Thank you all for your amazing comments on the previous part. You all made me so happy and made me feel so proud that I was able to give a decent ending to this story. LOL!
(Unedited part so excuse the errors)
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Madhu walked out of the doctor's cabin collecting her reports. She was so upset and half of the time she was zoned out. She willed to concentrate on the screen to see her baby but her vision was blurred with unshed tears. She missed her husband in there. She wished he was in there holding her hand and they saw their baby together. Even he missed her first scan and she hoped he would accompany with her for the second scan. She even reminded him twice yesterday when he came back home from duty and even this morning she made sure he would come to her appointment but he didn't. He said he would join her directly from his office and asked her to go to the hospital on her own. She waited for him for an hour requesting the doctor's assistant to send other patients for their check up and she would go once her husband joins her but till the end he didn't come so she went for the check up yet again alone having the doctor pity on her for her state.
She dashed away a pearl drop of tear with the back of her hand and marched towards the exit.
She was looking down so she didn't see who was coming right opposite to her.
She jerked back holding her baby bump when she was about to ran into someone. She breathed out in relief that she didn't collide on someone and got hurt. "Madhu snap out of this foul mood, will you?" her inner voice warned her. She nodded her head slightly as if agreeing with her inner voice and looked up to see her husband standing in front of her blocking her way. She threw him an angry glare and walked past him.
"Hey, wait..." Rishab ran after her and held her hand. She shrugged off his hand and continued walking.
"Madhu, I am sorry I got late... I got an urgent work... I was working on this case for weeks now and finally I got hold of the key culprit... I just couldn't put off the work and come to you... Try to understand it was important for me..." that hurt her more. She gave him a pained look but didn't say a word. She was scared she would breakdown into tears or scream at him in her anger. Wasn't she important to him? Wasn't attending the appointment with her and seeing the baby along with her important to him? She wished to ask him that but she didn't, not wanting to create a scene in public.
"You done with your check up?" he asked pointing to her report. She snatched the report when he tried to take it from her hand.
"Madhu, don't behave like this. Talk to me, please"
She kept walking without a word. She looked around for the cab she had booked 10 minutes ago. She checked her phone for the cab's number and looked around for it. She found it outside the hospital parking lot. She quickly walked to the cab and got into it.
"Hey, wait... " Rishab stopped the cab driver as he revved and was about to start moving.
"You didn't come in your car?" Rishab asked bending his head down and looking at her through the half open window. She didn't reply to this question and started rolling up the window but Rishab put his hand on the glass window stopping her. Madhu sighed and turned her face away.
"Come. I will take you home in my car." He unlocked the lock by slipping his hand inside the car through the open window and opened the door but she slammed it shut almost jamming his fingers in between.
She worriedly looked at his fingers and then at his face to see whether he got hurt but he shook his head letting her know that he was unaffected and she exhaled in relief. Then she asked the cab driver to keep going turning her face away from him.
--0--
Unlocking her apartment door, she walked straight to the bedroom.
Throwing the medical report on the bed she marched to the washroom to wash her face. She splashed cold water over and over on her face. "Don't cry, Madhu" she chided herself and splashed water on her face for one last time before stepping out of the washroom grabbing the soft towel on her way from the shelf to wipe her face with it.
She stripped her clothes off mechanically and pulled on a loose top and pajama bottom.
She felt slightly hungry but was in no mood to cook so she just crawled on the bed and curling like a ball she closed her eyes to take a nap, hugging her husband's pillow tightly to her chest.
"There is no use for this pillow when I am near you. You can hug me and sleep" she heard her husband's husky voice near her ear as he gently extricate the pillow from her tight grip. She thought he wouldn't be coming home but was surprised when he followed her to home and now lying beside her, hugging her from behind.
He thought she would push away his hand but she didn't. She just let him hug her but still didn't turn around to his side to face him or speak to him.
He decided to test her mood by kissing her temple. She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers on the corner of her eyes to stop the threatening tears ready to spill. She didn't want him to see her tears. It would only put his mood off and he would recoil from her in irritation.
