I Belong With You part 30 updated (Arsh ff) - Page 30

no worries here... i know our ARSH are together...but good tohave the mess around...

Great part!! Hope Rohan doesnt creat any problems for them. Cont soon and thanks for the pm.

interesting part plz write more soon :D

part 30

Later that day, Armaan was in his office doing some research when Shilpa walked in. His face lightened up as he saw her. "I haven't seen you all day."

"Yeah, I know. I was…busy," Shilpa answered.

"Avoiding Rohan," Armaan added knowingly, especially noticing the way Shilpa was glancing around. He stood up from his desk and walked over to the spot Shilpa had frozen and, taking her hand, he pulled her inside and closed the door. They were soon holding each other into their arms with a strong embrace.

"I am sleepy and Shona is still cranky," Shilpa muttered.

"I napped for almost two hours," Armaan replied with a smirk.

Shilpa giggled and poked him between ribs.

"I looked for you, but you were busy hiding," he laughed. He cupped her face and gently caressed her lips with his own.

"Actually I was busy with Dr. Shubhankar down in the pit and I am preparing to scrub in for a liver transplant."

"Interesting then. It was worth napping alone," Armaan chuckled. He stroked her cheek, caressing it with his thumb.

"Did you talk to him?" Shilpa asked him anxiously.

"I did," he nodded. "I think I slipped out the fact that … Shona's name is Shona."

Shilpa questioningly waited for more. "What did he say?"

"He said nothing."

"But did you ask him if he wants to see her?" she anxiously asked.

Armaan shook his head. "We avoided this topic. He wanted to avoid it."

Shilpa sat down in the couch and sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I called home and Sapna said Shona has some fever," she said and looked up at Armaan. "I guess he can't see her anyway.

Armaan joined her on the couch and cradled her hand between his. "I don't know how to do this," he admitted quietly.

"Me neither," she answered with a sigh.

Armaan looked over at Shilpa, hesitating before asking, "Should I call and ask mom?"

Shilpa slowly turned her head and looked at him in disbelief. "Are you insane?"

Armaan looked away and shrugged.

Both looked at their hands, staying quiet for a while.

"What do you think she would say?" she asked quietly.

Armaan glanced at her and took a moment to think. "She would ask me to punch him and then put him face to face with Shona," he said. "No," he added, shaking his head. "She wouldn't ask me to punch him because she wouldn't want to scare the baby."

That managed to make Shilpa giggle.

"Let's just wait and see what happens," Armaan stated. "He will be here for at least two days, so we still have time to figure out."

"You're right," Shilpa agreed. She leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek before she stood, "I should get back to work now."

Still holding her hand, Armaan stopped her. "You haven't seen him yet?"

Shilpa shook her head. "But it's like I did because everyone is talking about him."

"You're friends are still drooling," he chuckled.

"Yeah," she smiled. "Maybe I should warn them otherwise they can end up with a little Shona of their own."

"They might not be this lucky and have a sweet little Shona like ours," he pointed out and smiled broadly at her.

Shilpa had to smile to. It sounded … warm the way he said 'ours'. "I will see you later," she said and Armaan let go of her hand.

Left alone, Armaan went to back to his desk and took a deep breath before he regained his focus and started working. A few minutes later, he was interrupted by a light knock on the door.

As he looked up, he saw Ishikha walking in. From the look on her face, Armaan could tell she was bringing bad news. Panic struck in as he thought it had something to do with Shona.

"What is it, Ishikha?" he asked.

Ishikha brought him a chart. "Down in the pit is this man." As Armaan read it, Ishikha said, "He's Sapna's son. He came unconscious but he woke up soon after he got here.

"He has a spleen fracture and a few broken bones," Armaan read from the chart.

"His wife is on her way here but he said he refuses surgery until he doesn't talk to his mother," she said. "Are they into a fight or something and he thinks he won't make it throughout the surgery?"

"That's none of our business, Ishikha," Armaan scowled at her. "I will call her right away. You go and take care of him. Rush him in the OR if his condition gets worse."

"Ok," Ishikha nodded and sprinted out of Armaan's office.

Armaan had his hand on the phone already when he realized something. If Sapna had to come to the hospital, she would have to bring Shona with her. Maybe Rohan would meet Shona after all. Armaan reluctantly picked up the phone and dialed home.

Armaan had told Sapna to bring Shona straight to his office as she got to the hospital. Unfortunately, the Chief, along with the medical team due to take part to the surgery, kept Armaan busy as soon as he finished talking to Sapna. They all came out of the Chief's office, still talking, only Armaan being absent-minded as he kept looking around.

"What's with you, Malik," the Chief demanded as he had put him a question and Armaan seemed to have not heard it.

"What?" Armaan asked, shaking his attention back to them.

The Chief lifted a brow. "I need you focused."

"I am focused," Armaan nodded, but his eyes quickly looked away as he heard a baby crying. In that moment, he saw Sapna coming towards him with Shona in her arms. Armaan ignored whatever the Chief was saying to him and hurried to them. He could easily read the fear in her eyes as he approached her.

"Don't worry," he hurried to reassure her. "We have him under observation and we'll take him in the OR as soon as you talk to him. I suggest you to do it right away.

Sapna nodded and wiped away a tear. "Oh Armaan. She's not feeling well. She's running high fever and she keeps crying," she said desperately, letting Shona go to Armaan.

