Rishab was sprawled on the sofa lost deep in his thoughts. Madhu was lying partially on top of him, their legs entangled as she dozed off on his chest.
"Iss..." Madhu winced in pain when he unknowingly pulled her hair which he was twisting with his fingers.
"Sorry" he whispered and released the strand of hair tangled in his fingers and brushed it off her face and settled it behind her ear.
"What are you doing?" she asked lifting her head up and looking at his face.
"Thinking"
"Thinking? About what?" she asked curiously.
"Thinking what to cook for dinner." he said with a teasing glint. He was actually thinking about the therapy.
"Oh. I'm hungry" she said rubbing her tummy.
He chuckled. "Your little tummy is always hungry."
"I don't know why?" she blushed."Shall we order pizza? I feel like eating it"
"Okay." He grabbed his phone from the coffee table beside the sofa and placed home delivery order.
"You really want to be in the therapy session?" she asked him hesitantly.
"Yes"
"But why? I feel it would be better for you to be not presented there in the therapy session"
"Why you say so? What are you scared about, Madhu?" he asked taking her in between his hands looking intensely at her eye trying to fathom out her thoughts.
"Nothing." she whispered looking away from him and laid her head back on his chest. "I just don't want you to be presented there. Try to understand me, please, Rishab" She pleaded softly not daring to look at him fearing her eyes would give away her actual fear. He didn't want to push her further. He was glad she agreed for this therapy so he reluctantly agreed to her plea "Okay" he said.
"Thank you." She peck on his lips. He smiled. I have my ways to know what you discuss in the therapy session, Madhu. He thought.
"So I am one of your coping techniques huh?" he asked to break the silence floating around them.
"Hmm... you help me. Sex with you helps me sleep well without nightmare..."
"I'm just glad you didn't tell my friend that Sex' helps you to keep yourself away from your nightmares. If you had then it would have been so embarrassing" He snorted. She laughed.
"It must be the pizza guy." Rishab said hearing the door bell. "I will go answer the door. You set the plates." He helped her up and then walked towards the door.
"You want coke or orange juice?" Madhu asked shaking the coke tin and holding the carton of orange juice as she stood with the refrigerator door open.
"Coke, please" he said as he opened the pizza boxes for them to eat.
"Here, your veg pizza" he pushed the box to her. She took a slice and placed it on her plate and squeezed excess ketchup on her pizza. She loved to lick ketchup like small kids whereas he distaste ketchup but he never commented on her eating habits.
She took a bit of her pizza and placed it back on her plate and gulped down the water from the glass.
"What?" he asked as he ate his BBQ chicken pizza.
"Too much of ketchup." She pushed that slice aside and took another fresh piece from the box and took a bite of it without ketchup. She put down that slice aside too and drank a slug of orange juice.
"What now?" he asked seeing her strange behavior.
"Too much of cheese." She moaned.
"You only told me to order extra cheese for your pizza."
"I know but I can't eat this..."
"Just eat two slices and leave the rest." He cajoled.
"No. It's nauseating." She eyed the pizza in disgust.
"It's all just in your head. If you think you can eat then you will."
"I can't" she said stubbornly emptying her glass of juice.
"Didn't you tell me you feel like eating pizza?"
"Yes, I did but now I don't like it."
He sighed tiredly placing his slice back on his plate. "You sometimes behave worse than kids you know? It's really hard to deal with you, Madhu"
"Who asked you to deal with me?"
"Stop throwing your silly tantrums and eat" he scolded her.
"If you can't put up with my tantrums then shut up. And don't you dare scold me as if I'm five years old." her anger got to its peak and she threw her pizza slice at him.
"Behave" he hammered his fist hands on the dining table making her jump in fright. He closed his eyes and cursed himself in his head for snapping at her and scaring her. He didn't want her to fear of him as well. She hung her head down and pressed her hands together.
"Madhu, eat, please." He placed another slice on her plate. She pushed her plate little away like an errant child.
"You eat or you starve. I don't f**king care" he said, pissed and took big bites of his pizza. She sat there silently looking down at her hands placed on her lap, her lips pressed in a straight line to prevent the sob.
He swallowed his pride and said "Madhu, I am sorry." Still she refused to speak or look up at him. He could hear her soft whimper. He stood up from his chair abandoning his pizza and walked around to her side and stood behind her chair and placed his hands on her shoulder. "I said I am sorry." He kissed the top of her head and he tilted her up to see eyes red with tears. "God!" he groaned leaving her shoulders. He took two steps back and rubbed his face and dragged his hands through his hair to calm himself down.
He sat on the chair next to her and gently lifted her up from the chair and placed her on his lap. To his surprise she came without any protest. "Stop crying, now." he said softly holding on to his temper.
"Then stop being mean to me. It hurts." She said in a shaky voice as more tears made its way soaking down his shirt.
"Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. If you don't want to eat pizza then don't. It's absolutely fine. I will cook something for you to eat."
Her cry died down and she just wrapped her hands around his neck and stayed quiet.
"What you would like to eat?"
"Anything." She whispered. He hates when he gets unclear answer from her.
