Chapter 7

[MEMBERSONLY] [NOCOPY]

Note: If my words affect you, and you feel the pain, the joy, the hope, the despair... I consider it a great honour! 

My heart isn't steady, not even close... when I write these scenes

I am Sai when I write Sai, I am Virat when I write Virat and everyone else... But I feel Sai and Virat in me when I write always.. so you can imagine how my heart was breaking for them...

This one is for Disha, who pours out so much love for this story and for Madam Cheeku, who is back after hibernation! 

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“Aap na, chup rahiye! Hamesha apni chalani hoti hai! Mohit, haath mat chhodna inka. Chal paa rahe hai, lekin seedhiyan chadne par ye jo thak jaayenge, usske baare me nahi soch rahe! Mohit, le aayiye inhe.”

So absorbed was Sai in scolding her Virat Sir that she missed the glorious smiles that came on the faces of every single person there, seeing how she was back to her normal self, the firecracker Sai, as she spoke to Virat. Gone was the lifeless, subdued girl they had seen for the past 24 hours, and Virat’s toofanmail was back. All it had taken was one glimpse of her Virat Sir.

It was enough to make Ashwini and Mansi extremely emotional, which they quickly hid, not wanting to interrupt the moment. 

Grinning wide, Mohit whispered, “Dada, aap chupchap chaliye. Vahini na, kal ka pura stress gusse me convert karenge aur aapko sachme phatke padenge!”

Scowling, Virat whispered back, “Tum mera bhai hai! Jabse ye Gadchiroli Express aayi hai, chamcha bann gaya hai usska!”

“Dada, maan hi leejiye, aap bhi darte hai Vahini se!”

“Soch ke bolo! IPS Virat Chavan kisi se darta nahi hu!”

“Haan, haan, IPS Virat Chavan bahadur hai, kisi se nahi darte. Lekin Sai Vahini ka Virat Sir, apni baiko se bohot darta hai!”, Mohit sputtered with laughter at the offended expression on Virat’s face, which slowly turned into unwilling acceptance when Sai cleared her throat, and gestured to the stairs, her face impatient.

The entire family watched fondly as Virat was led away by his wife and brother, and sighing great sighs of relief, dispersed to their own rooms for some much needed rest. 

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Part 7

Day 3 - Home is where the Heart is

Up in their room, Mohit led his Dada to the chair at his request and gently helped him sit down. Looking up at Sai who had stepped back to let him sit comfortably, he asked, “Vahini, mai aur kuch madad kar sakta hu?”

“Nahi, Mohit, thank you… mai sambhaal lunga aage ka, aap bhi jaayiye aur thoda sa aaraam keejiye.”

Nodding, he looked down at Virat, who was watching them silently, “Dada, aapko kuch aur madad chahiye?”, he asked, tilting his head slightly towards the bathroom.

Smiling his thanks, Virat replied, “Nahi, theek hu mai. Khud ka dekh lunga. Thanks, Mohit. Sai theek keh rahi hai, tum jaao aur rest karo thoda.”

Once Mohit left, Sai got busy getting his things ready for a bath. Coming out of the bathroom, she said, “Virat Sir, towel aur kurta-pyjama andar rakhe hue hai, ab chaliye, naha leejiye.”

Staring at his wife, drinking her in with his eyes, now that he was back with her, Virat finally admitted to himself that the thing that had broken his heart the most yesterday was that he wouldn’t get to see her one last time. But determinedly shoving down all such thoughts, he smiled, eager to have one of their usual leg-pulling sessions.

“Madad karo na, uthne me.”

Rushing forward, she helped him up and leaning on her slightly, he walked to the door to the bathroom and stopped. 

At the her questioning gaze, he lifted his eyebrow at her, as if asking her what was the matter and motioned for her to precede him. At her shocked expression, he said, his face poker straight, “Ladies first..”

“Aapko andar tak chodna hai?” Sai asked, understanding dawning on her face, “Chaliye fir..”

“Andar tak chodne ke liye nahi, Sai.. mujhe nahana hai na? Madad karo nahane me. Itna zyada muscle pain hai toh mai apne aap ko achche se wash sab jagah nahi kar paaunga.”

Gaping at him, and then her face clearing, remembering all those times she had given him a sponge bath after he had gotten shot and was recovering at home, Sai asked him, “Achcha.. Aapko sponge bath lena hai? Chaliye, baith jaayiye stool par, mai woh towel leke aati hu”, and turned around, only to be stopped by him.

