Chapter 14

Devakshi FF: Reaching Out

Part 12

Sonakshi stepped into her cabin, placing her bag on her chair with one hand and receiving her ringing phone with the other.

" Good morning Ranveer, boliye" Sonakshi said cheerfully putting her phone to her ear. "Good morning Dr. Sonakshi. Maine yeh kehne ke liye call kiya tha ki aapne jo mind exercise diya tha, woh kaam kar raha hai. Kal raatko maine ussey use karke ek attack ko aney se rok paya." Sonakshi smiled from ear to ear, " Yeh news toh fantastic hai. Chaliye aapko iske liye aaj shaam ko ek chocolate toh zaroor milegi. Phir hum next phase ki baat karengey, okay?" Ranveer chuckled lightly on the other side, " Okay Dr. Sonakshi. Shaam ko miltey hai, Dixits ke ghar." Saying her goodbye Sonakshi hung up.

Sitting down on her chair she took out some papers that she needed to go through, before going for a session with one of her patients. This one was a girl who had resorted to self harm due to problems in her family. Sonakshi had almost been in tears when she first met the girl. She was too young to be going through something like that, yet fate had been cruel to her. Now it was up to Sonakshi to give her the life she deserved, to restore the courage and faith that the girl needed to break free from all this. As she skimmed through some of her recent reports, she smiled. The girl was improving. Suddenly her mind connected Dev with that young girl.

She thought back to the day Dev told her about the incident. She imagined little ten year old Dev pointing a knife at his father. Like this girl, Dev must also have needed someone. An anchor, to try to get back to normal. But he had willed himself to be strong. He tried to get on with life by putting the incident at the back of his mind, by showing to the world that he didn't need any saving. But Sonakshi knew better. He needed saving, and he needed it soon, before something else later in life triggered a complete breakdown when the defense mechanisms stopped working. The day Dev confessed, Sonakshi had made up her mind. She would be the one to set him free of this burden and she didn't care how much time it took. She wouldn't stopped trying.

It is because of that very reason that she had made the plan to bring Dev to her chamber today. After her session with the young girl would finish, she would bring in Mr. Shukla's wife and daughter to meet them. And she would make sure that Dev would be there when the meeting took place. Last night after she reached home, she had found Dev already sprawled on her drawing room couch, remote in hand, waiting for her to arrive. They had fun watching the animated movie. It was during the break between switching DVDs that she had given him a hint about how she would be really busy all day long and wouldn't even have time to breathe. Then she had strategically told him the gist of what Mr. Shukla had been through, leaving out certain details. She thought back to it.

**Flashback**

Sonakshi eyed Dev as he put in the second DVD into the DVD player, "Pata hai Dev, aaj Mr. Shukla bohot khush lag rahey the." Dev turned around and came to sit beside her, " Achha? Aisa kyun?" Sonakshi smiled and faced him, " Kal unki beti aur wife unsey milne aa rahey hai. Woh pehli baar milengey unsey, hadse ke baad." She waited expectantly for Dev to ask the obvious question. After a minute it came, " Unke saath hua kya tha Sonakshi?" Sonakshi grew serious, " Main aapko pura toh nahin bata sakti due to the privacy policy between a doctor and her patient, gist bata sakti hoon." Dev nodded at her to go on. " Mr. Shukla jab chote the toh unhey apne papa se bohot abuse sehna padha. Woh unhey har baat pe maarte the. Toh tab se hi unke andaar ek chipa hua gussa tha. But koi bachha apne parents ko kuch nahin bol sakta, toh unhoney bhi kuch nahin kahan, buss sab seh liya." She observed Dev's face, but it didn't give away any emotions, so she continued.

