"You were wrong baby, tu galat thi. Tujhe kuch nhi hua!", Sidharth said to an unconscious Shehnaaz.
Shehnaaz had been shifted to the private ward just a few moments ago. She looked way too thin. Her cheeks were hollow and drained of blood.
The only thing that made Sidharth control his break down was the fact that she was alive. He can always bring her back to her health.
After this incident, Sidharth was sure that he won't let her get out of his sight.
He has seen what even the thought of her dying could do to him.
He was sitting on a tool in front of her bed. She was using a ventilator to breathe which made him freak out.
But Dr. Anaya told him that this was only for an hour or so and after that it will be removed, and she can breathe on her own.
Sidharth was feeling that today was the day when he was so close to loosing everything, his life, his happiness.
But then, out of the blue, he got everything back. Infact now he had more than he had before, he had his wife and his daughter, together.
Baaz had called Sidharth asking him to have lunch with them but Sidharth refused.
"Aap sab yahan kya karoge? Pari ko abhi dekhne nhi denge aur Shehnaaz toh abhi uthi nhi", he said as he explained the family.
"Par aise kaise...", everybody started saying.
"Jab Shehnaaz subha uthegi toh use ghar wala breakfast hi chahiye hoga. Aur mein bhi nhi chahta ki wo hospital ka khaye!", he said as he asked them to leave.
They understood and it was only logical because being here was of no use. Instead they can go back home and come tomorrow to see Shehnaaz and Pari.
When Shehnaaz woke up in the morning, she looked at Sidharth who was sitting in front of her, sleeping while sitting on the stool.
His head was on the bed and she scrunched her nose thinking about how uncomfortable he might be.
Realisation struck her. She was alive, Sidharth was right here and Pari, where was Pari?
She panicked. Shehnaaz remembered singing to her daughter but was that reality or just her imagination.
Feeling movements near him, Sidharth woke up. He Saw Shehnaaz all panicking and looking here and there frantically.
Initially he didn't understand but then realised that she might be searching for Pari.
"Shehnaaz!", he said lovingly, drawing her attention to him and cupping her face.
She looked at him and tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to fall any moment.
"Pari?", she asked weakly. She couldn't even bring herself to ask about her baby because she felt that if something had happened to her, she would die.
"Shhhh... Shhh...shaant ho ja! Pari newborn babies wali wing mei hai!", he said as he hugged her closer.
"Wo idhar kyun nhi hai? Mere sath?", she asked. He could see that she was about to cry.
He was worried for her. Shehnaaz had lost a lot of blood and Dr. Anaya had strictly told him to make sure that she doesn't get stressed out.
But she was doing the exact opposite. He feared that she might get a panic attack like this.
Sidharth quickly took out his phone and opened Pari's picture and then made her look at it.
"Dekh, theek hai Pari! Tu shaant hoja meri Jaan!", he said softly.
Shehnaaz was numb and awestruck seeing her little child. She was so small, her hands were like little grapes.
Shehnaaz cried and smiled and then cried some more. "Mera laadu..", Shehnaaz cooed at the picture.
She looked up at him only to find him smiling at her. She smiled widely with blurry eyes.
"Mujhe dekhna hai!", she said with an audible crack in her voice.
"Shehnaaz tu abhi abhi uthi hai, you don't have that much energy, baby", he tries to reason with her.
"Nhi nhi! Mujhe abhi apni bachchi ko uthana hai, abhi!", she cried.
Sidharth held her closer, trying to understand what she was going through but his imagination couldn't even come close, and he knew.
Sidharth understood that she was going through a bitter turmoil. Firstly, she had woken up to find her daughter not beside her and now she couldn't meet her.
Shehnaaz hid her face in his chest and clutched his shirt with both of her hands and broke down.
And then something happened. Sidharth realised something that was making his heart beat much faster.
"Shehnaaz, sun baby, aaj date kya hai?", he asked frantically with wide eyes.
Shehnaaz couldn't understand his sudden interest about the date. She looked at him confusedly amidst tears.
"Phone check kar!", she said weakly and then he smacked himself for not thinking about it.
He looked at the phone, the date it showed and his lips curved into a big big grin.
"Kya hua?", she asked.
"Baby, happy 3rd anniversary, shaadi hui thi aaj teen saal pehle humari, bhul gyi tu? ", he asked teasingly as he kissed her forehead.
"Iska mtlb jaanti hai?", he asked.
She looked at him with wide eyes, understanding what he just said.
"Pari humari anniversary ke din paida hui. She was born at 12:05!", they both said together and then looked at each other.
"13th October, Pari's birthday and our anniversary!", he mumbled as he leaned towards her and held her chin as he kissed her.
Could this day get any better than it already was. It was their anniversary and from next year it would be their daughter's birthday too.
He got his Shehnaaz back, safely. Their child was fine despite being premature and she was a normal child.
The best part was that she had taken herself after her mother. He had two Shehnaaz's, one his wife and the other one was his mini Shehnaaz.
Shehnaaz shifted on the bed, giving him space to sit beside her on the bed but he denied, telling her that she was too weak.
"Please thodi der mujhe pakad le, hug karle thodi der!", she pleaded and he himself had been craving to hold her.
Sidharth carefully sat beside her and pulled her close through her shoulder, not even daring to hold her waist or stomach.
She had stitches on her stomach and the though of hurting Shehnaaz by holding her, didn't sit well with him.
She closed her eyes and laid on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "Kaisi dikhti hai wo? Tune uthaya use?", she asked.
"Uthane nhi diya par mein thodi der tak uske paas tha. Uske nose, lips, eyes ki shape, eyes ka colour, sab tere jaisa hai", he said.
He could feel Shehnaaz smiling widely against his chest. "Tere jaisa kya hai?", she asked.