"I am sorry, Madhu" he whispered genuinely feeling guilty.
"You do...don't..have to say sorry to me. Neither my baby nor I am important to you... All that matters to you is your job." she sobbed softly.
"Our baby, Madhu" he corrected her.
"Keep reminding yourself that I am carrying YOUR baby at least then you will think about us"
"Hey this is not fair. I always think about you two." he wasn't ready to take her accusation. They two were his first concern and priority.
"Partly true. You think about us only when there is trouble or threat for our lives but not always. At normal times we won't come to your mind." she countered him, sounding hurt and angry.
"I was so excited to see our baby having you by my side at least in my second scan but you didn't come yet again. I was hurt. So hurt Rishab. Why you do this to me? Again and again?" she started crying like a baby covering her face with her hands.
Technically it was her third scan as her second scan was unscheduled and nothing in detail.
First scan Madhu took when Rishab was busy hunting Balraj and Bujang. Second scan was taken right after they reached Mumbai from that Island. That time Madhu forced him to get his injured hand treated though he wanted to be with her in the sonogram room and make sure for himself that their baby was alright. She went alone to do a quick scan after literally pushing her husband into the doctor's cabin to check his hand and by God grace the baby was unaffected much to Rishab and Madhu's happiness but still Madhu was advised by the doctor to take bed rest for at least 3 weeks and she obliged. She loved that three weeks period as she was overly pampered by her husband. And now this was her third scan, where she got to see her baby in human form but not just a clot like the other two times.
He missed all the three scanning sessions and that upsets Madhu like anything.
"Oh baby... Please don't crying. Even I feel bad that I couldn't see our baby..." he slipped his hand beneath her neck and placed his other hand over her shoulder and turned her to face him. He moved his body little back giving room for her baby bump so that it won't get squeezed between them.
"I am really sorry. You can even punish me but please forgive me." he peppered kisses all over her face. She wiped her teary cheeks with the back of her hands but her tears refused to stop. He brushed his thumb over her trembling lips soothing her.
"I am sorry." she said embarrassed of crying. He nodded & kissed her cheek.
"You won't get these special moments again, Rishab... Cherish it when you get it."
"I know. I tried but I got late. Nothing intentional, Madhu, trust me" he kissed her forehead. She remained silent to steady her breathing.
"What the doctor said about your health?"
"Baby and I are doing good" she said softly drawing patterns on his chest as she contemplated whether to tell him the little secret or to surprise him.
He sighed in relief and kissed her forehead again. He simply loved kissing her.
"It's a boy" Madhu softly said still looking at his chest. He tipped her head up by holding her chin.
And we are having twins!
But I am not going to tell that!
It's a punishment for missing the appointment!
And it's going ti be a little shocking surprise for you, my dear husband!
I hope you don't get to find it out before the delivery!
"Really?" he asked with a gigantic smile. It was infectious making her smile too.
"You wanted girl baby, right?" she asked though she already knew her husband secretly wished for girl baby.
I hope the other twin is a girl!
I really hope!
I want your wish to come true, Rishab!
"I am happy. Boy or girl, doesn't matter to me but how did you come to know it was a boy? Doctor told you?" he asked curiously as revealing the gender of the baby by the doctors or any other hospital staff was prohibited in India.
"No, she didn't... I saw his... um... thing before doctor could quickly move to the other parts" she said blushing. Rishab laughed and kissed her blushing cheeks.
But I wasn't lucky enough to see the gender of the other twin!
Is the other twin a boy or a girl?
She was actually distracted throughout the sonogram process as her mind was else where, well on her husband but she forced herself to focus on her baby and her eyes caught her baby's precious possession.
And she got the shocking news she was having twins.
How?
Doctor said the other twin was not visible in the previous scan. Maybe because the twins were overlapping.
"Hmm... you going back to work?" she asked.
"Not if you don't want me to"
"Stay with me, please?" she asked. And hold me and your twins, please.
