Riya started breathing heavily and Arjun sensed that something was unusual'.he called for the doctor'."DOCTOR''.." his screams cut through the others like a knife'.all were dead tensed''..
Arjun was asked to go out of the room while the doctors checked her state''
After about 10 minutes, the doctor came out smiling and all wait in anticipation'
"SHE IS BACK''SAFE!"
Rathod and the team hugged Arjun and were thanking their gods for the miracle!! Rohan also hugged Arjun''Arjun also prayed silently and let out a sigh of relief!
He went in without even asking the doctor if he could'.he wanted to confirm it for himself''.The doctor understood Arjun's emotions and didn't utter a word'.
Yes, she was safe and was in a peaceful slumber''He sat by her side holding her palm in his softly caressing it so as to comfort her''..He was longing to speak to her, his ears dying to hear her chatter''..He knew that it would take time and he would have to wait''every minute went by with great difficulty'''it was a sweet torture for him'''but now he knew, he could wait all his life for her''.He sat there for hours waiting for her to open her eyes and say something to him'.The sedation and the pain killers seemed to be taking a toll on her and she seemed too tired to even respond to his caressing'
Arjun convinced the team, Sonali and Rohan to go back and rest''he assured them that he was there and would take care of Riya''.He was adamant that he wouldn't be at peace anywhere else''.. Only by Riya's side, will he find solace''.He wanted to be there when Riya opened her eyes'.he knew well that her eyes would search for him'.and he couldn't disappoint her''
He didn't leave her side even once'.the nurses and doctors were surprised by the love that a husband showered on his wife'''.it was one of its kind, rare and precious''.They thought Riya was lucky to have him''.
Finally just before dawn, Riya opened her eyes muttering''"Arjun.."
Arjun was overwhelmed hearing that'.."Riya'" he said as he leaned and went near her face''.and met her gaze''..their eyes met and there was an undescribable flow of emotions'..love, pain, relief, peace''there was a hint of complaint in his eyes too "why did you put me through such a turmoil? How will I ever forgive myself if something happened to you?? bevakoofi aur laaparwayi ki had hoti hai Riya"
As if she could read all those emotions and unsaid words from his eyes, she gave him a faint smile''
Arjun couldn't help smiling back at her''..He kissed her forehead'..there was a lone tear in her eyes'.he kissed it away with his lips''.She could feel her eyelids becoming heavy again'..she was forced to close her eyes and drift back to sleep''.
Arjun resumed back his position and waited again'''.She got up in the morning and found Arjun still sitting there holding her palm and his eyes were closed as if in a trance'..The moment she tried to move her hand, he grabbed it back firmly and opened his eyes "Riyaaa" escaped his lips as if in fear of losing her''.
She smiled and assured to him that she was alright''.her right hand was numb with pain and her back was aching too''the wound at the back was not too deep but yet was reason enough for torturing her for a few more days''
She tried to get up but he forced her to stay there'..
The doctor came up for his morning rounds and decided that she can be moved to a private room''her condition was stable and she was improving quickly'..
The ETF team arrived soon after she was shifted'..
Sonali and Arjun helped Riya sit up leaning on a pillow'.Shree used a lever and folded the upper portion of the cot to a slanting position to facilitate it''..
Sameer: Rawte, tum Chotu ke saath resort jaavo'..yahaan Sonali,main aur Shree hai na??
Arjun didn't want to leave but he had to'.he wanted to bring back his and Riya's clothes'.So he decided to go and come back soon'..Riya's face frowned hearing that but she knew he would come back soon'..
Arjun: Riya, main jaldi aa jaavunga'.tum khayaal rakhna'..teek hai??
Riya: hmmm'..
[Sonali and Shree sat with RIya while Sameer preferred to stay outside''.All through, RIya's eyes were fixed to the door eagerly waiting for Arjun's arrival''She kept thinking what was he doing for so long''.Sonali feeded her with soup and then her medicines'..but she was quite restless'.she wasn't talking much'..Sonali and Shree sensed her thoughts]
Shree: lagtha hai koyi kisiko bohat miss kar raha hai'..
