I Belong With You part 30 updated (Arsh ff) - Page 6

Originally posted by: ABNER

@nidha it is shilpa not ridz

Awesome Parts.................

Arman is really getting attached to them.................plz plz plz dont break Arman and Shilpa's friendship........and get them 2gether soon........................................😊

Continue super soon..............😃

Afrin

part 8

Armaan was in his office, reading from a medical journal and holding a sleeping Shona in his arms, when Rahul Grewal gave a light knock to the door and sneaked his head inside. "Busy?" he asked in whisper, already knowing about the baby's presence in there.

"No," Armaan whispered back as he put the magazine aside on his desk. "Come in," he invited him inside. "And there's no need for whispers. Nothing disturbs her sleep," he said, smiling down at Shona.

"So she's Ms. gupta," Rahul concluded as he made his way to Armaan's desk. He leaned over the desk to take a better look at the baby and then took a seat in a chair.

"She is Ms. Shona Muskaan gupta," Armaan smiled, making himself look like a proud Daddy. "Shilpa was late for her test and she didn't have time to drop her to the daycare," he explained.

"Very generous of you," Rahul smiled.

"Did you need anything?" Armaan asked him then.

Rahul smiled, looking slightly uncomfortable. He rearranged his glasses on his nose and cleared his throat. "I'd like to ask you something."

Armaan looked curiously at him. "As long as I don't have to leave her off my arms for another hour…" he offered.

"You know, they say it's not good for the baby to spend too much time in the grown-ups' arms. It could make them whiny," Rahul stated, offside with what he wanted to ask Armaan.

"I know," Armaan chuckled. "But I can't help it. She's so soft and warm," he said, cradling the baby closer to his chest.

"Are you cold in here?" Rahul asked, still diverting from the real reason of his visit there.

"Can we skip over this part and tell me why you are here?" Armaan asked him straight.

Rahul smiled and cleared his throat. "I want you to be my best man at my wedding."

Armaan raised his brows, completely surprised by his proposal. As he had told Shilpa a while ago, he didn't have any friends in Seattle… or no one he knew about.

"The wedding is in about two months so you have time to think about it," Rahul added.

"I will think about it," Armaan nodded, still unable to understand how could Rahul Grewal –his competition for the Chief of Surgery position- ask him to be his best man at his wedding with Anjali Joshi. Armaan shrugged to himself; apparently, he wasn't the only person in that hospital without friends.

"All right," Rahul smiled and stood up. He turned around to go to the door, but after just a step, he stopped and turned back to Armaan.

Armaan looked at him, questioning.

"Do I think it is possible to hold her for just a moment?" Rahul asked, looking at Shona.

Armaan stared at him, even more confused.

"If it's possible," Rahul assured him as answer to Armaan's silence.

"I don't know," Armaan muttered, slowly rocking the baby. "She has rules, you know," he said in the same quiet voice.

No reply came from Rahul, so Armaan looked up just to meet his suspicious stare. "You'd better not be obsessed with this baby."

Armaan shot him a glare, offended. "I was there when she was born. I wouldn't call that an obsession," he said dryly. He stood up and walked around the desk, stopping in front of Rahul. "You can hold her."

Rahul carefully checked Armaan's expression before he slid his hands under Shona and shifted her into his arms. His serious features softened as he looked down at the baby. "She doesn't look much like her mother."

"She doesn't," Armaan agreed.

"Are you the father?" Rahul asked him straight. Armaan chuckled at first, but then he saw how serious his question had been. "You know there are rumors traveling around here," Rahul added. "I don't care though," he shrugged and smiled as he took Shona's tiny hand in his.

"I am not the father," Armaan answered, almost robotically. "I am just her midwife," he chuckled, but his chuckled wasn't as light as he had wanted it to sound. Slowly he took the baby from Rahul. "It was love at the first sight… for both of us," he grinned at Rahul.

"You and Dr. gupta or you and Dr. gupta's baby?" Rahul asked suspiciously. "And I recommend you to answer Dr. gupta."

Armaan just smiled and Rahul even chuckled at the reddish shade from Armaan's cheeks.

"Do you want to have children?" Armaan asked him.

"I want," Rahul sighed and smiled at the same time. "I just have to wait a little bit longer. I hardly convinced Anjali to take our relationship to a higher level. A baby is out of discussion at this point."

