Chapter 8

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Devakshi FF: Reaching Out

Part 6

"Oho, iss button ko bhi abhi tootna tha" Dev grumbled as he looked at the button that had come off his shirt as he was getting ready for work. He had taken his time to get ready today. He didn't want to see Dr. Bose. He knew the moment their paths would cross there would inevitably be a fight. Even though he found her really annoying, some part of him also enjoyed their little banters. But he didn't want to start his day with a fight today. Getting another shirt out from his wardrobe, he put it on. As he took out his blazer, he heard the front door slam softly and understood that Dr. Sonakshi had left.

Unknown to Sonakshi, Dev also had a kitchen upstairs. Whatever was there in the lower level, was there in the upper level as well. They were a perfect replica of each other. But only Dev knew that. So there was no need for him to go and pester Sonakshi for food, as he had done yesterday. But he still did it and he didn't know why. He had his own kitchen and he was a perfectly capable cook. Living alone had taught him a great many things. And he had a list of his mother's greatest recipes that he would sometimes try in his leisure. He whipped up a simple breakfast for himself consisting of a bowl of cereal and finished it up at top speed. Now that Sonakshi had left, he had no need to delay things. Five minutes after that he left for work.

As he parked the car in the parking lot, he got a call from Tina. "Haan Tina, bolo." He heard a frantic Tina on the other line, "Sir, aap jaldi aiye, Ranveer Sir aapki cabin me hai aur woh phirse kuch tod phod kar rahey hai." Dev quickly got out of the car and rushed to the elevator. "Main neechey hi hoon Tina. I'm coming. But jo bhi ho cabin ka darwaza mat kholna. Ranveer abhi hosh me nahin hai. Is that clear?" Tina stammered a "Y-Yes" and Dev hung up. There was a long line before the elevator. But if the people spotted Dev they would happily give up their line for him, but Dev didn't want that. So he took the staircase. Jumping up the step, two at a time, he raced to his floor.

On reaching it, he saw Tina sitting on her chair with a terrified expression and he heard loud sounds from his cabin. He rushed to Tina. "Tum theek ho?" Seeing Dev, Tina sighed in relief. "Haan Sir." Dev walked to the door and put his ear to it. Then he turned and asked Tina, "Kya hua yahan?" Tina stood up and said, "Sir main 7 bajey yahan ayi. Uske kuch hi minute baad Ranveer sir aye aur poochne lagey aap ayein hai ki nahin. Woh bohot bechain lag rahey the. Unhey dekh ke lag raha tha ki who bohot dino se soye nahin. Phir jab maine na kahan, toh who apke cabin me chaley gaye, darwaza band kiya aur chhezein todney lagey." Dev heard all this quietly and then sighed deeply. Dr. Neha ko call karo aur unsey kaho ki who injection lekar yahan ayein, ek male nurse ke saath." Tina nodded her head vigorously.

They waited for Neha to arrive, while the sounds continued from inside Dev's cabin. Fifteen minutes later Neha came with the nurse and asked Dev, "Phirse?" Dev nodded gravely and then got up to open the door. "Be careful sab log. Darwaze se door rehna." Satisfied that everyone understood, he opened the door slowly. The moment Ranveer saw Dev he threw something at him. Dev reflexively closed the door again, and the thing hit the door and shattered. It took another twenty minutes for them to actually open the door and distract Ranveer enough to give him the injection that calmed him. Another additional ten minutes were needed for Ranveer to fully focus on the situation, and then Dev questioned him, "Ranveer? Kaisa lag raha hai ab?"

They had laid Ranveer on the couch in Dev's room. There was broken glass all around. Ranveer groaned and said, "Sorry yaar Dev. Saarey glass tod diye maine. Tere awards ko nahin chua. Aur baaki sab bhi theek hai." Dev laughed. "Koi baat nahin. Tujhey kahin lagi toh nahin?" Ranveer groaned again. "Nahin sab theek hai. Aur tum log? Maine kisiko kuch kiya toh nahin?" Neha spoke up, "Nahin Ranveer. We're all right. Pehley batao, how many nights have you not slept?" He blinked at Neha sadly, "Pura last week nahin so paya. The sleeping pills refuse to work." He slowly sat up. Everyone looked at him, concerned. Dev stood up angrily. "Ab bohot ho gaya. You need the best help available. Kitne din bhagta rahega? This is getting worse day by day. Hum log abhi kuch arrange karwate hai and don't you dare protest" Dev said pointing at Ranveer in anger. He hated seeing his best friend suffer like this.