Sonali: tum kiske baare mein baat kar rahe ho Shree??
Shree: aap ko nahi pathaa'..wahaan bhi aisa hi kuch haal hai'..Chotu ne phone kiya tha'.
Riya: [in an impulse, anxiously] kya woh raaste mein hai???? Kab tak paunchenge???
Shree: kaun raaste mein hai?? Main toh Chotu aur uski 11:30 waali ki baat kar raha tha''
Sonali: ohhh''haaan bechaari wahaan Mumbai mein Chotu ke raah dekh rahi hogi na??
[all the while, both look at Riya with naughty glint in their eyes'.Riya feels helpless without knowing where Arjun is'..she cant find out herself and these two were hell bent on teasing her'']
Riya: SHREEE'..maine Arjun sir ke baare mein poocha!!!
Sonali: toh tum Arjun ko miss kar rahi thi kya???? Aur humne sochaa ke''[Arjun barges in]
Arjun: kaun mujhe miss kar raha hai????
All smiled and alternated their look at both of them''They thought to themselves that Arjun and Riya were made for each other''.Riya had brought Arjun back into life and now Arjun had literally dragged her from death! They were truly blessed!!
Riya blushed pink when she saw him coming in''.She lowered her gaze and waited for him to come near her''.She had a blurred vision of his confession in her mind'.it was echoing ever since then''and that made her all the more shy'She wondered if he would say it again when she was in her full senses'.. How will he say it??? What would she reply???? Questions of this kind were tumbling in her mind''..meanwhile, Sonali, Shree and Sameer Sir had bid bye and left'..She was just smiling and never noticed all that'.she was in a dreamy world altogether''
It was only when the nurse came in with the medicines, did she snap out and noticed that she was all alone with Arjun'.he hadn't come near her'..he let her be and was sitting on the sofa with a magazine in his hand''"ufff'.this man, na???" She muttered under her breath while she took the medicines''He glanced up and smiled pleasantly at the nurse as if to thank her''..
The nurse left smiling and she was again all alone with him''..and he was ignoring her!!!
"WHAT THE HELL RAWTE!!! Thodi dher pehle, ghanto tak haathon mein haath lekhar mere paas baite teh'..ab dekho attitude dikhaakar itne dhoor''tumhe toh main dekh loongi!!! Wait"
She cleared her throat to catch his attention'''..He looked up "kuch kehna hai??"
Arjun's POV: The rough and tough man he posed to be had just melted away in past few hours and his vulnerable weak side was exposed'..now he was finding it a little weird to come in terms with it'..moreover the confession from deep inside him had also shook him up a bit''now facing Riya seemed difficult'.he also wanted to know if she had heard and remembered his confession!
Riya: [posing anger] nahi'..kuch nahi kehna mujhe''aap se tho bilkul bhi nahi'..kaash Shree ya Rohan yahaan hotein''
Arjun: [coming to her in few quick steps] kyun? mujhse kyun nahi???
Riya: [grabbing his hands] aap toh kahi dhoor baite ho aur mujhe dekh bhi nahi rahe''
Arjun: [grinned cheekily] ohh toh mere biwi mujhe miss kar rahi thi''
Riya: aur nahi toh kya??? Main toh yahaan laite laite bore ho rahi hoom''.aur mera pati wahaan aaraam se magazine mein dhoobe hua hai''
Arjun: phir kya karoom??? Main bhi yahaan tumaare saath lait jaavum''waise idea bura nahi hai!!! [looks at her naughtily]
Riya: [blushing and doesn't know what to reply]
Arjun: toh kya khayaal hai???? Tumne kuch bathaaya nahi, huh??
Riya: [trying to change the topic] jab mein behosh thi, tab aap ne kuch kahaa kya???
Arjun: haan kahaa na?? bohat kuch kahaa''.
Riya: I mean'kuch khaas kahaa tha kya?? [eagerly waiting to hear him say it again and he understands it well''he decides to tease her]
Arjun: khaas??? Aisa kuch yaad nahi aa raha hai''kyun??