Armaan took Shona into his arms and gently cradled her to his chest. "We'll take care of her. Don't worry." Armaan looked around and stopped a nurse. "Can you take her to Mr. Shah's room?" The nurse nodded. "I will check on you later. Dr. Shubhankar is his doctor and she's one of our best general surgeons, so please think positive."

Sapna gave him a weary smile. "Why does he want to talk to me before surgery? And where's Andrea?"

"As I heard, his wife is already there," Armaan nodded and rubbed Sapna's arms as comfort. "I don't know what's going on, but you'd better go talk to him now."

Sapna nodded. "I left Nana with Mr. Benet, your neighbor," she said and smiled worryingly at Shona before she left with the nurse.

"Armaan?" The Chief called out for him, sounding worried.

As he looked back, Armaan saw him coming to him, watching Shona. "What's wrong with her?" he asked, carefully eye-checking Shona.

"She's teething," Armaan sighed and rested his cheek against Shona's.

"Poor little thing," the Chief smiled sympathetically at the crying baby. "She has grown so much. Dr. Thomas!" He turned and called for an elder doctor, while he put a hand on Armaan's back, leading him towards the group of doctors.

Armaan looked for Rohan's reaction at the unexpected meeting, but Rohan pretended to be reading from a chart as he and Shona approached the group.

"I'd like you to meet Muskaan' gupta granddaughter," the Chief went on with the introduction.

"I heard something about Muskaan becoming granny," the man laughed and took a closer look to Shona. "She's adorable. What's her name?" he asked Armaan.

Armaan felt completely uncomfortable with the situation; Shona was still crying in his arms, rubbing her face against his shoulder and sweating, Rohan was only a few feet away and a bunch of doctors willing to meet Muskaan' gupta granddaughter.

"Shona Muskaan gupta," he answered. He could swear he had caught a glance of Rohan on Shona while he introduced her to Dr. Thomas.

"Oh," Dr. Thomas looked surprised. "She doesn't have your last name?" he asked Armaan.

Armaan swallowed a lump.

"Dr. Malik is not Shona's biological father," the Chief was helpful as he explained the situation. "But he is her father by all the other meanings," he wanted to point out.

Armaan couldn't help but smile. He liked when people saw him and talked about him as Shona's father. But then he remembered Rohan. As he looked at him, Armaan saw him still reading, but this time he held a deep frown on his face. He couldn't explain why, but that made him feel less uncomfortable. Also encouraged by Richard's words, he wanted to play the role of Shona's father in front of Rohan.

He rubbed his lips against Shona's hot forehead and kissed her. Just then he noticed that Shona had stopped from crying. She was just whimpering now, but her attention was caught by the bunch of doctors around her, all gathered and smiling at her. She chewed on her fingers as stared at them.

"She's teething?" Dr. Thomas asked Armaan and ran gently his hand across Shona's cheek. He smiled as Shona looked curiously at him. "Are you sure you're not father?" he asked and chuckled. "She has your eyes," he pointed out.

"No," Armaan smiled, still proud of the resemblance the others were bringing about him and Shona. "She has her father's eyes," he stated and looked at Rohan again. His eyes seemed glued to the chart he wanted to look like he was reading.

"I don't know her father, but let me tell you this," Dr. Thomas started saying. "If you adopt a baby, in time, the baby starts looking like its adoptive parents. That's a scientific proved fact. How old is she now?"

"She's six-month and two weeks old."

"Maybe you can't see it now, but wait a couple of years," the doctor stated knowingly.

Armaan didn't have to look at Rohan again to know he was in pain. He was ready to ease him of this pain. "I'd better take her to the Pediatrics. She needs some professional care here now that her Nanny has some personal issues."

"Sure. Go," Dr. Gupta nodded. "Go and find Dr. Robbins. Tell her I asked for this consult."

Armaan nodded gratefully. "I'll get back with you as soon as I am done there," he told them and just turned around, walking away. Somehow, he knew Rohan had looked at least once at his daughter and he imprinted her image in his brain.

He was partially right. As Shona put her head down on Armaan's shoulder, she looked at the only doctor who hadn't smiled and asked for her attention. Rohan couldn't describe very well her features, but those blue eyes were piercing his. He kept seeing them long after Armaan and Shona were out of his sight.

As the medical team walked out of the patients' room, Armaan's pager went off. "I need to check this," he told the Chief and sprinted, going to answer the call.

The chief just nodded as Armaan left and turned his attention to one of his special guests. "Dr. Sloan, I think we're done for today. You'd better go and get a good night sleep. We have a long day waiting tomorrow." He patted him on the shoulder before he walked past him.

"Dr. Gupta," Rohan hesitantly called for the Chief and stopped him. The Chief turned and looked at him, waiting. Rohan nervously cleared his throat. "Where is the Pediatric floor?"

The Chief looked surprised. "It's at the fifth floor. Why are you asking?"

Rohan shrugged. "Someone asked me earlier and I didn't know what to answer. Just in case that someone else asks me about the Peds again."

The Chief looked at him with distrust. He had worked with Rohan Sloan before and he knew he was not such a helpful citizen, despite this, he nodded. "Good Night, Dr. Sloan."

"Good night, Dr. Gupta," Rohan nodded too. He stood there and watched until the Chief was out of his sight. Carefully looking around him – exactly like sneaking to somewhere- he headed towards the elevator. He walked out of the elevator in the same manner. The Pediatric floor looked quieter. He kept glancing around as he walked over to the nurses' station.

A young brunette nurse smiled as she saw him stopping by the counter. "May I help with you something, Dr…" she leaned forward a little and read his batch, "Dr. Sloan?"

