Chapter 10

Devakshi FF: Reaching Out

Part 8

It took at least half an hour to convince Dev that he didn't have to bother about the session because Sonakshi knew what she was doing. Ranveer literally dragged Dev out of the room when he mellowed down a bit. Dev walked to his room quietly with Ranveer right behind him. Neha on the other hand sat convincing Sonakshi that she should continue her sessions in the study itself, and that Dev wouldn't interfere.

As Dev sat down on his bed, Ranveer sat on the couch in front of Dev's bed. "Kya kar raha hai tu?" Dev looked at his friend. "Matlab?" Ranveer looked at his friend and said, "Tu nahin chahta main theek hoon? Tu chahta hai ki mujhey woh sudden attack hoti rahey aur mey tere ghar ya office me akey, ya mere hi ghar me tod phod karoon?" Dev sighed. "Sorry yaar Ranveer. Main aisa nahin chahta. Main toh teri help sabse zyada karna chahta hoon." Ranveer furrowed his brows and leaned forwards, " Tu toh pagalo ki tarah Dr. Sonakshi ke peechey kyun padha tha? She's one of the best Dev. Ussey pata hai what she's doing." Dev nodded his head. "Sorry." Ranveer observed his friend, "Kya ho gaya tha tujhey? Tune hi toh kahan tha naah ki study achha hoga because we will need privacy? Toh tu wahan kyun gaya?"

Dev stood up from his bed and walked to the window, " Pata nahin yaar kya ho gaya mujhey achanak. Buss maine decide kar liya tha ki main wahan jaunga. Samajh nahin aa raha hai ki kya bhoot savaar ho gaya tha mere sar pe." Ranveer smiled slightly, "Par mujhey sab samajh aa raha hai Mr. Dixit. Aapki har baat ek hi taraf toh Ishara kar raha hai." Dev snapped his head towards his friend, "Iska kya matlab hua? Mujhey nahin samajh aa raha toh tujhey kaise ayega?" Ranveer stood up and walked to where his friend was standing. "Ek baat bata, jab tu sara din bahar rehta hai, toh din me kitni baar Dr. Sonakshi ke barey me sochta hai. Doesn't matter achha ya bura. Buss bol kitni baar?" Dev's eyes widened in shock. "Tujhey kaise...mera matlab hai pagal hai kya! Main kyun sochoon uske baarey me?" And he quickly turned towards the window to hide his expression of shock.

Ranveer just laughed, "Gadha hai tu. Pagal. Achha sun. Main ab Dr. Sonakshi se kal ki session ki baat karne ja raha hoon. Aaj ka to tuney dho diya. Kal koi pagalpanti mat karna, theek hai?" Dev sighed, " Haan theek hai." Ranveer walked towards the door, but before he went out he turned around and said, "Aur doosri promise yaad hai naah?" Dev finally turned to look at his friend and scowled, " Haan yaad hai, Dr. Bose se normally baat karna hai." Ranveer nodded happily, " Yeh hui na baat" and with that he went to the study.

As he arrived at the door of the study he saw Neha telling Sonakshi, "Ranveer unko sab samjha dega. Aap tension mat lo." Ranveer realised it was time for him to make his presence known. So he said, " Aur samjha bhi diya hai. I hope aapney mann na badal liya ho Dr. Sonakshi?" Sonakshi smiled, " Nahin Mr. Shekhawat. Main itni bhi darpok nahin hoon" she finished laughing. "Agar aap dono keh rahey hai, then wahi sahi hoga. I promise ki main Mr. Dixit se koi ladai nahin karungi. Aapki treatment meri priority hai. Uske liye I'll do everything that is in my power."

Ranveer smiled, relieved. "Thank God. Main toh darr hi gaya tha." Sonakshi laughed again. Neha stood up, " Achha toh hum chaltey hai. Toh next session kal?" Sonakshi nodded, " Haan bilkul. Yahi time rakhte hai. Waise bhi ajka toh aise hi chala gaya." Ranveer nodded satisfied. As the three of them made their way downstairs, Neha conveyed her wish to go meet Dev once before she left and Ranveer told her that he would wait downstairs. Sonakshi asked Ranveer to sit on the couch while he waited and she sat opposite to him. " Dr. Bose, mujhey aapse kuch baat karni thi." Sonakshi paid attention, "Haan zaroor. Boliye."