"Par unhoney ek baat thaan liya tha ki woh apne bachhon ko kabhi nahin maarengey. Toh jab unki shaadi hui, woh dusrey ghar me shift hue. Hadse se ek hafte pehley unke papa unke paas rehney aye. Mr. Shukla extra cautious rehtey the aur apni beti ko unsey duur rakhte the." Sonakshi took a long breath. "Hadse ki raat jab Mr. Shukla ghar wapas laute toh unhoney dekha ki unke beti ke haath me bandage thi. He feared the worst aur directly apne papa se poocha. Unhoney kahan ki kisi baat pe unki beti ne, dadaji ki baat nahin maani, toh dadaji ne uski pitayi ki, to make her understand." Sonakshi looked at Dev directly, " That was when he lost it. Poori life ka gussa unhoney apney papa par nikal diya. He strangled his father, almost to death. Aur jab unki biwiw beech me aakar unhey rokne lagi toh unhoney Mrs. Shukla ko zor se dhakka diya do baar and she hit her head on the table and fell unconscious." Sonakshi grew quiet and stared at Dev. There was an eerie silence but Dev's face betrayed nothing about what he was thinking.

Sonakshi continued, " Jab apni ma ko aise dekh unki beti zor zor se rone lagi, tabhi he snapped out of it aur unhoney ambulance bulwaya. Both Mrs. Shukla and Mr. Shukla's father survived, par Mr. Shukla ke papa ko unke family ke paas aney se mana kar diya gaya hai. Uske baad waaley din hi he came to the hospital. Unhey iss gusse se chutkara chahiye tha. Woh apne papa ki tarah nahin banna chahte the. Woh darte the ki unki family iske baad unse duur ho jayegi. Par I guess ulta hua, kyunki main unki beti aur wife se mili hoon. They love him unconditionally." She stressed her last statement. Dev kept quiet for a bit longer, but then he nodded and said, " Tab toh unhey waqai me bohot khushi ho rahi hogi." Sonakshi softly added, " darr bhi lag raha hoga." Dev nodded again but said nothing.

Sonakshi knew that her idea had worked because Dev became very quiet for the rest of the night. She felt bad that they ruined their fun time, but this was something she needed to do, for him.

**End of Flashback**

Sonakshi collected her papers together and stood up. She had always known somewhere deep down, after knowing the incident, that Dev feared something. Slowly she realised what he feared. When Tina had said that Dev had taken a penthouse away from his home, in the same city, because of work solely, she had believed her. But now that she knew about Dev properly she realised that Dev did this to create a wall around himself, to put some distance between him and the rest of the world, or specifically his family. He feared that in their minds, they blamed him, blamed him for breaking their family apart, for killing his father. But he failed to grasp the point that the opposite happened. That they loved him unconditionally for being their wall, their shield.

So it had to be sorted. And she would help. So would Mr. Shukla, unknowingly. Making her way to her patient's room, Sonakshi looked at her watch. The time was perfect. Dev had taken a day off today, though she was sure he was working from home. She dialled his number. He picked up on the second ring, " Kahiye tenant sahiba, kya kar sakta hoon main aapke liye?" Sonakshi laughed, " Dev me countertop pe apna ek important file chhorke aa gayi. Kya aap next half an hour me akey mujhey who de sakte hai? Aaj sachme bohot hectic schedule hai." She had obviously left the file there on purpose. Dev immediately agreed, "Of course Sonakshi. Main ata hoon thodi der me." Sonakshi could pat herself on the back if nobody was looking. Phase two was complete. Now she needed the final phase to start rolling.

Half an hour later Sonakshi made her way to Mr. Shukla's cabin. " Good morning grumpy man, ready hai aap?" Mr. Shukla, who was pacing the area around his bed, stood still and looked at Sonakshi. " Aa gaye kya?" Sonakshi tried not to laugh at his excitement, which he tried to conceal as much as possible. " Haan aa gaye hai. Chalein?" Mr. Shukla stood absolutely still for a moment and then nodded. Sonakshi took that as her cue and led him out of his room to the meeting room. She had left Mrs. Shukla and her daughter sitting in chairs in the meeting room before going to fetch him. As she walked towards the room with Mr. Shukla behind her, she spotted Dev coming from the other side. Pretending not to notice him, she told Bhola who was standing at the door to the room, " Ek aadmi ayengey mujhey file deney, jab tak main bahar na aun, unhey darwaze pe rok ke rakhna, theek hai?" Bhola nodded. Satisfied Sonakshi ushered Mr. Shukla into the room just as Dev reached the door.