Rohan smiled and cleared his throat again. "I want to know in which room is…" he stopped, clearing his throat once more and looking around as if he was making sure none was hearing him. "Shona gupta?"

The nurse looked thoughtfully at him before she burst. "Oh, Dr. Malik's baby. She is…"

"No," Rohan stopped her, glaring at her. "I asked you about Shona gupta as in Dr. gupta's daughter."

The nurse smiled apologetically, also a little confused. "She's in room 428," she answered, pointing over his shoulder.

Rohan followed her direction and just nodded, without glancing even once at the nurse. He started walking slowly towards the room. It was at the end of the hall and he could see it from the place he was. Rohan remembered he had to look calm. He wasn't sure what he was doing. His feet just led him towards room 428.

He stopped a foot away from the door and looked around. That corner was very private. Through the glass windows he could see a crib but he couldn't see inside the crib. Rohan took a step forward and stopped again, in the doorway. He stood there stone-still, his hands in his lab's pockets, steady on his feet. He stood there and listened. He could hear a heavy breathing and a sleepy whimper; but he still could not see inside the crib.

Rohan took a half step back and looked outside one the hall. As he made sure nobody would see him, Rohan walked into the room with more confidence. He looked cold and professional-like as he walked closer to the crib and saw the baby girl sleeping curled up in her blanket and sucking her all five fingers. This time either- though he was alone with her- he couldn't look at her for long. He looked away quickly and his first impulse was to leave, but as he spotted a chart on a table, his intention changed. Rohan hesitated a little and kept glancing outside as he picked up the chart. He turned his back on the room and leaned against the doorframe as he opened the chart.

Baby's name: Shona Muskaan gupta ; Mother's Name: Shilpa gupta; Father's Name: Unknown.

Rohan looked up from the chart and just glanced over his shoulder. As no one could be heard around, he kept reading. The baby's medical history was all written there; she came one week before the due term and had a weight a little under normal; the place she was born in was also written there. A little about that he knew after Armaan had told him about Shilpa and Shona. As he could read from her medical record, Shona was a very healthy baby.

Rohan stirred when he heard Shona starting coughing. He looked worryingly at the crib but he didn't have the courage to approach it. The cough came accompanied by a crying soon and Rohan knew she was awake now. He looked outside on the hall but no nurse or doctor was around. He felt cold chills and panic sweeping through him as Shona was not just coughing and crying, but she sounded like she was chocking too.

Though he was panicked and had his hands numb, Rohan hurried to her crib and picked her up in an instant. He put her to his chest, upright, helping her breathe better while gently patting her on the back.

Shona's cough seemed to be calming down and she was breathing better. Though he avoided any skin on skin contact, Rohan could feel the heat of her fever. Shona was extremely fussy; she didn't like the condition she was in or the fact that someone unknown was holding her. Crying, she looked straight into Rohan's eyes with her deepest frown. She chewed her fingers and her crying soon became a scream as she started throwing sloppy fists in the face of Rohan Sloan.

"What's going on here?" an alarmed intern ran in, stopping the doorway as she saw the attending.

Caught off guard, in a position he didn't want to be seen, Rohan outburst in the only way he knew. "Are you the doctor who has her under observation?"

Intimidated by his cold tone, she nodded slowly.

"Then where in the hell have you been?" he snapped. "If I hadn't passed by this room and heard her, she would have ended up chocking."

"What?" scared, the intern asked and took a step towards them, wanting to check on Shona too.

Just that in that moment Shona had a new problem. Little spasms broke against her chest and spit out a white fluid right on Rohan's scrubs. Rohan froze at that while the intern had to bite her lip to suppress a laugh.

Rohan looked with a grimace at the white, awfully smelling stain on his scrubs and pulled Shona, keeping her away from his clothes.

Armaan's patient had died before he got down in the pit, so he decided to go and spend some time with Shona. As he walked down the hall in the Pediatrics, Armaan could have sworn he heard Rohan's angry voice coming from Shona's room. Scared, he ran there and his feet froze for a brief moment when he found Rohan holding Shona.

"What is going on here?" he soon came out of the shock and demanded. He walked in and stopped close to Rohan, questioningly looking at Shona and then at him.

Seeing Armaan, Shona started crying and reached with her hand for him.

Rohan quickly passed her to Armaan and avoided any eye-contact with them. "I was just passing by and heard her. I didn't know who she was," he said and the next second he was out of the room.

Armaan looked over at the intern, who shrugged clueless. "I found him here," she said. "And he started yelling at me for no reason until the baby throw up on him and then you showed up. He said she was chocking."

"What?" Armaan looked immediately at Shona, checking on her. Besides the tears and the saliva she had her face stained with, Shona looked like she could breathe easy. Being with Armaan now, she wasn't even crying anymore. She wanted to put her head down on Armaan's shoulder and just keep whimpering, so Armaan hugged her and nodded at the intern. "I am here now so she's going to be fine."

The intern got his message and left him alone with Shona. Armaan walked over to the rocking chair that Shona had in her hospital room and took a seat in it, still closely holding Shona to his chest. He started swinging slowly and rubbed small circles on Shona's back. He could not wipe the image of Rohan holding Shona off his head. He said he was just passing by, but Rohan had no business on this floor. Armaan knew Rohan lied.

"He can only dream I will let him take you," he gritted his teeth angrily. Rage felt his senses and clouded his brain. He knew it was wrong to feel that way, but he couldn't help it. He pressed his lips against Shona's sweaty temple and breathed in her scent. "You threw up on him?" he asked with a chuckle. "Good girl," he smiled and kissed her once more.