"She's pretty," Rahul stated with admiration while smiling down at Shona. "I can see why you are finding it hard to stay away from her."

"She's more than pretty," Armaan smiled at her as well. "There's something about her…" he muttered, thoughtful. "She reminds me of someone… or something," he shrugged, clearing his thoughts. "She looks familiar."

"She's a baby and most of the babies look alike," Rahul answered.

"No," Armaan disagreed with a shake from his head. As he looked up at Rahul, his eyes gazed past him, outside the office. "Is that…. Muskaan gupta?" he asked.

"What?" Rahul turned in a sudden, following his gaze. "She is," he was as shocked as Armaan was as they stared a woman outside the office who was reading something from a chart.

"Did you know she was coming?" Armaan asked, taking a step closer to the door.

"No," Rahul admitted and walked ahead, opening the door, with Armaan closely following him. "Dr. gupta?" he asked, his hands and thoughts shaking of emotion.

"Dr. gupta," Armaan didn't need any confirmation to know for sure who that woman really was.

Muskaan gupta looked up from the chart the first time she heard her name. She looked at Rahul and then at Armaan and the baby and then looked around her. "Am I on Pediatric floor?" she asked, honestly confused.

"No," both men chuckled nervously.

Muskaan looked at them again, this time at Armaan in particular and at the baby he was holding.

"I'm Dr. Rahul Grewal," Rahul held out his hand.

"Yeah, I recognized you," she shook his hand absently. She was still checking curiously at Armaan and Shona. "And you are?" she asked, letting her hand slip off Rahul's and directing it to Armaan.

Armaan frowned, visibly offended of not being recognized. "Dr. Armaan Malik," he shook her hand less enthusiastic.

"Oh yes. I've heard of you," she answered and then her eyes flickered on the baby. "I thought you were a neurosurgeon."

"I am," Armaan smiled. "She's a friend's baby. She's actually…"

"I am sorry but I don't have so much time right now. I will be around her for another couple of hours so maybe we'll talk later," Muskaan interrupted him as she started sprinting down the hall, before Armaan could introduce her to her granddaughter.

"I will escort you for a while," Rahul offered and left with Muskaan, leaving Armaan staring dumbfounded after them.

"That was your grandma," he whispered in Shona's ear. "Your grandma saw you but she didn't know who you were," he muttered, mostly talking to himself than to Shona.

Armaan walked back into his office, still trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. He knew already about the cold relation between Shilpa and her mother and he also knew that along with the baby's father, she didn't know if her only grandchild was a girl or a boy. Armaan took a seat down on the couch and cradled Shona in his arms. She slowly opened her eyes and yawned. "You should have woken up a minute ago. Your grandma Muskaan saw you."

Shona watched him with curious eyes and her face started twisting in grimaces as she started whimpering. "You don't care much about her, do you?" Armaan sighed and fumbled through her bag. He took out one of the bottles Shilpa had prepared for her and left to heat it up and feed her.

Shilpa was one of the first interns who left the exam room. As she was out of there, she darted towards Armaan's office to retrieve her daughter. Around the corner, Armaan showed up in her way, smiling.

"How did it go?" he asked her.

His question was left without answer as Shilpa looked worriedly at him. "Where is she?"

"Who?" Armaan asked confused.

Shilpa gasped with anger. "My daughter!" she snapped. "Where is she?"

"Oh," he chuckled as he understood what she was talking about. "She's at the nurses station," he said tilting his head to a side.

"What is she doing there?" Shilpa snapped walking past him to the nurses' station. She stopped dead in her track and gasped once more as she saw all the females gathered around her baby. "You were supposed to watch her!"

"I was watching her, but I saw you coming," Armaan explained.

"And she's not a pimp, so go and bring her to me," she scowled.

Armaan took a defensive step back and didn't comment as he turned and went to take Shona from all the ladies, who were cooing to her.

"Is this why you wanted to stay with her? To get easier to the women?" Shilpa scolded as she took the baby from Armaan.

"I'd never do this," Armaan defended himself. "They saw her and they wanted to look closer."

Shilpa rolled her eyes as she turned and headed towards Armaan's office.

"How did it go?" Armaan followed her, trying to make her forget about the little incident with Shona and the women.

"It wasn't that difficult," Shilpa shrugged.