Ranveer took a deep breath and said, " Aap Dev ki baaton ka bura mat maniye. Woh actually bura insaan nahin hai." Sonakshi didn't say anything to that. " Usney life me bohot kuch dekha hai, bohot kuch jhela hai, in fact mere problems toh uske saamney kuch bhi nahin lagtey." Sonakshi had questions, but she didn't interrupt him. " Par Dev bohot strong hai. Mujhsey bohot zyada. Main ussey bachpan se janta hoon. Woh jab chota tha toh who bilkul alag tha. Par ek incident ne usey badal ke rakh diya." Sonakshi was surprised. " Uske baad woh na kisise zyada baat karta tha, aur naah hi ghulta milta tha. Aur phir usney yeh empire khada karne me poori jaan laga di." Ranveer sighed deeply, "Par mera dost usmey kahin kho gaya."

Then he looked at Sonakshi and smiled, "Phir aap ayi and uss Purane Dev ko dekhne ka ek new opportunity mila." Sonakshi was confused now, " Woh kaise?" Ranveer laughed, " Aap jis Dev se mil rahi hai naah, wahi real wala Dev hai. Jo humesha tease karta hai, aur logo ko irritate karne ke bahane dhoondta hai. Isiliye aap uski baaton ka bura mat manna. Agar who aisa kar raha hai, toh iska matlab hai ki he thinks you are capable of being his friend." Sonakshi looked at Ranveer, but said nothing once again. Ranveer laughed and said, "Kuch zyada ho gaya naah? Sorry. Buss mujhey yahi kehna tha ki try being his friend. Ussey ek friend ki badi zaroorat hai. Main toh hoon, but main ussey utna emotional support nahin de sakta because I myself am not stable." He looked at Sonakshi expectantly and said, " Aap koshish karengi na Dr. Sonakshi?" Right at that moment Neha came down the stairs. Ranveer stood aap, " Karengi na koshish?" Sonakshi sighed and said, " Okay Mr. Shekhawat. Main poori koshish karungi. Kyunki iss ghar me mujhey hi shanti se rehna hai unke saath. So main zaroor karungi."

Ranveer smiled broadly, " Mujhey umeed thi ki aap yahi kahengi." Neha reached them and said, " Chalein?" Ranveer nodded and they both left bidding Sonakshi adieu. As the door closed softly behind them Sonakshi looked up to Dev's floor. "Kya hua hoga unhey?" She wondered to herself.

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Outside as Ranveer started the car, Neha asked, " Kya kahan Dr. Bose ne?" Ranveer smiled, " Maan gayi." Neha smiled at that. " Pata tha mujhey. Maine dekha hai unki aankhon me. Main explain nahin kar sakti, par bhai ke liye she is concerned. And vice versa." Ranveer laughed, " Vice versa toh pakka hai. Jis tarah dev muh fula raha tha, uss pagal ka ab koi kuch nahin kar sakta. Except Dr. Sonakshi of course." Neha joined into his laughter. " Bhai ne bataya kya? Ki woh kyun study me gaye the?" Ranveer looked at Neha and said, " Bol raha tha ussey khud nahin pata kyun gaya tha. Par mujhey pata hai. I'm sure Dev, Dr. Sonakshi ke baarey me janney gaya tha because he thinks while I share my story with her, she will also talk about herself to make me comfortable. Tumhara mahaan bhai wahi jasoosi karne gaya hoga." They both burst out laughing again.

Then as their laughter slowly died down she kept her hand on Ranveer's left hand, which was over the gear, and said, " Tumhey Dr. Bose pasand to hai naah. You think she can help you?" Ranveer entwined his fingers with her and said, " Of course. Aisa kabhi ho sakta hai ki tum mere liye kuch le ao aur mujhey who pasand na aye? You always think the best for me Neha. And I trust you the most besides Dev." Neha quickly retracted her hand and turned her face towards the window. She blushed lightly and thought to herself, " Tum theek toh main bhi theek." But unknown to her, Ranveer had already seen the blush and smiled to himself secretly.

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The rest of the night Sonakshi tossed and turned in her bed as Ranveer's words floated around in her head. She didn't remember when she fell asleep, but she remembered thinking of Dev's clear brown eyes before she was lost to the world of dreams.