"Be specific"
"Um... I will just have a glass of milk and go to bed. Thank you." she stood from his lap and walked to the kitchen to heat milk. He hates to see her upset but he knew he was the one most of the time upsetting her.
He followed her to the kitchen and leaning on the kitchen counter he gawked her every move like a hawk.
"Are you going to talk to me?" he asked.
"You want some milk?" she asked pouring the warm milk into a tall glass.
"No. Thanks."
She nodded and took her glass in her hand and started gulping it down. She drank half of the content in the glass and worriedly looked up at her husband.
"What?"
"I don't think I can manage to push anymore down my throat." She said fearfully.
"It's okay. Leave it. Let's go to bed." He took the glass from her and put it in the sink. She heaved a sigh of relief and rushed to the bedroom.
~~0~~
It was around three in the morning when Rishab woke up to the sound coming from the bathroom.
He could hear Madhu gagging and groaning in there so he rushed to the bathroom.
"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked kneeling down beside her near the toilet grabbing her hair away from her face as puked her gut out.
With shaking hand she covered her mouth as she saw streak of blood along with vomit. Rishab noticed the streak of blood and quickly flushed the toilet.
"You done?" he asked softly, rubbing her back. She retched up a thin stream of vomit before her stomach settles down.
"I'm done" she breathed clutching his shirt sleeve. He flushed again and helped her up and let her clean her mouth and hands.
She stood in front of the sink brushing her teeth as she stared her image at the mirror. She looked horrible.
"You leave." She snapped getting irritated with him gawking her.
"Stop snapping at me woman! I am trying to help you."
"I don't need your help. Just leave me alone." She said once she rinsed her mouth. But still he stood there with his arms crossed over his chest.
"You are going to stand here and watch me pee?" she asked through gritted teeth. She couldn't fathom why she was mad at him. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Rishab, please, I can't deal with you now. I'm tired. Please go."
"What you are worried about?" he asked her softly as if he was talking to a child, cupping her face.
"Two things" she confessed.
"What are they?"
"One - the blood in the vomit."
"That's it!" he smiled fondly and kissed her forehead. "Look, you haven't eaten anything. Your stomach has nothing to mix with the stomach acid so it came up. Oh and It can burn your throat causing it to bleed."
"It's nothing serious?" she asked incredulously.
"Streak of blood is normal due to the lining of esophagus being irritated. We should worry when you cough blood or vomit blood excessively but still I will take you a doctor to make sure you are perfectly healthy and nothing to worry concerning this matter."
She hugged him and kissed his neck. "Thank you for putting me at ease. I got panicked."
"Yeah, I know. I can see that from your face." He said and tipped her chin up to meet her eyes.
"Always share things with me, Madhu be the issue big or small. Don't keep it with yourself and worry till you keel over. It's not good for you. Now coming to your second reason for worrying?"
"Two - Um... Your sleep. Last night you had to wake up in the middle of your sleep because of my panic attack and again today you..." she stopped when he roared with laughter.
"What's so funny?" she frowned.
"That's your worry? My sleep?" he asked kissing her cheek. "Silly" he kissed her other cheek. "Come, let's go and sleep."
"Okay" she walked holding his hand but he stopped her.
"You don't want to pee?"
"Yes, I want to. I am just showing you out." She said and shuts the door on his face.
"Crazy" he shook his head and walked to their bed and hopped on it.
A minute later she joined him and shortly she went to deep sleep. Rishab couldn't sleep as he was curious to know one thing so he got out of the bed, grabbed his phone and car keys and went out of his house locking the door behind him.
~~0~~
"Madhu, wake up" he shook her shoulders gently trying to wake her up but as ever it wasn't an easy task.
"Madhu..." he made her sit up and patted her cheeks.
"Do you have any death wish, Rishab?" she mumbled sleepily
"Yeah, I will tell you that later. Now go and pee."
"What?" she came wide awake now. "You woke me up to remind me to pee? Gosh! This is gross!" she said in disbelief. "My husband has gone mad"
"I want you to pee on these 6 sticks." He gave her six pregnancy test sticks. With her eyes wide open she gaped at the sticks, as she sat there immobile.
"Madhu?" he snapped his fingers in front of her face.
"No, I'm not going to do any test. I know I am not pregnant. You stop imagining things and let me sleep." She thrust back the sticks in his hands and flopped back on the bed pulling the duvet over her head.
"Madhu, c'mon yaar. I just can't sleep without knowing the result." He pulled her up again.
"Rishab, please. I have a lot to deal with at the moment. I don't want a baby now."
"What if we are already having one?"
"At least for a while I want to make myself believe that I am not pregnant..."
"The sooner we know it's better."
"I... I can't handle a baby now... it's too risky..." she kept rambling
"First stop panicking for everything and try to handle things calmly." He gripped her shaking hands.
"What are the possibilities that I could be pregnant? It's hardly a month since we consummated." She asked pushing her hair aside from her face.
"I don't know but seeing the symptoms my instinct says you are..."
"To hell with your instinct." She pushed his chest and fell back on the bed once again.
"Just pee on these sticks and you don't even have to see the result. I will tell you when you are ready." He suggested.
