A/N: This one is probably going to be a two-shot...😊And here's a little VM that I made...
Edit: To reflect what is happening in the show, I'm changing things up a little bit...😊
Don't Say Alvida...
"Dad..."
"Pack your bags."
Anjali's brows furrowed. "Dad...?" Her voice trailed off, leaving an unspoken question hanging in mid-air.
Shashank Gupta looked up at his 24-year-old daughter through his rimmed glasses. "Pack your bags, Anjali."
Anjali held her father's steely gaze with her own. "Can I at least ask why we're leaving?"
"You're leaving. I'm not." Shashank's response was terse and from his tone, Anjali knew that any attempt to argue would be pointless. Still, that didn't lessen the shock that his words produced.
"I..." Anjali felt her confusion increasing second by second. "I'm leaving?" She shook her head, trying to make sense of her father's sudden command. "But why?"
Shashank was silent for a moment. He then looked down at his study table and picked up a file as Anjali waited for an answer. "I'll tell you after you're finished packing."
Anjali stood her ground. "Dad, if I'm the one leaving...For whatever reason that is...Don't you think I'm the one who needs to know?"
She watched Shashank pick up another file and leaf through it. As she opened her mouth to gather his attention, Shashank's voice stopped her. "You're going to Chicago. Specialized training. Away from Sanjeevani."
"Dad..." Anjali began, cautiously, "Why can't I stay here? Nikki and Atul -"
Shashank looked up sharply. "Anjali, you will pack your bags now and prepare to leave. Your flight is next week, so I suggest that you gather your things from Sanjeevani and make sure that you don't overlook anything. You'll be staying abroad for as long as is necessary."
The finality in Shashank's voice told Anjali that his decision would not change. She had a feeling that her hunch about her father's motives behind this abrupt decision was correct, but she didn't want to think about that. She simply nodded stiffly and headed off to her room to begin packing.
As Anjali stepped through Sanjeevani's familiar doors, she found herself noticing details about the hospital that she had taken for granted before. Walking through the corridor toward the locker room, she remembered the first time she had entered Sanjeevani as a 6-year-old child. It had been an unfamiliar place then, but it had, strangely enough, felt like she belonged there in the busy corridors, surrounded by nurses and ward boys and doctors hurrying to carry out their daily duties.
The hospital had not changed much after all these years; there were still people bustling about in the corridors, going about their tasks. It seemed like she had entered Sanjeevani as an intern just yesterday...Two years had flown by so quickly...Anjali absent-mindedly entered the locker room and went over to her locker to retrieve her things. A female voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Anjali?"
Anjali turned to see Nikita standing in the doorway. Nikki gave her a small smile and walked over to stand next to her. "I heard you were leaving..."
Anjali nodded, pulling files out of her locker and placing them next to the tote bag she had brought with her. "The decision came about so quickly, and Dad clearly didn't want me to argue about it. So I'm going." As she pulled her lab coat out of her locker, she turned to face Nikki. "Well, I guess you guys are going to have fun without me. I'm quite disappointed that I won't be able to see you all become resident doctors, you know. It would have been nice to work together - you, me, Atul..." She struggled to block out memories of the terrible accident that had taken place little over a month ago. "But now I'll have to miss out on all the fun."
Nikki had a grim look on her face. "Anjali..." she began. How could she tell Anjali about this? If Anjali was oblivious to that fact, then Shashank clearly didn't want her to know. Nikki decided that it would be best to keep quiet.
"Yeah? What?"
"Nothing." Nikki forced a smile and gave Anjali a hug. "We'll miss you."
Anjali rolled her eyes. "I'm not leaving forever, yaar." All the same, she felt her eyes becoming moist and she struggled to fight the sadness that was slowly settling over her like a gray cloud.
Anjali and Nikki parted from the hug, and silence prevailed as the two women contemplated what to say to each other. Anjali broke the silence.
"Nikki...Is..." Anjali hesitated, cursing herself for feeling so awkward. "Is Atul going to stop by today?"
Nikki looked up at Anjali, feeling extremely guilty. She could see that in spite of Anjali's carefully-controlled question and seemingly nonchalant tone, her eyes betrayed the concern that she wanted to mask.
Nikki shook her head. "I don't know."
Anjali dropped her gaze to the floor. Her eyes welled up with tears again as she realized that she might not be able to meet Atul before she left. She had come to Sanjeevani with hopes that she would run into him; she had wanted to tell him first; he, of all people, deserved to know where she was going. She didn't want to think of his reaction when he would find out that she had left the country, but she couldn't stop the flurry of thoughts that invaded her mind. He deserved to know, not from her father or Nikki, but from her.
Nikki watched solemnly as Anjali stood there, motionless, staring at the floor ahead of her. After a few minutes of silence, Anjali sat down on the bench in front of her locker and promptly whipped out her pager.
----------
Atul groaned as he heard his pager go off.
"Kya, yaar...Now even an injured man isn't exempt from duty...I thought they would let me rest in peace for a while..." Atul carefully made his way over to his desk to check his pager. "Hitler just won't give us a break, will she? Even though so much has happened, and we need some time to adjust...No one is going to run away..." Mumbling to himself, Atul picked up his pager.
Atul,
Could you meet me in the locker room sometime within the next hour?