As he kept swinging in the rocking chair and Shona kept whimpering quietly, the rage started fading. Despite this, his feelings toward the scene he had assisted didn't change. When Shona pulled away, wanting to sit with Armaan, Armaan turned her around and placed her on his lap, still holding his arms tightly around her. Shona looked for his fingers and as she grabbed one, she took it to her mouth. Armaan laughed when he felt her chewing his finger and kissed the top of her head.

"I know it hurts, baby. You will get better soon, I promise," he told her. "Let's hope that everything will get back to normal soon," he muttered under his breath, of course talking about Rohan. "We need you to regain your good mood. We miss your smile and your giggle," he said, whispering in Shona's ear. Shona looked up at him with the saddest eyes. Armaan smiled and rubbed his thumb against her soft cheek. "You've become very whiney lately."

Shona let out another whimper as Armaan said that and Armaan had to laugh. It looked perfect how Shona always seemed to have the reaction similar to an answer. He leaned down and kissed her.

That's how Shilpa found them when she walked in. "How is she?" she asked softly, smiling at Shona. She walked over to the rocking chair and took Shona in her arms.

"The same," Armaan answered and stood up, letting Shilpa sit down with Shona. "She's still sweaty, but I think it's because of the heat in here only."

Shilpa put Shona on her lap and took a napkin to wipe Shona's mouth. Being cranky and whiney, Shona had to protest and slap her mother's hands away. Pressing her face against Shona's cheek, Shilpa felt a strange smell and just then she noticed the vomit stain on her clothes.

"Did she throw up?" she asked, alarmed.

Armaan couldn't answer right away. Could he not tell her about finding Rohan in Shona's room and holding her?

"Just a little. I think I wasn't careful enough when I picked her up," he said. "She was coughing so I hurried to take her."

Shilpa sighed and shook her head disapprovingly. "You should be more careful, Armaan. She doesn't need other problems. She has enough lready."

"I know," he didn't mind her scowl as he knew he was also lying to her. "I am sorry." He knelt down at Shona's level and smiled as he couldn't help it and pinched her cheek. Shona would have loved that in her good days, but those weren't her happiest times so she whimpered and slapped his hand away just like she had done with her mommy.

"I talked to Sapna before I came here. Her son wanted her to know that he and his wife are expecting a baby," she said.

"That's good news," Armaan chuckled, truly happy for Sapna, especially knowing how much she loved children.

"Yeah," Shilpa smiled wearily.

"What is it? You don't seem happy for her."

Shilpa shrugged. "What if she will want to go and raise her grandchild?"

Armaan had to admit he hadn't thought about that. "We'll have to wait and see. She loves Shona so much."

"More than her own grandchild?" Shilpa asked knowingly.

Armaan sighed and nodded. He didn't like that either, but he was more optimistic than Shilpa. "Let's hope she will let us know in time if she really wants to leave and raise her grandchild. Now don't be pouty too. We have one whiney little girl over here and she's already more than I can take," he added with a cheerful smile, loving to tease Shona and pinched her on the cheek again.

"Leave her alone, Armaan," Shilpa laughed and slapped his hands when Shona started crying.

"Isn't there a way to cheer her up?" he asked sympathetically as he watched the baby's pain painted in her frown.

"I don't think there is; at least not right now," Shilpa sighed.

As he looked up at her, Armaan could see how exhausted she looked. "You need sleep."

Shilpa nodded. "I will take a nap after Shona goes to sleep. You don't think we could take her home tonight?"

Armaan shook his head. "She'd better stay here; just in case that the fever comes back. But I have an idea," he smiled. "Why don't we find an on-call room for tonight? She could sleep with us."

"In those sheets?" Shilpa gasped and shot him a glare. "Armaan, you know what other things besides sleeping happens between those sheets."

Armaan started laughing. "We'll look for clean linens. Now why don't you let me change her diaper and clothes while you go and bring her something to eat?" he suggested, already sliding his hands at Shona's sides to pick her up.

Shilpa pulled away, glaring up at him. "Why me? You go and bring her the food and I stay and change her clothes."

"Oh come on, Shilpa. I want to spend a little time with her."

Shilpa let out a gasp at his words. "You spent more time with her today than I did."

"Yeah, but I seem to have a calming effect on her. She likes my presence."

Shilpa stared at him, mouth open, not believing what he was saying. "That's such a mean thing to say. You think she loves you more? I am her mother."

"I am not saying she loves me more, but I think she needs some quality time… with me."

"I am her mother."

"Yes you are and I was there to catch her when she was born. I was the first person she saw," he replied.

"I was the first person that talked to her and the first person she heard. Besides, she lived in my womb for nearly nine months."

Armaan narrowed his eyes as he listened to Shilpa. "You women think you are great just because the babies live in your wombs for nine months?"

A little confused with the question, Shilpa nodded a yes and as both stared at each other, soon they burst into laughter. Meaningless fight they had had over that topic and both of them found it funny.

"Admit it. This was a silly joke but we managed to laugh a little," Armaan smiled broadly at her.

"I admit," she giggled. "But I am staying with Shona here for real."

Armaan rolled his eyes. "Like mother like daughter so I don't want to have to deal with your crying too," he replied teasingly and laughed when Shilpa pouted.

"You have to change your scrubs anyway," she said, running a hand across his chest. As she did that, she looked carefully at his scrubs. "You have no vomit stain on your scrubs."

"Are you disappointed?" he asked.