“Nahi, Sai, sponge bath nahii, mujhe garam pani se achche se saaboon lagake nahana hai. Ghanton tak bhaadd ki gandi pani me tair raha tha mai. Dhang se nahana hai aur mai sab jagah achche se reach nahi kar paaonga apne haathon se.”

Her mouth opening and shutting like a goldfish, a beautiful blush slowly climbing up from her neck, Sai stared at him, missing the wicked twinkle in his eyes. 

“Aur aisi haalat me mai apni patni se madad nahi maangoonga toh aur kisse maangoonga?”

Still standing gobsmacked, Sai gaped, unable to form a response, until Virat lost it, and unable to keep it up, started laughing. 

He laughed and laughed until he had to lean against the doorframe weakly, and seeing Sai’s scrunched up face, her having caught on that he had been pulling her leg, reached up to tweak her nose.

“Ab batao, kiska chehra tamatar jaisa ho gaya hai?!”

She was about to reply when the full realisation hit Sai that her Virat Sir was back, with her, safe, joking with her as he always did, and she took a step forward to wrap her arms around him. 

Mindful of his bruises, she pressed her face into his chest, breathing in deep, at peace finally, smiling through the tears that had started soaking his shirt.

Stunned at this reaction from her, instead of the usual nok-jhok, Virat put his arms around her.

“Sai…”

That tone, the one where he drew out the last syllable, the one which she had been desperate to hear one more time over the last 24 hours and more, was her undoing.

Looking up at him, her tears coming down in torrents, she tried to say something, anything, and unable to, reached up to cup his face, and drawing it down, placed a long, prayerful kiss against his forehead, all the unrealised, unexpressed love in her conveyed to Virat without a single word spoken.

Shaken up at this, Virat too stood silent, the moment too precious to spoil with words. 

On a sigh, Sai lifted her face, and gently tracing his face with her fingers, smiled once more, and stepped back, waiting for him to go in; only for Virat to stop her with a hand on her arm, and reaching up, he too cupped her face and wiped away her tears.

Smiling softly at her, he held her face for a long while, as if committing every feature to his memory before letting go. 

Motioning for her to go on back to the room, he stepped into the bathroom and closed the door, before leaning his forehead on the door and letting his tears of pure joy fall. Sai had said a lot to him without saying anything, and he felt as if he had just been handed all the happiness in the world on a platter.

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Sai sat down on the bed for a few minutes, getting herself under control, before she went down quickly to bring up food for Virat and herself. By the time she came back, the shower had stopped running and she set everything out on their coffee table and sat waiting.

Getting out of the bathroom, his hair dripping water on to the towel he had draped around his neck, Virat saw Sai sitting waiting and smiled, before reaching back into the bathroom to take out a spare towel to dry his hair. Walking over to the dressing table, he sat down gingerly, all the muscles awake now after the hot shower and started drying his hair.

His arms severely bruised and muscles screaming in agony, he could only manage to lift his hands a little and just make passing brushes over his hair. Sai saw him flinching and drew in a sharp breath.

Getting up quickly, Sai walked over to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. Looking up and meeting her eyes in the mirror, he lifted his chin up in query, only for her to smile softly and take the towel from him and start drying his hair. 

Towelling it dry vigorously, she lifted the towel and tapped him on the shoulder again and motioned for him to turn around, there being not enough space for her to stand in front of him, between the mirror and the stool.

Turning around, half-groaning, Virat sat like an obedient child as his wife started towelling the back of his head. 

Tilting his head forwarc to give her better reach, he almost drooped, ending up leaning his head against her stomach. 

Almost cocooned in the warmth of her, he sat, in peace and bliss, at the simple, matter-of-fact love in what Sai was doing enveloping him like a warm blanket. 

Moving forward and standing a little closer, so that he can rest comfortably, Sai towelled, the rhythmic movements almost lulling him to a dreamy state of semi-consciousness. 

Finishing off, and seeing that he was not moving, she smiled gently and started stroking his head, lightly raking her fingernails over his scalp, massaging away the aches he must have been having. 

Sighing with pleasure, Virat relaxed fully, looping his arms around her waist as he sat there, letting his wife take care of him.

A long while later, Sai lifted her hands, and placed them on his shoulders, forcing him to look up. 

Gazing up at her, the peace and happiness on his face making her eyes moist, Sai stroked away the hair from his forehead and said, “Aayiye ab, khana khaayiye aur so jaayiye.”