Next morning Dev woke up with a headache. He had six meeting to attend, and so was really frustrated when the headache promised to keep him company the whole day. As he looked at the bedside clock he found that he had an hour before he had to leave.  He took a bath hoping that the headache would go away but nothing changed. It was only when he reached for his morning medicines that he realised that he had run out of the medicine he needed for diabetes and that was what was causing the headache. He remembered now that he had already missed it for two days. He made a mental note to send Tina out for a packet during the day.

Putting his suit on he straightened his cufflinks and reached for his laptop bag. He heard soft bangs and clacks downstairs and realised that Sonakshi was cooking. He was hungry but he didn't have the energy to cook and he had promised Ranveer that he would be nice to Sonakshi. So he decided to quietly walk past the kitchen and leave without disturbing her. But just as he was about to reach for his keys and leave Sonakshi called out to him, " Mr. Dixit?" Dev sighed and turned around, ready to apologise for last night, " Dekhiye Dr. Bose kal raat-" Sonakshi held up a hand, " Kal raat jo hua, who hua. Main yeh nahin bolne waali thi. I was going to say Good morning!" Dev was caught off-guard. " Aap gussa nahin hai?" Sonakshi nodded in negative, " Nahin toh." Dev didn't know what to do so he said, " Good morning to you too Dr. Bose." Having got the required signal through his reply Sonakshi said, "Breakfast ho gaya aapka?" Dev waved his hadn't and said, " Nahin office me karlunga."

Sonakshi pushed him a plate of sandwiches and said, "Uski koi zaroorat nahin." Dev gaped at her. " Yeh mere liye hai?" Sonakshi rolled her eyes, " Aapko diya hai toh mere liye toh nahin hoga naah?" Dev cleared his throat. "Thank you" he said softly.  Sonakshi smiled, " You're welcome Mr. Dixit. Ab mujhey nikalna hai. Aapse shaam ko milti hoon." Dev nodded and Sonakshi went back to her room to get her belongings. As she came out she saw Dev eating with his right hand and massaging his temple with the left. "Aapko sar dard hai kya Mr. Dixit?" Dev quickly removed his hand from his head and said, " Kuch khaas nahin." Sonakshi moved forward thinking, " Yeh aadmi kisike saamney vulnerable nahin dikhna chahtha. Bilkul dada ki tarah hai yeh. Same habits." She put her hand into her bag and whipped out a tablet for headaches. "Yeh lijiye, yeh breakfast ke baad ek, lunch ke baad ek aur dinner ke baad ek kha lena. Kam doses ke hai. By tomorrow morning you'll be fine."

Dev slowly accepted the medicine. Sonakshi collected the keys and walked towards the door. "Dr. Bose?" Sonakshi turned around. Dev showed the tablets and said, " Thank you" and then he did something that almost gave Sonakshi a heart attack.

He smiled. A genuine, heart-warming smile.

And Sonakshi could bet on her life that his smile was the most amazing  thing she had seen in the whole wide world. For the rest of the day she was in a daze. It wasn't like she didn't know what she was doing. She knew everything but that smile just adamantly refused to get out of her head. It was in one such situation where Sonakshi sat thinking about Dev and how he looked when he smiled, that Neha walked in. 'Dr. Bose?" Sonakshi snapped out of her daze and said, "Arey hi Dr. Neha. Boliye." Neha smiled and said, " Lunch pe nahin jana? Aaj main mere behen ki restaurant ja rahi hoon. Aap ayengi?" Sonakshi stood up immediately, "Of course. Main bohot dino se nahin gayi "Aahar" me." Neha pretended to look surprised, " Aap janti hai?" Sonakshi laughed a little and said, " Haan bilkul. Main aapki choti behen se bhi mil chuki hoon. Riya right?" Neha nodded, " Right!" Sonakshi collected her cellphone and purse and walked out of her cabin behind Neha.

"Infact main toh aapkey bhai se bhi pehli baar wahin mili thi. Par tab mujhey pata nahin tha ki wahi Mr. Devrath Dixit hai." And then Sonakshi went on to narrate the whole of the incident which left Neha laughing like a lunatic. Neha and Sonakshi had a good lunch and decided to go back to work. But just as they exited "Aahar" Sonakshi got a call from a nurse who informed her that her last patient was a bit feverish and wouldn't be fit enough for a proper session. Advising her to take care of the patient, she rescheduled the meeting to the next day.