Neha spoke up again. "Bhai theek keh rahey hai Ranveer. Aapko proper help ki zaroorat hai." Ranveer sighed. He had no energy to fight them. And he knew his best friend was the most stubborn person in the whole world. So he said, "Theek hai. Karo jo karna hai. Mujhey bhi ab aise nahin jeena. I want to get better." Dev thanked god internally. Then he turned to Neha and said, "Sarey achhey psychiatrists ko dhoondo and find the best one for Ranveer. Phir mujhey call karna." Neha nodded. She wanted Ranveer to get better as much as Dev did. After all, she was in love with him. It was different that she could never tell him that. She looked at Ranveer and touched his hand lightly. "Main aapki poori help karungi." Ranveer looked at her gratefully. Neha smiled and then left to complete the work given to her.

Dev blew a breath. What a beginning to the day. He still had so much of work to do. Making sure Ranveer was dropped off home safely, he ordered for his cabin to be cleaned and then got to work.

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Sonakshi stretched her hands out and rolled her shoulders. She had been reading important patient reports all day. She had to be up to date with all their positions now and what they had been before she came. She had gone for a round when she first arrived in the morning. But after that she spent her day in her cabin pouring over tons of paperwork. She decided to go for another round of checkups in the ward after lunch. She would have to leave early for the party today. She would make the rounds before she left.

She stood up. It was time she got some lunch for herself. But before she could leave her cabin Dr. Neha came in. "Dr. Bose, do you have a minute?" She seemed really worried. Sonakshi smiled and said, "Of course. Boliye, kya help kar sakti hoon aapki?" Neha sat down and said, "Woh mere bhai ke best friend, unhey kuch problems hai. Pehley toh he thought he could deal with it on his own. Par ab sab kuch hadd se agey badh raha hai. Could you take him on as your patient? I'll be really grateful. Bhai bhi khush hongey. At the moment, aap hi iss city ki best psychiatrist hain." Sonakshi didn't let her say anything further. She held up a hand and said, "Yeh koi poochne waali baat hai? Aap unhey seedha yahin le atey. I'll help him to my level best. Don't worry." Sonakshi had sensed that this person was important to Neha and her brother.

Dr. Neha smiled. "Thank you Dr. Bose. Aaj shaam ki party me I'll bring him. Aap khud hi mil lena, okay?" Sonakshi smiled. "Perfect." Neha stood up, "Aap lunch ke liye ja rahi thi naah? Chaliye saath chalte hai Cafeteria. Maine bhi abhi tak lunch nahin kiya." Sonakshi had wanted to go to "Ahar" but she agreed with Neha's proposition. She could go there the next day. But her mind went back to Mr. Dixit again. She hadn't seen him since last night. Even though she was relieved that she didn't have to see him, a greater part of her yearned to see him. As she walked with Neha, she yelled at herself in her mind, "Ki korcheesh Sona? (What are you doing Shona?) Kuch bhi sochti rehti hai." Angry at herself for such absurd ideas, she focused on talking to Neha.

She got to know a bit more about her. That she had two sisters and a brother who was older than all of them. And through the conversation she got to know that her new patient would be a Mr. Ranveer Shekhawat, one of the top lawyers of the city, but was really facing a difficult time at the moment. And she also gauged that Neha was in love with the man, through her behavior and expressions. Sonakshi smiled internally. She was happy that Neha loved him even after knowing that he needed help. It showed how good a person she was. After telling Neha not to worry once again, she promised to meet her at the party at Eight and left for her rounds.

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Dev looked for his cufflinks, as he talked to Neha, " Toh who Doctor aa rahey hai naah?" When Neha replied with a "Yes" Dev said, "Theek hai. Main Ranveer ko lekar pohunch jaunga. Leela Palace ke Banquet me hai naah?" Satisfied that he had the right address he cut the call and finished dressing up. Then he dialed Ranveer's number and instructed him to get ready and that he would pick him up while going. "Aur sun," Dev said before he hung up. "Be prepared for questions, theek hai? Woh tumsey zaroor pochhengey ki problem kahan se start hui. Be strong. Janey se pehley hi mann me thaan lo, theek hai naah?" Ranveer replied dejectedly, "Haan yaar. Mujhey bhi iss dard se chutkara pana hai. Tu chinta mat kar." Dev smiled, "yeh hui naah baat. Chal ready ho ja, main fifteen minutes me milta hoon tujhey."

Dev quickly collected his wallet. He was so busy thinking about Ranveer and his problems that he didn't hear Sonakshi coming in through the door. Plus Sonakshi was busy looking at her phone to see Dev coming towards her. Therefore in the next moment both of them ran straight into one another, resulting in Dev's wallet and Sonaksh's phone to fly off and land on the floor. Both of them looked at each other with extreme anger.  Before Sonakshi could open her mouth Dev beat her to it, "Ab aap aankhein band karke bhi chalney lagi?" Sonakshi bent down and picked her phone up. "Aap toh jaise ankhein khol kar chal rahey the." Dev pocketed his wallet after picking it up. "Is waqt mere paas iske liye time nahin hai. Iss baat ko hum baad me discuss karengey."

