RAGNA SS :MY DESIRES FOR YOU-part16-pg:124 updated 15/5 - Page 69

Next day Raghav left for the office early as usual to avoid peak hour traffic. He stopped at the jewellers where he placed an order for a ring that he hoped

to give to Kalpana in the near future. His mind was set that he would ask her to marry him...Not knowing how long that would take, he decided to have the ring made in the meantime so he'd ask her when he knew the time was right.He had a full day ahead of him as he was expecting a cadre of programmers from Japan who would be consulting with him on a special project. It was a big deal for his firm, one that could lead to an explosion of growth in the international marketplace.

He was in the middle of his meeting when his administrative assistant

knocked on the door of the conference room. He frowned. Lisa had been with him for

years and she knew better than to interrupt such an important session.

She hurried over and leaned down to whisper in his ear. At her words

his blood ran cold. Kaira. Pool. Hospital. Ambulance.

At that instant all thought fled his mind except for one. Kaira. He had to get to

Kaira. He shoved the chair back and with the briefest of apologies he was up and out the door. Lisa would have to do the explanation. He had no time to spare.

He jumped into his car and tore out of the parking lot, tires screeching as he

went. Within fifteen minutes he was pulling up in front of St. Mary's Hospital. He'd

parked the car in the tow zone but he didn't give a damn. They could have it. All he

wanted was to see his little girl.

He dashed up to the reception desk and almost reached out and throttled the

nurse when she calmly told him to take a number and sit down. When he growled at

her and demanded to see Kaira immediately she jumped and looked like she was

about to call security but she must have seen the desperation in his eyes because she

called for an orderly who escorted him to the intensive care ward.

There Raghav saw Kalpana. She was sitting all alone on a long bench and she was

twisting her hands in her lap, tears streaming down her face.

He dashed over to her. "Kalpana. What happened? Where is she? Is she..." He

could not say the word.

Kalpana hopped up and turned red, puffy eyes toward him. "Raghav.

Forgive me ,Raghav. I'm so sorry. So sorry."

That stopped him in his tracks. It was a stake hammered right into his heart. The

words were a confirmation of his worst fear. Kaira was gone.

The words sucked his strength, the very life out of him. He collapsed onto the

bench and stared at Kalpana in shock. His Kaira, his sweet little Kaira, was dead.

He'd meant to make life so good for her, give her a family, and now it was too

late. Too late, too late. The words rang in his head. Oh God, he was too late.

He dropped his face in his hands and the tears seeped through his fingers..

Kalpana came to him then. He felt when she sat on the bench beside him and then

her arms were around him, hugging, comforting him like she'd done once before.

"We have to pray," she whispered. "Pray for Kaira, Raghav. Just pray."

Pray? What was the use of praying? Praying wouldn't bring her back so he could

hold her in his arms again, so he could feel that bundle of energy, his little girl, so full of life. Kalpana could pray all she wanted but he just wanted Kaira.

"We have to be strong for her, Raghav. Help her pull through."

It took a moment for the words to sink in. What was she saying? Kaira was...

alive? He lifted his head and stared into Kalpana's eyes, willing her to say the words.

"Kaira?" he said.

"They're working on her right now," she said.

Raghav's shoulders sagged with relief. Thank God. The gigantic rock that had landed squarely in the middle of his chest began to

crumble, leaving pebbles of fear behind.

"What did they say? Will she be alright?"

Kalpana shook her head and her eyes were full of sadness. "I don't know."

Raghav looked at her and then away. Had he been given hope just to have it

dashed? No, God would not be so cruel. He clung to that thought, that hope, and

only then was he able to breathe freely. Raghav took Kalpana's hand in his. Her palm was damp. He could only imagine what she must have gone through, dealing with all of this without him. He stroked the back of her hand, trying to give her some small comfort. They sat like that in

silence.

Finally he asked, "Kalpana, what happened?" He knew it would be traumatic for

her to relive the experience but he had to know.

Kalpana's hands gripped his tightly and then she pulled it away. She drew in a

trembling breath.