Too comfortable where he was sitting, he pouted, and then got up under her frown and walked up to the coffee table, both of them sitting down in their usual dining positions. Looking on as Sai filled the plate with Roti, Kadi and Rice, Virat realised that she had brought only one plate.

“Aur tumhara khana?”

“Hai na, yahan,“ she pointed to the bowls containing food matter-of-factly, and keeping the plate on her lap, held out a morsel, motioning him to eat. 

Realising that she was going to feed him, his heart lightening again, he opened his mouth and sat back, chewing, watching with increasing happiness as she ate the next morsel herself. 

The sheer simplicity of the moment made it all the more priceless. They had fed each other before, but had never shared the same plate. 

Feeding him until he couldn't eat more, Sai finished off the the rest of the food and as he started getting ready for bed, went down to keep the tray back in the kitchen. 

Coming back up quickly, she found him walking around, keeping his phone for charging, closing the windows, and sat down on the bed, watching him. 

Sitting down at the edge of the mattress on his side of the bed and turning to look at her, he smiled, seeing her sitting cross-legged facing him, looking like a child. 

“Tum bhi so jaao thodi der. Chehre se pata chal raha hai kitni dhaki huyi ho tum.”

Nodding, she said, “Haan, soungi.”

“Achcha, toh apna Sinhghad qila nahi banana?” he laughed, suddenly taking her back to their talk the day before he left for his rescue operation, and the moment she was alone in this room when she couldn’t stand the sight of the pillow wall.

Sai closed her eyes tight, grabbing a pillow from the remnants of the pillow wall to bury her face in. 

Suddenly, Virat’s face appeared in front of her eyes again, first irritated, as he talked about her putting up the Great wall of China, and then the next time with a knowing smirk, as if he knew something about her that she herself didn’t.

“Lekin ek baat tum samajh lo. Aaj tum beech me ye taqiye rakh rahi ho, lekin ek din aayega, jab tum hi mujhse kahegi ye taqiye hataane ko.”

Grabbing them all and throwing the pillows away, crying hard now, remembering how she had forgotten to keep the pillow fort a few nights around the time of his aborted mission, at how she had slept holding his hand as a pillow, Sai sobbed, “Wapas aa jaayiye, Virat Sir. Mai kabhi bhi humare beech aisi deewar khada nahi karungi. Aapke khabar mile bina nahi ho rahi mujhse khud ko sambhaalna!”

Almost sobbing at the memories, Sai crawled over to hug him from behind, burying her face in his back, her arms wrapping around him.

Stunned, he tried to turn around, but unable to under her tight hug, kept his hands over hers, and asked, “Sai…. kya hua?”

“Mujhe maaf keejiye, Virat Sir! Mujhe pata hai aapko bohot taqleef hua tha mere uss din ki bartaav se. Mujhe maaf keejiye!”

“Sai… kya bol rahi ho tum? Kis din ke baare me bol rahi ho?” he gently but firmly unclasped her hands from around his waist and turned around, so that he could see her face. 

Wiping away her tears, she said, “Aap ke rescue mission pe jaane ke pehlewali raat ko jab maine apna qila banaya tha, toh aapko achcha nahi laga tha na? Aur aapne kaha bhi tha ki mai khud woh hatane ko bolungi aap se?”

Tucking her hair in behind her ear and tapping her under her chin, he laughed, “Arre, iss baat ko pakadke baithi ho? Tumhe woh banane se zyada comfort milti hai na? Toh banao… mujhe koi problem nahi hai, Sai…”

“Par mujhe hai ab!”

“Kya?!” Virat exclaimed. “Sai… kya hua hai?”

Shaking her head, she replied, “Kuch nahi… aap let jaayiye. Aapko sona hai, aur mai woh qila aaj se kabhi nahi banaungi.”

He stared at her, at the force of her reaction, and knowing there was something going on in his Sai’s head, and deciding to talk it out after they have both had some rest, lay down.

After watching him for a minute, Sai pulled his hand towards her, and laying down facing him, rested her head on his palm, making his heart full. 

She had slept like this once before, but facing away from him, and now, seeing her drinking in his face, tears starting to drip down, it felt as if his heart would burst from the love he had for this young wife of his.

His face softening, Virat reached over to pull her towards him, wrapping one arm around her, making her lay comfortably with her head on his shoulder.

Sai pressed her face against his shoulder for a moment and then looked up at him in silence. Leaning down to press a soft kiss against her forehead, he whispered, “So jaao, Sai…”

Heaving a great sigh, wrapping her arm around his stomach, Sai closed her eyes, and slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep, followed by him.

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