down?" Rahul asked, his irritation evident in his voice.
"Rahul...
"Yes, I'm here. Tell me what happened. Did Aashika finally kick you out?" Rahul asked, teasingly.
"Damn, just listen to me. I'm already exhausted and my head is pounding. I don't even know if our children are at home or out somewhere in the city," Ayaan said, slamming his hand on the table.
"Call your wife."
"Leave me alone... I'm going home. Enjoy your time at the hospital," Ayaan said abruptly, leaving without another word.
Soon, he arrived home and found the house quiet.
"Is no one home?" he muttered, walking towards his room. However, it was empty. He then made his way to his children's room.
Aashika was sleeping with both Ayushi and Aryan. Aryan had his head resting on Aashika's stomach, while Ayushi had her head on Aashika's chest.
"How can she sleep like this?" Ayaan wondered, but quickly pushed the thought aside. He gently removed Aryan's head from Aashika's stomach.
"His face is warm," he murmured, moving towards Ayushi to separate her from Aashika.
"She has a fever and not low ," he mumbled, lightly tapping Aashika's face, which felt warm too.
Instead of waking up, she held onto his hand and placed it under her head.
"Hey, Aashi," he called out, pulling his hand away from her grasp.
"Aashii," he said a little louder this time.
With no response, he cursed himself and scooped her up in his arms.
"Um... who are you?" she mumbled in a sleepy voice, her eyes still closed.
"Go back to sleep," Ayaan said, and in response, she snuggled into his neck, finding more comfort.
Returning to his own room, he carefully placed Aashika on the bed and headed to the bathroom.
After spending some time there, he emerged with a towel wrapped around his waist...
Wearing his loose t-shirt and pants, he sat down, wearing his glasses, and unfolded Aryan's answer sheet.
A smile formed on his lips as he looked at the answer sheets.
"He is such a sweetheart, how does he contain so much temper in his little body?"
After going through Aryan's answer sheet, he took off his glasses and looked at Aashika's face.
"Good morning," he whispered, poking her cheeks.
"Morning," she mumbled back, making Ayaan smile widely.
"Do you want something?"
"Ch...oco...late," she said in a sleepy tone.
"You are a mother of two and still can't move on from your childish acts," he said, pulling her cheeks. She stirred a little and moved her lips as if she were eating something.
"What are you having in your dream, Aashi?"
"Chocolate," she mumbled, a drool drop escaping from her mouth, making Ayaan shake his head.
"Aashi, wake up..."
He stopped, feeling little steps.
He looked at the door, only to find Aryan walking through it.
Aryan climbed onto the bed and slept on top of Ayaan.
"Hey, my big guy, how did you get this fever?" he asked, pulling Aryan to his side carefully and cradling him in his arms.
"Don't know," Aryan mumbled, just like Aashika in her sleep.
"Want chocolate?" Ayaan asked, chuckling, and received a 'yes' in response, which made him shake his head.
"First, give a kiss to papa," Ayaan said, pecking his lips and starting to pat his head.
Once again, he heard footsteps, knowing who was coming into the room. Two hands wrapped around him.
"Good morning, princess."
"Good night, papa," she mumbled, trying to go back to sleep.
Putting Aryan down, he took her onto his lap.
"Since they are sleeping, do you want to go for a walk with me? I'm getting super bored," he asked. She opened her eyes wide.
"Shall we go?" He nodded, feeling her high temperature.
"How did you get the fever?" He asked, placing his palm on her forehead.
"I don't know," she shrugged her shoulders.
"Did Mom give you medicine?"
She nodded, trying to decide what to do. As Ayaan stood up, fully dressed, she opened her arms, indicating for him to carry her.
"Let's go outside," he mumbled, putting his wallet in his pants pocket.
"Wait, go put on your shoes. I need to ask something from your mom," Ayaan said, setting her down. Ayushi ran out of the room to put on her shoes.
"Aashi, what was her temperature this morning?" He asked, shaking her.
She opened her eyes fully and looked around with wide eyes.
"You? When did you come home?"
"What was her temperature this morning?"
"Oh, it was around 98°," Aashika answered, rubbing her eyes.
"It has risen. I'm taking her to the clinic. Wake up, don't sleep. I need to talk to you about something, and there's medicine in the drawer. Give it to Aryan again right now. His fever will go down completely."
"Wait, Ayaan, why are you taking her somewhere? You can check her here," Aashika said, shaking Aryan.
"Are you in the mood for some drama? When I can get it done without any drama, why should I try the hard way? She doesn't create any drama in front of others, and I'm not in the mood to scold her. I'll be back in thirty minutes. Try not to let them cling to you, otherwise, you'll catch a cold too," he said all at once, pecking her forehead and leaving.
"He's not wrong... Aryan, get up, it's time for school," Aashika said, laughing.
Aryan peeked at her and hid his face with a pillow.
"Mumma, I don't want to go to school."
"You have to, now get up, otherwise, Mumma is going to smack you with this," she said, softly touching the pillow to his head.
He giggled, and soon they started their pillow fight.