As they reached into Armaan's office, Armaan closed the door. "Your mother is here," he informed her.

Shilpa looked at him, confused.

"Your mother is here at the hospital," Armaan said. "With work I think," he added quickly, not wishing to let Shilpa misunderstand.

She stared at him for half a second and she shrugged. "How do you know?" she asked conversationally.

"I saw her," Armaan answered. "And she also saw Shona." Shilpa's eyes flickered on him again. "But she didn't know it was her granddaughter," Armaan cleared up.

He could read a little disappointment in her eyes as she heard that. Shilpa looked away and tried to ignore the information. It wasn't anything important.

"I understand if you want to cancel the dinner tonight," Armaan said softly.

"No," she smiled faintly. She sighed as she put the bag on her shoulder and leaned down to kiss Shona. "She's here, but she's not here to see me," she explained. "I have to take her home now. Did she eat?"

"Yes. I gave her a bottle," Armaan said. "I will give you ride home," he put a hand on her back and walked with her out of the office.

Armaan looked at the house as he got out of his car and smiled, seeing the lights on. He walked onto the porch and knocked once. No sound came from the inside, so Armaan fumbled through his pockets and took out a key. The key twisted into the latch and Armaan opened the door. That far his friendship with Shilpa had gotten in the last 6 weeks.

"Shilpa?" he called from the doorway, scanning the surroundings.

"Come on in!" her voice came from upstairs.

Armaan walked into the house and shut the door.

"I will be right down!" Shilpa shouted.

"I will be here," Armaan answered and took a seat on the stairs. Then he heard Shona's whimpers. He stood up and turned to the stairs. "Is everything all right there?"

"Yeah. Someone's being very cranky this evening," he heard Shilpa sighing and Armaan thought she was trying to put the baby to sleep. "Do you need help?" he asked her, already putting his foot on the first stair.

"No, no!" she answered quickly, panting. "Give me a second."

"I am coming upstairs," he said, but he stopped as soon as he spotted Shilpa already coming downstairs. His eyes locked on the black gown she was wearing, forgetting to breathe as he watched her delicate silhouette moving swiftly down the stairs.

"Am I too dressed?" she stopped and gave look down to herself.

His eyes lingered on her v-neck and swallowed a lump. "Definitely not too dressed," he chuckled.

"Armaan," Shilpa giggled.

Armaan tore his eyes from her body and just then, he noticed that Shilpa was carrying Shona in her carrycot. From her seat, Shona whimpered and frowned while pinching nervously her pink dress.

"Why is she dressed up?" Armaan chuckled, leaning down to pick her up from the carrycot. "Are you having a date with your babysitter tonight?" he asked her as he cradled her into his arms. "Where is the babysitter?" he asked Shilpa. "We're going to be late."

Shilpa smiled at him, biting her lip. She walked past him down the stairs and put the carrycot on the table. "Strap her in."

"Shilpa," Armaan turned and looked at her serious.

Shilpa let out a sigh before she looked at him. She nervously tucked her hair behind the ear. "We are taking her with us."

As he heard the determination in her voice, Armaan shook his head disapprovingly, also disappointed. That should have been his first date with Shilpa and he had been looking forward to having her just for himself for at least a couple of hours. Secretly he was hoping he would take his relationship with Shilpa to an upper level.

"I can't let her alone with a 16-year-old, whose mind is bathing in hormones. She's my daughter and I am not willing to take any risk," Shilpa explained.

"But you said you knew her parents and she's a responsible girl," Armaan almost pleaded her as he tried to change her mind.

Shilpa wasn't so easy to convince though. She shook her head firmly. "She's still a teenager," she mumbled.

"Shilpa, that's an exclusive restaurant. We can't bring a baby with us there. Besides, the reservation is for two,"

"Seriously?" Shilpa laughed at his explanation. "Did you hear that, Baby Shona? I guess you won't be able to sit on your own chair and eat from your own plate tonight," she replied sarcastically to Armaan while talking to Shona.

Armaan chuckled to himself as he admitted that he hadn't given her the best explanation.

"If she's not coming, then I am not coming either," Shilpa told him. "We don't even have reasons for celebration yet."

Armaan looked at her for a moment and he leaned down and kissed Shona on the forehead before he carried her back to her carrycot. He had made great efforts for getting that reservation, so he had no other choice but try and prey that Shona would have a quiet evening.