"No," she giggled. "I was just wondering. You said you held her and she threw up."

"She threw up a little, Shilpa. She has a small stomach," he answered. He still didn't want to let her know about Rohan's presence in Shona's room.

Armaan stood up and gave Shilpa a kiss when he saw her bouncing nervously her knees. He knew from the worry on her face that she had something on her mind.

"What is it?" he asked her.

Shilpa started at his question and shrugged.

"Shi," he said simply, waiting for her to answer.

Shilpa shrugged again. "I didn't see him at all today," she muttered and glanced up at him.

Armaan didn't know how to reply to that. He just smiled and nodded at her.

"And he didn't want to see her either," she stopped him as he was about to leave the hospital room. As Armaan looked back at her, he met a hopeful smile. Did she really wish Rohan wouldn't meet her daughter?

Armaan nodded his head again and took a step outside the room. The same step he made it backwards as he re-entered the room. He didn't want to give her false hopes. He wasn't allowed to false hopes. "He did see her today," he said.

Shilpa's head jerked up. "What?"

"Today. When Sapna brought her to the hospital… I was with the Chief and the other doctors. He didn't look at her but I am sure he glanced at least once to her." That was all he could tell her; just half of the truth.

"Oh," she breathed out with a sigh. "But he didn't come to see her," she said and there it was again; the same small, hopeful smile.

Armaan smiled and nodded. "I will be back quickly."

Neither of them knew how to deal with this or if they were supposed to do anything or just leave it as it was. It felt wrong on so many levels and it felt right at the same number of levels too.

part 31

As he woke up the next morning in the on-call room, Armaan noticed how exhausted he had been. He hadn't even felt how cold he was and he didn't think he had heard Shona waking up during the night either. He stood up, sleepily rubbing his arms for warming them, and yawned as he walked to Shilpa's bed. A genuine smile crept on his face as he watched them. Of course he was feeling cold. Shona needed more warmth than him. Shilpa looked deep in her sleep as she held Shona protectively next to her.

As he looked better at Shona and ran the tip of his fingers across her forehead, Armaan noticed she was no longer running fever and she even sounded like she was finally having a peaceful sleep; just now and then she was letting out a quiet, short whimper. Checking his watch, he sighed as he knew he should wake Shilpa up too. It was going to be long day.

Armaan leaned in and dropped a soft kiss on Shilpa's cheek and she moaned in response. Armaan chuckled quietly; he loved waking Shilpa up in the morning; her moans were making her sound like a little girl. He leaned in and kissed her again. Shilpa moaned in protest this time. Armaan was a little disappointed because she looked like she wasn't sleeping deeply as he had thought. She must have slept guarding Shona too. He leaned in and dropped another kiss on her cheek.

"We should wake up, Shi," he also whispered.

Shona, who was sleeping curled up at her mother's chest, didn't seem bothered by the hustle around her. She kept sucking on her thumb and sleeping.

"I don't like you," Shilpa whimpered quietly as she carefully rolled onto her back.

Armaan chuckled. "I don't like myself either, but we still have to wake up and take Shona back to the Peds."

Shilpa sighed and nodded reluctantly. She looked over at her baby and smiled as she saw her finally sleeping peacefully. She wished so much for a little free time with her baby girl. She got out of bed and gathered her hair in a messy ponytail before she bent and slowly picked her up.

Shona whimpered just once, a little bothered by the movement, but then she went back on sleeping soundly as her mother cradled her in her arms.

"I think she could sleep the whole day today," Shilpa whispered.

"We all need it," Armaan muttered and put a hand on Shilpa's small back as they walked out of the on-call room.

They had walked just a little down the hall before they started feeling like they were back to work. Out of nowhere, a nurse ran past Shilpa and told her as she kept hurrying, "We have a blue code in room 781."

That was enough for Shona to wake up. She opened her eyes when Shilpa passed her to Armaan and it took her a while until she rubbed her eyes and started noticing people around her. She first looked at Armaan – who was already assaulting her cheek with kisses- and then at the people running around her. She looked back at Armaan and slowly her tiny forehead started crumpling.

"Now there, there," Armaan started soothing her from the first frown. "We're going to bring the girl something to eat, ok?"

Shona put her head down on Armaan's shoulder and while she sucked her thumb, she also started mewing. Armaan chuckled at her cute noise. He hadn't heard her like this before and though it was still persistent, he found it better than her usual whimper.

As he got to the elevator and the doors opened, Armaan was surprised to see Muskaan.

"What happened?" Muskaan asked and hurried outside the elevator as she saw him with Shona. From the tone of her voice, Armaan could tell she was both annoyed and worried. "I called Shilpa but she doesn't answer the phone and there was nobody at home. What's going on?" she demanded.

Armaan sighed discreetly. He wasn't really in the mood for dealing with Muskaan gupta. "Short version. Shona is teething and Sapna's son is in the hospital, so Shona stays with us for the moment."

"How is she?" Muskaan frowned at those words. She noticed how absent Shona looked. She still had her face turned to Armaan's neck, mewing and not recognizing her voice.

"She's better now. She ran some fever yesterday and that's why we decided to stay with her here during the night," Armaan answered.

Muskaan nodded her head and looked around her before she asked Armaan, "He is here too, isn't he?" Armaan answered with a nod. "Did he saw her?" she kept on questioning him.

Armaan let out a sigh and nodded. Maybe he should tell someone about Rohan's visit to Shona's room and then, maybe that someone could tell him what he was supposed to do.

"And?" Muskaan asked and looked at him as if it was obvious she wanted to find out more.