He nodded with a smile and hugged her.
Madhu too smiled and closed her big beautiful eyes to sleep for a while.
"You guys stop playing" Madhu chided still having her eyes closed. Rishab was caressing her belly and the babies were responding to him by constantly bouncing in her.
"Sorry. You too sleep champ without disturbing mommy" Rishab patted her belly twice and took his hand off her tummy. She smiled realizing their babies listened to their daddy and settled down.
--0--
(Few months later)
"I wish he just crawls out of me effortlessly instead of me pushing him out exhausting my energy" Madhu said inwardly groaning. Rishab chuckled.
She was very mindful not to blurt out that she was having twins or say 'babies' instead of 'baby' when her husband was around her.
"Go for C-section then you don't have to worry about pushing the baby out." he suggested
"Nah! I prefer natural birth"
And I hope I could push both the babies out naturally.
And with little pain I could do that.
"Alright" he kissed her head.
"I can't wait to see our baby boy" Madhu said excitedly.
And to know the gender of the other baby.
And to surprise you.
Rishab smiled as he gently caressed her enormous tummy.
"Just two more weeks..." she sighed. "... Then we will have this little one around us."
Two!
Two babies!
How am I going to handle two babies?
Oh God!
"Hmm..."
"What? You don't sound excited?" she asked.
"I am..."
"but?" she knew he was holding back something.
"At times I feel terrible that I couldn't make you happy... by spending more time with you"
"You do make me happy. Agreed I have missed you many times..." she sighed.
"Rishab, I am really sorry if I am putting pressure on you by being so needy and demanding..." he shook his head at her silently asking her not to feel so.
But I am really scared now more than ever!
Now that I am having twins!
"I have never needed anything like I need you... especially now..." she sighed and rubbed her protruding belly "I know you are trying hard to be for me, for us.. and I even made myself understand that its your job... your presence is required almost at all the time there..."
"What if our baby didn't understand this? What if he hates his father for not being there for him in all his milestone moments?"
"He won't hate you... In fact he will only feel proud of you"
He smiled and kissed her lips.
"But you don't plan to miss all his important moments... Then both your son and I will go thermonuclear on you" she warned him. And the other baby too!
He vowed to remember the warning.
"So you understand my job nature right?"
"Very well, Rishab" she smiled.
"So you won't mind if I go to Pune on work..." he stopped when she glared at him.
Was that his trick to lock her with her own words?
"Were you scared to tell this to me?" she asked.
"Not really" he said. He wasn't scared but he was worried about her reaction. He didn't want to make his pregnant wife cry.
"How many days?"
"Two days. I have to go to Pune tomorrow directly from office and I will be back most probably on Saturday"
"That's all? Okay fine, go." she granted permission.
But come back soon!
I am so tensed and worried lately!
I don't want to stay along for long having two babies in me.
Oh God!
Should I tell him about the other twin now?
Will that make him stop from going out of town on work?
Nah! He won't! Work comes first for him!
And I want to surprise him!
"You are letting me go?" he expected her to be clingy and force him not to go as her due date was fast approaching.
She nodded. "Work is important right?"
"Not more than you and our baby" he said the most clichéd line.
"Ha ha! I believe you" she said sarcastically though she knew what he said was true.
"But... But... But... I want you by my side when I get into labor and that time I won't take any excuse. And I also want you to be the first one to hold our baby." she made her demand clear to him. Babies!
Can he hold him two babies at once?
He can because I know my husband is a superman!
"Fair enough." he agreed. "I will be" he promised.
"Now, husband, I am hungry. Go cook" she ordered.
With all the food I eat and all the extra weight I gain, I better hope the twins are chunky!
"Guess 'Husband, I love you and Husband, I am hungry' are the two most favorite lines of my wife." Rishab thought with a smirk.
He loved to hear the former sentence from her but not too delighted to hear the latter one because it meant more work for him.
Cooking time!
"Yes, ma'am" he bowed and jumping out of the bed he went to the kitchen to cook something for his wife.
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