Riya: [a little disappointed] kuch nahi''
[It was almost lunch time and Arjun feeds her with rice porridge and also gives her the medicine'.in between the duty doctor also comes and checks on her''The doctor couldn't help but say that the husband's care and concern was showing good signs on her health''
Riya drifts off to sleep soon after''she was damn tired'.and so Arjun also didn't disturb her'.he too had food and rested for a while''.
It was just before dinner time that Riya woke up again'..in between Rohan visited her'..He left without disturbing her''Arjun had a brief convo with him''Arjun could read from Rohan's eyes what he felt for Riya'..and he also knew what he was dying to tell Riya''.butArjun decided to let that matter rest''..it had no significance now''.Rohan had to move on''Rohan said that he would come the next day to bid bye to Riya'.he had postponed his flight to the next day'']
Riya woke up when Arjun urged her to do so'.she had to take dinner and the medicines'..After that, she refused to sleep''.She was sounding cranky like a baby
Riya: mujhe neendh nahi aa rahi hai''''.
Arjun: poore din so rahi thi'.phir kaise neendh aayegi''aankhen bandh rakho'..thode dher mein deendh aayegi'..
After every 2 minutes, she opened her eyes and said the same thing "mujhe neendh nahi aa rahi hai''''."
Arjun got fed up of answering her cranky calls''"ab mujhe lori gaane ko matth kehna'..plzz"
Riya: [sighing] mere paas aayiye na???
Arjun came close to her "iraadha kya hai, darling??"
Riya: [turning away her face from him] main bohat bore ho rahi hoom'..yeh hospital aur yeh bed'.sab kuch kitna boring hai na???? mujhe bas ab yahaan se waapas jaana hai''
Arjun: [grinning at her childish gestures] I was waiting for this honey'''.dekho'. Humaari time pass keliye main kuch laaya hoom''[he pulls out something from inside his shirt]
Riya: WHAT????meraaa bookkk [seeing it Riya rolls her eyes and tries to snatch it from him'.but her wounds and bandage restrict her movements and she is stuck to the bed'..]
Arjun: not so soon baby''..ab hum isse saath saath padenge'.main bhi dekhoon kya likhi ho mere baare mein'.
Riya: [loudly] Nooo''yeh cheating hai''.mera personal space hai'..trespassing allowed nahi hai'''its not fair, haaan!!! Give it to me!
Arjun: [keeping his fingers on her lips to silence her'..he goes very near her face as if to kiss her'.She closes her eyes''he smirks, nuzzles her neck just to torture her and moves to her ears and whispers] EVERYTHING IS FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR!!!
Riya: [blushing] sirf iss baat pe love dove haaan??? Abhi tak toh'.[stops abruptly and looks at him posing false anger]
Arjun: abhi tak kya Riya??
Riya: nothing'..aap bas mujhe woh book deejiye'..
Arjun: never'..toh shuru karein''
[she tries one final time to prevent him from reading it'..]
Riya: actually, mere paas na isse accha idea hai time pass keliye'
Arjun: [looking at her] aur woh kya hai???
Riya: aap yahaan mere paas aayiye na''[as he comes closer, she keeps saying "aur paas'..aur paas"] and when he is very close, she tries to grab the book but he restores back "aaanh aaanh''"
Riya warns him "dekhiye, padne ke baadh mujhe matth dhaantna'"
He smiles and opens the book'..Riya closes her eyes anticipating the results of him reading it''.
"11st august 2012'ETF mein mera pehla din''1st case'..it feels great to be associated with this team'. Shree aur Chotu bohat sweet hai...Rathod sir bohat strict hai par woh bhi sweet hai...
Arjun sir bhi hai par mujhe pehchaan tak nahi rahe teh''koyi stranger jaisa vyawar karthe rahe'..isse akdu aur arrogant insaan iss poori duniya mein nahi hoga'..Rathod sir ko bhi attitude dikhaate hai'..sab ko samjhe ya samjhaavum kehte phirte hai''khud ko bohat intelligent samajhte hai'."