"Kaira and I...we did some gardening this morning and we got all muddy so...I

took her upstairs and gave her a bath." She drew a deep breath then let it out in a

heavy sigh. "There was still mud splattered on my leg so I fixed a quick snack for

Kaira and set her at the kitchen table to eat. I told her I'd be down in five minutes. I

just wanted to take a quick shower."

"Why didn't you leave her with Mrs. Kapoor?"

"She called a little after you left this morning. Her grandson was sick and her

daughter called on her suddenly to babysit while she went to work." Kalpana bit her

lip. "I was alone with Kaira."

She was silent then and Raghav could imagine she must be blaming herself for

that one slot of time when she'd let Kaira out of her sight. He spoke then. "But how

did Kaira get over the fence around the pool?" He'd had that fence installed the same week Kaira moved into the house.

Kalpana sucked in her breath. "That's what I don't understand. I know I locked

the gate last night and we didn't go anywhere near it all morning. I know Kaira's way

too short to get anywhere near that latch so the gate must have been left open." She

shook her head, her eyes distressed, her face dark with confusion. "I know I locked

that gate. I'm sure of it. I did, Raghav, I did." She covered her face with her hands

and began to cry.

"Hush," he said and put his arm around her shoulder. "I know."

It took several minutes for Kalpana to calm down and then they sat together in silence, the moments ticking by. Each time the door leading to the operating room opened both turned as one but each time it was a nurse or an orderly going about their various duties.

Finally, after an exhausting two hours a doctor dressed in green scrubs stepped

through the door. "Miss Santini," he said as he approached, "and Mr..."

" Raghav Singhania ," Raghav said, rising to his feet.

The doctor nodded. "You're Kaira's guardian, correct?"

"Yes," he said quickly, wishing the doctor would just come out with the words.

The suspense was torture.

"As you know, we've been working on Kaira for some time. She ingested quite

a bit of water but the good thing is," he turned to Kalpana, "you got her out quickly and started CPR right away. If it hadn't been for that we wouldn't have been able to save her. The paramedics would have come too late. Your quick action saved her life."

"So she's going to be alright?"

The doctor smiled. "Your little girl is a real fighter. We'll have to keep her for

at least a week for observation but it looks like she's out of the woods."

Raghav could have kissed him, his relief was so great. Kaira was going to be

alright. He turned and grabbed Kalpana and hugged her tight, expressing all his relief and gladness in that embrace.

Then he released her and stretched out his hand. "Thank you, Doctor," he said

and shook the hand of the man who had saved his daughter's life.

There, he'd said it. His daughter. And that was what Kaira had come to be for

him - a member of his family, his child. He'd been thinking about her like that for

some time now and he knew that whatever the future held for him, Kaira would always be a part of it. He would make it official. She would be his daughter.

"Can we see her?" he asked.

"Yes, but one at a time." He nodded to Raghav. "You go first, Mr. Singhania ."

Raghav looked at Kalpana and she nodded, her face flushed with relief. "Go to

her."

When Raghav disappeared through the swinging doors Kalpana sat back down and

stared at the floor. Thank God Kaira was going to be all right. She didn't know what she would do if she hadn't pulled through. She was dying to run to her and hug her close but she would have to wait her turn.

Then she thought of the role she'd played in Kaira's near tragedy. Why had she

left her alone? She'd moved quickly in the bathroom and had returned downstairs to find the kitchen empty and Kaira gone. She'd gone into the garden, thinking she'd wandered out there but there was no Kaira. Then she ran back to the pool and that was when she saw the open gate. She dashed through and there was Kaira floating face down the water.

She screamed then dove into the water and dragged her out. She immediately

started with the life-saving techniques she'd learned . She only stopped long enough to call the ambulance and then she kept working on her until the paramedics took over.

All that had taken mere minutes but to Kalpana it seemed like a lifetime.

She got up, too agitated to sit still any longer, and began to pace the floor. Then

she came to a standstill and leaned her forehead on the cold concrete wall. Her

shoulders shook but there were no tears. She was crying again because she knew

what she had to do. For the sake of Kaira's safety it would be best for her to go.