"I didn't tell Shilpa because…" Armaan paused as he wasn't sure he should share this with Muskaan gupta.

"I was talking about him. What did he say?" Muskaan insisted.

"He gave her to me and left the room," Armaan answered. "What does this mean? Should I tell Shilpa?"

"This means he has no intention of taking his rights back and it also means that you two are afraid of nothing. As for telling Shilpa about this…" Muskaan paused as she shrugged. "If you want to have her freaked out… tell her."

"I don't know," Armaan answered with a sigh. He kissed Shona and rested his head against hers. Shona looked at him and saw her grandmother just then.

Shona moaned and threw her hand towards her.

"Hi," Muskaan said to her granddaughter and took her in her arms.

"You say we shouldn't go and demand him to make a decision?" Armaan asked Muskaan.

Muskaan rolled her eyes. "He made a decision already. Are you trying to force him?" she laughed sarcastically and shook her head. "I don't understand you," she muttered under her breath while she slowly bounced Shona in her arms.

Armaan thought about Muskaan' reasoning and it seemed to have some logic.

"You should be showing her off instead of hiding her from him," Muskaan stated. In the same time, she and Armaan heard Richard's booming voice and both saw him walking out of his office with a couple of doctors, including Rohan. "Watch me," she told him before she turned and walked towards the group. "Richard!" she called, smiling at her good old friend.

Richard stopped and chuckled as he saw Muskaan. "I should have known you would be here supervising me," he greeted her with open arms. "Or you're here for her?" he asked, smiling at Shona. He showed the intention of pinching her cheek, but he quickly pulled his hand away as he saw the amount of drool from Shona's cheek.

Muskaan laughed and looked for a napkin in her purse to wipe Shona's face. "She's teething," she excused her.

"I heard and I can see that she's feeling… better?" he asked.

"She's still in a cranky mood, but she's better," Armaan joined them and answered at Richard's question.

After she shook hands with some of the doctors, it was Rohan's turn to say hi. "Dr. Sloan," she said, looking at Rohan. "I see you decided to join the team."

Rohan looked at Armaan, then at Muskaan, glancing at Shona just once. He nodded his head. "I've studied the case and my role seems simple."

"No surgery is simple," Muskaan replied. "You have to…" her words were interrupted when Rohan patted the Chief on the shoulder.

"I have to go get ready," he told him.

The Chief nodded and looked at Armaan. "You should do the same. I don't want to see you wearing that scrub top in the OR," he said, grimacing at the saliva stain that Shona had imprinted on his scrubs.

"I will, but first I have to go and feed Shona," Armaan answered and made a gesture to take Shona from Muskaan.

"She can take care of her," the Chief said. "Shilpa spent a lot of time around here as child."

"She needs her diaper to be changed," Armaan added, somewhat unwilling to go and be alone with Rohan. It was feeling too awkward already.

"She has practice," Dr. Thomas cut in cheerfully and grabbed Armaan by his arm. "I haven't had the chance to stay and talk to you yet," he said, already dragging Armaan after him.

"He would take this baby everywhere if he could," the Chief stated as he watched the other doctors' leaving. "She's his little girl."

Muskaan nodded in agreement and wiped Shona's mouth again. "I need to go and find a nurse to help with this little one."

The Chief chuckled quietly. Of course she was going to ask for help; somehow he doubted that Muskaan ever changed Shilpa's diaper.

Shilpa hurried back on the surgical floor after the chaos in the pit ended. She hadn't seen her daughter yet and she knew that Armaan was already in surgery. As she arrived on the Pediatrics floor, she went and looked in her daughter's room. There, a nurse told her that Dr. Muskaan gupta had her. Shilpa looked confused at first, but then she understood; her mother never announced her visits and she wasn't going to miss from a big surgery as the separation of adult conjoint twins.

She still wondered where Shona was. Knowing her mother, Shilpa imagined that Muskaan must be in the OR, assisting. She felt rage only imaging her baby girl in the care of a random nurse.

"Have you seen a baby?" she asked one of the nurses from the nurses' station.

The nurse looked amused at her and nodded. "I think Dr. gupta has your daughter."

The picture of her baby assisting to a surgery in an OR ran fast through Shilpa's head. No; she shook her head. They wouldn't allow that. But then it was Muskaan gupta that we were talking about. Shilpa shook her head. "She took her with her in the OR?"

"I don't think she's assisting. I think she's just watching from the gallery," the nurse answered.

"Oh," Shilpa was a little confused now. That didn't sound much like her mother. She headed towards the OR and went up in the gallery.

The place was overcrowded, but Shilpa easily recognized her mother's voice as she explained the procedure, and a baby's quiet whimper. She made her way through the crowd at her mother and Shona immediately started fussing and asking to be passed to her mother. Shilpa stayed with Shona in her arms up in the gallery, watching the medical team performing the surgery.

As Shilpa took a seat in the front row, she quickly caught Armaan's glance up at her and Shona. Though his face was hidden behind the mask, Shilpa knew he addressed them a smile.

At the other side of the table, having his back turned to the gallery, Rohan looked at Armaan. He didn't have to look back to know who Armaan was glancing at.

Being back in her Mommy's arms, Shona relaxed and seemed she was listening to Muskaan' explanations about the surgery, sucking her fingers and amusing the audience with her quiet mew. She soon fell asleep and Shilpa had to go back to work, so she first left her in her hospital room, in Sapna's care.