[Arjun laughed as he read this'..Riya was scared about his reaction but then felt relaxed hearing him laugh]
Arjun: tumhe sach mein akdu lagaa??
Riya: [gathering courage] sirf lagaa nahi''.akdu hi ho aap!!!
Arjun frowned as he flipped the page
"Sirf dikhaava nahi'.woh sach mein super cop hai'..bohat brilliant officer hai'..attitude hai par chalega'.."
Arjun: Chalega???? Isska kya matlab hai haan???
Riya: aapko padhna hai toh padhiye'.mujhse sawaal matth kariye!!!
Arjun: [shrugging] okay!!!
"inne toh bas har waqt mujhe dhaantne ki bahaana chahiye hota hai''keeps snubbing me for no fault of mine'..ufff''ladki se kaise baat karna hai, yeh bhi nahi jaante"
Arjun was smiling all the while replaying all those instances in his mind''
"samajhte kya hai khudko??? maine bhi aaj keh diya ke aurat ke khaabiliyat pe kabhi shaq matth karna"
Arjun grinned when he remembered that dialog from her''the style and attitude she showed while getting the reports from the hospital''
"unke dard ko main acche se samajh sakthi hoom''kuch karna chahthi hoom par I know ke unne accha nahi lagega''"
"meri ek choti si galthi aur itna kuch sunaadhiya''.aaj ke baadh main unse baat nahi karungi!!"
Arjun remembered that well too'..he had asked her to keep away from him''and there was a emotional wall between them ever since''even at home, they never crossed paths''.they lived like strangers under the same roof''.
Arjun stopped reading and commented with a laugh "yeh tumaara personal book hai ya mera biography??...poora ka poora story hai!!!!"
Then there were so many random references'most of them work and ETF related''
Then suddenly something caught his attention'..
"aaj mujhe ek badi secret pathaa chali''Shree ke baare mein'..OMG, I cant believe ke uske bole se surat ke peeche itna badaa secret chupaa hai''ussne mujhse aaj tak chupaaya''I wont forgive him'''.but I am worried too'.jab yeh baat Arjun sir ko pathaa chalegi, toh kya haal karenge Shree ke"
He couldn't help asking what that secret was'..
Arjun: tum yeh kis secret ke baat kar rahe ho??? Shree ne tumse kya chupaaya????
Riya: [as usual turning to the other side'..silently praying that she gets the strength to hide it from him] maine kahaa na??? no questions!!! Aur waise bhi, Shree ka secret hai'.main aapse keh nahi sakthi'.
Arjun: [very close to her and impatient to know it especially since his name is mentioned too] kehna toh tumhe padega Riya'''.
Riya: [deciding to play] ok'.par dho conditions hai'..
Arjun: kya??
Riya: ek'..main jo bhi kahungi, usse sunnenke baadh aap bilkul gussaa nahi honge'.aur Shree se isske baare mein poochenge bhi nahi''.aur dho'[blushing lightly]'aap mujhse "I love you" kahenge!!! Boliye manzoor hai!!
Arjun: [smiling] accha teek hai'..promise'..I will do as you say'.now out with it'.
Riya: [confused a bit but decides to let the cat out] hmmm'Shree hai na??'uski ek love affair hai'..
Arjun: [puzzled] okay'.so??? why would I get angry for that???? Uska life hai'uska affair hai'.jo chaahe karein!!! Mujhe koyi farq nahi padtha'..
Riya: aap poori baat suno pehle'.jiss ladki ke saath uska affair chal raha hai'.woh'.woh'.
Arjun: [impatient again] woh'woh kaun?? Jaldi bataao'.
Riya: Wohhh''''[pauses and looks at his pale face]'''Sheen hai'..[closes one eye and looks at his reaction'.she knew Sheen was like his own sister!]
Arjun: [shocked] WHAT????? Sheen?? As in Raghu sir ki beti Sheeen!!!
Riya: haan wahi'''but plzzz Shree se kuch matth poochiyega!!! Plzzz''.
Precap:
Arjun says "I love you Riya" again
Riya gets discharged and come back to the resort''
[To be continued]