Chapter 46

**Chapter 46: What Now?**

“Raghav?” Pallavi heard his signature angry tone and woke up, “Ragahv, kya hua. Itna chilla kyun rahe ho?”

Raghav heard Pallavi’s voice and immediately turned to her, “Pallavi, you’re awake? Tum theek ho? Does your head still hurt? Don’t get up. Why the hell didn’t you listen to me when I told you not to do this silly vat savitri nonsense? I just—“ Raghav was babbling and didn’t stop until Pallavi shushed him.

“Raghav, main hospital mein hun, aur tum itne sare sawaal puch rahe ho. Shush, calm down. I’m fine.” Pallavi, getting up a little saw Amma and Keerthi, who were clearly relieved. “Amma, Keerthi, why’s Raghav yelling so—“ Pallavi stopped when she saw Aai, Nikhil, and Baba.

“Pallu,” Sharda came closer to her daughter, “Are you o—“

“Aai, Nikhil, main theek hun. Aap dono—aur Mr. Deshmukh jaa sakthe hain.” Pallavi said, throwing a pleading glance at Aai, hoping she would understand that she wasn’t strong enough to stop Raghav from yelling at Baba again. But more importantly, she wasn’t in the mood to listen to Baba’s tirades against her character anymore.

“Pallavi Di, we’re just here to see if you’re okay. Raghav took you to the hospital so quickly, and he didn’t even tell us where—“ Nikhil started.

“Nikhil, I’m tired, mujhe aaj ke baare mein baat nahin karni hai, please, I’m fine. Amma, Keerthi, aur Raghav hai mere paas.” Pallavi replied quickly, she could sense Raghav’s temper rising again, and she saw him clench the sheet of the bed, his knuckles white.

“Acchaa, tho hum tumhare padosee hain?” Baba strode inside, putting on a light tone, hoping Pallavi would see the gesture and let Sharda and Nikhil stay with her at least.

Raghav made to stand up, but Pallavi held him down, “Mr. Deshmukh, what I wanted to say to you, I’ve already said. Now, I would like you to leave with your family. Aai, Nikhil, I’m sorry, but—“

“You heard what my wife said, get out.” Raghav said, coldly, but with a quiet anger and still holding Pallavi’s hand, assuring her with his grip that he wouldn’t escalate further.

Just then the doctor walked in, “Ms. Pallavi! You’re awake that’s great! Looks like the saline and glucose was good for your dehydration and blood sugar, but I think it’s best if you eat—“

“Mrs. Rao, not Ms.” Raghav and Pallavi said together. Raghav looked at his wife, but she was still looking at the doctor.

“Doctor, does my fainting mean I can’t fast anymore?” Pallavi asked, concerned, “Was that why I fainted?”

“Tum abhi bhi yeh fast nonsense ke baare mein baat kar rahi ho?” Raghav was angry again, not caring who was in the room, “No more fasts. If I have to force feed you I will, ardhamaindha? Amma, call Farhad and tell him to bring every dish from the nearest Maharashtrian restaurant, now.”

“There’s no need for that, we have food here in the hospital—“ The doctor laughed, but then fell silent when he saw Raghav’s face.

“Uh, Mrs. Rao, sorry. But I don’t think you’ll be able to fast for a while, especially not in this condition—“

Raghav stood up, “Condition? What condition? What happened? Did you mess something up, if you did anything—“ He started to walk towards the doctor, who cowered in fear.

“Raghav, sit down and relax, bewakoof.” Pallavi sat up, “Doctor, don’t worry about my husband, he’s just a little stupid”

“As I was saying Mrs. Rao…er” the doctor edged farther away from Raghav, who was still glaring at him, “you’re pregnant, so fasting in this condition isn’t a good idea. Congratulations!” He was too afraid to look at Raghav’s face again, so he quickly added, “I’m going to page another doctor, an actual OB-GYN, she’ll tell you about next steps…and uh, you should definitely eat something soon, even if it’s from a restaurant.”

The doctor practically ran out of the room before any other member of this crazy family could attack him.

“Pregnant?” Pallavi said, quietly. Then a smile split over her face. “I’m pregnant?! I’m pregnant? Amma!! Raghav! Keerthi!!!” She got out of the bed before Raghav could stop her, and hugged Amma hard.

Sharda stood there, no one had seemed to notice that neither her nor Nikhil and Vijay had left the room.