It was late that evening when Armaan finished his work. The surgery had lasted almost the entire day, but it ended successfully. After he changed from the scrubs, he went to take Shona and wait for Shilpa in the main lobby.

"Armaan," Sapna greeted him quietly as she sat beside Shona's crib.

As he didn't know Sapna was there, Armaan was a little surprised and worried at the same time. "Hi. What are you doing here?" he asked and hurried at the side of the crib. "Is everything alright?" he asked as he looked down at the sleeping baby.

"Yes, don't worry," she hurried to reassure him. "My son is much better, so I decided I could help you and Shilpa with Shona. She doesn't like being alone in here with unknown people."

"She doesn't," Armaan sighed. "You shouldn't have bothered though. You look like you could need some rest," he smiled sympathetically at her and made a step forward, pulling her into a hug. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," she laughed. "I still cannot believe this. I've been waiting for news like this since the retirement," she giggled.

Armaan was indeed very happy for Sapna, but same as Shilpa he was a little worried and Sapna noticed that. "I know what you and Shilpa are thinking. I don't want to stop taking care of Shona because only I know how fond of her I've become. I don't know what I am going to do after my grandchild will be born. Maybe I will open a daycare," she added jokingly.

Armaan smiled suggestively at her. "That wouldn't be a bad idea."

Sapna was no longer smiling and she was staring at him, stunned.

"You like children," Armaan pointed out. "I could help you financially."

Sapna kept staring at him.

Armaan didn't know how to translate her reaction. Maybe she hadn't thought about it and she surprised with the suggestion. "Take your time to think about it," he told her.

Sapna nodded slowly. "I'll be at your house in the morning, so you won't have to worry about Shona," she said to Armaan as she watched Shona waking up slowly.

Shona opened her eyes and rubbed them with her fists, looking sleepily up at the two grown-ups. She held the same frown of discomfort on her forehead, so she soon started sucking fingers and whimper.

"I don't think you are ready for this," Armaan said and took the baby out of the crib. "You look tired and you need to take some rest."

"You don't look very fresh either," she pointed out.

Armaan didn't feel very fresh indeed. "Don't worry; besides making a visit to my patients in the morning, I will have the rest of the day off, so I will be home with Shona."

"How about your sleep?"

Armaan answered with a smirk. "Do you think I will waste my day off with Shona by sleeping?"

Sapna giggled. "You can call me if you need help." Armaan smiled too, but as Sapna could see, something was disturbing him. "I heard that everything went well with the surgery," she said, wanting to check if this was the reason for his worry.

Armaan nodded. "We're optimistic in a full recovery."

Sapna nodded her head; almost sure that something was wrong. "You look like you could need someone to talk to," she said, cautiously looking at him.

Armaan was a little confused. Was it this obvious that something big was bothering him? By the way she was looking at him, he knew it was obvious. He walked over to the rocking chair and sat in it, rocking slowly while he cradled Shona into his arms.

"Her father is here in the hospital," he said quietly as he and Shona looked into each other's eyes.

"He's a patient here?" she asked softly.

Armaan shook his head. "He's a doctor. Rohan Sloan, the Plastic surgeon that assisted to the surgery today," he said and looked up at her. "He's also my best friend. Or former best friend," he added with a sigh and looked back down at Shona. "I don't know," he muttered under his breath.

Sapna looked a little troubled with the information. "I didn't know," she sounded as she was excusing herself.

Armaan smiled reassuringly at her. "It's complicated," he sighed.

"It is complicated indeed," Sapna agreed. "So is this why you are …"

"Here? With Shona and Shilpa?" he cut her question off, glaring. "No. I didn't know who they were when I first met them."

"I am sorry," she apologized quietly.

Armaan just nodded and kept rocking Shona, still looking frustrated with Sapna's presumption. Both fell into an uncomfortable silence, while Armaan held Shona into his arms and caressed her face and Sapna started preparing Shona's bag. Only Shona seemed to be saying something through her staccato whimper. Her cute whimper managed to amuse Armaan a little bit and distract him from his worries. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

"I have her bag ready," Sapna said and put the bag in a chair beside him. "I'll go now, but please call me tomorrow if you need help with Shona."

Armaan smiled gratefully. "I won't let you drive. We're taking you home," he said and stood up from the chair. "He came to see her yesterday," he said and stopped Sapna. Maybe she could help him somehow.

She looked sympathetically at him.

"He came to see her but he said he was just passing by when he hear Shona crying, and then he passed her to me and left quickly."

"He doesn't look like he knows what he wants," she said.

Armaan nodded. "And this worries me the most."

"You said he gave up on his rights, so only Shilpa can decide who she wants as father for Shona," Sapna answered. "You're worried about Shilpa?"

Armaan shrugged. "No," he answered hesitantly. "I mean… we are in a strong relationship now. We've grown as couple."

"I don't think I've heard of a situation like this until now," she stated. "But do you know what I would do?" Armaan looked at her questioningly. "I would talk to him and tell him about all my worries and I would demand him to tell me his plans with this little girl. Avoiding this issue can't be good for either of you. Especially for Shona. Besides, you say he is your best friend; or former best friend. You should be able to talk with more ease about this than Shilpa."

Armaan had listened carefully to what Sapna said. He was even more confused now. "Muskaan said we shouldn't disturb him. He made his choice."

"But he was curious to see her," Sapna pointed out. "And he had no business on the Pediatric floor." Armaan frowned as she said that. "I am just telling you my opinion. The only thing I see you could do now is talking to him about Shona. Have a serious talk." Saying that, she turned and walked out of the room.