"She'll fall asleep in a few minutes," Shilpa reassured him. She had waited for a dinner like this too, but now –when their first date was becoming reality- she found out she couldn't leave her baby girl with whomever. She sighed discreetly, relieved and content, to see Armaan complying with her wishes. "Thank you," she leaned down to his ear as she whispered.

Armaan wrapped his arm around her waist and smiled genuinely. He picked the carrycot up and walked Shilpa to the door.

Shilpa and Armaan smiled at each other when Armaan took Shona out of the car and the baby let out a sigh. He wasn't that worried about having a baby with him at the restaurant as during the ride, Shona had fallen asleep.

"Good evening," a young host greeted them with a polite smile.

"Good evening," Armaan smiled. "We have a reservation for Malik."

As she heard that, the host glanced at the baby, obviously not approving her presence there.

"She's sleeping and she will be sleeping for another couple of hours," Armaan said, hoping to help a little and convince her not to deny their evening.

"We'll leave as soon as she starts whimpering," Shilpa added.

"But she won't because she has just fallen asleep and nothing disturbs her," he also mentioned.

The girl let out an exasperated sigh, but as she looked at Shona again and watched her peaceful sleep, a smile crept across her lips. "I will walk you to your table," she told them and took two menus as she walked ahead.

Shilpa and Armaan smiled at each other as they followed the girl. They put the carrycot on a chair beside them and both ordered the food. Shona had many people stopping by their table just to glance at her and compliment her cuteness.

"To a flawless test," Armaan toasted, holding his glass of wine in the air. "And to a good tutor," he added, smirking.

Shilpa laughed and held up her glass of water. "To whatever you say." Armaan made a slight grimace at her toast. "And to Shona's first night out," she added, smiling.

Armaan chuckled as he held up his glass for Shona. "And from what I can see, she will have many other nights out. You should start looking for a nanny already if you don't want to take her to the daycare."

Shilpa grimaced at the word 'daycare' and shook her head. "I will but it's still too early. My maternity leave ends in two months and I am planning to spend as much time with her as I can in these two months. And speaking of Shona…" she paused so that she could grin at Armaan. "He signed the papers."

Armaan smiled, but it wasn't one of his best smiles. It was good news that Shona's father was giving up his rights as parent because this way he would allow another man to come into her life – when the time would be right-, but he also felt a little unsure of this decision; it was making him feel somehow guilty and he couldn't explain the reason.

"That was easy," he mumbled.

"I knew he would sign them right away," she shrugged. "Now it's only a matter of weeks until my lawyer makes the papers."

"Are you sure this was the best decision?" he couldn't help it and had to ask her as if her answer would clear his conscious.

"He signed the papers immediately and this says a lot," Shilpa answered. "I am trying to do the right thing here. He didn't want the baby and I birthed it against his will. It was stupid of me and I am not even sure why I tried to piss him off."

"What if…" Armaan wanted to ask her, but he didn't have the strength to do it.

"What if something happens to me?" she asked, guessing his question. Armaan nodded slowly. Shilpa sighed as she looked down to her plate, thoughtful. "I thought about that too. She has a grandma I don't talk to that much and a grandpa who hasn't seen me in 20 years," she muttered. She bit her lip as she glanced at Armaan. "You can have her," she said, looking into his eyes.

Armaan stared at her for a moment, dumfounded.

"If you want her," she added when she read his shock.

Armaan gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course I want her."

"After my death or whatever," she pointed out.

Armaan grimaced at her words. "Do you realize how … sad this is?"

Shilpa forced a smile as she looked down. "I know," she muttered. "But you're not a stranger anymore. Besides me, nobody knows her better than you."

"Let's change this topic, please," he suggested, both of them starting to feel depressed already.

"Gladly," she shuddered, just thinking at that possibility. She leaned down and gently caressed Shona's cheek while Armaan reached across the table and took her hand.

"The main purpose for this dinner is to enjoy us and … be somewhat special," Armaan smiled comforting.

Her face became brighter again as she smiled at him. She felt the warm feeling of safety as he held his hand over hers and her heart fluttered when Armaan pulled his hand.

"Did you talk to your mother?" he asked her.

Shilpa sighed loudly, shaking her head to their new topic; another one she didn't like. "I told you she was not here to see me," she mumbled. "And why do we have talk about me all the time? We've known each other for over a month now and I don't know anything about you while you know almost everything about me."

