Raj, Abhi, Gunny & Arjun were horrified as Naveen approached towards them, carrying an unconscious Shalini in his arms.
Raj- Naveen ye sab (pointing at Shalini & the blood stains on their clothes) Doc ko kya hua hai?
But Naveen was too preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't pay any heed to Raj's queries & directly rushed to the infirmary along with Aditi. So Vidya replied on behalf of him.
Vidya- Wo... Ma'am ka chota sa accident ho gaya hai...
Arjun- (sarcastically) Chota sa... Seriously? Aur ye Karan kaha hai.. Tum dono ke sath hi tha na?
Vidya- Police Station gaye hai!
Till then they all reached at the infirmary, Naveen came out after carefully laying Shalini on the bed & closed the door behind him.
Nav- Tum log yahan kab aa gaye?
Gunny- (mockingly) Bas yuhi tahelte hue aa gaye ... Idiot😠 tere pichhe hi toh aaye hai... Tujhe dikhayi nahi diya?
(Naveen nodded negatively.)
Abhi- Naveen! Hume lagta hai aapki aankhein wakai kharab ho gayi hai...
Nav- (loudly) Aur Tum pagal ho gaye ho!
Aditi came out furiously & lashed them for making noise.
Aditi- Itna shor kyu machha rahe hai... Fish market hai kya?
(All became quite.)
(She then noticed Vidya who's looking drowsy, clutching her shoulders, pain was clearly evident on her face) Vidya! Did you've your medicines? (All turned their gaze to her, Vidya didn't replied) Pata tha... Arjun! Please take her to my room & give her the medicines else the pain will increase. & All of you... Kindly go to your respective rooms... please!! (But no one moved, so she begged with folded hands🙏) Andar already ek doctor behosh padi hai... Kya chahte hai ek aur ho jaye?
Saying that she went inside, slamming the door loudly. Vidya felt heaviness due to pain, so she stumbled in her steps. Gunny held out his hand to prevent her from falling but Raj & Arjun caught her on time, seeing that Gunny reluctantly pulled back his hand.
Raj- (to Vidya) You okay?
Vidya- Yeah! I'm..
Nav- No! You're not... (Vidya looked at him with pleading eyes but he totally ignored that) She hadn't medicines in the afternoon & not eaten anything in dinner as well!
Arjun- (angrily) What! Why..? (looking at his watch) Oh God! Mess would have been closed. Now you tell me... How will you take your pills with an empty stomach? (Vidya kept her gaze intact on the floor, not wanted to listen their lectures.)
Raj- Calm down Arjun! I'll prepare something for her but firstly take her to Aditi's room...
Arjun nodded affirmatively & take Vidya, holding her from shoulders to give support.
In midway they meet with the captains & the Lt's who were quarreling near the phone booth.
Arjun- (sternly) Kya ho raha hai yaha? (All became quite.) Lights out me sirf 5 minutes hai.. aur aap sab yaha bachhon ke jaise ladd rahe hai....
(Rummy tried to say something but Arjun stopped him by his deadly glare, Vidya signalled them to keep their mouths shut.)
Peter- (mumbled to himself) Kya fayda officers bane ka jab lights out ke baad apne rooms ke bahar nahi nikal sakte toh...?
All silently nodded in agreement.
Arjun- (angrily) Go straight to your rooms right now or be prepared for consequences!
As soon Arjun finished saying the last word, all of them started to run around & in that process, they collided with each other, bumped into the walls too but finally they dispersed to their respective rooms.
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(Half an hour later)
In Gunny's room....
Raj & Gunny were preparing supper for Vidya & Naveen while Abhi was watching news when Arjun entered the room & went to the duo.
Arjun- Smells really nice... (casually) Kya bana rahe ho?
Gunny- Khichdi🥘... khaoge...?
Arjun- Thanks but no thanks... I've my dinner... (Sitting beside Abhi on the couch) Ye Naveen kaha hai?
Raj- Shower le raha hai... Any news about Karan? (Arjun nodded negatively) Strange! Ab tak toh aa jana chahiye tha...
Just then, Abhi who's listening to them silently, said
Abhi- Pardon me but... (They turned their attention towards him) Don't know why but I strongly feel that Naveen & Vidya are hiding something...