She decided to call Ranveer up for a session if he was free. She would have time to relax a little then. Settling everything with Ranveer, who was on leave from work for a few days and was ready to come, she decided to go back to the penthouse. "Theek hai Dr. Neha, chalti hoon main." Neha waved and Sonakshi got onto Swiggy.

But before she could start it Neha remembered something and came forward, " Dr. Bose, yeh medicines aap please bhai ko de dengi?" She said extending a packet. Sonakshi took it and put it in her bag, " Haan zaroor. Kuch hua hai kya unhey?" She thought back to his headache. "Woh subah se sard dard ki baat toh kar rahey the" she told Neha. Neha nodded, " Arey bhai aise hi hai. Yeh unki diabetes ki tablets hai. Woh last do din tablet miss kar gaye kyunki woh khatam ho gaye the. Jab tak sar dard na aya, bhaisahab ko pata bi nahin chala. Aur phir unhoney Tina se kahan, jisney mujhey bola to get these." Sonakshi looked surprised, " Mr. Dixit ko diabetes hai? Kabsey?" Neha nodded once again and said, " Pichley teen saal se. Apna khayal kahan rekhte hai woh. Har waqt kaam hi kaam. Isiliye aapkey haathon se bhijwa rahi hoon. Please aap dekh lena ki who yeh milte hi ek tablet turant kha le." Sonakshi assured Neha, " Haan haan. Don't worry." With that she finally zoomed away to the penthouse.

Sonakshi reflected on Neha's and Ranveer words. She realised that Dev was a person who always put people before him. He forgot to take care of himself in the midst. He was a lot like her in that respect. She decided that she would tell him to take care when she gave him the tablets. While she sat contemplating these things, Ranveer arrived and they had their first proper session. She asked Ranveer to tell her everything about himself. He told her everything about his journey from diaper days to becoming a top lawyer. But when he got to the point of telling her the problem, Sonakshi stopped him. She asked him think about everything he told her. About the things that made him what he was. She told him that they would discuss all about his problem in the next session. She gave him a day to think about what he said and ended the session. She sat reading through the notes she made. She was so engrossed that she forgot to look at the time.

It was when her phone rang that she actually looked around and realized that she had been sitting there for awhile. She picked up her phone to see Tina calling. " Hi Tina. Kaise ho?" Sonakshi said happily. "Main theek hoon Dr. Bose, aur aap?" Sonakshi stood up and stretched her legs. "Main bhi theek." As she walked out of the study and down the stairs Tina said, " Woh Dr. Bose, Sir apna ek file yahan bhool gaye. Unka phone nahin lag raha. Aur woh abhi nikle. Toh woh ghar pohunchey toh aap unsey keh dena please. Nahin toh aise hi pareshaan hongey ki file kho gaya." Sonakshi laughed, " Haan haan. Bol dungi." Tina was satisfied. " Theek hai. Waise bhi aaj who apney actual ghar jayengey, kuch relatives ke saath dinner ke liye, toh pareshaani nahin reheni chahiye unhey." Sonakshi put her files on her desk, in her room and said, " Oh achha? Good then. Unhey toda relax hoga." After some small talk with Tina she disconnected the call and made her way to the bed to watch some TV till Dev came back.

But Asha called in between and she was lost in chatting with her whole family. Saurabh Dada and Raunita were back by now and they had tons of stories to share. So when she finally disconnected the call, she saw that she had spoken to them for an entire hour. She yelped and said, "Oh ho. I hope Mr. Dixit phirsey chaley na gaye ho. Unko woh medicines deni thi." She made her way up to Dev's floor and knocked on his bedroom door. "Mr. Dixit?" But she received no answer. She saw that the door was ajar so she pushed it opened but found no one. She turned around and looked into the study, but he wasn't there either. She assumed he had left and decided to go back. But something stopped her. She looked towards the kitchen. She decided to check there before she went down. So she made her way to the kitchen. This was a replica of her kitchen and dining space downstairs. As she looked around her eyes fell on the counter area and what she saw made her go into frenzy.