"Why are you so eager to know this? When I talked to you about babies sometimes back, to be exact when you took me out for dinner for the first time after our marriage you didn't show this much enthusiasm?"
"Talking about babies and having a baby in real are two different things okay?" he clarified. That made sense to her.
"Can I do this tomorrow... I mean today morning when the sun peeps out?"
"No, if I can wait that longer then I wouldn't be running to the 24*7 pharmacy at this time."
She looked at the clock and it showed 3.53 AM.
"Please?"
"Okay, fine." She shuffled the duvet over the bed and jumped down. Taking all the 6 sticks and giving Rishab one last angry glare for disturbing her beauty sleep she marched towards the bathroom.
"Done?" He asked once she walked out.
"Go check them after 5 minutes." She said in a disinterested tone and clamber up on the bed.
"Okay." He nodded.
"Are you praying?" He asked with a frown seeing her murmuring something softly with her eyes closed and her hands joined as if worshiping.
"Yeah."
"For positive or negative result?"
"Guess you know already." She said.
"Don't be like this, Madhu." He said taking her hand in his.
"I can't help worry for the baby, Rishab. It's not safe for him to come now. He can wait and come when the time is right... I want a safe and secured environment for our child."
"We will keep her safe and secured, Madhu."
"You won't understand what I am talking about, Rishab. I don't want the history to repeat. I don't want to be miserable like my mother after losing the baby." She could still remember how her mother yearned to have the two children she lost before Madhu was born.
"You know what? Like I told you before everything is in this thick head of yours." He tapped his fingers on her temple. "You think too much and worry too much. Why can't you for once think positive and believe in yourself that you can do it?"
"We are talking about another life. Thinking positive is not going to help here. Being safe and protected is important."
"I will protect you and this peanut with my life, okay?" He promised her caressing her tummy. She stared at his eyes speechless and placed her hand over his hand which was on her tummy.
"I trust you, Rishab because I know you meant what you said. You will give your life for the person you love." She whispered and snaked her arms tightly around his neck and took his lips in hers kissing him passionately.
"Now, go, check the results." She said after breaking their kiss.
"Oh right." He headed to the bathroom. Madhu got out of the bed and started pacing around the room anxiously.
He walked out of the bathroom with an expression less face. Madhu ran to him and he hugged her. "I am not going to be a daddy..." Madhu's heart sank hearing that. Though she was worried for the baby's life deep inside her heart she hoped she was pregnant just like how her husband wished.
"It's okay, Rishab..."
"I am not going to be a daddy to those f**king FISHES anymore" he lift her off her feet and swirled around in joy. "I am going to be a daddy to our BABY!" He shrieked joyously. "We are having a baby, Madhu." He laughed merrily and then slowly he set her down on the floor and took her lips in his kissing the life out of her.
"You never cease to amaze me, Rishab" she said emotionally. She never expected he will be this ecstatic.
"You happy?" He asked.
She nodded her with a smile as happy tears streamed down her cheeks.
"The ever blabbering Madhubala is silent today. How surprising is that?" He teased her.
"The ever brooding Rishab Kundra is all smiling today. How surprising is that?" She teased him back.
"Thank you. Thank you so much for bearing my child." He kissed her lips tenderly and then he kissed her forehead.
"That's so sweet to hear, Rishab." She kissed him again.
"We should first give this good news to your mom." Madhu said finding hard to contain her wide grin.
"Why?"
"Because she was the one so eagerly expecting this good news from us. You know she used to longingly gaze at my belly to see whether I was showing up or not." She said giggling.
"My mom is crazy." Rishab chuckled.
"She even told me soon I will be removing this..." She pulled the hem of her shirt up and unclipped her belly button ring. That time she didn't get what her mother in law meant by that but now she knew her belly ring would automatically come off when her belly grows big.
"Keep the sexy ring safe. I want you to put it back after your delivery."
"Sure." She blushed.
"Come. Now let's hit the bed."
"Rishab, we still doing the therapy?" She asked. She wished he would say no.
"Yes. Morning I will fix an appointment with a Gyn and evening we will meet Sameer and proceed with your therapy session."
"Is it safe to do the therapy now?"
"Yeah, it is safe. I talked to Sameer already."
"When the hell you talked to him?" She asked shocked. How could he think of everything in fraction of seconds? She wondered.
"When you were pee-ing on the sticks." He said casually.
"At this time you disturbed your poor friend?" She scolded him.
"I don't care."
"Why would you care? It's his sleep you disturbed"
"Let's not fight. At least not today. I really don't want to spoil my good mood."
"Okay. Well, what he told?"
"He said its nothing risky. Just talking about your past and the nightmares you frequently get relating to it. He even said he can stop it any minute if you start stressing."
"Hmm... Okay!" She walked to her side of bed and climbed up. He went his side and stretched down on the bed covering their bodies with the duvet.
"Husband..." She poked his cheek with her forefinger to make him open his eyes.
"Hmm..."
"... I love you."
He pulled her in his arms and planted a kiss on her forehead. "I love you too" he whispered with a smile and soon they drifted to deep sleep.
... To be continued!!!
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