Raj- (agreeing with him) Even I felt same... Kuch na kuch jarur chupa rahe hai dono... Arjun tumne Vidya se pucha nahi?
Arjun- Pucha na but she didn't reply accurately... Pata nahi itni safai se jhooth bolna kisne sikha diya usse... Ek baar wo insaan mil jaye bas... (Clenched his fist) Aisi khatirdaari karunga ki zindagi me kabhi jhooth bolne ke bare me sapne me bhi nahi sochega😠
As soon Arjun said this, Gunny remember the day when BC ordered him to conduct a lie detector test on Vidya to test her mental strength, when she'd admitted that it's easier to hide the truth than telling lies. He started to cough, gaining the attention from the other three but covered up by saying that it's due to the chillies' smoke.
Raj poured the Khichdi into a bowl & placed that on tray.
Raj- Mai Vidya ke liye khana le jaa raha hu... Baki Naveen ko serve kar dena...
Raj went out holding the tray, while the other three continued to watch TV while waiting for Naveen. But he returned within seconds & signalled Gunny to come out silently.
Gunny thought that it would be something serious so he excused himself & went to Raj.
Gunny- Kya hua? (Raj gestured him to keep his pitch low) Kya hua... Mujhe aise kyu bulaya?
Raj- I need your help... Can you please take this to Vidya (giving him the tray) & please make sure that she'll eat her dinner & pills properly... She's very stubborn!
Gunny became delighted on the thought of spending time with Vidya but he kept his tone in check to hide his excitement.
Gunny- Okay... I'll do that but... Tum kahan jaa rahe ho?
Raj- (smiling nervously) Wo... Mai wo... (Gunny listening to him very attentively) Mai Naina se milne ja raha hoon..... (blushing shyly)
Gunny tried to hit his own head, "what he'd thought & what it turned out" but the tray was there.
Gunny- (irritated) Toh isme itna sharmane wali kya baat hai bhai! Tum sharma hi kyu rahe ho... Infact mai toh kehta hu kisi ko bhi sharmana nahi chahiye.. Jab pyaar kiya toh darna kya😉
Raj- Kehna bahot asaan hai Gunny... Par pyaar karne baad hi darr lagta hai.... Jab tumhe kisi se pyaar hoga na tab tum meri halat samjh sakoge... Anyways Mai chalta hu warna late ho gaya toh Naina naraz ho jayegi! (He left)
Gunny- Hmm... (In mind) Abhi se toh ye Naina se itna darta hai shaadi ke baad na jane kya hoga iska... (Sighed) Oh God have some mercy on him🙏... Bechara!
.............................................................
Meanwhile Naveen was taking shower & many thoughts were running in his mind about the recent happenings.
They went to doctor & how he gave them a lengthy lecture about Vidya ignorance towards her health, troubling medical staffs, etc. He genuinely got the feelings of being a parent of a very naughty child about whom teachers complaint in PTM.
Lastly when they came out from the doc's cabin, it'd became dark, so they decided to have dinner at KMA only. He's driving the car while singing merrily with Karan when they noticed that Vidya was unusually quite & gloomy.
So to cheer up her, he joked that due to Vidya, he got the experience of PTM of his future children. But she didn't react, so he told her about the bouquet incident & also mentioned Shalini's poor eyesight in a light tone but had no use on her.
He remembered Karan words "shukr kar Shalu ki neend me chalne ki bimari thik ho gayi hai warna agar tu uske samne aa jata toh kheench ke ek laafa lagta". For a moment Naveen's face whitened in fear, his left hand covered his cheeks as reflex & his expressions were worth watching.
He's about to reply back, when suddenly Vidya screamed to stop the car. He obliged & the car halted with a jerk. Vidya signalled them to look at the other road behind the woods from where smoke was coming. A car was badly crashed into a tree aside the road. When they rushed to the site, some more shock was awaiting for them. Someone was approaching the crashed car taking predatory steps with an iron rod in his hand.
He's about to hit the driver's head with the rod when they reached there. The attacker hurriedly ran away. Vidya clicked the photo of the vehicle. They went to check inside the car & were shocked to the core seeing unconscious Shalini on the driving seat.
His heart sank seeing her injured state & imagining the consequences of the attack if they hadn't been there on time.