Bhola stopped him, " Kua hua sahab?" Dev pointed at Sonakshi and said, " Mujhey Dr. Bose ko yeh file dena hai." Bhola made a face and said, " Ab toh meeting shuru hogi. Aap Doctor Didi ke bahar aney tak ruk sakte hai?" Dev looked indecisive at first. But then something struck him. He turned to Bhola and asked, " Yeh Mr. Shukla aur unki family hai kya?" Bhola nodded. Dev looked back at them, " Theek hai...main yahin rukta hoon." Unknown to him, Sonakshi was keeping an eye on his every move. Inside, Mr. Shukla stood just inside the room, near the door and stared at his wife and daughter. Mrs. Shukla still had a visible scratch on her forehead but that was it. It had been almost three and a half months since the incident. It seemed like time had stopped for them. Mr. Shukla's fear was visible in his eyes. Sonakshi knew what he was thinking. He was scared that they would turn away from him, would reject him. Those few seconds of uncertainty passed and in the next second his ten year old daughter launched herself at her father, "Papaaa!" That was all they needed. In a moment Mr. Shukla was huddled on the floor with his wife and daughter hugging him tightly as the three of them cried.

Sonakshi became teary eyed as well. It was time to leave them to re-unite. There had been a lot of pain. It was time that he healed. She wiped her tears smiled happily and made her way out the door, closing it behind her. Turning around she spotted Dev. He was at the window beside the door. He was still looking at the family but this time his face had multiple emotions, joy, understanding, yearning. It seemed as if he was entranced by them. Sonakshi walked to him. "Dev?" She called him softly. Dev jumped and looked at her, " Oh...maine tumko dekha nahin." Sonakshi smiled, " Koi baat nahin." Dev extended the file and Sonakshi took it. " Toh yeh Mr. Shukla hai?" Sonakshi nodded. Dev looked back to them. " Khush hai woh bohot." Sonakshi softly replied, " Hona hi hai. Unhoney mann me koi baat jo nahin rakhi." Dev looked back at Sonakshi, but didn't say anything. Sonakshi cleared her throat and said, " Main abhi lunch pe ja rahi hoon. Neha bhi hogi wahan. Aap chalengey?" Dev stayed quiet but then said, " Nahin mujhey kuch kaam hai. Main shaam ko lene aunga tumhey, ma ke paas dinner ke liye." Sonakshi nodded understandingly. Now was the time when he would think things through. So she gave him the space they needed.

*********************************************************

Sonakshi changed into the clothes she had brought so that she looked presentable for the dinner. Mrs. Ishwari Dixit had called her especially to make sure that she would be coming with Dev. It was her way of saying thank you to Sonakshi for saving Dev when he fainted, two months back, she had said over the phone. Neha had left earlier because she had to help her mother. She waited for Dev's call which would mean he had arrived. She thought back to the afternoon, would Dev realise it? Did her plan work? She was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw his message pop up on her phone screen. "Come down" it read.

She made her way downstairs and spotted Dev's car. She walked to it and got into the passengers seat. Dev looked impeccably handsome in the blue T-shirt and black jeans he wore coupled with a grey jacket. Sonakshi's heart thumped. This wasn't supposed to be what she noticed. She was supposed to focus on his behaviour. Sonakshi distracted herself by looking at the scenery outside as Dev started the car. It took almost fifteen minutes for them to reach Dixit Mansion, as the name said in front of the house. Dev hadn't said a word throughout the entire ride and Sonakshi didn't dare prod him. She knew where his thoughts were and hence didn't want to bother him. They were met at the door by an over enthusiastic Riya. As Riya literally dragged both of them in, Sonakshi saw that the drawing room consisted of Riya, Neha, Ranveer and even Tina. She smiled at all of them. Then she spotted an older woman and a young girl side by side whom she assumed to be Ishwari and Nikki.