Armaan stared after her for a moment, taking in her words. Mechanically he followed her outside and all the way down to the main lobby, he thought about what she had said.

As they got down in the lobby, Sapna and Armaan found Shilpa waiting for them in a chair. As she saw them coming, Shilpa stood up and met them half-way.

"You're still here?" Shilpa asked Sapna, surprised.

"Yes. When I wanted to leave, Shona woke up and the nurse seemed to have some trouble with calming her down," Sapna answered.

"You should have asked someone to page me. You really need some rest," Shilpa shook her head.

Sapna smiled. "Armaan gave me the day off tomorrow."

"You were having the day off tomorrow anyway, without anyone's permission," Shilpa scolded and smiled as she shook her head. She walked up to Armaan and after she received her kiss from him, she slid her hands around Shona's body, wanting to take her from Armaan.

In that moment, Shona clutched one fist on Armaan's jacket and started crying like she was refusing to let go of him.

Shilpa dropped her arms at her sides, staring at Armaan panicked. "What is this?" she demanded.

Armaan and Sapna looked at each other, as confused as Shilpa with Shona's reaction. "I don't know," he muttered. "Maybe it's because of the teething. It's affecting her brain."

"Or maybe it's because she doesn't want to let go of her Daddy just yet," Sapna cut in, smiling at them.

Shilpa stared at her and then back at Armaan, questioning, "Armaan?"

Armaan let out a sigh and started rubbing circles on Shona's back, helping her calm down. "I told her about Rohan."

"I hope you don't mind," Sapna said. "I honestly didn't ask to know all these and I won't be the one to judge the situation."

For a brief moment, Shilpa did feel angry with Armaan for revealing their secret, but then she saw a very obvious thing. Sapna was closer to her than her mother ever was and ever would be to her. "That's ok. I guess you deserved to know," Shilpa half smiled at her. She sighed and worryingly looked back at Shona. "Did you talk about him in front of her?"

Armaan smiled guiltily. "I forgot how perceptive she is." He pressed a kiss against Shona's soft cheek and gave her to her mother, saying, "Go to Mommy, because she needs some cheering too. We'll have plenty of time for cuddling and loving tomorrow." He gave her one more kiss and let her nestle in Shilpa's arms.

Shona started sucking her thumb and looked back and forth from Armaan to Shilpa.

"So, you don't have to worry about tomorrow," Armaan told Sapna. "Get some rest and maybe you'll consider my idea," he smiled knowingly.

Armaan wanted to say more but he stopped as he saw Shilpa looking over his shoulder. Then he heard his name called.

"Armaan," he recognized Rohan's voice.

As he turned, he saw him stopped further behind him, having his hands in his pockets and glanced just one towards Shilpa and Shona.

"Can we talk?" Rohan asked him hesitantly.

Armaan questioningly stared at him and couldn't help panic to take over. As Sapna had said, he needed to have a serious talk to Rohan though.

"I'll go buckle her in," Shilpa said and Armaan nodded as he looked back at them. "I'll be with you in a minute. We'll take Sapna home."

"Ok," Shilpa nodded and without glancing once at Rohan, she turned and left with Shona and Sapna to their car.

Armaan had watched them leaving until they were out of the hospital and just then he turned his attention back to Shilpa. "We do need to talk," he told him.

"There's a bar across the street," Rohan suggested.

"Ok," Armaan agreed. "I'll tell Shilpa she can go without me."

Neither of them knew how to deal with this or if they were supposed to do anything or just leave it as it was. It felt wrong on so many levels and it felt right at the same number of levels too.

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/dill-mill-gaye/1510117/happy-birthday-abner

heyyy dear,
nice parts
continue soon

& many many happy birth day to u


love
Riddss

Nice updates
Y does this Rohan wants 2 talk 2 Armaan? Pls don't let him create any problem.

Shona is an intelligent kid vomiting on that Rohan & clutching onto Armaan's jacket.

Pls continue soon

P.S. U have by mistake posted a part of Chapter 30 again at d end of 31.

great part!!!! plz dun let this rohan interfere between dem....hope he goes away for good!!!!!!!!! loving shona for puking on rohan!!!!!!!👏👏👏......she definitely knows who's good for her n who's not!!!!!!!! n i think u posted a bit of part 30 in da last part of 31

hey........... sorry for replying late been busy wid examz anywaz read all the parts which i missed n just loved it ........... u r a beautiful writer each situation n relationship u explain so well ...... i could understd shilpa n her father situation n helplessness of not knowing each other well n shona's bad health n armaan n shilpa " tension towards rohan .... armaan ' s protective father behaviour for shona n many more ........... jus amazing cant explain .......... anywaz hope rohan's talk doesnt bring any problem to armaan .......... n yaa very important thing dont u dare say dat u want to end your fanfics ....... i will kill u ......... u write amazing ....... i just love all your fanfic ....... n its bcoz of u guyz writing abt ARSH ..... i dont miss them .... n can imagine them together ...... which in reality i cant ....... anywaz sorry for taking so much of your time n blabbering so much .....anywaz take care .....continue soon ...... love aish ....... 😊....... yaa forgot........ WISHING U HAPPY BIRTHDAY ............ ENJOY UR DAY ..... HVE FUN ......... TAKE CARE ........ KEEP WRITING SUCH STORIES LOVE THEM ALL ... !!!!!

great update..... finally the most awaited talk is gona take place....i hope rohan duz not have any second thoughts now that he has seen shona

awesome part
finally the most awaited talk is here
hope rohan doesnt change his decision