Dev was sitting on one of the counter chairs but he was slouched over the counter table and wasn't moving. She rushed to him and started shaking him, "Mr. Dixit? Mr. Dixit?! Kya hua aapko? Mr. Dixit?" But Dev only mumbled something incoherent in reply. Sonakshi was slightly relieved that he wasn't totally unconscious. She noticed he was still in his office clothes. Which meant he had come here to eat something and then fainted. She repeatedly called his name as she tried to make him sit upright. When nothing seemed to work she rushed to the sink, filled a glass with a little water and splashed it on Dev's face. " Mr. Dixit, aankhein kholiye. Aapko room tak le jana hai. Please meri help kijiye." When Dev opened his eyes on the impact of the water, Sonakshi said, " Haan Mr. Dixit, aankhein khula rakhiye. Mere saath rahiye." With great difficulty and a little help from Dev, Sonakshi managed to take Dev to his room and lay him on his bed. Taking off his shoes, she checked his pulse and his temperature. Even though his pulse was slower than it should be, he didn't have any temperature. She tried to think of what could have happened to him. She didn't have much time and her panic was slowly rising.

Suddenly she remembered that Dev had diabetes and that he had missed medicines for a couple of days. She realised what had happened and rushed for the medicines she had left on the counter while trying to help Dev. When she got to them she remembered something else. Her father used to have diabetes too. Her mind flashed back to a memory.

**Flashback**

"Ma baba ko kya hua?" A ten year old Sonakshi cried worried for her father who lay unconscious on the bed. Asha patted Sonakshi's head and said, " kuch nahin beta. Unka sugar level low ho gaya hai. Unhey kuch meetha dengey aur dawai dengey toh theek ho jayengey."

**End of Flashback**

And true to Asha's word her Father had been as fit as before within and hour. Sonakshi rushed down to her kitchen. She went through her cupboards. "Kuch meetha...kuch meetha." Finally she found a chocolate in her fridge. She went up to Dev's room and made him eat  a bit of the chocolate and then gave him one tablet from the packet Neha had given her. It was after almost half an hour after that, that Dev regained consciousness. Seeing him blink Sonakshi jumped up from the couch and said, " Mr. Dixit? Aap theek hai?" Dev looked around confused and tried to sit up. Sonakshi helped him. "Kya hua tha?" He asked Sonakshi. Sonakshi sat on the bed beside him and said, " I think aapkey sugar levels fall hone ki wajah se aap faint ho gaye the. Isiliye maine aapko medicine diya aur thoda sa chocolate khilaya."

Dev looked surprised, " Aapko kaise pata mujhey kya hua tha?" Sonakshi handed the packet of medicines to Dev and said, " Woh Neha ne aapko yeh dene ko kahaan tha. Aur tabhi bataya tha ki aapko diabetes hai. Mere papa ko bhi tha." Dev furrowed his brows, " Tha? Ab woh theek ho gaye hai kya?" Sonakshi smiled slightly, " Kaash. Nahin actually he is no more." Dev looked guilty, " I'm sorry. Mujhey pata nahin tha." Sonakshi smiled, " Koi baat nahin. You take care of yourself first. Aapko toh shayad kahin jana bhi tha naah?" Dev clutched his head and groaned, "Oh haan. Cancel karna padega." Sonakshi nodded, "Haan aapko rest ki zaroorat hai. Bohot zyada kaam karte hai aap." Dev looked at Sonakshi with a sheepish smile, making her heart do a somersault.

Trying to cover up her blush she looked away. But Dev didn't notice it, he was busy looking for his phone. Sonakshi looked back at him and found him looking for something. "Kuch dhoond rahey hai aap?" Dev said, " Haan mera phone." Sonakshi got up and reached for the phone on the bedside table, " Yeh lijiye. Aapko laatey waqt gir gaya tha, toh maine yahan rakh diya." Dev took the phone and looked at Sonakshi, "Aap mujhey akely le kaise ayi?" Sonakshi smiled and said, " Aapney thodi help ki, toh ho gaya. Achha aap rest kijiye main chalti hoon."

Dev kept his eyes on Sonakshi as she walked to the door. He felt something strange in his heart. It was like someone was tugging at it. He called out, " Dr. Bose?" Sonakshi turned. " Thank you for this." She waved it off, " Thank you ki koi zaroorat nahin, Mr. Dixit." Dev kept quiet for a second and then said, " Waise aab jab aapney meri jaan bacha hi liya hai toh Mr. Dixit ki kya zaroorat? Dev kahiye." Sonakshi's heart started the somersaults again. "Theek hai. Par aapko bhi mujhey Sonakshi bulana padega, okay..Dev?" The moment she said his name, that smile appeared on his face again. " Okay, Sonakshi."

She nodded and walked away.

Things were starting to look different after all.

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So that was Chapter 8!

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Love

Mishti