I have to tell you something. You'll come, won't you?
Anjali
Atul stared at the message. Anjali? At Sanjeevani? He couldn't imagine what she was doing there or why she was there in the first place. She should have been at home. He frowned, confused. He needed to rest his hand as much as possible, but Anjali needed to see him. If he didn't set off for Sanjeevani immediately, Anjali would be worried. Atul grinned. She was probably pacing around the locker room right now.
Atul pocketed his pager, grabbed his keys and wallet, and headed out the door.
Anjali paced around the locker room impatiently. She'd been pacing for the past fifteen minutes, praying that Atul would get her message and come to meet her. Nikki had left for duty, with an assurance from Anjali that she would leave soon and have a safe trip. Anjali had stayed in the locker room well after Nikki left, gathering her things and arranging them neatly in her bag to take home. With nothing more to do to keep her busy, she had begun pacing, as she always did when she was worried.
Fifteen minutes had passed, and Atul still wasn't here. Anjali glanced at her watch for what seemed like the thousandth time. He wouldn't deliberately ignore her; she knew he wouldn't ever do that. Maybe he hadn't received her message...Anjali took out her pager again and began typing up a new message. She was almost halfway done when her pager alerted her of a new incoming message. She felt a rush of adrenaline wash over her as she read the message on the screen.
Anjali,
Would've come sooner, but I'm stuck in traffic.
Will be there in a few minutes.
Sorry!
Atul
Unwittingly, a huge smile spread over Anjali's face. It seemed as though a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She sat down on the locker room bench and took a deep breath as all the tension that had built up inside her drained away. Just one message from Atul, and her worries had vanished. Anjali smiled and re-read his message. She would see him, after all.
Anjali's smile faded as quickly as it had appeared when she remembered why she had called Atul to the locker room in the first place. The gloom that settled over her as soon as that thought entered her mind was even more overwhelming than the sadness she had felt earlier while talking with Nikki. Atul had known her for so long...Anjali knew, without a doubt, that he would be devastated.
Atul walked briskly toward the locker room, briefly acknowledging familiar faces in the corridors as they inquired about his health. He had no time to talk to people, no matter how touching their concern for him was. He had to see why Anjali had summoned him to the hospital so suddenly. He had a feeling that it was something urgent, and he chided himself for being late, even though he was well-aware that he was not to blame. If he was late, he was late...And Anjali had probably been on the verge of panicking before he'd sent that message.
He could see her through the glass doors of the locker room as he approached them. Anjali was sitting on a bench, with a large bag filled with what looked like files and her lab coat next to her. Atul wondered what that was all about. He pushed open the locker room door with his left hand and stepped inside, as Anjali looked up at that precise moment and their eyes met.
Atul was shocked to see that Anjali had been crying. He could see very faint traces of the tears that had probably spilled down her cheeks in spite of her attempts to contain them. He could see how tired and tense she was, and he felt terrible for adding to her stress by being late.
He knew she had been crying. Anjali could tell from the way his forehead creased immediately when she had turned to look at him. His eyes were full of concern, and she could feel that he regretted not being able to have arrived sooner. Anjali couldn't bring herself to look away from him. She felt her eyes filling with tears as Atul watched her.
Atul, who could read her expressions like a book and could feel her pain without her ever needing to say anything...Atul, whom she had thought of as a strange, immature boy when she had first laid eyes on him, was now her only confidant, the only one who truly understood her. And she would not see his face again until she returned from Chicago...Whenever that would be.
As Anjali's eyes welled up with tears, Atul felt his heart lurch. He had no idea why she was so distressed, or why she was even here at the hospital when she should have been at home. With each passing second, his worry and pain for her were increasing exponentially. His frown deepened.
The next thing he knew, Anjali was running towards him, seeking solace in his embrace. The sudden action took him by surprise, and he only fully realized what was happening when he felt Anjali's body collide with his.
Atul wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, as she buried her face in his shoulder. He could feel her tears soaking his shirt sleeve, and it alarmed him. He closed his eyes and, in an effort to soothe his nerves, inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet scent of Anjali's hair. He stood there, motionless, holding her until her sobs subsided. When it seemed like Anjali had stopped crying, Atul spoke for the first time since he'd arrived.
"Anjali..."
Hearing her name on his lips brought more tears to her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to stop them. Anjali lifted her head and moved just enough to be able to look at him. The emotions that she could see in his eyes mirrored her own feelings. He didn't even know what she was going to tell him, but he could feel her pain. He always could.
How could anyone be so gentle, so caring, so loving?
"Atul..."
Anjali's voice was slightly hoarse when she spoke, and to Atul, just hearing her say his name that way broke his heart. His Anjali had always been so strong...Why was she being subjected to such suffering now?
"Anjali, what's wrong?" Atul softly brushed a few tear-dampened strands of hair away from her cheek. As he did so, his thumb grazed her cheek ever so lightly, and her eyes fluttered closed involuntarily.
Her heart was pounding, her head was spinning. Why did this have to be so difficult? Why did she have to leave everything behind? She took a shaky breath, her eyes still closed, her cheek tingling with sensation.
She opened her eyes and found Atul watching her worriedly. She couldn't bear to see what her next words would do to him, but he had to know.
"Atul, I'm leaving." Edited by PaNa4ever - 15 years ago
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