Karan requested to take Shalini along with them to KMA & he himself went to police station taking Vidya's mobile. He also refrained them from telling anyone else about the attack.
×××××
Naveen came out after taking a bath & was wiping his head with towel, when he noticed his blood stained clothes. He checked them if in case he might forgot something important in it. While searching something glittery fell down from his shirt, he picked up that.
He thought for a moment that from where did it come to him. Finally he realised that it's of Shalini & would have been stuck on his shirt when he's carrying her in his arms.
He smiled a bit as he wanted to meet her & now he's a purpose too. He clutched the chain securingly in his fist & went to infirmary to return it. He peeped inside the infirmary, Vaibhavi was sitting near Shalini while she's asleep.
After seeing her, he felt a bit relieved. He silently left from there but not before glancing a last time to her as if to assure that she's fine.
------------------------------------------------------
In the meantime....
Gunny reached to Vidya & saw the door opened, while Vidya was lost in her thoughts. She's thinking a lot of stuff altogether. How the mission progressed & she ended up landing in KMA again, Naina mistakenly shooted her down. Priya's kidnapping, Nair & Bhargava arrest, her emotional turmoil meeting her long lost friends, faculties of KMA & on seeing him (Gunny) & the unknown danger that's approaching them by each passing moment, about whom they're totally clueless. She's feeling guilty that's because of her Naveen & Karan had to listen so much from the doctor & last but not the least about the repeated attacks on Shalini.
She's so engrossed in all these that she didn't noticed Gunny coming up to her.
He faked cough to break her trance & as expected she was surprised to see him.
Gunny- I've brought dinner for you... First finish this & then take your pills... Okay?🙂
Vidya- Iske liye aapko takleef lene ki kya jarurat thi... Anyways thanks & please keep it aside on the table.. Mai baad me kha...
(Gunny didn't let her complete.)
Gunny- Baad me nahi abhi mere samne ye pura bowl finish karna hai... Raj ne especially kaha hai... Jab tak tum aapna dinner nahi kar leti mai kahi nahi jane wale... (He sat beside her on the chair.)
Vidya- (smiling faintly) Ok... Toh aap dinner karwa ke hi manoge... (Gunny nodded in yes & placed the tray in front of her) Thank you!!
She tried to eat a spoonful but since her one hand was in sling, it's really difficult for her to eat properly. Gunny saw her struggling with the food, he wanted to help her but was hesitating initially, at last he took the spoon from her hand & was about to feed her, when Vidya stopped him.
Vidya- Sir! I can manage... You don't have to worry about...
Gunny- Sssshh... Open your mouth only to eat not to speak... Understand?
(She nodded like an obedient girl.)
Gunny started to feed her through his hands, stealing glances of her while she's busy eating. Vidya occasionally gazed him too through corner of her eyes when he's not looking at her.
She finished the dinner, Gunny gave her medicines. She laid down to sleep & Gunny was putting back the medicines in the box, when he asked her.
Gunny- Can I ask you something? (Vidya- Hmm) Tumhara naam Vidya Saxena se Vidya Singh Shekhawat kaise ho gaya & Tum itni jaldi captain kaise...? I mean tumhare batchmates toh abhi Lt hi hai...
He turned back to her & saw that she's had fallen asleep with a calm expression on her face. He smiled affectionately seeing that & went near her, covered her properly with the blanket, gently caressed her hair which were falling on her face & tugged them behind her ear.
As he left from there, Vidya opened her eyes slowly which were teary. She's just pretending to be asleep to avoid his queries.
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Meanwhile......
Raj & Naina were sitting in the garden. Naina was leaning her head over Raj's shoulder.
Naina- Sir...
Raj- (sternly) Sir??
Naina- (nervously) Ahh... I mean Rajveer... Aapse kuch Puchhon?
Raj- Mana karunga toh nahi Puchhongi?😏
Naina frowned & moved her head away from his shoulder. Raj smiled at her & gestured to ask.
Naina- Aap uss jeep blast me kaise... I mean... (She wasn't able to complete her question, Raj understood her state of mind.)
Raj- (softly) Naina! Mai jeep me nahi tha jab wo blast hua tha...
Naina- (curiously) Toh phir?
Raj- Pehle puri baat sunno.. phir kuch bolna... Agar bich me bologi toh mai nahi bataunga...