"Apna naak chadhati hai, eyebrows se kya frown karti hai, wo meri tra hai!", he grinned sheepishly and Shehnaaz chuckled.
"Tere se bohot milti hai, puri teri photocopy hai!", he said proudly.
"Meri photocopy?", Shehnaaz gasped and pulled away to look at him.
"Han!", he said as he smiled and pulled her back on his chest.
"Abbe abhi abhi paida hui hai fir bhi pout karti hai teri tra", he laughed.
"Hayee rabba, sachchi? Khaa sau!", she gasped and looked at Sidharth with wide eyes.
"Han moti baby, teri kasam. Photo mein nhi dekha tune?", Sidharth laughed.
"Aur tere jaise gaal pe til hai, ek dum same jga par!", he said happily and Shehnaaz smiled.
"Jiss tra naak chadati hai aur pout karti hai, no doubt ki humari hi beti hai!", he said and they both laughed.
It was 9 already and, Sidharth and Shehnaaz couldn't stop gushing about their newborn daughter..
Dr. Anaya entered the room at around 10 with a wide smile and they both smiled at her too. Sidharth got up from the bed and looked at the doc.
"Good morning Shehnaaz, kaisi ho?", she asked softly.
"Good morning Dr. Anaya. I am good!", Shehnaaz said politely.
"Congratulations, you have a pretty daughter, dekha meine!", Dr. Anaya said lovingly.
"Haina? Sundarr hai na!", Shehnaaz gushed and Sidharth and the doc smiled and nodded at her ecstatic self.
Dr. Anaya grabbed the patient chart and started looking at it intently. She looked at the machine for the readings.
"That was a nice and fast recovery. Kaafi achcha improve kiya hai tumne!", Dr. Anaya spoke, totally impressed with her recovery rate.
Sidharth felt relieved and 2sighed. He could now relax. Shehnaaz was fine, their baby was fine and now he felt he was fine too.
"Thank you Anaya!", Shehnaaz spoke softly and Dr. Anaya just gave her an assuring smile as she nodded.
"Apni daughter se milogi?", she asked expectantly.
"Pari se? Mil sakti hun mein?", Shehnaaz asked getting emotional again.
Sidharth also smiled. He was waiting to meet their daughter again. It had been so many hours since he last saw her.
Sidharth wanted to know whether she had grown overnight or not, but little did he know that his baby girl needs more time to grow.
Dr. Anaya nodded seeing her excitement and joy of meeting her daughter for the first time, officially.
A nurse was called with a wheel chair and Sidharth insisted that he would wheel the chair himself. Dr. Anaya was leading and they were behind her.
As soon as Shehnaaz stood outside the big ward having so many newborns, her heart beat rose. Her heart was thudding wildly against her chest.
Sidharth knew what was she feeling and so he just kept an assuring hand on her shoulder.
She looked up, asking him through eyes whether she would be a good mother.
He replied the same way as he smiled and told her that she already!
Shehnaaz nodded and tear drop fell which she harshly wiped away. She was going to meet her daughter and she isn't going to cry.
Dr. Anaya gestured Sidharth to take her inside and she herself entered after them.
Shehnaaz somehow knew who her daughter was. She pointed in the direction where her daughter was and then looked at Sidharth and doc for confirmation.
They both nodded and she looked ahead, towards Pari, a big choking lump in her throat, threatening to come out.
Dr. Anaya opened the incubator and kept Pari over Shehnaaz's chest. She instantly snuggled into her like a few hours ago.
Shehnaaz instantly smiled and started sobbing when she felt her little girl trying to hold her gown in her fists.
"Sidharth ise pta hai ki mein iski mumma hun!", Shehnaaz looked at him as she held her daughter with her weak hands.
Sidharth was surprised too. Firstly because of the way Shehnaaz knew who Pari was and secondly because of the way Pari knew who her mumma was as she clung to her.
He smiled softly as he looked at Pari whose body rose with each tiny soft breath she took and it matched her mother's breathing.
Both of their chest rose at the same time and he smiled goofily.
Shehnaaz has cried so much to hold her daughter and when finally she was, Sidharth felt like he is going to cry oceans right now.
His little girl, their little girl knew who her mother was as she cooed softly on Shehnaaz's chest and dug herself into her chest.
Shehnaaz couldn't stop herself as she cried, with one hand holding Pari and the other covering her mouth keeping herself from sobbing loudly.
Sidharth bent down, his knees on the floor as he wiped away Shehnaaz's face softly with his big fingers, as he cried himself.
Shehnaaz felt what happiness meant when she had her daughter in her arm and her husband on the other side of her.
This is what life means, she thought to herself. This is what she had been waiting for, desperately.
And how ironical and weird it was. When Shehnaaz came to know that she might be pregnant, she had so unknowingly imagined herself being a mother.
She and Sidharth never got to plan their family but as soon as they were sure that they were becoming parents, happiness knew no bounds.
Pari again fell asleep in Shehnaaz's arms and she couldn't help as her heart skipped a beat seeing her daughter sleeping peacefully in her arms.
As, the nurse helped Shehnaaz to put Pari back in the incubator, Shehnaaz smiled lovingly.
"Mannat...", she mumbled and Sidharth did hear her.
"Mannat?", he asked as his heart raced. He knew what was she doing, and he felt his heart bursting out of love.
"Mannat!", she smiled and looked at Sidharth.
Sidharth nodded and shed some tears as he kissed Shehnaaz's forehead.
They just named their daughter - MANNAT, a wish...
I am in love with this name. Bohot hi pyaara naam hai. One of my readers has this name, if I remember correctly, ek dum abhi yaad aaya 😂
So, abb sab khush hain ki nhi? I hope that this chapter put a smile on your faces because that's what I intended.
So, just a few more chapters to go...