Nikki ran forward and hugged Sonakshi, " Hello Sona Di, main aapko Sona di bula sakti hoon naah?" Before Sonakshi could nod, she said, "Maine aapke baarey me bohot suna hai. Bhaiyya aur baaki sab bohot baat karte hai aapke barey me. Main Nikki hoon, Dev bhaiyya ki sabse chhoti Sis!" Sonakshi smiled, " Maine bhi tumharey barey me bohot suna hai. Bohot achha laga tumsey milkey." Ishwari now stepped forward and said, " Uff ho usey andar toh aney do. Ao ao baitho Sonakshi." And that is how dinner at the Dixit mansion commenced.

Sonakshi chatted with everyone and found that for a family that had been through so much, they were all strong and wonderful people. Tina and Ranveer seemed a perfect fit into their group and it almost felt like they were a part of the family too. Dinner was served after a while and the chatting continued, with delicious dishes to add. But out of everyone, one person remained uncharacteristically quiet and he only spoke in short clipped replies when someone directed a question to him. So when Dev suddenly signaled a hand up in the air to quieten everyone after the desserts were served Sonakshi braced herself. By now she had accepted that her plan had backfired and pushed Dev into an endless pit of thought. Ishwari looked at Dev and said, " Kya hua beta?" Dev took a deep breath and said, " Maine ek decision liya hai."

Everyone listened with baited breath as Dev paused. Then he said, "Main...Main therapy karwana chahta hoon." Everyone's jaw almost hit the floor. Ishwari whispered, " Kya?" Dev looked at his mother and said, " Haan Ma. Main therapy karwana chahta hoon. I want peace." Then he turned to Sonakshi, " Kya main aapka patient ban sakta hoon Dr. Bose?" Sonakshi didn't know what to say. Even the simple yes came to her after a full minute and she struggled to say it. So she just nodded vigorously. Neha was the first to react. She stood up from her chair beside him and enveloped him in a hug, " Main aapke saath hoon bhaiyya." Slowly all his family hugged him, along with Ranveer while Tina and Sonakshi watched from a distance. She was reminded of the hug she had seen this afternoon between Mr. Shukla and his family. She was proud that Dev took the hint and was brave enough to do this.  She knew that even though it seemed like nothing, this decision was huge for Dev.

Tina turned to Sonakshi, " Thank you Dr. Bose. Yeh Sir ke liye bohot zaroori tha. Woh apne baarey me sochte hi nahin the." Sonakshi nodded, " Mujhey pata hai Tina. Aur main unhey aise nahin dekh sakti thi. Kuch toh karna hi tha." Tina smiled from ear to ear, " You are a great friend Dr. Bose." Immediately after Tina said that, something struck Sonakshi. She furrowed her brows. What did Tina just say? "You are a great friend Dr. Bose" Is that what people saw? Is that what Dev saw? Suddenly she grew an immense dislike for the word friend. It made her feel like crying. But why? That's what she was, the best friend, helping him join his pieces back. So why did that term bother her?

She thought back to all those times that she had heart attacks due to his smiles, how she yearned to see him even when they fought, how nice it felt to share everything with him, how good it felt when he trusted her with everything. How good it felt when he held her responsible for his happiness. How good it felt when his sole focus was on her. Tina's words flashed in her mind again...you are a great friend. Sonakshi sucked in a sharp breath.

Because realization is something that happens to you without warning. You didn't need to be in a particular place at a particular time to realise something. You could be taking a shower when you realise something, you could be singing a song when you realise something or you could be flying an airplane when you realise something. So for Sonakshi it was that moment, standing in the corner, looking at Dev and his family rejoicing, that she realised something. What was that something?

That she was in love.

No no, correction.

She was in love with Dev.

And she was in too deep to find a way out now.

****************************************************************************

Now it is finally done, for today!

How'd you like the chapters? If you wish, leave separate comments for both or combined. Par batana zaroor!

Also do hit the like button.

See you on Sunday with the next update!

Love

Mishti