(Naina put finger on her lips.)
Raj- That's better... Ha toh suno hua yu ki jab mai jeep me gaya toh thodi hi dur par mujhe pe goliya chalne lagi... 2 goli tyres par lagi aur gaadi ka balance bigad gaya... Isse pehle ki mai kuch samjh pata ek goli meri jeep ke oil tanker par lagi aur maine turant dusre side jump kiya... Waha kuch gunde the jinse meri ladaai hui, unme se kisi ne mere sar par mara jis wajah se mai behosh ho gaya tha... Uske baad main kuch waqt ke liye behosh tha aur jab meri aankhein khuli toh maine aapne samne Naveen ko paya...
Naina- Uske baad? (Naina chirped in curiously but Raj didn't reply as his attention diverted to somewhere else.) Bataiye na phir kya hua... Bhaiya aur aapka reaction kaisa tha? (Shaking him vigorously) Bataiye na...
Raj- Naina! Hum kal baat karte hai... Raat bahut ho gayi hai... Good night!!
Before Naina could ask anything, he left from there.
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Naveen was having his dinner silently, watching the TV simultaneously, when he heard some beep sound coming from beneath the cushion.
He found Karan's phone laying there. He saw that it's displaying low battery alert.
Nav- (sighing) Ye Karan bhi na... Phone yaha-waha rakh kar bhul jata hai 😔.. Charge kar deta hu..
He was about to put the phone back when an another notification caught his attention. It's had come in the morning itself from unknown number but Karan didn't read that. Naveen for a moment thought to keep the phone back but in the next, he decided to see the message. He tried to open that but it's password protected, he scratched his head & then typed something, to his surprise the phone got unlocked in the first attempt only.
He mentally patted his back proudly in appreciation. He opened the message & got a massive shock. Seeing Shalini's photo in bridal attire, spoon fell down from his hand, Abhi & Arjun looked at him.
(A/N: No one in KMA knew that Shalini is married except Yudi, Vaibhavi, BC & MGG.)
The message was as follows:-
Meri wife ke bestfriend/ Rakhi brother... I hope tum aaj ki tareekh bhule nahi hoge... Bhuloge bhi kaise mai tumhe kabhi bhulne hi nahi dunga... Meri jeet aur tumhari haar ka din...
Aaj ek baar phir tum haaroge aur mai jeetunga... Aapni friend/sister ki smile yaad kar lo... Jee bhar ke dekh lo iss muskurate hue chehre ko... Kyunki aaj ke baad phir kabhi nahi dekh paoge!!
Aur tum chaah kar bhi kuch nahi kar paoge... Thik waise hi jaise 6 saal pehle kuch nahi kar paye the..
Ye photos bahut sambhal kar rakhna kaam aayenge...
See you soon 🖤
××××××
After reading the entire message, Naveen's blood boiled in anger & his eyes became red in rage. He's so furious that the glass he's holding in his hand, turned out in pieces, pricking in his hand. Blood began to flow, Arjun & Abhi became worried seeing him. But Naveen remained unaffected from pain.
Abhi took his hand in his & carefully removed the glass pieces from the wound & pressed some clothes against it to stop the blood flow. Arjun quickly brought out the first aid box & started to bandage his hand.
Arjun- (tensely) Ye kya kiya Naveen? God! Kitna khoon beh raha hai...
Abhi- (concerned) Kya hua Naveen.. Aap itne gusse me kyu hai? Please bataiye na...
But Naveen didn't reply a word, just forwarded the phone towards them.
They too became perplexed seeing the message.
Abhi- Shalini is married??
Just then the door opened & Gunny entered with a happily smiling face due to his meeting with Vidya but after witnessing the scene of his room, his expression changed to worried one. He asked them about the reason of their impulsive looks, in answer also Abhi gave him the phone. Now he too became confused & shocked at the same time & asked the same question "Shalini is married?"
Then they heard footsteps & averted their gaze to the door to see Karan standing there with a helpless & defeated look on his face, followed by Raj, who saw him coming, so he excused himself from Naina saying that they would talk some other day.
As soon Karan entered inside the room, all the Majors except Raj & Arjun attacked him with their questions while Raj was standing confused, unable to understand anything.
Thanks for reading 😇