“Pallavi, beta, get back into bed. I heard the doctor. Tum bhi, you just fainted, get back into bed now.” Amma and Keerthi helped Pallavi back into bed. Raghav was still just sitting, next to the bed, seemingly in shock.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be an aunt, Pallavi!!! Ahhh, I’m so happy.” Keerthi hugged Pallavi tightly. “Ok, Amma, let’s go get her some food, I don’t think we should listen to Raghav about restaurant food, we’ll get something simple from the hospital, and then you and I can go home and make something for Pallavi Di and bring it back.”

Pallavi laughed at Amma and Keerthi’s excitement, and she could barely contain her own. Then she saw Raghav.

“Aai, aap sab ghar jaayie. I’m fine now. I’ll talk to you later” Pallavi said, still looking at Raghav.

Nikhil took Aai’s hand and left the room, he had seen Aai’s tears when Pallavi had hugged Raghav’s mom, and he had also seen how happy Pallavi was. This wasn’t a moment he needed to intrude on, let alone Baba and Aai. Vijay left with them silently, devastated that his daughter, who used to be his life, didn’t even want to look at him anymore.

“Raghav..” Pallavi started, “Raghav tum teek ho? Raghav?”

Raghav snapped out of his daze and looked at Pallavi, “Me? I’m fine. I’m…pregnant…”

“You’re not pregnant, idiot. I’m pregnant.” Pallavi laughed, but then she was worried about Raghav’s face, “Are you…are you okay with this? Do you not…did you not want children?” Suddenly Pallavi was furious with the doctor and herself, how could the doctor have just dropped this bomb on them and then left? Why didn’t she pay attention to her own body? She should have figured this out much earlier, how could she have been so stupid? She should have asked Raghav what he felt much earlier, if she had, she could have gone to her own OB-GYN and prevented this. But she wanted this baby. She’d always wanted a baby.

Raghav looked at Pallavi’s face after her question, “What nonsense are you asking? Of course I want children. I’m just furious with myself. I should have stopped you from doing this stupid pooja, if something had happened to you. I mean, it’s my fault, I didn’t notice you getting fatter—“

Pallavi punched Raghav on the shoulder, “Fatter? I look fat to you?!”

“No. No, Saree ka Dukaan, I didn’t mean that, but do we have enough time to fix up a nursery? And where will we send her to school? Should we move closer to a school? We’re going to have to start searching for a nanny right away, let me call Farhad—“ Raghav started babbling.

“Oye, Father of the Year, relax. The baby hasn’t arrived yet. And remember this” Pallavi grabbed Raghav’s collar and pulled him close to her, “you call me fat even one time, I’ll hit you so hard you’ll be begging for your Amma, samazla?”

Raghav smiled, and imagined him and Pallavi, playing with a little baby girl, teaching her how to ride a bike, taking her to school. His eyes started to well up with tears, and he hugged Pallavi, “I’m going to be a father.”

Then he let her go, “Oh sorry, did I hurt you, should I not be hugging you now that you’re pregnant? Where’s that stupid doctor, he just left—“

Pallavi laughed, “Tum na, pura pagal ho. Calm down. Also, you want a girl? Not a boy? I’d figure you want a lot of little Raghav Dons running around the house…”

Ragahv smiled, “No, thoda cheesy hai. But don’t laugh at me.” He raised a finger to Pallavi, as she laughed, “I’m serious, no laughing. But, I think it would be nice to have a little girl, with your eyes, the world’s most beautiful eyes.”

Pallavi burst out laughing, and Raghav frowned, “You said you wouldn’t laugh.”

“I need to call the newspapers, all of Hyderabad needs to know that their Don, is actually a huge softie.”

Raghav crossed his arms, “Fine. But, when we do have a baby girl, she will definitely love me more than you. Girls always love their fathers more, they like to fight with their moms.” Raghav teased Pallavi.

Pallavi sat up, “You’re going to be the dad that spoils their kid and give them whatever they want, aren’t you?”

“Of course, yeh baccha Raqhav Rao ka hai. Whatever she wants, she’ll get.” Raghav said proudly, “Besides, you’ll be there for that boring discipline stuff.”

“Oh will I? Well, if we have a boy, he will definitely love me more. I’ve seen how all Rao’s are mamma’s chamchaas.” Pallavi smiled.

“Very funny, Saree ka Dukaan.” Raghav said, then he softened his gaze, “You’ll be the best mother, if we have a boy or a girl, but I promise, I swear, I will work so hard to be as good a parent as you.”

Pallavi smiled and pulled him onto the bed next to her, laying her head on his chest, “I know Ghamandi Rao, I know.”