"Almost…" Armaan smirked, trying to avoid that kind of conversation. "So I still have some research to do."

"Armaan," she looked at him, serious. "Who are you, Armaan?"

"What do you mean who I am?" he laughed. "Armaan Malik, neurosurgeon at Seattle Grace hospital."

"That's right. I know Armaan Malik the neurosurgeon, but I don't know Armaan Malik the person," she pointed out. "To me… you're still a stranger and considering the actual relationship between us and what I just told you about my daughter, I think it's my turn to ask questions."

Armaan gave her one of his genuine smiles as he played with his fork in his plate. "You know some things about me," he answered. "I was married to Dr. Addison Montgomery and…"

"No," she stopped him, shaking her head disapprovingly. "I don't want to know about you and Dr. Montgomery. I want to hear about you and your ex-wife, for example. Like… why did you break up?"

As she asked him that, Shilpa easily could read pain in his smile. From all the possible questions, why had she chosen that one, she blamed herself.

"I love babies," he answered then, the same genuine smile on his face.

"I know that already," she agreed.

Armaan chuckled but his chuckle was sad too. "She was pregnant with my child and she chose the career over the pregnancy," he looked down at his plate as his words came out as murmur. "I am not obsessive of your baby," he reassured her. "But I like to … to see them growing, living their innocence and becoming extraordinary human beings. We tried to make things work. 11 years weren't so easy to give up on."

"11 years?" Shilpa asked, surprised.

"That's even sadder," he smiled at her. "You discover the person you share your life with after 11 years."

"I am sorry," she muttered apologetically as if she had anything to do with his condition. "So you don't believe in marriage anymore."

"I do believe in marriage," he answered, very convincing. "But now I keep my eyes wide open as I look at the people around me."

Somehow, she didn't believe that. He was either just starting opening his eyes or his sight wasn't so good. Her baby girl was looking more each day like the man he considered his best friend, his brother.

"What have you found out about me so far?" she asked.

"I found out what an extraordinary person you are," he answered.

"Stop saying that," she shook her head disapprovingly.

"I won't. You made mistakes… terrible mistakes, but you assume the consequences and this makes you extraordinary," he reassured her.

She glanced at him and smiled gratefully. "Would you marry me?" she asked jokingly.

"I would," was his straight answer, which left Shilpa speechless. "I would," he repeated and smiled as he reached for her hand again. "What else should I tell you about me? My family is a big family. My dad passed away years ago, I have mom, my four sisters and their husbands, and … a couple of nephews now," he chuckled. "Besides my father's death, we like to consider ourselves a normal family… happy." Armaan gave a light squeeze to her hand before he let it go. "I will let you know more about me in time."

She smiled and for the first time in months, she felt hopeful.

Armaan pulled the car in front of Shilpa's house. While she got outside, Armaan started unfastening Shona's carrycot from the backseats.

"I think they won't receive us there if we don't bring Shona with us," Armaan laughed as he carefully picked the baby up into his arms.

"I won't go there again!" she stated. "They wanted to take her pictures… like she was a monkey or their mascot," she giggled.

Armaan laughed and kissed the still-sleeping baby before he put her back into the carrycot. He wrapped an arm around Shilpa's waist as he walked them to the door.

He handed her the carrycot and took her other hand. "I want more than your friendship, Shilpa," Armaan confessed, smiling while his eyes were piercing hers. "But I don't want to rush you." As he said that, Armaan took her face between his hands and his lips brushed against hers. "Good night, Shilpa," he smiled as he took a step backward.

"Will you come tomorrow?" she muttered.

His smile became even brighter. "Definitely," he reassured her.

She stayed on the porch until Armaan's car was out of her sight. She closed her eyes, leaning her head against the door and biting her lip, as the sweet taste of his lips was still lingering over hers.

She shook her head and returned to reality. It wasn't raining that evening in Seattle, but the weather was windy. She shivered and unlocked the door, hurrying to bring Shona to warmth.

As she closed back the door, Shilpa looked curiously at the house. Something was different. As she tried to find out what was different, Shilpa realized. The lights were on. "Did we leave the lights on?" she asked Shona-without expecting an answer.

Walking into the living room, Shilpa shrieked. "Mom!"

end part 8