Sonakshi huffed, "Haan, main toh jaise mari ja rahi hoon apse behes karne ke liye." Dev was walking away. When he heard what she said, he turned around and looked at her and said, "Kya pata. Dil me kya chal raha hota hai woh aksar chehre pe nahin dikhta." And once again Sonakshi was left gaping as Dev left closing the door with a small, almost invisible smirk. Dev : 3 Sonakshi : 2

"Arghh. Mr. Obhodro. Pata nahin kya samjhte hai apne aap ko." She decided to forget about it and focus on getting ready. She wore amauve coloured gown that had a white belt in the middle and paired it with matching mauve earrings. Making sure she looked okay, she took her keys and left. Hailing an uber she was off to Leela Palace Hotel. She reached right on time and went inside to look for Neha. She was the only person Sonakshi knew.  She didn't have to look around much because it seemed like Neha was also waiting for her and found her the moment she came into the banquet. "Dr. Bose!" Neha waved from the other side of the room. Sonakshi smiled and went to her. "Hello Dr. Neha." There was another lady standing with Neha whom she introduced as a very accomplished Surgeon who was now residing in London and was working with a hospital there.

During their conversation they were joined by another Psychiatrist from Mumbai. Sonakshi was delighted to be in conversation with another psychiatrist and went into a deep discussion of various topics of interest. It was during this event that Dev walked into the banquet with Ranveer right behind him. There were too many people. Finding Neha in this crowd would be a difficult task. Both Dev and Ranveer looked around. People came to them and said hello. They were both eminent personalities. Hence it was natural for people to know them. While talking to another man there, Dev slid his hand into his trouser pocket to realise that he had forgotten his key at home. He mentally cursed. Out of all the days he forgot it today. The day he didn't want to talk to Sonakshi again. But he had to anyway. So he called her, but reluctantly.

Seeing her phone ring, Sonakshi excused herself and moved to the side to receive it. Seeing an unknown number she said, "hello" with uncertainty. She nearly dropped the phone in surprise when she heard his unmistakably deep voice on the other side. "Dr. Bose?" Sonakshi took a breath and said, "Mr. Dixit? Aapko mera number kahan se mila?" Dev sounded annoyed, "Tina se obviously. Mujhey aapse kuch baat karna hai." Sonakshi felt stupid for asking the question. But then said, "haan boliye." Dev moved away from the sounds around and said, "Main apney keys ghar pe hi bhool aya. Main wapas aoon toh aap please door khol dena. Don't fall asleep." Sonakshi furrowed her brows, "Par Mr. Dixit main ghar se bahar ayi hoon." Dev couldn't believe his luck. "Ab kya?" Sonakshi pointed her nose in the air and said, "Agar aap mere pehley aa gaye toh apko bahar wait karna padega. Simple. Bye Mr. Dixit" and she hung up before he could utter another word.

Sonakshi : 3 Dev : 3

Dev looked at his phone angrily. "Ladki hai ya aafat. Samajh me hi nahin ata" he said to himself. Right at that moment Ranveer walked upto him and said, "Neha mil gayi. Uss taraf khadi hai. Chalo." Dev nodded and accompanied his friend. Ranveer's issue was more important now. Neha met them halfway and said, "Kitni der lagadi aap dono ne." Dev made a face and said, "Hum pehley hi aa gaye the. Itni bheer me tum kho gayi thi toh humari toh galti nahin hai." Neha hit her brother playfully. "Chaliye ab. Ranveer ko unke Doctor se milwate hai."

With that they made their way towards the place where Sonakshi stood talking to other Doctors.

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Sonakshi wondered where Neha had disappeared.

She had said, she was going to get Ranveer, who had come with her brother. She had said that at least ten minutes back and was still missing. She felt really thirsty. Seeing that Neha had not yet come back, she excused herself from the group and walked to the refreshments table and picked up a glass of cold drink.

Just as she took the first sip she heard Dr. Neha's voice say, "Ranveer, yeh hai Dr. Bose, aapkey psychiatrist." Sonakshi turned around with a smile and faced  the man she assumed to Ranveer. The man smiled at her in return. Neha pointed to Ranveer and said, "Yeh hai Ranveer Shekhawat." But the moment she spotted the man behind Ranveer her smile disappeared in shock. Neha pointed at the man behind and said, "Aur yeh mere bhai hai, Mr. Devrath Dixit. Aur bhai yeh Dr. Sonakshi Bose hai. The best psychiatrist in town."

But how would she know, that the people she just introduced to one another already knew each other and were currently looking at each other with an expression that said, "Ho gaya Satyanash."

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Mishti